Thursday, April 27, 2006

Away for the Weekend

I'm not actually going "away" this weekend, however my best girl friends are coming in for the weekend. It just happened to be a girls weekend and boy is it ever right on time and HIGHLY needed by all three of us. Danialle will be coming in tonight and Jennifer will be coming in tomorrow. We don't have major plans, but a few things include eating, hiking, picnics, pizzas, white zin, asti, bloody mary's?, games and LOTS & LOTS of girl talk. Probably some tears, too. However there is some happiness... We are celebrating Jennifer's cancer free-ness, which is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!! Expect a full update and pictures on Sunday.

P.S.
I've been super busy at work this week and will be for several weeks, so only expect blogging from me at lunch or in the evenings. I'm trying to stay up-to-date on blogs, but that's challenging, so I apologize if you don't see me around yours for a while. Priorities, right? ha ha I'm swamped to say the least. It's a little overwhelming with everything else that's going on, too. This weekend is a much needed break!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

GOD DAMN HOPE

My hcg dropped off the face of the earth... Set up 2 week post cycle appointment.

Hope lingering...

Spotting has eased up tremendously. Did go for second beta today. Talked to them and they said 75% of pregnant women spot and/or bleed, so don't give up all hope. Nerves are driving me crazy though. Just waiting on a phone call for the results...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

ZERO Hope...

What I didn't update yesterday was I started spotting yesterday afternoon. Then yesterday evening it was just flow. It's over, I know.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Well...

I'm pregnant...at least for now... We are guardedly optimistic right now...

Beta = 12.8

<5 = Negative

Will do another beta on Wednesday. Obviously it must at least double. I might even have to do a third depending on Wednesday's number.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Goodbye Assholes!

I am NOT talking to you lovely internet readers!

Today is the last day of my current job. And I couldn't be happier! I won't go into all the details, but I am happy to move on to much bigger and much better things. I contemplated thanking them for how shitty they treated me, but decided to just smile and pray for the next person who follows me. I've spent the entire week having my 500+ students come in and tell me how much they'll miss me and how wonderful I am. It's been great and especially wonderful when my co-workers are in here and hear it. hee hee

I start my new job on Monday, only after going to Indy to give blood for my first (of two) betas. What an exciting week. I will update Monday, probably evening, with results of my beta since I'm not sure if I'll have time at my new job. Stay tuned for a fun and exciting week! Yay!

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

CD 25

My sister, Ashlee, was over at my house last night doing her laundry. It was nice chatting with her and making her change the background of her ppt presentation on gay marriage to a rainbow effect. Anyway, I was getting ready to go to bed and was changing clothes. We were still talking until she noticed my belly and commented, "Man you really are bloated...and it's not even jiggly!!" I poked my belly and said, nope no jiggles. It was quite funny.

So this morning I did what any girl who had just been made aware of her bloat would do. I got out my "regular" dress pants as opposed to my drawstring pants and sucked in my gut...well it doesn't suck in but I tried... and made those damn things button. I wore them today, but they aren't the most comfy. I'll go back to drawstrings tomorrow... :D

I don't think I said this before, but she also gave me one of my shots when I was still doing injections. She was shaking terribly and scared to death, but she did a great job although I did bleed and buise. Eric tried to say his had never done this, but I corrected him... I think this inspired her to get back into her dream of nursing. I hope at least a little... And now she has a bit of experience. She even got to mix it together. Watch out nursing! Here comes Ashlee!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

CD 24 - Cryopreserved Embryos & Case of the Dribbles...

Due to recent up roar, I have been leery about posting... But I have to go back to this is my blog and I shouldn't be leery about it. I can and will post whatever I want. And be perfectly happy about it. Here's the latest news though...

I've been having the case of the dribbles lately. It seems like it's just been in the mornings, but yesterday it seemed to have stayed all day. I suppose it's because of the monstrosity of my ovaries pushing on my bladder, but the bloating is going away, so you would think that this "problem" would be subsiding, too. It's annoying, but I'll take it if that means...well, you know... I guess I'll just have to start wearing a liner. I can only imagine how much worse this will get when those little ones grow.

Yesterday afternoon I started noticing some slight cramps in my belly, too. Not severe or even in a specific location, just sort of like I have floaties in there or something. I even had to do a panty check this afternoon too make sure I wasn't starting my period or something. Hopefully this is good cramping!!! Fingers crossed... The look on Eric's face when I told him made me feel like he was ready to take me home and put me on bed rest indefinitely though. hee hee

Monday, April 17, 2006

CD 23

Weekend Update

Overall our weekend was pretty good. Friday night I was exhausted from work. We grabbed dinner and I was able to find some cute drawstring crop pants at Target for $9.99 EACH! I snatched up 3 pair! After we got home the weather was wonderful so I opened the windows. A storm was brewing and we were watching the radar. At one point several of our neighbors, including us were standing outside just watching the storm roll in when the tornado siren went off. Come to find out it was for an area north of us and we were fine. We watched a huge storm cell coming towards us and then break up and go around us. This was good for us, but the part that went below us hit my hometown fairly hard. I was on the phone with my nanny when my papaw yelled he heard a train whistle so she gave me her last goodbyes and hung up. We can joke about this now as they were safely in their basement and only had some limbs down. I called my dad in a panic though. Finally the storm seemed to move out of their area and head east and finally was out of my family's way. I called me dad back and found out that they had lost a huge pine tree in their front yard. The funny thing is I had mutilated this tree when I was young trying to make a fort or something, so while it was a pine tree it was missing about the bottom 5 feet of branches, so it was the ugliest damn tree you ever saw!

Saturday we got up early and I actually felt great! I even decided that the gorgeous weather was calling and couldn't stay inside any longer. I went outside and cleaned up around my magnola tree. For some reason the weeds there are terrible. Anyway, after I got this looking nice I realized that I shouldn't be pulling anymore weeds, but I did pick up some dead foilage around the house. Eric & I had made a deal (sort of) that I wouldn't over-do it and I could just leave piles around the yard and he would pick them up when I was done. It was wonderful to be outside. Of course I got in trouble because I did over-do it a tiny bit and was feeling quite bloated and tired when I got done. It was worth it though.

Saturday evening we went down to my grandparent's house for dinner. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it was nice to see them and the rest of the family, too. I also got to play with my cute little neice who is doing much better now. I just love that kid to pieces.

Sunday was a lazy Easter. I wanted to go outside, but I couldn't do anything in the front yard because Eric had put down fertilizer, so I merely just walked around and surveyed my flowers and pond and such. Now that I think about it, I should have taken pictures and given you a little photo story. (I'll try do that soon.) It was nice just hanging out on the couch and cuddling with my puppy and relaxing. Of course the evening ended on a bad note or at least with a major bump in the road. I sat down on the floor to breathe and do some stretching, but my little Godiva decided it was play time, so I spent about 45 minutes playing with her and went to bed. Oh and Eric came in and rubbed my back and shoulders while I tried to get to sleep.


**Note about Yesterday's Post:
I apologize for those of you loyal and supportive readers that read my blog. Please understand that it was for that sole reader and I love the rest of you unconditionally. (Well, unless you stab me in the back, too. ha ha) While I am still hurt and angry about it, it doesn't surprise me in the least that it happened the way it did. This woman will never learn her lesson and maybe I did stoop to her level my calling her out on my blog, but it is MY BLOG and MY THOUGHTS and honestly, I feel better about it. So please don't bother leaving me hateful comments or messages, b/c they will be deleted immediately. I hope she realizes the hurt she's caused by putting her nose where it didn't belong. And if the problem continues I will be forced to go password protected for my own sake. From this point forward this will not be talked about again.

:D

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Public vs. Private

It has been brought to my attention that some of my family members are reading my blog now. While them reading my blog does not bother me.... OPENING THEIR BIG FUCKING MOUTHS AND TELLING THE ENTIRE FAMILY ABOUT MY LIFE DOES!!!!!!!!! If I wanted to tell the family about certain things in our life I WOULD. There is a reason that NO ONE KNOWS!!! THE BIGGEST REASON BEING THEY CAN'T KEEP THEIR BIG MOUTHS CLOSED. Plus they all of a sudden become VERY involved in my life. And considering they can't call me on a regular basis to see how I'm doing and then spread very deep private aspects of my life really bothers me. What gives this person the right? Isn't it obvious that I don't want them to know? If she has been reading my blog for very long at all she'll realize the reason I didn't tell any of them. STRESS!!!!!

It amazes me how someone who wants so much attention only strives for the worst kind of attention. She thrives on gossip. She wants so much to please people, but yet she does everything to hurt them and stomp on them while they are down.

You want to know why I called in SICK to my family thing on Saturday??? Let's see I kept our fertility issues a secret for a long time. I think around this time last year is when they found out. All of a sudden they come out of the woodwork with all their fucking ASS-VICE!! Again these are the people that could give two-shits about our lives the day before. BUT NOW THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT AND GOSSIP ABOUT. Before long there will be an article in all the county newspapers.

Headline
"Mr and Mrs T - Infertility - IVF - Multiples - Tell Everyone!"

My uncle happened upon my blog a while back by accident. I commend him because he actually sent me an e-mail and told me then ASKED if he could read my blog and that he would keep it private. To my knowledge he has lived up to his word. Thanks Uncle Brian!

I'm not trying to hide anything. Obviously my blog is public and we have lots of pictures up. I am just so disappointed that my BIG MOUTH aunt got to tell the whole family and not us sharing the news when we are ready. That's what upsets me the most... So Sherrie I hope you are fucking happy sharing all of OUR news and having all the fucking glory and I will somewhat blame your big fucking mouth if we don't get pregnant (now that I am quite upset and stressed). Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!!

What's the worst part is that we are in the most crucial time and don't even know if those embryos are stuck and I'll even get pregnant.

**edited to add**
For anyone close and personal with me (friends, family, etc). Whether you have let me know you are reading or not, I really appreciate you just following me and hoping and praying for us. Our dreams will one day come true and I know just how much those close to us really mean to me by just silently following. Thank you so much! I commend you!

Friday, April 14, 2006

CD 20

H0-hum day. I had to go back to work today. Boo! Hiss!! We should have this holiday off, but "if they observe X religious holiday then they must observe Y & Z, too..." Of course they do observe MLK, jr, but not president's day for god's sake. Anyway, the point is that I don't want to be here! I shouldn't complain though b/c it is only 1 day of a 5-day work week.

I was this.close to crying this morning. Yes, I'm super bloated and already feel like I'm about 4 months pregnant, but it never really occurred to me that I couldn't wear my low-rise dress pants....until I put the damn things on... Yea there was no way I could get them buttoned let alone be at least a bit comfy all day. I panicked and woke Eric up. Then I scoured through my "Drawer o' pants". Lo and behold I found a single pair of linen drawstring pants. They were wrinkled to all hell, but were iron-able (is that a word?). Praise the heavens above! I immediately told Eric we had to go to Target or anywhere else tonight and find me a couple of pairs of pants to get me through for the time being. It was not an option. I can't wear this single pair of pants every day! Plus we have 2 family things this weekend. Ugh! I tried checking Target on-line, but couldn't find any hits on "elastic dress pants"! Imagine that. I may even have to hit the "older" women's section. I'm ok with that though. When I say older I mean like all my grandma's wear elastic waist pants. It's actually a great idea as they are fairly expandable.

So I had to go to work today. My desk was, of course, piled high. Thanksfully I'm so damn proficient and organized that it took me only about an hour to get through everything. Then on to reading the news, blogs, etc. My nosey co-worker G asked me some questions and I answered some of them. She asked me twice when I'll find out if I'm pregnant or not and I just said, "in about 2 weeks". She knows that I know the exact day, but I'll be damned if I'm telling her. She said to keep her posted, but I don't intend on it.

Then she started asking me about my new job... I can't remember if I told you this or not, but she's nosey... Yea well before I gave my notice she e-mailed someone in my soon-to-be department pumping them for info on me (interview, offer, etc.) The person came straight to me b/c she's not all gossip-y and stuff. So here she is asking me all these questions and me fully knowing she already knows the answers. I swear that I wanted to tell her she should confess her sins on Sunday at church b/c I don't think God would be very happy about her lying & deception and I wanted to explain the HIPA rules to her, too since she's always preaching them, but I didn't. I just smiled and half-answered her questions.

Oh can you tell I've got a little pissiness to go along with the bloating? Yea, not a good combination.

The progesterone thing... Yea I just love shooting those up my ho-ha morning and night. Makes me feel like jumping Eric's bones, too. Poor guy! I noticed that it's starting to come back out a little, too. Icky. (Sorry TMI!) From what I've read and what they told me in the Dr.'s office this is normal. I had just hoped I would be one of those people that never saw a trace of it once it was inserted... No suck luck

In other news my mom is having Easter at her house tomorrow... This is such a touchy subject anyway, but needless to say "I'm calling in sick tomorrow morning". Eric & I both agreed I don't need to have any of the stress during such a crucial time in my cycle. See they would gossip non-stop about each other non-the-less. Then they would talk about my cousin J who just got married and only b/c she's pregnant, blah, blah, blah (grrr...) And I'd have to get mad and yell and defend my poor cousin J b/c I love her and while she did get pregnant on accident and they did get married right away, I truly believe that they would have gotten married regarless. They are happy and in love and I think they made the best decision. In fact I've already point blank told my mom not to bring it up to me that I didn't want to hear it. I think she's brought it up 2 of the 3 times I've talked to her since...

Ok, have a Happy Easter everyone! I'm going back to news & blogs...

Thursday, April 13, 2006

CD 19

Have you missed me? I'm finally back at least long enough to post a bit...

So yesterday on CD 18 we had our transfer. As my dear husband said we were up way before the birds and on the road. I slept horribly the night before. I had major heart burn and I'm sure a lot of it was nerves, too. I couldn't wait for the alarm to go off. I had this sensation of throwing up all the way to Indy (1 hour) and I was so scared to take my valium b/c I thought for sure it would come back up. When we got there I took it. As soon as we got in we bee-lined it for the vending machines and got some animal crackers. My life saver! I munched on them up to the second floor and then had Eric get me some complimentary hot chocolate. Then it hit me...the valium that is. I started feeling great! There was another girl already there who we had seen before, so we knew she was there for the same thing. I wanted to go wish her luck, but Eric wouldn't let me. Finally the nurse came to get me (first) and we headed back. As I stood up I nearly spilt my hot chocolate and the nurse chuckled that the valium must be kicking in. I swear I felt drunk.

After we got back to my room I changed into a warm gown and laid on the bed and they took my vitals. They said they would be paging Dr. W for my acupuncture and she'd be in shortly. The wait seemed like forever, but she finally arrived. She put 13 tiny needles in my and I laid there for 20 minutes and tried to focus on breathing and relaxing. After the 20 minutes another nurse came in and took the needles out. Shortly thereafter Dr. B came in. I asked him about this enormous amount of discharge that developed on Tuesday and he said it wasn't anything abnormal and it would go away after today. I was satisfied. Next a nurse came in and said they were ready to go. I got to walk down the the "IVF Transfer" room. It was dimly lit and I sat down on the table. There were 2 nurses in there and then another door that opened to another room, which we realized was the lab. As soon as I sat down Dr. B started getting ready and told me that removing the diaphram would be the worst part and OMG was he right!! It was horrible. AFter that was done they said it would take about 15 minutes before the transfer. The lab would spin the device a few times and then see what was inside.

The wait seemed like a long time. We made small talk, but everyone knew we were all just waiting for the results... Finally one of the nurses peaked around the corner and said it looked like it wouldn't much longer. Then we heard the others started getting really excited. We thought to ourselves that it must be good news. Dr. B came in and said that 7 of the 10 inside fertilized and they would be transfering a 9 cell and a 13 cell back into me. I thought those were huge numbers from what I read and they confirmed that they were great. While waiting on stuff the frenchman who developed the device even came in and chatted with us saying I had beautiful embryos. I was so proud and happy! And we were ecstatic to have even met this man. He was there on the day of our retrieval, too, but we didn't meet him then.

Next I got to slide back down in preparation for the transfer. I was a nervous wreck. I'm pretty sure the valium was wearing off. Dr. B "washed" my cervic and whatever else he had to do before transfer and then VOILA....

Embryos in my Uterus

This pickture was taken as soon as they transferred the embryos into me. It's the little white glob that contains the 2 embryos. I sat there in shock for a minute. It was almost surreal yet I was on cloud nine. After that Dr. B shock our hands and we thanked both him and the frenchman. The nurse said I could go to the bathroom now and on our way out they gave us this picture of our embryos.

Embryos 9c &13c

The biologist stopped us, too and said that they would be cryo-ing some today. (Eric heard 6 and I heard 4) and they would watch the remainder and call us in a few days with those results.

I, of course, headed straight for the bathroom and that was a relief. After we got back to the room they took my vitals again and my b/p was up a bit, but that was normal. Then we waited on Dr. W to come down and do the acupuncture again. After she put the needles in this time I couldn't relax and concentrate on breathing. I was just too excited! I think it still served its purpose though. After the 20 minutes the nurse came in and removed the needles, we got dressed, and headed home. Well, we made a stop at McD's for breakfast then headed home.

Once we got home I took a nice long nap and spent yesterday in bed. I was getting really restless last night though. Today has been worse. I got up this morning around 11 and took a shower. Then relaxed on the couch. Then I made mac & cheese while Eric made us some turkey sandwiches. I watched a movie and now I'm updating. I plan to spend the rest of the evening on the couch though. That's all for today. It's back to work tomorrow to the job I will be leaving one week from tomorrow. Hooray!! I'll be catching up on blogs and back in touch with the world.

And as Eric said thank you all for your abundance of comments and support! We love it and are so thankful for each and every one of you! You are great friends even if we've never met some (most) of you!!!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Transfer Complete

I am updating for Mrs. T because she is a little tired to say the least. We got up around 4:45 AM this morning to get going. We left the house around 5:15 AM and got to the hospital around 6:20 AM. Everything went well with the transfer. 7 out of 10 eggs fertilized in the device. So in total, we had 12 total embryos. Dr. B placed 2 embryos in Mrs. T, a 9 cell and a 13 cell. They are going to cyro 6 embryos today and watch the remaining 4 to moniter cell division. Mrs. T will probably update later today, if not tomorrow. She also has pictures of the embryos which she will most likely post on Friday. On behalf of Mrs. T and myself, I would like to thank everyone for their support as you don't often get to see me posting. Again, thank you to all for your support, I know it means a lot to Mrs. T, and also to me.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

CD 17 - Time Changed Again

Dr. B's office jsut called and our appointment tomorrow has been changed again. Our transfer is now schedule for 8:00 AM and we have to be at the hospital at 6:45. Ugh. Good thing I'm on bed rest for the next 2 days...

CD 17 **updated*

My transfer is tomorrow, Wednesday at 11:45. Eric talked to them when they called, so we didn't get to ask about the extra egg. So I guess we won't find out until transfer now. I have been taking extra strength tylenol and that seems to be helping with the cramping I'm having. Nothing major though. Definitely don't need the pain medicine. I felt pretty good this morning and got up and took a shower, but I am exhausted now and still need to dry my hair, which is a chore in itself. My stomach is still bloated, but doesn't seem to be as bad as yesterday.

**updated to add**
I'm so out of it today! I forgot to mention that tomorrow is also our 3rd Anniversary!!! So it's even more special to have our embryo transfer tomorrow!!

Monday, April 10, 2006

CD 16 - Fertilization Report

The biologist called around 11 this morning. We had 5 of 11 show signs of fertilization. I think this is a good number. That is exactly what my goal was so I'm happy. You might notice that I said "of 11" and yesterday I said 10 and 10... I have no idea where that extra one snuck in and didn't think to ask until after I got off the phone. ha ha ha As my friend Jennifer said, it must have been a sale, "Buy 20, get 1 free". We probably won't know anything about those 5 until Wednesday. They won't be transferred back into me either, unless god forbid, none of 1-10 fertilize inside the device. But I highly doubt that will happen. My goal for the device is 5 of 10 as well, so hopefully we get our wish there, too.

I got super sick last night, but I think it's the pain medicine, so I'm not taking any more. I had already been taking a minimal dosage anyway. I'm just going to stick to extra strength tylenol now. I was feeling pretty crampy, but I'm actually feeling better now. I still feel bloated, but that's normal, so I'm not worried about it. I just need to make sure I'm getting lots of fluids.

I will get a call this afternoon from Dr. B's office for the time of my transfer on Wednesday. Hopefully they can tell me about the extra egg, too. They might not know though.

And in case you missed it when I first shared all this information with all of you this is the article that tells you a little about the device and process. I'd be happy to answer any questions though. Oh and I do not feel the device inside me at all. It's similar to wearing a tampon except when they put it in, they turn it horizontal and put it up next to your cervix then put a diaphram in to hold it in place. So I'm incubating for 3 days. :D

Sunday, April 09, 2006

CD 15 - The Story

So we got up at 5:15 this morning and headed down. I showered last night so I wouldn't have to this morning. :D We got there about 7:00, so we headed to the 2nd floor where I was supposed to check in. The lab didn't open until 7:30, so Eric waited with me. Finally around 7:15 a nurse came by and said she'd be with us shortly. Eric decided to go ahead and head upstairs to "collect". A few minutes later the nurse came back and got me. They took me back to my own little room. I got a warm gown and blanket and laid back on the bed. They came in and started taking my vitals. Another nurse came in and starting working on my IV. I was cold and hadn't had any water, so my veins were not easy to find. They checked each arm twice and finally the nurse went back and got a really warm blanket and put on my arm to get the blood flowing. She said she'd only stick twice and then leave it for the anesthesialogist. This nurse rocked though and found one and got it. It didn't hurt a bit.

Eric came back down and we talked while we were waiting. At one point I got really mad at him because he took a big swig of water and swished it around in his mouth. I just sat there and couldn't believe it. He realized as soon as he swallowed (probably by the look on my face) what he had done and immediately apologized and felt horrible. hee hee I was dying for some water!

Next the biologist came in and went over a few things. I asked what Eric's sperm count was and she said the measured it different for this, but that he had 63 million. Eric asked what they want and she said 20 million, so he was really excited about that. Next Dr. B came in and we chatted for him a little while. Finally the anesthesialogist came in and went over some stuff. He said he'd give me a couple "martini's" first and make me a little funny to relax me before we got started. We waited a little while longer and finally right around 8:30 they took me back.

When we got back there they introduced everyone and starting getting me ready. The anesthesialogist gave me my two martinis right after I got in there. They put my legs up in stirrups that were actually 1/2 boots. They put both my arms straight out on boards and strapped me down. He asked me how I was feeling and I said pretty good. He hooked up my heart monitors and then gave me two more martinis. That made me feel quite nice. Shortly after that I fell asleep.

I woke up and was quite chatty. They only put you under twilight and let me say I am a huge fan of that. Apparently I told Eric about going in there twice, but that's ok. When I was waking up Dr. B had come in and that's when he told us about the 20 eggs. I was in shock. I had told Eric before going in my goal was 15. I asked him a few times if he really said 20. Yep. I said 2-0? Yep. Eric said I kept saying "F*ing Cool". I have no idea why though. ha ha ha We are trying to cut that F-word out of our vocabulary. They let us go at 10 and we were on our way home. I did stop at the little machine and get some hot chocolate on my way out of the hospital though. :D We stopped and grabbed breakfast and headed home.

I still feel bloated and a little sore, but overall I'm doing great. I took one pain pill when I got up home and went to bed. Apparently I was exhausted because I slept until 4. Eric is out hunting down some dinner for us now. I'm starving and plan to eat, take another pain pill and watch some TV.

To answer questions about the device:
The device is what they put the eggs (1-10), sperm and media in. It's inside me where it will stay until Wednesday, transfer day. The device is actually what the study is. I know I talked about it somewhere, but can't remember where or I'd link.

The other eggs (11-20) will be fertilized via dropping sperm on them in a the dish. They will call us tomorrow with the fertilization on those and freeze whatever any that fertilized. They will only transfer the ones from the device back in me.

Hope that helps!

CD 15 - Retrieval

Total Count - 20!!!!!!!!

T-W-E-N-T-Y!!!!!!

2-0!!!!!!!!!

HOORAY!!!!!!

So that means 10 in device, 10 regular invitro'd. Will find out tomorrow how many of the regular initro'd ones fertilized. This should be a good indicator of how the 10 in the device will fertilize.

Off to bed now! More details later!

Saturday, April 08, 2006

CD 14

My massage last night was wonderful! I was apparently quite talkative b/c we pretty much talked through the entire massage, but it was nice and still very relaxing. Trigger last night was a breeze. I had to take 2 pre-filled shots, but the needles were small and they didn't hurt much. I'm definitely getting needle shy though. I guess that's what happens. Today I'm being super lazy. I got up and Eric made me some toast w/ peanut butter. Yum! No plans for the day though.

24 More Hours til Retrieval!!!

I want to thank you all for your well wishes! You are such great support. I wish all the best for all of you as well. Hopefully I can at least have Eric post a quick update tomorrow. I'm sure he will if I ask nicely. :D

Friday, April 07, 2006

CD 13

So let me recap what happened yesterday. I started working on a post while I was waiting on Dr. B's office to call. It was all perfect and ready to just add times when I got the call. I was in shock that I don't even remember all the conversation. Nurse L went over my blood work with me and said my estradiol had spiked and increased about 1000. I didn't really know what this meant. Then she said Dr. B wanted me to continue taking my medication for 1 more day and come in for a scan on Friday morning. I asked if this included my cetrotide because I didn't have any more. She said yes and that we would need to come down as soon as possible to get it and take it. She put me on hold for a long time while they tried to figure out where I could pick up the Cetrotide because their office was actually closed. Finally she came back on and said we could pick it up on the ER. So as soon as I got off work at 5 we sped back down to Indy and picked it up. Even shot up in the hospital of the parking lot. After that we grabbed dinner as we were both starving. We ate at this mexican restaurant called "Cancun". Then we headed home. I was exhausted and barely made it through "Survivor". I was in bed my 9:00.

I didn't sleep very well last night at all. I am getting so uncomfortable and just toss and turn. Around 3 am a storm started brewing and our black dog hates them so she started whining and being a baby. At one point she got up in our bed and slept between my legs with her head on my belly. Godiva was between Eric & I and had her head on my belly, too. Finally around 4 am I couldn't take it any longer or more Eric couldn't take it any longer and moved the dogs to the living room. I did get a little sleep between then and 6 when we got up.

Our trip down was uneventful as usual. We waited in the waiting room for a bit before Nurse A called us back. I got undressed, hopped up on the table, put my feet in the stirrups and laid back on the bed. Then asked Eric to dim the lights. It feels much better lying down. Nurse A came in and was a little surprised we had already dimmed the lights. As soon as she got over to me I asked her to explain what was going on b/c we were confused. She basically said I could have probably went on Saturday, but there are a couple of us going at the same time and they needed another day, so they went ahead and pushed me back to Sunday as well. I assumed this was the reason. She did the scan and the follies had definitely grown just since yesterday. The left side had 5 that were between 18-20, which is where they need to. She said there were several that were just under that could very well catch up by tonight's trigger shot. On the right side there were 7 between 18-20 and again several that were just under that could very well catch up. After the u/s we headed over to the consultation room and went over pre-op again since everything was bumped back a day. She even gave me a day's worth of meds to take home just in case, but she was 100% they weren't needed. She said she'd call me this afternoon w/ the trigger time tonight and retrieval time on Sunday.

After we left there we went up for a quick and final blood draw just to check my levels and headed home. I spent the afternoon taking a nap, too.

About 3:15 Nurse A called with the details, which are as follows:
*Friday - 8:30 pm - Take 2 Pre-filled syringes of HCG
*Saturday - Nothing to eat or drink after midnight!
*Sunday - 7:15 am - Be at Hospital - I will register, Eric is to go directly to lab for collection.
*8:30 am - Retrieval


I'm guess I'm the first one on the list, but that's ok. I'll be done first, too. :D She also said that I would be doing the 3 hcg booster shots (day of transfer, 2 days later, 2 more days later), too. So this means I'm not done with shots for a little while, but that's ok, too.

Tonight I go for my massage at 5:00 pm and tomorrow Eric has insisted I be pretty much on bed rest.

Wow...It's SO real now. Like really real!!

Funny thing Eric said... On our way home we were talking about how nice it is out. He mentioned that he'd love to go for a bike ride, but didn't think we should because he didn't want anything to happen to me or our eggs. I told him I'd be fine and that sounded like a good idea. He said that all of our eggs were in one basket, me, and he didn't want anything to happen to his basket. Aaaawwww... He's so sweet. If it's not storming when I get back from my massage I think we should at least talk the dogs for a walk!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

CD 12 - Complete with Bunny ears and a cotton tail!!

Last night I believe my eggs had a massive growth spurt. I started feeling very bloated and tender. I've been wearing my pants as low as possible on my belly. Oh and my breasts are quite tender, too. I even tossed and turned more in bed because I just couln't get comfy.

Blood work was a little different this morning. She pulled out this butterfly thing and I was confused so I asked her why she she was drawing it different this time. She said that I was getting 2 vials drawn. Again I asked why. She said the second vial was for pre-op. Hooray! I said draw away and stuck out my arm!! I'm getting super excited and anxoius now. I even did a little squeel telling Eric about it although he overheard it anyway. Next stop, Dr. B's office.

G was not in this office today, so we got Nurse A. I hopped up on the table and we got started. My uterus lining measured at 8.7 and she said they like it to be at 8, so mine was good. Next over to my left ovary. The monster stood out right away. He measured in at a whopping 36 mm. Besides that one I had 11 others they measure between 15-20 mm. They like to retrieve them at about 20 mm and they grow 2-3 mm per day) They only have room to measure 12 on each side, but there were definitely more that were a little smaller. Next she wondered over to the right side. Again there were several. She measured 10 between 15-20 and again there were several smaller ones she didn't even measure. So final count is 22+ FOLLICLES! Eric has dubbed me the Easter bunny and let me say that my easter basket is overflowing! Dr. B will have a lot of eggs during his hunt on Saturday. hee hee

Next we went over to the consultation room and met with Nurse L. Very sweet lady! She went over some paperwork, my trigger shot, the progesterone, retrieval, transfer, etc., etc. This was all the pre-op stuff, so we don't have to come back tomorrow. We got our trigger shots and enough progesterone to get us through Beta #1 today and before we left Nurse L HUGGED me and told me good luck. I nearly melted into tears. (I'm getting a touch emotional now.) That was so sweet of her and I had never even met her before.

So where are we now you ask?????

I got a call at 4:30 that we need to take meds one more day. I don't have any more Cetrotide, so we have to drive back down to Indy (1 hr each way). Go back Friday for a 9:00 am scan. NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON... On my way out the door. Likely to push back retrieval 1 day, so Sunday...

I'm changing jobs!!

This week has been so crazy. A position opened up in my old department. This isn't my actual old job that I talked about a few weeks ago, but the job that I REALLY wanted. So obviously I applied for it. I got a call on Monday for an interview. We ended up having the interview 5:00 pm on Tuesday. The whole interview was actually comical. One of the professors I used to work for was doing the interviewing along w/ my old boss. Basically as soon as we got started he asked me when I could start! I asked him if didn't want to go over any of the job or what? He went over the briefest description ever lasting, oh...maybe 2 minutes and then said "When can you start?" He is hilarious. So we went over some other things, the professor left the room and said see you in a little over 2 weeks. (All that took about 15 minutes.) I sat and talked to my old boss, D for another 45 minutes. We talked about salary and raises for a bit then just gossiped about some recent events. I just love her!

So yesterday about 4:50 pm, I got a call and she e-mailed me my offer letter. It was for more money than we had originally talked about and I was stoked! She told me to talk to Eric and let her know whenever. Of course I signed it as soon as it got done printing, then got started on my resignation letter to my current bosses.

Today after we got back from the Dr.'s office I stopped over there and accepted my new job. I will have my own office even. No more cubicles. Unfortunately it doesn't have a window, but that's ok. I'll live. The great part is that I'll still be working with the students and not "being someone's secretary". I'm so glad I got away from that. Yucky! The funny part is that I came in late to work today and am giving them my notice this afternoon, then taking tomorrow and Monday through Wednesday of next week off. ha ha ha It's really not that funny, but yea... well, it really is. What am I saying?!

I'll update about today's ultrasound as soon as I get the final details this afternoon!

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

CD 10 *updated*

We have returned from another eventful scan. G actually did the scan this time and didn't go through all the measurements and things. I was dissappointed and kept asking questions, but she said we'd go over them in the consult room. She did say they wanted them to be around 20mm for retrieval. The scan itself was pretty uneventful and fast. I changed and we met her over in the consult room.

She took two pictures, one of each side of several small follicles that they didn't measure. Basically I have 6 big ones on each side making a totall of 12. The monster from Sunday's scan is up to 29mm now. The 11 remaining range from 9-16 mm. She said it is likely that Dr. B will reduce my Gonal-F down to 75iu and we might retrieve on Sunday or Monday depending on Thursday's scan rather than Saturday. That's not confirmed yet as they will also wait on my blood levels before making the final decision. We got back on Thursday - 8:00 Blood work & 8:15 Dr. B.

I'm to continue taking the FSH twice a day and the cetrotide once a day unless otherwise indicated.

*updated to add*

G just called. My blood levels are good. She said to keep up w/ 150iu of Gonal-F morning and night, Cetrotide once a day. She said if she was going to Vegas she'd bet on retrieval Saturday. Woohoo! Sooo.... 4 Days til Retrieval!

April Showers Bring Fresh Cut What??


Fresh Cut What??
Originally uploaded by Mrs-T.

Received this from a friend in an e-mail and did not get to witness this in person, but I believe it to be real. Apparently someone doesn't know how to spell P-E-O-N-I-E-S...

Is this a good price? hee hee

Monday, April 03, 2006

CD 9 *updated*

I feel like I just participated in an illegal activity... Eric just met me at the back of our building to shoot me up (with Cetrotide). hee hee

Also G called this morning because she couldn't remember if we were doing accupuncture so she's setting that up. Hopefully we'll be able to do that consultation tomorrow as well.

5 Days until Retrieval!!

*updated to add*

Just got a call from Dr. W about the acupuncture on the day of the transfer. It was a nice conversation. She was super friendly and down to earth. She did some explaining of things. Here's what she told me

* Doing Acupuncture has been proven to increase the success rate by ~30% making the success rate for IVF ~63%.

* Doing acupuncture increases the blood flow to your uterus by ~40%. They believe that no only does it helps with cramping and such from the procedure, but it also helps to relax your uterus to help incease the chance of implantation.

* They just started doing acupuncture in January. They've done the procedure on ~50 patients and have had ~40% success rate.

* For the procedure itself, I go in early for my transfer. They will take me to this room where Dr. W will administer the needles and leave them in for 20 minutes. Then I will go for transfer. After my transfer I will go back to this room and again she will administer the needles and leave them in for 20 minutes. Then I'll be done.

Seriously, if it increase my chanced even a little bit, then SIGN ME UP!!

Sunday, April 02, 2006

CD 8

We got up 15 minutes late this morning. I had adjusted my clock last night and even adjusted my alarm, but did NOT turn my alarm on. Thankfully we only woke up 15 minutes late. It could have been much worse. I didn't have time to take a shower, so I freshened up and got ready. We got a quick shot in and was on the road. We also forgot to get gas yesterday, so we had to make a quick stop there, too. We got there in time and made a bathroom stop before heading upstairs for blood work.

Blood work was a breeze this time thank goodness. Then we headed down to Dr. B's office. Nurse A was there and said she was going to do our scan. G had told me last week there were several of us around the same time, so we knew they were busy. First off she checked the lining of my uterus. It looked great. Next over to the left side. There were a total of about 8 (7, 7, 11, 14, 22, plus some smaller ones). They would sacrifice the 22 in order to allow the others to grow more. Next over to the right side. I told her about my huge cyst and thankfully it was NO WHERE to be found. It had either shrunk and was included w/ my follies or was gone totally. So there were around 7 on the right side (9, 11, 11, 14, 15). Overall I have 9 great eggs, 1 sacrificial lamb and 3-5 smaller ones that are likely to catch up. I'd say that's pretty good.

We met back in the room with G after the scan. She gave us the cetrotide and said that she might call this afternoon depending on my blood levels. The cetrotide is used if my LH starts surging and I'm getting ready to ovulate. I told her I only had 4 more shots of Gonal-F, so she gave us some more of that, too. We go back Tuesday at the same time. 8:15 blood work and 8:30 ultrasound.

After that we grabbed breakfast and went back to the hospital as if we'd never been there before. My niece is there with feeding issues. To make a long story short it looks like she's learned how to make herself vomit after she eats and spits up a ton causing her to lose a lot of weight. She's 9 months and should be around 20 pounds and is around 15 because of this problem. We visited with them for about an hour and headed home.

After we got home we relaxed and haven't been doing much. We realized we had missed G's call. (She calls us with our results of the blood work). I accidentally gave her Eric's phone number instead of mine. Not a huge deal though. Well from her message apparently my LH is pretty high b/c I needed to take my cetrotide immediately and I needed to take 2 instead of one! Holy crap! Realize this means 4 shots today... She then said that I would need to take just one tomorrow at around the same time, which was 1. That means Eric is going to have to meet me for lunch and give me this shot because it also needs to be kept cold. Good thing he took this week and next week off as vacation. :D He's going to have to meet me at work to inject me. I don't know what I'd do without him!

Let me just say that the cetrotide sucks. It's at least double the amount of gonal-f and as soon as it goes in the area gets all red and itchy. It's also swollen, too. Ugh!

Saturday, April 01, 2006

CD 7

Yesterday was a nightmare. I had to drive a van from work and ended up taking the students a little off-roading. They even commented that they didn't think the van was made for off-roading. I replied telling them I own a SUV, so I think I can go anywhere. We didn't get stuck though. Then I had to park the dumb thing in a parking garage and had to fix it 4 or 5 times. When I first pulled in I was about 1" from the car next to me. I think after all the reversing and pulling forward I think I ended up about 2" from the car. hee hee

I think my belly is officially bloating and getting quite tender. It actually hurt getting my shot this morning, too. Ugh!

This time next week I should be going through or finishing up retrieval. Yay! I'm getting anxious. Tomorrow we go for our first ultrasound, so check back for an update about my follies! Woohoo!