On the downside, ohmyeffinggod, that needle is huge!
That whole needle, up to the blue part, has to go into my skin,and the one cc of fluid is a thick oil (sesame oil!) which takes a few seconds to push into my body. Adam and I have done it twice now and actually, I think it's harder on him than it is on me. It doesn't hurt going in and the soreness was less than I had expected. But Adam has to work up the courage to actually make the plunge, so to speak. The idea of doing this for a couple of months is daunting, but I know it will get easier, just like the Lupron shots did.
So now I'm on estrogen, progesterone, prenatal vitamins, and antibiotics (which are a prophylactic against infection during the transfer procedure). I'm going to add in baby aspirin today. I've neglected to mention here that my mystery pain (I still prefer to call it that rather than tendonitis) has diminished enough so that I've eliminated the diclofenac, my previous NSAID miracle. I'm not exactly sure why my pain is diminished. One doctor told me the Lupron might help, but I also stopped exercising, which I'm pretty sure was making me worse. Anyway, I'm glad to be off the diclofenac, both for the potential pregnancy, and because it was giving me horrible GI problems. And now I can take the baby aspirin recommended to improve blood flow to the uterus and placenta.
We won't get any kind of update tomorrow. They just let those little guys stew by themselves until Day 3 - Saturday. Then, I might get a call early in the morning telling me to come in for transfer, or I might just get a report on how many embryos are still growing and how many cells they have.
Exciting stuff!
I'm so excited for you and Adam! I really really really hope that everything goes fabulously well!
ReplyDeleteIf you transferred all six, you and Adam could get your own show on TLC!
ReplyDelete;) Just kidding. Following your story with bated breath--can't wait for the next update!
I don't envy you that needle, but it sounds like it's going to be worth it! Very cool getting 6 fertilized out of 7!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm so excited for you both, and following your updates closely. :o)
ReplyDeleteThis is so exciting! And that needle is so scary! Best of luck! Grow, little embryos!
ReplyDeleteI've done those progesterone shots before, and they hurt like heck every single time! I think I still have little bruises in a few spots and I got the shots in 2009.
ReplyDeleteBut here is a heads up - my RE is no longer doing the shots. After doing a huge study with water-based progesterone shots, oil-based, and suppositories, they are seeing comperable results from using suppositories. You might want to ask your RE about this - the clinic is SRM (Seattle Reproductive Medicine). Progestrone shots are expensive.
Baby dust!
Thanks, everyone!
ReplyDeleteLaurie, thank you for the advice. I did ask my RE but he recommended that I stick with the shots at least until my pregnancy test. But I did switch to a lower-concentration of progesterone, and I changed the type of oil medium. Now I have two shots a day but they are much less painful. I might write a whole post just about these shots.