Starting Meds (This is Cristi)

I've been on birth control pills for about a month now and do you remember Robin's post about how birth control affects her? Yeah, I'm totally feeling that this time around. I'm thiiiiiiiis close to going off of my "no sugar for over two years" thing and stuffing MY face full of cake!  (Stay strong, Cristi, stay strong!) Either that, or I feel like I may punch a hole in one of our walls. WHO AM I?!! This is SO not me! I don't remember being so emotionally and hormonally affected (effected? I can never remember the difference between those two…) the first two times we went through a fresh cycle and the egg retrieval preparation process. I'm sure that the meds affected me then, too, but I'm just having a hard time remembering. I'm actually really glad that I'm more fully documenting the journey this time around via this blog. Not just to share it with you guys, per se, but just so that I have it for my own journaling purposes. 

Last week (on the 23rd), I started Lupron injections. And to be honest, I didn't feel many hormonal or emotional effects until I started these shots. Like I said, I don't remember feeling this way the last couple of times.

LUCKILY, today was my last day of taking birth control pills. So we'll see if that makes a difference. Again - I don't want this to come across as complaining. Because I DEFINITELY know that this is all worth it and it's only for a small season and it's not a forever thing (thank the heavens!) ;).  I just want to help inform so that anyone else who may be going through this process can know that they're not crazy if they start feeling like they all of a sudden want to stuff their face full of chocolate or bang their head against a wall! :)

I started taking an antibiotic yesterday and will take that for a few days. And then later this week I will have my baseline ultrasound and start my other two injections - Bravelle and Menopur.  Those are what stimulate egg production.

Jeff and I have had a few appointments at the fertility center already. But on Wednesday we had our first "major" appointment. Because we're using a gestational carrier, the FDA has a bunch of extra stuff (for lack of a better word) that we have to go through. I guess you could say there are just a "few more hoops to jump through" this time around. Jeff and I both needed to get examined (usually it's just me) and do paperwork (with crazy weird and random questions like "Have you eaten raw fish from Nicaragua any time between the years of 1981 and 2003?" Kinda like when you give blood) and have blood work (and other things) done. I had seven tubes of blood drawn and Jeff had five. Here are some of our thought processes - Me: "Aw, look! Our exam gowns match! They look like they're from 1989!" Jeff: "You're really taking a picture of me getting my blood drawn?" Ha! Just kidding - he knows I'm a documenting fool! :) And a dork! ;)