Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts

25 February 2013

Day 16 - It's the Final Countdown

I can't believe I have taken my last shots of this cycle!  I was very good about taking my two shots last night exactly on time.  My last Cetrotide was at 7:01pm and my Ovitrelle was at 8:01pm.  Go me.

And because it's something new, I also have some new pictures to share.  First, there's the Ovitrelle.  It needed to be kept in the fridge.  I looked online and it seemed reasonable to believe that I could remove it from the fridge about 30 minutes before injection so it was less chilly.  So I did.  Here is the box:


And here is what is inside the box.  One pre-filled and ready-to-go syringe.  Oh, and also there was a little instruction and information sheet, but it wasn't very useful or interesting so I didn't photograph that.


Having removed it from the fridge 30 minutes before injecting, it wasn't noticeably cold in any way or uncomfortable compared to my other injections.  Now, you might notice the air bubble that it comes with.  I did ask the nurse and she said not to worry about the air bubble.  That as the injection was subcutaneous, it doesn't matter.  Air bubbles really only matter if they get into your veins.  But I wasn't thrilled with the big air bubble so I did get rid of most of it before doing the injection although not all of it- as I didn't want to risk losing any of the injection itself.  It went in no problem and then I was done:


I did think one thing interesting about this syringe was how it was sort of "all glass".  The Cetrotide syringes had a plastic plunger.  I thought this was actually a rather attractive sort of syringe.  If such things can be viewed in any was as attractive.  Anyway, I put the cover back on the needle and put my last bit of sharp into my sharps bin!


So here you see it.  The results of my first cycle of sharps.  Pretty much filled the bin.  you can see that it says not to fill above the line and I'd suggest that it was pretty much filled exactly to the line!  This was mainly due to all of the extra and unused needles that come with the Gonal-F pens.  Pretty wasteful, those.  Anyway, I figure I will take this with me tomorrow morning to the clinic and give it to them for disposal so I got to lock down the lid!


And so that's it really.  The only thing left in my bag of tricks is the lovely suppository.


Oh yippee.  It's funny to read some of the forums where people get all squeamish about suppositories.  Honestly, you've been jabbing yourself with needles for two weeks and getting done by an ultrasound dildo every few days and you can't manage to pop something up your bum?  I find this line of modesty sort of amusing.  But in reality, that picture makes it look a bit invasive.  Really, it's very tiny and I'm sure it will be no problem at all.


And so tomorrow I will have answers to questions that no one can answer for me.  Today I am going to drink huge amounts of water and eat sensibly but light (I had a massive Sunday roast yesterday and ate red meat like it was going out of style).  No food or drink after midnight- though I plan to be asleep by then.  Then up bright and early to have a shower and then avoid putting on deodorant or anything else with a scent as instructed by my clinic, pop in the suppository, grab my sharps box, and get on public transport at 7:30 to be there for 8:30 for my procedure at 9am.

It's hard not to be hopeful.  And simultaneously afraid of a bad result.  It will be what it will be.  There is nothing else I can do but wait and see.  And I will update here when I am able.  I still plan to travel up to Cambridge tomorrow night though, so we'll see how everything is going.  It could all be panic stations around here just due to my life, as of now put on hold, resuming with force.

03 February 2013

On the Pill and Considering Diet

Just an update.  I've been taking the norethisterone for six days now.  No side effects that I can tell, not that I think there are supposed to be any.  I have my scan and nursing appointment on Tuesday which is just two days away.  I'm so anxious to get to it!

In other news I've been trying to moderate my diet in preparation for the procedure.  This has meant trying to eliminate caffeine and alcohol from my diet.  This has not been easy at all.  I could do alcohol fairly easily, but it gets hard when you can't have a coke instead of a glass of wine.  I've managed fairly well but I've had 2 glasses of wine in the past week because... well, I have no excuse.  I read that and then I think, what the hell, I haven't managed fairly well at all!!  But I've turned down quite a bit of alcohol in the past week, so I feel like I've done well.  Ugh.  This will be it until the procedure is finished.  I fear it's too much money to be wasting and not taking it seriously.  I've looked on forums and seen mixed information on how strict you should be and when you should start.  Some people say to cut all caffeine and alcohol three months before the procedure (which I have completely missed the boat on) and some say only when you're on injections.  Most seem to agree that a small cup of tea or coffee a day is okay, but caffeine isn't really my issue as I don't drink many hot beverages.  It's the alcohol.  I've cut back, and I'm happy to cut it out completely for the next three weeks.  But it is hard.

My mind still wanders to worrying about egg collection and how few there might be.  It's the whole one ovary thing.  I read other blogs and other people's experiences and then I have to remind myself that they have two ovaries.  I want to be hopeful but I am so terrified that I'll only get one or two or three when I really want seven or eight or nine.  I know I just need to do it and see what happens but it is actually incredibly stressful.