Everything is on track

So far, everything is on track for me.  I have been on the Follistim and Menopur for the last few days, and I went in for my first blood draw since starting the stims.  My Estradiol level was just fine, so she wants me to continue with my current dosage.  I go in for my first follicle check (by ultrasound) on Wednesday.  I am really excited (and nervous) about that first ultrasound.  Hopefully, they will see lots of follicles growing.

I have to say that the meds are making me feel awful.  Migraine headaches, bloating (and noticeable weight gain..ugh!), cramps.  Friday night I had bad nausea and vomiting, too, although I am not entirely sure that I didn't have a virus.  Also, I am so irritable that I have been avoiding being around people as much as possible.

One thing I have found really helps a lot when doing the shots is icing the heck out of the area prior to giving myself the shot.  Then, I can't feel the needle going in at all.  I can still feel the medicine going in, but if I can get the needle in without feeling it, that's a big improvement in my mind. The gel packs that came with the shipment of medications have been serving that purpose really well.  I just keep a couple of them in the freezer, and they are big enough that I can numb a fairly large area on my lower abdomen prior to giving myself the shot.  I generally leave it there for about a 45 seconds to a minute, and that does the trick.

On a brighter note, I was exceptionally motivated to do cooking and baking this weekend.  Satuday I made french toast for breakfast, and Sunday I made homemade yogurt, guacamole, and chocolate chip cookies.  The chocolate chip cookies didn't turn out that well for some reason (I think I may have let the butter soften too long, because they turned out overly flat!), but everything else was great.  I also baked an apple pie for the first time, and it wasn't half bad, despite a few small mistakes on my part.  I forgot to dot the filling with butter and only remembered after I had already put the top crust on, and had sealed it.  So, I cut vents in the top crust, and tried to shove little chunks of butter through the vents.  It didn't look very pretty after I was done, but it actually tasted really good!  My husband ate three pieces, so he must have thought it was okay, too.