10 progesterone shots down!

Today is 6dp3dt and I'm still hanging in there. I am now fighting the urge to pee on a stick. 

In the last few days my shots have been hurting a bit more and a bit more. We switch sides everyday but apparently 3-4 is the limit before pain. Thankfully my dear Dr. Lady studied up today and found a new spot right in the middle of my hip. 

Now I'll admit in thinking she is going to hit bone but I trust her. She made me laugh asking me where my (insert long medical term for a bone here) was.  I needed simpler terms.

It was much better so it looks like we have a spot for the next 6 days at least.

Status check

Today I'm sick, sinus stuff but I'm still functioning.  The girl sitting across from me in the waiting room sounds a little worse. 

I called the dr and asked what I could take, maybe she didn't. 

I'm hanging out waiting to do my progesterone check and they don't have me in the computer but thankfully I had my orders that said what I'm supposed to be doing.

3 days past 3 day transfer

Monday morning and I am at work. 


I just received the best news from one of my fertility friends who has struggled in a different way but we continue to hang together at least virtually since she is in a different state.  She has some excellent embryos on day 4!  Yay for her! :)


I am doing ok myself.  I do have a bit of a stuffy now which baffles me after the antibiotics I have had over the last week.  The bruise on my hand from the IV is almost gone and my arm is feeling much better!  The rear is still sore just from the daily injections but again I am so grateful they don't hurt like I thought they would.


So because of the daily progesterone injections I have all kinds of symptoms that I can not attribute to anything.  We will just have to wait and see.


I go Wednesday for bloodwork to check my estrogen levels and my progesterone levels.  Then I go back on 2/4 for the BIG TEST! 


I would love to keep this quit for fear of the last outcome but since our friends and family know what's going on that won't work!  So you will find out shortly after we do if this worked. 


Please keep the prayers coming because we need them!  I do have this awesome prayer blanket that Maria made me.  She and Caroline prayed over it before giving it to me last Thursday.  I have used it everyday and taken it to mom's house with me too.


BTW, Dad is doing great after his surgery!  He is up with his cane, walking and even got his stitches out, thanks Dr. Lady!  Their house is pretty entertaining with the dog and cat war.  The dog believes she is Dad's and that cat needs to stay away!  She follows dad everywhere, when he walks or goes to the bathroom, she is right there with him.  I think she is making sure he is ok which is very cute. :) 

And we are PUPO

Mom picked me up Friday and took me to UL, Kyle met us there.  We had to wait in the waiting room for a bit which is unusual but they told us they were full in the back. 


Of course I was squirming by the time we did get back there because I was supposed to show up with a full bladder and trust me it was! 




They took me directly to the op room instead of any prep which was again odd.  Mom got to sit above my head and Kyle by my side.  The Embryologist came out to talk about our embryos and said he was fine with placing three. 

When Dr. Bohler came in he said two or three but was leaning to two.  Kyle and I had already talked about it and said if we could do three we would.


So they put three in and using ultrasound to make sure they had them placed in just the right spot (the former dr just guessed!) 


So below is the US but taken from my phone which is hard to see.  I will replace it when I have time so you can really see the little embryos in there.

 Let's hope we can get one to stick, heck we will take two even. Let's not think about if all three stuck because, well... we will be taking donations and will need volunteer care takers!

The white arrow is pointing to them even though its hard to se.

So now I'll hang out with mom and dad while Kyle works. Mom is making some burgers for lunch, yum!

Status check

First, thanks to all my friends and family that have sent such nice notes to let us know you are thinking of us.

I am waiting on my ride (Dr. Lady), Kyle is going to meet us there. 

Dr. Christiansen called this morning to tell me we have 4 embryos left. 1- arrested :(, but we have 1- 9 cell, 2- 8 cells and 1-6 cell.  So now we have to determine is we put 2 or 3 back in... Decisions, descisions. 

Over Stimulation?

I have been pretty darn miserable for the last 24 hours. I thought things would get better after Retreival only that is when the bloating set in. They say it is a retention of fluid and swollen ovaries. I have read and done just about everything I found.

I ate a potato for dinner with nuts and a banana. I drank two bottles of water and 32 oz of powerade. 

I do feel a bit better this morning but we  will see how the day progresses.

The sore rear kicked in last night too from the progesterone shots. I tossed and turned to get off of it.

I have to remind myself if this works, correction, when this works it will be so worth it!

Happy Thursday, tomorrow we pick up the kids and start the 2ww.

Embryos

Dr. Christensen, the Embryologist, called this morning.  We had 10 eggs, 7 of which were immediately mature then another 1 that matured after retrieval.  8 eggs were fertilized using ICSI.  Out of those 8 we have 5 normal embryos.


Transfer has been scheduled for Friday @ 10:30.  Instructions were to have a full bladder, bring my valium, eat breakfast and make sure I continue my progesterone injections.


I asked how many embryos he thought they would transfer.  He spouted off some national something or other says a woman at the age of 35 should transfer 2 or 3.  He said normally they would look at the qualify of the embryos to determine how many to transfer but since we had been through this before depending on the quality they may very well transfer 3.  We will discuss it Friday.

Progesterone

I had worked myself up about this giant shot of oil in my hip. So much so that while I was trying to decide if I was going to try it myself or drive to moms I started to tear up.

So Kyle drove me to moms. She measured it out, changed the needle and had me lay on my side.

She felt my hip bone, lined it up... Meanwhile I was trying to relax my hip but gritting my teeth at the same time.

I actually didn't know she was finished. It didn't hurt at all. I immediately started crying. I knew I was worked up about it but wow.

She recommended that I not attempt this shot myself because I won't be able to hit the right spot.

Thanks to Dr. Lady RN for being so absolutely talented with a needle! She is the best!

Back home where husband made excellent dinner.

Post ER

I've been home for a while now but I am sore and I was tired. I had a nap and watched a movie.

When they moved me into the operating room (for lack of a better term), the anesthesiologist started pumping sleepy drugs and said it should burn but it didn't. I told her it was a lot of pressure. She asked if I was feeling the effects and I said no. She lifted the blanket in my arm to see my IV had infiltrated? Basically all that fluid was trapped in my arm and it was super fat.  She had to start another IV and the only vein she could get was the one in my hand which she asked if I was going to be mad. I told her only for a few minutes until I fell asleep. Lol I'm so funny. 

So next thing you know I'm in recovery. Kyle told me we have 10 eggs. 

The doctors at UL are really awesome and thorough! Each one came to speak with us and make sure we were well aware of the process, side effects and follow up. 

As for my arm it is still swollen and tight, they say it will go down but not so far.

The embryologist will call tomorrow morning to let us know how many babies we have and their grades.

I'm hanging out on the couch and relaxing at least until I have to take my progesterone shot. I can say I've been through a lot of poking today so maybe it won't be so bad.

ER prep

We arrived at ul at 6:45. I changed and got weighed and measured. They took my vitals and started my IV. That part was a challenge but my nurse Carol did a great job!

I am now hanging out and waiting for the show to begin while Kyle tries to nap in the corner.

Retrieval Tomorrow

Friday, after much snow, traffic issues I went to the Dr for my check up.  I had an ultra sound to count the follicles and measure them.  At the time I had 5 over 10cm on my right ovary and 4 over 10cm on my left ovary.  The rest they just count and take pictures.  I also did blood work which came back good I guess.


The coordinator called that afternoon to tell me my retrieval will be Tuesday at 8am.  I need to arrive by 7am and go to Yvonne's office.  I shouldn't wear any make-up or jewelry (why do they care if I have on make-up?)  I was a bit nervous that retrieval was so soon, I had calculated it to be more like Thursday.  But if your follicles grow 2cm per day then I should have most above 18cm which is perfect. 


Friday and Saturday I added the ganarellix to my  usual injections to make a total of 3 per day.  Sunday I did my trigger ovadril shot at 8.  That is another thing, why do they send you two pre-filled needles with the same thing?  Why don't they just send you one so you don't have to poke yourself twice? 


So tonight will be my last meal, no food after midnight.  I am a bit nervous but not really about the retrieval because I know I will be pretty much asleep for it all and wont feel a thing but for the progesterone oil shots that will follow.  UGH!


I recruited my wonderful nurse mother to be the first to stab me.  I have heard so many ouch stories about this stuff and the after effect that I am not at all excited! It apparently leaves a knot under the skin of the oil and they recommend using a heating pad to relieve the soreness and dissolve the knot.


Needless to say, keep praying.  I can't believe we are at the end of another IVF cycle already, feels like it just started!

Side Effects

Today will be day 4 of injections.  Thus far I am so tired and feeling bloated.  I like to think that is why my pants are tight but I'm not sure that is a true fact. lol


The shots were a bit complicated at first, getting all of the moving parts together to mix each medication and changing needles.  I only messed it up once and it wasn't serious, I just forgot to draw the meds up in the Q-cap before changing to the needle.


Other than my extreme fatigue I feel good and I'm counting down the days to Friday.  I am a little paranoid that the dosage of 375 Gonal - F is going to cause massive follicles and make me sick but on the bright side I will have lots of eggs!


I need prayers today for Dad as he has back surgery.  I'm worried about him but I have to keep telling myself that he will be fine with mom by his side.

First injections

We had such a wonderful weekend with our family and our new Godson!

Tonight was my first injection of menopur and gonal-f. Both had to be mixed first and then they both seemed like a lot of liquid being injected but it was fine.

Husband did try to help but he just couldn't watch me stab myself. Still it was nice that he helped me :)

The mule arrived...

Want to know what $4200 looks like in drugs? Here you go.

I also checked out the size of these progesterone intramuscular needles...ugh! Not a happy girl right now.

Pharmacy

When the phone rang and I saw it was the pharmacy I was a little excited only to hear the total was just shy of $6,000!  WHAT?!  I felt my heart race, my eyes tear up and panic set in.


After taking some much needed deep breaths, I was able to ask questions to figure out why things were so high.  The majority of the cost was one drug Gonal-F which the doctor ordered 8 of at $444.00 each!  Then there was $800 for Menopur!  The progesterone shots I asked her to check with insurance again because they should be covered since they would be supporting a pregnancy post transfer.


I hung up with her and called the doctor to ask if I absolutely would use every drop of this medication.  She responded with, well maybe not.  She said, "I know it's sticker shock".  I said, "it's not sticker shock it is bank shock"!  She told me I could cut the Gonal-F back to 6 and get every last drop out of every vial and cut the Menopur back as well.


The Progesterone was covered by insurance and ended up costing me $23.00. 


So the grand total that I had to jump through hoops to get the bank to let go through was $4200.


I feel as though I have just been taken to the cleaners and then some, so much for that money we thought would pay for multiple cycle drugs.


Oh and a side note:  I tried looking for the drugs internationally and found them in Canada about 1,000 cheaper but they would arrive at 14-28 days... not gonna work!

Waiting...

Kyle and I have now signed another portion of our life away.  All of our financial paperwork has been sent in and I spoke with the pharmacy and gave them money too.


The pharmacy called to run down my list of meds with me but wouldn't give me a copy (strange).

Multi-Dose Gonal-F Injections - 450 - 8vials

Menopur Injections - 10 vials

Cetrotide Injections - 5

Ovidrel Injections - 1

Crinone gel - ?

Progesterone in Oil Injection - ?

Valium - 2

Tylenol 3 - 25

Doxycycline - 12

I have not heard the grand total on this one yet but I'm sure it's going to hurt, just like those stinking shots are going to hurt! But I keep telling myself that if this works it will all be worth it! 

Meds start Sunday (2 injections)...

Benchmark Appointment

I had a nice long vacation through December.  We just put all this stuff out of mind until the week of Christmas which is when I had to schedule my appointments.


Today I will be at UofL for three appointments.  I guess it is better to get it all out of the way at the same time instead of having to trek downtown every other day.


First I will have my ultrasound where they will map my uterus and where things are.  My ovaries should be nice and "quiet" as they call it.  They will actually measure things to make sure when it comes time to transfer embryos that there is no complication and they can place them in just the right spot.  In simple terms, this just means for an uncomfortable afternoon for me but I will make the best of it.  I did bring the IPad to play games :)


For today's mapping I have to have a full bladder which includes 40oz of water!  These people are nuts!  I have had a cup of tea and about 8 oz of water this morning and have to pee already!  UGH!


The next appointment is for my blood work, they will be checking all of my hormone levels.


Then I will have my final appointment with my Coordinator Yvonne where I get my schedule of events.  I should know lots more after today.


I do know they are in the process of ordering my meds and I will start those "awesome" (sarcasm) injections on Sunday!


It is kind of unreal to think we are right back where we started but I do have a sense of comfort this time around since we know what to expect and we have that nice, partial money back guarantee.