Egg retrieval was today. The good news is that the doctor got 18 eggs! Yay! That's a great number. The nurse told me that they hope for 10 and any more is just bonus.
The bad news is that it didn't go smoothly and it was very painful. And I'm still feeling like poo. You know how the saying goes, "there's no such thing as minor surgery when it's being done to you." Anyway, I won't go into the details, but I'm going to be fine. I just need some time to rest and recover.
Tomorrow, I'll find out how many eggs fertilized and how many little embryos are growing in the lab!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Follicle Check #2 & #3
Yesterday was my 2nd follicle check. Everything was looking good - follicles were growing on schedule with the biggest around 15mm. My estrogen was 1561, which is quite a large rise from last time, but not dangerously high.
Today was my 3rd follicle check and I am *almost* ready for trigger, but they want to see the follicles just a *tiny* bit bigger, so I'm going to do one last dose of stims tonight and trigger tomorrow (Tuesday) for egg retrieval on Thursday. I can't believe it's already happening!
The timing works out pretty well because I have a training at work on Wednesday and a special event at work on Friday and I'll be able to make it to both.
Friday, I'll get a call to tell us how many eggs fertilized and let me know which day they recommend we do the embryo transfer. Most likely, it'll be Sunday if we have a 3-day transfer or Tuesday if we're doing a 5-day transfer. We're hoping for Tuesday (which would mean we have plenty of nice-growing embryos).
On the ultrasound today, it appeared that I had about 14 follicles that could produce eggs, and that's a great number. Not too few, not too many. Fingers and toes crossed!
Today was my 3rd follicle check and I am *almost* ready for trigger, but they want to see the follicles just a *tiny* bit bigger, so I'm going to do one last dose of stims tonight and trigger tomorrow (Tuesday) for egg retrieval on Thursday. I can't believe it's already happening!
The timing works out pretty well because I have a training at work on Wednesday and a special event at work on Friday and I'll be able to make it to both.
Friday, I'll get a call to tell us how many eggs fertilized and let me know which day they recommend we do the embryo transfer. Most likely, it'll be Sunday if we have a 3-day transfer or Tuesday if we're doing a 5-day transfer. We're hoping for Tuesday (which would mean we have plenty of nice-growing embryos).
On the ultrasound today, it appeared that I had about 14 follicles that could produce eggs, and that's a great number. Not too few, not too many. Fingers and toes crossed!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Follicle Check #1
Today's follicle check went really well. On the ultrasound, the doctor saw around 12 follicles that are in the 10mm range (normal size for this stage). There were also a number of smaller ones that might catch up, though. It's hard to tell how many we'll end up with at this point.
My uterine lining was already at 11mm and just needs to be over 6mm by the time of trigger, so it's already ready.
My estrogen was 350, which is good. It's rising but not too fast and that's what we're going for.
The dr wants me to continue on the same dose of meds and return for follicle check #2 on Saturday morning.
To give you a frame of reference, estrogen levels (aka e2 levels) should continue to rise as the follicles develop. At the time of trigger, it should be around 200-600 per mature follicle (follicles over 18mm). BUT, we don't want it to go too far over 3,000 (the danger zone for hyper-stimulation) and definitely not over 5000 (the potential for hyper-stimulation requiring hospitalization).
My uterine lining was already at 11mm and just needs to be over 6mm by the time of trigger, so it's already ready.
My estrogen was 350, which is good. It's rising but not too fast and that's what we're going for.
The dr wants me to continue on the same dose of meds and return for follicle check #2 on Saturday morning.
To give you a frame of reference, estrogen levels (aka e2 levels) should continue to rise as the follicles develop. At the time of trigger, it should be around 200-600 per mature follicle (follicles over 18mm). BUT, we don't want it to go too far over 3,000 (the danger zone for hyper-stimulation) and definitely not over 5000 (the potential for hyper-stimulation requiring hospitalization).
Monday, May 21, 2007
Ah, that feels better!
I started stims on Saturday (Bravelle & Menupur, which are the hormones LH & FSH). And wow, do I feel better. I feel like a normal person right now... This feeling will last approximately a week, until my ovaries start swelling up to the size of grapefruits. But I'm not going to think about that right now... Right now, I'm going to enjoy feeling normal.
Next appointment is Wednesday. They will take a look at my follicles to see how many are growing and check my estrogen level. They'll use that info to decide if they want to adjust my medication dosage.
Next appointment is Wednesday. They will take a look at my follicles to see how many are growing and check my estrogen level. They'll use that info to decide if they want to adjust my medication dosage.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
All systems go!
My estrogen level was 29, which is QUITE low. That's great - better for stimming (but also probably the reason I'm feeling very "blah" and continue to get some awful headaches). Anyway, that means I'm set to go on Saturday!
All quiet...
My baseline ultrasound went really well. All is quiet in there, as I had hoped. And in other good news, I have lots of antral follicles (potential follicles) in there (around 30 or so)... so hopefully we'll have plenty of eggs to work with this cycle. They took blood to check my estrogen and as long as it comes back at less than 80, I'll start my stim meds on Saturday. Here we go!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Big day tomorrow!
Tomorrow morning is my baseline ultrasound / suppression check. It's when the doctor decides if I get the green light to start stim meds this Saturday. He (or she) will be looking for a thin uterine lining, quiet ovaries (with no major cysts), and a low estrogen level. I can guarantee that my estrogen is low cause I feel very "blah" and I've been getting awful headaches the last few days.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Who knew?
I learned something new about myself this weekend. I learned that I can now do injections in my sleep.
Lupron is rather time-sensitive, so I've been trying to take it as close to 7am each morning as possible. On the weekend, that meant setting my alarm, even though I would prefer to sleep in.
I got up at 7am, went to the bathroom (with the light off and my eyes shut), walked downstairs, got the lupron out of the fridge, opened a alcohol wiped, wiped the bottle and my belly, opened a clean syringe, jabbed the bottle, pulled up exactly 10 units, put the bottle back in the fridge, pinched my belly, jabbed my belly, pulled out the needle, put a cotton ball on it while walking back upstairs...
And climbed right back into bed and went immediately back to sleep. Zzzzzzz...
Lupron is rather time-sensitive, so I've been trying to take it as close to 7am each morning as possible. On the weekend, that meant setting my alarm, even though I would prefer to sleep in.
I got up at 7am, went to the bathroom (with the light off and my eyes shut), walked downstairs, got the lupron out of the fridge, opened a alcohol wiped, wiped the bottle and my belly, opened a clean syringe, jabbed the bottle, pulled up exactly 10 units, put the bottle back in the fridge, pinched my belly, jabbed my belly, pulled out the needle, put a cotton ball on it while walking back upstairs...
And climbed right back into bed and went immediately back to sleep. Zzzzzzz...
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Fun with needles begins
I started Lupron about a week ago. It's taken by little sub-cutaneous needles (that aren't too scary). The purpose of it is to suppress the ovaries and make things nice and quiet in there. It produces a kind of peri-menopause, but so far I have been lucky with the side effects. I feel a little "blah" and I've had some annoying acne, but other than that, I've been fine. Knock on wood that I don't get any hot flashes or headaches like I've heard about from other women. I figure if I've made it a week, I'm probably fine, though.
Tomorrow is also my last birth control pill, so I should expect to get my period around the end of this week, so then we can get this show on the road!
My baseline ultrasound is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15th. That's when they'll check that I'm sufficiently suppressed (and don't have any cysts) and they'll decide if I'm ready to start stimulants. If I "pass", I'll start stims on Saturday, May 19th, while I'll be away from home at sorority convention. While it's not ideal to start my meds while away from home, I'm very glad that I don't have to drive home in the middle of convetion for a doctor's appointment.
I'll write a little list of dates on the sidebar so that you can keep track of when things are happening.
Tomorrow is also my last birth control pill, so I should expect to get my period around the end of this week, so then we can get this show on the road!
My baseline ultrasound is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15th. That's when they'll check that I'm sufficiently suppressed (and don't have any cysts) and they'll decide if I'm ready to start stimulants. If I "pass", I'll start stims on Saturday, May 19th, while I'll be away from home at sorority convention. While it's not ideal to start my meds while away from home, I'm very glad that I don't have to drive home in the middle of convetion for a doctor's appointment.
I'll write a little list of dates on the sidebar so that you can keep track of when things are happening.
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