Day 23 - Injecting Lupron

I finally started injecting Lupron yesterday and, in the words of a good friend who knows what its like to go through this and have success in the end, it feels like "every shot is a little closer to being pregnant." I will continue injecting Lupron for about 12 days until my ovaries are "quiet" then my doctor will start me on the stimulation drugs.

What is Lupron?

Lupron helps shut off my body’s natural stimulation from my pituitary gland to my ovaries. Pituitary suppression is important for recruitment of multiple follicles or eggs. The more eggs I can grow during any given IVF round the higher the chances of success. By desensitizing the pituitary's signals from the brain, Lupron blocks the natural tendency of the brain to allow only one dominant follicle to grow in each cycle. Also the medicine’s purpose is to prevent me from ovulating unexpectedly during the stimulation injection part of our cycle. Basically from here on out my entire cycle will be ruled by hormones that I'm injecting rather than the ones my body produces naturally.