Lining Check

We went back to Nashville Fertility Center early this morning for a lining check appointment.  A major praise was smooth traffic, despite traveling during rush hour!  We were early for the first time ever.  Yay us!

I made a pit stop at the lab to have a quick blood draw to check my hormone levels.  Next, I went for an ultrasound.  The sonographer explained ideally they will find a tri-layer uterine lining with a measurement of 8mm +.  Thankfully in my scan I have a tri-layer lining measuring 12.5mm.  Such great news!  To compare, my lining at this point with Gavin was 9.5mm.

So, here's the plan moving forward:

- Continue daily Lupron injections (5 units) until Monday, July 6 --- only one week left!!

- Continue 0.2ml estradiol valerate injections on Tues/Sat.  The dose decreases to 0.1ml starting July 4th.  I'll stay on this through the pregnancy test and if positive, I'll continue until 10 weeks.

- Add progesterone in oil injections every evening starting Thursday, July 2.  1ml the first day and 2ml from then on.  Shots every day until the pregnancy test.  If positive, I'll continue until 10-12 weeks.

- Reconfirmed the embryo transfer for next Tuesday, July 7th at 11:30am with our favorite Dr.  I'll have an acupuncture session earlier that morning.

- Blood pregnancy test is scheduled for the morning of Friday, July 17

This cycle has flown by.  I owe that to G-man for keeping me busy.  It's been much easier than I imagined.  The biggest prayer at this point is for our embryo to survive the thawing process and remain great quality.  We are planning another single embryo transfer, like we did with Gavin.  If all goes well, this will leave us with 2 frozen embryos for future cycles.

Feels like Christmas morning is right around the corner.  All I can do now is relax until the transfer and pray that 10 days later we'll get news that a sweet little embryo is nestling in for the next 9 months.

We Have a Date

.....a transfer date, that is.

I went to Nashville this morning for my suppression check appointment.  I had the full workup - ultrasound, bloodwork, consultation & physical.  The purpose of this visit is to make sure I'm fully suppressed a.k.a. my hormones are shut down.  Thankfully, they found no cysts, a very thin uterine lining & an estrogen level of 23.

Starting tomorrow, I'll decrease my Lupron injections to 5 units every morning and add in 0.1 estradiol valerate via intramuscular injection in the hip (2x week).  The needles are 1.5" and 22 gauge.  Fun times.

I'm officially on the schedule for a July 7th 11:30am transfer with my favorite Dr!  We are planning to do another single embryo transfer, like we did with Gavin.  In the meantime, I have one more appointment coming up on June 29th to be sure my lining is building as it should.  As long as all goes well, the transfer will go as scheduled.

I can't say enough great things about the NFC staff.  My nurse chatted with me for over a half hour answering my random questions.  This is on top of the fact that she came in on her day off when she saw my name on the schedule.  She talked through my 2011 miscarriage and shared her own story of loss.  In a world where infertility is so taboo, it was very refreshing that she was so open & honest about her own struggles.  It was a great reminder to never be ashamed of your story because it can inspire others in ways you never dreamed.

Will certainly keep you all updated on our progress.  Thanks a million for all the prayers!

Life on Lupron

We are currently in the suppression phase of our FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) cycle.  My ovaries and the hormones they make are being suppressed so the Dr can take the reins.  I'm on day #2 of Lupron injections (10 units every morning).  This drug basically puts my ovaries to sleep.  It turns off my hormones and puts my body into an artificial state of menopause.

It comes with some pretty nasty side effects:  headache, acne, mood swings, hot flashes, itching, weight gain, etc.  I spent most of yesterday with an ice pack on my head and I've had a pretty rough headache this afternoon.  But, it's nothing I can't easily shake.  The silver lining is the shots themselves are easy for me to administer myself, since they are subcutaneous in the lower abdomen.

I like to combat the side effects by staying busy, so I don't think about it as much.  We had a really fun weekend with family in town for the Superhero Strides for CF 5K, a race that my husband started to raise funds and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.  Lots of $ raised to get us closer to a cure.

I also started back on weekly acupuncture sessions, which I LOVE.  I'll continue these until the morning of the transfer. It keeps me relaxed and in optimal health during the cycle.

My embryo transfer is just one month away.  Gavin has become really interested in babies lately.  Last week, he pulled his old bouncy chair into his room and filled it with toys for "his baby".  As each day passes, our excitement builds in the hope of baby #2 (& #3 for those praying we'll have twins). 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34  

Prayer Group

Today, I dropped G off as usual at preschool.  On the way back though, I decided to take a little detour.  I ended up at the Experience Community church, where we have been attending the last two weeks.  They have many opportunities during the week to come to the church for prayer, so this morning, I joined them.  A little one on one time with God was just what I needed.  Just me and Him.

I left feeling so uplifted and free.  I'm praying away my worries and am trusting Him to grant the desires of my heart.  He knows how much we want to grow our family.  His timing is always perfect.

Be blessed today, everyone.

Let's Get It Started

It's go time!  Today is cycle day 2.  Never been so excited for 'that time of the month'.  Ok, that's probably too much too soon.  Wish I could say IVF comes with an exciting or remotely glamorous start to the process.  It's simply timed by mother nature.  There are dozens of blood draws, a zillion injections & a few not so fun procedures.  But, man it is ALL worth it for a shot at adding another little munchkin to our family.

Right now, we're in the easy part of the cycle -- oral medications.  I started a 5 day course of doxycycline 2x day.  This med is just an antibiotic to prevent bacterial infections.  I will start birth control pills tomorrow (CD3).  These pills will prevent me from ovulating during the cycle, which would throw of the timing of uterine receptivity.  Injections will begin on CD17.  I'll update more about those as it gets closer.  This should put us with an early July embryo transfer.

I'm still pinching myself that we were able to 100% fund this cycle through the sale of my handmade wire wrapped necklaces.  I think it would be really special to have a few collage pages in our scrapbook with photos of folks wearing their necklaces.  If you have one you'd like to share, please feel free to post it to my FB page or email me at amy_tilley@yahoo.com.

This weekend has been the perfect way to kick things off.  We've enjoyed long naps, yummy food & lots of quality time.  God has been so good to us.

Green Means GO

Well, the supplement + lots of time outdoors did the trick!  Just got the lab results and my Vitamin D level went from 19 to 46.  They want to see 30 or higher before starting a cycle. Needless to say, the Dr. is very happy and so am I.

We officially have the green light to get started!

Looks like the start date will be around May 22, so we're just under a month to go.  My nerves are fading away and excitement is setting in.

Off to love on little Gavin.  He's growing so much everyday.  Treasuring these times together and praying that soon we'll have another sweet baby to smooch on, too.

Blessings,
Amy

Bring On The Sun

Remember the blood draw I mentioned last week?  They wanted to test my Vitamin D, as one last prerequisite before we can begin our next cycle.

Today, I got an email from our IVF nurse.  Turns out she's been trying to call since Fri (Thank you malfunctioning iPhone) to talk to me about the lab results.  My vitamin D level is much lower than they'd like to see while attempting pregnancy.  Mine is 19 and they consider an acceptable # to be 30 or higher.

They explained there have been studies that show low vitamin D levels lead to lower pregnancy rates and higher miscarriage rates.  I suggested she write a prescription for a mandatory beach trip, but I was shot down.  I will begin weekly doses of Vitamin D immediately to bring it up to an acceptable level to start our cycle.  I'll take a pill each week for 8 weeks, finishing just in time to start a May cycle like we are planning.

A vitamin D deficiency is an easy thing to fix, thankfully.  Let's be real...we've not seen the sun for months now.  My skin looks very similar to Casper's.  Yes, taking an extra pill is annoying.  But, for something so minor, you'll hear no complaints from me.

Say it with me...."Bring on the sun!"