Thursday, September 11, 2014

Trigger & Retrieve

Trigger & retrieve.  And trigger & retrieve.  And trigger & retrieve...as needed.  (First "Friends" reference of this entry.)

We have a retrieval date!!!  I’m so excited.  I had started this super sweet blog entry about how my husband is so awesome, and then I checked my portal (my online communication tool with my doctor) and saw that we had a retrieval date.  All sweet entries got pushed out the window.  I’m in sheer excitement mode, now.

My excitement is three-fold:  (That line is for you “Friends” fans, too.)
1.       I don’t have to take anymore stim shots!  Woo hoo!  My thighs are stoked to be moving on to the next step.  My bruises can heal, and my pinholes can close.  (Of course, this means the even more uncomfortable Progesterone shot starts in 2 days, but at least I get some better drugs for that one.)
2.       I don’t have to have another blood draw until Monday and then not another one for a couple of weeks.  This morning was the worst blood draw I have had this cycle.  She always goes for the same vein, but that vein was screaming today about how sore it was getting.  Sayonara to those!
3.       I don’t have to order more Follistim.  My biggest fear was that we were going to have to order more of the “Liquid Gold.”  It’s the most expensive of the stim meds by far, and I wasn’t looking forward to scrounging through our budget to pull together another $1,000 or so.  (We did end up with a little over $1,100 extra in meds, but like my cousin said, "That's a drop in the bucket.")

So, trigger shot tonight at 12:30 AM on. the. dot.  No accidental sleeping through it, or my cycle is cancelled.  We don’t have that problem, though.  I probably will be too excited to even fall asleep tonight.

Tomorrow is the best day in an IVF cycle, in my opinion.  It’s SHOT FREE DAY!  Of course, when I get a positive pregnancy test this cycle, THAT will become my new favorite day.  J

Tomorrow, I just take my regular vitamins, and I trade the Dexamethasone (egg producing pill) with Doxycycline.  This is just used to make sure I don’t get an infection from the transfer procedure.

Saturday morning, Todd and I have to be at the office at 9:45 AM.  My retrieval will be at 10:30, and his will be at 11:15.  Since we both have the privilege of going completely under general anesthesia this time, my mom will be going with us as our chauffeur.  We’re excited to share this experience with her since we are becoming old pros at it.  J

That day, I also start another new pill for me called Medrol.  It’s an anti-inflammatory and may increase implantation rates.  Bring on the double doses, Doc! 

That night, we do our first Progesterone shot.  Hopefully, Todd will be feeling well enough to give it to me since it’s the first one I’ve had in 9 months.  It’s carrying agent is oil, so it’s really thick.  The needle is larger than the others.  It has to be given in the muscle in your hind side.  It can start to cause knots and lots of bruising.  It has to be given in the same spot every night…well, you get to switch sides each night.  Sound fun?!  Ugh!  You take this shot for your entire first trimester.  When it ends, you celebrate like banshees.  (I don’t know what banshees are, but I bet they like to celebrate.)

The rest of the day on Saturday and Sunday, we will be doing what Provences do best…laying around!  We have an amazing friend from church bringing us dinner for Saturday night.  That way, my mom doesn’t have to worry about cooking and caring for a big cry baby…Todd.  J

Next Thursday, we will return to the office for our embryo transfer.  I will be receiving daily updates on their growth between Saturday and Thursday.  There is a lot more to the transfer this time because of our decision to undergo genetic testing that I will explain later.

At this point, we are thrilled.  We are staying busy, and we are ready for a relaxed weekend of retrievals and Tivos.  (We don’t even have a Tivo, but it fit best with the word retrieval.  The truth is that we will be laying on our backs and watching TV all weekend.  Ah, the life!)

Hope everyone else has as relaxing of a weekend as we do!  (Take note how I’m trying to be positive and wish any pain to stay away from either of us…especially Todd.)


Shot Counter:
Saturday, 8/30/14:
1)      Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
2)      Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
3)      Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Sunday, 8/31/14:
4)      Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
5)      Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
6)      Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Monday, 9/1/14:
7)      Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
8)      Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
9)      Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Tuesday, 9/2/14:
10)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
11)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
12)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Wednesday, 9/3/14:
13)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
14)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
15)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Thursday, 9/4/14:
16)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
17)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
18)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Friday, 9/5/14:
19)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
20)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
21)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Saturday, 9/6/14:
22)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
23)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
24)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Sunday, 9/7/14:
25)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
26)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
27)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Monday, 9/8/14:
28)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
29)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
30)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Tuesday, 9/9/14:
31)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
32)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
33)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Wednesday, 9/10/14:
34)   Follistim 225 units, in the a.m.
35)   Menopur 75 IU, in the a.m.
36)   Follistim 225 units, in the p.m.
Thursday, 9/11/14:
37)   Follistim 300 units, in the a.m.
38)   TRIGGER SHOT!!!

4 comments:

  1. yay! I am so excited for you! Make sure you drink some gatorade so you don't get OHSS or at least stop some bloating :) Praying for you sugars!! xo

    waitingforbabybird.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have had my Gatorade AND V8 today! :) Thank you for prayers! *Hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love, Love, Love! Praying for those sweet babies brewing at the office! Grow big and strong for mama Provence. <3

    ReplyDelete