Injection day

After my blood test this morning I got the call from the clinic to confirm all my levels were good and it was time to start the injections. The nurse rattled off some vague instructions at warp speed and seemed in a hurry to finish the call. I had to stop her and double check a few things.. I think they all just assume if you've done more than a few cycles before that you don't need anything explained. To be honest , in the few months between cycles I pretty much wipe my memory of all things IVF... or at least I try to.

So anyway, I believe my instructions are:

* Begin 300iu Gonal-f and Luveris injections tonight (CD4)

* Continue having Gonal-f and Luveris injections once daily from tomorrow morning

* Add once daily Cetrotide injections on Tuesday (CD8)

* Have blood test and ultrasound next Friday (CD11)

Originally they said my EPU would happen the week beginning Feb 22 so fingers crossed things go according to plan (read: fingers crossed I have more than ONE friggin egg to actually retrieve!).

(This is just the Gonal-f & Luveris)

Light period = poor lining??

So I found out yesterday that I'm also meant to be on Luveris again during this cycle. The pharmacist had me pay for it over the phone and then delivered it to me at work today. Tomorrow I will go in to the local branch to have my first blood test for this cycle and find out later if I am to start taking the Gonal-f after that. Tonight I took my last Progynova tablet, so was only on it for a week.

On another topic, today is CD3 and my period is so light. TMI but I barely need a tampon. It does worry me a little that this is reflective of a poor uterine lining. I've mentioned this to a nurse in the past but my concerns were brushed off. My linings have coincidentally been borderline leading up to transfers a few times so I still worry a little. I guess we'll see.

CD1

It's funny how your period starting can go from being such a massive negative (pardon the pun) one month to being such a great thing the next. This time I'm stoked - it started right on time and signals the start of possibilities.

Last month, for some monumentally STOOOOOPID reason, I had dared let myself believe I *could* be pregnant.. which is 99.99999999999999999999999999% impossible considering DH's 20 year old vasectomy and my.. well.. 40 year lack of fertility.. Why does a supposedly educated, intelligent and mature (ahem) woman talk herself into believing something so ridiculous? Because she WANTS to believe it. I have always had this fantasy that I would eventually fall pregnant naturally despite all our difficulties, just like that Facebook forum poster's cousin's friend's sister's hairdresser's sister-in-law did. If you Google "pregnant despite vasectomy" etc you WILL find a slew of people claiming it happened to them, or someone else they know. What you didn't Google was "delusional woman not pregnant despite thinking she could beat the odds and medical science". Because if you did - you'd see a giant picture of my pitiful self... NOT pregnant. So here I am trying to do many of you a favour.. here I will list all of my "pregnancy symptoms" that were actually just signs of impending AF (or imaginary altogether) and, embarrassingly, a UTI:
* Sore nipples
* Sore breasts
* Bloating
* Frequent urination
* Heavy feeling in the belly
* Strong sense of smell
* Empty feeling in the tummy - frequent hunger

I'm only listing this as I think it would have helped me when I Googled my symptoms, instead of it telling me I was up the duff and getting my hopes up. You might be.. but you also might not. I really hope you actually are.

Anyway, I digress. Today I went into the city to pick up my medications. DP and DS came in with me  for a day out but I went into the clinic alone. The pharmacist asked if I knew what drugs I was picking up which freaked me out a bit.. aren't they supposed to know? Turns out I'm also meant to be taking Luveris on top of the Gonal-f and Cetrotide, which the nurses I spoke to didn't mention. Anyway, a call later confirmed they would send it to the clinic closer to home so I can pick it up when I go for my blood test on Friday. I might be starting them medications on Friday but I think I'll call them tomorrow to confirm AF started today, just in case. My plan is different this time so I just want to make sure I don't stuff anything up.

So we went out after the clinic & had a lovely day, however I had to carry the medications around everywhere in a cooler bag with an ice pack. It was a pretty warm day and I was a bit stressed worrying about whether they were cold enough!! :-/ DH & I had a few drinks with lunch (I always have a few leading up to a cycle just in case I have to abstain for at least 9 months after ;-) but I didn't have enough water to drink so subsequently I have been nursing THE.WORST.HEADACHE I think I've ever had (apart from migraines). Rookie mistake. Thanks Progynova.

My IVF timetable & supplement regime

I took a break from all supplements apart from my multivitamin since our last unsuccessful cycle in September. I find when I'm taking them, it's really difficult to take a mental break from TTC - I am reminded daily.

I started up again in December sometime I think, so it's only been around 6-8 weeks. I planned to get back into IVF in March so I would have a good 3 months to get my system back in shape & give the supplements time to kick in. But a work opportunity has come up from March onwards which will make it difficult to take time off for procedures. So, we're jumping right back in now. Here's our draft timetable for the full stim cycle:

* Feb 2 (CD21) - begin taking Progynova 2mg twice a day

* Feb 12 - go in for a blood test & pick up my other medications (Gonal-f & Cetrotide), if all is well, start morning Gonal-f (FSH) injections

* Feb 16 - begin morning Cetrotide injections

* Feb 19 - follicle scans & blood test

* Feb ?? - Trigger injection tba

* Feb 22 - estimated week of egg collection

And here's what supplements I'm taking:

* Elevit multivitamins- 1 daily
* Fish oil - 1500mg once daily
* Probiotics - broad spectrum 35 billion once daily
* CoQ10 - 150mg once daily
* Iron + C (GP put me on these as I was pretty low & exhausted)

I'm trying to up my protein intake, more salads, less sugar (difficult!) aaaaand.... I'm back on full fat organic milk. I went dairy free about 12 months ago due to bad acne (definitely helped) but I wonder if that's hindering my fertility these days? We'll see if that helps.

I'm back

Funny, it's just occurred to me - I wonder how many times I've begun a post with "Well, here we go again." At least it would be funny, if it wasn't so depressing.

I was planning to wait until March to do another (probably our final) round of IVF, so I could get fit & healthy.. but an opportunity has come up to do some freelance work for my old employer starting in March & possibly right through to October. This will mean weekly commitments that I have to stick to.. so no time off for procedures. I called the clinic to check I wasn't too late to start the Progynova this month.. I made it by the skin of my teeth.

So today I dragged my 3yo kicking & screaming (literally) into the city to pick up my drugs. Every single time I feel like a novice with no clue (especially when I've had a big break from it), but it doesn't help when I've been put on a different protocol the last few times! So I ask the nurses a LOT of questions. They seem a bit bemused by my ignorance, considering I should be a pro at all this by now!

I start taking 2mg of Progynova twice a day on Feb 2 (cycle day 21) and go back in on Feb 12 (regardless of whether AF has arrived) for a blood test & to pick up the other medications (Gonal-f & Cetrotide). Then hopefully my EPU should happen around the week beginning Feb 22................... the  date of my embryo transfer back in 2012, which resulted in the conception of my son.

Forty in Fiji.. and other F words

Well, I turned 40 on holiday in Fiji a couple of weeks ago.

It would have been a wonderful way to reach a new milestone....

... had my period not started the night before.



Fuck.

Birthday blasty on board..

Apologies for not updating sooner.. I wrote three quarters of a post a few days ago before Blogger had a conniption and I lost it all! Ugh.

Anyway, to cut to the chase - we have one Blastocyst on board! And nothing in the freezer.. as usual.

My belly is still bruised (the biggest one from acupuncture!), I'm still bloated, but mostly doing ok. I caught a head cold and then developed a tummy bug right before, during and after egg collection. Reeeeeeallllly not ideal timing! Of course I couldn't take anything apart from Paracetamol. The nurse in the day surgery asked if I was feeling well and I had to whisper to her about the upset stomach. She said it was probably fine. They only managed to retrieve two eggs.. which I guess I should be happy about seeing as it was one more than last time. I only had mild sedation (fentanyl) and a local anaesthetic. This time the sedation took effect straight away - this doctor didn't muck around! The room was spinning but at least it wasn't too painful. Hubby was allowed in with me but then I was wheeled back to my cubicle to recover and he was taken away for his TESA (testicular sperm aspiration) under a general anaesthetic (his choice LOL). They said it would take 20 mins or 40 mins depending on whether they had to try both sides. I had no watch or clock but I'm sure he was away for at least an hour! And nobody came to update me! Now hubby has a heart problem and they quizzed us repeatedly about his medication and whether he should have stopped taking it beforehand. Needless to say I was freaking out! In the end I buzzed a nurse. She went away for about 10 mins to find out and then wheeled me over to his cubicle where he was just waking up. Why they couldn't have just put him straight into my cubicle in the first place I don't know! They only ended up needing to work on one side so he would have been out of surgery for at least half an hour. So frustrating!

Anyway, lesson to self - if we have to go again, TAKE THE NEXT DAY OFF WORK! I was convinced I would be fine given my past procedures. However this time I had to start work at 3pm and felt like I'd been hit by a truck! The cold and diarrhea really didn't help either. So for the next three shifts I was allowed to start at 6pm and only do a 4.5hr shift. Thank god I quit my last job.. I NEVER would have had that flexibility!

So we had our transfer on Saturday (I had to go by myself as it was 7am in the city and our darling toddler usually sleeps in until 7.30am) and I had barely slept. We went out to dinner with friends the night before and they stayed til 11.30pm! We had our toddler babysat at home and I forgot to tell her he still wears a nappy to bed. So at 3am I was awoken by a sad little soul covered in pee. By the time I got back into bed my dodgy tummy was back I had trouble getting back to sleep. That 6am alarm was the worst sound I've ever heard! I just felt like everything was conspiring against me this cycle! But thankfully the scientist greeted me in the cubicle with the good news that we had one blastocyst. The other embryo was a bit slow so they were going to "keep an eye on it" and see if it developed further and caught up. They never do. I went straight to the acupuncturist after my transfer. She fitted me in despite it being her day off. She said it was the most important one so she would have made sure she could do it for me.

So now..... we wait. This time it's a bit different. We fly to Fiji on Saturday (I'll be 7dp5dt) for my 40th birthday and I'm still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Yes it will take my mind off things.. but I won't be able to go crazy and enjoy some deadly cocktails. I'm kind of kicking myself now. I should have listened to hubby but my usual impatience won out. I don't really know when my period is due as the Lucrin mucked up my cycle.. but I have a terrible feeling it's bang on my birthday. I'm stocking my suitcase up with sanitary products just in case.. and a few HPT sticks (although the Ovidrel I've been using for luteal support probably means I won't get an accurate result until a bit further on).

God this could all go horribly pear-shaped. This birthday will definitely be memorable.. but hopefully not for all the wrong reasons.