We Also Saw Some Llamas

Day three of stims and all is well. I'm starting to really enjoy the city. I have  a couple of massive blisters on my feet from all the walking, but I'm not complaining.

Well, not much anyway. 

Okay, fine. I lied. I'm complaining a lot about the bruises on my abdomen. Repronex and I do not get along. At all. Oh, and that Follistim Pen? What a waste of time. I guess it would be convenient if I were only injecting a small dose each day, but I'm on 450 IU. The cartridge only holds 600 IU. This means that every other day I have to shoot up twice to get the right dosage. Plus, I thought it was an auto-ject pen, but it's not; you still have to stick yourself. The only thing you don't have to do is the mixing, but trust me, mixing is faster than changing cartridges and needles and having to shoot up twice. Definite thumbs down for the Follistim Pen.

In other news, my mom and I spotted two celebrities today while we were wandering about, but we didn't know either of their names. That still counts, doesn't it?

I was all, "Mom, did you just see him?! It's that guy!"

And she was all, "Yeah! What's his name?!"

And I was all, "I don't know."

And she was all, "Me neither. I think he's on that CSI show."

And I was all, "No, he's on NYPD Blue."

And she was all, "He is not, that show isn't even on anymore."

And I was all, "Oh. Well, what show is it, then?"

And she was all, "Maybe it's Judging Amy."

And I was all, "Yeah, maybe that's it."

By the way, I've never watched any of the above mentioned shows, so I really had no idea what I was talking about. When we got back to the hotel, we did a google search. Turns out they were the guy from Law and Order, and the lady from Two and a Half Men.

We also saw some llamas.

One more thing and then I'll shut up:

On our walk yesterday we came across this lovely window display in a children's clothing store. Um. Yeah, so, if any of you would like a 'Hottie' shirt for your young daughter, just let me know and I'll pick one up for you. No problem.

Comments

[Cindy]

I was hoping to catch a glimpse of you reflected in the glass....

Good luck !!!
cindy

[T]

I've heard that if you do the repro IM or let it sit for a few minutes before injecting, you might not have the welt issue.

I think that drug companies (package developers) are utter morons. The newest gonal-f comes with one syringe for each vial - each vial? Do they even know what we're doing here? Morons.

[Sassimiz]

Yup, T is right. Let the Repro sit for 5 minutes and it won't be as bad.

Oh, and I agree with you on the Follistim pen. I do 450 a day too. Besides having to do an extra shot a day (what's one more?), with having limited short term memory these days, I have to leave myself notes to remember how much is left in that damn cartridge so I don't under/over stim myself. And, sometimes, the notes confuse me...and then I spend hours (days) worrying that I did the wrong amount.

Enjoy those "star" sightings!!!

[Julie]

I know how wrong this is, but I kind of want a pink "HOTTIE" shirt for Charlie.

And I was all, "Dude! You also saw some llamas?"

[Suz]

Good luck, Danae. I'm rooting for you.

[Jo]

That store window -- did it look like some sort of baby-doll snuff porn to anyone else?

No?

Well.

Richard Belzer kind of looks like a llama.

[millie]

I was doing 750 iu day of follistim so I feel your pain. It might help to know that the 600 cartridges actually hold 747 iu so by doing 2 shots a day you can use all that extra and save some cash.

[wessel]

Poor celebs. That might have really hurt their feelings to find out that you don't even know their names! Waaaaaaah!

Another chime in on T's advice--let the drug sit on the counter for a few minutes after mixing, and it will sting less.

Wishing you lots of luck this cycle. May this be your LAST cycle because you won't need any more. :-)

[Danae]

I actually do let the Repronex sit before I inject but it doesn't seem to help. I don't have a reaction right away, I get a red mark a few hours later and then the next day it bruises and the injection site is sore, hot and red.

Between that and the Lupron whiskers, I'm looking extremely sexy these days.

Speaking of sexy - Julie, I'll be sure to pick up one of those Hottie shirts for Charlie today.

[AtlantaDebbie]

I was told the follistim cartridges, although they SAY 600 units, are really like 775.

I was on the same dose as you (450/day, 225AM, 225PM), and thought I'd have to do the two shots to get the last 150 out of one cartridge and then another 75 out of a new cartridge, but I always had enough to finish, with a teensy bit left over in the cartridge.

I had panicked the first time I was thinking I would inject and the little dial would still be stuck at 75, and instead it went all the way to 0. I packed up a cartridge, my pen, and my own good self and headed to the RE's office where the nurse explained they give you extra's cause they figure you're going to spill some. Hunh. Would have been nice to know pre-panic.

On the other hand, I had a temp drop and spotting today, so maybe I did it wrong. Don't listen to me; I'm an IVF newbie!

Good luck! I think the sighting of the llamas is a postive sign for this go-round.

[Denise]

You can inject your follistim into your repronex needle. I was on 600 follistim and 2 amps of repro and I injected the follistim into the repronext and it was fine.... These were instructions from REs office. GOod luck. Love reading you!

[Maura in VA]

OMG. A "Hottie" shirt for a toddler?

That makes me ILL. Who on earth would buy such a thing? While people may have differing opinions on the Britney-zation of young teen and "tween" girls, sexualizing a toddler is pretty damn disgusting.

Best of luck with this cycle, and thanks for another great post.

[ManhattanAnne]

Welcome to town! Best of luck.

[Pamplemousse]

I loves me some Richard Belzer. And the beard? I had that already!! Happy stimming.

[Katherine]

I'll pass on the Hottie shirt - but if you see any red glittery SEXY shirts in size 2T or smaller!!

What are people thinking?

Glad you're finally up and running. Good luck! Love the blog.

[Melany]

Good luck... You are rubbing shoulders with celebs!

[Debe]

I kinda have a crush on the other guy on there, Christopher Meloni, so if you see him, wolf whistle for me

[Ollie]

Yeah, I pretty much think the Follistim pen is a pain in the ... well, in the gut. I didn't like it either.

So why didn't the baby model also have a terrycloth headband and shimmery stretch pants? Because that's what real hotties wear.

[Moxie]

Throw in a trip to Whole Foods and it sounds like a pretty normal day in NYC: blisters, llamas, inappropriate clothing for toddlers, and faux-celebrity sightings.

I'm sorry about the shooting up and the whiskers.