Well I figured that blogging helped me so much the first two times I did IVF that I might as well do it again, I still look back on those posts or reference them or send them to people that need help or have questions. It's like a personal journal for me that I'll forever have, so I've decided why not. I'm writing this for me. I have a hard time remembering things. I probably should've done this for Hank's first year, oops! :/
Okay, sooooooo here's the dealio! Casey & I have wanted another baby for a long time. We love Hank so much we want him to have a sibling, he plays sooooo good with other kids, it's amazing! He's seriously going to be the best big brother. We decided, let's not wait around and at least TRY on our own because what does it hurt. Well 15 months later, and still nothing. It's funny after going through all the infertility procedures I went through and only ever getting pregnant via IVF that I would even have any hoping of getting pregnant naturally. But it's there, and I cannot help it. Getting AF month after month sucks!! It was regular for awhile which was nice, thought maybe my body was kicking itself into gear, then I'd be late, get hopeful (OMG I'm pregnant), then NOPE, hello AF! You son-of-a-bitch! I hate YOU!! Anyways......
We've been on Casey's health insurance for a year now (they don't cover IVF) and I knew they didn't. We decided to go on his insurance to get a bit of a monetary break and since I was nursing, I didn't want the thought of doing IVF jeopardize that. So we knew we could not do IVF while on Casey's insurance. Guess what?! I'll be going back on my insurance as of January 1, so we can do IVF again.
I setup a meeting with Dr. Sullivan up at Buffalo IVF a few weeks ago. It was a family outing for us. He got to visit with Hank, we got to see our favorites up there & they got to see how much Hank has grown and see one of their miracle babies! We love visiting them! They're like a family to us. We went there for 2.5 years before they released us! Anyways, Dr. Sullivan decided we know what worked to get us Hank, so let's do that again! Yay! :D
So we're in the EARLY stages of preparing my body for IVF. I know the next 5 weeks are going to fly by, so I'm very thankful for that. First, Dr. Sullivan started me on metformin again, ahh my old nemesis. I was on metformin for YEARS. It's given to women with PCOS to help regulate your cycles essentially. Metformin is known to TEAR UP my stomach (and most women's stomachs who take it). So they have you ease into the drug. Start taking it very slowly. I took it with dinner on a Friday night and it was within 30 minutes that my body was like WTF!!! Ugh, great, this again!! Thankfully, as I've been increase the prescription and up to the full dose now it's really not too bad. I have to make sure I take it on a full stomach in the mornings, or I feel like I'm going to puke, learned that lesson a couple weeks ago. And taking it right before bed after I've eaten dinner works for the night time dose. I have to be careful what I eat specifically around taking it, which is a good thing. Sometimes during the day too, that's more of a guessing game. Good excuse not to carb-load or eat greasy! Which I shouldn't be doing any ways! Haha!
Next step was to wait for AF, theoretically she shouldn't arrived around November 10th, of course not though haha. Buffalo wanted me to call up on November 17th either way, so I called, the nurse says give it one more week (since we aren't in any rush here). So after more than 2 weeks late, it arrived with a VENGEANCE on November 23rd. So I got blood work this morning, November 24th, down at Brooks. Had 7 vials of blood taken and had the best phlebotomist thank goodness!! I love when they actually listen to me when I tell them I need a butterfly needle because it was painless!!
So now the next step is waiting to hear back from Buffalo IVF about how the labs look and when I'll start the birth control. This part always makes me laugh. Going on birth control before doing IVF, doesn't that sound like an oxymoron? We need to do this so we can get my body "normal" and this way we can control when to do certain things. So I'll be on that until sometime in January.
Next things we have to do are: blood work for Casey and a sperm-analysis, which I know he's greatly looking forward to both of these haha!! Then WAIT for the NEW YEAR!!!!!! Ahhh I'm so excited!! I seriously cannot wait to give Hank a sibling :D
Oh one more thing to add, in the myst of all of this, I've had to wean Hank. I know, I know, we went WAY longer than anticipated, expected, etc. and he's only been nursing 1x/day for months, but I really loved those few minutes in the morning with him before he started tearing ass around the house haha!! I decided the last time I would nurse Hank would be his 18 month birthday (mean Mommy haha), I truly treasured that last time, more so even because I knew (or planned) it would be the last time. I just changed up the morning routine and he never once asked for it. And I'm so excited that I never even felt a thing either! I'm telling you, THAT is the way to wean!! So thankful I didn't have to go through that pain! :D
Sooooooo, that is what is going on :D So stay tuned!!
Showing posts with label infertile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infertile. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2014
Monday, July 30, 2012
Positive aspects of being "infertile"
I saw this one of my facebook groups and had to repost to my blog!
So what if your uterus’ isn’t behaving! Who cares if your husband’s sperm has more tails than a dog! It doesn’t matter if you’re tubes have no idea how to fallop! Don’t feel sorry for us! There are lots of positive aspects to being an infertile such as….
(1) No awkward sex talk to your future children! Explaining the birds and the bees to our children will be fun! “Little Tommy, when a mommy and a daddy love each other they drive to a fertility clinic and 4 years later, you are conceived with a lot of love and a little test tube.”
(2) By the time you are pregnant, your friends are already finished having kids. You can borrow all their baby stuff (even if they are stained with poop and vomit).
(3) During IVF or IUI, your partner doesn’t even have to be present during conception! Just send him a quick text once it’s done. “Honey, we did it! How was it for you?”
(4) When you go to sleep at night, you still get to sleep through the night.
(5) You get to cry about infertility in random places. Why go to a boring old grocery store if you’re just going to shop. Yawn. Boring. Having a emotional breakdown in the tampon aisle, now that’s interesting!
(6) Your friends all offer to let you have their bratty kids. Great! So don’t be surprised and call the police when you take them. You had a verbal agreement.
(7) When you’re quintuplets arrive, you might get your own television show called IVF Mama Plus Five!
(8) You get to have surgery to help improve your fertility…. The positive side? The hospital offers these delicious pudding cups for lunch! Lip-smacking!
(9) Your friend have stretch marks, sagging breasts and wrinkles. You only have weight gain and acne due to fertility medication.
(10) Whoever said infertility was awful obviously never met your hot fertility doctor! He can inseminate you anytime!
Even if it doesn’t always feel this way and you think you will never get pregnant, infertility is most likely temporary. But hope and determination are permanent.
This article was taken from 999 Reasons to Laugh at Infertility. This is a REALLY great website about all things infertility, it really does help one look at things differently.
So what if your uterus’ isn’t behaving! Who cares if your husband’s sperm has more tails than a dog! It doesn’t matter if you’re tubes have no idea how to fallop! Don’t feel sorry for us! There are lots of positive aspects to being an infertile such as….
(1) No awkward sex talk to your future children! Explaining the birds and the bees to our children will be fun! “Little Tommy, when a mommy and a daddy love each other they drive to a fertility clinic and 4 years later, you are conceived with a lot of love and a little test tube.”
(2) By the time you are pregnant, your friends are already finished having kids. You can borrow all their baby stuff (even if they are stained with poop and vomit).
(3) During IVF or IUI, your partner doesn’t even have to be present during conception! Just send him a quick text once it’s done. “Honey, we did it! How was it for you?”
(4) When you go to sleep at night, you still get to sleep through the night.
(5) You get to cry about infertility in random places. Why go to a boring old grocery store if you’re just going to shop. Yawn. Boring. Having a emotional breakdown in the tampon aisle, now that’s interesting!
(6) Your friends all offer to let you have their bratty kids. Great! So don’t be surprised and call the police when you take them. You had a verbal agreement.
(7) When you’re quintuplets arrive, you might get your own television show called IVF Mama Plus Five!
(8) You get to have surgery to help improve your fertility…. The positive side? The hospital offers these delicious pudding cups for lunch! Lip-smacking!
(9) Your friend have stretch marks, sagging breasts and wrinkles. You only have weight gain and acne due to fertility medication.
(10) Whoever said infertility was awful obviously never met your hot fertility doctor! He can inseminate you anytime!
Even if it doesn’t always feel this way and you think you will never get pregnant, infertility is most likely temporary. But hope and determination are permanent.
This article was taken from 999 Reasons to Laugh at Infertility. This is a REALLY great website about all things infertility, it really does help one look at things differently.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
July 15, 2012
I forgot I wanted to make a post on here on Sunday and I forgot. I updated my Facebook, but since not everyone is on there, I wanted to share my status:
"Exactly 2 years ago today, Casey & I decided we would start a family. Little did we know we'd be here 24 months later childless after driving thousands of miles back & forth to buffalo, spending (idk how much) $, injecting myself with countless amounts of drugs, having prolly close to 100 ultrasounds & more bloodwork drawn than most have in their life, going under anesthesia 3 times, having many procedures & having an angel baby! Wow it's been a tough 2 years but we will prevail & have the child we deserve! I have the best husband for sticking by my side & being my rock thru thick & thin! ♥"
Two years or 24 months is a long time - I've known people who have gotten pregnant and had 2 children during this time period! I never would've guessed that on July 15, 2010, it would have come to what it is today. No one could've prepared me for everything I would go through. Most people really have no idea what is involved with infertility. All the appointments, all the drugs, all the "poking and proding," it's just crazy. I put on 100 miles each trip I take to Buffalo, and I couldn't tell you how many appointments I've had up there. Each "easy" cycle was at least 5 times, my previous IVF cycle was at least 10 times. Crazy. Not much else I can say but crazy! Anyways, I'm hoping this is nearing the end of trying for our child. I really hope our next IVF cycle gets a happy, healthy baby in our arms. <3
"Exactly 2 years ago today, Casey & I decided we would start a family. Little did we know we'd be here 24 months later childless after driving thousands of miles back & forth to buffalo, spending (idk how much) $, injecting myself with countless amounts of drugs, having prolly close to 100 ultrasounds & more bloodwork drawn than most have in their life, going under anesthesia 3 times, having many procedures & having an angel baby! Wow it's been a tough 2 years but we will prevail & have the child we deserve! I have the best husband for sticking by my side & being my rock thru thick & thin! ♥"
Two years or 24 months is a long time - I've known people who have gotten pregnant and had 2 children during this time period! I never would've guessed that on July 15, 2010, it would have come to what it is today. No one could've prepared me for everything I would go through. Most people really have no idea what is involved with infertility. All the appointments, all the drugs, all the "poking and proding," it's just crazy. I put on 100 miles each trip I take to Buffalo, and I couldn't tell you how many appointments I've had up there. Each "easy" cycle was at least 5 times, my previous IVF cycle was at least 10 times. Crazy. Not much else I can say but crazy! Anyways, I'm hoping this is nearing the end of trying for our child. I really hope our next IVF cycle gets a happy, healthy baby in our arms. <3
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Infertility Etiquette
So I've found a lot of articles lately about infertility etiquette and things not to say to people that are considered to be infertile. Yes, I did have a pregnancy, but it didn't have an outcome of a baby that I could hold in my arms, so I am still considered to be infertile and will be going through infertility treatments again to get the baby I deserve in my arms. Anyways, I found an article today that I really love through RESOLVE which is a national infertility organization. The link for the article is Infertility Etiquette and I'm going to highlight the points below and my thoughts on them (not all of them apply to our case, but they may apply to others).
1. Don't tell them to relax - this is probably one of the worst things someone can say to me. If you've ever been through this, you would know it's not possible to just relax, no it's not going to happen if I just relax. "Couples who are able to conceive after a few months of "relaxing" are not infertile...The woman feels like she is doing something wrong when, in fact, there is a good chance that there is a physical problem preventing her from becoming pregnant." Relaxing will honestly do me no good. I DO NOT ovulate on my own. We don't know if I ever will, guess what? It takes ovulation to make a baby!
2. Don't minimize the problem - this just kind of goes with the relaxing point above. Unfortunately, there is a problem, I wish there wasn't one, but there is. Yes, we know what comes with having a child, it doesn't make us feel better when you say "take advantage of sleeping in while you can" and anything else because honestly, I'd rather be getting no sleep right now than be childless.
3. Don't say there are worse things that could happen - how would this possibly be comforting? "To a woman whose sole goal in life has been to love and nurture a child, infertility may indeed be the "worst" thing that could happen." Having a miscarriage for me was the worse thing that could have happened after going through 24 months of fertility treatments. The fact I have to go through infertility treatments again is definitely not ideal.
4. Don't say they aren't meant to be parents - Honestly I can't believe people would say this. "If God were in the business of divinely sterilizing women, don't you think he would prevent the pregnancies that end in abortions? Or wouldn't he sterilize the women who wind up neglecting and abusing their children? Even if you aren't religious, the "maybe it's not meant to be" comments are not comforting. Infertility is a medical condition, not a punishment from God or Mother Nature." Even though at times I feel that I'm being punished.
5. Don't ask why they aren't trying IVF - Well we are, so this wouldn't bother me. But I know it does bother people when they're going through the other treatments, because we've been there, done that. And here we are, IVF.
6. Don't be crude - this should just go without saying...
7. Don't Complain About Your Pregnancy - this is the BIGGEST problem I'm having right now after my miscarriage. It bothered me before I got pregnant, but the way it bothers me now is way worse! I want to be puking. I want to be unbelievably uncomfortable in this hot summer we're having. I want to have the glucose testing and every other thing pregnant women complain about. So please, think about someone going through infertility treatments or someone who's suffered a miscarriage before you complain about your pregnancy "problems." "You have every right to vent about the discomforts to any one else in your life, but don't put your infertile friend in the position of comforting you. Your infertile friend would give anything to experience the discomforts you are enduring because those discomforts come from a baby growing inside of you. When I heard a pregnant woman complain about morning sickness, I would think, "I'd gladly throw up for nine straight months if it meant I could have a baby." When a pregnant woman would complain about her weight gain, I would think, 'I would cut off my arm if I could be in your shoes.'"
8. Don't treat them like they are ignorant - we are not ignorant! We know how much responsibility is involved in parenthood! We're going through all these treatments because we know that and want a child. "The length of time you spend waiting for that baby does not factor in to your appreciation of responsibility. If anything, people who have been trying to become pregnant longer have had more time to think about those responsibilities."
9. Don't gossip about your friend's condition - I don't mind people telling other people what we're going through, I'm completely open about it, but remember that many others are not. Plus gossiping does nobody good.
10. Don't push adoption (yet) - Yes, we know this is an option but please do not push this yet. We are trying everything in our power to have biological children before we will consider adoption. Since we aren't to the point where we're considering adoption, I'll skip the last couple of points. We now know that I can get pregnant which is a big step forward for us. I'm hoping that we will have a biological baby in our arms in no time, but there's not a definite, and we know that. Just please support us in all of our decisions.
Please keep these in mind, we would greatly appreciate it as well as anyone else you may know going through infertility treatments. It's a hard thing to go through. People that have never gone through the treatments simply won't understand what we're going through, so please try to remember that. There is etiquette when it comes to almost anything, this is the infertility etiquette.
1. Don't tell them to relax - this is probably one of the worst things someone can say to me. If you've ever been through this, you would know it's not possible to just relax, no it's not going to happen if I just relax. "Couples who are able to conceive after a few months of "relaxing" are not infertile...The woman feels like she is doing something wrong when, in fact, there is a good chance that there is a physical problem preventing her from becoming pregnant." Relaxing will honestly do me no good. I DO NOT ovulate on my own. We don't know if I ever will, guess what? It takes ovulation to make a baby!
2. Don't minimize the problem - this just kind of goes with the relaxing point above. Unfortunately, there is a problem, I wish there wasn't one, but there is. Yes, we know what comes with having a child, it doesn't make us feel better when you say "take advantage of sleeping in while you can" and anything else because honestly, I'd rather be getting no sleep right now than be childless.
3. Don't say there are worse things that could happen - how would this possibly be comforting? "To a woman whose sole goal in life has been to love and nurture a child, infertility may indeed be the "worst" thing that could happen." Having a miscarriage for me was the worse thing that could have happened after going through 24 months of fertility treatments. The fact I have to go through infertility treatments again is definitely not ideal.
4. Don't say they aren't meant to be parents - Honestly I can't believe people would say this. "If God were in the business of divinely sterilizing women, don't you think he would prevent the pregnancies that end in abortions? Or wouldn't he sterilize the women who wind up neglecting and abusing their children? Even if you aren't religious, the "maybe it's not meant to be" comments are not comforting. Infertility is a medical condition, not a punishment from God or Mother Nature." Even though at times I feel that I'm being punished.
5. Don't ask why they aren't trying IVF - Well we are, so this wouldn't bother me. But I know it does bother people when they're going through the other treatments, because we've been there, done that. And here we are, IVF.
6. Don't be crude - this should just go without saying...
7. Don't Complain About Your Pregnancy - this is the BIGGEST problem I'm having right now after my miscarriage. It bothered me before I got pregnant, but the way it bothers me now is way worse! I want to be puking. I want to be unbelievably uncomfortable in this hot summer we're having. I want to have the glucose testing and every other thing pregnant women complain about. So please, think about someone going through infertility treatments or someone who's suffered a miscarriage before you complain about your pregnancy "problems." "You have every right to vent about the discomforts to any one else in your life, but don't put your infertile friend in the position of comforting you. Your infertile friend would give anything to experience the discomforts you are enduring because those discomforts come from a baby growing inside of you. When I heard a pregnant woman complain about morning sickness, I would think, "I'd gladly throw up for nine straight months if it meant I could have a baby." When a pregnant woman would complain about her weight gain, I would think, 'I would cut off my arm if I could be in your shoes.'"
8. Don't treat them like they are ignorant - we are not ignorant! We know how much responsibility is involved in parenthood! We're going through all these treatments because we know that and want a child. "The length of time you spend waiting for that baby does not factor in to your appreciation of responsibility. If anything, people who have been trying to become pregnant longer have had more time to think about those responsibilities."
9. Don't gossip about your friend's condition - I don't mind people telling other people what we're going through, I'm completely open about it, but remember that many others are not. Plus gossiping does nobody good.
10. Don't push adoption (yet) - Yes, we know this is an option but please do not push this yet. We are trying everything in our power to have biological children before we will consider adoption. Since we aren't to the point where we're considering adoption, I'll skip the last couple of points. We now know that I can get pregnant which is a big step forward for us. I'm hoping that we will have a biological baby in our arms in no time, but there's not a definite, and we know that. Just please support us in all of our decisions.
Please keep these in mind, we would greatly appreciate it as well as anyone else you may know going through infertility treatments. It's a hard thing to go through. People that have never gone through the treatments simply won't understand what we're going through, so please try to remember that. There is etiquette when it comes to almost anything, this is the infertility etiquette.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
IVF Cycle & Longest 2 Week Wait Ever!!
So I figured I should write a new blog post since I haven't written one in a long time! A lot has happened since I last wrote a post. Since I said from the beginning that this blog was for me and my future children, there may be some things in here that people not going through infertility will not understand, and some things may be a little TMI.
But anyways, my IVF cycle officially started when we were in Las Vegas on January 26th. As I've mentioned before, an IVF cycle is extremely long!! On January 29, I started birth control pills (bcp) for 3 weeks. It is common to go on bcp's at the beginning of an IVF cycle to regulate your cycle and we also don't want any "left-over" follicles from the previous cycle hanging around. Two weeks into the bcp's on February 13, I was started on an injectable drug called Lupron which suppresses the pituitary gland, it basically tricks your body so it doesn't know where you are in your cycle so the doctors have total control over the process (i.e. no early ovulation, stuff like that). As you may or may not know, Lupron made me feel very sick at first. I even missed work the first day after taking the drug. Thankfully after a few days of what felt like "morning sickness," the side effects seemed to go away. Lupron is a medicine that is continued throughout the whole cycle up until the night before ovulation induction. I took my last bcp on Feb 17th, which brought on a period on February 20th. This doesn't necessarily constitute a new cycle as the doctors do not care about this period, it's more so an inconvenience on me, more like a "fake" period.
My baseline blood work and ultrasound was completed on February 21. I then started my FSH (Follistim) and what the doctors call a "magic diluted solution" (sol x) on February 24th. I was on a retreat for the Chautauqua Leadership Network (CLN) on February 24th, I went up to my room at 8 pm to give myself my now 3 injectable shots after being duct-taped to a wall Lol. I developed a very large bruise from these shots, thankfully that was the only time that happened. I posted a picture on February 24th on this blog if you want to see it, I won't lie, it's pretty gross!! Starting on February 26th, I started going up to Buffalo every other day for bloodwork and ultrasounds. On Monday March 5th, Casey and I made a daily drive to Buffalo until Thursday March 8th. It was our morning "date" haha.
Ovulation induction occurred via the injectable Ovidrel (hcg) on March 8th at 8 pm, which allows me to ovulate approximately 36 hours later. On March 9th I had to take the dreaded antibiotic Doxycycline which I absolutely hate! It always makes me feel so yucky! Worst antibiotic ever! It's take as a safety precaution though for the upcoming procedure. I was also required to use a medicated douche that night which surprisingly made me feel more violated than my practically daily transvaginal ultrasounds lol.
On March 10th, I needed to be in the doctors office at 7:15 for Egg Retrieval. After a bunch of questions and having the IV stuck in my arm, I was taken into the IVF room. I remember as soon as the anesthesiologist attached the sedation drug to my IV, I instantly felt the drug creep up my veins into my shoulder and that's the last thing I remember before being wheeled back out into the recovery area. At this point, they told me that they retrieved 7 eggs. We were hoping for 10-12 eggs, so this was definitely less than what we were hoping. After drinking a bottle of water & eating some crackers we headed out of there to head home! I was very sore all day Saturday, the cramps were much worse than period cramps and I felt a sense of mental "emptiness" it was a weird feeling that I wasn't quite expecting.
On March 11th about 9:30 I received a call from the Doctor for my fertilization report. He proceeded to tell me that out of the 7 eggs retrieved, only 3 fertilized but 2 of those were considered to be abnormal, so we only had 1 good embryo. I was really upset when we received this phone call. I couldn't believe that out of 7 eggs, only 1 turned into a healthy embryo. The 1 embryo came about from ICSI where they directly inject a sperm into the egg. The chances are higher of fertilization with this process, so it has become a commonly used fertilization procedure. I know all we need is 1 embryo and I am so thankful for it, but the original plan was to have 2 embryo's transferred and that we'd have others that would be frozen for possible future use. I am very thankful that that 1 embryo did make it though, so I think it'll be a super baby :-) Oh and I forgot to mention I started on Progesterone Sunday called Endometrin to thicken my uterine lining in hopes that the embryo will attach itself and stay on my uterine wall. This definitely isn't the "funnest" stuff as it's a suppository that I get to take 3 times a day haha.
Embryo transfer normally takes place 3-5 days after retrieval but when there is only 1 possible embryo for transfer they like to do the transfer ASAP because "my incubator" is better than their incubator. So now the plan was to be in Buffalo for transfer on Monday March 12th at 9:00. We just needed the cells in the embryo to divide overnight. If this didn't happen, I would receive a phone call on Monday morning that the transfer would not happen.
Wouldn't you know that my phone rang on Monday morning while I was in the shower, my stomach literally sank because I was under the impression that a phone call meant bad news. I frantically answered and Dr Sullivan said, come on up, you have "1 beautiful 4 celled embryo ready for transfer" :-) So Casey & I headed up there for a 9 am appointment. I was given a prescription for Valium to take 30 minutes before the transfer. The Embryo Transfer occurred and I had to lay on the exam table about 30 minutes after transfer. This is when I started to feel "goofy" from the Valium, it not only put me to sleep but it made me feel so silly, kind of like I was tipsy, I think Casey got a kick out of this. So Monday consisted of another day of rest for me.
So now, all we have to do is wait...I think this will be the longest 2 week wait of my life. After 2 weeks, I will get a blood pregnancy test. If it's positive, I'll have a followup blood test as well as an ultrasound. If it's negative, the I will stop the progesterone and a new period/cycle will begin and we will take it from there. I have a lot of hope and think there's a reason that only 1 of the embryo's survived and that it's meant to be our baby! So lots and lots of prayers and all extremities crossed! :-) <3
But anyways, my IVF cycle officially started when we were in Las Vegas on January 26th. As I've mentioned before, an IVF cycle is extremely long!! On January 29, I started birth control pills (bcp) for 3 weeks. It is common to go on bcp's at the beginning of an IVF cycle to regulate your cycle and we also don't want any "left-over" follicles from the previous cycle hanging around. Two weeks into the bcp's on February 13, I was started on an injectable drug called Lupron which suppresses the pituitary gland, it basically tricks your body so it doesn't know where you are in your cycle so the doctors have total control over the process (i.e. no early ovulation, stuff like that). As you may or may not know, Lupron made me feel very sick at first. I even missed work the first day after taking the drug. Thankfully after a few days of what felt like "morning sickness," the side effects seemed to go away. Lupron is a medicine that is continued throughout the whole cycle up until the night before ovulation induction. I took my last bcp on Feb 17th, which brought on a period on February 20th. This doesn't necessarily constitute a new cycle as the doctors do not care about this period, it's more so an inconvenience on me, more like a "fake" period.
My baseline blood work and ultrasound was completed on February 21. I then started my FSH (Follistim) and what the doctors call a "magic diluted solution" (sol x) on February 24th. I was on a retreat for the Chautauqua Leadership Network (CLN) on February 24th, I went up to my room at 8 pm to give myself my now 3 injectable shots after being duct-taped to a wall Lol. I developed a very large bruise from these shots, thankfully that was the only time that happened. I posted a picture on February 24th on this blog if you want to see it, I won't lie, it's pretty gross!! Starting on February 26th, I started going up to Buffalo every other day for bloodwork and ultrasounds. On Monday March 5th, Casey and I made a daily drive to Buffalo until Thursday March 8th. It was our morning "date" haha.
Ovulation induction occurred via the injectable Ovidrel (hcg) on March 8th at 8 pm, which allows me to ovulate approximately 36 hours later. On March 9th I had to take the dreaded antibiotic Doxycycline which I absolutely hate! It always makes me feel so yucky! Worst antibiotic ever! It's take as a safety precaution though for the upcoming procedure. I was also required to use a medicated douche that night which surprisingly made me feel more violated than my practically daily transvaginal ultrasounds lol.
On March 10th, I needed to be in the doctors office at 7:15 for Egg Retrieval. After a bunch of questions and having the IV stuck in my arm, I was taken into the IVF room. I remember as soon as the anesthesiologist attached the sedation drug to my IV, I instantly felt the drug creep up my veins into my shoulder and that's the last thing I remember before being wheeled back out into the recovery area. At this point, they told me that they retrieved 7 eggs. We were hoping for 10-12 eggs, so this was definitely less than what we were hoping. After drinking a bottle of water & eating some crackers we headed out of there to head home! I was very sore all day Saturday, the cramps were much worse than period cramps and I felt a sense of mental "emptiness" it was a weird feeling that I wasn't quite expecting.
On March 11th about 9:30 I received a call from the Doctor for my fertilization report. He proceeded to tell me that out of the 7 eggs retrieved, only 3 fertilized but 2 of those were considered to be abnormal, so we only had 1 good embryo. I was really upset when we received this phone call. I couldn't believe that out of 7 eggs, only 1 turned into a healthy embryo. The 1 embryo came about from ICSI where they directly inject a sperm into the egg. The chances are higher of fertilization with this process, so it has become a commonly used fertilization procedure. I know all we need is 1 embryo and I am so thankful for it, but the original plan was to have 2 embryo's transferred and that we'd have others that would be frozen for possible future use. I am very thankful that that 1 embryo did make it though, so I think it'll be a super baby :-) Oh and I forgot to mention I started on Progesterone Sunday called Endometrin to thicken my uterine lining in hopes that the embryo will attach itself and stay on my uterine wall. This definitely isn't the "funnest" stuff as it's a suppository that I get to take 3 times a day haha.
Embryo transfer normally takes place 3-5 days after retrieval but when there is only 1 possible embryo for transfer they like to do the transfer ASAP because "my incubator" is better than their incubator. So now the plan was to be in Buffalo for transfer on Monday March 12th at 9:00. We just needed the cells in the embryo to divide overnight. If this didn't happen, I would receive a phone call on Monday morning that the transfer would not happen.
Wouldn't you know that my phone rang on Monday morning while I was in the shower, my stomach literally sank because I was under the impression that a phone call meant bad news. I frantically answered and Dr Sullivan said, come on up, you have "1 beautiful 4 celled embryo ready for transfer" :-) So Casey & I headed up there for a 9 am appointment. I was given a prescription for Valium to take 30 minutes before the transfer. The Embryo Transfer occurred and I had to lay on the exam table about 30 minutes after transfer. This is when I started to feel "goofy" from the Valium, it not only put me to sleep but it made me feel so silly, kind of like I was tipsy, I think Casey got a kick out of this. So Monday consisted of another day of rest for me.
So now, all we have to do is wait...I think this will be the longest 2 week wait of my life. After 2 weeks, I will get a blood pregnancy test. If it's positive, I'll have a followup blood test as well as an ultrasound. If it's negative, the I will stop the progesterone and a new period/cycle will begin and we will take it from there. I have a lot of hope and think there's a reason that only 1 of the embryo's survived and that it's meant to be our baby! So lots and lots of prayers and all extremities crossed! :-) <3
Friday, January 6, 2012
Happy New Year!
So I realize it's been awhile since I've done a new post about our journey, so I'm finally sitting down and writing one.
When I last posted, we were in a month of trying to get pregnant "the old fashioned" way ;) Well I got excited that cycle because it was longer than normal, I ended up going to Buffalo for a pregnancy blood test on a Saturday, thereby not receiving results until Sunday. I got a phone call Sunday morning that it was negative, and hours later my cycle started...hence, my body hates me! If only I'd waited another day, I would have saved myself the copay, gas money, and time to get a test I didn't need.
My next cycle, I went back to the treatment pre-surgery. I started out on the Femara pill, then took the Follistim shot, then the Ovidrel shot 36 hours before insemination. Since Casey is now laid off, he came to the insemination with me. That same morning, a fellow infertile friend had an insemination. I asked her how it went on my way to my appointment, and she told me that her's was horrid! She said it was very painful and that the nurse was very rough with her. I asked her to describe the nurse to me and it happened to be the same nurse that I once had and had a painful insemination with. Inseminations are not meant to be painful, they can be uncomfortable at times, but definitely should not be painful. As Casey and I waited in the waiting room, after 30-45 minutes (very unusual wait time), we were called back by that same nurse. My stomach instantly sank and I became very nervous. I was almost in tears knowing that she'd be doing my insemination. Well before the insemination, they do an ultrasound. This was a very uncomfortable ultrasound (which normally they are not), which made me even more nervous for my insemination. The insemination was long and painful. When it was time to leave, Casey talked to a fellow nurse and asked if there was anyway that I could chose to not have her again. It's not something they can put in our file (which is understandable) but when we checkin we can request to have a specific nurse or request to not have a specific nurse, thankfully. I'm already emotional about this whole thing, I need to be as comfortable as possible when having a catheter inserted!! I know most people would agree here!! Anyways, unfortunately a new cycle started two days after Christmas. Thankfully the day it started, I had plans to do lunch and shopping with a friend. That definitely helped get my mind off things for a bit. Thanks Lindsay! :-) Anything to take my mind off starting a new cycle is a good thing!!
So we're doing one more cycle of the same combination Femara, Follistim, Ovidrel and IUI. They've upped by dosage of Follistim this time, so hopefully that'll help! I've been monitored via bloodwork which checks the Estrogen levels. Ohh and I've given myself every single Follistim and Ovidrel shot in the last 2 cycles, go me!! (I guess it's not necessarily a good thing I'm getting good at these). The one I gave myself tonight kinda hurt, and so did last nights! I think the skin gets a little tender after a few days of the shots. So I have bloodwork tomorrow morning (Saturday) and I'm assuming I'll go back into the office on Sunday or Monday for bloodwork and ultrasound. I'm guessing my IUI will be somewhere between Tuesday and Thursday, my guess is it'll be Wednesday. Then we'll wait and see what happens.
In the meantime, on Thursday January 12, we have an IVF consultation with Dr. Sullivan. IVF is also known as In Vitro Fertilization. This will likely be the last thing we do to hopefully beat infertility. It is considered to be the most expensive and most intensive infertility procedure. My guess is that if this cycle's IUI is not successful, we will begin IVF. I don't know a whole lot about IVF, I mean I know they take my eggs and Casey's sperm and put them together to make an embryo and then insert 1-4 back into my uterus, but I'm not sure what meds I'll be on and how often I'll have to be monitored. I'm assuming the meds will be like the ones I'm on now, but my guess is I'll have to be monitored closer, therefore more ultrasounds and more bloodwork. I've found a couple links that describe the IVF process and it is very interesting. I'm really hoping it works. At least doing all this, I'll know that I've done everything possible to conceive my own child, and hopefully I'll have the piece of mind knowing that I did what I could do. One link I found is through the American Pregnancy Association it basically explains IVF in "Layman's" terms. Another link I found is a Youtube video that's a 3D animation of how IVF works.
So that's what's been going on with us! I'm still hopeful that we will get pregnant.
Onto fun stuff, we're going to Vegas January 21 through 28th, I absolutely cannot wait!! We definitely need a vacation to get away and to get things off our mind!! I really hope that Vegas will bring us some good luck!! Casey plans on doing some gambling, I might play a couple slot machines but that's about it! I'm more interested in seeing everything and shopping!! I can't wait to see all the ritzy stores that I dream about! :-) We will be taking a day to go to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, I've heard that it's breathtaking, I cannot wait to step foot onto the Skywalk and look down! Haha! And take tons and tons of pictures and use my new Flip video camera!! We're also going to visit the Hoover Dam as well. Hopefully we'll see a couple shows as well! I know that it'll be a busy week, but I can't wait!!
I'm still selling Miche Bags and loving it!! Definitely a great thing to get my mind off things and have some extra fun! I got a new website which is pretty awesome, check out My Website! Feel free to shop around and let me know if you have any questions! I'm looking for parties. I want to share the word on how awesome this product is! :-)
Anyways, thanks to everyone who's reading and offering their support. Since I've started writing my blog, I've received support from people I didn't realize I'd receive support from and it's been great! Writing has definitely helped me to express everything I'm feeling emotionally and to just get it out there! So Thank You!! :-) Happy New Year!
When I last posted, we were in a month of trying to get pregnant "the old fashioned" way ;) Well I got excited that cycle because it was longer than normal, I ended up going to Buffalo for a pregnancy blood test on a Saturday, thereby not receiving results until Sunday. I got a phone call Sunday morning that it was negative, and hours later my cycle started...hence, my body hates me! If only I'd waited another day, I would have saved myself the copay, gas money, and time to get a test I didn't need.
My next cycle, I went back to the treatment pre-surgery. I started out on the Femara pill, then took the Follistim shot, then the Ovidrel shot 36 hours before insemination. Since Casey is now laid off, he came to the insemination with me. That same morning, a fellow infertile friend had an insemination. I asked her how it went on my way to my appointment, and she told me that her's was horrid! She said it was very painful and that the nurse was very rough with her. I asked her to describe the nurse to me and it happened to be the same nurse that I once had and had a painful insemination with. Inseminations are not meant to be painful, they can be uncomfortable at times, but definitely should not be painful. As Casey and I waited in the waiting room, after 30-45 minutes (very unusual wait time), we were called back by that same nurse. My stomach instantly sank and I became very nervous. I was almost in tears knowing that she'd be doing my insemination. Well before the insemination, they do an ultrasound. This was a very uncomfortable ultrasound (which normally they are not), which made me even more nervous for my insemination. The insemination was long and painful. When it was time to leave, Casey talked to a fellow nurse and asked if there was anyway that I could chose to not have her again. It's not something they can put in our file (which is understandable) but when we checkin we can request to have a specific nurse or request to not have a specific nurse, thankfully. I'm already emotional about this whole thing, I need to be as comfortable as possible when having a catheter inserted!! I know most people would agree here!! Anyways, unfortunately a new cycle started two days after Christmas. Thankfully the day it started, I had plans to do lunch and shopping with a friend. That definitely helped get my mind off things for a bit. Thanks Lindsay! :-) Anything to take my mind off starting a new cycle is a good thing!!
So we're doing one more cycle of the same combination Femara, Follistim, Ovidrel and IUI. They've upped by dosage of Follistim this time, so hopefully that'll help! I've been monitored via bloodwork which checks the Estrogen levels. Ohh and I've given myself every single Follistim and Ovidrel shot in the last 2 cycles, go me!! (I guess it's not necessarily a good thing I'm getting good at these). The one I gave myself tonight kinda hurt, and so did last nights! I think the skin gets a little tender after a few days of the shots. So I have bloodwork tomorrow morning (Saturday) and I'm assuming I'll go back into the office on Sunday or Monday for bloodwork and ultrasound. I'm guessing my IUI will be somewhere between Tuesday and Thursday, my guess is it'll be Wednesday. Then we'll wait and see what happens.
So that's what's been going on with us! I'm still hopeful that we will get pregnant.
Onto fun stuff, we're going to Vegas January 21 through 28th, I absolutely cannot wait!! We definitely need a vacation to get away and to get things off our mind!! I really hope that Vegas will bring us some good luck!! Casey plans on doing some gambling, I might play a couple slot machines but that's about it! I'm more interested in seeing everything and shopping!! I can't wait to see all the ritzy stores that I dream about! :-) We will be taking a day to go to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, I've heard that it's breathtaking, I cannot wait to step foot onto the Skywalk and look down! Haha! And take tons and tons of pictures and use my new Flip video camera!! We're also going to visit the Hoover Dam as well. Hopefully we'll see a couple shows as well! I know that it'll be a busy week, but I can't wait!!
I'm still selling Miche Bags and loving it!! Definitely a great thing to get my mind off things and have some extra fun! I got a new website which is pretty awesome, check out My Website! Feel free to shop around and let me know if you have any questions! I'm looking for parties. I want to share the word on how awesome this product is! :-)
Anyways, thanks to everyone who's reading and offering their support. Since I've started writing my blog, I've received support from people I didn't realize I'd receive support from and it's been great! Writing has definitely helped me to express everything I'm feeling emotionally and to just get it out there! So Thank You!! :-) Happy New Year!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Invisible Pain
So I'm going to do a quick lunch post based off an article I came across on Facebook. The Invisible Pain of Infertility is the article that is on Redbook.com, and I found it very refreshing to read. Most of you probably didn't know about me suffering with infertility until a couple weeks ago. Only some close family and friends knew. Since I wrote my first post to just get it out there, I've received tremendous support and it feels good to not feel like I'm hiding everything I'm going through on a daily basis. There were a few lines I just wanted to quote about this article that really hit home for me, and that's about it.
- Infertility can be devastating, and it's time we openly acknowledged that.
- Everyone has the right to privacy, of course, but that secrecy has left so many women to cope alone, in pain, and often uninformed
- When women dealing with infertility can communicate with others in their situation, they get through it in a much better state of mind and also share needed information about their options
- Even when they find a community online, the exchanges are largely anonymous; in real life, they are typically silent
- Twelve percent of reproductive-age American women — about 7.3 million — are having trouble conceiving or carrying a baby to term (that's about 1 in 8 women)
- One reason infertility is considered hush-hush is that it's wrapped up in sex, a subject Americans are notoriously squirmy about. "If you start discussing infertility, you have to talk about ovaries and semen and all kinds of things you don't usually discuss over dinner"
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