2/6/2017 0 Comments IVF day before retrieval.Phew. If today is any indication as to how the two week wait will be, well... who knows how I'll do. Today is the first day I haven't had anything TO DO for such a long time. With hormone injections, doctor's appointments, job interviews, project managing our basement renovation, I always have stuff on the go. Gym sessions, meeting with people, job hunting, etc. I like to be busy all the time.
Not today! Today is a "rest day". So I'm just sitting here watching IVF vids on YouTube and trying not to freak out about ER. I know we have an excellent number of follicles and we'll probably have a good egg count, but I'm still feeling nervous. And relaxing is probably the most important thing to do right now. Grrr. I've read a lot of conflicting advice about what I should be eating (and shouldn't be) and I'm pretty confused. Apparently salty things could help right now. Oh and if you're reading this and still haven't done stims yet, buy yourself some BIGGER pants. I'm so bloated and I just wish I didn't have to wear pants at all. But I do! It's cold! ;) Wish me luck for tomorrow.
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2/5/2017 0 Comments IVF TRIGGER SHOT day!So this morning's visit to the fertility clinic went well - I'm ready to go! Which comes with a massive bonus - I only had one more shot to do today, my trigger shot. The trigger shot tells your body to ovulate. So instead of three needles, I just had the one. And it wasn't a bad one, didn't hurt at all. It can be so intimidating, looking at boxes and boxes of meds. And tonight we got to the bottom of the boxes.
Here are my numbers, If you're into that sort of thing: I have at least 15 mature follicles and at least 10 eggs. I am counting on more eggs (like, 12?) for retrieval day, but 10 is okay too. Next steps: tomorrow, do nothing. Next day, wake up at 6am, take an antibiotic and then head to the hospital for retrieval. We'll then talk to our doctor about how many we want to fertilize with J's sperm and how many we want to use our donor sperm with. I'm not sure about that, it really depends on how J's sperm does when we thaw it. (Unfreeze it?) I really, really, really want to have one to transfer (that works) and one for later so I don't have to go through this process again! It was pretty crazy. I don't know how many needles I've had over the past two weeks, but it's been a LOT of needles. I didn't enjoy that part. But here we are, so close to the end and so close to having a pregnancy. We are so full of hope. 2/4/2017 0 Comments stims day 8Today's Day 8 of stims (technically it's my "day 11"... or was it "day 12"?). I had a monitoring appointment yesterday morning, this morning and I'll have one tomorrow morning. They're monitoring me every day (and monitoring means bloodwork and a transvaginal ultrasound which is quite unpleasant) and I really hope tomorrow is my last. After tomorrow's meds, I'll be out of menopur and tonight I'll be out of ganirelix. We ordered the meds a long time ago, which I was still working, to ensure I could get them covered. The only issue with that is that my doctor had to guess how much medication I would need. She was pretty close but I think we will need some more and I'm not sure how much it will cost.
To do this whole thing, we've been incredibly lucky with subsidizing this cycle. IVF was covered by Ontario Health Insurance (OHIP) and meds were covered by my health insurance. That's probably a savings of about $15,000. We're doing ICSI, so that would have been another couple grand, I think, so that's factored in to my figure. J did a surgery called microtese, which cost us about $3000 out of pocket. That's really been our only cost. I know I've mentioned this before, but we are really grateful and lucky to be where we are. Being out of work since August has not helped with stress or our finances and I am a bit nervous about starting a job (if I do get one in the near future) while pregnant. I don't want to tell my new employer that I got pregnant the same time they hired me! But, circumstances are what they are, so I'm doing my best to roll with things. That all being said, any extra meds we have to buy is kind of gut punch because they're so fucking expensive. I think the menopur is probably about $80 a shot (thinking about that makes me appreciate those shots a bit more) and I have no idea how much another few doses of ganirelix will be. I guess I'll find out tomorrow! The important thing is that I'm so close to the finish line , I can almost see it now. The appointment today revealed that they can see 18 follicles and at least 10 eggs at this point. Apparently that's a lot of follicles. I guess we want about 15 eggs (some people have 40!) because I read somewhere that 15 is the best number to have before sacrificing quality. That could be a load of nonsense, I just read it in some online newspaper. Anyway, we'll know more tomorrow! Now for some Saturday night pizza before my dreaded shots. 2/3/2017 0 Comments IVF ESSENTIALS (REvised).Oh boy, am I ever sick of IVF. I'm on Day 7 of stims and let me tell you, it does not get better. The side effects are really happening now. Bloating, tiredness, emotions, it's all happening. Today I went for an ultrasound and bloodwork and despite having an appointment for Sunday, they've moved it up to tomorrow (Saturday) instead. I am READYYY for this to be over. Those shots are not my favourite. So, as shit gets real(er), I have a revised list for an IVF care package now that I know a little bit more.
Everything else is subjective, I didn't really need anything else. A good TV show (Life in Pieces is my Netflix comedy pick) for after you do the shots is important. I find that if I eat a big dinner, I get a stomachache. I don't normally eat sugar and I ate ice cream last night after the shots and had some nasty stomach cramps. So I'd just keep the food around injection time light. After my injections, J makes me a peppermint tea. Tonight I feel like the tea is going to start spurting out of my injection sites! Hopefully tomorrow they'll be able to tell me my egg retrieval date and I will know the end to my stint as a human pincushion. 2/1/2017 0 Comments ivf youtubers.Since starting IVF, I've been scouring the internet for information and advice. At my clinic, they give you an informative scientific video when you DECIDE to do IVF. Since J and I were waiting for over a year to actually do the IVF, that video is long forgotten. AND it's boring and way too technical for my purposes. I've found the IVF/infertility board over at thebump.com very supportive and informative. Everyone there is great AND they give good advice.
I've also been obsessively watching YouTubers (in)fertility vlogs because it's easier and more relatable than reading scientific stuff. I've watched some (a lot of) really bad ones, but here are a few that I have found really helpful. IVFChic The woman who does these videos is really likeable and relatable. Her videos are pretty amateur, but I like that about her. She goes through the IVF process from the POV of someone like me, someone new to the IVF process taking it as it comes. (TW: She does end up pregnant. She mentions MC) Ayla and Caleb Okay. These cuties are young (they're in their early 20s) and can sometimes be .... well, young. If you can get past that and the cheesy titles, the videos are super raw and honest. This couple goes through a few rounds of IVF and is now pursuing adoption (as their IVF unfortunately didn't end with pregnancy). The thing I like about these videos is that you get a real sense of the emotional toll this process takes. Phil and Alex (pictured above, from their YT channel) This couple is really great - the only thing I'm not super into is how religious they are, but that's just my personal preference. They're pretty into filming everything, so their channel is super informative. They did a round of IVF but I'm not sure how it turned out. They're adoptive parents of two kids. This one is just a well-rounded channel about infertility and the challenges that come along with it. Living Rosa I love these ladies! Tara and Mandi did reciprocal IVF, which I didn't really know about until I saw these videos. They are just the best. Their journey is really interesting and inspiring. This injection video from a younger patient who is donating her eggs pretty much belongs in a Judd Apatow movie. You'll see why if you watch it long enough. Girl, I really hope you dump that dude in the background. You can do betterrrrr!!! |
AuthorCall me M. The About page should lower those expectations of yours. Archives
November 2017
CategoriesAll Celebrities Clomid Femera Fertility Hormones Infertility IUI IVF Male Infertility Mental Health Mindfulness TWW |