iamhealthiernow

A little behind on posting... but to cut to the chase, I have an egg retrieval day! Retrieval will be on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 @ 11:30 a.m. Now... the details. Monitoring Appointment #3, Friday October 26, 2018, Stim Day # 9 I thought this appointment would be the day where this cycle would be clear. But it really wasn't... there were maybe 5 follicles to work with and my estradiol levels were 722.7. At this point I knew we weren't going to have the egg retrieval on Monday (10/29). There was still a possibility of canceling the cycle. Monitoring Appointment #4, Sunday October 28, 2018, Stim Day #11  So, it was weird to stim longer than 10 days because I only had supplies for 10 days. The nurse told me on Friday that I should just not do my morning injections until after my appointment. Well, I didn't have any Menopur left anyways. The RE told me to just use ALL the remaining Gonal-F and do the Lupron shot - then I'd be done with injections. My estradiol level was 11...

I had my monitoring appointment yesterday. I'm not really sure what to make of it! The Right Ovary  There were 4 follicles: - 1 is way to big, most likely a cyst - 2 are also big, but not as big as the possible cyst - 1 is the "right" size, about 10 mm The Left Ovary - There are about 5-6 follicles, but they're all small, about 7-8 mm Apparently, the follicles on Day #7 of stims should be closer to 10mm. The follicles in the left ovary are more like Day #5 of stim size. From my Piper Patch IVF Notebook (( https://www.piperpatch.com/ ): When I received my E2 levels, I'm at a 494.9. My portal message: No changes to your medications! Please continue your most current dosing and continue to follow the calendar instructions at this time. See you at your next appointment on FRIDAY. If you have any questions please feel free to call us. The cycle was not cancelled. The thought process is, if the follicles in the left ovary keep progressing, we would skip the follicles in...

I had my monitoring appointment yesterday. In my early blog entries, I mentioned that my clinic has a "baby wall" that includes pictures of all the babies born with their help. When I went into the exam room, guess who is now on the wall -- my baby boy!!!! It brought so many emotions seeing his newborn picture on the baby wall. I used to cry looking at the pictures and wondering if I would ever be able to have a baby and if he/she would ever be on the wall... and now he is :) It brought me back to the reality of life and out of the funk that TTC can put you in. I always love seeing my RE. I showed him some pictures of my boys from the pumpkin patch and he gushed over how big my babies have gotten. He's such a nice guy. Back to the monitoring appointment... it didn't go so well. From my Piper Patch IVF notebook ( https://www.piperpatch.com/ ): There are 3 follicles in the right ovary, but they're growing too fast. One is so big, that they aren't counting it - i...

I started my Stims on Thursday, October 18th. It took me awhile to get into a rhythm with mixing the Lupron, Menopur, and Gonal-F. Four days in, I think I've finally got the hang of it and don't need to read any instructions anymore! Now... giving shots. It's still hard. I still have to do some deep breathing. A few times I've bled from my injection site, which historically has been rare for me. Today, on day #4 of stims, the needle burned going in. I did hesitate both times, which may be why it burned. Ugh. It doesn't make it easier for me to do my injections. Day #1 of Stims:  Other Things:  I did start my period after I stopped birth control. I don't think I've started my period each time before cycling, but I did this time. It wasn't light either... which I think it's supposed to be. But when I'm on birth control and other meds, my cycles are never "normal" really.  Headaches... not sure if it's due to my crappy week (more below...

It feels "official" now... I have started Lupron. I have to admit to feeling a bit intimidated with giving myself shots again. Which I think is so odd because I gave myself shots all throughout TTC and also throughout my pregnancy. Maybe I'm a bit traumatized by it all?  It took me a few minutes to calm myself down. I did some deep breathing, but I finally was able to do my injection. The morning one was the hardest! The evening one went a little faster, though I still hesitated.  But it's done. Day #1 of shots. Not officially "stimming" yet, but almost there.  Thing I'm glad I remembered to do: pump the needle. The needles can be hard to inject - by moving it up/down a few times before collecting the medicine, it makes it easier to push the plunger.  Here's my calendar from my Piper Patch Notebook ( https://www.piperpatch.com/ ) and a picture of my meds / lupron needle:  I really like the daily affirmation for today in the Piper Patch notebook :)   ...

I swear... the most stressful part of going through IVF isn't going through stims... or having endless monitoring appointments. It's trying to get the darn approvals through my insurance. What an absolute headache. Medical Insurance I received my approval for infertility coverage, which was good. But then I found out that they would not cover ICSI. Why? Because they said they only cover it if there is a semen analysis (SA) issue. The reasoning is: I'm using donor sperm, therefore there is no SA issue. Doing traditional insemination with IVF isn't really that reasonable since ideally you would have more sperm. The donor I have is an ART vial, meaning there are less sperm in the vial. It's itty bitty. I'm contesting the decision, but I can't help but be annoyed / irritated that they would say any one using donor sperm doesn't qualify for ICSI coverage. There is a reason people use donor sperm. Reminder of what ICSI does: Pharmacy I ordered my meds last wee...

It feels like such a long time to get this IVF cycle started... and here I am -- ALMOST there! Since the last time I wrote:  I stopped birth control on 9/17/18, as directed from my RE.  AF arrived on 9/20/18. I called my RE's office and my next directions were to start birth control again on 9/22.  TODAY I received my IVF calendar.  Some random things I forgot:  I tend to spot while I'm on birth control. So, it was kind of hard to determine if I was having the start of my period or just spotting from the birth control.  The WAITING for everything feels so very long... like insanely long. I thought I'd get my IVF calendar right away. Nope, just got it.  I have to give up caffeine during stims.... oh no... what ever will I do without my one cup of coffee in the morning... I feel total sadness over this, which is silly. LOL. But man, I love my morning coffee!  My mood swings on birth control are so bad. I swear, I hate being on it. I know it's going ...