Egg donation to this point

Okay, this update is for all of you who have been interested in the egg donation.

This is what has happened so far.

Step 1:
I have had the nurses consult, where they just went over the general information, and took my photos for the all the recipients to see, so someone could pick me.
I have had the psychological evaluation and was told that I would be an "EXCELLENT CANDIDATE".
I have had the physical exam, lab work and cultures where they checked for over 100+ things like genetic disorders, STDS and so forth.

Since everything came back awesome, I started Step 2.

Step 2:
I started the birth control pills. This is why I was on birth control pills for egg donation, there were some questions about that..
"Most stimulation protocols involve suppression of ovarian function for on cycle, followed by vigorous stimulation in the next cycle. Our [Texas Fertility Clinic] protocols are designed to obtain a greater number of mature oocytes than would ordinarily develop in a natural cycle. As a result, we allow a large group of developing oocytes to become synchronized. The purpose of oocyte synchronization is to increase the chance that multiple oocytes will develop at the same rate, resulting in a large number of mature eggs. The pills also reduce the likelihood that a patient will have an ovarian cyst when she is ready to begin stimulation. This is important, as the presence of a cyst could possibly delay the stimulation start. "

So after doing a month of the birth control pills, I have started the Lupron injections.
" As an oocyte matures in a natural cycle, it produces increasing amounts of estrogen. Once this estrogen level reaches a peak, it stimulates the production of a hormonal surge from the pituitary gland called the LH surge. This surge causes ovulation to occur. In the IVF procedure, we do not want ovulation to occur - rather we want to be able to retrieve the maturing oocytes directly from the ovaries prior to ovulation. We therefore must prevent patients from having an LH surge. TThe way we prevent a patient from having a sponaneous LH surge is the use of a medication called leuprolife acetate (Lupron).
Lupron administration is usually initiated during the final week of oral contraceptives and continued until 2 days prior to the egg retrieval."

So right now I am currently doing the Lupron injections. Thank God for my husband who has been able to do them every morning for me, since I have had issues doing it myself. First off, I have a fear of needles, second off, the stuff burns. The first time we did it I got a HUGE bruise on my leg at the injection site. My injection yesterday left me with another lovely bruise. I experienced side effects from the Lupron, for the first time last night. It started off with a slight headache around 5:45pm. By 10:30pm I was in tears and ready to be in bed. I was exhausted, my body was aching, I had a really bad headache along with being dizzy and being nauseous. Tim and I had been watching "Yes Man" and as soon as it was over, I went to bed.

I hope that was a one time thing, because I don't know how many nights of that I can handle. I am to continue taking the shots til 2 days prior to the egg retrieval, which is the first week of June, I hope I don't continue having the side effects til then.

The next step in the process is my base-line sono. The appointment is to just make sure I don't have any cysts before starting the Gonal-F. I will take the Gonal-F ( to stimulate the growth of multiple ovarian follicles.) for about 9-12 days until I recieve an injection called Ovidrel. Ovidrel is the most important injection I will take as it is the one to induce ovulation. Retrieval of my eggs will happen approximately 36 hours after the injection.

Well, that's it so far. I'm sure I'll update before or after the egg retrieval.