I suppose my e2 numbers are starting to stabilize or slow down to an acceptable amount. I went in for my blood test this morning and Loreen called this afternoon to give me instructions for tonight and tomorrow morning. I need to take one vial of Menopur tonight, and then tomorrow morning 5 units of Lupron and 1 vial of Gonal-F just as I did last night and this morning. I'm really dreading the Menopur injection because last night's injection was painful. About half way through the injection, I wanted to stop all together and pull it out because it was burning. I was actually sweating...pretty pathetic. The one bright spot in this is now that my dosages have been reduced, I notice that I'm not as tired. So it was probably the Gonal-F making me tired.
Tomorrow is another day closer to egg retrieval. Hooray! Hopefully the dr will be able to give me a better idea of when we'll do it. I'm scheduled tomorrow morning for another blood test and ultrasound. Grow folllies grow! Grow big and healthy!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
They're Growing...
I just got back from my latest e2 bloodwork and ultrasound appointments. I won't know about the bloodwork until probably this afternoon. The ultrasound went well. The numbers are fluctuating again. This time I had 11 follicles on the right ovary and 7 follicles on the left. It looks like there were about 8 lead follicles total. The largest ones are now at 14mm, 10mm, and 9mm. It was pretty neat to see more than one big follicle on the screen. I'm not used to that. Unfortunately, the egg retrieval date is still up in the air until possibly Monday when I go back for another blood test and ultrasound. Loreen thinks it may be one day earlier than tentatively planned if my follicles continue to grow as they are right now, but of course she said you never can tell.
I'm finally and thankfully getting the hang of all my injections (Lupron, Gonal-F and Menopur). Mixing them, getting the air bubbles out, and actually giving myself the shot isn't as intimidating as it used to be. Last night was the first time I gave myself the Menopur shot. It's mixed the same as the Gonal-F, the only difference is that it burned as I was injecting it and for about 5-10 minutes afterward.
It looks like my e2 levels have jumped up quickly, so my dosage has been reduced to 1 Menopur vial tonight and only 1 Gonal-F in addition to 5 units of Lupron tomorrow morning. Instead of waiting until Monday morning for my blood test, I need to go back again tomorrow to test. Hopefully this isn't cause for alarm and everything will still be on track.
I'm finally and thankfully getting the hang of all my injections (Lupron, Gonal-F and Menopur). Mixing them, getting the air bubbles out, and actually giving myself the shot isn't as intimidating as it used to be. Last night was the first time I gave myself the Menopur shot. It's mixed the same as the Gonal-F, the only difference is that it burned as I was injecting it and for about 5-10 minutes afterward.
It looks like my e2 levels have jumped up quickly, so my dosage has been reduced to 1 Menopur vial tonight and only 1 Gonal-F in addition to 5 units of Lupron tomorrow morning. Instead of waiting until Monday morning for my blood test, I need to go back again tomorrow to test. Hopefully this isn't cause for alarm and everything will still be on track.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I've been getting the hang of mixing and administering the Gonal-f shots in the morning and evening. For some odd reason, the evening shots are more uncomfortable. I've been doing exactly the same thing - icing up before, pinching all the way through, and pushing the plunger slowly. The only difference is the dosage, so maybe that's why.
Today was my cd3 estradiol blood test and baseline ultrasound. The ultrasound showed about 7-9 follicles on each side. I felt a little crampy before the ultrasound and felt crampier afterward. As the afternoon progressed, the cramping subsided and I grew tired. Luckily, I managed to get in a short cat nap before Ryan called with news on the progress of our house. I wish I were there with him. Just 23 more days until I can hopefully fly home.
Loreen just called with the dosages for the tonight through Saturday morning when I go in for my next estradiol blood test and ultrasound. One vial of Gonal-f tonight, 5 units of Lupron and 2 vials of Gonal-f tomorrow morning, one vial of Menopur tomorrow night, 5 units of Lupron and 2 vials of Gonal-f Saturday morning. I'm assuming the bloodwork came back okay. I'm wondering what the change from Gonal-f to Menopur means for tomorrow night. We'll see...
Today was my cd3 estradiol blood test and baseline ultrasound. The ultrasound showed about 7-9 follicles on each side. I felt a little crampy before the ultrasound and felt crampier afterward. As the afternoon progressed, the cramping subsided and I grew tired. Luckily, I managed to get in a short cat nap before Ryan called with news on the progress of our house. I wish I were there with him. Just 23 more days until I can hopefully fly home.
Loreen just called with the dosages for the tonight through Saturday morning when I go in for my next estradiol blood test and ultrasound. One vial of Gonal-f tonight, 5 units of Lupron and 2 vials of Gonal-f tomorrow morning, one vial of Menopur tomorrow night, 5 units of Lupron and 2 vials of Gonal-f Saturday morning. I'm assuming the bloodwork came back okay. I'm wondering what the change from Gonal-f to Menopur means for tomorrow night. We'll see...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
On Your Mark..Get Set..Grow!
Well today marks the first day of stims (Gonal-F) and a smaller dose of Lupron (5 units). While the Lupron shots are smaller and require less preparation, I definitely feel it more probably because there's less fat on the top of my thighs. The Gonal-F took me about 20 minutes to prepare and administer. There were a lot of steps and switching of needles. I liked that I had a much easier time taking out air bubbles than the Lupron shots and I didn't feel a thing. Having a little muffin top around the waist area definitely helps with these shots. No pain and no blood. I hope this will be an everyday thing and not like the Lupron where it was only great the first time. We'll see how it goes tonight when I give myself the second dose.
It's 7:15am and I've been up for a little over an hour. I'm already starting to feel tired. How pathetic is that?! It's weird. I'm tired throughout the day and evening, but when it's time to go to bed, I have the worst time trying to fall asleep. I'm beside myself. I haven't done yoga in days. Maybe I should try it this morning after my walk and see if it helps tonight.
It's 7:15am and I've been up for a little over an hour. I'm already starting to feel tired. How pathetic is that?! It's weird. I'm tired throughout the day and evening, but when it's time to go to bed, I have the worst time trying to fall asleep. I'm beside myself. I haven't done yoga in days. Maybe I should try it this morning after my walk and see if it helps tonight.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Bad Day
I'm still not feeling up to par. I wish I could sleep through the night without waking up to use the bathroom. Could this be practice for what's to come when I do get pregnant? It's only 8:30am and I feel tired, light headed, and I have a mild headache. At least this morning's Lupron shot didn't ooze out. I think when it does that, that must mean I'm injecting the medicine in too quickly. I didn't slower today and there wasn't any oozing of medicine or blood.
It's now 6:41pm, I'm exhausted, VERY irritable, cranky, and have a headache. I hate this feeling. I went in for my second injection lesson this afternoon. My bloodwork from yesterday came back great, so everything is on track. I'm scheduled to start 225iu of Gonal-f tomorrow. So 5 units of Lupron and 150iu of Gonal-f in the morning and 75iu of Gonal-f at night. All I can say is thank goodness for belly fat. I've always hated it until now. Without it, I would have nothing to pinch and poke. So at least it's good for something.
It's now 6:41pm, I'm exhausted, VERY irritable, cranky, and have a headache. I hate this feeling. I went in for my second injection lesson this afternoon. My bloodwork from yesterday came back great, so everything is on track. I'm scheduled to start 225iu of Gonal-f tomorrow. So 5 units of Lupron and 150iu of Gonal-f in the morning and 75iu of Gonal-f at night. All I can say is thank goodness for belly fat. I've always hated it until now. Without it, I would have nothing to pinch and poke. So at least it's good for something.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sick
AF arrived this morning..as expected (I think) as I'm supposed to start stimulation shots on Tuesday. This morning I went in for my e2 bloodwork and tomorrow I go in for instructions on the next set of shots (gonal-f and menopur). I'm not really looking forward to giving myself more shots. Hopefully my blood results are on track and we can continue on.
I don't understand why, but this afternoon I felt dizzy and nauseous. It kind of felt like what I think vertigo might feel like. When I turned my head to the left, the room just started spinning and wouldn't stop. I tried lying down to see if it would help but it didn't. So I thought I would try turning over to the right and I was still dizzy. I felt so nauseous that I ended up trying to make myself throw up hoping I might feel better. Thankfully, I wasn't able to throw up and after taking a shower, I felt better. Maybe everything is catching up with me...lack of a good night's sleep, side effects from the medications, pms, and not eating very well today.
I don't understand why, but this afternoon I felt dizzy and nauseous. It kind of felt like what I think vertigo might feel like. When I turned my head to the left, the room just started spinning and wouldn't stop. I tried lying down to see if it would help but it didn't. So I thought I would try turning over to the right and I was still dizzy. I felt so nauseous that I ended up trying to make myself throw up hoping I might feel better. Thankfully, I wasn't able to throw up and after taking a shower, I felt better. Maybe everything is catching up with me...lack of a good night's sleep, side effects from the medications, pms, and not eating very well today.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Numb
I guess "numb" is the right title for this entry. That's how I feel so far after the medication I've been taking, the waiting, and thinking about everything that's going on.
I'm thankful to be finished with both the Desogen and Doxycycline this week. Two less things to schedule into my day and make sure I take, and hopefully less side effects to experience..at least until I start taking the next round of meds - Gonal F and Menopur. Yesterday I felt so weak and exhausted by about 12:30, I could hardly even lift my arms up to read a book lying down. I slept for about an hour and a half which is rare for me. I rarely take naps. It's a childhood thing. I always fought taking naps because I thought I would miss out on something while I was sleeping or that it was a waste of time.
I'm happy that in approximately 14 days Ryan will be coming and hopefully the next day we will finally do the egg retrieval. These last 4 months have been rough being apart. Prior to this year, we've never been apart for more than 3 weeks in the entire almost 18 years we've been together. He just said last night that he can't wait to come because he's kind of lonely. Even though I'm with my family, I feel lonely too.
Our house is almost completely built. I'm bummed that I'm not there physically to see the completion or to help Ryan with the move at the end of the month. Poor guy has so much on his shoulders right now. I'm thankful that he's such a good husband and partner, that he's willing to do so much without grumbling or stressing me out. I can't wait to go home and for it to be just the two of us again (or maybe the three, four or five us).
Thinking about everything that's happening all at the same time (i.e. IVF, moving in, and starting my new job), a part of me starts to think pessimistically about whether this is going to work. But then there's the other part of me that says remember when everything was timed so perfectly with the IUI's and it didn't work. Maybe with all these things "colliding" at the same time, it will finally work for us. I guess that's the closest thing I can come to being optimistic. In the end, all I can believe is if it is meant for us to be parents, we will be, and if it's not, I would rather have a wonderful husband without kids, than be in an unhappy relationship with all the kids I could ever want. I suppose in my reflection, I'm focusing on a destiny that is ultimately happy and satisfying.
I'm thankful to be finished with both the Desogen and Doxycycline this week. Two less things to schedule into my day and make sure I take, and hopefully less side effects to experience..at least until I start taking the next round of meds - Gonal F and Menopur. Yesterday I felt so weak and exhausted by about 12:30, I could hardly even lift my arms up to read a book lying down. I slept for about an hour and a half which is rare for me. I rarely take naps. It's a childhood thing. I always fought taking naps because I thought I would miss out on something while I was sleeping or that it was a waste of time.
I'm happy that in approximately 14 days Ryan will be coming and hopefully the next day we will finally do the egg retrieval. These last 4 months have been rough being apart. Prior to this year, we've never been apart for more than 3 weeks in the entire almost 18 years we've been together. He just said last night that he can't wait to come because he's kind of lonely. Even though I'm with my family, I feel lonely too.
Our house is almost completely built. I'm bummed that I'm not there physically to see the completion or to help Ryan with the move at the end of the month. Poor guy has so much on his shoulders right now. I'm thankful that he's such a good husband and partner, that he's willing to do so much without grumbling or stressing me out. I can't wait to go home and for it to be just the two of us again (or maybe the three, four or five us).
Thinking about everything that's happening all at the same time (i.e. IVF, moving in, and starting my new job), a part of me starts to think pessimistically about whether this is going to work. But then there's the other part of me that says remember when everything was timed so perfectly with the IUI's and it didn't work. Maybe with all these things "colliding" at the same time, it will finally work for us. I guess that's the closest thing I can come to being optimistic. In the end, all I can believe is if it is meant for us to be parents, we will be, and if it's not, I would rather have a wonderful husband without kids, than be in an unhappy relationship with all the kids I could ever want. I suppose in my reflection, I'm focusing on a destiny that is ultimately happy and satisfying.
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