The gumball machine has officially been emptied! And let me tell ya, it was certainly a gumball machine since my doctor removed 22 follicles from my ovaries. It's important to note that on my last IVF cycle, they were only able to retrieve 5 follicles...so this was definitely good news AND worth the wait!
As I laid on the gurney looking around the room I couldn't help but notice a stark difference between CCRM and Dr. Thompson's office. I guess this is the difference between a world class office and a mediocre office. This was certainly a night and day experience for both myself and Jim. CCRM felt more like a surgery center whereas Dr. Thompson's office felt like a doctors office. At Dr. Thompson's office I swear I was placed in stirrups, given an IV, and knocked out for retrieval. At CCRM I was completely hooked up to monitors and given IV fluids for an hour prior to retrieval. Than I was wheeled to an OR where retrieval took place. I actually awoke in a full recovery room where I stayed for an additional 2 hours before I was released!
Jim left Denver once again immediately following retrieval and I'll be making the rest of this journey on my own. If my follicles fertilize properly than retrieval should be on Monday, which means I will not be returning to work on Monday as scheduled. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, especially considering I'm suppose to be on "vacation".
My estrogen levels continue to spike which means I'm still at a high risk of hyperstimulating. If I continue to hyperstimulate than it's possible that the rest of this cycle could be canceled and we would end up doing a frozen transfer at a later date when my estrogen levels out. Dr. Surrey ensured us that they have a 98% success rate on defrosting embryos. My ovaries are still in some pain and I feel really bloated. This is a direct result of the hyperstimulation so I'm on new medication and a very strict diet to try and combat these symptoms. In the meantime, I plan to spend another relaxing in our hotel room in front of the television.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Good To The Last Drop
My husband has one job and only one job in this process, to provide a plentiful and robust sample to be used to fertilize my follicles. Obtaining that sample can at times be a little tricky. Since I'm not a guy I don't fully understand the stress and anxiety that he feels when completing this task and something tells me I never will. In my view, this should be an easy and relaxing experience and rather enjoyable. Considering the tests that I had to go through his few minutes in a plastic cup should be a walk in the park. However, according to him, I'm dead wrong on this notion! Instead this is a completely stressful experience filled with dread.
Let me just put something out on the table...in case you've ever wondered, yes the "collection room" is equipped with dirty magazines and a few porn flicks to help speed up the process. I typically accompany Jim for his appointment. In an odd sort of husband and wife way, this is a tradition for the two of us. We each like to feel like we have walked the same experience and been by each others side through the whole process. I often wonder what the office staff thinks when the two of us show up together to do the deed. Not that the two of us really care since we'll never see these people again and it's not like we'll be bumping into them at the grocery store. But can you imagine what some of these staffers have seen working this job?
My job is simple, do a few things to speed him up and make sure that every drop gets into the cup! It's not a pleasant experience when you realize that you've missed...which we've done. I like to call this Good to the Last Drop...obliviously a play on the Folgers commercial, which often plays in my head. As we head into retrieval tomorrow I'm only concerned about Jim. I hope he can perform and I pray that he doesn't miss a drop! Did you know that the highest concentration of sperm is in the first few drops? Now ponder that one for a few hours.
Let me just put something out on the table...in case you've ever wondered, yes the "collection room" is equipped with dirty magazines and a few porn flicks to help speed up the process. I typically accompany Jim for his appointment. In an odd sort of husband and wife way, this is a tradition for the two of us. We each like to feel like we have walked the same experience and been by each others side through the whole process. I often wonder what the office staff thinks when the two of us show up together to do the deed. Not that the two of us really care since we'll never see these people again and it's not like we'll be bumping into them at the grocery store. But can you imagine what some of these staffers have seen working this job?
My job is simple, do a few things to speed him up and make sure that every drop gets into the cup! It's not a pleasant experience when you realize that you've missed...which we've done. I like to call this Good to the Last Drop...obliviously a play on the Folgers commercial, which often plays in my head. As we head into retrieval tomorrow I'm only concerned about Jim. I hope he can perform and I pray that he doesn't miss a drop! Did you know that the highest concentration of sperm is in the first few drops? Now ponder that one for a few hours.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Trigger Time!
Finally, after waiting almost an extra week I get to do my trigger shot tonight! I'll be wide awake at 1:30am to inject my butt with HCG. I'm really nervous about this particular injection though since it's a muscular injection rather than the sub-q injections that I've been use to. Typically Jim does this injection for me, but since he's not available than that leaves me to do the deed. I sure hope I can reach the pretty little "X" that marks the ideal spot on my butt.
I still have over 20 follicles brewing in the gumball machine with my right ovary doing most of the work. My right ovary has always been a high achiever with over 20 follicles on that side alone. Unfortunately not all of those follicles are of mature size, but about 12 of those follicles will be a good size. My left ovary has been a little lazy and we only have about 15 follicles on that side, 8 of which should be a good size to work with.
Retrieval is scheduled for Wednesday and I'm toying with the idea of leaving Denver for a few days and heading back to New Mexico until transfer. My stay in Denver has cost my wallet much more than I originally anticipated and I think a few days back home will be a welcomed relief to my bank account. Obliviously I'll have to check with the office prior to making this decision, but I was wide awake at 3am debating this one. Not to mention I could use a few extra days with my husband.
Well please pray for me tonight so that I can magically hit the bulls eye on my butt!
I still have over 20 follicles brewing in the gumball machine with my right ovary doing most of the work. My right ovary has always been a high achiever with over 20 follicles on that side alone. Unfortunately not all of those follicles are of mature size, but about 12 of those follicles will be a good size. My left ovary has been a little lazy and we only have about 15 follicles on that side, 8 of which should be a good size to work with.
Retrieval is scheduled for Wednesday and I'm toying with the idea of leaving Denver for a few days and heading back to New Mexico until transfer. My stay in Denver has cost my wallet much more than I originally anticipated and I think a few days back home will be a welcomed relief to my bank account. Obliviously I'll have to check with the office prior to making this decision, but I was wide awake at 3am debating this one. Not to mention I could use a few extra days with my husband.
Well please pray for me tonight so that I can magically hit the bulls eye on my butt!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Delay After Delay
Well here I sit with very little progress since my last update. It's been a very emotional week and frankly I'm a wreck and in a deep depression. My estrogen levels continue to be sporadic and the Cetrotide has slowed my follicle growth to a snails pace. I had a few days when my estrogen began to stabilize and Dr. Surrey was comfortable enough to place me back on my primary stimulation drugs in an attempt to try and speed up their growth. Unfortunately after two days I once again began to hyperstimulate and I was pulled off of the medication. Thankfully, I don't feel physically sick this time as I did last week but without the synthetic stimulation my follicles won't grow much on their own. I still have about 12 follicles that they are monitoring closely and those are the follicles that we hope to "harvest" at retrieval. These follicles range anywhere from 14mm to 19mm.
So when is retrieval? I wish I knew, but at this point I have no clue. When I originally left New Mexico, retrieval was tentatively scheduled for Friday April 1st but now they are unable to give me a date. The doctors office continues to monitor me on a daily basis with blood work and ultrasounds but I still haven't been able to do the all important "trigger shot". After I preform the trigger shot than retrieval will be 35 hours later.
Since things have begun to progress slowly, Jim decided to go back to New Mexico. It was a tearful goodbye when he left and I broke down shortly thereafter. I have no idea when and/or if he will be returning to Denver, but he felt compelled to go back to work. I'm hoping he returns for retrieval but we can't say for sure...it all depends on if he can get additional time off from work. We do have a frozen sample at Dr. Surrey's office that we can resort to but a fresh sample is always better.
Currently I feel defeated and I feel like a failure. My ovaries aren't performing well and now my husband isn't here for emotional support. I've retreated to solitude in an attempt to shield myself from the outside world and I'm fearful that my dream is slowly slipping away...one follicle at a time.
Stay tuned.
So when is retrieval? I wish I knew, but at this point I have no clue. When I originally left New Mexico, retrieval was tentatively scheduled for Friday April 1st but now they are unable to give me a date. The doctors office continues to monitor me on a daily basis with blood work and ultrasounds but I still haven't been able to do the all important "trigger shot". After I preform the trigger shot than retrieval will be 35 hours later.
Since things have begun to progress slowly, Jim decided to go back to New Mexico. It was a tearful goodbye when he left and I broke down shortly thereafter. I have no idea when and/or if he will be returning to Denver, but he felt compelled to go back to work. I'm hoping he returns for retrieval but we can't say for sure...it all depends on if he can get additional time off from work. We do have a frozen sample at Dr. Surrey's office that we can resort to but a fresh sample is always better.
Currently I feel defeated and I feel like a failure. My ovaries aren't performing well and now my husband isn't here for emotional support. I've retreated to solitude in an attempt to shield myself from the outside world and I'm fearful that my dream is slowly slipping away...one follicle at a time.
Stay tuned.
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