STIM DAYS

By

 Hello and welcome to another episode of IVF for Beginners.

On today's episode...

shots

Left to Right: Gonal-F, Menopur, and Lupron. Also, featuring my medication tool box and Stay Positive candle from my friend, Cameron.

Friday, June 4

Ben and I had started to consider ourselves pros at giving and/or receiving Lupron shots nightly. Then, the stims were introduced. 

Stims: follicle stimulating hormone injections; most commonly Gonal-F and Menopur 

Gonal-F is a prefilled pen that you dial your dosage. I had a prescription for 300 units of Gonal-F for my last IUI, so I was already familiar with its administration. Menopur was a new one for me. It is a powder that must be mixed with a solvent before it is used. Besides having a minor panic attack at the length of the Menopur needle, there was a burning sensation for which I was not prepared. It only lasted a few seconds, but man, I wish someone had told me.

These three shots will continue to be administered each night until the egg retrieval. Ouch!


Monday, June 7

At our appointment, the nurse said everything was growing as it should. She didn't measure any follicles because they were all less than a centimeter. Another nurse called that afternoon with results from my bloodwork. Estrodial was up to 447. She said those were very good levels for stim day 4. Another appointment was scheduled for Wednesday. We had been told that appointments would increase to every other day, so this was no surprise. 

I've spent many collective hours in rooms like this. So many emotions.

Wednesday, June 9

When we went back yesterday for monitoring, the nurse did measure the follicles in both ovaries. She didn't measure every single follicle, but most of the ones she measured were in the 1.2-1.4 centimeter range. She did say, "This one is getting a little ahead of itself," when referring to a 1.6 cm follicle. 

Here's a little IVF knowledge. Generally, follicles that measure 1.5-2.2 cm are likely to produce an ideal egg. This is why the stims are so important. We want as many follicles as possible to produce a mature egg.

Ben has been such a trooper through all the appointments, injections, and hormone changes.

We were also able to tell our nurse how much we appreciate her kindness and understanding during these uncomfortable monitoring visits. She teared up as she shared with us how her husband passed away back in January, and she took a part-time job at Alabama Fertility to spend more time with her kids. She spoke of other jobs where she wasn't able to be around patients much and how she missed that part of the nursing profession. Many of my immediate family and close friends are in the nursing field, and they all share the same passion for people. It is a true calling from God, and I am thankful for the nurses in my life!


Now we "hurry up and wait" until Friday, when we will go back again for what may be one of our last monitoring visits before the retrieval. We are feeling very hopeful and anxious for what is to come, but we are continuing to trust the Lord every step of the way.

Thank you for following along with us and encouraging us! It does not go unnoticed.

Popular posts from this blog

FET and PIO

By
Image
 Our last update was not the one we wanted to give.  There have been many encouraging developments since then, and we wanted to update you all so you can help us pray.  The IVF nurse, Dawn, called a few days after the embryo update to tell us we could do a frozen embryo transfer (FET) at the end of July. She called later to tell us we would be able to transfer a week before we had been told. We will be transferring one of our embryos around 1:20 PM on July 19th. The hope is that this little embryo will begin to implant into the uterine lining and grow into a successful pregnancy. Many couples who undergo fertility treatments like IVF or IUI choose to adopt a purposefully positive state of mind until the first pregnancy test, so I will be pregnant until proven otherwise (PUPO). After nine days of trying to distract myself, I will go in for a blood test to check for the pregnancy hormone hCG. Higher than normal levels of hCG will confirm that the FET was successful and that I am pregnant
Read more

FINAL EMBRYO COUNT

By
Hello everyone. Ben here. We wanted to give you an update about our IVF journey.  Let's back up a bit... After Monday's retrieval, our doctor called Shelby on Tuesday to tell us that 13 of the 20 eggs fertilized. We were overjoyed! I was in Nashville for the Southern Baptist Convention. Shelby's voice was so full of hope when she called me!  We waited all week on our next update. Yesterday our doctor called during the rain/power outage. In the weirdest turn of events yet, I was taking a shower in the rain because our water ran out. That's living on a well for you. Shelby's face said it all- what a strange way to hear this news! Our doctor told us that 6 of the 13 did not make it. Of the 7 remaining, one looked great and the other 6 were still developing. She promised us that she'd call back today with more information. She called about an hour ago as I write this.  We have two embryos in the freezer. One is graded "fair" and one is graded "poor.&q
Read more

FIRST BLOG POST

By
Well, it's finally happened, people. We started a blog. This should be fun! I'm not always great at expressing myself with spoken words. As I often say, I'm really bad at telling stories. I hope you enjoy following along with Ben and me. We have a crazy, hectic, beautiful life.
Read more