This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. The tagline they are using this year is "Don't Ignore..." I think it's a great concept and am doing what I can to show my support for awareness, education, and the other 7.3 million people in the US that are also dealing with infertility.
I think it's fitting that I started my shots during NIAW. Also, the same week that a couple who has publicly be dealing with their fertility struggle (Giuliana and Bill) announced that they are pregnant. AND the same week that a friend of a friend is going in for her embryo transfer. (prayers for them, please!)
Bob has been out of town at a conference for work this week. I know it's been hard on him not being here and feeling like he's not helping me, but we agreed in the beginning that we would choose what he needed to schedule his travel around, and this week it was okay for him to be gone. Amy went with me to my appointment on Monday. I had a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork so they could track what was going on when we started. The nurse also sat down and went over how to mix the shots, when to take them, what to expect, etc. Amy took awesome notes and asked questions to make sure we were all set to start.
I think I mentioned before that we ordered our meds from overseas to save a huge amount of money...well one package arrived, but the other hasn't yet. This means that, every day until the package comes, we will have to go to the pharmacy at the hospital to get the supply we need for the shot that night. Thanks to my momma for being on standby to pick up whatever I need from the pharmacy.
My first shot was last night, and Amy was ready to help me with it. She patiently mixed everything and showed me how to do it while I stood next to her, almost frozen. She told me she could feel my tension. The shot itself isn't bad, it burns for about 3 seconds and then it's over. Mixing the shot, in my opinion, is the worst part. One vial with liquid and 3 other vials with meds and you have to put one into the other, let it dissolve, pull it out, put it in the next one, and so on until they are all mixed together. We want to make sure we get every drop of the hormonal goodness that is in the vials and that nothing gets contaminated in the process, because that could cause infection. The original goal was for her to show me how to give myself the shots, but after last night, I'm feeling like she will be showing Bob and either Amy or Bob will be giving me the shots every night. I'm sure this is something I could do on my own if I needed to, but since I have Amy, Bob and my mom on standby, I think I'm going to avoid that stress for myself. Once again, we are so lucky to have the support around us that we do.
On Monday I will start going to the doctor every other day to watch the follicles (hopefully) grow. On May 7, we should find out when they are going to retrieve the eggs. Sooo in the meantime, fingers crossed for growing follicles!
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