“The Big Day is Here” (Blog #3)
Well, the big day was finally here. Bigger than my first communion, more important than my first day of school and way more exciting than a potential future wedding. Today was Trigger day!
Today is the day that I am finally able to take the injection that will cause my follicles to release their eggs and as a result, cause ovulation to occur. After doing some research and speaking with my health care practitioners, I learned this was perhaps the most important injection of the entire process.
I had taken 12 days of medication (2 injections in the evening and one in the morning) and had to go in for monitoring again the morning of day 13. By day 12, I was slightly bloated, getting annoyed by the injections and daily blood work (at this point I had blood work 3 days in a row) and the process was consuming my brain. Truthfully, I was surviving the process just fine and overall it was much less cumbersome and painful than I anticipated – but I was ready to be done . I compare it to being around a family member for 12 days in a row – as much as I love and care for them, at the end of 12 days I am ready for some alone time. I felt this same way about the injections.
As I had mentioned in previous blogs, the hardest part about this process was gathering my loved ones support. After I had completed that step, I would say the second most challenging part was getting over the fear of needles and mastering the injections. Luckily, the injections turned out to be a breeze. And last, but not least, I would say the final challenge of this process were the last few days anxiously awaiting the magical words “we can trigger you tonight”. I say this because a woman can trigger anytime between Day 7 and Day 12 of stimulation. Everyday, when I was called with results, I didn’t know if I would be triggering that evening or wait to cook another day. By Days 10, 11, 12 – I just really wanted to know when that procedure would happen so I could schedule my life accordingly. But when I really took a step back and looked at the process – it is a measly 2 – 3 weeks of my life that I sacrificed, to ensure I had the best insurance policy I will ever purchase.
My OVA physician had prescribed a dual trigger. This consisted of a subcutaneous injection of Lupron, and an intramuscular shot of 5,000 units of HCG. Basically one shot in the stomach and one in the buttocks to be given at the same time. This is done for a variety of reasons, many of which I am not smart enough to eloquently articulate, but it is mainly done to prevent overstimulation or OHSS. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to you during the process, and using Lupron as a trigger helps prevent that. I must warn you I am not a physician so I am only paraphrasing what my OVA healthcare providers have told me. The Lupron shot was a piece of cake and is similar to the injections I had given myself throughout stimulation. The trigger shot would be more of a shock. The needle is longer and therefore looks a bit scarier. I found out later that this is because it needs to be long enough to reach the muscle, while the other injections just needed to reach the layer of fat right under the skin. The trigger shot is given in the upper right quadrant of the buttocks – and your nurse will instruct you how to give it properly. You will need someone else to give you this injection. I’ve heard about women giving it to themselves, but I think this is rare and they must be much more up to date on current yoga poses than I am, because I could not bend that way. Luckily, my sweet mother was happy to provide assistance.
I couldn’t help but watch a few YouTube clips of normal folk giving the injection to their partners. I knew I was breaking my own rule, because I had preached (in the last blog) to not listen to what the internet had to say. However, in this instance watching videos actually helped calm my nerves. The one that helped the most, was just an average couple with a nervous wife and confident husband. She stood there for a few minutes anxiously awaiting the shot. Well, turns out, the husband actually gave her the shot and she hadn’t even realized it! That definitely calmed my nerves and made me realize that if I could come this far, one more injection was not going to phase me.
Turns out – my mother could be a trigger shot specialist because she did an excellent job! I felt only the tiniest pinch and it was over before I knew it. She was quite proud of herself as well J It really was painless. And again, I couldn’t have felt more empowered and relieved that all I had left was 36 hours until the final procedure. At this point, I felt the hardest days were behind me. For the first time in a few days, I felt excitement as I desperately wanted to know what my final egg count would be. One thing I learned through the process as well, that as much as we all want a certain “number” of eggs – getting a lower number of quality eggs became more important than getting a high quantity. I wanted to know that I would have quality eggs that I could use down the road, as I didn’t want this process to be in vain.
I’m eager and feeling good about my upcoming procedure. I’ve been told the entire process – from the time I walk in the door of the clinic – lasts about 2 – 3 hours and the actual procedure itself lasts only 10 – 15 minutes. I will be out under light anesthesia and I can walk out shortly after the procedure is finished. Compared to what I hear about most procedures, this sounds very manageable. And frankly, I’m just ready to get back to hormone-free me.