Monitoring Visit #2

We are getting closer! I can't believe how fast this cycle is flying.

Today, the nurse found 8 follicles that she could see. She did say that there may be some hiding behind the others. So far, I have been on stims for 5 days. I asked her if that was a low number, being that some ladies have 15-20 by now, and she said that it is more about quality over quantity. She said that some patients have 4 follicles and are successful.

I guess that I was hoping to be one of the ladies to have more, so that we would have left over embryos for a future pregnancy attempt, if we are successful. The reality is that this will be the only and last time that we will be paying for IVF....unless we get a rock star insurance company that will cover it.

My next appointment is on Saturday for another u/s and follicle check. Until then, my instructions are to stop taking Lupron in the morning and to increase my Menopur dose to two vials (150IU), instead of one. Follistim will stay the same. I had to call in a refill of my prescriptions because they keep upping my dosages. I thought that my ovaries wouldn't need any additional help, so I just purchased what I would have needed if nothing changed. You can't return medication, so I didn't want to have any left over. That would have been a waste. We were told when we started IVF that it would be a flat fee for the 6 attempts, but then meds can fluctuate depending on the patients response. We were told that meds can run from $2,000-$6,000 per cycle. C and I spent $1,500 initially and just spent $1,100 a couple of minutes ago. This crap is expensive! So, that's a grand total of $2,600 for meds this cycle. That does put us at the bottom of the $ range, but still. Damn! No complaining though. Some people are paying $6,000. If it's Gods will, we will have a bundle or two to show for it soon...... I pray!

Their growing!

This morning I went in for my first u/s and blood work appt since I started stims 3 days ago.

On the u/s the tech was able to see 4 follicles on the left ovary and 2 on the right (6 total). I got a call from the nurse to up my dosage of Follistim to 187IU, from 150IU. I have read on the net that the goal is to have at least 10-12 follicles minimum. I'm almost there! Follicles, in the ovaries can have no eggs, or more than one, so I'm hoping that everything is growing as it should!

This is an example of what your ovary looks like with multiple follicles (eggs). When the nurse did the u/s this photo is similar to what I was looking at.

My next appointment is this Thursday, 10/30 to do another u/s and blood drawl. According to my IVF calendar the remainder of my cycle should go as follows:


10/30 thru 11/3: More U/S & blood work visits
11/3 HCG Trigger (releases the eggs for retrieval)
11/5 Egg Retrieval
11/10 Transfer of embryos
11/20 Pregnancy Blood Test (approx)

Cycle Day 3

I went to the RE's office today and had my day 3 ultrasound and blood work. The ultrasound showed no cysts in my ovaries. While we were out running some errands a nurse called with the results of my blood work (around 2:30 PM). She said that all of my levels were perfect and that I can start stims this evening.

When we got home, I went and got out the box the pharmacy sent me when we first ordered our meds. As I started pulling things out of the box, I thought taking a picture of all our meds would be good for posterity.

Halloween Costume for the boy

I am such a slacker. Why? Because Halloween is in 7 days and I haven't taken my son to get his Halloween costume! He saw a batman costume at Marshalls that he wanted. I pray that it is still there (in his size at that), so that we don't have to drive around the world to find one! That would be what I get for waiting till the last minute....I wonder if I could create my own batman costume from scratch.......hmmmm....

Update: Guess What?!?

He said he had to make sure it fit. :-)

Still No AF

Still waiting for AF. For the past 4 days, I have been feeling like it was going to come and then nothing. I hope that it comes soon. On my protocol, the nurse has 10/22 listed as my AF start date. 10/23 or 10/24 as possible lupron eval days. Hopefully it will come and I can get this IVF party started.

I will call the RE's office tomorrow if no AF. I will have been on Lupron for 9 days. The nurse wrote to call after 9 days if AF didn't show. I wonder what their protocol is for dealing with that. I tried to google search it, but it seemed like different REs do different things. No tellin'.

Until then....still waiting......


UPDATE (3:10 PM): I have never been so freakin' happy to see my period! I was worried I would fall into the small percent of women who don't get their period on this drug ( I normally fall into the 1% range..) This has me thinking.. I seriously need to take a chill pill and relax. This whole process has me totally on edge. More positive thoughts and deep breaths. I Promise! Yay! Calling the IVF nurse now!

Sleepy at the J.O.B.

Today has been a sleepy sleepy day. I think that the Lupron that I'm on has me wanting to hibernate! I've also been getting off and on headaches for the past couple of days. No fun. My cycle should be jumpin' off by morning, so I have more symptoms and issues than you can shake a stick at.

C and I met up today at SGFC to sign our consents for IVF and for cryopreserved embryos. I couldn't believe how thorough they were. What do you want to do with your embryos if the patient dies? What about if the partner dies? What if you get divorced? After 5 years, what do you want to do with them? Move them to long term storage? Hubby said to me, "I can't even plan out six months (when it comes to TTC) let alone 5 years!". It is so interesting to me that the embryos that are frozen for 1 or more years can be put back inside me and create life. Science has come so far! It's amazing! Scary, but amazing.

It's been one year!

It feels like an eternity since I was on here last. Yesterday was the one year mark since my last post. A lot has happened since then. I will do my best to update you on the major events.

Our son started Kindergarten this Fall and is doing great! He loves his new teacher and is adjusting well. I can't believe how big he's getting!

C and I bought our first single family home with the help of my SIL this past July! We love it. Only thing is this home is much larger with empty bedrooms and spaces that we are trying to create ideas for how to use them. The condo we owned was very cozy. I miss that in a way. My lab, Buddy, sure doesn't.

When we had a contract on our home we found out that we were expecting. It was a spontaneous pregnancy, no trying. Thanks to Endometriosis, the pregnancy was in my tubes. I just knew that God was having mercy on us.....but I'm sure that he has bigger plans for us than we can imagine for ourselves. I am starting to have a collection of HCHC patient bracelets. I really should throw them away......

After lots of scrimping and saving, C and I are starting our first IVF cycle! We have been doing Lupron injections since Thursday and my period should be here by this Wednesday. The meds that I will be on are Lupron, Follistim, and Menopur until retrieval. It is nice to know that we are bypassing my tubal issues. Starting this cycle gives us hope that we will have a little bro or sis for our son soon.