Well that’s all we have left so hopefully this old saying rings true.
My husband said the other night that hopefully his father will help us out this round. If you’re out there dad, you’re certainly keeping us on our toes but we will of course name the baby after you if you let us keep it.
Thanks for the continued prayers and support and crossed fingers. I really appreciate all of you. I’ll have results next week.
❤ ❤
Date: 4.21.16 – 4.22.16
Starring: 75iu Menopur, 300iu Gonal-F, 250mcg Ganirelix, 3mg Melatonin, Ubiquinol, Pre-natal, Vit C, D, E, B12.
Produced by: 8 follicles (5 on L, 3 on R) ranging from 10 – 13 mm. Estrodiol at 1012 on day 7.
Directed by: Slight, very slight tightness in the belly area. Sharp pains on the right and left side. No other symptoms.
Synopsis: So far so good. Let’s start yesterday. No monitoring but N did work late so I had to inject myself. I don’t enjoy it. I prefer that he does it but I got through it, thank goodness. I stabbed myself twice with the Menopur. Not sure if anyone has done this before. I stabbed and got such a fright, I yelped and pulled it out and proceeded to laugh at myself for a few minutes. What an idiot. Got it in the second time. Here’s tidbit of info. When N injects the Menopur I feel the burning around the injection site and to distract myself I scratch next to my belly button. I don’t know why, it’s automatic but it cracks N up all the time. So when I was injecting myself I didn’t have any free fingers to scratch as the medicine was going in because I was holding the syringe with one hand and plunging with the other like a complete noob. I ended up awkwardly scratching with my left pinky. Weirdo. And then I dropped the Gonal-F pen before the injection so it was riddled with tiny bubbles I couldn’t do anything about. I just hope that was the last of the night time injections that I do myself. Menopur is a 2 man job in my house.
So this morning at my appointment I was very happy with quiet nurse. She said everything was good. I saw a good amount of follicles but didn’t ask anything. She just said I’m doing really well and they all seem to be growing at the same rate which is awesome. And to make the day better, they let us leave work early so I was actually able to answer the phone call (No reception in my dungeon office. They must do that on purpose) Sadly, I failed at my ‘blissful ignorance’ pledge. We still have 8 follicles which I think is okay for day 7. They’re ranging between 10 and 13mm. My estrogen is at 1012. I’m not sure if that’s okay but the doctor did say he’s going to push body as much as he can. I’m to keep with the same dose of meds which is fine by me. And I’m to go back on Sunday. It feels like a lot of appointments. I don’t like these people that much. I did have to inject myself with Ganirelix after the phone call. I’ve done this before so it wasn’t a train smash (except for the damned blunt needle). I feel like when you add Ganirelix then you’re almost at the end so, yay.
So, so far so good. I was bummed for a second that we only have 8 but then my IVF friend who I told you about sent a pic of a pregnancy test that was faintly positive at 5dpt so that made my day. Like really really.
Best enjoyed with: Split pea soup yesterday and for lunch today… and tonight I’m breaking the rules with shitty box mac n cheese. yay Friday!
Outtakes:
source: upandout
Date: 4.18.16 – 4.20.16
Starring: 75iu Menopur, 300iu Gonal-F, 5mg Melatonin, Ubiquinol, Pre-natal, Vit C, D, E, B12.
Directed by:
Left Ovary – biggest at 11mm
Right Ovary – biggest at 12mm and 11mm
Synopsis: This really has been the most boring cycle. And tiring. It’s probably the melatonin but I’ve been a zombie all week. But all in all, I’m happy about the mundanity. No surprises, no stress.
All shots have gone off without a hitch. Had my first monitoring appointment this morning. She said I have 5 on one ovary and 3 on another but didn’t say which had which. But shout out to my right ovary for having the 2 biggest so far. My lazy girl has come to the party finally! The voicemail the nurse left wasn’t very informative. She just said, everything is going well and to go back on Friday with Ganirelix. No estrodiol levels or anything. At first I wanted to call to find out but I’m okay not knowing. It’s too early for anything and I don’t want to go on a comparing frenzy anyway. Calm and boring is the name of this game.
So far so good 🙂
Food: Been generally healthy (low carb, low sugar, no booze), minus the cake and prosecco on Sunday. No interesting recipes. In fact, we need to go grocery shopping.
Outtakes: (Prince Eric’s face cracks me up)
source: collegehumor
Date: 4.16.16 – 4.17.16
Starring: 75iu Menopur, 300iu Gonal-F, 5mg Melatonin, Ubiquinol, Pre-natal, Vit C, D, E, B12.
Synopsis: We’ve had a very full weekend. Day one of stims was actually yesterday but I was so tired I couldn’t be bothered jumping on the laptop. On Friday we went to see a Journey tribute band for N’s cousin’s birthday. I did drink and we got to bed after 2am so I was feeling a bit rough when we had to be up for a rehearsal for our friends’ daughter’s baptism and we spent most of the day with them. N and his friend bought Oculus Rifts but J’s came last week and N is still waiting for his so we spent most of the day playing with J’s. We got home just in time for shots. I actually had to set an alarm because I forgot that we had to be home for them. I’m glad about that. I’m not letting this round run shit. Shots were easy albeit burny. I was quite dizzy afterwards though. I’m feeling the same now. Dizzy and a weird metal taste at the back of my throat. But so far so good.
Today was the baptism. N is godfather. It was a good service and I even said a prayer for all of my ttc sisters out there. Especially my dear friend who I met on an IVF FB group. Today was her 6th transfer. They retrieved 11 eggs and immediately froze 9 fertilized embryos. She then prepared for an FET and they thawed her babies on Tuesday and thankfully she was able to transfer 3 beautiful embryos this morning. She’s been a rock for me since we were cycle buddies last year. I got a bfn and she got a bfp that, sadly, ended up being an ectopic. I’m really hoping that this is it for her. She’s been a real shining light in spite of going through so much. If you have a spare thought please use it on my friend K who is awesome and who I love very much :). Her beta is on my retrieval day. I’m hoping it’s going to be great days for both of us.
Okay, Fear the walking dead is on now. I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Food:
Yesterday
Breakfast: Skipped it. (whoops)
Lunch: Buffalo Chicken Sandwich
Dinner: Lamb sausage from Whole foods, fried egg and avocado.
Today
Breakfast: Leftover sausage and avocado
Lunch: Buffalo Chicken sandwich, Cake, chips, Prosecco
Dinner: See lunch.
Outakes:
Well Hello! I’ve been thinking about how I want to document this new cycle. I find myself referring back to the other 2 and they are a mess. I’m very envious of Dani‘s documenting of her cycles. Very cool. I’m going to try to do it like the last cycle. There was at least some semblance of organization. We’ll start that on Saturday when stims start.
This morning I was up at 3 (which really should be illegal) because one of the cats was puking and the other was trying to get into the food cabinet. It was a great start to the day. I’m amazed at how many people drive up to Boston at 5 in the morning. That made me sad. Everyone looked grumpy and cold. Maybe I was just projecting. I was in such a haze waking up, I forgot my water so I knew the blood draw would be “fun”. Then when I was laying down with my legs in the stirrups I realized I hadn’t taken my underwear off just as she walked in. Silly.
She really struggled to find my right ovary again. She said that as the cycle progresses it would become easier to find. She said she found it eventually but I wonder if she just said that to make me feel better. I didn’t ask for the antral follicle count because I’m sure I fell asleep on the table. There’s a first time for everything.
The day progressed very slowly. I don’t think I didn’t any work. The nurse called and I’m to start meds on Saturday. 300iu Gonal F and 75ml of Menopur and then my first monitoring appointment is next Wednesday.
This day has been awfully long and I’m just waiting to finish this post so that I can go to bed and if the universe is listening it will let me sleep all the way to Saturday just in time for my first shot.
In closing, I’m so excited for everyone right now. Starting stims! Just finished retrieval! In the 2ww! Pregnant! Doing that mommy thing! You’re all doing wonderfully and I am so very proud of all of you! Here’s to April!!!
Okay, I sleeps now.
I went to the wtf appointment by myself yesterday. We had words about it but whatev’s, I’m over it now. I was doing really well when the doctor came to get me. We were chit chatting about the weather and stuff but when I sat down he got really serious and quiet and apologised for the negative and he can’t imagine the toll this is taking on us, blah blah blah. I was fine up until then, then I had to blink away tears and make an awkward joke. I can’t even remember what it was.
So he said a few things. It could be my lining so we’re going to do an endometrial biopsy and another hysteroscopy at the same time. Thankfully we’ll do this with the next cycle while I’m on bcp’s so there’ll not be a delay. Yay! He said it could also still be other genetic issues with the embryos that they can’t pick up in PGS. Bleh. We’ll try this next round with the biopsy and go from there. He keeps saying that all his translocation patients have to work a little harder and have to do more rounds than any other couple would so I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for a long road.
I asked if there’s a chance I could have endometriosis and he said that from what he has on file and what I’ve told him that it’s not likely and if I did that it wouldn’t be worse than stage 1 or 2 and he wouldn’t want to do a laparoscopy out since it’s invasive. 20 bucks says by round 5 I’ll be booked for one, stat :).
What else did he say? Oh, I asked about egg quality and he checked his notes and said that the folks in the lab commented that they weren’t the prettiest and they weren’t jumping up and down about them but also that in his experience he’s seen women with the same comments go one to have successful pregnancies and we’re getting fertilization and blastocysts so he’s not worried about that.
As for protocol, my first round I was on a 75iu Menopur and Gonal F and we slowly increased and triggered with HCG in the butt. I ended up with 14 eggs, 13 mature. The second I was on 150iu Menopur and Gonal F (I believe) and we slowly increased and triggered with HCG in the tummy. I ended up with 12 eggs, 7 mature. So he decided to do a mix of both rounds and use a Lupron trigger next time. So we’re doing 75iu Menopur and 150 Gonal F and we’ll go from there. Also, the clinic has switched from Ganirelix to Cetrotide for insurance purposes. Yay for no more blunt needles!
I also got to meet the new nurse D. He was really sweet. I feel bad for being mean to him now. But all in all it was a good appointment I think. I always forget to ask questions. But I think I covered everything. Whatever, can we just start? If my body plays along, we should be ready to kick things off in 16 days. Whoop! Let’s go!
And some shitty insurance news of course… Because what IVF cycle would be complete without insurance woes. So they still haven’t paid my claim for the genetics testing. I called about a month ago and the young lady said that the claim was there but that it takes about 40 days. Okay, fine. It’s now been 2 months and I called again (I really should have called sooner) only to find out that some genius tagged the claim as Fitness & Wellness and not Medical so no one’s looked at it…for 2 months… 2 months.
Thankfully, the guy (another D.. his name is D. Not D as in, well, you know), gave me his email address and he said he’d have them expedite the claim and he’d get it sorted out asap. Yaaaa…What? Nope, D found another issue. Apparently, I’d sent the wrong bill. It didn’t have any of the codes that were needed.
But again, D said to just call the genetics lab and have them send over the correct bill and to forward to him directly so that we can get it fixed up real quick. Great. I quickly hopped on the line with the genetics lab and very nice yet somewhat unsure-of-herself older woman told me that they should send me an itemized bill in about 5 business days. I have a feeling I’m going to have to follow up on this but for now we’ll leave it up to the infertility gods.
Anyway, that’s all I have for now. Life is going to be dull again for the next 16 days but I’ll find some stuff to blog about.
Time to catch up on what’s going on in your lives.
xx
So no one cared that I didn’t drink on Saturday :). To be fair I only knew 2 out of the 5 of us there so why would anyone question why I wasn’t drinking? I spent most of the night sipping on water and staring longingly at a beautiful block of blue cheese. It was actually a fun night considering that the host and I were the only 2 non-moms (we both have 3 cats each, that’s why I love her). I really enjoyed listening to them tell funny stories about their kids. Kids are great. I should try to have some… Oh wait.
Sunday passed without any excitement. I was a bit naughty and painted 2 doors outside. I figured what could be more ventilated than outside right? Of course if we get a negative I’ll of course blame the painting but at least I’ll have some pretty painted doors to look at and wipe my tears on.
Yesterday I had a cleaning at the dentist. I told gave her the list of medication I’m on. She asked why the aspirin and I explained about the IVF and she just smiled the smile of one who didn’t know what to say. She then mentioned x-rays and I asked if it was okay to get x-rays if there’s a possibility thaaat, you know, IVF. She got the hint but I physically couldn’t say the word pregnant. Strange. Anyway, the cleaning hurt more than I was used to and so much blood. Possibly because of the aspirin, but I survived. I usually enjoy going to the dentist but she hurt me. The good news is that the dentist signed off on my braces and faxed over the papers to the Orthodontist. All I need now is a down payment and I can go ahead and make my appointment to get my braces! I can’t wait!!!
Today we’re 7dp6dt. Still no symptoms but I’m feeling more positive than negative. I was actually telling my friends today that I need to prepare myself for the possibility that this could be negative. It’s going to suck to start from scratch but we have 5 more rounds. A negative beta is going to break me a little more but it won’t be the end. I’ve also decided to tell my boss that we’re doing IVF if it comes back negative. It feels like the right thing to do.
THREE MORE SLEEPS!! I’m in bed already. Hubs is playing online video games with some friends and I have a hot date with Hugh the Hand… No! It’s a character in the book I’m reading… Really, it is!
It feels like every year around this time N has to work out of town. Always the same client and always rushed. So Monday evening started with me making dinner and by the end of dinner he had booked a flight and was gone by this morning at 3. I didn’t even really get a chance to come to terms with being alone for the rest of the week. But this happens every year so I really shouldn’t be surprised.
Now don’t get me wrong, I hate when he’s not here. I can’t sleep as well and I miss him terribly. But on the flip side, I get to not meal plan (no sense for just one). I get to watch what I want. I get to not watch anything and just read for 5 days. Besides for the lonely pit in my stomach there’s a part of me that just loves some time for myself.
I don’t even know where to start! So I’m obviously not doing anything and watching Friends on tv. I don’t even know what I’m going to eat. Eeek!
Anyway, in FET news. I had my last monitoring appointment this morning. My lining is at 8.28 and they want it above 8 so we’re right on track. New nurse said they’d call on Monday to let me know what time to go in for my FET on Tuesday!
I’m excited, but not as excited as I am for all this free time I have this week!
Hope everyone is having a good week so far. And thank you everyone for cheering us on thus far. I can totally feel the love from here!
xx
How can one be too busy to blog but not have any exciting updates when one has a second to sit down and type? Hmmm.
Of course I have an IVF update but nothing else exciting. On to business then, I suppose.
I thought Friday was cycle day 1. I even called the clinic and spoke to a brandy new nurse, D, to get instructions. I was to go for my baseline ultrasound and blood work on Sunday. I was a little nervous about that because N did not want us driving to far-away land in the snow storm. D assured me that they would be open because Bostonians laugh in the face of snow storms and that I should woman up be there.
But when I got home my period had mysteriously stopped. Well not too mysteriously because this has happened to me before and incidentally Amy M. from My Brain’s Escape (Shout out to you, girl!) had just written about this in her blog and it seemed I fell victim to breakthough bleeding as well *shakes fist in the air*.
All of Saturday nothing was happening down there and then Sunday morning she showed her face again, in a big way. I called again on Sunday already having missed my baseline appointment (truth be told, I was a little relieved because I didn’t want to shovel at 5am). D didn’t seem too thrilled that I missed my appointment and he kept questioning me about this apparent breakthrough bleed. “Are you sure you didn’t bleed at all yesterday?”… “Well, we’ll see if it’s a true baseline when you come in on Tuesday”… I miss my old nurse.
Today is Tuesday. My lining is thin, my ovaries are happy and the FET process has begun. I’m to start estrodiol tablets this evening (1 tablet twice a day and 81mg of asprin) and my next appointment for bloodwork only is on Monday and the estimated date of transfer is February 16th.
How am I feeling? I know Feb 16 is ‘around the corner’ but it feels like the longest corner in the history of corners. I’m feeling impatient. Very impatient.
But we are officially 3 weeks away from seeing our little fighter. I remember being annoyed that I had to wait 4 weeks for my period to start the FET and it really feels like that went by in a flash. So here’s hoping the trend continues. I’m going to need to plan something fun for us to do these next 3 weekends. Come on Groupon!
I forgot what a mind f*ck this can be. I don’t enjoy the ride. And add to that, my nurse didn’t call. I had to call her and then got voicemail so I sat in the car for a torturous 5 minutes before she called. I don’t want to play anymore. I just want to rest.
Thankfully, the news was good. 3 of my little monsters pulled through and were able to be biopsied.
We are not out of the woods yet but boy am I happy to be over this hurdle. Our follow up appointment is Jan 4th when we’ll get our results and next steps.
I’m so tired from all this worrying. And I’m so done with 2015. I’m going to go into serious holiday mode now.
Okay, I’m about to sleep my ass off right now. Thank you all for being hopeful when I had no hope. Couldn’t do it without you. xxx
Parenting and everything else after infertility
My personal IVF journey
My IVF Journey
Tales of a 30 Year Old Nothing 