Firstly I better explain about the Menopur injection. Unfortunately with this type of injection it requires you to mix it yourself as every person needs different amounts of Menopur. Each ampoule contains 0.75 IU (International Units). As there is a risk of stimulating the ovaries too much and developing Ovarian hyperstimulation Syndrome the clinic decided to start me off on a relatively small dose of 112.5 IU. This is a particularly awkward number as it meant that we need to use two ampoules of Menopur and then get rid of some as it would be too much. The syringe is in millilitres which makes it even more confusing! Anyway to give a rough picture of what we have to do:
- Firstly snap the top of a small bottle which contains sterile water (make sure you flick the top so that no water gets caught in the neck of the bottle).
- Open the pink needle which is the mixing needle and attach to syringe.
- Remove the lids off of the two ampoules of Menopur.
- Gently stab through the top of the ampoule bottle and slowly empty the syringe into the bottle (the Menopur comes in powder form and dissolves immediately).
- Suck the liquid back into the syringe and repeat on the second ampoule of Menopur.
- Then remove the mixing needle and put the yellow needle on which is the needle we will inject me with.
- Now the confusing part the liquid in the syringe has to be at 0.75 ml and the excess has to be removed.
- Then Jay injects the needle into my stomach.
Now we had already double-checked several times about the measurements of the drug and was well and truly reassured. So the evening came yesterday and at 7.00pm we followed all the above instructions and got right to the part about measurements and there wasn't enough liquid in the syringe!!! It was 7.30pm by this point and I began to panic and so did Jay. We knew that we couldn't ring the clinic as it was shut and it just didn't make sense. I couldn't believe how all this was happening on our very first injection and Mary (our nurse) had wanted me to be relaxed when taking them. In the end Jay came to the conclusion that we must have been told wrong and decided to still give me the amount that was in the needle as it was less but in the morning he was going to ring up the clinic. I had become so overwhelmed that when I tried to inject myself I burst into tears. I had become the complete opposite of relaxed. However Jay, my wonderful rock, took over, reassured me and I gave him the injection to do. He injected me swiftly and without any hesitation.
So when the morning came Jay rang up the clinic and spoke to Mary and she discovered the problem- we had forgot to flick the small bottle with the sterile fluid (the very first step!) therefore we lost some of the fluid! How silly we both felt and I felt even more silly this morning after getting overwhelmed last night but this is a journey and it will most certainly have its ups and downs. We are both learning along the way!
I felt much happier about the injections today knowing now what we had done wrong. The first one was over and that will always be the hardest one! The only thing I have to make sure I do is drink lots of water as it helps with the side-affects. So I have been drinking all day and feel as bloated as a balloon! All was going well today until the mail man arrived and bought sad news with him... My Nana passed away on 5th January, her battle with Huntington's disease has ended. I felt all different emotions on receiving this news, sadness, glad that she isn't suffering anymore, regret that I never got to meet her, worry of how my Dad was going to take the news... Yet as the day went on one thing stood out alone from all these feelings - courage. I have even more reason now to be doing this IVF/PGD, I will not let anymore suffer from this terrible disease! It will end after me! I am doing this for my Nana, my Dad, my husband and most importantly for the life of our future child... No more suffering in my family, it ends with me!
This evening we did the injection and it went wonderfully (Jay has definately got a promising future as a doctor haha!) I am blessed with a wonderful husband and we will do this together! I will keep you updated!
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