Tonight we started the first of many injectable medications.
I was quite overwhelmed when I saw all the vials, syringes, and needles that arrived from the pharmacy. It would have been nice if they had been divided up or organized into days or dosages, but instead there were separate bags and boxes of meds and syringes. I had no idea which pieces went together! I am completely terrified that I'm going to do something wrong with these drugs and mess the entire process up.
To alleviate some of my fear, Mike and I split up all the medications and syringes, and then put each day's equipment (meds, syringes, alcohol pads, gauze) in a labeled sandwich bad. That way everything we need is together. I admit it does make for an interesting looking fridge, since it all must be refrigerated.
The first injection tonight was Menopur, which contains both follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones will cause my body to produce multiple eggs this cycle, instead of the normal one egg. It requires mixing and multiple needles, which really intimidated me, but thankfully, Mike was happy to take on that part. He unfolded the instructions (which are as large as road map), and did everything slowly, step by step. First, he inserted the needle into the first vial, injected air into it, and then withdrew the saline. Next, the saline was injected into a bottle with the Menopur powder. It dissolved in the liquid, and then Mike withdrew it into the syringe. Then the liquid was injected into another bottle of Menopur powder, mixed, and drawn up into the syringe again. Then the needle had to be changed before giving me the medication.
The second injection was much easier to use. It's called Gonal-F, and it also contains FSH. This medication came in a reusable pen, so no mixing was required. Mike would attach a needle, then dial in the amount of medication needed. So easy after the Menopur! The hardest part is remembering to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before we want to do the injection.
Both of these injections were given in my abdomen, near my belly button. Luckily, they don't really hurt. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we'll do the same injections. Starting Thursday, we'll lower the dose of the Gonal-F.
I was quite overwhelmed when I saw all the vials, syringes, and needles that arrived from the pharmacy. It would have been nice if they had been divided up or organized into days or dosages, but instead there were separate bags and boxes of meds and syringes. I had no idea which pieces went together! I am completely terrified that I'm going to do something wrong with these drugs and mess the entire process up.
To alleviate some of my fear, Mike and I split up all the medications and syringes, and then put each day's equipment (meds, syringes, alcohol pads, gauze) in a labeled sandwich bad. That way everything we need is together. I admit it does make for an interesting looking fridge, since it all must be refrigerated.
The first injection tonight was Menopur, which contains both follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones will cause my body to produce multiple eggs this cycle, instead of the normal one egg. It requires mixing and multiple needles, which really intimidated me, but thankfully, Mike was happy to take on that part. He unfolded the instructions (which are as large as road map), and did everything slowly, step by step. First, he inserted the needle into the first vial, injected air into it, and then withdrew the saline. Next, the saline was injected into a bottle with the Menopur powder. It dissolved in the liquid, and then Mike withdrew it into the syringe. Then the liquid was injected into another bottle of Menopur powder, mixed, and drawn up into the syringe again. Then the needle had to be changed before giving me the medication.
The second injection was much easier to use. It's called Gonal-F, and it also contains FSH. This medication came in a reusable pen, so no mixing was required. Mike would attach a needle, then dial in the amount of medication needed. So easy after the Menopur! The hardest part is remembering to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before we want to do the injection.
Both of these injections were given in my abdomen, near my belly button. Luckily, they don't really hurt. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we'll do the same injections. Starting Thursday, we'll lower the dose of the Gonal-F.
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