Thawed Eggs

Yesterday morning Chris went into the Regional Fertility Clinic in order to provide a sample of his sperm.

They then thawed our eggs and used a process called ICSI to inject one of his sperm directly into each of the eggs.

This morning I received a phone call to update me on how everything was going so far.

I was excited to find out that all 6 eggs thawed successfully and that
5 of them are fertilized!

They will continue assessing these fertilized eggs and if all goes well we will be doing the embryo transfer either Saturday or Monday.

They will call me again tomorrow morning to let me know how our eggs are developing... fingers crossed that our embryos continue to divide and grow!

I will update again tomorrow with whatever I find out.

Ultrasound News

This morning I had my ultrasound to check the lining of my uterus.

Up until today I have been taking my different medications automatically and haven't really being feeling a lot of stress.

This morning while driving to the Regional Fertility Program's clinic I had what felt like butterflies with baseball bats slugging it out in my stomach.

The thickness of my uterus lining has always been good so I'm not sure why I got so nervous- other than my body doesn't seem to react well to some of the different medications I have taken.

The ultrasound was not done by my doctor, but by one of the fertility doctors on staff. (As I've mentioned in previous posts the doctors are on a rotating schedule and patients see whomever is working that day).

As this was an ultrasound to check my uterus lining it was done vaginally- I'm pretty sure I've had around 40 of these now so they no longer make me cringe.

The first thing that the doctor mentioned was that he could see something in my lining... which is when my heart and mind started racing.

He then went on to say that the thickness of my lining looked good.

Great news!

Although, to be honest I barely heard that as all of my attention was focused on what did he see and wondering if it was going to prevent us from proceeding.

I immediately asked him if it was uterine fibroids, but he said it looked more like adenomyosis.

'Adenomyosis is a condition in which the inner lining of the uterus (the endometrium) breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus (the myometrium). Adenomyosis can cause menstrual cramps, lower abdominal pressure, and bloating before menstrual periods and can result in heavy periods. The condition can be located throughout the entire uterus or localized in one spot.'

- WebMD

I then asked if he thought it would interfere with implantation. He told me that it is unknown whether or not it affects fertility. Again my mind started spinning, but then I realized that there is nothing I can do about it.

So I've decided to focus on the positive and that is that my lining is good!

My updated schedule looks like this:

Friday, Feb. 17th- (Today) I continue taking my ASA, Suprefact, Estrace and prenatal vitamin.

Tuesday, Feb. 21- I will start taking 2 antibiotics a day, 16 mg (4 pills) of Medrol and an evening dose of Crinone (starting tomorrow I take 2 doses a day 12 hours apart)

Wednesday, Feb. 22- Chris goes in to provide his sperm sample to fertilize the eggs and they thaw our eggs

Thursday, Feb. 23- We should be given an update of how the fertilization process is going. I also take the last dose of Suprefact.

Friday, Feb. 24- We will be given another update of how the fertilization process is going.

Depending on how things are going we will be looking at having the transfer on Saturday the 25th or Monday the 27th.

The new drugs I'll be taking are:

Medrol- This steroid hormone is sometimes taken when the Assisted-Hatch procedure is being done in conjunction with the Embryo transfer. It is taken to suppress any inflammatory reaction that might occur between the embryo(s) and the endometrial lining.'                                      -Family Beginnings

Crinone- Progesterone gel
     

Getting Ready... Again

In order to prepare for this donor egg round there was several things I needed to do first.

Of course there were the usual blood tests that I needed to have done. Those were to check my hormone levels of which I was told looked 'good'.

I also had to have another sonohysterogram.

To say that I was beyond scared to have this one would be an understatement.

Thankfully this time it was a completely different story. I can't believe that I'm saying this, especially after all the pain I experienced last time, but it really wasn't that bad!

The technician and doctor told me that my uterus looked 'normal' and they would verify with my doctor that I was ok to go ahead with this round.

When I asked about my uterine fibroids they said they didn't see any... they mentioned it looked like I may have adenomyosis, but otherwise my uterus looked good.  I guess fibroids really can disappear?

Once I was given the all clear I had to wait to start my period so they could put me on the pill. Although this seems contradictory they do this to regulate my period and have a clear timeline.

After a month on the pill and another period, I then had to start taking Suprefact nasal spray 5 times a day. The Suprefact stops my body from producing my own hormones. I also started taking one lose dose Aspirin and prenatal vitamin a day.

Then 17 days later I started taking 2 Estrace pills twice a day. The Estrace is a form of estrogen that I need to take to build up my uterus lining.

On the 17th I will go in to have an ultrasound to check my lining. If everything looks good we may be having the transfer on the 24 or 26.

I have some other medications that I will need to take, but I haven't been given the timeline for them.

I'll update again when I have more information.

Here We Go... Finger's Crossed!

I did it! 

I know that seems dramatic, but honestly I was terrified about giving myself the first shot. 

In fact, I was so nervous that I woke up at 3:00 a.m. from an extremely vivid dream in which I was trying to administer the shot to myself.

In the dream for some reason I wasn’t able to reach the end of the needle to push the Suprefact down the syringe. I ended up finally being able to adminster it by pushing the end of the syringe into the wall in front of me.

It didn’t end there… I also took the needle out too soon (you're supposed to wait 3 seconds) which caused half of the Suprefact to come out and left a disgusting taste in my mouth. When I woke up I still had the awful taste in my mouth and felt a twinge where I had 'given' myself the needle. Did I mention the needle was about the size of a hotdog?!

Here is the syringe, Suprefact,
Lori's alcohol wipe, info sheet and
biohazard container.

Thankfully real life wasn't nearly as dramatic or as painful.

In fact, it was quite easy. The most difficult part was getting exactly 0.2 ml into the syringe... For some reason I kept getting either too much or not enough. (Probably my nerves!)

I will be continuing to take the Suprefact twice a day, 12 hours apart, until I receive my HCG injection which will take place two days prior to egg retrieval... fingers crossed!

In a couple of days I will also be starting the Gonal F and Luveris shots as well as oral antibiotics. (I have to call RFP on the first day of my period so they can tell me when to start those). In case you didn't do the math that is four needles a day!

Close up of the instruction sheet.

I am feeling much more confident now that I have done my first shot.  Although I still wish that we would have been able to conceive naturally,  I am feeling better in general about doing IVF.