First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the kind comments on my beta result and "I Feel...." posts. You have no idea how much those comments mean to me. Everyday, I check my email waiting to see if anyone else had commented. I get so much encouragement and draw so much strength from all those kind words, it brings me to tears reading them. It's amazing how God can use total strangers (most of you I have never met) to touch me so deeply. And it's wonderful.
When I first wrote the "I Feel" post, I just needed to spill all the thoughts and feelings I had going through my head. When I was done, I had second thoughts about posting them. There are some pretty ugly stuff there, and I was scared to share them. It felt vulnerable. I'm so glad I did as it has brought me such encouragement to read the comments that have come through.
When I was in Knoxville, I met 3 other women going for their transfers at NEDC. The day before the big beta day, we had one confirmed pregnancy (first beta Friday before), one unconfirmed pregnancy, one unconfirmed not pregnant, and mine was unknown. By the end of beta day, we had one more confirmed pregnancy! Unfortunately, the one with the confirmed pregnancy found out that her numbers had dropped pretty dramatically and was having a chemical pregnancy. In the end between the four of us, we have one pregnancy, confirmed today with a healthy double of the hCG numbers, one chemical pregnancy and 2 who are not pregnant. How quickly things can change. But we are happy that at least one of us is pregnant and we will continue to root her on. We are grateful to have each other to walk this journey together this transfer.
Last night, I was so shocked and saddened to find out that the domestic infant adoption for one of the couples from my adoption support group had fallen through. This is so heartbreaking. I had just heard a few weeks ago that they had been matched and the baby was going to be born really soon. I was ecstatic for them. But now, I am heartbroken for them. What touched me so was at this time of grief, they thought of me and found time to email me, telling me they are thinking and praying for me. Please pray for this special couple. These few days have not been good for our adoption group.
On a lighter note, I am grateful that I am finally off those PIO shots. For some reason the injection sites on my left hip had developed big sore lumps. After a few days, those lumps seemed to have combined into one huge lump. The joke was that I now had three butt cheeks. Now that we have stopped the shots, the lump had gotten a lot smaller, but my hips are still sore from the PIO shots.
Another pro of stopping the PIO shots..... I am no longer bloated. I noticed this transfer, my belly had gotten pretty bloated. While I was on PIO shots, my "fat pants" which were way too loose, were no longer my "fat pants". Within 24 hours of stopping my PIO shots, they are now my "fat pants" again. Thank goodness!
I have a feeling my period will arrive within the next day or so. I'm guessing Friday, most likely Saturday. I am already feeling slight cramping so I am expecting it to be here soon. The last 2 transfers which resulted in chemical pregnancies, my period arrived 4 days after all medication were stopped. That sound about right for this time too.
Showing posts with label PIO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PIO. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
ICLW & 6dp3dt
This week is ICLW, International Comment Leaving Week. It seems that I have missed the last 2 month's ICLW and didn't even notice. Shame on me. If you are visiting for the first time, or it has been awhile since you stopped by, this is a pretty important time for me. Last Friday, Babe (i.e. hubby) and I just had our transfer of adopted embryos from NEDC. You can read about it here if you'd like. Please pray for a positive outcome as the last 2 transfer in November 2013 and January 2014 both resulted in chemical pregnancies.
Our first beta is next Tuesday, May 27th, the day after Memorial Day.
Today is 6dp3dt. Today, the embryos continue to implant into the uterine lining.
This morning I gave myself the PIO shot as Babe is traveling for work. It went pretty smoothly with no issues. I met a friend for lunch and later, another friend for coffee. By late afternoon, my right hip was really sore, so much so that I started limping. I am wondering if I maybe hit a nerve during my morning shot. By the time I got home, I could barely stand it, so I took an ibuprofen (I later found out I should have taken Tyle.nol instead!), put a hot pack on it and laid down to rest. I was super tired anyways so I took a short nap. By the time I got up, the pain has subsided a bit and was more bearable.
Not long after that, I had to give myself the evening PIO shot. I do my evening shots on my left hip. To relax the muscles of my left leg and hip, I had to put my most of my weight on my right leg, the leg where my hip was sore from this morning's shot. It was not fun trying to twist my body to the left, using my left hand to give myself a shot, AND putting my weight on the sore leg. In the end, I managed. I'm hoping my left hip will not give me too much trouble tonight and that the pain on my right hip will be gone tomorrow.
So far, no real symptoms. No real cramping either, maybe just some uterine "stirrings". Not sure if that is a good or bad thing.
5 more days to our first beta test!
Monday, May 19, 2014
3dp3dt: First Self Administered PIO Shot!
Today is 3dp3dt, 3 days post 3 day transfer. According to this link, my Three Amigos who should be blastocysts by now, begins to hatch out of its shells. At NEDC, if you are transferring any embryos that are not blastocysts, the embryologist will perform assisted hatching, a process that pokes a tiny hole to help the embryo hatch out of it's shell. Well since we thawed 2PNs and grew them to multicells (day 3), we did assisted hatching. Hopefully, this means that our embryos had no problems hatching out of their shells and will start attaching to my uterus.
I had an awesome FIRST today! I administered my first PIO injection shot on myself! Not once, but twice so far.
Babe has to do a bit of traveling for his work, which is very rare. He was supposed to leave the week before our transfer but plans changed. He will be gone for 2.5 days this week, so I need someone to do my shots. Back in November, I had my brother-in-law and his wife (both nurses) do the shots for me when Babe was gone for a few days for hunting. This time around, I am not so keen on getting then involved again as we have not told them we are having another transfer.
I'm not really sure why but I wanted to try doing the shot myself. Maybe it was because I know of other women that do/have done their own shots, or because I this could possibly be our last transfer, and I want to experience all aspects of a transfer. Or maybe I just wanted to know that I really could do it, that I had the GUTS to finally poke myself with the big bad scary needle.
So this morning, I gave myself the shot. Babe of course supervised and actually was very helpful, but I had to tell him to stop counting while I psyched myself up to get enough courage to stick the needle in. When I finally stuck the needle in, it really wasn't so bad. The tough part was actually having to twist around and reach back so that I could get the angle right and I am NOT a flexible person. I was also having a hard time figuring out the pressure needed to push the plunger without injecting too much at one time. I did not take as much time to inject all the oil as when Babe does it as my body was starting to get sore from the twisting and I was afraid I would start cramping up. But all in all, it wasn't too bad. The hardest part is gathering enough courage to stick the needle in.
Tonight, I shot myself on the left side. It was even harder because I am a right hander and could not twist myself far enough to give myself the shot on my left hip. I ended up just using my left hand which wasn't so bad. It is weird though having a needle stuck in your hip and the syringe moves up and down as you are trying to push the plunger in. But in the end, it worked out fine too. Again the hardest part was finding the right angle and gathering enough courage to stick the big ass needle in. Babe took a few photos of me giving myself the shot tonight. I seriously considered posting a photo here but decided that it is not a good idea to show you a picture of my ass!
Praying that the Three Amigos are growing and staying healthy.
8 more days to our first beta!
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| Blastocyst (not mine) embryo hatching out of it's shell Image from Advanced Fertility |
I had an awesome FIRST today! I administered my first PIO injection shot on myself! Not once, but twice so far.
Babe has to do a bit of traveling for his work, which is very rare. He was supposed to leave the week before our transfer but plans changed. He will be gone for 2.5 days this week, so I need someone to do my shots. Back in November, I had my brother-in-law and his wife (both nurses) do the shots for me when Babe was gone for a few days for hunting. This time around, I am not so keen on getting then involved again as we have not told them we are having another transfer.
I'm not really sure why but I wanted to try doing the shot myself. Maybe it was because I know of other women that do/have done their own shots, or because I this could possibly be our last transfer, and I want to experience all aspects of a transfer. Or maybe I just wanted to know that I really could do it, that I had the GUTS to finally poke myself with the big bad scary needle.
So this morning, I gave myself the shot. Babe of course supervised and actually was very helpful, but I had to tell him to stop counting while I psyched myself up to get enough courage to stick the needle in. When I finally stuck the needle in, it really wasn't so bad. The tough part was actually having to twist around and reach back so that I could get the angle right and I am NOT a flexible person. I was also having a hard time figuring out the pressure needed to push the plunger without injecting too much at one time. I did not take as much time to inject all the oil as when Babe does it as my body was starting to get sore from the twisting and I was afraid I would start cramping up. But all in all, it wasn't too bad. The hardest part is gathering enough courage to stick the needle in.
Tonight, I shot myself on the left side. It was even harder because I am a right hander and could not twist myself far enough to give myself the shot on my left hip. I ended up just using my left hand which wasn't so bad. It is weird though having a needle stuck in your hip and the syringe moves up and down as you are trying to push the plunger in. But in the end, it worked out fine too. Again the hardest part was finding the right angle and gathering enough courage to stick the big ass needle in. Babe took a few photos of me giving myself the shot tonight. I seriously considered posting a photo here but decided that it is not a good idea to show you a picture of my ass!
Praying that the Three Amigos are growing and staying healthy.
8 more days to our first beta!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
1dp3dt & 2dp3dt
Transfer was on Friday, so today is technically 2dp3dt (2 days post 3 day transfer). Babe and I have affectionately named our three embryos "The Three Amigos". And he is convinced they are all boys!
According to this link, yesterday, which would be one day post transfer, The Three Amigos were continuing to grow and develop, turning from 6-8 cell embryos into morulas. We know that at transfer, one of the embryos was already at the morula stage, so hopefully he is already at the the blastocyst stage.
Today, which is 2 days post transfer, the cells of the morulas continue to divide, developing into blastocysts.
Yesterday, we hit a blood vessel when doing my morning PIO shot. Yeah, fun times. So Babe pulled out the needle, switched out to a new needle and found another spot to "stick it to me". Two sore spots on the same (right) side. I sleep on my right side, so I wanted make sure I got the right side in the morning shot and not the evening one.
Yesterday I also had the pleasure of meeting Lara from Living Our Miracle. Lara, her husband and I met for dinner. Babe couldn't join us because he had a deadline to meet for his job. It was so fun to chat and get to know each other. In the end, we spent almost 3 hours at dinner! The main reason we had to leave was because we both had to go back to our hotels and get our PIO shots. She had her transfer this morning at NEDC, so it was great for me to be able to meet another NEDC mama! I am praying that this transfer will result in a healthy pregnancy for her.
We left for MN early this morning. We had to get up at 5 am (4 am MN time!) to catch an 8 am flight. When we got home, the first thing Babe did was give me my morning PIO shot. Then we both took our showers and napped for a few hours because we were so tired.
Based on this calculator, my due date for my day 3 transfer is supposed to be February 2nd, 2015 for a singleton. If we have twins, my due date is January 11th 2015. I'm not even going to look at the due date for triplets!
My first beta (pregnancy test) is on Tuesday, May 27th. So, 9 days to beta!
According to this link, yesterday, which would be one day post transfer, The Three Amigos were continuing to grow and develop, turning from 6-8 cell embryos into morulas. We know that at transfer, one of the embryos was already at the morula stage, so hopefully he is already at the the blastocyst stage.
Today, which is 2 days post transfer, the cells of the morulas continue to divide, developing into blastocysts.
Yesterday, we hit a blood vessel when doing my morning PIO shot. Yeah, fun times. So Babe pulled out the needle, switched out to a new needle and found another spot to "stick it to me". Two sore spots on the same (right) side. I sleep on my right side, so I wanted make sure I got the right side in the morning shot and not the evening one.
Yesterday I also had the pleasure of meeting Lara from Living Our Miracle. Lara, her husband and I met for dinner. Babe couldn't join us because he had a deadline to meet for his job. It was so fun to chat and get to know each other. In the end, we spent almost 3 hours at dinner! The main reason we had to leave was because we both had to go back to our hotels and get our PIO shots. She had her transfer this morning at NEDC, so it was great for me to be able to meet another NEDC mama! I am praying that this transfer will result in a healthy pregnancy for her.
We left for MN early this morning. We had to get up at 5 am (4 am MN time!) to catch an 8 am flight. When we got home, the first thing Babe did was give me my morning PIO shot. Then we both took our showers and napped for a few hours because we were so tired.
Based on this calculator, my due date for my day 3 transfer is supposed to be February 2nd, 2015 for a singleton. If we have twins, my due date is January 11th 2015. I'm not even going to look at the due date for triplets!
My first beta (pregnancy test) is on Tuesday, May 27th. So, 9 days to beta!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Start of PIO.
This morning was the start of my PIO (progesterone in oil) shots. Even though it has been 4 months since we last did any PIO shots, Babe was a pro. He didn't even have to review the steps on how to do the PIO shots. He just whipped up the shot, stuck it to me, and we were done! Didn't hurt at all. In fact I barely felt it at all. Today felt really good, like I didn't even get the shot, but it is starting to be a little sore tonight. I know the soreness will get worse as time goes by. Starting tomorrow, we will be doing the shots twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
Whenever I start my PIO shots, I like to do a show-and-tell of the PIO syringe and needle. I call the PIO shot my "Big Ass Shot". Because the needle used for the shot really is BIG, and you stick the needle it in your ass (butt). Ok, not really your butt, but in the "upper outer quadrant of your buttocks" (as per the training videos). So technically it is more like the hip, but close enough. Below are 2 pictures of the syringes used for this protocol. Notice the size difference between these 2 needles!
The top is the syringe and needle used for the PIO shots. You actually use a bigger needle to draw the oil out of the bottle, and then you switch it to a smaller needle for the actual injection. As you can see the smaller needed is HUGE. The PIO is an intramuscular (inside the muscles) injection, so the needle is long (1.5 inch) and wider (22G) to allow the the thick oil to be injected. The bottom syringe is an insulin syringe used for the Lu.pron shot (0.5 inch, 30G), and injected subcutaneously (under the skin). As you can see, it is much smaller and the needle is much shorter and thinner.
I need to do PIO shots until at least the first beta (pregnancy test), approximately 11 days after transfer. If I am pregnant, then I will continue the shots until I am 10-12 weeks along. So I will have to do at least 28 PIO shots at the minimum, and if everything turns out well, I will have approximately another 90-120 shots "big ass shots". Fun times!
I am just about done packing for my transfer. Most important, above all else, I must not forget my medications, syringes, needles, gauze pads and alcohol swabs. I requested a letter from the NEDC nurse from the clinic stating I need to bring the syringes and medication on board the plane. I probably won't need it since I didn't need it last time. But I just wanted to be sure I don't have any issues with TSA.
I guess I'm ready for my trip! I'm all checked into my flight, and my hotel and car rental confirmations are on hand.
3 days to transfer!
Hopping on the plane tomorrow night!
Whenever I start my PIO shots, I like to do a show-and-tell of the PIO syringe and needle. I call the PIO shot my "Big Ass Shot". Because the needle used for the shot really is BIG, and you stick the needle it in your ass (butt). Ok, not really your butt, but in the "upper outer quadrant of your buttocks" (as per the training videos). So technically it is more like the hip, but close enough. Below are 2 pictures of the syringes used for this protocol. Notice the size difference between these 2 needles!
The top is the syringe and needle used for the PIO shots. You actually use a bigger needle to draw the oil out of the bottle, and then you switch it to a smaller needle for the actual injection. As you can see the smaller needed is HUGE. The PIO is an intramuscular (inside the muscles) injection, so the needle is long (1.5 inch) and wider (22G) to allow the the thick oil to be injected. The bottom syringe is an insulin syringe used for the Lu.pron shot (0.5 inch, 30G), and injected subcutaneously (under the skin). As you can see, it is much smaller and the needle is much shorter and thinner.
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| Top: Syringe for PIO shot, with 22G 1.5 inch needle Botton: Syringe for Lu.pron, 30G 0.5 inch needle |
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| Difference in size of the needles! |
I am just about done packing for my transfer. Most important, above all else, I must not forget my medications, syringes, needles, gauze pads and alcohol swabs. I requested a letter from the NEDC nurse from the clinic stating I need to bring the syringes and medication on board the plane. I probably won't need it since I didn't need it last time. But I just wanted to be sure I don't have any issues with TSA.
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| My stash of medications, syringes, needles, gauze pads and alcohol swabs. |
3 days to transfer!
Hopping on the plane tomorrow night!
Monday, May 12, 2014
We Are A Go for May Transfer!
We are a GO for our May transfer!
I had my ultrasound and blood work appointment this morning. I was a little nervous about how thick my lining was going to be, since I had one incident where my lining was too thin back in September. Fortunately my November and January transfers my lining was thick enough at 9.3 mm and 7 mm (minimum required for NEDC). To make matters worse, yesterday I was out and about and was going to be late taking my afternoon dose of Es.trace. When I got home I was so tired, I fell asleep on the couch. For 5 hours straight! By the time I woke up, it was time for my next dose of Es.trace. I panicked and ended up taking both doses together. I was guessing that it should be OK, since I had also been taking my other doses consistently. I am doing acupuncture and had a shiatsu massage as well on Friday.
But this morning, I was pretty nervous. Thankfully, my lining came in at 7.9 mm, so I knew I would be OK. This afternoon I received the call from the NEDC nurse with the official lining result of 7.9 mm and estrogen level of 195. I am cleared to start PIO shots tomorrow morning. I do PIO shots once a day tomorrow, and then will increase to twice a day after tomorrow. I will reduce my Es.trace to one tablet, twice a day starting tomorrow.
Ugh... the dreaded PIO shots. I found out Babe will have to travel for a few days after our transfer which means I will have to either find someone to give me those shots while he is gone, or I have to do it myself.
But our transfer's a go!
Yesterday, Mother's Day was a low key day for us. We took Babe's mom and dad out to brunch on Saturday for Mother's Day. Usually, all of Babe's siblings and nieces and nephews show up at his parents for Mother's Day for lunch. Though Babe's dad would grill, you know how it is, his mom would end up having to clean the house because "company" was coming. And after lunch even though we the kids would do dishes, his mom would end up having to do work anyway. So, Babe and I decided to take her out for lunch instead so she didn't have to do anything. I think she ended up spending Mother's Day with her some of her grandkids.
Mother's Day is still kinda tough for me at church, so we also took the day easy, sleeping in and skipping church altogether. I called my mom who lives in a different country many time zones away. It's hard missing out on spending time with her on all these holidays, especially as she is getting older each year. I'm hoping Mother's Day will be different next year.
4 days to transfer!
2 days till we hop on a plane to Knoxville!
I had my ultrasound and blood work appointment this morning. I was a little nervous about how thick my lining was going to be, since I had one incident where my lining was too thin back in September. Fortunately my November and January transfers my lining was thick enough at 9.3 mm and 7 mm (minimum required for NEDC). To make matters worse, yesterday I was out and about and was going to be late taking my afternoon dose of Es.trace. When I got home I was so tired, I fell asleep on the couch. For 5 hours straight! By the time I woke up, it was time for my next dose of Es.trace. I panicked and ended up taking both doses together. I was guessing that it should be OK, since I had also been taking my other doses consistently. I am doing acupuncture and had a shiatsu massage as well on Friday.
But this morning, I was pretty nervous. Thankfully, my lining came in at 7.9 mm, so I knew I would be OK. This afternoon I received the call from the NEDC nurse with the official lining result of 7.9 mm and estrogen level of 195. I am cleared to start PIO shots tomorrow morning. I do PIO shots once a day tomorrow, and then will increase to twice a day after tomorrow. I will reduce my Es.trace to one tablet, twice a day starting tomorrow.
Ugh... the dreaded PIO shots. I found out Babe will have to travel for a few days after our transfer which means I will have to either find someone to give me those shots while he is gone, or I have to do it myself.
But our transfer's a go!
Yesterday, Mother's Day was a low key day for us. We took Babe's mom and dad out to brunch on Saturday for Mother's Day. Usually, all of Babe's siblings and nieces and nephews show up at his parents for Mother's Day for lunch. Though Babe's dad would grill, you know how it is, his mom would end up having to clean the house because "company" was coming. And after lunch even though we the kids would do dishes, his mom would end up having to do work anyway. So, Babe and I decided to take her out for lunch instead so she didn't have to do anything. I think she ended up spending Mother's Day with her some of her grandkids.
Mother's Day is still kinda tough for me at church, so we also took the day easy, sleeping in and skipping church altogether. I called my mom who lives in a different country many time zones away. It's hard missing out on spending time with her on all these holidays, especially as she is getting older each year. I'm hoping Mother's Day will be different next year.
4 days to transfer!
2 days till we hop on a plane to Knoxville!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Bye Bye Lupron
I just gave myself my VERY LAST Lu.pron shot for this transfer's protocol. Hopefully this will be my last one, at least for a couple of years. Meaning hopefully this May transfer will be successful and I will not have to do any more of these shots until we potentially come back for a sibling in a couple of years.
I have to admit I will miss doing these shots. They are my "favorite" shots as they are the simplest, easiest and quickest shots, with the smallest needles. And I will miss telling Babe, "I need to go shoot myself now!".
What I won't miss are the headaches, hot flashes and crazy dreams I get from them. At least I think the dreams are from the shots. I guess I did not blog about the dreams. Let's just say that they are super wacky but unfortunately I forget most of them after I wake up. I even had a scary nightmare. As in "The Exorcist" and I'm-so-scared-I'm-afraid-to-to-back-to-sleep scary. Hopefully these wacky dreams will end now.
Today I also increased my Es.trace (estrogen) pills to 3 times a day. This will continue for another 8 days until my ultrasound and lab appointment that will determine if my lining is thick enough for transfer. If that's a go (praying it will!), then our transfer will be as scheduled on May 16th. PIO (progesterone in oil) shots will start after that. And after that, off to Knoxville!
12 days to transfer.
10 days till we hop on the plane to Knoxville.
I have to admit I will miss doing these shots. They are my "favorite" shots as they are the simplest, easiest and quickest shots, with the smallest needles. And I will miss telling Babe, "I need to go shoot myself now!".
What I won't miss are the headaches, hot flashes and crazy dreams I get from them. At least I think the dreams are from the shots. I guess I did not blog about the dreams. Let's just say that they are super wacky but unfortunately I forget most of them after I wake up. I even had a scary nightmare. As in "The Exorcist" and I'm-so-scared-I'm-afraid-to-to-back-to-sleep scary. Hopefully these wacky dreams will end now.
Today I also increased my Es.trace (estrogen) pills to 3 times a day. This will continue for another 8 days until my ultrasound and lab appointment that will determine if my lining is thick enough for transfer. If that's a go (praying it will!), then our transfer will be as scheduled on May 16th. PIO (progesterone in oil) shots will start after that. And after that, off to Knoxville!
12 days to transfer.
10 days till we hop on the plane to Knoxville.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Finally, Our Transfer Date
I have been waiting for my May transfer date and protocol all week. I knew I would get it by Friday because Katie, the nurse's last was was Friday. On Thursday, I heard that some of the ladies on the FB embryo adoption/donation group had received their protocols. Yet, I still did not get mine. I knew that in the past, my transfers were usually towards the end of NEDC's cycle because I was transferring blasts. So I assumed mine would be towards the end again. I was getting pretty anxious. So Friday morning, I sent Katie an email saying I still have not received my protocol yet. I received an response that she was working on the protocols then and hoped to get them all by the end of the day. At a little after noon, I finally received my protocol.
My transfer is scheduled for Friday, May 16th.
I was pretty excited to get my transfer date and a little earlier than I had expected. Then I noticed that the stage of my embryos to be transferred is 2PNs (day 1 embryos). I was a little surprised as I was expecting to transfer blasts (day 5 embryos). I called Katie and spoke to her about this. Because our new donors has both 2PNs and blasts, NEDC's normal process is to thaw and 2PNs first and grow them into multicells (day 3) and transfer them. That way if none of the 2PNs survive, NEDC would still have time to thaw the blasts and we would not have to cancel our transfer.
I'm a little torn about this. We selected the donor family based on the fact that they had blasts, and we were planning on transferring blasts. The fact that the donors also has 2PNs was more of an afterthought. I am worried that we will not have a successful an outcome with 2PNs as with blasts, though I know many people have had success with transferring blasts, multicells and 2PNs. On the other hand, Dr. Keenan had suggested we consider transferring different stage embryos this time around since we had transferred blasts the last two transfers. I think we had decided on blasts because we still had leftover blasts from our last donor family. I had asked Katie about the success rate of embryos from different stages and she assured me that many pregnancies have resulted from all three stages and the success rate is the same.
Katie said that if we really wanted to, we could call the embryologist on Monday (she was out of the office) and talk to her about it. We do have a total of 7 2PNs and 5 blasts, so it is possible that we could have enough blasts to transfer if we really wanted to. However if none of the blasts survive the thaw, then our transfer would be cancelled, though this is highly unlikely.
Babe and I need to talk about this a little more and decide if we should just go with the normal NEDC process as they obviously know what are doing, or if we want to push transferring blasts. I think I am just a little shaken up realizing that we may not be transferring blasts after having setting my mind on it. But maybe that is not such a bad thing. I just have to shift my thinking a little. I will be praying about this.
After getting my protocol, I called the pharmacy to order my medications for this transfer. This time, I ordered only what I really need to get me through the transfer and my first beta. I still have some leftover meds from my previous cycle too. Plus, with the new pharmacy, and maybe this year's coverage has changed, the some meds cost a lot more than before.
When we were still working with Briova, the PIO (progesterone in oil) only cost me around $20 and $4 for 4 vials each time. This time around, it cost me about $60 for 2 vials! I'm so glad I ordered the PIO from Briova last time, even though I didn't need it then. Also, now I have to pay for the syringes and needles, whereas in the past, it came free. I'm waiting to order needles and syringes since I have a lot of extras from past transfers and a fellow blogger friend who is now pregnant sent me her extras. I thought it was unnecessary then, but now I am grateful for them. Es.trace is still super pricey, costing me about $3.50 each tablet (and I need about 70 to last me through my beta).
And this showed up at the door yesterday morning via overnight service.
My transfer is scheduled for Friday, May 16th.
I was pretty excited to get my transfer date and a little earlier than I had expected. Then I noticed that the stage of my embryos to be transferred is 2PNs (day 1 embryos). I was a little surprised as I was expecting to transfer blasts (day 5 embryos). I called Katie and spoke to her about this. Because our new donors has both 2PNs and blasts, NEDC's normal process is to thaw and 2PNs first and grow them into multicells (day 3) and transfer them. That way if none of the 2PNs survive, NEDC would still have time to thaw the blasts and we would not have to cancel our transfer.
I'm a little torn about this. We selected the donor family based on the fact that they had blasts, and we were planning on transferring blasts. The fact that the donors also has 2PNs was more of an afterthought. I am worried that we will not have a successful an outcome with 2PNs as with blasts, though I know many people have had success with transferring blasts, multicells and 2PNs. On the other hand, Dr. Keenan had suggested we consider transferring different stage embryos this time around since we had transferred blasts the last two transfers. I think we had decided on blasts because we still had leftover blasts from our last donor family. I had asked Katie about the success rate of embryos from different stages and she assured me that many pregnancies have resulted from all three stages and the success rate is the same.
Katie said that if we really wanted to, we could call the embryologist on Monday (she was out of the office) and talk to her about it. We do have a total of 7 2PNs and 5 blasts, so it is possible that we could have enough blasts to transfer if we really wanted to. However if none of the blasts survive the thaw, then our transfer would be cancelled, though this is highly unlikely.
Babe and I need to talk about this a little more and decide if we should just go with the normal NEDC process as they obviously know what are doing, or if we want to push transferring blasts. I think I am just a little shaken up realizing that we may not be transferring blasts after having setting my mind on it. But maybe that is not such a bad thing. I just have to shift my thinking a little. I will be praying about this.
After getting my protocol, I called the pharmacy to order my medications for this transfer. This time, I ordered only what I really need to get me through the transfer and my first beta. I still have some leftover meds from my previous cycle too. Plus, with the new pharmacy, and maybe this year's coverage has changed, the some meds cost a lot more than before.
When we were still working with Briova, the PIO (progesterone in oil) only cost me around $20 and $4 for 4 vials each time. This time around, it cost me about $60 for 2 vials! I'm so glad I ordered the PIO from Briova last time, even though I didn't need it then. Also, now I have to pay for the syringes and needles, whereas in the past, it came free. I'm waiting to order needles and syringes since I have a lot of extras from past transfers and a fellow blogger friend who is now pregnant sent me her extras. I thought it was unnecessary then, but now I am grateful for them. Es.trace is still super pricey, costing me about $3.50 each tablet (and I need about 70 to last me through my beta).
And this showed up at the door yesterday morning via overnight service.
It is a lot less than my usual order of meds, but like I mentioned earlier, I only ordered what I absolutely need.
- 2-week Lu.pron kit + extra syringes and needles
- 2 vials of progesterone in oil (PIO)
- 15 tablets of Es.trace
- Albuterol for transfer
- Diazepam (Vali.um) for transfer
Friday, January 31, 2014
10dp5dt
Yesterday and today has been interesting.
We had dinner with one of Babe's friend and his family last night. On the way, there I felt super hungry and became kind of queasy from the hunger. After dinner we stopped by the friend's house to visit for a bit. When we got there, he had the wood stove/ fireplace in the basement and it was a little smoky in there. After about 15 minutes my stomach didn't feel right. It felt odd, kind of knotty or queasy. I told Babe we needed to leave. We had agreed we couldn't stay long anyway as we needed to get home for my PIO shot. The smell of the smoke made me queasy. Again, on the way home, my stomach didn't feel right. Maybe it was the dinner..... could the shrimp or clams be bad?
Is it possible that is is a symptom of my pregnancy, or was I just imagining things? Am I feeling more "sensitive" now that I know I am pregnant? Would I have felt the same way if I didn't just find out that I am pregnant? I've heard that morning sickness doesn't start till 6 weeks along, but some have felt queasy before then. I do think that if I let myself get too hungry... my stomach doesn't feel quite right. But this has only happened yesterday and today, so we'll have to see if this continues, or if it's just my imagination.
On a different note, I think I have ever been so happy to get my PIO shot last night! It's amazing how different one can feel about the shot now that I know I am pregnant.
It still seems unreal that I am pregnant. I still tear up just thinking about it. I'm trying not to get TOO excited, at least not until Monday. Of course there are the other milestones... the 6 week and 9 week appointments. But let's just take one step at a time.
We had dinner with one of Babe's friend and his family last night. On the way, there I felt super hungry and became kind of queasy from the hunger. After dinner we stopped by the friend's house to visit for a bit. When we got there, he had the wood stove/ fireplace in the basement and it was a little smoky in there. After about 15 minutes my stomach didn't feel right. It felt odd, kind of knotty or queasy. I told Babe we needed to leave. We had agreed we couldn't stay long anyway as we needed to get home for my PIO shot. The smell of the smoke made me queasy. Again, on the way home, my stomach didn't feel right. Maybe it was the dinner..... could the shrimp or clams be bad?
Is it possible that is is a symptom of my pregnancy, or was I just imagining things? Am I feeling more "sensitive" now that I know I am pregnant? Would I have felt the same way if I didn't just find out that I am pregnant? I've heard that morning sickness doesn't start till 6 weeks along, but some have felt queasy before then. I do think that if I let myself get too hungry... my stomach doesn't feel quite right. But this has only happened yesterday and today, so we'll have to see if this continues, or if it's just my imagination.
On a different note, I think I have ever been so happy to get my PIO shot last night! It's amazing how different one can feel about the shot now that I know I am pregnant.
It still seems unreal that I am pregnant. I still tear up just thinking about it. I'm trying not to get TOO excited, at least not until Monday. Of course there are the other milestones... the 6 week and 9 week appointments. But let's just take one step at a time.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Knoxville Day 1
Our flights to Knoxville went pretty well. They were either on time or early. I was quite surprised to see how busy the Minneapolis airport was at 5 am on a Sunday morning. Charlotte was super busy too when we arrived.
Our first order of business was to look for a family restroom to do my PIO shot. If wasn't hard to find as there was at least one on in each concourse. Babe and I both felt a little weird going into a family restroom together. You know, a couple going in without a baby or any children. What would people think? Are we up to some "hanky panky" business?
Doing the PIO shot was actually pretty stressful for me. I had to take the shot while standing up. I have never done it standing up before. I put my weight on one leg and had the shot in the hip of the other. I wasn't as relaxed as I'd like to be. Plus halfway through the shot, someone knocked on the door wanting to use the bathroom. Babe yelled "Busy!!". Though I am not a fan of the PIO shot, I'm usually quite relaxed during my shot. Today in the family restroom however, I couldn't wait to be done. When we finally walked out of the restroom, we looked around sheepishly, half expecting someone to come up to us and demand, "what were you two doing in there??!". Fortunately nothing like that happened.
Here's a shot of the Smoky Mountains (I think) as we were flying into Knoxville (sorry about the blurry photo, I had a dirty window). When we were here in May for our initial appointment and mock transfer, we spent a day driving and exploring the park. It was nice to see it from above this time.
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| Shot of the Smoky Mountains |
When we got to Knoxville, we were heading to Tar.get but somehow Waze navigated us in circles. We ended up at a park and since it was such a beautiful day, we stuck around for a few minutes.
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| Beautiful day in Knoxville. |
After checking into our hotel, we bummed around a bit and watched a movie. We then went to dinner at a restaurant close by. I wanted something southern, so I had Shrimp & Grits. And man, was it yummy!
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| Shrimp & Grits! Yummy |
We are just relaxing and watching movies now. A little mini vacation. Having a great time so far. Tomorrow I should be getting a call from NEDC with our transfer time.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
We Are A GO For January Transfer!
I had my ultrasound and estradiol appointment this morning. I was a little nervous that my lining would be too thin, like it was in September. My lining measured at 7 mm this morning. I remember back in September I was told that NEDC requires the lining to be at 7 mm at this point of the cycle. I JUST made it. I was so nervous about it that I emailed Katie the NEDC nurse right away but I didn't hear back from her until when she called. Of course when she called, I was in the middle of my eye appointment, so she left a message. Thankfully, everything looked good. And yes, 7 mm is the minimum for the lining to be at this point in time.
But, I'm good to go. We are still a go for my transfer on Tuesday the 21st. I won't know my exact time of my transfer until closer to Tuesday. We are going to be leaving on Sunday on a super early flight. It leaves at 6:30 am so we will have to leave our house at 4:30 am. I'm not looking forward to that as I am not a morning person. Also, Babe will have to give me my PIO when we connect in Charlotte, NC. We will have to find a family restroom so he can give me a shot there. There is no way I can give myself a PIO shot. That will be interesting to see how that turns out!
More than a couple of people have asked me how I feel about this transfer. Excited? Nervous?
I guess the answer is neither, but also a little bit of both. After so many rounds of failed IUIs and IVFs, in the past few years, plus the last transfer that resulted in a chemical pregnancy, I guess I am approaching this like I did in November. Cautiously optimistic. I am optimistic that this can work but also cautious because I know that it can not work.
I feel like I should be more excited about this transfer but at this point, I'm not. Maybe part of it is I was nervous that the transfer may be delayed if my lining wasn't thick enough and I didn't want to get disappointed. But now that that hurdle of it is out of the way, I will hopefully start getting excited. Especially since I start my PIO shots tomorrow morning (Ouch! Not really looking forward to that!), it may seem more real. I'll probably be more excited once I'm on the airplane heading south to (slightly) warmer weather.
Now, off to start packing for my trip to TN!
But, I'm good to go. We are still a go for my transfer on Tuesday the 21st. I won't know my exact time of my transfer until closer to Tuesday. We are going to be leaving on Sunday on a super early flight. It leaves at 6:30 am so we will have to leave our house at 4:30 am. I'm not looking forward to that as I am not a morning person. Also, Babe will have to give me my PIO when we connect in Charlotte, NC. We will have to find a family restroom so he can give me a shot there. There is no way I can give myself a PIO shot. That will be interesting to see how that turns out!
More than a couple of people have asked me how I feel about this transfer. Excited? Nervous?
I guess the answer is neither, but also a little bit of both. After so many rounds of failed IUIs and IVFs, in the past few years, plus the last transfer that resulted in a chemical pregnancy, I guess I am approaching this like I did in November. Cautiously optimistic. I am optimistic that this can work but also cautious because I know that it can not work.
I feel like I should be more excited about this transfer but at this point, I'm not. Maybe part of it is I was nervous that the transfer may be delayed if my lining wasn't thick enough and I didn't want to get disappointed. But now that that hurdle of it is out of the way, I will hopefully start getting excited. Especially since I start my PIO shots tomorrow morning (Ouch! Not really looking forward to that!), it may seem more real. I'll probably be more excited once I'm on the airplane heading south to (slightly) warmer weather.
Now, off to start packing for my trip to TN!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Beta #1
I went to my local clinic for my beta this morning. It was busy at the clinic as I'm sure lots of other people were like me, having to do the beta first thing Monday morning after the holiday weekend.
After waiting anxiously, I finally got the call from Katie, the NEDC nurse at a little past 3 pm. My test came back positive. TECHNICALLY, I am pregnant. However, my hGC number only came in at 13. NEDC likes to see the number at 75 by now. So, it is not looking good. For now, we are "cautiously optimistic", Katie's words.
Katie said sometimes the embryo may take a little longer to implant and therefore the number may be low. However, I also know that I had cramping and spotting at 4 days past transfer, usually an indication that implantation was happening. I'm fairly sure it's not delayed implantation.
So now we wait for my second beta that will take place on Wednesday. If the number doubles then, then I may still be pregnant. But honestly, though I know I should remain positive, I'm fairly sure this cycle is a bust.
The good news is this is the closest I've come to being pregnant. In all my past IVFs and IUIs, my HCG numbers were 2 or less. I even took a home pregnancy test to see if it would turn positive, since Katie said that I was technically pregnant. But alas, it didn't show the 2nd line. When Babe got home from work today, he saw a very faint second line, but that was hours after I took the test. You are supposed to check only 2 minutes after.
So, we wait some more. The bad news is I have to continue taking my pain in the ass PIO shots. Only 2 more days. I can do it!
Please continue to pray for me and my beta on Wednesday. Though I'm sorely disappointed, I'm not giving up quite yet.
After waiting anxiously, I finally got the call from Katie, the NEDC nurse at a little past 3 pm. My test came back positive. TECHNICALLY, I am pregnant. However, my hGC number only came in at 13. NEDC likes to see the number at 75 by now. So, it is not looking good. For now, we are "cautiously optimistic", Katie's words.
Katie said sometimes the embryo may take a little longer to implant and therefore the number may be low. However, I also know that I had cramping and spotting at 4 days past transfer, usually an indication that implantation was happening. I'm fairly sure it's not delayed implantation.
So now we wait for my second beta that will take place on Wednesday. If the number doubles then, then I may still be pregnant. But honestly, though I know I should remain positive, I'm fairly sure this cycle is a bust.
The good news is this is the closest I've come to being pregnant. In all my past IVFs and IUIs, my HCG numbers were 2 or less. I even took a home pregnancy test to see if it would turn positive, since Katie said that I was technically pregnant. But alas, it didn't show the 2nd line. When Babe got home from work today, he saw a very faint second line, but that was hours after I took the test. You are supposed to check only 2 minutes after.
So, we wait some more. The bad news is I have to continue taking my pain in the ass PIO shots. Only 2 more days. I can do it!
Please continue to pray for me and my beta on Wednesday. Though I'm sorely disappointed, I'm not giving up quite yet.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
10dp5dt
Hi everyone! First of all, I need to apologize for the late posting. Especially after my transfer. A lot has happened since my last post more than a week ago, so I wanted to get this out right away before I forget. My only main excuse is that I have been sick. I have this terrible cough that has gotten worse since I got back from my trip to TN.
Anyway, I still owe you a post about my transfer, but that will be another post. I promise.
But here's what's been happening:
Anyway, I still owe you a post about my transfer, but that will be another post. I promise.
But here's what's been happening:
- Today I am 10dp5dt (10 days post 5 day transfer)
- According to this due date calculator, I am officially 4 weeks 1 day pregnant.
- This week we had a beautiful funeral service for Babe's grandma. Though it was a bitterly cold and windy day.
- On Sunday, which was 4dp5dt, I had some pretty strong cramping like my period was coming. I also spotted for a day or so. I believe this is a sign of the embryos implanting into my uterus. It's a good sign! I don't think I've ever had implantation cramping or spotting before in my previous IVFs.
- My PIO shots have been getting better. I think we in the beginning we were injecting a little too low and I was sitting on my injection sites. Now we are aiming a little higher. The other day, Babe hit a blood vessel on my left side. I knew something was wrong right away because the shot hurt. He found blood when he drew the plunger up to check for blood. He just pulled the needle out and injected another site. Fortunately no blood shot out like I've heard in some stories. However, that left a HUGE bump and a nasty bruise. It still hurts after a few days but has gotten a little better. Then on my other (right) side, one of the injection sites left a huge lump. Not huge in diameter, but it was tall/high. I have nicknamed this bump "Mount Vesuvius" (don't ask me why). I was sure everyone could see I have this lump through my pants. This too has gotten better after a few days. But between those two huge lumps, and the other twice daily shots, I constantly feel like someone stuck 2 bean bags down the back of my pants!
- I have not been able to sleep well since I started my PIO shots. Because of my sore butt, I have been trying to sleep on my front which does not work for me at all. Every so often I am able to fall asleep on my side without laying my injection sites. This means I sleep in a weird angle, and my back has been sore. And when I wake up in the mornings, my back and butt are just so sore I can barely walk. In addition, because of my weird sleeping angle, I've had cramps in my left calf in the middle of the night or in the morning. Those are still sore till this day.
- We have had to tell both my brother-in-law (Babe's brother) and his wife about our embryo adoption. Babe went hunting last weekend and this weekend, so BIL and SIL have been my backup shot givers. They are both nurses and live not too far away, so they were the best choice for us. We made them promise not to tell anyone about this, unless/until it works.
- Currently I am sick. If you remember, I had a cough that would not go away, and I was worried it would impact my surgery and transfer. After we got back from our trip to NEDC, my cough worsened. It is so bad, it sounds terrible and super loud, it's scary. It's also different from before because this time, there is wheezing comes from deep in my chest. And when I cough my whole body is just so worn out. I went to the doctor's the other day and because there I may be pregnant, they could not do a chest x-ray on me. Instead, they drew my blood and did a white blood cell count instead. The count was elevated indicating I had a bacterial infection. So they sent me home with antibiotics, nebulizers and an inhaler. I go back on Wednesday for a follow up appointment, but to be honest, I have not felt any better. I hope things get better soon because I am so worn out from all the coughing.
- With me being sick, we stayed home for Thanksgiving this year. This is the first time we have not spent the Thanksgiving holiday with family or friends. But it was nice because I got to just rest and not worry about infecting others with my cough.
- My beta is scheduled for 10:30 am on Monday. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have to wait until Monday instead of Friday. I have not tested at home yet though I could have yesterday. And to be honest, I don't really have a desire to test. Maybe because I am sick. But mostly because I have had negative experiences with POAS. I used to always get my period an hour or so right after I POAS. So, I'm just going to wait it out. It's hard because just about every gal on the embryo adoption/donation group on FB who tested at home or had their betas are pregnant. Here I'm thinking, someone's gonna have to be the statistic. Someone has to have the negative pregnancy test. It's probably going to be me Plus I have not had ANY pregnancy symptoms. None. Nada. Zip. But I am also aware a lot of people don't have any symptoms until much later. So in the mean time, I am going to try enjoy being PUPO.
You may notice that I edited a few of my last posts. Babe is concerned that I had too many identifying information and circumstances, so I edited it to keep the posts confidential. It's hard to blog anonymously while trying to give a complete story.
Anyway, I will be working on my much delayed post about my transfer at NEDC next. Stay tuned!
Monday, November 18, 2013
On Our Way To Knoxville
**Edited - Removed identifying information for confidentiality**
We started our drive to NECDC this morning. We are currently spending the night in Indiana with my friends that we were supposed to meet up yesterday. I guess it worked out good because there were some major storms in this part of the country. It just so worked out that we are still able to meet up with them. So we are about halfway there. Tomorrow we will have another 8 hours of driving to TN.
We started our drive to NECDC this morning. We are currently spending the night in Indiana with my friends that we were supposed to meet up yesterday. I guess it worked out good because there were some major storms in this part of the country. It just so worked out that we are still able to meet up with them. So we are about halfway there. Tomorrow we will have another 8 hours of driving to TN.
We spent time with Grandma yesterday. That was probably the las time we will see her alive. She had not been eating or drinking for a few days, so the nurse though she only had a few more days left. We are prepared if she goes but we really don't know when she will leave this earth. Only God knows.
My PIO shots have been a challenge. Here I thought we were doing so well after our first shot. But my butt was really sore that night. In fact that first injection site still hurts now. I think it hurts more than the other shots since the first one. I don't have a problem with the physical action of the needle sticking in my butt. It's the after that hurts. I feel the lumps in my butt and they hurt all the time. It hurts to sit down, and then when you have say down, it hurts to get up.
The worst part for me is getting in and out of the car. Or trying to climb into bed at night, and out of it in the morning. On our drive this morning we took a bathroom break and stopped at a rest stop. I could barely walk! And that was just after sitting for 3 hours!! It was taking me so long to walk to the restroom I was worried I wasn't going to make in time! Needless to say I was in a lot of pain today. And tomorrow I have another 8 hours to sit on my very sore butt.
Ahhh.... the dreaded PIO. Five down, only 20+ more to go before the pregnancy test. And then *hopefully* (if I'm pregnant), another 2 more months of twice daily shots!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Mammo, PIO... Oh My!
I had an interesting day yesterday. I had a post-op follow-up appointment for my surgery to remove polyps in my uterus. Everything looked good, and I found out I actually more than one polyp though they were pretty small. So everything should be all set. I also asked the doctor about if I should have a mammogram done. I had called the clinic a couple of weeks earlier asking if I should schedule one now since I had just turned 40 in August, or if I should wait till my next annual physical in April. I also mentioned that I may getting pregnant soon with a frozen embryo transfer. When I spoke to the nurse then she said I could probably wait till next year to do it.
Anyway, back to my appointment. When I asked the doctor about it, he suggested we should just get it done right away. Like the same day. He wanted to be safe and get it done now. If I were to get pregnant, they won't do a mammogram as it is an x-ray procedure. I won't be able to get one while breastfeeding either. So, I may be 41 or 42 before I could have one done. He said we could probably wait, but why take the chance when we could take care of it right away.
Wow! My first mammogram! And an unexpected one too.
So, the doc had the nurse walk me about 50 feet down the hall to the imaging clinic right next door and they were able to get me in right away. It was a new experience for me. I've heard lots of horror stories about getting a mammogram. I didn't know what to expect. Usually, I am pretty well prepared and researched for anything new. But the technician was very nice and explained everything to me, step by step.
All I can say is that it was not excruciatingly painful, but it was pretty uncomfortable. But I am glad that is done and over with. I will get a letter in the mail with the results and any follow-up steps if needed.
I leave you with a couple photos of my PIO and the needles used (sorry they are not of the best quality). The top one (18G) is used for drawing the oil into the syringe. The bottom one (22G) is the one used to inject the oil. Notice the huge size difference in the needle! You have to make sure you don't forget the change the needle before injecting, or you could be in a lot of pain!
Anyway, back to my appointment. When I asked the doctor about it, he suggested we should just get it done right away. Like the same day. He wanted to be safe and get it done now. If I were to get pregnant, they won't do a mammogram as it is an x-ray procedure. I won't be able to get one while breastfeeding either. So, I may be 41 or 42 before I could have one done. He said we could probably wait, but why take the chance when we could take care of it right away.
Wow! My first mammogram! And an unexpected one too.
So, the doc had the nurse walk me about 50 feet down the hall to the imaging clinic right next door and they were able to get me in right away. It was a new experience for me. I've heard lots of horror stories about getting a mammogram. I didn't know what to expect. Usually, I am pretty well prepared and researched for anything new. But the technician was very nice and explained everything to me, step by step.
All I can say is that it was not excruciatingly painful, but it was pretty uncomfortable. But I am glad that is done and over with. I will get a letter in the mail with the results and any follow-up steps if needed.
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| Image from http://www.funnypart.com/funny/mammogram.shtml |
I started my PIO shots this morning. I have been super nervous about it. Of all the things about the embryo transfer process, this is what worries me the most. At NEDC, you take the PIO shots 5 days before your transfer, and then continue until your pregnancy test. If you are pregnant, you continue taking the shots for 10 - 12 weeks. In my past IVFs, I have never done PIO shots. Instead, I have always used the progesterone suppositories.
Babe has been super excited to "shoot me"! This morning, I started off by warming up the heating pad (buckwheat filled pillow/pad) in the microwave. I also have a smaller rice filled pad that I heated up as well. I used the heating pad on my butt while warming up the bottle of PIO in the rice pad. I read somewhere to warm up the oil as it will help thin it out and makes it easier to inject. I filled the syringe with the 18G needle and made sure there was 1 CC of PIO. Then I switched out the 18G needle with the 22G needle.
I laid on my bed on my front and told Babe to let me know when he was ready. I made sure to exhale when he quickly stuck the needle in me. I felt it go in, but no pain. It was kind of ticklish actually since he was being gentle and careful. He even let go of the syringe and let it stick straight up, with no hands! Then he pulled the plunger back a little to check to make sure it did not draw up any blood. If there were blood, it would mean that he struck a blood vessel and he would have to pull out the syringe, change the needle and stick me again. Luckily there was no blood. So he SLOWLY injected the PIO. I showed him a couple of videos of where people injected really slow. I told tell he was counting under his breath. He's so detail oriented like that, and that's why I love him!
When he was done injecting all the oil, he left the syringe in for couple of seconds before pulling it out. I then rubbed the site vigorously for a few seconds. He put a bandaid on, and then I put the heating pad on and rubbed it for a few minutes. And to be extra safe, I used a handheld massager on the spot for a few minutes.
I can honestly say it was a breeze. All the worrying for nothing. The worst part of it was Babe's freezing hands! He really seem to enjoy doing this. I think it gives him an active role in the whole process. In the past, I did all the shots myself except for the intramuscular trigger shot for my IVFs. The whole morning, I did not have any pain and barely even remembered I had a PIO shot.
However, this afternoon, about 6 hours later, I can tell my butt is sore. I guess it is not going to be as easy as I thought. I read somewhere, after a week, you can REALLY feel it. Oh well, it will all be worth it eventually. I hope.
Here's to TWO firsts for me. A mammogram and my first PIO shot!
I leave you with a couple photos of my PIO and the needles used (sorry they are not of the best quality). The top one (18G) is used for drawing the oil into the syringe. The bottom one (22G) is the one used to inject the oil. Notice the huge size difference in the needle! You have to make sure you don't forget the change the needle before injecting, or you could be in a lot of pain!
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| PIO, and the two needles used |
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| Top needle used to draw the oil, bottom used for injecting. See the difference in size? |
Thursday, November 14, 2013
We are a GO for November Transfer!!
We are a GO for November transfer!!
Sorry if you have been waiting all day for an update. I had my ultrasound and blood work this morning. My lining was at 9.3 mm, so I knew it was looking good. But I had to wait for my blood work results to come back and the clinic had to fax the results over to NEDC before I would hear anything back from Katie, the NEDC nurse.
After my appointment, I met up with some ladies from our infertility/adoption group for lunch. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. We had met about 3 years ago in the infertility support group and now all the ladies have baby girls, with the exception of Katie who adopted embryos, who has a set of boy/girl twins. It was so fun to catch up, see the babies and just see how far we have all come. I am the only one yet to have a baby, so everyone was super supportive and just very excited for my upcoming transfer.
By 3 pm, I still had not heard from NEDC, so I called and left a message with Katie. I also called my local clinic to make sure the results had been faxed over since they had an issue with getting the fax to go through back in September. The clinic assured me they had already faxed it and it went through just fine. So I called and left another message. By 5 pm I had given up hope that I would hear from Katie (as it was 6 pm at NEDC) and just assumed that I would get a call tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised to get a call after 5 pm from Katie. I was happy and excited to hear from her. I said "Isn't it a little late for you to call? I thought for sure you would have gone home and I was expecting you to call tomorrow". Right after I said it, I thought oops, I hope it didn't sound wrong, like I was complaining about it. She said Thursday is the long day for them and they were crazy busy with appointments that go late.
So, my lining looked good at 9 mm and my estradiol numbers were good too, though I didn't ask her what they were. On Saturday, I start progesterone in oil (PIO) and reduce my Es.trace to 2 times a day.
My transfer is scheduled for 11:45 am on Wednesday, November 20th. We are to arrive at the clinic at 11:15 am.
Yay! We are officially a GO for our transfer next week.
Sorry if you have been waiting all day for an update. I had my ultrasound and blood work this morning. My lining was at 9.3 mm, so I knew it was looking good. But I had to wait for my blood work results to come back and the clinic had to fax the results over to NEDC before I would hear anything back from Katie, the NEDC nurse.
After my appointment, I met up with some ladies from our infertility/adoption group for lunch. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. We had met about 3 years ago in the infertility support group and now all the ladies have baby girls, with the exception of Katie who adopted embryos, who has a set of boy/girl twins. It was so fun to catch up, see the babies and just see how far we have all come. I am the only one yet to have a baby, so everyone was super supportive and just very excited for my upcoming transfer.
By 3 pm, I still had not heard from NEDC, so I called and left a message with Katie. I also called my local clinic to make sure the results had been faxed over since they had an issue with getting the fax to go through back in September. The clinic assured me they had already faxed it and it went through just fine. So I called and left another message. By 5 pm I had given up hope that I would hear from Katie (as it was 6 pm at NEDC) and just assumed that I would get a call tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised to get a call after 5 pm from Katie. I was happy and excited to hear from her. I said "Isn't it a little late for you to call? I thought for sure you would have gone home and I was expecting you to call tomorrow". Right after I said it, I thought oops, I hope it didn't sound wrong, like I was complaining about it. She said Thursday is the long day for them and they were crazy busy with appointments that go late.
So, my lining looked good at 9 mm and my estradiol numbers were good too, though I didn't ask her what they were. On Saturday, I start progesterone in oil (PIO) and reduce my Es.trace to 2 times a day.
My transfer is scheduled for 11:45 am on Wednesday, November 20th. We are to arrive at the clinic at 11:15 am.
Yay! We are officially a GO for our transfer next week.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
10 Days!
10 Days till transfer!
Last night was my last Lu.pron shot. Yay! This time the shots didn't give me any problems. No headaches or hot flashes that I noticed. Maybe I was too distracted by my cough.
I also increased my Es.trace to 3 times a day instead of 2 yesterday. I'm praying that my at my ultrasound appointment on Thursday my lining will be at least 7 mm. I have been using a heated pad on my lower abdominal area to try and get more blood flow to the uterus. I also trying to eat raspberries everyday day for the same reason.
I feel like the transfer is here too suddenly! I feel like I am not ready! If all goes well we leave on Sunday and start our drive to TN. But we will stop halfway in Indiana to see a high school friend. Suddenly I realize I only have one week to have sushi and alcoholic drinks! I need to start thinking about packing! And starting PIO! Oh the dreaded PIO.......
This week is going to pass by too quickly!
Last night was my last Lu.pron shot. Yay! This time the shots didn't give me any problems. No headaches or hot flashes that I noticed. Maybe I was too distracted by my cough.
I also increased my Es.trace to 3 times a day instead of 2 yesterday. I'm praying that my at my ultrasound appointment on Thursday my lining will be at least 7 mm. I have been using a heated pad on my lower abdominal area to try and get more blood flow to the uterus. I also trying to eat raspberries everyday day for the same reason.
I feel like the transfer is here too suddenly! I feel like I am not ready! If all goes well we leave on Sunday and start our drive to TN. But we will stop halfway in Indiana to see a high school friend. Suddenly I realize I only have one week to have sushi and alcoholic drinks! I need to start thinking about packing! And starting PIO! Oh the dreaded PIO.......
This week is going to pass by too quickly!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Protocol and Meds Are Here
This morning, I received my FET protocol from Katie, our nurse at NEDC. This was a nice surprise as Katie had told me earlier that I wouldn't be getting my protocol until after the 15th. Looks like I will start Lu.pron on 8/23 and will continue on BCPs until 8/27. I'll be putting together a calender together to make sure I get all the medications and shots all in one place. Maybe I'll share it later.
A couple of hours later, the UPS guy dropped off my medication. I'm quite familiar with most of the medication, except for the progesterone in oil (PIO). They include PIO, Lu.pron kit, Es.trace, Va.lium, a whole bunch of syringes and needles, and a sharps container.
Looks like I'm ready to go. Just need to make the appointments at the local fertility clinic for when I need to get my ultrasounds and blood draws.
Also, if you haven't already, sign up for my 40th birthday giveaway. Make sure to leave a positive comment about turning 40.
A couple of hours later, the UPS guy dropped off my medication. I'm quite familiar with most of the medication, except for the progesterone in oil (PIO). They include PIO, Lu.pron kit, Es.trace, Va.lium, a whole bunch of syringes and needles, and a sharps container.
Here's the progesterone in cottonseed oil. There are actually 4 bottles of this. This is a new one for me. I'm a little nervous about the PIO, to be honest. Heard it's a real pain in the butt. Literally.
This is the first time I have used a Lu.pron KIT. I was surprised to open the box to see the Lu.pron bottle, syringes and alcohol pads all included. I love this kit. Though I can't really say that I love "Loopy Lu.pron". I'm pretty sure I will have side effects again from this. We'll see.
Looks like I'm ready to go. Just need to make the appointments at the local fertility clinic for when I need to get my ultrasounds and blood draws.
Also, if you haven't already, sign up for my 40th birthday giveaway. Make sure to leave a positive comment about turning 40.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Good Couple of Days
Sunday was Valentine's Day and also Chinese New Year. For my Babe and I, it was a fairly quiet day. Though we don't really celebrate the much hyped Valentine's Day, we did have a small Chinese New Year (CNY) Celebration. I am ethnically Chinese, so I was missing the CNY festivities at home. After church, we met up with two other couples and their kids for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Being that it was CNY, we ordered a set dinner which included pork with watercress soup, Peking roast duck, pork chops in Peking sauce, steamed whole walleye with ginger and scallions, stir fried crabs with ginger and scallions, salt and pepper squid, chinese broccoli and dessert. It's not often we get to eat like this! Then my Babe and I came home and took a nap. It was a nice way to just relax and eat. Eating is a HUGE part of Chinese New Year.
Yesterday I got a call from Nurse Mary that did my annual exam. The lab had found that some traces of blood and protein in my urine during my appointment last Thursday. She asked me if I had experienced any increase in frequency in peeing, or any burning sensation, etc, symptoms of of UTI (urinary tract infection). I said no, in fact I don't even remember if I've ever had UTI. So she sent those my urine out to the lab to be cultured anyway, just in case. So yesterday (Monday) I got a call from Mary, they found that I had a mild grade UTI or bladder infection. She called in my prescription and I picked those up last night. Talk about great timing, because by the time I picked up my drugs, I was starting to feel discomfort in pelvic area, nothing serious but just kind of an icky feeling. I have been told that I am lucky that they found my UTI early and and did not have to suffer severe symptoms. I am on antibiotics for 5 days. I'm glad it was found now before I start my IVF. What great timing!
Today, I had 2 appointments at the Dr. Hopeful's clinic, a shots class and a nurse's consult. There were just 2 couples, we first watched a video on how to do the shots for Follis.tim, Lupr.on, Men.opur and HCG. Then the nurse went over our syringes and pens to show us how to do the shots hands on. We didn't actually inject anything, but it was nice to be able to touch and feel the actual "hardware" before we got them from the pharmacy. The nurse also showed us where to inject intramuscular (IM) shots so our hubbies don't stick us in the wrong spots! The other gal that was there found out I am not doing progesterone in oil (PIO) shots, and using Endome.trin suppositories instead. She was not happy, and wanted to switch! I felt bad for her and I am so glad I am not doing the PIOs! I guess she is planning to talk to Dr. Hopeful to see if she can switch too! I have to say I think my Babe is kind of looking forward to the opportunity to stick a big-a$$ needle in my butt! I am doing the rest of the shots myself! We left the shots training with a Follis.tim pen kit.
After the shots class, we met up with Nurse Stacey who did our consult. My Ovarian Assesment Report (OAR) results came back.
- I had an Egg Retrieval score, or "chance of successful retrieval" of 9, which was "fair" . This score indicates that there is a fair chance of obtaining 5 eggs or more through ovarian stimulation.
- Compared to other women 36 to 40 years old, my egg retrieval score is average.
We then went over all our meds, dates of shots, ultrasound and blood work appointments. I start Lup.ron on 2/21, Meno.pur and Follis.tim on 3/5. Depending on how my stims go, I could have my egg retrieval on the week of 3/15. We'll see how it goes. We also went over instructions for HCG where timing is crucial. And of course my Babe will make his "butt sticking" debut. I am expected to do a Day-5 blast transfer and I am hoping that we will have some embryos to freeze for future use.
Before we were done, Nurse Stacey also gave me my "goodies" bag, a bag with 4 boxes of FREE 300 IU Follis.tim AQ samples! Woo hoo! Free meds! That's about $1,000 worth of free meds! I was so excited!
In a packet that was sent to me earlier, it was indicated on the drug list that it was possible to get Vi.velle and Endome.trin samples too. Stacey said she would check into it as they don't always get those samples to give out. I asked if I should wait to order those, to see if they get any in later since I wouldn't need those till later in my cycle. She said she would check another spot to see if they had any. She later came back with 3 boxes (6) of Vi.velle patches and 2 boxes (12) Endo.metrin samples for me. Score!! More free drugs! My Babe was quite impressed with the way I was able to "finagle" more free meds. See, I told him, ask and you shall receive! And I did ask nicely =)
After the consult with Nurse Stacey, we met up with Melissa, our financial coordinator. We put down our prepayment of around $7K. We had decided we were not doing the shared risk program and would be paying by the cycle. We thought we would be paying for everything out of pocket. But there was a surprise waiting for us!
We were told we had a lifetime maximum coverage for infertility treatment of $5K! We will have out-of-network coverage of 60/40 for the actual IVF procedure (egg retrieval and embryo transfer), but the follicle monitoring (ultrasounds and blood work) will be covered by in-network 80/20 coverage. Plus we also had a $5K lifetime coverage for infertility drugs! Oh, such awesome news!! Even though it is not a huge dollar amount, it makes such a huge difference.
We didn't realize that when I left my job last year, and switched our insurance to my husband's company, the benefits started all over. We had maxed out our infertility coverage at my old company, but now we start afresh! If I had not left my old job, we would be paying out of pocket for everything!
I am having a pretty good couple of days. Early detection of infection, unexpected insurance coverage and free meds! I am praying that this is a sign of more good things to come!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Confession and RE Update
Confession
First of all I have a HUGE confession to make. For those of you that have been following or reading my blog I hope you understand why this is something I did not make known previously in my blog. I will explain later. So here goes.
This will not be my first IVF. A year ago, we through one round of IVF overseas. Unfortunately it was not successful.
I grew up in Asia and was home visiting family for a couple of months and decided while we were there, we'd try a round of IVF. It was a lot cheaper to do it there compared to the US. Only my family and a few of my close friends know we did this. It's not something we like to share because some people frown on the idea of going overseas for treatment. Plus we weren't sure if it was something we would share with our RE and if it would disqualify us from the IVF shared risk program. Last night, DH and I discussed whether we should tell our RE about this. Giving her this additional information may come in handy in her decisions on our protocol and procedures. We decided it would be the best to be honest, even if it meant jeopardizing our chance at the shared risk program.
Overall we had a good experience doing IVF in this Asian country (due to the anonymous nature of this blog, I will not be disclosing the country). I will write about it in more detail in a later post.
Now that you know the truth about our IVF experience, I will be updating my TTC history in this blog.
RE Update
Now, on to the part that you have been waiting for, the update on our appointment with the RE.
Last night, I again had a hard time falling asleep. I think I got 4 hours of sleep, max. I was tired, but felt pretty good at the appointment. Since our last visit, the RE clinic had moved to a newly built and much nicer building. There must be a huge market for the fertility business because the clinic was much bigger, fancier, and covered 2 floors. The waiting room was twice the size of the old one and it was pretty busy, even in this sucky economy. We found out later from our RE that the new facility included a new world-class IVF suite, with its own procedure rooms, andrology lab, embryo lab, incubators, recovery room, etc. "The best that we could find", as she put it.
Our meeting with the RE, whom we shall call Dr. Hopeful, went really well. She noticed it's been 2 years since our last visit so she asked us what we've been up to. Right away, we were upfront about our previous IVF overseas. I was worried about how she would react to it, but she seemed OK with it. She was quite pleased with how I responded during that cycle, other than the fact it didn't work. Our meeting lasted almost an hour and she gave me lots of information. I was given the following handouts.
In the mean time, I am waiting for a nurse to call to schedule a consultation and also for Melissa the financial coordinator to call to discuss costs and payments. Actually someone from the clinic called this afternoon to discuss starting my IVF cycle but I was napping, thanks to only 4 hours of sleep the night before. Tomorrow I will call the clinic and find out our next steps.
First of all I have a HUGE confession to make. For those of you that have been following or reading my blog I hope you understand why this is something I did not make known previously in my blog. I will explain later. So here goes.
This will not be my first IVF. A year ago, we through one round of IVF overseas. Unfortunately it was not successful.
I grew up in Asia and was home visiting family for a couple of months and decided while we were there, we'd try a round of IVF. It was a lot cheaper to do it there compared to the US. Only my family and a few of my close friends know we did this. It's not something we like to share because some people frown on the idea of going overseas for treatment. Plus we weren't sure if it was something we would share with our RE and if it would disqualify us from the IVF shared risk program. Last night, DH and I discussed whether we should tell our RE about this. Giving her this additional information may come in handy in her decisions on our protocol and procedures. We decided it would be the best to be honest, even if it meant jeopardizing our chance at the shared risk program.
Overall we had a good experience doing IVF in this Asian country (due to the anonymous nature of this blog, I will not be disclosing the country). I will write about it in more detail in a later post.
Now that you know the truth about our IVF experience, I will be updating my TTC history in this blog.
RE Update
Now, on to the part that you have been waiting for, the update on our appointment with the RE.
Last night, I again had a hard time falling asleep. I think I got 4 hours of sleep, max. I was tired, but felt pretty good at the appointment. Since our last visit, the RE clinic had moved to a newly built and much nicer building. There must be a huge market for the fertility business because the clinic was much bigger, fancier, and covered 2 floors. The waiting room was twice the size of the old one and it was pretty busy, even in this sucky economy. We found out later from our RE that the new facility included a new world-class IVF suite, with its own procedure rooms, andrology lab, embryo lab, incubators, recovery room, etc. "The best that we could find", as she put it.
Our meeting with the RE, whom we shall call Dr. Hopeful, went really well. She noticed it's been 2 years since our last visit so she asked us what we've been up to. Right away, we were upfront about our previous IVF overseas. I was worried about how she would react to it, but she seemed OK with it. She was quite pleased with how I responded during that cycle, other than the fact it didn't work. Our meeting lasted almost an hour and she gave me lots of information. I was given the following handouts.
- IVF handbook
- Estimate of charges broken down into details by monitoring, IVF procedures, medication and additional charges.
- Statistics of IVF results for the clinic
- List of acupuncturists in our area. Dr. Hopeful could not recommend acupunture medically (inconclusive research), but her thought is if it makes you feel good and help you relax, then do it.
- Comparison sheet for the cost of IVF by fee for service (pay by cycle) vs. share risk program.
- Classes for Mind/Body program, which she highly recommended.
In addition I found out the following:
- Dr. Hopeful does not think a previous failed IVF necessarily means we don't qualify for the shared risk program, and recommends applying for it. More details about the cost and payment of IVF will be discussed with Melissa, the financial coordinator. In the mean time, we still have not decided if we will do the shared risk program.
- Only 2 embryos will be transfered
- Based on our fertilization success during our last IVF, we will not need to do ICSI.
- There is an 18% change of miscarriage with IVF.
- I will be on Lupron, Menopur and Follistim. I have had experience with Follistim, but will need to pay attention to researching side effects of Lupron and Menopur.
- I will NOT need to do PIO (progesterone in oil) shots!! The is the BEST news yet!! I guess I will be on a suppository called End.ometrin. I am so happy about this!
- We will probably go in for a shots class so DH can figure out how to stick a very long needle in my butt.
- I will need to do one IM (intramuscular) shot for the HCG trigger shot, most probably be done by DH. I can handle doing one IM, but so relieved I don't have to do daily IM PIO shots.
- The doctors at the RE office rotate through the procedures weekly. This means Dr. Hopeful or one of the other doctors may actually perform the procedures.
- We will need to do the following tests:
- Ovarian Assessment Report - to test the quality of my remaining eggs
- SIS (Saline Infused Sonogram) - check the uterus
- Trial transfer - measure the uterus prior to embryo transfer
- STD screening
It sounds like after my next AF arrives, I will start BCP on day 2 or 3 for 21 days, then start stims. Today I am on CD11. If AF is on schedule (which she probably won't be), I should start BCP on Feb 1st, and then we go from there.
In the mean time, I am waiting for a nurse to call to schedule a consultation and also for Melissa the financial coordinator to call to discuss costs and payments. Actually someone from the clinic called this afternoon to discuss starting my IVF cycle but I was napping, thanks to only 4 hours of sleep the night before. Tomorrow I will call the clinic and find out our next steps.
I'm getting excited about finally starting this, but at the same time I'm torn about the huge amount of money we are about to spend of IVF.
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