Ready Set Jab! First day of Stimulation

The much anticipated Aunt Flo arrived 2 days early~! Whoohoo! I've never been so excited to see it come early. So, I'm starting my stimulation schedule and my retrieval could be just less than 2 weeks away! (Fingers, toes, hairs, eyes, everything crossed!) Number of days that I will need the injections will depend on how I respond. When the ultrasound/bloodwork shows that I am ready, I will take a trigger shot, and 36 hours later is the egg retrieval. The transfer will depend on how many we get and how many was fertilized. Also, we signed up for taking the embies to day 5 if possible. The RE said this will up our chances to 50% for transferring two day 5 embies. Wowzers!

Now let me share some insights on the Puregon pen and the Repronex injection:

This is the Puregon pen process

I just love it love it love it! It's so easy and pain-free. You buy these cartridges and they come in amounts of 300, 600, and 900. The nurse shared with me that each cartridge actually has an extra 100iu of medicine in it! Plus, they are the same price per unit. (Meaning, the 600 is double the prices of the 300 etc...) This is awesome because you actually get more for your money if you buy the 300iu. This just works very well in my case because I am on a 400iu dosage, which means I just use 1 cartridge per injection! Ask your clinic next time if you are using puregon to see if you can save money by working it out. (You may have to jab yourself twice though, if you have to change cartridges in-between...)

I'm just joking... Don't jab your dog... (Ooops I got caught... And there's actually no needle in that, don't panic or call the animal abuse centre)

Here's Puregon's great website with video instructions on using the Puregon pen: Puregon Pen Instructions

Now that you know how to use a Puregon pen, go ahead and have some fun and jab something!!

Here's the Repronex Preparation Process

It's not an instructional video or whatever. But it's just a quick glimpse. I'm actually missing a step where I get 1mL of the diluent from the grey vile and inject it into the purple vile (this is the vile with the medicine). And the in the third picture, I get all the mixed solution back into the syringe. This is easier with practice. It's not as easy as the Puregon but it's not rocket science! 

Some stuff that's helping me survive injection:

- ICE!!!! Ice the area of injection for like 10-20 seconds before you do it. (Also clean the area with your alcohol swab after you do ice it.) It reeeeally reduces the pain and I can't even feel the needle going in. (Injecting the stuff is another issue of course)

- Inject SLOWLY... And try not to be shaky... I couldn't stop shaking and I ended up with a little bruise...

- Drink lots of fluids! That's what the nurse told me anyway!

- Blame everything on the injections. (You can basically get away with anything!)

My Jab Schedule:
Nov 23 - Nov 26 Daily
 1. Puregon 400iu / Repronex 75iu @ 5:30pm
 2. Decadron pill @ bedtime

Nov 27
 First Ultrasound and bloodwork appointment

Now, hopefully the side effects are minimal and I won't be crying every 30 seconds or breaking everything in my house. More updates later!