So, I'm going to try the Follistim injections one more time. If I don't get pregnant this cycle, Eddie and I will move on to IVF. I had an u/s on Tuesday and everything looked fine. Actually, I have more antral follicles than I've ever had. We counted over 60....YIKES! Most people have 8-15. Hopefully, only 2 or three will mature and produce some good eggs. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I started out with 50iu of Follistim tonight. It's amazing how easy the shots are for me now. I've been doing my own injections for over a year now, so it really is second nature. I used to pull the medicine out of the fridge and let it warm up and then I would close my eyes because I couldn't stand the sight of sticking myself in the gut with a needle. Now, I just take it out of the fridge and inject away. I actually watch myself doing the shot and it's quite impressive that I practically don't feel a thing anymore. Ah, the things we do and get used to while trying to get pregnant.
On a side note, Eddie called me at work and said that he was on his way to Chicago. His firm needed him and several other associates to go through some files, so off he went. He'll be back on Tuesday, which should be just in time for his much needed "services." I'm frustrated that he had to go on such a short notice and that he'll be gone so long, but I guess I should be happy that him being gone is paying the bills.
Time for some sleep, as I've picked up two extra shifts since Eddie will be gone this weekend. On a positive note, his being gone should give me more time to update my blog more regularly! :)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
And yet another one...
Congratulations to my sister, Margaret! She delivered a healthy baby girl yesterday at 2:21 p.m. She named her baby Sarah Elizabeth. Sarah was 6 lb. 12 oz, 19 1/2 inches, and 3 weeks early. As happy as I am for her, I'm still sad and mad. I have been trying for two years to get pregnant. When she announced her pregnancy back in August, I thought SURELY I would get pregnant before she delivered. Ah, dare to dream! I really am happy for her. Now, I would just like to be pregnant before she gets pregnant again. She won't be trying for another year, so at least I have a little more time.
We got the phone call at 9:50 yesterday morning that Margaret was going into labor. Eddie was really sweet because he tried to keep me busy all day. We played golf, video games, and watched some movies last night. I did really well all day until I had some wine last night. The darn alcohol...It always brings out my true emotions. So, after a few tears I am hopeful that my baby days are not too far away.
We got the phone call at 9:50 yesterday morning that Margaret was going into labor. Eddie was really sweet because he tried to keep me busy all day. We played golf, video games, and watched some movies last night. I did really well all day until I had some wine last night. The darn alcohol...It always brings out my true emotions. So, after a few tears I am hopeful that my baby days are not too far away.
Friday, March 23, 2007
A day off
I'm off of work today. Woo-hoo!! I'm supposed to be cleaning the house and doing laundry, but I didn't feel like doing that today. Instead, I met a friend for lunch, got a pedicure, and got my haircut. The rest of the day has been spent reading, watching TV, and cruising my usual internet favorites (myspace, fertilityfriend, and babycenter). I really should do some laundry...oh well!
I have my last Philharmonic concert for the seasons tonight. There's actually one more concert on May 4th, but that's Eddie's birthday, so I've opted not to play that concert. We're performing Weber's "Abu Hassan Overture," Beethoven's 2nd Symphony and Stravinsky's "Petruchka." I'm still playing assistant principal horn, so I don't get to play all the time, but it's still a lot of fun. I'm playing more on today's concert that I have on any of the other concerts this year.
As for my cycle, tomorrow is my last day of BCP's. I should start a new cycle on Monday or Tuesday, which means I'll start my last round of Follistim injections. If this next cycle doesn't work, I'll immediately start BCPS again in preparation for IVF. I have all my digits crossed that this will work, but if it doesn't, at least I'm now mentally prepared for the next step. Wish me luck!!
I have my last Philharmonic concert for the seasons tonight. There's actually one more concert on May 4th, but that's Eddie's birthday, so I've opted not to play that concert. We're performing Weber's "Abu Hassan Overture," Beethoven's 2nd Symphony and Stravinsky's "Petruchka." I'm still playing assistant principal horn, so I don't get to play all the time, but it's still a lot of fun. I'm playing more on today's concert that I have on any of the other concerts this year.
As for my cycle, tomorrow is my last day of BCP's. I should start a new cycle on Monday or Tuesday, which means I'll start my last round of Follistim injections. If this next cycle doesn't work, I'll immediately start BCPS again in preparation for IVF. I have all my digits crossed that this will work, but if it doesn't, at least I'm now mentally prepared for the next step. Wish me luck!!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Babies, babies....everywhere!
I know it's been over a week since I posted. I actually have good reasons for not posting, but I'll get to those eventually. I met with a new IVF dr, Dr. Wilbois, this past Tuesday. I have spent a lot of time researching IVF doctors and clinics and I have narrowed it down to Dr. Wilbois, who has his own infertility clinic in St. Louis, and Dr. Ahlering, who is with SIRM in St. Louis.
Dr. Wilbois was nice, but I wasn't overly impressed with him. I had been warned that he liked to push donor eggs onto his clients, but that was not the case with me. He told me that I was definitely a difficult patient, but that he thought I could eventually get pregnant with my own eggs. (*screaming for joy on the inside*) I didn't feel comfortable with him because he didn't even look at my chart before talking to me. He had no idea that I had already done multiple rounds of Follistim or that I had already had a failed IVF. I then asked him what he would hypothetically do with a patient like me (meaning one with PCOS, MTHFR, yadda, yadda, yadda) and he didn't know how to answer the question. So, after a 1 1/2 office visit, a very uncomfortable pelvic exam, and unanswered questions, I'm going to put him on the back burner. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to meeting Dr. Ahlering on April 4th. Haveababy.com is his website, if any of you are interested.
The rest of last week wasn't too exciting. I was just busy with work and house cleaning, so I didn't post.
This week has been a little bit crazier. On Tuesday, I talked with one of my friends and learned that another girlfriend had delivered her baby girl on Monday night. I go tearing out of the house to buy a baby gift. So yesterday I go to work, visit my friend and her baby during my lunch break (no lunch for me), go back to work, and then go straight from work to orchestra rehearsal. I got home at 11:00 last night....UGH. When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine that another girlfriend delivered a healthy baby boy. So, today I went to work, went to visit baby #2 during my lunch break and now I'm about to run out the door for another rehearsal.
There are babies, babies, and more babies. I just wish that I could be blessed with one (or two) of my own. I am hopeful for the upcoming months, but we shall see. More to come soon!
Dr. Wilbois was nice, but I wasn't overly impressed with him. I had been warned that he liked to push donor eggs onto his clients, but that was not the case with me. He told me that I was definitely a difficult patient, but that he thought I could eventually get pregnant with my own eggs. (*screaming for joy on the inside*) I didn't feel comfortable with him because he didn't even look at my chart before talking to me. He had no idea that I had already done multiple rounds of Follistim or that I had already had a failed IVF. I then asked him what he would hypothetically do with a patient like me (meaning one with PCOS, MTHFR, yadda, yadda, yadda) and he didn't know how to answer the question. So, after a 1 1/2 office visit, a very uncomfortable pelvic exam, and unanswered questions, I'm going to put him on the back burner. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to meeting Dr. Ahlering on April 4th. Haveababy.com is his website, if any of you are interested.
The rest of last week wasn't too exciting. I was just busy with work and house cleaning, so I didn't post.
This week has been a little bit crazier. On Tuesday, I talked with one of my friends and learned that another girlfriend had delivered her baby girl on Monday night. I go tearing out of the house to buy a baby gift. So yesterday I go to work, visit my friend and her baby during my lunch break (no lunch for me), go back to work, and then go straight from work to orchestra rehearsal. I got home at 11:00 last night....UGH. When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine that another girlfriend delivered a healthy baby boy. So, today I went to work, went to visit baby #2 during my lunch break and now I'm about to run out the door for another rehearsal.
There are babies, babies, and more babies. I just wish that I could be blessed with one (or two) of my own. I am hopeful for the upcoming months, but we shall see. More to come soon!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Free and Clear!
So, the HSG was ok. The radiologist over-inflated the balloon in my uterus and that hurt like hell, but then she let some of the air out and it was much better. The only problem was that they couldn't keep the balloon inflated, so she had to stop and re-inflate it 4 times. Anyway, my left tube had no problems what so ever, but my right tube had "slight blockage" that was knocked out by the dye. So the good news is that now both of my tubes are 100% open. Hooray!!!!
On a side note, after the test was over, I was sitting on the edge of the table chatting with the dr's tech. We were having a good chuckle about how some women actually pass out from the procedure (which really is only minimal discomfort). As we were talking, the room started to swirl and it sounded like all of the voices in the room were getting really far away. The next thing I know, I'm lying on the table with a cold wash cloth on my head. I had just passed out. I still don't know why I actually did pass out, but I did. Oh well....so I'm a wuss! I'm just happy that my tubes are open. :)
On a side note, after the test was over, I was sitting on the edge of the table chatting with the dr's tech. We were having a good chuckle about how some women actually pass out from the procedure (which really is only minimal discomfort). As we were talking, the room started to swirl and it sounded like all of the voices in the room were getting really far away. The next thing I know, I'm lying on the table with a cold wash cloth on my head. I had just passed out. I still don't know why I actually did pass out, but I did. Oh well....so I'm a wuss! I'm just happy that my tubes are open. :)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
HSG....here I come!
Ok, so I FINALLY talked DeRosa into doing an HSG on me. I know that I can get pregnant, because of the four miscarriages I've had so far, but I just want to make sure everything is ok. I'm nervous and excited that I'm finally getting this test done. I'll keep you all updated after the test, which is this Tuesday.
I've also scheduled some appointments with new IVF doctors. Eddie and I have been discussing doing IVF again, but only if I can find a dr. that I'm really comfortable with and one that will also offer a multiple cycle plan. We figure that the chances of having IVF be successful with my PCOS are very slim, so we want the best bang for our buck. Who knows....maybe I just need my protocol to be tweaked ever so slightly. I guess I'll find out soon enough because I have an apointment on March 20th with Dr. Wilbois and an appointment on April 4th with Dr. Ahlering. Hopefully, I'll feel comfortable with at least one of them and then I'll be able to try IVF again this summer.
Time to head out for a philharmonic rehearsal. Ugh. It's so hard to concentrate for 3 hours of rehearsal after I've been at work for 9 hours.....
I've also scheduled some appointments with new IVF doctors. Eddie and I have been discussing doing IVF again, but only if I can find a dr. that I'm really comfortable with and one that will also offer a multiple cycle plan. We figure that the chances of having IVF be successful with my PCOS are very slim, so we want the best bang for our buck. Who knows....maybe I just need my protocol to be tweaked ever so slightly. I guess I'll find out soon enough because I have an apointment on March 20th with Dr. Wilbois and an appointment on April 4th with Dr. Ahlering. Hopefully, I'll feel comfortable with at least one of them and then I'll be able to try IVF again this summer.
Time to head out for a philharmonic rehearsal. Ugh. It's so hard to concentrate for 3 hours of rehearsal after I've been at work for 9 hours.....
Monday, March 05, 2007
A little update
I know that I have lost contact with a lot of you because I was going to be taking a "TTC break," so I thought I would fill you all in on what's been going on these past few months. I did take some time off, but not nearly as much as most of you think. I took a break for two cycles after the IVF to let my body heal. After that, I talked with my Dr. DeRosa about starting Metformin to help control my PCOS. Well, he thought we could give it a shot, so I started out taking 500 mg. for one week, then 1000 mg. the second week, and I finished out with 1500 mg. on the third week. It took a couple of months for my body to adjust to the medicine. I know some of you don't know about Metformin, but it is a VERY hard drug for the body to get used to. I was really sick for the first 6 weeks that I was on it, but I've adjusted to it just fine now. :)
The Metformin did it's job, because I actually ovulated for the first time in my life on my own! Eddie and I were ecstatic. I didn't get pregnant that cycle, but at least I knew that the Metformin was working! I then added Clomid (the psycho drug) to my regimine. That was my 7th month on Clomid, but it didn't work. I didn't ovulate....grrrrr....so we moved on to the Follistim injections.
The combination of Met. and Follistim seemed to be working well. I had one dominant follicle, which is waaaaaaay better than my usual 6-12 dominant follicles. Needless to say, Eddie and I were really ecstatic when we got the green light to take a trigger shot two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I didn't ovulate, even with the HCG trigger shot. I just got back from DeRosa's office and I have two HUGE cysts (29 and 38 mm) on my ovaries. So, now I'm taking BCP's for the next month in the hopes that they will shrink down and we can try again.
Honestly, I don't know how much more of this I can emotionally take. I thought I would be fine with all of the doctor's appointments, but it really hit me pretty hard that I'm pretty much a failure in the reproductive department.
Eddie and I have talked about doing IVF again, but we don't know that it will even be worth it because my PCOS is so bad. I guess I'll just have to interview some doctors and see what they have to say.
Anyway, it's great to be back blogging. Love you all!!!
The Metformin did it's job, because I actually ovulated for the first time in my life on my own! Eddie and I were ecstatic. I didn't get pregnant that cycle, but at least I knew that the Metformin was working! I then added Clomid (the psycho drug) to my regimine. That was my 7th month on Clomid, but it didn't work. I didn't ovulate....grrrrr....so we moved on to the Follistim injections.
The combination of Met. and Follistim seemed to be working well. I had one dominant follicle, which is waaaaaaay better than my usual 6-12 dominant follicles. Needless to say, Eddie and I were really ecstatic when we got the green light to take a trigger shot two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I didn't ovulate, even with the HCG trigger shot. I just got back from DeRosa's office and I have two HUGE cysts (29 and 38 mm) on my ovaries. So, now I'm taking BCP's for the next month in the hopes that they will shrink down and we can try again.
Honestly, I don't know how much more of this I can emotionally take. I thought I would be fine with all of the doctor's appointments, but it really hit me pretty hard that I'm pretty much a failure in the reproductive department.
Eddie and I have talked about doing IVF again, but we don't know that it will even be worth it because my PCOS is so bad. I guess I'll just have to interview some doctors and see what they have to say.
Anyway, it's great to be back blogging. Love you all!!!
FINALLY!!
I'm SO excited that I can set my blog to private from now on! Now I can post what I want and not have to worry about offending anyone by my postings. I have really missed posting on the blog, but many of you know about the situation with my family that turned sour because of some of my postings. Anyway, I'm up and running and I'll really try my best to keep everyone updated.
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