Today is Day 8 of Round 2 of IVF, which means I should be more than halfway through this round of injections (Round 1 was 14 days, most people go 8-12 days). After driving out to Jacksonville last Wednesday for a Thursday morning appointment, I started injections when I got home that evening. I'm on the same dosage as Round 1, but the doctor added a third injection -- a growth hormone called Omnitrope -- that has been suggested to help with egg quality, which would hopefully lead to better genetic testing results (if we even make it that far again). He also changed the anti-ovulation injection to one that has better "luck" with preventing breakthrough (early) ovulation in hopes of being able to retrieve more eggs this round. For the past 8 days I've been giving myself three shots each evening, and starting yesterday I also do one shot each morning.
I started this round of IVF injections determined to be more healthy than the first round. I've been loosely following a meal plan tailored for me to ensure I eat enough fruits, veggies, and proteins. Having a piece of paper that tells me what I should be eating each day is extremely helpful and has most certainly made a difference. I'm also joining my husband and puppy on their evening walks, which I did not do last round. Much to our pooch's dismay, we have to walk much more slowly than she'd like because (a) I'm not allowed to walk quickly and (b) if I do walk at my normal (fast) rate, it's extremely uncomfortable because of the swelling. Most exciting though (to me) is that I found an acupuncturist and yesterday I had my first acupuncture appointment in 5 years.
Apparently trying to be more healthy this round has also increased the side effects from the medicine, or maybe it's because my body is "primed," as the doctor told me. Whatever the reason, the hulk-like rage is strong with this round. I'm aware that my near-constant anger at anything and everything is caused by the medicine and not the fault of those around me, and so I'm trying very, very hard to keep my temper and sarcasm in check, but it's not easy. And the headaches! Oy. I had a fairly constant headache during Round 1, some days more intense than others, but this time I experienced the joy of having an almost-migraine for about 48 hours. It started Tuesday morning and didn't diminish enough for me to get work done until late this morning (Thursday). Yesterday I managed to drive the 90 minutes to Macon to my acupuncture appointment in the hopes that the treatment would reduce the pain. It did mostly go away during the treatment, but as soon as the needles came out and I sat up, that crazy intense throbbing above my right eye started back up. By the time I got home (after a long overdue visit with a friend, despite the headache), I didn't want to do anything but get into bed, and I was asleep before 8:45pm. Thankfully, when I woke up this morning the pain had lessened, and although I can still feel the hint of the major pain hiding behind my eyeballs and eyebrows, the headache had mostly dissipated by mid-afternoon (just in time for me to prep for and attend a meeting with my client), and by dinner time I was fairly giddy from being pain free.
Tomorrow I go back to Tallahassee for my second monitoring appointment -- my first one was this past Monday. I'm hoping there will be significant follicle growth between that appointment and tomorrow's appointment so the retrieval will be earlier next week rather than later (not that we have control over the retrieval date). I'd love to avoid having my retrieval on Thanksgiving Day, not only because we'll have to drive there on Wednesday (when EVERYONE is on the road) or because it'll probably be extremely difficult to get a hotel room last-minute, but because if I can't be with our families at Thanksgiving, I'd at least like to be in my own house with a slim chance of joining friends at their Thanksgiving dinner.