I know you have a little life in you yet

Today is two days past our three-day transfer. Saturday morning we went into for the transfer. We were the only people having a transfer on Saturday so we had the surgery center to ourselves, which was really nice. The nurse was great too. Doug and I got to spend some time together waiting for the RE and the embryologist to come in for the transfer. After emptying and refilling my bladder (fun!) and taking the valium (way more fun!) Dr. D, who is the third doctor in our clinic's practice, came in to talk to us. As of Saturday we still had 9 embryos, three were 8-cell, grade 2, which I think was pretty good, and the other five were so-so. After talking to the doctor and based on our previous failed IVF cycle and my elevated FSH levels, we decided to transfer the three best ones, the 8-cell, grade 2's. Doug and I had talked before about transferring three but I assumed because of my age they wouldn't let us, but they did. So yes, there is a chance of triplets, but it's a risk we're both willing to take. After we decided to do the three, the embryologist had to do Assisted Hatching on the third one before the transfer started. Shortly thereafter Doug got suited up in scrubs and hairnet and we went into the surgery room. Doug got to sit and hold my hand during the transfer, which was only uncomfortable because my bladder was full and there was a speculum. Apparently the pathway to my uterus was a little curvier than she expected so it took a little longer to get them transferred but they got in there. Afterwords, we got the petri dish they'd been growing in and pictures of them, which is totally surreal. 

 

I had to lie flat for 30 minutes after so I tried to find some 'appropriate' embryo transfer music on my iPhone. But is there really an appropriate soundtrack for an embryo transfer? I settled on this song from Kate Bush, which is in the movie "She's Having a Baby" which I thought would be a good omen. It also makes me bawl every time I hear it

After I was cleared, I got loaded up in the car, driven home and made our bed my fortress. I spent most of the bed rest knitting, watching terrible television and playing on the computer. Saturday and Sunday I had visitors, phone calls and text messages and it meant so much. This IVF cycle has been different from the last one in a lot of ways, but the biggest different is the overwhelming amount of support we've felt. There hasn't been a day that's gone by since I started this cycle that someone hasn't asked me how I was doing. Having that kind of love and support has meant so much to me. 

Tomorrow morning I go in for estrogen/progesterone blood work so hopefully those numbers will be good. I'm taking estrogen twice a day and the progesterone shot at night. We'll also find out tomorrow if any of the leftover embryos made it freezing or not. If we had just two make it to freezing I'd have a better peace of mind, but we'll see. My HCG bloodtest will be on the 20th. Instead of nail-biting and fretting I'm doing a lot of deep breathing and positive thinking.

Trial Transfer (or my feet were in stirrups twice this week) & Meds

So we’re edging closer to stim-start date. This past Monday I had my pap smear at my regular OBGYN’s office. I was a little confused as to why my RE’s office didn’t just do a pap during one of the half-dozen times they’ve been perusing my lady bits lately, but whatever. My gynecologist is a nice-enough person. She used to be part of a big, huge practice in the women’s hospital but then she went out on her own and has her own one-woman show. I didn’t enjoy having to share a waiting room with a couple who couldn’t have been more than 19. The guy looked totally petrified and the girl seemed totally bored. I sat playing on my iPhone trying not to seethe with too much jealousy that they’re knocked up and I’m not. The RE’s office is waiting patiently for the pap results and at first I didn’t think too much about it but of course now I’m totally panicking that something might possibly be wrong. Neurotic much?


I also ordered all my medications, which should arrive next Wednesday. By some sort of miracle we only have to pay around $550 out of pocket for the medication. But I was also informed by the insurance company that we have now used up our $5,000 lifetime maximum on infertility drugs. So there’s that. Our injection class is Tuesday and I think the Bravelle is more complicated than the Follistim was. I used the Follistim pen, which you just filled with a cartridge and clicked. Based on what the nurse told me we have to mix up the Bravelle, which will probably involve math and I’m terrible at math. Mister B will be injecting me, the shots don’t hurt but I don’t want to give them to myself unless I have to, especially the progesterone in oil, ouch and ugh.

This morning after downing a vanilla latte and three large glasses of H2O, I drove over to the RE’s office and waddled into the waiting room for my trial transfer. Bitch-ceptionist* was there of course and of course told me I had a balance. I would be shocked if I ever went up to the desk and I didn’t have a balance. This time it was $267.19, the remainder of what we owe for the hysterosonogram. Not to mention that we’ll owe the lab $250 at the end of September for Doug’s sperm storage fee. So.much.money. When I got called back I had my weight and BP taken (BP is perfect, of course) and then got to go to the exam room, put on my pretty paper skirt and meet up with everyone infertilie’s favorite BFF, dildo cam. I sat in there forever, becoming so bored I emailed my friend Lynsey with a pic of dildo cam. Eventually Dr. K arrived with a mostly competent looking medical student and he went over my chart to make sure everything was in order. He also looked through the file to see which of Doug’s frozen sample’s we will be using – it seems it will be a vintage from July 1996, which is really long damn time ago – fourteen years!?! Dr. K assures us its fine though, hmmph. The procedure itself was nothing special, med student used the outside ultrasound wand to show what was happening while Dr. K passed the empty catheter through. I felt crampy and I really, really had to pee but other than that it was fine. He had no problems and doesn’t expect any problems on the actual retrieval day.

Once I start stimming everything will move along super fast which scares the crap out of me. I’m trying so, so hard to be optimistic but I’m also freaking out about what Plan B is going to be if IVF #2 The Final Chapter doesn’t work.


*Bitch-ceptionist is the affectionate nickname I have for the PIA receptionist at my RE's office. She has the compassion of a paper towel. Also every time I see her she wants more money.