I spent most of the day feeling kinda 'blech', but I think it's just A. allergies & B. a touch of whatever is going around. I'm feeling better since I've eaten & my injections went off without any real hitches, other than I was trying to talk on the phone while I gave myself the Follistim & dropped the pen after I already had the needle in my belly, so instead of getting stuck twice, it was three times this evening. It's a good thing that the injections aren't painful, or I might be a wee bit ticked off. We're headed out now to the kiddo's godparents for some of the best mostaccioli you'd ever eat!

And, we're off!

First dose of the Follistim this evening & I am fairly certain that the psychosomatic 'side effects' are what is giving me cotton mouth like an old stoner & hot flashes like an old lady! My mind is playing tricks on me.
The pen it (Follistim) comes in is pretty nifty, but where a dose of Lupron took about 3 seconds, the Follistim, because it's a larger dose, just takes longer to come out of the needle. I actually bled for just a sec at the injection site, too. Now, I blink and I'm done with all 10mg of Lupron. I sincerely hope that I can get thru the Follistim without any serious, negative or just plain irritating side effects.

How many ways can you say Status Quo, used as a noun, defined as current situation? According to Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus, First Edition, ten different ways.

1. Existing Condition
2. How things stand
3. No Change
4. Parameters
5. Present State of Affairs
6. Situation
7. Size of It
8. Status
9. Status in Quo
10. Usual

That about sums things up. Tomorrow is when the games being.

My dosing schedule gets shaken up on Friday....the Lupron is being decreased to 10 mg SQ (subcutaneous) per day & we're adding the fun one, the one that list the nifty side effects, into the mix- Follistim, 220mg SQ per day.
The Follistim does come in a handy dandy "pen" like epinephrine, so all I have to do it put the vial of meds in, attach the needle, dial up my dosage & fire away.
November 2nd will be my second round of blood tests, but thankfully, I'm being spared the 'john holmes' ultrasound.

So I've running a little "experiment" of my own.....

After a while, the whole injection "thing" is starting to make for some dull writing. So, I decided to run a little experiment of my own, to see where on my stomach is the least uncomfortable, (I hesitate to say painful, because honestly, how could a 28 gauge needle be painful), place to take my injection.
I've experienced the misery of pregnancy, and I've got the stretch marks to prove it-thank God, Goddess, Buddha that they are not bad, but there are a few small ones on my belly. At any rate, I've come to the conclusion that the stretch mark is not a good place to inject yourself. It seems to pinch worst than anywhere else. It's not like it earth shattering pain, but it's more noticeable than anywhere else on my belly. On a scale of 1-10, it's a 1, so it's nothing. I've also found, at least with my own specific physiology, that the best place is just below the navel....Can't even feel it. Even with the navel is ok, but then the waistband of my jeans tends to irritate the injection site. Boy, this is like watching paint dry, but I never promised that it would be entertaining!
Status quo with my injection tonight-I'm getting to be an ol' pro at this.

Incidentally, status quo with the Lupron this evening. I talked to Mary, my RNP (registered nurse practitioner) this afternoon & we're apparently dropping the dose (of Lupron) on Friday & I think I'll be starting the Follistim then, too. Let the game begin.

Marital Aid or Medical Equipment?

This morning, at 7.30AM, was my first (of probably many) ultrasounds & blood tests. The blood work was a piece of cake, but you think they would have warned me that the probe for the transvaginal ultrasounds looks like, well.....a "marital aid"-modeled after John Holmes, no less. It wasn't bad, only mildly uncomfortable, but I think I'm still trying to recover from the fact that the marital aid/ultrasound probe was covered in, oh wait for it....a condom. Sadly, it wasn't 'ribbed for her pleasure'.

In this same general realm & a complete waste of time, but fun nevertheless...
http://dogtoyormaritalaid.com/dtoma/index.php

Several Advil & a nap later, I'm beginning to feel human again. My injection was uneventful, as per usual...here's hoping they stay that way. It's early yet, but considering I've got to be at the hospital before the roosters get up in the morning, I've got to get some sleep.

I was hoping for a month off......

But, unfortunately, no. Blech! I feel like crap, total crap & I'm certain that I've not had cramps like this since I was a teenager. My country for a Midol & a pound of peanut M & M's. I feel so bad that the kiddo & I had to leave church before the end of the service because I felt like I was going to be sick, still do, too.