Hey Guys, sorry it's taken me so long to blog about the transfer. I told you how far the embryos had divided in my last blog, on day 3. Day four we did not get an update, so on Saturday morning, day 5, we arrived at Docs office at 7 a.m. I had to come with a FULL bladder. So I started sipping water about 6:30 or so. I didn't want to over do it because my friends, Emily and Hayley, told me not to drink too much or you'd have to pee in your pants. So I took their advice. Of course Robby was like "come on...drink that whole bottle and start on another one!" But I took it slow. They called us back about 7:30ish for me to put my gown on and hair net (whatever you call those). Robby had to wear one too. I totally forgot my camera so made Robby take pictures with his camera. Now the problem is, for me to figure out how to transfer a picture from your camera to the computer (this probably won't happen today :( The nurse said there were a few transfers before me so not to drink too much. About an hour later I had to go....so bad. So I went to the bathroom and peed for about 3 seconds and cut it off, man that's hard! Then about 30 minutes later the nurse came in and asked how we were doing and I said that I went to the bathroom but still needed to go. She said that I could count to 10 one-thousand. YIPEE, I ran to the bathroom so fast and counted all the way to 10 one-thousand...it was the best feeling ever. Two hours had gone by, it was know about 9:00 and finally Dr. Schnell came in with our report. I glanced at the paper work and saw:
-blastacyst
-blastacyst
-morula
-12+
-12+
-12+
-12+
Dr. Schnell said that the 2 embryos that were at the blastacyst stage were the two that she'd be putting back in. They had good grades (I think). The others were not there yet. Robby and I were wondering if they'd get there and she said that we'd get a phone call tomorrow to see how many made it to the blastacyst stage so they could freeze them. They won't freezed the embryos unless they are at the blastacyst stage. I thought surely the morula and a couple of the 12+ cell embryos would make it, but didn't want to worry about that. She took us back to the procedure room and Dr. put one of those butterfly needles in (she's good, I didn't feel a thing). Took some blood then injected some Valium. I could feel the Valium traveling up my arm sooo fast, my first reaction was to grab my shoulder. They said "yep, it's working!" Then the nurse asked me if I could feel it in my head, just then the lights above were blurry. The procedure took about 10 or so minutes. Robby got to sit right next to me. He said you could see the "air bubble" go into my uterus, which indicated that the embryos had gone in. After that I had to just lay still on my back for an hour. I slept the first 30 minutes and then woke up. I had to go to the bathroom so bad (again) but held it because I refuse to go in a bed pan, which is what I would have had to do. That was a long 30 minutes! After that, we went home and it was time for bed rest!!! I was so excited. My favorite thing to do is sleep and I was about to get to do it for 3 days.
Well, after about 4 hours of bed rest I couldn't stand it any longer...all I wanted to do was get up and vacuum. I just set there and watched Robby vacuum, clean toilets, sweep, do the dishes, mow, he went grocery shopping, did ALL the laundry, and cooked dinner. It was nice, but I felt so helpless. That was Saturday.
Sunday morning I got the phone call from the embryologist to update us on the rest of our embryos. NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING made it!!! How could this be? We had one Morula, and several 12+ cells, how could NONE of them make it to the blastacyst stage??? I cried for a little while, then Robby made me feel better (he always does...that's why I love him so much). He said that the good Lord will be giving us the two that we have, and we didn't need the rest! Good Lord, I hope he's right. He's always thinking positive. We are not, however, naive...but our only hope is to TRUELY BELIEVE that the embryos put back into me are our miracles!!! By the end of the day...I had a HUGE fever blister on my lip. Hummmm, could that be from stress??? A BIG thanks to my friend Hayley, who brought me home-made yummy mac and cheese and the best ever cake balls! Love you!!!
Since that phone call I've decided that I should take ANOTHER day of bed rest. Yes, as bored as I am, I think it's that right thing to do. That way I can't say "what if I had rested one more day..." So today, Tuesday, is my last day at home. I will be returning to work tomorrow. My goal is to NOT let 22 6 and 7 year olds stress me out the rest of the year...GOOD LUCK with that! I should find out whether we have a positive or negative pregnancy test in a little over a week. And I will let everyone know...either way! We haven't discussed what we will do if it's negative (since we have NO embryos left), but I am hoping my next blog will be titled POSITIVE.
Here is an update on Holly. She is getting so big...I'm a little jealous (of a dog!) That's sad. Robby calls her mama and rubs her feet. I hope he does that to me when I'm big and fat! Her boobs are filling up with milk and she licks them all the time. Hayley says she's trying to toughen them up for the pups...that makes sense. I did take a picture of her this morning, so here it is. Ok, for some reason I can't upload the picture to the blog right now. But I will post it next time.
Kelly
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
DIVISION (Day 3)
Well, my phone call from Tod came really early (7:30 a.m.) which I was happy about since I missed his call yesterday during class. He said that all 7 continued to divide. Four of the embryos were 8-cell, and 3 of the embryos were 4-cell. I will not receive a phone call tomorrow because they don't call on day 4. But a day 4 embryo will look like the following picture called a Morula.
A morula contains about 10 - 30 cells or so. The morula stage is the final stage prior to formation of a fluid filled cavity called the blastocoel cavity.
Then the day of the transfer (day 5) the embryos are called a blastocyst. Here is a picture of that.
Blastocyst picture of a high quality human blastocyst embryo 5 days after in vitro fertilization
The clump of cells in the 10 to 12 o'clock area in the picture make up the inner cell mass which become the fetus
I still have to be at the Dr. office Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Dr. Schnell will speak with us first before the transfer to go over the "grading" of the embryos. After the transfer I will have to remain laying for 1 to 2 hours before we are dismissed. That's about it for now. I will not blog tomorrow, since I won't have any news. But if I feel up to it I will blog again on Saturday night.
Keep the prayers coming, they are truely working.
Thanks,
Kelly and Robby
A morula contains about 10 - 30 cells or so. The morula stage is the final stage prior to formation of a fluid filled cavity called the blastocoel cavity.
Then the day of the transfer (day 5) the embryos are called a blastocyst. Here is a picture of that.
Blastocyst picture of a high quality human blastocyst embryo 5 days after in vitro fertilization
The clump of cells in the 10 to 12 o'clock area in the picture make up the inner cell mass which become the fetus
I still have to be at the Dr. office Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Dr. Schnell will speak with us first before the transfer to go over the "grading" of the embryos. After the transfer I will have to remain laying for 1 to 2 hours before we are dismissed. That's about it for now. I will not blog tomorrow, since I won't have any news. But if I feel up to it I will blog again on Saturday night.
Keep the prayers coming, they are truely working.
Thanks,
Kelly and Robby
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
DIVISION (Day 2)
Tod, the embryologist, called again this morning with an update on our embryos. I actually had my cell phone in my pocket, but missed the call...go figure! He did leave, however, a long detailed message. He said that 7 of the 8 divided. Guess we keep losing one each day! But today the embryos were to divide between 2 and 4 cells. 3 of them were 4 cells, and 4 of them were 2 cells. He said that was good and exactly where they're suppose to be. My transfer WILL FOR SURE be Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. He will call us one more time, tomorrow, but no call on Friday (day 4). Dr. Schnell will sit down with us Saturday morning to discuss the two embryos that she puts back in. I'm sooo excited. Please pray that those little babies attach to my uterus wall and implant. Twins would be fine with me!!! Here are some pictures of what they look like today.
This is a 2-cell embryo (I have 4 embryos like this today) GROW BABY GROW!!!
This is a 4-cell embryo (I have 3 embryos like this today)
As I'm sitting here blogging I just received a phone call from a good friend with some bad news. Apparently Ray Garza, a friend of ours, was hit on his motorcycle off of 1462. He was life flighted to Herman Hospital and it doesn't look good. Please pray for him and his family. He has 2 boys that go to Passmore Elem, where I work.
I will update you again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby
This is a 2-cell embryo (I have 4 embryos like this today) GROW BABY GROW!!!
This is a 4-cell embryo (I have 3 embryos like this today)
As I'm sitting here blogging I just received a phone call from a good friend with some bad news. Apparently Ray Garza, a friend of ours, was hit on his motorcycle off of 1462. He was life flighted to Herman Hospital and it doesn't look good. Please pray for him and his family. He has 2 boys that go to Passmore Elem, where I work.
I will update you again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
DAY 1 Fertilization
This morning I had to go into the Dr. office again to be randomized for the study medication. I was given the Crinone, progesterone gel. If you remember when I first started blogging I mentioned that the IVF "study" was to see if the progesterone ring worked. You were either randomized to the ring (which is not FDA approved) or you would get the gel (which is FDA approved). I was given the Crinone gel. I am to insert this gel every morning at the same time for up to 10 weeks (if I have a positive pregnancy test).
Tod, who is the embryologists (I guess that's his title), and watches our embryos everyday called this morning to update us on how they were doing. He said that 8 of the 9 eggs fertilized. I was a little confused because I thought that he said yesterday that 9 had fertilized. But I was wrong. Yesterday, the day of retrieval, 10 eggs were taken, but 9 of those were mature (not fertilized). Of those 9 mature eggs, 8 fertilized. Which is very good, because the nurse told me this morning that usually about half fertilize. YEAH, and what a relief! Tod said that he would call me again in the morning to tell me how they have divided and when the transfer would be. He thinks that 90% the transfer will be on Saturday. That is the day of my sister-n-laws HUGE wedding shower, which I will hate to miss - but will have to.
Well, please say more prayers for our little embryos - that they will continue to divide well and that we won't lose any of them.
Will post again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby
Tod, who is the embryologists (I guess that's his title), and watches our embryos everyday called this morning to update us on how they were doing. He said that 8 of the 9 eggs fertilized. I was a little confused because I thought that he said yesterday that 9 had fertilized. But I was wrong. Yesterday, the day of retrieval, 10 eggs were taken, but 9 of those were mature (not fertilized). Of those 9 mature eggs, 8 fertilized. Which is very good, because the nurse told me this morning that usually about half fertilize. YEAH, and what a relief! Tod said that he would call me again in the morning to tell me how they have divided and when the transfer would be. He thinks that 90% the transfer will be on Saturday. That is the day of my sister-n-laws HUGE wedding shower, which I will hate to miss - but will have to.
Well, please say more prayers for our little embryos - that they will continue to divide well and that we won't lose any of them.
Will post again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby
Monday, April 14, 2008
EGG RETRIEVAL
Yesterday, Sunday, was a beautiful day outside and for my body as well (except for the enema). I didn't have to take any shots or have any office visits. Robby and I cleaned inside and out all day. We cleaned out the whelping box where Holly will have her pups and tried to get her used to it. We also spent some of the day out front just enjoying the weather. Here are some pics.
Brady, Holly, and Me
Here is big mama and me!
Had to take a picture of our cat, Emma. She loves the flowers.
Love birds!
Love birds again! Didn't Rob do a good job on the yard! Oh, that's MY flower bed!
Here's Holly in her whelping box. We want her to get used to it.
Brady's jealous of Holly and wants out!
Last night I could hardly sleep. I tried to get to sleep at 9:00, but with Robby up watching Kempner football games and "grading" the games (whatever...he's weird). And then Holly couldn't stop licking her private because she is having lots of leakage (guess it's a pregnancy thing). I just couldn't sleep. Finally I fell asleep about midnight. The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. I jumped out of bed wide awake and didn't even think about hitting snooze. Got Rob up and we got ready to go.
We walked out the door at 4:35 (a little early, but I didn't want to be late). Robby wanted to stop by starbucks for coffee but I freaked out and said I didn't want his little swimmers "on" coffee. Not to mention last night he drank a beer and I really FLIPPED. I know it probably doesn't matter, but I don't want "them" to be drunk either! So, we skipped the starbucks and went straight to the Dr. office. On the way there I had to take a Valium. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what it was going to do to me...but I LOVED it. I wish I had some more on hand!!! It kicked in about 30 minutes later and I was falling asleep in the waiting room and could barely walk. Robby was laughing at me the whole time and took a picture.
Me On Valium
Ok, here I am waiting for the procedure
Still on Valium
Can't believe I'm posting this picture
This is me with NO eggs :( or :)
So, after it was over I asked lots of questions and cried a bit. I sometimes get emotional after little procedures like these (yes, I've had a hand full of them). I didn't really have any abdomen cramping but my hands hurt sooo bad. The nurse who tried to put the IV in had to try 3 different spots until she got a vein. First both hands (and blew both veins) and then my left wrist. I already have pretty big bruises and have been icing them all morning. The nurse said that they took 10 eggs out. I couldn't believe it after Saturday mornings ultrasound showing that we would probably just get about 7. So I am very optimistic right now and just pray that those 10 are good.
I've taken several naps today and it feels good since I didn't sleep much last night. Robby has been doing a good job taking care of me. He made me chicken noodle soup and homemade hot sauce (which I'm not suppose to have anything spicy) but it was good! He is such a good Mr. Mom.
The lab called already today to update us on the our "babies" and 9 of the 10 fertilized!!! YEAH. I am so excited. They will call us each day to tell us how they are doing and on Wednesday I will find out if my transfer is Thursday or Saturday. I will have to take 2 days bed rest after that procedure (which is much easier than the retrieval). Except they do have to do another IV - and I'm not looking forward to that. Tomorrow morning I go in again to see if I will be picked for the gel or the ring for the progesterone study. I'll let you know what I get and how my embryos are doing tomorrow.
Keep us in your prayers, especially our little embryos!
Kelly and Robby
Brady, Holly, and Me
Here is big mama and me!
Had to take a picture of our cat, Emma. She loves the flowers.
Love birds!
Love birds again! Didn't Rob do a good job on the yard! Oh, that's MY flower bed!
Here's Holly in her whelping box. We want her to get used to it.
Brady's jealous of Holly and wants out!
Last night I could hardly sleep. I tried to get to sleep at 9:00, but with Robby up watching Kempner football games and "grading" the games (whatever...he's weird). And then Holly couldn't stop licking her private because she is having lots of leakage (guess it's a pregnancy thing). I just couldn't sleep. Finally I fell asleep about midnight. The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. I jumped out of bed wide awake and didn't even think about hitting snooze. Got Rob up and we got ready to go.
We walked out the door at 4:35 (a little early, but I didn't want to be late). Robby wanted to stop by starbucks for coffee but I freaked out and said I didn't want his little swimmers "on" coffee. Not to mention last night he drank a beer and I really FLIPPED. I know it probably doesn't matter, but I don't want "them" to be drunk either! So, we skipped the starbucks and went straight to the Dr. office. On the way there I had to take a Valium. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what it was going to do to me...but I LOVED it. I wish I had some more on hand!!! It kicked in about 30 minutes later and I was falling asleep in the waiting room and could barely walk. Robby was laughing at me the whole time and took a picture.
Me On Valium
Ok, here I am waiting for the procedure
Still on Valium
Can't believe I'm posting this picture
This is me with NO eggs :( or :)
So, after it was over I asked lots of questions and cried a bit. I sometimes get emotional after little procedures like these (yes, I've had a hand full of them). I didn't really have any abdomen cramping but my hands hurt sooo bad. The nurse who tried to put the IV in had to try 3 different spots until she got a vein. First both hands (and blew both veins) and then my left wrist. I already have pretty big bruises and have been icing them all morning. The nurse said that they took 10 eggs out. I couldn't believe it after Saturday mornings ultrasound showing that we would probably just get about 7. So I am very optimistic right now and just pray that those 10 are good.
I've taken several naps today and it feels good since I didn't sleep much last night. Robby has been doing a good job taking care of me. He made me chicken noodle soup and homemade hot sauce (which I'm not suppose to have anything spicy) but it was good! He is such a good Mr. Mom.
The lab called already today to update us on the our "babies" and 9 of the 10 fertilized!!! YEAH. I am so excited. They will call us each day to tell us how they are doing and on Wednesday I will find out if my transfer is Thursday or Saturday. I will have to take 2 days bed rest after that procedure (which is much easier than the retrieval). Except they do have to do another IV - and I'm not looking forward to that. Tomorrow morning I go in again to see if I will be picked for the gel or the ring for the progesterone study. I'll let you know what I get and how my embryos are doing tomorrow.
Keep us in your prayers, especially our little embryos!
Kelly and Robby
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Ok, Ok... I'm updating my blog!
Well, Robby and I went to our friend Emily's baby shower today. It was a beautiful day and we stayed outside in their awesome, tropical, shaded backyard! I love it! She got lots of cute outfits for her baby, Isabella. And she reminded me that I needed to update my blog...so here I am.
I believe I last blogged on Tuesday night. Ok, I went for bloodwork only at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning to check levels of estradiol. Got the phone call around 3:00 that afternoon with GOOD levels and Dr. wanting me to stay on the 150 iu of Follistim and 75 iu of Menopur. Did that Wednesday night, however when Thursday night came along I realized at 8:30 that night I didn't have enough Follistim to do the 150 dose. I started freaking out a little and thought about calling the emergency line (but didn't want to get charged) so I just dialed the Follistim to 100 (which is all I could get) and injected that. The next morning, yesterday (Monday) I went in for bloodwork, ultrasound, and a visit with the nurse. I confessed to the nurse what happened with me running out of Follistim. She said it was ok and gave me another vial to last me through the weekend. But back to the ultrasound...as the tech was scanning me I was looking at the screen and she was explaining what she saw and how my follicles were measuring. She said there were about 8 follicles measuring and that I would probably be ready for retrieval soon. I sort of paniced, thinking "doesn't there need to be like 20 or 30 follicles and she's only finding 8?" So I got dressed and went to see the nurse. The nurse, as well, said that I was going to be ready for retrieval probably on Monday. I, of course, questioned her with questions like, "are you sure?" "don't I need more eggs?" "can't I have more Follistim to grow me some more eggs?" I was just shocked!!! I couldn't believe the nurse was telling me that 8 is all my body was going to make. And that they needed to take them before it's too late and before the big follicles get too big. She said that she wanted me to come in again Saturday morning for more bloodwork and another scan to see how the follicles were doing. Needless to say, I called Robby as soon as I left and cried the whole way home. Then I called my mom and sobbed to her as well. Then I emailed my friend, Hayley, and cried over email...and made her cry. So the emotional roller coaster begins! She called me later that day and said my Estradiol looked good and to come in at 7:00 on Saturday morning...YIKES that is early...and Rob's coming with!!!
So, here it is ... Saturday night at 11:15 p.m. and it has been a LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG day! I woke up at 6:00 to take a quick shower...because I didn't want to be smelly, woke Rob up (oh yeah and took my LAST Lupron shot) and we headed to the Dr's office at 6:30. I was called in pretty quickly for blood work, but then sent back into the waiting room to wait in line for the ultrasound. There were soooo many couples there - probably about 10 or so couples. So we had a long wait. I wish I had taken my book but thought surely a Saturday morning would go fast...boy was I wrong! Robby kept himself busy sipping (he hates that word) on Starbucks and reading football articles. And of course I looked at Interior Design mags. Finally about 8:30 they called us to come back for the ultrasound. The nurse that scanned me said that I would be ready for retrieval very soon. There were still 8 follicles, but one of the fellas measured a 11.4 (which probably wouldn't make it by Monday) so that leaves us with 7...oh my goodness!!! I'm thinking in my head (and out loud too) "statistics say that about half of those won't make it (meaning they won't be good eggs or won't fertilize) - that's why they want like 20 or 30 eggs, so that leaves us with about 3 or 4...crap!" When we meet with the nurse she said that she wanted Dr. Schnell to look at the results of the scan before she made the decision about when to retrieve. Minutes later Dr. Schnells come in the room and said that she wanted to scan me again...so I undressed again and same response from her too, "you're ready". So as of this morning I have 8 follicles, 7 of which measure between 14.6 and 20.4. Those will all be mature for the retrieval on Monday. I was to take my trigger shot, Novarel, that night but they would call to tell me what time.
I received a phone call about 1:00 p.m. today from the nurse. She said to take another dose of the Menopur and Follistim as soon as we got off the phone and to take the trigger shot (which by-the-way releases your eggs)at 7:00 p.m. on the dot!!! The timing is very important because at exactly 35 hours later they retrieve...which would be 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. I was a little nervous all day about the trigger shot because the needle is 1 1/2 inches long and is intramuscualar (IM). Went to Emily's shower and sort of forgot about it...went to church and prayed about it...then I looked up and it was 6:45. So I went over to my neighbors house (who is a nurse) and told her I was ready. She did an awesome job! It felt like I was getting bloodwork, just that little pinch and that was it. I freaked out about nothing. Which I don't want to admit to Robby. I did HAVE to take a picture of the needle and post it because it is pretty big and I'm so proud of myself. [Holly must be having a dream right now because her whole body is twitching] Anyways, tomorrow (Sunday) is an off day. I am so excited because I don't have any injections, no office visits, and no intercourse (I'm sure you wanted to know that). However, I do have to take a fleet enema tomorrow night...that is so GROSS. I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight.
Here's that big needle I was scared of
I will blog on Monday night, if I am feeling up to it (we'll have to see how long it takes the anesthetic to wear off). I do get to take a Valium at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning to help relax me for the retreival. We have to be there at 5:15...another long day ahead of us.
I'll talk to you then...and have more pictures.
It's hard to tell...but Holly is getting bigger. She'll be such a good mama!
I believe I last blogged on Tuesday night. Ok, I went for bloodwork only at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning to check levels of estradiol. Got the phone call around 3:00 that afternoon with GOOD levels and Dr. wanting me to stay on the 150 iu of Follistim and 75 iu of Menopur. Did that Wednesday night, however when Thursday night came along I realized at 8:30 that night I didn't have enough Follistim to do the 150 dose. I started freaking out a little and thought about calling the emergency line (but didn't want to get charged) so I just dialed the Follistim to 100 (which is all I could get) and injected that. The next morning, yesterday (Monday) I went in for bloodwork, ultrasound, and a visit with the nurse. I confessed to the nurse what happened with me running out of Follistim. She said it was ok and gave me another vial to last me through the weekend. But back to the ultrasound...as the tech was scanning me I was looking at the screen and she was explaining what she saw and how my follicles were measuring. She said there were about 8 follicles measuring and that I would probably be ready for retrieval soon. I sort of paniced, thinking "doesn't there need to be like 20 or 30 follicles and she's only finding 8?" So I got dressed and went to see the nurse. The nurse, as well, said that I was going to be ready for retrieval probably on Monday. I, of course, questioned her with questions like, "are you sure?" "don't I need more eggs?" "can't I have more Follistim to grow me some more eggs?" I was just shocked!!! I couldn't believe the nurse was telling me that 8 is all my body was going to make. And that they needed to take them before it's too late and before the big follicles get too big. She said that she wanted me to come in again Saturday morning for more bloodwork and another scan to see how the follicles were doing. Needless to say, I called Robby as soon as I left and cried the whole way home. Then I called my mom and sobbed to her as well. Then I emailed my friend, Hayley, and cried over email...and made her cry. So the emotional roller coaster begins! She called me later that day and said my Estradiol looked good and to come in at 7:00 on Saturday morning...YIKES that is early...and Rob's coming with!!!
So, here it is ... Saturday night at 11:15 p.m. and it has been a LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG day! I woke up at 6:00 to take a quick shower...because I didn't want to be smelly, woke Rob up (oh yeah and took my LAST Lupron shot) and we headed to the Dr's office at 6:30. I was called in pretty quickly for blood work, but then sent back into the waiting room to wait in line for the ultrasound. There were soooo many couples there - probably about 10 or so couples. So we had a long wait. I wish I had taken my book but thought surely a Saturday morning would go fast...boy was I wrong! Robby kept himself busy sipping (he hates that word) on Starbucks and reading football articles. And of course I looked at Interior Design mags. Finally about 8:30 they called us to come back for the ultrasound. The nurse that scanned me said that I would be ready for retrieval very soon. There were still 8 follicles, but one of the fellas measured a 11.4 (which probably wouldn't make it by Monday) so that leaves us with 7...oh my goodness!!! I'm thinking in my head (and out loud too) "statistics say that about half of those won't make it (meaning they won't be good eggs or won't fertilize) - that's why they want like 20 or 30 eggs, so that leaves us with about 3 or 4...crap!" When we meet with the nurse she said that she wanted Dr. Schnell to look at the results of the scan before she made the decision about when to retrieve. Minutes later Dr. Schnells come in the room and said that she wanted to scan me again...so I undressed again and same response from her too, "you're ready". So as of this morning I have 8 follicles, 7 of which measure between 14.6 and 20.4. Those will all be mature for the retrieval on Monday. I was to take my trigger shot, Novarel, that night but they would call to tell me what time.
I received a phone call about 1:00 p.m. today from the nurse. She said to take another dose of the Menopur and Follistim as soon as we got off the phone and to take the trigger shot (which by-the-way releases your eggs)at 7:00 p.m. on the dot!!! The timing is very important because at exactly 35 hours later they retrieve...which would be 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. I was a little nervous all day about the trigger shot because the needle is 1 1/2 inches long and is intramuscualar (IM). Went to Emily's shower and sort of forgot about it...went to church and prayed about it...then I looked up and it was 6:45. So I went over to my neighbors house (who is a nurse) and told her I was ready. She did an awesome job! It felt like I was getting bloodwork, just that little pinch and that was it. I freaked out about nothing. Which I don't want to admit to Robby. I did HAVE to take a picture of the needle and post it because it is pretty big and I'm so proud of myself. [Holly must be having a dream right now because her whole body is twitching] Anyways, tomorrow (Sunday) is an off day. I am so excited because I don't have any injections, no office visits, and no intercourse (I'm sure you wanted to know that). However, I do have to take a fleet enema tomorrow night...that is so GROSS. I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight.
Here's that big needle I was scared of
I will blog on Monday night, if I am feeling up to it (we'll have to see how long it takes the anesthetic to wear off). I do get to take a Valium at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning to help relax me for the retreival. We have to be there at 5:15...another long day ahead of us.
I'll talk to you then...and have more pictures.
It's hard to tell...but Holly is getting bigger. She'll be such a good mama!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
April 4th Ultrasound Visit
Well, it has been over 2 weeks since I've updated you on our IVF journey. I have been taking a morning shot of .1 cc Lupron for 14 days. On April 4th (last Friday) my Lupron dose decreased to .05 cc. I also had an ultrasound that morning to see how the Lupron was treating me. And, as expected, my folicles were looking good. My body usually does cooperate with these fertility meds. I met with the nurse and she game me a HUGE box with all kinds of meds and supplies. I received Follistim that day along with Menopur. Follistim is the drug that induces the development of multiple eggs, the important drug! So I was instructed to draw up 75 iu (units) of follistim and mix it with the Menopur solution (which is a powder). I feel like I could be a nurse after mixing all these meds! Then I draw up into another syringe the mixture. That goes right there in my belly...every night. The Lupron is a morning shot. So to total number all the needles that I have injected into my belly in the past 2 weeks = 24 total shots. Not to mention all the blood work I've had! I continued this procedure for 3 days (April 4, 5, and 6th). On Monday morning at 7:00 I was scheduled to go in for blood work to check my hormone levels, estradiol. I got a phone call that after noon saying that my levels were not as high as Dr. Schnell wanted them, so to up my dose of follistim to 150 iu, instead of 75 iu. WOW, I double it! Of course Robby was excited because he thought the more meds...the more eggs! I'm not sure that it works that way, but whatever. I did the 150 dose Monday and Tuesday night (tonight). I go again in the morning (April 9th) for blood work to check estradiol again. We'll see if it looks any better or if I'll have to change the dose again.
I only have about 5 more days of shots then it will be time for retrieval ALREADY. It has gone by sooooo fast. I am very excited for the retrieval and transfer. Robby and I have been waiting for this it seems like forever. I will have to be asleep for the retrieval, but not for the transfer. I will keep yall updated with the visits, I have 4 more visits in the next 6 days, so I will try to blog after each one of them.
As for Holly, my girl dog, she IS pregnant. Yeah...at least someone is! We took her to the vet to confirm the pregnancy last Monday. She is due around the 1st of May. We will be taking her back in about 2 weeks to have an x-ray to see how many pups are expected. I will post all the pictures of the pups as soon as she has them.
I only have about 5 more days of shots then it will be time for retrieval ALREADY. It has gone by sooooo fast. I am very excited for the retrieval and transfer. Robby and I have been waiting for this it seems like forever. I will have to be asleep for the retrieval, but not for the transfer. I will keep yall updated with the visits, I have 4 more visits in the next 6 days, so I will try to blog after each one of them.
As for Holly, my girl dog, she IS pregnant. Yeah...at least someone is! We took her to the vet to confirm the pregnancy last Monday. She is due around the 1st of May. We will be taking her back in about 2 weeks to have an x-ray to see how many pups are expected. I will post all the pictures of the pups as soon as she has them.
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