Monday, February 28, 2011

Getting a little nervous

Went to the doctor's again- we're getting really close!  He said there's a chance that we'll trigger tonight instead of tomorrow, so that would mean a Wednesday retrieval!!!  Lots of follicles that are right in line still, measuring around 17-22mm right now.

One piece of bad news, though.  The fluid is back in the lining again. :(  Dr. Z doesn't seem too worried because my body has proven to do what it needs to do in this arena.  But we're getting really close and it's still there.  He also said that progesterone usually eliminates the fluid- so hopefully as soon as we start supplementing progesterone it will all go away.  It was definitely a lot less than earlier, but it's still there. If it's there on transfer day, we have to cancel.

I'll find out in the next couple of hours whether we've got another monitoring appointment tomorrow or whether we're triggering tonight!

Keep up with the mantra- fluid, fluid GO AWAY!

ps- If anyone has any good stories about fluid being in the uterus during IVF and ending up with a positive outcome, send them my way like Meim!  Dr. Google just keeps telling me bad things :(

Sunday, February 27, 2011

GREAT news!

Just got back from Dr. Z's office (after a quick stop at Butterfield's for breakfast, yum!) and I already had an email about my hormone levels!

First- the fluid is definitely on its way out.  What's left in my uterus is no longer in the lining, it's on my cervix, so it's moving down.  It looked like less fluid than a couple days ago- so we're heading in the right direction!

Second- I still have a TON of follicles.  He didn't even count them he just said I have "plenty".  B snuck a count in of the big ones that Dr. Z decided to measure today (which he said wasn't even all of the ones that could be on track for retreival) and it was 16.  So I'm very, very pleased with that number!  He said there's one in my left ovary that is too big, it looks like a cyst rather than a follicle that will give us an egg.  But other than that, he said they're all on track and looking about a day ahead of schedule.

Third and MOST exciting - the email they sent read:

Hi Amy,

Today your Estradiol was 1660.2 and progesterone was 1.26. Last time you were at 649.2 Estradiol and 0.52 Progesterone.

We are going to decrease your Gonal-F to 75IU, the rest of your medications will remain the same.

See you tomorrow!

 
 
I'm so happy that my numbers are looking way better than last time.  I'm really glad that this nurse is being so awesome about showing me the comparison- she definitely got how serious I was about it when I broke down in the office a few weeks ago.  This is definitely helping me out.  So now it's decreasing to 75IU of Gonal twice a day instead of 150.  Menopur stays the same, Lupron stays the same.  SWEET!
 
I'm feeling like we might have some to freeze this time!!! Hopefully they keep developing after day 3, but I guess that's putting the cart before the horse.  I know what happened the last time whenever I got optimistic. No good.  So- we'll stay with the cautious optimism for today.  Who knows what could happen in the next four days.  Retrieval is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday the 3rd.  But with being a day ahead right now...that could mean we're going for the Wednesday the 2nd unless this decrease in medicine slows me down like he wants.
 
YAY!

No More Drama!

Hopefully...

Fluid came out! We're going in today to Dr. Z's for another check.  Hopefully the ultrasound shows no more fluid and that was all of it.  Hopefully it doesn't come back!

Thanks Meim for sharing your story with me!  She had fluid in her uterus during this IVF cycle (again)...and her doctor had some magical wizard-like ways of removing it right before transfer...and guess what?!  She's preggo!!! Congratulations Meim- I'm so happy for you (a little late, I know...). Go check out her story- I love happy outcomes from similar stories.  I'm feeling more and more positive every day.  (Cautiously optimistic of course ;)

Hope everyone's weekend is going well.  I had my last day of work yesterday- yes, I worked almost eight hours on a Saturday just so I could get my work done, but I DID! It's done! And it's time to stop thinking about work. I'm so excited.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

First big appointment!

So yes, we're back at that first big appointment! We had our ultrasound done and the bloodwork to check my E2 levels... good news and bad news. Seems to be the name of the game for us...

Don't know if you all recall the uterine fluid debacle of 2010 that happened with our last cycle. Well, it's back. And uglier than ever! But, I'm feeling much less stressed about it this time, knowing that it "resolved" itself the last time in a very un-lady-like fashion if you recall. So I'm hoping with everything that I've got that this time is the same. I don't understand for the life of me why my body responds like this, but fluid, fluid, GO AWAY!

The good news...drum roll...22 follicles today!!! Only day 4 of stims! And my e2 levels were way higher than last time (they were way too low last time, so that's what we were hoping for...higher estrogen...more mood swings!) And it's coming along quite swimmingly! My e2 at this point last time was 144. It's 357 today!
So I'm feeling "cautiously optimistic" yet again. That's what IVF is for me...for most of us I'd say. I'd love to just be excited with no asterisk...ya know?

So- mantra for everyone this weekend: NO MORE FLUID! C'mon y'all, I need all the help I can get. ;)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Not Paying Attention to B...

Yep, that's what I'm doing right now.  I'm writing on my blog and not paying attention to my B.  Not good.  I just wanted to throw out there a quick update.  Then it's back to relaxing with B and making some yummy and HEALTHY dinner!

I could not be happier that this is my last week at work for almost a month.  Today was brutal! And I made a promise to myself this morning that I wouldn't get stressed out, that I would let it all roll off my back, that I would only do what I'm capable of doing in a work day...no more staying late, taking extra work, putting myself out there.  It's not worth it.  This is the most important thing- this incredible thing we're doing for our family.  Work isn't worth it.

But, alas, I freaked out about not having enough time.  I had to stay late.  I didn't eat a good lunch... I have problems, that's for sure. 

I'm doing what I need to do, though.  Only three more days.  I'm setting my priorities straight right now- I know what matters.  And I'll do what it takes. 

Biggest Loser is on tonight! So I'm excited about that too ;)

Oh, and I had to call to ask the doctor this morning when I'm supposed to stop exercising because I actually forgot.  And, yeah, it was this weekend.  Apparently no more impact exercise or twisting/bending after stims start.  I forgot about that.  Apparently the ol' ovaries are already getting big and scary...no twisting allowed here ovaries! We're gonna stay nice and calm.

So it's walking and arm workouts...and some very light and relaxing yoga! :)

Thanks for the comments.  I'm so glad to have this community for support!  Peace and relaxation, here I come!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Hey Look, I'm Back!

Well there's no denying it now, we're in full IVF swing.  Ovarian stimulation started yesterday...so we've been at this for a little while now, just without the blogging. 

I think it was necessary for me to step away from the computer.  There's been a lot going on and one of the main points was my lack of "being here" because of work.  Work was taking over in a very bad way and some lab results proved that to actually be impacting my health.  I couldn't very well come home from a 12 hour day at the office and tell my B that I'd be in our office for a bit longer to type up my "goings on"...  I missed him.  He missed me.  We needed to spend any time possible just hanging together- trying like hell to de-stress. 

Not to say it worked all too well.  My cortisol levels have proven to be continuously high, and a bit higher than the last time I was tested.  Then they found that my glucose levels were a little too high...so they needed to do a continuous glucose test (has anyone had this done? It's ridiculous! They didn't really explain it to me at all, I just sat in a room and all of a sudden they came in, stuck a needle in my side, taped it in there with some sensor, gave me a self-tester, and told me I had to prick my finger 4 times a day, carry this other sensor thing around with me everywhere I go, and input numbers all day long...).  Well that didn't come back great either.  My glucose levels sky rocketed a couple of times a day...but only while I'm at work. And my diet doesn't change much at work compared to the weekends, yet my levels are perfect as can be on the weekends.  Doctor's conclusion = I'm prediabetic and stress is worsening it. 

WTF?

I don't believe it- I have absolutely no symptoms of diabetes (which I guess is standard for pre-diabetes) but the sensor was way way off a few times and never once did I test myself high- I was always in the normal range.  But nonetheless, I need to stop stressing. Period.

So, I'm taking a break from work.  A few weeks away from the office while we undergo an incredibly peaceful and successful IVF cycle!  I only have four more days of work left before I'm off for almost all of March.  I'm so excited to stop freaking out about things that just don't matter in the grand scheme of things.  I'm excited to focus my efforts on making my body a great place for a little one to be (or maybe a little two?)!  And I'm so so so excited to get a good result this time around!

I started doing acupuncture a couple of weeks ago.  It's been going really well. I definitely enjoy it.  We started Lupron on the 10th.  I stopped BCP on the 13th.  Got AF four days later and started stims yesterday. We're doubling up our protocol- so this time we do injections at 7:30am and again at 7:30pm.  I thought it was a lot the last time when it was just in the PM. Yikes! But it feels like we're really doing something to make this happen. 

We've also decided to do ICSI this time around.  It added to our bill, ugh, but I'm feeling really good about it bettering our chances, and at least giving us a little more of a glimpse into what's going on with my eggs.  They just didn't have any answers the last time about why we had so many beautiful looking embryos on day 3 and almost nothing on day 5.  This time, we'll get a little more education at least! 

So we've got an appointment on the 24th for an ultrasound and blood tests...pray that my estrogen is a lot higher than the last time!  Hopefully this double protocol works it's magic. The retrieval is tentatively scheduled for March 3rd and 5 day transfer would be March 8th!!!

Bring it!  This is our time.