Sometimes When It Rains...It Pours.

Yesterday morning I went to have another ultrasound and blood work taken. As I mentioned in a previous post, it wasn't my doctor who performed the ultrasound on Monday,  and yesterday it was yet another doctor. (The doctors at the RFC do rotating shifts so you may or may not see your doctor for your ultrasounds.) 

Luckily I had called ahead, and when I found out that it wouldn't be my doctor, I made an appointment to meet with her in the afternoon.  

I had so many questions and I felt like I need to have an appointment with my actual doctor to find out some answers. I needed to know if the IUI didn't work what our next steps would be. Would we do another IVF cycle? How long would we have to wait before starting it? Would there be a different protocol? ...plus a million more questions!

Little did I know my ultrasound would bring more heartache and even more questions! 

Have you ever heard the saying: 'when it rains, it pours'?

Well apparently I need an umbrella!

This ultrasound showed a few more really small follicles, but before I could get excited the doctor told me of his concern that my three previous follicles had hardly grown at all.

Egg follicles typically grow 2-3 mm a day. Mine had grown less than 1 mm in three days.

This is not a good sign.

So just as I got myself psyched up to do IUI, it looks like we won't even be able to do that!

The doctor who was working prescribed Menopur instead of Luveris to try and see if we can get these follicles growing. (Menopur has FSH in it whereas Luveris does not.)

Later in the afternoon I met with Dr. F. and she reiterated that it didn't look good, and that the Menopur would be our best bet.  (another $370 dollars)

She also talked about other options for Chris and I.

If this round doesn't work then we could wait a month or two and try again, although, the odds are not good.

We could buy an egg from the United States (it is illegal to purchase an egg in Canada), and try an IVF round in which they would use Chris's sperm. This would cost us around $22,000 everything in. It would give us a mid to high 60% chance of conceiving.

We could also see about buying an already frozen embryo that another couple has donated. They cost $2000- $5000 plus there would be IVF costs. I'm not sure what the success rate would be for this. UPDATE: We wouldn't be purchasing the embryo- the $2000-$5000 is actually for lawyer's fees.

So again, we are in limbo. I have another ultra sound with blood work on Sunday and will hopefully know whether this round is going to work or not.

Shots, Shots, Shots and More Shots

I finally started my period this morning. As per my instructions, I quickly called into the Regional Fertility Program's IVF answering service. 

One thing you quickly learn when you are a patient with the RFP is that NO ONE ever answers the phone! Why is this a big deal? Well that means that you are then forced to carry your phone around with you everywhere you go, because you are so afraid that you might miss their return phone call. 

When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere... the kitchen while you are making your breakfast, bedroom while you are getting dressed,  and yes even into the washroom!

When I finally did get the return phone call I was shocked when I was told that they wanted me to start taking the Gonal F and Luveris shots, as well as, start the antibiotics!

Its so funny I was so afraid when my period didn’t start that this cycle would be cancelled. Then as soon as she mentioned starting the two other shots my heart began pounding and my stomach became instantly uneasy… a mixture of excitement and sheer terror!

The Gonal F and Luveris need to be taken between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.. They also need to be taken at the same time each day. I initially was thinking that I would take it at 4:30 so that it wouldn’t interfere with my supper etc.

The only problem was that I forgot you are supposed to take the Gonal F out of the refrigerator for at least an hour before you do the shot. (The Gonal F is the only medication so far that needs to be refrigerated).

Oh well,  5 o’clock it is!

As I mentioned before I am not a big fan of needles, and as soon as I started reviewing the information pamphlets my stomach started turning. But instead of breaking down into tears, (which was a real possibility), I pulled up my big girl pants, took several deep breaths, prepared* everything, and then DID IT!

And yet again, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. (I decided to do these shots on the outer part of my thigh rather than my stomach- the pamphlet mentioned making sure to vary the injection sites to help reduce soreness- that was all I needed to read to quickly make that decision!)

*These shots are a little more complicated than the Suprefact. 

Gonal F 

The Gonal F, which looks similar to an EpiPen, doesn’t need much done. I simply added an injection needle to the end and turned the dial to the correct amount.

Luveris

The Luveris was a little more complex. When you open the box there are two different vials. One containing sterile water and the other containing a white powder.

With the help of a Q-Cap I had to take the sterile water out of one vial and add it into the powder.  Once the powder was dissolved I had to turn the vial upside down and withdraw all of the Luveris into the syringe. Finally I had to attach the injection needle.

Not hard, but definitely nerve racking.

Remember how I said that I often look for small 'signs' to make me feel better? Well while unpacking my Gonal F kit this evening I notice the name of the injection needle container... BRAUN! I know its silly, but as soon as I saw it, it made me smile, and relieved a bit of the pressure.