Thursday, July 16, 2009
Back at Work
I'm back at work after a nice break while the family was on vacation. It's been good to be working and each day I have packed with activities with the girls to keep my mind occupied. I've started re-reading a favorite book during nap time, so overall I'm able to keep my worries about next month's antral follicle scan at bay. But when I get home... especially at night before I fall asleep the fears poke through. I keep thinking that when I go back there will be even fewer antral follicles. I'm hoping that this month was a fluke and everything will be fine, but my hope is really starting to falter. I'm praying and trying to turn these fears and worries over to the Lord, but it's not easy most of the time. I'm hoping that after acupuncture tomorrow, I'll feel a bit more evened out emotionally.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Cancelled
It's official. Nurse Sarah just called and after Dr. Opie and the medical team reviewed my tests, they are having me cancel this IVF cycle. She did offer something (I forget what she called it) where I take 2 weeks of BCP to start AF sooner, but I think we'll just wait for the regular start. The team's concern was over suppression so my protocol will change for IVF with less days on BCP's. Hopefully next month's antral follicle scan is better than this month's and it will all work out.
Monday Morning
I woke up excited to be on our IVF journey a mere 2 hours ago. I am now in a depressed, weepy, funk all because of my Dr.'s appointment.
I got there a bit early to drop off our consent forms. I was then called back for the blood draws and the nurse had difficulty finding a vein but got enough for the tests. I then waited in the waiting room again and my nurse coordinator Sarah came to get me. It was nice to finally meet her after emailing and talking to her on the phone for so long. She took me back to the exam room and went over the protocol with me. We discussed when donor sperm will need to be at the office and how to inject meds. (We don't need the class as we've done this before, and it will save us a cool $450.) She then congratulated me on having my period cooperate so we can move forward with this month's cycle and not run into lab closures. I changed into the "drape" and moved next door for the ultrasound. Dr. Opie came in and was all smiles. He looked at my chart (on the computer) and then started checking my uterus out. He said it looked great. He then zooms in on the right ovary (ouch!), and I hear a change in his tone of voice. "Um, (insert nurses name- don't remember right now) can you pull up her last antral follicle scan for me?"
NOT GOOD. NOT GOOD AT ALL.
I immediately start to panic. I ask, "is there a problem?" He tells me he wants to compare this AFC to last as it seems kind of low today. LOW? WHAT?!? He continues looking for antral follicles and all he finds is 2, maybe 3. This is not good. My last AFC I had 8-9 on the right. "Don't worry," he tells me, "It's normal to have some differences from month to month we can still stimulate them and get some good eggs." I'm in full freak out mode now. He zooms to the left ovary and starts counting. He finds 6-7. Last AFC on the left ovary was 10-11. I ask if this means the cycle is a bust. He told me he wasn't sure yet, he'd have to review my blood work and look at my protocol again, but he is afraid with these few antral follicles of over suppression so he would want to shorten my protocol which would run into.... you guessed it....
the LAB CLOSURE!!!!!!!!!!
He pats my leg and tells me to wait for a call this afternoon before starting any meds. I leave the room and get changed. I try to pull it together as I leave the dressing room. I run into kind nurse Sarah, and she gives my arm a squeeze and more consent forms (we have to sign them there apparently) and says, "well we tried to make this cycle work." To say I'm upset and frustrated is an understatement. Now I just have to wait for the call....
I got there a bit early to drop off our consent forms. I was then called back for the blood draws and the nurse had difficulty finding a vein but got enough for the tests. I then waited in the waiting room again and my nurse coordinator Sarah came to get me. It was nice to finally meet her after emailing and talking to her on the phone for so long. She took me back to the exam room and went over the protocol with me. We discussed when donor sperm will need to be at the office and how to inject meds. (We don't need the class as we've done this before, and it will save us a cool $450.) She then congratulated me on having my period cooperate so we can move forward with this month's cycle and not run into lab closures. I changed into the "drape" and moved next door for the ultrasound. Dr. Opie came in and was all smiles. He looked at my chart (on the computer) and then started checking my uterus out. He said it looked great. He then zooms in on the right ovary (ouch!), and I hear a change in his tone of voice. "Um, (insert nurses name- don't remember right now) can you pull up her last antral follicle scan for me?"
NOT GOOD. NOT GOOD AT ALL.
I immediately start to panic. I ask, "is there a problem?" He tells me he wants to compare this AFC to last as it seems kind of low today. LOW? WHAT?!? He continues looking for antral follicles and all he finds is 2, maybe 3. This is not good. My last AFC I had 8-9 on the right. "Don't worry," he tells me, "It's normal to have some differences from month to month we can still stimulate them and get some good eggs." I'm in full freak out mode now. He zooms to the left ovary and starts counting. He finds 6-7. Last AFC on the left ovary was 10-11. I ask if this means the cycle is a bust. He told me he wasn't sure yet, he'd have to review my blood work and look at my protocol again, but he is afraid with these few antral follicles of over suppression so he would want to shorten my protocol which would run into.... you guessed it....
the LAB CLOSURE!!!!!!!!!!
He pats my leg and tells me to wait for a call this afternoon before starting any meds. I leave the room and get changed. I try to pull it together as I leave the dressing room. I run into kind nurse Sarah, and she gives my arm a squeeze and more consent forms (we have to sign them there apparently) and says, "well we tried to make this cycle work." To say I'm upset and frustrated is an understatement. Now I just have to wait for the call....
Sunday, July 12, 2009
IVF cycle
It's official. We are on CD 1 of our IVF cycle. I called and left a message to make the CD 2 blood work and ultrasound appointment. They called back during Church and DH made the appointment for tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM. I'm excited and nervous.
Today has been crazy so far. I had super bad cramps last night and difficulty sleeping. When I woke up, I thought I was hemorrhaging because of the amount of blood. I ended up calling the 24-hour nurse line and the nurse calmed me down and told me to monitor it for the next 6 hours. I have one more hour to go, but I think it will calm down soon. (I hope so!!!!) I really don't want anything amiss with this cycle. Thanks to Dr. Google and WebMD I think the reason this AF is heavier/worse than any I've had is because I've been doing all the prep work for a good ovarian response and endometrial lining. Now all of that hard work has to come out to start on the next cycle. At least, I hope that's all it is and something isn't wrong. Luckily, I see the Dr. tomorrow and can ask then.
Today has been crazy so far. I had super bad cramps last night and difficulty sleeping. When I woke up, I thought I was hemorrhaging because of the amount of blood. I ended up calling the 24-hour nurse line and the nurse calmed me down and told me to monitor it for the next 6 hours. I have one more hour to go, but I think it will calm down soon. (I hope so!!!!) I really don't want anything amiss with this cycle. Thanks to Dr. Google and WebMD I think the reason this AF is heavier/worse than any I've had is because I've been doing all the prep work for a good ovarian response and endometrial lining. Now all of that hard work has to come out to start on the next cycle. At least, I hope that's all it is and something isn't wrong. Luckily, I see the Dr. tomorrow and can ask then.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Obligatory IVF Medication Picture
I believe it is necessary in ALL IF blogs to have a picture of the medications to be used. So, without further ado here is mine:
I've numbered the meds (really tiny red numbers) to coordinate with the list below along with what each drug is used for. (For those of you new to the world of IVF.) Surprisingly, after taking the picture I'm not as overwhelmed with all of the medications I'll be using.
Suppressive: These medications helps prevent the body from doing what it’s meant to and ovulating once the the egg follicles begin to progress. If ovulation should occur, the cycle would be lost, as there is no way to retrieve them once that happens.
1 - Loestrin – Birth Control Pill – suppressive
2 - Leuprolide 2 wk kit – injectable lupron – suppressive
Stimulatory: In an IVF cycle, stimulatory medications cause the ovaries to grow all of the eggs that will eventually be retrieved. They are a combination of FSH, or Follicle Stimulating Hormone and LH, or Leutenizing Hormone, the hormones that the body makes naturally during the menstrual cycle. During IVF however, they are given in much higher, precise doses as determined by the doctor, typically for 10 to 12 days. These are also injectable medications and are given in a combination that Dr. Opie feels is most appropriate for me. Dosing decisions are typically made based on the monitoring that occurs each day.
3 - Follistim 900 IU & Follistim 300IU – injectable - stimulatory
4 - Menopur 75 IU – injectable -stimulatory
Trigger: Once Dr. Opie feels that I have reached the criteria to proceed to retrieval, he will order an injection of HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin to finalize growth and maturation of the eggs. A crucial step in the IVF process, this injection is carefully timed so that retrieval will occur at the optimal time just before ovulation occurs.
5-HCG 10,000 Units – injectable - trigger
6 - Doxycycline – anti-biotic used in conjunction with egg retrieval to prevent infection
7 - Medrol 16 mg – steroid used after egg retrieval to prevent uterus rejection of embryos
Hormone Supplementation: After the retrieval, Dr. Opie will probably place me on supplements of progesterone to prepare the endometrial lining for implantation of an embryo.
8 - Progesterone in Seame Oil 50mg – injectable- hormone supplementation
9 - Tranxene – mellow pill- to mellow me out and calm down my uterus (no contractions) during embryo transfer to be taken 1 hour before transfer
10 - Prometrium 200mg – used 3 times a day from embryo transfer through first trimester of pregnancy – hormone supplementation
I've numbered the meds (really tiny red numbers) to coordinate with the list below along with what each drug is used for. (For those of you new to the world of IVF.) Surprisingly, after taking the picture I'm not as overwhelmed with all of the medications I'll be using.
Suppressive: These medications helps prevent the body from doing what it’s meant to and ovulating once the the egg follicles begin to progress. If ovulation should occur, the cycle would be lost, as there is no way to retrieve them once that happens.
1 - Loestrin – Birth Control Pill – suppressive
2 - Leuprolide 2 wk kit – injectable lupron – suppressive
Stimulatory: In an IVF cycle, stimulatory medications cause the ovaries to grow all of the eggs that will eventually be retrieved. They are a combination of FSH, or Follicle Stimulating Hormone and LH, or Leutenizing Hormone, the hormones that the body makes naturally during the menstrual cycle. During IVF however, they are given in much higher, precise doses as determined by the doctor, typically for 10 to 12 days. These are also injectable medications and are given in a combination that Dr. Opie feels is most appropriate for me. Dosing decisions are typically made based on the monitoring that occurs each day.
3 - Follistim 900 IU & Follistim 300IU – injectable - stimulatory
4 - Menopur 75 IU – injectable -stimulatory
Trigger: Once Dr. Opie feels that I have reached the criteria to proceed to retrieval, he will order an injection of HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin to finalize growth and maturation of the eggs. A crucial step in the IVF process, this injection is carefully timed so that retrieval will occur at the optimal time just before ovulation occurs.
5-HCG 10,000 Units – injectable - trigger
6 - Doxycycline – anti-biotic used in conjunction with egg retrieval to prevent infection
7 - Medrol 16 mg – steroid used after egg retrieval to prevent uterus rejection of embryos
Hormone Supplementation: After the retrieval, Dr. Opie will probably place me on supplements of progesterone to prepare the endometrial lining for implantation of an embryo.
8 - Progesterone in Seame Oil 50mg – injectable- hormone supplementation
9 - Tranxene – mellow pill- to mellow me out and calm down my uterus (no contractions) during embryo transfer to be taken 1 hour before transfer
10 - Prometrium 200mg – used 3 times a day from embryo transfer through first trimester of pregnancy – hormone supplementation
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Weekend Update
Ok, so I know that the weekend for most folks was over on Sunday, but my sister and DH were here with me until Tuesday. Now that it is Wednesday sis is back home and DH is at work. I still have the rest of this week off from work. Yeah vacation!
We had a busy weekend. My sister arrived Thursday night and I attended a beginner sewing class with two girlfriends and my sis. It was a lot of fun. On Friday we (me, DH and sis) ate breakfast out at a yummy pancake house (I had Swedish pancakes with lingon berry jam and a side of corned beef hash) and then we had a spa day. The spa package included: foot soak, 60-minute massage, body scrub, scalp massage, Swiss shower, facial and mani/pedi. That night we ate dinner out at Indian. YUMMY!
Saturday was DH's birthday. We chilled around the house and friends arrived around 5 for a BBQ and night of game playing. We played board games and some XBOX- rock band 2. It was a blast.
Sunday was church. There were very few children there and it was a nice break.
Monday my sister was a rock star and helped me to reorganize/de-junk my entire kitchen. She is a genius with this stuff, and it was great to have another set of eyes look at my kitchen and find a more useful way to utilize it. I think it looks MUCH better and my major goal of not having stuff stacked on top of the cabinets was fulfilled! :)
Tuesday, we chilled at home and then my sister left for her 4-hour drive home. Our infertility drugs arrived on Tuesday as well. I'll post the obligatory IVF med picture in the next week or so.
We had a busy weekend. My sister arrived Thursday night and I attended a beginner sewing class with two girlfriends and my sis. It was a lot of fun. On Friday we (me, DH and sis) ate breakfast out at a yummy pancake house (I had Swedish pancakes with lingon berry jam and a side of corned beef hash) and then we had a spa day. The spa package included: foot soak, 60-minute massage, body scrub, scalp massage, Swiss shower, facial and mani/pedi. That night we ate dinner out at Indian. YUMMY!
Saturday was DH's birthday. We chilled around the house and friends arrived around 5 for a BBQ and night of game playing. We played board games and some XBOX- rock band 2. It was a blast.
Sunday was church. There were very few children there and it was a nice break.
Monday my sister was a rock star and helped me to reorganize/de-junk my entire kitchen. She is a genius with this stuff, and it was great to have another set of eyes look at my kitchen and find a more useful way to utilize it. I think it looks MUCH better and my major goal of not having stuff stacked on top of the cabinets was fulfilled! :)
Tuesday, we chilled at home and then my sister left for her 4-hour drive home. Our infertility drugs arrived on Tuesday as well. I'll post the obligatory IVF med picture in the next week or so.
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