13!
No, I'm not the winner of the megamillions jackpot (but that would be quite nice!) .... however, that IS the number of eggs we retrieved this morning! So happy! We were hoping between 10-15 so that number to me is perfect. I was on a fairly conservative protocol so that number is very appropriate. Yay!
The procedure itself was very quick. I arrived at 7:30 this morning and got taken back to my bed where I was to change into my snazzy pink hospital gownie and read over paperwork, consents, etc. One of the nurses started and IV and I was so pleased that he found a good vein in my hand and the stick didn't even hurt! I am a hard one to stick so I thanked him profusely!
I got IV fluids for about an hour. They were actually running a bit ahead -- good for me because I felt as though my follicles would burst at any second! I met the doctor who would be doing the retrieval and instantly liked her. She said she had reviewed all of my doctor's notes and let me know that because if my interestingly shaped cervix, they would be placing a stitch on it to assist with the actual transfer (not sure of anything more than that, but if it will help next week, I'm on board!). At around 8:45 I emptied my bladder, kissed the hubs and marched with my IV pole into the operating room. Laid down put my feet in the stirrups, confirmed my identity, the mask went on and that's about all I remember!
I woke up around 9:20 (so fast!) with quite a bit of discomfort. Apparently as I was just coming to, I told my nurse that I didn't want morphine. Ha! Don't remember that at all. Not that I didn't want pain meds, because I did need them. When I had my gallbladder out emergently last fall, one of the hospitals I was in kept giving me morphine, despite my pleas that it was going everywhere in my body except my painfully infected gallbladder! Luckily, it helped today. I asked for more meds than what was prescribed because I could hardly sit up and we had an hour or so car ride ahead of us. I'm glad I spoke up because it helped very much, along with the heating pads they gave us. We left just before 11.
Since I hadn't eaten or drank anything I was starving! I called in some Panera soup which we picked up on the way home. I settled in upstairs where I enjoyed every bite in bed before taking a much needed snooze :)
Next step is to hear from the embryologist tomorrow sometime between noon and 3pm. They'll let us know how many eggs fertilized and whether we will be having a 3- or 5-day transfer. We are hoping for 5, as I mentioned earlier.
Thanks to all of my friends and family for your support! This has been an exciting and emotional journey that is far from over (I hope!). Trying not to get overly optimistic ... but the hubby and I did talk a bit about potential baby names today ;)
Special thanks to a super sweet friend who sent me a care package that was waiting on my doorstep when I got home :) it made me smile, especially the lucky acorn socks, which I plan to show off at the transfer! <3
MIL decided to come spend the night which was nice of her. The hubs hasn't been feeling well the past few weeks ... high bp and migraines. No fun :( she's a former nurse so I'm happy she's here for the both of us.
Back to resting ... will check back tomorrow. I'm not going to make any guesses, but I'm hoping that greater than 50% of our eggies fertilize ... based on my research, this is an appropriate number to expect, since not all eggs extracted are necessarily mature, among other things ... we'll see :)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
retrieval day!
On our way to the clinic for our egg retrieval! Can't wait until it's over and we find out how many eggs we have :) will update later!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Eeeeek
Warp speed. Warp. SPEED. Oh my goodness has this week flown by. Aside from a minor meltdown on Wednesday everything has gone absolutely 'perfect' according to my RE. I have a great number of mature and almost mature follicles, estrogen is rising nicely (343, 900, 1180, 1957 this week) so I got the green light to trigger tonight!!! This is the one shot I have been dreading since it's intramuscular (short in the butt/love handle area) but it's my last shot. My tummy is thanking me!
Our egg retrieval is scheduled for 9 am on Saturday. We are going to stay in a hotel tomorrow night so the morning is stress free. Ahhh I just can't believe it's here! I was only on stims for 10 days, which is great. The weekend retrieval means no time off work this week. I don't have a ton of time built up so that is a big plus for me. We are planning on a 5-day blastocyst transfer next Thursday with a bedrest day after which means I get a long weekend to relax! So, so happy about this.
Oh and the irony ... I'm taking my last class to finish my masters. On Monday, I'll be facilitating a discussion (20% of my grade!) on the ethical implications of cross border reproductive services ... so the ethics of poor women donating eggs/their body (surrogacy) for money, the same for men and sperm donation, to citizens of higher income countries ... among many other issues related to this topic, like, do they have a choice, what are the long term implications to the health of these people, is this right, etc. It shouldn't turn into a personal debate but I may have a have a hard time keeping quiet if people are ignorant. Its just very interesting the timing of it all.
Anyway, I am pretty sure we are going to do a single embryo transfer unless we do a 3-day, in which case my doctor recommends transferring two. I feel pretty sure about this, but not 100%. Not that I don't feel this is the right choice, because I do, but that I want to be able to look back on this decision when we know the outcome and not think going the other way would have changed it. Because there is no way to know. My body has done just about all it can do, but come Saturday, it's out of my hands and I accept that.
That's all I've got for now. Three hours to stress about my butt shot. :)
Our egg retrieval is scheduled for 9 am on Saturday. We are going to stay in a hotel tomorrow night so the morning is stress free. Ahhh I just can't believe it's here! I was only on stims for 10 days, which is great. The weekend retrieval means no time off work this week. I don't have a ton of time built up so that is a big plus for me. We are planning on a 5-day blastocyst transfer next Thursday with a bedrest day after which means I get a long weekend to relax! So, so happy about this.
Oh and the irony ... I'm taking my last class to finish my masters. On Monday, I'll be facilitating a discussion (20% of my grade!) on the ethical implications of cross border reproductive services ... so the ethics of poor women donating eggs/their body (surrogacy) for money, the same for men and sperm donation, to citizens of higher income countries ... among many other issues related to this topic, like, do they have a choice, what are the long term implications to the health of these people, is this right, etc. It shouldn't turn into a personal debate but I may have a have a hard time keeping quiet if people are ignorant. Its just very interesting the timing of it all.
Anyway, I am pretty sure we are going to do a single embryo transfer unless we do a 3-day, in which case my doctor recommends transferring two. I feel pretty sure about this, but not 100%. Not that I don't feel this is the right choice, because I do, but that I want to be able to look back on this decision when we know the outcome and not think going the other way would have changed it. Because there is no way to know. My body has done just about all it can do, but come Saturday, it's out of my hands and I accept that.
That's all I've got for now. Three hours to stress about my butt shot. :)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
On our way!
Things are moving at warp speed right now which is great for my impatient self! Last Friday we got the okay to start stims (shots!) Monday night. I was so excited I didn't want to wait!
So far the shots have been pretty painless. I've been icing my stomach for a few minutes beforehand and that seems to help. We've made our guest bathroom into our pharmacy. I have an alarm on my phone that goes off at 8:45 every evening to remind me that it's injection time. So far so good.
Thursday was my first monitoring appointment, IVF cycle day 4. My lining was good and I had 7 follicles on the right and 6 on the left. I left feeling okay but thought I needed some more. My nurse Chris called in the afternoon to say that my estrogen was a little low and that I should increase my Gonal-f dose to 225IU (up from 150).
I had my second monitoring appointment this morning in the Annandale office. I was thinking some growth had occurred but was very surprised to hear that I now had 21 follicles! Whoa! 13 on the right and 8 on the left. Eeeeek! I will get my bloodwork results in a few hours and I'll find out what my doseage for the next two days will be.
I'm starting to feel my right ovary a bit, I'm sure of it. I felt it last night even before I knew what was going in in there. Of course, overstimming is bad so we will wait to hear what the nurse says later.
But for now, I'm super happy!!!
So far the shots have been pretty painless. I've been icing my stomach for a few minutes beforehand and that seems to help. We've made our guest bathroom into our pharmacy. I have an alarm on my phone that goes off at 8:45 every evening to remind me that it's injection time. So far so good.
Thursday was my first monitoring appointment, IVF cycle day 4. My lining was good and I had 7 follicles on the right and 6 on the left. I left feeling okay but thought I needed some more. My nurse Chris called in the afternoon to say that my estrogen was a little low and that I should increase my Gonal-f dose to 225IU (up from 150).
I had my second monitoring appointment this morning in the Annandale office. I was thinking some growth had occurred but was very surprised to hear that I now had 21 follicles! Whoa! 13 on the right and 8 on the left. Eeeeek! I will get my bloodwork results in a few hours and I'll find out what my doseage for the next two days will be.
I'm starting to feel my right ovary a bit, I'm sure of it. I felt it last night even before I knew what was going in in there. Of course, overstimming is bad so we will wait to hear what the nurse says later.
But for now, I'm super happy!!!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
big week!
I had intended to update Monday ... but that didn't happen, so today will have to do :)
Monday was my "mock transfer" -- essentially, a trial run for the day of the transfer to make sure everything goes smoothly. Well, I'm hoping the real thing is nothing like the dry run because it was certainly not smooth sailing. This is an "in the stirrups" procedure that should take just a few minutes ... never fun to be so exposed but it's all for a good cause, right? I'll keep it short, my doctor had to use two different speculums and two catheters to find "the right fit" ... apparently I have a sharp angle to my cervix, making it difficult to navigate. Fantastic. Can't help but wonder if that has been a factor in our inability to get pregnant all these years, but that doesn't really matter now...
So, my doctor puts all this information in the computer so (fingers crossed) on the day of the actual transfer it will be smooth sailing and our embryo(s?) can find it's new home safely :)
Today was IVF injection class. A class to learn all about how much you and your partner REALLY want to do this. I mean, it was us and three other infertile couples in a little room with a bunch of needles and fake body parts for sticking purposes ... DH and I were definitely the giggliest of the bunch, but others were pretty good spirited as well. The nurse went a little fast through everything but I think we'll be fine ... plus, the good ol' Internet has plenty of how-to videos to help us out.
Now, just for kicks, I'd like to rant about some medication/money drama. It just seems that nothing has gone smoothly ... I know I'm not the only patient my doctor's office deals with, my insurance is complicated, and I have a small medical loan ... but it still frustrates me to no end when I feel as though I am the one coordinating my care and that the communication amongst all parties is not that great. To make a long story short, my medication was never supposed to be called in through my insurance, or rather, filled through my insurance, but it was. A loan was supposed to cover it. Because my insurance has a lifetime max of $10,000 to use for infertility, the meds, whatever the actual cost of them were (which of course I don't know yet but I paid about $300) will be deducted from that maximum. So I'm a bit pissed because that means that the IVF procedure itself might end up costing us more in the long run.
However, my loan company has been really great about it and will waive all the fees and everything for me to apply what would have been my medication loan to another treatment loan. So I have that on my side.
My meds. After injection class, DH and I went through all the meds, and realized we only were sent 1/3 of the menopur, and a different version of gonal-f than what we used in class. Luckily, the gonal-f pen is much easier than mixing the meds ourselves and the pharmacy acknowledged the oversight and will be sending the right meds tomorrow. Finally, my luprolide trigger shot was on backorder from my original pharmacy, my insurance wouldn't cover it from the second one but I just received an automated call from Walgreens specialty pharmacy that I will be receiving it tomorrow. YAY! None of the needles look bad except for the trigger ... so glad it's just ONE!
Also, and I should have realized this, but my RE will likely not be doing my retrieval or my transfer ... our office is a satellite of the main office in Rockville, MD. DH was concerned that the information from the mock wouldn't translate (sweet of him) but I told him not to worry, even if my doctor was doing it, he probably will have a lot of patient's cervixes to look at between now and then and wouldn't remember mine anyway, hence the notes!
So I did get some good tips today:
Monday was my "mock transfer" -- essentially, a trial run for the day of the transfer to make sure everything goes smoothly. Well, I'm hoping the real thing is nothing like the dry run because it was certainly not smooth sailing. This is an "in the stirrups" procedure that should take just a few minutes ... never fun to be so exposed but it's all for a good cause, right? I'll keep it short, my doctor had to use two different speculums and two catheters to find "the right fit" ... apparently I have a sharp angle to my cervix, making it difficult to navigate. Fantastic. Can't help but wonder if that has been a factor in our inability to get pregnant all these years, but that doesn't really matter now...
So, my doctor puts all this information in the computer so (fingers crossed) on the day of the actual transfer it will be smooth sailing and our embryo(s?) can find it's new home safely :)
Today was IVF injection class. A class to learn all about how much you and your partner REALLY want to do this. I mean, it was us and three other infertile couples in a little room with a bunch of needles and fake body parts for sticking purposes ... DH and I were definitely the giggliest of the bunch, but others were pretty good spirited as well. The nurse went a little fast through everything but I think we'll be fine ... plus, the good ol' Internet has plenty of how-to videos to help us out.
Now, just for kicks, I'd like to rant about some medication/money drama. It just seems that nothing has gone smoothly ... I know I'm not the only patient my doctor's office deals with, my insurance is complicated, and I have a small medical loan ... but it still frustrates me to no end when I feel as though I am the one coordinating my care and that the communication amongst all parties is not that great. To make a long story short, my medication was never supposed to be called in through my insurance, or rather, filled through my insurance, but it was. A loan was supposed to cover it. Because my insurance has a lifetime max of $10,000 to use for infertility, the meds, whatever the actual cost of them were (which of course I don't know yet but I paid about $300) will be deducted from that maximum. So I'm a bit pissed because that means that the IVF procedure itself might end up costing us more in the long run.
However, my loan company has been really great about it and will waive all the fees and everything for me to apply what would have been my medication loan to another treatment loan. So I have that on my side.
My meds. After injection class, DH and I went through all the meds, and realized we only were sent 1/3 of the menopur, and a different version of gonal-f than what we used in class. Luckily, the gonal-f pen is much easier than mixing the meds ourselves and the pharmacy acknowledged the oversight and will be sending the right meds tomorrow. Finally, my luprolide trigger shot was on backorder from my original pharmacy, my insurance wouldn't cover it from the second one but I just received an automated call from Walgreens specialty pharmacy that I will be receiving it tomorrow. YAY! None of the needles look bad except for the trigger ... so glad it's just ONE!
Also, and I should have realized this, but my RE will likely not be doing my retrieval or my transfer ... our office is a satellite of the main office in Rockville, MD. DH was concerned that the information from the mock wouldn't translate (sweet of him) but I told him not to worry, even if my doctor was doing it, he probably will have a lot of patient's cervixes to look at between now and then and wouldn't remember mine anyway, hence the notes!
So I did get some good tips today:
- Mix up the refrigerated meds up 10-15 minutes ahead of time so they are ready to go on the hour (we're going to aim for 8 p.m. every night)
- Ice the injection site for 3-4 minutes beforehand
- Either lie down or sit on the toilet (for our trigger last time I just stood ... so, not sure what is best!)
- The trigger is in the butt (ouch!), the rest in the tummy ... recommended lying flat on a bed/couch or standing at an angle over a chair ... not sure about that one either ... but if I stand, toes should point together so the muscles relax, haha
I called my RE office when I got home and left a message about the med discrepancy. I got a call back saying it was fine, the pen was actually easier. I also asked about my dose, and they said what I had been given at the class was not correct, that they base the doseage on the physician's dictation, that I was on 75IU of menopur and 150IU of gonal-f, not 150 for both. Sigh ... that's fine, I just don't like all of these little things that keep happening ...
I don't really believe in signs, and I certainly am not trying to make all of this little stuff bigger than it is, but I just really, really, really, want Friday's ultrasound to go well. That would mean stims could start as early as Sunday!
If you got through this post, congrats! I'm trying hard to get excited, and I am. I think.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
frustration
... was the word of the day. That's all I can muster up tonight. Been sick all week and I'm exhausted. I wish this could be easier.
Monday, March 5, 2012
daydreaming
... this can be a dangerous thing for me. daydreaming about babies, of course. it's fun to look at stuff to make their nursery special and sometimes i can't help myself! usually i just favorite stuff on etsy and pin on pinterest, but i thought i'd start to share what kind of styles/themes i really like.
i have always had a thing for dandelions. they are
something i would make a wish on as a child. i'm sure i wasn't wishing for a baby then, but i just have a special love for them. some call them weeds ... i call them beautiful! i particularly LOVE this wall decal from Paris Decals's etsy shop. This is definitely going on my baby's room ... girl or boy!
wall color is a little dark for a nursery, so i would go with a soft gray/ice blue. i want the room to be bright yet calming and not overly colorful or dark. dandelions ... i love them in the whimsical stage where you can blow on them and watch all their little seed heads fly off into the air.
*sigh* but i also love them when they are yellow! i don't know why. i've always really liked yellow, and i especially love yellow and gray together. too dull for a baby's room? i think not! this is a scene again from Paris Decals. i like the dark wood (black?) crib but would look for a cooler wall color. but i LOVE the yellow accents! i think it would be fine for a girl and a boy even, with some more "boy-ish" collor accents elsewhere in the room.
plus, i plan to accessorize with my signature greens and blues that i have all over my house :) like with these ADORABLE kimono style baby booties from bubbleshandmade's shop! and this cute cute cute onesie from ellembee :) (girl, of course)
And to prove (mostly to myself) that these can be boyish too, check out the cutest shower invite ever from camrynjolee!
Okay, before I go out on the deep-end, I stopping these shenanigans! I just needed to get a little excited ... about something.
Happy week 2 of BCP to me! Next week the real fun begins. Ciao for now!
i have always had a thing for dandelions. they are
something i would make a wish on as a child. i'm sure i wasn't wishing for a baby then, but i just have a special love for them. some call them weeds ... i call them beautiful! i particularly LOVE this wall decal from Paris Decals's etsy shop. This is definitely going on my baby's room ... girl or boy!wall color is a little dark for a nursery, so i would go with a soft gray/ice blue. i want the room to be bright yet calming and not overly colorful or dark. dandelions ... i love them in the whimsical stage where you can blow on them and watch all their little seed heads fly off into the air.
*sigh* but i also love them when they are yellow! i don't know why. i've always really liked yellow, and i especially love yellow and gray together. too dull for a baby's room? i think not! this is a scene again from Paris Decals. i like the dark wood (black?) crib but would look for a cooler wall color. but i LOVE the yellow accents! i think it would be fine for a girl and a boy even, with some more "boy-ish" collor accents elsewhere in the room.plus, i plan to accessorize with my signature greens and blues that i have all over my house :) like with these ADORABLE kimono style baby booties from bubbleshandmade's shop! and this cute cute cute onesie from ellembee :) (girl, of course)And to prove (mostly to myself) that these can be boyish too, check out the cutest shower invite ever from camrynjolee!Okay, before I go out on the deep-end, I stopping these shenanigans! I just needed to get a little excited ... about something.
Happy week 2 of BCP to me! Next week the real fun begins. Ciao for now!
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