Tag Archives: pgd

The Little Ovary That Could

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 9 – Monitoring Day
(Saturday Nov 12)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur, 1 x Cetrotide 

Estrogen: 2544
LH: 1.95
Progesterone: 0.9
Left Ovary: 17, 16, 16, 14, 14, 13, 12, 11
Right Ovary: 18, 17, 9

You would swear this is the first time I’m doing this because I thought we’d be doing retrieval on Friday. All my retrievals have been on a Friday so I had no reason to think otherwise but surprise surprise, I will likely be triggering tomorrow for a retrieval on Tuesday. How did this happen? I just started stims.

I feel slightly unprepared. I need to shave. I should wash my hair. Did I eat well enough? Did I take this cycle seriously enough? I didn’t do any exercise. I didn’t do any meditation. What the heck?

*Breathe* Despite me panicking on the inside, I think this cycle went really well. I’m feeling good, physically, right now. And I’d like to take a moment to congratulate my right ovary. She doesn’t have the numbers but she is certainly the over achiever this round. 3 follicles? Wow. And she’s sporting the lead follicle right now? Damn girl! *slow clap*. I know that little 9mm probably won’t have a mature egg in it but it’s there and it’s trying damn it. I wish they could tell you which ovary made mature eggs. I have to go in tomorrow morning again for probably my last scan. I can’t wait to see how my little 9er on the right is doing.

I don’t know how this cycle is going to go but I am happy with my body today. We did it guys.

Emotional: 10% what if I fall… 90% what if I fly.

Physical: Sharp pains on the left. No dizziness or nausea which is great!

Food: Smoothie (strawberries, banoonoos (see below), coconut milk, 2 eggs) for breakfast, Sonic double cheeseburger without the bun and some tator tots for lunch, Roasted chicken, ceasar salad and some brie cheese for dinner. Halo Top Chocolate ice cream because we deserve it!

PS: I went to visit my friend yesterday and she had this sing along show on Netflix on for her son and I canNOT get this song out of my head. Maybe this is why I’m in a good mood. Here’s hoping you get this one stuck in your head too :).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oacQL7UQtlk

Just A Quicky

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​IVF ROUND 5

DAY 8
(Friday Nov 11)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur, 1 x Cetrotide 

Notes: estrogen=1336; LH=10; progesterone=xx; Left Ovary=12, 11, 11, 11, 11, 9; Right Ovary=13.5, 11.6

Just a quick update. Everything is the same as yesterday. My next monitoring appointment is tomorrow.

Emotional: No complaints. I’m a bit worried about tomorrow’s scan. But only a bit. 

Physical: Symptoms come and go. Even the bloat isn’t very significant anymore. 

Food: Didn’t eat much today. Smoothie (berries, coconut milk, 2 eggs) for breakfast, giant burrito bowl for dinner. 

Enter Jabba

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 7 – Monitoring Day
(Thursday Nov 10)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur, 1 x Cetrotide 

Notes: estrogen=1336; LH=10; progesterone=xx; Left Ovary=12, 11, 11, 11, 11, 9; Right Ovary=13.5, 11.6

Hitting the wall now. I was hoping for some more growth at the scan this morning but no such luck. No new follicles and the ones I have are just a smidge bigger than last time.

We still have time, of course, but this is what it feels like when you hit the wall. I started feeling the bloat after my last post last night. I felt fine throughout the day but as soon as I got home the bloat started again and I’ve been having terribly sharp pains on both sides. All good signs I’m sure.

I’m very thankful for the long weekend. I need to not do anything for a few days.

Emotional: Doing okay, despite the side effects.

Physical: jabba-the-hutt-portrait-tall

Food: 2 Boiled eggs for breakfast. Fail pork leftovers for lunch. Chili and fried queso fresco for dinner.

Tired

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 6
(Wednesday Nov 9)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur 

Notes: estrogen=651.6; LH=2.7; progesterone=0.3; Left Ovary=10.5, 10.3, 10.3, 10, 9.2; Right Ovary=10.4, 10.1

Day 6 is like kinda halfway-ish with stims. I’m starting to feel less miserable which is good and my ovaries are aching which is even better. I don’t have anything else to report. Next monitoring appointment tomorrow.

Emotional: Yesterday and today was emotional and stressful and for once it wasn’t IVF related. I’m just hoping the stressing didn’t have adverse effects on my eggs.

Physical: Nausea has dissipated somewhat and I’m myself again and TMI so much discharge.

Food: 2 Boiled eggs for breakfast. Keto chicken patties and spinach for lunch. Failed pork loin and beans. Total fail meal.

Chatty Day

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 5 – Monitoring Day
(Tuesday Nov 8)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur 

Notes: estrogen=651.6; LH=2.7; progesterone=0.3; Left Ovary=10.5, 10.3, 10.3, 10, 9.2; Right Ovary=Champion! 10.4, 10.1

She did it! My right ovary finally has something measurable at our first appointment. I’m so happy. And they’re comparable to the Left.  Well done you! If you find yourself having a drink tonight, please toast to my fighter ovary. So proud.

Just a quick story. My clinic has two doors to get into the building. In between the two doors is just a holding area I guess. Anyway, the first door always seems to be open but the second door to get inside opens at 6:27am and there’s always a group of women huddling in the holding area waiting for the second door to open. Sometimes the group is chatty. Sometimes the group is quiet and buried in phones. Sometimes it’s just me. The area is very small so you can feel everyone’s energy and I think sometimes we’re all just hoping someone will be chatty so that we don’t have to be in our own heads. That’s my thought anyway.

Today was a chatty day, thankfully. It’s been a while. Two young ladies. One doing her first IVF after 2 failed IUI’s. She was there for hopefully her last check to see if she could trigger. The other was I think in the middle of her cycle. I didn’t get which cycle it was but I think she’s a lifer like me. I walked into the 2 of them discussing something and I found myself joining with the vet and telling stories and giving advice. What struck me was how jovial she was. She’d mentioned that the doctors didn’t give her much hope but she was here giving it her all. Everything that came out of her mouth was with a smile. She was really funny too. I admired her. I like when people speak candidly about infertility. It makes it seem less taboo-ish, I think.

Anyway, there’s no real point to that story. I just wanted to remember her and the fact that she brightened my day.

Emotional: Still feeling good. Clinging to the happy.

Physical: Every present nausea and dizziness. Please make it stop. Let’s add tiredness. Probably because I’ve been up since 4.

Food: 2 Boiled eggs for breakfast. Turkey sandwich minus the bread for lunch. Keto chicken patties and stir fried veggies for dinner.

Big Day Tomorrow

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 4
(Monday Nov 7)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur 

Notes: estrogen=26.49; LH=4. 68; progesterone=0.226; lining=4.9mm; antral follicles=13 

Nothing of import to report today. My period has stopped so life is good again. And tomorrow is a big day for the country. “Huge! There’s never been a bigger day than tomorrow”. My first monitoring appointment! I can’t possibly think of anything more important happening tomorrow in America :D. (JK, enjoy voting day!)

Another thing to look forward to is the public holiday on Friday. Then I suspect my retrieval will be next Friday so another day off and the the week after that it’s Thanksgiving. It’s going to be a great November, people. Probably not for whoever’s candidate loses, though.

Emotional: Short week short week short week!!

Physical: Every present nausea and dizziness. Please make it stop.

Food: 2 Boiled eggs for breakfast. Spinach and chicken salad for lunch. Steak and stir fried vegetables for dinner.

Family Day & Funny Dreams

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 3
(Sunday Nov 6)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur 

Notes: estrogen=26.49; LH=4. 68; progesterone=0.226; lining=4.9mm; antral follicles=13 

I had a very strange dream last night that I was at my clinic just waking up from my retrieval. Nate was sitting on the bed next to me and what looked like most of my clinic’s staff were seated in the room around me. My new RE, my old RE and my nurse were all there as well. Then a bird flew in through the window and gave a note to my nurse (wth!) and she opened it and said “Oh it’s from the PGD lab”.

The note said that they would be closed for Thanksgiving so I wouldn’t get my results until after that weekend but they can let me know the 2 of the 3 embryos are brother and sister.

Everyone cheered and hugged but my RE said that we shouldn’t get too excited because  we don’t have the results yet but so far so good.

And then I woke up.

Now I don’t think dreams mean anything. I used to but I haven’t been able to find a correlation between dreams and reality in my life yet so I think it’s just a manifestation of what’s on my mind at the time. I just thought I’d write it down and I especially thought the bird was a nice touch. Thanks brain :).

We spent the day with N’s family today. His gran had a heart attack this week and we went to see her with his mom and his 2 aunts. She’s doing well, his gran. She looked good today,  just tired. They’re just trying to get her medication doses in order before she can go home.

We spent most of the afternoon at the hospital chatting and joking around and then we all went to IHOP for a late brunch. I did have half a pancake at IHOP because I think it’s illegal to not have a pancake at IHOP… It is illegal… Trust me. 🙂

On the stim side of things. While I was driving today I felt a sharp pain on my right side. I really really hope that’s my lazy right ovary getting her ass in gear for once.

 

Emotional: The tingly right ovary is making me excited!

Physical: Every present nausea and dizziness. Please make it stop.

Food: Boiled egg for breakfast. 2 Scrambled eggs, 2 sausages and half a pancake for late lunch. Too full for dinner.

 

Well That’s New

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IVF ROUND 5

DAY 2
(Saturday Nov 5)

Meds: 300iu Gonal-f , 150iu Menopur 

Notes: estrogen=26.49; LH=4. 68; progesterone=0.226; lining=4.9mm; antral follicles=13 

 

Today was fun I stayed in bed until 10ish then we rushed around to get ready to go to run some errands and as soon as I took my first bite of breakfast the world started spinning and I got really hot and my heart started racing and I thought I was going to puke. Took my a few minutes to pull myself towards myself.

I managed to get myself together and we got all our stuff done but I was a mess for the rest of the day.  I tried cleaning the kitchen but I kept getting the hot flashes and dizzy spells so I just threw in the towel (literally) and went to lie down and whatsapped with everyone back home in a dimly lit room.

I only really felt better when it was time to get dinner ready and mix up the next round of meds. I’m back under the covers now doing some online shopping, still feeling a tab woozy.

I don’t know if this is due to the medication or my period or what. I remember being dizzy towards the end of the cycle but not this early on. Oh well, I’m just staying hydrated and taking it easy.

Emotional: Feeling good. “Ain’t nothin gonna to break my stride. Nobody’s gonna slow me down, oh-no. I got to keep on movin”

Physical: Dizzyyyyy

Food: Breakfast was 90 second bread with cheese and sugar-free jam. An orange for lunch. Then stuffed chicken breast with bacon jam green beans for dinner and a block of dark chocolate for dessert.

Music to match my mood

IVF Cycle 5 Begins

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I wish I was better at remembering these anniversaries. I was just revisiting my previous cycles and realised that last Wednesday marked 2 years since my first stim injection. It really feels like a longer lol.

I was re-reading specifically my most successful cycle. The one we’re copying now and it turns out it was round about this time as well. I enjoyed reading it. I think I was in a good space as far as excitement and positivity are concerned.

Comparing that cycle to now, the excitement and positivity are lessened somewhat with the memory of four failures versus one. Not to say that I’m not excited and positive. I am. I’m just not as naive as before but I’m trying to not let it get me down.

Anyway, I just finished my last birth control pill last night and when I held it in my hand last night it hit me that there’s a chance that it could be my last bcp ever. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it that way before and that really excited me.

I had my baseline appointment this morning, just waiting on results and instructions but I should be starting stims on Friday. So there will be a full period coming soon. Yay.

This is going to be another boring daily chronicling of a cycle and for that I apologise, ahead of time. I just enjoyed re-reading and I appreciated the details. Thanks 2015 me!

Anyway, I don’t have anything to report today. I didn’t get an antral follicle count at the ultrasound because I didn’t want it to depress me. Other than that, I’ve contacted the genetics lab and we’re all set to go and my meds get delivered today. I’m also confident that the results call today will be good so I guess I’ll just leave you all to it until Friday.

Here’s to an uneventful but speedy week!

IVF Round Five

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Here we go again! It was touch and go for a few days but here we go again.

I had planned to start this cycle with this month’s period but by Monday I’d started spotting and hadn’t received insurance approval yet. I called the clinic only to find out they hadn’t even sent the request to the insurance! I was shocked.

The nurse told me she’d find out where my request was in the queue and she’d call me the next do to let me know if we can start but it didn’t look good.

The following day the nurse called to say that they wouldn’t be able to send in my request in time and I’d have to do the cycle next month. Sigh. I was very sad but I made peace with it. Decided that more time to prepare can only be beneficial so I was okay with starting next month.

Then Wednesday she called again and turned my world upside down. They’d actually sent off the request the previous day and I had the go-ahead to start birth control. Well I had to do the mandatory preggo test the following morning but for all intents and purposes, we were a go.

So Wednesday was a pretty fantastic day to begin with and then N called to let me know that our new RE contacted him with results from his latest sperm sample that was to be frozen. You’ll remember that we were going to send these results to the urologist to let us know if it was a good sample or not. Well it turns out that the sample was excellent. The count had doubled and the motility was great. Of course since my husband took the call we didn’t get any numbers but I can just get the numbers when I call them again.

We’re still waiting on approval so obviously the thief of joy that this journey is, isn’t letting me celebrate just yet. I’m just taking my pills as instructed. If everything goes according to plan I’ll start stims around the first week of November. We’re doing 300iu Gonal-f and 150iu Menopur. The same protocol from round 2 which yielded or record 3 embryos to test.

So we’ll take it one day at a time and I’ll try to keep a level head but I like the sound of this cycle so far… so far.