Follistim or other injections

mrshall1027 · January 2014

I mentioned this in the TTC thread today. Femara didn't work so we are moving on to injections (Follistim). My RE has me on a protocol of 75 IU every evening for 5 days and I'll have my estrogen level checked on Thursday. It sucks that we are having to go to this step, but I'm trying to stay positive. My RE really thinks this will do it for us, so we'll see.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any insight or cared to share their experience if they went through injections. Any info shared would be greatly appreciated

Aimothy · January 2014

The reality of shots is not nearly as bad as what your brain makes it out to be.

sweetpotato123 · January 2014

Follistim is super easy once you get over the mental aspect of injecting yourself

Take it out of the fridge 10 min before. Let the alcohol dry on your skin prior to injecting.
Sometimes it stings sometimes it doesn't.
I never experienced any side effects outside of ohss, cysts and giant ovaries (mild ohss is very rare though).
Are they not looking at you until after 5 days of stims?? that makes me nervous since you don't know how you'll respond. I usually go in for bloodwork after 2 days of injects and then go from there. You don't want to produce too many eggs and it's easier to increase meds than dial back down and potentially have to cancel a cycle.
Wishing you tons of luck and ask me anything- I'm about to start round #4 soon.

sandollar1010 · January 2014

I agree with PP. I don't mind needles, but I was so nervous the first time I had to give myself a shot. After the first shot, it's super easy. Just make sure you pinch a chunk of your belly, and put the needle in fast like a dart, but inject the meds slow. I tried to use a different spot each day to avoid soreness/bruising. Good luck!!

islandmonkey8 · January 2014

No advice, but GL!

FutureMrsWright2012 · January 2014

I don't have any advice either, but I wanted to send you positive follie vibes! GL @ystaalenburg!

mrshall1027 · January 2014

sweetpotato123 said:

Follistim is super easy once you get over the mental aspect of injecting yourself Take it out of the fridge 10 min before. Let the alcohol dry on your skin prior to injecting. Sometimes it stings sometimes it doesn't. I never experienced any side effects outside of ohss, cysts and giant ovaries (mild ohss is very rare though). Are they not looking at you until after 5 days of stims?? that makes me nervous since you don't know how you'll respond. I usually go in for bloodwork after 2 days of injects and then go from there. You don't want to produce too many eggs and it's easier to increase meds than dial back down and potentially have to cancel a cycle. Wishing you tons of luck and ask me anything- I'm about to start round #4 soon.

My RE didn't mention anything about doing bloodwork sooner than Thursday. I think this is pretty standard for them and I've done a little googling and have read this is normal as well. I'll mention it to them and see what they say. I definitely don't want to have to cancel a cycle, especially since this is all OOP for us.

LooneyLife · January 2014

No advice on Follistim, but injections in general are not as bad as the build up. The needles are all relatively small. Best advice is to make sure the alcohol is dry first and go slow when injecting.

RockABye · January 2014

We did an injects cycle. Mine were subQ and were SO easy. The hardest part was getting up the nerve to actually inject, but it didn't hurt AT ALL. The trick is to jab the needle in QUICKLY, don't hesitate, then push the meds in slowly. At least that was my experience! GL!

sweetpotato123 · January 2014

ystaalenburg said:

sweetpotato123 said:

Follistim is super easy once you get over the mental aspect of injecting yourself
Take it out of the fridge 10 min before. Let the alcohol dry on your skin prior to injecting.
Sometimes it stings sometimes it doesn't.
I never experienced any side effects outside of ohss, cysts and giant ovaries (mild ohss is very rare though).
Are they not looking at you until after 5 days of stims?? that makes me nervous since you don't know how you'll respond. I usually go in for bloodwork after 2 days of injects and then go from there. You don't want to produce too many eggs and it's easier to increase meds than dial back down and potentially have to cancel a cycle.
Wishing you tons of luck and ask me anything- I'm about to start round #4 soon.

My RE didn't mention anything about doing bloodwork sooner than Thursday. I think this is pretty standard for them and I've done a little googling and have read this is normal as well. I'll mention it to them and see what they say. I definitely don't want to have to cancel a cycle, especially since this is all OOP for us.

My brain is slow. I'm sorry- I do 5 days of femara before the injects, this the need for bloodwork after 2 days. Whew- you must think I'm crazy

Wishing you lots of luck!

sparklingdiamond · January 2014

I just wanted to say good luck!!

nfp147 · January 2014

Like others said, the needles are WAY worse in your head than they actually are. Good luck!

mrshall1027 · January 2014

sweetpotato123 said:

sweetpotato123 said:

Follistim is super easy once you get over the mental aspect of injecting yourself Take it out of the fridge 10 min before. Let the alcohol dry on your skin prior to injecting. Sometimes it stings sometimes it doesn't. I never experienced any side effects outside of ohss, cysts and giant ovaries (mild ohss is very rare though). Are they not looking at you until after 5 days of stims?? that makes me nervous since you don't know how you'll respond. I usually go in for bloodwork after 2 days of injects and then go from there. You don't want to produce too many eggs and it's easier to increase meds than dial back down and potentially have to cancel a cycle. Wishing you tons of luck and ask me anything- I'm about to start round #4 soon.

My RE didn't mention anything about doing bloodwork sooner than Thursday. I think this is pretty standard for them and I've done a little googling and have read this is normal as well. I'll mention it to them and see what they say. I definitely don't want to have to cancel a cycle, especially since this is all OOP for us.
My brain is slow. I'm sorry- I do 5 days of femara before the injects, this the need for bloodwork after 2 days. Whew- you must think I'm crazy Wishing you lots of luck!

No worries.

I appreciate your input.

Thanks for all the well wishes and sharing your experiences. I'm anxious to see how my body reacts. I start on Saturday, so we'll see...

Follistim or other injections

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