I'm not sure if it comes across here just yet, but by and large, I'm a very positive person. I hate ruffling anyone's feathers and I like to do what I can to make things easier for other people, even at my own inconvenience. But today was a test of patience.
My first and last lining checks are required to be in Houston. A little frustrating in itself, since I previously had all monitoring done locally (for an out-of-state transfer), but whatever-- I can take a few extra drives if there's something extra special the doctor wants to do. No problem.
I diligently took the day off of work and took off for Houston after dropping the kids off at school a little before 8. I got to Houston at about 10:30 for my 11:00 appointment, and they took me back 5 or 10 minutes early (nice).
So then I sat in the ultrasound room, realizing too late that I'd broken my "always have a book" rule. 25 minutes goes by. Early on, there was a promise that the doctor would be in just a minute, but ultimately the knock at the door was from the tech. She apologized and said the doctor was still with a patient, but this was "just a lining check," so she'd do it.
And she was lovely-- nothing against her personally-- but why did I spent 5+ hours in the car today if the doctor didn't actually have to see me? A day off work, a tank of gas, and just the mind-numbing driving for... what exactly?
So my lining is 13.1 and triple-striped. I had a blood draw for estradiol and that was apparently fine too, because I came home to an email from Barb instructing me to move to 4 Vivelle patches every other day, which was the expected outcome.
My local monitoring appointment is on Tuesday at 9:30. Then another in Houston on Monday following-- but at least that's Memorial Day and we can make a trip of it. And it should be the last trip before transfer!
I'll be glad when we're done with this part and pregnant!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tiny Update
N had her appointment today. I was wrong-- she doesn't start stims today. She had to have her estrogen level first. It was greater than 20, so she starts injections as scheduled-- tomorrow. She stopped birth control pills on Monday.
So let's see. Working backwards...
5/29 Egg retrieval would mean
5/27 Trigger would mean
5/26 Last day of stims and
5/18 First day of stims would mean
Only 9 days of stims. Google is telling me that's within a normal range. It seems so short! But if that's all it takes, great.
Today N had 11 follicles-- 5 on one side, 6 on the other. Grow, eggs, grow! Hoping every one of those follicles is cooperative.
So let's see. Working backwards...
5/29 Egg retrieval would mean
5/27 Trigger would mean
5/26 Last day of stims and
5/18 First day of stims would mean
Only 9 days of stims. Google is telling me that's within a normal range. It seems so short! But if that's all it takes, great.
Today N had 11 follicles-- 5 on one side, 6 on the other. Grow, eggs, grow! Hoping every one of those follicles is cooperative.
Terrible Blogger
The weekend of May 5, we went to visit M and N (and their daughter, A). We had a fantastic time-- the girls all got along so well, we were in the pool for hours, we ate far too much amazing food (becoming a trend on these visits), and we got to spend time with their incredible extended family as well. My younger daughter, Mariela, got sick on the trip (stomach bug), which was messy and the definite downside to the weekend, but M and N were wonderful about it and Mariela still was not wanting to leave by the end of it. My girls are wishing we lived across the street so we could visit every day.
Anyway, I got home with full intentions of doing a big, picture-splashed blog post and... didn't. And then Andie got a call from a scammer/hacker, who she helpfully guided through loading a remote access program onto our computer, and that put us out of commission for a few days because I promptly freaked out and sent it to our tech guy to be wiped clean. Excuses, excuses. We have the computer back now, but the guy didn't reinstall Photoshop, so pictures will have to wait a few more days. But I can at least update.
Since I last wrote, I stopped taking doxycycline and started taking baby aspirin and Vivelle. I think for a few days there, the Lupron (ongoing) was giving me insomnia-- I never have trouble sleeping, so I have to blame it on that. That seems to have resolved. I had a dentist appointment this morning and she said the hormones may mess with my gums a little bit, but so far, things look pretty good.
N has her appointment at Houston IVF today and should be starting stims (the injections to stimulate the ovaries/egg production). I'll be eager to hear what she finds out. I have an appointment tomorrow. It's just a lining check and I plan to drive 2.5-3 hours to get there, spend 5 minutes in the exam room, and turn around and drive back. I'm not staying to visit this time, since Mariela has an end-of-year school function I want to get back for. Lamenting not being able to do this ultrasound at my local clinic, but at least I get to stay local for my next appointment, on Tuesday. I did get smart at check out an audio book for the trip this time-- Bossypants, by Tina Fey. It's 5.5 hours, which should be just about perfect.
That's it for now. We should be about two to two and half weeks from transfer-- not quite ready to start the countdown, but close!
Anyway, I got home with full intentions of doing a big, picture-splashed blog post and... didn't. And then Andie got a call from a scammer/hacker, who she helpfully guided through loading a remote access program onto our computer, and that put us out of commission for a few days because I promptly freaked out and sent it to our tech guy to be wiped clean. Excuses, excuses. We have the computer back now, but the guy didn't reinstall Photoshop, so pictures will have to wait a few more days. But I can at least update.
Since I last wrote, I stopped taking doxycycline and started taking baby aspirin and Vivelle. I think for a few days there, the Lupron (ongoing) was giving me insomnia-- I never have trouble sleeping, so I have to blame it on that. That seems to have resolved. I had a dentist appointment this morning and she said the hormones may mess with my gums a little bit, but so far, things look pretty good.
N has her appointment at Houston IVF today and should be starting stims (the injections to stimulate the ovaries/egg production). I'll be eager to hear what she finds out. I have an appointment tomorrow. It's just a lining check and I plan to drive 2.5-3 hours to get there, spend 5 minutes in the exam room, and turn around and drive back. I'm not staying to visit this time, since Mariela has an end-of-year school function I want to get back for. Lamenting not being able to do this ultrasound at my local clinic, but at least I get to stay local for my next appointment, on Tuesday. I did get smart at check out an audio book for the trip this time-- Bossypants, by Tina Fey. It's 5.5 hours, which should be just about perfect.
That's it for now. We should be about two to two and half weeks from transfer-- not quite ready to start the countdown, but close!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Two Way Street
I emailed with Barb yesterday about questions I had regarding the calendar. I'm glad I did! The calendar doesn't say anything about Lupron after next week, but I will apparently be on it all the way up until N triggers and I start taking progesterone. Important to know. That's how it worked with my last protocol too, but I wouldn't have known without asking. Three Lupron injections down now, no issues at all. Last night was my last birth control pill too. Moving forward!
Morning Edition had a story this morning about fetal cells passing into the mother's bloodstream and staying there, for good. They found fetals cells living in the mother 40-50 years after the last pregnancy! Different theories about what the cells are doing-- helping or hurting-- and it seems the answer is probably a little of both (making some conditions worse, helping attack others).
Combine that with the theories of epigenetics-- that mothers/carriers play a role in how the genes in an embryo are expressed-- and it seems there's a blurrier line in gestational surrogacy than you might think at first glance. Although the baby is genetically distinct from the carrier, we will each permanently influence the other. Our influence-- both ways-- lasts far beyond nine months gestation. Interesting.
Morning Edition had a story this morning about fetal cells passing into the mother's bloodstream and staying there, for good. They found fetals cells living in the mother 40-50 years after the last pregnancy! Different theories about what the cells are doing-- helping or hurting-- and it seems the answer is probably a little of both (making some conditions worse, helping attack others).
Combine that with the theories of epigenetics-- that mothers/carriers play a role in how the genes in an embryo are expressed-- and it seems there's a blurrier line in gestational surrogacy than you might think at first glance. Although the baby is genetically distinct from the carrier, we will each permanently influence the other. Our influence-- both ways-- lasts far beyond nine months gestation. Interesting.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Unpredictable
N texted me that her cycle started Saturday, about a week earlier than we would have expected. I thought that meant we might transfer a week earlier (which seemed possible, based on my current calendar vs. my mock cycle), but Barb said no-- it might change things by a day or so, but that's it. She's having N start birth control pills today. But that seems like a big step. First day of meds for N!
Oh, I'm so excited! Every night when I go to bed, I visualize this pregnancy and N and M's baby. This is going to happen and it's going to be great. We're a month away from creating a new life-- or lives, I guess. How could that not be exciting?
Oh, I'm so excited! Every night when I go to bed, I visualize this pregnancy and N and M's baby. This is going to happen and it's going to be great. We're a month away from creating a new life-- or lives, I guess. How could that not be exciting?
Monday, April 30, 2012
First Lupron Shot
Video credit to Andie, though to be fair, I could only upload this snippet of her full 2 minute masterpiece.
First day of meds down!
The Eagle Has Landed
Meds from Freedom Pharmacy arrived on Saturday morning, as expected. Well, a little earlier than expected, really, so I still wasn't fully dressed and had to hide behind the door when I signed for them from the Fed Ex guy. Oops.
The goods:
The box didn't have a packing list, so I had to call the pharmacy to be sure I had everything. They're open 7 days a week and were very helpful, so that was pretty painless and everything was present and accounted for. There are a couple of things in the box that were not on my calendar, so I'll have to figure that out as we get closer to transfer. One of those things was the somewhat-dreaded valium, so I guess I do have to ask if I can skip it after all. If not, no big deal. I just hate to take something if I don't have to.
I have everything set up on my bedroom dresser, with the calendar taped to the wall so I can cross off things as I've taken them. This definitely works best as an old fashioned paper-and-pencil operation, since with so many meds to keep track of, it's easy to convince yourself that you forgot to take something when you didn't, or vice versa.
So right now, my calendar is nice and clean-- the birth control pill I took last night and the doxycycline I took this morning are crossed off, but that's it. I had wondered why the double-course of doxy early in the cycle and found this article: Outcome Of Subsequent Ivf Cycles Following Antibiotic Therapy After Primary Or Multiple Previously Failed Ivf Cycles, which concludes: "These findings suggest that a certain number of failures during IVF cycles are due to an intrauterine infection that could affect the course of the pregnancy, the mode of delivery and cause maternal and fetal complications." The antibiotics regime I'm on isn't nearly as stringent as what was used in the study (nor do I have failed cycles that we're trying to counter), but I imagine the logic is similar.
Anyway, Lupron injections start tonight. My kids are excited-- what could be more entertaining than watching mom give herself shots? And I'm excited! Every day is one day closer to transfer.
Oh-- just for the sake of remembering silly details. The other surrogacy-related activity last week was signing consent forms. Rick and I had to sign about 20 pages of medical consents, have them notarized, and then mail them back to Houston IVF. Thrilling paperwork. Would hate to forget that part of the process.
The goods:
The box didn't have a packing list, so I had to call the pharmacy to be sure I had everything. They're open 7 days a week and were very helpful, so that was pretty painless and everything was present and accounted for. There are a couple of things in the box that were not on my calendar, so I'll have to figure that out as we get closer to transfer. One of those things was the somewhat-dreaded valium, so I guess I do have to ask if I can skip it after all. If not, no big deal. I just hate to take something if I don't have to.
I have everything set up on my bedroom dresser, with the calendar taped to the wall so I can cross off things as I've taken them. This definitely works best as an old fashioned paper-and-pencil operation, since with so many meds to keep track of, it's easy to convince yourself that you forgot to take something when you didn't, or vice versa.
So right now, my calendar is nice and clean-- the birth control pill I took last night and the doxycycline I took this morning are crossed off, but that's it. I had wondered why the double-course of doxy early in the cycle and found this article: Outcome Of Subsequent Ivf Cycles Following Antibiotic Therapy After Primary Or Multiple Previously Failed Ivf Cycles, which concludes: "These findings suggest that a certain number of failures during IVF cycles are due to an intrauterine infection that could affect the course of the pregnancy, the mode of delivery and cause maternal and fetal complications." The antibiotics regime I'm on isn't nearly as stringent as what was used in the study (nor do I have failed cycles that we're trying to counter), but I imagine the logic is similar.
Anyway, Lupron injections start tonight. My kids are excited-- what could be more entertaining than watching mom give herself shots? And I'm excited! Every day is one day closer to transfer.
Oh-- just for the sake of remembering silly details. The other surrogacy-related activity last week was signing consent forms. Rick and I had to sign about 20 pages of medical consents, have them notarized, and then mail them back to Houston IVF. Thrilling paperwork. Would hate to forget that part of the process.
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