This morning at 7:30am I had my blood drawn so they could tell me what dosage of meds to take from now on. The doctor had said in the beginning that I would expect this number to go down but instead when they called me today they told me to increase my dosage. I'm feeling the effects today for sure, I feel bloated and really tired and sore. But I don't know if the meds are really doing what they are supposed to be. Ugg! I guess I will have to saify and see what happens on Friday when I go in for my ultrasound.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013 my mother passed away. During the past 2 years she had 2 surgeries that were botched leaving her with no functioning kidneys as well as many other medical problems. Her quality of life was horrible. I really don't want to type a lot regarding this because it is so personal and heartbreaking. It was unexpected. This week has been the worst of my life but I know she would want me to continue with our journey. I know she will be with me every step of the way and she will help me have strength because she was the strongest woman I have ever known. I love her so much.
Menopur and Bravelle
Yesterday we went to the doctor for my ultrasound and blood draw and pee test and to learn how to do my new injections. I had no idea that I was going to have to be a master mixologist! It was crazy learning about the viles of powdered meds that have to be mixed with water. I have to use 3 viles of menopur and 1 of Bravelle with 1 of water plus the Lupron shots. The new meds sting going in and for a little while after but it's not bad. Doctor said that because I am young I am taking pretty minimal doses. They did the ultrasound and everything looked good! I am nervous for the coming week as this is when my ovaries will be getting big with lots of eggs. We went and bought some stretch pants that I can wear to work incase I don't want to have anything tight around my waist. Next Friday is the start of our 3 ultrasounds to see when we will do the retrieval. Here is a photo of my lovely new meds :)
Thursday, January 17, 2013
So far so good
Today was my third day on Lupron. The shots are not hard to do at all. I did have a headache when I woke up this morning but who knows if it was because of the meds. Otherwise, all is good. Next Friday is our next appointment so I guess I will post again then ;)
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Injection time!
Today we had our appointment to learn how to do my Lupron injections. Frank didn't want to poke me so I did it myself which actually wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it might be. So we will start on our own with tomorrow's shot in the morning before work. I also started the antibiotic tonight and will add baby aspirins to my daily pills in the morning. The nurse said the only side effect I might experience from the Lupron is headaches so that made me feel much better because I already get headaches quite often so I am used to dealing with them.
So now we just continue this path until the 25th when we go back for an ultrasound and to learn about new injections and pills. I am happy that I should still feel good enough to work out for at least another week because I have some added pounds to lose. I am blaming it on football season ;)
On another note, check out the lovely bruise that showed up almost a week after my surgery from the IV. I guess I jus bruise easy because both of my arms look the same from having blood drawn. Oh well at least it doesn't hurt!
So now we just continue this path until the 25th when we go back for an ultrasound and to learn about new injections and pills. I am happy that I should still feel good enough to work out for at least another week because I have some added pounds to lose. I am blaming it on football season ;)
On another note, check out the lovely bruise that showed up almost a week after my surgery from the IV. I guess I jus bruise easy because both of my arms look the same from having blood drawn. Oh well at least it doesn't hurt!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Surgery Day O' Fun...NOT!
I went in for my Pollop removal Thursday morning at 6am. Frank of coarse was there with me, being so supportive and taking time from him business to sit at the hospital for hours waiting for me.
I went back to sign papers and pay the portion that insurance wouldn't cover (which is alot) and then they took both of us back to pre-op where I continued to sit on the bed for almost two hours. I did get an IV put in for the first time which is a yucky thing to have to have attached to your body. I just kept thinking of all the times I have been to the hospital with my mother (she has has very bad health problems related to a few surgeries gone wrong) and having flash backs of what horrible experiences she has had. It really made me sooo nervous having never been admitted myself.
They wheeled me off to the surgery room and I gave Frank a kiss goodbye. The surgery room is also yucky! Big, cold white room with alien lighting. I'm glad I wasn't awake in there for very long. The last things I remember are them putting the oxygen mask over my face, the anesthesiologist telling me the medicine might sting a little and the doctor rubbing my arm telling me to pick something good to dream about.
Well I didn't dream at all but when I was woken up, it felt like I had a good nights rest and I was pretty sleepy still. I did have minimal cramping from the surgery but they gave me meds right away to help. The doctor told me that when he was in there removing the one pollop that he thought I had, they ended up finding a bunch of other little ones that they also removed. That was interesting but great news, I had a brand new, fully cleaned uterus prefect for baby making! :)
I continued to recover in post-op room and then to a recliner where I could see Frank. He said the surgery was quick and that doctor showed him before and after scans of how good my uterus looks now. While I was at the hospital I ate some crackers, drank some ginger ale and talked to Frank alot about my first hospital experience. The staff were really great and helpful (which is exact opposite of the experience we have had with my mother).
When I got in the car to go home, I realized that the car was not my friend after all. Man, I was really nauseous! I kept thinking, just take deep breaths! Luckily the ride home is only about 10 mins. so I made it. When I got home I felt better so I called my Mom and my grandmother to tell them all about it while Frank went to get my prescription for Vicodin filled just in case I needed it and also grab some sandwiches for our lunch. My brother stopped by and had lunch with us. I was sitting on the couch and thinking how good my lunch looked and smelled after fasting since last night. As I took my second bite my brother noticed that I was a bit pale and told me to take it easy. I really wanted this sandwich! but it did not want me. Every bite I had to sit completely still. If I moved an inch I would feel so nauseous. I managed to get half of it down and then gave up. I made it upstairs with Frank to take a nap. 3 hours later I woke up when I heard him coming up the stairs so I got out of bed thinking I would feel better. No way! I had a huge headache after my nap and took a Vicodin thinking it would help but I think it made the nausea worse! I also had quite a bit of bleeding all day but they said that is normal. I just laid on the couch until dinner time. Frank made me a baked potato and some chicken but the chicken was feeling to heavy in my stomach so I just had the potato. I was able to keep that down and drank a bottle of water. Shortly after I was feeling much better and we went to bed because I had work the next morning.
When I woke up the next morning I felt ok, still a bit groggy and had some cramps but not nearly as bad as my period cramps have been. The bleeding was gone so at least I didnt have to worry about that at work. I am just shocked at how much the anesthesia effected me. Hopefully knowing that now I can drink more water and eat very lightly next time to help the symptoms subside quicker.
Frank Picked up the box of meds from Fed Ex on Friday that we will need for our Tuesday appt to go over how to do the injections. Wow, just thinking that Tuesday is the first day of our cycle is crazy! I am excited but sooo nervous. Hoping my body is nice to me through this process. I don't have the luxury of staying home. I have a full time and mentally demanding career. Guess it's time to man up and get the show on the road! ;)
I went back to sign papers and pay the portion that insurance wouldn't cover (which is alot) and then they took both of us back to pre-op where I continued to sit on the bed for almost two hours. I did get an IV put in for the first time which is a yucky thing to have to have attached to your body. I just kept thinking of all the times I have been to the hospital with my mother (she has has very bad health problems related to a few surgeries gone wrong) and having flash backs of what horrible experiences she has had. It really made me sooo nervous having never been admitted myself.
They wheeled me off to the surgery room and I gave Frank a kiss goodbye. The surgery room is also yucky! Big, cold white room with alien lighting. I'm glad I wasn't awake in there for very long. The last things I remember are them putting the oxygen mask over my face, the anesthesiologist telling me the medicine might sting a little and the doctor rubbing my arm telling me to pick something good to dream about.
Well I didn't dream at all but when I was woken up, it felt like I had a good nights rest and I was pretty sleepy still. I did have minimal cramping from the surgery but they gave me meds right away to help. The doctor told me that when he was in there removing the one pollop that he thought I had, they ended up finding a bunch of other little ones that they also removed. That was interesting but great news, I had a brand new, fully cleaned uterus prefect for baby making! :)
I continued to recover in post-op room and then to a recliner where I could see Frank. He said the surgery was quick and that doctor showed him before and after scans of how good my uterus looks now. While I was at the hospital I ate some crackers, drank some ginger ale and talked to Frank alot about my first hospital experience. The staff were really great and helpful (which is exact opposite of the experience we have had with my mother).
When I got in the car to go home, I realized that the car was not my friend after all. Man, I was really nauseous! I kept thinking, just take deep breaths! Luckily the ride home is only about 10 mins. so I made it. When I got home I felt better so I called my Mom and my grandmother to tell them all about it while Frank went to get my prescription for Vicodin filled just in case I needed it and also grab some sandwiches for our lunch. My brother stopped by and had lunch with us. I was sitting on the couch and thinking how good my lunch looked and smelled after fasting since last night. As I took my second bite my brother noticed that I was a bit pale and told me to take it easy. I really wanted this sandwich! but it did not want me. Every bite I had to sit completely still. If I moved an inch I would feel so nauseous. I managed to get half of it down and then gave up. I made it upstairs with Frank to take a nap. 3 hours later I woke up when I heard him coming up the stairs so I got out of bed thinking I would feel better. No way! I had a huge headache after my nap and took a Vicodin thinking it would help but I think it made the nausea worse! I also had quite a bit of bleeding all day but they said that is normal. I just laid on the couch until dinner time. Frank made me a baked potato and some chicken but the chicken was feeling to heavy in my stomach so I just had the potato. I was able to keep that down and drank a bottle of water. Shortly after I was feeling much better and we went to bed because I had work the next morning.
When I woke up the next morning I felt ok, still a bit groggy and had some cramps but not nearly as bad as my period cramps have been. The bleeding was gone so at least I didnt have to worry about that at work. I am just shocked at how much the anesthesia effected me. Hopefully knowing that now I can drink more water and eat very lightly next time to help the symptoms subside quicker.
Frank Picked up the box of meds from Fed Ex on Friday that we will need for our Tuesday appt to go over how to do the injections. Wow, just thinking that Tuesday is the first day of our cycle is crazy! I am excited but sooo nervous. Hoping my body is nice to me through this process. I don't have the luxury of staying home. I have a full time and mentally demanding career. Guess it's time to man up and get the show on the road! ;)
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
January Cycle!
Had our noon appointment today with the IVF coordinator. She let us know that we on schedule for the January cycle! She also gave us our official calendar and I got all of my meds ordered (extremely expensive - almost $3k). I will pick them up this Friday. Now it seems that things are moving along very quickly! Don't get me wrong, thats what we wanted but I can't believe how nervous I am. I never thought I would be thinking about everything every second of the day. And I haven't even started it all yet. I have my pollop surgery Thursday early in the morning so no work for me that day. I also learned today that depending on when the egg transfer ends up being, I will need to be off my feel for 3 days after, well there goes any vacation time I had :( but it is worth it, just wasn't expecting it...lets just hope I transfer on a Thursday, then I will have the weekend!
I go back to the doctor on the 15th to learn how to do my injections. This is the real deal and I'm glad we didn't have to wait!
I go back to the doctor on the 15th to learn how to do my injections. This is the real deal and I'm glad we didn't have to wait!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Can we start?
The doc called this morning to schedule an appointment for tomorrow and to ask me if we still were shooting for a January cycle... What? We have said sooo many times that we want January! Why can't anyone write it down! Anyway, they said they would discuss with the doc to make sure we were still on schedule even with our hiccups. They said they would call me but they didn't call this afternoon. I hate being patient. So, I have an appointment to go over everything at noon tomorrow including the start of my injections which would be started Jan 15 as long as we are good to go! Fingers crossed and goodnight.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The first blog is a long one just to get caught up :)
The Beginning
The Beginning
After much internal thinking regarding our
7 year relationship and my/our future, the words finally came out one
night in bed. We were just about to fall asleep when I found enough
courage to say what no man wants to hear..."Babe, we need to talk."
I proceeded to tell Frank that I decided I would like us to have a baby. He was, of coarse, ecstatic!
I should explain that a lot of my thoughts were a little more complicated than normal...you see, I am 27 and Frank is 50. Not the typical relationship but what is, really. We had been together for a long time, obviously committed and very happy together, I just had never thought I would want to have a child, that was just always my mindset as a very independent woman. But, after many sleepless nights thinking about everything, I realized that now is the time!
Frank is an amazing, selfless, thoughtful, caring, did I say amazing guy and I am so excited to share this with him.
Full Speed Ahead
So...we decided that we are going to get pregnant and we want it now! Unfortunately, after a quick visit to our regular doctor, it wasn't going to be quite as quick and easy as we had hoped. Frank had a vasectomy about 15 years ago. I obviously was aware of this but did not realize that it was that big of a deal. The doctor explained our options and because there were only 2 (one of which could take a year or more) we made a quick decision to move forward with IVF with ICSI and PESA.
Hard Hitting News
We made an appointment with the best reproductive medicine physician in the area so we could move forward. During our consultation, the doctor went into quite a bit of detail regarding the process. What I was realizing as he was explaining everything was how much it was going to involve me! I kept thinking, what the hell! I am young, fertile and healthy, why would I have to go through all of this with procedures, shots, hormones, blood tests, ugg! Really hard hitting and disappointing news. But, the important part is that it can be done, we can make it happen and actually the fact that I am young, fertile and healthy just makes things better for us and our odds of getting pregnant through IVF. We concluded our appointment by providing blood samples. The next time I talked to then was about 2 weeks later when I started my period. I had to call so they could start me on birth control (I had never taken it before because when your boyfriend has a vasectomy it's quite pointless).
Trial PESA
Frank and I went in to do what they call a "Trial PESA" procedure. We had talked a lot about how we didn't understand how it could be a "trial", we knew that even though he has a vasectomy, he still produced sperm so what is the big deal, just grab then and freeze them!
Frank was given anesthesia and about 1 hour later I was able to come back and see him. He was very woozy still when the doctor came in to give us the news. Doctor tells us that he found sperm but none of them were living. Only dead sperm! How?! We can't believe this, we thought we were golden. It turns out that the longer you have a vasectomy, the more sperm die and build up inside. He proceeds to tell us that he is confident that Frank is still producing live sperm but that he will have to go in for another surgery. Not only that, but the surgery will be on the same day as mine! The doctor will have to go in deeper to find the living sperms and that means they cannot be frozen for later use, they have to be extracted on the same day as my eggs. Oh man, this just got a lot more nerve racking! After more blood testing, doctor put Frank on Clomid for his testosterone levels just to make sure everything is good for the surgery. We only get one shot so Frank is set on taking whatever he needs to make it work!
Another Hiccup
The Monday following Franks procedure, we went back for my Water Ultrasound. This is standard protocol just to make sure my uterus is good to go. As the doctor is moving the ultrasound back and forth to see all around, he keeps going back to this one spot. He states that he thinks there is a Pollop. What?! WTH is a Pollop and how could I have one? Well, im really not happy at this point. Now we both have had bad news. Turns out I have to go in to have this Pollop removed because they will not do IVF unless I have the best chances of getting pregnant. The pollop is about a half centimeter and he wasn't too concerned. He just said to have it removed just in case the embryo wants to attached right at that spot, the pollop would stop it from attaching and no pregnancy. We don't want that to happen so this Thursday I will go in to have it removed.
Moving Forward
Tonight is Sunday night and the first day of this blog. I have had to catch you up on all the happening up until this point. I just took the last pill of my first pack of birth control. Officially been on it for 21 days. My worst symptoms have been being really really cold all of the time and moderate back pain (which I had prior to the pills anyway so who knows...). The doctor says to stay on the birth control until after my surgery...Then I will get on the official IVF calendar and start the hormones...oh boy, maybe the hormones will have a reverse effect on me and make me have a better attitude!
Trial PESA
Frank and I went in to do what they call a "Trial PESA" procedure. We had talked a lot about how we didn't understand how it could be a "trial", we knew that even though he has a vasectomy, he still produced sperm so what is the big deal, just grab then and freeze them!
Frank was given anesthesia and about 1 hour later I was able to come back and see him. He was very woozy still when the doctor came in to give us the news. Doctor tells us that he found sperm but none of them were living. Only dead sperm! How?! We can't believe this, we thought we were golden. It turns out that the longer you have a vasectomy, the more sperm die and build up inside. He proceeds to tell us that he is confident that Frank is still producing live sperm but that he will have to go in for another surgery. Not only that, but the surgery will be on the same day as mine! The doctor will have to go in deeper to find the living sperms and that means they cannot be frozen for later use, they have to be extracted on the same day as my eggs. Oh man, this just got a lot more nerve racking! After more blood testing, doctor put Frank on Clomid for his testosterone levels just to make sure everything is good for the surgery. We only get one shot so Frank is set on taking whatever he needs to make it work!
Another Hiccup
The Monday following Franks procedure, we went back for my Water Ultrasound. This is standard protocol just to make sure my uterus is good to go. As the doctor is moving the ultrasound back and forth to see all around, he keeps going back to this one spot. He states that he thinks there is a Pollop. What?! WTH is a Pollop and how could I have one? Well, im really not happy at this point. Now we both have had bad news. Turns out I have to go in to have this Pollop removed because they will not do IVF unless I have the best chances of getting pregnant. The pollop is about a half centimeter and he wasn't too concerned. He just said to have it removed just in case the embryo wants to attached right at that spot, the pollop would stop it from attaching and no pregnancy. We don't want that to happen so this Thursday I will go in to have it removed.
Moving Forward
Tonight is Sunday night and the first day of this blog. I have had to catch you up on all the happening up until this point. I just took the last pill of my first pack of birth control. Officially been on it for 21 days. My worst symptoms have been being really really cold all of the time and moderate back pain (which I had prior to the pills anyway so who knows...). The doctor says to stay on the birth control until after my surgery...Then I will get on the official IVF calendar and start the hormones...oh boy, maybe the hormones will have a reverse effect on me and make me have a better attitude!
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