Preparing for embryos is a grueling process

Sticky patches. Needle after needle. Antibiotics. Vitamins.

I never thought trying to get pregnant with another woman’s donated eggs would be so involved.

The sticky patches slowly administered estrogen to my body. The patches were something new the doctors at the University of Washington Fertility and Endocrine Clinic were trying. They had put me on a mock cycle of these before my actual cycle would begin to see how well my body absorbed the estrogen, which helps build a woman’s uterine lining to receive embryos.

The patches weren’t big, about the size of a small Post-It note. Some days, I wore four at a time, and they had to be switched from one side of my abdomen to the other every other day. The patches had to go on clean skin, but I found the adhesive vexing and tried everything to get it off. Alcohol. Moisturizer. Nothing really worked except scrubbing hard with a washcloth. After several weeks of switching patches, my skin looked like someone had come at me with a branding iron.

I went in Feb. 6 for an ultrasound to see how the mock cycle of patches was working. The reassuring Dr. Paul Lin said, “You’re ready.” I then began taking antibiotics and progesterone.

The progesterone hormone was used to provide me with all my body would need during a pregnancy. Also, the doctors said tests have shown that women using progesterone have a reduced chance of miscarriage.

Peter administered the progesterone. It came in little vials and was mixed with sesame oil so it was very thick. He used a 2-inch needle and shot the progesterone into my rear end every morning. That is every morning for 50 mornings.

We tried to make jokes about how my rear end had become a dartboard. After several treatments, my rear did toughen up like a callous filled with the thick hormone. Peter had to fling the needle at me hard, like a dart, just to get it to penetrate my skin.

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