PIO aftermath

Ohhhh my god my ass hurts!!!  Worse right now than when there was a 1.5" needle in me.  I had to sleep on my left side because there is a huge knot on the right from last nights PIO.  I must not have massaged & heated it enough.  I also think my target (my nurse drew circles for me to aim at) is too low..  Wowwie.  I'm trying not to limp and hit the hottub this morning hoping it'll help. 

I'm DEF sticking to the same side tonight.  Otherwise I won't be able to sit or lay At All! 

I'm Chuck Norris!

I did EVERYTHING in my power to reschedule transfer.... Monday cancellation... later in the day Tuesday so Lori could come.... Thursday so both Lori & J can be there.... nada!  Ugh!  I made it through the day at work without breaking down about it.  All I know is I tried.  I did my best.  Tuesday must be meant to be.  Now I have to deal with life & the joys of being a navy wife!  Big girl panties are on.  Time to focus on the ute.

*~i did my very first PIO (progesterone in oil) injection tonite!~*  I iced my hip for probably 30 minutes to get er nice & numb.  It really wasn't all that bad!  I did it lying down cuz I've heard its less painful than standing.  Huh.  Even though I had gauze on it afterward I still bled on my heat pack :(  I think the frozen has worn off because now I'm a little sore & can already feel a knot forming.  I'm trying to decide if tomorrow I'll do the same side so I only have 1 bum hip or if I'll rotate to give each side a break....

I searched interest for pio suggestions & came across this hilarious blog. The post is "ode to the PIO shot" and she speaks only the truth!  Hahaha.  According to her, I am the Chuck Norris of infertility for 2 reasons:  I do my own PIO (so far.... though not by choice), and I have to use a 22G needle (ouch!).  Oh, and I inject 2cc, not just one. 
My poor ass!

Now that I think about it, i bet Chuck would own this transfer business....

Feeling abandoned...

Yesterday's u/s was superb! Lining is at 8.6 and trilaminar, yippee.  We wanted to transfer 2 embryos since we have 4 in the freezer & that would leave things nice and even and with another future FET.  Dr Rockstar basically said no.  We have one blast that is, for all intents & purposes, perfect.  Its AA, full blast & already starting to hatch.  Even with previous failed ivf, he feels confident that this lil embisicle will be IT. 

The soonest transfer day could be Monday.  They are booked so I was scheduled on Tuesday.  Monday would have been perfect work wise.  I've been tore up about the fact that J will be gone for transfer but awesome friends have volunteered to come with me and my acupuncturist offered to give me a ride.  So nice!  :). The shitty part is said friends work Tuesday.  Acupuncture lady is booked Tuesday.  I would have to have a stranger poke me with needles in weird places with my pants off.  I would be at this all important transfer all by myself.  Alone.  Abandoned by everyone who has guided & comforted me through this process. 

So today, I had a giant pity party. 

I spent the morning stifling back tears and finally got out of bed in time for acupuncture at 11.  Then I cried on the table explaining about my crappy morning and the realization that no one would be there with me.  Lori helped reassure me that I am not just high on estrogen and am legitimately freaking out about being alone. Being comfortable & stress free is a big part of transfer success.  I decided it would be a brilliant idea to push transfer back by 2 days when both her and J can be there.  The perfect transfer situation for the 'perfect' embryo.  [And then the angels sang.]

Not 2 minutes after I leave, I get an email... "I might be home Friday or Monday says the captain!". What the.  Halkelujah!  Awesome, let me change transfer to Monday!  No cancellations, office still booked Monday. Then 3 hours later, "just kidding, the admiral said no way Jose", keep your happy asses floating.  Ugh!  Drama drama drama.  At this point, Dr Rockstars office is closed for the day.  I'm hoping with all my might they have Thursday open and it won't be a big deal to change transfer date again and wait 2 more days.  Please, please, please!  The nurses are so gonna hate me.... I think I've called every day this week bugging them about something or other.

So anyways.  Pity party is over.  On one hand I feel like I should quit being a whiny toddler and not mess with the process.  On the other, I dont think my experience will be near the same (and dare I say enjoyable?) without my support system.  Uuuuggghhhhh!

Here's hoping to Thursday!! 

FET day 10

I had my day 10 checkup on Tuesday. Lining was at 8.1, which is nice! Dr Rockstar said "it was close" and he wanted to give it another week. I was confused because the nurse said 8 was what they look for, acupuncturist said 10 is better. Oh fine.

Another reason to wait? The bleeding I did during and after the surprise saline sonohistogram. .... Yeahhhhh. I had one 2 months ago prior to cycle start and everything checked out. Apparently Dr R saw some 'shadows' on the ultrasound that were worrisome. The high levels of estrogen I'm taking can make polyps or other scary things grow & pop up. Cue increased heart rate. He did the SHG right then & there. OUCH! I'll say he was more 'thorough' this time which involved curling of my toes and wincing for.... 5 minutes. I imagine this is partially what labor feels like. Holy crap. Everything still looked fine so I guess the shadows were ghosts or gas bubbles or something else weird. At first I thought I should have asked him to do a hysteroscopy to be sure (where they literally stick a camera in to look, but also involves anesthesia and probably a cancelled cycle.) I consulted with my cookies gals who reassured me that Dr R is VERY conservative and thorough and if he thought he needed it, he would have done it. Whatever. I've stopped second guessing.

So another week.... Ugh! J went out to sea Thursday morning. He comes back in exactly 2 weeks. Then goes back out to sea in June for 10 days followed by a week long inspection where he can't leave early followed by a week of turnover with his relief. I was hoping transfer would be this week because he'd be back for beta day and the 6 week ultrasound (if there is one) would be before his next batch of craziness. Since transfer will/should/better be Monday the 13th, he'll be home for beta day but probably not u/s day. WTFFFFFF. Why it's a big deal: we may hear the heartbeat for the first time. We'll find out if its one or two .... or three babies. Hahaha jk. But two, maybe.

Oh yeah, and now I'm up to 5 patches. According to package directions, I have to have a week break between patch location sites. Sorry Vivelle, the area of my tummy under my belly button is only so big! Where the f can I put these things? Im also covered in a nice layer of sticky and fuzz. Injections sucked, but so do these darn patches.

I'm gearing up to do my own PIO in the bum. Ice, lay down, shoot, heat & massage. Am I missing any other good tips? I've been working in my twisting in yoga, but am still trying to figure out how i will get a 1.5" needle straight in...

An FET lesson....

Since this will be our first frozen embryo transfer, I got to thinking.... how does it work?  What is the timeline?  Do they prevent ovulation or will I still ovulate this cycle?  Do they thaw embryos the same day and when?  Hours before or as I'm on the table?

I found a nice little explanation HERE.  Ahhhh, so many questions answered.  I still have a bunch for Dr Rockstar but I get to see today!

Sad note: we found out J will be at sea  for 2 weeks in May playing Navy games.... and of course these 2 weeks will overlap the FET.  :( :(  boo!  I'm hoping he'll be home in time to get THE NEWS.  Aka beta results.  No way do i want to be home alone that day!  Anyone wanna volunteer to come to transfer day with me?  Hold my hand or something?  It'll be sometime in the next 14 days.... 

Phase II, and go.

My 'red flower bloomed' two days early!!!  Never in my life have I been so excited to get my period.  Woohoo!  Let the FET begin!!!

We got Popsicles!!

The champagne is popped!! ~!

Our goal was to meet industry standards of 50% and have 3 or more in the freezer. Sunday morning we had 3 blasts that went in! 2 'good' and 1 'fair'. I am so frkn happy!! We also had 3 that were at morula stage so they continued to culture through day 6, Monday, to see if they'd be freezer worthy blasts by then.  2 arrested :(  but 1 more 'fair' embie was added to the bunch for a total of 4 blasts. Yay!!  We got popsicles!  Or should I say embiesicles??

J was quizzing me about the embryo/blastocyst grading system.  This website has a great explanation AND cool pics!

The only obstacle now is my ute... they've had no reason to suspect foul play with it so pleeeez pleeez lil ute keep it together!