Availability

Cycle number: 11

Cycle day: 9

Meds: Met/Meno.pur

Outlook: Headache

I went for my scan this morning. I seem to have a number of follicles on the brew, the largest being about 10-11mm, so I had to go for a blood test to measure my FSH/LH levels and my oestradol levels. I go back on Friday for another scan and to get the results. If I have too many active follicles they will probably reduce my dose as they are very careful to prevent a multiples pregnancy wherever possible, and therefore don't want me developing more than 2 follicles to fruition. I'm glad that something is happening at least - and I'd rather have too many follicles than none at all. Luckily I'm becoming much more adept at giving myself the injections but I'm hoping things will go so well I won't need to do more than this one cycle of them!

A tad concerned about Friday though - the only appointment slots available were between 11 and 12pm, and I have a meeting at work from 10-12...not sure how well that's going to go down. Technically I will only be taking minutes so may just have to leave early and ask someone else to cover for me for the last 30 mins. There's not much I can do though as I need to be seen on Friday and that's the latest I can go.


Was surprised and slightly annoyed at the variation of treatment you can receive at the hospital today. I've seen 4 or 5 different doctors for my scans over the last few months, and most of them are really lovely. Usually, they turn the ultrasound screen around so that I can see what's going on as they are looking at it, and explain what they can see. Today's doctor was very different (I've had her before but she's never been this bad) she didn't say a single word to me through out the scan and didn't show me the screen or the print outs afterwards. She was generally very short and didn't take the time to ask if I had any questions at the end which I really appreciate from the doctors who do. Will be avoiding her from now on.

How to...prepare and inject Meno.pur

Ok, here goes. 

NOTE: This is meant as a rough guide only and is based on the instructions given to me by my doctor. Always follow the advice of your healthcare professional.

Left-right: pod of Meno.pur; ampule of solvent; alcohol cleansing pad; syringe; large mixing needle; small injecting needle

First, clean your hands thoroughly and prepare a clean preparation area.

Remove the cap from the pod of Meno.pur and wipe the alcohol wipe over it. You can now throw away the wipe and cap.

Take hold of the solvent at the bottom, and with the other hand gently flick the top to force the fluid down into the bottom of the vial.

Gently snap off the top of the vial. Mine has a little blue dot which should be facing towards you when you do this, and note the position of my hands. With vials like these always snap away from you. My nurse advised me to do this with a tissue over the vial to protect from any flying bits of glass (nothing like that has happened though, touch wood). If the vial cracks, the glass becomes jagged or get into the solution, discard the vial.

Take the large mixing needle and firmly slot it on to the end of the syringe. Keep the needle cap in place until you are ready to use it. When removing the needle cap, hold on to the lip of the needle fitting (the green edge visible here) to prevent the needle sliding back off the syringe.

Place the needle into the glass vial and slowly draw the fluid up into the syringe. I find it helps to tilt the vial to the side to ensure you get every last drop.

Holding the plunger on the syringe firm so as not to let any of the fluid out prematurely, push the needle through the rubber top of the pod of Meno.pur. Be careful not to smash the needle into the bottom as it can go through quite suddenly. Release the fluid into the pod; the Meno.pur powder will dissolve instantly. Keep the needle in the pod. If you can see any bubbles, give the pod a flick to disperse them. When you are happy, push the needle to the bottom of the pod and slowly pull the plunger up to draw the mixture into the syringe. Try not to draw any air in before or after it. Once you've got it all, hold the plunger steady, and slowly pull the needle out of the pod. Discard the pod. You have to be pretty quick now because once it's mixed it needs to be used as soon as possible.

Tilt the syringe upside down so the needle is pointing to the ceiling. Draw the fluid back slightly away from the needle. Remove the large mixing needle carefully, and replace its cap. Take the small injecting needle and fix to the end of the syringe. Again, carefully pull off the cap (hold the lip - in this case yellow - to ensure the needle stays in place).

Keep the needle pointing to the ceiling. If there are any bubbles in the syringe, flick it until they disperse, or draw the fluid back down with the plunger and then push back up slowly. Slowly and gently push the plunger up so that the fluid goes right up into the needle. Be careful because once it gets there it goes pretty quickly and can squirt out.

Expose your tummy. You need to grab that natural little pouch under your belly button, either to the right or the left (you will alternate sides each time you inject). There is a temptation to grab really hard to divert attention away from the needle, but only pinch gently. When you are ready, push the needle in as quickly as you can (don't stab, be gentle but swift). Once the needle is fully in, press the plunger down slowly to inject the solution - for my single dose it takes about 8-10 seconds. Once the syringe is empty, carefully remove the needle and press a tissue or cotton ball over the inject site for about 30 seconds. ALL DONE!

Final step: pour a large glass of wine or have a large chunk of chocolate.


Also note: be careful how you discard the glass and needles. My clinic suggested I collect them all in a glass container e.g. used jar until the end of my treatment, then I will take them in for the clinic to dispose of. 


Yet another note: Only use each needle/syringe/pod etc. once. If you make a mistake don't assume you can fix it - it's probably safer to start again from scratch.

Pin Cushion

Cycle number:11

Cycle day:7

Meds: Met and Meno.pur

Outlook: Ouchie!

Nothing much to report other than I am slowly become adept at stabbing myself in the stomach with a needle >_< My first self-administered dose was Friday night, and it wasn't the best of situations because we were rushing to get ready and go out so I was even more panicked than I might've been. I faffed around loads, drawing the fluid up, letting it back down because I missed some, getting annoyed by all the bubbles etc. Even wasted one of the fluid pods because I didn't flick it before opening. I then aborted the first stab because it hurt and I thought I wasn't doing it right, so made 2 holes instead of one. It's quite an involved process....!!

When the nurse gave me my first dose last Thursday, I didn't feel a thing - no prick when the needle went in, no discomfort. Even with my much more relaxed last two doses I still feel the needle going in...I suspect I'm not doing it quickly enough. It's pretty hard to get a good angle too on your tum...makes your wrist all twisty.

I am planning to do a photo entry on how to prepare and administer the Meno.pur. I have no idea if this is appropriate, but before I started self-injecting I really wanted to see someone else's idea of how to do it to yourself - it's all well and good watching a nurse do it, of course she finds it easy! - but couldn't find anything illustrated. I hope it will serve both as a reference for those doing it and reassurance that it's really not that scary or complicated for those who are moving towards it.

Other than that, I have just been ticking along. I have a scan on Wednesday to check for follicle progress and to try to work out how many more days of Meno.pur they want me to take...