my 2nd night on lupron

i feel fine

my first injection was last night just before dinner. i took out the little vial of liquid, wiped the top with an alcohol pad, used the tiny syringe to take out 15 units (about 0.15 mls), wiped  a spot on my thigh, stabbed quickly into the fat and pushed the plunger in slowly held it there for 5 seconds, and pulled it out clean. no blood or anything. it hardly hurt. maybe a tiny prick at first. when putting the needle in all the way, i didn't feel anything. it hurt way less than a flea bite. this needle is tiny tiny.

my thigh felt kinda strange for a few minutes. not achy, not painful, but like something was there. i mean - something WAS there. a bubble of medication that my body hadn't taken into the bloodstream yet, but it was a really strange feeling.  I did it on my right last night. 

tonight i did it on my left. the right thigh feels fine. no soreness or anything. just a tiny pink dot where the injection site was.

i dont feel any different.

lupron is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring gonadotropin releasing hormone that suppressing the shedding of the endometrium (lining in the uterus) during menstruation, its used to treat endometriosis, prostate cancer, premature puberty in children, and fibroids. its pretty much delaying my period until i sync up with the surrogate's cycle. we were opposite each other in our cycles - when she was bleeding, i was ovulating. we need to be at the same place for this to work. so i'm syncing up with her, cause since shes going to be the pregnant one, we dont want to mess with her cycle!

according to the FDAs trials of the drug, during the first week on lupron, my testosterone levels are supposed to raise above normal, temporarily increasing the likely hood of uncomfortable side effects - like headaches, anxiety, appetite changes, etc. the usual culprits of medications. Its supposed to block the hormonal signals from the brain to the ovaries, so estrogen production is suppressed. so they're turning me into a man temporarily. or a female eunuch.

for a couple weeks, till they check my estrogen levels to make sure i'm where i want to be before starting the normal IVF medicines.

I read that the spike in testosterone can take away some calcium from the body. "Achy bones" is a side effect i saw on one website. kind of like growing pains. did you ever have those as a kid? just achy limbs for no apparent reason. that sucked.

I've been taking my vitamins and eating foods high in quickly absorbable calcium (collards, mustard greens, chard, lentils, etc)

crazy how you can manipulate the body like this. 

the calendar

i received my 'calendar' its a set schedule of dates i will be taking hormones, when i need to go in for an ultrasound, etc.

I'll be taking the pre-natal birth control pills for 2 weeks before beginning to give myself daily subcutaneous injections of lupron. after a week of that, i'll have a period and go into the doctor's office to check my estradiol levels, to make sure the drugs are working correctly. Then i begin injecting 2 other medications daily for a week. then I go in for an ultrasound to monitor the progress and check that everything is okay. The final medication I will take is a big ugly shot in the butt called a trigger shot. it has to happen at a certain time before the extraction procedure. 

My fertility doctor faxed my medication to the MDR pharmacy, they specialize in fertility drugs and such. They called me to verify the address, and the next day i received an entire foam refrigerated BOX of hormones and needles and stuff. It filled up half a refrigerator shelf at first, then i organized it all to fit in one of the door shelves.

I wont be needing any of that until the 26th. Now i just have to remember to take a pill at 9pm every day.