A good harvest

Things are looking up. I went to the doctor today and we saw 9 eggs! Yes 9. This time there were 5 on my right, the good side, and 4 on the left. There were 4 good looking eggs on the right. My E2 level went up to 255 which is great. He said it may get up into the 1000's since there are so many eggs. I have been praying for the last few days that god blesses us one good egg on the good side. Well, not that a miracle has happened yet but I got 4 good looking ones on the good side so he has answered my prayers. They keep my meds the same. On Friday I go in for another ultra sound and blood draw. I should be doing the IUI early next week. I am looking forward to it. The guy who did the blood draw today wasn't very gentle. My arm hurt for a while. I like the ladies better, they are nicer =)

The doctor laughed at me. I asked him about my E2 level being high then dropping. I said I did some research on it, he cut me off and chuckled "You did research". I said of course that is what I do, I want to know what everything is. He said I was correct that is was a sign of low ovarian reserve and that I did have a high FSH before. He said don't worry right now things are coming along well. I am not one of those people who just goes in wanting the doctor to tell them a little and prescribe something. I want to know why, how and if you don't give it to me I will figure it out. I continue to pray that everything goes well, that is all I can do at this point.

E2 yoyo

I got my E2 results today. It dropped down to 77. I asked if it was normal to drop and she said in a polite way not really. Maybe I read into it. I guess everyone is different but I think it is unusual to drop after being so high. She wasn't concerned since I had 3 follicles that looked really good. I will stay at 150IU until Wednesday when I go in for another ultra sound and blood draw. They may actually up the dose more. I am starting to get bloated so I will need to start wearing my fat shirts, good thing they are in style! I have had a headache all day and feel really tired. This may be that I was out all day yesterday. I am trying to keep my mind off things. I keep researching what all the numbers mean but I may be driving myself crazy. Luckily DH called to say he is bringing home Chevy's. Yummmm. I haven't had it in a while. Good food always makes you feel better.

5 little eggs

On Friday my E2 or estradial was 169. This tells where the eggs are at in development. Because it was high, should be around 100, they reduced my meds to 75IU. This morning I went to get an ultra sound and another E2 test. I was a little surprised when the doctor came in and it wasn't my doctor or even the one I see sometimes on the weekend. He didn't even introduce himself. Oh well. I have 5 follicles right now. One on the right and 4 on the left. I was a little surprised that I only had 5 I thought I would have like 7. There are 3 that look promising all on the left. This means my left side is gonna hurt!

Since I only had 5 and my E2 was high they bumped up my meds back up to 150IU. They will give me the E2 results tomorrow which may change my meds again. The bad news is my E2 levels shouldn't be this high with only 5 follicles. A couple of years ago I had an FSH level test which test the quality and ovarian reserve of your eggs. It was 13.5 at my age it should be under 10. They didn't seem to concerned with it but it has been in the back of my mind. I just looked up the E2 level and found that it goes back to having a low ovarian reserve. This makes me sad. It is not that I can't ever have a baby but my chances get lower and lower as time goes by because of my eggs. After FSH reaches 16 then it gets worse so I have a little time. This is all my research and the doctor really doesn't mention it but I am going to ask about it in a few days. They said I will probably go back on Tuesday or Wednesday for another ultra sound and E2.

The shots are going well. The only thing is I am bruising. I have 4 tiny burses on my stomach. The one from last night looks the worst. I was thinking about making a pattern, maybe a heart or smiley face =) I had to do enough shots to make a smiley face on each side. This is totally weird but I think it would lighten the mood.

Infertility can get you out of a ticket

Today I was on my way to get a blood draw. I was down the street when a motorcycle cop pulled me over. Usually when you get pulled over they ask you why you think you were pulled over and where you were heading. I knew I wasn't speeding so the only thing I could think of was registration.
Let me back up alittle. DH bought a car and we are trying to sell his truck. It has been sitting in the drive way for a couple of months. Last week we needed it for some work we had to do so we renewed insurance on it to drive it. The last couple of weeks my car has felt funny. I needed 4 tires replace and we only got 2 a couple of months ago so I figured the other 2 were ready to be replaced. I thought since we are paying for IUI I would drive the truck for a couple of weeks.

I was right about the expired tags. I was thinking to myself if he asks where I was going should I say the med center? for a blood draw? to a dr. appointment? or would he be sympathetic to fertility treatment? I decided to tell him fertility treatments and that is why we can't afford new tires for my car and registration. Unfortunately he didn't ask! Boooo. He was actually really nice and I explained we were trying to sell it. He gave me a fix it ticket. He asked for my insurance but I couldn't find it, I don't think the new card was in the car yet. He asked for an old one, couldn't find that, DH keeps all kinds of crap in the car. He asked me if I was telling the truth and I said yes. Then I found an old one. He said I looked honest and he wouldn't fine me or write a fix it ticket for that.
I guess it is $900 if you don't have insurance. I would have lost it then and said "Please don't do that we are trying to have a baby, that could by 3 boxes of Gonal f". It is funny that everything I do now makes me think what I can do for that.
There is a vitamin B study where I work and I thought hmmm....it pays $250 that would buy 1/2 an ultrasound. Weird I know! I am just waiting now to hear from the nurse my lab results so I know how much GF I need to shoot myself with tonight.

The morning after

Last night I did my first Gonal f shot. This morning I woke up fine but as I was driving to work I got a headache. I get them on ocasion, especially after I do a lot of shoulder work outs, which I did last night. I also had a stomach ache and a sharp pain in my side all day. Is this from GF? I sure hope not. If so I am in for a long 2 weeks because I only did one shot and feel like crap. I looked at the side effects:

ovarian enlargement presenting as abdominal or pelvic pain, tenderness, pressure, or swelling;
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or flatulence (gas);
fever or chills;
headache;
dizziness;
rapid pulse or heart rate;
muscle or joint weakness or aching;
breast tenderness;
spotting or menstrual changes;
pain, swelling, or irritation at the injection site; or
dry skin, a rash, or hair loss.

Lets see....headache (check), nausea (check), diarrhea (check), pelvic pain (check), muscle aching (check)

Not all but a few. I can't wait for hair loss and ovarian enlargement. We will see how I feel tomorrow. I will have 2 holes in my stomach and one in my arm. I hope I don't start leaking after I drink water.

Dismantling a Bomb

I did it!! or shall I say WE did it. The first shot of Gonal f was successful. It didn't really hurt which is good and by the 12th time I do it I'm sure it will be cake. After we finished I felt a little like we just dismantled a bomb in the movies. We got out the meds and I pulled out the directions. DH prepared the meds and I started reading. First do this and I would watch as he so carefully did what I said. Next do that, again he was so careful and waited until I finished to start on each step. It was as though I was saying "first cross the blue wire over the red etc.." Then it was my turn. He handed over the needle as though it was a precious bomb that could go off at anytime. I pinched my skin and as I was shaking I counted down 3,2,1 and jabbed it in. DH watched from the side as I counted slowly to 5 then pulled it out. We both made a sigh of relief and we were done. We smiled and I said " same time tomorrow".

I feel like we just accomplished something great as a team and hope that each night that same feeling will come. Let's hope that the bomb doesn't go off and we save the world, or just have a baby.

Job opening

The other day I was thinking about how much organizational skills it takes to go through a treatment. I am not doing IVF but IUI with injections is close. I feel like there should be a job description posted when you start and you need to see if you are qualified. The description would be something like this.

Seeking potential mother

Qualifications:
well organized
ability to mulittasks
works well with others
basic math skills required
ability to work well in stressful environment
flexible
good communication skills
ability to prioritze and make difficult decisions
must be able to work weekends and holidays


I am sure I am missing some. Luckily I am skilled in many of these areas so I hope I get the job. I have been thinking about other people they may not be this way and I can't imagine how stressful it is trying to keep it all straight.

I start shots tonight! Wish me luck.