The Land of Pincushions and Spare Tires

Everything's going well down in Pincushion-Land*! I know I shouldn't complain- one injection a day is NOTHING in the grand scheme of IF. It really isn't that terrible though. The second night we used a little less fluid, more like 0.7cc's to mix the two vials of menopur with** and it was much better in terms of volume. It stung a LOT more though. The third night we went back up to 0.8-0.9ish cc's****, and that seemed like a good amount. I also decided I like taking the shot laying down with my eyes closed, on a count of three. I pinch my spare tire pretty darned hard, and Dr Boy does the shot. I let go, he withdraws the needle, and I massage the area for a minute or so, then we're all good.

I also got the results back from my FSH and estradiol tests from CD3 (shot day 1). My FSH was 6.6 mIU/mL, and my estradiol was 51 pg/mL. From what I found here, both are within normal limits for that time of the month, meaning (in theory), my ovarian reserve and egg quality are just fine. Peachy keen! Dr K said he hadn't bothered to order those before because, based on my ultrasounds, my ovaries looked "nice and healthy" to him. Minus the mass quantities of cysts, that is ;)

I had bloodwork drawn yesterday to see how my estradiol levels were rising, and the results weren't great. They only climbed to 67 pg/mL, and Dr K was looking for something closer to 150 pg/mL or so. He's keeping me on the 2 vials per injection until we take a look at things on an ultrasound Tuesday. Based on that, my plan so far looks like:

CD3- 2 vials menopur + blood draw for FSH and estradiol (=6.6 and =51, respectively)
CD4- 2 vials menopur
CD5- 2 vials menopur
CD6 (Sat)- 1 vial menopur + blood draw for estradiol (=67)
CD7- 2 vials menopur
CD8- 2 vials menopur
CD9 (Tues)- go in for an ultrasound and see how things need to be adjusted

Dr K will be out for a week for sugery so I'll be monitored by an NP in the group, but he seems confident that in their decision-making. I'm nervous, but I can't imagine that it'll be that big of a deal, especially considering how slowly my body is taking to the darned drugs anyways. I have faith that he'll be back to make a trigger decision himself and perform the IUI. When he called today, he did reassure me that even if things don't go well this cycle, it could just be priming my body for a second round. And that we'll have more information going into another cycle. I'm trying to ignore that, as I don't ALREADY want to take on a defeatist attitude one week into things. Sure, a second IUI wouldn't be the worst thing in the world by far, but it'd sure be neato if we could get this round to work, mkay?

Also!!! My body is responding in SOME way to the drugs- I've gained freakin' 3.8 pounds. I HAD been up almost 5 pounds in three days, but that came back down some today. I definitely feel some swelling in my fingers, and my belt is one hole larger. This. Blows. Chunks. Good cause? Yes. Good feeling? No.

Ugh. Happy Sunday, ya'll!!

* I was the costume mistress for my high school's musicals for two years. I have lots of experience with pincushions. And measuring inseams. <dirty grin>

** Someone asked if we're doing separate injections per vial, and the answer is no. We suck up the saline from the saline vial, mix it into the first vial of powder, suck it back up, shoot and mix it into the second vial of powder, suck it back up, and inject (one vial saline + two vials menopur per injection). There's no WAY I'd willingly do two shots when there's a chance of only one.

**** My RE said that 1cc of saline will dissolve at least 4 vials of powder. Based on that, I'm totally fine using 0.8cc's or so with the 2 vials we're on right now. It stings a little more b/c it's more concentrated, but for me, the sting isn't as bad as the feeling of a ton of fluid in mah belleh.