Knee Deep

I am knee deep in Round #2 of IVF-ICSI. 

I began birth control pills in mid-August - you know, those pills I never thought I'd take again!  I had the same type of trouble this round getting Lupron on time - backorder again!  Ladies beware:  DON'T wait until the last minute to get your Lupron.  This time, the drug company messed up.  They had my order for more than a week and didn't call me to get payment or schedule delivery.  I finally had to call and start the process.  Then they tell me it could be weeks before I get Lupron.  Of course!  At 5pm the night before I was supposed to begin Lupron shots, a courier arrived at my door with the beloved Lupron.  He couldn't speak English very well, but he delivered the goods, so we were instant friends.  Nothing like cutting it close....

And that brings me to my next dilemma with this round: I used up almost all of the allowable drug money from the last round of IVF.  So this time, I have to pay something like $2,200 for Bravelle (stim shots).  14 days worth of drug will cost me several thousand dollars - the only word that can possibly describe that is STUPID or EXTORTION!  You pick.....

I finished the 3-weeks of birth control pills, shot myself up every morning with Lupron and was doing pretty well.  I was only nervous giving myself the shots the very first time.  Then, I just fell back into old habit.  The alarm clock going off at 7:20a.m. every morning still startles me, but once I figure out why it's going off so early, I get up and do my thing.  This time around, I haven't had the massive hot flashes like last time.  I just seem to always be several degrees warmer than everyone else.  But there's no ears-neck-face-turning-red-and-instantly-sweating this time around.  No one's had to ask me, while in a professional setting, "Are you OK?"  I can deal with warm - especially since it's the end of August and that's normal weather for here.

I think I have been more emotional this round, but that could be due to several things.  Yes, I am on drugs that will do that to a lady.  But I'm also having a stressful time at work.  My boss stepped down and we have interim people filling in for him (that are clueless).  I'e been fighting allergies and sinus infection all summer, mostly due to stress and lack of sleep.  It's all just kind of ganging up on me and currently, I have no voice at all.  Hubby is in heaven!

I had my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork on Friday, Sept. 9th.  They wanted my E2 level below 80.  Mine was at 13.  I was given the go-ahead to start stim shots on Sat., Sept. 10th.  This round, the doc upped it to 2 vials in the morning and 2 vials at night in the hopes that we get a few bigger, mature eggs in the end.  Let's hope those little guys are growing!