Higher

Wednesday morning, in the middle of working, I finally got the call to let me know the results of my blood work.

At first they simply said they wanted me to continue taking my meds.

When I inquired about my HCG levels the nurse told me that they had raised again. With further inquiry I found out they rose to 2139.

When I asked whether those numbers were o.k., she responded that they were rising well, but that we would know more after my ultrasound.

So here I remain in limbo.

I have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow to let him know what is happening. (The Regional Fertility Clinic advised me to make the appointment.)

Again I am trying to remain positive and will just have to wait to see what happens next Thursday.

So again, I am asking for your thoughts and prayers.

No News

This morning I woke up early to get to the Lab Services before they opened. The clinic opens at 6:30 and I arrived around ten after six. Imagine my surprise when there was actually 11 people in front of me waiting!

Luckily I did get finished in enough time to get to work on time.

I kept my phone with me all afternoon (something I never do), but unfortunately I didn't hear anything from the Regional Fertility Clinic.

When they gave me the results last Friday, the nurse on the phone did mention that I would have the blood work taken today and then get the results tomorrow. I was, of course, hoping that I would find out this afternoon.

I'm now hoping that I will find out first thing tomorrow morning before I go to work. I have to work to until around 8;30 p.m. tomorrow so I hope it is good news. I can't imagine how I'll get through the day if it is bad!

Still rising

On Friday morning I went again to have my blood work taken.

My wait was much longer than it was on Tuesday. Of course, the longer I waited the more my nerves started kicking in.

The woman who took my blood commented on the fact that I had been there the other day and asked if I had to return again.

I filled her in on what was happening and she kindly told me that it was a good sign that they were rising.

After the blood work I went home and tried to keep myself occupied while waiting to see if I was going to hear the results.

By 3:00 I felt like a cat on a hot tin roof!

When I finally got the phone call it was mixed news yet again...

My levels rose. This time to 717  YAY!!!

It is great news that they are going up, unfortunately they are still slightly lower than they would like. BOO!!!

So yet again I need to go for blood work. They've asked me to go again on Tuesday.

The nurse did tell me to make an appointment with my family doctor and to let him know that I am pregnant. She also booked an ultrasound appointment for me on March 30.

I'm thinking (hoping) that it is positive that they got me to make an appointment with my doctor. The nurse also mentioned that they are really picky about the HSG levels at the clinic.

So here I am in lingo once again with my fingers crossed and asking for still more prayers.

IVF and Ectopic Pregnancy

My cousin Candace, like me, didn't understand how it was even possible to have an ectopic pregnancy when you have IVF.

I thought if they are putting the fertilized eggs directly into my uterus how could they end up in my fallopian tubes since they are not even traveling through them?

So I did a google search and here is what I found out:

"Fertility specialists believe that ectopic pregnancy may occur if, when the embryos are transferred to the womb, they are placed too high in the womb cavity. The embryos then have a greater chance of "wandering" and implanting themselves in places where they are not supposed to be, such as the fallopian tubes. Embryos could also make their way into the fallopian tubes if they are injected into the womb with too much force."            -Women's Health

The rates for an ectopic pregnancy are slightly higher with IVF, but to put it into perspective it is only a 2 - 5% risk. In a natural pregnancy it is a 1 -2 % risk.

While researching I also found out that ectopic pregnancies can take place when the embryo implants in the cervix, an ovary or even in the abdomen. The reason why we typically hear about them implanting in the fallopian tubes is that it is more common, and also because it can be very dangerous and even life-threatening for the mother.

Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are:

Light vaginal bleeding
Nausea and vomiting with pain
Lower abdominal pain
Sharp abdominal cramps
Pain on one side of your body
Dizziness or weakness
Pain in your shoulder, neck, or rectum

If you are pregnant and experience any of these symptoms you should immediately seek medical help.

*p.s. I'm trying to remain positive. I'm still praying and hoping that this pregnancy will be successful!

Still Hope

This morning I went to have my blood work taken.

I waited until 8:00 as I was hoping to miss all the people who were having to fast. My strategy worked as I didn't have to wait long.

I asked the lady who took my blood how long it would take for the results to come in and she told me that it depended on the test being taken. She went on to say that it would probably be tomorrow.

When I got home I called the Regional Fertility Clinic to let them know that I went in to have my blood work taken. I also pleaded that if there was any way to get the results of my blood work today that they please call me as soon as possible.

Around 12:00 I got the phone call from the Regional Fertility Clinic. When I saw their number I hesitated for a second because I didn't know whether I wanted to know or not.

Thankfully the news was good... kind of.

My HSG levels have risen!

They are now at 268. (Typically at 4 1/2 weeks they are between 270-1100.)

As they are still a little low, they are sending me for blood work again Friday. Depending on the results we will hopefully know more. The nurse mentioned that they may also send me for an early ultrasound to make sure that it isn't an ectopic pregnancy.

"Ectopic pregnancy, also known as eccyesis or tubal pregnancy, is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding." - Wikipedia

I am hoping and praying that they are just slow to raise and that this is still a viable pregnancy.

So yet again I am asking for your prayers... they worked last time!

Mixed News

My heart is so heavy right now.

On Sunday morning Chris and I decided to do a pregnancy test before I left to get my blood work.

I wanted to do it because I was afraid if the blood work turned out negative I didn't want to find out Monday morning while I was at work.

We were absolutely overjoyed when it was positive! We quickly called our parents to share our exciting news. Although, I was still feeling a little nervous I was thrilled and felt like it was finally going to happen for us.

This morning just before I started work I received a phone call from the Regional Fertility Clinic. I was so excited to see the number thinking I was going to get my much anticipated confirmation.

But my excitement soon turned to anguish.

The lady on the phone informed me that although the blood work showed that I was pregnant my hCG levels were not as high as they would expect.

My levels were around 170 and they would expect to see them around 270 (I can't remember the exact numbers to be honest as I was feeling numb).

She went on to ask me if I would be able go for blood work again tomorrow so they can check to see if my levels are rising or decreasing.

Best case scenario my levels are just slow to rise. Worse case would be that the embryo(s) implanted in the wrong spot or it (they) are not viable.

I've booked tomorrow off so that I can go in and get the blood work done in the morning, and I'm hoping that I will receive word from the Regional by the afternoon. I decided to book the whole day off as I can't imagine getting bad news there... today was hard enough.

I'm asking anyone and everyone who is reading this to please pray for us.

Hopefully I can become one of the low hCG level success stories that I've been researching online!

Mixed Emotions

For all my complaining about the 2 week wait... I am now terrified for it to be over.

Tomorrow I go for my blood work and will finally find out the results on Monday.

Right now I have the possibility of being pregnant. If I find out that it is negative on Monday I loose that hope... that possibility.
  
As I mentioned previously I have been experiencing mixed symptoms which are most likely side effects from the Medrol (estrogen) and Crinone (progesterone). 

The one side effect that causes me the most fear is the back pain. I have been trying to reassure myself by looking up early pregnancy symptoms. (Like I've done a million times before!)

Lower back pain can be a symptom of pregnancy, but it also is the symptom I always experience a week before I start my period. The one silver lining is that I was experiencing some lower back pain before I even had the transfer so I'm wondering if it is simply a side effect of my adenomyosis. 

For now all I can do is hope and pray. 
 

Over 1/2 Way There

I'm just a little over half way through the two week wait.

Every single day I struggle to stay positive and not obsess!

I was feeling really discouraged when we didn't get any fertilized eggs to the blastocyst stage and thereby get frozen.

I felt somewhat comforted when searching online and finding out that typically only half of a women's eggs are viable, not all eggs will fertilize,  and typically less than half of those eggs make it to a blastocyst.

To be honest I don't know how accurate these stats are, but they did make me feel better.

In the past week I have experienced:

bloating, nausea, breast tenderness, lower back pain, and twinges in my uterus

Of course all of these symptoms can be for pregnancy or PMS... AND they all can be side effects of the estrogen and progesterone that they have me on.

So I won't really know anything until I have the blood work done and get the phone call from the Regional Fertility Clinic confirming either way.

In the meantime I am continuing to be hopeful and pray that we will finally get pregnant.

Eggs in a Basket

This morning I received a phone call from the Regional Fertility Clinic to let me know that none of our remaining eggs make it to the blastocyst stage. Which means:

All of our eggs are in one basket or in this case my uterus!

Although it wasn't a huge surprise it was devastating to hear. We were really hoping that we would get at least one more fertilized egg that could be frozen.

Of course my biggest fear is that there is something wrong with the eggs that were transferred and that they may have stopped growing and developing.

Unfortunately,  I have absolutely no way of knowing. I won't find out if I am pregnant for another 12 days. If I don't become pregnant I won't know if it was a problem with our eggs or if they were fine, but just didn't implant.

As I've mentioned before the two week wait is the hardest part!

I'm trying to remain positive, but I have to be honest it is really hard.