Can't. Move.

Stimulation Day 8

Ouch.

I've already forgotten how uncomfortable this is. I need to take a picture of my belly because it already looks like I'm 5 months pregnant. I'll just pretend I'm pregnant...with two sasquatch ovaries.

As of this morning, my estrogen is a little over 1000, progesterone is 1.04, and uterine lining is 10.4 mm...thumbs up! The increasing estrogen shows that my follicles are growing, and the decreased progesterone shows that I haven't had an "oops" ovulation. They usually see a lining of around 7-9, so mine is exceptional. I believe the total follicle count is around 13. The biggest follicle is around 16 mm and all of the others are right behind it trying to play catch up. We are hoping that all will be mature by retrieval time.

This cycle is already looking MUCH better than last, but I'm more concerned about the quality vs. quantity. Are there going to be some good eggs inside of those follies? I'm praying every second of every day that it will work this time. I do not want to go through this again:(

I go back on Wednesday morning for labs and another ultrasound. We'll be able to better pinpoint the retrieval date at that time. They are still guessing that it will be Friday, so we shall see. I hope I can still walk by then!

Bullseye

You see this vial of Follistim?

$509.20 each.

I have 5 of them. Each one lasts about 2.5 days. Guess what I'm going to say about that? Ridiculousness.

I do, however, have this handy dandy pen that I get to use to inject the medication with.

I decided to let go of my control freakishness and allow Andy to do the injection on Tuesday night. He has done an intramuscular injection to my backside a couple of times, so I figured this would be a walk in the park. It's very simple...just pinch my belly fat, slide the needle in, and push. It doesn't require nearly as much force as an injection into my Beyonce humps.

I think he threw it like a dart from across the kitchen and it almost pierced my bowel. Poor thing...he means well. Maybe I'll let him try again this weekend.

Today is stimulation day 4. I had blood work this morning and my E2 (estrogen) level is now 118. They would like for it to be a little higher, so they increased my dose of Follistim from 225 units to 250 units each evening.

The estrogen production increases as follicles develop and it is expected to be above 100 at this point in my cycle. From what I've been told, it will correspond with how many follicles I have towards the end. Every mature follicle should produce about 200 units of estrogen. I think.

My next appointment is Saturday morning. I will be having labs drawn again, as well as an ultrasound so that we can see what's going on in there. My nurse will call me Saturday afternoon to let me know how everything looks. I'm not too uncomfortable yet, so we'll see!

Ready for Take Off

Ultrasound is clear.

Estrogen has dropped.

No cysts.

All resting follicles healthy and happy.

Is this seriously going right for once? Why yes...it is!!!

I had about 14 resting follicles (all uniform in size) on my ultrasound this morning. My estrogen level has bottomed out which is where they want it. I am officially in artificial menopause at the ripe age of 30. The reason they do this is so that they can have full control of my cycle...IVF is all about perfect timing. They cease my body's natural hormone fluctuations and replace them with the medications I am taking by injection. Click here to read about this time last cycle.

I had a little scare this morning when I was handed my instructions for the coming days.

I was supposed to decrease my Lupron from 20 units to 10 units this morning? I already gave myself 20 units! I was supposed to add a low dose HCG injection this morning? Andy was supposed to start his antibiotics this morning? Um, what?

Keep in mind that it was already 10 am and my medications are supposed to be done no later than 8 am. In a frantic I jumped in the car to get back home as fast as I could so that I could inject myself with the other medication and grab Andy's medication to take by his work. On the way back to my house, I phoned my work to let them know not to look for me anytime soon. I also phoned my clinic in Charleston to find out why they waited until this morning to tell me this rather important information. We did, after all, pay them the equivalent of a 5 series BMW this year, so I expect nothing short of awesomeness from them.

My nurse is out of the office on vacation. Sweet ridiculousness. I left a voicemail with one of the other nurses explaining the situation and she called me back not even 5 minutes later. She said that it was okay that I took the extra Lupron and that we would just lower it tomorrow morning. The HCG injection could be given this evening with my Follistim injection, Andy could start his antibiotics tonight, and HCG could be added with the lower dose Lupron tomorrow morning. Whew. I'm confused. I know you are too.

The truckload of meds arrived last Friday and I already have them organized and ready to go. Thankfully I don't have to deal with the fear of the unknown this time. Looking at all of the vials isn't quite as overwhelming.

I took my first Follistim injection this evening to begin the stimulation phase. I'm so ready for my ovaries to feel like bowling balls again. Please let it work this time...I don't know how much longer my body and mental health can take this! I will say that this will be the ultimate test to find out the true quality of my eggs. If they are still degenerated after this perfect cycle without a cyst, then we may have a major problemo.

My next appointment is this Thursday. I believe they will just be doing bloodwork. I will probably have to go in sometime this weekend for an ultrasound. Please keep us in your prayers! I will be in touch:)

Sticky Vibes

Isn't this picture a bit disturbing? Fitting, but disturbing!

I finally got my butt out of bed this morning and went back to work. I don't think I've ever slept as much as I did over the past 4 days! The bedrest was much needed, and it definitely helped me to recoup from the stress we experienced around this time last week. I continue to be on activity restriction, so I volunteered to be the phone nurse at work for the week. It's an annoying job, but the only thing strenuous about it is pulling a few hairs out of my head every 10 minutes, so it'll do.

I had to start taking progesterone suppositories 3x/day (Yes, while I'm at work...and I'll spare you the classy details) and 2 estrogen patches to my abdomen every other day. This is because my body isn't producing them like it would after normal ovulation. These two hormones support the lining of the uterus, as well as an actual pregnancy, so I have to have them. If an actual pregnancy occurs, I have to continue them them up until about 10 weeks of pregnancy. This is when the placenta would be functioning enough to produce enough of the hormones on its own.

I'm feeling pretty good but it's a little difficult to keep the anxiety away. I think about it atleast once every 5 minutes and wish I didn't have to wait another week to see if it worked! The progesterone makes my body feel as if it's pregnant anyway...extreme hunger, hot flashes, abdominal tenderness, sore udders, the usual. I have been eating like a wild boar and I can't stop! It's so early, and there's no way of distinguishing the side effects of meds between pregnancy symptoms.

I'm going to let myself enjoy the rest of this week because this is the closest I have ever been to being pregnant. I will cherish every little pinch I feel to my abdomen and pray that Deuce is making himself at home. The IVF community also terms this phase as "pregnant until proven otherwise" haha! God has a plan, and we will try be patient and get our answer soon.

Our family and friends have been awesome and we want to thank y'all again! From the meals, visits, texts, calls, blog comments, prayer lists, care packages, etc...it is so overwhelming. We are thankful for each and every one of you! Hopefully, we will have a happy ending to our story soon!

We hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day/football weekend! I will be taking another weekend filled with R&R, but the ESPN will be in full force. GOOOOO COCKS!