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!

Gobble

Stimulation Day 6

Oh yeah. I'm feeling it.

My estrogen went from 118 on Thursday to 635 this morning, yay! They measured 8 growing follicles...4 on my left ovary and 4 on my right. It is still very early, so there's a chance that some of the smaller ones will catch up. This time last cycle, I had 4 total follicles and one huge cyst. I would say that this time around is showing a little more promise. I go back Monday a.m. for another ultrasound and blood work.

As of now, my surgery for retrieval is scheduled for next Friday, November 20. The transfer should take place on Monday, November 23 (Day 3) or Wednesday, November 25 (Day 5).

This schedule is tentative and could change at any time over this next week. It all depends on how I continue to respond to the medications.

We always do Thanksgiving out of town with Andy's family, and according to this schedule, I will be on bed rest. If we get lucky enough to have a Day 5 transfer, then it will be the day before Thanksgiving. It sucks, but I would much rather bring a grandchild to our next Thanksgiving celebration.

My family will also be out of town celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister and her new baby girl...that is, if she's born by then. She's about 87 weeks pregnant right now...hang in there Katie! I hope I get to meet her before I'm stuck on bed rest!

Will somebody please bring some turkey and dressing by my house? Make it enough for seconds too:)

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:)

The Little Cyst That Could...

I went in for another ultrasound/labwork this morning. As it turns out, the "Little" cyst is still hanging around. My nurse called me this afternoon to inform me that my estrogen was still elevated and that the Lupron had not suppressed it. From what I understand, I probably ovulated through the birth control pills. Because of this, the ovulation left a cyst on my ovary which is producing estrogen. This probably explains why I have yet to start my period...the estrogen level has to drop in order for it to occur. Also, if I were to begin the stimulation meds without my estrogen being low, then that would put me at risk for OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). You can read about it here:
http://www.ivf-infertility.com/ivf/standard/complications/ovarian_stimulation/ohss.php


Hey, atleast we're dealing with elevated estrogen instead of elevated testosterone! I don't need anything else to shave:)

Instead of beginning my new medications tomorrow, I will continue the Lupron injections to try to suppress my system. I have to go back Tuesday morning for another ultrasound and more labwork to see if we've made any progress. If so, I will begin my stimulation meds next week. If not, I will probably continue Lupron until the cyst is gone and my hormones are null and void.

So far, I am feeling good. We are a little disappointed that this cycle is being delayed, but there is a reason for everything! I was so scared that they were going to cancel it, which means a lot of moolah and emotional investment would have been flushed down the toilet. We have been through a lot thus far, so it is easier to mentally prepare for setbacks. We have learned that this entire journey is about playing the waiting game. God doesn't give us more than we can handle, and patience is extremely hard but definitely a virtue when it comes down to it. As you may have guessed, our original dates for egg retrieval and transfer will be changed. Hopefully, we will have a better idea next week!

We would also like to give a shout out to Andy's sister, who will be having a little girl any day now!!! This is her first baby, as well as the first niece in the family. We love her and wish her the best of luck with delivery!

I think I can...I think I can....choo choo!