IVF Baseline/Stims

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this update written!

About a week after my surgery, on Friday, I had what they call a baseline ultrasound. This is basically to measure the uterine lining, check for cysts, and to do blood work to check hormone levels. I had stopped taking my birth control the day before per my doctor's orders.

This is what my calendar looked like. All the medications and appointments were listed on here.

The baseline appointment is really quick. I got in and immediately they took my blood. Then I went back for my ultrasound where everything looked great! Lining was where it should be (and it better have been after just having surgery to correct it!), And I had no cysts! They told me I was good to go and to follow my calendar and they'd see me in about a week for my next check up! This was so exciting for me! I always think the worst and after everything that has happened up to this point I kinda expect it a little.

I was living about 7 hours away from home with my husband's grandma for all of this. So as soon as I was out of the appointment and in my car I immediately called Randy to let him know it was a go! He was just as excited as I was to finally be moving forward!

The following Monday I began what is called, in the infertility world, stims. This is the stimulation medications/hormones that I had to inject into my stomach. I had 2 injections to start. One was 150 iu of Gonal-F and 1 Menopur powder. The menopur powder was mixed with 1 ml of water before being injected. I honestly was a little worried about doing the injections. Not that I don't like needles but I didn't know if I could poke myself with one. Luckily I was able to convince myself to just do it. So I washed my hands, prepped both injections, cleaned the area of my stomach with a alcohol swab, did the first injection (which was Gonal-F), rubbed the area for a second with a sterile cotton pad, then did the second injection (which was Menopur), rubbed that area for a little longer (Menopur does sting!), and then cleaned up the trash and needles (they went into a needle disposal container). It really wasn't as bad as I was expecting! As long as I was quick at inserting the needle I had little to no pain. Except for the burning sensation as the Menopur was injected.

My injections that I did each morning. Gonal-F and Menopur.

I had three days of these injections before my next appointment. So on the third day, Wednesday, after doing my injections, I headed to my doctor's office. They just did bloodwork and told me I'd get a phone call with the results later that afternoon/evening. So I waited. That evening I got the phone call. They told me I was responding extremely well to the stims and that they were going to cut one of them back. So starting the next day, I would only be taking 75 IU of the Gonal-F, and I would continue taking 1 powder of Menopur.

So I did those injections until my next appointment on Saturday. At this appointment, they again did bloodwork, and then I also had an ultrasound. This ultrasound is to check to see how the egg follicles are growing in response to the stims. Mine were responding well! I had tons of follicles in my right side and quite a few in my left. After seeing this and how big they were already getting, my doctor told me to add in a third injection. This was Cetrotide. Cetrotide is a hormone blocker, it's main job is to block the hormone that tells my body to ovulate (meaning release the eggs), which if my body did release them the whole cycle would be a wash. I was to do my first injection of this as soon as I got home.

So when I got home, I prepared the injection and administered it to myself. (I was a pro at giving myself shots by this point!) Then I continued doing the three injections each day until my appointment the following Monday. At this appointment I again had more bloodwork and an ultrasound. The results were great! I had lots of big follicles on both sides! Biggest follicle on each side was, right- 17mm, left-14mm. With quite a few in each side that were close to those same sizes. By this point I was getting more uncomfortable. I was beginning to feel all those follicles growing! Which was exciting and not fun at the same time lol.

My new daily injections with the Cetrotide added in.

The next day I had another ultrasound and more bloodwork done. My biggest follicle at this point was 18mm with lot of others close behind. At this point it hurt to sit in certain positions and to lay on my sides. Standing or laying flat on my back were the only ways I found some relief. I was soo excited that everything was going so well! Later that day they called me with my bloodwork results and with my doctor's orders to trigger that night!

My pants were too tight on my bloated belly, I had to use a rubberband so they didn't hurt.

To trigger means to do an injection with the actual pregnancy hormone. This makes the body think you're actually pregnant and prevents it from releasing the eggs once the other injections are stopped. I no longer had to do injections of the other three stims now that I would be triggering.

That night at the exact time I was told (I honestly can't remember the exact time lol) I did my trigger shot. This injection was a little different because it was not injected into my stomach. Instead it was to be injected into my upper buttock just below the hip bone. After watching (and rewatching) the instruction video, I finally gathered my courage (I had given myself plenty of time to prepare), and jabbed the needle in where I needed to. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all! I got the injection done and then rested for a bit. I was a little sore after but not too bad.

The next morning they had me take a pregnancy test. It was to make sure the trigger worked. It was really weird to see my first ever positive pregnancy test and know that I wasn't even pregnant! Since it was positive, it meant that the trigger had worked. So when my doctor's office called and asked me if it had come up positive I of course told them yes.

It was faint but there! You can't really see it in the picture.

I will get my next blog post up about the egg retrieval within the next couple of days! So keep an eye out for it!

If you have any questions or need any tips about the stims, please feel free to ask in the comments! I will try to answer as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Til next time!
Becca

An Unexpected Surgery

So I kinda left you all on a cliff hanger in my last post. Sorry about that, but I had to write a whole new post so you weren't reading a novel! Anyways, we left off waiting for the phone call from my doctor to go over her thoughts on the water ultrasound.

Unfortunately, since we live about 7 hours away from my RE, we missed her phone call because we were driving and did not have service. She left a message saying that my ultrasound did look irregular to her and that she wanted to do a procedure to clean it out a little bit before proceeding with IVF. One of our main concerns was that this surgery would push back our timeline for IVF. If that was the case we would have to wait to do IVF in the spring due to snow amounts and driving hazards.

This is kinda how I felt after hearing that I needed to have surgery. 

We knew we needed to do the surgery in order to have the best chance of getting pregnant. 

We knew if we didn't do the surgery that there was a possibility that whatever was irregular about my uterus could cause IVF to not work or if it did to cause me to have a miscarriage.

Within a couple of days I received an email from a surgical coordinator. The coordinator explained a little more about the procedure and what was to be done. I was to have a hysteroscopy. This is pretty much just a fancy term for the would go in with a scope to look at the inside of my uterus and use different tools to clean out what they found there. She answered our worries and said they would make sure to get me in to get this done before I began my meds and began our IVF cycle. This was great news. She told me I would get a phone call with the day and time for my surgery.

After waiting for what seemed like days, we finally received that phone call. I was to have surgery August 17 first thing in the morning. So we made plans with my mom and some friends in order to get me there. My friends drove me to my parents house (about a 3 hour drive) while they were on their way to a wedding. Then my mom drove the rest of the way to where my surgery was to be. Randy was unable to come due to work obligations.

Leading up to the surgery, I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect and so I did as much research as I could about the procedure. I also did research about the recovery based off of different possibilities that they could find when they got in there. It eased my mind just a little bit. I knew I could trust my doctor and that she wouldn't have me do this procedure if it wouldn't be beneficial to our upcoming IVF cycle.

This is what a hysteroscopy tool looks like. 

It has a small camera on the end in order for the doctor to see what they need to do. 

It also has a place where different tools can be inserted through in order to correct whatever they find while in there.

The morning of my surgery went pretty good. I couldn't eat and I was told to wear comfortable clothing. So I pretty much just rolled out of bed and we went to the fertility center. When we got there we waited for a bit before they took me back. They had me empty my bladder and then change into one of those lovely open back robes. Then the anesthesiologist placed the IV in my vein and explained that he would give me a low dose of the anesthesia and then my doctor would come in and talk to me for a bit and then he'd put me completely out. Well, that little bit knocked me out lol.

When I came to they had just sat me down in the recovery room in a chair. I have no idea how they got me there. I could have walked and I just don't remember but I guess I'll never truly know. They had brought my mom into the recovery room and instructed her and I that I needed to drink the cup of water they had given me. Then they said that my doctor would come in in a bit to go over how the surgery went. The nurse explained that I would probably have some spotting and cramping for the next couple of days but that it would go away.

When my doctor came in she explained that the surgery had gone very well. She said that when they got in there the best way that she could describe what my uterus looked like was that it was very bumpy. She said that I had multiple polyps. She was able to remove them and she said that now everything looked smooth! This was great news because smooth is a ton better than bumpy when trying to get pregnant.

I honestly don't remember much about after the surgery. I know we got breakfast, I got a small smoothie. I also know that we went to a couple of stores and then traveled back to my parents house. But most of that is a blur as I was still recovering from the anesthesia.

The next few days of recovery went like this. Day of- I was mainly out of it due to recovering from the anesthesia, no pain that I remember, small amount of spotting. Day 2- I was bloated but not painfully, little to no cramping, small amount of spotting. Day 3- I traveled home, a little bloated, little twinges here and there, little spotting. Day 4- It was like I got hit by a bus, cramping got pretty intense, spotting increased to almost period like. Day 5- Worst day. So much cramping, nausea, period like spotting, bloating came back Day 6- Started to feel better which was good because we had family pictures done. Bloated, little crampy here and there, and spotting lightened up.

I am so grateful that the surgery went so well! The recovery wasn't as bad as I was expecting, especially after being told I'd had multiple polyps removed. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Til next time!
Becca

IVF Prep/Water Ultrasound

So, I've honestly been putting off writing about all of this. Don't ask me why, I just have been avoiding it. I realized that if I don't get it written all down soon, that I would forget all the little details. The details that I think would be helpful to others about to embark on this journey.

At our last appointment back in June we were told that we would most likely have to do IVF in order to get pregnant. After our doctor got some results back she called us a couple days later to tell us that yes, we would have to do IVF. She told us that within a week we would get a phone call to begin the IVF process.

Well, a week came and went. Then another. And part of another. I was talking (probably more like complaining) to Randy. He told me to just call them. So I did. The front office lady was very helpful. She asked if we had been in contact with our IVF coordinator. We were like, "Who?" She said that we have a coordinator that sets up everything. Then she told us that she would find out which coordinator was mine and have her contact us via email.

By the next week we had an email. She asked us if we had set up our Plan of Care appointment. We told her no and she asked us when we'd be available to come for that. We told her July 24th would work. Which was a couple weeks away.

During those two weeks a lot happened. I emailed our coordinator multiple times getting all the information we needed. -Which medications I'd need and how much of each. -Total cost of what we'd owe them. -Pharmacy names and numbers. and -What I needed for the Plan of Care appointment.

Once we had all of that information, I started calling pharmacies to get prices in order to price check so we could get the best price for the medications I'd need. Once we knew which pharmacy we wanted to go with we then began to look up places to get loans. We tried one loan place which denied us because we supposedly didn't have a high enough credit score (we checked and we did). Then after crying and getting frustrated we tried again with another company that had stuck out to me in the first place. We were immediately approved.

I seriously feel like Heavenly Father was guiding us throughout this whole process. Things just continued to click into place and seemed to work out exactly how we needed them to. And that definitely did not stop throughout the next couple of weeks.

At the Plan of Care appointment, I had my sisters and my mom there with me for moral support. (Randy had to work) Our coordinator gave us a TON of information that day. All about the IVF process and how and when to take medications, and so much more. Luckily she gave me a folder containing all this info so that I could go over it later. She told me what day to start my birth control and what day to end it. (Birth control is used to line up my cycle with their timeline.) At the end of the appointment she explained to me that I'd need to get a water ultrasound done and that the check out lady would get the appointments for that, for blood work, and for monitoring ultrasounds set up.

The check out lady did just that. She made all of the appointments for the days I'd need them. Then she asked what day would be best for the water ultrasound. She told us it needed to be after I'd finished my next period, while I was still on birth control, but before we began any of my injections. We knew that we'd be visiting family the weekend of August 6th and so we made the appointment for the 7th.

Well, August 7th came and we showed up for our appointment. For those who do not know, a water ultrasound is where they fill up your uterus with water and check the shape and lining so that they know where the best placement will be for when the do the egg transfer. I was a little nervous about this ultrasound because I had heard it was as painful or more painful than the HSG, especially for women who had already had a painful HSG. Well, for me it wasn't as painful, thank goodness, although it was definitely still pretty painful. I was also a little nervous because I just had this feeling that something was going to go wrong.

They checked everything out and noticed that my uterine lining was really thick. I had finished my period about 3 days prior, and I had been on birth control for over a week. So this was unusual to them. The ladies doing the ultrasound told us not to worry and that they'd have my doctor look over it and let us know the results within a couple of days, if not later that evening.

We had to travel back home right after the appointment. When we got home, I of course couldn't sleep and so I started doing research on google. By the way, late night, being tired, and doing research are never a good mix. I read on one of the websites on google that it could mean that I had uterine cancer. So I cried myself to sleep. The next day I confessed to Randy what I'd done and went to show him where I'd read it. Well, it turns out, it said that it was NOT a sign of uterine cancer. Whoops.

Anyways, keep on the lookout for my next update. Where we get a call from our doctor about her thoughts on my water ultrasound.

Til next time!
Becca

The Results

So unlike most people when they get an HSG done, we had to wait 3 weeks to get our results. Usually you are told the results right away by the doctor doing the procedure. This particular doctor didn't really say anything. And so we had to wait for my doctor to get the report from him.

When the time finally came, we traveled down to where our fertility doctor's office is so that we could get the results. We got to the appointment and went back into my doctor's office. She chatted with us for a bit getting caught up since we had last seen her about a year and a half ago. She asked what they did for Randy and we told her that he'd had surgery and that they had recommended we return back to her after his results weren't improving as much as they had hoped. (Although they had improved quite a bit.)

After getting all caught up, she opened up the report in order to read us what the HSG doctor had said. As she was doing this she told us she honestly didn't understand them herself. He had said that there was a small amount of contrast in my right tube but no evidence of it flowing out into my ovary, and that my left tube only had a small amount of contrast right at the very beginning of the tube and none in it or flowing out. My fertility doctor said that she thought that he had done the procedure wrong somehow and pretty much told us that these results were inconclusive.

She then went over our options. We could attempt an IUI cycle with no medication, an IUI cycle with medication, or go straight to IVF. If we did an IUI cycle she said she would want me to have another HSG done just to double check to see if my tubes were actually open and that the HSG doctor I went to had actually done something wrong. If they were truly blocked they would put the money we had already paid for the IUI towards IVF. She said that before we made any decision that we should have our hormones all tested again, since it had been two years since we were last tested, and have Randy do another Semen Analysis. We agreed. So Randy and I went and had our blood drawn and Randy got his semen analysis done. Then the waiting began again.

After the appointment was over we went and filled in Randy's grandma on how things went. When I finally got Randy to stop talking so we could go, we went and got in the car and headed somewhere to get some lunch. On the way there I had a complete melt-down. I could not stop crying no matter how hard I tried. I just wanted to go home and curl up with my fur kids. I knew that the HSG doctor hadn't messed up. He had tried all he could to get the contrast through my tubes. I think the knowledge came as a shock and also as a relief. We finally knew the whole story. I was also kicking myself for not getting a repeat HSG sooner. If I had done it before Randy had had surgery I could have saved ourselves some money as well as saved Randy some pain. It took half the drive to Randy's parents house for me to calm myself down. I honestly didn't really want to see anyone else but I knew we needed to fill all our family in on how the appointment went. And that's just what we did, and I managed to keep myself together both times.

On our long drive home, Randy and I knew that we had a big decision to make. Should we attempt an IUI with an HSG that same cycle? Or should we go straight to IVF? There were pros and cons to both.An IUI is definitely cheaper, though I honestly wasn't sure if I was up to doing another HSG, that thing was PAINFUL. I knew IVF would be painful too, since I'd have to give myself shots every day and that instead of growing one egg I'd be growing multiple. We talked over all the different pros and cons and by the end of our drive we were actually leaning towards IVF.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to get the blood and semen analysis results. We got a call from my fertility doctor the next day. She told me that I passed all my blood tests with flying colors. Which is awesome! But that wasn't what we were worried about. She then told me the results for Randy's semen analysis. His numbers had dropped down to lower than pre-surgery levels. They wanted them to at least be 5 million motile sperm in order to do an IUI, his were 600,000 motile sperm. Giving us a 0%-2% chance of us conceiving with the assistance of an IUI. (0% if my tubes are truly blocked, and 1%-2% chance if they were open).

This immediately made our decision for us. The only way we will be able to get pregnant is through IVF. So we are going to begin the process of IVF starting this next month (July). We will first be having a few consults to go over pricing and what the whole procedure will entail. Then we will make a decision on when to do IVF. As of right now this depends on how those consults all go, I plan on documenting the whole thing as we go through the process so that others who find themselves in a similar situation can know what to expect.

I am so grateful to everyone who has been following our story and who has been continuously praying for us! You have no idea how much that means to us and we can definitely feel those prayers at work. We ask that you continue to pray for us and that we will have success when we do IVF.

Til next time!
Becca

Another HSG

After giving Randy's surgery a few months to see if we would be able to get pregnant naturally, without success, we decided it was time for the next step. We weren't exactly sure what that next step should be, and so we began contemplating. We talked about me going to have surgery to remove my endometriosis and then trying another IUI. And we talked about continuing to try on our own.

It wasn't until we opened up to some of our friends about these contemplations that they reminded us that we had wanted to do another HSG. Since my last one was unsuccessful. As soon as they reminded us of this the spirit confirmed to us that this was exactly what our next step should be.

Luckily for us. The day they reminded us about getting an HSG done, was actually day 1 of my cycle. So it being late at night, I proceeded to call my fertility doctor the next day in order to get an outside order prescribed for me to get an HSG done at our hospital. Once that was done, I then called our hospital and made the appointment for the HSG.

The day for the HSG finally came and we drove to the outpatient radiology building. We get there and get all checked in and then we waited for about 20 minutes before finally being called back. I changed into the hospital gown and went into the room where the assistant was waiting to go over everything with us. As she began she asked if I had taken and gotten a negative pregnancy test that morning. I was like no... I didn't know I was supposed to take one. So they sent us home to take one and told us if it was negative to come back, if it was positive to stay home.

I changed back into my clothes, drove the 10 minutes home, took a pregnancy test, waited the 5 minutes, saw it was negative (surprise, surprise), and drove back.

When we got back to the hospital we were able to immediately go back. I changed back into the hospital gown and then went into the room where the assistant went over everything. Once she was done she went and got the doctor. He went over the procedure in detail, telling us exactly what was going to happen. We already knew all this from when we had attempted the last HSG. Then they proceeded to do the procedure.

This is not my HSG! It is an example of possible results!

Let me just tell you. HSG's are NOT FUN! They are painful!! What they do is insert a catheter that has a sort of balloon on it. This balloon they blow up in order to expand the uterus. Once that is done they then inject iodine into the uterus to check to see if the fallopian tubes are open.

Usually the most painful part is the balloon being blown up. Which it was for me, until I was asked to turn onto my left side, and they injected more iodine in, which put even more pressure on my already expanded uterus. Luckily that part was fairly quick and then the procedure was done.

As of right now I do not know my results. We didn't even think about taking a picture of the x-ray at the time. I do go in to see my fertility doctor in a couple weeks to go over them. I am preparing myself for the worst. With endometriosis there is a higher likelihood that one or both tubes is blocked. Especially since I was asked to roll onto one side. I know they only do this when they're trying to get fluid to go through.

I will update with the results once I have them!

Till next time!
Becca