13 BCPs to go, but who is counting????

Oh yeah, I am. Uggh. They truly suck, but oh well. My yoga 4 fertility dvd arrived yesterday, and I gave it a whirl this morning. I really liked it. It has a lot of great stuff to help you relax and focus, and the yoga poses are great. It will take awhile for my body to be able to do some of the poses perfectly / properly, but I will get there. I am certainly glad I ordered it. I also made my appointment for my massage the day prior to transfer. I am going for an EIGHTY minute swedish massage...yay! I am so excited for that! Well, I must go down a cup of hot raspberry leaf tea....

11 days down...18 more to go

I am 11 days into the BCPs, and I still do not like them anymore than I have in the past. But, I only have 18 more days to go, so it isn't the end of the world. For this FET cycle, I am taking a very positive and relaxed approach. I have begun incorporating a variety of holisitc / homeopathic variables into the mix. I am doing yoga and will soon begin doing a yoga specific for women with fertility issues (a yin form of yoga). I really enjoy this form of exercise as it makes me feel relaxed yet very strong. I have started taking a bubble bath at least once a week while listening to a relaxation CD and reading. I am eating pumpkin seeds (known for holisitc properties regarding the female reproductive system) and drinking a lot of raspberry leaf tea (known for toning and strengthening the uterus and regulating female cycles). I am eating well, although this is nothing new or out of the ordinary. I have put my diet Coke aside for the most part, and I generally drink naturally flavored sparkling water in addition to my tea. The day prior to my frozen transfer I plan to go for a massage. After the transfer I will continue with my yin yoga, and I also plan to go for a facial. I don't know if any of this will result in a pregnancy this time around, but I do know that I am feeling much more in control of what we are doing, and I feel very positive and calm. That, in and of itself, certainly can't do any harm.

Family Holiday Photo

This is the one that is being used to create our Christmas cards. Batman displayed the utmost patience as he was staged for this photo-op. He did try to eat his "arm" on several occasions, but other than that he was a good boy.

FET Round Two....Ding

Well, we are now onto our second FET journey. I started my birth control pills (BCPs) on Sunday, and I will take them for 29 days this time. I will take my last pill on December 24th, my next cycle should begin on December 27th, and I will go in for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork on December 28th. If all goes well with the baseline workup, then I will begin my del estrogen IM shots again on that same day. Sometime after that the PIO shots will follow suit. My transfer date is tenatively set for January 12th. We have decided to tranfer all three remaining frozen M&M minis, that is if they all survive the thaw. Our estimated beta HCG test would be on / around January 24th.

Thoughts are confirmed....it is official!

Had the beta HCG test today, and it came back negative. Neither frozen embryo "took". My RE called me personally to deliver the news. She is allowing us to go straight into another FET cycle, so I will begin BCPs again sometime in the next week. We will be doing a transfer with the remaining three frozen minins (whichever ones survive the thaw) in early January. This is one of our last attempts, so we hope it works.

Please keep thinking positive thoughts for us!

Thanks - Megan and Matt! =-)

Nothing New - 8dp FET

Eight days past the FET and still just waiting. I have no real symptoms or signs this time around. Although it is still fairly early, I did do an HPT, which as expected came back negative. So, I am not terribly confident that the FET worked for us. I won't have the official word until sometime on Tuesday afternoon, but we already have a gameplan in place if needed. Our follow-up with our RE will be on December 19th. If we have the funds in place through insurance, I will probably start BCPs again in December and do a transfer with the remaining frozen embryos (3) in late January / early February. We shall see...it isn't over until the infertility lady sings (she is a cousin of the fat lady).

4dp FET

We are four days past our FET. Just counting down the days until our beta test....

FET, November 8th

The FET took place yesterday just as planned. The embryologist only had to thaw two embryos to get the two to put back. That is great news, and it means that we still have three frozen minis waiting if we need them. The two embryos that they put back were rated a "95". The RE said that she likes them to be between 90 and 100, and ours were. She said they were "excellent". I had to come home and remain on bedrest until today at 1:30pm. I am now on two to four days of light activity. Once that is over, I am able to resume light to moderate walking for exercise. That is about all I am allowed to do...no weights, no running, no heavy aerobic activities, etc. We will go back to the RE's office on November 21st for our beta HCG test (pregnancy test). Until then, we just wait and hope.

FET TIME!

The nurse just called, and I am all scheduled for my FET tomorrow. I have to arrive at the Rockville, MD facility at 12:15pm ready to go with a very full bladder. The actual transfer is set to take place at 12:45pm. So, as of tomorrow afternoon I will (hopefully) have two minis back where they belong. I have a bunch of magazines and a new book waiting for me when I return home for my 24 hours of bedrest. I even pre-made a casserole so that my lovely husband doesn't have to worry about working and cooking while I lay around like a slob. Twelve days from tomorrow we should have our results. Wish us luck!

Five more days to go!

Well, I had my lining check and blood work appointment on Friday. Everything was lovely. My uterus was lovely. My blood was lovely. My ovaries were quiet and lovely. All was just.....lovely. I will begin the PIO IM shots today. They will go along with the del estrogen shots that I will still be getting every third day. Today is one of those "third days", so lucky me gets two shots this evening. I can't wait! We will receive a call sometime prior to Wednesday to let us know what time the transfer will take place. It will be in the afternoon, as the embryologist needs to thaw out the frozen minis prior to our arrival. After the transfer (which is exactly what it is like for a fresh IVF cycle), I will come home and be on 24 hours of bed rest followed up by two to three days of light activity. It will be around the 20th or 21st that we will have our beta HCG test to see if the minis "took" or not. Oh joy!

Getting a little bit closer...

This FET process seems like it takes forever, because you do so little that the time passes much more slowly. With IVF and IUIs you are stimming, doing ultrasounds, getting blood drawn, and etc. ALL the time. With the FET, there is hardly anything to do.

At this point, I have received four del estrogen injections. Matt is an old pro at this point as far as giving the IM shots is concerned. He just may have a second career as a "shot giver guy". I'm sure "those guys" make a ton of money. I have another injection on Wednesday, and then I go in for my lining check (ultrasound) and bloodwork on Friday. That is when things will really get moving. More shots, more often. A week from this Wednesday should be our transfer. I am hoping that our frozen M&M minis survive the thaw all right. We only have five left...

So - stay tuned to this absolutely riveting process! I'm sure y'all are glued to your computers just waiting for the next exciting post.

Matt and Mr. Duvall

Matt and Robert Duvall during the trophy presentation at the 69th International Gold Cup. Also included is a photo of the horses jumping during the Porsche sponsored race. Beautiful day!October 21,2006

M&M with Mr. Robert Duvall

Here is a photo of Matt and I with Robert Duvall. The shot was taken at the 69th annual International Gold Cup which was sponsored by Porsche and two of Matt's local dealers. Matt did a trophy presentation with Mr. Duvall, so we were able to meet and briefly chat with him. He lives in the area and enjoys being present at this event when he can. He is a very nice guy, and it was such a trip hanging out up there. The event was a big success, and I am very proud of my husband for pulling it all together in such a short amount of time. Good job, baby!

Grab your needles....let the shots begin again!

Everything went well at the RE's office today. The RE said that my uterus looked like it was "ready for some embryos". The lining was fine, and my uterus and both ovaries were "quiet". Apparently the blood work came back clear as well because we will begin the del estrogen IM injections this evening.

I will draw up .2 ml of the del estrogen using an 18G needle. Matt will inject the oily solution using a 22G x 1" needle. These needles are so much better than the 1 1/2" ones I used for most of my IVF cycle....my body is too little for the longer needles. Anway....these shots will be administered every third night through the time of transfer (and well after). On November 3rd I need to go back to the RE's office for another lining check and more blood work. If all looks good on that day, the following day I will begin doing the PIO IM injections along with the del estrogen IM injections. The PIO shots, unfortunately, need to be given every day. I will continue these shots for five days, and then we will have the transfer done on November 8th. Through all of this, I also must take a pre-natal vitamin and a baby aspirin every day.

So - we are once again getting close.........to what??? Who knows. We'll keep you posted.

TODAY IS DAY ONE!

So, today is the first day of my cycle! That means tomorrow I go in for my baseline ultrasound and bloowork, and more than likely I will begin my del estrogen IM inejctions tomorrow night. This is the official kickoff of our FET cycle. Stay tuned.....

Surviving 12,304 feet - M&M in the Rockies

Here is a beautiful shot of ourselves at the top of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The wind was a blowing somethin' fierce that day, but we were still able to travel up and over via Trail Ridge Road. We hiked up as far as we could into the tundra. Awesome! What a great trip!

Out with the BCPs

So, I am finally finished with the BCPs after taking them for 21 days. Now I sit and wait for my next cycle to begin so that we are able to kick off the FET process. On the first day of my cycle I will begin taking baby aspirin along with my prenatal vitamin. On the second day of my cycle I must travel to the clinic to have my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork completed. If everything looks ok then I will begin my del estrogen IM injections on day two as well. About 17 days into injections of both del estrogen (only given every third day) and PIO (given every day starting 12 days into the del estrogen shots), we will be able to do our actual transfer. We are getting excited, but it also seems surreal. I don't know if we are more relaxed about this attempt given that we lack hope in general, or if it is just old school to us at this point in time. Who knows....but we are doing it anyway. Here's to the start of another journey (good, bad or indifferent)!

BCPs Begin

Just a quick update. I began the BCPs on Wednesday, September 27th. This is the first step in the FET process. After I complete 21 days on the BCPs, I will wait for my next cycle and then kick off the rest of the fun. My tenative date for the FET is November 8th, but this will likely change as we get closer. We will keep y'all posted.

Busy week - Finally Moving Forward

It has been a busy week, so I am only now getting around to updating our blog. Sorry to anyone who is still actually checking in on us.

I had my fourth beta test on Wednesday, and I am very pleased to say that my HCG levels are now down to ZERO. I am finally "un-pregnant" and am able to move forward with treatment.

Matt and I had our follow-up / consult with the RE on Friday. She said that our IVF was absolutely "ideal" from a medical perspective. It was perfect. The fact that I miscarried was a fluke. The doc said that not all embryos are meant to be a baby, and that mine was one that wasn't meant to be. She feels that our chances are still very good to get pregnant and have a child. She is a straight shooter, so the fact that she is so hopeful makes me feel optimistic (albeit cautiously optimistic). The success rate at this clinic for frozen embryo transfers (FETs) is about 30 to 40%. Dr. Browne, our primary RE, has now given us the green light to move on to our FET.

At the start of my next cycle (which will be in the next one to three weeks) I will begin birth control pills (BCPs). The BCPs just "quiet" my reproductive system and give a good baseline to start the process. I will be on the BCPs for 21 days. After ending the BCPs my cycle should start again in three to five days. With the start of that cycle in October, I will have to go in on my "day 2" for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. If everything is in order, then I will begin del estrogen injections. These will be intramuscular (IM) injections that I have to receive once every three days. After twelve days I will go back in for another ultrasound and more bloodwork. If my uterine lining looks good, then I will proceed with progesterone in oil (PIO) IM injections. These will be daily injections, just like I had to do with my IVF. After five days of PIO IM injections, I will be ready to go in for my transfer. On the day of transfer we will travel to Rockville, MD to the main Shady Grove clinic location. The embryologist will start by thawing two of our embryos (we have five frozen). If both survive the thaw, then those will be the minis that we put back in my uterus. If one or both don't survive, then they will continue thawing until we have two embryos to put back. After the transfer, I will be on 24 hours of bedrest again, followed by a few days of light activity. I will have to continue doing the PIO IM injections up through the pregnancy test. If I am pregnant, then the PIO shots will continue for a LONG time. If not, they will stop, and that will be that.

So - that is our protocol in a nutshell. The FET will actually take place in the beginning to middle of November, depending on when my cycles arrive. We will keep you posted as we forward with our next attempt at starting our family.

Blood Test #3....still going....and going...

Well, I had my third "post D&C" blood draw today. My beta HCG numbers dropped from 42 down to 14.1. The numbers must be below five to be negative, so I still have to go back for one more needle stick. Ouch! Oh well...next week's test should be the last one. We also have our follow-up / consult appointment with our RE next week on Friday. We will discuss the miscarriage and our next steps at that time. Hopefully we will be on track to do the FET at the end of October...we'll have to wait and see.