IVF - Update 4

I Love Autumn!
photo credit: Ian Sane via photopin cc

I've been playing a lot of SWTOR and coupled with the fact that there isn't much to tell, well, I clearly haven't posted lately.

The main thing is that we did see the doctor about the chromosomal anomalies. Most of the 10 had 2 or more problems. Which definitely explains why we haven't been successful before. The main decision now is whether or not we want to implant 1 or both of the healthy embryos. The Doctor recommends both to increase our chances of getting pregnant, however, it also greatly increases our chances of having twins.

Mr. Blue and I discussed this. We only want 1 healthy, happy baby. We can always change our minds later (assuming my biological clock is still running). If that embryo still splits into twins, so be it.  :)  And if this one doesn't implant there's always the 2nd one.  

To get my body ready for the transfer they've started me on birth control pills to regulate my cycle a bit. There will be a whole host of other meds that I will have to take as well to prepare my body for the best possible outcome. Estrogen and progesterone are only a couple of meds I will be using.  

I find this stage rather interesting with all of the prep work that is being done. In Australia there wasn't much that they did to prep me other than wait for when my normal cycle would occur then they did the transfer. There were no meds involved. This has me hopeful that it will be successful this time.  

At this point the transfer date is set for the end of October.  I love October.  Hopefully it will be a great month!  

The Gidget Chronicles 1

Me!

Hi  Hi

Uhm, I am Gidget and my mom said I could borrow her blog thingy.  My mom and dad are so very nice, they just do not play with me as much as I want them to. I like playing very much, especially when mom and dad chase me. Sometimes when they have been sitting in front of this box for too long I whine until they pick me up and put me in their lap. I like cuddles very much.

But that is not the part I wanted to tell you. My mom takes me on walks to the park nearby which I like but she never lets me chase the fuzzy creatures with the long ears. I am a hunter and want to hunt them. I am very fast and am certain I could catch them, but mom says she is afraid of what would happen to me if I went into the marsh where the long ears hide. 

On this walk I was happy and smelling things and mom stopped and called me. She pointed out a hoppy bug to me. YAY! I like hoppy bugs! And flying bugs and the bugs with lots of legs… Oh yeah, when I got near it, it jumped into the grass and I pounced on it. Mom and dad say I pounce like a “cat”. I do not know what that is but it must be very good because I am very good at it. 

The hoppy bug tried to get away but I would not let it. I killed it and played with it for a bit because I am a good hunter. I was going to eat my kill but mom said “EEWWW!”. I looked at her and clearly she did not want me to eat the dead hoppy bug. I did not want anyone else to get my trophy either so I peed on it to make sure everyone knew that it was my kill. I was very happy.

I have to go now.

Bye

IVF - Embryo Update 3

Le Sigh...
photo credit: Rich Renomeron via photopin cc

Last week we got the call from the Doctor regarding our frozen embryos.  Of the 12 that were biopsied and frozen, only 2 have normal chromosomes.  You read that right...2!
This actually depressed me a bit as I had hoped for a solid 6.  The Doctor said that some of them even had more than one anomaly and that this would explain why we've had problems with IVF before.

In Australia we only had 3 embryos vs the 12 here and they didn't go any kind of genetic and chromosomal testing.  Which means that every single one could have had an anomaly.  

Naturally I've gone through the range of emotions from wondering what the hell is wrong with me to being thankful we at least have 2 healthy embryos (which Mr. Blue needed to remind me of to snap me out of my depression).  Next week we meet with the Doctor to go more in depth about the results and to discuss the next steps, hopefully setting a start date for transfer prep.

What I'm really curious about is if he'll recommend the transfer of 1 or both embryos.

Not much else to report for now.  Hope everyone is well.


...healthy, happy baby...healthy, happy baby...healthy, happy baby...

IVF - Embryo Update 2

Can't...reach...computer...
photo credit: deadoll via photopin cc

Ok, so I'm a slacker. We actually got our latest update on Sunday, but Mr. Blue and I were having a CIV 5 marathon that went until midnight, so needless to say I didn't post that day.

Monday I was too damn tired from staying up too late on Sunday, so I didn't post.

Yesterday, well really I have no excuse.

So today! The Embryologist called (Sunday) to tell us the following - of the 20 eggs that were successfully fertilized, 12 of them made it to the blastocyst stage. They were biopsied and then frozen.  

WOO HOO!! That's 2 more than I was hoping for. Now we have to wait for the results of the biopsy to determine which embryos have the right number of chromosomes, etc. Unfortunately this takes 2 weeks so we are trying to distract ourselves with other things and not think about it too much.  I'm hoping that a minimum of 6 will be normal. That equates to 3 tries. There's always the hope that the first try will take though.

...healthy, happy baby...healthy, happy baby...healthy, happy baby...  :)

IVF - Embryo Update 1

This cuteness has nothing to do with the post!
photo credit: waimeastyle via photopin cc

I got the first call from the embryologist's today. Of the 30 eggs retrieved, 25 of them were mature. Of that number 20 were successfully fertilized! That's twice the number we had in Australia!

The next update from them won't be until Monday. Then they will let us know how many actually made it to the blastocyst stage, were biopsied and frozen.  

Right now I'm recovering from the procedure. They had to use a catheter on me so I've been having some discomfort with that aftermath as well as my insides feeling like they're gonna fall out when I walk. I was flushed all day today as well. I'm not sure if that's the meds or what's going on.  I may call the nurses tomorrow.

Any hoo, I've got a new Egg/Embryo tally on the side bar that I will do my best to keep up to date so that the numbers can be seen at a quick glance. I still hope we get pregnant on the first try.  :)  

IVF - Trigger and Retrieval

Eggs, Eggs and Tadpoles!!
photo credit: kirklandj via photopin cc

I had planned to do a post about the trigger yesterday but wasn't feeling good so I'm going to combine posts today.

I had my appointment on Saturday, I was right on target so they told me I'd be doing my trigger that day. What a headache. They called me that afternoon to give me instructions and to make sure I had the trigger medicine. I did but I had a hard time reading the information on the box and vial so at first I wasn't sure I had enough. They wanted me to come back to the office and purchase the right meds because they didn't think I had it. That's about an hour's drive ladies and gentlemen and I had already gone down that morning. Mr. Blue then helped me to decipher (read that as science experiment) the true amount in the vial (it's not really labeled clearly for the layman) and I tried to call them back. Their phones go to an answering service on the weekends even when they are in the office and it took them a bit to get back to me (not their fault, they're very busy). I was freaking out though, wondering what the heck?

IVF - The latest

Oh Look! My Ovaries!
photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik via photopin cc

My apologies for not posting more, I haven't been feeling that great. My ovaries are now the size of bowling balls. Ok, that's an exaggeration but it sure feels like it isn't. I've never been more aware of my ovaries in my life. I have a LOT of follicles right now and it's making things very uncomfortable. Bloating, back pain, cramping, upset tummy, crankiness...

We're getting closer to retrieval so they have been reducing my stim meds. Due to the number of follicles I have I'm a risk for hyperstimulation. They've recommended I eat foods with high sodium content to help reduce the risk. Gonna have to throw my diet out the window for the next few days.

I'm still giving myself the injections. I haven't been having any reactions to the Cetrotide the past couple of days which prompted me to ask the Nurse if it's still working correctly. It is, apparently my skin has finally gotten used to it. I have only one left though, go figure.

Due to my risk of hyperstimulation they've given me a different kind of trigger medicine. This one is better than the other because I can do it myself instead of having Mr. Blue give me a shot in the ass. Which also means I can't be upset with him hurting me. Always a good thing.  :)
Keep your minds out of the gutter!!

I have another appointment tomorrow and then hopefully I will be where we need to be for retrieval on Monday.

This will all be worth it when we get pregnant.  And then I'll be able to tell our kid what I went through to get them here, including the labor story.  ;-)

**Hyperstimulation is when the ovaries become dangerously enlarged with fluid.  The fluid can then leak into the abdomen which can cause problems such as pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc.