Friday, February 24, 2006
The stims are not going nearly as well as the Lupr0n injections did. They burn… and today I hit a little vain and started to bleed. I have nicked myself with a Lupr0n needle resulting in a teeny tiny little drop - this was different, and a little freaky, and will probably result in a bruise.
Between the period bloat and the crazy drugs I have running through my system I have manage to outgrow virtually all of my clothes in a week. I know it is only going to get worse and I pray that I can find SOMETHING in my closet at the end of next week that still fits and is appropriate attire for my professional day job. The infertile sweatpants- they just will not cut it!
So far I really haven’t had any side effects unless you count hot flashes and exhaustion. I have stopped drinking my two glasses of red wine a night and have started mixing my coffee in the morning – half decaf and half regular. I know that some of you continue to live life just like normal and I respect that – it just does not work for me. I am too much of a worrywart and need to know that if this fails it was not because I had a glass of wine with dinner on day 6 of stims or two cups of coffee on the morning of day 8 (in my heart I know that none of that really matters – but I just CANT). Husband always says “paranoia will destroy ya” but in this case I just HAVE to be paranoid.
I am approximately one week from retrieval – wow!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
We are off and running. I went in for my day two ultrasound and blood work this morning on my way into work. The ultrasound looked great and I am completely cyst free. As long as the blood work comes back okay I will start stims bright and early tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will remember how to reconstitute the drugs. I can’t believe that I am now less than two weeks from retrieval. This whole process is moving so fast!
Last Wednesday I had my mock transfer and my SHG. Dr. Funny said that my transfer was picture perfect and he expects absolutely no problems when it comes to the real thing. The SHG also went well and was nowhere near as horrible as the HSG from hell that I had in October of 2004. No polyps or fibroids were visible and Dr. Funny was happy with what he saw.
I have made it through nine injections and have managed to bruise myself only once! I am pretty proud of this because I bruise very, very easy. Here’s hoping that I can be as successful once I move to three injections a day.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I sent Husband an email this afternoon requesting that we spend our Valentine’s night cuddling on the couch in our pajamas munching on sushi, drinking a nice bottle of wine and watching a good sappy chick-flick. I got my wish, plus this!
My husband rocks in case you were wondering. I managed another shot all by myself tonight and tomorrow is my SHG and mock transfer. I am not looking forward to having to hold 32 ounces in my little bladder for an hour.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Tonight was the first night that I had to rush home from work to shoot up - 10 units of Lupr0n in my left hip. I have been having really bad dreams about the injections and have woken (waked? UGH I hate that word) up in a cold sweat on more than one occasion. I rushed to be home by 6:45 so that I would have at least 15 minutes to psych myself up. I walked through the door and loaded up the instructional CD in my laptop. I reviewed the SQ injection video and upstairs we went. Husband came along for moral support. We had originally thought that he was going to give me all of my shots, but I decided at the last minute that I would rather do these myself. After five minutes of prep I was sitting on the toilet, syringe in right hand and a chunk of chub in my left (thank goodness I have put on 15 pounds since I quit smoking), two deep breaths and off I went. And - it did not hurt. It did not sting. I do not yet have a bruise. I think I might be okay. We will see how the PIO shots go, but at least for the time being I am off and running!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
So $3000 worth of drugs were sitting on my front porch when I arrived home from work. Funny, if it were a new TV or computer I never would have left it sitting out in the cold and the dark unattended, but for some reason I didn't even think twice about waiving the signature on a mints worth of drugs. Can you guess my protocol?
Tired of thinking?
Here it goes:
10 units of Lupron starting Monday and running through at least day 6 of my IVF cycle.
150 IU of Brave*ll in the morning starting on day 2 of my IVF cycle
150 IU of Men0pur in the evening starting on day 2 of my IVF cycle
Today I completed the obligatory pre-ivf pap and pelvic and of course... they weighed me. For the record I weigh 147.5 lbs pre-IVF meds. I know it sounds vein but I am VERY scared of what that number will be in a month.
I am enjoying my last week of being able to drink alcohol and coffee and I am sure to force Husband to take me out for sushi this weekend... just in case.
And... before I sign off I offer you proof that I. Am. Just. That. Anal. Witness - the guest bathroom...
Yes, that is my protocol taped to the mirror, and those are sticky notes to remind me when to inject what. There is no hope for me.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
I spent Friday morning at the RE's office and am now completely overwhelmed. The appointment started at 8:00 am in the embryologist’s office. He took a short medical history from Husband and explained the technical mumbo-jumbo that is IVF. He walked us through the entire process from retrieval to transfer. He explained three day and five day transfers and why he prefers five. He is very hands on and I like him... even if it is hard to understand him through his thick Spanish accent (I shall now refer to him as Dr. Accent). I always liked science as a kid and I am glad that he didn't dumb it down too much.
The next appointment was with one of the members of the IVF team. She was spunky and a smart-ass and Husband immediately took to her. She walked us through my treatment plan and did the injection training. Why, why, why do they force us to reconstitute our own drugs? BAH! I am not too afraid of the Lupron/Menopur/Bravelle needle, but that PIO needle HOLY SHIT! I am not looking forward to that. Husband is planning to do most of my shots for me, but I will be doing the mixing. It is hard to believe that I will start shooting up in one week.
Our final appointment was with the financial counselor. Helpful, she wasn't. She informed us that we have no insurance coverage (duh), that UHC was not helpful (double duh), and that I owed her $1003 for today's services. After she was done collecting the money she walked us through the rest of the cycle and how much it is going to cost. I wasn't too surprised but the number still makes me want to choke.
I have to have an annual pap this week and hopefully they will get the mock transfer scheduled soon. I may have to go to a different office for the mock transfer because Dr. Funny's schedule is filling up at the office I go to.
Husband had a SA done Friday by Dr. Accent and he called first thing this morning with the results. In his words, everything was perfect! He has no doubt that he can get my eggs to fertilize spontaneously and did not think that ICSI would be necessary. Looks like we are starting this cycle out on the right foot – I hope things continue to be “perfect”.
So that catches us up on the past week. I am sure that things are going to get more interesting as the days progress and I will be sure to keep you posted.
