Update: Mock Embryo Transfer, IVF Injection Class, and Medication

Today marks day 7 of birth control… 12 more days to go! I wish I could skip over this part and just start the injections but I’m hoping the time will go by quickly.

Mark and I spent our entire morning today in my RE’s office. First, I had my mock embryo transfer…. And it went really well! For some reason, I was really nervous about it! I hardly had any problems at all with my HSG and this was MUCH easier. I had a TINY bit of cramping when the catheter was put in but it was very mild and went away quickly. When it was over, the RE said that everything looks great and we shouldn’t have any problems! :)

After the Mock, we had our IVF injection class. There were two other couples in the class with us and it actually was fun! We had plenty of time to “play” with all of the different injections and to ask lots of questions. It looks like I will be using the Follistim pen (so cute!) and Menopur. Both seem pretty easy and I’m not too worried about them. The Ganirelix injection looks like it will be the easiest – It’s a prefilled syringe just like the Ovidrel. Obviously, the one I’m most scared of is the trigger shot with the super huge needle … but I will survive. It’s only one shot. I’m thankful that I will be doing progesterone suppositories instead of the PIO shots that I hear so many horror stories about! Overall, it was a great class. It was really nice to talk with some other couples who are going through the same thing.

A few hours ago my pharmacy called with my medication price. First, they told me the price of everything without insurance…. Almost $5000.00! After I held my breath for a while, they finally told me that the total cost to ME was going to be $496.00. I was VERY happy to hear that! My big box of meds is scheduled to be delivered on Friday. I can’t wait! :)

My Weird IVF Protocol…

…. So CD 1 was yesterday… well, sort of. I started bleeding bright red yesterday morning but it was pretty light. My period usually always starts this way so I put in a tampon and called my nurse announcing the good news that today was CD 1! She said, “Great! You will start your birth control pills on CD 3. I will go ahead and order your meds and put together your protocol and email it to you. You will need to schedule your mock embryo transfer after you start your birth control pills.” Awesome! Of course I was super excited.

Until… she emailed me my protocol. I’m on the antagonist protocol… meaning, no Lupron. Now, I haven’t researched this protocol too much but I had just read in my IVF book the night before that the antagonist protocol works best for “older women”. To me, this in some way implied that they did not think that I would respond well to the longer Lupron protocol.

So I emailed my nurse back right away. I told her exactly what I had read and asked her if there was any reason I should be concerned.

Her reply:

Andrea,

That is not true. Our antagonist protocol is geared toward high responders, not low ones. You are going to be fine! Good questions though!

So needless to say, I felt a lot better. I also did some Googling and it seems as though a lot of RE’s are now prescribing the Antagonist protocol for all IVF patients with polycystic ovaries (like me!) due to the lower risk of OHSS. Now, the thought of OHSS scares the junk out of me and I’m so glad to know that my clinic thinks about things like that. I’m just nervous that I won’t have as good of a response as I would have had with the Lupron protocol. I’ve thought about it a lot though, and I’m going to try my best to trust my doctor and hope that my body does what it is supposed to do.

Here is the protocol that she emailed me:

Medications

*       Birth Control Pills - 21-day pack (1-2 packs)

*       Ganirelix or Cetrotide syringes - when directed.

*       Gonadotropin FSH (Follistim, Gonal F, or Bravelle) and 75 IU FSH&LH (Repronex or Menopur) or 75 IU LH (Luveris)

*       hCG (hCG, Pregnyl, Novarel), 10,000 units, 1 vial - "Trigger" intramuscular injection.

*       Zithromax 1 gram  - taken when directed evening before egg retrieval.

*       Estrace 2 mg (#60)  - taken when directed to start evening of egg retrieval.

*       Endometrin vaginal insert (#60), as directed to start the day after egg retrieval.

*       Prescription prenatal vitamin (Neevo) 1 tablet every day.

*       Baby aspirin (81 mg) – 1 tablet every day

Date   Protocol Day     Instructions

02/28/11:  Cycle Day 1 - CALL YOUR PRIMARY NURSE WITH THE FIRST DAY OF FULL FLOW.  No blood work or sonogram.

03/02-03/20:  Start Birth Control Pills - 1 tablet each day for 19 days.

03/21: Day after last birth control pill - “Pre-IVF Evaluation" blood work (E2, P4, Beta) and ultrasound.  You will be called in the afternoon with your results.

03/24:  If blood work & ultrasound are within normal limits, gonadotropins are usually started on the 4th day after your last birth control pill.  Your nurse will give you the date to start along with dosing instructions and date to return for follow-up monitoring.  * The stimulation with gonadotropins usually lasts 10 to 12 days, with frequent office visits. 

03/29: Once follicles are >14mm (or per physician's orders) you will be given instructions for continuing gonadotropins and beginning Ganirelix or Cetrotide.When instructed, you will take your first dose of Ganirelix or Cetrotide that evening, and starting the next day you will take the Cetrotide/Ganirelix in the morning.

04/04:  Egg retrieval (approximate date).

04/07-04/09: Embryo transfer (approximate date).

*Protocol will be individualized hereafter.

So that’s it! My approximate date for the egg retrieval is April 4^th! That seems so close yet so far away at the same time! It’s very exciting though.

But I have another dilemma. Sorry in advance if this next part is TMI. Remember how I said that my period started but the bleeding was pretty light? When I went to the bathroom later on yesterday to change my tampon, the bleeding was lighter than it was in the morning. Just a little heavier than spotting. This is really strange for me. Normally it gets heavier until it starts to ease up around CD 3 or 4. Instead, the flow continued to get lighter throughout the day yesterday until it was almost nothing by the time I went to bed. This morning, it’s back to really light bleeding. So I don’t know what to do. I have never before had to ask myself, “Is this really my period?” It’s always been so obvious! But now I’m nervous to start the birth control tomorrow. Ugh I don’t know. If it doesn’t get any heavier, I will probably call my nurse in the morning just to make sure. I just don’t want to be one of “those” patients who (at 25 years of age) calls to ask what my period should be like. We will see. Until then, I will just pray (for the first time in my life!) for heavier bleeding.

In other news, I read in my IVF book that I should up my protein during my cycle. So I went out this weekend and got some chocolate whey protein powder. I decided that I would go ahead and drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast. I made sure to prepare myself to hate it since I was pretty sure it would be disgusting. But it … was…. AWESOME. Seriously, I LOVE it. This may be my new favorite breakfast. I put the protein powder with skim milk, ice, and a banana in a blender and it tastes great! I really love it. This will be an easy way to get 25 grams of protein every morning.

Well… that’s about it! I still feel like a little bit of an IVF freak since I won’t be using Lupron like everyone else but hopefully all will go well!

Going a little crazy …

Not much to report. Today is CD 26… and I am seriously going insane. I try so hard to think about other things but it’s impossible. I just want AF to get here! I’m really glad that I’m on a break this cycle. I truly needed this time to prepare financially and emotionally for IVF. But now, I’m prepared. I’m ready to GO! I really don’t think that I’ve ever been so impatient about anything in my whole life.  

I picked up my birth control pills last night and I was strangely excited. I know that starting birth control is really nothing special and that I will still have a few weeks before I start injections but it feels great to be prepared. It was seriously the highlight of my night.

I talked to my nurse and she said that after I start the BC pills (on CD 1) I will need to schedule my mock embryo transfer and we will also order my big box of fertility drugs. I’m still a little nervous about the injections but I’ve done a lot research and watched a ton of videos so I’m feeling much more prepared.

I’m SO happy it’s Friday. I should be too distracted over the weekend to think about how slow time is moving and hopefully AF will arrive by Monday!  

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tagged! A Survey....

I was tagged by my dear, sweet blog friend, Lulu for this cute survey! Here are the rules:

Rule #1: the tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: tag 4 people to do this quiz; they cannot refuse (ok, so nothing bad will happen if you don’t participate but I would love to see your answers). The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

Okay… so I’m going to tag (I hope I’m doing this right!) some of my other favorite bloggers:

Jill at Hubby, baby and me… our family of 3

Kerrick at Uncommon Nonsense

Kelly at  The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow (I Hope)

And So It Goes at Life in the Detours

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family? Definitely, definitely FAMILY members! I love my pups so much!

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be? A successful first cycle of IVF, followed by a healthy, happy pregnancy, followed by a full-term, happy and healthy baby!

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

A billion? Whoa… I could do a lot with that!

My top priorities would be…

- Pay off IVF

- Buy a new SUV

- Buy a new house

- Stealing this from Lulu, but I couldn’t agree more! - Quit my job and just focus on getting pregnant all day long!!! :)

- Get a few more pups!

- Take an amazing vacation

- Lots of other stuff!

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood? Snuggling with my hubby and pups! I also really enjoy reading blogs of women who have gone through infertility and have had success… it gives me hope and definitely helps to pull me out of a bad mood!

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? That my body would get pregnant and STAY pregnant!

6. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your significant other? We met at work! I was not interested in him at first because he is a lot older than I am (10 years) but he could ALWAYS make me laugh. I’m glad I gave him a chance because he’s still making me laugh 6 years later!

7. What kind of books do you read? Please don’t say anything, but I really like Mary Higgins Clark books. Feel free to laugh and talk amongst yourselves now. 

I’m also currently reading a very interesting book on IVF called “The Couples Guide to In Vitro Fertilization”. I’m not really learning too much more than I already knew but I will read anything that has to do with fertility treatments.

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years? A mom! With one or two little ones.

9. What’s your fear? Being childless forever. I try not to think about it very much but it is my biggest fear.  

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space? No way. Not a chance.

11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? I usually think about how I would really love to go back to sleep for a few hours!

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be? I wish that he were an RE. That way he would understand everything that I tell him about IVF! :)

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be? Mrs. Peyton Manning… Just kidding! I wouldn’t change my name.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose? Sun!! I can’t wait for it to get warmer here in Maryland… I’m so ready for Spring!

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be? Sushi. But since I am hoping to be pregnant sometime in the next six months, I will eat anything that is pregnancy approved!

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most? I love having the ability to get my crazy thoughts out of my head. I also really LOVE to read other women’s stories. It helps so much to know that there are other people in similar situations.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods? I would have to say salty. But let the record show that I really DO love sweet foods too.

18. What items are in your purse right now? Wallet, IPod/headphones, Gum, Brush, mirror, pen, my daily planner, Chap Stick, my latest Mary Higgins Clark book (I’m a NERD!), Cell phone, and my adorable new pill case that I just got off of eBay to hold all of my daily pills.

19. If you had to choose between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains where would you go? The BEACH!!

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't? I usually watch Netflix. But I did rent the Back Up Plan recently … that movie was ALL about pregnancy. I knew I shouldn’t have watched it … but I did. Even though it made me a little sad, I kind of liked it!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

So I’m a day late but I hope that everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! Mark asked me what I wanted a few days ago and I told him that I wanted a successful first IVF cycle! :) In the end, we decided not to do gifts and go out to a fancy dinner…. I’d much rather spend that money towards medication costs! Instead, we ordered a heart-shaped pizza and watched our Netflix instant queue. It was a perfect evening.

In other news, our loan has been officially approved and we thankfully got a great interest rate. I also spoke with my nurse and I’m officially starting IVF on CD 1 of my next cycle! Well, I will start birth control pills then but it’s still very exciting! We have a ton of consent forms that we need to fill out so hopefully that will keep me busy until AF arrives. I’m on CD 16 right now… the waiting is so tough! Now that the financial aspect of IVF is taken care of, I just want to move forward! I hope I can learn to be more patient so I don’t drive myself or my husband crazy.

Anyway… in honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a few pics from our wedding. I can’t believe it’s been almost 3 years!

Making Progress

Yesterday, I received the approval letter for the Shared Risk IVF program through my fertility clinic and I was also notified that we qualified for a bit of a discount too! Every little bit helps and I’m very thankful that they are offering this to us. I also received our pre-approval letter from Fertility Finance with a much better interest rate and payment than I expected! I just need to provide a few more documents to them and then we should be good to go.

I can’t believe that things are falling into place so quickly. The only thing I’m a little nervous about is the cost of medications. I’ve done a little research and it looks like my insurance will cover most of them but I really don’t know what to expect. We decided to finance the whole Shared Risk amount and kept back the $5000.00 we had originally saved for it to use for medication costs. Hopefully with our insurance, the price won’t be as bad as I am imagining.

I haven’t gotten an IVF protocol as of yet. I’m just waiting for the loan to go through completely before we set up anything. Right now, I’m on CD 11 and I’m guessing I would start birth control pills at the beginning of my next cycle? If that’s the case, then I still have some time to get the financial aspect of our treatments squared away before I need to start focusing on medications and appointments.

Just writing this post is making me excited. When we first decided to try IVF, I was pretty scared. I used to read blogs about women going through IVF and I just could not imagine myself in their shoes. I kept thinking that Mark and I were crazy. I mean, how many people go directly from timed intercourse cycles with Clomid to IVF? The more I’ve thought about it though, the better I feel. I know this is the right decision for us. Could we have tried a few cycles of IUI with injectables? Sure. Would they have worked? Maybe…. Who knows? But we were already paying a few hundred dollars each month in co-pays, medication, etc. …. I would rather be putting that money towards a treatment that has higher success rates and a 100% money back guarantee if we don’t bring home a baby from the hospital. With this Shared Risk program, we get 6 fresh cycles of IVF (it also includes all FET’s – but they do not count against your fresh cycles) for one price and if we don’t succeed, we get our money back. It’s awesome. I don’t even want to think about this not working for us but if it doesn’t? We can use our refunded money towards donor eggs or adoption.

I’m still a little nervous though. I used to have to psych myself up before I would let Mark give me ONE injection of Ovidrel each month. So, the thought of daily injections makes me feel a little dizzy. But I know I can do it. I’m just REALLY excited that things are falling into place and I’m hoping that everything continues to go smoothly.

All in all, I think that 2011 will be a much better year for us. I mean, the Packers won the Superbowl…. That has to be a good sign, right? :)

IVF Video – Inside the Lab

I found this really cool video on you tube last night that gives a behind the scenes look at IVF. It really is an amazing process. I had Mark watch it with me and he really liked it… I hope the link works! :)

In other news, not too much going on. We have sent in our application for one of the IVF programs so now we are just waiting for a response. Praying that we get good news! :)