Friday, January 13, 2012

Next Stop: Transfer

I had my second (and last) ultrasound yesterday. My endometrial lining was a 10.2. Ideal is 6-14 mm. Boom! I never thought I'd be excited about my endometrial lining measurement, but the day has come to fist pump about the ideal measurement. Labs were also fine. We got the go ahead to proceed to the FET (frozen embryo transfer) on Wed. I'm thankful for Doc C's game day decision of skipping the ultrasound on Sun, because we saved ourselves 3 hours on the road and $300! I shot up with my last dose of Lupron last night. Fingers crossed this was the last dose EVER. I'll be happy for the hot flashes to recede.

*Random side story-I was giving treatment to a patient this week. Her mom was about mid 50's and she shed her sweatshirt with complaints of a hot flash. She told me how awful they were and said I'd know someday. I laughed because I was thinking, 'Lady, I know what a hot flash feels like. I inject myself with Lupron!' Ha! I couldn't help but laugh out loud... This little interaction kept me smiling all day.*

We are moving on to the dreaded Progesterone injections tonight. We did entire cycles of injecting HMG the intramuscular route and damn my hips were tender. This is an entirely different beast because it's IM, but it's also an oil base so it's thick. Ouch ouch ouch. I'm going to heat and ice. Pray. Cuss. Go to my happy place. Apply a cute Kermit the Frog or Hello Kitty band aid. Yup. I bought children's band aids in hopes it may help make the experience a bit more entertaining and tolerable. I'm also taking medrol, aspirin, metanx and estrace. Estrace itself doesn't bother me, but I'm quite disturbed by the route of administering the meds. Ugh. The things a chick will do to try to have a baby.

This cycle has been so much easier then the fresh cycle. A few injections, hot flashes, pills and 2 ultrasounds. Not bad at all. (Not bad for IF'ers. All those people that just have sex to make a baby would think this is insane. Screw those people!) Thinking back to when we were trying to decide between the Attain program or paying cycle by cycle, I am VERY thankful we went the pay by cycle route. I cannot imagine doing up to 3 fresh and 3 frozen cycles. One fresh cycle was enough for me. OHSS is a bitch.

So that's it. Time to make a baby. Please keep us, the physicians and medical staff in your thoughts and/or prayers. Next week is a big week. HUGE week!! Pray that this works. I do not know how we'll get through another failure.

10 comments:

Just T said...

Good luck on your transfer next week. We decided on the Attain multi cycle, I hope I can suck it up and deal with it, if needed.

MaryMargaret said...

Good luck!! It's such a great feeling when you can finally see the finish line. Boo for PIO, but we do what we have to, right? It will be so completely worth it!

Eva Carper said...

Fist pump!!! Your clinic seems to have the same protocol for meds as mine except I just take the Estrace orally. Progesterone routine...ice, cussing, yelling at hubby to get it over with, sitting on a heating pad for 30 minutes... My clinic will make me do the progesterone for two months. How many embryos are you transferring? I'm still struggling with that decision, but I think I'm going to stick with just 1.

Anonymous said...

Woohoo!!! Good luck with the shots. The first few weeks of them aren't bad, but after about the 4 th then it gets sore! They are worth it when it works though :)

stick said...

You go girl! It is your turn. Great decisions were made by both of you. This is a bright new year with new beginnings. Dad and I both attended mass last night and I prayed for all involved with the transfer including those tiny, beautiful embryos. Just a few days left, here you go. Best of luck this is it!

Amber said...

@Toni-Attain is a great program and I'm sure it will be great for you. I had a horrible round of OHSS after my fresh cycle and was in and out of the hospital, gained 17 lbs of fluid in 1 day etc. I blogged about it if your curious. This is why I won't do another fresh IVF cycle. It was terrible for me. You will be fine though!! These weird things only happen to me...

Amber said...

@MaryMargaret Thanks for the luck! You are right, it will be worth it ;)

@Nichole-Be thankful for the oral Estrace... I like your Progesterone routine. That sounds very familiar! We are transferring 2 embryos. I figured we might as well give it the best shot possible and we'd be very happy with twins. Twins would mean never having to endure this ridiculous IVF protocol again. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. It's a tough decision... I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get those embryos transferred.

@amiracle4us-thanks for the enthusiasm and kind words. It WILL be worth it. I can handle a sore backside for a baby :)

@stick-thanks so much for the kind words and prayers. We're excited to get the show on the road.

Eva Carper said...

So ready Amber! I'm waiting as I type this for a clinic call regarding our labs from this morning and our time for a transfer tomorrow. Will post an update as soon as they call :)

Eva Carper said...

Good luck tomorrow!!!!! :D

Just T said...

Sorry I just noticed your reponse to my Attain comment. I am afraid of the OHSS cause my RE said I respond very well to the stims. From what you mentioned, it sounds like you were in hell, ugh.

One more question, when your first cycle was cancelled due to the OHSS, did it count against you?