I had my first follicle check today after 6 days of stims. There were 14 measurable follicles - 7 on each side between 10mm and 16mm.
I was hoping for 20, my RE was hoping for 10. I guess 14 will just have to do. I am not sure, but I assume there are others under 10mm that may or may not catch up as long as the 15 and 16 don't get too far ahead.
he also told me my uterine lining was "gorgeous" at 13.5. Um...thank you?
Overall, my RE is pleased so I will take it! I go back on Monday for another ultrasound. Looks like ER will be Wednesday or Thursday.
Edit: My RE's office just called and my E2 levels were a little high. After 6 days of stims, E2 is 2363 which could indicate I am overstimulating. I am to keep my dosage the same tonight, but drop to 75 Follistim starting tomorrow. I now go back on Sunday (Easter) at 8:30 for another ultrasound. He wants to let my follicles grow and mature, but not so fast the quality is compromised.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Nervous...
Tomorrow is my first follicle check. Moment of truth time. Am I responding appropriately to the meds? I feel like I am. I feel like my ovaries are more and more swollen every day. Tonight, true to form three hours after my stims injections, I feel like I am about to burst. But I felt slightly swollen after taking Clomid and that was only when I had 2 follicles. Who knows if what I am feeling is 3 or 30!
I've been thinking alot about what I want to see tomorrow. My RE and I never discussed how many follicles he is expecting to see. I keep thinking back to one of my early appointments in 2009 when he was checking my antral follicle count (AFC) and he said there were more than 10 on each side. That's good. If I am responding the right way to stims, then I should have over 10 follicles on each side.
I have been trying not to set these benchmarks, but I can't help my nature. It's just who I am. So, this is what I have in my head for the day of retrieval: (updated with actual numbers as they progressed)
20 retrieved (actual = 23)
18 mature (actual = 20)
16 fertilize (actual = 17)
12 on day 3 (actual = 13)
8 on day 5 (yep)
4 to freeze (actual = 2)
2 to transfer (yep)
Truthfully though, I am just kinda making that up. I have no idea what to expect. I do know that in the end, I would like to have 2 to transfer and 4 to freeze. I need to have the option of frozen embryos in case this round is not successful. Not to sound cliche, but I have literally put all of my eggs in this proverbial basket. If this IVF does not work, I may not be able to afford $15k for another fresh cycle. I can't even let myself think about this cycle not working.
It starts with tomorrow though. I just have to get through tomorrow. Incidentally, tomorrow is Good Friday. I hope it will be a Good Friday indeed!
I've been thinking alot about what I want to see tomorrow. My RE and I never discussed how many follicles he is expecting to see. I keep thinking back to one of my early appointments in 2009 when he was checking my antral follicle count (AFC) and he said there were more than 10 on each side. That's good. If I am responding the right way to stims, then I should have over 10 follicles on each side.
I have been trying not to set these benchmarks, but I can't help my nature. It's just who I am. So, this is what I have in my head for the day of retrieval: (updated with actual numbers as they progressed)
20 retrieved (actual = 23)
18 mature (actual = 20)
16 fertilize (actual = 17)
12 on day 3 (actual = 13)
8 on day 5 (yep)
4 to freeze (actual = 2)
2 to transfer (yep)
Truthfully though, I am just kinda making that up. I have no idea what to expect. I do know that in the end, I would like to have 2 to transfer and 4 to freeze. I need to have the option of frozen embryos in case this round is not successful. Not to sound cliche, but I have literally put all of my eggs in this proverbial basket. If this IVF does not work, I may not be able to afford $15k for another fresh cycle. I can't even let myself think about this cycle not working.
It starts with tomorrow though. I just have to get through tomorrow. Incidentally, tomorrow is Good Friday. I hope it will be a Good Friday indeed!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Celebrity Bump Buddy
I wonder who my celebrity bump buddy will be. Right now, someone famous is trying to get knocked up too. I hope she's cool!
Menopur success and other small things
Third times a charm, right? Right! I managed to get my Menopur done correctly with the right amount of diluent. Go me!
It was a three stick night though. I finished up 900 iu of Follistim last night, but there was still drug left in the cartridge. Everyone knows that Follistim is overfilled to allow extra for pen priming. The amount of overfill varies wildly. I needed just 150 iu for this dose. So, guess how much was in there? 125! Just my luck. So, it was a double-shot night of Follistim. Really, it's not that bad. I can barely feel the needle going in for SQ injections. Nothing to them at all - especially since I get no sting or burn from the Menopur either.
Yes, I know how lucky I am. I think it's all the extra padding around my stomach that is finally serving a purpose other than just fat. Which is something else I want to discuss, but I am not ready to have that conversation yet. I need to think about what I want to say and how I want to say it. I know this blog is mainly just for me, but saying it the right way is important.
My ovaries seem to be responding well to stims, from what I can feel. I won't know for sure until the ultrasound on Friday, but I feel more and more swollen every day. I hope they are doing their thing!
It was a three stick night though. I finished up 900 iu of Follistim last night, but there was still drug left in the cartridge. Everyone knows that Follistim is overfilled to allow extra for pen priming. The amount of overfill varies wildly. I needed just 150 iu for this dose. So, guess how much was in there? 125! Just my luck. So, it was a double-shot night of Follistim. Really, it's not that bad. I can barely feel the needle going in for SQ injections. Nothing to them at all - especially since I get no sting or burn from the Menopur either.
Yes, I know how lucky I am. I think it's all the extra padding around my stomach that is finally serving a purpose other than just fat. Which is something else I want to discuss, but I am not ready to have that conversation yet. I need to think about what I want to say and how I want to say it. I know this blog is mainly just for me, but saying it the right way is important.
My ovaries seem to be responding well to stims, from what I can feel. I won't know for sure until the ultrasound on Friday, but I feel more and more swollen every day. I hope they are doing their thing!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Swollen ovaries, surgery and tornadoes
I'm just going to word vomit for a bit...
Stims must be really kicking in because my ovaries feel really swollen. After three days of stims, I am definitely aware of my ovaries and something going on in there. I don't feel bloated, but when I sit for too long, I feel like they are getting squished in there. Tonight was night 4 and while I have Follistim mastered, I am a big fat fail on the Menopur two nights in a row. I don't think I am messing anything up, but I cannot seem to get the right amount of diluent out of the bottle, mixed with the drug, back into the syringe and injected into me. I think as long as I am getting all the poweder mixed and back into me, the variation on the diluent is ok, but who knows? The injections are still fine. Now that I am up to three a day I am starting to get some bruising. My belly has now taken 22 sticks. Looks like I've got at least 10 more to go.
Which brings me to the phone call today from the surgery center. They called wanting their $5500 for the surgery, lab and embryologist. They took a check by phone. The last thing to pay will be $500 for the anesthesiologist the day of surgery. According to my IVF calendar, I will have my first follicle check on Friday, 4/6 which will be after 6 days of stims. The surgery center has my ER on the books for Sunday, 4/8. I assume that this is because it is the earliest possible day for ER provided I am ready to go and trigger Friday night. More than likely, I won't be quite ready yet and will go back on Monday, 4/9 for another follicle check, trigger Monday or Tuesday night and have ER on Wednesday, 4/11 or Thursday, 4/12. Unfortunately, I just won't know until Friday. Part of me thinks it will be sooner because of how swollen my ovaries feel, but that really isn't a good indicator. I honestly have no idea. I am just along for the ride here.
The weather was crazy in Dallas today. We had 12 tornadoes touchdown in and around the DFW area. It was quite scary with the sirens going off and on for about 2 hours. I sat glued to the TV all afternoon and did not get much work done. Mental note - got to work tomorrow to make up for today. I need money to pay for this IVF!
Now that stims have kicked it, the exhaustion and hunger are virtually gone. I am back to my old night owl self. I am doing ok with reducing my caffeine intake. Some days are better than others. I usually have one large coffee each morning and if I am home all day, then that is all I have. If I eat out at all, then I am having caffeine in my iced tea. I have never really been good at drinking water with meals so that is what I am going to try to work on this week. I also plan to start adding in Gatorade this weekend so I can hopefully avoid any symptom of OHSS.
That's about it for now, I think.
Stims must be really kicking in because my ovaries feel really swollen. After three days of stims, I am definitely aware of my ovaries and something going on in there. I don't feel bloated, but when I sit for too long, I feel like they are getting squished in there. Tonight was night 4 and while I have Follistim mastered, I am a big fat fail on the Menopur two nights in a row. I don't think I am messing anything up, but I cannot seem to get the right amount of diluent out of the bottle, mixed with the drug, back into the syringe and injected into me. I think as long as I am getting all the poweder mixed and back into me, the variation on the diluent is ok, but who knows? The injections are still fine. Now that I am up to three a day I am starting to get some bruising. My belly has now taken 22 sticks. Looks like I've got at least 10 more to go.
Which brings me to the phone call today from the surgery center. They called wanting their $5500 for the surgery, lab and embryologist. They took a check by phone. The last thing to pay will be $500 for the anesthesiologist the day of surgery. According to my IVF calendar, I will have my first follicle check on Friday, 4/6 which will be after 6 days of stims. The surgery center has my ER on the books for Sunday, 4/8. I assume that this is because it is the earliest possible day for ER provided I am ready to go and trigger Friday night. More than likely, I won't be quite ready yet and will go back on Monday, 4/9 for another follicle check, trigger Monday or Tuesday night and have ER on Wednesday, 4/11 or Thursday, 4/12. Unfortunately, I just won't know until Friday. Part of me thinks it will be sooner because of how swollen my ovaries feel, but that really isn't a good indicator. I honestly have no idea. I am just along for the ride here.
The weather was crazy in Dallas today. We had 12 tornadoes touchdown in and around the DFW area. It was quite scary with the sirens going off and on for about 2 hours. I sat glued to the TV all afternoon and did not get much work done. Mental note - got to work tomorrow to make up for today. I need money to pay for this IVF!
Now that stims have kicked it, the exhaustion and hunger are virtually gone. I am back to my old night owl self. I am doing ok with reducing my caffeine intake. Some days are better than others. I usually have one large coffee each morning and if I am home all day, then that is all I have. If I eat out at all, then I am having caffeine in my iced tea. I have never really been good at drinking water with meals so that is what I am going to try to work on this week. I also plan to start adding in Gatorade this weekend so I can hopefully avoid any symptom of OHSS.
That's about it for now, I think.
Thank you Christopher Robin
Someone shared this quote this morning and it struck a chord.
“Promise me you will always remember: You are stronger than you seem, braver than you feel, and smarter than you think,” — Christopher Robin to Pooh.
“Promise me you will always remember: You are stronger than you seem, braver than you feel, and smarter than you think,” — Christopher Robin to Pooh.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Like a shock to the ovaries
... that's what stims feel like so far.
It's probably just all in my head as this is only day 2 of stims (300 Follistim). But both nights, about 3 hours after giving myself the injection, it feels like there is a shock to my ovaries. Like maybe the drugs just worked their way to my ovaries and jump-started some follicle growth. It lasts for about 30 minutes and then I am back to normal.
Well, not NORMAL, but my new normal of always tired and always hungry. I guess this is what the first trimester will be like if I am lucky.
Off to bed. Yes, I am going to bed before midnight. What can I say. I am freaking exhausted.
It's probably just all in my head as this is only day 2 of stims (300 Follistim). But both nights, about 3 hours after giving myself the injection, it feels like there is a shock to my ovaries. Like maybe the drugs just worked their way to my ovaries and jump-started some follicle growth. It lasts for about 30 minutes and then I am back to normal.
Well, not NORMAL, but my new normal of always tired and always hungry. I guess this is what the first trimester will be like if I am lucky.
Off to bed. Yes, I am going to bed before midnight. What can I say. I am freaking exhausted.
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