Monitoring Appointment #2

Early morning RE appt. the day after Thanksgiving! It is nice because Matt has the day off and was able to go with me. The best news is that I had my regular RE today, and he was able to quickly locate both ovaries. I have at least 7 medium size follicles that are looking good, and at least 9 other follicles that have the ability to catch up. Dr. Van Deerlin feels that we will have a "good harvest". He is upping my Follistim dose in hopes of getting the smaller follicles to grow, grow, grow! Of course, I do not have enough meds to get me by...and the specialty pharmacy is "closed" today...so, I am hoping that we can still work out a delivery of my refills by Monday. That would certainly be nice! I am waiting to hear back from my IVF nurse to see what the protocol is in this situation. I am sure it will be fine.

I go back to the RE on Monday morning for more monitoring. We are getting closer. I will trigger in the first half of the week (probably) and should be having ER by the end of the week. This could all change on a day to day basis, though, so stay tuned!

Monitoring Appointment #1

Today was my first monitoring appointment after starting the stims. I would like to tell you exactly how well or how poorly things are going, but I truly do not have a clue! The RE measured three follicles less than 8mm in my right ovary, although there were other smaller ones around that he didn't count / measure. He rooted around for about 5 minutes searching for my left ovary, but he was never able to find it. Fun, huh? TRUST ME when I say that it was not for a lack of looking for the damn thing. He pointed out my uterus (the lining is at about 6 right now, which is good). He pointed out the blood supply to my right ovary. He pointed out the right ovary. He "swept" the wand (as much as you really can, since it is an internal u/s) straight across from my right ovary, and he pointed out the blood supply to my left ovary. And....still, no left ovary. He pointed out my intestines. That was pretty much it for the show. This is only the second time that a RE or tech has not been able to find an ovary of mine. Apparently the large intestine can get in the way??? Who knows for sure. I know the ovary was there the other day when I had my baseline done! I am sure it will be "back" next time. So, for now, the RE is just guessing that I have at least 6 "measurable" follicles. When you can't find the follicles, guessing is all you can do!

I will know more once my blood work results are back this afternoon. The b/w measures my E2 (estrogen) levels. It will give a clearer picture of whether or not I am responding appropriately OR slowly to the stims. If I am on track, then I will just continue with 150 IU shots of Follistim every evening. If I am responding slowly, then I will probably have to up my dose of Follistim. Regardless, I am scheduled to go back on Friday morning for my next monitoring appointment. Hopefully it goes better than this one, and hopefully we have some good results!

UPDATE: No phone call from the nurse = no change in meds. I can only assume that all is on the right path at this point. I will continue at 150 IU nightly injections of Follistim and return to the clinic on Friday for monitoring.

Hoops and Hurdles - Let the Real Game Begin!

Well, we are finally here! I had my RE appointment this morning where they did b/w and u/s. The u/s showed that my uterus is fine and that both ovaries are still free of cysts. I have a minimum of 14 "follicles in waiting". These are all the reserve follicles that will be "stimmed" by the meds. I will begin my 150 IU follistim shots tonight. I will go back on Tuesday of next week for monitoring (b/w and u/s) to see how things are progressing. From that point, the monitoring will really pick up.

Above is a picture of the follistim "pen" that is used for dosing and injection. It comes with a pre-filled cartridge, and I just have to dial-up the correct dose, attach the needle, and shoot up. I am thinking that I will use my thighs for these shots, since I have already been doing all the lupron shots in my belly. This will give more surface area with which to work.

Hoops and Hurdles

Not much to report, but today I did drop down my lupron dose from 10 units to 5 units. One step closer to stims! Friday is coming....

Hoops and Hurdles

Done with BCPs! Finally! Continuing on 10 unit shots of lupron every morning for the time being. Slowly, but surely, getting closer to the "real steps" of IVF.

Added note:
I have been doing lupron shots for one week now. On the day of my u/s appt. the nurse gave me my initial lupron shot, just as a demonstration for the IVF nurse coordinator in training. I have one bruise on my stomach. That bruise??? You guessed it...from the shot the nurse gave me! You would think she would be better at giving shots than me, but it seems that I am just a pro at this point! ;)

Florida, updates, and what-not

Matt and I are back from our Subaru sponsored trip to Orlando, FL. We had a GREAT time! We were given multi-day passes to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We took full advantage of both parks by riding several rollercoasters (Doctor Doom's Fearfall, The Hulk, Dueling Dragons), going on interactive rides (The Simpsons, Spiderman, Men in Black), taking a "river trip" with an unexpected drop (Jurassic Park), and experiencing what a real tornado might be like (Twister). The first night we had a group dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The food was great, and the entertainment was a blast. They hired caricature artists to draw pictures of anyone who wanted them...or anyone who was coaxed into having one done (which would be us). Ours turned out really well (as you can see above), and we plan to frame it and hang it in the basement. Matt's brother Scott and his wife Renata came up from Tampa on Friday afternoon to join us for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Good food and drinks there (Twisted Mac n' Cheese. Yum!). On Friday night we had an excellent meal at The Palm restaurant with one of Matt's dealers and his wife, in addition to Matt's boss and his family. The poolside at the hotel called out to us on a few occasions, as did the beachy drinks that they offer (Purple Haze...mmmmmmmm). On our last night, we were taken to see the Blue Man Group at Universal Studios. It is an amazing and highly entertaining show. It was better than we could have even imagined. We finished the evening off with a meal that included: lobster mashed poatoes served in martini glasses, sushi, beef tenderloin, pecan encrusted grouper, salads, a lobster pasta, and a dessert bar with cheesecake and pound cake served with a variety of fondue sauces. WOW! I think I gained five pounds with that meal alone! Well worth it, though.

We are back home now and back to the real world. Today I had my appointment at the RE's office for my u/s. My ovaries are both clear of cysts, and they are showing about 17 follicles under 10mm just hanging out. My uterus looks good. All was fine and right as usual. The IVF nurse (and an IVF nurse in training) reviewed with me all of my meds for this cycle. I started with my first lupron injection this morning, and that went off without at hitch. I will proceed with these shots throughout the majority of my IVF cycle. As of today, I only have 5 more BCPs to take...yay! On November 19th I drop down my dose of lupron from 10 units to 5 units. After that, my next appointment with the RE is scheduled for November 21st. On that day I will have my baseline u/s and b/w and will then begin stims shots. It was nice to have had that little FL getaway prior to all of the chaos of IVF really starting. I think we are very relaxed and prepared...so, bring it!

VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE!!!

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