The Process So Far

I started my course of IVF by going on the pill. Yes, that's right, the contraceptive pill. They put you on that to stop you ovulating and get your cycle in synch with the laboratory. I was on the pill for 21 days. I started taking it on 13 October (2nd day of my cycle) and took the last one on 3 November, as per instructions from the clinic.
On 28 October, I started injecting myself with 40ml of Buserelin each morning. This drug is designed to "down-regulate" my system. In other words, shut down my reproductive system and put me into chemically-induced menopause. Sure enough, I've been having hot flushes and crying a lot. I think the reason for down-regulating me is so that I don't ovulate before the time they want me to. Some of this stuff is really confusing and I still haven't got my head around it.
Anyway, last night I started another injection. It's called Gonal F and what it does is start stimulating the hormones that will make my ovaries produce follicles with eggs in them. Usually every month a woman produces one egg. This Gonal F is supposed to make me produce more than one. The more the better as far as I know, because the more eggs you've got the more chance of getting an embryo in the end when you mix it up with the sperm.
So from now on I'm having two injections a day. Buserelin in the morning and Gonal F at night. I had a blood test the other day which showed that the Buserelin is doing what it's supposed to. My system is down-regulated. I've got another blood test coming up this Tuesday to see if the Gonal F is working. I have no reason to think it isn't, so I should be on track for egg collection, which is scheduled for the week beginning 26 November. Nobody knows the date for sure. I suppose it will depend on the results of blood tests and scans. The eggs have to be collected when they're ripe, but before they burst from their follicles and are lost forever.
My word, this is tricky. I can only hope the experts at the clinic know what they're doing.