Put the pill where?

I figured you would all get a kick out this. As I shared with you in my previous post, I have to start several medications on November 2 to prepare for the egg donation. Here is a list of those medications:
1 baby aspirin once daily
1 mg Estrace orally twice daily (Estrace is basically estrogen. Since my ovaries are shut down from the Lupron, I'm not making enough estrogen. Estrogen is important for thickening my endometrial lining. That's the inside of my uterus. It's where the embryos will hopefully attach, and they need a nice, thick fluffy place to burrow into. Without the Estrace, my uterus would not be very welcoming.)
.2 ml Lupron injected subcutaneously once daily

Okay, not so bad yet, right? Well, on November 7th, I'm supposed to bump up the Estrace to 2 mg orally twice daily plus 2 mg vaginally twice daily. I called the pharmacy to fill the vaginal Estrace prescription because I have oral Estrace from a previous cycle.

Tangent: All of these meds are so ridiculously expensive and not covered by insurance! The Lupron is $200 for a 14 day supply. I have to refill it twice. The Estrace is $198 for a 2 week supply. It's just all ridiculous.

Anyway, back to filling the Estrace prescription. I told the pharmacist I had the 2 mg pills, but I also had to take the estrace vaginally. She told me, "It's the same." I told her that she did not understand. I only had the PILLS that I had put in my mouth and swallowed, and I needed the cream or suppo or whatever went into the vagina. She told me again, "It's the same thing." I again had to make the point that the pill I had was small and blue and I would take it with water, sometimes Crystal Light, but usually water, and I put it in my mouth, swallowed, and it would go to my belly, without ever going through my vagina. She said the same little pill would be taking the quicker route to do it's job-through my lady business! (my words, not hers)

Bye, Bye Desogen, Hello, Period

Okay, the Desogen sucked big-time. Liane called me after being on for 3 days and said she hated me...she had gained 5 lbs. Sorry 'bout that.

I also had my own weight gain issues, as well as nausea, headaches, and fatigue. On top of the Desogen, I also had to start injecting myself with Lupron in my belly daily on 10/19.

The Lupron makes me loopy. I can't remember things, like to take the damn medicine. I also got terrible night sweats, although I can't be sure if it was the Lupron or my 100 lb dog that sleeps right up next to me all night. Maybe it's a combination of both. Anyway, I also would get really tired but had trouble falling asleep. I know it's weird. I think I've now adjusted to the Lupron at this point, which is good because I have to keep that up for the next 2-3 weeks.

By the way, the Lupron "turns off" my ovaries and keeps me from making eggs of my own and/or ovulating. This is because they don't want any of my effed-up eggs to come out. They can all stay in my ovaries and continue to rot because I'm using lovely young eggs from Liane. I still run the risk of having eggs from her that are dirty, tell lots of lies, and maybe have a lazy eye, but all of that sounds a lot better than what I've got.

So I stopped taking the Desogen (hallelujah!) on 10/27, and I started my period today (10/30). I reported it to my MD, and on November 2nd, the medicines get cranking big time.

By the way, Liane stops taking her pill on Friday and has her "suppression check" next Tuesday. At that point, they make sure she is ready to begin being stimulated to make eggs.

'N Sync

The first step in this whole egg donation process is to get my cycle and Liane's coordinated. I started my period on Sunday, October 14th, and that same day, I started taking my birth control pills (Desogen). This will put me in a holding pattern until Liane starts her period. She called me today (10/16) to say her period just started. Woo-hoo! Game on! We almost were on the same track from the get-go. She starts her Desogen today.