my period started today. exactly 10 days after the egg retrieval procedure. they said it would take around 2 weeks and then i could have intercourse. yay.
i calculated all the reimbursements to a grand 960 dollars. all those birth control pills and train tickets added up after 6 months on hold. i used my credit card for everything, so i'll just pay my credit card bill with the check i get from reimbursements. last time it took a while, and they needed more documentation for some of the birth control prescriptions. they needed a signed patient history report from the pharmacy with the medications listed and which doctor prescribed them. i kept like every receipt and printed up my credit card bills and everything and sent all that documentation with the reimbursements form. the envelope costed me like a dollar to mail.
i received the rest of my egg donor compensation check for $9,250.00 a few days ago. thats all going into my savings. i'm building a down payment fund for a house. since thats the third donation, egg donation has earned me 28,000.00 thus far. though i blew the first 8,000.00 on useful shit like this laptop i'm typing on. and my scanner and my printer and my adobe creative suite 3 software, among other fancy electronics. the second donation i saved most the money. then borrowed a few thousand to pay off my credit card and fix my car. i've finally paid that back to my savings account.
the healing process was pretty much painless. some mild cramping after the surgery a couple times a day. nothing that would need a pain pill. and when i sneezed i could feel my ovaries all of a sudden. like my body contracting in the sneeze brought my awareness to my ovaries. thats all long gone.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
2nd ultrasound and extraction surgery
my second ultrasound, they saw 14 eggs (again) and measured them at 16 and 18 millimeters. the doctor said they're ready to come out and i needed to take the trigger shot (hcg) that night at 7pm exacly.
and then i had to reschedule work in order to make the saturday morning appointment. they put me up in the le parc suites hotel. waaaay better than the beverly hilton. so nice. we (husband and I) stayed there friday night because our appointment was 6:30 in the morning. got to the fertility center at 6:30. they took my vitals had me sit on a bed watching the news from a big screen tv on the ceiling. i dressed into the open in the back gown and they gave me those socks with traction.
the anesthesiologist came in and put an IV in my hand. then they walked me into the operating room and a nurse carried my IV with my saline drip along after me, i sat on the bed thing and scooted down to the edge so the nurse could strap my knees to a holder thingy. then the anesthesiologist put a couple of drugs in my IV and i started to get drowsy and then he asked how much i weigh and pushed a large syringe full of some anesthesia or something into my IV drip, and shortly there after i passed out and woke up in the recovery area with a nurse calling my name. she took off my IV and asked if i wanted any ibuprofen. i took it.
they said they counted 17 eggs. the nurse explained that sometimes theres more than one egg in a follicle (thats one way twins can happen).
its now 13 hours after the surgery and i feel a little bloated and when i have to pee i feel a lot of pressure on my ovaries. i've been on ibuprofen all day. but when they begin to feel crampy i take more, and thats when i notice it. the bloating could be gas. we ate at a restaurant we're not used to eating at.
and then i had to reschedule work in order to make the saturday morning appointment. they put me up in the le parc suites hotel. waaaay better than the beverly hilton. so nice. we (husband and I) stayed there friday night because our appointment was 6:30 in the morning. got to the fertility center at 6:30. they took my vitals had me sit on a bed watching the news from a big screen tv on the ceiling. i dressed into the open in the back gown and they gave me those socks with traction.
the anesthesiologist came in and put an IV in my hand. then they walked me into the operating room and a nurse carried my IV with my saline drip along after me, i sat on the bed thing and scooted down to the edge so the nurse could strap my knees to a holder thingy. then the anesthesiologist put a couple of drugs in my IV and i started to get drowsy and then he asked how much i weigh and pushed a large syringe full of some anesthesia or something into my IV drip, and shortly there after i passed out and woke up in the recovery area with a nurse calling my name. she took off my IV and asked if i wanted any ibuprofen. i took it.
they said they counted 17 eggs. the nurse explained that sometimes theres more than one egg in a follicle (thats one way twins can happen).
its now 13 hours after the surgery and i feel a little bloated and when i have to pee i feel a lot of pressure on my ovaries. i've been on ibuprofen all day. but when they begin to feel crampy i take more, and thats when i notice it. the bloating could be gas. we ate at a restaurant we're not used to eating at.
Monday, March 15, 2010
1st ultrasound
was this morning at 9. i spent the night at a friend's house in hollywood so i wouldn't have to get up at 4 in the morning and battle traffic for 80 miles.
i arrived early and they called me in early. i sat on the ultrasound table with my shirt and the gyno pink paper skirt thingy for about 5 minutes. i passed the time watching the monkey mobile above my head. hoping my bicycle was still locked up outside when i got done. the nurse lady entered with the doc and we got started. they had to finish my FDA tests, so i had a gonorrhea test and stuff. and then the ultrasound. for this ultrasound they use a transvaginal wand. the inside of you body is weird looking. i saw my spine, or a poo, not sure. and my bladder (looked like a HUGE empty bowl.)
the doctor counted the holes in each ovary and measured the diameters. each ovary had 7 developing ovum with the larger ones at 12 and 13 millimeters. each ovary looked like a swiss cheese avocado. or a cluster of large bubbles.
i can feel the pressure more today than yesterday. its significantly more heavy. theres awareness. and stuff.
they said everything is going as planned (thank buddha) so the calendar says i'm to continue the medications until thursday for my next ultrasound.
side effects:
pressure from swollen ovaries
the shots are beginning to hurt more because the skin i'm using to inject the medications is running out of surface area and getting more tender.
i have the desire to work out strenuously. like go running or do a million sit ups. till i'm aching and sweaty. maybe its because i'm not allowed.
i arrived early and they called me in early. i sat on the ultrasound table with my shirt and the gyno pink paper skirt thingy for about 5 minutes. i passed the time watching the monkey mobile above my head. hoping my bicycle was still locked up outside when i got done. the nurse lady entered with the doc and we got started. they had to finish my FDA tests, so i had a gonorrhea test and stuff. and then the ultrasound. for this ultrasound they use a transvaginal wand. the inside of you body is weird looking. i saw my spine, or a poo, not sure. and my bladder (looked like a HUGE empty bowl.)
the doctor counted the holes in each ovary and measured the diameters. each ovary had 7 developing ovum with the larger ones at 12 and 13 millimeters. each ovary looked like a swiss cheese avocado. or a cluster of large bubbles.
i can feel the pressure more today than yesterday. its significantly more heavy. theres awareness. and stuff.
they said everything is going as planned (thank buddha) so the calendar says i'm to continue the medications until thursday for my next ultrasound.
side effects:
pressure from swollen ovaries
the shots are beginning to hurt more because the skin i'm using to inject the medications is running out of surface area and getting more tender.
i have the desire to work out strenuously. like go running or do a million sit ups. till i'm aching and sweaty. maybe its because i'm not allowed.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
day 16
just a quick report on potential side effects,
my muscles feel like they tire more easily than normal. i have some muscle aches going on today. ( i did have a busy day at work, and that im sure would cause some of the aches )
no medicine-head (like yesterday). mentally i feel clear. maybe a slight headache? or a sinus ache? clear sinuses, but i feel some tension. could be leftover from the workday?
my stomach growled again. (violently!)
Today i feel aware of a heaviness in my ovaries. or a fullness. i didn't notice it yesterday, but its there now. i noticed i was stepping more carefully than normal when i thought about my ovaries, so as not to jolt them?
i've been taking calcium supplements to avoid lupron's notorious side effect: bone pain. it has been working, i think.
i could be mistaking some of my muscle aches for bone aches... usually i bike to work (up and down some hills) but i think i should walk most of the way. at least until the pelvic heaviness gets worse. in a few more days, my ovaries will be swollen with ripe ovum and it will feel crazy, and i will not want to run or jump or move suddenly because i'll have a weird desire to protect them from movement. or at least thats how it was the last 2 donations.
my mood is good. normal. happy and content. i'll do my shots in like an hour.
my muscles feel like they tire more easily than normal. i have some muscle aches going on today. ( i did have a busy day at work, and that im sure would cause some of the aches )
no medicine-head (like yesterday). mentally i feel clear. maybe a slight headache? or a sinus ache? clear sinuses, but i feel some tension. could be leftover from the workday?
my stomach growled again. (violently!)
Today i feel aware of a heaviness in my ovaries. or a fullness. i didn't notice it yesterday, but its there now. i noticed i was stepping more carefully than normal when i thought about my ovaries, so as not to jolt them?
i've been taking calcium supplements to avoid lupron's notorious side effect: bone pain. it has been working, i think.
i could be mistaking some of my muscle aches for bone aches... usually i bike to work (up and down some hills) but i think i should walk most of the way. at least until the pelvic heaviness gets worse. in a few more days, my ovaries will be swollen with ripe ovum and it will feel crazy, and i will not want to run or jump or move suddenly because i'll have a weird desire to protect them from movement. or at least thats how it was the last 2 donations.
my mood is good. normal. happy and content. i'll do my shots in like an hour.
Friday, March 12, 2010
day 15
just did my shots tonight. even though i alternate legs, there are a couple sore spots on my thigh. one little dime sized bruise and a couple needle hole red dots. i poked around to find the spot that didn't feel sore (cause i dont really remember where i injected it over the past couple weeks), if i were smart about it i would have a system or order to do the shots so they are spaced out for optimum healing and all that. I have just been poking randomly around my outer thigh and i have a feeling i've been poking in the same places.
lupron didn't hurt. stung a tiny bit after the med was in the skin. follistim didn't hurt, just felt funny. the follistim needle is the smallest, but this time i jabbed my skin at a little bit of an angle so i felt a pinch when it pierced the skin. thats not normal. usually i dont feel the needle going in when i quickly jab it in like a dart. menopur always stings. i think its the medication. its also the most volume of all the shots. so some of that pain is probably my fatty tissue having to move out of the way for the bubble of medication.
i'm being very careful to prime every shot (push out all the air until a bead of medication comes out of the needle tip before injecting). yesterday when i did my shots, i'm not sure, but i suspect i left some air in the needle of the menopur shot. i dont remember priming that one, and then when i did the shot i wasn't thinking about it and may or may not have injected a tiny bubble of air also. not sure, but now i'm paranoid about it and being extra careful.
side effects: maybe fatigue. i didn't sleep much last night because i went out to a show. i got 5 hours of uncomfortable sleep. i fell asleep in my clothes and underwear: sports bra, and kept waking up with neck and back and jaw tension, but it was too cold to get out of the covers and undress myself (i am used to sleeping naked). my sports bra always creates tension like that when i wear it for too long. But anyway, i kept waking up adjusting the covers and tossing and turning.
so all day today i feel like i have a thick fog behind my eyes. like they should be closed and the fatigue sucks me dry like a mild nausea or headachy sensation. almost dizzy with exhaustion. i wonder how much of this has to do with how hard i bicycle to work. i need to begin walking up those hills. i'm not supposed to do any 'strenuous exercise' at this stage of the donation. I always bike up the same hills everyday for work, and they dont make me break a sweat, but my heart rate goes up and my breathing gets heavy. i wonder if thats okay.
my stomach was absolutely growling around lunchtime, which is unusual. I was crazy ravenous. i ate breakfast only few hours earlier.
also i've been having little muscle twitches. random. like my calf will twitch slightly and then my neck muscles will twitch.
i'd better go. i just closed my eyes for a second and i fell asleep and dreamt i slipped on something and my legs jolting woke me up. and its happening again. falling asleep...
lupron didn't hurt. stung a tiny bit after the med was in the skin. follistim didn't hurt, just felt funny. the follistim needle is the smallest, but this time i jabbed my skin at a little bit of an angle so i felt a pinch when it pierced the skin. thats not normal. usually i dont feel the needle going in when i quickly jab it in like a dart. menopur always stings. i think its the medication. its also the most volume of all the shots. so some of that pain is probably my fatty tissue having to move out of the way for the bubble of medication.
i'm being very careful to prime every shot (push out all the air until a bead of medication comes out of the needle tip before injecting). yesterday when i did my shots, i'm not sure, but i suspect i left some air in the needle of the menopur shot. i dont remember priming that one, and then when i did the shot i wasn't thinking about it and may or may not have injected a tiny bubble of air also. not sure, but now i'm paranoid about it and being extra careful.
side effects: maybe fatigue. i didn't sleep much last night because i went out to a show. i got 5 hours of uncomfortable sleep. i fell asleep in my clothes and underwear: sports bra, and kept waking up with neck and back and jaw tension, but it was too cold to get out of the covers and undress myself (i am used to sleeping naked). my sports bra always creates tension like that when i wear it for too long. But anyway, i kept waking up adjusting the covers and tossing and turning.
so all day today i feel like i have a thick fog behind my eyes. like they should be closed and the fatigue sucks me dry like a mild nausea or headachy sensation. almost dizzy with exhaustion. i wonder how much of this has to do with how hard i bicycle to work. i need to begin walking up those hills. i'm not supposed to do any 'strenuous exercise' at this stage of the donation. I always bike up the same hills everyday for work, and they dont make me break a sweat, but my heart rate goes up and my breathing gets heavy. i wonder if thats okay.
my stomach was absolutely growling around lunchtime, which is unusual. I was crazy ravenous. i ate breakfast only few hours earlier.
also i've been having little muscle twitches. random. like my calf will twitch slightly and then my neck muscles will twitch.
i'd better go. i just closed my eyes for a second and i fell asleep and dreamt i slipped on something and my legs jolting woke me up. and its happening again. falling asleep...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
week 2 of shots
i was on lupron 15 U for 11 days. then the lupron went down to 10 U when i started the ovarian stimulation hormones on tuesday. they have me on 175 Follistim and one vial (75) menopur.
i'm starting to suspect that all those side effects from the first donation were manufactured by my brain. i dont feel any side effects besides some mild muscle twitches and menstrual cramps (cause they delayed my period by a week). I remember in previous donations feeling some intense sexual side effects. maybe i was releasing some built up tension or maybe i released a mental blockage that allowed me to feel that way. well thats gone now, so i'm bummed about that a little.
i felt some aches i'll blame on lupron. lupron causes "bone pain" and other bodily aches. apparently it tries to rob your calcium. so i've been taking an excess of calcium just to safeguard myself. that seems to prevent those side effects. i have a calcium chew that tastes like a tootsie roll and contains 500mg of calcium. i like to eat 3 of those a day.
it would be so easy to do this again. but my sex life has suffered enough. i think this will be my last donation. but damn, i'm buying a house soon, and another 10,000 would really make my monthly mortgage payments cheaper. i have saved up 10,000 aleady from previous donations. the first 8000 i blew on stuff i use everyday like my laptop and software and my scanner and printer and stuff. i'd donate again if i knew i'd be chosen right away by gay people and not put on hold for 6 months. cause that sucked.
i'm starting to suspect that all those side effects from the first donation were manufactured by my brain. i dont feel any side effects besides some mild muscle twitches and menstrual cramps (cause they delayed my period by a week). I remember in previous donations feeling some intense sexual side effects. maybe i was releasing some built up tension or maybe i released a mental blockage that allowed me to feel that way. well thats gone now, so i'm bummed about that a little.
i felt some aches i'll blame on lupron. lupron causes "bone pain" and other bodily aches. apparently it tries to rob your calcium. so i've been taking an excess of calcium just to safeguard myself. that seems to prevent those side effects. i have a calcium chew that tastes like a tootsie roll and contains 500mg of calcium. i like to eat 3 of those a day.
it would be so easy to do this again. but my sex life has suffered enough. i think this will be my last donation. but damn, i'm buying a house soon, and another 10,000 would really make my monthly mortgage payments cheaper. i have saved up 10,000 aleady from previous donations. the first 8000 i blew on stuff i use everyday like my laptop and software and my scanner and printer and stuff. i'd donate again if i knew i'd be chosen right away by gay people and not put on hold for 6 months. cause that sucked.
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