Today is cycle day 14 The big gap between entries is because I had trouble getting to Blogger because I couldn't remember by userid. Oops.

This afternoon I will have another IUI. This one ought to have several eggs as targets for my husband's sperm, instead of just one. I took Follistim (a brand of FSH) shots twice last week. Then on Saturday I had and ultrasound and blood work to see how the follicles were maturing. One of the follicles was at 18mm (average diameter) and a couple of other were smaller but still getting close to the right size. I was told to give one more Follistim shot that day, then to take an hCG shot Monday morning at 1:30am. The hCG triggers ovulation after the ovaries have been hyperstimulated by the FSH to create more follicles. The hCG shot has to be 36 hours before the IUI, and since my IUI appointment is in the afternoon, my shot was in the middle of the night.

I was pretty nervous about the first shot -- I've never given myself a shot before. They shots were subcutaneous (under the skin, into the fatty tissue), so a very short needle was used. The mixing and preparation part was fine, just like high school chemistry. :-) The poke was hardly noticable, but it was harder to push the plunger in to inject the liquid than I thought it would be. The area was a little uncomfortable for a few minutes, but it was not bad at all. The second one was easier because I wasn't nervous about giving it, just about having someone walk in on me (I was away from home).