IVF #3, stim day 5

Monday I went in for my day 5 appt.  I met one of Dr Rockstar's colleague REs.  She was super!  I'll meet his third colleague tomorrow.  Dr R is out of the country for 2 weeks and so the dude I'm meeting tomorrow will most likely be doing my retrieval.  (If youre wnde 

So, Monday.  We found an extra follicle!!  8 lil guys are growing.  The largest measured in at 6mm.  Lining was 4.1 though I dint think that matters.... Estradiol was 187.  "Perfect." They said.  :)

Next appointment: Thursday April 4.  Woot!!

And they're off!

Thursday morning I went in for my suppression check. Everything came out a.o.k. Just like Goldilocks, nothing awesome, nothing bad, right where I expected. Ute lining is at 3 something and I've got 7 lil follies waiting for action!! J calls them The Potentials. Haha.

I ripped off my last damn androdem patch Thursday night and stuck myself for the first of many pokes. Good news (cuz there always has to be a bright side in this shit) is after 2 days I have no bruises!! I looked like a frkn pin cushion last time. U saw the pic, it was ridic!

Right now I'm doing 2 vials menopur, clomid, & steroid. I'm feeling pretty well. I have noticed my fuse is A LOT shorter than usual. And by a lot, I'm talking like I-never-bitch-at-anyone-about-anything to omgwtfdidudo! I've been keeping up with yoga & acupuncture and also started guided meditation. This has helped my mood tremendously! Since I've been feeling so good & zen I am able to notice my craziness and keep it in check... hopefully, for the sakes of everyone around me and for J's sanity, I can keep that up for the next 11 days. :)

As for the androderm.... the cream smelled Yuck and I was petrified for anyone to touch my arms. Ya know, cross contamination to another person could be detrimental to their health! The patches didn't smell but man did they irritate the shit out of my skin. I am at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to skin sensitivity. Yet I can still clearly see outlines of where 3 of the 5 patches were stuck to my leg... not to mention I couldn't move At All or the damn things would pull cuz they're so big. Ugh! Glad I'm d.u.n. with those suckers!!

Next appointment: Monday. This'll be our first follie check on stims. We are hoping & praying that 3rd time is the charm! Think positive thoughts for some healthy growing follies and all at the same size! YeahYeah!

posted from Bloggeroid

Calendar in hand, woot!

Got our calendar last friday at J's appointment! Woot!!  I started Testosterone gel last week and Estrace on Sunday.  I'll prime for 2 more weeks until my suppression check on March 28.  Tentative retrieval: April 8.  Holy cow!

I'm super excited that The Time has finally come but also very very nervous.  I've never had anxiety before but every time I'm in Dr Rockstar's office I find myself very stressed out.  I've been trying to stay really positive and I think this time around we have so much more going for us.... I'm just really scared to get that huge BFN let down again.  I am seriously scarred from our previous ivf's!  I asked some peeps for suggestions and will try some....  lavender oil, music distraction.... I think the only thing that will truly help is when its all over.  I'm still doing yoga & acupuncture so will still do that, of course.  Someone said to try not to think about it unless I have to... kinda hard when I'm tracking daily supplements, morning gel application and evening estrogen doses.  Ugh.  I WISH I didn't have to think about ivf every damn day!

Hopefully some day soon I won't.  Hopefully soon I'll be able to think about diapers & cribs & big wheels & dance lessons.

Holy protocol, Batman!

I'm not even sure this protocol has an official title because its a bunch of protocols mashed into one. On my paperwork it says "low stim cycle using midluteal Estrace, ganirelix, with saizen and androderm patches and gel" Talk about a mouthful. Dr Rockstar also referred to it as MLEA which is 'mid lutral estrace antagonist.'. Which, to me, sounds the same as LEAP or 'luteal Estrace antagonist priming'... Anyways. From what I understand it'll go a little like this: estrogen & testosterone priming for 10-21 days followed by testosterone patches. Then I'll start stims, which for this low stim protocol will be menopur and clomid. I know, you're thinking "clomid? Really!?" Cuz I did, too. This is partially why it's a 2phase freeze-all cycle. Here's where it gets complicated... So clomid &menopur. Then add a steroid (to help the bod be more susceptible to stims). Then comes ganirelix to prevent premature ovulation of all those big fat follies. THEN comes human growth hormone. Then finally, egg retrieval. Phrew! Hopefully they get a bunch of eggs and all those eggs fertilize into beautiful blastocysts that then go into the deep freeze! Yes, our baby/ies will have been popsicles.

I'll heal, get my $15,000 period and then we gear up for a fancy frozen embryo transfer (FET). I have no idea what the FET will entail but I'm sure it's not going to be your typical, run of the mill transfer.

I've never heard of using HGH until now and apparently it's still very new. Using it for IVF is an off-label use.... BUT it's been shown to improve ovarian stimulation especially in poor responders and increase both embryo quality and therefore pregnancy rate. Something to do with granulosa cells .... I fell asleep during this chapter in micro .... but I digress. We had to sign special consent forms to use the HGH and the testosterone. Hopefully I won't grow a 3rd tit or a mustache. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed.

I don't have an official IVF calendar yet and won't until I start the topicals in about 2 weeks. I attempted to make a rough calendar based off of the days of priming meds and stims and cycles, etc. If retrieval is in early April, I don't think transfer / BFP will be until May or June. !!!!
I'm glad we are pushing it to get started now because June seems sooooo long away. :/

I had my day 3labs & ultrasound last week and everything looked superb. FSH is still at a lovely 4.7 woot! Next step: I go in for a sonohistogram and trial transfer on Thursday morning.