Protocols...

So, I took my first birth control pill a couple of weeks ago.  I cannot say enough how excited I was to take that little red pill.  I used to hate taking birth control pills when we first got married.  I am not a huge fan of medicine and I never liked messing with my hormones, even though my moods were thankfully stable.  The idea of birth control right now is in one word, ironic.  But, apparently this how you kick everything off!  You have to start with your normal cycle and I just about had a mental breakdown because I was of course late by two days and almost didn't start in time to keep on our schedule.  Anyway, after I started the birth control I called the nurse and we got our official schedule! Yay!  I started making appointments, writing dates down and asking a million questions.  I am so thrilled to actually be starting this long process.  We have talked about this for so long that it almost felt like it would never happen and now it's finally happening.  This is my offical protocol:

July 25th-August 15th-Birth Contol Pills-this is to regulate my system and to stop me from ovulating and doing anything hormonal on my own. It's called "down-regualtion"

August 8th-Start Lupron-these are subcutaneous injections that I will be on for about three weeks.  I was pleased to find out our insurance coved it because it is also used for endometriosis and prostate cancer, not just infertility.  I also know this will be the only med that will be covered.  The stims will cost us around $2,500-$3,000. Yay!

August 18th-Ultrasound where they check my ovaries and make sure they are not doing anything on there own and then determine the amount of stimulation they will start me on.

August 23rd-Start stims!  I will on Follistim which comes in a fancy injection pen and is also a sub-q injection.  I will also be on Repronex, which is another sub-q stim.  I'll be on stims for at least 8 days and then they start monitoring me everyday with blood work and ultrasound to check the growth of my eggs.

August 30th-Sep 3rd-This is when I will be monitored and at any point this week they could tell me to do my HcG trigger shot (the shot that prepares the growing eggs for retrieval) and come back in 36 hours for the retrieval.  I am hoping for a September 3rd retrieval because that seems to be the norm.

September 6th-8ish-The embryo transfer!  This is all dependent on when my retrieval is and I am hoping it will be the 8th, if my retrieval is on the 3rd.  They do 3 or 5 day transfers and if all goes well, mine should be a 5 day transfer.  I feel like 3 day transfer are a last ditch effort if things are growing like they should.

Bed rest for 5 days after the transfer and that's it!  Piece of cake, right!?  I'm not afraid of needles generally and I have actually practiced giving myself that first shot while I was in lab.  It's not bad once you do it the first time.  I've heard some of the meds sting like crazy and you can get pretty uncomfortable.  I was also told I when I stated stimming I should got about my business like I was already pregnant.  No heavy lifting, no crunches, no high impact exercising.  Oh, and you also gain weight while on the meds...average of 8-10lbs!  That is the part that bothers me the most as I feel like I already need to lose 8-10lbs of nursing school weight. Oh well, I guess it's all part of the process.  Bring it!