The hcg blood has been taken. Results coming soon...
And the results are in....
I can't believe I just typed those famous words! My heart is beating so fast I don't know what to do with myself. Mom is about to jump out of her skin - literally - she was jumping up and down and chanting, "I'm gonna be a Grammie! I'm gonna be a Grammie!" (She has already given herself this name.)
More bloodwork on Friday and Monday to determine if I need to take any other supplements...
YAHOO!!!!
4 more days in the dreaded 2WW. I have been doing good staying occupied with my cake class, housework, and real work. But today is my Friday off....and also the 2nd day of taking Pro.metrium. I met some girlfriends for dinner and gossip catch up time last night and didn't get home until after 9. So I couldn't take my first pill until then. I took the 2nd this morning after breakfast. After watching DVR of Young & the Restless from yesterday, I watched today's episode also. Then gave Maddie girl a bath and dried her. All keeping myself away from the you-know-what's under the bathroom sink. I then decided (at 12:30) to finally take a shower, but had to potty first. Oh and to my surprise....what did I find but (TMI) brown discharge with a little bit of red mixed in.
Enter crying breakdown on the toilet complete with shorts around the ankles. I had already started the shower to get the water hot, so I went crying into the shower and finished up as quickly as I could. I got dressed still doing it, and sat in the rocking chair in the bedroom dressed, with a towel on my head, sobbing into a pillow. A friend had stopped by to drop off something for Dean so I couldn't go out there. He finally left and Dean came in....he was freaked and didn't know what was wrong with me. I finally got it out and he said to call Dr. H. When he called, we got the "after hours message." Yes, they close at 1:30 on Fridays and it was only 1:26. Technically I know they don't, but they don't answer the phones anymore and let it roll to the answering service. The options you have to press to get through to the operator to get them to page the doc ask if this is an emergency or you are in labor...really I could do without that statement right now. So he tells her that I'm bleeding and we need to know what to do/what's going on. Her final question....is she pregnant? O.M.G. His reply...maybe, we're not sure.
Doc called back and this time he made me talk to him. I told him what happened and what it looked like and he said that I ovulated so there is no way it could be my cycle starting and to continue the Pro.metrium until the pg test next week and to call him if the bleeding got any worse. So I was finally able to breathe a little bit easier. My eyeballs are still killing me, but at least I have dried my hair and look a little presentable.
We have decided to go on a date tonight to keep our minds off things. Thinking of a fancy restaurant in Gal.veston where we even have to dress up. I am looking forward to it.
Also looking forward to bottling our homemade wine tomorrow. If you recall we shelved it back in February so its been fermenting since then. I am so excited to try it, even if it is only a little swallow. I did, however, find some non-alcoholic wine at HEB last week. I haven't tried it yet, but I miss the taste so much. My friend S last night said, "NA wine? what the hell is the point?" I laughed. At least I get the essence of the grapes anyway...
And since I am feeling sad and haven't done it in a while....
Grateful for:
A few things to update everyone on....and I'm in a "list-y" mood....
The IUI went perfectly today. The ovaries had collapsed indicating they had released the eggs, there was fluid near them, another sign of ovulation. And after the IUI was done, Doc did the hoo-hoo cam to make for sure the swimmers past the cervix okay. And they did - and you could see them moving! It was crazy. Yes, I know most of you out there have seen an actual baby on your ultrasounds, but I saw my hubby's swimmers and it was super cool!
Oh and I requested a lining check for my sanity, and it was around 10.2! Way to go estro.gen patch!
A progester.one check next week and a pg test the week after. Bring on the 2WW!!
So I am now waiting for IUI#4 tomorrow. Last night I bought some pineapple juice because I read somewhere that its supposed to help your lining? Anyone else heard of that?
I was busy making my cake and icings for my last class of Course 1 for tonight. Between that and staying busy at work, I have totally sucked at ICLW this week. I even read yesterday that Martha was an Iron Commentator! I couldn't even manage 6 comments in total, much less 7 days in a row or whatever it takes to be "Iron." EESH. I'm so sorry to all those commenters who have been so faithful to me and I can't even return the favor! I will do better next month, I promise!
Please keep us in your prayers for IUI#4 tomorrow and the 2WW to follow!!
Back from the RE's office again...
Lining: 9.2
R side: 22X18
L side: 22X20
lots of smaller ones still hanging around
Doc says lining is great and the follies are bigger than they've ever been! Yeah follies! I am triggering ov.ulation with 2 Ovi.drel injections tonight at 8:00. IUI #4 is Wednesday at 11:30!!!
Please keep me, D, the follies, and the swimmers in your thoughts and prayers this week! Love you guys!
Today is CD3 so I had the usual hoo-hoo cam and b/w. Cam showed both ovaries quiet with "small antral follicles." Gonna have to goo.gle "antral." I think it means behind? I dunno. Anyway, he ordered a P-COS panel for the b/w. This included testing for 11 things!!! Bein's (I make fun of D for saying that all the time) that I have zippo fertility insurance, I usually pay about $80 per test ($100 minus a 20% cash discount) so we were looking at over $800 today just for b/w!!! My dear friend Anna, the "financial advisor" of the clinic was like, "Eesh. This is going to be expensive!" So she worked a little magic for me. Since this was the first visit of the cycle, she said she could code the b/w differently (non-fertility code) and bill my insurance for the b/w! WOOHOO - b/w cost me only $15 copay!
BUT...
$15 was not my total bill. We had to pay for the IUI too IN ADVANCE EVEN IF IT DOESN"T WORK (WHICH IT WILL)....boo hoo. Total was $1163. And to make things more difficult, I left my debit card in my pants pocket last night! I had written my number down on a sticky note. Anna said to pretend to call her with the number to charge it because the check out lady is a tattle tale and the office frowns on paying by sticky note (HA!) and would tell someone what I had done. Really, like you can't check the account and know that I am using the same card as always! Anyway, as I was leaving she said, "You still have my business card right? Don't forget to call me" loud enough for rude-y check out lady to hear!
So this round's protocol:
Follie check on 7/23 and again on 7/25, with the IUI probably on 7/28!!!!
SA Results are in too:
So fun times with my stepson and husband last night. We enjoyed sushi and adult beverages at a couple of locations. I took some pics of them (damn why did I leave the camera at home) last night. I don't think we have a single photo of the boy in our house. Well, I take that back. There are some of him and his now ex-girlfriend from Christmas. Speaking of, we have been seeing more of him lately because of the now ex. Apparently she was hording all of his free time!! D and J were so cute together!
TMI below...
I believe the side effect BONUS of the Met has returned. I have just completed Trip #5 to the restroom for nasty diarrhea!! Seriously....how can someone have so much shit in their body? And to top it off, it's the WORK RESTROOM!! I already have issues peeing when someone else can hear me, but #2? GOOD LORD! I must have had 15 "courtesy flushes" to MASK THE SOUNDS!!! And on that note - would the Indian lady PLEASE stop thinking that the restroom is your own private conference room? Although I have no idea who you are talking to you or what you are saying in Indian...I am pretty sure that whoever doesn't want to hear me take a shit!!! And between my 15 flushes, how could they even hear you??? Then finally you are done on the pot and I think you are leaving so I can "finish" in peace....and you go to the sink area and talk for another 5 minutes. COME ON!!
Other than #2, I haven't had any of the other known side effects of Met. My friend L, did say that maybe all this pooping is what is going to cause the weight loss side effect!!! That's how I feel right now anyways. I just had lunch and now I think its gone already!!
As much as I hate when AF is here, I am hating more that she hasn't came yet. IUI#4 is dependent upon her showing up, so let's get this party started already!! (Did I really just call AF a party??)
Grateful for:
We finished IUI #2 today. D's swimmers were better than ever! 16 million (up from 2M before Prox.eed) and at 55% motility. My right ovary that had the 2 bigger follies looked like it was ovulating again. We also saw some fluid behind the uterus and doc said that indicates ovulation also. We saw the swimmers inside right where Dr. H put them. As I have never seen anything else in my uterus, this made me very excited to see them there, right where they should be, swimming towards their goal!
During the 20 minutes you have to lay there afterwards, hubby was saying "Go guys, Go!! Swim towards the goal! Get the ball (aka egg. Me - "huh"? D - "well it LOOKS like a ball") Get the ball boys, get the ball!!" Hopefully they listen to Daddy!
Last IUI, I took the whole day off work and did nothing but stay horizontal on the couch. Subconsciously, I was thinking the guys might "fall out" if I was upright too much. D waited on me hand and foot and even made dinner. This time I came to work after the appointment. I want to continue my regular activities and not focus so much on what is going on down there.
I guess I am trying not to jinx myself either. The same reason why I didn't bring home "10,0001 Baby Names" book from my friend L's house yesterday. I found it on her bookshelf and flipped through it a minute. She said I could take it home, but I thought I'd better not. I don't want any prego anything in my house until I get my BFP!!!
***UPDATE***
Husband and I have been chatting on IM the past few minutes. I am actually laughing out loud at him! Here's an abbreviated version:
D: did you do this? Injectable gonadotropins
me: yes that is what menopur is
me: what website are you reading?
D: advancedfertility.com/insem.htm
**what he types in the next couple of messages are quotes from the website**
D:Insemination combined with ovarian stimulation with injectable gonadotropins provides better pregnancy rates (and higher multiple pregnancy rates)
D:higher multiple pregnancy rates
D:higher multiple pregnancy rates
D:higher multiple pregnancy rates
D:higher multiple pregnancy rates
D:presumably more sperm make it to the area in the fallopian tube where they can take a crack at having a successful date with the egg(s).
D:awww, they're having a date now
D:think they will kiss on the first date
me: they better be humping on the first date
Here's to a Great First Date!!!
Grateful for:
So today was CD3 workup. Yes, the answering service chick only scheduled b/w when I needed to have an u/s too...that took some coordinating since I wasn't "scheduled" to have one done. But they worked me in, and that's all that matters.
Here are the results:
NO CYSTS!! WAHOO
Lining - 3.5
R ovary - 5 follies
L ovary - 3 follies
And that is without having started the meds yet. Go Ovaries! They took blood to test for FSH and Estro.gen. Should have those numbers back tomorrow.
I start 100mg of Clo.mid today - CD3 - CD7 with double shots of Meno.pur CD5, CD6, and CD7. EEK - this means more self-administered shots at home and done by me since hubby is deathly afraid of needles. The Meno.pur is currently en route from a fertility pharmacy and I should have them tomorrow. The nurse gave me another demonstration on how to mix them - the drug is actually in powder form that has to be mixed with a water solution in order to inject it. The needle she was using was GI-NOR-MOUS. I was like, "that is WAY bigger than the last needle" but the she said that is just for mixing and the injecting needle is tiny. WHEW! After that, I go back to the clinic to do another u/s and b/w on April 9th to verify that my body is reacting correctly to the meds.
We should be doing our 2nd IUI during the 3rd week of April!
I was a nervous wreck all morning. The swimmer clinic processed the guys in about 45 minutes. We then had to transport them the 2 blocks back to Dr. H's office. They have to be kept warm so Dean kept them in his pocket with his hand around them.
The actual process only took about 5 minutes. When we were done, Dean says, "So was it as good for you as it was for me?" I say, "It was awesome!" Dr. H and his nurse cracked up at that one! Then I had to lay still on my back for 20 minutes. There was only a little bit of pain because everything was tender from ovulating. Cramps lasted about 2 hours afterwards, and that was it! I laid on the couch all day long hoping to help the guys swim to their goal!
I go next Wednesday for blood work to check my progesterone and then again the following Wednesday for a pregnancy test! Oh the dreaded 2 week wait begins!
Grateful for:
I did it!! I gave myself my first ever injections! I was very nervous, counting down the minutes until 8:00 PM. It was easy, especially since they were pre-filled syringes - no mixing required. They were refrigerated though, so the solution was chilly - that felt weird.
Now the wait is on until tomorrow. I have taken the whole day off since Dean's "appointment" is in the morning and then we go to the RE's office for the IUI afterwards.
Just curious if anyone does anything special the day before an IUI? Eat, drink, baby aspirin? Anything to help it "stick?"
We had a pretty fun weekend. Saturday we took the boat out to Lake Conroe and went fishing. It was a little chilly at first, but warmed up by the afternoon. I didn't catch anything! Not even one tiny nibble! Dean, however, caught 3 nice bass - one was 4 lbs! Pics coming soon. Didn't get a chance to dump the camera... Yesterday we went to the SpringFest 2008 in Old Town Spring with our friends L&R. It was very fun. They had a wine tasting of several Texas wineries. We browsed some shops as well. Nothing caught my eye in particular, but I did come home with a new cookbook! Yeah!
I had my follow-up with my RE yesterday, yes on a Sunday. I arrived in the Med Center early. Man, I wish ALL my appointments were on the weekends. There was no traffic and free parking! LOL. As I had never been on a weekend before, I wasn't aware of the procedure. Apparently you have to check in with the security desk before they use an elevator key to take you to your specific floor. The assistant had told me to go on back to the office since the receptionist would not be in. As I passed through the door I heard a beeping sound start. By the time I got back to the office, the freaking alarm had started going off! Oh and let's not forget that the lights were off and all the doors were closed. No one was there!!! I tried calling the number but all I got was the After Hours message to press 1 if this was an emergency i.e. I was in labor....GRRR. I thought it may have had something to do with the time change, but if so, then they would have been an hour early, not an hour late!
So I went back downstairs and told the security guard that the office was empty and I tripped the alarm! I was so mad they hadn't shown that I just got back in the car to head home. I called Dean and explained my frustration that if this cycle was canceled because of their not showing, I was going to be pissed off! He said to call back and see if I could get a hold of them and to go back to the office. Luckily, I listened to him. I went through the message and pressed 1 for emergency, then explained that it was NOT an emergency, just that the staff was missing for scheduled appointment. The conversation then went like this:
Answering service (AS): "So this is NOT an emergency?"
me: "No, I have an appointment and no one is in the office."
AS: "Are you pregnant?"
me: "Um, no, but that is the ultimate purpose for this appointment."
AS: "You know it's the weekend and we don't take appointments on the weekend?"
me: "Yes, I realize that it's the weekend, but due to the timing of my cycle, I have to be seen today. This was setup by the doctor, not me."
AS: "Timing of your cycle? Oh, who is your doctor?"
me: "Dr. H"
AS: "Oh yes, Dr. H does take patients on the weekends. Let me page him and he'll call you back."
By this time, I have re-parked my car in the garage and have taken over 2 chairs in the lobby to relax and play Tetris on my phone....to wait. My appointment was at 9:30. At 10:00, Dr. H called questioning the appointment as he was not aware, but realized the criticality of the appointment given that I was CD 13 and needed a follicle scan. The assistant (MA) then called and said she was en route, should be there in 15 minutes...
I had strategically placed myself in front of the bank of elevators that open up from the parking garage. Floor 1 = main lobby, floors 2 - 8 = parking garage, floors 9 - 25 = main building. So if you park in the garage, you have to come out these doors to get to the bank of elevators that actually go to the floors. I still had not seen Dr. H or the MA by 11:00. I finally went back to the security desk and asked if anyone had gone to the 18th floor, and he said yes, Dr. H did a while ago. GRRRR.
I finally get up there and Dr. H is apologizing for the mix up, but very glad I persisted because he needs to check me out. He drew my blood (as the tech wasn't there) and then we waited for the MA to get there. She finally showed up about 11:30!
My follicle scan showed that my right side was quiet but my left had 1 mature follie measuring 13X22 cm and my lining was good, but wanted to give me some estrogen to help it thicken up.
We proceed to the Training Room so I can learn how to give myself injections. AACKK! WHAT did you just say??? Oh lordy. I hope I can do it myself because dear old husband is as afraid of needles as he is of spiders! So, Dr. H shows me how to fill the syringe with the saline and powders (Menopur) and then injects it into a training pad which simulates my belly! Next he gives me a syringe with only saline in it for me to TEST on myself so he can be sure I know how to do it! Ok, that goes well. Then he gives me the Menopur syringe we just filled and says to give it to myself. EEK. This is to help stimulate more follicle growth.
He then gives me 2 Ovidrel pre-filled syringes to give myself tonight at 8PM to trigger ovulation!!! That means in approximately 36 hours, we will have our insemination!
Wednesday is the day! WOOHOO!
Grateful for:
