CD 34: Pre Egg Retrival

I did my trigger shot last night around 8:30.  My nurse gave me a specific time for a trigger shot, which was different from a trigger shot from IUI.  I had to give myself a trigger shot b/w 6-10pm for IUI.

I was familier with Ovidrel from IUI, so this shot was piece of cake!

Then, I started thinking...."Why is a trigger shot necessary for IVF?"  I understand the reason for IUI.  The trigger shot can help move the matured eggs to fallopian tubes during targeted time.  For IVF, I thought RE would use a needle guided by a monitoring system to collect eggs directly from ovaries.  What is the point of a trigger shot then?  I googled it and here is what I found out:  The hCG trigger injection is a crucial point in your IVF.  Timing this is an important part of  success with IVF.  The hCG injection induces the final step of maturation of your eggs. It loosens the eggs attachments from the follicle wall and allows for proper timing of your egg retrieval.

We are also advised to have an uprotected sex last night.  My nurse said it helps my cervix to relax and soften.  I really need this because my HSG was so painful and my OBGY said my cervix was closed so she had to dilate....  My thought is....if sperm somehow got to an egg this time...

It's kind of strange, but I don't have the same bloated and sore feeling today.  However, if I push my left ovary, it give me a sharp pain.  My boobs are absolutely and insanely sore!!! 

We are taking it easy tonight and having a dinner & movie date night! 

Ovidrel Trigger Shot

CD 33: ER Date has been SET

Today was a big day as I was going to find out my Egg Retreival (ER) date.  It was originally predicted to be on 7/2, but guess what?  It will be on 6/30 (Saturday)!  I am thankful that I responded to medications well and I have about dosens of eggs currently.  Some are still small, so Dr. Sheiber said they might not mature, but I am keeping my finger crossed for some good ones to be fertilized! 

They gave me a specific instruction for the ER.  I am taking a Ovidrel trigger shot @ 8:30 pm tonight.  I cannot eat or drink after 11:00 pm on Friday.  I take a Valium with a sip of water @ 6:45 am and arrive the clinic @ 7:15 am on Saturday.  My ER will be around 8 am and my DH collects his sample around taht time.  We had a plan to go on a boating trip and farewell party with friends on Saturday, but looks like I will be resting at home this weekend.  The clinic will call me on Sunday if eggs are fertilized.  We are doing ICSI and I am really going to pray hard on this.                  

Egg Transfer (ET) will be either on 7/2 (3 day transfer) or 7/4 (5 day transfer).  5 days are better, so I am hoping for the best.  I am hoping to transfer 2 good ones and a couple of to freeze.

Physically, I am tired and bloated so uncomfortable.  No more shots though!
Mentally, I am ready.  I am ready to move forward.  Super anxious to get this going!
 

This little packet came with the Man's fertility blend I order a couple of month ago.  My DH has been taking almost for 3 months.  It was very sweet of the company to put this with their product.  This is my lucky charm and I have been carrying this in my wallet since :)    

CD 31: Triple Shots - Stim Day 6

I have been dreading the day of triple belly shots....
I have been using Gonal F Pen for the past 5 days, but now it's time to add two more shots (Menopur & Ganirelix), yikes!

What is Menopur?  Menopur is 50% FSH and 50% LH as opposed to Gonal-f which is pure 100% FSH hormone

What is Ganirelix?  Ganirelix is a prescription fertility medication also known by the names Ganirelix Acetate and Antagon. It helps fertility doctors control ovulation in women who are undergoing fertility treatment by helping to slow down the production of hormones such as estrogen.

I did hear some girls saying Menopur & Ganirelix sting and burn.  I was going to at least try it normally, but I was too scared, so I iced my belly really well (I used frozen peas LOL) before injected those shots.

As for Menopur, I was told that I could mix it with Gonal F.  Menopur comes with 2 bottles:  one is a liquid and other one is powder.  I use a syringe provided to collect 1 ml of solution.  I pour that solution into the bottle with powder.  Don't shake it, but gently turn right and left so that powder dissolve in the liquid.  Then, I add Gonal F (112 dose) into the Menopur.  I need to change the needle from a big one to a little one to inject.  I injected slowly into my cold belly.  The injection was kind of hard to push and felt really long...

After I was done with it, I went right into the Ganirelix shot.  The needle is bigger so it's a bit tougher to poke into my skin, but I did it.  THANKS TO THE ADVICE TO ICE.  I felt a little bit but not too bad.    

Emotionally....I am such a mess.  I am so worried about so many things and it bothered me that Joe didn't text or call to check on me before my shots today.  I thought he knew how scared I was so I was hoping for some support there.  Plus, this boating trip with friends this weekend thing...GAH!  As ER arround the corner, I just am not capable to caring others now.  I hate to feel that I am selfish, but I am dealing with my fear & emotions one day at a time and I cannot think anything but me.

I called my mom in Japan and felt good.  Later, Joe came to apologize and comforted me, so I felt better.        

CD 30: Half Way into Stim & Monitoring Appo

I had my mid U/S & BW this morning.  My RE said, my lining looks good (5.8).  Looks like there are around 10 follies growing on my right & left ovaries.  I was a bit disappointed b/c I was hoping to get around 15 or so.  Oh well....quality over quantity....I know but I hope all of them mature.  

Today is my Stim Day 5.  I was taking 225 Gonal, but my RE said I am responding a little too fast, so he reduced my dose to 115.  I am dreading about tomorrow as I add Menopur & Galirelix, ugh!  

My ER was tentatively scheduled for Monday (7/2), but he told me that it might move up to this weekend!  Oh my....that scared me.  I might even join to the June Bug!  I will find out the exact ER date on the follow-up U/S this Thursday.  OMG....I am starting to freak out little bit.  My belly is getting bloated and I am feeling a little uncomfortable now.  I was super happy and excited until this morning, but I am feeling a bit down and worried about so many things :(  My famous IF emotional roller coaster begins, here we go...    

CD 26: Belly Shots (Not Body Shots!)

Today was my day 1 of stimulation cycle.  I am supposed to give myself a shot b/w 4pm and 10pm.  Since I had my sandV game @ 7:15, I had to do the shot right after I come back from work.

What is Gonal F?   This is used with Ovulation Induction to help ovaries make more eggs.

Gonal F is securely stored in a refrigerator, so I took it out of the fridge for 15 minutes.  The shot looks like a pen.  I take a cap, clean the surface area, stick the needle, set the gage (225), clean my belly, stub into my belly, push the end until it stops clicking and remain still for 5 seconds.  The needle size is about the same as a trigger shot.  Honestly, I felt NOTHING.  It's always scary to do anything for the first time, but the shot didn't hurt and it was a piece of cake :-)

Our team won 3 sets of games tonight, yay!  On the way home, I stopped at a gas station to get Gatorade. I have been seeing posts about OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome).  It's really dangerous and painful, so I need to be cautious about this.  I usually got 2 matured follies during Femara cycle, but I never know how much my body would respond to the stim shots.  Prevention includes:  Gatorade, salty snack & protein, etc.  I am starting my prevention from today!

CD 25: Counting Down till the Stim Fiesta

I confirmed Gonal F, Monopur & Ganirelix are all in the box and now they are all sorted nicely in a separate bag (except Gonal F as it has to be refregilated).  I even put them in a cute basket so they don't look too intimidating.       

A IVF nurse went through how to put together shots when we met with her last week, but I don't remember every little step.  I took a look at procedures booklet the freedom pharmacy sent me, but I will need to do some practice Gonal F shot tonight!!!  I am doing Gonal F for 8-10 days, Monopur for 4-5 days & Ganirelix for 4-5 days.  That means I will be having 3 shots a day in the later my stim cycle, yikes!!   

CD 24: Arrival of the box of loaded meds and ready for my belly shots!

Knock knock knock on my office door this morning.  Yes, the box has arrived!!

Holy cow, this is getting real.  I really don't know what goes with what at this point and I need to sort and organize them nicely when I get home.  I got some good tips from the bump post a couple of days ago, so I am going to use it.    

 

This is overwhelming, but strangely, I am excited!  Yeah, I am certainly freaking out about the pain aspect esp. I will be taking 3 shots a day later in the stim cycle, but I feel I am step closer being pregnant.  I am touching my belly and telling it to produce many eggs for the big show :)       

CD 23: Done with BCP & Baseline U/S!

Today was my monitoring app with Dr. Sheiber.  I have been bumping the IF board a lot and read some girls getting cysts, so I was bit worried...

As of today, my uterus is looking good and ready for some belly shots, so I am relieved!  No more BCP, so I should be getting a period like flow.  After this, I hope I don't need to use tampons for a while :P

CD 20: Animal Kingdom

I am brighting up Today's post by adding our family member photos!  They are all girls and we love them so MUCH <3 <3 <3 

Candy the Cavalier King Charles

Belly up Reesecup



Dublin & Reese guarding birdies!





CD 19: Drug Family

We are addicted to drugs.....
This is how much supplements/pills we are taking every day!  Multi-vitamin, prenatal vitamin, herbal fertility supplements, fish oil, antibiotics, and birth control pill.  My dog, Candy has an infection, so she is taking antibiotics, too!!     Ugh...we have never taken this much pills in our life.  I hope they are working well for the coming up IVF!!!

CD 18: Take it, take it, TAKE OUR MOENY!!

After some miscommunication and frustration with my clinic, we have paid IVF money in full today.  We ended up doing the money back plan and paid $17,900.  I used 4 credit cards including 2 of our HSA to pay!  We went back and forth on taking a loan, but in the end we used our credit cards to get some points and money back benefits and we are going to pay off everything.  It stinks....we have been saving money vigorously for down payment for our new future home.  Well, a house means nothing without having kids to us, so I am praying for a successful IVF!

I just got call from Freedom Pharmacy that my insurance covered most of my meds (It was $2900), so I only had to pay $150 over the phone.  I am SOOOOO happy!!! This really made my day after all the financial hassle. 

CD16: Show Me Da Money!!

My head is spinning...$$$..$$$..$$$

How are we going to pay for our IVF??  One time fee (everything we need is included) is about 14K.  The clinic offers 70% money back guarantee for about 19K.  This includes 3 IVF & 3 FET cycles.  I called multiple bank/loan places, applied for Citi's 0% 15 mon credit card, etc....Then, I found out that my dear dog needs a surgery....what a day.

We have only one week to pay everything in full, so our choice was quite limited.  We discussed more and more about our financing options over dinner and decided to pursue the money back to have a peace of mind. This plan guarantees live baby.  Meaning even if I had a miscarriage during my pregnancy, we could try more cycle within 2 years.  

We also decided not to loan from anyone but we will use money from our saving.  

I am glad that we both feel good about our final choice, but no vacation for sure for a while :(

CD7: IVF Consultation with Dr. Scheiber

Today is my day 7 since my last IUI failed and AF (Period) arrived.

I have been on the BCP for 4 days.  I feel a bit nauseous and I don't know if it's from BCP or my imagination!

I had an appointment with Dr. Scheiber today.  He needed to measure my uterus.  The reason for this is to determine the path of Egg Transfer (ET).  He said, he will need to dilate my cervix when he does Egg Retrival (ER).  My OBGY had an issue with my cervix when she was performing HSG.  Man, it hurt like HELL!  Today's procedure looked and felt like a IUI, but it gave me quite cramp!  Then, a nurse took 3 blood sample.  The cost today was $160.  I also took a IVF CD and we need to watch it before our IVF Educational session next week.

I was still feeling cramp when I got into my car and I suddenly started crying.  I didn't feel good and this is nothing compared to what I am going through soon.  I felt weak by complaing about my discomfort and at the same time, I started feeling scared what will be happening soon.  Can I really do this?  I am so scared.  God, please please give me some courage.