Trial Transfer

5am came extra early today after being on vacation. Usually I wake up with Nat, talk to him while he get's ready for work and then as soon as he leaves I proptly pass out for another hour or two.

Today was very different.

My day began around 4am when I woke up with hot flashes, ugh. I had actually left our bedroom around midnight because I was hot and "ruching" around in bed so much that I was keeping Nat awake. I trudged down to the basement where it was a bit cooler and plopped down on the couch and watched all of the hurricane news I could handle. I think it was somewhere around 1am when I finally fell asleep; I was so tired that I didn't even turn off the TV. The next thing I remember is waking up, sweating, with two blankets on top of me, looking at the clock and seeing 4:14am and cursing a little under my breath. Stupid hot flashes!! The Lupron is finally rearing its ugly head, dang it. So I started watching CNN again, checking out the hurricane and waiting until 5am to go upstairs and complain to Nat.

5am finally came and I went upstairs to meet Nat and it seems as though he was having issues with being awake that early as well. With no real time to comiserate with each other, I layed back in bed and stared at the walls while he got ready for his day.

The real excitement for the day didn't begin until about 5:30am, when Nat left. I had my trial transfer scheduled for 7:30am. The trial transfer is exactly what it sounds like, they like to measure the path to your uterus before the actual transfer just to make sure they get it right when it's "go time"and there are no surprises. What those surprises could be, I don't know, but that's what they told me, I guess I should have asked. The trick to the transfer is that you must have a full bladder, which means mass consumption of liquids very early in the morning.

The nurse told me that I should be finished drinking 48 oz. of water one hour before my appointment. As soon as Nat left for work I started drinking and by 6:30am I had finished my last drop of water and decided to get ready for my appointment. Now see if you can spot the huge error in my judgement...

I decided to take a bath and read the newspaper to kill some time and take my mind off of the ever growing pressure in my bladder. I was fine for about 15 minutes when it became apparent to me that sitting in warm water was really not helping my cause, on top of that I was reading about a hurricane and I had CNN on in the background discribing the huge "deludge" about to hit New Orleans. I was in trouble. In fact I distinctly remember looking at the clock at 6:45am and thinking to myself that there was no way I could make it another hour without causing myslef major, major pain. So I did what any woman does when she's desperate,

I cheated!!!

I had to go so badly and seriously there was no way, no way, I was going to make it. At 6:58am, 32 minutes before I was supposed to have a full bladder, I broke down and went to the bathroom. I'm such a wuss. As soon as I walked out of the bathroom I put my game face back on and began chugging water like it was free beer at a frat house. Somehow my body had to absorb 48 oz. of water within the next half an hour. I was drinking water so fast that I actually got a stomach ache and for a brief moment thought I was going to throw up. But somehow I did it!! I got to the doctors office and they did a quick ultrasound to check my bladder and she said that it looked good and full and we were ready to go. Yay for cheating!

The whole procedure took about 5 minutes and I have gone to the bathroom about 5 times since then. During the actual transfer I will be given a catheter because running to the bathroom isn't allowed for 20 minutes and trust me if you have ever had to balloon your bladder every second it very measurable.

Okay well that's it for today, sorry it was so long. It will be about a week until a new post, nothing exciting in the world of my fertillity this week. Lots of love, Suzi

One shot two puncture wounds....

Now that our vacation is over the seriousness of the next few weeks, and hopefully months, are setting in. We had a great time in Myrtle Beach, the weather didn't exactly play nice, but we still had a relaxing time. The picture above is from a "cruise" that we took on a boat called the Sea Screamer. Obviously with that name you can tell it wasn't a fancy boat trip, it was more of a get completely soaked and look for flipper out in the ocean kind of operation. As you might also be able to tell is that Nat and I are seated in the first seat in the front of the boat, we got completely and utterly SOAKED! I loved it, Nat got a little sea sick. To be fair the water was so choppy that we didn't even stay out in the ocean for more than 15 minutes. (Boo) We ended up doing a tour of the intercoastal waterway which has a no wake zone so we couldn't speed, but we did see a bunch of dolphins so I guess we got our monies worth.

We decided to come home yesterday, Friday, instead of today so we could have one more day of relaxation before Nat went back to work. Also, I started my injections of Lupron yesterday and since I had no idea how I would react to it I thought it might be best to come home. The funny story about the injection was that I had to do it around 6pm and since Nat and I were driving that meant that we would have to pull over wherever we were. It ended up working out that we ran out of gas right before 6pm, right outside of Richmond. So we pulled into a gas station, Nat pumped gas and I gave myself my first Lupron shot!!!

Well at least that's what I thought.

We got back on the highway heading north on 95 when it occured to me that there was no "sting" with the shot. Normally you can feel the medication going in to your body and I couldn't. So I pulled out my little vial of Lupron and looked at it a bit more closely and realized that it is only filled halfway with the liquid. Lo and behold when you stick the needle in it doesn't even reach the liquid, so my first shot of Lupron turned out to be a 10mL shot of air! Nat then pointed out that I was supposed to invert the vial and draw the Lupron out upsidedown so I could read the measurement on the syringe, information that would have been useful about 15 minutes ago! So right there in the middle of Richmond rush hour traffic I offically gave myself the 1st shot of Lupron and right on cue it began to sting.

The moral of this story is to pay attention during the injection classes, I thought I was and shockingly Nat did! It's funny how most of the women I know, including myself, always complain that our husbands, fathers, male friends don't ever listen to us, maybe the key is always have a sharp object in your hand while talking, hummm.......

Well I have my "trial transfer" on monday so I'll write more then. Have a good weekend!

A Little Miracle

Yesterday afternoon Makenzie Leigh Perks was born weighing in at 8lbs. 3 oz. and 19.25 inches long. Congrats Michelle and Brandon, I hope your baby magic rubs off on me!!

A New Test

Well this morning I had a procedure called a sonohysterogram, or SHG. It wasn't too bad, just a little uncomfortable. The test is done to make sure my uterus is in working order and lucky me mine is! The uncomfortable part comes from the catheter that is inserted into the uterus and the saline/dye solution they pump in, ugh. At least they have a monitor on the ceiling so I could watch the whole thing via internal ultrasound, now if I could only understand what I was looking at?! Seriously, I have been looking at my own ultrasounds for about 8 months now and I still nod like an idiot when they point things out. But, like I said everything looked great and they are finally going on the record and saying that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome. You have no idea how many doctors I have hounded about having PCOS, I feel like I am the walking poster child for the symptoms. I only ever had one test done, an exciting test where I had to collect my urine in a jug for 24 hours, and when that test came out negative the whole notion of me having this was thrown out the window. Dr. Filer, my IVF doctor, told me today that there is no definitive test for diagnosing PCOS but by looking at my ovaries he said that he was sure I have it. Really this changes nothing except for the way they administer my medications, I think it's easier to hyperstimulate the ovaries on these crazy medications when you have PCOS. Well that's it for today; oh, I have to take Doxycycline for two days to make sure I don't get an infection and because of this wonderful medication I can't go out in the sun, BOO!! Time to lay down and rest... Later...

The Joy of Shots

Today was our injections class and everything went very smoothly, except for one pale husband. The reason it went smoothly was the fact Nat didn't have to give me a "practice" shot like we both thought he would but a certain stress ball didn't get away so lucky. Our nurse, Sue, showed us how to use the medications, where to administer the shots, and in one case how to mix the shot. All but one of the shots I will do myself in my hip area or within one inch on either side of my belly button. They are little tiny needles that I have used before and I swear they don't hurt at all. Now the last shot, the progesterone oil, Nat will have to give me. At fisrt we thought it was in the fat part of your butt, which I was a little excited about because I figured I had a lot of fat there and it might not hurt as badly. Well we learned that the shot is actually given in your flanks, above your butt and to the side. Now don't get me wrong there is still a good amount of fat there but that's where your pants sit and I feel like the needle is going to poke my hip bone. I know i'm being irrational about that but, if you think I'm nervous about taking the shot you should have seen Nat giving the practice shot to the stress ball. First nurse Sue told Nat that when he has the neddle totally in he has to pull the plunger out just a bit to make sure there isn't any blood coming out, that would mean he hit a vessel. (1st freak out) Then because the shot is an oil it's super thick and it takes a good bit of pressure and time to get it out of the syringe, and I mean a lot of pressure. (2nd freak out) Then we learned that if I am indead pregnant and the end of this cycle Nat will have to do this for 8-10 weeks. (3rd Freak out) Needless to say that we are going to take nurse Sue up on her offer to help Nat the first few times by drawing a bullseye on the area and then helping Nat actually give me the shot. I guess every girl dreams of having a bullseye drawn on their fat parts but usually there is liposuction following that! So anyhow that was our morning. After the injections class we signed all of the papers and paid for our 1st IVF treatment. Now I feel like the ball is really rolling. Next up, the SHG on the 17th. More then.......

Friday Part 2

Now that I have full blood flow I think I can finish my previous post, let's hope. The doctor gave me a schedule for the next month which like I said before looked daunting but now I think it is pretty tame. Today I get my shipment of drugs. I don't know when they are coming so I am just going to hang out here and do busy work until they arrive. From what the people at I-Core told me, they are my drug suppliers, I will be receiving a myriad of drugs. First I'll start with the Lupron, that begins on the 26th of this month. If I'm not mistaken I will be giving myself that shot for 14 days. I am also being sent needles, progesterone oil, follistim, and dyoxycycline. The follistim will be started sometime in the beginning of September when my bloodwork and ultrasounds say I can start, I'm pretty sure this is the medication that makes the follicles grow, hence the name?! The progesterone oil is a intramuscular shot that will have to be administered by my husband after the transfer, which is why this Friday we are attending an injection class. We also sign the contract on Friday and finally get to meet the actual doctor who will be performing the transfer. More on Friday after our class and meeting!

Blood Letting

Well today I went back to see our IVF P.A. to make a schedule for the next month. At first it seemed like a lot to do and a lot to remember, but now that I look at it again it's really not that bad.
Our appointment was at 7:30am, a bit on the early side for me, but convenient for my DH so we had a early start. I followed this appoinment with a dentist appointment, great chompers, then for my infectious diseases test. Ugh. They test you for EVERYTHING!! I had 10 vials of blood taken and they didn't even ask me to hang around to make sure I didn't pass out. Nat and I both have to get tests for HIV, hepatitis B&C and RPR (I don't know what that is?). Plus I had to get TSH, Rubella, Rubeola, and others that I now forget. I think I lost too much blood to function correctly. In fact, I'm going to lie down for a bit, more later.....

My Story

The beginning.....

Well here goes nothing! My name is Suzi, I am 29 and have been married for a little over 4 years. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for about 2 years now with absolutely no luck. We, or more precisely, I have been poked, prodded and tested. Basically if there is a test I have taken it!

Beginning in October of 2004 we sought out professional help in the form of a reproductive endocynologist, try spelling that without a dictionary. We ended up at Johns Hopkins Greenspring Station, near Baltimore. After bloodwork, a uterine biopsy and an HSG the diagnosis was considered "unknown" and I began taking 50 mg of Clomid.

The first month on Clomid I produced three follicles that did result in a chemical pregnancy, the sperm got there but the fertilized egg didn't stick. That was basically the highlight of the infertility treatment. My husband and I wrongly assumed that the chemical pregnancy was a fluke and that the next month would be "our month". The next two months I only produced one follicle and no such luck with sperm and egg being friends.

After 3 months of failed Clomid trials the doctors decided I should add an IUI to the repitior. Again I took the Clomid, produced one good egg, ovulated on my own and had the IUI. Same thing the following month. The third month doing the IUI I didn't ovulate on my own and was given a trigger shot, HCG, to make me ovulate. The IUI was done and surprise, surprise, no pregnancy.

Our doctors wanted us to continue with the same routine, but we were getting really tired of being disappointed and I felt that some changeup in the protocol was needed. So we made an appointment with a new doctor.

Well wouldn't you know that within the first 10 minutes of meeting with the new doctor it was discovered, or re-discovered, that my husbands sperm motility was less than 1%, normal is above 14%. What this means is that 1 out of 100 of my husbands sperm was shaped correctly. This was a huge blow to learn that after all of this time and energy we had placed in to getting pregnant the chances of us concieving on our own were extremely low. The worst part was knowing these results from a semen analysis were available before we began our fertility treatment.

So now we are awaiting our first round of IVF. I am currently on birth control pills and this friday I meet with the new doctor to get my schedule. I know the IVF will be the third week of september but as far as what drugs I'm taking and when, I still don't know.

That's the current situation. I'm hopeful that IVF will be our magic bullet.