Day 1 of Stims

This morning, I did my first injection of Follistim. It was a bit stressful loading the injection pen and making sure everything was put together right while keeping it all sanitary. Ryan was there with me, providing commentary along the way.

When it came time to actually do the injection, I have to say I'm a bit embarrassed about how I dealt with it. It took about 10 minutes to get myself to do it. Ever since a traumatic event giving blood as a child, I have had a fear of needles. Infertility has helped to ease that phobia. I've experienced my share of needles, and even gave blood a while back (although I nearly passed out - but I did it).

For some reason though, all those phobias came back this morning. For the life of me, I could not get myself to put that needle in my stomach! And, believe me, that needle is tiny. It is nothing to be scared of. Even so, I tried and chickened out over and over. I was sick to my stomach, light-headed and my hands were seriously sweating. Ryan tried to take over, but I wouldn't let him. It was quite a process, and I felt like a total loser.

Finally, I did it, and it was no big deal (of course).

As far as side effects, I didn't know what to expect. People told horror stories about Clomid, but I had no real symptoms. I think the Follistim is going to be different. The burning immediately afterward was very strong. As the day wore on, my stomach became increasingly sore and I began to get these radiating pains from my abdomen down into my upper thighs. It makes me a tad nervous about tomorrow's shot, as my mid-section is already feeling like one big bruise.

Not that I'm complaining. Of course, this is all SO worth it, and something I have waited to do for (literally) years. Progress is the best feeling in the world, and I am blessed to be making this next step. I am nearly giddy with excitement and full of hope.