Holy Lupron headache!

What the… I thought I was in the clear with avoiding the Lupron headache, but nope, after the 9th dose yesterday morning, I got a horrible right-sided occipital headache while having a crappy afternoon at work. Went to sleep hoping it was due to stress, and woke up feeling better, but by noon today, I had a dull ache at both temples that worsened despite taking acetaminophen. Boo… Going to try a cooling patch on my forehead tonight when I go to bed, but unfortunately that would probably not go over well at work.

My ovaries and lining looked nice and quiet, and ready for action this afternoon. Had my blood drawn for an estradiol level, but won’t get it back until tomorrow. Hopefully it’s nice and low, so we can proceed as planned. On Friday, in addition to the morning Lupron, I’m to start Gonal-f 187 IU in the morning and Menopur 225 IU (3 bottles) in the evening. I’ll also start an oral steroid (Medrol 8 mg a day). Sadly, this means 3 daily injections, and I understand that Menopur stings like a #%&*. In order to try and keep my injection time the same every day, I plan to bring the Menopur to work in case I’m stuck late or running errands before heading home. This way I don’t have to worry about what to do at our concert on Saturday – I can just take it before we go.

My next appointment is in a week, and it’ll be the first time we see how exactly I’m responding. Right now, the RE is planning for September 3 for my egg retrieval. Too bad my work scheduler just took me out of clinic on September 2 Emailed her to see what she wants to do. I don’t want to have her drop me in, then risk having to come back out if I respond more quickly than expected.

Thank goodness for the beef broth I made a few weeks ago! For once I actually cooked myself a tasty, nutritious dinner. I used Trader Joe’s mirepoix, white beans, and kale to make a quick minestrone soup. Added a little salt to taste, and it was done in less then 15 minutes! Just forgot to add tomatoes, but will be sure to do so the next time. May also try adding quinoa if I’m feeling up to it. I love quinoa, but haven’t yet mastered how to cook it.

Crazed yesterday, domestic today

Yesterday ended up feeling like such a long day! Woke up bright and early and went stand-up paddling. Came home to quickly shower and inspect the box of meds that had been delivered, then off to my hair appointment. After leaving there, I checked traffic and realized the 2-hour drive to the evening wedding was now estimated at 3 hours!! So I quickly texted our friend and the hubby that we needed to leave an hour earlier than planned, which left us with very little time to gas up my car and look presentable. Especially when somehow I LOST the dress I was supposed to wear – fortunately I found another in my closet that actually fit. There was SO much traffic headed down there, we stopped at a halfway point for a restroom break in the slowest Starbucks in the world. I rechecked traffic there, and realized we were really cutting it close to the beginning of the ceremony. In the end, our 2-hour drive turned into 3-1/2 hours!!

Traffic finally lightened up as we got into town, and I sped as safely as I could (I drove because I tend to get carsick and didn’t want to deal with Dramamine), only to find a really awful parking situation. Barely nabbed a spot, and ran into the collection of buildings, trying to figure out which was the right one, and we walked into the ceremony site just as the bridesmaids were heading down the aisle. We snuck in to sit down in the last row, only to find that the venue was terrible for the wedding guests – couldn’t see OR hear what was going on down below. The restaurant diners just behind us had a better view! Ah well, it was a VERY short ceremony, and shortly after we filed out to the reception…

Where our friend had decided to seat me next to her obviously pregnant cousin-in-law. Really?? She knows we’ve been struggling with infertilty! My hubby’s theory was this was so I could provide some pediatrician recommendations to the soon-to-be first-time parents. Still, besides the friend we drove down with, we didn’t know anybody else at the wedding, and I was not in the best of moods to socialize, so as soon as the cake was served, we high-tailed it out of there. Thankfully the drive back was only 2 hours.

We woke up late today, and thankfully I didn’t get called into work. Made my usual weekly trip to the farmer’s market, then came home to roast some beef bones and make bone broth. This is currently simmering on the stove, and I must say it smells delicious! This is a huge deal for me, as I am definitely no cook, but my acupuncturist had mentioned bone broth being very good for morning sickness, and while reading more about it, it’s also quite good for fertility as well – it’s the perfect kind of warm nourishment I’ll need to make my uterus as welcoming as possible. I plan to use it to cook rice and quinoa, quick stir-fries, as well as a base for some quick minestrone soups. On days when I’m really crunched for time and energy, I think it’ll work well with canned beans and wilted kale.

My other domestic challenge today was getting all the IVF meds and supplies organized and ready to start my first injections tomorrow. Went to my local Daiso and scored 4 items for only $6, then used hubby’s label-maker (yes, his – not mine!) and went to town. I’m kind of proud of how it turned out – beginning to remember how neat and organized I used to be before I went through residency, when sleep became more important. At least one part of my life is well-organized now! My closet and laundry, not so much, heh.