Anticipating tomorrow's e2

So I stumbled upon an e2 level chart on from this website.  Based off of my e2 levels, it appears I am “behind” the curve by 3 days.  So based on that information, and the curve, my e2 level come Saturday should be around 500 to be “on track.”   Yes, I am crazy.

More speculation because I'm obsessed:

Okay, now I am just getting neurotic:

Monitoring Appointment #2

I don't have much to write just yet until nurse Dawn calls with the results, but from my untrained eye my follicles looked a lot bigger today than they did on Monday.  I swear I even feel little twinges in the ovaries lately too.  This is all good!  I will update this post when I get the call with where we go from here!

Update:  My e2 (estradiol) level after 6 days of stimming is 248.   Slow and steady wins the race!    My follistim dose will stay at 225 a day for tonight and tomorrow.   I’ll be rechecked (sono and blood work) on Saturday in Cleveland at the actual clinic (I do most of my monitoring locally in Erie at my OB).    My lead follicle is on the right measuring 13mm.  Ol’ righty also has a 12mm and four less than 10mm.  I’m not sure what happened to two of them on the right as I had 8 on Monday.   Ol’ lefty has two at 11mm’s and six less than 10mm.   They will most likely have me trigger once the lead one gets to 18 to 20mm.   I am not sure how many more days that will take.    Google says they grow 1 to 2 mm a day.   So that would have me triggering Tuesday at the latest and Saturday or Sunday trigger at the earliest.

Monitoring Appointment #1

Today is day 4 of stims (although I have yet to take my 4^th dose of stims – that will be tonight).  I had my first of many monitoring appointments this morning bright and early at 7am.  The sono tech, Kelly, said I had 8 follicles on the left and 8 follicles on the right!  That’s 16 follicles!  This is awesome as on Friday (3 days ago) my antral follicle count was only 10!   I am getting more and more excited about this cycle!  Come on eggies, grow, grow, GROW!!

I’m now just waiting for the call from my clinic nurse, Dawn.  She’ll give me my follistim dose for tonight and the next few days and tell me when to go back for my next monitoring appointment.  Hopefully I won’t have an issue getting into my local OB’s office (where I do my monitoring appointments).  I always hate making these last minute appointments when I get a call from the clinic at 2 pm and call the OB and say I need an appointment tomorrow morning or else I’ll have to drive to Cleveland!   I stress myself out too much worrying about this stuff.  I take after my mom.  Hi mom!

UPDATE:   My nurse called at 2:39pm and my e2 (estradiol) level was only 51.  That’s not too good.  That means my eggies aren’t all growing as they should.  So they upped my follistim from 150 a day to 225 a day!  (Reminder, my IVF #1 my follistim was only 100 every day…but I was also 3 years younger then.)   So I go back Thursday morning at 7 am to be rechecked (sono and bloodwork for e2 levels).   That means that I will most definitely need to be rechecked over the weekend which means I will have to drive all the way to Cleveland to get checked.  Hopefully just one day.  There’s a possibility we’d have to drive down Saturday and Sunday if Saturday is too close to trigger.   Oy!  There’s also the possibility that I go to Cleveland Saturday and they want to check me again on Monday…. At which point it will be the weekend and I won’t be able to make an appointment with my local OB over the weekend.  Sooooo…. I may get sneaky and make a Monday appointment after we see how my Thursday’s appointment turns out.   Man o’ man I’m gonna give myself an ulcer!

IVF #2 Baseline Sono & Bloodwork

Had my "baseline" today. I put it in quotes because I never DID get my period to make it official.  Just before the sono this morning I did have a bit of brown discharge but nothing since then either.  Anyways, my clinic is 1.5 hours away so I actually get my sonos and bloodwork done locally at my OBGYN's office.  So as they are doing the scans I never get to hear anything official as they are just taking measurements and sending them on to my actual RE's office.  I watch the TV intently the whole time though.   So my left ovary looked nice.   My right ovary, I swear I saw something growing on it.  Maybe it was a cyst?  Ugh that would suck and it would stall my schedule. It would also explain my lack of period if it's spurting out estrogen.  Sadly too, overall, I didn't see too many antral follicles (the ones that will turn into the real ones for my IVF cycle).  So I wait to get the call from my actual nurse to give me the official word but I'm fearful things aren't good.  I am not a fan of waiting so hopefully I was just smoking crack and everything is amazing!  After all, I'm not a sonographer so maybe I don't know what I'm actually looking at!!!!!

Results:  10 antral follicles (sooooo many less than I had to start in 2011).  I forgot to ask her about the no period thing.

So I got the go ahead to start follistim tonight at 150 units each night and I go back to recheck on Monday to see how they are growing.

Missing Period

So, to recap, my last BCP (birth control pill) was on Sunday (4 days ago).  Still no AF (aunt flow).   I have tried numerous things too to induce it!   Nada!  I've tried the acupressure point between your thumb and index finger.  Nothing.  Sorry mom and grandma as I know you read my blog but...... I've also tried orgasming to bring it on.  Nothing.   I even tried parsley tea as I've read that can bring it on as well.  2 cups last night and 2 cups this morning.  I had a TINY bit of brown spotting this morning but that's been it.  No cramps or anything either.  :(  I emailed my nurse from the clinic to see what she wants me to do next.  I was supposed to have my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork tomorrow morning at 7:30 am but that might get cancelled.   Honestly, this happened with my first IVF back in 2011 as well!  As I recall, I ended up just doing my baseline on Monday morning after getting my period over the weekend.  Ultimately, that IVF worked out (after the second following FET) so I suppose if that happens this time around it won't be the end of the world.  I just hate waiting.  I'm not winning an awards in patience!

Pic of the parsley tea:

BCPs End

Nothing huge to report other than I took my last BCP (birth control pill) yesterday!!    I am still on 10 units of lupron each night.  So now I just wait for AF (aunt flow) to show!   Then I go in for my baseline Friday morning at the crack of dawn.  :)  Once that happens, if everything looks good, I will start stimming before the end of the week!!!!!!!

POAS Prep

I went a little overboard and bought a fifty-pack of what are fondly referred to as "internet cheapies" in the wonderful world of infertile speak.  They all expire come 2015 so I guess I have 349 days left to use all of these!

I am still on the fence about POASing (peeing on a stick) this go around.  We have been through 3 transfers to date.  The first two I did POAS and the last one I didn't.

1. The first transfer, after POASing, it left me with a sense of grief....the "why didn't this work" grief.   But at least it prepared for me my negative beta.   
2. The second tranfer I POASed as well and I actually got a POSITIVE result.  Of course I was over the moon and called my ENTIRE family to tell them I was pregnant.  The very next day I POASed again and it was fainter than the day before.  The very next day after that I again POASed and it was clearly negative.  My beta test confirmed that I had a chemical pregnancy.  I was pregnant long enough to have the chemicals in my system but that's about it.  
3. So when the third transfer rolled around, Mike and I swore we wouldn't POAS.  And we stuck to our guns.  Then we got the call that changed our lives forever that we were pregnant.  Ironically, after that call, I POASed like a hundred times (first one / other ones) just because I wanted to see that glorius BFP (big fat positive)!!!

I probably will POAS this go around.   I don't think I have the will power NOT to!

Lupron Injections Start

So I started my lupron injections last night.  I am on 10 units everyday until my baseline in 10 days on the 24th.  If the baseline goes well I will start my Follistim (100 units) and drop my Lupron down to 5 units.   As you can see, the shot was uneventful.  Mike took pics during it and Victor helped by trying to pull down Mommy's pants.  We actually want him to watch the injections to get him less afraid of shots.  Knock on wood it helps a little and doesn't traumatize him!

Box o' Drugs

It was like Christmas getting my box of drugs this go around.  It's amazing how my perspective has done a 180 from the first IVF.   I am much more calm and relaxed and almost EAGER to start this again!   You'd think I wouldn't be excited to stab myself with a needle every single day and get nerve damage in my ass again!  LOL

Medication Copays

I just got off the phone with Walgreens Specialty pharmacy.  I am so lucky!  My insurance is covering almost all of the drugs with just a few copays.

Drug list and copays:

 $50.00  Follistim (to grow the eggs) 300ui x 3
 $50.00  Lupron (to suppress natural hormones) 
 $32.99  HCG (trigger to release the eggs) 
 $10.00  Doxycycline (antibiotic for embryo transfer) 

 $10.00  Methylprednisone (steroid for embryo transfer) 
 $15.33  Vivelle (estrogen patches)
 $82.40  Vivelle not covered under insurance 
  $4.22  Codeine (pain relief - doubt I'll even use these) 
 $15.96  Progesterone (hormone needed to sustain pregnancy)
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$270.90  Total