2nd Monitoring Appointment

I went in for more bloodwork and an u/s this morning.  At the u/s they measured all the follicles again and they had all grown quite considerably.  I was trying to keep count in my head but I lost track.  There were even more that have developed since Wednesday.  We're working with well over 30 follicles.

After my bloodwork came back they gave me a call this afternoon.  Apparently, I'm almost done cooking these eggs!  Tonight and tomorrow I inject 75 follistim, 75 menopur and the ganirelix shot.  Sunday I do the ganirelix shot and then the HCG trigger at 11:30pm.  Except for a blood draw, I have a shot free day on Monday (Yay!) and then my ER will be Tuesday morning at 10:30.  On Tuesday we'll know how many eggs they were able to retrieve and on Wednesday we should know how many fertilized correctly (using ICSI).

A bit about the process for those that don't know:

The ganirelix shot I started last night is to prevent premature ovulation.

The HCG trigger shot that I give myself Sunday night will do several things.  It will induce the final maturation of the eggs within the follicles, cause the resumption of meiosis, loosen the egg's attachment from the follicle wall and allow for the timing of the egg retrieval.  If the egg retrieval is not performed or  not performed at the right time after the HCG injection is given, I would ovulate on my own which would not be good.  There would be no eggs to retrieve from the follicles because they would have already released them.

The ER process is much like the cyst aspiration and when they drained the fluid when I had OHSS.  The BIG difference this time is that they knock me out for it!  He will go in, guided by u/s (my good friend, the dildo cam), and insert the needle into each follicle and aspirate the fluid out of each one.  The eggs are microscopic so he won't be able to tell how many eggs are there and some of the follicles could be empty.  Once he aspirates all of the fluid from my follicles he will hand the fluid off to the embryologist.  They will examine the fluid under the microscope and isolate the eggs.

Our RE uses a process called ICSI.  This is where they inject the sperm into the egg to fertilize; as opposed to combining the egg and several sperm in a petri dish and hoping it fertilizes.  So as they wheel me away for surgery, Brandon gets to go to the "happy room" and do his thing (that's really what they call it).  I'm not trying to get any sympathy here but really????  That's all I'll say about that.

So we're definitely on the right track.  I will feel better after I know some of the eggs have fertilized.  Since we haven't been able to get pregnant at all, I'm a little worried that maybe that's one of our issues.  The only way to know is to go through this process and see how they fertilize.  I'll be anxiously awaiting that report the day after the retrieval.

So there you have it.  The next few days in a nutshell.  I feel a little overwhelmed but excited at the same time.  We're one step closer!

1st Monitoring Appointment **Updated**

Had bloodwork and an u/s this morning.  Things are definitely happening in there!  Here are the stats:

Right ovary:  15 follicles measuring under 10mm, 1 measuring 11mm.
Left ovary:  8 follicles measuring under 10mm, and one each of 11mm, 12mm and 13mm.
My lining is 9mm.

All of that is good news.  I'll go back on Friday to measure them all again.  He doesn't want me to change my meds so the next 2 nights of shots will be like the last 5.  Things are progressing.....

**I heard back from the doctor this afternoon.  My e2 level is 1659 so they told me to cut my follistim dose in half.  I also start Ganirelix shots tomorrow night.  From everything I've read, that e2 number seems pretty high but I'll wait to worry until I get the number on Friday.  I just really really really really don't want to overstimulate again.

Steer Clear!

Apparently the hormones have kicked in.  I'm moody and angry.  My family would argue that I'm irrationally angry.  Nonsense!  Tonight is day 5 of the shots.  Along with the moodiness, they've brought headaches.  I can definitely feel things working but so far no bloating or weight gain.  Tomorrow we get to see how things are growing in there.  I'll update when I'm back.

Cyst Aspiration & Injections

Brandon was out in the field all day yesterday and all night last night which meant he had today off.  He came home around 7am, had a shower and some breakfast and was out the door with me headed to this appointment.  Even though I'm sure he was exhausted, I am so thankful he was able to be there.

I'm not sure if it was better or worse that I knew what was coming.  And again, they made us wait in that room a good 20 minutes with ALL the instruments just laying there.  Taunting me.  The doctor came in and I made him check one more time just to make sure the cyst hadn't gone away.  He laughed but appeased me.  It was still there.

He got everything set up and started.  I think the worst thing about this process is the lidocaine injections.  I lost count of how many times he poked me with that needle.  I don't think I'll ever complain again when the dentist has to numb my mouth.  After everything was over and they left me to get dressed, Brandon said, "Wow.  He's not very gentle, is he?"  Let me say that I really do like this doctor.  My only complaint is exactly that.  He doesn't really tell you what he's doing down there until it's already happening.  And let's be honest, no one likes a surprise hello from the dildo-cam.  Or a lidocaine injection!  Some fore warning would be nice.  He can also be a bit over zealous with the u/s wand.  He was moving that thing in all kinds of directions trying to find that cyst today.

But it's done and the cyst is drained.  We did our first shots tonight so today is considered day 1.  Here is what I have lined up the next few days:

6/3-6/7 - 150 follistim and 75 menopur.  These are both given subcutaneously.  I do mine in my stomach.

I will go back in on Wednesday, 6/8 for an u/s to see how things are growing!

Bump in the road

I had bloodwork and an u/s this morning to check my e2 levels, my lining and my ovaries.  My lining was great, my right ovary was great but my left ovary has a cyst.  He said if it's an estrogen producing cyst he will need to aspirate it before we can proceed.  If he doesn't, the cyst will interfere with the stimulation process.  If it isn't producing estrogen we can leave it alone and start the shots tonight.  We had to wait on the bloodwork for my e2 levels.

I got the call at 5:15 this afternoon that my levels are too high which means the cyst is active.  They scheduled me for an aspiration tomorrow morning.  The procedure is exactly the same as when they drained the fluid from my abdomen when I had OHSS.  I'm trying not to freak out.

Brandon is in the field training cadets and doesn't have much cell phone coverage.  I texted him and said, "Call when you get a chance.  I'm freaking out a little.  Nothing is wrong."  I wish I would have taken a few extra seconds to think about that before sending it.  Oh well.  He called in under 5 minutes worried to death.  I'm trying to tell him what's going on but I could hardly hear him because the wind was so bad.  Turns out one of the only places he has coverage is at the top of this mountain.  He happened to be standing up there because he was waiting on a helicopter to come pick him up.  Never a dull moment!

Trial Transfer

Today I had the trial transfer.  This is used to measure the depth of your uterus so there are no surprises on the day of the actual embryo transfer.  The embryos are so fragile that they want to disturb everything as little as possible on that day.  By doing the trial, they will know exactly how far the catheter needs to go in. They also advised me to take Motrin for this procedure as well.  I'm glad I did because this one was a bit more intense than the SIS.  I had a small cervical stenosis which he "got rid of" by dilating my cervix a bit. That part was not pleasant but because he found and took care of it today, he won't have to do it on the day of the transfer.

The next step is an u/s to make sure my ovaries are "quiet" and ready for stimulation!

SIS

Today I had an appt for the first step in this process - a saline infused sonogram or SIS.  This is used to check for any fibroids or polyps inside the uterus that might interfere with an embryo implanting.

They told me to take 400mgs of Motrin about an hour before the appointment.  When I checked in the receptionist asked me if I had taken my Motrin.  The nurse I saw in the hall asked if I had taken my Motrin.  The nice lady that walked me to my room asked if I had taken my Motrin.  Good grief.  What are they going to do to me?  As I'm sitting in the room unclothed from the waist down, I have too much time to look around.  I will never understand why they lay all the instruments out in full view while you're waiting.  These instruments do nothing to calm any jitters you might have about the procedure.  Nothing, I tell you.  The doctor came in and asked if I had taken my Motrin.  That didn't help either.

The procedure itself wasn't too bad.  No polyps or fibroids were found so we were given the go ahead for the next step.  I'll be having a trial transfer on Monday.