So on day 9 of stims I went in for my blood work and ultrasounds and the nurse was having trouble finding my vein. She said that she would get someone else to draw me if she couldn't find it because she didn't feel comfortable, she kept poking (with her finger) and finally said I think I found it, my reply was that you better do more than think. She said were going to go for it and I closed my eyes and grimaced but fortunately I didn't feel a thing and she got it. She better count herself lucky though because I am not in the best of moods. On Friday I drove to the other side of town for my old high school's homecoming game and to see my dear sweet daughter, Whitney in the hospital. She still is in a lot of pain when the morphine wears off and is very flushed in the face when I bent down to give her a hug and kiss I could feel the heat radiating off her whole body. I was very alarmed and when the nurse came in to give her the pain meds I asked. I think she said it had been a couple of hours since they had given her Tylenol for her last fever and she said that it had not yet kicked, (Never heard of Tylenol taking that long), she than gave some BS story about how the heat is just on the outside and is not her core temperature and how you can not tell someone has fever from touching them because our body temperature is lower. I do realize that if your hands are really cold you are not going to get a good reading but when the heat is coming from their whole body and they are not covered up with blankets they have a temperature. I personally think that the shift was changing and crappy nurse did not want to be bothered. So in fact my daughter did have a high temperature again when the new nurse came in to check it, (AAAAHHHH). Anyways today she just got released. Today she is finally be released, (YEAH) and we just found out that she had e coli which was causing her kidneys to be impacted. I am so glad she went in when she did because that is something you just don't want to mess with.My asthma starting acting up on my way home from the homecoming game and I forgot my inhaler so I stopped off at my mom's to borrow hers. I kept hearing a noise from my car sounded like a hissing noise. But my tires looked find still had a great tread. I left my mom's with my two younger kids to drive the 45 minutes home. Probably about 10 minutes after I left my mom's I heard a THUMP THUMP THUMP noise and knew I had blown my tire. It was completely shredded. I had to wait for AAA to get there change the tire out on my beast of a car with a donut tire. By the time I got into bed it was 1:45 AM!!!! BLAH I am getting to old to be up this late. I had to get up for my 8:30 AM appointment with my clinic!!
So here are the results for day 9 of stims:
E2 1,260
R. Ovary 6 follicles measuring: 9.51, 9.83, 10.23, 11.72, 11.96, 14.96
L. Ovary 9 follicles measuring: 7.06, 7.65, 9.44, 9.97, 10.9, 11.39, 12.56, 13.03, 14.17
So some people might be alarmed or confused since my right ovary shows one less. Did I have a vanishing follicle? Where did it go? The thing is there can be some discrepancies when measuring follicles especially when done by a different person. It is doubtful that one has vanished but possible scenarios include that the previous tech could have accidentally counted it twice, or the new tech could have missed it. Either one of these is possible follicles can be clustered together some hidden behind others where it makes counting them difficult. I am not too worried about I know I have right in that general area. I was a little concern that they may not have grown enough. With my other two cycles I was already at daily blood draws and ultrasounds because I had at least one follicle at or above 16 mm. When the nurse called me back to tell that I am still to stay on the same protocol, I voiced my concern. She said that things seem nicely for me and that more importantly my follicles are close in size right and that it seems that each visit I have acquired new ones. So I am putting all negative thoughts away because it really is out of my hands. I go back in tomorrow and we will see how those follies are doing. Come on FOLLIES GROW!!!!!
Well I am going to bed now, haven't had much sleep in the past two days with everything that happened on Friday and then last night I went to my 20 year reunion!!!! AM I really that old?!?!?!?! It was a blast but my body and mind are just exhausted I need to get some sleep!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Day 7 of Stims
Today is day 7 of Stims and how am I feeling; moody, crampy, & fatigued. My stomach is not too badly bruised but you can play connect the dot with all the needle pokes. So I went in two days ago for my blood work and ultrasound. Now I do not have that days E2 level but I do have my baseline and 3 days of stim level
Baseline: 44.4
Day 3: 102
I was told that the numbers going up was a good sign. As far as follicles well as you know I have been on a more aggressive protocol to hopefully produce more eggs. This is what they found for day 5:
R. Ovary 4 follicles measuring: 4, 6, 6.5, 7
L. Ovary 4 follicles measuring: 6, 6.5, 7, 8
Alright so not to say I am not happy that I have some follicles in there but this is my lowest count to start and smallest follicles to start as compared to my previous cycles. I know I know I really should take my own advice and not compare but it is so hard. Also later on I called my IVF coordinator to find out if my meds would be changing at all because if not I was going to order some more. She said I am staying on the same meds but now instead of wanting to see me on Friday they want to see me Thursday which is today. I can't help but be worried that there is something amiss but I guess today will tell. Praying that my E2 levels are still going up and that my follies are getting nice and plump with maybe a few more follies that have come to join the party. I will update later today.
UPDATE:
Alright so I know this sounds weird and all but I had been nervous because I haven't had any cervical mucus otherwise known as egg white cervical mucus (EWCM). Most women worry when they have this during the stimming process of IVF, worrying that they are ovulating and that their cycle will be a bust. However, from my past experiences with this I now know it is something to expect. Was also told that it happens with the rising estrogen in the body. But I have been dry as old chewed up bone, which of course got be thinking that maybe my estrogen was not rising. Anyways when I go to the clinic they have you empty your bladder and low and behold when I wiped there it was. I did my little happy dance in the bathroom because it made me feel that this cycle is going at least in the right direction. I asked the nurse after my blood was drawn what my E2 level was on Tues (day 5 of stims) 247 so Yeah it is going up!!!
My E2 level for today is 694
My follicles:
R. Ovary 7 follicles measuring: 7, 7, 9, 9.5, 11.5, 12, 12
L. Ovary 7 follicles measuring: 5, 9, 9, 10, 11, 11, 14
I am to stay on the same protocol (oh Yeah) until Sat when I go in for another stab and poke. I am starting to feel better about this cycle. But of course with all the hormones I am on my mood can change instantly.
On another subject my oldest baby (Whitney) is in the hospital. She woke up with severe pain. They though it was a appendicitis but she has a severe bladder infection that has now gone to her kidneys as well as possibly having kidney stones. It is so hard when your kids are sick no matter how old they are. They told her the infection was so bad that if she had left it too much longer it could have killed her. Those words are parent never wants to hear. She is doing better now got her doped up on morphine and running antibiotics through her system.
Baseline: 44.4
Day 3: 102
I was told that the numbers going up was a good sign. As far as follicles well as you know I have been on a more aggressive protocol to hopefully produce more eggs. This is what they found for day 5:
R. Ovary 4 follicles measuring: 4, 6, 6.5, 7
L. Ovary 4 follicles measuring: 6, 6.5, 7, 8
Alright so not to say I am not happy that I have some follicles in there but this is my lowest count to start and smallest follicles to start as compared to my previous cycles. I know I know I really should take my own advice and not compare but it is so hard. Also later on I called my IVF coordinator to find out if my meds would be changing at all because if not I was going to order some more. She said I am staying on the same meds but now instead of wanting to see me on Friday they want to see me Thursday which is today. I can't help but be worried that there is something amiss but I guess today will tell. Praying that my E2 levels are still going up and that my follies are getting nice and plump with maybe a few more follies that have come to join the party. I will update later today.
UPDATE:
Alright so I know this sounds weird and all but I had been nervous because I haven't had any cervical mucus otherwise known as egg white cervical mucus (EWCM). Most women worry when they have this during the stimming process of IVF, worrying that they are ovulating and that their cycle will be a bust. However, from my past experiences with this I now know it is something to expect. Was also told that it happens with the rising estrogen in the body. But I have been dry as old chewed up bone, which of course got be thinking that maybe my estrogen was not rising. Anyways when I go to the clinic they have you empty your bladder and low and behold when I wiped there it was. I did my little happy dance in the bathroom because it made me feel that this cycle is going at least in the right direction. I asked the nurse after my blood was drawn what my E2 level was on Tues (day 5 of stims) 247 so Yeah it is going up!!!
My E2 level for today is 694
My follicles:
R. Ovary 7 follicles measuring: 7, 7, 9, 9.5, 11.5, 12, 12
L. Ovary 7 follicles measuring: 5, 9, 9, 10, 11, 11, 14
I am to stay on the same protocol (oh Yeah) until Sat when I go in for another stab and poke. I am starting to feel better about this cycle. But of course with all the hormones I am on my mood can change instantly.
On another subject my oldest baby (Whitney) is in the hospital. She woke up with severe pain. They though it was a appendicitis but she has a severe bladder infection that has now gone to her kidneys as well as possibly having kidney stones. It is so hard when your kids are sick no matter how old they are. They told her the infection was so bad that if she had left it too much longer it could have killed her. Those words are parent never wants to hear. She is doing better now got her doped up on morphine and running antibiotics through her system.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Lupron Blues
Today is day 6 of taking Lupron and I am just feeling cruddy. It is hard to explain sometimes how I feel but all I know is that I am Feeling not like me. The headaches (knocking on wood) have let up but have now been replaced with total unrelenting fatigue. Multiple naps have become a daily ritual and I still have to go to bed early. It gets so bad that I can barely keep my eyes open. In fact I am laying on the bed in my hotel room in Vegas after waking from one of my naps while Kev is playing Craps down in the casino (hope he is not losing too much money). Tomorrow I get to reduce my lupron from 10 iu to 5 and I start on follistim. Woo Hoo!!! Now I am usually more vigilant with my IVF calendar but Kev notice something that I missed. On the calendar it says that I am to take 200 iu of follistim which at first I was a little confused because last time I talked to my RE he had said that he apologizes to my ovaries now but he wanted to be more aggressive and try to get more eggs. However two iu was less than what I took last time but my dear darling husband noticed that this time around I am taking it twice a day for a total of 400 ius and the same thing when I start the menopur on Sunday (75 iu twice daily) for a total of 150 ius!!!! Wholy Moley!!!! Let's hope they get some good eggies out of there!!!!!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
And It Begins
I know technically I have been on the pill and gearing up for this cycle for a couple of weeks now but yesterday I started Lupron, (the injection that basically puts me in temporary menopause) and I never quite feel like I have started until I start poking myself with needles. Not to be bragging or anything but I am starting to feel like a pro with these needles. This is coming from a girl who had a deep phobia of needles and would actually have panic attacks when blood was drawn. I feel I can practically do these in my sleep now. I have come a long way baby!!!!So now I am on day 2 of lupron and already experiencing some of the side effects. Hot hot hot and no I am not talking about my rocking body which by the way I have dropped 20 pounds (can I hear a Woot Woot) Hot flashes are not as much fun. Last night Kev was so cold he had me put two blankets which he even put his head under and there I was wearing as little as possible practically dying because I was so hot. I even tried to turn the fan on but Kev (who conveniently can not remember saying this) chattered, "Cccaaannn yyyooouuu pppllleeeaaassseee tttuuurrrnnn ooofff ttthhheee fffaaannn??? Like my chattering teeth effect but seriously that is how it was and it was not like I had the AC turned down it was about 83 in the house. This actually pissed me off which I am sure was more because of the lupron because everything that you can think of will push my buttons. Oh well such as life and hopefully it will be worth it. Today I also went to a baby shower of my friend's. Although it is hard seeing all the cute things I am very happy for her and know that she understand what I am going through. (Her RE knocked her up too) Today we also had a craft day at my church which was a lot of fun. My mom drove down from the other side of town and spent the day with me. We made some cute things for the holidays and other things. We also had a service project where we made boxes for an organization down here called Lanee's Legacy. These boxes are delivered to hospitals all around Arizona for Mom's and Dad's who have an angle baby. These boxes are cutely decorated and contain items such as a disposable camera a place to put their baby's lock of hair a necklace for the mom to where and where other items of the baby can be placed. It was really touching one of my friends who lost her baby last year got up and spoke about how special this box was and she could open and look at the items inside. It was very touching and brought tears to my eyes. I am actually thinking about joining the organization so I can be a part of helping mom's dad's that are faced with the death of their baby.
Well that it is all for now, I will keep you updated as to how I am doing and responding to the meds. Next week I go in for my baseline Ultrasound and Blood Work. Oh Yeah!!!
Well that it is all for now, I will keep you updated as to how I am doing and responding to the meds. Next week I go in for my baseline Ultrasound and Blood Work. Oh Yeah!!!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Updates Updates and More Updates
I have been gone way too long and for weeks I have been telling myself that I need to get on here and update. There just has not seem to be enough time in the day and I think I needed to break myself away from it and everyone around it for my own sake. I have kept update with the ins and outs of my friends facing the same struggles but I have been like a silent partner their cheering you on in the background and feeling your pain when things have not worked out. I just needed some time to think. I didn't know if Kev and I were going to get another chance and I was angry and I didn't want to just vent my negativity on others.
So in the meantime I have been venting my negativity into working out and getting into shape. I have lost 15 pounds woo hoo and I feel great!!! My asthma has been so much better since my workout and I am just really proud of myself. However, as of Wednesday evening my working out has been brought to a standstill. I was out riding my bicycle with Kev, (who got a new hand bike so he can exercise now too). Well he still is building up his arm strength and I usually go around our neighborhood once and come back round too him. Anyway, right where the entrance to our subdivision is there is a stop sign and this guy in a truck did a California stop and we collided. I am very fortunate that my injuries are superficial. I did go to the emergency room the next day because my upper abdomen right starting swelling out. They did an MRI on my knee which was also very swollen and bruised and a CT scan on my abdomen because the Dr. was worried about my spleen. After 6 hours in the emergency room everything came back good. They did put a brace on my knee to keep in immobilized and gave me crutches. As soon as the swelling goes down I will be able to go start working out again but he cautioned me to take it easy blah!! If it had to be anyone I am glad that it was me instead of one of the neighborhood kids that live in the area. It really could have been a lot worse!
Now my journey through infertility has seem long to me but I look at many of my friends and my struggles have not even begun to scratch the surface. But in the world of infertility a week can seem like an eternity. For me it has been just over three months since my negative Beta and time has been ticking away. As I have said I have kept myself busy working out, cleaning house, and spending time with family. It has helped. Because we haven't heard anything about whether Kev's workman's comp had approved or denied us another attempt I urged Kevin to call. I think 3 months is enough time to make a decision and I needed to know one way or another so I could make a plan. Jane his caseworker still had not heard back from the lawyers, (this was September 7) but she did not foresee it being a problem and felt we should here something by the beginning of the following week. Well the answer came back two days later and we were approved for another attempt. I don't know if this is the last one and I try not to think about that. Instead I take one day at a time and hope for the best because that is all we can do. I started on my birth control last Thursday. Now we were concern that the accident might delay this attempt but Daina (my IVF coordinator) says as long as nothing is broken or internal damage we can proceed. Looks like my transfer will be around the end of October. Here's hoping that 3 times is the charm.
So in the meantime I have been venting my negativity into working out and getting into shape. I have lost 15 pounds woo hoo and I feel great!!! My asthma has been so much better since my workout and I am just really proud of myself. However, as of Wednesday evening my working out has been brought to a standstill. I was out riding my bicycle with Kev, (who got a new hand bike so he can exercise now too). Well he still is building up his arm strength and I usually go around our neighborhood once and come back round too him. Anyway, right where the entrance to our subdivision is there is a stop sign and this guy in a truck did a California stop and we collided. I am very fortunate that my injuries are superficial. I did go to the emergency room the next day because my upper abdomen right starting swelling out. They did an MRI on my knee which was also very swollen and bruised and a CT scan on my abdomen because the Dr. was worried about my spleen. After 6 hours in the emergency room everything came back good. They did put a brace on my knee to keep in immobilized and gave me crutches. As soon as the swelling goes down I will be able to go start working out again but he cautioned me to take it easy blah!! If it had to be anyone I am glad that it was me instead of one of the neighborhood kids that live in the area. It really could have been a lot worse!
Now my journey through infertility has seem long to me but I look at many of my friends and my struggles have not even begun to scratch the surface. But in the world of infertility a week can seem like an eternity. For me it has been just over three months since my negative Beta and time has been ticking away. As I have said I have kept myself busy working out, cleaning house, and spending time with family. It has helped. Because we haven't heard anything about whether Kev's workman's comp had approved or denied us another attempt I urged Kevin to call. I think 3 months is enough time to make a decision and I needed to know one way or another so I could make a plan. Jane his caseworker still had not heard back from the lawyers, (this was September 7) but she did not foresee it being a problem and felt we should here something by the beginning of the following week. Well the answer came back two days later and we were approved for another attempt. I don't know if this is the last one and I try not to think about that. Instead I take one day at a time and hope for the best because that is all we can do. I started on my birth control last Thursday. Now we were concern that the accident might delay this attempt but Daina (my IVF coordinator) says as long as nothing is broken or internal damage we can proceed. Looks like my transfer will be around the end of October. Here's hoping that 3 times is the charm.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
BETA DAY
I have not posted since my transfer but to let you all know the time has gone by relatively fast. I suppose going to Vegas 5 days after my transfer helped. I had a lot of fun and got to see the Lion King at Mandala Bay. It was incredible and highly recommend it but this will be the last year it is showing in Vegas!!! I got to spend quality time with my beautiful daughter, her boyfriend, and of course my husband. Now I did take the evil HPTs with me and tested at 7 & 8 days past my transfer. Both were negatives and I had a melt down. Since Kevin didn't know that I even took the tests I had to put on a smile while on the inside my heart was breaking. If it wasn't for my IVF gals I don't know what I would do. They help me to keep my sanity and because of their advice I decided not to test again because it was too emotionally draining. Although I have not tested again I am pretty sure this cycle was a bust. Now I know it is not over until the Beta lady sings but it is a feeling I have. I just feel different than my last cycle and with my last I had a feeling before I got back my second BETA numbers that it was not going to be good. It would be great to be surprised but I need to be realistic. I already talked to Kevin and let him know that I want to do this again. I think the talked help me feel a little better. At least I know that this is not final
I will update later
UPDATE: As expected my Beta came back negative. I am Ok though and I am ready to move forward to my next cycle. Maybe 3 times will be the charm!
I will update later
UPDATE: As expected my Beta came back negative. I am Ok though and I am ready to move forward to my next cycle. Maybe 3 times will be the charm!
Friday, June 3, 2011
FET
So again I haven't posted like I should but with a FET there is not too much going on. Also the joys of having children and step-children make for a lot of activity. My step-daughter Kassie graduated from 8th grade on May 25. Boy was that place packed, my mother-in-law thought it was so strange that so many people would go to this event. But you know when it comes to your kids no event is too small. Then on June 1 my other step-daughter Kandace graduated from high school.
So I have to insert estrogen cream around dinner time and then lay down for about 10 or 15 minutes. The problem was that we had to leave early to get a decent seat so I took the estrace with me & planned on lying down on the back seat. However, the traffic was so bad at the ASU arena where the graduation was taking place that I had to do it while he was driving. My kids were asleep in the back seat. So there with skirt hiked up & underwear to the side inserting the cream. Yep real glad a semi didn't drive by. ;-p
Anyway all went well & the graduation was great. They went through over 500 names in about 30 minutes!!!
Well today was my big day. I was up by 5 since my nerves would not let me sleep. I went in for my 1st acupuncture treatment & absolutely loved. I was so relaxed. While I was waiting for the acupuncturist to come back the embryologist's assistant came in and told us that they thawed 2 embryos. One was doing very good while the other was not.
Our options were:
My comfy position didn't last long while Dr. Craig put the clamp in one of the nurses pressed the ultrasound on my belly causing my bladder to scream in protest. Oh well it will all be worth it in the end if I get a baby or babies several months later. When I was finally allowed to pee. I didn't think I would ever stop. I peed for almost a minute. I actually timed it.
Now I am on Princess status resting up and praying and hoping for the best, wondering if my little beans are doing their job.
One thing is for sure it feels great to be Pregnant Unless Proven Otherwise (PUPO)
So I have to insert estrogen cream around dinner time and then lay down for about 10 or 15 minutes. The problem was that we had to leave early to get a decent seat so I took the estrace with me & planned on lying down on the back seat. However, the traffic was so bad at the ASU arena where the graduation was taking place that I had to do it while he was driving. My kids were asleep in the back seat. So there with skirt hiked up & underwear to the side inserting the cream. Yep real glad a semi didn't drive by. ;-p
Anyway all went well & the graduation was great. They went through over 500 names in about 30 minutes!!!
Well today was my big day. I was up by 5 since my nerves would not let me sleep. I went in for my 1st acupuncture treatment & absolutely loved. I was so relaxed. While I was waiting for the acupuncturist to come back the embryologist's assistant came in and told us that they thawed 2 embryos. One was doing very good while the other was not.
Our options were:
- Thaw another embryo out
- Take our chances & transfer the two I have
- If the one embryo showed complete stop of growth then transfer the one.
My comfy position didn't last long while Dr. Craig put the clamp in one of the nurses pressed the ultrasound on my belly causing my bladder to scream in protest. Oh well it will all be worth it in the end if I get a baby or babies several months later. When I was finally allowed to pee. I didn't think I would ever stop. I peed for almost a minute. I actually timed it.
Now I am on Princess status resting up and praying and hoping for the best, wondering if my little beans are doing their job.
One thing is for sure it feels great to be Pregnant Unless Proven Otherwise (PUPO)
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