It Hurts More When You're Not Paid For It

I have had a lot of ultrasounds in the past few years. In fact, I had a weekend job as a pelvic ultrasound model for a medical school so students could practice doing transvaginal ultrasounds on a real person. It paid well and was really no big deal, because they were nervous students and were very careful, and they didn't really have anything to look at.

The ultrasounds for my ovary checks are killers. The Friday test lasted 30 minutes of poking and prodding and pushing on my belly following by more jabbing. This time, the right ovary was up high and was difficult to look it. Keep in mind that my ovaries are swollen and sore from the fertility shots. I left the appointment feeling like I'd spent the morning riding a horse.

But, they found a great follicle on my left ovary measuring at 12mm. Since follicles continue to develop 1-2mm per day until ovulation occurs, this could be a 19er by Wednesday, which is when I suspect my HCG trigger shot will occur. There are also several smaller ones, which may look bigger by tomorrow's ultrasound. I've had doubts as to whether or not one follicle is worth inseminating for. I'm not aiming for twins or anything, but having more eggs waiting around means a better chance of someone hitting it off with the sperm.

Anyway, below is a photo of my nightly set-up. Here's what I do:

1. Break open the bottom vial with the red printing. Using the large syringe, I suck up all of the water from the bottle.
2. After breaking open the vial with the medicine, I squirt the water into the vial and shake it gently until it dissolves. Then I suck it all back up into the syringe.
3. Snapping open the next medicine vial, I squirt everything from the syringe into the vial and mix it up again.
4. Next, I remove the big needle from the syringe and replace it with the smaller one at the top of the picture.
5. Then I inject it. Most of the time, it's not big deal. In fact, I let my son do it last night and he thought it was awesome.

Once in a while, a drop of liquid comes back out from the needle hole or a small bit blood. For the next several hours and sometimes into the next day, the area stays red and itchy and swells a bit. But again, it's no big deal. I can do it.