Running and Dreaming for Two: Baseline Appointment

I woke up this morning feeling excited, hopeful, and genuinely positive about this cycle. I've been listening to the Circle + Bloom IVF program every day, and it has really been helping me to focus my otherwise chatty mind.

The appointment itself was a little more stressful than I had anticipated. They had to take my height, weight and blood pressure... routine stuff that ordinarily doesn't bother me. But lately, I've been feeling self conscious about my weight and body image. One of the many perks of being a marathon runner is that you burn lots of calories. At the rate I used to burn it up, I would be able to indulge in lots of guilt-free ice cream and goodies without thinking about it. Now that I'm not running like that, I try to be more mindful of my nutrition. But things are definitely not as strong and tight as they used to be. I kept justifying it as bloat from the meds, but it has been very upsetting to me that I don't fit in most of the pants in my closet anymore. Well, getting on the scale today was not very fun... I have gained almost 10 pounds since March. I joked with the nurse that I was wearing heavy boots and a big sweater...

Then I sat down to have my blood pressure taken. My BP has always been well within the normal range. I was so surprised when the nurse said that she was going to take it again because the second number was a little borderline. They like to see it under 90, but the first reading was 86. The second reading came in at 91!! I laughed it off and said it must have been because I didn't like my weight today.

Then I had my blood drawn. Ouch!! I mean, it wasn't that bad, but it definitely pinched a lot more than usual today. I went across the hall for my ultrasound. The doctor said everything looked good and we are ready to start with stims tonight :)

I sat down with Nurse C to go over my schedule and learn how to mix the new medication (Tev Tropin... human growth hormone). Wowee! Doc is starting those doses higher, just like he said he would! I'm starting with 2 vials of Menopur and 200iu of Follistim for four nights. On the fourth night, which happens to be Thanksgiving, I will add 40iu of Tev Tropin. Then I'll return to the office on Friday for monitoring.

HERE WE GO!!!

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UPDATED: The first shot is done! Is it weird that I actually had fun mixing it? The shot wasn't too bad either.