Drugs

(Thursday, January 27, 2005) I've been giving myself a shot in the morning now for 2 days. :-) The first time was a little scary - I wasn't sure I could do it. But, I've found that it really isn't that bad. The needle went in pretty easily. I wasn't sure I had gotten all of it in, though, the plunger didn't seem to go all the way to the bottom - but it did. I think it'll take a little bit of time to get used to.

I'm also taking the dexamethasone - it's a hormone, like a steroid, that's supposed to keep stress levels down. I've been feeling so much better the last few days, not sure if this drug is why or if it's in my head. I seem to be happier, less stressed, more energy and I seem to be able to concentrate and remember things better. I am so impressed that I went to the web to look it up.

You're not supposed to be on it very long because it could suppress your adrenal gland's natural ability to produce this hormone that allows you to cope with stress.

It also says you're not supposed to take any NSAID's while on this. I'm a little worried because my legs were so achy last night I couldn't sleep, so I took a couple ibuprofen. I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty confident that ibu is an NSAID. The warnings said it could cause internal bleeding if taken together. :-( There were no warnings on the label, so I'm hoping that the small amount I took won't cause any problems. Seems like if there was a major issue they would have let me know. I'll ask next time I go in.

So anyway, now I'm taking 6 drugs in the AM: Lupron injections, Dexamethasone, pre-natal vitamin, aspirin (yikes! - that's an NSAID!!), folic acid and bcp.

I stop the bcp on Sunday, then my period should start shortly after.

Getting Started

(Tuesday, January 25, 2005) -- Today I had my blood drawn again - another pregnancy test at the lab, then on to the Dr. office for an ultrasound. This time they were checking for anything abnormal that would indicate that we shouldn't go on with the process. I have had a little spotting over the last few days and they saw a little bit of fluid around my cervix, but they said that was normal and nothing to be concerned about.

They also gave me a little care package - extra needles, alcohol wipes and cotton balls for the Lupron I'll be starting tomorrow. She showed me how to do the injection - not too scary and a very small needle, so shouldn't be too bad. I'll see how I feel about that tomorrow after I give myself the 1st injection - yikes!

So tomorrow in the AM (between 6-8) I've got to take: Lupron injection, dexamethasone (something like that) for stress - it's a pill, birth control pill, extra 1 mg. of folic acid, prenatal vitamin and aspirin (81mg). I hope I don't forget anything!

I don't have to worry about the next change until my next appointment on 2/3. They'll give me instructions for the Follistim and the rest of the stuff. Right now I just continue with the BCP and Lupron - needs to overlap for 5 days. I end the BCP on 1/30 (Saturday) and then should start my period a few days later. I need to call the Dr. on day 1 of my next cycle, which is the real one!!!

Funny they count your delivery date from day 1 of your cycle, so that could be as early as next week. Holy cow!

Perscriptions!

(Sunday, January 16, 2005) -- Miles and I took our 1 mg. each of Zithromax today. It is an antibiotic that treats an undetected infection in the lining of the uterus. I think Miles has to take it too because of the potential for him to pass to me during the act. They said it might cause sausea and diarreah, so they suggested we not go anywhere in case we do have trouble.

We are in Winter Park and I forgot to pick up the perscription before we left. Luckily Safeway was able to call the King Soopers pharmacy in Fort Collins and fill it for us. we have Monday off (MLK) so the worse case is we would have had to take it on Monday evening.

We also had some yogurt tonight to hopefully pre-empt a yeast infection. They want us to take the Zithromax 1 month prior to the IVF in case of a yeast infection. That gives us enoufh time to treat it just in case.

(Saturday, January 22, 2005) -- We picked up all of our perscriptions this week. Insurance covered quite a bit. I was amazed at how expensive some of them are!

• Follistim (induce ovulation & pregnancey) - $3,936! (I only had to pay $40)
• Repronex (induce ovulation & pregnancy - in males to induce sperm production) - $808 (I paid $25)
• Lupron (treat advance prostate cancer!!) $550 (I paid $25)
• The rest were $5-$10

So there goes the $5,000 drug benefit for our infertility (and $5000 of the $14-16k quoted for the entire procedure).