I went to take my meds tonight and I actually felt like something was missing when I realized I didn't have to take the Lupron injection. Weird! I'll just enjoy this two-week reprieve from needles. Lovenox will fill the void soon enough.
Exchanged a bunch of funny texts with M and N about eating eggs for dinner. We are all easily amused. :)
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Soon!
I talked to M last night and he's super excited about this cycle. We all are now! We were so laid back about it all until N turned into a egg-producing rockstar. Woohoo!
Retrieval is at 8:30 tomorrow morning, but they are supposed to be there at 7:30. What will be the final lucky number?? Last time, they got 13 eggs from 14 follicles (when 4 follicles were small). I'll revise my guess from a few days ago:
20 eggs retrieved
14 mature
9-10 fertilized
6-7 growing at day 3
4 pretty blastocysts on day 5
2-3 to freeze
I just texted the 20/14 guess to M and N with a challenge to place their bets. No matter what, everyone's a winner!
Barb did email me this morning with my new med instructions, and as I suspected, they are the same as last time. Good thing, too, since I left before she emailed me and this morning was the first day of Crinone. All taken care of!
Retrieval is at 8:30 tomorrow morning, but they are supposed to be there at 7:30. What will be the final lucky number?? Last time, they got 13 eggs from 14 follicles (when 4 follicles were small). I'll revise my guess from a few days ago:
20 eggs retrieved
14 mature
9-10 fertilized
6-7 growing at day 3
4 pretty blastocysts on day 5
2-3 to freeze
I just texted the 20/14 guess to M and N with a challenge to place their bets. No matter what, everyone's a winner!
Barb did email me this morning with my new med instructions, and as I suspected, they are the same as last time. Good thing, too, since I left before she emailed me and this morning was the first day of Crinone. All taken care of!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Gotta love Rick
Text just now: "Houston IVF called and all your cootie tests came back negative."
LOL.
I typed up my calendar for the next month. On Tuesday next week, I will be taking TEN different things (Vivelle, Crinone, Doxycycline, Prometrium, Aspirin, Prenatal vitamin, Folic Acid, Estrace, Doxycycline [dose 2] and Medrol). This is why I need a good ol' fashioned paper calendar that I can just cross off every day-- it's a lot to keep track of! I'm just going off of my last trigger instructions-- I assume it will be the same this time, but I haven't received them from Barb just yet.
LOL.
I typed up my calendar for the next month. On Tuesday next week, I will be taking TEN different things (Vivelle, Crinone, Doxycycline, Prometrium, Aspirin, Prenatal vitamin, Folic Acid, Estrace, Doxycycline [dose 2] and Medrol). This is why I need a good ol' fashioned paper calendar that I can just cross off every day-- it's a lot to keep track of! I'm just going off of my last trigger instructions-- I assume it will be the same this time, but I haven't received them from Barb just yet.
EXCITING egg news
N went back for a final scan today.
14 mature follicles!!! 14!!! YES. And 9 smaller ones. This is so much better than the last two cycles-- I almost can't believe it. Trigger today and retrieval on Friday, as we expected.
I really do think there may be enough to freeze this time. That would be awesome. And that also would mean we could really select the two best embryos to transfer, rather than just defaulting to whatever was left. Don't get me wrong-- defaulting is fine if we need to do it. But to think there could be choices? Super exciting!
This all makes me think of this study I read about a while back: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/224988.php It was a research review that concluded that 15 eggs was the ideal number to retrieve to produce a live birth. This is looking like a pretty ideal cycle.
Oh-- in less exciting news-- I picked up my folic acid prescription at the pharmacy yesterday (the one I'm supposed to take for life) and it was $50. Actually, I asked my mom to pick it up and told her not to worry about it, because Rick's prescription coverage always pays 100%, so it should be $0. Wrong. Boo. Hiss. I know it's such a prissy complaint to have, since I'm lucky we have such great coverage in general, but $50 just seems so high for vitamins.
14 mature follicles!!! 14!!! YES. And 9 smaller ones. This is so much better than the last two cycles-- I almost can't believe it. Trigger today and retrieval on Friday, as we expected.
I really do think there may be enough to freeze this time. That would be awesome. And that also would mean we could really select the two best embryos to transfer, rather than just defaulting to whatever was left. Don't get me wrong-- defaulting is fine if we need to do it. But to think there could be choices? Super exciting!
This all makes me think of this study I read about a while back: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/224988.php It was a research review that concluded that 15 eggs was the ideal number to retrieve to produce a live birth. This is looking like a pretty ideal cycle.
Oh-- in less exciting news-- I picked up my folic acid prescription at the pharmacy yesterday (the one I'm supposed to take for life) and it was $50. Actually, I asked my mom to pick it up and told her not to worry about it, because Rick's prescription coverage always pays 100%, so it should be $0. Wrong. Boo. Hiss. I know it's such a prissy complaint to have, since I'm lucky we have such great coverage in general, but $50 just seems so high for vitamins.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Dates (I was right!)
N just texted. Labs looked good, so she will trigger tomorrow, in hopes of getting 3-4 more eggs mature. Retrieval will be Friday, 3/1, just like I predicted way back when we got the calendar. I love it! I've had 3/6 on my calendar as transfer day and it looks like it really will be. Date obsessing for the win!
3/6 Transfer -> 11/22 Due Date. So we should get these little turkeys here just in time for Thanksgiving.
3/6 Transfer -> 11/22 Due Date. So we should get these little turkeys here just in time for Thanksgiving.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Hmm
Turns out N has to go in again tomorrow, before they'll make the decision about when to transfer. Dr. Hickman's new associate did N's scan this morning, and he wants to do it himself. I'm guessing we're still looking at a Wednesday trigger. Just one more hoop to jump through.
M wants me to think twin thoughts. I'm thinkin' 'em!
6 week ultrasound picture of twins (us on 3/29?):
M wants me to think twin thoughts. I'm thinkin' 'em!
6 week ultrasound picture of twins (us on 3/29?):
Comparison
Last time at the appointment equivalent to this one (well, a day later, technically), N had 10 follicles over 10 and 4 smaller. This time she has 11 over 10 and 3 smaller-- so very consistent, or maybe even a smidgen ahead of the game.
After the appointment, we had the same wait on lab results to see if trigger would be in one day or two. It was the next day.
Last time, they retrieved 13 eggs. 9 were mature and 6 fertilized.
The embryo report on day 3 was:
4 Grade 4- embryos (Grade 4-: even cell division, less than 10% fragmentation): 11, 9, 7, and 6 cells. Also a 4-cell embryo that they didn't expect to survive.
On day 5 last time, we transferred one grade 2 blast (on a 1-6 scale, 6 being the most advanced) and a morula (which is the stage of development expected on day 4). I don't have in my notes how many other morulas we had, but I know there was at least one more that got left behind, and I think there was still another surviving embryo that may or may not have even reached morula stage. On day 7, M texted me to confirm there were no embryos to freeze.
***
My official prediction this time is that we do a little better all around. 13 or 14 eggs retrieved, 11 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 blasts on day 5, 2 of which are grade 3 or better and ready for business. 2 blasts to freeze on day 6. Optimism!
After the appointment, we had the same wait on lab results to see if trigger would be in one day or two. It was the next day.
Last time, they retrieved 13 eggs. 9 were mature and 6 fertilized.
The embryo report on day 3 was:
4 Grade 4- embryos (Grade 4-: even cell division, less than 10% fragmentation): 11, 9, 7, and 6 cells. Also a 4-cell embryo that they didn't expect to survive.
On day 5 last time, we transferred one grade 2 blast (on a 1-6 scale, 6 being the most advanced) and a morula (which is the stage of development expected on day 4). I don't have in my notes how many other morulas we had, but I know there was at least one more that got left behind, and I think there was still another surviving embryo that may or may not have even reached morula stage. On day 7, M texted me to confirm there were no embryos to freeze.
***
My official prediction this time is that we do a little better all around. 13 or 14 eggs retrieved, 11 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 blasts on day 5, 2 of which are grade 3 or better and ready for business. 2 blasts to freeze on day 6. Optimism!
Lots of catching up
I'm way behind.
Last Tuesday, 2/19, I drove to Houston for my physical, another lining check, and labs galore. I met M for lunch, which was amazingly delicious. N got caught up with work and couldn't go with us, which was a bummer. Ran over to the clinic and had my yucko physical with Dr. Hickman-- being checked for every type of STD you can imagine is as unpleasant as it sounds. He also did my lining check. Didn't tell me the number, but said "Wow! This is fantastic! I wish everyone responded like this!" He's not generally so enthusiastic, so I'll count that as good. Then I went and gave a dozen or so tubes of blood (estrogen plus all of the FDA labs). Good times!
On my way out, I got to sit and talk with Barb for a while. We talked about the benefits of 5 day transfers over 3 day transfers, because M and I had talked about that over lunch. The main benefit is that you have more information about the embryos at 5 days, so you can really choose the best-looking pair. Also learned that they grow all of the embryos together, because they do better that way-- interesting, isn't it?
Oh- also got an email from Barb that day confirming that I don't have Hep C. Not a big surprise. ;)
On Wednesday, I got my lab results. Estradiol was 179, I think, so they added one tablet of vaginal Estrace every day. For the life of me, I do not understand why it has to be smurf blue. But it is.
I also got a call from Dr. Berry's office on Wednesday, with the results of the testing I did with them. I have a protein s deficiency, which puts me at a greater risk of clotting-- and late miscarriages. It can be genetic or aquired, and one of the ways you aquire it is through hormonal therapies like birth control pills, so who knows what the case is with me. In any case, the treatment will be going on blood thinners (Lovenox injections), which we'd planned to do anyway. I will only need treatment during pregnancy and if, in the future, I were to need surgery. I also have one copy of the MTHFR mutation. That shouldn't put me at any particular risk of anything (and apparently 30%-ish of the population probably has it, if tested), but I need to take 1-2 mg of supplemental folic acid for life.
On Friday, N had an appointment with Dr. Hickman. Her texts: "He said 4 follicles above 10 and 9 more developing, so retrieval is going to be later in the week next week" and then "Barb just called with results. Everything looks good. They want to see me on Monday next and will decide on Monday when to do M's FDA testing."
Which brings us to today (why did I wait so long to write this update?)!
I went into the lab this morning to get estradiol drawn again. Then off to Texas Fertility, where I got to see the lovely Dr. Hansard (I really do like her). She did a quick lining check-- 11.9 and good to go! Everything looks good on my end.
When I got to work, I got N's update text: "Just got done with appt. Have 5 above 10 on right side and one is like 9-something and six above 10 on left and 2 at 9-something. They said depending on bloodwork will trigger either tomorrow or Wednesday."
A Wednesday trigger would put us exactly where I guessed we'd be when I first looked at the calendar, which is to say, exactly on the schedule from last time. Trigger 2/27, Retrieval 3/1, Transfer 3/6. And how's this for a coincidence? Last time, retrieval was on the first and transfer was on the sixth. Weird! But maybe we'll be a day earlier... we'll see. And, of course, there's always the possibility of a 3 day transfer. Not our goal, but it all depends on how the embryos grow.
In any case, it's here: egg retrieval week. When N triggers, my meds will change too, so I'm in my final few days of Lupron. I'm going to be starting Lovenox at transfer, I believe, so I guess I need to call Dr. Berry's office and coordinate getting that prescription ready. But then I just sit back and watch the magic happen-- my show isn't until next week. Sunday/Monday or Tuesday/Wednesday. Getting close!
Last Tuesday, 2/19, I drove to Houston for my physical, another lining check, and labs galore. I met M for lunch, which was amazingly delicious. N got caught up with work and couldn't go with us, which was a bummer. Ran over to the clinic and had my yucko physical with Dr. Hickman-- being checked for every type of STD you can imagine is as unpleasant as it sounds. He also did my lining check. Didn't tell me the number, but said "Wow! This is fantastic! I wish everyone responded like this!" He's not generally so enthusiastic, so I'll count that as good. Then I went and gave a dozen or so tubes of blood (estrogen plus all of the FDA labs). Good times!
On my way out, I got to sit and talk with Barb for a while. We talked about the benefits of 5 day transfers over 3 day transfers, because M and I had talked about that over lunch. The main benefit is that you have more information about the embryos at 5 days, so you can really choose the best-looking pair. Also learned that they grow all of the embryos together, because they do better that way-- interesting, isn't it?
Oh- also got an email from Barb that day confirming that I don't have Hep C. Not a big surprise. ;)
On Wednesday, I got my lab results. Estradiol was 179, I think, so they added one tablet of vaginal Estrace every day. For the life of me, I do not understand why it has to be smurf blue. But it is.
I also got a call from Dr. Berry's office on Wednesday, with the results of the testing I did with them. I have a protein s deficiency, which puts me at a greater risk of clotting-- and late miscarriages. It can be genetic or aquired, and one of the ways you aquire it is through hormonal therapies like birth control pills, so who knows what the case is with me. In any case, the treatment will be going on blood thinners (Lovenox injections), which we'd planned to do anyway. I will only need treatment during pregnancy and if, in the future, I were to need surgery. I also have one copy of the MTHFR mutation. That shouldn't put me at any particular risk of anything (and apparently 30%-ish of the population probably has it, if tested), but I need to take 1-2 mg of supplemental folic acid for life.
On Friday, N had an appointment with Dr. Hickman. Her texts: "He said 4 follicles above 10 and 9 more developing, so retrieval is going to be later in the week next week" and then "Barb just called with results. Everything looks good. They want to see me on Monday next and will decide on Monday when to do M's FDA testing."
Which brings us to today (why did I wait so long to write this update?)!
I went into the lab this morning to get estradiol drawn again. Then off to Texas Fertility, where I got to see the lovely Dr. Hansard (I really do like her). She did a quick lining check-- 11.9 and good to go! Everything looks good on my end.
When I got to work, I got N's update text: "Just got done with appt. Have 5 above 10 on right side and one is like 9-something and six above 10 on left and 2 at 9-something. They said depending on bloodwork will trigger either tomorrow or Wednesday."
A Wednesday trigger would put us exactly where I guessed we'd be when I first looked at the calendar, which is to say, exactly on the schedule from last time. Trigger 2/27, Retrieval 3/1, Transfer 3/6. And how's this for a coincidence? Last time, retrieval was on the first and transfer was on the sixth. Weird! But maybe we'll be a day earlier... we'll see. And, of course, there's always the possibility of a 3 day transfer. Not our goal, but it all depends on how the embryos grow.
In any case, it's here: egg retrieval week. When N triggers, my meds will change too, so I'm in my final few days of Lupron. I'm going to be starting Lovenox at transfer, I believe, so I guess I need to call Dr. Berry's office and coordinate getting that prescription ready. But then I just sit back and watch the magic happen-- my show isn't until next week. Sunday/Monday or Tuesday/Wednesday. Getting close!
Friday, February 15, 2013
First lining check and labs
I went this morning for my labs and lining check. I'd heard the hospital location of CPL was slow and, sure enough, I was the only one there this morning, so that was nice. Barb emailed the results of the estradiol this afternoon: 201. I'm going to go to 4 Vivelle patches now.
Then I battled traffic to get to Texas Fertility. Quick ultrasound showed lining at 9.7, which is technically already thick enough to transfer. I texted N that we are going to have an ultra-thick luxury lining. :)
Right this minute I'm getting my hair done. Might as well get pretty before I get pregnant. Hee!
Then I battled traffic to get to Texas Fertility. Quick ultrasound showed lining at 9.7, which is technically already thick enough to transfer. I texted N that we are going to have an ultra-thick luxury lining. :)
Right this minute I'm getting my hair done. Might as well get pretty before I get pregnant. Hee!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
I should be surprised?
I got an email from Barb today that Quest apparently didn't have the reagents to run my RIBA test (the follow-up to the Hep C screen that I tripped), so guess who gets to go get *another* Hep C test? This girl! She sent me another Quest order, but since I have to get an estradiol test tomorrow at CPL, I asked whether I could go there instead. Lovely Barb called them to get the test code, so now I'm all set up for just one poke and one lab. Woohoo! Third time's the charm.
In better news, N had her suppression scan today and has 10 follicles-- 5 on each side. That's very similar to last time, when she had 11 follicles (5 on one side, 6 on the other). So hopefully this is the start of a fruitful cycle. She starts stims tomorrow.
Today is Valentine's Day. I spent last night filling three pounds of strawberries with chocolate, fudgy filling. Recipe promised they would keep overnight. Ha! They looked like trash this morning! Really terrible-- oozy and gross. But they taste delicious. So Mariela had no special treats to bring to school (she brought a bag of pretzels) and I had nothing for my office party (they're getting my extra bag of flaxseed chips). Guess what we'll be having for dessert. :)
In better news, N had her suppression scan today and has 10 follicles-- 5 on each side. That's very similar to last time, when she had 11 follicles (5 on one side, 6 on the other). So hopefully this is the start of a fruitful cycle. She starts stims tomorrow.
Today is Valentine's Day. I spent last night filling three pounds of strawberries with chocolate, fudgy filling. Recipe promised they would keep overnight. Ha! They looked like trash this morning! Really terrible-- oozy and gross. But they taste delicious. So Mariela had no special treats to bring to school (she brought a bag of pretzels) and I had nothing for my office party (they're getting my extra bag of flaxseed chips). Guess what we'll be having for dessert. :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Truckin'
Just rolling along these days. I started Vivelle patches on Sunday and have two on today. Three patches on Thursday and then I should have my first lining check on Friday (waiting on the order for that, so I can schedule my appointment). Come on, estrogen, do your thing. I've been drinking soy milk (chocolate-- I don't like the regular stuff) and eating flaxseed chips, both of which are estrogenic, so should help things out. Looking for the beginnings of a nice lining.
Waiting on the blood test results from last week, but I think it will be the end of the week or even the beginning of next before I hear anything.
Rick is away at a 10 day caving class right now, so it's been just me and the girls. Andie is getting braces on Wednesday. Mariela is working on Valentines for school. I'm wrapped up in both my jobs-- and especially excited that my private practice continues to grow.
Just a couple more weeks before things get more exciting. :)
Waiting on the blood test results from last week, but I think it will be the end of the week or even the beginning of next before I hear anything.
Rick is away at a 10 day caving class right now, so it's been just me and the girls. Andie is getting braces on Wednesday. Mariela is working on Valentines for school. I'm wrapped up in both my jobs-- and especially excited that my private practice continues to grow.
Just a couple more weeks before things get more exciting. :)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Pity my veins
11 more blood tests, coming up. This is all of the testing Dr. Berry ordered to try to figure out a reason for the loss. I hope there are answers!
Waiting in the lab now...
Waiting in the lab now...
Edited to add the rest of the story:
I hate to wait a long time because the computer system went down and they needed to confirm all the vials they'd need for the tests. Final count? 16! A new personal best for me. Yahoo.
I started getting a little light-headed after the first ten. And my blood flow slowed way down. So we took a break after 12. The (very nice) phlebotomist went to find me a Sprite, but they didn't have any, so I got to drink a few sips of some lab grade glucose drink. Yummo! Or not. But it did help me feel better. Switched to the right arm, got the final 4 vials, and I was out of there. Stopped for a soda and a taco on the way back to work, because I was still a little woozy. Come to think of it, an hour later, I'm still a little shaky, but doing better all the time.
Dr. Berry is looking for any kind of clotting or immunological issue that could have affected the placenta and contributed to the loss (clotting would be most likely). If we find something, that's great news, because he'll know how to treat it, so we don't have to face another loss. If we don't, he'll make his best guess of a course of preventative treatment-- probably daily Lovenox (blood thinner) injections starting at confirmation of pregnancy. He says he'd hate to have me on daily injections without a diagnosis, but I am all for it. Really-- if that's our best bet for a healthy baby, sign me up. Lovenox is what I was hoping for, really. It would make me feel better to know we were doing all we can.
Test results in about a week or 10 days and then we'll have a battle plan.
Incidentally, I also had blood work drawn last night. Turns out my Hep C screen tripped the trigger for reactive (results between 1 and 8 require a second test and mine was 1.78), so I had to have a confirmatory negative test drawn. I have exactly zero risk factors for Hepatitits C, so nobody's concerned, but we need the green light to proceed with the cycle. So 17 vials in 24 hours! Yeeha!
In other not-exactly-exciting news, today is my last day of doxycycline. So put that in the history books and let's move on to the next step.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Passing time
Still three days left of doxycycline, but as long as I eat first, it's a-ok. So that's good. Down to 5 units of Lupron now and I think I start baby aspirin at the end of the week.
Nothing much going on-- just figuring out some logistics. Houston IVF has added some requirements since we last transferred, including that everyone get a physical (they will do mine and N's in-house, but the guys have to go elsewhere) and that we get FDA testing. FDA testing is specific blood tests that are also used for tissue donors. Rick and I have done it before for another clinic and we just went to LabCorp-- they sent in off in a special mailer. Houston IVF is requiring that it be drawn in-house, which will be fine for me (I'll be there anyway), but not for Rick, who has an unforgiving work schedule this month. So we're waiting to see if they will let him get it done somewhere else. Hopefully.
Breaking news: It was just approved, right after I wrote that pargraph! Yes! Rick is saved a trip to Houston. Victory!
Upcoming appointments:
2/7 - Consultation with Dr. Berry
2/15 - Lining check at Texas Fertility
2/19 2pm - Lining check, physical, and labs at Houston IVF
2/25 - Lining check and labs at Texas Fertility
And then...
3/?? - Transfer at Houston IVF
30 days or less.
Nothing much going on-- just figuring out some logistics. Houston IVF has added some requirements since we last transferred, including that everyone get a physical (they will do mine and N's in-house, but the guys have to go elsewhere) and that we get FDA testing. FDA testing is specific blood tests that are also used for tissue donors. Rick and I have done it before for another clinic and we just went to LabCorp-- they sent in off in a special mailer. Houston IVF is requiring that it be drawn in-house, which will be fine for me (I'll be there anyway), but not for Rick, who has an unforgiving work schedule this month. So we're waiting to see if they will let him get it done somewhere else. Hopefully.
Breaking news: It was just approved, right after I wrote that pargraph! Yes! Rick is saved a trip to Houston. Victory!
Upcoming appointments:
2/7 - Consultation with Dr. Berry
2/15 - Lining check at Texas Fertility
2/19 2pm - Lining check, physical, and labs at Houston IVF
2/25 - Lining check and labs at Texas Fertility
And then...
3/?? - Transfer at Houston IVF
30 days or less.