Retrieval Day

We triggered tonight with Lupron at 10:15pm and the Retrieval is scheduled for 10:15am on Tuesday  morning!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!    I numbed my hip with a big steak from the freezer and Finch came home from work at 10pm to give me the shot - I didn't even feel it - Thank you God. We were both a little nervous with the trigger shot.    My estrogen level is at 4046 today so definitely high risk for OHSS but keeping our fingers crossed that the Gatorade and high protein diet will do the trick!  

Estrogen....New Blinds and a theme for our nursery!

So here is our update...we were coasting along quite nicely and the doc seemed to have reduced my dose and I did great for 2-3 days then "today" my bloodwork showed my Estrogen almost doubled overnight from 1808 to 3317 !!!  I have 33 follicles and she measured 13 of them that ranged from 12-15mm in size (they need to be at 18 to be mature).... I have read everything I can get my hands on about IVF and realize that anytime your Estrogen is over 3000 you are at high risk for OHSS - the doc called me personally this afternoon (which is never a good sign) and said that she is switching my trigger shot from HCG to Lupron so the chance of OHSS will be much less.  I asked her what I could do to lessen my change of OHSS and she said not to drink water...to drink Gatorade or V-8 juice only and to have protein with every meal.  The nurse just called me to go over the med instructions for tonight and they have decreased the Gonal F and Menopur to 75u and I return at 9am to the main office for ultrasound and bloodwork.  She said I will likely trigger tomorrow night with retrieval set for Tuesday.  I am more than a little anxious now - I asked the doc if she would cancel my cycle and she said no chance that we just needed to keep the E at the level it is at and change the trigger. Obviously my body responded like crazy to all the meds but hoping and praying it is not too much and will put it over the top for implantation to occur.....   did any of you guys use a Lupron trigger? 

Below is my #'s just for my recordkeeping and historical data...
4/6 - Gonal F 112u, Menopur 225u - E=1169, added Ganirelix
4/7 - Ganirelix in the am, then Gonal F 112 u and Menopur 225u.... E=1534
4/8 - Ganirelix in am, Gonal F 112u and Menopur 225u  E=1808....27 follicles
4/9 - Ganirelix in am - Estrogren shot up to 3317 overnight - holy crap!  the ultrasound showed 17 follicles on one side and 16 on the other for a total of 33!  They are ranging in size from 13-16 today

Moving on to more exciting news - we have picked a theme for our nursery....Woodland creatures!
I painted the white enamel trim and Finch painted the room green this week..... we picked out a set of bamboo blinds we like and brought one home to try out today - in the process of taking it out of the packaging with a set of scissors - I CUT the string on the blind!!! ugh! yikes!  we put the blinds up and realized they don't have a backing to them and let in way too much light.  We are going back tomorrow to pick out the other set that is dark wood but has a backing which will keep out the light and ensure privacy.
We are also searching for modern curtains with a leaf or fern print on them - if you have any ideas of where to find them - let us know :)  

The doc said I will trigger tomorrow night likely with a retrieval on Tuesday - will keep you posted! 
Happy Saturday!  

Day 6 of Stim for IVF

It has been a long week and it is only Wednesday...I thought I would be going every other day for monitoring but my Estrogen shot up quickly so I have had to leave the house at 6am the past 3 days to drive to MD for monitoring.   Here is an update on my numbers so far...
On 3/28  I went for blood work and u/s and my baseline Estrogen was = 53
4/1  - started Gonal F 225u and Menopur 150u, continued same dose on 4/2 and 4/3
4/4 Monday - returned for blood work and us - E=451 (this was quite and unexpected jump and my body responded very quickly to the med...doc decreased Gonal F to 150u and Menopur stayed at 150u.) 
4/5 Tues - returned for blood work and u/s E = 662 med levels remained the same...ultrasound showed approximately 26 follicles!!! hooray!
4/6 Wed - returned for blood work and u/s E = 1169  Gonal F decreased to 112u, Menopur increased to 225u and Ganirelix shot added tonight.  The 9 follies she measured today were all 11, 12 and 13mm. looking good little follies!  I take another Ganirelix shot in the am and return to the doc at 7:15am for more blood work and u/s

Does anyone have any feedback on these numbers or know how they compared to your IVF cycle(s)??

Retrieval day should be on Sunday/Monday depending on how the rest of the week goes - I have been really, really tired the past few days.  I wonder if it is from the increased hormone levels? I come home and I am spent.    On a different note, I called the massage/acupuncture clinic in my doctors office and I will be able to get acupuncture immediately prior to our transfer and immediately after it is completed.  All of the data I have read says it increased your success rates by at least 42% so we figure it is a good investment to have it done while we are there.  I  have been going for acupuncture in VA over the past 2-3 months so hopefully this will also make a difference and bring us the success we have been patiently been waiting for... I didn't want to go to drive to MD for the transfer and then have to drive to VA for the acupuncture treatment so it should all work out very well.  Fingers crossed.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and send positive thoughts/energy our way!
Hugs, Wren

Weekend Adventures

Finch and I took off on Friday to go surprise my Grandma for her 87th birthday - I told her that UPS would be delivering a package around 4pm for her birthday - we drove 3 hours and showed up with roses and balloons at 4pm wearing UPS hats that my uncle gave us (he retired from UPS) and Finch caught the whole thing on video!   She was so surprised and excited.  We spent the night with her and had to come back on Saturday since my wife had to work in the evening.... it was priceless seeing my grandma's face!  While we were there we had a little scare...OK, a BIG SCARE - I took the first round of Gonal/Menopur on Friday night - on Sat at 630am I wake up and am bleeding - my heart sank and i thought there was something seriously wrong.   My grandma lives in the mountains in WV and there is no cell service.  I had to wait until we were leaving to call the emergency line at our doctor's office - the nurse called me right back and I explained about the meds and that I was cramping and bleeding - she said, "oh yeah,  you will have a period after you are off the birth control pills...." I'm sorry we must have forgotten to tell you"  My heart came back up from my stomach and I told her I had been a wreck all morning thinking something was seriously wrong and that no one had told me I would have a period!!!  Of course we were relieved but I was a mess all morning thinking that our cycle would have to be cancelled and that one of the medicines had caused me to start bleeding.  Ugh - what a relief that everything is ok and I have continued with the meds...  the gonal f doesn't hurt a bit but the menopur shots sting my belly.  I go back in the morning at 715am for more bloodwork and another u/s....  fingers crossed that all will look good - we are supposed to have the retrieval around April 11th - only about a week away - ahh!! yikes - I feel like I have been waiting for the past 10 years to be pregnant and become a mom.  It is only days away from our transfer and it all feels surreal.  Finch worked last night til midnight so I worked on painting the trim in the nursery, a white high-gloss enamel - I finished all of the trim this evening.  We picked out the main color for the room and have a gallon of paint ready and waiting...it is called "gentle landscape" and is light green.   We have been looking on the computer for decals with trees, birds, owls, and flowers....we have narrowed it down to 2 so far.  Here's to hoping this week flies by - I have noticed I have been on edge and more moody the last couple of days - thank God I have a patient and understanding wife.....it has also helped that she has worked the past two evenings and hasn't had to deal with my grouchiness. haha.

April Fools Day

Today has been a looong day.... 3 states, 2 doctors and an April 1st - April Fools Day start for the Gonal F and Menopur!!!  Coincidence or not?!  I woke up at 6:00 and left to drive to MD for the first day of bloodwork/U/S at 7:15am  - the U/S showed a small cyst on my right ovary but only measured 1.33 and the tech said it was nothing to worry about.  I've never had a cyst in any ultrasound or scan so not sure where it came from or when it will leave??   We live in WV, the Doc is in MD and I work in VA  - I made it to work by 830 and the dentist called (I left a message asking for an emergency appointment last night as a piece of my tooth broke off).... after being at work for no more than 15 minutes I headed across town to see the dentist.  Two and a half hours later he had me put back together.  UGH - I HATE the dentist.  He had to reconstruct my tooth and ended up putting 3 pins in it and a pulp cap to prepare it for the crown I will need.  lovely.   I told him he wouldn't see me for at least 10 months until after we deliver a healthy baby.  Here's hoping the tooth holds up until then. (Thanks to those of you that left me a message encouraging me to go to the dentist - had I let it go it would have ended with a root canal)  Needless to say...I made it back to work around noon and worked for several hours. The nurse called around 3pm and my Estrogen Level was 53 and Progesterone was .2  -not sure what that means but she said it was perfect. That's the only thing about my day that was :)  I had a Board meeting for another agency tonight and just got home around 8:15pm.
I am off to sleep because I have State reviewers in my office the next 2 days - good times.  Super, Super exited to be on our IVF Journey.  My awesome wife made me Tortilla Soup so thank goodness I didn't have to cook when I got home...  off to bed!~  Happy Monday to you!

Countdown to IVF

Tomorrow is my last BCP and I have a 7:15am appt for bloodwork and the first ultrasound on Monday morning. Meds will start on Monday too - woohoo!!!!! Looking forward to getting this show on the road - Finch is working til midnight tonight so I worked on putting masking tape up in the nursery.  We are going to start priming the room tomorrow... I want us to finish painting it in the next week so I don't have to breathe any paint fumes during the pregnancy.  Ok, I have a question - I have a chip out of one of my fillings - should I get this fixed in the next week with an emergency dental appointment or should I just try to wait it out and hope that all is good for the next 10 months or so?  I am worried about the pain medicine they use since we are less than 15 days away from retrieval.....any thoughts??

How many meds does it take to make a baby???

We just got all of the meds we need for our 1st IVF cycle....Hooray!!!!
I can't believe how many meds we need to make a baby - unbelievable!  We have put all our eggs (literally) into one basket by trying an IVF round. We went through Fertility Finance http://www.fertilityfinance.net/
(who we would highly recommend) to fund our upcoming IVF procedure and 1/2 the cost of the meds.
Over the past year and half after multiple tries from home, 3 rounds at the doctor's office and now our upcoming IVF cycle....we will have spent over $22,500 so far without insurance.  Ugh.  That is depressing to put into writing.

Plan B will be to try a frozen round or two depending on how many "frosties" we get from IVF.   I don't think we realized what an added emotional strain it has been trying to finance starting a family.  I worked 2 jobs last year and my wife has continued to work 2 jobs since last year.  She is an amazing woman. We will have our retrieval/transfer in April and are very excited and feel very blessed to have made it to this point in our fertility journey.

I am extremely jealous that some insurance companies actually understand the struggles women face with fertility while our insurance covers absolutely nothing.  While the President is working on this Health Care Reform, I would like to see universal coverage for fertility treatment for everyone regardless of your job.  If I wasn't already 36 going on 37 I would have considered switching careers the past 2 years just to get IVF coverage.