Started by BCPs this morning...

[Christine08]

Hi ladies,

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy gearing up for my first IVF cycle (gosh, I still can't believe that's what we're doing). I plan to pick up all of my meds this weekend, but I've been reading all of the materials my nurse gave me and just sort of trying to prepare for it all mentally. I'm getting more nervous as I get closer to the injections. Am I *really* going to be able to do it?? My husband and I did sign up for the class that Shady Grove offers, but I just know I'm going to freak out the first time or two. My husband is very supportive (thankfully) and has offered to do whatever he can to help, which is good.

I started my birth control pills this morning. I'm supposed to take them for 21 days, but I'll also begun Lupron on Day 18, I think (don't have my protocol in front of me).

You'll laugh, but I've never taken birth control pills before (never felt comfortable messing with my hormones unnecessarily), so I freaked out a little this morning after I swallowed my pill. Silly, I know. I'm generally anxious about taking meds, so this isn't unusual for me. Now I know that BCPs won't kill me! Now, if I could only think that way for my Gonal-F and Follistim shots...

I just have to keep telling myself that we have a decent shot at this working for us, and that if I'm lucky, I won't ever have to take all these meds again! Wish me luck.

OK, that's the latest. I hope everyone is doing well!

Thanks for reading,
Christine

[rachelannsauer]

Good Luck Christine

Hi Christine!!! Good to hear from you. Sorry for writing back so late. I kept looking at the other board and didn't see you had a separate post.

[Christine08]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for your note! I'm so happy that you're about to begin shots tonight -- brings you that much closer to getting pregnant - yay! I hope everything goes perfectly for you.

I have a change of plans/protocol. I took the bcps for about a week and they made me feel TERRIBLE so I had to stop. They made me sick to my stomach -- so much so, that I wasn't eating. They also made me feel emotionally unstable, which isn't good, since I struggle with mild anxiety normally. I just didn't feel well at all, despite trying to just "plow through" and continue on. I spoke with my RE and it turns out that lots of women can't tolerate BCPs. So, we're going to proceed with a different IVF protocol without them.

Tomorrow morning I'm going in for an ultrasound and a blood test to see where I am in my cycle. Then, they'll tell me when to begin shots. Oh, and I think I'm only doing Lupron shots, since I ditched the BCPs. I'm not exactly clear on what the new protocol will be, but I *think* that's what the nurse said. I'll bombard them with questions tomorrow.

Anyway, I feel SO much better without the BCPs. And frankly, I'm eager to just get on with it, at this point. This whole process is so taxing and stressful -- DH and I have reached a point where we'll do almost anything to get pregnant! We want to move on with our lives and stop dwelling on this, as I'm sure you can appreciate.

I'll write more once I find out what's going on tomorrow.

Thanks for checking on me, and I hope your shots go well tonight. I'm, of course, not looking forward to doing mine, but I'll get through it.

Best,
Christine