I've been really bad at keeping this up to date lately thanks to being really busy but I'll get you up to speed.
On Friday I had my second scan to see if my lining was thick enough for transfer. They wanted around 7mm and unfortunately my lining was only 6mm so I was asked to carry on with the Suprecur injections and oestrogen tablets until Tuesday (tomorrow). I cleverly made sure that I had enough medication to last that long before I left Sheffield.
However, I did NOT make sure I had enough needles and syringes. Fortunately, once again, working at a hospital has its perks. Trying to get needles just before 4pm on a Friday wasn't exactly easy though. I finally managed to get some from the antenatal clinic but pretty much every man and his dog knows I'm doing IVF now. I spent a lot of time running around frantically, explaining my situation to anyone I thought might be able to help.
I got my needles but these ones are twice the size (length and thickness) of the ones I've been using so they cause quite a bit more difficulty in inserting them and more bleeding - although they aren't any more painful!
So tomorrow we head back to Sheffield and I find out whether my lining is playing ball - I feel quite bloated and keep having random twinges (as if I was premenstrual) so I guess that's probably a good thing. I'll try and make sure I post tomorrow and keep you up to date!
Showing posts with label needles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label needles. Show all posts
Monday, 28 November 2016
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Catch up!
I started my Buserelin (Suprecur) injections on Thursday night last week after a bit of concern that I may not be able to. I ended up having to see my GP on Wednesday for a UTI that wouldn't go away and was put on Trimethoprim antibiotics. I spent all of Thursday desperately trying to get hold of someone at the clinic to make sure I could still start the injections and there wouldn't be any adverse drug reactions. Finally, one of the nurses got back to me and told me that it was absolutely fine as the drugs wouldn't react together and I didn't need to worry about it affecting the transfer because for the next 2 weeks they're only suppressing my ovaries and I have a good 4 weeks (minimum) until transfer.
The antibiotics themselves have been worse than any of the IVF meds I've had so far. I always get horrible nausea with antibiotics and this has been no exception. I've really been having to force myself to eat, but I've still managed to get to the gym and they've cleared up the UTI so I can't complain.
As I said above, the first injection was on Thursday night. We had some experience as this was the same medication we used for trigger so we knew what we were doing in terms of dosage etc. I've found that my stomach has bruised more with these injections - when I was doing the Gonal F and Cetrotide I only had one bruise the whole time, despite easy bruising being one of the problems I experience due to my EDS. They're quite uncomfortable as well and take a bit of force to go in. I can only put this down to the needle getting somewhat blunted pushing it through the rubber into the bottle to draw up the liquid. A lot of people have suggested switching needle but we don't have enough to use 2 a day. Either way it's really not that bad. It's more painful when the liquid is injected in (speed doesn't seem to make a difference here) but again it's more of an annoyance than anything and is over quickly.
After the injection I have had a localised reaction every time. It gets really red in a large patch around the injection site and itches like hell. Where I injected 2 days ago has randomly started itching and going red tonight which is odd so I'm avoiding that area.
All in all, they're more of a pain than the Gonal F or Cetrotide BUT still far from unbearable and only once a day.
Happy injecting!
The antibiotics themselves have been worse than any of the IVF meds I've had so far. I always get horrible nausea with antibiotics and this has been no exception. I've really been having to force myself to eat, but I've still managed to get to the gym and they've cleared up the UTI so I can't complain.
As I said above, the first injection was on Thursday night. We had some experience as this was the same medication we used for trigger so we knew what we were doing in terms of dosage etc. I've found that my stomach has bruised more with these injections - when I was doing the Gonal F and Cetrotide I only had one bruise the whole time, despite easy bruising being one of the problems I experience due to my EDS. They're quite uncomfortable as well and take a bit of force to go in. I can only put this down to the needle getting somewhat blunted pushing it through the rubber into the bottle to draw up the liquid. A lot of people have suggested switching needle but we don't have enough to use 2 a day. Either way it's really not that bad. It's more painful when the liquid is injected in (speed doesn't seem to make a difference here) but again it's more of an annoyance than anything and is over quickly.
After the injection I have had a localised reaction every time. It gets really red in a large patch around the injection site and itches like hell. Where I injected 2 days ago has randomly started itching and going red tonight which is odd so I'm avoiding that area.
All in all, they're more of a pain than the Gonal F or Cetrotide BUT still far from unbearable and only once a day.
Happy injecting!
Sunday, 4 September 2016
A Sensitive Subject!
I've been toying with the idea of this post for a while and thought it might be too much, but it's an important issue with nowhere near enough information out there so I'm going to go ahead and post it anyway.
Generally, when you think of conception you think of sex. It's the natural way to make babies and whilst it's incredibly intimate anyway, it can be far more intimate when you're trying to create a new life. For anyone suffering with infertility, it can become more stressful than pleasurable; it's not so intimate when you're trying to time sex around ovulation, use the most "conception friendly" positions and desperately waiting for that positive test.
Due to us having no infertility problems, I never considered how much the IVF would affect our sex life. Obviously I knew that coming off my pills would mean we had to turn to condoms for contraception, something that we had already experienced whilst having our fertility tests in the first place. It's a bit more expensive and kind of ruins a moment, but it's a small price to pay to remain intimate.
Unfortunately, what neither of us took into consideration was that IVF is incredibly un-sexy. Since a few days into the stimulation cycle I've been incredibly bloated, which makes me less than attractive. By day 7 I noticed when I had my scan that it was quite uncomfortable just getting the ultrasound probe inserted and everything felt incredibly tight down there. Due to the ovaries expanding with all the follicles everything has been pushed down somewhat (like it would be during a period but to a more significant extent). Whilst enjoying a nice relaxing bath on day 10 I tried inserting a finger into myself, just to see what was going on down there and just that was very uncomfortable. I won't even go into the discharge/cervical mucous that's another common side effect.
We've managed to remain intimate with making sure ALS ejaculates regularly to keep the sperm healthy but there's not been anything in the way of orgasms for me. ALS has been more than happy to try anything for me but I'm nervous of it affecting the quality of the eggs (we never had chance to discuss it with our nurse) and everything is very tender, to the point where wiping after urinating is painful. As of 3 days before the retrieval his pleasure had to stop as well so that his sperm is at its best quality (and a good volume) ready for the collection.
My thoughts on the matter are a little jumbled at the moment because over the last 2 days I've experienced horrendous fatigue - another side effect, made worse by my EDS - but what I'm trying to say is be prepared. It's not a time where intimacy is easy, or even possible sometimes, but spend time together doing things you enjoy, make sure there are plenty of cuddles and do what you can to keep your relationship strong. Communication is key as it's a stressful time for you physically but your husband is going through the emotional side of things just as much as you are - he probably feels guilty that he's can't take more of the physical burden as well.
Just remember, it will all be worth it one day.
Generally, when you think of conception you think of sex. It's the natural way to make babies and whilst it's incredibly intimate anyway, it can be far more intimate when you're trying to create a new life. For anyone suffering with infertility, it can become more stressful than pleasurable; it's not so intimate when you're trying to time sex around ovulation, use the most "conception friendly" positions and desperately waiting for that positive test.
Due to us having no infertility problems, I never considered how much the IVF would affect our sex life. Obviously I knew that coming off my pills would mean we had to turn to condoms for contraception, something that we had already experienced whilst having our fertility tests in the first place. It's a bit more expensive and kind of ruins a moment, but it's a small price to pay to remain intimate.
Unfortunately, what neither of us took into consideration was that IVF is incredibly un-sexy. Since a few days into the stimulation cycle I've been incredibly bloated, which makes me less than attractive. By day 7 I noticed when I had my scan that it was quite uncomfortable just getting the ultrasound probe inserted and everything felt incredibly tight down there. Due to the ovaries expanding with all the follicles everything has been pushed down somewhat (like it would be during a period but to a more significant extent). Whilst enjoying a nice relaxing bath on day 10 I tried inserting a finger into myself, just to see what was going on down there and just that was very uncomfortable. I won't even go into the discharge/cervical mucous that's another common side effect.
We've managed to remain intimate with making sure ALS ejaculates regularly to keep the sperm healthy but there's not been anything in the way of orgasms for me. ALS has been more than happy to try anything for me but I'm nervous of it affecting the quality of the eggs (we never had chance to discuss it with our nurse) and everything is very tender, to the point where wiping after urinating is painful. As of 3 days before the retrieval his pleasure had to stop as well so that his sperm is at its best quality (and a good volume) ready for the collection.
My thoughts on the matter are a little jumbled at the moment because over the last 2 days I've experienced horrendous fatigue - another side effect, made worse by my EDS - but what I'm trying to say is be prepared. It's not a time where intimacy is easy, or even possible sometimes, but spend time together doing things you enjoy, make sure there are plenty of cuddles and do what you can to keep your relationship strong. Communication is key as it's a stressful time for you physically but your husband is going through the emotional side of things just as much as you are - he probably feels guilty that he's can't take more of the physical burden as well.
Just remember, it will all be worth it one day.
Saturday, 3 September 2016
Trigger Happy!
It's done!
I'm not going to lie, it was the most stressful few minutes of my life. Even though we asked the nurse before we left Sheffield on Wednesday and she said it was 0.5ml, naturally we doubted ourselves. All of the previous injections have been in pre-filled pens (like Gonal F) or you draw it into the syringe yourself but use the full dose (like Cetrotide). It's been so long since we had the tutorial that I was really nervous about doing it wrong.
Fortunately, ALS kept a level head as always, got 0.5ml in the syringe and injected me as normal. It must have been a thicker needle as it was really tough to pierce the skin and quite painful - nothing unbearable though. The other reason for this could be because we had to use the same needle to draw the medicine up as we did to inject it, therefore piercing the rubber on the bottle may have blunted the needle somewhat.
Either way, it's not hugely painful in the grand scheme of things and that is the LAST injection (at least until we start getting ready for transfer).
I've been absolutely drained today so I'm looking forward to an early night and not having to get up at 6am to do the Cetrotide. Tomorrow will be all about relaxing before heading to London as our train doesn't leave until 8pm!
My next post will be after egg retrieval, probably when we get home on Tuesday.
Wish us luck.
I'm not going to lie, it was the most stressful few minutes of my life. Even though we asked the nurse before we left Sheffield on Wednesday and she said it was 0.5ml, naturally we doubted ourselves. All of the previous injections have been in pre-filled pens (like Gonal F) or you draw it into the syringe yourself but use the full dose (like Cetrotide). It's been so long since we had the tutorial that I was really nervous about doing it wrong.
Fortunately, ALS kept a level head as always, got 0.5ml in the syringe and injected me as normal. It must have been a thicker needle as it was really tough to pierce the skin and quite painful - nothing unbearable though. The other reason for this could be because we had to use the same needle to draw the medicine up as we did to inject it, therefore piercing the rubber on the bottle may have blunted the needle somewhat.
Either way, it's not hugely painful in the grand scheme of things and that is the LAST injection (at least until we start getting ready for transfer).
I've been absolutely drained today so I'm looking forward to an early night and not having to get up at 6am to do the Cetrotide. Tomorrow will be all about relaxing before heading to London as our train doesn't leave until 8pm!
My next post will be after egg retrieval, probably when we get home on Tuesday.
Wish us luck.
Friday, 2 September 2016
Cetrotide Top Tip!
I've found that my Cetrotide injections are either really painful or I pretty much don't feel them - with no middle ground. The other day I read something about keeping the bevel of the needle pointing upwards so the sharpest bit goes in first. We made sure we did that this morning and lo and behold, I didn't even notice it go it!
As you can see from the image above, if you're putting it in with that pointing down it's going to be trying to force the blunter bit through first.
Just thought I'd share that with you in case you're having the same problem - it's always something worth trying.
Other people have mentioned using ice packs to numb the area beforehand but I haven't found this to be necessary so I haven't tried it. I did forget to take my injection out of the fridge earlier than I needed to do it this morning so I did it cold and again, it didn't add to my pain. That's not to say that it won't make a difference for others though.
Any tips you'd like to share? Maybe you've found something that works with certain meds but not others, or something unusual?
As you can see from the image above, if you're putting it in with that pointing down it's going to be trying to force the blunter bit through first.
Just thought I'd share that with you in case you're having the same problem - it's always something worth trying.
Other people have mentioned using ice packs to numb the area beforehand but I haven't found this to be necessary so I haven't tried it. I did forget to take my injection out of the fridge earlier than I needed to do it this morning so I did it cold and again, it didn't add to my pain. That's not to say that it won't make a difference for others though.
Any tips you'd like to share? Maybe you've found something that works with certain meds but not others, or something unusual?
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