Day 1 Shots – Menopur & Follistim

February 15, 2012 admin IVF Process, 1

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Today I had my baseline ultrasound appointment and lab work.  I had 8 follicles on the right side of my ovary and 11 follicles on my left ovary.  The ultrasound tech said that was a good number and a good start.  The ultrasound tech is horrible at drawing blood.  I am bruised again today and it pinched when she removed the needle.  I may request to get the blood work done at CPL, where they are experts at that type of thing.  The lab work came back okay so I can start the injections up until egg retrieval.

The new nurse is in training at their San Antonio office so I do not have one assigned to my case yet.  If I do need anything I can contact the San Antonio office with questions.  I would feel better if there was a nurse onsite in Austin.

My IVF protocol is to start off with Menopur of 300IU and Follistim of 300IU.  I will take both of these shots until Feb 24th.  Pete will need to take Doxycycline twice a day.  This will make sure he does not give me any type of bacteria so I do not get an infection.

• The Menopur is a highly purified preparation of naturally derived gonadotropins, called hMG. Menopur contains equal amounts (75 IUs) of 2 kinds of hormonal activity: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which helps stimulate egg production; and luteinizing hormone (LH), which helps the eggs mature and release (ovulate).

• Follistim (Follitropin, r-FSH) is a recombinant (synthetic) version of human follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). It is indicated for the development of multiple follicles during ovulation for patients having assistance in reproduction.

I prepared the four viles of Menopur powder into one syringe.  This was a little more difficult than the Cetortide as there was more medicine.  The Follistim pen was quite easy to load with the pre-filled cartridge.

Pete gave me the shot of Menopur and it was quite painful, which I was not expecting.  The liquid took awhile to inject as it was thicker than we anticipated.  The Follistim shot was easier but it stung like hell as well.  Both shots were so painful I was a tad nauseous.

Pete suggested to put an ice pack on the stomach area before he gives me the shots.  This might numb the area a little bit and make the entry of the shots less painful.

Follistim, Menopur, Needles, Shot, Syringe, Ultrasound

List of IVF Meds & Pricing Day 2 Shots – Menopur & Follistim