No More Room at the Inn

We woke up this morning bright and early to make our trip to Annapolis for yet another ultrasound and blood work.  I knew pretty much as soon as I opened my eyes, that the ultrasound was going to be interesting.  I just kind of feel full "down there", and told my hubby that I could tell the meds are doing their job.  Sure enough, the ultrasound showed that my eggs are just about at the mature point, and my hormones levels show the same thing.  I told the ultrasound tech about my full feeling, and apparently my feeling is justified because the ultrasound showed that my ovaries are actually touching. It's a bit uncomfortable!

So as a result of all that, I go in on Monday morning for my egg retrieval!  

So far, so good!

I had my first monitoring appointment this morning, and everything is looking good so far.  My estrogen levels are rising the way they should be, and my ovaries seem to be responding well.  There are some follicles (the eggs are inside the follicle) but none that can be measured just yet.  As for me, I am super sleepy.  They are keeping my meds the same for now, and I go back on Thursday morning for another ultrasound and some more blood work!

All Systems Go!

My estrogen is down!  I went for blood work and another ultrasound this morning, and got the call this afternoon that everything looks good.  I start my injections Saturday night, then go back on Tuesday for another ultrasound and blood work.  WooHoo!

Ugh.

It looks like the injection start date is now going to be Saturday the 15th.  I went in yesterday for an ultrasound (to make sure there were no cysts or anything on my ovaries) and blood work (checking estrogen and progesterone levels).  Everything was fine with the ultrasound, not so much with my blood work.  My estrogen level is too high.  It should be below 50, and mine was 87.  So I have to stay on the birth control pills until Tuesday night and go back Wednesday morning for an estrogen check.  If everything is good with that, injections will commence on Saturday.

Keep you fingers crossed and send us some low estrogen vibes!

The Down Payment on a Ford Focus

With injection day looming a short week away, I ordered the rest of my medication this morning.  This was much more painful than they injections will be, as the total for our meds this cycle is over $6,000.  $6, 156 to be exact, that is not covered by insurance. That is a couple of mortgage payments, or even a down payment on a car.  When I had my initial phone call with the pharmacy, I had a m-a-j-o-r breakdown.  Am I crazy?!? I thought about just saying forget it, but after some soul searching and a sob session with my amazing husband, I knew I couldn't walk away just yet.  We decided that we would push the cycle off a month and save up some more money (we were only expecting a pharmacy bill around $3,000) so I sent my nurse an email explaining the situation.  The next day she emailed me back, and told me not to cancel the cycle yet, just to give her a little time to see if she could get me some of the meds.  Low and behold, she was able to get us 20 of the 70 vials of Menopur I need (which is $70 per vial!) and all of the Ganirelix I need for our cycle which knocked $1,500 off of our total.  So it's go time people!

I take my last birth control pill on Saturday, and go for blood work and an ultrasound on Sunday morning to make sure my ovaries and hormone levels are where they need to be.  If everything is good with that, injections start in one week.  Please send up some prayers for us, especially for the people who have to deal with my mood swings while on the hormones!

I would also like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year!

We have a plan!

Things are going to be kicking into high gear very soon!  I went to Shady Grove on Thursday for a mock embryo transfer and a fluid sonogram (which is NOT fun), and everything looks perfect.  No cysts on my ovaries, woohoo!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Dana (my nurse) with the protocol for our cycle.  Looks like we will be starting injections in less than a month.  Somewhere around January 12th I turn into a human pin cushion.  So for all of you who have been through this with me before, be prepared for mood swings and unexplained crying fits.  For those of you who have never witnessed the hormonal me, please be patient!

I am having mixed feelings right now.  I am super excited to try again, but also scared at the same time.  Scared of failure, but even more scared of success then failure.

Minor Victory

At our consult with our doctor back in October, he told us that studies have shown that women with TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) that is on the high end of the normal range have an increased risk of miscarriage.  They did a blood test to check my levels, and low & behold...my level was in the high end of the normal range!  So I have been on thyroid meds for about a month now, and went back on Friday to have my TSH levels rechecked...they went from 4.4 to 1.4!!!! WOOHOO!  So I stay on the meds and hope this helps prevent another miscarriage.

I would love to stay and chat...but Justin Timberlake is on Ellen! Ta Ta for now!