"I'm gonna go to med school after this"...

Hubby has joked around saying this each time he's administered a shot.  I'll wait until my next post to go into details about the actual injections, but wanted to first share all these medicines we're dealing with.  Hubby and I feel like we're reading a cookbook as we measure and mix and stir and combine.  It can be a bit tedious and especially that first night: intimidating, but it quickly becomes routine.

I kinda feel like a pharmacist or something handling all this stuff...

My Drugs:

(may totally differ from someone else's either in types or dosages)

Nightly: 150 IUs Follistim
(used to help mature eggs/follicles)

Nightly: 2 vials Menopur
(used to help mature eggs/follicles)

Every other night: 50 IUs Omnitrope
(this is not specifically an infertility drug, but has been
shown to help the maturation of eggs in IVF cycles)

Nightly starting Day 5: .5mL Ganirelix
(used later in the Stimulation to hold off ovulation)

~36 hours before retrieval: Novarel
(trigger shot to help ovulation along)

It's an intimidating group, but you quickly become very familiar with each of them.  And by the end of the cycle you're all great friends.  Sorta like summer camp... ;)

Here's what I need each night to get all these drugs into mah belleh:

Start with the above on Day 1, and continue every other night

Start with the above on Day 2 (Day 1 minus Omnitrope)
and continue every other night

It's almost exactly like mixing a cocktail. ;)  Who doesn't love mixing a cocktail?! (I guess I'd really just prefer drinking one.)

Here's a video Dr. A forwarded showing how to mix the injections of Follistim and Menopur.  We weren't shown how to use the Q-Cap, but no biggie - we just use the syringe to mix everything.

On days requiring Omnitrope or Ganirelix (or both), we add it/them
into one of the Menopur vials and continue as indicated

It's fun - it's totally fun.  OK not really.  But if all of this gets us a couple healthy babies it's all worth it.

xoxo, the Mixologist