Medications

Okay just for 'crime and punishment' or knowledge later on, I want to make a list of the medications I took, am taking and vitamins that I swallow!

So from 8/21/09 - 8/29/09 I was taking

Gonal -F in the morning and Menopur at night

On 8/27/09 I added Ganirelix in the morning to trick my mind from ovulating and also added vaginal suppositories to increase my uterus lining

On 8/30/09 I tool my trigger shot of Ovidrel and Lupron at 830pm

Pills I take are:

Metformin for blood sugar levels 2x a day (4 pills total)

At night I take Dexamethasone, 1 low dose asprin (which is on hold for 3 days), 1000 mg prenatal vita, 2000 mg folic acid, 27 mg Iron, 1000 mg calcium, 300 mg fish oil, 1000 mg Vita D

I beleive my last count was 14 pills a day, 3 shots.

Today, was the first day with no shots. It was nice but I have to admit I am feeling very heavy. I cant walk fast and sometimes even laughing hurts since it "bounces" around.

But in the end it will be worth it...so I just take it all in and know it is in God's hands. So I surrender it all to Him.

Crazy as I am..I took pictures of some of the meds! LOL

Ultrasounds

Well, after being on meds for over a week...my ovaries are ready to go!

8/30/09

Right ovary ... average size 20cm! I have around 11-12 on this side! Wowsa

Left Ovary...average size 18-19! I have around 8-10 on this side! Yikes!

Uterus lining... 9cm! Perfect!

So we are set!! Tonight I took my trigger shot at 830pm. They are called Ovidrel (250mg) and Lupron (2mg). I am mainly naming them because I know one day I may want to look back and "reflect!"

So now we are scheduled to be at the clinic at 730am on Tuesday morning. Egg retrieval day. It is scary and exciting all in one.

This is something we have wanted for so long. And we have great expectations that it will be a great outcome. But of course there is still that part of me that wants to "control". Though I know this is completely up to God. I trust Him with this situation (as I should with everything in life), wholeheartedly.

We get to play music while I am have the retrieval done. I will be under, but subconsciously I know it will be a good thing. I have made a CD, purely of Christian based songs. The CD calms me and allows me to trust, let go, and give God the lead reigns!

Prayers

I feel that God calls on people to pray at all different times in their lives. This is a time when I am reaching out saying that I do indeed need prayers. I only chose a few select people to pray over this blog for us. This is still very much a private and personal matter. An emotional journey into the unknown.

I hope and pray this is our chance. An opportunity like this only comes to us, once. I pray there are lots of embryos created, so we can grow our family. I pray to one day hold that babe in my arms and see God's miracle before me. I pray that His plan reveals itself in marvelous ways. I know the power of prayer. And I can feel the links between God's people and the strength that it gives.

So please, pray for us. Thank you.

U/S #2

So today, Aug. 26th, I had my 2nd u/s

Things were looking good! Lining is a bit thin, so I am going to have to take vaginal suppositories to help that along.

They found 11 follies on each side!! WHOOOO! I am extremely excited about this. My big fear was that nothing would grow and mature.

So as it stands I am taking:

225 iu of Gonal-F (morning)

150 iu of Menopur (night)

Regular batch of vitamins and some other oral meds

Starting tomorrow am 1 dose of Ganirelex (morning)

And tonight the vaginal suppositories (night)

next appt is Saturday. Projected retrival date: 9/2 - 1 week! Wow!

Egg class

We took the egg class on August 24th. What an interesting class. It was packed too!

Lots of very useful information that puts minds at ease. What equipment they use, terms they use, the procedure.

Things to expect, how we would feel, the lab and its procedures.

It was all very interesting and the Embryologist that taught the class (Ann) was wonderful. Nice, funny and best of all, put things that are normally "dr lingo" into very simple "regular people" terms.

Cycle Day #1

So I was on birth control for 2 month prior to starting our IVF cycle. It was to regulate my period. On July 21st (Happy bday honey) I started what would hopefully be my last period for quite sometime!

We went into get our baseline ultrasound (u/s). Everything looked good. I was to start my meds the next day.

Dave also gave his "information in a cup".  So we could see where we stood.

The next day Dr. G called and confirmed that we, indeed, did need to use a process called ICSI. In lame terms, instead of "nature taking its course in the dish" , Embryolosits would "assist" the little guys by gently placing them into the egg.

This was hard for me to comprehend and I was a bit nervous to tell Dave. Yet, he was relieved. "At least he knew", he said. Well...now who is the positive thinker now!

Next step was to take the egg retrival class

Medication

So medication is another HUGE chunk of the cost of this journey. Truth be told, probably close to half the cost. So Judy advised us of the medication we (I) would be taking. I then research different mail-order pharmacies to see who has the best deal. Then tell her, she orders them, they call us to verify and recieve payment, and the next day they are delivered to our door. Simple enough, except that for the most part you need to be home to recieve them since you have to sign for them and put them in the fridge.

Usually simple except the day we were to recieve the "fridge" meds, Dave just happened to be purchasing a new car for me. Poor man was running all around, and still wanting to make sure he was home to recieve the meds.

Whew..it all got taken care of. I got the car ('03 Nissan Murano), we got the meds and they made it into the fridge.

Job well done! And it only cost X,XXX! Yikes!

Meeting with the Nurse

We were thankfully and graciously given this opportunity to embark on the IVF journey of a lifetime. I know that sounds a bit cliche but its very true. The journey is an expensive one, and by God's miracle and grace (and angels on earth) we were given the chance.

So, with that we met with our Nurse Coordinator. She follows us through the whole process. She is our "go-to" gal. Her name is Judy. She is an older women, but sassy. We love her! It was good meeting with her and getting to know her. After all, she is part of this miracle. She teaches us the do's and don'ts, the must have and have not's.

So she went over the medication we needed to order and how to actually "inject" the meds. Most of which we knew from having done the IUI cycles, but still informative. We also scheduled my recommended Hystercopy

I had the HSC done on Aug. 13th.  They gave me a shot for pain, some valium and vicodin. But the procedure was still painful. They basically shoot a liquid into your uterus to make sure "all looks okay in there". Well my uterus didnt like that very much. Which they say is common, but still didnt keep the tears at bay.

I am so fortune to have a husband that is there with me, holding my hand, every step of the way. He attends every class, every appointment, every ultrasound. I am one lucky lady!

The plan

We had our first visit with the clinic in late June. Had blood drawn for levels and met with our doctor.  Dr. G is wonderful. Very personable and gentle. Which is nice when it comes to hearing the news

"I think it is best for you to proceed to InVitro"

Guess in the back of our minds we always kinda knew that was the route we would take. Still doens't make it any easier to hear. We have gone through so much already and now we need to move on to the "last hope". I know saying "last hope" is not a pretty thing, but in our case, that is what it is.

Hearing "IVF" was really hard for me. We met with the Dr. and the financial coordinator. I held it all together. But when we got in the car to drive home, I broke.

It is really hard for me, as a women, to feel like I "fail" at the one thing I was born to do. Now I realize this is a very wrong way to be looking at things. But at that moment, that is how I felt. Sometimes I still do, but I am trying to remember that God has me on this earth for lots of gifts. I just pray and hope that being a mom is one of those.

Time to tell

So, in late June I told my parents what we are going through. I told them the trials and tests we have endured this past year or so. My reason, since I like to keep this as private as possible, there was a class that the clinic we are going to was offering. I felt it was time for my parents, especially my mom, to know a bit more of the depth of things and have a better understanding.

It was tough to tell them. As I am sure it was tough to hear it all. Especially the pregnancy that my mom knew nothing about. Hard to hear all the pain and troubles your child has had to go through, I am sure isnt plesant for any parent.

So mom decided to go to the class with me and Dave. It was nice to get familiar with the clinic and its staff. I am sure it put my mom at ease, as well. It was very informative and I am glad we went. My mom had the chance to ask questions, which I think was really good for her.

It was good to have her there and know she is by our side. (Like I ever had any doubt!)