Test Scheduled

I have my pregnancy test scheduled for next Tuesday, August 4 in Tacoma. Until then, we will just keep waiting.

I feel a lot better today and am starting to walk with less pain.  My stomach is still very distended so if the pregnancy does take I guess I will just grow into it.

Frozen Embryos

I was just told that a total of 4 of our embryos made it and are being frozen. Great news because if I don't get pregnant this round, I can use those frozen embryos at a later date. As of now, I just keep wondering if that little embryo inside me is growing or not.

Embryo Transfer

Mike and I just got back from our embryo transfer in Seattle. We had planned on doing two but they highly recommended doing only 1 because my body has not been recovering very well and has signs of ovarian hyper stimulation.

They told us that the embryo they implanted into my uterus looked perfect so now we just wait. And in the meantime, let my body rest and heal. They will freeze another embryo today and check on the 5 we still have growing tomorrow if we can freeze any of those as well.

They will give me a pregnancy test in about 2 weeks.

Embryology Report

Nurse called us this morning and reported that all 11 of our embryos were still growing. They give them a good, fair and poor rating based on certain growing factors and criteria.

So of the 11, 7 were rated good, 3 were rated fair and 1 was rated poor. She also told me I qualified for a Day 5 transfer so if our embryos make it a few more days, they will be implanted into my uterus on Sunday.

I started Progesterone today too which helps my uterine lining. Mike is doing better from the surgery but I am still in a lot of pain. My abdomen is really sore and bloated. Hopefully, I will feel a lot better before the Sunday transfer.

Surgery and Fertilization Results

Mike and I are at home resting. Yesterday was pretty crazy as we woke up at 4 am and got to the Seattle office at 5:30 am. They took Mike back first while I waited in the waiting room. His procedure took about an hour and half and then they took me back while he was recovering to get me ready. Apparently, our case is a rare one where both husband and wife go back-to-back into surgery. Our anesthesiologist told me it was not very common. My parents were supposed to be there at 9:00 am but they ended up getting there about 10:45 am because of traffic. Save that for another story.

Mike's doctor was able to retrieve some sperm out of Michael and when I woke up they told me they had gotten 32 eggs out of me. They also made sure to tell me to watch for symptoms of ovarian hyperstimulation since if I get it, it can delay the implantation date.

We just got an update about 2 hours ago that 20 out of my 32 eggs were mature and that they were able to fertilize 11 of them. Tomorrow they will give me another update on the fertilized eggs progress Hopefully, a lot will survive and we will be strong enough to make it back into my body.

We are both still in a lot of pain but luckily Mike has the rest of the week off and Alyssa is having a blast with her Aunt Jill.

Day 10 - Pregnancy Test from Trigger Shot

The pregnancy test was positive today so my body absorbed the HCG so we are scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning. I am taking Alyssa to Jill's house today and my mom and dad will be driving Mike and I home after our surgeries.

Day 9 - Trigger Shot

I went to Seattle again today and they measured my follicles and did bloodwork. Got a call around 3:00 pm and they told me they wanted me to take my Trigger shot at exactly 9:00 pm. I immediately called my sister Jill who is an RN and she kindly drove up to my house to administer the shot. She put it in like a boss and I got a nice Sesame street band-aid on my bum.

Tomorrow I have to take a pregnancy test to make sure my body absorbed the HCG from the shot. If it is positive, both Mike and I are good to go for our surgeries on Tuesday morning. His will be at 6:00 am and mine will be at 9:00 am.

Day 8 - Bloodwork & Ultrasound

They measured my eggs again today and took my blood. My Estrogen level is now 1,597. My right ovary is an overachiever according to the tech because she counted 18 developing eggs while my left ovary has 7.

They want to see me again tomorrow to check on my egg growth and it is possible they might have me take my Trigger shot Sunday evening. The tech told me they typically do the trigger if you have 4 eggs measuring 14 (or above) or 2 eggs measuring 18 (or above). If that happens, we will have the surgery Tuesday morning because it is 36 hours from when the trigger is given.
 

Day 7 - Ganirelix, Follistim and Menopur

Injected Ganirelix this morning. Not a big fan. The needle isn't as sharp as the ones I am used to so I really had to jab that sucker into my skin. Ganirelix is the medication that stops my ovulation. Timing is critical on every single thing so I have to inject this every morning until the trigger injection.

And I just finished doing my Follistim and Menopur injections about 10 minutes ago. I have been doing those at 8:00 pm every night. That way, Mike can keep a very curious Alyssa away from my injection lab...at least that is what I am calling my bathroom counter. I decided to crack some tunes tonight to make it easier. Busted out an old U2 CD I had and listened to "It's A Beautiful Day."

Tomorrow is my Day 8 check in Seattle so hopefully we can get some more specifics on our timeline. We know our egg and sperm retrieval are happening next week, but don't have the exact date yet.

Day 6 - Injections

Just finished my Day 6 injections. Did three pokes today since my Follistim medication ran out again and I had to open another cartridge. I hit a blood vessel on my last poke. It bleeds a lot after you hit a vessel so you just have to apply longer pressure with the gauze. And it leaves a nice purple mark which takes longer to go away rather than the small red marks. My stomach is starting to look like a war zone.

And I get to start taking the Ganirelix injection tomorrow morning. Just add it to my list.

I called my sister Karen to vent today. It felt really good since I am feeling the "mood swings" side effects. I will leave it at that for now. I hope my eggs will be ready sooner rather than later.

Day 5 - Bloodwork & Ultrasound

My nurse called with my bloodwork results and right now my Estrogen level is at 400 and my ultrasound showed that I have 28 follicles developing. So now she told me perhaps I won't have to take two trigger shots. It all depends on the results I get when I go back in on Saturday.

Overall, my numbers look good. No medication changes so I will still have to do my regular injections tonight. I will start a new medication called Ganirelix on Friday (Day 7) that I will have to give myself in the morning from 9-10 am. Ganirelix prevents ovulation until my eggs are ready to be retrieved.

So, it looks like we are on track for Mike's surgery and my egg retrieval early next week.

Day 4 - More Injections

Just had to do 2 injections today since my Follistim was reloaded yesterday. I have an ultrasound and more bloodwork scheduled tomorrow morning. They should be checking out my eggs to see how they measure up and my nurse will call with the results.

Day 3 - Bloodwork

Got my hormone levels measured and received word from the nurse that they wanted to increase my thyroid medication dosage because my levels are still high. Sort of frustrating since I have been on this medication since April and my levels went up. They want it at a 2.5 level or under since a higher level is linked to miscarriage. She told me they would follow up with it again in two weeks because it takes that long to see if the medication takes effect. My Estrogen level was 147.9.

My nurse also told me that she was going to order an additional trigger shot for me since she thinks I will overstimulate (meaning my ovaries will produce too many eggs). More on that later.

I had to give myself 3 injections since the medication ran out in my Follistim pen and I had to load another cartridge.

It is only the third day but I am already counting the days until this process is over. It has been difficult for me and I am pumped full of hormones right now that make me feel irritable, large and bloated.

Day 2 - Injections

Injections went 100% better. I am getting smarter and tried some different techniques. I put the needles in faster, got the medication in faster, and pulled the needles out better. Follistim is a very easy shot to give, but Menopur stings going in as you push down on the syringe plunger. So I mixed up my Menopur shot and let it sit for about 10 minutes which seemed to lessen the burn a little. I have an appointment tomorrow so they can check my blood hormone levels. I should be getting a call from my nurse in the afternoon with the results.

Day 1 - Injections Begin (July 11)

I am starting off with two injections a day. I am supposed to give them in my stomach every day from 7-9 pm.

I was able to get through my first two injections yesterday. I am hoping the next ones will get better because I was so worried about doing it correctly and it took me longer than I wanted.

It was not a very pleasant experience but I will just keep thinking about the end goal to get me through it. Maybe I will put on some soothing music tonight.

Suppression Check - July 7

I had my ultrasound today to check my uterine lining and check my ovaries for cysts. The technician told me that everything looked good so I met with a nurse one more time to review my calendar for the month. I start my injections Saturday. At first, I am doing two injections each day. One is Follistim and the other is Menopur. Here we go.