Poked #6

I'm now poking myself with three different drugs in one single jab: Menopur + Gonal F + Cetrotide. Here's a little introduction to what the three different drugs do:

Menopur: stimulates the follicles and also helps the eggs mature and release.

Gonal-F: helps to develop more eggs in the ovaries; essentially it is a hormone identical to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) produced by the pituitary gland

Cetrotide: helps control the body's hormonal responses which affect the development of eggs. It assists the delay of a hormonal event known as the "LH surge". If LH surge occurs too early in a cycle, the eggs will be released before they're expected and that's no good as we want the eggs to be released on the day of the surgery.


It all sound a little oxymoron-ish to me but at this point, I just want to stay as healthy as I can and get to the big day without any drama!

Prodded - Part II

So my period finally arrived on 14 March, Saturday. I called the clinic and made an appointment on Monday to see Dr C again. And again, she prodded me. I think I'm somewhat getting used to being a cow.

This is the day I start my daily gonadotrophin injections and it will go on for roughly 10 days. Essentially, gonadotrophin kick-starts my ovaries to make many, many eggs so when it is time for the surgery, they can harvest a maximum number of eggs (usually 20 or more). That also means I will be super fertile. It sounds so strange, doesn't it? Ho hum.

A very nice nurse taught me how to poke myself. I have to say, I'm not terrified of needles but of course I'm not a fan either (who is?). There's just something so sinister about a needle... but like the nurse said, if a grandma with diabetes can poke herself everyday, I surely can too.

Poke poke poke.