More Monitoring

Just more monitoring today.When I asked if we were still on track for transfer on the 5th or 6th, the RE said, "So far, so good!" She didn't tell me how my lining looked, but I overheard her say  to somebody else that I was at 10mm.

My coordinator wrote to let me know that today is my last day of Lupron. Woo! My belly is looking rather like a pincushion, and the needles that they sent me with my refill are strange and make the shots burn more than normal.

I will also start PIO tomorrow.

It was also casually mentioned in the email that the transfer has been scheduled for Tuesday the 2nd. Three full days before we expected it! That's awesome. I'm so excited.

Monitoring

I know this is boring as all get out, but I want to remember just how many monitoring appointments there are, in case somebody asks me later. I have been asked about surrogacy by a few ladies, so I want to have an accurate memory. My other ones were too long ago.

Anyway, another monitoring appointment today. I was originally scheduled to come in Tuesday and Friday, but they said I could just come in Thursday, instead. That's awesome, any less driving down there makes me happy! Linnell was with me today, so the drive was even easier. Yay for carpool lanes!

My estrogen today was 169.0, and my lining was 8.6. Both wonderful numbers. I'm continuing with my prenatals, folic acid, baby aspirin, lupron, and estrogen. Transfer in 2 weeks!

Del Estrogen

So, since the last cycle didn't work, they're throwing all the meds at me this time. I've been on the Lupron for a couple of weeks, and I started the Delestrogen tonight. It's estrogen in shot form. I have 22G needles to draw it up out of the bottle, and 25G needles to put it into my body. That's smaller than last time. Last time, I had 22s for both, I think. I know I didn't have 25s.

The estrogen shots are not like Lupron shots. Where Lupron is subcutaneous and needs a little needle, the estrogen is intramuscular, and so needs a needle big enough to get through your fat and into your muscle. It's given in the upper butt/hip/waist sort of area. If you grab that fat area that many of us have above our hips, just under the waist, it goes back there. So, you can do it yourself (I know a lot of ladies who have), but I think it's a lot easier to have somebody else do it. I can do the right side OK, but I have trouble with the left. Plus, I hesitate, and that's when it hurts. You need a nice fast piercing, and then you don't notice. It's when you go in too slowly that it really hurts.

I hold on to the bottle for a while before, to get it  to body temperature. That makes it go in more easily, I think. Or maybe it just isn't as noticeable.

A lot of ladies ice the area before the shot, to numb the skin. But, it won't numb the whole path of the needle (the needle is 1 1/2 inches long), and I think icing makes the estrogen more likely to form a lump. You'll get lumps anyway, once you get further along and add the progesterone, but there's no reason to start now. I just chafe the skin. That means, I rub my hand vigorously over the area before the shot. That's what my mom did when she gave me my shots with the last surrogacy, and I like it better.

Alternate sides, and you're less likely to lump. Plus, it will hurt less. You'll have plenty of lumps and pain later. When the shot is done, I rub it some more, to get the estrogen moving and dispersing into my muscle, so it doesn't just sit there. Again, less lumping. That's it. Sometimes, it will bleed. Sometimes it won't. No worries. 

 

All Good!

Another date with the weenie wand today. Everything is good. Estrogen is at 45.3, which where they want it, lining is where they want it, as well, at 4mm. Woo! I start the estrogen shots tomorrow. Not looking forward to the shots, but they're a necessary evil. Only 2 weeks until transfer!

Headache

So, the BCPs and the Lupron have both been making me really tired. If I get a rest in the middle of the day, I'm generally OK. But, if I don't, I feel horrible by the end of the day. Last night, I had a bit of a headache. I get headaches all the time, so it wasn't a big deal. Then, Linnell & I watched a show on TV, and it got really bad. Anything involving light can really exacerbate a migraine for me, so I'm desperately hoping that's what it was. This morning, I have a dull ache. Nothing like the horror of last night, so I'm hoping it is just sort of leftover sore from last night, and not the start of Lupron headaches.

I'm also feeling a bit crazy today. I'm upset about things that are normal, but to a degree that really isn't. I went on a cussing spree when I found that Linnell had once again put the dishes away wrong. (They end up in cupboards where I can't find them, and he stacks bowls and dishes on top of each other in a very precarious fashion.) I would have been angry about that anyway, but not usually so much that I want to drive down to his office (an hour and a half away) and rip his f*ing face off. And then cry.I get a bit whacked out when I'm in pain, so it could be that. I'm also stressed out right now about sending my daughter on a plane by herself. I know she'll be fine (She navigated the Paris metro by herself), but I'm still nervous. Plus, lots of other "daughter getting ready for high school" sorts of stresses. So, I don't know if it's stress, pain, or hormones, but I just want to eat donuts and drink Dew, then take a bath and nap for the rest of the day. Then, maybe some more donuts and Dew, another bath and another nap. And speak with nobody. Or I may just flip out.

Lupron

I started on Lupron today. I don't quite understand the point of giving me artificial estrogen and progesterone in the form of BCPs and, at the same time (at least for part of it), giving me shots to reduce estrogen. Seems odd. And I know that a fall in estrogen can trigger ovulation or a period, so I'm confused about how that works, too. Ah, well, they're the experts! I was lucky last time I did Lupron that I didn't get the famous Lupron headaches until after I stopped taking them. Then, I was absolutely miserable until my second estrogen shot. This time, the clinic has me starting estrogen before I stop Lupron, so maybe I can skip the headaches all together. Fingers crossed!

Lupron shots are subcutaneous, which means a teeny little needle. It's a 28G. (The larger the gauge number,  the smaller the needle diameter. To get an idea, regular post earrings are generally 18G or 20G). It's also short, since it only needs to go into your fat. You stick it in your stomach, where most of us have enough fat to make it easy. It stings a bit, but I wouldn't call it painful at all. Sometimes, it itches for a little while afterwards.

Lining Check!

This morning was another lining check. There will be lots of these. It took me two hours to get to the clinic this morning. It seems like, no matter how early I leave, the traffic rises up to meet me. I'm there at 9:05, whether I leave at 7:30 or 7. PITA.

Anyway, things look good. My estrogen is at 41.3, which is where they want it, my lining is where they want it, and everybody seems happy. I have another week of BCPs, and I start my lupron shots tomorrow. I go back in next Thursday.