The Transfer

Today has been an emotional day.  I didn't sleep well last night. I was worried about the state of our little gems, and I was just hoping that 2 of them would be strong enough.

My mom was my designated driver for the day since I had to take a Xanax before the transfer and had no idea how it would affect me.  We arrived at the clinic early this morning for some blood work just to make sure all my hormone levels were where they need to be. I also had to drink a ridiculous amount of water since my bladder had to be full for the transfer.  They put my mom in scrubs and a little cap of her own so she could come back with me.  As you can see, she was much cuter in the cap than I was.

As I lay on the table waiting, the nurse, doctor and embryologist came in with the news:  11 of the 12 fertilized eggs have made it.  And the 11 we have are basically super-heroes.  I started tearing up at this point because I was so relieved and shocked and overwhelmed.  Then came the big question.  Because our embryos are so strong, the doctor recommended we only transfer one of them instead of two.  They gave me a moment alone with my mom to catch my breath and think.  I cried.  I took a few deep breaths.  I calmed myself down.  I decided to stick with the original plan and transfer two even though the risks with twins are much higher.  I felt like I only had about 30 seconds to make a very big decision, and I had to make it without my husband's input.  (Although he whole-heartedly agreed with me when I called him after the fact.  He's awesome like that.) 

The transfer itself was easy.  The only uncomfortable part was having a full bladder.  I'm now supposed to lay around for two days, and apparently I'm not allowed in public because my risk of infection is high.  I really shouldn't be allowed in public most days anyway. 

Here are our little gems.  I can already tell the one on the right is going to be big trouble.

And now the dreaded two week wait begins. . .

Eggs

The retrieval was on Friday.  It went smoothly.  I was very sore and cranky, but I am feeling much better now. They were able to retrieve 14 eggs.  The doctors were very happy with that number and said it was better than they expected from me.  (They've become very well acquainted with my rebellious ovaries.)  You like my cap?

12 of the 14 eggs that were retrieved fertilized.  They were supposed to transfer 2 of them into my uterus this morning, but they called and pushed me to day 5 (Wednesday) instead.  The nurse said this is very common when you have lots of fertilized eggs.  On day 5 when the fertilized eggs become blastocysts, it will be easier to tell which ones are the strongest so they can choose the best candidates for transfer.  Wednesday is also my Daddy's birthday.  I'm pretty sure that will bring us good luck!

Retrieval

The retrieval is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00.  We have to be there at 8:15 and because it is imperative that we are on time, we got a hotel room about 3 minutes from the clinic for the night.  We didn't want to risk the entire cycle being cancelled because of Atlanta traffic.

The retrieval process itself only takes about 30 minutes.  I'll be asleep during the procedure and on bedrest for at least 24 hours afterwards.  The doctors said my ovaries look beautiful.  It's nice to hear, but that wouldn't be the word I used to describe them.  I don't find giant, deformed raspberries especially beautiful.  Plus, those suckers are sore. 

Anyway, thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.  Hopefully all the eggs I've grown are good ones.  I will try to update again tomorrow with an egg count, but it just depends on how loopy I am. 

Stimulation

Hello all.  So, I have been on the stimulation injections for a week.  The side effects so far are not as bad as I feared they would be.  I am ridiculously tired and want to sleep all the time.  I also have waves of nausea, generally in the morning, but that has improved with time, Gatorade and Cheese Its.  As the eggs grow, my abdomen is becoming more and more tender.  At this point, there is a constant dull ache, which is uncomfortable but is to be expected.  It seems like a good excuse to buy more yoga pants.  I'm also going to see if my mom will let me borrow her pajama jeans. . . <giggle>

Today's ultrasound showed about 12 eggs that are growing at around the same rate and will be ready for retrieval near the end of this week.  There were a few other smaller eggs that may or may not catch up.  It looks like I'm about a day behind the normal growth cycle, but they do not think that's necessarily a bad thing.  It just means an extra day of shots for me!  Hooray!

Needles, Needles Everywhere

I've been taking the Lupron injections every night for the past 12 days.  I haven't had any trouble sticking myself, which is obvious from the sea of bruises on my poor belly.  The only major side effects I've noticed so far are fatigue and insomnia, but it does seem to be getting better as my body adjusts.  I also had the worst migraine of my life yesterday, but I don't know if I can blame that on the shots. 
I had an appointment this morning for my baseline ultrasound and blood work.  They did an antral follicle count, which is basically a check of how many follicles could eventually grow eggs.  I had 12 on each ovary for a grand total of 24.  Anything between 15 and 26 is considered good, so maybe my ovaries are going to cooperate for once.  Tonight I start the stimulation injections and will hopefully start growing those eggs!

Hobby Kit

My infertility hobby kit has arrived.  Build a baby in 313 easy steps!

See that pack of vials up front?  That is what is in every one of the Menopur and Bravelle boxes.  My new nickname is pincushion.

I have an "injection teaching" appointment this afternoon.  I'm pretty confident about giving myself the injections, but if all else fails, I'm sure I'll have no trouble finding someone who would enjoy sticking me. 

The Protocol

I spent the past week working my nurse like a 90 day.  (That's something we say in my family.  It means I treated her like she owed me money and was 90 days behind on her payments. It comes from being in the loan business and/or the mafia. . .) I emailed and called her.  I emailed and called her assistants.  I called the switchboard and left messages.  I called the finance office and had them give her messages.  I was ready to send my Dad and my friend Debbie to her house, but it finally worked.  However when she finally did call me back, I realized she had been sick, so I'm a jerk. Oh well.  I finally got my protocol and will start around the end of next week. 
The protocol instructions are 3 pages long and include a flowchart, so I won't go into too much detail.  Here are the basics. First I will start with birth control pills to put my ovaries to sleep.  Then a week later, I'll begin Lupron injections which will further shut down my body's normal reproductive system.  A week after the Lupron injections begin, I will start Bravelle and Menopur injections to force my ovaries into producing multiple eggs.  I will take the stimulation medications for 10-14 days and will be monitored closely to see how my ovaries respond.  When the good doctor feels like the eggs are ready, I'll stop all other injections and get one final shot of HCG that will force me to ovulate 36 hours later.  At that point, they'll knock me out, take my eggs and toss them into a pool with the hubby's boys.  Hopefully 3 or 4 days later, we'll have some strong embryos that are ready to rock and roll.  They will only transfer 2 at a time into my uterus to reduce the risk of becoming the octomom.  If there are extra embryos, we'll freeze them for later.  I've left some things out, but the entire cycle will take about 6 weeks total.
We've committed to 4 cycles (2 fresh, 2 using the extra frozen embryos we'll hopefully have.)  If it doesn't work after those four cycles, it clearly means our offspring were destined to be satyrs hell-bent on world domination.  No one wants to be ruled by goat people.