Butterflies...

I trigger tonight at 11:30pm and retrieval is set for Thursday morning at 10:00am! I get butterflies just thinking about it.

I went and got a manicure & pedicure so I'm all set...for some reason before any surgery or procedure, I feel the need to have pretty feet.

I can't remember if the nurse told me to start my antibiotic tonight or tomorrow morning...don't guess it would hurt to start tonight. Right?

I really can't think clearly right now so this post is going to be short, sorry.

I'm nervous.

One more day...

Nurse just called....here's the update!

Estradiol - up to 693, still not quite as high as the doc would like. (He said that we need it to be at least in the 800's) Progesterone is at .69. Follicles: 1 (23mm), 2 (17mm), 1 (15mm), 1 (14mm), 1 (13mm), 1 (12mm) and then at least one more that is less than 12mm.

Doc wants me to take the Lupron, Follistim & Menopur for one more day...go in for u/s & b/w tomorrow morning and most likely the trigger shot will be tomorrow evening, making retrieval Thursday!

Thanks to you girls for the warning/advice on the Menopur injection...you're right, it stings!! Ouchy.

I'll update more tomorrow...

Love you all,
Jill

Moving right along...

Was at the doctor's office bright and early this morning...was so weird to be at the doctor's office on a Sunday. Anywho, things seem to be progressing quite nicely!

Here's what we found out: Estradiol level was up to 444...yay! I just love seeing that number rise after the scare of not responding. Progesterone was .46 (he said anything under 2 right now is good). In regards to follicles, I had 1 (18mm), 2 (16mm), 3 (ranging 12-15mm) and 1 (less than 11mm). He said they like for them to be around 19-20mm, so we are going to take the Lupron and Follistim tonight and add one more medication called Menopur. That means 3 injections tonight...oh goody.

I will go back to the office early tomorrow morning and have an ultrasound & bloodwork. He said we could be ready to trigger tomorrow - depending upon what the u/s & b/w say! If not ready to trigger tomorrow, he said by Tuesday. Either way, that puts us retrieving this Wednesday or Thursday.

I can't believe we're to this point...I'm excited, nervous and scared all at the same time!

That's all for now...will update tomorrow after my appointment!

Love you all,
Jill

E2 level update...

Okay, so Estradiol level was up to 156 today! He counted 7 follicles, said there might be an 8th one up there as well, could barely see it though. For sure we had 1 (14mm), 3 (12mm) and 3 (7mm). Looks like I'm definitely responding to the Follistim dosage increase - since I went from 28 to 156 in three days. The doctor's exact words were "you're just a late bloomer". LOL
7 follicles didn't sound like very many to me but he reminded me that I only have one ovary...so I guess this number is normal.

I'm going to stay on the Follistim (450 units) as well as the Lupron (10 units) for two more days and then go in on Sunday for another U/S & Labs. We need these follies to keep growing so they will be ready to retrieve soon. :)

I feel SO MUCH BETTER after receiving the call that my E2 levels are up. Thanks for praying everyone!!

Oh, and can I just say that I have the best husband in the world...I'm so thankful that it's you by my side during all of this. I love you, sweetie.

Love you all,
Jill

Pity Party...

Well, I have to be honest...I spent most of yesterday evening and today feeling sorry for myself. My tummy is bruised all over and hurts to touch, my head and back are killing me, I only have one stinkin' ovary that is letting me down at this moment. I could go on and on...'it's my party and I'll cry if I want to'.

Then I started receiving emails and posts from you all...such encouraging words you all have for me...thank you for that. I really needed it. We appreciate the prayers during this emotional rollercoaster we seem to be on. I realized today that as prepared as we thought we were, I don't know that anything can truly prepare you for an IVF cycle. I'm drained in so many ways and we have only just begun. One minute I'm on top of the world and the next I'm ready to give up...crazy I know...could be the hormones. Regardless, it's our life right now.

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living". Psalm 27:13. God always sends the exact words that I need to hear...thank you for sharing this verse with me, Paula.

We're blessed to have so many family and friends that care about this chapter in our lives. We love you guys.

I'm also thankful for all of the people that I have 'met' since starting this blog....women who are going through the exact same thing, always there to lend an encouraging word...you girls are awesome!

Love you all,
Jill

The fight is over...

The call has finally come...from insurance that is. They say they will pay for our IVF, that I meet all qualifications and that they will pay for my meds as well...80/20 just like my maternity benefits. They will pay a maximum of 15k in a lifetime...that won't take long to spend. :)

An answered prayer...

Love, Jill

Not responding...

I went in today for my first Estradiol blood test since starting the Follistim. I received the call from the nurse this afternoon that I'm not responding to the Follistim as I should. My levels were below 20 before starting the Follistim and are now only up to 28 after being on it for 2 days. They are up'ing my dose to the maximum which is 450 units. I'll do this for the next 3 days and then go back on Friday morning to have blood drawn again. The nurse said that it could be low due to the fact that I have only one ovary.

Pray that this dosage increase works and that my estrogen level will increase...otherwise, they will cancel this cycle and we will have to start over with new protocol.

I'm bummed....

I'm about to stim...

Shots are going well...have been doing them myself for a week now and like many of you assured me, I'm officially a pro. If any of you need a shot of something, just call me...I'm your girl.

I went to the clinic today for my first ultrasound/bloodwork since starting the Lupron. As the doctor (wasn't mine - was one of his partners) was doing the ultrasound, I noticed he kept taking the wand over to the left side and after what seemed like several minutes, I realized he was searching for an ovary. (LOL) I didn't tell him that there was no ovary over there (mainly because I wish they would read my chart beforehand). I just let him search and search and finally he asked, "you have both ovaries, right?" After telling him that I don't, he informed me that my one and only looks really good and that the bloodwork would tell us if we need to start the Follistim this weekend.

I received the call this afternoon that my bloodwork shows everything is right on schedule and that I can add my Follistim injection this Saturday! We will be up to 2 shots a day, but that's okay because it's still the small needles. Like I said in the first paragraph, I'm a pro. (hehehe)

Things seem to be moving along quickly...I like that. :)

Love you all,
Jill

Come to find out...I'm not a baby

I gave myself the shot tonight! After reading a thousand how-to-blogs and watching videos, I decided to be a big girl and just do it. I think this was for the best because it hurt last night and I found myself upset with Alex because he's the one that gave it to me (bless his heart). I think it's best for our marriage if I give myself as many of these as possible. LOL

It didn't even hurt...I am so proud of myself. To many this is no big deal but you simply don't understand my massive fear of needles. This is SUCH a big deal! :) To celebrate, Alex took me to Cheeburger-Cheeburger and now all is right with the world...for at least a few more weeks anyway.

It's going to be a long 6 weeks...

Alex gave me my first shot--------->I didn't like it.

I know...I'm a baby.

Finally...

Look what fed ex just dropped off....



my medications!!!

So we start tonight! It's one day later than what we had planned (thanks to insurance) but that's okay. I have to have the shots between 6-8 every evening so I guess we'll take a quick break from home group this evening for Alex to give me my shot.

I'm going to get around and take this box full of goodies into my doc's office (per their instructions) so they can make sense of it for me. I can't believe we're finally to this point...seems like it has taken forever. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. :)

Love you all,
Jill

IVF cycle #1 Protocol...

Well, after a night of no sleep (for me, not Alex) due to nerves about today...we arrived at the doctor's office at 8:30 this morning. Alex went back first to 'take care of business' and then they took us back together for the IVF class.

The IVF Coordinator was a hoot, really calmed my nerves and was very reassuring that this is going to work. She showed me what all of the shots looked like. The SubQ shots didn't look too bad, the IM...not looking forward to those at all. I'll just remind myself everytime Alex sticks me that this is for our baby! Alex was very confident in his shot giving skills...I believe he compared it to giving Diesel (our English Mastiff) his shots. The nurse just reminded him not to grab me up by the neck like he does the dog...takes a little more finesse than that. (LOL) Do you understand why I'm fearful of the shots now? :)

After an hour or so in class, we signed a bunch of paperwork (reminded us of when we bought our home...lots of initial here, sign there...) and then we both had blood drawn for a few tests that our last clinic didn't run.

Then....on to the mock transfer. All I will say is, it hurt. It reminded me a lot of when I had my HSG. I'm actually still feeling cramps from it and it has been close to 8 hours since I had it done. I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow though.

Now for our IVF cycle #1 protocol: (of course any of these can change a day here or a day there depending upon how my body responds to the drugs)
March 9th - Start birth control
April 8th - Start Lupron injections
April 12th - End birth control/continue Lupron injections
April 21st - Continue Lupron & add Follistim injections
April 29th - Ovidrel injection
May 1st - Egg Retrieval
May 2nd - Progesterone shots begin
May 4th - Potential day 3 transfer (or)
May 6th - Potential day 5 transfer
Start Estrogen patches on transfer day and continue Progesterone shots...
Pregnancy test (2 weeks from retrieval)

*We should know if we are pregnant the week of Mother's Day*

Side note: Pray our insurance gets their act together...I won't go into it all but they are fighting us on paying for anything AGAIN. We heard this today after getting home from our appointment, so honestly it took my excitement away about the entire process. I'm scared to get my hopes up and then be let down if they come back and say they won't pay and we have to cancel the cycle. Please pray this is resolved so our mail order pharmacy can send me my meds in time to start on the 8th.

Love you all,
Jill