OK, a tad rocky start but day one is complete. I shot up!
With the Gonal F pen, which is what I use, you are supposed to prime the pen to make sure the pen is ready for use and see if the liquid comes out of the needle. I, of course in my haste, primed it but never took the cap off to see if the medication was coming out. I wasted a bit doing this but there is an extra 100 IU in each pen so I was ok.
I watched a video of the shooting up process here http://www.fertilitylifelines.com/serono/products/gonalf/pen/instructions.jsp and then rewatched it as I went along and did the injection. No problemo. Only suggestion is to get a dispository (red box) for the needles from the pharmacy. Mine are now in a Poland Springs Water Bottle. Not too sanitary.
Just for the uninformed, the Gonal F medication is supposed to make your body produce more than the one or two follicles that it normally produces during a cycle. It's supposed to be like a super cycle. That is why tomorrow my dose will gradually increase and on Tuesday, they can see via the sonogram how many are starting to grow and if the dose should be lowered or increased. Pretty much 450 then 225/225/225/225 is the baseline beginning.
More updates tomorrow in the AM after I shoot up.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
CD 2 Time to Take the Meds
I went in to NYU's Fertility Center at about 815 AM and the Center was packed. There had to be about 30 women there taking blood tests, paying, waiting for a sonogram, etc. I was shocked.
Today was also harmless. I was in and out in 30 minutes. It could have been faster but the line to pay was long. Basically, the first time you go to start the process, you get a blood test, take the paperwork to billing, pay and then wait for the sonogram. I got held up in billing. Others had the problems, not me, so the line was long. Everything else was a breeze. The blood test actually took as long as the vaginal sonogram.
At about 1230 PM, I received a call from a nurse at NYU with my instructions for the rest of the day as well as the next 3 days. She told me to take (ok, shoot up actually) 450 IU of Gonal F tthis evening, then 225 IU of Gonal F in the morning. Then later that day, between 8 and 12 hours later, I will take another 225 IU of Gonal F. The following day, I will again take 225 IU in the AM and 225 IU of Gonal F in the PM. Then, Tuesday, I will take no Gonal F. I just show up at NYU between 7 and 9 AM for a new blood test and another sonogram. Easy cheesy.
After 'the call', I gobbled down my yummy brunch (may I recommend Park Ave Autumn at 100 East 63 Street in Manhattan for brunch?) and went to the pharmacy recommended by NYU for the meds. Note that many pharmacies do not have these meds on hand and won't even know what they are. One pharmacy said they would order them for me but I did not want to rely on them being there so I went straight to the recommended NYU Pharmacy, Metro Drugs on Lex and about 68th Street.
Luckily, my meds are covered by my insurance because they cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Why my carrier covers the meds and not the procedure makes no sense but I am happy something is covered.
The Gonal F needs to be refrigerated so I drove straight home and put the boxes (5 in all) in the refrigerator. The rest of the meds (Antagon, HCG trigger meds and the antibiotics) do not need refrigeration. I don't need those until later anyway.
I am off now to actually watch the video that NYU claims is online showing someone shooting up the Gonal F. More on the shooting up after I shoot it up.
I totally forgot to ask the nurse what my FSH and estradiol levels were. Obviously they were good enough to proceed but I still wanted to know. In all my excitement, I forgot to ask. I will defintely remember to ask Tuesday.
Today was also harmless. I was in and out in 30 minutes. It could have been faster but the line to pay was long. Basically, the first time you go to start the process, you get a blood test, take the paperwork to billing, pay and then wait for the sonogram. I got held up in billing. Others had the problems, not me, so the line was long. Everything else was a breeze. The blood test actually took as long as the vaginal sonogram.
At about 1230 PM, I received a call from a nurse at NYU with my instructions for the rest of the day as well as the next 3 days. She told me to take (ok, shoot up actually) 450 IU of Gonal F tthis evening, then 225 IU of Gonal F in the morning. Then later that day, between 8 and 12 hours later, I will take another 225 IU of Gonal F. The following day, I will again take 225 IU in the AM and 225 IU of Gonal F in the PM. Then, Tuesday, I will take no Gonal F. I just show up at NYU between 7 and 9 AM for a new blood test and another sonogram. Easy cheesy.
After 'the call', I gobbled down my yummy brunch (may I recommend Park Ave Autumn at 100 East 63 Street in Manhattan for brunch?) and went to the pharmacy recommended by NYU for the meds. Note that many pharmacies do not have these meds on hand and won't even know what they are. One pharmacy said they would order them for me but I did not want to rely on them being there so I went straight to the recommended NYU Pharmacy, Metro Drugs on Lex and about 68th Street.
Luckily, my meds are covered by my insurance because they cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Why my carrier covers the meds and not the procedure makes no sense but I am happy something is covered.
The Gonal F needs to be refrigerated so I drove straight home and put the boxes (5 in all) in the refrigerator. The rest of the meds (Antagon, HCG trigger meds and the antibiotics) do not need refrigeration. I don't need those until later anyway.
I am off now to actually watch the video that NYU claims is online showing someone shooting up the Gonal F. More on the shooting up after I shoot it up.
I totally forgot to ask the nurse what my FSH and estradiol levels were. Obviously they were good enough to proceed but I still wanted to know. In all my excitement, I forgot to ask. I will defintely remember to ask Tuesday.
CD 1 The Night Before the Eggs Start Cooking
Not many women can or will say this (well, unless they are 14 and in HS) but hooray, I got my period. Tomorrow, or actually today starts the first day that I start cooking my eggs.
I will digress only slightly because I am blogging this ONLY because when I went searching for information about egg freezing, I found virtually NO first-hand accounts of what it felt like and what happened during the process. Oh, I am freezing my eggs. I am not freezing embryos...I am freezing my eggs. Unfertilized. You know, the kind you get in the supermarket. This won't cost 2.19 though. Also, I hope to get more than a dozen but 12 will be ok.
So, basically, I am 37 1/2 (birthday was in July) and single. I want kids but I don't think I want to do the kids thing on my own so I thought, well, how can I stop my aging eggs? Bank 'em is the only answer.
At about 7 AM this morning, I will be heading into NYU's Fertility Center and get my Day Two of Period Blood Tests and Sonogram (or is it an ultrasound???). Yes, you get a VAGINAL sono/ultrasound on day 2 of your period. I gather it might be messy but whatever. Not my problemo. So, later in the day, someone from NYU will call me and say, "...we are a go, start taking Gonal F" and provide me with the Day 2 dosage. They could say, we need another month but it's doubtful since I had tons of tests before this point to see if my FSH levels and estradiol levels were good to proceed with egg freezing.
Anyway, so I am heading off to bed because I have to be at NYU in a couple of hours. Then I have to wait for the call. Then, I have to go place an order for the medication (Gonal F Pen, Antagon, HCG trigger shot and an antibiotic) and wait for it to be ready. Then I actually have to start the Gonal F injection that night.
So I don't forget tomorrow to explain this (as I might be all flustered tomorrow), Gonal F is a injection. I will have to self-inject myself (it's cubcutaneous) daily for 2 weeks. More on that later.
Although it is an injection and I hate needles, I am more worried about 1) the pharmacy claiming they couldn't get the meds I need (even though I called and ordered them today) requiring me to scurry around somewhere else to get them and/or 2) the pharmacy claiming I have to pay for the meds; they are about $6,500 without insurance (my insurance is covering the meds but not the procedure (which is $9,000).
Luckily, I have a letter from the insurance carrier so I will bring this with me to the pharmacy.
OK, time for the eggs to get to sleep before they start partying tomorrow.
I will digress only slightly because I am blogging this ONLY because when I went searching for information about egg freezing, I found virtually NO first-hand accounts of what it felt like and what happened during the process. Oh, I am freezing my eggs. I am not freezing embryos...I am freezing my eggs. Unfertilized. You know, the kind you get in the supermarket. This won't cost 2.19 though. Also, I hope to get more than a dozen but 12 will be ok.
So, basically, I am 37 1/2 (birthday was in July) and single. I want kids but I don't think I want to do the kids thing on my own so I thought, well, how can I stop my aging eggs? Bank 'em is the only answer.
At about 7 AM this morning, I will be heading into NYU's Fertility Center and get my Day Two of Period Blood Tests and Sonogram (or is it an ultrasound???). Yes, you get a VAGINAL sono/ultrasound on day 2 of your period. I gather it might be messy but whatever. Not my problemo. So, later in the day, someone from NYU will call me and say, "...we are a go, start taking Gonal F" and provide me with the Day 2 dosage. They could say, we need another month but it's doubtful since I had tons of tests before this point to see if my FSH levels and estradiol levels were good to proceed with egg freezing.
Anyway, so I am heading off to bed because I have to be at NYU in a couple of hours. Then I have to wait for the call. Then, I have to go place an order for the medication (Gonal F Pen, Antagon, HCG trigger shot and an antibiotic) and wait for it to be ready. Then I actually have to start the Gonal F injection that night.
So I don't forget tomorrow to explain this (as I might be all flustered tomorrow), Gonal F is a injection. I will have to self-inject myself (it's cubcutaneous) daily for 2 weeks. More on that later.
Although it is an injection and I hate needles, I am more worried about 1) the pharmacy claiming they couldn't get the meds I need (even though I called and ordered them today) requiring me to scurry around somewhere else to get them and/or 2) the pharmacy claiming I have to pay for the meds; they are about $6,500 without insurance (my insurance is covering the meds but not the procedure (which is $9,000).
Luckily, I have a letter from the insurance carrier so I will bring this with me to the pharmacy.
OK, time for the eggs to get to sleep before they start partying tomorrow.
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