"Ding!" They're done!

Largest follicle at 23mm as of this morning, as well as several more at 20 thru 17mm.

So......trigger tonight! Retrieval on Friday!! Transfer on Monday or Wednesday, depending on how the embryos are doing!!!

I can't believe it.

I'm delighted, and thrilled, and grinning, and my heart hasn't stopped pounding since I left the RE's office this morning.

But, I'm very apprehensive about 2 things:

First, and most imminent, I'm reeeeealllly anxious about the intra-muscular injections. Since I'm not taking Ovidrel, and taking the generic 5,000iu hcg shot instead, it has to be taken IM instead of subQ. So, it all starts tonight! Ack! I also thought I needn't worry about the progesterone-in-oil injections until after the Transfer - but I found out today that I have to start those on Friday after the Retrieval! Waaaaaahh!!!

The nurse at my RE's office drew two big black circles on either side of my ass, so that R would have perfect targets. She recommended icing the area before hand, so that you don't feel the needle going in (which prevents flinching). She said I should put something warm on it immediately afterwards (a heating pad, a wet washcloth in a baggie microwaved for a minute, etc.) and massage it for awhile, and further, that I shouldn't do the shot just before going to bed. The idea is that I should be moving around enough afterwards for the oil to get worked into the muscle, instead of just sitting there in a lump all night.

I KNOW that I can and will do whatever it takes. I know that I can do this. But since I've never had an IM injection, I'm letting myself get all worked up over it. I'm really, really dreading it. Maybe it is the psychological aspects of giving up control to R, (which has nothing to do with trust - I trust him completely), as well as the shock of looking at such a huuuuuge needle. It elicits a visceral reaction. Ugh.

And the other thing that I'm anxious about is the retrieval process. So, if you remember, the faux retrieval I had last time, which we called a "Follicle Reduction", was incredibly painful. Under no circumstances do I want to feel all those needle punctures in my ovaries again! This morning I told the nurse about my experience, and she was totally horrified. She PROMISED that I would be TOTALLY out for the retrieval this time around, and that I wouldn't feel anything during the procedure. She said that she would put a note in my chart that I wanted to speak to the anesthesiologist beforehand in order to relate my past experience. I guess that makes me feel slightly reassured?? I'm still a ball of nerves over it though.

I'll post again after my first IM shot tonight, if I survive.....