Archive for the ‘IVF Journey’ Category

IVF Shots Day 10 – Stim Day 1

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Shelton and I had a conversation tonight in which we were discussing the next few weeks of our IVF. I said something to the effect of “we’ll be pregnant in a few weeks.” And his response was that it’s really odd to be able to say that. Like “oh, no big deal, on this day we’ll be pregnant.” WHO SAYS THAT?!?! People doing IVF do. Just a reminder of the bizarre little journey we’re on.

This morning I had an appointment at the clinic to do my first sonogram and blood work to check my estrogen levels. I was told if I didn’t get a phone call from “M” then everything looked fine. In other words, no news is good news. We did not get a phone call today! My sonogram took just a minute and the tech/nurse told me that my endometrium layer looked exactly as it should. So we’re progressing the way that we should be. Yay!

Today we had one of those moments that confirmed my reasons for thinking Dr. T is fantastic and how happy I am that we found our way to him. We were not scheduled to see him this morning, yet during our walk from the lab to the waiting room he stopped us to check in. I’ve never had a doctor who just stops to see how you are doing. He asked Shelton about his surgery and how that went, how he’s doing now. He asked me where I was in my shots, how I’ve been feeling, reacting. I told him that I had a few days of hot flashes and that I still feel a little fatigued and have headaches. He said if I’ve done this well with the Lupron then the rest of it should be a breeze.

That was welcome news as tonight we started our Gonal-F. The Gonal-F must be refrigerated; it’s spent the past few weeks in the bottom drawer on top of the “guest” Dr. Pepper. (We don’t drink soda, but don’t mind accommodating those who do.) It’s also a little more complicated than the straight-forward Lupron shots. It’s in a pen, and there are all these instructions to prime it. I re-read the information given to us in our IVF handbook. Then Shelton and I watched the instructional video on our pharmacy’s web site. I primed the pen, and then Shelton must not have thought I did it right because he pulled the little button out and squeezed it again and this long stream of medicine shot out of the needle. I said “i told you so” and then reiterated that the pen cost us $1,000 and that we don’t have any to just go spraying in the kitchen.

This injection went into the right side of my stomach. Considering the left side looks like it has a black eye after this morning’s Lupron shot. He must have hit a blood vessel or something. He drew blood for the first time and this evening I happened to lift up my shirt and noticed the 1” black and purple spot.

I’m very much looking forward to the weekend tomorrow. I’m anxious to SLEEP!!!

IVF Shots Day Nine

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Wow! Has it seriously been nine days already? This is flying by, I really hadn’t noticed. Today we’ll mark as a good day!

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to tackle some work so that I could take off a few hours this afternoon. My friend and I took her daughter to the zoo and had a great time feeding giraffes, turtles, bunnies and even flirting a bit with a leopard. Mildly sunburned we headed back home where the baby took a nap and I got back to work.

It’s been interesting having them here this week. I think my ovaries are boycotting this whole baby thing now. I’ve watched poop roll out of diapers onto feet UNNOTICED! I’ve listened to screams that would make a dog cry. Heard the word “no” more times than on a high school date. What my ovaries don’t know is that really, it’s all pretty worth it.

Tomorrow we start two-a-days. No, we won’t be practicing football in the sweltering heat, but we will begin doing two shots each day. I’m continuing the Lupron in the mornings for a little while, dropping down to 5iu, and will start the Gonal F in the evenings. I have an ultrasound tomorrow to check-in and see how things are progressing.

IVF Shots Day Eight

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Yesterday was much better than the past few have been. I’m still maintaining this nagging headache, but free of any nausea or hot flashes. I’m still feeling pretty sluggish, but doing my best to rest when I can.

I also spoke with “M” regarding my spotting and it turns out it’s not spotting it’s the real deal. She said that’s it’s OK as I stopped my birth control over the weekend. This is expected and supposed to happen. So clearly I’ve been confused this entire time thinking I was just supposed to skip it. Maybe this is the last one of these I’ll have for a LONG time!!!

Totally unrelated to IVF, my BFF is in town this week and we snuck out to watch Harry Potter last night. Kind of disappointing – what was such a great story in the book seemed like a pretty dull and boring movie. Reaffirming that I’m glad I read the books.

IVF Shots Day Seven

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Well friends, the Lupron honeymoon is definitely over. Yesterday was crap. Right after I published my IVF Day Six post, complaining of fatigue, a wave of heat rushed over me like I’ve never in my life experienced. I could only assume that’s what a hot flash looks like. I literally went upstairs, and sat on the a/c vent in the kitchen. I was radiating heat and could not get away from it. Minutes later I felt so nauseated and had a raging headache that I ended up just going to bed.

I woke up yesterday thinking I’d be fine, that it was just one bad night. Oh no, I woke up yesterday morning with the same raging headache and it continued until… right now… the next morning. Neither Tylenol nor Advil seem to be doing the trick. I didn’t experience any of the nausea yesterday, thank God! I was pretty fatigued all day though. I’m thinking I might need to treat this like I did my mono last year and give myself a little catnap mid-afternoon. Otherwise I’ll be worthless to everyone.

My spotting has continued, more than a week now. Even a little cramping. And this has me VERY worried! I cannot start!! I cannot ovulate!! It is not time!! I need to call “M” today to ask if there’s anything else I can do about my headaches, and I’ll ask about the spotting, too. I’m sure she wants to answer that question AGAIN!

The shot yesterday morning didn’t hurt at all. Like in the old days. And by old days I mean six days ago. We actually gave the alcohol a brief moment to dry and whattya know, no pain!

Yesterday was also my 28th birthday. It was a low-key birthday filled with Facebook wishes! I’m so grateful for every one of them and hope that they pay off this year as they did last year. I received a beautiful bouquet of lilies from my friend Patrick, was treated to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner by Shelton, and had my BFF Christie arrive with her 18 mo-old daughter. They’re making their first trip north from Dallas since I moved to Wichita nearly five years ago. It’s great having them here this week and I’m looking forward to our date night tonight!

As for dinner, I couldn’t help but not order a glass of wine. The restaurant has a sauv blanc that I love, and it was my birthday, and “M” told me I could! So there. I only had the one glass and it was so tasty. The first drink I’ve had since I started shots. And whoa momma. One glass left me feeling like it had been a few. Maybe it’s because I haven’t drank in a while…. or maybe it’s the LUPRON! I came home and had my FAVORITE cake from Monica’s in Wichita with a little sip of champagne. It’s decided those will be my last alcoholic beverages until sometime next year. (somebody please hold me!) I already feel terrible and it’s just not worth purposely making it worse.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

IVF Shots Day Six

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Does Lupron make you tired? I feel like I did last summer when I had mono, like no amount of sleep quite quenches my exhaustion. I took two naps this weekend, something I never do. Going to bed early and sleeping late. And I feel sluggish all day long. Tonight I was like, let’s go to bed! When I looked at the clock it was only 7:30 and I realized it was still bright as day outside. So I did a little Google search for “lupron fatigue” and sure enough, there are several reports from other women indicating “severe fatigue,” “extreme exhaustion,” and “serious fatigue.” There it is folks, our first side effects. If this is as bad as it is six days in, then I think I can hang. However, I know better than to think this is the peak.

Last night I had a total meltdown over Jenna (my sister) having a baby. And not because she had a baby, but rather because I wasn’t there. I’ve planned for months to be there by her side when Eleanor joined us, and it just didn’t happen. I’ve apologized to Jenna profusely over the past few weeks as I prepared myself to not be able to go. I’d decided once the shots started I would not make the ten hour round-trip by car. So out of absolutely no where last night I started sobbing uncontrollably and sat in Shelton’s lap (ever-so delicately!) and he held me. I finally eeked out how sad I was that I missed Ellie’s birth. Since the day my younger brother and sister were born they were mine. I’ve been a part of every major day and event in their lives and I missed this one, a big one. I hate it so much. I know we’re adults now and the three of us live in different states and so the fact of the matter is I’m going to miss a lot of big events. But the first one stings.

Shelton mentioned that we do not have any plans this upcoming weekend (by design mind you) and that maybe we could go visit Jenna. Judging by how tired I am now, and guessing where I’ll be five or six days from now, PLUS we introduce the Gonal F on Thursday… I don’t know if that will happen. I want to talk to “M” or Dr. T to get their opinion when I go in for a check-up on Thursday; I imagine they’ll recommend staying home and resting.

The thing is, I don’t know how to rest. I’m a busy body. A bit of a workaholic. Shelton has to actually pry me away from my laptop a lot of nights and tell me to just stop. So this idea of two weekends in a row with no plans, taking naps, and resting seems a bit cumbersome. But it’s probably what my body needs most. Maybe I should listen to someone other than myself sometimes.

My shot this morning HURT LIKE HELL!!! It felt like Shelton lit my stomach on fire and I actually screamed a little. Yesterday’s hurt more than normal and today’s was just downright awful. Shelton thinks the alcohol didn’t dry enough by the time he injected. Hopefully tomorrow goes better.

Today was the last day of my birth control pills. I took two packs back-to-back, meaning I skipped my July cycle. All of this to make sure I ovulate at the right time to align with the schedule at the clinic. However, I’ve had a lot of spotting. A full week during June and now another full week. It’s annoying to say the least! Each time the spotting has started I’ve alerted “M” and each time she’s assured me that it’s totally normal. Some women respond to the BC this way and apparently I’m one of them.

Today is also my last day as a 27-year-old. Tomorrow is my 28th birthday! I’m a bit of a birthday brat. I like everyone to know, I like everyone to celebrate with me and I like to make a big deal about it. My BFFFF Christie is coming up from Dallas to spend the week with us. I’m so excited to see her. Tomorrow night she, Shelton and I are going to one of my favorite restaurants in Wichita for dinner, Yia Yia’s. Then, coming back where I have a Monica’s Bundt Cake (my favorite!) and a bottle of pink champagne (thanks “R”!!) waiting for us. I was told one drink here and there wouldn’t be terrible… and I was told I could have two drinks on my birthday! It’s going to be a pretty simple birthday. But I’m spending it with two of my absolute favorite people, with some of my favorite things, and I think it’s going to be rather nice.

IVF Shots Day Five

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

Another day, another shot. Actually I’d be lying if I said today wasn’t pretty legendary. My sister finally had baby Eleanor. She arrived at 6:50 this morning, with a call coming in shortly after 7 from our new grandma, my mom. I’m so proud of my little sister. I’m a little devastated that I wasn’t there to celebrate with her, but I know I’ll get plenty of time to to snuggle with her later. Eleanor is 7lbs 1oz, 18” long and apparently has curly dark hair. Congratulations Jenna and Eric!

That wake-up call was probably necessary and forced Shelton and I out of bed to do this morning’s shot. Yesterday and today the shots have hurt a bit more than normal. Not sure why that is, but I’m not a fan. Shelton’s still doing a great job giving the shots.

I’m still feeling fine. I was a pinch moody today, and after snapping at Shelton I told him that I was blaming it on the Lupron whether he liked it or not. He responded OK and I told him that he really couldn’t argue with me. He agreed! It’s probably more my being tired and the excitement of the day that it was the Lupron.

We’re having a VERY laid back weekend. And by very laid back I mean lazy. I even took a nap today. It’s the first weekend we haven’t had plans in probably two months.

Shelton’s also coming around since his surgery. He’s starting to feel much better.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.