Yesterday morning I had an appointment for bloodwork and an ultrasound, but before that I needed to give myself two injections at 7am. One of them is a bit complicated - you have to take 2mL of sterile water up into a syringe and then mix it with some powder in the powder bottle. Then you take that 2mL of medicine and put it into an empty sterile vial. Next you take 3mL more of sterile water and mix that in with the 2mL of medicine in the sterile vial for a total of 5mL of medicine. Then I am to take 0.8mL of that medication each morning.
I had done this once successfully last week. I had no hesitation in doing it again yesterday morning. But, something went wrong. Horribly wrong. The needle that I use to mix the water with the medication wasn't screwed all the way onto the syringe (they come attached, so I never thought to check). When I put the 2mL of water into the medicine vial to mix them together, the pressure inside the vial caused liquid to flow back up the needle and then out through the threads between the syringe and the needle. It happened so fast and before I knew it, the bottle was empty, and most of the medicine/water mix was in my hand. It was all the wrong concentration at that point, and not sterile anymore, and with no good way of me getting it back into any container. So, I dumped what was in my hand into the sink and sulked. Then I took the half-dose left from last week's mixing with me to my appointment where I figured I could ask the nurse what to do.
The ultrasound showed all the follicles in my right ovary growing well, and at the same pace as each other, which is an improvement over last time. The left ovary finally did show some follicle growth, but they are much smaller on that side than on the right. I don't know if they'll have time before the retrieval to catch up, but I've stepped up the acupuncture hoping that it will make a difference. After the ultrasound, I talked to the nurse about what happened with the medication and she said she'd talk to Dr. B about whether he thought I should buy another dose or not. She had doubts whether he would say yes since she thinks that the retrieval may end up being as soon as Saturday. I told her I was willing to buy it if he thought it would do me good, though. She said to take the half-dose that I had with me, and that she would email me as soon as she heard from Dr. B, and that there was one place in town that carried it so I could go pick it up that afternoon. Turns out, Dr. B did think it was a good idea, so I went to buy more...to the tune of $555.55. The lady at the pharmacy said, "Oh it's your lucky day! $555.55 is your total!" I laughed along with her while I thought, "Lady, if it was my lucky day I wouldn't be spending $555.55 in the first place!"
So, this morning I did the mixing again, making sure the needle was tight on the syringe, and it went fine.
I've been to acupuncture every day since Sunday but I get tomorrow off! I have a massage lined up for after work and I'm super excited about it. Things have been pretty hectic this week with work and the cycle and friends coming in town on Thursday for the weekend, so I'm looking forward to an hour of pure relaxation.
Hopefully tomorrow's ultrasound shows things still progressing nicely on the right, and a big improvement on the left!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Catching up
Oops. I had no idea I never posted an ending to our IVF cycle back in August. It didn't work. Turns out that my eggs and the resulting embryos that we had transferred weren't of the best quality and probably were not viable.
At the follow-up appointment, our doctor suggested a different protocol for next time, as well as genetic testing of the Day 5 embryos to ensure that we only transfer back viable ones. This means that the embryos would be frozen on Day 5 and then we'd do a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) at a later date. It sounded logical to us, but we went to go get a second opinion at another clinic first.
The doctor there suggested a very similar protocol, said that it would produce a greater number of higher-quality eggs than I had the last time. He did not, however, mention the testing. We thought long and hard about it, and decided to try one more time with our current doctor, do the testing, and then if we have no viable embryos we know that we probably can't make babies with each other, and if we have viable ones, then we at least have another data point. Either way, we'll know more.
So earlier this week, I started back on injections and pills. I've been seeing an acupuncturist for a couple of months, too, as well as doing a relaxation exercise daily during the cycle. At yesterday's ultrasound the right ovary looked like it has a few good follicles growing in it, and nothing was really happening on the left side. So, at acupuncture today, he pulled out the big guns and hooked me up to the electricity to try to jump-start things.
I go back for another ultrasound tomorrow, and acupuncture again, too. I imagine that egg retrieval will be around next weekend sometime, and then hopefully a couple weeks after that we'll know if we have any viable embryos that we can transfer in a few months. Fingers crossed!!
At the follow-up appointment, our doctor suggested a different protocol for next time, as well as genetic testing of the Day 5 embryos to ensure that we only transfer back viable ones. This means that the embryos would be frozen on Day 5 and then we'd do a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) at a later date. It sounded logical to us, but we went to go get a second opinion at another clinic first.
The doctor there suggested a very similar protocol, said that it would produce a greater number of higher-quality eggs than I had the last time. He did not, however, mention the testing. We thought long and hard about it, and decided to try one more time with our current doctor, do the testing, and then if we have no viable embryos we know that we probably can't make babies with each other, and if we have viable ones, then we at least have another data point. Either way, we'll know more.
So earlier this week, I started back on injections and pills. I've been seeing an acupuncturist for a couple of months, too, as well as doing a relaxation exercise daily during the cycle. At yesterday's ultrasound the right ovary looked like it has a few good follicles growing in it, and nothing was really happening on the left side. So, at acupuncture today, he pulled out the big guns and hooked me up to the electricity to try to jump-start things.
I go back for another ultrasound tomorrow, and acupuncture again, too. I imagine that egg retrieval will be around next weekend sometime, and then hopefully a couple weeks after that we'll know if we have any viable embryos that we can transfer in a few months. Fingers crossed!!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
5 Embryos Redux
August 13th. I worked from home just as a precaution but I felt fine. That morning the embryologist called and said that of the 7 eggs they'd retrieved the day before, 5 were mature (probably the Big 5) but of those 5, all of them fertilized! Hooray for ICSI! She said she'd call with one more update on them the next day, but that we were still all set for a Tuesday embryo transfer.
August 14th. The call from the embryologist on this day said that all 5 embryos were still dividing as they were supposed to, and she'd see us on Tuesday. We wouldn't be getting any more updates between then and Tuesday. Alrighty then.
August 15th and 16th. Nothing of note on these days (crazy!).
August 17th. Transfer day! I had set up an acupuncture appointment for before and after the transfer. There's a study that says that this specific acupuncture can increase our chances so I went for it. I showed up an hour before the transfer time (so 10am) at the clinic and met the acupuncturist and she led me back to the room I'd recovered in the prior Thursday. She set up the stretcher/bed with comfy cushions and pillows and then I stretched out on it and got comfortable. She stuck a needle in the very top of my head, two in each ear, one somewhere on each foot, I think one in each of my legs, and one in each arm, and maybe one or two in my belly. And then I was just supposed to relax for about a half an hour. So I did.
The husband showed up around 10:45 and the acupuncturist led him into the room, she removed all the needles, and then the embryologist came in to give us our pre-transfer update. She showed us a picture from the microscope of all 5, and showed us how two of them were the farthest along, two had stopped developing since Saturday, and one more was still developing, but not at the same pace as the strongest two. She said that the strongest two were a little behind where they expected them to be, but that they were still growing and that we should transfer them both. So we did!
I'd had to drink about 20 oz of water before the acupuncture so that my bladder would be full and pushing on my uterus making my uterus easier to see on the ultrasound during the transfer procedure. So at this point I felt that I had to go! But instead, off to the OR we went where The Husband had to put on scrubs and a hairnet and a mask and booties on his shoes. Then the doc came in and got everything ready to go, and then the embryologist came in with a tube full of fluid and the two "early blastocyst" embryos. We watched on the ultrasound while the tube was inserted, threaded through my cervix, into my uterus, and then we saw the fluid with the embryos in it emptied into my uterus and then we were done! They had me lie there for another 10 minutes and then I could get up and rush to the bathroom, yay! After the transfer we did about another 30 minutes of acupuncture and then I was free to go. The Husband had gone back to work already, but I wasn't allowed to. I'd been ordered to 2-3 days of bed/couch rest so I went to a drive-thru for lunch and then headed home where I spent the rest of the day relaxing and napping. I didn't have any cramping from the transfer at all, so it felt strange to be doing all the things I do when I'm sick, while not being sick.
August 18th. My friend Amy brought me lunch this day and came to keep me company for a little while. My friend Laurie brought dinner over (The Husband had to be gone this night to study for a football officiating test he had to take) and we played a couple board games and watched a movie. Laurie's first baby is due in less than a month so it was some nice girl-time that we probably won't have for awhile again. It was great to have some company during the day that day because I was SO BORED sitting around and napping at home. I felt fine!!
August 19th. I worked from home on this day. I sat with my feet up most of the day and work didn't really stress me out that week so I figured it was ok. The embryologist called that morning and told us that the last embryo we had arrested overnight and stopped developing so we weren't going to have any to freeze. He did, however, say that the two we transferred "should get the job done." I sure hope so!
August 20th. We had this day off work and since my bedrest was over we decided to go out for lunch and run a couple of errands. It was so great to get out of the house! We were out for only about 3 hours but I was exhausted when we got home and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch. We had dinner at home that night, even. On a weekend!
August 21st. The Husband had a race to run at Copper Mountain on this day so we headed up to the high country early, stopping for breakfast on the way there. I had a camping chair with me but it turns out some friends who were also doing the race had scored some great comfortable Adirondack chairs at the base of the mountain and so I sat there most of the morning. I got up and did a bit of walking after an hour or so to watch a bit of the race and then back to my seat - I didn't want to overdo it. We headed home around 1:30 or so and stopped with friends for lunch on the way home. During lunch I felt some cramping and I did some quick Googling on my phone and found that cramping a few days after embryo transfer is usually a good thing - it could be the end of implantation! The cramps weren't that painful and only lasted a few minutes so I decided not to let myself be concerned by them.
August 22nd. That's today! Today I had my blood drawn at the clinic. I'll go again on Wednesday and Saturday and Saturday's the day that they'll call and tell me whether this whole process worked or not. Fingers crossed!
August 14th. The call from the embryologist on this day said that all 5 embryos were still dividing as they were supposed to, and she'd see us on Tuesday. We wouldn't be getting any more updates between then and Tuesday. Alrighty then.
August 15th and 16th. Nothing of note on these days (crazy!).
August 17th. Transfer day! I had set up an acupuncture appointment for before and after the transfer. There's a study that says that this specific acupuncture can increase our chances so I went for it. I showed up an hour before the transfer time (so 10am) at the clinic and met the acupuncturist and she led me back to the room I'd recovered in the prior Thursday. She set up the stretcher/bed with comfy cushions and pillows and then I stretched out on it and got comfortable. She stuck a needle in the very top of my head, two in each ear, one somewhere on each foot, I think one in each of my legs, and one in each arm, and maybe one or two in my belly. And then I was just supposed to relax for about a half an hour. So I did.
The husband showed up around 10:45 and the acupuncturist led him into the room, she removed all the needles, and then the embryologist came in to give us our pre-transfer update. She showed us a picture from the microscope of all 5, and showed us how two of them were the farthest along, two had stopped developing since Saturday, and one more was still developing, but not at the same pace as the strongest two. She said that the strongest two were a little behind where they expected them to be, but that they were still growing and that we should transfer them both. So we did!
I'd had to drink about 20 oz of water before the acupuncture so that my bladder would be full and pushing on my uterus making my uterus easier to see on the ultrasound during the transfer procedure. So at this point I felt that I had to go! But instead, off to the OR we went where The Husband had to put on scrubs and a hairnet and a mask and booties on his shoes. Then the doc came in and got everything ready to go, and then the embryologist came in with a tube full of fluid and the two "early blastocyst" embryos. We watched on the ultrasound while the tube was inserted, threaded through my cervix, into my uterus, and then we saw the fluid with the embryos in it emptied into my uterus and then we were done! They had me lie there for another 10 minutes and then I could get up and rush to the bathroom, yay! After the transfer we did about another 30 minutes of acupuncture and then I was free to go. The Husband had gone back to work already, but I wasn't allowed to. I'd been ordered to 2-3 days of bed/couch rest so I went to a drive-thru for lunch and then headed home where I spent the rest of the day relaxing and napping. I didn't have any cramping from the transfer at all, so it felt strange to be doing all the things I do when I'm sick, while not being sick.
August 18th. My friend Amy brought me lunch this day and came to keep me company for a little while. My friend Laurie brought dinner over (The Husband had to be gone this night to study for a football officiating test he had to take) and we played a couple board games and watched a movie. Laurie's first baby is due in less than a month so it was some nice girl-time that we probably won't have for awhile again. It was great to have some company during the day that day because I was SO BORED sitting around and napping at home. I felt fine!!
August 19th. I worked from home on this day. I sat with my feet up most of the day and work didn't really stress me out that week so I figured it was ok. The embryologist called that morning and told us that the last embryo we had arrested overnight and stopped developing so we weren't going to have any to freeze. He did, however, say that the two we transferred "should get the job done." I sure hope so!
August 20th. We had this day off work and since my bedrest was over we decided to go out for lunch and run a couple of errands. It was so great to get out of the house! We were out for only about 3 hours but I was exhausted when we got home and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch. We had dinner at home that night, even. On a weekend!
August 21st. The Husband had a race to run at Copper Mountain on this day so we headed up to the high country early, stopping for breakfast on the way there. I had a camping chair with me but it turns out some friends who were also doing the race had scored some great comfortable Adirondack chairs at the base of the mountain and so I sat there most of the morning. I got up and did a bit of walking after an hour or so to watch a bit of the race and then back to my seat - I didn't want to overdo it. We headed home around 1:30 or so and stopped with friends for lunch on the way home. During lunch I felt some cramping and I did some quick Googling on my phone and found that cramping a few days after embryo transfer is usually a good thing - it could be the end of implantation! The cramps weren't that painful and only lasted a few minutes so I decided not to let myself be concerned by them.
August 22nd. That's today! Today I had my blood drawn at the clinic. I'll go again on Wednesday and Saturday and Saturday's the day that they'll call and tell me whether this whole process worked or not. Fingers crossed!
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