IUI#6

Well, I went this morning at 9am for hopefully my last IUI. The nurses are sooo nice. I love them all. They don't want to hurt you, they are so careful and they chat with you before and after and give so much support. I think I have been inseminated by almost all of them over this past year. At least I will know their faces if we move on to IVF.
Yesterday I got on the phone and begged my OBGYN's office to squeeze me in for my yearly. I got an appointment for Sept.5th at 8:30am. Yay! That won't be a hold up for IVF. We are also meeting with the RE on Sept.10th at 9am. That should be about CD1 or 2 unless the IUI works.
I did start to feel some pangs in my ovaries yesterday and today as well. My belly is bloated tonight. I'm not sure if it's just the HCG shot or a little Ovarian hyperstimulation)OHSS. I don't feel ill, just uncomfortable. I bought some Gatorade tonight at the grocery store just in case I wake up tomorrow nauseas. Gotta keep hydrated.
So now it's on to another 2 week wait(2ww). Thank goodness for the RESOLVE bulletin board. I love to read the posts and chat with others in the same boat. There's a couple of us who will be in the wait together. I had today off of work since I worked last weekend. It was a good day to be off. I haven't done much and I think it's now time for some good sleep.

Trigger Day

Today we went for the IVF overview class. There were a lot of couples there. My first thought was how will they handle all these couples at once? I don't think they told us anything I didn't already know or read on my own. The success rate for my age group isn't 50%. It's more like 38%. I guess that's better than 8-10% with the IUI's. Tomorrow I will call the RE's office and make an appointment to meet with her and see if there are any more tests I need and when we can start if this last IUI is a bust. Tonight I trigger at 9pm and I will go Friday for my 6th IUI. I don't feel anything since we increased my Follistim. I think they are asleep. I wish I could sleep that well on my own. I've been living on Lunesta lately. I need to make more of an effort to get on the treadmill more. It definitely helps.

Last night of stimming....

Yesterday I was really down in the dumps. I think I was so depressed I couldn't even cry. Not sure it would have even helped. My follicles aren't growing and my estradiol level went down to 95. RE wanted me to take 150ux of Follistim last night and tonight. Wed. night I will trigger and will go for my IUI on Friday at 9am. The light at the end of the tunnel is I don't have to do all 4 IUI's with injectable meds I was approved for!!!! I only have to fail 3 with injectable meds and this 3rd cycle isn't looking too promising.

So tomorrow, Chris and I are going for the IVF overview class which is the first step into the world of IVF. I'm excited since this is where I wanted to be the entire last year. Yet I'm freaked because I'm afraid of what else is wrong with me. Are my eggs bad? Am I going to need a donor egg? So many unknowns.

So now I'm waiting to feel some twinges in my sides. It feels like my ovaries are dead. My belly is all black and blue. It needs a rest.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow...

So tomorrow I go for another u/s and b/w. I'm praying for good follicle size and a good estradiol level. I am going to ask how the estradiol level works. I thought each good follicle creates an estradiol of 150-200. But maybe I am wrong. Its so complicated. Cavewomen didn't worry about these things. How far we have come.
I gave my last 2 Follistim shots in my belly. I doubt that really makes a difference in the scheme of things. I made it through another weekend at work. Yay! This week is going to be a busy one.

Disappointment

Today I am feeling down in the dumps. It's my weekend to work and be on call all week but that's not it. I went for my u/s and b/w today. I was thrilled to see my scan. I have 3 follies on the right, around 13mm each and one on the left at 14.5mm. I am usually around 16mm at this point, at least I was with the last 2 cycles. This is the most follicles I have had at once all around the same size. My estradiol (E2) level was only 120. That's kind of low. The RE on call today left me a message that my estradiol level was "great"(who's he kidding) and I should continue my Follistim at usual dose and come back Monday for another u/s and labs. I so wanted to have my IUI on Tuesday. I was expecting to see an estradiol level of 400-600. It' s supposed to be 150-200 per maturing follies.
This is the first cycle I started using my thighs as injection sites instead of my belly. I think I'll go back to my belly. I know that your body can react differently each month to the meds. Maybe it's just coincidence that my first 2 cycles were identical.
Follies grow about 2mm a day. Hopefully I will see an 18mm and maybe some 17mms that will have time to catch up on Monday. Fingers are crossed. I feel pressured into getting this cycle over so I can start the last one and not have it interfere with the weekend we are going away with Chris's family next month. I haven't made any plans to go anywhere or take anytime off of work because of all this IF stuff. It's starting to get to me. Even though I sat out last month, I didn't really get away. This trip in September is eating away at me on the inside. I don't want to disappoint my mother-in-law (MIL). She's been planning this trip for a year now. You just cannot make any plans to go anywhere away from home with IF treatments. It's so unfair. You need to be available for an U/S and labs when your ovaries say so. UGH!! I need to shut it out of my mind right now. I'm done here for now.

Day 2 of stimming

It feels good go be doing something for the cause. I never thought I would enjoy giving myself a shot. God forbid I ever need insulin, it would be ok. I know I could do it. So far I haven't had any side effects. My stomach was a little upset today but I'm never sure if it's the Follistim or the Metformin. I go for my 2nd Ultrasound and bloodwork on Saturday. Monday''s was ok. My lining looked good and it looks like I had my period after all that commotion.I have to work this weekend too. I'm hoping for my next IUI a week from today. I can't believe we're doing IUI#6. I never thought we would have to go this far. I don't want to think too far ahead. I tend to get too worked up when I do. I'm not ready to deal with a life without kids. This HAS to work. Please God, help us if you can.

Waiting is the hardest part....

This has been the hardest week ever! I started the placebo week of birth control pills a week ago yesterday. I had a horrible headache on Monday and started spotting. I was relieved to finally be getting this show on the road. WRONG!! I stopped spotting. I then continued to spot on and off all week. On Friday, I decided to call the office and low and behold, Aunt Flo (AF)looked like she was on her way. I went about my day at work and when I got home, AF almost disappeared. I was so distraught last night. I was planning on going to have an ultrasound (US) on Monday figuring Saturday would be Cycle Day 1. Luckily, I started flowing today as expected. Sadly, I lost a LOT of sleep last night over this.
Trying to figure out Day 1 of your period is the hardest thing ever especially in someone who has never been regular. I also had taken a different BCP this time and had no idea how my body would respond. I would be so upset if I went to the RE's office and they told me I had missed Day 3 of my period and would have to sit out a cycle. The waiting is so damn hard. You wait to start, wait for lab work, wait for your US, wait for a call to see what meds to take that day, wait for your procedure then wait to see if you are pregnant. I am not a patient person. I like action and results.
So with fingers crossed I will enjoy the rest of my weekend and go in on Monday to see what the old ovaries look like. I am going to think positive and plan on starting my Follistim on Monday. It's been a while since I've had to give myself an injection. At least then I feel like I'm doing something productive.

Moving on....

August has arrived and now just waiting for my period to arrive as well. I never thought I would look forward to having one. I now find them a sign of hope that this next cycle will work. I've sat on the bench for the past few weeks. I feel fine. No more pins and needles in my face and no ear pain to speak of. This may sound a little weird but I kind of miss going to the RE's office. The nurses and staff are really wonderful and you see them so often, they remember you, which is nice. I'm hoping IUI#6 will be the one. It's hard not getting your hopes up but I try to remember that the odds are not in our favor that IUI will work (8% chance). You never know. A woman I used to work with got pg on #6. She was on the same meds as I. She even had diabetes which puts her one step ahead of me (in the wrong direction). It's hard to fathom why you aren't pregnant (pg) after an IUI. You have at least one egg and 17 million sperm going in??? How can all 17 million miss the target???? I shudder to think there is something WRONG that we just don't know about yet and is it fixable???? Fingers and toes are crossed for this cycle. It's time to move on.