Platinum Injections & Dermatological Drama

I have now given myself 3 Follistim shots! I needed a few days to recover from the first one before I posted about it...That little bugger burns! For some reason (I think it's all the bruises), I couldn't find a spot that didn't hurt on Friday night. Both the Lupron shot (I'm reduced to 5 units now) and the Follistim shot really hurt and bled a bit. It was frustrating because I was getting so comfortable with my shots and then OUCH! (Brad said I just didn't "commit"- can I give him a shot?! JK;)) (No really, can I?)

It was fine tonight- I'm just working around the bruises and running out of space! I might have to switch to shots in my leg- I'm going to ask nurse about it when I go in on Tuesday for bloodwork...

The Follistim shot is interesting. I use this fancy pen that calculates my dosage by turning a dial. I have to change out the needle every use and the pen holds the cartridges (that cost more than a Kia). We get 2 doses out of each cartridge and then there's a little left that my doctor's office will combine for us to get an additional dose... Brad read the directions VERY carefully on the first time and I'm so glad he did- the funniest part was when you have to turn the dial to check and make sure the drug is flowing out of the needle (and not air). You have to wait for a droplet to come out. I thought Brad was going to faint as a couple of drops squirted out...I could imagine him thinking..."That was $60 worth of medicine!!!" Instead he just said- "OK, that's good."

Anyway, my only beef with the pen is that you don't just press the meds in- you kinda have to turn the dial and it clicks with each increment. It's a little uncomfortable to hold the pen, pinch fat and spin a dial. I can feel the needle moving around a little as I am clicking- odd sensation. Then just when I am ready to pull the needle out and stick it back in the fridge I have to hold it there for 5 seconds to make sure I get the full dose. Brad is the 5 second Nazi- he doesn't want me wasting a bit of the "liquid platinum" so we one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, etc. together.


SIDE EFFECT REPORT:

My face looks like the BEFORE picture on Pro Activ commercial. (BTW, I don't feel sorry for you and your acne prone skin, Jessica Simpson. You look better with acne than most of us can ever aspire to!) I'm trying to be a sport about it and just load on the make-up, but I'm running out of tricks (and make-up, come to think of it). Seriously, wasn't gonna let it keep me down but I have been talking to 2 different people and I could see them looking at the big monster on my chin...yea, I saw you look, I know it's gross, I don't like it either, and yes, it does have a lot of make-up on it.

Hot Flash! This morning I blow dried (?), blew dried (?), I used a hair drying device to remove the dampness from my hair and I literally sweated (?) (I think I might need to go back to 4th grade English) (maybe poor grammar is an unknown side effect- I'm writing the company!) (where was I?) (oh yea, sweating...) my make-up off- all of it- even the zit cover up...mascara was dripping down my face and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. I had to put my freshly dried hair in a ponytail and then I chugged a glass of Crystal Light (the kind that supposedly helps your skin! How sad is this?!) Hot flashes are weird (Can I get an amen from some menopausal sisters?!) They burn from the inside. You cannot get cool. Fans don't help. Crystal Light doesn't help. You just gotta feel the burn and, apparently, sweat.

Headaches: These have not been bad or long-lasting. Just starting to notice them a little. I was having quick little "jolts" of headaches on the way to church- I told Brad they were probably just little mini-aneurysms- he is so desensitized to my drama he just agreed and kept driving...

So that's about it from IVF-land...gonna be a little busier with bloodwork and another ultrasound this week- will keep you all posted. Thanks for reading and most of all, thank you for your prayers and support (and if you can swing it, NOT looking at my zits.)