IVF BLOG DAY 5 | THE BUSERELIN INJECTION #5

I've been having these injections for 5 days now and so far so good. I'm not really getting any side-effects other than tiredness (touch wood!). The tiredness is pretty bad though. It makes me a little less on the ball than usual to the point where I don't think it would be safe for me to drive. That said, I'm not getting enough sleep at the mo so this could be a contributing factor.

A few weeks before starting Buserelin I started getting nightmares every night. It's because I have anxiety and worry to much.  I'm still having the nightmares now but there seems to be a lot more of them! 

Have any of you guys had nightmares whilst taking Buserelin?

Jess. xx

Today I'm feeling: Tired. (Not much change there then!). 

IVF BLOG DAY 3 | THE BUSERELIN INJECTION #3

Another day, another injection. I got my fiance to change sides this morning. I felt it a tiny bit more than usual but barely. I still liken it to the feeling that a fly may or may not have landed on you! It's just it might be a slightly bigger fly. 

I'm only a UK size 10 but I don't workout as much as I should (or at all at the moment). So I have quite a podgy belly and I tell you what I'm really grateful for it right now. Because I'm sure it's making the injections less painful! 

Last night was a bit of a weird one. I woke up at 4am after having a nightmare. I felt fine. Then after about a minute or so I started to feel a bit panicky. I ended up being awake for about an hour Googling random stuff like 'Buserelin effect on pregnancy'. That seems to be the new worry now. For once I don't actually want to be pregnant in case I am and this drug effects the baby.

I know IVF is stressful, but why can't I just relax?

Jess. xx

Today I've been feeling: Tired. I don't think I'm getting any side effects from the Buserelin yet. Unless the tiredness is one? But that could just be down to lack of sleep.

IVF BLOG DAY 2 | THE BUSERELIN INJECTION #2

As with day 1 the injection didn't hurt at all. I've been trying to think of a way to describe how it feels. The only thing that comes to mind is that it's like a really small fly may or may not have landed on you. As you can barely feel it you can't be sure. Another thing is that I can't feel the Buserelin going in. For some reason I thought I would.

Yesterday I felt really happy. Almost ecstatic, but I don't believe it was down to the drug. Maybe it was, but surely day 1 would be too soon to start feeling symptoms? I had a really successful day work wise so maybe I was super happy because of that? Also I'm not sure feeling happy is one of the symptoms. I think it's more likely to be the opposite to that!

Are you taking Buserelin too? 

What side effects do you get?

Jess. xx

Today I've been feeling: A bit tired. Happy enough when busy working, yet it seemed to take more effort than usual. By 8.30pm I felt a little grumpy and it's now 9.30 and I'm in bed writing this. I just want to watch TV then go to sleep. I don't usually go to bed this early on a Friday! Normally it would be between 12 -1.

I'm suffering from what feels like mild period pains too. As I'm on day 22 of my cycle I guess it's that. But it's hard to tell!

I've also been worrying that I might be pregnant. There's no reason than I would be, I mean it's not like I ever am. But what if I was and now I've been taking Buserelin. Would that have an impact on my child? My consultant says it's perfectly safe so I should believe what he says. But my anxious mind led me to Google it. Probably the worst thing I could do as there's mixed thoughts online.

IVF BLOG DAY 1 | THE BUSERELIN INJECTION #1

Today my fiance gave me my first Buserlin injection as soon as I woke up. I didn't feel a thing. Deep down I knew I wouldn't as the needle is so tiny. Yet it didn't stop me from feeling anxious all night. I kept waking up wondering if it was time yet. Silly really.

I've had no side-effects at all. Not that I'm expecting any this early on. However you never know what could happen when trying out a new drug. That said I think the risks are pretty low. 

I'll keep you all updated!

Jess. xx

Today I've been feeling: Tired from not sleeping that well and relieved that the first injection is over! Tomorrow is going to be so much easier now I know what to expect. 

IVF TREATMENT PLAN & DRUGS TRAINING APPOINTMENT

We've just got back from the hospital having had a two hour session with a clinician. She talked through our treatment plan once again and we learnt how to administer the drugs. We also practised doing injections on a dummy piece of flesh using water. 

From day one we decided that my fiance would be doing the injections as it's really not my thing. I'll be having them in my stomach to start, although you can choose to do it in the thigh as well. According to the clinician many people get their husband or partner to do it at first but end up doing it themselves. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes!

So it's official. Tomorrow is day 1 of IVF and I'll be having my very first Buserelin injection in the morning. This part of the treatment is the 'downregulation of ovaries' and it starts on day 21 of the menstrual cycle. These injections will be administered once a day until a nurse tells us to stop. It's estimated that I'll be taking them for 33 days, so should be stopping on 9th July. A few days before egg collection. 

Apparently down reg (as they call it) can cause some side effects as it's similar to what women experience when going through the menopause. Hot flushes, tiredness and headaches could all be part of my day to day life soon. Oh the joy! I'm not looking forward to this at all if I'm honest but going to try my hardest to use mind over matter to overcome any symptoms I get. Of course there will probably be bruising, swelling and some minor inflammation in the areas we do the injections but I'm not too worried about that. 

I'll give you another update tomorrow and let you know how we get on!

Jess. xx

Today I've been feeling: Mildly sick on the way to the appointment (that's just anxiety for some reason). Overwhelmed. A bit lost. Really tired. 

We haven't told any of our friends we're going through this. Not because we don't trust them. Just because we are struggling to get our heads around it all ourselves and don't want any extra pressure. In a way I wish I had told one or two just so I can have a bit of a chat. Still, that's what this blog is for. Hopefully someone out there is benefiting from me writing this too! 

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR IRREGULAR OVULATION?

I've been off of the contraceptive pill for 3 or 4 years and our attitude towards getting pregnant was very much if it happens it happens. (Or maybe more - it'll happen when it happens). I felt positive and didn't want to be one of those women who obsess over ovulation etc. I've been pregnant a few times before and by my fiance too, so it wasn't like we couldn't get pregnant. 

Yet looking back I realise that was some sort of fairy tail idealization. For us at least anyway. I guess we left it too late to start trying? I was 32 after all. 

When we were younger we weren't ready to start a family. I remember watching my friends get pregnant one by one and thinking it wasn't time for us yet. I also watched some of my friends really obsess over ovulation, getting pregnant and literally fall out over babies. 

That's just not me. I'm someone that claps when my friends do well and I've always been really happy for them when they got pregnant. I'm still the same now. The only difference is that I have also resorted to using ovulation tests every month too. 

My doctor advised me to do it so about a year ago I caved and started doing them every month. But I don't fully understand what's going on. My cycle is and has always been as regular as clockwork, arriving every 28 days without fail. Yet I seem to ovulate at all different times of the month. What the actual?

It's so confusing. At first I couldn't get a reading off any ovulation sticks at all and I got annoyed and stopped buying the damn things. Then when we started having our Preliminary IVF Investigations they said I'm ovulating no problem every time. So I started buying the tests again. 

Finally I started to see that smiley face, but much earlier than expected in my cycle - on day 11. My friend told me there's no need to keep testing anymore as once you work out what day you ovulate it will be the same each month. But it wasn't true for me.

I got the smiley face on day 11 every month for a while. But then it stopped. I got really disheartened and gave up buying the tests again. I told my doctor and she said that ovulation tests can cause a lot of anxiety which doesn't help with getting pregnant. I got the impression she was telling me not to bother with them and to just keep trying as we were.

Anyway, last week my fiance and I agreed that we should give getting pregnant a really good go as we are about to start IVF. (Like one last attempt at getting pregnant naturally if you like). So I thought, what the hell let's do the ovulation tests too. After all, I still had a load unused in the draw. I started testing on day 8 and got a smiley face straight away. 

I just don't get it and its got me wondering, what are the reasons for irregular ovulation? Especially when you get your period as regular as clockwork, every 28 days!

Does anyone know?

Jess. xx

THE DRUGS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED

On Wednesday I had a call from the company delivering my IVF drugs and we arranged that they would be delivered on Friday (yesterday). I got given a 3 hour delivery time slot and on the day they called with a 1 hour window. Some of the drugs have to be refrigerated so I spent the morning cooking in a bid to free up some space in the fridge!

I'm starting some of these drugs on Thursday, so I guess that will be classed as day 1. As I already have my schedule I know the exact date I'm having our embryo transferred and it will be 5 weeks from Thursday. Not long at all!

There are 4 types of drugs that I'll be using in this treatment cycle:

1. Pituitary down-regulation

Drug: Buserelin (Suprecur)

(Apparently some get to use a nasal spray instead. I wonder how the consultant chooses who gets the spray and who gets the injections. Does anyone know?).

2. Ovarian superovulation

Drug: Gonal-F 

(Some use a drug called Menopur instead).

3. Ovulating injection

Drug: hCG Ovitrelle (Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin).

4. Luteal Support

Drug: Crinone vaginal gel

(Some use Cyclogest pessaries).

Although I have my IVF information pack I don't know exactly how long I'll be taking each drug for. We have an appointment on Wednesday where we'll be shown how and when to administer the drugs. The consultant is also going to go through the IVF process again in much more detail. 

What drugs are you taking if you're on the IVF journey too?

Jess. xx