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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Not only has the fat lady sung, she's packed her bags and left the building with Elvis

3 That's as good as zero. So I've stopped all of the meds and I'm now waiting for a period. Based on past history that should be about a week putting us at about September 3. We can do a FET immediately if we want to. I was hesitant because when projecting an estimated due date that puts us at the end of May beginning of June, just a few weeks after my nephew's Bar Mitzvah. Did we want to take that chance? However, on talking with V, we do. So, we are currently planning to do the FET immediately. Stay tuned for further updates. :)

Thank you all for you wish, prayers and hopes over the last week. It's been immensely comforting to know all of you out in the internet are cheering for us.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Crap!

Okay, it's dropping. Now it's 13. This is definitely not what I wanted to see. But she said that they've seen it happen where it drops and then rises so right now they aren't thinking anything about this. She asked if I had any bleeding (nope) or cramping (mild and not constant). So, I'm back in on Wednesday for beta#3. Now interestingly, 13 is our lucky number, so hopefully this means that things will turn around. Fingers are crossed.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

21

Yep, the number is in and it's 21. Not exactly where I wanted to see it at 14dp3dt but technically a positive. The clinic likes to see at least 20 so as the nurse said we're "cautiously optimistic". I have to return for another beta on Monday. Let's we see good doubling.

Meanwhile, V and I are going to enjoy the weekend. We're off to a barbeque and then up to the Casino to see UB40 and play some slots/poker. Tomorrow is brunch at my mother's with my brother and his family who are in town for a couple of days.

So, keep fingers, toes and anything else crossed for us. I'll post Monday when I know something.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Something to pass the time...

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!



You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.


Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

8dp3dt

Halfway through the two week wait. Man, I hate this. Time isn't exactly standing still, but it's not moving very quickly. It's the same lament that all of us have when we're waiting to find out if a cycle worked or not.

I'm feeling good. Still have a low grade fever but it fluctuates. I did some reading on Friday, which was 6dp3dt and technically when the embryos could be implanting, and found that if one is checking their temperature daily they will notice that there can be a drop in temp during implantation. It happens that mine did drop to almost normal on Friday, and it is back up again since then. I'm trying not to read much into this. I had some minor cramping on Thursday and Friday and then it's stopped. I am sleeping more than usual and have found that I'm falling asleep by 9pm which is definitely early for me.

Anyway, half way and still debating whether or not to POAS. The earliest I'd do it would be Tuesday which will be 10dp3dt. Still thinking.

On the non-IF issues at home, V is recovering from having all of his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. He's impatient with his recovery and getting very tired of the "soft" diet he's on. There's only so long he seems to tolerate soup, pudding, yogurt, jello and such. He has taken advantage and managed have way more of his favourite Fro.sty from We.ndy's. Hopefully the swelling will reduce as he still has some and the pain will go.

Anyway, it's a beautiful Sunday here. Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

4dp3dt

I thought I'd just pop in and say there's nothing going on. I've been carrying on as normal, just taking things easier. I've noticed twinges etc down in the abdominal area but I could just be more aware of them and they mean nothing. Yesterday I definitely felt light-headed and dizzy. And I've been feeling much warmer than normal, such that I checked and I seem to have a low grade fever. I've been exhausted for the last 4 days or so but that can just be the PIO shots. Boobs don't really bother me, but they are a little tender...again, PIO.

I've been home for a couple of days because V had all four of his wisdom teeth out yesterday. Not a happy camper. :( But he's managing. He's really hoping he can eat something more substantial than pudding, yogurt, jello and soup by the weekend.

I called into the clinic today since we'd not heard back about the 5 embryos that were being left to grow to blast. They said that none of them made it to freeze, so we've got our 6 on ice for the future.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Third Time's a Charm (we hope)



We were booked for 11am Saturday. When I got the message on Friday, sans any updated info on how the embryos were doing, I said to V. that the doctor must not have any retrievals scheduled and that we are likely the first transfer. From what I'd always noticed on the posted schedule behind the receptionist, he usually starts in the IVF suite at 11am after the morning monitoring is done. Boy was I wrong. :)

We needed to be down by 10:45am with a full bladder but V. wanted to make sure we were there early to ensure things got going on time (provided the Doc wasn't detained in the clinic). But every good intention gets derailed. We had planned on going out for breakfast first but in the end had to just settle for a fast McD's breakfast and the go down. We did reach at 10:45 but found a full house. There were two retrieval's I think, and at least one other transfer already waiting. But I found out that they've now got two rooms, so he's able to get through the procedures quicker as he doesn't need to wait for the room to be prepped for the next patient. In any case, when we arrived they had the ultrasound tech check me to see what state my bladder was in. I was deemed good...."don't pee, don't drink". So we waited. We'd brought the DS with us so V. played video games and I relaxed and dosed off. The doctor came around about 90 minutes after we got there and did a retrieval first. Some time after noon they moved us into one of the procedure rooms. My bladder was checked and even though I felt okay then, I was told to pee one styrofoam cup's worth. I'm glad she did because I think it was still at least another half hour before he got in to do our transfer. I think he actually came in about 12:50 because I was done and back in my cubby relaxing by 1:15 with instructions to rest for 10-15 minutes and then empty my bladder.....slowly. I was okay so I actually waited almost a half hour for good measure.

We had 9 "beautiful 9 and 10 cell, grade A embryos" and there were five more slower ones that they were going to let go to blast before freezing. That meant that all 14 were still going strong! So, he asked us how many we wanted to transfer, two or three. Now, I'd been thinking about three but I didn't think he'd do it because the donor is 24 and there've been good results with her other couples and herself. Plus he's never mentioned transferring three before. However, he was willing to transfer three provided we would agree to reduce if there were triplets. He is adamant that he doesn't want me carrying three (scary thought that) but he did say it increased the chances of twins. V and I had a quick chat and he was okay with agreeing and I've now got three embryos on board.

As much as I would have liked to have just gone home and put my feet up for the rest of the weekend, we've actually got a somewhat busy two days. However, we've had a baby shower in the afternoon and then there is the Earth,Wind & Fire concert this evening. The shower I figured I could handle but I passed on the concert so V. was headed up there with his sister and cousins. Sunday has us relaxing for part of the day with a bbq at some friends for the late afternoon/evening. That should be fine as well. I just want to take it easy. Once we got home I was able to stay off my feet and actually took a nap until it was time to head out.

So without further ado, meet Huey, Dewey and Louie.... This time we remembered to bring the camera in to get a shot of the screen when they show us the embryos.



Now for the 2ww....hopefully it won't be too stressful.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

For the benefit of my LB

Working at the Car Wash... working at the car washer....

So, it would seem that even with my bloody ear ache, AND the jaw hinge and facial pains of the ever present impacted wisdom teeth, AND the wonderful world of Advil Extra Strength Gel caps flowing in my system, AND the lack of sleep AND the anxiety AND my not so helpful wife yesterday morning, that there was enough will in the "boys" to make the effort to do their part. After the washing to have only six of the 20 not respond is fabulous. I guess the boys work best after a good bath.

Are you gagging yet little brother? :)

Having done this before does NOT diminish the funny feeling one gets as a man, walking around the floor of the clinic with one's dirty little secret in a small brown paper bag. It's not the staff of the clinic but ALL the other women's eyes staring at you. Yes, they know what IT is for but they are still seeing IT in your hands being traversed about like nobody's business right in front of them. The looks are not "good on you man, way to go, nice stepping up there fella"... it is more along the lines of "uhm, you going to submit that or play with it longer? Hurry up and put IT away for crying out loud" or just plain "EWWWWWW".

We hope to one day soon, return back to those ladies and show them that a little paper bag goes a long way as we show off the fruits of Pam's labour. In the meantime, we'll keep washing. Oh yes, I had to get that last one in little one. Just. For. You.

Peace. :)

V.

OMG!!

14!!!

We have 14 fertilized embryos of the 20 retrieved! This is more than twice what we had on our shared donor cycle last fall. We'll know tomorrow how they're doing and what time transfer will be on Saturday.

V and I are beyond thrilled with this news!

Thanks all for the good wishes!

(I think I got a little exclamation happy)

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Retrieval - UPDATED!!!

Our donor had her retrieval today. I have no idea how many eggs they were able to get. Apparently they don't usually call with this number, just tomorrow with the fertilization report. My nurse said she'd find out and call me but I'm thinking since it's now 5pm, she forgot. I've sent her a quick email just in case she's still there, but I'm not expecting to find out anything until tomorrow.

Today went well for us. We got down about 9am. V went off to do his bit and I collected my progesterone in oil as well as prescriptions for more estrace and the fragmin. I also had the nurse give me the PIO shot as V was occupied. They like everyone to get all meds from the clinic, but I usually get them to write prescriptions for pretty much everything so I don't have to pay upfront and just have them go through on our plans. The PIO, however, is another story as they get it made specially for them and they like us to buy it directly from them. No big deal really it just means I have to manually submit the claim. Since I was getting the receipt for the donor's meds anyway to submit, it wasn't no biggie.

The only stressful part was the call I got yesterday from the billing department to let me know that the donor used more meds than were covered by our drug deposit and we had an outstanding balance. Not something you really want to hear or have to deal with on this particular day. They're really good though. She is well aware of how much people are spending (duh!) and how stress is not a good part of the mix, so she just wanted to be sure to let us know and have us make some arrangement prior to transfer so we aren't hassled about it on Saturday. V wasn't impressed by their timing but what can you do. Needless to say I spoke to the business manager today and we worked out something. Easy peasy.

So after I'd worked out everything with the billing department, gotten my meds and my PIO shot, I just sat down and waited for V before we both headed off to our respective employers. Today he was able to just walk to the office as he was working downtown. I on the other hand had to navigate across the city arriving at work at 11am.

So, if I find out anything tonight about the number retrieved I'll update here. Otherwise, look for a new post tomorrow. Meanwhile we're off to see Avenue Q tonight!!

ttfn



UPDATED:

20 eggs retrieved!!! She didn't say otherwise, so I'm hoping these are all mature. I'm ecstatic with this! We've never had this many before. I'll post later today when I find out how many fertilize.

Monday, August 04, 2008

It's a go!!

The donor is triggering tonight!!

Retrieval is Wednesday and transfer will be Saturday. I am going to do the right thing and pass on the Earth, Wind & Fire concert as much as I want to see them.:)

I didn't bother asking about the numbers for the donor. Yesterday she had said there wasn't much change and thought we'd be going to Thursday for retrieval. She said that she also thought we were looking at 16 follicles still.

V. and I are taking the doxycycline, an antibiotic, starting today for three days. We're to show up Wednesday between 8:30 and 9:30 for V to give his sample and me to get the progesterone shot and collect the rest of my meds. We'll get the call later in the week as to what time transfer will be on Saturday.

Anyway, that's it for now. It's a holiday here in Ontario, so if you're off, enjoy the day. If you're working, I hope it's a good one.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Saturday Update

The donor was in again this morning for cycle monitoring. I got an email from the donor coordinator saying the following:

Your donor was in today..things look good...we are looking at approx, 16 follicules, as viewed on ultrasound, they are more or less 16mm in size, which is ok for day8 of stimulation, we appear to be on track, however, we'll have a better idea when she returns in the am.....

So although she doesn't give me the detailed measurements, I'm happy. :)

It looks like we're on track for a call Sunday or Monday that retrieval will be Tuesday or Wednesday. That's my guess anyway. We'll obviously know better tomorrow. It's not long now.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Friday, August 01, 2008

Roundup Extravaganza

Mel over at Stirrups Queens is an amazing writer and queen of the IF bloggers. Her Stirrup Queens blog is sort of like the "go to" blog for all things Infertility. She maintains, how I don't know, a blogroll of something like 900 blogs and keeps them categorized so you can just jump to Egg Donor, Adoption or whatever you're looking for. She also does these Blog Roundups where she puts it out to all of us asking for participants. We're assigned a blog and told to choose one post from the last year that was our favourite and say why in 2-3 sentences. It's all done anonymously so the blogger doesn't know who was assigned their blog. Today was the day Mel posted the Round Up. Go and check it out. My reader chose a post of mine that was hard for me to write but is one of my favourite. This is what she chose and why.

What would Brian Boitano Do? At one time or another, I think we contemplative infertiles have all considered the impact our own parents have had on us as we navigate the tough rows we all hoe in order to have a child. In this post, Pam craftily weaves her feelings on the early loss of her father with thoughts on what he might have felt about her current journey toward parenthood--and also weaves in a clip from South Park. You gotta love it--humor, pathos, sincerity, love, and hope all in one post! These things I think we can all understand.



I commented on Mel's post but I thought I'd put it here as well.

I'm #136 on the list. Writing that post was hard for me and reading it today still brings tears to my eyes for my Dad and what we lost together. When I wrote that post V. and I were just getting ready to start our first egg donor cycle. Unfortunately it was a negative as was the eventual frozen transfer we did in March.

We were fortunate enough to be matched unexpectedly with a new donor a couple of months ago and are just in the midst of our cycle with retrieval coming up in less than a week. I have the same emotions today as I did then regarding my father and how he would have felt.

Thank you Mel, and thank you to my reviewer for choosing this post. I was an important one for me.