Well we have our plan. I will fly back to Victoria the first week of October to have two embryos transfered. Mike will stay home so we don't have to pay for another flight and well he's too nervous to come in for the transfer anyways. So there we have it I will fly off to try to get pregnant...no husband needed. How weird is that, getting pregant doesn't require hubby anymore just Dr. H and his team. The whole concept of having sex and getting pregnant actually seems like some strange concept that only works in a place i don't live LOL.
Oh yeah and I heard back from my new friend who was doing the IVF at the same time as me. She had her pregnancy test on Monday and it was POSITIVE! I'm super happy for her and hope her babies stay around for a very long time. Today would have been my pregnancy test if I'd had my transfer on the 13th as planned. Ah well I'm good at waiting after all we've done of it so far...well sort of good. I am glad I'll be healthy for the transfer this time though.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Here we go again
Some people say IVF is a roller coaster and I do agree with that but at the moment it feels more like a merry go round and I'm at the beginning again. I was having trouble hearing back from my clinic to confirm they got my message about it being cycle day one and I was starting to worry I'd miss the timing on something. Last time no one got my email and I started birth control too soon because I misunderstood some directions. Since I have no idea what's involved in doing this frozen embryo transfer (FET) I wasn't sure what I had to do on what day. Well they called and talked to Mike and i got home too late to call them back. So apparently I'm to take birth control pills for a couple of weeks then I don't know what cause I never got to actually talk to anyone. So here we go again....step one to making a baby is always: take birth control pills....ah of course I should have known!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thankful
Well some parts of this IVF didn't go very well but it got me thinking to all the things that I am thankful for about it all:
-My dear hubby who drove us all the way to Victoria and back. I love his sense of humour through it all...yes there is alot of humour to be found in fertility treatments! He hung out for many days in a little cottage while I was sick and we didn't get to go out at all. He took good care of me. On the second last day at the clinic he even managed to stay in the room for my ultrasound and doctor's demonstration of how to inject blood thinners, and instructions on what to stop taking and what to continue. Good thing because he remembered more about anything the doctors said than I did that day.
-My mom who still doesn't quite understand how all of this works but wants to know all the updates and keeps on telling me it will work out fine. She also has blessed us with some money towards the treatments. Couldn't ask for a better mom.
-Our 10 beautiful embryos. It was sure hard to get them but we are very fortunate to have so many that are doing so well. It was kind of weird to get the daily updates from the lab and hear the lady go on and on about how fabulous our embryos were doing. Nothing ever seems to go well for us on the trying to have a child front but she just kept giving glowing reports day after day. There's no guarantees, but the quality of the embryos is the biggest factor in pregnancy success so this is good. Many people go through a whole IVF cycle and end up with no embryos to freeze and try again so we are blessed with our 10!
-The VFC lab has recently started using a new way to freeze embryos called vitrification and it helps the embryos to do very well in the whole process and makes the success rates much closer to that of fresh embryos. Good for us to be there after they started using it.
-For freezing before IVs...thank you Dr. H!
-For the kind, caring, and friendly staff at VFC
-For my new friend that I met in Victoria who is also a patient at VFC. We were one day apart in our cycles but she'd done several IVFs before so she was so great to talk to about what was going on. She's going to take the day off work when go back to Victoria for my transfer and she'll pick me up at the airport and take me to the clinic. I had to laugh because when i was in for my egg retrieval the clinic was on the phone asking her how she was doing since hers was the day before. She knew I was there at the clinic so she had them say hi to me. I pray this will be her last IVF and she will be blessed with a baby soon.
-That this is my last day of GATORADE! This stuff is seriously NOT a thirst quencher. I should email the Gatorade company and say "I have been drinking one litre of gatorade a day for the past two weeks and I have never been more thirsty!" I secretely wonder if the RE's of the world all have stock in the gatorade company and that's why they make all their patients drink it. I should ask Dr. H!
-That I no longer look 6 months pregnant and I can now walk faster than a 100 year old woman. Seriously all the extra fluid I had and my crazy giant ovaries made my belly stretch so huge I thought I didn't have enough skin to cover it all. I could only walk at a snails pace. It's pretty much normal now, the rest is just extra fat I think!
-That my ohss got better and not worse, I thankfully did not need to have fluid drained!
-My dear hubby who drove us all the way to Victoria and back. I love his sense of humour through it all...yes there is alot of humour to be found in fertility treatments! He hung out for many days in a little cottage while I was sick and we didn't get to go out at all. He took good care of me. On the second last day at the clinic he even managed to stay in the room for my ultrasound and doctor's demonstration of how to inject blood thinners, and instructions on what to stop taking and what to continue. Good thing because he remembered more about anything the doctors said than I did that day.
-My mom who still doesn't quite understand how all of this works but wants to know all the updates and keeps on telling me it will work out fine. She also has blessed us with some money towards the treatments. Couldn't ask for a better mom.
-Our 10 beautiful embryos. It was sure hard to get them but we are very fortunate to have so many that are doing so well. It was kind of weird to get the daily updates from the lab and hear the lady go on and on about how fabulous our embryos were doing. Nothing ever seems to go well for us on the trying to have a child front but she just kept giving glowing reports day after day. There's no guarantees, but the quality of the embryos is the biggest factor in pregnancy success so this is good. Many people go through a whole IVF cycle and end up with no embryos to freeze and try again so we are blessed with our 10!
-The VFC lab has recently started using a new way to freeze embryos called vitrification and it helps the embryos to do very well in the whole process and makes the success rates much closer to that of fresh embryos. Good for us to be there after they started using it.
-For freezing before IVs...thank you Dr. H!
-For the kind, caring, and friendly staff at VFC
-For my new friend that I met in Victoria who is also a patient at VFC. We were one day apart in our cycles but she'd done several IVFs before so she was so great to talk to about what was going on. She's going to take the day off work when go back to Victoria for my transfer and she'll pick me up at the airport and take me to the clinic. I had to laugh because when i was in for my egg retrieval the clinic was on the phone asking her how she was doing since hers was the day before. She knew I was there at the clinic so she had them say hi to me. I pray this will be her last IVF and she will be blessed with a baby soon.
-That this is my last day of GATORADE! This stuff is seriously NOT a thirst quencher. I should email the Gatorade company and say "I have been drinking one litre of gatorade a day for the past two weeks and I have never been more thirsty!" I secretely wonder if the RE's of the world all have stock in the gatorade company and that's why they make all their patients drink it. I should ask Dr. H!
-That I no longer look 6 months pregnant and I can now walk faster than a 100 year old woman. Seriously all the extra fluid I had and my crazy giant ovaries made my belly stretch so huge I thought I didn't have enough skin to cover it all. I could only walk at a snails pace. It's pretty much normal now, the rest is just extra fat I think!
-That my ohss got better and not worse, I thankfully did not need to have fluid drained!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Our embryos
The lab director called today and told us she froze 10 embryos for us and they are all between grade 16-19 out of 20. This is very good and I'm thankful we have these embryos. I do hope some of these little lives will make it into our arms one day and I'm thankful for the awesome people at VFC that helped to make it possible. I have to say all the staff at the clinic are friendly and warm and kind and do whatever they can to make you feel comfortable. There is only one doctor there and he apparently works everyday...I was there on everyday of the week including the holiday and there each time was Dr. H. He's very kind and patient and is always available. He does every ultrasound and puts in every needle himself. Well he did all my needles anways cause no one else could find a vein! He even gives patients his home number to call in case of emergency. He apologizes for hurting you and wants me to let him know we made it home safe and I'm feeling ok...gotta love that. This was a very difficult week and i don't think i ever want to repeat it but I'm still glad it was at VFC!
Friday, August 13, 2010
No transfer after all :(
I couldn't have my embryo transfer today. I have mild ohss and fluid in my abdomen. Getting pregnant would make it worse. We're disappointed but sure don't want to get any sicker. We will have up to 8-9 embryos to freeze and we can come back for a frozen embryo transfer next month. This is much easier than the whole fresh cycle we just did. We can just fly in, have the transfer and go home. Frozen cycles have lower chances of success unfortunately but God willing we may still get pregnant.
I can stop most of my meds now except the one for ohss and the low dose aspirin. I also have to give myself injections of a blood thinner for the next few days. This is to prevent blood clots. The doctor did the first one today-ouch. He also offered to give me IV fluids to rehydrate me but when I reminded him I just drank 4 glasses of water he said "oh yeah and I know how much you love IVs...you should be ok". I'm to stay on the fluid restrictions for another week but he did say I can drink some milk. The ohss will go away on it's own.
This was alot to go through. I don't think I could handle doing another fresh cycle again. So glad we have some frozen embryos. We'll stop in at the clinic tomorrow for the doctor to check on me. Well off to drown my sorrows in milk and cookies and then maybe sleep.
I can stop most of my meds now except the one for ohss and the low dose aspirin. I also have to give myself injections of a blood thinner for the next few days. This is to prevent blood clots. The doctor did the first one today-ouch. He also offered to give me IV fluids to rehydrate me but when I reminded him I just drank 4 glasses of water he said "oh yeah and I know how much you love IVs...you should be ok". I'm to stay on the fluid restrictions for another week but he did say I can drink some milk. The ohss will go away on it's own.
This was alot to go through. I don't think I could handle doing another fresh cycle again. So glad we have some frozen embryos. We'll stop in at the clinic tomorrow for the doctor to check on me. Well off to drown my sorrows in milk and cookies and then maybe sleep.
transfer day
Today I'm going in for the transfer soon. Just drinking my 4 cups of water to have a full bladder first. Yesterday was a very bad day, I felt very sick. The doctor thought part of it was a reaction to an antibiotic so I stopped taking it. I suspect i may have some ohss too, we'll see what he says when we go to the clinic soon. Well better get back to drinking water...at least it's not gatorade!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Quick update
Just a quick update before bed. We now have 17 embryos, most are very high quality. The lab director and the doctor are super pleased as of course the quality of the embryos is the biggest predictor of pregancy. Since we have so many good ones they decided not to transfer today but to let them grow until Friday to see if it becomes more obvious if some are better than others. Today they pretty much all look fantastic which they said is a good problem to have.
I'm still on the fluid restriction which makes me feel kinda lethargic and I'm starting to hate all flavours of gatorade. They all taste the same!! The doctor says two weeks of this!! Ah well what can you do. I had my last calcium infusion today so officially no more needles. I seriously look like a drug addict now with all my bruises and marks but they will go away soon so no problem.
I decided to stop taking tylenol 3 and gravol round the clock. I still have a fair bit of nasea and soreness but it`s manageable. I`m not supposed to go out in the sun and I walk as slow as an 85 year old woman with my soreness but hey at least I`m in a nice place! Actually we`ve been able to do a few nice things and just lots of sleeping and resting.
Well the embryo transfer is on Friday at 10:00! Then I will be PUPO! (pregnant until proven otherwise). Thanks to my friends and family for the prayers and support.
Good night.
I'm still on the fluid restriction which makes me feel kinda lethargic and I'm starting to hate all flavours of gatorade. They all taste the same!! The doctor says two weeks of this!! Ah well what can you do. I had my last calcium infusion today so officially no more needles. I seriously look like a drug addict now with all my bruises and marks but they will go away soon so no problem.
I decided to stop taking tylenol 3 and gravol round the clock. I still have a fair bit of nasea and soreness but it`s manageable. I`m not supposed to go out in the sun and I walk as slow as an 85 year old woman with my soreness but hey at least I`m in a nice place! Actually we`ve been able to do a few nice things and just lots of sleeping and resting.
Well the embryo transfer is on Friday at 10:00! Then I will be PUPO! (pregnant until proven otherwise). Thanks to my friends and family for the prayers and support.
Good night.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A good report!
I went back to the clinic this morning for another calcium infusion and I got to talk to the lab director about our embryos. We have 18 embryos which she graded on a scale that goes up to 20 where 15-16 is average quality and 20 is perfect. We have 4 embryos graded at 20! We have lots that are 19, 18, 17. She seemed very pleased with these results. I have to go in tomorrow prepared to do a day 3 transfer but very likely we will get to wait until Friday for a day 5 transfer. It is often better to do it on day 5 because as the embryos grow a bit more it becomes easier to tell which are developing better so you can transfer the very best ones back. The doctor said since I am a "youngster" (at 34 lol) and I have very good quality embryos I could have good success with transfering just one. The pregnancy rates would be a bit lower with transfering one versus two so hubby and I need to talk about it. The downside of transfering two is the chance of twins which can have more potential of risks to the babies and to me.
I also found that having an IV in the underside of your wrist is not pleasant...ah only one more IV tomorrow, hope they can find one more vein. Oh and since i can pretty much only drink gatorade I decided I needed to explore other flavours other than the 6 pack of blue that hubby bought me the other day.
Wow I can't believe something related to trying to conceive is actually going well for us...grow little embies grow!
I also found that having an IV in the underside of your wrist is not pleasant...ah only one more IV tomorrow, hope they can find one more vein. Oh and since i can pretty much only drink gatorade I decided I needed to explore other flavours other than the 6 pack of blue that hubby bought me the other day.
Wow I can't believe something related to trying to conceive is actually going well for us...grow little embies grow!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Good and Bad
Well I had my egg retrieval yesterday. They said I wouldn't feel pain just some pressure. Wrong...it was painful and my veins are hard to find for the IV too. The nurse tried twice to put the IV line in and she couldn't...this hurt a ton. Then the doctor came in and put freezing on my other hand...he got the line in and I didn't feel it. They got 22 eggs which is a very high number...no wonder I'm hurting!
They are doing eveything possible to prevent OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome-a potentially bad complication where fluid builds up in all sorts of places it shouldn't). I'm on fluid restrictions to prevent fluid building up in my body. I can only drink one litre of gatorade and one can of V8 per day. I'm quite sore and naseous...it hurts to walk around. I also have a ton of things I'm taking post retreival.
And the good news is that we talked to the lab director today and out of 22 eggs, 20 were mature and 19 fertilized. This is a great fertilization rate. Tomorrow we will hear how many embryos we have and how they are doing.
I also have to go in every morning for an IV calcium infusion which helps prevent OHSS. I was worried about the IV going in again but Dr. H God bless him, did the IV using freezing and it was ok. We had to hang out for an hour while the stuff dripped through. The nurse was really nice and gave me a can of gingerale. She said it would be ok to have one a day in addtion to the gatorade and V8. This made me very happy...it's hard to drink so little.
Well soon we'll know the status of our embryos...grow little guys grow!
They are doing eveything possible to prevent OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome-a potentially bad complication where fluid builds up in all sorts of places it shouldn't). I'm on fluid restrictions to prevent fluid building up in my body. I can only drink one litre of gatorade and one can of V8 per day. I'm quite sore and naseous...it hurts to walk around. I also have a ton of things I'm taking post retreival.
And the good news is that we talked to the lab director today and out of 22 eggs, 20 were mature and 19 fertilized. This is a great fertilization rate. Tomorrow we will hear how many embryos we have and how they are doing.
I also have to go in every morning for an IV calcium infusion which helps prevent OHSS. I was worried about the IV going in again but Dr. H God bless him, did the IV using freezing and it was ok. We had to hang out for an hour while the stuff dripped through. The nurse was really nice and gave me a can of gingerale. She said it would be ok to have one a day in addtion to the gatorade and V8. This made me very happy...it's hard to drink so little.
Well soon we'll know the status of our embryos...grow little guys grow!
Friday, August 6, 2010
YAY!
Levels came down, just finished hcg shot and egg retrieval will be on Sunday at 8:15 am. It was tricky to mix the shot and get 3/4 of a dose out but I did it! Remind me never to be a nurse. I've had enough injections for a lifetime...but it's done.
I got to meet a lady today who is currently cycling at my clinic. Her egg retrieval is tomorrow morning. This is unfortunately her 4th IVF so I hope it is successful for her. We had lots in common, married the same time and with a similar history of IF issues. It was good to talk to her too because she made me feel more at ease about the ER on Sunday. Hers have always gone well and been quite easy. Oh and she had the cutest pupppy too!
Well I don't have to go to the clinic tomorrow or do any injections...double yay. I do get to start on the next set of meds but they are oral so that's all good.
Ok now we're really doing this...by next week I will have embryos inside me!
I got to meet a lady today who is currently cycling at my clinic. Her egg retrieval is tomorrow morning. This is unfortunately her 4th IVF so I hope it is successful for her. We had lots in common, married the same time and with a similar history of IF issues. It was good to talk to her too because she made me feel more at ease about the ER on Sunday. Hers have always gone well and been quite easy. Oh and she had the cutest pupppy too!
Well I don't have to go to the clinic tomorrow or do any injections...double yay. I do get to start on the next set of meds but they are oral so that's all good.
Ok now we're really doing this...by next week I will have embryos inside me!
Blood draws-uggg.
Well today was my forth blood draw this week and it was awful. One of the coordinators tried to do it and it did not work at all and it hurt a lot. The doctor saw her trying and came in to help. He was successful but wow I don't want to repeat that. My arm looks like it's been through a war zone. The doctor says my veins are just very hard to find...great. They sent me home with another dose of orgalutran and they will call later to say if I should inject that or the trigger shot. Did I mention I'm not a fan of orgalutran cause it hurts? Ok well there`s all my whining about painful blood draws and injections. I was joking with the lady that was giving me my meds as I left. She said 'here's your orgalutran' and I said 'what would a morning in Victoria be without it?' She said it reminded her of a lady who'd said 'nothing like a pelvic ulrasound to start your day". LOL I guess humour helps! Fortunately no more ultrasounds for me at the moment...those hurt too when your ovaries are ginormous and you have a million follicles. Ok no more whining. Off to see the ocean!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Now I get it
I asked more questions today about my bloodwork and it looks like my E2 levels are too high and that's why I've stopped my meds. They need to come down before I can trigger and do the egg retrieval. They had already predicted I'd be a high responder to the meds and yup I am...lots of follicles and high E2 levels even with my low doses of meds. This puts me at risk for OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) which is not a good thing for me or the cycle. So praying that my levels come down and I don't get OHSS. The doctor didn't seem overly concerned and I may have to take a med after trigger that helps prevent OHSS so I hope it's all good.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Almost there
Well the good new is I only have to inject one med tonight, not three and likely for the last time. The bad news is I think I look like an IV drug user...oh well it's all for a good cause. No one can get blood out of my right arm anymore so my left arm is full of marks and bruises. I'm off for one more blood draw in the morning, hopefully my last for a while. Today the doctor said I wouldn't have to take two of my meds anymore and I might be able to do the trigger shot tonight which would mean egg retrieval on Saturday. I was actually more excited than nervous about the retrieval which surprised me. They sent me home with the trigger shot and a whole pile of things I have to take after retrieval. They said they'd call later with the bloodtest results and instructions on how to give myself the injection of the trigger shot. I had the meds with me while sightseeing so I could understand the directions and I even turn down a whale watching trip today so as to avoid a phone conversation about fertility treatments while on a boat with 10 strangers. Anyways they called and said not tonight and come in the morning for more bloodwork...so retrieval will be Sunday or later. Still getting close!
I have thought about what it would be like if this fails....it will be unimaginably difficult after all we have gone through and spent. I'm not going to dwell on that...it will be a huge disappointment no matter what so I'm going allow myself to be excited for now.
I'm feeling more peaceful about the rest of the procedures which is nice.
I have thought about what it would be like if this fails....it will be unimaginably difficult after all we have gone through and spent. I'm not going to dwell on that...it will be a huge disappointment no matter what so I'm going allow myself to be excited for now.
I'm feeling more peaceful about the rest of the procedures which is nice.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
We made it
We had a good drive to Kamloops and then on to Victoria. Victoria is beautiful and the cottage we're staying in is nice. We had our first visit to the fertility clinic yesterday. The bloodwork from Edmonton on Friday had showed that my E2(hormone) levels were quite high but they weren't sure why. I didn't really feel comfortable hearing that but followed instruction and started a third injectable med.
I was very happy to hear yesterday that my ultrasound showed everything is going well and the doctor said it may be ony 2-3 more days of injections...YAY...I'm not really enjoying them but it's too late to quit now so every night I keep it up!
My dear hubby was extremely nervous at the clinic. He was in the room with me during the ultrasound but he then went back to the waiting room part way through. I was fine! He won't be coming in the room with me anymore! The staff was so nice...the nurse said one of them would come in with me during the egg retreival as hubby can't handle it. Well we go back tomorrow for monitoring and to hear when we will move on to the rest of the plan. I am nervous for the egg retrieval..I hope they use lots of drugs as it is done under conscious sedation. I am glad we are at this clinic. The staff is very friendly and they do whatever they can to make you feel comfortable. They even give you a heating pad and little socks to keep your feet warm.
I'm really glad I'm not working during this as I feel tired all the time, and have other assorted weird symptoms including mood swings that well isn't like me at all....good thing dear hubby is understanding and I can nap whenever I want and see the beautiful ocean all the time too.
I was very happy to hear yesterday that my ultrasound showed everything is going well and the doctor said it may be ony 2-3 more days of injections...YAY...I'm not really enjoying them but it's too late to quit now so every night I keep it up!
My dear hubby was extremely nervous at the clinic. He was in the room with me during the ultrasound but he then went back to the waiting room part way through. I was fine! He won't be coming in the room with me anymore! The staff was so nice...the nurse said one of them would come in with me during the egg retreival as hubby can't handle it. Well we go back tomorrow for monitoring and to hear when we will move on to the rest of the plan. I am nervous for the egg retrieval..I hope they use lots of drugs as it is done under conscious sedation. I am glad we are at this clinic. The staff is very friendly and they do whatever they can to make you feel comfortable. They even give you a heating pad and little socks to keep your feet warm.
I'm really glad I'm not working during this as I feel tired all the time, and have other assorted weird symptoms including mood swings that well isn't like me at all....good thing dear hubby is understanding and I can nap whenever I want and see the beautiful ocean all the time too.
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