Mixing injections (for dummies)

I remember the first time I had to mix my injections. I'd done about 8 cycles with premixed pen injections, so they were simple. Then I was given the powder & water vials to mix myself & I freaked out! I had no idea what to do! The nurses thought I had done it all as I was a bit of an IVF "veteran".

So here's my little IVF community service:

This is my Luveris. 

I get two vials - one is water for mixing and the other is powder (which is the actual drug):

Flip the lids off the vials & discard:

Place the largest needle onto the end of the syringe & remove

the plastic covering:

Poke the needle through the middle of the rubber covering on the vial of water:

Turn the bottle upside down, pull the needle out a bit so the tip is underwater, & pull out the syringe plunger to remove all the water (you may need to pull the needle out a bit more as the water level goes down):

Inject this water into the vial of powder & swish side to side until it's mostly dissolved (do not shake it up, you want to avoid bubbles). Then use the same process above to draw the new solution back into the syringe. Place the cover carefully back over the large needle & remove. 

Attach the small needle, remove the plastic cover, push the plunger VERY CAREFULLY & SLOWLY to remove most of the air from the syringe. Be careful not to squirt all of the solution into the air! I try to keep a thumb in the way so I can't accidentally push it all the way. Pinch your skin & inject into your tummy. This one can be a bit ouchy so I sometimes ice the spot first to numb it a bit.

Now this is my Cetrotide. It's a very similar process, however the water is already loaded into the syringe.. you pull the White plastic cap off and instead of pushing the large needle onto the syringe you actually screw it on, then pull the plastic lid off. After injecting the water into the vial of powder, mixing and drawing it back up, you place the plastic cover back on the needle & unscrew it again. Then screw the small needle onto the syringe, remove the air & inject into your belly. 

Hopefully this all makes sense!

You might also want to use the alcohol wipes on your belly before injecting. 

I understand these tips might not apply to other medications.

Anyway, feel free to ask if you have any questions & I'll endeavour to answer them.

Happy injecting!

First scan & blood test results

Cycle day 11, day 8 of injections:

This morning I had to have my blood test & first scan. I went to the local clinic just after 8am, figuring I'll get it done early & have just enough time to go home & make my lunch before walking to work (which is 5mins away)...... WRONG!! I walked in & it was standing room only! It's a tiny waiting room & it was full to the brim! There's usually only about 2-3 other women in there, if that, but this time there would have been about 15! It seems that people have been diverted to other branches for their tests until the fire and water damage is repaired in the city headquarters. What a nightmare! I was in there for about 45mins. I had to duck off to the toilets to do all 3 of my fiddly bloody injections (lucky I brought them with me!). A lady went into the cubicle next to mine & just sat there, listening to me unwrapping everything & clinking bottles. God knows what she must have thought!

Anyway, I only have 3 follicles - 10mm, 8mm & 6mm (or thereabouts). My uterine lining was around 5mm. So I was told by the nurse this afternoon to keep stimming over the weekend & come back for another BT & ultrasound on Monday. This cycle really isn't looking much better than the last few. And despite googling my head off, I know deep down there's nothing I can really do about it now. It's all up to fate.

Anyway, on the positive side, the nurse told me the day surgery in the city should be back up & running on Monday. One less thing to worry about!

Fertility under fire

Yesterday I found out (thanks to a woman on Facebook) that there was a fire at my clinic on the weekend.. apparently there was significant damage caused to the reception area, day clinic & day surgery, but stored embryos, eggs & sperm weren't affected. This woman was told her transfer couldn't go ahead as planned this week & if her one embryo wasn't deemed strong enough to freeze they would let it expire. I'm horrified & distraught for this lady. Like me, she gets very few eggs collected, then is lucky for them to fertilise, so this new development is a huge blow and may cost her the chance to conceive another child. Thinking of her this week x

I haven't yet heard if my procedures will be affected next week. I was going to call but I'm assuming they're flat out making other arrangements for this week's procedures, so I'll give them a bit of space. I go to a smaller clinic close to home for monitoring on Friday so I might wait to ask them. Hopefully the repairs are fast-tracked & all is sorted again by then.

Today I started taking Cetrotide. So that's 3 injections every morning! My belly is already tender! And what a production it is every morning, mixing the powders and water! Why can't the Luveris & Cetrotide come in convenient pre-mixed pens like the Gonal-f?? And why do the needles have to be so fat and so bloody ouchy going in??!! I'm ok with needles, the Gonal-f is a breeze, but these other two....

God I hope they're all doing their thing in there.. I'm nearing the end of the road. I really don't think I can do this anymore. I feel optimistic, kinda, but if we only get one egg, or even one embryo at the end again, I think it's time I accept defeat. Perhaps someone's trying to tell me something. Perhaps I AM being too greedy wanting another child. Perhaps I'm not even being the best Mum to him & I need to work on that. He really does deserve my undivided attention and a healthy & strong mum. Pumping all these hormones for this long can't be doing me good. I've got some hard thinking ahead of me.