My Journey on Injectables

wantnbbs · 07-23-2008, 02:03 AM

Hi cysters
There are many threads out here about injectables...there are alot of cysters ( myself) included who are just starting this new/scary/exciting/unknown journey. Instead of each of us posting a "what to expect" question/thread. i was wondering if any of you could take a few minutes to quickly or not so quickly type a little overview/diary of your expeirience with injectables, and post it in "My journey on injectables. Weather or not you are a veteran, past this stage, in the middle, or just starting, it would just be so nice to hear from you. Things like...what to expect first appointment, cost, side effects, success, failures, happy stories, horror stories, things you would do over, or not, the names of medications... one or all of those topics would be soooo helpful. Maybe this could be made a sticky, so anyone who is looking for it can read it instead of having multiple threads with no answers. I know you all understand how scary this is and how sometimes waiting until your first appointment for info just isnt fast enough.
Thank you so much, and good luck to us all.
chass

one-hit_wonder · 07-26-2008, 06:11 PM

Maybe consider asking this on the TTC general board - I don't know if you'll get many answers here, but I'm happy to post a response.

As for what to expect: except for the price (ouch!), as well as the amount of time needed for monitoring, none of it is that bad.

First appointment: I phoned my nurse on CD1 and made an appointment to come in on CD3 for baseline bloodwork and for an ultrasound.

The doctor made a decision to start me on 50 amps/day of Puregon (which is Follistim in the U.S.) - I think it's an FH drug.

I injected Puregon from CD3-21, always after 4 p.m. The stimming took much longer than expected, and so the doctor kept increasing the dose until 77 amps, which finally seemed to work.

I think I injected for the first 5 days, then started going in every other day for bloodwork and ultrasounds. The nurse phoned me every afternoon to give me instructions on the dosage. I felt as though I was living at the clinic, basically.

Finally, I had a 24-mm follicle ready to go, which was a disappointment, since our goal was 2-3 follies. I had a few smaller ones on my left ovary, but they weren't mature enough. Oddly, the mature follie was on my right ovary, which is normally anovulatory.

Then I received a trigger shot from the nurse (in my arm) because I wasn't surging on my own. And I had my IUI (the next day, I think?). Wish I had had another IUI, since we found out, post-wash, that DH's guys are basically duds.

I had no side effects, really, except for what I get with a strong ovulation: bloated abdomen, crampy ovaries, etc. I was slightly constipated, though, which was unusual for me.

Got a BFN, and we were given these options, due to the male factor: a) try again with Puregon and an IUI, b) Puregon/2 IUIs, or c) IVF. The doctor advised IVF+ICSI, though, since she doesn't think that sperm and egg are meeting. So that's what we're aiming for next month.

The needles do not hurt at all. The trigger hurt more (it left a big welt on my arm), but even that wasn't so bad.

Total cost was around $1500 (for meds, trigger, and IUI). I'm in Canada, so the doctor's visits and monitoring are covered by our provincial Medicare. I had a 3/4 vial of Puregon left, though, which was a bummer.

Don't worry if you can't remember the injection instructions from the nurse, since Puregon's web site has videos that show you, step by step, what to do. (Pm me if you can't find it online.)

wantnbbs · 07-27-2008, 02:34 AM

Thank you thank you, i think i am gonna post this on the general board as well.. thank you!!!!!
Good Luck next cycle!