Day 7: Liquid Gold . . . more like Liquid Baby

I was super excited to give myself a shot in the belly tonight. No, seriously, I really was. This is my fourth time using Follistim, though, and it is no less nerve racking than the first time.

It is so nerve racking because it is so expensive! The last time I ordered these meds (Summer 2010), we paid $856. This time, I did some price shopping. I found a pharmacy that ships meds out of Israel. Apparently, European drugs are much cheaper. It only (only?) cost $628. The difference is in Europe they call it Puregon. So the packaging says Puregon and it has Israeli (I guess it's Israeli) writing all over it--kinda funny. It's the same stuff, though.

Why else does it make me so nervous to do the injections? Not because I can't handle the needle; it's tiny. It's because I have to take this tiny glass vial of very expensive medicine that has been shipped to me from the far corners of the world and load it into a dial-a-dose pen cartridge and administer it to myself under high pressure circumstances. I always sit on the bed to load the vial into the cartridge. I'm afraid if I stand at the kitchen counter, I might drop it on the floor and shatter it. It's a vial of liquid gold . . . No, more like liquid baby.

Follistim is FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). FSH is needed for the growth and development of follicles in the ovaries. Follicles are small round sacs that contain the egg cells. FSH stimulates the ovaries to produce mature eggs.

This is my fourth time using Follistim. The first time was September 2008. I took a 100IU daily dose and produced two follicles. I did not get pregnant. As I mentioned in "Walking Down the Street Naked", I believe it was because I didn't have an HSG. For the second round in June 2009, I wanted more follicles to increase my chances of getting pregnant. So, the doctor prescribed 125IU daily. This upped the price significantly, and I still only produced two follicles. But, low and behold, I got pregnant with Gabriel. The third round of treatment was June 2010. The doctor wanted to do the same protocol since I proved I could get pregnant with it, so he prescribed 125IU daily again. I had three follicles this time! I was shocked and scared out of my mind that I would get pregnant with multiples. Skyler never even flinched at the idea. And, you know how the story goes, we got pregnant with Princess Tater Tot. 125IU daily again for six days (today through Sunday). Every cycle is different. How many follicles will we get this time?