Tag Archives: Stims

IVF # 6 – Stim Day 6 – The 411

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Today is my sixth day of stims and my second day on Metformin.  So far, all I have noticed is decreased hunger, more tummy noises, and a bit of queasiness in waves throughout the day.  It is nothing that profound, however, enough that I notice it and then it passes.

I have four more days then I go for my baseline and blood work !  I will be in Northern VA with my family so I will get everything done at the same place I was going to when I was visiting my mom.

Today, I spent most of the day being drug from store to store with my mom as she wanted to go shopping… her go to when she is bored ! I HATE shopping… I HATE crowds.. I HATE people and what I HATE even more is hanging out in malls when I have nothing that I need.  I did pick up some cute Christmas themed tissue paper and gift bags for the gifts I bought.

This morning, I started perfecting a new recipe for Orange Cranberry Brioche.  It came out really well !  I am going to make another version using water in lieu of whole milk and tweak it a bit to get more of a rise.  The loaves rose more during baking than they did while sitting in the pans, so I was happy about that.  The bread was amazing in flavor !  I added butter extract, orange extract, orange peel and Cointreau.  I can not wait to try the other recipe tomorrow.  I intended to do it today, but my mother was insistent on going out.  😦    I told her today, I am NOT going shopping with her again tomorrow nor any other time soon.  She wore me OUT!.

In stalker news:  This heifer will not stop calling !  I have my ringers off and never have them on anyway since she calls in the middle of the night from spoofed numbers.  I block the numbers she calls from and then she just calls from another one.  I am changing my phone numbers with the new year and that will take care of that.  She has called enough that the police have everything they needs for a harassment complaint.  I was sooooo tempted to call her from a spoofed number and have the caller id say HEAVEN or her son’s name, but I thought better of it and decided I am not going down to her level.  God will handle her !  This is not my battle to fight.

My focus is getting prepared for the baby battle and win this war !  I am determined that I will be successful with this cycle and will get to bring my healthy babies home at the end of the summer !

Well, my get up and go has got up and went !  Good night ! 🙂

IVF #5 – Stim Day 20 – The Last Night of Stims – The 411

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One More Day

Today is officially my LAST NIGHT of Stimming !!   I have been patiently injecting myself am and pm for the past 20 days !  Tomorrow morning, I do my injection of Ganirelix, Neupogen, and Lovenox and then I wait until 9:30 pm and do my 1st Novarel trigger shot.

I went in this morning for monitoring and I have 11 follicles on the right and 3 on the left.  I am hoping that by Saturday retrieval they are ALL mature and retrievable.  I am getting anxious.  I just need this to be MY cycle !  My doctor called in a script for Viagra for me to take vaginally to make sure my lining is an 8. Of course insurance will not cover it and its $41 per pill !   $900 for a prescription… I swear insurance companies are rip offs !  Since my lining looks pretty good today, as opposed to the drop it took last week on Friday, I am only going to get 4 of the 20 pills they called in.

IVF 5 stim day 2                           IVF 5 - Follistim   ivf 5 stim day 4 neupogen     ivf 5- viagara                 ivf 5 meds 2

This evening, I will inject the Gonal-F and Menopur.   I have packed all of my belongings and shipped them to the hotel and I have my dress and coat laid out that I am wearing for the funeral tomorrow.  I am going to just wear it to NY since I am not lugging luggage with me.  It is easier to just wear a comfy dress and take my dressier satin overcoat that I will switch into and a pair of heels. I am taking an oversize purse with my laptop in it and the heels so it will be easy for me to move about.  I am meeting my make up artist for breakfast in the morning and then leaving from breakfast and heading up to the Bronx to the funeral.  I am not looking forward to attending a double funeral AT ALL !   I absolutely HATE funerals.  They are too sad.  I will be there to show my love and support and will forgo the burial.

I will update tomorrow with how things went ~

IVF #5 – Stim Day 18 – The 411

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ivf 5 - thou shall respect the stim

Today is the 18th day of stims.  I went in this morning for monitoring and blood work.  I have 11 follicles on the right and two on the left according to the technician who did today’s scan.  I have not logged into the patient portal as of yet to read the follicular report, so I am just regurgitating what was told to me this morning.

I did my morning injections of Ganirelix, Lovenox (which is causing to me to bleed from the little scabs on my tummy where I have been injecting the past 18 days) and the Neupogen.  I took my synthroid today, which I have been taking every 2-3 days because my TSH plummets when I take it daily and I also took the prednisone, prenatal vitamin and Claritin.

This evening, I will take my vitamin d emulsion and inject the Menopur and Follistim.  I will also take the second dosage of Prednisone.

So far, I do not have that overly full ovary feel that I am used to having.  By now, on the other protocol, I would have had a hard time sitting up straight by now.  My nurse said my largest follicle is 17 mm so I have a little ways to go.  I am scheduled to trigger on Thursday and my retrieval will be on Saturday morning.  I assume that my transfer will be on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I am not doing a five day transfer, but a three.  I want to get back and spend Mother’s Day with my mom.

ivf 5 - stim day 18 scan

I am relieved that my uncle is going to come get my grandmother the day before I leave for New York and keep her until I return.  My mom started radiation this week (tomorrow is the 1st actual radiation as today was just practice) and I was worried about how the radiation will affect her.  My grandmother is a sneaky little thing and if left unattended (while my mom is asleep) she will plunder throughout the house or do things she knows she is not supposed to do, like feed her dog my $23 pot roast complete with rice and gravy, as my mom caught her doing while I was at the theater on Sunday, lol !

It is akin to having an 83 year old child in the house.  You can not leave your mail or documents lying around unless you want them read.  Alzheimers or dementia causes the elderly to become extremely suspicious.  I am not exactly sure what it is she thinks she is going to find…. It drives me mother crazy and I find it hilarious.  Well, I found her antics funny until she fed that damned dog my pot roast !  I made the pot roast for myself and got a really good cut.  I gave my dog and her dog what was left over on my plate that I had as an early lunch, so I guess in her mind that translated to FEED THE DOGS POT ROAST !  When my mom came into the kitchen, my grandmom was preparing a plate for her dog and almost jumped out of her skin when she got “caught”.  She knew I was gone because she can see me pull out of the garage and out of the driveway from her room.  I think she assumed my mom was with me and she was at home alone lol.   We have cameras up all over the house so even when away, we can see what she is doing.

I am excited to report that tomorrow is the first day of filming for my cooking show. I got my final SAG documents today and I faxed them my taft hartley paperwork so that I can get my SAG AFTRA card.  I got a cute grey and white pj set to cook in.  I only wish my make up artist were here to beat my face, but for a cooking show, I can pretty much handle a simple make up job.   I can not wait for you guys to see my logo !   🙂

Have a great evening ~

IVF #5 – Stim Day 9 – The 411

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IVF 5 stim day 2IVF 5 - Follistimivf - menopur                                           ivf 5 stim day 4 neupogen

Well, today is Stim Day 9 !   I am completely wiped out !!   I did not do my am injections until around 11 am this morning because I had to drive to NC at 3 am to meet my sister to drop off her kids.  My two year old niece and my 21 year old nephew were here visiting for two weeks over Spring Break.

I got back around 10:30 – 11 am this morning and immediately did my Ganirelix, Neupogen, and Lovenox injections.  I will wait until around 8pm to inject the Menopur and Follistim.

I am hoping that the Follistim is starting to do it’s thing and that the follicles will start growing to a measurable rate and not drag on.  I am beyond exhausted on this new med protocol.  I took a four hour nap !   I am still sleepy, but decided to get up and make the organic, homemade Strawberry ice cream I cooked and refrigerated yesterday morning.  Now I have two huge tubs of Strawberry and one fresh Peach in the freezer.   Now that my niece has gone home, I MAY be able to eat a little of the ice cream LOL.  Before she got here, she would never eat anything cold… go figure !  I started making the ice cream for my mom in the Cuisinart Ice Cream- Frozen Yogurt Maker I have.  My niece was infatuated with the machine and the ingredients churning, so when I finished a batch of Vanilla Bean, I gave her some on a spoon and then she insisted she wanted more in a bowl.  That began her love of ice cream.   I sent my sister a link to a Cuisinart that was now on sale so that she could make this at home for the baby.

I missed the Earth Day Concert on the National Mall today since I had to travel, but it is okay.  I am trying to avoid crowds and people …. and pollen !  No sense in hanging around outdoors too much and risking getting a sinus infection prior to these procedures in a week.

I think the only thing I wish I could do right now is enjoy a glass of white wine.  I hear a German Eiswein calling my name, but I can not have it 😦

Have an awesome Saturday !!

IVF #5 – Stim Day 4 – The 411

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ivf 5 stim day 1

Today is stim day 4 !!  It is Delestrogen (tush injection) day.  I did my Ganirelix injection this morning and took the other meds and prenatal that I am to take.  At lunch time, I looked on my instruction sheet and realized that today was the day I am to inject estrogen.  It is done every three days.  To give my grandmother something to do, I asked her to do the injection.  She is a retired nurse, but does have alzheimers so I was hoping and praying the whole time that she “still has it” and she does !  I did not even feel the needle go in and she proclaims, all done !  🙂

ivf 5 stim day 4 neupogen

I finally got my neupogen script and had to make an adjustment to my dosage after my dear friend informed me that the dosage I was taking was not the therapeutic dosage that Dr. Braverman wants us to take.  I was taking .1 ml and the correct dosage is .34 ml ! 🙂  WHEW !  Glad I know now so that is one more thing I can not worry about going wrong.  With the increased dosage, it should really help with the NK cells and cytokenes and also help the NK cells in my lining remain dormant as well so that my body is not fighting the embryos that are transferred.

I am nervous and excited and scared all at the same time about proceeding with the protocol.  After my next baseline on Wednesday, I am to start Follistim, which I’ve not taken before.  I am hoping there are no crazy side effects.

I will keep you updated and please continue to send up positive affirmations, prayers and thoughts on my behalf.  If this cycle works, I will will be having New Years babies !  Go figure….

IVF #4 – Stim Day 8 – The 411

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baby - ivf 4 stim day 8 scan

This morning, I went in for my monitoring appointment and labs and I now have 14 follicles !! One on the left is 2cm and there are two on the right that are larger than the others.  By Wednesday, they feel the smaller ones will catch up and I will be able to trigger on Wednesday and double trigger on Thursday for a Friday morning retrieval.

I am starting to feel very tired and ridiculously sleepy.  When I came in from my appointments this morning, I climbed back in my bed, turned on the heated blanket and went to sleep ! I woke up a few hours later and went upstairs into the kitchen and whipped up another pan of the soft and fluffy yeast rolls I made for the first time on Sunday.  They are so soft, sweet and yummy !  I had several colleagues who saw the pics on Facebook and demanded that I send them some.  I now have 8 bags of them in the freezer and will ship them out tomorrow after I get back from acupuncture.

I am having trouble trying to  focus.  My godmother was just diagnosed with recurrent breast cancer and my best friend’s mother was just diagnosed with lung and spinal cancer.  Although my godmother will be okay, I worry about my friend’s mom because the cancer on her spine has been there for years undiagnosed; to the point that it has mangled her ribs !  The good news is that the cancer on her lung is on the outside and the doctors feel that the cancer is treatable, but the work “inoperable” is what scares me.  2015 has been a true bitch for a lot of people I know.  I am just trying to stay positive and spread as much love and faith around as I can.  I am a witness that God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ever think or imagine and He is also a healer.  I am putting all of them, my mom included, in the palm of His hand and I am standing on the unshakeable faith that God is bigger than any problem.

IVF # 4 Stim Day 4 – The 411

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baby - ivf 4 stim day 2

Tonight, I mixed my meds and injected them with ease.  For some reason, I am a bit tired already.  Thank goodness there are no headaches with the Lupron and the nausea that I had the first two days on HGH dissipated.

My mom had her first chemo treatment with Taxol yesterday and so far, she is doing very well.  She seems to have a lot more energy, but I am sure it is because they doped her up with steroids. LOL.  She has been moving furniture in her quilting studio all day !

This afternoon, she had to go back to her doctor’s office to get the Neulasta shot, which will hopefully bring her white blood cell counts back up to a normal range.  I just hope that this round of chemo, which she has 3 more treatments, spaced out 2 weeks apart, does not wear her down too badly.   Right now, the effects on her are just exhaustion and her taste buds being off.  If the food is spicy, she loves it !  Everything else tastes weird.

Tomorrow morning, I have my first appointment for monitoring since starting the injections.  I will update tomorrow on what I learn.  Pray for great follicles and mature eggs !  🙂

IVF # 4- Stim Day 3- The 411

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baby - ivf 4 stim day 1

Today, I went with my mom to her first Taxol chemotherapy treatment, which was 5 hours long.  She did very well and did not have an allergic reaction.  Tomorrow, I take her back to her doctor’s office for a Neulasta injection.  I hope these injections elevate her white blood cell count.  Right now it is very low.  With this round of chemo, they have her on a cocktail of meds to take at home to try to offset reactions and illness.

I mixed and administered my injection meds tonight and got them done relatively quickly.  I can’t wait until Friday to see what party is going on in my ovaries and hopefully a few more follicles have formed in addition to the 10 I had at baseline.

I am holding positive thoughts and high hopes for this cycle.  I am looking forward to hearing the words “congratulations, you are pregnant !”   That is not too much to ask for !  Four times a charm right? 🙂

 

IVF 4 – Stim Day 1 – The 411

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baby - ivf 4 stim day 1

This morning, I went to the hospital to the women’s imaging center to have my baseline sonogram done.  I was sitting in the waiting room praying that the maca root balanced out the Estrace and that I did not have any cysts.

I had no cysts and I have 10 follicles at baseline.  Hopefully a few more will grow once the meds kick in.

I left the imaging center and went to LabCorp to get the blood work and of course, on a holiday, everyone and their momma was in there.  I got out of there in under an hour and my nurse and I spoke at noon and I start stims tonight.  My blood work was not in before CNY closed at noon, but because today is CD4, they want me to go ahead and start stims and they will stop them tomorrow if my E2 is over 100, which is unlikely.  They did not want to risk me ovulating if they did not start the meds in a timely manner.

This cycle, I will be on Prednisone 10 mg twice a day, Lupron (5 units), Gonal F (300 units), Menopur (300 units), HGH (4 Units), and after my retrieval, I will start daily Neupogen injections and Lovenox.  I will be taking one Claritin per day along with other supplements and vitamins. On the day of retrieval, I will be doing two bags of Intralipid infusion and weekly thereafter.

I am nervous as a hooker in line on judgement day, but I am also as happy as a pig in slop for the opportunity to work on becoming a mother.  I am hopeful for this cycle and prayerful that the tweaks and additions to the medication protocol will be what is needed for me to fall pregnant (with twins! I hope) and carry to term.  God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ever think or image or hope for, so I am placing my complete faith in Him that He will see me through this.