Well, this morning I went for an ultrasound and blood work.
The good news is: My right ovary has about seven follicles growing. Five were between 16mm-22mm (they consider 'mature' to be more than 16mm). The other two were smaller. So this would be the reason for the extreme pressure on my right side.
The bad news: I have a bum left ovary. No follicles at all. They don't know why - I guess God thought that we were getting too comfortable and wanted to add something to the mix! I am actually kinda relieved because I keep praying that we don't have too many because I don't want a bunch of embryos left over. Maybe this is the answer?
So, in conclusion, since my eggs are already mature basically they are moving the retrieval to Sunday (that's right- Superbowl Sunday). Then the embryo transfer will be Wed. It's kind of exciting but I am nervous at the same time.
I have another ultrasound on Friday. Then, an appointment in Urbana on Saturday morning. We will probably spend the night in Indy on Saturday and be there for the retrieval on Sunday. I'm hoping I will be alert enough to watch the Giants lose!
Peace out,
Kate
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Update
Well, I have been on stims for four days now and so far this is the worst part. My insides feel like they are going to explode (not painful - just uncomfortable). I just can't get comfortable and I can't think straight because all I can think about is this pressure in my abdomen....
Hopefully - it will all be worth it :) It has to be hard going through all this with no outcome in the end...
Hopefully - it will all be worth it :) It has to be hard going through all this with no outcome in the end...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Starting Stims
Well, I started my second injection today (known as stims - they tell your body to produce lots of eggs, hopefully). I will have an appt. on Wed to see how many follicles I have and how big they are.
Ok, I don't really enjoy shots but I have never been given a shot that made me cry (ok, maybe when I was five). Apparently, Menopur stings and burns a little bit (I mix one vial of Menopur with two vials of Bravelle for each shot). I could feel it dispersing through my arm this morning and I just started crying. Now, this could also be because I am pumping myself full of hormones. The shot also felt like it took forever to get all the medicine in....ugh.
On a brighter note - Sandy had a doctor's appointment today to see how thick her lining is. It measured a 10 (I don't know if that is mm or what it is) but from my experience talking to other women that is a high number. Its the biggest anyone has mentioned having (that I have talked to). I think the higher the better - although I don't know if there is such a thing as too high.
That is all for now. I'll keep taking my shot in the morning and my shot at night and let you know how it goes!
Ok, I don't really enjoy shots but I have never been given a shot that made me cry (ok, maybe when I was five). Apparently, Menopur stings and burns a little bit (I mix one vial of Menopur with two vials of Bravelle for each shot). I could feel it dispersing through my arm this morning and I just started crying. Now, this could also be because I am pumping myself full of hormones. The shot also felt like it took forever to get all the medicine in....ugh.
On a brighter note - Sandy had a doctor's appointment today to see how thick her lining is. It measured a 10 (I don't know if that is mm or what it is) but from my experience talking to other women that is a high number. Its the biggest anyone has mentioned having (that I have talked to). I think the higher the better - although I don't know if there is such a thing as too high.
That is all for now. I'll keep taking my shot in the morning and my shot at night and let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Dr. Appt
Well, I went to Urbana for my Dr. Appt today. I had an ultrasound. I guess that looked good (I don't know how they can see anything with those). I asked about my estrogen level and it was 49. I freaked out a little bit because this seems high to me but she assured me it was fine. The apparently want it below 50 (at this point I have to just trust they know what they are doing - if something were wrong I'm sure that they would fix it).
Dr. J is always fun to meet with. He had to ask us a lot of random questions such as:
-Have you been in the UK for more than three months in the last year?
- Do you have good physical hygiene?
There were about 50 others but I will save you the embarrassment (its crazy what you have to do for the FDA).
The nurse showed us how to mix the next set of drugs that I will add to my daily routine on Friday. Now I will have one shot in the morning and one in the evening. The purpose of the next shot is to grow lots of follicles in my ovaries. What we have to be careful about is getting too many (at least that is what I am worried about). Usually every month you have one maturing and even then you can feel bloated - well now there could be 20 or more so you can imagine how I am going to feel. They even tell you not to exercise too much because of all the pressure... AHHH!
I asked some questions about my egg retrieval. They told me to expect to take two or three days off of work. Then I have to take the fourth day off to be with Sandy for the transfer. So, I will basically be missing a week of work. That is going to be really hard on me and my students so I definitely need prayers for that. The doctor said that I will have some pain because they are going to fill my abdomen up with air and it could take a few days for it to go away I guess.
That is all I can think of for now. My next appointment is on Wed next week. However, I am going to do the blood work and ultrasound in Bloomington and then they will call me and let me know if I need to change my drugs or anything.
Peace out for now,
Kate
Dr. J is always fun to meet with. He had to ask us a lot of random questions such as:
-Have you been in the UK for more than three months in the last year?
- Do you have good physical hygiene?
There were about 50 others but I will save you the embarrassment (its crazy what you have to do for the FDA).
The nurse showed us how to mix the next set of drugs that I will add to my daily routine on Friday. Now I will have one shot in the morning and one in the evening. The purpose of the next shot is to grow lots of follicles in my ovaries. What we have to be careful about is getting too many (at least that is what I am worried about). Usually every month you have one maturing and even then you can feel bloated - well now there could be 20 or more so you can imagine how I am going to feel. They even tell you not to exercise too much because of all the pressure... AHHH!
I asked some questions about my egg retrieval. They told me to expect to take two or three days off of work. Then I have to take the fourth day off to be with Sandy for the transfer. So, I will basically be missing a week of work. That is going to be really hard on me and my students so I definitely need prayers for that. The doctor said that I will have some pain because they are going to fill my abdomen up with air and it could take a few days for it to go away I guess.
That is all I can think of for now. My next appointment is on Wed next week. However, I am going to do the blood work and ultrasound in Bloomington and then they will call me and let me know if I need to change my drugs or anything.
Peace out for now,
Kate
Monday, January 21, 2008
Today
I had some blood work done today to check my estrogen level. If I have read correctly they want it to be below 35 or so. I will get the results on Wed. afternoon.
Apparently I have been stuck so many times recently now I get comments like "nice vain" where as before they were not that nice.
I used to hate looking at needles - I think I could take my own blood now! (Okay maybe not - but I bet Scott could).
By the way - Scott has been giving me most of my shots and I am so grateful for him doing that for me. It makes it so much easier. What would I do without him?
Apparently I have been stuck so many times recently now I get comments like "nice vain" where as before they were not that nice.
I used to hate looking at needles - I think I could take my own blood now! (Okay maybe not - but I bet Scott could).
By the way - Scott has been giving me most of my shots and I am so grateful for him doing that for me. It makes it so much easier. What would I do without him?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Catching Up
Well, here is everything that has happened so far for those of you that want to catch up:
July - Sandy says oh so subtly, "So, when are you guys thinking about having a baby because if you want me to carry it for you..." The point is none of us are getting any younger.
August - We have our first appointment with Dr. Jarrett. We love him. We mention maybe we will be ready in a year. He says we should be ready sooner than that (Again - not getting any younger). The more I think about it the more I think I wanted to wait because I was terrified.
September - Take my temperature every morning at 5:30 (trying to figure out my cycle).
October - repeat.
November - Call from Dr. Jarrett. My temperature charts look good. Lets get things rolling!
December - Frantic blood work, exams, EKGs - we have to make sure everyone is healthy (mostly Sandy ).
January - here we are! I started my Luron injections on Jan. 12th! Here is the tentative schedule!
1/12 Start Lurpron injections
1/23 DR appointment for sonogram and blood work to make sure that the Lurpon did in fact shut my ovaries down.
1/25 start second injections (yes that is two a day now) to start growing follicles (eggs). That want at least 10.
2/2 HCG trigger shot (to tell my ovaries that my eggs are good to go)
2/4 DR goes in to get the eggs (also known as the egg retrieval)
2/4 fertilize the eggs
2/4 - 2/6 watch them grow!
2/7 - transfer embryos into Sandy
2/19 - blood test to see if we are pregnant
So, today we are signing the contract that the doctor needs. Then my appointment is at 12:30 on Wed. I will let you know how it goes!
July - Sandy says oh so subtly, "So, when are you guys thinking about having a baby because if you want me to carry it for you..." The point is none of us are getting any younger.
August - We have our first appointment with Dr. Jarrett. We love him. We mention maybe we will be ready in a year. He says we should be ready sooner than that (Again - not getting any younger). The more I think about it the more I think I wanted to wait because I was terrified.
September - Take my temperature every morning at 5:30 (trying to figure out my cycle).
October - repeat.
November - Call from Dr. Jarrett. My temperature charts look good. Lets get things rolling!
December - Frantic blood work, exams, EKGs - we have to make sure everyone is healthy (mostly Sandy ).
January - here we are! I started my Luron injections on Jan. 12th! Here is the tentative schedule!
1/12 Start Lurpron injections
1/23 DR appointment for sonogram and blood work to make sure that the Lurpon did in fact shut my ovaries down.
1/25 start second injections (yes that is two a day now) to start growing follicles (eggs). That want at least 10.
2/2 HCG trigger shot (to tell my ovaries that my eggs are good to go)
2/4 DR goes in to get the eggs (also known as the egg retrieval)
2/4 fertilize the eggs
2/4 - 2/6 watch them grow!
2/7 - transfer embryos into Sandy
2/19 - blood test to see if we are pregnant
So, today we are signing the contract that the doctor needs. Then my appointment is at 12:30 on Wed. I will let you know how it goes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)