CD22, Day 21 of BCPs, Day 7 of Lupron

There hasn't been much to report. This stage of IVF is boring, just weeks of preparing by taking birth control pills and, for the last third, Lupron. All of this is meant to lull my ovaries into a false sense of security a sweet slumber, so they will be well rested when we blast high-decibel Metallica at them begin the stimulation medications.

Once again The Apothecary Shop covered themselves with glory, sending

1. extra infinitesimally tiny Lupron needles -- 31 gauge! I can barely see the needles, much less feel them.
2. a nice styrofoam cooler which will in the future find itself full of ice and beer
3. instructions on how to give all of the shots. Not that we don't know how by now, but it's comforting, anyway.

Oh, and I forgot to tell them that I already had a Follistim pen and wallet, so they sent one along with the Follistim. The wallet's a nice hard-shelled case. It will not go to waste, however. It's a pretty good size for my Nintendo DS Lite.

Other than the reproductive stuff, things have been a bit crazy. Our beloved insane poodle mix got into some mouse poison, spent three days in the animal hospital, and nearly died. Research revealed that this all could have been avoided if the pest control company had, you know, followed the instructions on the poison and used tamper-resistant baits stations. I've sent a letter asking them to pay the nearly $2000 vet bill and swear to me that they've put safeguards in place to make sure this never happens again. If they refuse I'll have to sue them in small claims court and get state agencies involved. It's all stressful, but I don't see letting them get away with it, not when the next dog or kid could die if they don't start following the rules.

I thought that the BCPs and Lupron had been treating me pretty well, but then my sweetie pointed out that I've been on a bad bad headtrip for lo these ten days now. I take my last pill tonight, and we're all hoping that my mood returns to normal once the pills are out of my system.

Oh, and I forgot to report the conversation I had with Chatty Phlebotomist when I went in to have my blood drawn:

Chatty Phlebotomist: Wow, we see you here a lot.
Me: Yes, I'm a patient of Dr. Fertility's. Soon you'll be seeing me for blood draws every other day.
CP:Ohhh, Dr. Fertility. You know (leans forward confidentially) it'll happen when you least expect it.
Me: I don't think so.

Lupron day 1: the money shot

Finally I get to post that ritual picture in every IVFers's blog, The Money Shot. Here are my drugs. I rearrange them gleefully. Not pictured: four boxes of Menopur, tucked behind the Lupron and syringes; two bottles, one of antibiotics and one of steroids, in the front gold bowl. Three vials of progesterone in ethyl oleate, on their way from a pharmacy in Colorado, because I am a pushy patient and refused the progesterone in sesame oil thankyouverymuch. I muttered something about food allergies, but really I just generally try and avoid painful experiences, and the PiO shots are supposed to hurt like a mofo. The ethyl oleate preparation is supposed to be much much easier, and can be given with a much smaller needle.

The peacock fan I carried as maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. The sheela na gig also comes from her. Since she got knocked up one month after the wedding, I have great faith in both of these talismans.

Ganesha is the solver of problems and remover of obstacles. Qwan Yin guards the souls of children and is a goddess of mercy, compassion, fertility, and childbirth. And Juno is the Roman goddess of fertility and childbirth.

I know it's not an exhaustive pantheon, but it's a decent start, don't you think?

First Lupron shot this morning went swimmingly. My girl has deft hands, and is used to giving injections since in her lab she has to inject various substances into mice. Apparently I'm easier to handle than a mouse, probably because I neither tried to bite her nor climb over her head. She did one clever trick which I'd recommend: she asked me to count to five very loudly. I was focused on filling my lungs for that and barely noticed the needle going in.

In other news, the receipts attached to my big bag o' meds added up to over $7000. My copay was around $140. I priced the same meds out at around $3300 over the interwebs. People, our medical system is broken.