Too many needles, part 2!

When I was the in the first grade I was having an unusual amount of headaches. My mom decided it was time to take me to the doctor to have it checked out. I remember the doctor breaking the news and telling me I needed some blood work done. I balled my little eyes out. I had to calm myself down in the bathroom before going back in the exam room to get my blood drawn. Later that night my family went to church where I held my arm the entire time (even though I was past the pain) showing everyone my needle mark when they asked what was wrong. Anticipation and fear of needles started early with me. I still get nervous when I know a needle is coming.

Today’s doc appointment wasn't good. On Monday I was told to double my medication, which really made no sense to me because of the amount of follies I have. I did what I was told and had another u/s this morning. I still have too many follies but they aren’t growing all that quickly. The doctor is expecting one to take the lead soon, which then at that point the others will stop growing. None are over 12mm but my lining is up to 6.5mm, which is getting better. Then came the dreaded blood work…

My left arm’s inner vein gets the brunt of poking when it comes to blood draws. The last two times are not the exception. I walked into the lab and showed the nurse my arm and she agreed we couldn’t use that vein this time. (I’ve got a pretty green-and big- bruise on the “favorite” vein.) She stuck me in a vein to the left and no blood came out. NONE…not even a drop. The nurse dug around for a minute and gave up. She did the same thing in my right arm. (Poke, dug, gave up) Again, not a drop of blood came out. How is that even possible!? Then I got the bad news. She had to stick me in my left hand. I’ve had some seriously bad experiences with needles in my hand and I was NOT happy about it. It worked but not without bruising and pain. I’ve had 14 needle sticks in the past 7 days. For someone who isn’t diabetic or doing IVF or IUI’s this is just insane. From my first ever blood draw until now, who would have thought I’d volunteer for this many shots, blood draws and IV’s... and all for the sake of having biological children. I’m not sure I can last much longer.