A quick medical update

Hi Blog-land! I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently about where we are in our first IVF cycle, so I thought I would update everyone. I got my period last Tuesday and then went to the doctor on Wednesday for blood work and an ultrasound. The dr said my uterus and ovaries looked healthy and were cyst-free, so cleared me to undergo IVF. Yay!

IVF is a pretty long process. First, you start by taking birth control, which I started last Wednesday. The birth control regimen allows the doctor to perfectly time my cycle and have complete control over my hormones. I will take the BC pills for 2-3 weeks, and once I get my period, the real fun begins! On Monday, 4/23, hubby and I will meet with Dr. D, the head nurse, and the insurance consultant to prepare for our cycle. The 2-hour appointment will include a full discussion with Dr. D about the cycle and protocol as well as a statistical review and the signing of many consent forms; a sample egg transfer to measure the depth of my uterus and a sonohysterogram to make sure my uterus wall is normal; a consult with the nurse to order medications and learn how to inject myself; and, a consult with the insurance consultant to review our coverage. The meeting will give us the opportunity to ask questions, to understand our protocol, and to set the cycle schedule. I am definitely looking forward it!

After our IVF consult, I will finish the BC pills, and wait for my period to begin. When my period starts, I will schedule blood work and an ultrasound. The doctors will monitor my hormone levels and check my ovaries to insure that they are cyst-free. Around day 5, I will begin the injections — the type of injections will depend on my specific protocol. The injections hyperstimulate the ovaries to produce many eggs, with a goal of producing 8-14 eggs! Since everyone is different, I will go to the doctor every few days to check my hormone levels and to check the number of eggs. This will be a challenging part of the cycle. Because of the hyperstimulation, my ovaries will swell and I will be uncomfortable. I won’t be able to work out and will do my best to rest and think happy baby thoughts! I will meet with the doctor regularly so he can adjust my medicine based on how my body responds to the initial dosage.  Around day 14, the eggs should be mature. I will take a final injection of HCG to rapidly mature the follicles, and 36-hours later will visit my Dr for the egg retrieval. The egg retrieval is somewhat invasive. I will go under anesthesia, and the Dr will gently remove the follicles. We are using a procedure called ICSI to inseminate the eggs. Basically, the embryologist will insert 1 sperm into each follicle to produce beautiful pre-embryos. 🙂

Then, we wait for 3 to 5 days to see which embryos develop normally — only 30-50% will survive and develop. Depending on the number and health of the embryos, we will complete the transfer on day 3 or day 5. After the transfer, I will start a host of medications and do my best to take it very easy! Then, 2 weeks after the transfer, I go in for a pregnancy test. When it’s positive, I will continue to be monitored by my RE for 6-8 weeks and then will switch to my OB-GYN! 

I am excited and thankful that we are able to use IVF to have a baby! I feel positive that we will be successful :). I couldn’t do this without the love and support of my hubby, family, and friends — thank you for all the positive thoughts and energy! Much love 🙂

Day 23 — Productive!

Today’s intention is to visualize myself pregnant with a healthy baby.

Today, I feel productive! I was super busy from the moment I woke up yesterday to the time I fell asleep. I cleaned the entire house, did 4 loads of laundry, ran to the grocery stores (1 is never enough), and got a great workout in. I also ate very healthy and feel great. I weighed myself this morning, and my weight looks great — thanks Perfect 10 Diet. I am on track to hit my target weight before we start IVF — go me! I added some grains back into my diet, but have continued to avoid refined sugar, caffeine, and, for the most part, gluten. I also have to schedule an appointment with my accupuncturist this week so we can get my body ready for IVF. I also want to discuss the protocol with her leading up to the retrieval and after the transfer. A lot of research supports accupuncture and shows that it helps increase IVF success rates. It also helps with stress, which is important during all of this.

Tonight, hubby and I have to go through all the documents and consent forms in preparation for our IVF consult next week. There are so many things to think about before we start the cycle, and the consent forms force you to have those conversations — conversations that I wouldn’t even know to have unless the forms were included in the pre-cycle packet. Fun, fun!

I am grateful for my health; great doctors; IVF; my loving hubby; my wonderful family and friends; Spring weather; and, my puggle, Kahli.

I love and accept myself!

Day 18 – HAPPY!

Today’s intention is to go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine!

Today, I am super HAPPY! It seems my impatience yesterday paid off — woo! I got my period this morning — never thought I’d be so happy about that — which means I am off to the doctor tomorrow for my Day 2 bloodwork and ultrasound. Hopefully, everything will look good, and I will get some instructions about next steps and will be able to schedule our first IVF consultation with Dr. D. I am certainly ready to learn about the medical protocol and the schedule. Of course there will be a lot of injections, blood work, and ultrasounds in our future, but I just know that all of this will end in a happy and healthy pregnancy! I also spoke to my boss yesterday and let her know that we are beginning IVF soon. She is very supportive (thankfully) and said to let her know if I need anything as we go through this grueling process.

To my IVF buddies out there — any questions I should ask my dr? I have the basic questions — how long should I be on BC? How much medicine? When should I take it? How should I take it? Am I missing anything?

I am grateful for my health; love and happiness; medical advances such as IVF; my period starting; my wonderful hubby; my loving and supportive friends; my kind and supportive boss; and, my puppy Kahli!

I love and accept myself!

 

 

Day 17 — Impatient

Today’s intention is to be open to constructive criticism.

Today, I am feeling impatient! I just want my period to come so we can get everything started already. As anyone who knows me would tell you, I am a planner. I love details especially when organizing events. It makes me happy to make things perfect :). For our wedding, I planned every little thing from the music to the gift bags we gave to our guests as well as having itineraries for every member of our wedding party. I wasn’t a bridezilla, but I like having structure and I enjoy planning for big events.

IVF doesn’t exactly work that way. I feel like there is a lot of hurrying up to wait and waiting to hurry up. My period has never been regular — thanks PCOS — so I can’t exactly pinpoint when our next cycle will begin because I have to wait for my period to start. I know it’s coming, but it could be here tonight or the end of the week. While waiting, there isn’t much to do except read, read, and read more articles about IVF, but since every cycle is unique to the woman, I don’t really know the details, and won’t until I meet with the doctor. It’s quite annoying to have no control over any of it. Our first real IVF meeting won’t happen until I get my period, and then I will be able to make a more clear plan and feel more in control over this process.

The other hard part in all of this is the not knowing what to expect. My hubby and I are always busy –we go to a lot of charity events, out with friends, to alumni events, and play summer sports. Since I don’t know exactly when this cycle will begin, what the protocol will be, and/or if I’ll be pregnant in May/June, I am putting a hold on lots of stuff. Today, I bowed out of dragonboat racing in June and July — an event I have enjoyed participating in for the last 3 years — I won’t feel comfortable participating if I am pregnant or in the middle of a cycle. I also declined a fun mudrun at the end of the month and may have to miss a trip to Pittsburgh for Mother’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, the goal of having a healthy baby makes all of these decisions easy, but I always feel a little sad having to miss out because of my fertility.

At this point, I must focus on what I can control (and not on what I have given up) — my diet and fitness! I am following the Perfect 10 diet again and love it! It’s nice to eat real food and feel great. I just know that it is helping me to balance my hormones. I have cut out gluten (not too hard since I really never added it back to my diet) and will of course remove alcohol and caffeine — again not too hard since I rarely consume either. I am also back in the gym 5-6 times per week with walks 2-3 nights per week as well as fertility yoga every day. I will cut back on the cardio once we start the cycle so it doesn’t stress my reproductive organs and will just focus on walking and yoga for stress relief. All of this activity helps me to feel like I am doing something in my pursuit of having a baby. It’s easy to feel somewhat helpless through all of this, so I do my best to make positive choices that will positively impact our chances to have a healthy baby 🙂

I am grateful for my health; great friends; a loving hubby; an amazing family — parents, brothers, and sisters; love, laughter, and happiness!

I love and accept myself!

 

Day 16 – jet lagged and crampy

Today’s intention is to catch up from vacation.

Today, I feel jet-lagged and have cramps. We fell asleep very early last night – we are awake for almost 24-hours and am surprised we made it as long as we did. Before falling asleep, we had a great sushi dinner – it was so good — and unpacked. We have tons of laundry to get through and a house to clean. It will all get done! I slept well last night and think that my body might actually be adjusting back to ‘normal’ time. I slept in this morning, then we got brunch, and re-stocked our fridge. I am so happy that we have a fully-stocked fridge full of Perfect 10 friendly food including organic eggs, avocados, and fresh seafood (salmon, shrimp, and scallops). Yummy! I haven’t weighed used yet, and think I will wait a week or so – I don’t think I gained too much on vacation, but I refuse to be upset with myself if I gained a pound or two.

This week is all about getting back in to my normal routine. Grocery shopping was the first step, working out is next, and then I will clean up the house, finish spring/summer decorating, put a dent in the laundry, and give Kahli a bath. I also have cramps – yay! I know, who gets excited about cramps?!?! But, it means that my period will be here in the next few days and we can start IVF! I could be pregnant by Mother’s Day :-). So much to look forward to – I am feeling good and know that this will be a great week!

I am grateful to be home; for my sweet puppy, Kahli; my wonderful hubby; amazing friends; fabulous family; and my healthy body!

I love and accept myself!

Day 11 – Ready

My intention today is Carpe Diem.

Today I am feeling ready for whatever life brings. I woke up and worked out – which helped me recover from jet-lag and not feel so lazy. It wasn’t a great workout, but at least I got through it. I also hope to get up early tomorrow an make it to the gym. I had a healthy breakfast and ate pretty healthy the rest of the day. We enjoyed time with our family and toured through parts of Paris. I purchased 2 beautiful journals – one for me and one for a very dear friend. I know she will love it. We went to a local cafe for lunch – the food was good, although there was some confusion with ordering. It’s difficult to communicate when you know very little French. It is interesting trying to decide what things mean and I am really terrible at it. Oh well, at least I am trying 🙂

Spending time with our sister and brother-in-law has been lots of fun. Our bro-in-law is hysterically funny and I spend most of the time around him laughing. We heard a lot about their new house and their plans for the future. They are planning on kiddies in 4 years – I am sure we will have 2 or 3 little ones by then. My father-in-law recommended they start their family earlier because they might have trouble conceiving. I know he didn’t mean anything by it, but I hate that our fertility issues would impact anyone’s family plans. I am sure they won’t have any issues – what are the odds of it impacting 2 women in the same family. I know that everyone is touting for us, and am thankful to have so much support.

I am grateful for love; happiness; family; friends; and laughter.

I love and accept myself!

Day 7 – Tired

Today’s intention is to find the silver lining. Yesterday was crazy, and today is already looking a bit hectic, but my goal is to find the happy and focus on it.

Today I am tired. Yesterday was crazy — I worked for more than 16 hours and didn’t get home until around 10pm. I have a lot to do before we leave for vacation for work and plenty to do to get ready for the trip, but I have to remember to stop and smell the roses. Being tired is one of the most annoying feelings to me — I like having a ton of energy and being able to run around to get everything done. This week, it’s not even that I don’t have the energy, I just don’t have the time. I have to make time for important things like getting plenty of sleep and making it to the gym, so I feel strong. On the bright side, travelling and The Perfect 10 Diet go well together. Due to work, I ate out at every meal yesterday, and it was easy to make choices that fit into the healthy plan. YAY!

I am grateful for a comfy bed and cuddly hubby; vacation!; my health; the sunshine; and, a wonderful life 🙂

 I love and accept myself!

Day 6 – Loved

My intention today is to be fully present. I want to stay in the present and focus on the task at hand.

Today I feel loved! I feel loved everyday, but I am feeling it even more today. I spent time with my brother’s fiancé (she’s wonderful) – we went shopping, made a healthy dinner from Anne Burrell’s new cookbook and then played Dance on the wii with my brother. It was an awesome afternoon and a fabulous reminder of the power of a loving family.

Hubby and I also had a wonderful weekend, and are preparing for a dream vacation — we leave on Thursday! We are going to France with my in-laws and then to Venice for a few days by ourselves. It’s the perfect trip to get ready for IVF :-).

I am grateful for a great life; a loving and supportive family; an upcoming relaxing vacation; insurance; my health; wonderful friends; and, my little puggle, Kahli!

I love and accept myself!

Day 5 – Joy

Today’s intention is to enjoy some family time!

Today I feel joy! We enjoyed a great weekend with amazing friends, which reminds me just how fortunate I am. I may have some struggles staying pregnant, but I am blessed with a wonderful set of friends, family, and loved ones. I also feel joy because I feel great! I have been focusing on my diet and fitness since my last miscarriage and it’s really paying off! I started a new eating philosophy called The Perfect 10 Diet — the goal is to balance one’s hormones, which leads to a healthier body and weight loss. You basically swap out all processed crap and sugar and focus on eating organic, real foods including real fats. I have done this for a week, and the results have been fantastic — I feel great = more energy, glowing skin, better sleep, etc and I have lost 5 pounds! YES! This doesn’t just mean weight loss to me — it means that my hormones are finally coming back into equilibrium and I am well on my way to a wonderful IVF cycle in April. Go Team! Even more importantly, I don’t feel deprived — this is definitely not a diet. I am eating real foods and real fats, which means no crazy hunger pains and no crazy food cravings.

I am grateful for my health; wonderful friends, family, and loved ones; my hubby!; vacation on Thursday; and, our upcoming IVF cycle!

I love and accept myself!