Sunday, July 29, 2012

Moving Forward

So we don't find out for sure until tomorrow but I'm pretty sure that this round of IVF was a bust.  We've decided to go right into another round.  I thought I didn't want to do this again when I was suffering through the ovary over stimulation issues, but once I recovered I got over it pretty quickly.  We are disappointed that it didn't work, but hopefully we will have a better go this round.

Now I'm going to post some happy things.

Paul was invited to test the new Wii U that is being released before Christmas.  We went to a fancy hotel in DC where they had set up the conference room like a swanky club...that was filled with geeks that did not have on nearly enough deodorant. 

It was still fun and Mandie even got her own lanyard and swipe card.  She danced to "Call me maybe" which was one of three songs they had for the singing game demo and was the only song everyone picked to try.  She also enjoyed her Wii U cookie...
Then her Daddy won first place in a new Donkey Kong game and got her Luigi, he has become her favorite car companion.

And in even bigger news ...  Mandie has decided that she is ready for the potty.  We had not planned on potty training this early.  We were definitely not trying to potty train while going through IVF, but Mandie decided it was time. 

The other day while getting her bath ready she sat herself down on her potty and went pee.  She had peed on her little potty before, but it would be if she woke up with a dry diaper I would let her try.  That's kind of cheating because I knew she had to go.  Her choosing to go on her own was a big step forward.  I still didn't think she was ready...but then she started wanting to try more often and every time I put her on there she would go.  So today we bought her another little potty for downstairs.  When we got home from Target her diaper was still dry and she immediately tested her new potty out.  Later after another trip to Target and a trip to the playground we noticed that her diaper was still dry.  She hopped on the potty and earned another sticker.  We put on her training pants expecting an accident, but amazingly enough about a half hour later she came to me trying to pull them down and after I helped her out of them she sat down and peed again!  She did eventually pee a little in her pants, but she was quick to let us know that it had happened.  Overall she is doing amazing considering that she has basically done all of this on her own.  Though I wasn't ready for this step I am very proud of her quick progress.

Friday, July 13, 2012

3 Amigos

(This post jumps around more than a Vonnegut novel...but it is really how it all felt.)

So on Wednesday we had the egg retrieval.  I had been feeling pretty crappy the days before, but the day of I wasn't feeling bad at all.  It's a quick wham, bam, thank you ma'am procedure, where you go in they knock you out, they stick a needle through your vaginal wall and into each ovary stealing the eggs.  It takes 15-30 minutes.  I handle the anesthesia well and hopped right up and was ready to go both times.  This time though I was fine as I got home but then started to be in quite a bit of pain.  Then it started hurting when I would breathe ...all the way to my collar bone.  I couldn't lay down and I was miserable.  It turns out I had some over stimulation, probably because they couldn't retrieve all of the eggs due to respiratory issues I was having.  If I laid down I was in excruciating pain from my belly button to my right shoulder.  And I was exhausted so all I wanted to do way lie down. 

I was worried because they had only retrieved 6 eggs.  Last time they retrieved 19 and only had 4 that were mature enough and only 2 that fertilized.  So now I felt like the odds were really against us.  I was scared that they were going to call and say we had no mature eggs.  We were still at Shady Grove when the doctor told us this and I almost wanted to fight and say ..no let's go back in and try to get more.  I didn't.

The next day, even though I couldn't breathe I was thrilled to hear that once again we had 4 mature eggs and that this time 3 had fertilized!  I was so excited that I didn't even tell the doctor the pain I was in.  (Later when it became unbearable I did call and tell the nurse.)

So now on day 2 post retrieval we still have 3 good embryos.  (And though my abdomen still hurts, it stopped hurting when I breathe.)  We have an appointment to put them back in tomorrow.  Now we could still receive a call saying to wait until Monday, but we have to be ready for tomorrow.  I am excited and nervous.  It will take two weeks after the transfer to find out at the office if we are pregnant.  I will cheat and pee on a stick before that.  I am just not patient enough to wait.

This round of IVF has been much more rough on me than the last one.  I am looking forward to the bed rest after the transfer because I could really use a nap.

(As a TMI side note I have to take pill in my vagina 3 times a day to keep my uterus fluffy.)

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Hopefully only a few more days

This is going to sound like whining and it probably is ..but I hope it is also helpful to anyone else who might be going through this.

So I have been on meds for 10 days now.  I feel horrible.  I don't remember feeling this horrible last time, but I also had the ability to sleep when I felt like it.  I have had a headache for pretty much the entire time I've been on the meds.  Then I started having cramping and pulling at my ovaries around day 3.  I do have at least 13 follicles between 14 and 18mm as well as several smaller ones crammed in there.  This is a good outcome but I feel like I'm dragging my ovaries behind me. 

I have appointments everyday now with blood work and a transvaginal ultrasound.  Which means even when Mandie will sleep in I have to get up.  I did however spend most of today laying down because I just don't feel like moving. 

They think I will trigger tomorrow, which means one injection in the morning, then one big one at night, then we are done with the at home shots.  YAY!  A couple days later they should retrieve the eggs.  Something that confused me last time was that I still felt like I was dragging my ovaries after the retrieval, and it turns out it was because they only take the eggs not the follicles which means I'm still carrying around the equivalent of the egg carton. 

The next couple of days will be rough because we are both working, which means full time work and Mandie duty for me.  And I have become the ultimate slug.  I literally went from laying down in bed, to laying on the couch, to resting my head on the dinner table while I waited for Mandie to finish eating.  I'm really hoping this works in one try again, because I'm not sure how well I would handle going through another round.

Right now it is not quite 9pm and I am laying in bed and I don't think I will be getting up again until it is time for my appointment in the morning.  Fingers are crossed for triggering tomorrow.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

I feel like poo today...


Last week ...

I got home after my blood work and ultrasound and realized that based off of simple math I did not have enough Menopur.  It was like a flash back to 5th grade math...

Kristie needs to take 150IU of Menapur each night for the next 12 nights.  Each vial of Menopur is 75IU and she has 17 vials.  What does Kristie need to do...

The answer is call my doctors office.

Me: I only have 8 1/2 days of Menopur.

Lady who orders meds: Well how many vials do you have?

Me: 17

Her: Well my papers say you are only taking 75IU a night.

Me: All of mine say 150IU and I just saw the nurse today, do you need me to email the paper she sent me?

Her: (In a not nice tone.)  Well you are going to need to hold while I go talk to your nurse.

Me: (In an equally snarky tone.) Okay you do that.

Then the nurse picks up.

Nurse: You have enough Gonal-F

Me: I didn't even do the math for that.  I am saying I don't have enough of the Menopur.

Nurse: How much do you have?
(She says this like there is no way I could have figured out the complicated math.)

Me: 17 vials which will cover 8 1/2 days.

Nurse: Oops I order it wrong.  I ordered it at 75IU a night.  Just go ahead and call the pharmacy and ask for a refill.

Me: Okay thanks.


Guess what I figured out last night????
I don't have enough Gonal-F either.  Apparently my nurse failed 5th grade math.

So my meds started on the 30th instead of my birthday.  On the 30th I had the worst migraine I have had in FOREVER!  By the end of the night I thought I was going to die.  It was during this time that I established that I did not have enough Gonal-F.  I left my nurse an email notifying her.  I ended it saying "Just thought I'd let you know in case there was something you needed to do on your end"(like math).  I didn't put the "like math" part but it was there in spirit.

I did my injections and the Menopur burned more than I remember, so I'm really glad I had to order more.

I'm guessing that screwing with my hormones and the crazy weather are trying to kill me.  I don't remember feeling this shitty last time, so I'm hoping that I start feeling better in the next few days.

I am also going to contact my doctors office and tell them that I'm not happy with their lack of math skills because the pharmacy confirmed that it means that I have already paid double for my meds.  I don't normally like to complain, but this round of IVF has been so unorganized on the admin side of things that they really need to look into it.  Hopefully this works in one round for us and we will be done!