Friday, December 02, 2005

4dp5dt: Progesterone lullabies

I went in today for a progesterone check. Nurse Sweetie was there, as was Nurse Newbie, who I’d thought had experience in another office and just not theirs (but that might have been another of the army of new nurses). So Nurse Newbie did my blood draw. Or tried to, anyway. Here’s the thing - I’m an easy stick (except after a week of daily monitoring). My veins today were lovely. Honestly, I probably could have drawn my own blood (except I think that if giving myself shots made me squeamish, drawing my own blood would be even worse). So, Nurse Newbie poked, and didn’t get anything, and rooted around a bit, and still nothing, and Nurse Sweetie came over and maneuvered a bit until I said “ow” and then pulled it all and started over (at which point she managed to do the whole thing smoothly and without any fuss).

Nurse Newbie (the same one, I think, though again I really can’t tell - the first time I met one of them was at transfer when I was lying spread eagled, doped on Valium, and everyone in the room (J included) was wearing those paper jumpers, hair covers, and face masks - so I’m justified in not knowing which was which) was the one who did my callback this afternoon. Apparently, my progesterone was a bit low (18.5 today) - they like to see it above 20. Though what she actually said was that they like to see it in the 20-80 range, which made my paltry 18.5 seem dire. I think a different nurse might have anticipated my reaction and provided more reassurance. In fact, I think this may be one of those times when I’d be better off with fewer details. I’m trying to remind myself that it’s not that low, and that increasing the PIO should raise my progesterone levels, and that it’s normal for them to adjust the dosage. Breathe in, breathe out.

My mom called right before we did the shot tonight, so she provided my evening distraction. Usually, J sings to me to keep my mind occupied while he’s doing the shot (one day, he did the Jeapordy theme song!) so I asked mom to sing, and she sang me a simple little song with infinite variations - the same song she used to sing to me when I was little. And she was out shopping at the time, which made it even more special - my mommy sang me a lullaby while she was out in public. It’s the same thing I’ll sing to our kids someday (whenever that day comes) when they’re sleepy or fussy or getting a shot. It’s a good mommy thing to do.

7 comments:

  1. That's a really sweet story.

    I hope the PIO does the trick for you.

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  2. What a nice mom. And what a touching story!

    Sorry Nurse Newbie is sort of clueless (goes with the newbie status somewhat, I guess). Sounds like she still has a lot to learn - with the hands on stuff and with the patient interaction stuff. Too bad that you have to deal with it, though.

    Good luck with the PIO. And everything else.

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  3. You made me tear up. Usually I get my mom to do my IM shots, but she's been away on a cruise this cycle. She comes back today and I miss her.

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  4. That's beautiful Cass. Here's hoping that you'll be singing lullabies yourself soon.

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  5. Awww what a great story Cass. I've got tears in my eyes from reading it!

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  6. Your mom sounds like a real sweetie. I think it's great they're checking your progesterone levels so closely - makes me wonder about my clinic a bit, since they don't do that. Hope adjusting the dosage brings you the peace of mind you want, and the rest of the two week wait passes quickly.

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  7. I love the thought of your mum singing to you in public. Going to treasure that one. And don't fret too much about the progesterone - my impression from my reading is that the blood serum levels don't relate that clearly to what's going on for the embryo. And I'm sure that the additional PIO will help.

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