the primes have it!

The tech yesterday wouldn't (wasn't allowed to) tell me how many measurable follicles she saw, but when looking at my left ovary, she did say, "We only measure the ten biggest. Then I count how many others are over 12." So, yesterday there were more than ten on my left and I think I counted 8 measurements recorded for the right side. I wasn't able to answer the phone when the nurse called, so I don't know the tally or what the bloodwork revealed. Regardless, I was told to trigger last night. Retrieval will be Thursday morning.

I asked C a couple of times yesterday if he'd be OK giving me the trigger shot. Each time, he said he was a little hesitant, but was sure he'd be OK. He'd seen the needles I use to inject lupron... not so bad, right? Then, at 8:52 PM, eight minutes before trigger-time, I finally showed him the HCG needle. "No way!" Luckily, my SIL was home and willing to do the deed, and lives nearby enough that the shot was only about 2 minutes late. I have to admit, that IS one intimidating needle... long and broad, and painful-looking. In a professional's hands, though, I felt almost nothing. In retrospect, I'm glad My SIL (a nurse) took care of it again. I would have liked to keep this cycle a little more under wraps, but she's good about keeping quiet.

So here we are, with transfer scheduled for CD13. I triggered on CD11. Retrieval is on the 19th of the month. That's a nice series of prime numbers... if I can't have an 18, I'll take primes. And I don't have to buy any more drugs for this cycle, having finished the stims with 450U to spare.

comments! Thank you!

I didn't realize that my settings did not carry over from my original blog, where I am notified each time someone posts a comment. So, I've gotten ten comments that I did not realize were here. I am so sorry for not responding! I appreciate your cameraderie and support, and want to thank each of you personally for your kind words. I'll do my best to get back to you all in the next few days.

still cookin'

I asked about Friday's b/w results when I revisted the RE's office on Sunday for another blood draw and an encounter with the fabled dildo-cam. As of CD7, E2 was 442. CD9 results included 6 measurable follicles on the right, 7 on the left, and an E2 of 1113. Once again, my Gonal-F dosage remained unchanged. I report back again first-thing tomorrow, CD11, for another blood draw and u/s.

At this rate, I'll be out of Gonal-F after Wednesday morning's shot. Unless you count the unknown amount remaining in each pen once the 900 known units have been dispensed. I'm not desperate enough yet to seriously consider administering 4 injections to achieve a meager 150U dose, but ask me again on Wednesday when it's that or spend another $600 for an additional pen. I hope it doesn't come to that, and I'm praying I'll be told to trigger tomorrow night for a Thursday ER/Sunday ET. I'm considering driving myself to the hospital for the ET if it lands on a week day so C won't have to take more time off. He's definitely going with me for the ER- I wouldn't want anyone else there.

As far as the trigger shot goes, I asked C to administer it when the time comes. His family doesn't know we're cycling this time. My SIL, a nurse who loves just half a mile away, gave me the trigger shots in 2009. My parents know because they're watching Charlotte every time I have an appointment, but I don't want to involve anyone else in this. So, when I go to the RE tomorrow, I'll bring a sharpie and ask one of the nurses draw a bullseye on my tush where the shot should go. C gave me my first IF injection, and if this cycle works he'll also give me my last.

CD7

I suspect I'm not responding as "vigorously" as I did 2 years ago to stims. CD7 b/w this morning resulted in no change in my Gonal-F dosage, and a day off from monitoring. I got the message from voicemail, so didn;t have the chance to ask what my numbers were. I'll go back on Sunday (CD9) morning for u/s and more b/w, but until then I continue at 225U Gonal-F twice-a-day, plus the 5U Lupron each morning. Last time, I was lowered to 187.5U Gonal-F on the evening of CD7, and had to return for on CD8 for b/w and u/s. I'm beginning to worry that I may not have enough Gonal-F to get through the cycle. At this pace, one pen lasts two days. I cracked open the third of five pens last night. There's a little left in each "empty" pen, but I don't trust the amount AND I am reluctant to stick myself 4 or 5 times to get one complete dose. My hope now is that I'll have plenty of growing follicles on the u/s Sunday. It didn't occur to me until now that I could not only respond less well, but perhaps not at all. All this money down the tubes, and there may be nothing to show for it. Yikes.

My fingers are crossed.

let the stims begin

Once again, my body amazed me with it's clock-like timing. A 29-day cycle ended Friday, so I scooted up to the RE's and started stims on Sunday night. Mothers Day... how appropos, no? We're following the same protocol as last time, so here's what we know so far-

CD22-29 (end of cycle)- morning: 10U Lupron.
CD1- morning: 10U Lupron.
CD2- morning: 10U Lupron; evening: 225U Gonal-F
CD3-6- morning: 5U Lupron + 225U Gonal-F; evening: 225U Gonal-F
CD7- morning: 5U Lupron + 225 Gonal-F; Report to RE for b/w which will determine next Gonal-F dosage.

Oh, the bloat. Today is only the third day of stims (second and a half, actually) and the bloat has already set in. I have be-bands at the ready to hold up my pants when buttoning them becomes painful. For now, I'm just to the point where I no longer need my belt. I've gained three pounds since starting Lupron.

As if life weren't exciting enough, I started a part-time retail job last week with a company I've worked for on-and-off for the last 8 years. Luckily, the manager is OK with giving me a week off post ER, but I had to guess when that will be. I'm on the schedule to work on 5/17, CD11. My ER was on CD12 last time. I know I'll be uncomfortable, but I hope that's the only problem with my schedule.

now, the "fun" begins

My body really did jump back into its usual rhythms once I stopped breastfeeding. My third cycle began yesterday, so I dutifully called the RE's office to report that CD1 had arrived. Of course, I didn't know for certain until early evening that AF was here, so my call landed on an unattended answering machine. I weighed my options- wait for the nurses to call me and schedule baseline u/s & b/w, which would probably be Monday, or just show up this morning and see if they would accommodate me. They took me right in and said Monday would have been fine, but since I was there... Hurray! Monday traffic would have been awful, so I saved at least 45 minutes by going today. Additionally, I didn't need a sitter since C was home. The two of them needed some daddy-daughter time anyhow.

So, I started my stims tonight- 225U Gonal-F. I'll repeat that dose each morning and evening until Friday, CD7, when I'll head in for b/w. Lupron decreases to 5U each morning starting tomorrow. Following the timeline of our successful IVF, that puts us on track for a 5/18 retrieval and 5/21 transfer.

Eighteen is my lucky number.

side effects

CD21 came and went, and I had blood drawn to check my progesterone level, which would indicate whether or not I ovulated. I did, so the lupron arrived and I started the daily shoot-up on Friday, CD22. The lab where my husband's blood was drawn FINALLY got all the correct results to my RE, so the rest of my meds were prescribed at last. They could not, for bureaucratic reasons, authorize the stims until we had documentation that my husband's blood is exactly as it was 2 years ago. Luckily, this time it was covered by insurance. I plan to dispute the charges for the second blood draw and the multiple wrong tests that were run. If the phlebotomist couldn't read the order, shouldn't she have called the doctor who sent the req?

So, three lupron doses down. I still hesitate a little before sticking myself, but I'm sure that will pass. I haven't noticed any physical side effects yet, but I think I got off pretty easy last time with just a general mind-fog. The stims, which haven't arrived yet, have already contributed their own side effects, though. I can't sleep and I think my blood pressure is up a bit... sticker shock. I don't remember what the prices were before, but how can a single drug cost $6,000? That's ONE item, of the five or six included in the order. I'm unemployed, having been laid off at the end of November. The small business we started a year ago was doing OK until fuel prices climbed past $4/gallon (diesel). We're shelling out over $1k/month for cadillac health insurance, but we still have to pay 50% for "name-brand" prescriptions. The drug order came to over $3300, after insurance. OUCH!

I'm focusing on long-term... we can pay it off in a couple of years, assuming no other major debts come our way. But the house needs a new roof and the car has 130,000 miles on it and the taxes/fees/permits/licenses/insurance on the business keep going up while the profits continue to fall. I started this cycle believing that if this doesn't work on the first try, we can give it one or maybe two more attempts before we're completely burned out. Now, I'm seriously thinking that this may be our last shot.

Stims will be delivered Tuesday. If I have any "leftovers," I'm afraid I won't be quite so generous with them as I was two years ago. Anyone know anything about selling unused drugs?