Lupron Day 5

I'm giving my own shots now, YAY ME! It's not so bad. It still kind of stings and I still get a little itchy after, but it's not so bad. I figured out that if I actually push the needle in slowly (EEEEEEK! Sorry!) it doesn't hurt as much. I don't think Gregg minds not giving the shot. He just watches in mock-horror. I think I had a side effect today...but I'm not sure if it really qualifies...I got grouchy and irrational for like 15 minutes...Gregg wouldn't take the bait, so the mood passed. YAY Gregg! I just can't tell if it was a side effect or is just the stress of the whole IVF situation. I've been listening to this British IVF hypnosis cd every couple of days. Her accent was very funny to me at first, but is now very mellowing. I don't think I can accurately portray the accent in writing...okay, I'll try..."noo eemagine yoorr loosh yootereyne loining..." hysterical...[pun intended].
My suppression check (when Dr. B makes sure he has adequately removed any chance of me ovulating on my own) is on Thursday. He's also going to do a "mock transfer" which is when they sort of map my uterus so that they can see in advance where the correct spot to put the as-yet-non-existent embryos is. Sue the IVF nurse said that Dr. B gets really into it, draws diagrams and everything. Good!
I also am enrolled in a study! It is dependent in the end on if I get pregnant. I hope I'm not breaking any laws by disclosing the study...it doesn't seem like top secret stuff...okay...it's a study of how the cardiovascular system changes in women who get pregnant using IVF versus women who get pregnant naturally. (and if they are studying this, they must already know that there is a difference, and I hope it's not too bad). It involves lots of urinating and blood pressure checks and an echocardiogram (which I get to keep to share with my primary care doctor, who is my boss, a pediatrician, another story). So I get 2G if I get pregnant and can really finish the study. YAY! I still get $250 for the initial part, pregnant or not, so it's a win/win really. It only involves 8 office visits over the course of the pregnancy, no biggie really. When the head researcher (a NP, thank you) took my blood pressure the other day she said that I would probably be at risk for passing out and falling down a lot if I get pregnant because my pre-pregnancy blood pressure is only 100/60 and blood pressures tend to drop (unless you have pre-eclampsia) during pregnancy because the pregnant body has to accommodate so much more blood and blood vessels and stuff. I guess I'll try to find a pro-bono spotter. He or she would be required to stand next to pregnant me and yell "TIMBER!" as I go down whilst also ensuring my safety. Anyway, the study is a benefit of being at a university IVF clinic. Maybe the hypnosis is affecting my blood pressure? Probably.