After our IUI yesterday, I was on high alert for any signs of ovulation. I didn't really feel much, though. I had some generalized cramping but no clear ovulation pains. Usually I can really "feel it" when I ovulate, and I feel it in a very specific location on each side. Oh well, I thought, maybe I just didn't feel it this time.
We decided to not start the prometrium last night, in hopes of seeing a temp shift this morning that a) was not medication-induced and b) would confirm that I ovulated. But this morning, to our dismay, I awoke to a temp that showed no shift at all.
At first we tried to explain it away-- it was, after all, a little chilly in our bedroom-- but as time went on, both Sylvia and I got more and more concerned. By 7:30 we were googling, and by 9:00 we decided to put a call in to Dr. P.
I so don't want to be that patient, the one that annoys the doctor or nurses with silly calls. But if I haven't ovulated yet, we'd probably opt to go in for an additional IUI just to be safe.
We got a call back from Dr. P's nurse around 10:30. I told her our concerns and she said she'd check with Dr. P when she talks to him later today. I asked her if it is possible for a trigger to fail to induce ovulation, and she said she didn't know. I am secretly hoping they decide to bring me in today for an ultrasound to confirm ovulation.
This stuff is so nerve wracking!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Life
Guest blogger: Sylvia
We're finally here. The second round. I wondered how I would feel-- would this be as exciting as the first? Can you believe it? It was even better. I asked myself, how could it be? But the answer came quickly, as I looked down at Christine. My love for her grows every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The love I had in that room was enormous. As I pushed the plunger I felt a sense of.... well, let's just say my heart was smiling bigger than it has ever smiled before. I was so happy when the doctor and the nurse left the room, for it was then that Christine and I could truly enjoy the moment. The moment that we might be creating life.
Life, what a beautiful word. To be able to share the sunshine, the sound of ocean waves, the smell of rain, and all of God's gifts with a child is a simply amazing thought. If it takes, I do pray that this child will know that every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year we will love him or her. I know we will respect this child and we will honor this child the way life should be honored, the way God intended.
We're finally here. The second round. I wondered how I would feel-- would this be as exciting as the first? Can you believe it? It was even better. I asked myself, how could it be? But the answer came quickly, as I looked down at Christine. My love for her grows every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The love I had in that room was enormous. As I pushed the plunger I felt a sense of.... well, let's just say my heart was smiling bigger than it has ever smiled before. I was so happy when the doctor and the nurse left the room, for it was then that Christine and I could truly enjoy the moment. The moment that we might be creating life.
Life, what a beautiful word. To be able to share the sunshine, the sound of ocean waves, the smell of rain, and all of God's gifts with a child is a simply amazing thought. If it takes, I do pray that this child will know that every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year we will love him or her. I know we will respect this child and we will honor this child the way life should be honored, the way God intended.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Full Steam Ahead
HSG on 5/26 was all clear, so we are ON for this cycle!
The stats from yesterday's check...
Ultrasound
Follicles:
L: one 17 mm
R: one 17 mm
Lining: 10 mm
My ovaries looked pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. The large number of cysts I had last cycle seem to have disappeared (I didn't see them and the RE didn't mention seeing any), and I don't feel like my ovaries are the size of grapefruits this cycle, which is great.
Bloodwork
E2: 292
Progesterone: 0.4
FSH: 5 (I think-- I'll have to check that)
I am very happy with that CD13 E2 number. It's not quite the 200-per-mature-follicle they'd like to see, but it is so much better than last time. (Last cycle my E2 was 167 on CD15, the day we triggered.)
We got the call from the RE's office late yesterday afternoon. He wants us to trigger Thursday night (tonight, CD14) and come in for a Saturday morning IUI.
We decided this cycle that we wouldn't mention anything about possible out of town trips to the RE (we both suspect that-- despite our protests-- the RE's office took my work trip into account when scheduling the last IUI, and we maybe triggered a little too early). So on the up-side, we are confident that this is the best timing the RE could possibly suggest. On the down-side, though, we're going to have to back out of attending the wedding of a good friend at the last minute (the wedding is Saturday afternoon, far out of town [we have plane tickets]). I feel so awful about doing that to her (I hated it that a couple of people RSVP'd to our wedding but then didn't come). Even though we weren't planning to tell any of our IRL friends about ttc, we may spill the beans to her so she knows we are only missing her wedding because of something really important. Hopefully she'll forgive us!
The stats from yesterday's check...
Ultrasound
Follicles:
L: one 17 mm
R: one 17 mm
Lining: 10 mm
My ovaries looked pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. The large number of cysts I had last cycle seem to have disappeared (I didn't see them and the RE didn't mention seeing any), and I don't feel like my ovaries are the size of grapefruits this cycle, which is great.
Bloodwork
E2: 292
Progesterone: 0.4
FSH: 5 (I think-- I'll have to check that)
I am very happy with that CD13 E2 number. It's not quite the 200-per-mature-follicle they'd like to see, but it is so much better than last time. (Last cycle my E2 was 167 on CD15, the day we triggered.)
We got the call from the RE's office late yesterday afternoon. He wants us to trigger Thursday night (tonight, CD14) and come in for a Saturday morning IUI.
We decided this cycle that we wouldn't mention anything about possible out of town trips to the RE (we both suspect that-- despite our protests-- the RE's office took my work trip into account when scheduling the last IUI, and we maybe triggered a little too early). So on the up-side, we are confident that this is the best timing the RE could possibly suggest. On the down-side, though, we're going to have to back out of attending the wedding of a good friend at the last minute (the wedding is Saturday afternoon, far out of town [we have plane tickets]). I feel so awful about doing that to her (I hated it that a couple of people RSVP'd to our wedding but then didn't come). Even though we weren't planning to tell any of our IRL friends about ttc, we may spill the beans to her so she knows we are only missing her wedding because of something really important. Hopefully she'll forgive us!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Cycle #2 Update
Let's get caught up, shall we?
The plan for this cycle is: Clomid CD4-8, follie check CD13, trigger, then IUI. Dr. P decided I didn't respond quite as well as he'd hoped to the Clomid at 100 mg, so for this cycle he upped it to 150 mg. Other than a slight increase in the side effects (I soooo woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday!), I haven't felt much of a difference so far.
Our CD4 bloodwork and ultrasound (on 5/18) went well. They said my right ovary was clear of cysts and that things looked "good" on both sides. The nurses both got really quiet when they were looking at my left side, and they snapped a few pics (which they hadn't done on the right), which worried me. For the moment, though, I am taking them at their word and believing the "good" pronouncement.
Bloodwork
E2: 50.8
FSH: 5
The E2 number is great news to me-- last cycle my CD4 E2 was 81, a little too high according to my go-to hormone levels chart. (CD4 FSH last cycle was 4.7.)
Upcoming HSG
In other news, I will be having a HSG Tuesday afternoon. I am not particularly looking forward to it, but I am glad we'll have a little additional information.
The plan for this cycle is: Clomid CD4-8, follie check CD13, trigger, then IUI. Dr. P decided I didn't respond quite as well as he'd hoped to the Clomid at 100 mg, so for this cycle he upped it to 150 mg. Other than a slight increase in the side effects (I soooo woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday!), I haven't felt much of a difference so far.
Our CD4 bloodwork and ultrasound (on 5/18) went well. They said my right ovary was clear of cysts and that things looked "good" on both sides. The nurses both got really quiet when they were looking at my left side, and they snapped a few pics (which they hadn't done on the right), which worried me. For the moment, though, I am taking them at their word and believing the "good" pronouncement.
Bloodwork
E2: 50.8
FSH: 5
The E2 number is great news to me-- last cycle my CD4 E2 was 81, a little too high according to my go-to hormone levels chart. (CD4 FSH last cycle was 4.7.)
Upcoming HSG
In other news, I will be having a HSG Tuesday afternoon. I am not particularly looking forward to it, but I am glad we'll have a little additional information.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Ready for Round Two
I am so ready for this cycle. I've had my fun, eating sweets and chocolate and drinking coffee and soda for the last day or two. I spent today mowing the lawn and perching myself precariously on our old rickety play set to trim a tree. Tomorrow if the rain lets up I'll do my last bit of strenuous yard work before our next IUI.
Sylvia and I have already planned out all the heavy lifting around the house that needs to get done, and we're working our way through the list. Tomorrow we'll be moving furniture between the main level and the finished basement, and maybe even finally disassembling the Christmas tree and putting it up in the attic (have I mentioned it's been a busy year?).
I was so touched when I came in from doing yard work to find that Sylvia had taken the afternoon to start cleaning out our home office (which is the room that will hopefully be a child's room some day).
We're nesting. And it feels good.
Sylvia and I have already planned out all the heavy lifting around the house that needs to get done, and we're working our way through the list. Tomorrow we'll be moving furniture between the main level and the finished basement, and maybe even finally disassembling the Christmas tree and putting it up in the attic (have I mentioned it's been a busy year?).
I was so touched when I came in from doing yard work to find that Sylvia had taken the afternoon to start cleaning out our home office (which is the room that will hopefully be a child's room some day).
We're nesting. And it feels good.
Friday, May 15, 2009
CD35 / CD1
Farewell, April cycle!
CD1: Apr. 10
Clomid, 100 mg/day: CD4-8
Ovidrel trigger: CD15
IUI: CD17
O date, per symptoms & trigger: Apr. 26 (CD17)
Low progesterone found CD26
Prometrium, 400 mg/day: CD26-32
CD35: May 14
Hello, May cycle!
CD1: Apr. 10
Clomid, 100 mg/day: CD4-8
Ovidrel trigger: CD15
IUI: CD17
O date, per symptoms & trigger: Apr. 26 (CD17)
Low progesterone found CD26
Prometrium, 400 mg/day: CD26-32
CD35: May 14
Hello, May cycle!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
BFN Recap Post
As much as I might like to skip right over this post and just talk about where we're going from here, I realize it would be a little strange to skip directly from 12dpo to cycle #2. So, here you go...
IUI #1 was a bust. The BFNs, in order of appearance:
14dpo, Mother's Day: BFN
We thought we'd test on Mother's Day Sunday just because it'd be a neat day to get a BFP (if that was what it was). And, we reasoned, at least we'd be together all day if we were dealing with BFN news. So we tested first thing that morning. We both hunched anxiously over the test, willing that second line to appear. It didn't.
Right after that we went to church. We were both doing okay, having somewhat expected a BFN. That is, until we walked in to church. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed. Everyone all dressed up, wishing each other a happy Mother's Day... It was too much for me and I am ashamed to say I was not able to contain my tears. Luckily I only cried through the first hymn before I was able to pull it together.
At the end of the service, they asked all the mothers to come up to the front of the church. Sylvia went up and stood with all the other mothers and received a flower. When she came back to her seat, she tried to hand the flower to me to hold. I wouldn't take it. All in all, I didn't handle things as well as I'd hoped I would.
After church I took Sylvia out to brunch for Mother's Day, which was fun. The whole day was bittersweet-- trying to celebrate Sylvia as a mother while also trying to absorb that morning's BFN...
15dpo, AM before beta: BFN x 2
Monday morning before my beta we decided to test again. We would be apart when we got the phone call (it was Sylvia's day off and I'd be at work), so we wanted to test together before I went to work. I used a regular hpt first. S thought she saw a faint line, so I tested again with a digital hpt. Turns out S was just having a little double-vision because she didn't have her glasses on. The digital's "NO" was pretty clear.
15dpo, beta: negative (BFN)
Even though we had tested and didn't really expect a different result from the beta, we were both on pins and needles all afternoon. By the time 2:20 rolled around and we hadn't heard from the nurse, we decided to give them a call. I called Sylvia first, then conferenced in the RE's office. After a longer-than-usual wait on hold, the nurse got on the line and told us the beta was negative. She also said that (despite using the progesterone suppositories twice a day) my progesterone was only at a 12.
Once the nurse hung up, Sylvia and I had a mini-cry together before I had to gather myself for my 3:00 meeting. Heart aching, all I wanted was to get home to my wife.
IUI #1 was a bust. The BFNs, in order of appearance:
14dpo, Mother's Day: BFN
We thought we'd test on Mother's Day Sunday just because it'd be a neat day to get a BFP (if that was what it was). And, we reasoned, at least we'd be together all day if we were dealing with BFN news. So we tested first thing that morning. We both hunched anxiously over the test, willing that second line to appear. It didn't.
Right after that we went to church. We were both doing okay, having somewhat expected a BFN. That is, until we walked in to church. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed. Everyone all dressed up, wishing each other a happy Mother's Day... It was too much for me and I am ashamed to say I was not able to contain my tears. Luckily I only cried through the first hymn before I was able to pull it together.
At the end of the service, they asked all the mothers to come up to the front of the church. Sylvia went up and stood with all the other mothers and received a flower. When she came back to her seat, she tried to hand the flower to me to hold. I wouldn't take it. All in all, I didn't handle things as well as I'd hoped I would.
After church I took Sylvia out to brunch for Mother's Day, which was fun. The whole day was bittersweet-- trying to celebrate Sylvia as a mother while also trying to absorb that morning's BFN...
15dpo, AM before beta: BFN x 2
Monday morning before my beta we decided to test again. We would be apart when we got the phone call (it was Sylvia's day off and I'd be at work), so we wanted to test together before I went to work. I used a regular hpt first. S thought she saw a faint line, so I tested again with a digital hpt. Turns out S was just having a little double-vision because she didn't have her glasses on. The digital's "NO" was pretty clear.
15dpo, beta: negative (BFN)
Even though we had tested and didn't really expect a different result from the beta, we were both on pins and needles all afternoon. By the time 2:20 rolled around and we hadn't heard from the nurse, we decided to give them a call. I called Sylvia first, then conferenced in the RE's office. After a longer-than-usual wait on hold, the nurse got on the line and told us the beta was negative. She also said that (despite using the progesterone suppositories twice a day) my progesterone was only at a 12.
Once the nurse hung up, Sylvia and I had a mini-cry together before I had to gather myself for my 3:00 meeting. Heart aching, all I wanted was to get home to my wife.
Friday, May 8, 2009
I Tested
Sylvia called me from work today (I was home on my day off) and told me it was okay with her if I tested... so I did.
12dpo: BFN
I was actually strangely calm about the result. "It's still early," I told myself. Then went to the fridge and got a plate of cookies and a glass of milk and curled up in bed. And started making a mental list of all the heavy things in the house I need to lift before IUI #2 if this cycle doesn't work out. And had pizza for dinner and didn't eat a single vegetable all day long.
In other(?) news, I have been having lots of strange cramps. Some are stabbing pains just barely above my pubic bone, and others are more "cramp-like" (if that makes any sense at all-- of course I am over-analyzing everything!). I don't usually cramp until day two of a period, but I know the progesterone supplements could be throwing me off my "usual".
Apparently I am not the only one who tests early then wonders if it means they are out of the game: when I started typing my search into Google, it came up with the search phrase "12 dpo bfn then bfp" with 29,700 results. Search results, that is; not 29,700 people who said they got a bfp after a 12 dpo bfn, unfortunately.
Despite my better judgement, I am still clinging to hope.
12dpo: BFN
I was actually strangely calm about the result. "It's still early," I told myself. Then went to the fridge and got a plate of cookies and a glass of milk and curled up in bed. And started making a mental list of all the heavy things in the house I need to lift before IUI #2 if this cycle doesn't work out. And had pizza for dinner and didn't eat a single vegetable all day long.
In other(?) news, I have been having lots of strange cramps. Some are stabbing pains just barely above my pubic bone, and others are more "cramp-like" (if that makes any sense at all-- of course I am over-analyzing everything!). I don't usually cramp until day two of a period, but I know the progesterone supplements could be throwing me off my "usual".
Apparently I am not the only one who tests early then wonders if it means they are out of the game: when I started typing my search into Google, it came up with the search phrase "12 dpo bfn then bfp" with 29,700 results. Search results, that is; not 29,700 people who said they got a bfp after a 12 dpo bfn, unfortunately.
Despite my better judgement, I am still clinging to hope.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Feeling Blue-ish
The twinges and beginning symptoms of last week seem to have more-or-less faded. (Sure, I'm a little nauseous every now and then, but then again Metformin will do that to you. And yes, there's a little cramping, but it's intermittent and, anyway, who knows what that is.) I am feeling a little discouraged at the moment. Blue-ish, if you will.
I wish I could test before Sunday, but Sylvia and I agreed on Sunday and she said she'd be upset if I tested without telling her (yes, I asked). I don't want to put her through any unnecessary stress, but testing on Saturday (13dpo/IUI) would relieve some of my anxiety-- if it were negative, I could start preparing myself for our official tests on Sunday (hpt) and Monday (beta), and if it were positive (even faintly so), I could start relaxing into the possibility of Yes.
I know I wasn't supposed to get my hopes up this first cycle, but that ship sailed a loooong time ago.
I wish I could test before Sunday, but Sylvia and I agreed on Sunday and she said she'd be upset if I tested without telling her (yes, I asked). I don't want to put her through any unnecessary stress, but testing on Saturday (13dpo/IUI) would relieve some of my anxiety-- if it were negative, I could start preparing myself for our official tests on Sunday (hpt) and Monday (beta), and if it were positive (even faintly so), I could start relaxing into the possibility of Yes.
I know I wasn't supposed to get my hopes up this first cycle, but that ship sailed a loooong time ago.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Progesterone Check Results
Got the call from the nurse this afternoon with results from this morning's bloodwork (8dpIUI). My progesterone is low, so they are starting me on supplements tonight.
Progesterone: 9.08
My particular RE's office wants to see it above 10. I am not missing their target too dramatically, but many online sources suggest it should be above 15 on a medicated cycle.
This is me, trying to not worry.
Progesterone: 9.08
My particular RE's office wants to see it above 10. I am not missing their target too dramatically, but many online sources suggest it should be above 15 on a medicated cycle.
This is me, trying to not worry.
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