Donor Blog

Taking a New Injection: Day 5 (Cont'd)

The nurse called me a second time today because she forgot to tell me to also take the Ganirelix injection today and tomorrow. Jeez... I'm going to have to mix 3 shots on my flight tomorrow. Anyway, it only comes in one amount in its own syringe, and she said I can mix it into the Luveris vial with the other medications so I only have to give myself one shot.

...they're so considerate. :)

By the way, if some of you are wondering how small the injection needle is, here's a picture - it's the one attached to the syringe and only 1 cm long. The larger needle on top is just the mixing needle (1.5 inches). I know... my eyes got really wide when that was the first needle shown to me at my injection orientation. And by the way, I have small hands, so don't let the picture fool you.

My case manager reads all of my blog posts, and saw the numbers I reported in my previous post. She responded that my number is really high for day 5, and thinks I may experience some "abdominal distension." I should drink a lot of gatorade & V8 juice to help. My nurse at Boston IVF didn't mention I should do this, but I'll definitely take the preventative measures since I can sense the concern from everyone.

distention noun
1. the state of being stretched beyond normal dimensions [syn: dilatation]
2. the act of expanding by pressure from within

I've already been drinking more fluids than I usually do - just to help with the blood draws really. I did read in another donor's blog that she was told to drink gatorade and eat salty foods because she had OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). The chances of a donor having this during their first cycle is possibly as high as 15%. But then that chance is lowered for extra cycles because the doctor now knows how sensitive a person is to the injections.

I'm not really worried about OHSS yet. But I'll start with drinking lots of Gatorade and looking for salty foods. We'll see how things go at my ultrasound on Sunday.

A comment from my Case Manager, Helena:

I am more relaxed since you start taking Ganirelix today. Ganirelix is an antagonist of Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). It prevents eggs from being released prematurely by suppressing the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge. It will also help to reduce your discomfort from the high hormone levels as well as the risk of being hyperstimulated.