Whoa Mama! Now THAT'S a Lot of Meds!

Wow. Today we went to pick up my medications for this whole cycle and boy was I surprised at how much there was. We had 4 boxes of Gonal F, 4 boxes of Cetritide, 1 Microdose HCG, 3 packs of Minivelle, 2 bottles of Progesterone and about a zillion needles and alcohol pads. Oh and 1 thing of Doxycycline. 

To the best of my knowledge, the Gonal F and HCG shots stimulate egg growth, while Cetritide keeps you from ovulating prematurely. I haven't had to use the Minivelle or Progesterone yet so I don't know what they are for. The needles and alcohol pads are self explanatory and the Doxcycline is an antibiotic my husband and I are both taking to prevent anything that may be lurking in our bodies from transferring during the ICSI procedure. 

ICSI is when they take a sperm and manually insert it into an egg. This is different from when a man has sperm and the doctors put a few swimmers and an egg in a dish and wait for them to fertilize. ICSI is generally done in the severest cases of male infertility. :/

Administering the medications sucks! The Gonal F pen is the easiest, you just turn the dial to the correct dose, screw on the needle, stick it in your belly (off to the side of the belly button) and push! 

Gonal F pen and needle

 The HCG isn't really hard, you just stick the needle in the top of the jar and pull out the correct CCs and repeat the sticking in the belly. I act like it's not that hard but I couldn't poke myself. I had my husband do it while I looked away and hyperventilated! Haha! In the end the pain isn't that bad though. Oh, don't forget to use the alcohol pad to clean the area first!

Microdose HCG

Oh! I forgot to mention the "best" part! All of this set us back exactly $2,091! Ouch. However, I have one super amazing, world changing, heart-lifting tip: apply for the Compassionate Care Program, it's a program that, if you're approved, you can save up to 75% off your fertility meds. I only qualified for 50%, so without this program I would have had to shell out over $4,000! I am so grateful I qualified! There is also the option of ordering abroad with ivfmeds.com, they are also discounted. 

Well, that's it for now!

- Sausha