My update 7/19/06

Update 7/19/06

Saw Dr. Chu this morning and she confirmed trigger shot will be tonight, retreival on Friday and transfer on Monday.... YAY!!!!!

I have a pile of books to read, historical fiction (Thanks Barb!), an economics book my friend wrote and assorted others. No Infertility or IVF books.

Just got word... trigger shot tonight at 10:45 (WHAT, I'm never up at that time anymore). Blood and sono tomorrow at 8 am, procedure will be 9:45 am on Friday!!!!

Update 7/18/06

Saw Doctor Cohen today. Lots of follies... they won't give me a number...GRRRR. And he thinks I'll have the trigger shot tomorrow. Updated meds, 1 Menopur and 75 of Follistum. Looks like retrieval will be Friday and transfer on Sunday.

My computer is really acting up, that plus bedrest for 5 days means, if you don't hear from me don't be worried. I'll update you when I can.

Update 7/17/06

Back from the doctor.
Yesterday's estrogen reading is high, too high. They only had me take the menopur yesterday.
Today, follicles are too small for the cycle day.

I saw Dr. Scholl. I have to call and leave a message for Dr. Chu in a few minutes because 1. I can never get any specific info out of Dr. Scholl and 2. He said something that was very insensitive to me this morning that upset me greatly. He did measure several follicles but considering it's CD13 they should be larger.

Prayers please that my estrogen goes down and my follicles get bigger.

I am really exhausted. I sleep ten hours a night and wake up exhausted. Oh, and Dh is having a bad reaction to the anit-biotic. This latest news has made me very emotional. I really hope things even out.


Update 7/16/06

Went back in again this morning. I started feeling a bit uncomfortable yesterday afternoon... nothing big, I'm just walking slower and am really, really, really tired. I think my body is putting ALL of it's energy into this process.

Dr. Scholl said lots and lots of follicles and I think he took measurements on about ten... YAY!!! My Dh is very funny and he kept telling me that as soon as Dr. Scholl walked in he was going to say... "Oh, I'm a huge fan of your foot care products." He's crazy and I begged him not to...lol.

The latest drug update is one vial of menopur and NO Follustum. The doc is worried that my estrogen might get too high. I've spent the entire day wiped out on the couch. We have CAC so it's not the heat... I'm just WIPED OUT... not even reading or scrapbooking which I really wanted to get moving on.

Please pray my estrogen doesn't get too high. I go back again tomorrrow at 7:15 and then I have to go to my Dad's and do some chores for him. I hope I have the energy. We really, really, really want this to work and I'm being sooooo careful with everything.

I don't know how you ladies do this while working and/or running around after another child!

Update 7/15/06

So I've been in every day this week except Tuesday.

Today was a bit crazy. I had an 8:45 appt. for blood and sono. I got there at 8:30 and there were two women in the waiting room and no receptionist. Hmmmm? After I wait about ten minutes I start to think, I'll just go back and give blood anyway. Maybe the nurses don't know noone is here. I was also expecting a parade of women through the door at any moment as so many teachers are on an IVF cycle right now... we should do lesson plans in the waiting room...lol.

Turns out there was only one nurse back there and the doctor was running late. Now there are 8 women. Poor nurse had to draw blood for all of us except one (IUI cycle) and get us set up in the rooms w/ no receptionist. I joked with her that if she needed me to I could do my own sonogram...LOL...

I can stick myself with needles now but I don't think I could draw my own blood.

This is very unusual for this practice. When the receptionist who was over on the other side for SA drop-off came over (with her coffee cup) she told everyone she wouldn't be at that desk for 30 minutes. All I kept thinking was if Dr. R knew about this...

So, after almost a decade of my ovaries being lazy, lazy, lazy, they have now kicked it into high gear!!! They have lowered my original meds from 1 vial of menopur and 150 of Follustum down to 1 vial of menopur and 25 of Follustum. I am very textbook PCOS. Dr. Scholl came in and said... "lots of eggs" YIPPEE.

Since the appt though I am feeling a bit uncomfortable. I can feel my ovaries move when I go to sit down and I'm getting a bit grumpy. I already warned DH.

Good news is... lots of eggs... ovaries are making up for lost time... I think they thought they were retired...lol. And retrieval should be mid to late of this upcoming week... YAY!!!!!


7/10/06
I've been laying low for a while.

I started stimming on Saturday night for my first (and hopefully last) IVF cycle. My regimen wasn't even that complicated but I was still a bit. DH was standing right next to me being the ever supportive hubby but I really needed to concentrate... really so I said in the nicest way possible if he could just go in the other room and give me some space... I made sure I said it with a I was a bit confused as to what needle to use with the menopur. As some of you ladies know they delivered all of my IVF drugs at once... basically a supermarket paper bag half way filled... takes up an entire veggie bin in my fridge. I guess was so nervous about screwing it up but like I said pretty easy. 150mg of Follistum... no prob... insert cartridge and dial the pen. I was on one vial of menopur so do the "dance" with the needle, screw off, put on Q-cap, wipe tops of vials with alcohol wipes, insert saline, check amount, then insert saline into menopur to reconstitute it.

I'm not posting this to scare anyone, I'm really not. I just think for those contemplating it (and for the many, many lurkers ) it can help hearing alll of this a few times. I think it helps to de-mystify it and gets you used to what some of you might do. I know 6 months ago I would have if I went through this w/o being so familiar with the terms now.

The menopur shot... well all I have to say is... Thank God for belly fat How do the real skinny girls go through IVF?? So I pinched, a bit more than an inch , and said "HOLY @#$% I'm sticking this needle in me". Sometimes you just have to s u c k it up and do what you have to do in life

I went back in this morning and things seem good. The office just called and they actually reduced my Follistum to 100mg because, since I have PCOS, I guess they are afraid of hyper stimulation. They said, lots of little ones I know that is somewhat normal for everyone else at this stage but remember I was soooooo hard to stimulate as I hadn't ovulated in many years. It took them over 4 months for me to see one follicle. Now I have lots

I am going for a massage tomorrow night and hope to do another one right before the retreival.

So things are good
And I'm jigging for us all (Jumpy Jig)

Message edited 7/19/2006 4:25:30 PM.

Re: My update 7/10/06

I know what you mean, they delivered all my meds at once too, and I felt like a drug dealer
Hopefully you will only have to do this once.
The shots are not that bad. Once you do it a few times it becomes second nature.
Im wishing you lots of luck.
Keep us updated

Re: My update 7/10/06

I truly pray you only have to go through this once

Re: My update 7/10/06

Wow, you seem so relaxed about it all! I don't know if I could ever inject myself.

Good luck!

Re: My update 7/10/06

YEAH!!!!!!!!!! So glad you got through it!!
But only a paper bag? For my IUIS I got a WHOLE HUGE BOX of meds...but then again I had like 5-6 vials for each shot so I guess it wasted space! It gets easier as you go on, I can say that much.

And good for you for doing it yourself!! I always made DH do it. It was over faster cause I would get that needle..sooooo close to me and then FREEZE up and it would take me 15 minutes to do each one!

Well congrats on getting this far and LOTS OF BABY DUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Re: My update 7/10/06

Gettin' jiggy wid it, T!!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Re: My update 7/10/06

Posted by mrsmck

Gettin' jiggy wid it, T!!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Re: My update 7/10/06

that's sooo great they are seeing follicles already!! i too was freaked when the gigantic box of meds were delievered and thought we would never get through this. at the injection teaching class, i actually cried and cried and said i didn't want to go through with this. i'm very impressed you can inject yourself. i am just at the point where i can fill the vials myself, but i still can't inject myself or even look when my dh does it (and i'm 3 weeks into injections)!!

you will be amazed at how fast this time will go by. before you know it it will be retrieval time!

good luck and

Re: My update 7/10/06

Re: My update 7/10/06

Sounds like you're off to a great start. It gets easier every day!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Good Luck!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

T- that is great. They never saw that mnany follies for me soo soon and I was on 4x/the meds. Imagine using 4 menopur

Donna- i think you are thinking of the wrong bag. This is no lunch bag, this is a grocery store brown bag filled to the brim, bag of meds

Re: My update 7/10/06

Yeah, I had a boxful too...I am a poor responder, so it seemed the box got larger everytime (and the bill)

Its is so overwhelming in the beginning, but really, there is nothing to it!

Best of luck!!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Posted by rose825

T- that is great. They never saw that mnany follies for me soo soon and I was on 4x/the meds. Imagine using 4 menopur

Donna- i think you are thinking of the wrong bag. This is no lunch bag, this is a grocery store brown bag filled to the brim, bag of meds

Re: My update 7/10/06

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

I had to learn to do it myself because DH travels every few weeks for work. I got used to it because he had to go away the second day I was on Lupron... those needles are like baby needles now

Re: My update 7/10/06

'm glad you got through it, I can imagine how overwhelming it is and I too hope you only have to do this once.

Re: My update 7/10/06

I know the feeling.....then to make room in your refrig for all the med's too! lol

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

I'm so sorry you have to do all of this but it sounds like you are being really strong and positive! I am praying that this IVF will lead to a healthy and sticky BFP!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

T- That is great cycle buddy! I am going to hopefully start stimming tomorrow! I am glad things are going well for you!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Good luck! I hope this is your first and only experience with all this.... sending tons of baby dust....

Re: My update 7/10/06

Glad to hear you got through and...if it helps, I gave up on the q-cap after a bit. I found it easier to mix with the original needle on the syringe and then just change the needle. Less steps and there was no loss in accuracy.

Sending you lot's of follie vibes...get as many eggies as you can, you can always freeze some!!!

Re: My update 7/10/06

Good luck!

I hope you get tons of follies!

and this is your first and last IVF cycle

Re: My update 7/10/06

I'm praying that the IVF will be successful!