Let the Injections Begin!

Yesterday, after my acupuncture appointment, I came home to a package.  Not a fun package.  It was a box full of all of the medications I have to take during the IVF cycle.  My husband was kind enough to unpack the box, inventory the items, and get the refrigerated items into the refrigerator.  To be honest, the sheer volume of medication was horrifying.  If you've ever wondered what $3,000 worth of meds looks like, I've included a visual:

Last night was what they call my "Lupron Start."  Basically, it's the beginning of injections.  Lupron is "an injectable medication which exhibits control over ovulation, preventing you from ovulating until your follicles are ready." In layman's terms, it keeps the eggs inside my ovaries until they are mature and my doctor is ready to take them out surgically.  That way, I don't lose any and I have as many as possible to work with on the day of egg retrieval.   


I have to admit, there has been some anxiety about the injections.  I'm glad I was able to get over the first hurdle last night.  The Lupron is injected subcutaneously (under the skin) about two inches away from the navel.  I decided to do the first one myself.  Partly because I'm a control freak, partly because I do injections every day in my job, and partly because my husband is freaking terrified of doing it.  He was kind enough to snap this pic, though.

It definitely stung, but it certainly wasn't the most pain I've ever been through.  Afterwards, the area around the injection site got a little red and itchy, but that went away after an hour or so.  About three hours after, I started to feel a little nauseous, so we turned off the movie we were watching and hit the hay.  Today I feel just fine. 


Some of the side effects of Lupron are hot flashes, sweating, mood swings, decreased libido, nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness, insomnia, headaches, and injection site reaction (redness, itching, and swelling at the injection site).  Not really excited about any of that.  


Tonight, I take my last birth control pill, so I will have 2 days of overlap between that and the Lupron.  Next Friday, I begin the "stimulation."  That's all of the other injections that help the eggs to mature.  Not fun.  


Now, to get off the topic of injections for a second.  My friend Misty Alvarez is hosting a Celebrating Home party to help us finance our little Manning.  Basically, 20% of all sales will go to helping us out.  What's cool is that you don't have to live in Colorado to participate.  You can order online and have the package shipped directly to your house, wherever you live.  I will have more information posted in the next couple of days, but if you would like to begin browsing, check out www.celebratinghome.com.  More on that soon!