Quote of the week

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Moving on.......IVF

We've made the decision, though it wasn't easy, it makes the most sense....IVF!!!!!

I never thought I'd have to deal with IF let alone be the couple that has to go to the extreme. It definitely helps that I have Aunt Sheri to ask all my questions (she'll tell ya I have tons!) The RE gave me the script for Provera to bring on AF and "get this party started!"

Today is Day 4 of 10 of Provera and then I'll just have to wait for AF. Austin & I have an appt. with Dr. Munabi on Thurs, April 2nd for a full explanation of IVF, ask any questions & to sign all the consent forms. I will then take BCP's for 3 weeks (I think) and will use Lupon shots during this time. I will then use Gonal-F and when we they are ready for them to release I'll use. Pregnyl. If all goes as planned we're looking at a mid May retrieval date.

The shipment came today with all these drugs, needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, a sharps container all in an iced cooler. The bill also came & I cringed thinking I didn't want to see it. I have to say I'm sooooo thankful & blessed that we have great insurance!! I looked over the summary & found the section that said, "Patient Responsibility --- $70.00!" Aunt Sheri said she signed or a package of the exact same drugs this week and the total for that patient was $3200!!! WOW! Thank you Jesus!

My chart will be reviewed at the Clinical Meeting on Tuesday and a Protocol will be established. I'm thrilled that we're moving on and just hoping & praying that this will be the ticket! Please pray for us as well...God knows what He's doing!

Another BUST

It's been way too long since I've updated so for that I apologize. I am going to sum up what's going on. I went back to the RE on CD19 and there were NO follicles responding at all. My E2 went from 50 CD2, 58 CD15 & stayed exactly the same on CD19 58! I took the news well as I knew before I left the office that Round 2 was also going to be a failure/Bust! It's just frustrating that my body isn't cooperating.

The positive is that Austin & I had already discussed the next step and I felt totally confident with the decision that we made.

I'll explain that in the next few posts!!

A LOT to think about...

I'm not trying to jump the gun but I just need to mentally prepare myself for the news that Round 2 of Clomid is another bust. I'm not responding at all. NO mature Follies! I talked to the nurse prac. today and she really suggested we think about IVF and skip straight injectables due to HOM. She said, my chances are SO high and we'd have to go into this knowing we'd be willing to SR. I was unaware of how far along (10-12 weeks) you have to be before they SR and just really have a hard time with that. It's a total personal preference but for me I don't know how I couldn't think about it everyday after.

The good news of the day is that my insurance will cover the injectables Gonal F or Follistm with pre-authorization at a $40.00 co-pay! PTL That's an answer to prayer. The bad news is that IVF w/o medication will cost approx. $8,000. It's just so much to think about. I know we don't have to rush but heck I'll be 30 YES 30 years old in 23 days!!! WOW, I'm old! ;o)

At least the weather is getting warmer and I have that to look forward to.

~*~*~ Happy St. Patty's Day ~*~*~

CD 12 --Down in the dumps!

I awoke this AM bright & early for my 7:00 appt and really have been doing well just trying to stay positive. Melanie did the U/S and saw no mature follices at all. There were a few largers than last time but nothing more than 10 mm to even measure. She said my E2 level would really be the determining factor. She called around 1:30 pm to share the not so good news. My E2 was 50 on CD2 and today, CD12 only 58!! :o( They like E2 to be at least 100 or double the first #. So in my case, 100 either way! I go back on Thursday, CD15 to re-check and at this point we'll really be able to tell if this is yet another BUST!!

I took the news well as I know it's not over yet but I'm also preparing myself for the worst. I do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!

Quote of the Week

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid: do not be discouraged, for God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

CD10-Why can't I be normal?!?

I'm trying really hard to be calm this Round!! It's been a busy week as I have been "on-call" & I'm helping to plan for Lauren's baby shower which is tomorrow. Today, we ran around to get the food, flowers, and all the last minute items. I know this has helped me to think about other things.

The S/E's seem to be gone as I haven't had a hot flash or night sweats in quite a few days. I also don't really feel any twinges or anything. Guess I'll find out more on Monday when I go to the Dr.

I'm starting with a cold AGAIN...I just got rid of a sinus infection, pink eye & a lovely cold sore 2 weeks ago. It's backkkkk.

Oh on a positive note I went back to the family Dr. on Wed. to check my blood pressure. The same nurse took it when I arrived & it was exactly the same as when she took it a few days before....140/90. I think that's all she knows how to get or something because when the Dr. came in it was perfectly fine. When the Dr. took it on my left arm 112/82 and my rt. arm 112/84. So she's not really worried at all about it and definitely doesn't want to medicate for #'s like that. Plus, my blood work looked GREAT!!! My liver enzymes which were alcoholic high about 6 months ago are all within normal ranges now which definitely makes me happy. They don't know why they were so high before but I'm not being followed by a GI Dr. for that too. God I see a lot of doctors. Why can't I be normal!?! [that'd be a good title for a blog :o)]

I should probably get some rest as I'm not feeling the best and I can't afford to miss work this week....another busy one ahead.

Sweet Dreams!

CD6 - It's been quite the week

It's been a few days since I've written as it's been quite the week. Clomid is going well except I took the pills at 8 pm yesterday and again today instead of 7 pm. I'm hoping the 1 hr. time difference doesn't matter too much.

Side effects -- Well, I have to say I've definitely had some this time around. I don't think I had ANYTHING last time and I certainly didn't have the few that I had the past couple of days. On Sunday night I woke up with wet hair and my PJ's were damp. Hot flashes ALL night long. I also had a headache off and on throughout the day on Sunday into Monday. The other thing is that I've been very moody!!! I started my "on-call" rotation for work on Monday at 8AM. I was about to leave the office around 5 pm and had to work on an emergency. I ended up staying later and was still dealing with it while driving home. I just started to cry because I felt like I couldn't' handle it!! That's NEVER like me. I always feel like I can conquer the world and love the challenges "on-call" can bring. NOT THIS WEEK!!!! People are on my nerves!!

Poor Austin! He's such a great husband I thank him & God each and everyday for it. Tonight he had dinner in the crock pot and it was ready when I was done logging off of VPN around 8pm cause I got called again!!

I went on Monday at 7am to the Reading Hospital Lab to have my blood drawn for the family Dr. There were so many old people in there and the lab tech (yes only 1) was slow! I left there at 8:07 am and had to make my way to West Chester ASAP.

Tomorrow I go to Dr. Lin (family dr.) to go over blood results as well as figure out the best bet for the high blood pressure per pregnancy. Hopefully it will be low tomorrow and we can just start to worry about this again when I do get the BFP!

I'll keep ya posted on this appt. and the how this wonderful world of hormones is treating me! Watch out......CLOMID SPEAKS!! :)

CD 3

What a beautiful spring day today...it reached 72 degrees! Austin & I were up early and cleaned both of our cars inside & out!

I had a great evening as well. I went out to dinner with the girls. It was much needed and even though I didn't get a martini or a glass of wine as I would have liked it was still a wonderful time.

Today was day 1 of 150mg Clomid!! I took it at 7pm as that's a good time for me to take it each day. I had no s/e's on 100mg so I'm hoping it will be the same this time around. Although I told the Dr. last time that I didn't have s/e and I thought that meant it wasn't working. He disagreed but I really wonder. So maybe s/e's will be a good thing. hmmmmmmm

Austin is out tonight for the "man shower!" His brother/GF are having a baby due in 3 weeks so he's taking him out tonight. Hence the reason I'm up so late. I am getting tired so I think I'll be turning in soon.

Good night! Day light saving--Spring ahead! :o(

The Journey has begun

What a day...Thank goodness it's Friday! I went to the Dr. at 7:45 AM and had my blood drawn as well as my U/S. My Ovaries looked great..if you call string of pearls wrapped around the inside of each of them great! A typical symptom of PCOS are cysts that resemble a string of pearls. They said they would call with the results of the labs in the afternoon to see if we are good to start the Clomid tomorrow.

For the past couple of weeks, off & on, I've had "spells" of dizziness. It comes and goes and it doesn't happen all the time. I had no clue what this could be at all and just thought it was the meds. I asked the nurse this AM to take my blood pressure. Low and behold, it was elevated. 130/90. Not super hypertensive but definitely not normal. This summer I was in the hospital for my asthma and had very high blood pressure and had tachycardia. The Dr. recommended that I follow up with my PCP and see where to go from here. I left the office feeling like yet again, "I'M NOT NORMAL!!!" Nothing can just go right for me when it comes to medical things. So I called my PCP and they were able to see me in the AM. Luckily I have a wonderful job and they are very understanding. I have the ability to work from home in situations like this so that's extremely helpful. When I got to the Dr. at 10:15 AM my blood pressure was 140/90. Again, elevated! He rechecked it before I left and it was down to 128/82. It's so weird that it fluctuates that much and it seems to happen so often. He feels that he doesn't want to medicate at this point because NO med. is perfectly safe in pregnancy. I go on Monday AM for blood work and then follow up with them again on Wednesday for a BP recheck to see if things changed. WHY ME??? :o(

The good news of the day was that Melanie called from RSI with my lab results and everything was good and we're able to start the Clomid tomorrow, Saturday 3/8/09. I'll be taking it CD3-7. I'm very thankful that my Dr. monitors me or I think I would go nuts not knowing what's going on inside me. They wanted to see my on Friday, March 13th but Austin & I will be in Atlantic City the night before. I made it the appt. for blood & U/S on Monday, March 16th. This will be CD 12 and I'd LOVE to see some mature or maturing follicles.

I'm hoping to have a great relaxing weekend to bring this BP down.

Round 2 -- Here we come!

I took Provera February 16- February 25. 10 mg-10 days to begin our second round of Clomid. I got my period today! *YAY* Most woman hate a day like today but for us "cysters" this is a very exciting thing when AF (Aunt Flo) arrives.

You will notice I use a lot of message board lingo/abbreviations. For the first couple of posts I will put what they mean in parenthesis just to get everyone familiar.

I called the Dr. office today to make an appt. tomorrow, 3/6/09. I go at 7:45 AM for blood to be drawn as well as an U/S. They will call me in the afternoon to give me results and let me know if my hormones indicate that we can start the Clomid for the 2nd Round. This time I am going to try to take it CD3-7. If all goes well; I will begin 150 mg on Saturday 3/7/09.

I'm really hoping that this blog will not only help me to remember "The Journey" but also help to express my feelings and thoughts as we go through this.

Please let me know your thoughts, comments (good or bad) and any questions you may have.

Quick overview

Before I begin and start to share my experiences with our 2nd round of Clomid I thought I should go back a few weeks and recap.

We made the decision to officially begin TTC shortly after we got married as both knew it wasn't going to be an easy task and we both aren't getting younger. Austin will be 29 this year and I will be the BIG 30! We made an appointment with RSI. Reproductive Science Institute of Suburban Philadelphia asap to get the ball rolling. We had our first appt. with Dr. Munabi at which time he reviewed with us blood results from both Austin & I and also reviewed Austin's SA (semen analysis) We knew that my hormone levels were "normal" for a "cyster" but they were definitely not within normal limits. Austin's blood was fine and his SA was MORE than fine! He has strong swimmers and LOTS of em! We were able to rule out any male factor issues at this point. He's rather proud of this.

We made the decision, as most couples do, to start with Clomid. I was given Provera for 14 days to get my period. I didn't mention that at this point I hadn't had a period for 136 days. After I got my period I then took 100 mg. of Clomid CD (cycle day) 5-9 and was monitored on CD 3, CD 10, CD 16 & again CD 21. Each time I went, my estrogen (E2) levels were low and I showed no response at all. I had one 10 mm follicle on CD 10 but it was gone by CD 16. On CD 21 the Dr. confirmed that I did not Ovulate and I definitely didn't respond at all to the Clomid.
Round 1 -- FAIL/BUST!!

At this time, we decided to move along rather quickly and that day I again started taking Provera to bring on my period.................