Goodbye Needles!

I apologize, this will be a long post!

I swore I was going to write more during the whole hormone process, but I had company stay with us during that time, and then I got so exhausted!  I just couldn't find the motivation to write.  So the plan was to take my Follistim every night, starting the tuesday, and see the doc for bloodwork on Friday.  Well, I got a phone call Friday afternoon saying my Estrogen shot up so high that I needed to start my Ganirelix immediately (it tells your body not to ovulate) and come back in the morning for an ultrasound and another blood test.  I came in and they saw about 11 follicles total which surprised them because my blood work kind of told them that I had a massive amount of follicles and my first ultrasound showed about 20.  They were happy though and said to go home, take my ganirelix every morning and the Follistim every night.  I got a phone call that night with a nurse saying to take a second dose of Ganirelix that night as well as the Follistim because my estrogen shot up again and my LH hormone was also dangerously high.  I can not even imagine the complexity of this whole process, let alone that I am not their only patient!  There was usually about 20 women getting their blood drawn at the same time as me.  

I did not notice any side effects from the Follistim at this point, but when I started the Ganirelix, I became quite tired and as the days went on,I also started noticing I was getting quite bloated, and  I started to cry a lot.  haha  Everything seemed a little bigger deal than it was.  So, yes, I think there was some hormone stuff going on with the second drug.  

I went back in on monday morning for another blood test and my trusty ultrasound.  You get so used to them, that it is almost like a friend coming for a visit.  I don't know if this is just me, but as my ovaries got bigger, the discomfort of the ultrasounds lessened.  Maybe because they didn't have to dig around so much with those now baseballs in there??  Yikes.  So this is when the doctor discussions began. They started to argue whether I needed to be triggered that day!  (Use a drug, sometimes HCG but in my case Lupron, to trigger ovulation)  It was only day 7 and they never trigger before day 8.  I had about 7 follicles that were over 20mm and about 5 that were above 16mm.  When a follicle is getting close to maturity, they want to see sizes around 16mm.  So this doctor wanted me to get going with the third drug.  My doctor came in and said no, but that I would definitely take the trigger drug the next evening.  Last Follistim injection this night and last Ganirelix in the morning.

Tuesday morning, woke up again bright and early to head over to the clinic for my final blood test and then the nurse said I needed to go pick up my Lupron at the pharmacy.  I had a dose of HCG to take but it looked like I was a sure candidate for *Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) and Lupron has been known to reduce this chance.

*Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome may occur after using injectable hormone medications during in vitro fertilization (IVF), a treatment for infertility. Injectable fertility medications stimulate the development of eggs in the ovaries, but it can be difficult to tell exactly how much medication you might need.

Too much of the hormone in your system can lead to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), where your ovaries become swollen and painful. A small number of women may develop severe OHSS, which can cause rapid weight gain, abdominal pain, vomiting and shortness of breath.

I was so excited to be taking my last injection that night!  I have gained such a respect for those that need to give themselves injections for life.  It is not just that it is a tad painful, but you just want to be normal again and not have to inject yourself with drugs anymore.  Anyway, I got pretty bloated the next day, and uncomfortable, but really looking forward to thursday morning to find out if any eggs were good in there.  

I would not normally show my belly, but come on!  Jordyn kept touching it and saying, "theres a baby in there".  Sure looked like it, it was so funny.

So I woke up the next day, ate nothing and headed to the clinic with Dave.  They prepped me, put on a nice cap on my head, and then walked me to the surgery suite.  I didn't really like laying on a half bed and being conscious of putting my legs in full stirrups, but what a treat for those nurses.  Full view!!  I woke up with a little bit of pain and they gave me something for that and then came in to tell me that there were 21 eggs retrieved.  I was so proud that my body actually cooperated and that it didn't look like we would need to do this again.  At least for now. 

Since Thursday, I have been a little sore in the ovaries, but no sign of OHSS, which I was so nervous about. My hormonal side seems to be settling down a bit, mothers day doesn't count cause I always cry on mothers day.  The clinic called me on Friday to say that there were 15 mature eggs and were able to fertilize 13 of them.  We are now crossing our fingers  that at least a few will have matured and able to be frozen for transfer to BC.  We should find out by tuesday the final results.  

The lovely Andrea had her screening done in Vancouver on the same day as my retrieval.  She got to experience:

The weenie wand

The lovely paper gown:

And the extra special saline injection---OUCH!

She also had her psychological screening done the evening before, but what a busy couple days.  Paired with driving 12 hours!  She is a trooper and I love her for it!!

The next post will likely be us meeting for the first time and transfer?? If I remember, I will also do a quick post on the final embryo count. Can not believe that it is all really happening and I will absolutely lose it once I meet Andrea in person.  Facebook and the phone is not enough, I am dying to give her a hug.