Trigger Shot Round 2

This was my second cycle with the Trigger Shot. You can read more about my first cycle HERE. For those of you who don't know what the Trigger Shot is, it simply an injection of the hcg hormone (pregnancy hormone). The purpose is to stimulate or "trigger" ovulation so I can drop a mature egg in hopes of fertilization.

Last month, I had horrible headaches when I took Letrozole, the pill that helps me create a lot of follicles so I have a better chance in dropping a mature egg. (Follicles are the sacs that contain eggs and when ovulation occurs the mature egg drops.) This month wasn't as bad, but the headaches were definitely still there. I was also very upset with my ultrasound appointment Monday to check my follicles. You can read about that experience HERE. I thought I only had three and they were around 10mm each. That is a big difference from what I saw last month. (The average follicle size before triggering is around 17mm-26mm.) I got my results yesterday and they were larger than I thought at 17mm on my left ovary (with the blocked fallopian) and 10mm and 15mm on the right with the good tube. So I'm glad we waited to trigger. Yesterday I got my Pregnyl Trigger shot and I'm hoping my follicles were large enough. The shot itself doesn't hurt but man, the next day I'm so sore. I'm sore in my stomach where the needle was injected and it hurts to wear pants. The site of the injection gets red and is warm to the touch. It even hurts to bend down. While working with children, this can be a struggle.

I'm honestly nervous that I didn't have as many follicles this cycle because it doesn't give me the best chance in conceiving. In my eyes, the more follicles the better the chance in getting one to release and fertilize. The largest one is the one that typically gets released and it was unfortunately on my left side. Since fallopian tubes are about the width of a pencil, I'm nervous about anything on my left ovary especially when they don’t have anywhere to go. When I got the hsg test (a test that uses dye that pours into your fallopian tubes to confirm if they are blocked or not), my left tube looked like a sausage or a mini balloon. Although I should still be able to get pregnant with one tube, it still hurts the odds in conceiving.

I don’t know if it’s the pills or the process with infertility in general but I feel like I’ve been struggling lately. It’s been hard to get out of bed. It’s been hard to comb my hair, put clothes on and even make it to work. It’s been hard to breathe. I’ve been finding myself taking deep breaths a lot and just trying to find the time to actually breathe. As long as I don’t spend over half of my day in my bed, I think I’m having a great day.

I‘m still praying with Jake and putting my trust in God. Each day is a blessing. I’m trying to not take that for granted because I know I will have my sweet baby soon enough. After all, nothing worth fighting for is easy. And this is far from easy.