Day 9 Stims Check

We returned to the RE again yesterday morning.
6-17-12:

• e2:  2526
• p4:  1.5

My follicles looked great and they adjusted my injections.  We only took 75 units of Menopur and 5 units of Lupron last night.

We returned again this morning for yet another ultrasound and labs. Many of my follicles are maturing, and my lining is thick at 0.8 cm!  It should be happening any day now.

I am waiting for Janet to call me and let us know if we are going to "trigger" tonight or tomorrow night.  I'm secretly hoping that we'll "trigger" tonight and have the Egg Retrieval on Wednesday.

When I say "trigger," I'm referring to the hCG injection.  Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) is the pregnancy hormone.  In IUI and IVF cycles, the RE instructs you to administer a dose of hCG to trigger the eggs to release.  

Waiting another day does not make much of a difference at this point, but I'm ready to get this show on the road.

My follicles look like they're smiling!

I will update as I know more!
Continue to check my IVF Schedule for updates as well!

Day 7 Stims

We had another monitoring appointment this morning.  Everything looks great!

At the appointment, the nurse still saw 28 follicles growing.  As we left, they scheduled us to return on Monday morning with a plan of triggering with hCG on Monday and Egg Retrieval on Wednesday.

*They called me with my lab results around 10am.*

• My e2  was 1842 and p4 was 1.1.  
• 6-14-12:  e2 497 and p4 .4

They have me scheduled to return in the morning and are tentatively planning for us to trigger tomorrow night and have the retrieval on Tuesday.  To say that were excited is an understatement!  Keep your prayers coming our way!

B in the waiting room this morning

My beautiful follicles 

Another picture of my beautiful follicles

Day 5 Follicle Check

We had our first ultrasound/follicle check today. To say that I'm progressing well is an understatement!  We have 12 follicles on one ovary and 16 on the other.  The measurements were crazy awesome!  Some of the numbers I remember were all around 2.0cm, 1.8cm, and 1.6cm.  My lining looked great and was triple stripe!

I am still awaiting more specifics about my blood work from Janet.
I will update as soon as I know more information!

This is how we roll at the fertility clinic...

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Our anniversary was lovely!

Brandon made me breakfast yesterday morning and drove me to work.  We went to dinner at Joe's Italian with Rachel, Clint, Jennifer, and Dad last night.  When they brought dessert, everyone sang happy anniversary to the tune of "Happy Birthday".  It was perfect!

Our marriage may not be perfect, but you won't get any complaints out of us!  Here a few pictures from the evening, courtesy of Jen!

A candid of us while they were singing

Posed shot

Our fabulous dessert

With my best friend

Suppression Check Passed

We had our suppression check this morning.  Great News: 

I PASSED!

Overall, it was a quick appointment today.  They did the necessary bloodwork and sent me for my ultrasound.  My cyst was still evident on the screen, but it had shrunk in size to 1.6cm.  (Previously, it measured 2.35cm).

Our NP gave me 1200IU of Follistim that had been saved for me since my cancelled cycle in January.  We have not been actively TTC since January.  Wow!  It just occurred to me that it's been that long since we were cycling.  I have no idea how I have made it this long.  And here goes my crazy lady Lupron rant:

Since January I have definitely received much unwanted and unwarranted advice.  I am glad that I chose to make my journey public, but sometimes I wish that people would stop trying to give us advice.  Don't get me wrong, I love when people talk to us about overcoming infertility.  I met a lady from church last week who introduced me to her twins conceived via IUI.  I knew that those two boys were truly a miracle!  Lately, people automatically assume that I'm just distraught; or that I need to relax.  Surprisingly enough, I think that I've been as relaxed as possible.  Yes, I want a baby more than anything.  BUT if I have to hear "in God's time" from one more person I may strangle them.  =)   Did they have to wait for a baby?  Did they have to have numerous procedures and timed intercourse?  If you have not battled Infertility, don't tell someone that it's all a part of God's plan and that it will happen in His timing.  Believe me,  I know this, and do NOT need you to tell me! **Rant over!  This is probably the Lupron talking...  My moods have been swinging!  

We also had to hand over payment for the cycle.  All I can say is that God provides!

Our payment receipt

Janet called and left message on my patient voice mail around 1:30pm saying that everything looked wonderful.  She instructed me to follow my calendar protocol and begin stims on Sunday.  I can't believe it's all happening!

Don't forget to visit my pages for more info:
Lingo
IVF Schedule
The Cost

IVF Protocol

Last week started the beginning of our IVF cycle. 

On Tuesday, I had my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. On Thursday, I met with Dr. Allemand to discuss the IVF checklist. Brandon was out of town, so Joy came with me. We had discussed much at length about IVF with Dr.A previously, so the office visit with him was not too stressful. He did discuss each step of the IVF process at length, and answered the few questions that I had.

My antral follicle count was 14 at my baseline ultrasound. Dr. A thinks that I'm a great candidate for IVF, and that I should produce many healthy eggs. As of now, our plan is to transfer two embryos. If for some reason I have poor quality embryos, we will access whether to transfer more then.

My IVF calendar arrived in the mail on Saturday.  The next few months are going to be crazy for us!  I will write a post later describing the process of IVF for all my friends reading who are not familiar with all of the terms.

The Calendar

Court's IVF S3 Protocol

5-5:  CD 1
5-8:  Baseline appointment; Start BCP
5-10:  IVF Checklist with Dr.A
5-29:  Precycle visit with Janet (IVF nurse) at 9am; begin 10 units of Lupron daily (injectable)
6-1:  Take last BCP
6-6:  Office Visit/ Suppression Check; Cycle payment due; Signed consents due to office
6-10:  Reduce Lupron to 5 units daily (injectable); Begin stims:  Follistim 225 units (injectable, Menopur 75 units (injectable)
6-14:  Office Visit
6-15:  Possible Office Visit
6-16:  Possible Office Visit; abstain from intercourse for the duration
6-17:  Possible Office Visit; begin antibiotic
6-18:  Possible Office Visit
6-19:  Possible Office Visit
6-20-6-21:  Tentative Egg Retrieval (ER); ER will determine Embryo Transfer (ET) and Beta (if we're pregnant or not)

Like I said above, I will post more later about the specifics.  We will not know the actual date of the ER and ET until I have began my stimulation medications.  Please continue to pray for us!  The next months will be exhausting mentally, emotionally, and physically.

More Instagram & Baseline Appointment

Well, AF arrived sooner than expected.  I had planned to call the nurse at ART today to ask for Provera.  God decided otherwise (probably with some help from the supermoon).  I noticed some spotting Friday afternoon and "she" showed up in full force on Saturday.  I was extremely confused and even called Kayla to try and figure out my wonky cycle.  During this previous cycle, I never ovulated or had a clear pattern.  I had some strange mid-cycle spotting and felt all over the place.

Previous cycle's BBT chart

I only spotted yesterday and seem to be doing the same today.  My baseline appointment is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:15am. This starts my 19th cycle TTC. I am hopeful that the 2.35cm cyst from my past two cycles is gone.  God, I know you are hearing this.  If it is your will, let the cyst be gone. 

Tomorrow will only be 4 weeks since Brandon began his fast from Skoal.  I am in hopes that they will go ahead and allow me to begin taking BCP in preparation for IVF.  I don't feel ready.  I was still planning on having 2 more weeks, but God's timing is always the best timing.

Here are a few more of my photos from the May Photo Challenge. These pictures aren't as pretty as the ones in my first post.  I promise to try harder with the next batch!  Enjoy!

May 5- Bird - from the Mother Daughter Banquet

May 6- Me- Laying out in the backyard

May 7- Someone that inspires you- My husband works so hard to provide for me.

Another date with the ultrasound wand

We went in for another follicle check this morning.  My lining looked great, but she didn't give me a measurement.  I was disappointed that my follicle was only measuring 16mm.  We've delayed the trigger until tomorrow evening, so the IUI will take place on Tuesday. 

After crying for about 20 minutes or so I felt better.  It's so stupid, but I was upset because we sold our tickets to the Bama/Tennessee game tonight.  On gameday, Brandon and I spend more time together than we do all week.  We stopped by Marvin's on the way home and I bought paint for my guest bedroom/office.  I've been wanting to paint in here for a couple of months.  Brandon said that he wouldn't want me inhaling the fumes after I'm pregnant so I guess it all worked out today for the greater good.  =)

As crazy as this may sound, I'm going to soak my feet today and tomorrow whenever I get a free moment to help my follicles grow.  I think it's TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) or something that says it can stimulate them to grow.  I'm willing to try anything.  I want my baby sneakers. 

Follicle Check

We had our follicle check yesterday, and I'm responding well to Femara.  On my left ovary, I had 2 larger follicles at 13mm and 14mm.  I had 7 smaller ones on the right ovary.  They scheduled me to come back in Saturday morning for another ultrasound at 7:30.  I'm hoping that we'll measure 18mm by then (since they should grow 2mm each day).  My lining was only 6mm, but my SIL and the DRs assured me that it will have thickened up by then.  Brandon picked up my trigger shot yesterday and he will administer that to me on Saturday evening. 

We sold our tickets to the Bama game since it's a late kick-off.  Brandon did not feel comfortable at all with having to prepare my shot and give it to me around 80,000+ other people.  =)  We're so excited!  Right now, we're scheduling to do the IUI on Monday morning. 

I talked to Brandon about my idea about the pregnancy journal and he's on board.  We're both going to write a letter to our baby on the day of insemination.  He thought it was a good idea too.  =) 

I can't believe that we've made it this far.  I now have so much respect for women who have to struggle with fertiilty issues and for those who battle this for years.  My sanity has been rattled for the past 1.5 years and that 1.5 years is nothing in comparison to what most women must conquer.