Getting By

I’ve hit the feeling-lousy stage of IVF so part of me looked upon Sunday, a day with no medical appointments whatsoever, as an opportunity to do something to get my mind off things and to simply relax.  Our driver, Ajit, has very good English and clearly knows the city of Mumbai quite well so we decided to take in a quick tour of the major sites – Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, Gandhi house (stirring), Queen’s Necklace, Haji Ali Dargah mosque - and to tackle a little haggling with street vendors. Turns out Mumbai itself isn't much of a tourist destination. The two big beaches are really just for locals and the downtown architecture looks more British than Indian. If you’re in the banking business or part of the Bollywood scene, come on down. Otherwise, look elsewhere to explore the two thousand year history of this country. (Don't get me wrong, the sites are amazing but, museums aside, it can all be covered in a day. Well, with the exception of Elephanta Island and its amazing caves which we hope to visit  at the end of this week, depending on how I feel.)

Today (Monday) by 9:30am, was already a difficult day and I could only assume the day wouldn’t get much better. Not so good, I know. I stood holding the first of my two morning injections and just couldn’t do it. I cried, took a few minutes to regroup and then finally got it done. Once the needle is in it’s not bad, but until then the anxiety weighs heavily on me. I am overjoyed to say that today is the last day for my Lupron and Gonal-F injections!!  I'm really feeling the side effects of the medications now and that’s a bit frustrating as I have been doing so well up until now. We heard horror stories from others and I’m grateful it hasn’t been that bad for me. As Geoff wrote earlier, I have a headache here and there and I may be a little achy, but the two most noticable things are how tired I am hours after the shots and my stomach is surprisingly distended which, as much as I wish it were true, makes it look as though I have a baby bump.  In addition, I constantly feel like I have to pee and understandably, my abdomen is tender. After my injections, Geoff and I went down for breakfast and I really didn’t eat all that much. I did manage to cry again and this time, in the hotel’s restaurant. Nice. I looked down at my waffle and it reminded me of my Nanna who for years had made homemade, fluffy waffles. I miss home. I miss my Mom. I miss the comforts of our immaculately clean home.  I miss cooking in my kitchen.  And I miss my cleaning frenzies, which occur weekly…..okay, sometimes daily. 

We were due at Lilavati Hospital for a 10am pelvic scan I was not looking forward to and which, no doubt, added to my morning emotions.  We only had to wait a few minutes before a smiling, sharply dressed Dr. Yash appeared.  Happily, she only wanted to see the progression of the follicles in my left ovary which, as Geoff mentioned, is extra high. This means it can only be seen by an abdominal probe, not the transvaginal, and this greatly improved my day's outlook. Waaahoooo! Follicles are plumping up nicely and it appears I have a good amount in each ovary. Again, waaahooo!  We left the hospital and headed back to the hotel to relax for the afternoon. (A quick hello to Douglas from Melbourne, a really funny, kind Aussie we met by the pool.)

Tonight’s the trigger shot and Geoff is on needle duty.  Tomorrow is a purely lazy day as my ovaries kick into overdrive and I'm told to rest all day.  Next stop:  E-Day (egg retrieval day) - please keep us in your thoughts and send lots of baby dust!