i’m writing most of this in draft mode real time, but will blog later… so my recap will be partly in present tense {confusing, i know}.
suppression: 2 weeks
my doctor used his “birth control pill ganirelix gonadotropins” protocol. like all fertility treatment cycles, this one started with a baseline screening of an ultrasound and blood work. as mentioned here, i didn’t have a real cycle leading up to the start of this IVF cycle. i basically took a month break after our last IUI. my lazy ovaries and hormones did nothing, my uterus leaked a little blood, everything was at a baseline level, so all systems were go.
go for birth control pills that is. i took the pill for two weeks. i’m not 100% certain what the purpose was, but i believe they kept my hormone levels even so my RE could then take control of my cycle. i also read in the infertility survival handbook that starting with the pill enables REs to batch their patients, meaning that several patients will start the stimulation phase of IVF at the same time. maybe this is why my RE mentioned trying to start suppression and stimulation on a friday.
after two weeks of the pill, i had a four day break before another baseline screening, which occurred on a friday. by this time i started my period {or had withdrawal bleeding from the pill, really}. again, all systems were go, but this time for stimulation.
stimulation: days 1 through 4
stimulation began the next day with two different shots a day for four days {and antibiotics twice a day for 7 days}. at my first monitoring appointment, which was four days later, the RE on duty estimated 6 follicles in my right ovary and about 10 in the left with some variation in size. at this point i thought i was uncomfortable – i had no idea what was coming. my RE prepped me to expect 20+ follicles, so i was a bit disappointed with this screening and wondered if i had enough.
from day one of stims, i was instructed to drink 6-8 cups of water a day plus two gatorades, v-8s, or electrolyte waters. i don’t like v-8, so i’ve been drinking raspberry lemonade g2 {and occasionally an electrolyte water}. this makes me have to pee. all the time. exercise ceased on day 2 of stims. even walking was uncomfortable.
stimulation: days 5 & 6
nevertheless, nurse mary said everything looked good, so i continued on with two shots a day until my second monitoring appointment two days later. the RE on duty for that appointment estimated about 10 follicles in each ovary and relatively similar growth. i also had an acupuncture treatment in between my monitoring appointments. my acupuncturist said the treatment would likely help the follicles grow at the same rate, i guess he delivered. i felt a bit more confident after my second monitoring appointment.
at some point in this first week of treatment {maybe 4-5 days in}, i noticed that my tummy was having trouble digesting my evening meal. i started feeling, and still feel, overly full after dinner. it seems like my food is not digesting quickly, so then i get nauseous. so far, this feeling still exists at bedtime, so laying down isn’t the comfiest. and my sleep has started getting interrupted. hope that doesn’t affect egg quality. and i thought the peeing was excessive earlier in the week, i’m pretty sure the urge is stronger now. i suspect my big ole ovary is pressing on my bladder.
stimulation: days 7 through 9
after my second monitoring appointment, nurse alice {whom i love, she is seriously so sweet} called to say things look great. the same two shots would continue, but a third was added to the mix. my third monitoring appointment is tomorrow.
at this point, the peeing and evening meal symptoms still exist. but i’ve added constipation to the mix. i eat lots of fruits and veggies and healthy things, so not sure where this came from {except IVF stim of course}. and now i have the same nausea, food not digesting complaint after lunch. i also cannot fit the amount of food i would normally eat in my tummy, so my meals are getting smaller. perhaps the worst discovery yet is that my pants no longer fit {unless they are stretchy}. i’ve been living in dresses and running shorts. too bad i can’t wear running shorts to work. pants not fitting translates to a bloated and hard belly, so tummy shots are actually quite painful now. i’m also walking at turtle speed because even that too has become uncomfortable. the past two nights of sleep have been almost nonexistent. instead, i mostly listen to the hubs breathe loudly and pinterest search. i also had my first decent cry yesterday {i’m surprised it took this long with all of these hormones}. the last noteworthy symptom is excessive cervical mucus. so much that i started to worry an early ovulation was impending. i talked to nurse deniese {also really nice} about this yesterday, and she said all of the hormone injections are to blame.
stimulation: day 10
my third monitoring appointment went well enough i suppose. i didn’t get a count update, but it seemed like the doctor on duty measured a fair amount in each ovary. i was also told my lining was “pretty” {too bad we are planning to do a frozen transfer}. the doctor did mention that there was variation in size again, so i went to acupuncture again today to see if that would help things out. nurse alice gave me instructions for another day of stims {hopefully my last}. i go in for another monitoring appointment tomorrow morning. hopefully tomorrow will be trigger day, with retrieval on thursday.
as for my symptom diary, the most noteworthy addition is groin pain. my walking pace is even slower {didn’t think that was possible}, and i will avoid stairs like the plague the rest of the week. when giving myself a pre-filled shot tonight, some of the medication came back out. eek! that’s definitely a way to make a girl worry. i emailed nurse alice who promptly responded that everything should be totally fine {she seriously is the best – not sure where mary went, but i’m not complaining}.
stimulation: day 11/trigger day
my fourth monitoring appointment was today. the ultrasound was especially uncomfortable today {specifically on the right ovary}. i had 4 follicles that were 20mm+ and approximately 15 that were in the 15-19mm range. my RE ordered 100 additional units of stims ASAP midday. later, nurse mary {who was actually really helpful and nice today} called with my evening instructions for the trigger. at 10 pm tonight, i will take lupron and novarel. i will go in for blood work at precisely 10 am tomorrow to make sure the trigger was effective. if all is well, retrieval will be at 10 am on thursday.
if i did my math correctly, i gave myself a total of 27 tummy shots this cycle. i have my own little sharps container, and it’s getting pretty full. guess i need to figure out how to properly dispose of this thing.
day minus one: trigger blood work day
i reported to my RE’s office promptly at 10 am. exactly 12 hours after the trigger, my RE needs to see if my body responded. nurse mary called 4 hours later to say everything looked great and that i should arrive at my RE’s office tomorrow at 9 am for a 10 am retrieval.
the overly nauseous symptom after eating has subsided. i stated that i would avoid stairs, but actually voluntarily went up a flight tonight. it was uncomfortable, but worth it. hubby and i are under contract on a new home, and we had the opportunity to tour our place and see the progress this evening. it is coming together nicely and should be done at the end of the month.
retrieval day!
yesterday (thursday) was the big day! i wasn’t as nervous as i anticipated i would be. i actually slept a decent amount the night before {i usually have insomnia before an important surgery or procedure}. hubby and i arrived at my RE’s office around 8:45 am and said a quick prayer in the car before heading into the office. i completed and signed some paperwork, hubby “produced” his sample, and then we waited for 30 minutes before being called back to the pre-op area. i was so lucky to get to wear a super fashionable hospital gown {thankfully i got to keep my bra on}. at some point i met the anesthesiologist, mary anne (sp?), who was incredibly nice and really good at starting an IV with minimal pain. we learned from mary anne that my ovaries, which are normally the size of a walnut, are now the size of a small orange {that explains my discomfort}. later, my RE and nurse mary came to say hi and review the procedure a few minutes before i went back for surgery. i emptied my bladder one last time, walked into the OR with mary anne, got positioned on the operating table with the help of a whole team of nurses {all modesty gone at this point as my legs got strapped into stirrups}, and then i was out.
the next thing i know, i’m waking up back in my pre-op room {which is now my post-op room}. i don’t remember very much other than showing someone (maybe mary anne) pictures of our new house, almost vomiting, and asking hubby numerous times to get the heart monitor to stop making noises. after almost getting sick, mary anne helped me out with two different types of nausea drugs and some pain medicine {IVs are seriously the best – medication is effective almost instantly}. mary anne also put some alcohol swabs under my nostrils, which helped with the nausea. i also had to seriously urinate. hubby and someone (maybe mary anne) helped me get to the bathroom without falling {i was super dizzy}.
at some point during the recovery process, my RE stopped by to say that i had 25 eggs! 25. holy smokes. he said they were transferred to the incubator where they would get acclimated to their new environment for the next several hours, and then later in the day would be fertilized with hubby’s swimmers via ICSI. i will share a fertilization report later.
after urinating, i came back to the post-op room and sat up for a few minutes. after successfully not vomiting or passing out, hubby helped me get dressed. a nurse came in with some post-op instructions and a prescription for two different types of nausea meds and cabergoline. because i had so many eggs, i’m at a high risk for developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). the pregnancy hormone, hcg, makes this worse, so this is the main reason why my RE opted to freeze any embryos we have and transfer later. using luperon for the trigger shot minimizes chances of developing OHSS, as does taking cabergoline. i’m truly thankful for an RE who puts my health first, even though i’d love to have a fresh transfer this cycle.
on the way home, hubby and i dropped off my prescriptions. once we got home, hubby helped me get situated in bed before he ran back out to pick up my prescriptions and a pancake for breakfast/lunch/snack {whatever you want to call it as it was 2 pm at this point}. i took my nausea meds after lunch and had no issues the rest of the day. i also took colace per nurse mary’s recommendation because apparently constipation can be worse after retrieval. other than getting up to eat, take medication, or pee, i pretty much slept all day. my pain levels were definitely under control {i have more discomfort today}.
hubby and i have prayed throughout this process that all would go smoothly. the Lord hears our prayers. even though i’m not pregnant yet and we are pursuing IVF to become parents, God is watching out for us. it will all work out in His time.
Tales of an Empty Womb 