Let's Get This Party Started!

I got my next round of TTC underway this morning with a bang.  First, I gave myself my first shot of Lupron.  I was sent 28g insulin syringes.  Really?  Really?  What is the deal with that?  Those things HURT!  Maybe not like progesterone in oil, but still, they hurt.  They make 32g insulin syringes - so tiny that you can barely see the needle, why the 28?  Is the thought that those of us going through IF treatments are tough?  That we feel stronger because of the pain?  Or is it because reproductive endocrinologists never prescribe insulin, and therefore realize there are better options out there?  At any rate, after confirming that there was no real reason to use such a huge needle, I brought home samples of the tiny syringes and used that this morning.  I didn't feel a thing, but Finn was very worried about my boo-boo on my tummy.  I will have to find a way to inject next time when he's not looking.

Immediately after my first shot, I got in the car and headed to my RE.  I had a little bit of a wait, and then Dr M was there to do my endometrial scratch biopsy.  They don't do them there routinely (the theory is that when you take some tissue from the endometrial lining, it stimulates various chemicals and growth factors that improve implantation the following cycle), but he's read the literature and is considering doing it for some women with unexplained IF.  He talked to me about the studies, and then talked to me about RBA and sang their praises.  He was thrilled I had chosen to go there, and knows all about their data, their egg vitrification process and agrees this was the best choice for me.  He also confirmed what I suspected, that this route was cheaper than doing the DE route with his office.

Then he did the scratch biopsy.  I'd read varying reports on what it felt like, so I was feeling pretty nervous.  He put the speculum in, cleaned it off with betadine and then said, "Ok, you'll feel a little pinch." We chatted just a bit, and then just as it started to feel uncomfortable he said, "We're done!" And that was that.  He showed me what the endometrial lining looked like (bloody snot) and we chatted for another minute or so, "I hope you'll come here to have your viability scan done when you get pregnant!" and I was on my way.

I'll be on Lupron every day for just about the next 5 weeks.  I'll stay on birth control pills until next week, then stop, wait for my period and then start estrogen patches right around the beginning of May.  My failed IUI cycle in January feels so long ago; I can't believe it's finally time for me to take medications to get this DE cycle going!