This morning was my last office visit & u/s before the egg retrieval...which is Monday! AUGH!!!
So today we saw about 11-12 follicles. But of those, only 5 are really the lead follies (ranging from 16-18mm). Dr said he didn't want to continue stims because he is most concerned about those leads, and doesn't want them to become post-mature by the retrieval. As for the other eggs, he says they *may* be able to mature them in the lab after retrieval. We shall see.
Tonight is the HCG trigger! This is my first intramuscular injection, so DH is stepping up his game and doing it for me. This time he will be sticking a 1&1/2 inch long needle in my ass instead of doodling on it. What joy!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Movin' right along
Here I am, after 8 days of stims and boy let me tell you: the emotions are going wild! Especially yesterday morning, just about every little thing was making me cry. Even just looking at my bookshelf and the waterworks would just start from looking at the TITLES of some books. *sigh* I'm such a crybaby.
And, I probably shouldn't have been quick to say I'd be a "pro" at these injections. The Menopur mixing had been a little tricky for me at first, but certainly even more after trying to mix TWO vials. The other night, I just had the hardest time trying to draw up the saline without getting huge air bubbles in it. And after that, trying not to let the plunger move because it apparently has a mind of its own when there's too much air in the vials. After I'd done the very best I could, I was left with what was definitely not one FULL cc of solution, and I nearly broke down crying thinking that I just couldn't get it right and it would screw everything up. Last night I made DH mix it for me. He decided to forego the Q-cap and just use the long needle to draw up the meds instead. He actually seemed to be handling that syringe a lot better than I did. Still ended up with a *little* less than 1 full cc, but I suppose it was the best we could get.
Well yesterday afternoon I had my u/s and right away he saw that my lining was looking great at 7.7mm, so I guess the Menopur was working after all. (Oh, to answer a previous comment: yes, I have been taking the baby aspirin so I guess that is helping too). Then we checked what my ovaries are doing, and I think he only counted about 9 follicles. Mostly ranging from 11-14.5mm, but there were a couple small ones too. He said there were 6 "lead" follicles that he should definitely be able to use. According to him, everything was looking good and so there was no need to up any meds. However, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I guess I was hoping we could see more follies than that...I guess to have more of a "buffer" for error. But hey, if we get *just enough* to have a healthy baby, that's good enough for me. I have my next u/s tomorrow morning, so we will see how the follies are doing. My ovaries have been KILLING me these last couple of days (seriously, today I can barely walk without feelin' the pain) so I hope that means we'll see some really GOOD ones. I should be triggering tomorrow night, and then Monday is the egg retrieval/MESA. This past week, the fear finally got to me and I started feeling really nervous and queasy looking at the chart at the Dr's office that explains the retrieval. Yikes!
Funny story: At the appointment yesterday, the Dr. told DH "[Your doctor] should be calling you within the next couple of days to let you know what you need before the MESA. Now, he'll be doing it without the anesthesia; I believe he does that with most of his patients. But if you want the anesthesia, just let them know beforehand." DH just quietly nodded and said "Ok." But as soon as the doc and nurse left the room, he starts hyperventilating and goes:
"No anethesia?? I'm not doing it! I'm not doing it!"
"Well ok then, ask for the anesthesia if you're scared."
This conversation went on for some time after the appointment:
"I'm not doing it without anestheeeeeeesiaaaaaaaaa" (in his acting voice).
"He said most guys do it without anesthesia so it must not be that bad."
"NO! NO! I'm not doing it! I'm not cutting my balls, I'm not doing it!"
Then again, in the car:
"I mean, WHY would anybody do it without anesthesia? Do you know how much it hurts just to get hit with a ball there?"
Suddenly, I realized there was a communication barrier. ".....honey," I said, "When he said no anesthesia he just meant you won't be asleep, but of course they're going to use a LOCAL anesthetic."
"OH REALLY?!!!" DH lets out a huge sigh of relief. "Well, I might be ok with a local anesthetic....yeah I think I'll be ok."
Poor DH. Just goes to show we gotta be careful in how we communicate when we're caught up in all the medical lingo.
And another funny thing that happened this morning: You see, DH has this funny habit of doodling on things when he is on the phone. But instead of little squiggles or pictures, he just writes a word that pops up in conversation, and writes that word over and over and over and over again. Kinda cute actually, but access to any writing utensil while he is on the phone can be dangerous. I think he's only ever destroyed a couple important (but not irreplaceable) papers of mine. But most of the time, there is no paper, so instead he doodles on the computer table. Or best of all, he is relaxing in the computer chair with his feet propped up on the wall and doodles on his thighs instead. That's right, on his LEGS. Even yesterday while we were waiting at the pharmacy, he got out his pen and started doodling on his leg.
So this morning, I woke up and was just lounging around in my underwear. Then I went to the bathroom and as I was washing up, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bruise on my backside. I was thinking "Oh crap! What is going on? Am I having a bad reaction to the meds? Let me see what is th....." Turns out it was not a bruise. Instead, there were several illegible words written on me. So I went back to the bedroom to show DH.
"Um, honey? Did you DOODLE on my ass while I was sleeping?"
"What? No"
"Then what is THIS?"
"What is that?"
"It's YOUR DOODLING!"
"Oh....I think I put my leg on you, that's why."
That's my goofy hubby for ya.
And, I probably shouldn't have been quick to say I'd be a "pro" at these injections. The Menopur mixing had been a little tricky for me at first, but certainly even more after trying to mix TWO vials. The other night, I just had the hardest time trying to draw up the saline without getting huge air bubbles in it. And after that, trying not to let the plunger move because it apparently has a mind of its own when there's too much air in the vials. After I'd done the very best I could, I was left with what was definitely not one FULL cc of solution, and I nearly broke down crying thinking that I just couldn't get it right and it would screw everything up. Last night I made DH mix it for me. He decided to forego the Q-cap and just use the long needle to draw up the meds instead. He actually seemed to be handling that syringe a lot better than I did. Still ended up with a *little* less than 1 full cc, but I suppose it was the best we could get.
Well yesterday afternoon I had my u/s and right away he saw that my lining was looking great at 7.7mm, so I guess the Menopur was working after all. (Oh, to answer a previous comment: yes, I have been taking the baby aspirin so I guess that is helping too). Then we checked what my ovaries are doing, and I think he only counted about 9 follicles. Mostly ranging from 11-14.5mm, but there were a couple small ones too. He said there were 6 "lead" follicles that he should definitely be able to use. According to him, everything was looking good and so there was no need to up any meds. However, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I guess I was hoping we could see more follies than that...I guess to have more of a "buffer" for error. But hey, if we get *just enough* to have a healthy baby, that's good enough for me. I have my next u/s tomorrow morning, so we will see how the follies are doing. My ovaries have been KILLING me these last couple of days (seriously, today I can barely walk without feelin' the pain) so I hope that means we'll see some really GOOD ones. I should be triggering tomorrow night, and then Monday is the egg retrieval/MESA. This past week, the fear finally got to me and I started feeling really nervous and queasy looking at the chart at the Dr's office that explains the retrieval. Yikes!
Funny story: At the appointment yesterday, the Dr. told DH "[Your doctor] should be calling you within the next couple of days to let you know what you need before the MESA. Now, he'll be doing it without the anesthesia; I believe he does that with most of his patients. But if you want the anesthesia, just let them know beforehand." DH just quietly nodded and said "Ok." But as soon as the doc and nurse left the room, he starts hyperventilating and goes:
"No anethesia?? I'm not doing it! I'm not doing it!"
"Well ok then, ask for the anesthesia if you're scared."
This conversation went on for some time after the appointment:
"I'm not doing it without anestheeeeeeesiaaaaaaaaa" (in his acting voice).
"He said most guys do it without anesthesia so it must not be that bad."
"NO! NO! I'm not doing it! I'm not cutting my balls, I'm not doing it!"
Then again, in the car:
"I mean, WHY would anybody do it without anesthesia? Do you know how much it hurts just to get hit with a ball there?"
Suddenly, I realized there was a communication barrier. ".....honey," I said, "When he said no anesthesia he just meant you won't be asleep, but of course they're going to use a LOCAL anesthetic."
"OH REALLY?!!!" DH lets out a huge sigh of relief. "Well, I might be ok with a local anesthetic....yeah I think I'll be ok."
Poor DH. Just goes to show we gotta be careful in how we communicate when we're caught up in all the medical lingo.
And another funny thing that happened this morning: You see, DH has this funny habit of doodling on things when he is on the phone. But instead of little squiggles or pictures, he just writes a word that pops up in conversation, and writes that word over and over and over and over again. Kinda cute actually, but access to any writing utensil while he is on the phone can be dangerous. I think he's only ever destroyed a couple important (but not irreplaceable) papers of mine. But most of the time, there is no paper, so instead he doodles on the computer table. Or best of all, he is relaxing in the computer chair with his feet propped up on the wall and doodles on his thighs instead. That's right, on his LEGS. Even yesterday while we were waiting at the pharmacy, he got out his pen and started doodling on his leg.
So this morning, I woke up and was just lounging around in my underwear. Then I went to the bathroom and as I was washing up, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bruise on my backside. I was thinking "Oh crap! What is going on? Am I having a bad reaction to the meds? Let me see what is th....." Turns out it was not a bruise. Instead, there were several illegible words written on me. So I went back to the bedroom to show DH.
"Um, honey? Did you DOODLE on my ass while I was sleeping?"
"What? No"
"Then what is THIS?"
"What is that?"
"It's YOUR DOODLING!"
"Oh....I think I put my leg on you, that's why."
That's my goofy hubby for ya.
Monday, August 8, 2011
"Let's see what we've got cookin' here....."
....said the Doc as he stuck the good ol' ultrasound doodad up my hoo-hah.....
So I guess all is looking relatively well. I have 7 follicles "cookin," ranging from 6-10.5 mm. Mostly in the 8-9ish range. However, he says my lining is still a little on the low side: only about 4.4 mm. The nurse poked my arm once again to test my estrogen levels, so they said they will call me later on today to let me know whether I need to go up to 2 amps Menopur, or still stay at one.
The injections have been treating me pretty good. I have been icing my tummy before and after the Menopur and it definitely helps. I think I'm slowly becoming a "pro" at these shots, although the other night it was possibly a little over-confidence that led to a little mishap. The first 2 nights the Follistim was treating me well, and I only got a small bruise from the 1st night of the Menopur. However, night 3, after I did the Follistim, I was on my way to grab the ice pack from the freezer before the last shot, and noticed I was feeling a little more stinging than I expected from the Follistim. So I lifted my shirt and saw I was bleeding like crazy! (Ok well, maybe not THAT bad, but it was quite unusual). So I had to clean that up, yet it managed to leave the biggest, nastiest bruise of all thus far. My best guess as to what happened is I probably took the needle out too quickly and/or at the wrong angle and ended up ripping a bit more flesh (if that's possible?) Yuck. That's not happening again.
As far as the symptoms, SO FAR I have only felt a *little* cramping. The few times that I've felt slightly nauseous, I usually attributed it to other reasons at the moment (i.e. "Oh I just didn't eat breakfast yet" or "Oh I just gotta use the toilet"). Hmm, maybe I'll be okay during the 2ww?.....Nah, I'm pretty sure come the 2ww (our first ever LEGITIMATE 2ww at that) I will be going absolutely nuts analyzing every symptom.
Next appointment is on Thursday, and we may possibly see even more follicles then. Yay!
Update: Turns out, my estrogen is low, so tonight I did the 1 amp Menopur, but as of tomorrow I'm bumpin' it up to 2
So I guess all is looking relatively well. I have 7 follicles "cookin," ranging from 6-10.5 mm. Mostly in the 8-9ish range. However, he says my lining is still a little on the low side: only about 4.4 mm. The nurse poked my arm once again to test my estrogen levels, so they said they will call me later on today to let me know whether I need to go up to 2 amps Menopur, or still stay at one.
The injections have been treating me pretty good. I have been icing my tummy before and after the Menopur and it definitely helps. I think I'm slowly becoming a "pro" at these shots, although the other night it was possibly a little over-confidence that led to a little mishap. The first 2 nights the Follistim was treating me well, and I only got a small bruise from the 1st night of the Menopur. However, night 3, after I did the Follistim, I was on my way to grab the ice pack from the freezer before the last shot, and noticed I was feeling a little more stinging than I expected from the Follistim. So I lifted my shirt and saw I was bleeding like crazy! (Ok well, maybe not THAT bad, but it was quite unusual). So I had to clean that up, yet it managed to leave the biggest, nastiest bruise of all thus far. My best guess as to what happened is I probably took the needle out too quickly and/or at the wrong angle and ended up ripping a bit more flesh (if that's possible?) Yuck. That's not happening again.
As far as the symptoms, SO FAR I have only felt a *little* cramping. The few times that I've felt slightly nauseous, I usually attributed it to other reasons at the moment (i.e. "Oh I just didn't eat breakfast yet" or "Oh I just gotta use the toilet"). Hmm, maybe I'll be okay during the 2ww?.....Nah, I'm pretty sure come the 2ww (our first ever LEGITIMATE 2ww at that) I will be going absolutely nuts analyzing every symptom.
Next appointment is on Thursday, and we may possibly see even more follicles then. Yay!
Update: Turns out, my estrogen is low, so tonight I did the 1 amp Menopur, but as of tomorrow I'm bumpin' it up to 2
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Surprise!
What a fun Thursday:
This morning I wake up relatively early, on my own. I decide to just be lazy for a good while, and *maybe* do a little cleaning before my 12:15 eye appointment. So 9:30, I'm just chillin' at the computer when I get a call from the RE's office. My appointment is not until tomorrow, but the Dr has decided he wants me to come in and start stims TODAY!
So I take a quick shower and ask DH if he wants to tag along. He agrees and slllllllloooooooooowly gets out of bed. We look over the consent forms once more (and have a nice little spat about the whole what-to-do-with-potential-frozen-embryos-in-the-case-of-our-death thing) and head to the office. Dr comes in and profusely apologizes for wearing jeans since he didn't originally intend to see patients today. Does the ultrasound, everything looks good. Get poked in the arm again, fun times.
Then I go to my eye appt and *supposedly* my last eye doctor had me over-corrected in my right eye. I apparently should be wearing -6.5 instead of the -7 I have been wearing (yes, I'm about as blind as a bat!)
After that appt, we go to UCLA for DH to run a quick errand, then he drops me off at the pharmacy. I pay a whopping $860 for 4 days worth of Menopur and Follistim. Then I come right back out and DH is not waiting for me outside, so I try to call him. But whaddya know, I'm stuck in the middle of Westwood and can't get any service on my phone. So I borrow a phone from someone, and of course DH's phone won't ring either. So I'm just left waiting outside, slightly annoyed. Annoyance turns into slightly freaking out about where the hell he could be and why the hell he is taking so long. 45 minutes later he comes around the block, and says he was stuck at one light for the last 30 minutes (although I suspect he probably drove a lot further away then he needed to!) I come home, relax a little more, then have my little injection party around 7:30.
Gotta say, I think the Follistim pen is pretty nifty, although clumsy ol' me ended up stabbing myself afterwards while trying to unscrew the needle. I had a little trouble mixing the Menopur; probably should have used the Q-cap to draw up the meds instead of that long needle it came with. And I had heard that one stings quite a bit so I sure am glad I saved it for last!!
So even though this was one hectic busy day, I'm glad the appointment is out of the way. Now I can use that free time tomorrow to.......CLEAN! My sister & BIL are coming to visit from San Jose. Hooray Hooray! I get to be someone's "tour guide" in LA! :)
This morning I wake up relatively early, on my own. I decide to just be lazy for a good while, and *maybe* do a little cleaning before my 12:15 eye appointment. So 9:30, I'm just chillin' at the computer when I get a call from the RE's office. My appointment is not until tomorrow, but the Dr has decided he wants me to come in and start stims TODAY!
So I take a quick shower and ask DH if he wants to tag along. He agrees and slllllllloooooooooowly gets out of bed. We look over the consent forms once more (and have a nice little spat about the whole what-to-do-with-potential-frozen-embryos-in-the-case-of-our-death thing) and head to the office. Dr comes in and profusely apologizes for wearing jeans since he didn't originally intend to see patients today. Does the ultrasound, everything looks good. Get poked in the arm again, fun times.
Then I go to my eye appt and *supposedly* my last eye doctor had me over-corrected in my right eye. I apparently should be wearing -6.5 instead of the -7 I have been wearing (yes, I'm about as blind as a bat!)
After that appt, we go to UCLA for DH to run a quick errand, then he drops me off at the pharmacy. I pay a whopping $860 for 4 days worth of Menopur and Follistim. Then I come right back out and DH is not waiting for me outside, so I try to call him. But whaddya know, I'm stuck in the middle of Westwood and can't get any service on my phone. So I borrow a phone from someone, and of course DH's phone won't ring either. So I'm just left waiting outside, slightly annoyed. Annoyance turns into slightly freaking out about where the hell he could be and why the hell he is taking so long. 45 minutes later he comes around the block, and says he was stuck at one light for the last 30 minutes (although I suspect he probably drove a lot further away then he needed to!) I come home, relax a little more, then have my little injection party around 7:30.
Gotta say, I think the Follistim pen is pretty nifty, although clumsy ol' me ended up stabbing myself afterwards while trying to unscrew the needle. I had a little trouble mixing the Menopur; probably should have used the Q-cap to draw up the meds instead of that long needle it came with. And I had heard that one stings quite a bit so I sure am glad I saved it for last!!
So even though this was one hectic busy day, I'm glad the appointment is out of the way. Now I can use that free time tomorrow to.......CLEAN! My sister & BIL are coming to visit from San Jose. Hooray Hooray! I get to be someone's "tour guide" in LA! :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Subcutaneous gold
5 days of Lupron injections and so far giving myself the shots have been a piece of cake. I haven't had a whole lot of side effects: I definitely had hot flashes the 2nd day but that was the only time. I usually feel slightly dizzy or lightheaded afterwards, and also feel a little funny in my stomach, but I can't tell if that's actually from the Lupron or just leftover indigestion issues from the trip. The first few days I only got a little redness and a small bump at the injection site, which went away within an hour. So I was all happy thinking I would get another 2 weeks with an inconspicuous tummy, but then last night I bled a bit when I took the needle out and it left a bruise. Pretty sure my abdomen will look like a battlefield before this is all over.
And once again, I am irked with my insurance. At the appointment on Friday, DH and I were both asked to do an infectious diseases/STD screening that they need by the 10th. The nurse recommended we go through our primary doctor since most insurances won't cover it if we go through their office. DH had no problem with his student insurance and just went to the clinic on his campus. (We'll see if we get any nasty bills though...) However, I call my assigned PCP (whom I have yet to even see), and they don't even have a single appointment available until the middle of August. Scratch that. Then I tried to find other doctors who are supposedly within my network and none of them will take my insurance. This whole thing has got me thinking what is the point of insurance anyway? Ugh. I'm thinking I just might as well go through the RE's office anyway.
Other than the irritation, DH and I are just trying to enjoy our summer at home. Yesterday we went to the Harry Potter movie (cheeeeeeeeeeeesy!) and then went to our local farmer's market for the 1st time (never got a chance during the school year). I think today I'll do some laundry to earn myself a chance to be lazy and lay out by the pool. :)
And once again, I am irked with my insurance. At the appointment on Friday, DH and I were both asked to do an infectious diseases/STD screening that they need by the 10th. The nurse recommended we go through our primary doctor since most insurances won't cover it if we go through their office. DH had no problem with his student insurance and just went to the clinic on his campus. (We'll see if we get any nasty bills though...) However, I call my assigned PCP (whom I have yet to even see), and they don't even have a single appointment available until the middle of August. Scratch that. Then I tried to find other doctors who are supposedly within my network and none of them will take my insurance. This whole thing has got me thinking what is the point of insurance anyway? Ugh. I'm thinking I just might as well go through the RE's office anyway.
Other than the irritation, DH and I are just trying to enjoy our summer at home. Yesterday we went to the Harry Potter movie (cheeeeeeeeeeeesy!) and then went to our local farmer's market for the 1st time (never got a chance during the school year). I think today I'll do some laundry to earn myself a chance to be lazy and lay out by the pool. :)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
And the ride begins....
We just got back from Bangladesh yesterday morning (which will be a post for another day) aaaaaaaand we are ready to go:
Tomorrow morning I am going in for the baseline u/s and starting the Lupron. I am excited and at the same time freaking out a little about the thought of giving myself injections. Hopefully it's a lot easier than it sounds. And if I completely chicken out, I can always make DH do it (if he doesn't chicken out too). Teehee.
The egg retrieval & MESA will be Aug. 15th or 16th. So I'm glad the timing worked out so that our urologist will be in town. However, looking at when my potential betas would be, will most likely be the week I have to report back to work, so that might be a little tough depending how everything turns out. I just keep trying to remind myself to leave it in God's hands.
Sidenote: It's hard to believe that it's already been about a year since we moved. I never even updated my expectations, but I guess the "culture shock" from OK to Cali is nothing after going to Bangladesh. :)
Tomorrow morning I am going in for the baseline u/s and starting the Lupron. I am excited and at the same time freaking out a little about the thought of giving myself injections. Hopefully it's a lot easier than it sounds. And if I completely chicken out, I can always make DH do it (if he doesn't chicken out too). Teehee.
The egg retrieval & MESA will be Aug. 15th or 16th. So I'm glad the timing worked out so that our urologist will be in town. However, looking at when my potential betas would be, will most likely be the week I have to report back to work, so that might be a little tough depending how everything turns out. I just keep trying to remind myself to leave it in God's hands.
Sidenote: It's hard to believe that it's already been about a year since we moved. I never even updated my expectations, but I guess the "culture shock" from OK to Cali is nothing after going to Bangladesh. :)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Hooray for Healthy Uterus!
I went in for the sonohysterogram on Thursday. Everything looks great and ready to move forward!
Gotta say, the procedure was a *bit* painful/uncomfortable. As soon as he put the catheter in I instantly got really crampy and sweaty and feeling very impatient, wanting to get up and move around already. I was thinking to myself "Oh crap, what am I getting myself into if I can't even stand just this one little thing?"
So the plan for now is: we are going to Bangladesh for a month, and I will continue the BC there. Dr. wants me to call as soon as we get back, and then start on Lupron, and then start stims. He was a little concerned that our urologist may be out of town at the very end of August, so we're hoping the timeline will work out perfectly.
I'm starting to actually get excited about this, like holy moly this is really gonna happen!
Gotta say, the procedure was a *bit* painful/uncomfortable. As soon as he put the catheter in I instantly got really crampy and sweaty and feeling very impatient, wanting to get up and move around already. I was thinking to myself "Oh crap, what am I getting myself into if I can't even stand just this one little thing?"
So the plan for now is: we are going to Bangladesh for a month, and I will continue the BC there. Dr. wants me to call as soon as we get back, and then start on Lupron, and then start stims. He was a little concerned that our urologist may be out of town at the very end of August, so we're hoping the timeline will work out perfectly.
I'm starting to actually get excited about this, like holy moly this is really gonna happen!
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