Transfer Day Is Here

I received the call this morning that 7 embryos are continuing to grow.  They will look at them again tomorrow and determine how many are still growing and transfer the best two.  If there are any remaining, we hope to freeze them.  The transfer is at 10:15 tomorrow morning.

Hoping for good news in the morning!

Retrieval Complete

Yesterday morning we went in for our retrieval.  They were able to get 16 eggs.  My doctor was pleased with that number.  He said it was above average.  We now have to wait until tomorrow to hear from the embryologist to hear how many fertilized and how many continue to develop.

The procedure itself was very easy.  The nurse I had and the anesthesiologist were great.  They were very friendly and took great care of me.  My doctor happened to be on the schedule to perform retrievals and transfers this week.  It was nice to take a short nap through it all.  The last thing I remembered was having the nose cannula (which made me think of my niece Payton) put in and then I was in recovery waking up.  We stayed there for about 30 minutes.  They gave me a pain medicine through my IV and once that kicked in, I was feeling much better.  So thirsty and hungry.  

I was able to join Jamie, Tim, Matt, Katie, and three of their friends for the OAR concert last night.  Thank you to my sister who was my chauffeur!  I was tired after standing up the whole time.  Jacob and I stayed around the house today and watched movies.  I am a little sore and dealing with issues from coming off the anesthesia.  Although it was gorgeous outside, it was what my body needed.  I was pretty tired, too.  There will be other sunny days.  At least I hope there will be.

Hoping for good results tomorrow!

Retrieval is Tomorrow (Tuesday)

It is crazy to think that by this time tomorrow morning, my eggs will have been retrieved.  I went in yesterday morning for another ultrasound and blood draw.  The nurse who was in the room said I was on the fence between doing my trigger shot Sunday night or continuing my stimulation shots one more day and returning back on Monday morning for another check-up.  The nurse told me that I would be more tired and sore because my ovaries were quite large.  I could already tell this was the case, as I was falling asleep on the couch Saturday night around 7 and felt uncomfortable.  She told me to take it easy and lay down as much as possible.  Joe and I decided it would be a great day to take Jake to see Monsters University. The nurse called me shortly before we were leaving for the movie to tell me that my doctor wanted me to trigger Sunday night and then come in Tuesday morning at 8:30 for a 9:30 retrieval.  We quickly figured out plans for Jake that morning and that evening, as Joe would have to switch his hours and I have plans to go to a concert if I am feeling up to it.  We all thought the movie was a good one.  Jake was so excited and laughed so loudly in his cute high-pitched laugh throughout the entire film.  He loves going to movies, especially 3D ones!   At 9:30 p.m., Joe had to give me the shot because it was an intramuscular shot.  All of the other shots I gave to myself were subcutaneous.  I think I was more nervous for this shot because I was not the one in control.  He had watched the video and was in the room when the nurse went through how to administer it, so he did know what he was doing.  It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. He did a good job!

If everything goes as planned, Joe will drive me home from the clinic tomorrow and Jake and I will hang out for the afternoon and then I will drop him off with Joe's stepdad and I will go with my sister, brother-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law to the OAR concert.  I know that I may be in some pain, but I really want to be able to see them in concert.  The transfer should take place Sunday morning, provided that we have more than 2 embryos that survive for 5 days.  We will receive phone calls throughout the week to let us know how the embryos are doing.  I am trying to stay positive that we will have several that survive and that we can freeze some and transfer 2.  Monday and Tuesday next week will be bed rest for me (Jake will spend time with grandparents and at a zoo class since Joe cannot take time off) and then Jake and I will head to St. Cloud for the 4th.  Joe has to work on the 5th and 6th.  We are sad he cannot come with us.  Jake will have a blast playing with his cousins on the lake! 

Crossing my fingers for lots of eggs tomorrow!

Slight Panic

Today was not my brightest of days.  As I was mixing my shots this morning, I accidentally put the medicine into the wrong bottle (put it back into the diluent) and wasted an entire vial of one drug that is quite pricey.  I found out that I could have actually used the vial with the extra diluent, but I had already tossed it into my Sharps container.  I don't know if you can even get those containers open, and if I did, would I be able to determine which vial had the extra medicine?  I compared my frustration to when I was breastfeeding Jacob and I would spill some of it out of the bottle.  It is like liquid gold.  You don't want to waste any of it.  To make matters worse, when I had refilled my prescription yesterday, they were only able to find 3 vials, and I had just wasted one.  Thankfully, they were able to courier the remaining vials today and I was able to pick them up when I was out at my appointment.  As it turns out, my doctor is decreasing my dosage, so I probably don't need all the refills I filled.  You just never know and you can't wait until the last minute to fill a prescription, because as I have learned on a few occasions, fertility medication can be hard to come by.  There was also an issue with how much I had been charged for one of my prescriptions yesterday.  A month ago, it was $174 cheaper!  That was a huge red flag for me.  I called my insurance company and they did some digging around and called back to say there was an error and the pharmacy owes me money.  I am waiting to hear back from the pharmacy to find out when I can pick up the refund.  I have been fortunate in that I found a local pharmacy that has been very helpful over the past year with filling my prescriptions.  They are now starting to recognize me when I walk in.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing...  I had also lost the token to get out of the parking ramp at my clinic somewhere in my car.  Thankfully, I had an extra one from weeks back when they were repairing the parking entrance.  I would have looked like a fool going back in to ask for another token.  My brain is not working so well today!

At my appointment today, I found that everything has been growing just as it should.  Estrogen levels are up, lining is good, and follicles are increasing in size.  My doctor was concerned with how high my estrogen level was today, which is why he decreased the medicine.  I understand it to mean that he doesn't want them to grow too large too quickly.  I go in on Saturday and we will see what they decide.  We have to leave the house early to drop Jake off at Joe's mom's house, which neither of us will be too excited about.  I owe a big thank you to our families who have been able to watch Jake as I am at appointments.  Jake even went to Joe's work on Tuesday and kept himself entertained watching a movie while Joe was at work.  Going through fertility treatments when you have another child has some challenges.  For obvious reasons, the clinic prefers you to not bring children to appointments.  Since we began this journey almost three years ago, Jake has only been to one appointment and that was very early on.  We have been very lucky to have the support of our families. 

Growing

I went in today for a ultrasound and blood work.  My medication is working at a typical rate.  They said they would call today if they wanted me to increase the dosages.  Since I did not hear from them, I will take it as a sign that my estradiol was at an better number than on Sunday, which is why they increased both medications.  I am feeling a bit more full and continue having headaches.  Other than that, I have been feeling fine.  I am bruising more on my stomach.  With three injections a day, it is hard to find a new site, which is probably why it is hurting more.  I would think it would hurt less the more I give myself them, but what do I know.  Jake and I went to visit a friend and her IVF miracles today.  Such an inspiration.  They are little cuties, too!

We'll see what growth Thursday brings...

Stimulation Underway

Today marks the first day of stimulations.  I am on 75 units of Menopur and 225 units of Follistim.  I have been on both medications before, just not at the same time.  I am still Lupron, which I have been on since June 4th, but I have decreased the dosage from 20 to 5 units.  I give myself the Lupron and Menopur shots in the morning and the Follistim at dinner time.  Since I started the Lupron while I was still working, I woke up at 5 to do the injection.  I didn't think that one all the way through, because now on summer vacation, I am still getting up around 5.  Oh well.  So far, the injections have been going pretty well.  I have learned that my skin has a reaction to the Lupron.  For the first 20 minutes, my injection site looks and feels like a little insect bite.  The nurses assured me that as long as it goes away, it is nothing to be concerned about.  The one side effect I have had is headaches.  I have always been a person that has headaches and can learn to deal with them.  This time around, they seem to be worse and all that I can take is extra strength Tylenol.  Yeah, that does nothing to help me!  It is like offering a cup of decaf coffee to someone who needs a nice, warm cup of fully-caffeinated coffee.  I dealt with this at different points during my pregnancy, so I know that I can do it.  They are still a pain.  I am hoping that is all the side effects I get, but am prepared for more.  I go in for a blood draw Sunday morning and then ultrasounds and more blood draws at least two days next week to see how my body is responding to the medication.  I am hoping my follicles grow nice and big, just not too fast.  

Thankfully, we have been busy this week and will be busy next week, too.  I am trying to not let myself worry or think about all the negative "what-ifs".  This is not an easy task for me, the worrier.

Poor Jacob had his 5 year shots today, three to be exact.  He did the best he could to stay tough.  There were lots of tears and screams in the little room we were in.  The last time he had shots was a while ago and he is at the age now that he knows exactly what is going on and the pain they bring.  We stopped at Redbox and rented a few movies and took a nice long nap after his appointment.  He was up and ready to go to a teammate from his soccer team's birthday party at an place with inflatable slides and jumpers.  I was worried that he would be complaining of sore legs, but he had a good time and made friends with a little girl named Laura.  He is quite the charmer with the ladies :)

Medicine Has Arrived

I start my first set of shots tomorrow, Lupron, which basically turns my system off.  I have to give this shot in the morning for the next ten days before I add two other shots at night to start stimulating the ovaries.  Here is a picture of my medication.  I have moved up in the world and now have a Sharps container. Oh the little things😀