Progress Feels Good

The usual every-other-day check up this morning... but my little follicle, that cute little thing, had grown! A 12mm follicle 2 days ago is now a plump 18mm! Which means it's WAY ready to make it's trek down into my uterus.  Thank goodness.  So, I was able to take the trigger shot (which has been waiting patiently for me in my fridge) tonight between the hours of 6 and 10.  Here it is:

The needle was the same size, but the injection was much longer because of the amount I had to inject.  Tomorrow is a "Day of Rest" - meaning no injections, no ultrasound, and no bloodwork. Then on Tuesday we have the big show - the IUI.  I'll tell you all about that experience!  For now I'm happy to see the new developments and move ahead. 

(Thanks, G, for taking the pic of the shot before you watched me inject it!)

Redundant

Me and shots. So so so sick of them.  I am on day 7 of injections of Follistem.  I feel crampy, and have these thoughts that the cramp is my follicle bursting in my ovary.  Silly,  I know.  I have watched these little "chocolate chips" grow on my ovary ("cookie") for 7 days now. I take injections and return to the doctor every other day, minimum.  (Thanks to Dr. Perky for the chocolate chip cookie analogy).  

7am visits to the doctor aren't the greatest, but they get old when you have a bruise on your arm from the blood being drawn, and when you get more action from the internal ultrasound probe than your own husband.  Please, oh please, little follicles... please grow.  

The doctor said that once they "start" growing, they will grow quickly, so they are trying to keep this growth process from spiraling out of control.  I am ready. Have I said that already? 

Shots, Shots, and More Shots

Like I said before, I've been taking FSH via injection.  I started out on day 9 with 150iu.  Then, on day 11, 12, and 13, I took 75 (per day).  This was because my follicles weren't measuring large enough, or weren't present.  I learned today that They (doctors) are looking for at least 2 large follicles per ovary.  This morning, after taking these additional injections, G and I went back to the doctor to get monitored again.  My estrogen level is 77.7 and my lining is measuring 9.3. If you know what this means, please contact me.  What I know it means: everything is slowly trucking along.  I am taking the FSH for another 2 days at 112iu each day.  Slow and steady wins the singleton race.  

I go back in to be monitored at 7am on Wednesday.  This is when I will find out if we can finally schedule the IUI.  What I thought would be a fast paced cycle is turning out to be fairly lengthly.  Until today I hadn't really noticed much in terms of side effects.  I'm having all this hormone pumped into me, but so far I've been feeling okay.  Today I did notice some cramping and general discomfort-  and I am so so so tired.  G will have to tell you how I'm doing in the "moody" department.  Lucky for him he'll be out of town as I'm pumped full of meds for the next few days - and as my estrogen begins to peak (in this phase of the cycle).  

The above picture is my current nightly ritual.  I have a biohazard container, needles, injection pen, and medicine.  I can't wait for this phase to be over.  

Tests and More Meds

My cycle, ah, my cycle... 

Day 1 finally came, right on schedule.  I took the full 21 days of femcon, and my cycle started about 2 days after I completed the meds.  I went in for my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork, and everything looked great! So, we began the clomid on day 3-7  (100mg/day).  On day 9 I took an FSH injection (Follistem pen) at 150iu.  Day 11 I went in for a monitoring bloodwork and ultrasound check-in.  The doctor told me that while he could see some follicles, there weren't enough nor were they large enough.  So, back to the follistem.  The doc told me to take it for 3 more days - but only at 75iu each day.  Today is the third day, and tomorrow morning I go back in for bloodwork and ultrasound.  IF everything looks good (ie., the follicles are large and plentiful), then I will take a "trigger" shot (to release the eggs), and my IUI will be scheduled.  

On glitch is that G has to go out of town Tuesday (until Friday) and they IUI could possibly be on Wednesday.  So we're talking about using a frozen sample, or trying to manipulate the meds so that I can push back my IUI.  I'm not excited about the fact that I may have to conceive our child while G is away, but I am less excited about abandoning all of this work and cancelling this cycle.  I don't want to put my body through anything more than it has to go through.  I have serious mixed feelings through.  

Update tomorrow!

Tick Tock

So last month I took the Femcon (birth control) to regulate hormones like a good gal... and when I suffered through the side effects and felt out of control of myself, I knew it was all for a good cause.  I reached day 1 with no problem, and schedule my ultrasound and bloodwork on day 3 like I was supposed to.  My nurse sounded excited and I was thrilled that I was done taking the femcon and was down to business.  

Then Day 2 came, and my nurse called me back.  She called to tell me that the insurance had not processed my first round of IUI, so I could not start this month, I would have to do another month of femcon and try again next month - hoping that the insurance would come through in the meantime.  (This could take up to 6 weeks). 

She had me start the 2nd month of Femcon immediately, in order to maintain control of the hormones.  Here we go again, I thought.  

The first round of Femcon was supposed to last for 21 days, but I started my cycle on day 17 of the pills - so I stopped taking them (nurses orders). This round I took all 21 days of the pill, and am now on the "off" week.  I'm predicting that tomorrow will be day 1 of my cycle... and I was panicking about it.  What if my insurance hadn't cleared yet? I'd be really disheartened if I had taken another month of pills for no immediate reason. 

Today, when I arrived home there was a letter in the mail from the Fertility office... my insurance was approved for 6 rounds of IUI (they only attempt 3, but I'm not complaining!!)  

So.. timing is perfect, and we are off to the races... c'mon day 1!!