What's Going On?

AF showed unexpectedly last week. The reason I say "unexpected" is because it was only a 18 day cycle. I haven't had one that short since just before we went in for our IVF consultation in March. My last AF seemed weird in the sense that it was brown (sorry too much information) rather than the usual red. I just figured it was only the second AF after a failed IVF cycle, so my body is probably struggling to get back to pre-IVF.
With this short 18 day cycle, I decided to call my dr's office last week to see if this strange occurence was due to my body still trying to get back to normal or if it was due to my body adjusting to the Metformin. Unfortunately, he was out of town at an IVF conference and wouldn't be back until this week. In the meantime I did speak with one of his medical assistants who had relayed my concerns to him. She called back to tell me that he wasn't concerned, that I should continue the Metformin, and that he would call me today. She wasn't clear about what he wanted to speak with me about, so I'm a little anxious to receive his call.
In the meantime, I've been focused mainly on the upcoming school year, trying to prepare my classroom. I've also been trying to be more mindful of my diet. It's weird. Lately, I've been craving fruits and vegetables. Maybe it's all the information I've been reading in the Infertility Cure.
Well I just heard back from the dr. He said that I may have just ovulated prematurely. Although an 18 day cycle may seem unusual, he said that my follicular phase is just changing. So if that's the case then I ovulated some time between the 4th or 6th day of my cycle. I didn't know that was possible and if I'm ovulating that early is that a good thing? I was under the impression that you don't want to ovulate too early as the egg is not fully mature. He just advised me to keep taking the Metformin and watch my cycle. It doesn't sound too proactive...

Resting...

I called the dr's office on Monday to let them know this last cycle was a bust and that the Metformin extended release was making me nauseated. Loreen was quick to tell me they could fit me in for an u/s to do another medicated IUI this cycle. With the start of school at the end of this month and a workshop that I need to attend a week and a half before school starts, I figured it would be too stressful for me, so I told her that I would rest this cycle. Also considering that IUIs will no longer be covered by insurance due to our change in insurance plans, even more so, I think we'll be taking a long break from infertility treatments.

Since she said we'll still be trying to conceive on our own, they're leaving me on Metformin for now at 500mg (down from 1000mg) because it's making me nauseated. I'm still reading The Infertility Cure hoping to find some answers, hope, and of course something new to try. It's pretty interesting. According to what I've read so far, I am indeed imbalanced in many areas. It's also a little depressing, but at least helps me understand the underlying possible reasons as to why we haven't been successful on our own and with the aide of infertility treatments. We'll see if what I learn and apply really helps.

The nausea has really hindered a lot of things this week. I was hoping to really get on a consistent exercise schedule, but was only able to exercise a couple of days. Now that I'm feeling a better, I'll try to exercise more regularly. I have yet to try to fit into something that was getting snug, but physically I'm feeling better, so that's a plus. Motivation to keep plugging away.

No Such Luck

Well, AF arrived this morning. So that tells me that although the Femara/Metformin and double IUI combination didn't work this cycle, the Metformin did help to lengthen my LP and prevented me from experiencing pre-AF spotting like I normally do. Always need to look on the bright side. Another positive is that I can carry and lift normally in comparison to if I was pregnant which will be helpful as I get ready for the new school year to start. I can get my classroom ready without worrying if I'm overdoing it.

Ryan just moved my workout equipment into the house so that's my cue to start working out. Over the past few months I've really gained some weight and it's making me a little depressed (I know pretty shallow) because I feel sluggish and can't fit into my clothes. If this cycle had turned out positive of course gaining weight and feeling like crap would've all been worth it.

I'm on day 11 of Metformin extended release and 2 days into the increased dosage from 500mg to 1000mg. I have to admit I think I've felt more side effects quicker with this form than with the regular Metformin. Maybe it could be my diet and lack of exercise that is probably adding to the crappy way I've been feeling. I haven't exactly been an angel as far as watching what I've been eating.

So it looks like today marks the start of a new beginning to take better care of myself especially since we've finally settled into our new home, and we're both starting off new jobs. Maybe this is the fresh start we've been looking for to kick everything off!

The 2 Week Wait

Well, yesterday by far was the worst that I have felt in comparison to all the medicated cycles I've been through in the past 8 years. I woke up yesterday morning feeling really hungry but really nauseated if that's even possible. I didn't think so until yesterday. I tried throwing up hoping it would alleviate the nausea, but no dice. All I did was dry heave several times over the course of a couple of hours. Poor Ryan. I had hoped and planned to make him pancakes for breakfast provided I wasn't nauseous. Of course things didn't go as planned and he had to settle for Honey Nut Cheerios. I tried eating a little cereal myself, but it only made me feel worse. After waiting an hour, I remembered that dry toast is supposed to be good for an upset or nauseous stomach. So I tried it and managed to finish it, hold it down, and eat another one right after. As the day progressed, I felt better. I still felt nauseous throughout the day and evening, but as long as I ate or drank something, the nausea passed.

I finally caved and called Loreen to ask for a prescription for the extended release Metformin. She advised me to take it once a day for 8 days and then twice a day thereafter just to see how my body reacts to it. So I decided to just take one regular Metformin yesterday instead of two, and then just start the extended release today. My little science experiment proved that the Metformin was causing my headaches and nausea because this morning I felt great. I woke up early and starving. So I decided to make Ryan pancakes this morning. No nausea or headache. Heaven. I was able to go about my day and get a lot done.

The 2 week wait is going by pretty quickly. It'll be one week tomorrow since the first IUI. Just one more week to go. Symptoms...some yellow discharge the past couple of days, fatigue (which could be due to the Metformin), and breast tenderness this afternoon. Other than that, nothing else to report. Still keeping our fingers crossed.

Second One To Seal The Deal

This morning wasn't any different than yesterday. I still didn't feel well at all. I felt nauseated and tired. Bleck! If the Metformin does the trick this cycle, it'll be well worth the torture. I let Loreen know about my nausea when we went for our second IUI and she said to give it to the end of next week and if I still feel sick to let them know. Then they'll prescribe the extended release Metformin.
The second IUI went well. Dh's count was 66 million today. Not bad for the second day. This morning I had experienced some reddish brown discharge which kind of looked like just before AF starts. I mentioned it to the nurse and she said it's probably from yesterday's IUI and my bladder infection that could have caused it. She didn't seem concerned. I had also experienced some cramping throughout the day. The sharp pains shoot from my cervix to my hip area and sometimes to my rear. I'm not sure what that's about.
Well now the two week wait begins...hopefully time flies by quickly.

Sick

Today's IUI went well. Ryan's count was 74 million which is higher than the previous IUIs we had done this year. It looked like a lot as we watched the strongest group of swimmers get loaded into my uterus. I tried to stay horizontal for as long as possible. Before I finally fell asleep this afternoon, I started feeling some pinching and cramping on the right side. I'm thinking maybe it was my egg releasing. Hopefully this group of swimmers or tomorrow's group meet up and get cozy.
After waking up from my nap, I didn't feel so well. I woke up with a headache and felt nauseated. After a while, I finally decided to take a shower, hoping it would make me feel better. Even before I could get in the shower the nausea intensified and I tried to throw up hoping that would make me feel better. Nothing came out. Ugh. I'm thinking it's probably due to a combination of all the medication I'm on - the trigger shot, Metformin, and now due to a bladder infection, Macrobid. I feel horrible.

Triggering...

I didn't feel so well today. I'm not sure if it was because I went to sleep very late last night and the past week's non-stop moving in caught up with me, or if it was the Metformin, or maybe a combination of both. I was very tired, had a slight headache, and felt nauseated for most of the morning. I didn't think I was going to make it to my appointment with Dr. C this afternoon judging by the way I was feeling this morning. Surprisingly after taking a very short nap and eating lunch I felt better.

My ultrasound went well. I have one nice big follicle measuring at 21mm, so he said it looks like I'm ready for an IUI tomorrow. So Loreen administered the hcg trigger shot and I go back in tomorrow at 11am. I asked him if we were just doing one or two IUIs this cycle and he said we can do one more on Saturday. I'm hoping and praying that the combination of Femara, Metformin and back to back IUI's does the trick. I was a little concerned about doing the IUI so soon after the trigger shot. But thinking about the recent IUIs we did, maybe this might be better. We had done the IUIs after more time had passed. Maybe we missed it all those times and this time we'll catch it earlier. Just like after the IVF, I'm planning on staying horizontal for the next couple of days to give my egg and Ryan's swimmers as much of a chance as possible to meet up and get cozy.