Ten days after the blood work (October 25), I excitedly checked my phone every time I received an email to see if my clinic had the results of the lab. I desperately wanted to know before my husband got home from school so I could quickly put together something to announce the sex of the baby to him.
The email about test results never showed up.
We did our grocery shopping late in the afternoon and I noticed a text from my friend.
"Hey I won't be at institute tonight but I'm dying to know if you guys found out your babies gender!"
I turned to my husband. "Should I call the clinic?"
"Of course." There was no other option from him. I did not want to be that irritating patient who calls too frequently about something. It had been a long week. I needed something exciting in my life.
"I had some blood work performed last week and was told the turn-around time would be approximately ten days. I wanted to know if there was an update on when that would be available."
"Which test?"
"Panorama."
"What would you specifically like to know?"
"Gender."
"Is this your first pregnancy?"
"It's my fifth pregnancy, but it will be my second baby."
"Do you want a little boy or a girl?"
I could tell the nurse was having lots of fun with me. I bet these are their favorite calls to have.
"Honestly, I just want a healthy baby."
"Is your child at home a little girl or a little boy?"
"I have a little girl."
"Well, you are going to have two little girls soon!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Is there anything else?"
"No. You were wonderful. Have a great day!"
My husband turned to me. "Well?" I repeated to him the conversation I had with the nurse and started crying. We excitedly turned to my daughter and were so happy to tell her that she was going to have a little sister.
My husband insisted that I call my father right then. He was on a train to JFK to go to Texas for a couple days, but celebrated with us. We were on cloud nine!
This baby girl is even more special because boys run in my family. Out of all my siblings, there is only one that has had more than one girl. We will be the second of my father's children to have two girls and the only family to have two girls in a row. This baby is also special because my little sister and little brother are also expecting babies in the spring. My sister is due around four week before me and my sister-in-law is due within a week of me. These three babies will have the closest birthdays out of all their cousins.
We also think we have a first name picked out. My daughter started saying a name a few weeks ago out of the blue. My husband and I both decided we like it. We will try it out a bit longer, but I think we have a winner!
Showing posts with label IVF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IVF. Show all posts
31 October, 2019
23 September, 2019
Beta HCG FET #1
(Originally written on Tuesday August 20, 2019)
The date for my schedule beta HCG blood test was Monday August 19, 2019. My nerves were in check until Sunday night. We had a couple of friends over for dinner and as soon as they left, I was fretting like crazy.
Monday morning, we left our home to arrive at a local medical center at 8:00. They gave me sign in information so I could look up the results online. We thought this would be best to be able to look up the results as soon as possible.
As they were putting the bandage on, I inquired how long the results would take to arrive. I was told that the HCG would take a matter of an hour or two, but the progesterone and estrogen levels needed to be sent to a lab ninety minutes away. They would be processed by the end of the day. Not a problem.
When we arrived home, we ran into technical difficulties. We tried to access my online account for the health care system that did the blood draw. We wanted to find out as quickly as possible! After an hour of looking up information and calling unhelpful account representatives, we gave up. A lady told us we had done too many things wrong and she would send my information to technical support to solve.
I could not get my mind off the blood draw. With my daughter's transfer, I took several pregnancy tests, so while I was nervous the day of the draw, I would have been shocked if the results had been negative. With this blood draw, I was going off the faith of my husband who was confident that I would receive a positive result.
We called my clinic once or twice to ask if the results had been received, but nothing had been sent.
I finally turned to him and told him I needed to get out of the house. I gave him two dramatic road trip options (one to a zoo 3.5 hours away and the other to an eclectic grocery store 2.5 hours away). After a false start (the husband was too drowsy and we saw a four car accident happen right in front of us so we returned home for a nap), we headed out at around 1:00. We arrived at Jungle Jim's Grocery store just in time to shop for a couple of hours.
We had fun cruising around the store. There were so many fun things to look at and we were overwhelmed by the number of options. I called the clinic one last time. They still did not have the fax and their front office was closing soon.
"What time does the last person leave that would be able to call me if the results came in?"
I was told 9:00 in my time zone.
We had a very disappointing dinner and hit the road to come back home. As the minutes ticked by, I stopped looking after 9:00 hit. I was giving myself a pep talk and came to grips with the fact that I would not know until the following day.
"Do you want me to stop at a CVS?"
The nine most beautiful words of the day spoken by my husband.
When we were less than an hour from home, he stopped to purchase a pregnancy test at a CVS.
I waited until we got home and put our very sleepy toddler to bed. (I don't think she woke up the entire time I got her out of her car seat, carried her inside, and placed her in her bed.)
Then I took the test.
I started crying as I waited. The emotional buildup was over. I would finally know, one way or the other. The sense of relief was very intense.
My wait was very short. After only about thirty seconds, a very positive result appeared.
My husband came in and saw me crying. I am a big crier. You never know the cause of my crying.
The rest of the night before going to bed, he reminded me approximately 30 times that I was pregnant.
The next morning, there was a flurry of phone calls between us and the clinic that did my blood draw. Once my fertility clinic opened, I started calling and emailing them.
My amazing coordinator finally called.
"Do you have a minute?"
My heart dropped. Even with a positive pregnancy test, you still want a strong number. If the number is under 5, you are not pregnant. If it is between 5 and 25, it's a chemical pregnancy. If the number is between 25 and 100, you are pregnant, but we would be very cautious. If the number was above 100, I would be good to go.
An at-home pregnancy test can pick up very low levels. I was worried what her question meant.
"Well, you're pregnant! The number was 444. Congratulations!"
My heart started beating again.
We chatted about the blood draw I need to do again next week to make sure the pregnancy is still progressing the way it should and the ultrasound I should have done in just a few weeks.
The date for my schedule beta HCG blood test was Monday August 19, 2019. My nerves were in check until Sunday night. We had a couple of friends over for dinner and as soon as they left, I was fretting like crazy.
Monday morning, we left our home to arrive at a local medical center at 8:00. They gave me sign in information so I could look up the results online. We thought this would be best to be able to look up the results as soon as possible.
As they were putting the bandage on, I inquired how long the results would take to arrive. I was told that the HCG would take a matter of an hour or two, but the progesterone and estrogen levels needed to be sent to a lab ninety minutes away. They would be processed by the end of the day. Not a problem.
When we arrived home, we ran into technical difficulties. We tried to access my online account for the health care system that did the blood draw. We wanted to find out as quickly as possible! After an hour of looking up information and calling unhelpful account representatives, we gave up. A lady told us we had done too many things wrong and she would send my information to technical support to solve.
I could not get my mind off the blood draw. With my daughter's transfer, I took several pregnancy tests, so while I was nervous the day of the draw, I would have been shocked if the results had been negative. With this blood draw, I was going off the faith of my husband who was confident that I would receive a positive result.
We called my clinic once or twice to ask if the results had been received, but nothing had been sent.
I finally turned to him and told him I needed to get out of the house. I gave him two dramatic road trip options (one to a zoo 3.5 hours away and the other to an eclectic grocery store 2.5 hours away). After a false start (the husband was too drowsy and we saw a four car accident happen right in front of us so we returned home for a nap), we headed out at around 1:00. We arrived at Jungle Jim's Grocery store just in time to shop for a couple of hours.
We had fun cruising around the store. There were so many fun things to look at and we were overwhelmed by the number of options. I called the clinic one last time. They still did not have the fax and their front office was closing soon.
"What time does the last person leave that would be able to call me if the results came in?"
I was told 9:00 in my time zone.
We had a very disappointing dinner and hit the road to come back home. As the minutes ticked by, I stopped looking after 9:00 hit. I was giving myself a pep talk and came to grips with the fact that I would not know until the following day.
"Do you want me to stop at a CVS?"
The nine most beautiful words of the day spoken by my husband.
When we were less than an hour from home, he stopped to purchase a pregnancy test at a CVS.
I waited until we got home and put our very sleepy toddler to bed. (I don't think she woke up the entire time I got her out of her car seat, carried her inside, and placed her in her bed.)
Then I took the test.
I started crying as I waited. The emotional buildup was over. I would finally know, one way or the other. The sense of relief was very intense.
My wait was very short. After only about thirty seconds, a very positive result appeared.
My husband came in and saw me crying. I am a big crier. You never know the cause of my crying.
The rest of the night before going to bed, he reminded me approximately 30 times that I was pregnant.
The next morning, there was a flurry of phone calls between us and the clinic that did my blood draw. Once my fertility clinic opened, I started calling and emailing them.
My amazing coordinator finally called.
"Do you have a minute?"
My heart dropped. Even with a positive pregnancy test, you still want a strong number. If the number is under 5, you are not pregnant. If it is between 5 and 25, it's a chemical pregnancy. If the number is between 25 and 100, you are pregnant, but we would be very cautious. If the number was above 100, I would be good to go.
An at-home pregnancy test can pick up very low levels. I was worried what her question meant.
"Well, you're pregnant! The number was 444. Congratulations!"
My heart started beating again.
We chatted about the blood draw I need to do again next week to make sure the pregnancy is still progressing the way it should and the ultrasound I should have done in just a few weeks.
18 August, 2019
A letter to my embryo
To my microscopic baby,
I adore you. I have two pictures of you and one of them is on my nightstand. I like to gaze at your not-quite-hydrated little being and marvel at how amazing you are. The RE told me you looked nice and plump right before I became pregnant with you and you were as perfect as perfect could be. I was so relieved when I heard that you had survived the thawing process. Not every blastocyst does.
I already consider you part of our family. No matter what the results of the blood draw are tomorrow, you are mine. I am so thankful for a religion that tells me that you are and always will be my baby.
Your father is convinced I am pregnant with you and I have a cautious optimism. You are a fighter. There are so many friends and family members rooting for you and I can feel their love and support. If you are meant to be, you are so lucky that you have so many people backing your existence. You are fortuitous that you have a mother and father that love each other dearly and an older sister who knows that her mommy has a baby, but doesn't quite get the difference between her baby doll and her mother's pregnancy. Your sister has been working on lullabies lately. Right before her nap, she raucously rocked her baby doll while enthusiastically singing "Baby Shark." If that's not something to look forward to, I don't know what is.
I can promise you that if you are born into our family, you will be so loved. The closer it gets to the blood draw, the less I want to do it because the more brokenhearted I will be if the results are negative. I have tried not to be as invested in this cycle. I gave more than I had emotionally to get your sister to this earth. However, I realized I cannot go through this cycle like it is simply the medical procedure it appears to be on the outside. Even though you were frozen in a lab with your brothers and sisters up until nine days ago, you are my baby and I am invested in you.
You are loved. You are special to me.
I adore you. I have two pictures of you and one of them is on my nightstand. I like to gaze at your not-quite-hydrated little being and marvel at how amazing you are. The RE told me you looked nice and plump right before I became pregnant with you and you were as perfect as perfect could be. I was so relieved when I heard that you had survived the thawing process. Not every blastocyst does.
I already consider you part of our family. No matter what the results of the blood draw are tomorrow, you are mine. I am so thankful for a religion that tells me that you are and always will be my baby.
Your father is convinced I am pregnant with you and I have a cautious optimism. You are a fighter. There are so many friends and family members rooting for you and I can feel their love and support. If you are meant to be, you are so lucky that you have so many people backing your existence. You are fortuitous that you have a mother and father that love each other dearly and an older sister who knows that her mommy has a baby, but doesn't quite get the difference between her baby doll and her mother's pregnancy. Your sister has been working on lullabies lately. Right before her nap, she raucously rocked her baby doll while enthusiastically singing "Baby Shark." If that's not something to look forward to, I don't know what is.
I can promise you that if you are born into our family, you will be so loved. The closer it gets to the blood draw, the less I want to do it because the more brokenhearted I will be if the results are negative. I have tried not to be as invested in this cycle. I gave more than I had emotionally to get your sister to this earth. However, I realized I cannot go through this cycle like it is simply the medical procedure it appears to be on the outside. Even though you were frozen in a lab with your brothers and sisters up until nine days ago, you are my baby and I am invested in you.
You are loved. You are special to me.
10 August, 2019
Transfer Day!
It's been a while! Let's get caught up. I had my final blood draw one week prior to the transfer (August 2). I received a call to tell me that everything looks great now! They instructed me to start on the PIO (progesterone in oil) injections as planned. I was ecstatic that the last hurtle had been crossed. I knew that unless something major happened, I would be able to do the transfer if that last blood draw came back with shining results.
Sunday August 3, we started the PIO shots. We found a great tutorial online to help us know exactly what to do with the shots. (If I had been in town for longer, my clinic would have given us a shot class so we could have learned in-person. This video was so good that both my husband and myself felt confident going into the first shot.) I am so grateful for technology so that we not only have this blessing of having children, but that we can watch a nurse demonstrate the best way to administer an intramuscular shot online.
We followed the instructions to a T. It has been a while since I have done any sort of shot (the morning of my daughter's birth). I took the fat needle and pierced it into the vial of progesterone in oil. I tipped the whole thing upside-down and drew out slightly more than 1 ml of oil. Flick the syringe so that all the little air bubbles merge at the top of the syringe and push out all the air and excess oil so that precisely 1 ml of PIO remains in the vial. Remove the syringe from the bottle and replace the grossly over sized needle with a still-large but not as terrifying looking needle. Then you get the inject it. I haven't iced the area or used a warm pack at any point. I am somewhat sore, especially as the day proceeds. We switch sides every day so one side is always slightly worse than the other.
August 9, 2019 will be a day I will always look back on with love, no matter what the outcome is of this transfer.
We had a very relaxing morning. We went to Trader Joe's to grab the food to help us last the rest of our trip and headed to a local mall's toy store. We wandered around the store and eventually bought our toddler five little animal figurines. On the way back to the car, she begged us to play in a little splash pad area. She and I had fun running through the fountains of water. Because some of the fountains had random intervals in which they would shoot out water, we were both taken by surprise a couple of times and ended up wetter than was expected.
We got back home, put our daughter down for her nap, and I tried to relax. My husband offered to give me a blessing. It was a gorgeous blessing. I felt peace and comfort. We were both very emotional by the end of the blessing. I have been trying my hardest not to get emotionally drawn into this round of IVF. I emotionally invested myself as much as possible on the road to having our daughter and I knew it was not healthy. I have not been a pessimist about this FET, I have just been a realist. A FET is not a guaranteed way to conceive a baby. The stats are higher than natural conceptions and IUIs, but it is not 100%. (My doctor gave me close to a 70% chance for the rest of my embryos.) I am in a much better place emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually this time around, but that doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of IVF.
I have been surrounded by loving people. I was in awe by all the unsolicited and loving texts and calls I have received. I have not divulged the true reason for making a visit home to most of our friends in the mid-west. One of them gave me a hug the last time I saw her before the trip and said some words of encouragement. I had told so many people that we were just taking a trip to visit family that I was taken by surprise and it took a second for me to change my mindset. Another friend texted me right before we left. She said just the right thing that I needed to hear that day. Someone else texted me the morning of with once again, a heart-melting message.
This feeling of love and warmth should be something that everyone feels.
After I was showered and ready to go (wearing the same shirt I did on the last embryo transfer day), we packed up the car, and dropped our daughter off at my brother's house. There was a small family shin-dig going on with ten of her cousins and four adults. She immediately gravitated towards the little play kitchen. She hugged and kissed us both as we were leaving. (Side note: A few days before the transfer, my husband and I were prepping my daughter about the day by telling her that we were going to leave her with her cousins. She turned to us and said, "And Mama get a baby!" Talk about a two-year-old picking up on more than you give her credit for.)
During the last transfer, my bladder was too full (in my opinion) and the transfer just felt like two people were pushing on my bladder in two different directions. This time, I sipped on bits of water once we were on our way to the clinic for the procedure. I estimate I drank around 8-12 ounces. It was the perfect amount this time.
We arrived at our clinic at 3:54. We were checked in by a cheerful receptionist and I was handed a green wrist band. "Is this for the ride I get to take later on?" It took the receptionist a second, but for the rest of the time checking in, we made puns about and likened the procedure to a roller coaster ride. "You can take your Valium now. That will really help the ride get going!"
I don't remember the Valium doing much for me last time, but this time, I felt slightly tipsy. When our nurse (Heidi) came back to get us, I needed support to walk straight. We headed to the same room that I became pregnant with our daughter and got comfortable. We, once again, received some good luck socks. These ones were not as cute as the Superman socks last time.
Shortly after I was ready, our doctor came in! We had not seen her since our last transfer. We adore this woman. (She also commented on the socks.) Very quickly, we were all ready to go. The embryologist showed our name written on a screen in the lab and zoomed in on the embryo. We watched a catheter grab the little embryo and it was brought into our room. Our doctor quickly did a practice run, showing us where on my lining she was going to place the perfect little embryo.
I relaxed for around ten more minutes as the nurse came back in with a sheet of instructions. After waiting another minute, I got dressed and we slowly meandered out.
That evening, we enjoyed pizza and The Emperor's New Grove. It was a glorious day!
Sunday August 3, we started the PIO shots. We found a great tutorial online to help us know exactly what to do with the shots. (If I had been in town for longer, my clinic would have given us a shot class so we could have learned in-person. This video was so good that both my husband and myself felt confident going into the first shot.) I am so grateful for technology so that we not only have this blessing of having children, but that we can watch a nurse demonstrate the best way to administer an intramuscular shot online.
We followed the instructions to a T. It has been a while since I have done any sort of shot (the morning of my daughter's birth). I took the fat needle and pierced it into the vial of progesterone in oil. I tipped the whole thing upside-down and drew out slightly more than 1 ml of oil. Flick the syringe so that all the little air bubbles merge at the top of the syringe and push out all the air and excess oil so that precisely 1 ml of PIO remains in the vial. Remove the syringe from the bottle and replace the grossly over sized needle with a still-large but not as terrifying looking needle. Then you get the inject it. I haven't iced the area or used a warm pack at any point. I am somewhat sore, especially as the day proceeds. We switch sides every day so one side is always slightly worse than the other.
August 9, 2019 will be a day I will always look back on with love, no matter what the outcome is of this transfer.
We had a very relaxing morning. We went to Trader Joe's to grab the food to help us last the rest of our trip and headed to a local mall's toy store. We wandered around the store and eventually bought our toddler five little animal figurines. On the way back to the car, she begged us to play in a little splash pad area. She and I had fun running through the fountains of water. Because some of the fountains had random intervals in which they would shoot out water, we were both taken by surprise a couple of times and ended up wetter than was expected.
We got back home, put our daughter down for her nap, and I tried to relax. My husband offered to give me a blessing. It was a gorgeous blessing. I felt peace and comfort. We were both very emotional by the end of the blessing. I have been trying my hardest not to get emotionally drawn into this round of IVF. I emotionally invested myself as much as possible on the road to having our daughter and I knew it was not healthy. I have not been a pessimist about this FET, I have just been a realist. A FET is not a guaranteed way to conceive a baby. The stats are higher than natural conceptions and IUIs, but it is not 100%. (My doctor gave me close to a 70% chance for the rest of my embryos.) I am in a much better place emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually this time around, but that doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of IVF.
I have been surrounded by loving people. I was in awe by all the unsolicited and loving texts and calls I have received. I have not divulged the true reason for making a visit home to most of our friends in the mid-west. One of them gave me a hug the last time I saw her before the trip and said some words of encouragement. I had told so many people that we were just taking a trip to visit family that I was taken by surprise and it took a second for me to change my mindset. Another friend texted me right before we left. She said just the right thing that I needed to hear that day. Someone else texted me the morning of with once again, a heart-melting message.
This feeling of love and warmth should be something that everyone feels.
After I was showered and ready to go (wearing the same shirt I did on the last embryo transfer day), we packed up the car, and dropped our daughter off at my brother's house. There was a small family shin-dig going on with ten of her cousins and four adults. She immediately gravitated towards the little play kitchen. She hugged and kissed us both as we were leaving. (Side note: A few days before the transfer, my husband and I were prepping my daughter about the day by telling her that we were going to leave her with her cousins. She turned to us and said, "And Mama get a baby!" Talk about a two-year-old picking up on more than you give her credit for.)
During the last transfer, my bladder was too full (in my opinion) and the transfer just felt like two people were pushing on my bladder in two different directions. This time, I sipped on bits of water once we were on our way to the clinic for the procedure. I estimate I drank around 8-12 ounces. It was the perfect amount this time.
We arrived at our clinic at 3:54. We were checked in by a cheerful receptionist and I was handed a green wrist band. "Is this for the ride I get to take later on?" It took the receptionist a second, but for the rest of the time checking in, we made puns about and likened the procedure to a roller coaster ride. "You can take your Valium now. That will really help the ride get going!"
I don't remember the Valium doing much for me last time, but this time, I felt slightly tipsy. When our nurse (Heidi) came back to get us, I needed support to walk straight. We headed to the same room that I became pregnant with our daughter and got comfortable. We, once again, received some good luck socks. These ones were not as cute as the Superman socks last time.
Shortly after I was ready, our doctor came in! We had not seen her since our last transfer. We adore this woman. (She also commented on the socks.) Very quickly, we were all ready to go. The embryologist showed our name written on a screen in the lab and zoomed in on the embryo. We watched a catheter grab the little embryo and it was brought into our room. Our doctor quickly did a practice run, showing us where on my lining she was going to place the perfect little embryo.
And just like that, we saw a small little blob of white pushed to my lining. The embryologist grabbed the catheter and brought it back to the lab to ensure our little one didn't try to make a home in the catheter. She came back after minute and said we were good to go! You probably cannot tell in the picture below, but next to my lining is a circle. Inside the circle is a little splash of white. That white is not the embryo, but air bubbles that were place in next to the embryo so we could see where he/she was placed.
I relaxed for around ten more minutes as the nurse came back in with a sheet of instructions. After waiting another minute, I got dressed and we slowly meandered out.
That evening, we enjoyed pizza and The Emperor's New Grove. It was a glorious day!
30 June, 2019
IVF FET August 2019
In Vitro Fertilization Frozen Embryo Transfer. Let's take a look at what that calendar looks like for me, shall we?
On my July calendar, I have finally reached the point where I can see the current day on the schedule! How awesome is that? I finally have all my meds for this round. I will take 13 more days of birth control, ending on the 12. I love how organized and easy to read the schedules are. I never have any questions or guesses on when I start each medication or even the time of day.
On the 12th, I switch from taking birth control to taking baby aspirin. Baby aspirin is nothing new to me. When we were being diagnosed with what our infertility problems were back in 2015, I was on baby aspirin for around 9 months. It is a very common medication to have women take that deal with infertility. I will take that up until I am a couple months pregnant (and it will be the only blood thinner I take the entire pregnancy)!
On the 16th, our bank account will have significantly less money than it has right now. My guess would be $6000. I will also make the 3 hour round trip visit to the reproductive endocrinologist to have my baseline ultrasound and a blood draw. This ultrasound is to check follicular development and check endometrial thickness. Basically the technician will measure how many follicles I have on each side that are equal to or greater than 10 mm and how thick my uterus lining is. They also check a couple other things.
The following day, I take 4 mg of Estrace twice daily. From my understanding, Estrace (and a similar medication, Estrodial) are forms of estrogen. They are prescribed to IVF FET because they help a woman's endometrium grow and prepare for a pregnancy. They're giving my lining a greater chance to get nice and thick.
"A meta-analysis published in Medicine looked at 11 studies involving estrogen supplementation plus progesterone as luteal phase support in those undergoing IVF. Researchers concluded that taking both progesterone and estrogen supplements during IVF treatment after egg retrieval was associated with a higher clinical pregnancy rate than progesterone alone."
On my July calendar, I have finally reached the point where I can see the current day on the schedule! How awesome is that? I finally have all my meds for this round. I will take 13 more days of birth control, ending on the 12. I love how organized and easy to read the schedules are. I never have any questions or guesses on when I start each medication or even the time of day.
On the 12th, I switch from taking birth control to taking baby aspirin. Baby aspirin is nothing new to me. When we were being diagnosed with what our infertility problems were back in 2015, I was on baby aspirin for around 9 months. It is a very common medication to have women take that deal with infertility. I will take that up until I am a couple months pregnant (and it will be the only blood thinner I take the entire pregnancy)!
On the 16th, our bank account will have significantly less money than it has right now. My guess would be $6000. I will also make the 3 hour round trip visit to the reproductive endocrinologist to have my baseline ultrasound and a blood draw. This ultrasound is to check follicular development and check endometrial thickness. Basically the technician will measure how many follicles I have on each side that are equal to or greater than 10 mm and how thick my uterus lining is. They also check a couple other things.
The following day, I take 4 mg of Estrace twice daily. From my understanding, Estrace (and a similar medication, Estrodial) are forms of estrogen. They are prescribed to IVF FET because they help a woman's endometrium grow and prepare for a pregnancy. They're giving my lining a greater chance to get nice and thick.
"A meta-analysis published in Medicine looked at 11 studies involving estrogen supplementation plus progesterone as luteal phase support in those undergoing IVF. Researchers concluded that taking both progesterone and estrogen supplements during IVF treatment after egg retrieval was associated with a higher clinical pregnancy rate than progesterone alone."
The side effects can include the following:
- Spotting or light vaginal bleeding
- An upset stomach, nausea, or vomiting
- Vaginal discharge or itching
- Weight gain
- Swelling or bloating
- Headaches
- Breast tenderness or pain
On July 26, I go in for my final ultrasound before the transfer. They are checking the same things for the second ultrasound.
Then August starts. One final blood draw checks not only the estradiol levels, but also my progesterone levels. I start the progesterone shots on August 4.
The dreaded shots.
The shots that have dozens of blog posts lamenting the pain and agony you endure with the shots.
The shots that have many women claiming if you don't do them the "right" way, you endure what can only be described as the feeling of having several marbles in your rear.
I need to do a little bit more research to figure out the best way for me to do these shots. I get to do them once a day in the morning starting on the 4th and continuing on for several weeks (assuming this round ends in a pregnancy). The shots--if you could not deduce by this point--are administered in your rear end. I have the needles and oil sitting tucked away. Whenever I happen to see them, I try to put them out of my mind. I am no stranger to needles and became great at giving myself shots twice a day for the entirety of my previous pregnancy, but those were not intramuscular. I may have had one intramuscular shot with my first round, but that was one shot, once.
August 5 I start a Z-Pack. No big deal. After going through a couple rounds of progesterone shots, I can do a pill a day for five days.
Then we reach August 9! The day I have been looking forward to for a couple years! The day I become pregnant and hope that the stars align and I stay pregnant.
I honestly did not understand the idea of PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise) until recently. I thought it was just a gimmicky way for IVF girls to stay optimistic during the wait for the blood draw. I get it now. When that tiny embryo is placed inside me, I am pregnant. There is the tiniest speck of a human that I am housing. I really am pregnant at that moment. I think I will be much more emotional about the transfer this time around.
Last time, all I could think about was how badly I needed to use the bathroom after the technician was pressing on my very full bladder for what seemed like an eternity.
And then? I go home (or to my sister's house) and relax. I get to relax that day and the two following days. My clinic calls them "Princess Days." The idea is that I should not do anything to get my heart rate going. I know, I know. The idea of bed rest has really been discredited by the medical world, but if my doctor says rest, I will rest. I will do anything in my power to get the baby to stick. On one of the evenings, I think I get to have two of my sisters and a cousin over which I am really looking forward to. I am the most worried about my toddler. Hopefully she will be distracted enough by being surrounded by cousins and being in a fun new place that she won't care that Mom can't play with her.
That evening I start the progesterone in oil. This one is going to be a pain to take through the airport because it has to be refrigerated. I don't know what we are going to finagle, but we'll probably bring a cooler, dump the ice right before security, and then get ice at the other side. Because we are not checking any bags, I also get to bring needles through security. It will not be the first time I will do this (my grandmother passed away when I was a couple months pregnant and I needed to bring my heparin with me to the funeral), but I know I will be so nervous until we make it through security. They hopefully won't blink twice because who knows that I will do in an extremely hormonal state.
The pregnancy test will be on August 19. I need to find a clinic in my area that will do a blood pregnancy test for free. There has to be one, right?
That is my calendar for this round! I am most thankful that I have less than two weeks left of birth control, so hopefully I can get a hold on my hormones before the intense part of the process starts up.
Then August starts. One final blood draw checks not only the estradiol levels, but also my progesterone levels. I start the progesterone shots on August 4.
The dreaded shots.
The shots that have dozens of blog posts lamenting the pain and agony you endure with the shots.
The shots that have many women claiming if you don't do them the "right" way, you endure what can only be described as the feeling of having several marbles in your rear.
I need to do a little bit more research to figure out the best way for me to do these shots. I get to do them once a day in the morning starting on the 4th and continuing on for several weeks (assuming this round ends in a pregnancy). The shots--if you could not deduce by this point--are administered in your rear end. I have the needles and oil sitting tucked away. Whenever I happen to see them, I try to put them out of my mind. I am no stranger to needles and became great at giving myself shots twice a day for the entirety of my previous pregnancy, but those were not intramuscular. I may have had one intramuscular shot with my first round, but that was one shot, once.
August 5 I start a Z-Pack. No big deal. After going through a couple rounds of progesterone shots, I can do a pill a day for five days.
Then we reach August 9! The day I have been looking forward to for a couple years! The day I become pregnant and hope that the stars align and I stay pregnant.
I honestly did not understand the idea of PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise) until recently. I thought it was just a gimmicky way for IVF girls to stay optimistic during the wait for the blood draw. I get it now. When that tiny embryo is placed inside me, I am pregnant. There is the tiniest speck of a human that I am housing. I really am pregnant at that moment. I think I will be much more emotional about the transfer this time around.
Last time, all I could think about was how badly I needed to use the bathroom after the technician was pressing on my very full bladder for what seemed like an eternity.
And then? I go home (or to my sister's house) and relax. I get to relax that day and the two following days. My clinic calls them "Princess Days." The idea is that I should not do anything to get my heart rate going. I know, I know. The idea of bed rest has really been discredited by the medical world, but if my doctor says rest, I will rest. I will do anything in my power to get the baby to stick. On one of the evenings, I think I get to have two of my sisters and a cousin over which I am really looking forward to. I am the most worried about my toddler. Hopefully she will be distracted enough by being surrounded by cousins and being in a fun new place that she won't care that Mom can't play with her.
That evening I start the progesterone in oil. This one is going to be a pain to take through the airport because it has to be refrigerated. I don't know what we are going to finagle, but we'll probably bring a cooler, dump the ice right before security, and then get ice at the other side. Because we are not checking any bags, I also get to bring needles through security. It will not be the first time I will do this (my grandmother passed away when I was a couple months pregnant and I needed to bring my heparin with me to the funeral), but I know I will be so nervous until we make it through security. They hopefully won't blink twice because who knows that I will do in an extremely hormonal state.
The pregnancy test will be on August 19. I need to find a clinic in my area that will do a blood pregnancy test for free. There has to be one, right?
That is my calendar for this round! I am most thankful that I have less than two weeks left of birth control, so hopefully I can get a hold on my hormones before the intense part of the process starts up.
28 July, 2016
Waiting
The blood has been drawn. The usual cheerful phlebotomist remembered that I teach. I am getting well-known at the clinic.
The earliest they have ever called was 10:18. That time has come and passed.
One phrase keeps drifting through my mind. Chemical pregnancy. If the number is over 5, please let it be significantly over 5. Over 100 would be grand. I will not complain with a number over 100.
I have literally done nothing for the last thirty minutes. I have sat on the couch, glancing occasionally at my phone.
Hopefully the call comes soon.
The earliest they have ever called was 10:18. That time has come and passed.
One phrase keeps drifting through my mind. Chemical pregnancy. If the number is over 5, please let it be significantly over 5. Over 100 would be grand. I will not complain with a number over 100.
I have literally done nothing for the last thirty minutes. I have sat on the couch, glancing occasionally at my phone.
Hopefully the call comes soon.
18 July, 2016
Baby's First Picture (Embryo Transfer Day)
Everything I have done in the past month, six months, years(?) has lead up to today. My first embryo transfer!
In the morning, I decided it would be good to get in a short workout because I knew that would be the last time in quite a while. During my workout, I received a call from the clinic. For a second, I panicked. Was I late? Had I forgotten what time they asked me to come in? Instead they asked me to come in slightly earlier.
I arrived at my clinic at 1:00 knowing that I would stay in the waiting room for half an hour. The reason for the early arrival was so that I would take the valium that was stashed away in my bag. I had several glasses of water prior to leaving my house for the appointment and throughout the experience, I definitely felt the consequence. They ask for a full bladder during embryo transfer to make everything easier to see.
Promptly at 1:30, we were ushered back into a room for the transfer. Just like clockwork, one of the adorable technicians greeted me by name which made my day. They asked that I wore loose, comfortable clothes (glad they did not ask for loose, uncomfortable clothes) and socks. I came prepared with some adorable socks adorned with buttons on the side, but when we entered the room, a present was waiting for me. I was honestly very touched at this gesture. (And everyone that entered the room remarked that these socks were amazing.)
As we waited another ten minutes for things to get going, all I could think about was the full feeling of my bladder and the discomfort I felt. Husband was able to get excited and focus on the sacredness of the situation.
Our doctor showed up and gave us all the stats. As of Saturday, we had 16 embryos growing. Today, only five have made it to a nice blastocyst level. Nine of them are okay and we will let them grow another day to see what they do. (The doctor said that probably only 2-4 extra would make it to freeze, making it a total of 6-8 frozen embryos.) She seemed very positive about what everything looked like and how the cycle had gone so far. She handed us a paper with pictures of our five beautiful embryos with the best one (the A+ embryo as the doc put it) big and bold on the paper. Baby's first picture? After verifying that we were going to transfer one embryo, our doctor went out to tell the lab and switched places with a nurse.
It seems as though this nurse's primary job was to see how hard she could press down on my bladder with an ultrasound wand. Holy moley. (Her real job was to show us where the catheter was being placed and to show us the transfer itself.) The doctor did take longer to come back into the room so we played "bursting bladder" longer than I wished.
The doctor came in and we got started! When she started putting all the fun metal pieces in place, I thought I was not going to make it. (Let's see if we can put pressure on her bladder from the inside and the outside! What fun!) I honestly asked her how long she thought it was going to take. The pain was minimal. It was definitely less painful than an IUI (and an IUI is just momentary poking and prodding). I warned the doctor that in the past, the nurses doing the IUIs had problems getting positioned in the correct spot and had to use an alternative catheter. (Apparently there is a slight bend in my cervix. You wanted to know that, didn't you?) It only took a minute to get the catheter in and then at the last minute, the embryo was sent for.
The embryologist once again ensured that we wanted to transfer one and he passed our (hopefully) future child off to the doctor. Obviously the embryo is too small to see, but they put a couple tiny bubbles around the embryo so that we could see where it was transferred and when the transfer took place.
(That my friends is what part of my reproductive system looks like. The black part on the right I believe is my extremely full bladder. Immediately to the left--the part that looks almost folded over--is my uterus. The bright spot would be where the embryo was placed.)
They paused the ultrasound screen when the transfer took place and pointed out where the embryo had been placed. (The embryologist took the catheter back to the lab to make sure the embryo had not decided to retreat back into the tube.) After taking everything back out of me, they cleaned up, helped me get comfortable on the exam bed, and left us alone.
Husband and I chatted. As I was squirming and pinching myself to get over the bladder situation, he was having a wonderful experience. We looked at the pictures of the embryos and the frozen image on the television screen. As we were enjoying our moment, a technician came in to debrief us.
Strict instructions: Not technically bedrest, but "home-rest." I am not to leave the house, particularly tomorrow. Wednesday I can do a bit more, but the first day of freedom is Thursday. I was instructed not to do laundry, dishes, any other household duties. (Ah man...all my favorite things!) On Thursday I can resume regular activities, but no heavy exercise, no lifting anything more than 20 pounds, etc. They even wrote a doctor's note for my strict professor to excuse me from my class tomorrow. (He has a weird absence policy.)
They turned on a recording of chirping birds after the transfer and instructed us that as soon as the recording was over, I was free to get up and use the bathroom!
Blood test is scheduled for July 28.
I'd never been uneasy about receiving a positive blood test before, until talking with a dear relative that has gone through IVF. She received a false positive beta blood test once. Yikes.
Now it is time to wait. And relax.
This weekend I'm heading off on a short road trip with one (or two) of my favorite people in the world to relax with my grandmother and two aunts.
Here's to a calm ten days.
In the morning, I decided it would be good to get in a short workout because I knew that would be the last time in quite a while. During my workout, I received a call from the clinic. For a second, I panicked. Was I late? Had I forgotten what time they asked me to come in? Instead they asked me to come in slightly earlier.
I arrived at my clinic at 1:00 knowing that I would stay in the waiting room for half an hour. The reason for the early arrival was so that I would take the valium that was stashed away in my bag. I had several glasses of water prior to leaving my house for the appointment and throughout the experience, I definitely felt the consequence. They ask for a full bladder during embryo transfer to make everything easier to see.
Promptly at 1:30, we were ushered back into a room for the transfer. Just like clockwork, one of the adorable technicians greeted me by name which made my day. They asked that I wore loose, comfortable clothes (glad they did not ask for loose, uncomfortable clothes) and socks. I came prepared with some adorable socks adorned with buttons on the side, but when we entered the room, a present was waiting for me. I was honestly very touched at this gesture. (And everyone that entered the room remarked that these socks were amazing.)
Our doctor showed up and gave us all the stats. As of Saturday, we had 16 embryos growing. Today, only five have made it to a nice blastocyst level. Nine of them are okay and we will let them grow another day to see what they do. (The doctor said that probably only 2-4 extra would make it to freeze, making it a total of 6-8 frozen embryos.) She seemed very positive about what everything looked like and how the cycle had gone so far. She handed us a paper with pictures of our five beautiful embryos with the best one (the A+ embryo as the doc put it) big and bold on the paper. Baby's first picture? After verifying that we were going to transfer one embryo, our doctor went out to tell the lab and switched places with a nurse.
It seems as though this nurse's primary job was to see how hard she could press down on my bladder with an ultrasound wand. Holy moley. (Her real job was to show us where the catheter was being placed and to show us the transfer itself.) The doctor did take longer to come back into the room so we played "bursting bladder" longer than I wished.
The doctor came in and we got started! When she started putting all the fun metal pieces in place, I thought I was not going to make it. (Let's see if we can put pressure on her bladder from the inside and the outside! What fun!) I honestly asked her how long she thought it was going to take. The pain was minimal. It was definitely less painful than an IUI (and an IUI is just momentary poking and prodding). I warned the doctor that in the past, the nurses doing the IUIs had problems getting positioned in the correct spot and had to use an alternative catheter. (Apparently there is a slight bend in my cervix. You wanted to know that, didn't you?) It only took a minute to get the catheter in and then at the last minute, the embryo was sent for.
The embryologist once again ensured that we wanted to transfer one and he passed our (hopefully) future child off to the doctor. Obviously the embryo is too small to see, but they put a couple tiny bubbles around the embryo so that we could see where it was transferred and when the transfer took place.
(That my friends is what part of my reproductive system looks like. The black part on the right I believe is my extremely full bladder. Immediately to the left--the part that looks almost folded over--is my uterus. The bright spot would be where the embryo was placed.)
They paused the ultrasound screen when the transfer took place and pointed out where the embryo had been placed. (The embryologist took the catheter back to the lab to make sure the embryo had not decided to retreat back into the tube.) After taking everything back out of me, they cleaned up, helped me get comfortable on the exam bed, and left us alone.
Husband and I chatted. As I was squirming and pinching myself to get over the bladder situation, he was having a wonderful experience. We looked at the pictures of the embryos and the frozen image on the television screen. As we were enjoying our moment, a technician came in to debrief us.
Strict instructions: Not technically bedrest, but "home-rest." I am not to leave the house, particularly tomorrow. Wednesday I can do a bit more, but the first day of freedom is Thursday. I was instructed not to do laundry, dishes, any other household duties. (Ah man...all my favorite things!) On Thursday I can resume regular activities, but no heavy exercise, no lifting anything more than 20 pounds, etc. They even wrote a doctor's note for my strict professor to excuse me from my class tomorrow. (He has a weird absence policy.)
They turned on a recording of chirping birds after the transfer and instructed us that as soon as the recording was over, I was free to get up and use the bathroom!
Blood test is scheduled for July 28.
I'd never been uneasy about receiving a positive blood test before, until talking with a dear relative that has gone through IVF. She received a false positive beta blood test once. Yikes.
Now it is time to wait. And relax.
This weekend I'm heading off on a short road trip with one (or two) of my favorite people in the world to relax with my grandmother and two aunts.
Here's to a calm ten days.
16 July, 2016
Day Three Stats
This was the longest Saturday morning I have had in a long time. It was reminiscent of the day I took a pregnancy test for the first time. I could not concentrate on my homework and when I finally blurted out to husband what was up with me, he immediately drove us to Target to grab a pregnancy test and remedy the situation. Sadly, nothing could be done to speed up this morning's proceedings. (We tried. Husband tried calling the clinic and they said the calls on Saturday are made between 3 and 6. Ugh.)
Just after 4:00, I jumped at the the sound of my phone going off. Private number. I knew what that meant. With shaking hands, I answered and ran up the stairs so husband could hear. I frantically searched the bedroom in two seconds, looking for a writing utensil. Yellow highlighter. Perfect.
I was extremely nervous. Throughout the day, I would turn to husband with a look of despair and wail, "What if there are only (fill in the blank with a number less than five) left?"
He was supportive. He always is.
When the caller told me how many embryos I had, I could not hear her straight the first time. Maybe it was selective hearing. I asked her to repeat herself.
"You have sixteen that have made it to day 3."
Excuse me?
Sixteen? One-six?
Sixteen!
Every single fertilized egg has made it. They are all growing. I was so happy I could have hung up and collapsed in an exhausted heap on the floor. However, I knew that even more important information was coming. How big each one of them were.
"By day three, our clinic is looking to have them at least six cells. So here are their sizes:
One is six cells."
At this point, my heart flip-flopped as I realized that she could either be increasing in size or decreasing. Please don't decrease in size...
"One is seven cells."
Okay, so she increased in size. It could still be bad. What if she says the rest of them are small and worthless?
"Five are eight cells.
Four are nine cells.
Three are ten cells.
Two are twelve cells."
Holy goodness gracious. They all made it and they're all overachievers? As the nurse continued to talk, I made sure to find the sum of all the numbers, just to make sure it added up to sixteen.
The last things we talked about were Monday. Monday is implantation day! I'll head over to the clinic at 2:00 and the procedure will be at 2:30. I have to bring a couple drugs with me to take. We'll go over the final sizes with my doctor and cross our fingers that we chose the best one. I did ask if there was an approximate percentage of how many she thought might make it to day five. She said the numbers for that are all over the place (as I was expecting), but we could expect probably at least half.
Wahoo!
And, one more time just because I am so happy (and to make it easier to read):
1 six-celled
1 seven-celled
5 eight-celled
4 nine-celled
3 ten-celled
2 twelve-celled.
Now I can concentrate on my homework.
Just after 4:00, I jumped at the the sound of my phone going off. Private number. I knew what that meant. With shaking hands, I answered and ran up the stairs so husband could hear. I frantically searched the bedroom in two seconds, looking for a writing utensil. Yellow highlighter. Perfect.
I was extremely nervous. Throughout the day, I would turn to husband with a look of despair and wail, "What if there are only (fill in the blank with a number less than five) left?"
He was supportive. He always is.
When the caller told me how many embryos I had, I could not hear her straight the first time. Maybe it was selective hearing. I asked her to repeat herself.
"You have sixteen that have made it to day 3."
Excuse me?
Sixteen? One-six?
Sixteen!
Every single fertilized egg has made it. They are all growing. I was so happy I could have hung up and collapsed in an exhausted heap on the floor. However, I knew that even more important information was coming. How big each one of them were.
"By day three, our clinic is looking to have them at least six cells. So here are their sizes:
One is six cells."
At this point, my heart flip-flopped as I realized that she could either be increasing in size or decreasing. Please don't decrease in size...
"One is seven cells."
Okay, so she increased in size. It could still be bad. What if she says the rest of them are small and worthless?
"Five are eight cells.
Four are nine cells.
Three are ten cells.
Two are twelve cells."
Holy goodness gracious. They all made it and they're all overachievers? As the nurse continued to talk, I made sure to find the sum of all the numbers, just to make sure it added up to sixteen.
The last things we talked about were Monday. Monday is implantation day! I'll head over to the clinic at 2:00 and the procedure will be at 2:30. I have to bring a couple drugs with me to take. We'll go over the final sizes with my doctor and cross our fingers that we chose the best one. I did ask if there was an approximate percentage of how many she thought might make it to day five. She said the numbers for that are all over the place (as I was expecting), but we could expect probably at least half.
Wahoo!
And, one more time just because I am so happy (and to make it easier to read):
1 six-celled
1 seven-celled
5 eight-celled
4 nine-celled
3 ten-celled
2 twelve-celled.
Now I can concentrate on my homework.
13 July, 2016
Harvest Day (Egg Retrieval)
Today was the big day. I have taken pill after pill and endured the injections. I have had emotional spins and physical pains. Today was harvest day (as I like to call it). Here is how the day went for me.
I woke up at my normal 7:00 alarm. No need to hastily prepare the injections for the usual 7:30 drug time. I was able to relax. It is hard to relax when you have nothing to do, but over an hour to kill. I could not eat so I dilly-dallied my morning away.
I did choose the best outfit possible. On the bottom, comfy jogger pants with the most adorable (and comfortable) socks given to me by a dear friend.
Upon arriving at the clinic, my anesthesiologist came out to greet us and show us back to the room. The room was definitely more high tech with a large toolbox holding odds and ends. In the corner was a tray with pipettes. I changed into a hospital gown (I was allowed to keep my socks and bra on). The anesthesiologist gave me a numbing shot and then the IV. Husband claims that a tube for the IV filled quickly with blood and then quite a bit spilled out onto my arm. I love what blood thinners do.
After a while, my endocrinologist arrived along with an array of nurses. We chatted for a second. I remember her asking how I was feeling. I told her that yesterday was crappy and I had gained quite a bit of weight. She remarked that what I experiences was not unusual and that I should feel better in the future. I also remember husband getting kicked out. Then the mask went on and I was out.
When I woke up I heard voices. I could not keep my eyes open for a while. Once they did open permanently, my anesthesiologist was the only one left in the room. I recall asking her if I put my legs in the stirrups on my own accord or if the nurses had to do it. (Why that was important to me, I know not. For all those curious readers, I put them in the stirrups.) I also asked her if she knew the stats. She did not. I did not think she would tell me, but I thought it was worth a shot.
I believe she asked once if I was ready to head to the recovery room. I believe I declined once. After a few more minutes, she lowered the chair and helped me up. Together we hobbled through a back door and into a back hallway. I looked to the right and recall seeing a door with a window in it. Inside there were a few people with masks on. I think that is their lab. On the left were doors. I know that the doors lead into the different exam rooms.
We made it into the recovery room, a sheet was wrapped around my shoulders (to help hide my behind in the hospital gown) and I was helped into a reclining sofa. A hot pad was placed over my reproductive area and I was handed a cup of water.
Husband was taken into the recovery room after just a minute or two. I love that man. We chatted on and off and enjoyed each other's company. When my water ran out, he made a point to throw away the cup and grab a new one to fill. Gotta milk them after giving so much money.
A nurse came in to remove my IV (and clean up the mess on my arm from said IV). I like that nurse. She has helped with my dye ultrasound, water ultrasound, and at least two IUIs. The nurse gave us a sheet of instructions that included the next round of drugs to take. I asked several questions and she remarked that I was much more lucid than many other patients at that point. She did warn us that it might be a while before our doctor returned; she was visiting another patient. I changed and decided that the wait for the doctor might be longer than my bladder could wait. Of course as soon as I entered the bathroom, she turned the corner. (One thing I love about this clinic is that I am known by the staff now. Upon checking in, the receptionist called me by name to ask a question before I had signed in. As I headed down the hallway, an ultrasound technician called me by name and asked how I was feeling.)
Now for the big news. After poking and prodding, the doctor does not think I will be as high of a risk for OHSS as she originally thought. Phew. The real news? The numbers that I had been trying to estimate for over a month now? She retrieved 22 eggs. (Much lower than I expected.) No word on how many she thought were mature. I asked. We will receive our initial report tomorrow on how the eggs are doing. She did tell us that in her estimation, we can expect around 15 to fertilize. (That number will drop by day 5 when they make it to blastocysts.)
The first few hours after the procedure, I felt amazing. I physically felt better than I have in weeks. Now that the drugs from the IV have worn off, I have a nice cramping pain in my ovary area any time I move. I cannot stand up straight and I cannot stand up for long at all.
Throughout the process, I kept two of my biggest fans (a couple sisters) updated with picture texts. One of my darling sisters is finishing a tour in Europe right now with the caption, "I took this pic this morning for you. Because you are a winner." I love those two.
I now anxiously await the initial report tomorrow on how things are going.
I woke up at my normal 7:00 alarm. No need to hastily prepare the injections for the usual 7:30 drug time. I was able to relax. It is hard to relax when you have nothing to do, but over an hour to kill. I could not eat so I dilly-dallied my morning away.
I did choose the best outfit possible. On the bottom, comfy jogger pants with the most adorable (and comfortable) socks given to me by a dear friend.
On the top, the best tee possible. This was given to me by the same friend for volunteering at her adorable market. (She knows me pretty well.) Love the message?
Makers gonna make
Upon arriving at the clinic, my anesthesiologist came out to greet us and show us back to the room. The room was definitely more high tech with a large toolbox holding odds and ends. In the corner was a tray with pipettes. I changed into a hospital gown (I was allowed to keep my socks and bra on). The anesthesiologist gave me a numbing shot and then the IV. Husband claims that a tube for the IV filled quickly with blood and then quite a bit spilled out onto my arm. I love what blood thinners do.
When I woke up I heard voices. I could not keep my eyes open for a while. Once they did open permanently, my anesthesiologist was the only one left in the room. I recall asking her if I put my legs in the stirrups on my own accord or if the nurses had to do it. (Why that was important to me, I know not. For all those curious readers, I put them in the stirrups.) I also asked her if she knew the stats. She did not. I did not think she would tell me, but I thought it was worth a shot.
I believe she asked once if I was ready to head to the recovery room. I believe I declined once. After a few more minutes, she lowered the chair and helped me up. Together we hobbled through a back door and into a back hallway. I looked to the right and recall seeing a door with a window in it. Inside there were a few people with masks on. I think that is their lab. On the left were doors. I know that the doors lead into the different exam rooms.
We made it into the recovery room, a sheet was wrapped around my shoulders (to help hide my behind in the hospital gown) and I was helped into a reclining sofa. A hot pad was placed over my reproductive area and I was handed a cup of water.
Husband was taken into the recovery room after just a minute or two. I love that man. We chatted on and off and enjoyed each other's company. When my water ran out, he made a point to throw away the cup and grab a new one to fill. Gotta milk them after giving so much money.
A nurse came in to remove my IV (and clean up the mess on my arm from said IV). I like that nurse. She has helped with my dye ultrasound, water ultrasound, and at least two IUIs. The nurse gave us a sheet of instructions that included the next round of drugs to take. I asked several questions and she remarked that I was much more lucid than many other patients at that point. She did warn us that it might be a while before our doctor returned; she was visiting another patient. I changed and decided that the wait for the doctor might be longer than my bladder could wait. Of course as soon as I entered the bathroom, she turned the corner. (One thing I love about this clinic is that I am known by the staff now. Upon checking in, the receptionist called me by name to ask a question before I had signed in. As I headed down the hallway, an ultrasound technician called me by name and asked how I was feeling.)
Now for the big news. After poking and prodding, the doctor does not think I will be as high of a risk for OHSS as she originally thought. Phew. The real news? The numbers that I had been trying to estimate for over a month now? She retrieved 22 eggs. (Much lower than I expected.) No word on how many she thought were mature. I asked. We will receive our initial report tomorrow on how the eggs are doing. She did tell us that in her estimation, we can expect around 15 to fertilize. (That number will drop by day 5 when they make it to blastocysts.)
The first few hours after the procedure, I felt amazing. I physically felt better than I have in weeks. Now that the drugs from the IV have worn off, I have a nice cramping pain in my ovary area any time I move. I cannot stand up straight and I cannot stand up for long at all.
Throughout the process, I kept two of my biggest fans (a couple sisters) updated with picture texts. One of my darling sisters is finishing a tour in Europe right now with the caption, "I took this pic this morning for you. Because you are a winner." I love those two.
I now anxiously await the initial report tomorrow on how things are going.
Cycle Day Twenty-Six
Let me riddle you this: If you have a positive pregnancy test and your mid section is larger than normal, are you pregnant?
Answer: Not always.
This isn't the first time I have had a pregnancy test come back positive without actually being pregnant, but this morning I looked like I could have been several months into what I have been yearning for my entire life. Today I gained almost three pounds. Three pounds is quite a bit to gain in twelve hours. I have been chugging Gatorade and water and all that water weight has decided to stick around.
In 12 hours, I will be done with "harvest hour." The entire procedure will take around twenty minutes. I am excited to see how many eggs they will be able to retrieve and try not to think of what could happen to me after the procedure is complete.
I've actually made it to the egg retrieval. I cannot wait for tomorrow.
12 July, 2016
Cycle Day Twenty-Five: Trigger Shot
I went in for another round of ultrasound + blood work this morning. Instead of my favorite nurse, an ultrasound technician performed the ultrasound. She did not seem to do as thorough of a job with the ultrasound. She found 25 follicles in just a few minutes. Normally ten to fifteen minutes are spent on the ultrasound.
I received the call late in the afternoon. Time to trigger ovulation (and undo the actions of the "follicle glue"). The timing on this is a tricky thing. If you trigger too early, all the eggs will be released and all the money washed down the drain. I was told to specifically trigger at 9:00 pm. It brought back the first two times I have used this injection. I was slightly terrified the first time I saw the supplies because of the size of the needle.
The other important information that was revealed? Drumroll, please...
I am at a high risk to develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). When I have my blood drawn, they measure my estrodiol level. Whenever that number gets over 3000, there is a risk of OHSS. I was measuring just under 5000 today. Other causes for OHSS? Having a large number of follicles (check), having a low BMI (check), under 35 (check), PCOS (nope). I fit most of the qualifiers.
What are the funs symptoms that I might enjoy? Rapid weight gain (such as 5 pounds in a day or 10 pounds in three days), severe abdominal pain, severe and persisting nausea and vomiting, decreased urination, dark urine, shortness of breath, tight or enlarged abdomen, etc. (Many women that have OHSS look as though they are several months pregnant-not really fair.)
I will know less than a week after the egg retrieval if this will plague me. Some women receive it within hours of the procedure.
I am not terribly worried about this, but if I do receive OHSS, we will have to cancel the embryo transfer and instead do a frozen transfer in a month.
11 July, 2016
Cycle Day Twenty-Four
We had a doctor's appointment today. (Today? On a Sunday?) Yeah, it was today. It makes sense if you think about it. I am dealing with time sensitive things here. If they took the day off, we could miss something.
I felt slightly bad because I had it in my mind that the appointment was at 8:45. 8:28 rolled around and I picked up my phone in time to see a calendar notification. "We need to leave. Now!" And of course the road was closed in front of our clinic so we had a four minute detour.
Today they were able to find 27 follicles. Most of them look like they are growing nicely. The largest follicle is at 19 mm and we have several that range from 16 mm to 18 mm. Because I have only been stimming for eight days, the nurses were unsure if I would trigger today. (They want at least three at or above 18 mm, so if you only look at that qualifier, I would have done my ovulation trigger shot today.) I was pleased with my 27 follicles. From my perusal of the Internet the past couple months, it sounds like doctors can often retrieve more follicles than they can see on the 2D ultrasound scans. Not all the follicles that are retrieved are mature enough to be fertilized, and not all of the eggs that are fertilized make it to the five day mark (a blastocyst). I am hoping that I end up with at least ten embryos that become a blastocyst.
When I was done with the ultrasound, I had my blood drawn with the sweetest phlebotomist. He kept asking me if I was comfortable. It was the most pain free blood draw ever (except for the time they forgot to swab me with rubbing alcohol).
I got the call at around 3:30. Even though I have some good looking follicles (I mean, if the follicles are mine, they definitely would be good looking), my doctor wants to wait at least one more day. We are reducing my gonal-f injection from 175 IU to 75 IU. That's a huge decrease.
Tomorrow I will go in for (probably) my final ultrasound to check on the growth of the follicles. I will most likely do my hcg shot to trigger ovulation tomorrow evening and do the egg retrieval on Wednesday morning. It's weird to think I probably only have four more shots to do for this madness.
In terms of how I feel physically: I feel slightly bloated. (I have 27 growing objects inside me that range from 10-20 mm.) I feel slight twinges in my ovary area, but the feeling is more uncomfortable than painful. I am not supposed to engage in any high impact exercise for a couple weeks. As of a couple days ago, I have not gained any weight. (I keep forgetting to weigh myself in the morning. The last time I weighed myself was at 3:00 in the afternoon and it was less than a pound more than before I started the injections.) My stomach is slightly tender from the injections with slight bruising.
I reported to my father that I had not had good days on Friday and Saturday, so he dropped by with these beautiful roses on Saturday afternoon. He is amazing and extremely supportive.
09 July, 2016
Cycle Day Twenty-Three: Emotions Lately
I have been taking my injections for seven days now. If you're counting along at home, that makes 16 injections. I believe it is safe to say that I have graduated from a beginner to an intermediate drug user. I should make myself a ribbon that proudly claims "Intermediate Drug User," but I think if I wore it in public, mothers would quickly usher their children away from me.
Drug stats lately:
My stomach strangely looks like there have been needles thrust into it. Thankfully, I only have little red dots where the needles have gone in. We switch sides everyday so depending on the day, either the right or left side has dots that are slightly more red than the alternate side. The injections are administered on my stomach, approximately 1-2 inches below or slightly to the side of my belly button.
My emotions were fun yesterday. Husband and I watched the USA women's olympic trials and I randomly started crying. No devastating back story about an athlete was being shown. The tears just decided to start pouring during a floor routine. (It wasn't even a breathtaking showstopper.) It was weird. I am normally an emotional person, but I can always peg what makes me cry.
Today I am going to get an entire week's worth of homework out of the way so that during egg retrieval (or harvest) week, I can be a little more lazy. To offset the unexciting nature of completing assignments about curriculum, I will also be dabbling in the arts by attempting to make an awesome painting. We'll see how it goes.
Drug stats lately:
My stomach strangely looks like there have been needles thrust into it. Thankfully, I only have little red dots where the needles have gone in. We switch sides everyday so depending on the day, either the right or left side has dots that are slightly more red than the alternate side. The injections are administered on my stomach, approximately 1-2 inches below or slightly to the side of my belly button.
My emotions were fun yesterday. Husband and I watched the USA women's olympic trials and I randomly started crying. No devastating back story about an athlete was being shown. The tears just decided to start pouring during a floor routine. (It wasn't even a breathtaking showstopper.) It was weird. I am normally an emotional person, but I can always peg what makes me cry.
Today I am going to get an entire week's worth of homework out of the way so that during egg retrieval (or harvest) week, I can be a little more lazy. To offset the unexciting nature of completing assignments about curriculum, I will also be dabbling in the arts by attempting to make an awesome painting. We'll see how it goes.
08 July, 2016
Cycle Day Twenty Two: Ultrasound
I have mucho to write about today. Yesterday was a bad day because I had my class and I worked on school stuff, but I am ready to dish right now.
Yesterday we talked to our Endocrinologist. We asked her several questions such as:
Q: Because we are using frozen sperm (that we banked back before radiation for cancer treatment), do we need a backup?
A: Nope. The frozen sample is just fine.
Q: If we move across the country eventually, would we be able to have our embryos shipped to another clinic?
A: Definitely. Some people keep coming back to Utah to have the transfer, but we can definitely move embryos across country. (Overseas is a little more complicated though.) Some people get nervous because of the minuscule possibility that there will be a fault in the transfer and the embryos will be ruined, but she has never heard of that happening.
Q: What is the shelf life of frozen embryos?
A: Just about as long as we would want to have them frozen.
Q: If this IVF cycle fails, how soon could we begin again?
A: As soon as my period starts, we can begin another round.
Q: Should we try one or two embryos?
A: This one is a little more complicated. I do not want to be the next octamom and transplant twelve embryos. (Shortly before my mother passed away, I asked her if she would have rather had all eight of her kids at the same time instead of over a span of 15 years. I believe she rolled her eyes at me. Granted, this was when verbal communication was getting hard for her to do.) Our endocrinologist prefers to only transfer one. She said she will let couples do two if they are set on that number, but she would much rather transfer one. Here are our odds: 60% chance of becoming pregnant with one embryo transferred. 2% chance of having twins. 70% chance of becoming pregnant with two embryos transferred. 50% chance of having twins.
That was the end of our conversation. She did chat with me for a few minutes about our trip to Europe and how awesome it was. She really is a great doctor.
After the phone call, I had a slight meltdown (husband would claim it was more than slight) about the 60% she gave us. If one of my students had a 60%, they would fail. 60% sounds like basically 50/50 to me. I do not like those odds. I do not think we will make a final decision about that until we get closer to transfer day.
Today I had an ultrasound. Every follicle was measured on both sides (at least all that they could see). Our largest follicle is 19 mm. That is pretty big. The average woman ovulates when her follicle reaches 18 mm. I also have four follicles at 14 mm. I will do an hcg shot to trigger ovulation when at least 3 follicles are over 18 mm. The original estimated date for the "harvest" was this upcoming Thursday, but our nurse today thought it may happen as soon as Tuesday.
She measured 22 follicles today, most of them growing at a pretty steady rate. She said we looked great. I go back in on Sunday for more blood work and another ultrasound to see how close we are. If it is decided that they are not quite ready by Sunday, I will go in daily until it is time.
Because I do have a follicle over 18 mm, I added another shot to my daily routine. I now get to take Ganirelix (pictured below). Ganirelix is a "follicle glue." It prevents me from ovulating until I take a trigger shot. I am used to the daily fun of Gonal-f and Menopur, but Ganirelix is different. As soon as the needle hit my stomach, I felt an uncomfortable stinging sensation. (As opposed to a comfortable one?) It stung for a few hours and it has made my stomach slightly more tender, but not too bad.
I do feel slight discomfort in my uterine area. Something about growing 22 follicles that are around 14 mm. That's huge.
Yesterday we talked to our Endocrinologist. We asked her several questions such as:
Q: Because we are using frozen sperm (that we banked back before radiation for cancer treatment), do we need a backup?
A: Nope. The frozen sample is just fine.
Q: If we move across the country eventually, would we be able to have our embryos shipped to another clinic?
A: Definitely. Some people keep coming back to Utah to have the transfer, but we can definitely move embryos across country. (Overseas is a little more complicated though.) Some people get nervous because of the minuscule possibility that there will be a fault in the transfer and the embryos will be ruined, but she has never heard of that happening.
Q: What is the shelf life of frozen embryos?
A: Just about as long as we would want to have them frozen.
Q: If this IVF cycle fails, how soon could we begin again?
A: As soon as my period starts, we can begin another round.
Q: Should we try one or two embryos?
A: This one is a little more complicated. I do not want to be the next octamom and transplant twelve embryos. (Shortly before my mother passed away, I asked her if she would have rather had all eight of her kids at the same time instead of over a span of 15 years. I believe she rolled her eyes at me. Granted, this was when verbal communication was getting hard for her to do.) Our endocrinologist prefers to only transfer one. She said she will let couples do two if they are set on that number, but she would much rather transfer one. Here are our odds: 60% chance of becoming pregnant with one embryo transferred. 2% chance of having twins. 70% chance of becoming pregnant with two embryos transferred. 50% chance of having twins.
That was the end of our conversation. She did chat with me for a few minutes about our trip to Europe and how awesome it was. She really is a great doctor.
After the phone call, I had a slight meltdown (husband would claim it was more than slight) about the 60% she gave us. If one of my students had a 60%, they would fail. 60% sounds like basically 50/50 to me. I do not like those odds. I do not think we will make a final decision about that until we get closer to transfer day.
Today I had an ultrasound. Every follicle was measured on both sides (at least all that they could see). Our largest follicle is 19 mm. That is pretty big. The average woman ovulates when her follicle reaches 18 mm. I also have four follicles at 14 mm. I will do an hcg shot to trigger ovulation when at least 3 follicles are over 18 mm. The original estimated date for the "harvest" was this upcoming Thursday, but our nurse today thought it may happen as soon as Tuesday.
She measured 22 follicles today, most of them growing at a pretty steady rate. She said we looked great. I go back in on Sunday for more blood work and another ultrasound to see how close we are. If it is decided that they are not quite ready by Sunday, I will go in daily until it is time.
Because I do have a follicle over 18 mm, I added another shot to my daily routine. I now get to take Ganirelix (pictured below). Ganirelix is a "follicle glue." It prevents me from ovulating until I take a trigger shot. I am used to the daily fun of Gonal-f and Menopur, but Ganirelix is different. As soon as the needle hit my stomach, I felt an uncomfortable stinging sensation. (As opposed to a comfortable one?) It stung for a few hours and it has made my stomach slightly more tender, but not too bad.
I do feel slight discomfort in my uterine area. Something about growing 22 follicles that are around 14 mm. That's huge.
In other news, husband and I discovered something delicious. We froze half a watermelon and then stuck it in the blender along with some water, lemon juice, and a touch of sugar. It is extraordinary.
06 July, 2016
Cycle Day Twenty
Meandering thoughts:
My collection of used drug paraphernalia is starting to become impressive. This does not include all the needles that have been used.
Tomorrow we get to have a phone consultation with our reproductive endocrinologist to discuss some questions with her. She really is an awesome doctor. I wish that she could be my obstetrician throughout pregnancy. We are slightly unsure where to go once everything works and I become pregnant. The original midwife group I went to impressed us at the beginning, through the first couple of miscarriages, but once we started infertility testing with them, they fell flat. The particular midwife we worked with called us over a week after receiving my test results and did not give the best information about the drugs she prescribed.
I had my exit interview for my Master's degree this morning. I think it went well. I wanted to continue to discuss the questions presented, but my interviewer seemed to have a time limit and the questions ended sooner than I thought they would.
Husband has been great with the distractions lately. I feel as though I have not been too crazy/emotional since starting the drugs, but occasionally something sets me off. A few days ago, we were driving home from visiting my father, and I decided I wanted to take a long way home. So we drove to the local lake. We live less than a mile away from the lake, but this is the closest husband has ever been. I used to go boating with friends when I was younger. We left after approximately four minutes because we became immediate bait for the local mosquitoes.
Today's big distraction was milkshakes! (His idea and want, not mine.) We were introduced to a cute little diner, thirty minutes north, by my little sister. She helped develop a brownie mix for their restaurant so last summer the three of us went by for shakes and fries. We were impressed enough to drop by again today.
Cycle Day Nineteen: Blood Work
We successfully did day three of injections this morning. We had a rough time with the syringes today. It was the first morning that blood came from the injection area. We felt slightly rushed to get it done on our way to have my blood drawn. They called immediately before my class to tell me the results.
My levels are higher than they want right now. I get to reduce my Gonal-f level from 225 to 175. It was a little funky at first. The nurse thought I was taking a different level of drugs than I am so they had to adjust the amount they now want me to take.
I go in again on Friday for blood work and an ultrasound so that I can look at the growing follicles and get excited!
My levels are higher than they want right now. I get to reduce my Gonal-f level from 225 to 175. It was a little funky at first. The nurse thought I was taking a different level of drugs than I am so they had to adjust the amount they now want me to take.
I go in again on Friday for blood work and an ultrasound so that I can look at the growing follicles and get excited!
03 July, 2016
Cycle Day Sixteen: First Injections
Today was the big day. Today I started something I have been dreading ever since I realized we would have to go the IVF route. I received two injections of hormones. They are slightly different in how I get to prepare them and then inject them. Shall we take a look?
First off, I had Gonal-f. Gonal-f is a drug that contains FSH. It basically helps my eggs grow and mature. I receive a dosage of 225 IU (International Units). Upon random observance on the web, it sounds like this is a slightly high dose for a beginner (most start at around 150), but I have full confidence in my endocrinologist.
Here's what my drug package looked like once I tore it open:
Yeah, since each box only contains a dose of 550, I only need two of those syringes, but I am hoping I can just use the rest for the heparin I get to start administering soon. Gonal-f was by far the most expensive drug, costing a third of the entire drug bill.
I needed three main objects today: the fluid, the powder, and a syringe. The fluid is already in a syringe that I easily stuck through the rubber stopper at the top of the powder container. Upon injecting the fluid, the powder dissolved almost immediately. (Dissolved is a science word I get to teach my kids in my matter unit. I probably should not use my specific example with needles when I teach them next year.)
After the fluid was ready to go, I stuck in one of the smaller syringes and withdrew 225 IU. Because it contains 550 IU, I use the same bottle for two days in a row. I have to be careful with the Gonal-f because the same needle that goes through the rubber also goes through my skin. Because it goes through the rubber, the needle is slightly dulled and husband remarked later that the Gonal-f took a little more pressure to insert into my belly. (I also heard from a nurse that sometimes the needle gets bent so you have to work with that as you inject yourself.)
Because I had heard from one of my nurses that the Gonal-f stings a little, she instructed me to pinch my stomach as hard as I could to get my mind off the pain of the needle. When injection time arrived, I could not get a good grip on my belly. Instead of grabbing a good chunk of fat, I pinched the surrounding area with my fingernails instead. It worked. I hardly felt the needle go in.
The other injection I will do in conjunction with the Gonal-f is Menopur. Menopur stimulates the ovaries to produce eggs. For Menopur injections, I need my syringe (no needle attached), needle, plastic screw cap, powder bottle, and liquid bottle. The Menopur is nice because I do not have to stick the injection needle into anything other than my flesh.
The order of events for Menopur is extremely similar to Gonal-f. I first screwed the screw top onto the syringe and then stabbed it into the fluid bottle. After I pulled up 1 ml of liquid, I withdrew and inserted it into the powder bottle. Once everything was dissolved, I pull everything up with the syringe again. Then I twist off the screw top lid and replace it with the needle. I get to flick the syringe with the needle pointed up until all the air bubbles have risen to the top just like they do in medical shows, so you know I am legit.
Upon doing both injections, husband said that the first one was harder to get in, but the second concoction almost felt thicker because it took longer to inject.
We did the injections immediately before going to church and half an hour into the first meeting, I realized with a jolt that I had forgotten to refrigerate the Gonal-f. Yikes. We rushed home to save the rest of the medicine.
02 July, 2016
Cycle Day Fifteen
This morning, I finally skimmed through the plethora of pages the pharmacy sent me along with the medications. It still has not dawned on me that the injections begin tomorrow. I know that eventually I will have to stab myself with one of the needles. It is nearly impossible to get husband to do it when I need my twice daily Heparin shots every day of my pregnancy. The problem is a psychological one. I cannot inflict self-pain upon myself. As each new phase of IVF commences, I think to myself, "It's really starting now!" I had that thought as I began birth control and during the water ultrasound. I also thought that yesterday as we did the baseline ultrasound and paid the clinic enough money to buy a decent car or an extremely luxurious vacation.
Tomorrow, I think I will start to believe myself when I think, "It's really starting now!" as I pinch the injection sight hard enough to diminish the stinging of the needle my husband stabs me with.
And now, for your viewing delight, here is what IVF looks like. Husband sent me this link a few days ago. It is a pretty cool depiction of what most "normal" couples go through and then what we get to go through.
Tomorrow, I think I will start to believe myself when I think, "It's really starting now!" as I pinch the injection sight hard enough to diminish the stinging of the needle my husband stabs me with.
And now, for your viewing delight, here is what IVF looks like. Husband sent me this link a few days ago. It is a pretty cool depiction of what most "normal" couples go through and then what we get to go through.
01 July, 2016
Cycle Day Fourteen: Baseline Ultrasound
This morning I had my baseline ultrasound and initial blood work. My favorite technician did the ultrasound. She checked the lining and the number of follicles on each side. This shows how many eggs we can probably get to grow. There were 14 on one side and 11 on the other. It's pretty awesome. They want a minimum of 10 total so I have 2.5 times more than that. Sweet.
They drew blood and just called with the results. They said that everything looks great so I get to start the drugs in two days. I go in for more blood work on Monday to make sure the injections are doing what they should be doing. Also today, they had weird fuzzy covers on the stirrups. We were very entertained when we saw them pulled out.
They drew blood and just called with the results. They said that everything looks great so I get to start the drugs in two days. I go in for more blood work on Monday to make sure the injections are doing what they should be doing. Also today, they had weird fuzzy covers on the stirrups. We were very entertained when we saw them pulled out.
Today I also had a very serendipitous call from my dentist's office. I had not been in to see the dentist in ten months. It is slightly embarrassing. They thankfully had an opening for a cleaning today and I crossed my fingers the entire time that they would not find a cavity. It's not that having a cavity would be the end of the world, but they would get the option of having me come in either while on heavy IVF drugs or on heparin. No cavities.
Three medical visits in one week. Woot.
28 June, 2016
Cycle Day Eleven: A Look at IVF Meds
The medications for IVF are intense and expensive. They are around a fifth the cost of IVF. First there are the ones that can be purchased at your local pharmacy. (How many people buy pregnancy tests and birth control pill on the same day?)
This morning, an impressive box showed up on our front door.
Inside was a styrofoam cooler, filled to the brim with meds and needles.
Unpacking the box almost felt like Christmas. I felt that way because the cost of the medications greatly exceeds the cost of Christmas. As I start taking each one, I will detail what it is used for.
I also received a home sharps container! How legit am I now?
One more day of birth control, two more days of the Z pack, and then I get a two day break until we deal with the nasty stuff. During that time, I only have to take the eight pills that I have been taking for a couple months.
This morning, an impressive box showed up on our front door.
Inside was a styrofoam cooler, filled to the brim with meds and needles.
Unpacking the box almost felt like Christmas. I felt that way because the cost of the medications greatly exceeds the cost of Christmas. As I start taking each one, I will detail what it is used for.
I also received a home sharps container! How legit am I now?
One more day of birth control, two more days of the Z pack, and then I get a two day break until we deal with the nasty stuff. During that time, I only have to take the eight pills that I have been taking for a couple months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)