Disheartened?

Today was day 7 u/s and blood work. The good news, I have follicles. The bad news, I only have one 6 mm follie on the right and 3 follies on the left (13, 12 and 8). In addition, my FSH levels are on the high side at 9.7. Anything over 10, is typical of someone in their late 30s. So here again, we take a few baby steps back. The doctor wasn't completely downtrodden about my situation, but said we needed to take more aggressive measures next time. I know that it only takes one egg to make a baby, so maybe this all will work out, but I have this gut instinct that we will be waiting to do the IVF in the new year.

I did do some research about high FSH levels and most websites recommend acupuncture and yoga. So, here I go with some more needles and I will be doing  my best to get to yoga 3 times a week. I think it's a sign from above. Updog yoga and Red Lotus, be prepared to be seeing me! :)

Baby steps, we keep telling ourselves....

The shots begin

These shots have sure been an adventure! I was able to make it for my u/s on Tuesday, but ended up missing part of dance because my 4:15 appointment  didn't get me out of there until 5:15. Too bad my hip hop class started at 5:30. No biggie, I made it in time for the rest of dance. :)

So, Wednesday night was the beginning of our shots. One vile of Brevelle and one vile of Menopur. So, Patrick goes to start this whole process, and we quickly realize that our syringes are "safety lock" and you cannot take off the needle to use the QCAP. After our uneasiness of not really being sure if we missed 1cc, we called my Sister and she said no worries, there was one cc in the needle. I tired to give myself the shot and couldn't do it, so my husband was brave and did it for me.


On Thanksgiving morning, we trekked to the 24 hour Walgreens by Royal Oak Beaumont to figure out our needle/syringe debacle. The pharmacist was SUPER nice and turned out to be a fertility specialist. She gave us the right needles and the information we needed to go back back to our Walgreens to get the exchange our "safety" lock needles. Turkey Day shot went MUCH better.

Tomorrow is blood work and another u/s. Here's to hoping this doesn't  interfere with my 3rd row Michael Buble tickets in Grand Rapids on Friday!

On our way


Tuesday was the beginning of our new journey. AF came in the middle of my school day! It was kinda of sad how happy I was to get my period. I had called the nurse on Friday because it was day 38 of my cycle. Apparently the surgery can delay the period, but it came and we were elated! I went for my ultrasound on day 2 yesterday. I laugh because my friend calls the ultra sound "wandy". So to help distract my mind from the uncomfortableness of the whole thing, I laughed at "wandy" while I thought of brownie houses.

This morning I went for my blood work at the hospital. Of course I take Patrick's keys, while mine are in my purse. He had to leave for court to do Pro Bono work.....I rushed home so it ended up working out!

The shots start this evening. I'm a bit nervous, but I think Patrick and I will handle it with grace. It's amazing how much stress this whole process causes on our marriage. Who really wants to disagree over the amount of diluent used?

I'm very thankful this Thanksgiving. Our time will come and I have to put faith in the plan that GOD has for us. Take time to tell those around you that they are loved. Each of us is truly a gift!

No new news...

I'm not neglecting the blog...we are continuing to wait for AF to show up. I do want to take the time to say how greatful we are for our prescription insurance. I went and picked up the injectables and saw that it was $4500! My heart swelled with gratitude that we could afford this, but sank for those who are having the same difficulties and cannot afford the medicine for the treatment. We are hoping and praying that the injectables work, so that we can hopefully donate the unused medince back to the doctor's office so they can dispense it out to those less fortunate. (If that is even a possibility....)

So, our baby steps right now are minute, but we are headed in the right direction. We are ready to get this party started. :)

Everything happens for a reason....

Today was the big consult appointment. WOW...what a lot of information thrown at you all at once. Patrick was an excellent note taker and I listened intently. I was glad to hear the statement "You don't have the worst case scenario with your endometriosis" and "You have youth on your side." (I'm not sure if they caught that I'm quickly sliding into the home plate with the BIG 30 on it....but hey, I'll take the "your 29 which is excellent still!") We met with the doc for an hour and then turned around and met with the nurse an hour and a half later based on our treatment decision. It's a good thing I had the afternoon off and they were so kind to work with my schedule.

So, our options are IVF and injectables with an IUI. So, we've decided to start with the injectable hormones coupled with an IUI. This procedure is a stepping stone to the IVF if needed after the first of the year. I will wait until day 3 of my cycle and then trek to the hospital at 7AM for same day blood work for estrodial levels and then go for an ultra sound. The nurse will call me that night and let me know if I start my hormone cocktail injection of Menopur and Brevelle. If that is a go, we start shots at the same time every night and go until day 7. Then its another blood test and ultrasound. Then they decide the course of hormone cocktails and when I give myself the hcg injections.

So through all of this, Patrick continues to fight with our insurance since nothing is really covered. BUT there must be a God because the injections are covered by our prescriptions. I wanted to cry, because it would have been darn expensive if they weren't.

The upside to this is we could get pregnant without IVF. The upside to if we don't get pregnant (yes, there is an upside), doc has a baseline for if we have to do the IVF and it takes some of the guess work out of how I will react to the hormones. The IVF is a step we will take if necessary and we are committed to our journey for a family. Here's to baby steps in a positive light!

Moving right along

I'm feeling much more like myself! I have jeans on and was able to go out for lunch with my sister. :) I'm excited to get back to work, as I miss my boys!

In other good news, I was able to get out IVF consult appointment on Monday the 8th. No time to waste! I think that's my new motto...there is no time like the present because every second that goes by is a precious second of life that we can spend trying to start our family. If that means Patrick and I treat ourselves to a dinner to celebrate our love, calling a friend who is in need of a ear, or pampering myself with a few extra minutes of sleep, then I'm going to do it.

So, I guess after next Monday, we'll have an even clearer path of where we are headed. I'm very excted about the possibilities that lie ahead of us.

Here's to a few more baby steps towards baby(s) Winters! :)