Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 10:42 AM
I just got to the office, as I had my second blood drawing and ultrasound. Just standard procedure for monitoring… I don’t really know what comes next, as they call me w/ directions. The hardest part of this will be figuring out how to get out of work for the actual procedure(s). I can’t really plan it, as we don’t know the “exact” days, and it’s not just one day, but multiple days (which are not consecutive.) Just sort of complicated…
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 8:08 AM
I am sitting at the hospital again – just had blood drawn and now have to wait for my ultrasound appt. I am glad the hospital has wireless so that I can work in-between. I sort of like the routine. I am also getting tired of being poked full of holes…
It’s pretty tough keeping things “under-cover” at work. I am gone here & there, but it’s turning out to be more than I expected. I just don’t feel comfortable bringing this up with my manager right now.
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 7:44 AM
The weekend has turned into an absolute crazy one, as a couple of things came up. OHSU called yesterday and they need me to have blood work and my ultrasound on Sunday morning at 8:45am (at OSHU.) They say I am about 3 days behind where they thought I would be, so monitoring is critical. So, we now have to get up around 5am and head back from Bend to make it to OHSU. I also had to get more medication because I am behind. :-(
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2006 5:25 PM
Drove back from Joe’s cousin’s wedding in Bend early Sunday AM, and went directly to OHSU at 8:45am (ugh... long, early drive.) Everything “seemed” okay after the ultrasound… But they called after a couple of hours, and said my estrogen levels had gone down, so they wanted to put me on a different medication. (So more money and a trip to the only pharmacy that carries it and is open on Sunday in NE Portland.) L AND the worst part is that they are concerned I may have already surged and it would be too late (meaning we would have to call off this cycle.) Which means an awful lot of money in medication alone, would be for nothing. I was so disheartened by that news… We are praying that this is not the case and we can still move forward. They are going to test that blood for the progesterone surge and let me know tomorrow. In the meantime we are onto a medication you mix, in 6 vials, use a bigger needle, and we have to inject it in the stomach muscle. OUCH/UGH.
Praying for His will…
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2006 5:25 PM
I go the call from OHSU this afternoon. I guess my progesterone levels haven’t “surged” yet, so that was good news, and it might not be too late. I will go into OHSU tomorrow morning at 7am, and they will be able to check results again. My follicles were at about 10.5mm on Sunday. I guess they need to get to 16-18mm, and then I take another injection and would have retrieval in 36 hours. However, they might not be at that size until Thursday or Friday… so this probably means if everything is okay, things will take place next week (which isn’t good for me work-wise, as I was planning on this week.) But… I am so thankful that it’s not “too late” (or at least that is how it appears for now.) In the meantime, my ovaries feel like they are bursting and I am in constant pain. I appreciate your prayers, and sure hope we are able to make this cycle work.
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 8:29 AM
I went to OHSU at 7am today. My follicles have grown from about 10mm to 14mm, so that was good. The doctor who saw me on Sunday peeked her head into the room and said she wanted to chat with the doctor who was doing the ultra-sound, after he was finished. She also told me she had talked with my doctor yesterday, so she was in the loop with everything that was going on. Anyway, she pulled the doctor into a room after my procedure to talk about next steps for me. (Not sure what that meant but the nurse said: “you sure are getting special attention today!”) I am thinking now, maybe retrieval on Thursday or Friday, which would be good… Then the implant would be 3 days later.
I guess we will see what happens from here. They are supposed to call me once the blood-work is back on next steps.
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 1:45 PM
OHSU called… They said my estrogen levels are way up there now; right in-line with where they should be. So she said things are looking much more positive! That made me feel so much better.
I have to add 2 more shots into the routine now; I now have 3 injections at night and 1 in the morning…
I will go back in Thursday at 9:30am to OHSU for more blood-work and another ultrasound. I suppose at that time, they might be able to tell me what day the retrieval will be one. (Probably Friday or Saturday if everything is still looking okay.)
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 2:13 PM
I just talked with OHSU and found out that things are on track and they scheduled the egg retrieval for Saturday morning (my estrogen levels have sky-rocketed, which I guess is very good.) The implantation will be on Tuesday (3-days later.) So, I was very relieved that things were still on track and looking good! We still have a lot of hurdles to overcome before calling things a success, but we are thrilled doors are still open.
And in writing this, I just realized that you guys are probably getting sick of hearing all the details.
Sorry… I realize there are other important things going on in life!
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2006 6:20 AM
Well, just getting ready... I am just unsure of what to expect this morning, and then praying He will bless us w/ a family.
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 8:58 AM
Doctor just called us…
11 eggs harvested
-2 (they weren’t mature)
9 were inseminated…
-2 (they disintegrated during process?)
So 7 are left! I think that’s pretty good!
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 7:12 PM
We didn't do a whole lot today... I was pretty sore today and still on the pain killers. I am getting anxious yet again... I was so glad that we had 7 that "took" though I think there is still potential that some may not continue to grow. They will call tomorrow and let us know what time we go in on Tuesday.
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 12:06 PM
Back from OHSU…
I am now on the couch for the day. Joe just left to make it back for his Halloween party (to keep his wild kids under control.)
We had the nicest nurse, which I was thankful for. Dr. Gorrill did the actually procedure, and there was a moment of 2 minutes or so where everything is perfectly quiet (when everything is positioned for implant, and they are waiting on the lab technician to bring the eggs.) I was just praying during that time period, while Joe had his hand on my shoulder.
So, now the waiting game begins… November 13th is the initial blood test, and then they will do another one after 2 weeks.
Thanks for your prayers – I guess it’s all up to God to now.
We implanted 2 eggs, because I “think” there is a possibility that only 2 will be stable enough/growing enough to freeze. So we didn’t want to leave just 1 left…
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 7:12 AM
Nothing “new” yet… I haven’t felt much different over the past couple of days… not sure if that’s good or bad. Each time I go the bathroom though, I cringe, hoping my period doesn’t start. It’s going to be a looong weekend of waiting...
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 6:09 PM
I guess the hardest part is sharing bad news… OHSU let us know that our IVF treatment didn’t work. I honestly wasn’t prepared for how I felt after we received the information. I supposed everyone who goes through this process always has “hope” so there will always be disappointment no matter how objective & realistic you try to be about it.
After the phone call, I just had to leave work. I haven’t cried that many tears in quite awhile.
I am not sure what our next steps will be; I think we are both pretty sad in our hearts… I guess you don’t know how big of a deal “kids” are to you until you realize you may never have them.
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 8:59 AM
I sometimes am okay, and then other times just feel this huge sadness in my heart. The thought of not being able to ever experience pregnancy, and then also the thought of just not being able to know our “own” kid is pretty awful.
For a timeline, it’s really up to us. We could choose to do nothing more at this point… the next doctor visit/scheduling is up to us.
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