I got a call from the lab this morning that of the two eggs they would try to mature invetro and fertilize, ONE! Fertilized! So now here is the status, as far as we know:
3 fertilized on day 1
1 may have fertilized on day 1 but slowly...they will check on day 3
1 more fertilized on day 2!
The embryologist, Katlynn, told me that I will not get another call until they can tell me the big picture, which will be on Tuesday because of the late bloomer yesterday. So I will give an update then. No news is good news until then.
So we are pulling for 4, possibly 5 little Diiorios. We hope that with my free spirit, Stef's "Iron Man" will, and the help of CCRM's world class lab, the chosen one(s) will find their way into our lives.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Fertilization update
Hi everyone! Thanks for the touching comments and emails and caring support. We're on our way out so a quick update from the lab at CCRM. Robin, an embryologist there called to tell me that:
Of the 8 eggs they took out, they worked with 5 and 2 more are being watched for maturity.
Of they 5 they tried to fertize, 3 got fertilized and a fourth one they will check on at day 3
Of the two eggs they are watching for maturity, they will try to fertilize today.
So we have 3 embryos for sure right now. We chose to go ahead with day 5 genetic testing, so let's really pull for these 3 little Diiorios.
Of the 8 eggs they took out, they worked with 5 and 2 more are being watched for maturity.
Of they 5 they tried to fertize, 3 got fertilized and a fourth one they will check on at day 3
Of the two eggs they are watching for maturity, they will try to fertilize today.
So we have 3 embryos for sure right now. We chose to go ahead with day 5 genetic testing, so let's really pull for these 3 little Diiorios.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Gr8 Rerieval
As I lay here dosy, in my breezy, sunlight hotel room, I can't help but be flabbergasted at the difference between my two retrieval experiences, here and Calgary.
This morning, I was greeted by a kind nurse, Liz, who lead me from the two story, ultra-modern waiting room where Stef sat eating an apple, to the surgical area. She gave me a container to put all my belongings in, which in turn had all I would need for the procedure. My booties and a WARM gown and blanket. She then ushered me to my own, private pre-op room, where she helped me settle into my bed. Upon laying down, she proceeded to prep me for my IV which included light hearted chit chat and a hot towel wrapped around the arm in which the IV went. She used lidocane to numb my hand and made sure it didn't hurt. After being all hooked up and nowhere to go, Stef was brought in to keep me company and to meet the OR nurse, the anesthesiologist and Dr.G, who did the retrieval itself. When everyone was gone, I let him clip on the finger heart rate monitor. His heart rate was HALF that of mine. I guess that gives away who went running after pizza and ice cream the other day.
He called out loving cheers as the bed was wheeled into the OR. The last thing I remember was the lights on the OR ceiling and saying "am I already on something?" as I was sure the promised preliminary sedative to the anesthetic was kicking in. Not a second later, I swam up to the break of consciousness when the anathesiologist was making sure I'm awake. The next hour was spent in bliss, as a blanket, kept warm by hot air being blown into it, kept me cozy as nurses kept checking on me. Stef was at my bed side telling me how wonderful I looked. Maybe.....the fluids in the IV took 10 years off my face. As bliss melted to a groggy high, I was slowly assisted off the bed and onto a chair. I was shocked not to be bleeding. Liz kept shooting the IV with pain meds as the cramping started to hit. A sweet embryologist, Anne, came out to let us know that they got out 8 eggs!! And that all looks good on Stef's end. We will be notified of the progress of the little ones every morning. After some paper work, pop and crackers that Stef enjoyed, I was caringly wheeled outside. I got home and slept for 3 hours. We are now on the bed and looking for where to go eat because I can actually walk. If I wasn't a bit stoned, I would not know anything had happened to me.
In Calgary, the prep area was not private, the nurses were bitchy, the IV took 5 tries with no numbing, I was pumped with only a sedative that made me drift off while they set up the OR but was rudely woken by the doctor who told me not to jump when she stabs the needle through the viginl wall. I didn't jump, but I felt it - both times...along with everything else. The first embryologist was annoyed and the another one was rude. I bled profusely and was in pain for days and could not sit properly for three weeks. Same procedure.....but like butchers over there. There is no place like this clinic. I could not be happier or more impressed. We paid more, but I never knew that humanity costs money.
This morning, I was greeted by a kind nurse, Liz, who lead me from the two story, ultra-modern waiting room where Stef sat eating an apple, to the surgical area. She gave me a container to put all my belongings in, which in turn had all I would need for the procedure. My booties and a WARM gown and blanket. She then ushered me to my own, private pre-op room, where she helped me settle into my bed. Upon laying down, she proceeded to prep me for my IV which included light hearted chit chat and a hot towel wrapped around the arm in which the IV went. She used lidocane to numb my hand and made sure it didn't hurt. After being all hooked up and nowhere to go, Stef was brought in to keep me company and to meet the OR nurse, the anesthesiologist and Dr.G, who did the retrieval itself. When everyone was gone, I let him clip on the finger heart rate monitor. His heart rate was HALF that of mine. I guess that gives away who went running after pizza and ice cream the other day.
He called out loving cheers as the bed was wheeled into the OR. The last thing I remember was the lights on the OR ceiling and saying "am I already on something?" as I was sure the promised preliminary sedative to the anesthetic was kicking in. Not a second later, I swam up to the break of consciousness when the anathesiologist was making sure I'm awake. The next hour was spent in bliss, as a blanket, kept warm by hot air being blown into it, kept me cozy as nurses kept checking on me. Stef was at my bed side telling me how wonderful I looked. Maybe.....the fluids in the IV took 10 years off my face. As bliss melted to a groggy high, I was slowly assisted off the bed and onto a chair. I was shocked not to be bleeding. Liz kept shooting the IV with pain meds as the cramping started to hit. A sweet embryologist, Anne, came out to let us know that they got out 8 eggs!! And that all looks good on Stef's end. We will be notified of the progress of the little ones every morning. After some paper work, pop and crackers that Stef enjoyed, I was caringly wheeled outside. I got home and slept for 3 hours. We are now on the bed and looking for where to go eat because I can actually walk. If I wasn't a bit stoned, I would not know anything had happened to me.
In Calgary, the prep area was not private, the nurses were bitchy, the IV took 5 tries with no numbing, I was pumped with only a sedative that made me drift off while they set up the OR but was rudely woken by the doctor who told me not to jump when she stabs the needle through the viginl wall. I didn't jump, but I felt it - both times...along with everything else. The first embryologist was annoyed and the another one was rude. I bled profusely and was in pain for days and could not sit properly for three weeks. Same procedure.....but like butchers over there. There is no place like this clinic. I could not be happier or more impressed. We paid more, but I never knew that humanity costs money.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Trigger Happy
I'm gonna get a shot in the ass in 45 minutes. You IVFers know what I'm talking about. Yes! It's trigger night. For you non-IVFers, you may need more than that. 36 hours before we ovulate, our own bodies naturally trigger ovulation with the hCG hormone. It matures the egg and frees it from the follicle. During an IVF cycle though, a shot in the ass delivers the hCG hormone and the eggs are retieved 35 hours later, just an hour before they would come out on their own. That makes my retieval at 9 am on Tuesday. Just so glad I will be out for this one. I saw and felt everything in Calgary. Those people are butchers. Follie line up this morning was:
23, 22, 19,18,18,16.4, 12, 11.6, 11.5, 9, 8. Looks like 6, maybe 7 eggs. Guess what....two of them grew 4mm over night. That's crazy!! must have been the frozen Greek yogurt....I did go back for more...the follies told me to. So if more grow 4 mm over night, I might have 9 eggs. That would be awesome.
Stef is here !! he had an exhausting trip here so he's already sleeping. Not before going for pizza, ice cream and a bolw of popcorn back in our room which I brought home for him from the street market in Boulder. One of us is running tomorrow, and one of us is not. I'll let you figure that one out.
The timing of the retrieval is perfect...it let's Stef get settled in and get his bearings and gives my friend from Cali and I some time to catch up. I just hope I'm not woozy or throw up like last time after this shot.
I may not post again untill after the retrival. I will be so happy to drink coffee and wine again. Hopefully there will be champange in store for us at the end of the week!!
23, 22, 19,18,18,16.4, 12, 11.6, 11.5, 9, 8. Looks like 6, maybe 7 eggs. Guess what....two of them grew 4mm over night. That's crazy!! must have been the frozen Greek yogurt....I did go back for more...the follies told me to. So if more grow 4 mm over night, I might have 9 eggs. That would be awesome.
Stef is here !! he had an exhausting trip here so he's already sleeping. Not before going for pizza, ice cream and a bolw of popcorn back in our room which I brought home for him from the street market in Boulder. One of us is running tomorrow, and one of us is not. I'll let you figure that one out.
The timing of the retrieval is perfect...it let's Stef get settled in and get his bearings and gives my friend from Cali and I some time to catch up. I just hope I'm not woozy or throw up like last time after this shot.
I may not post again untill after the retrival. I will be so happy to drink coffee and wine again. Hopefully there will be champange in store for us at the end of the week!!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Where's the Party!
OK enough winning. Endless gratitude for all your support. I did have a tough day yesterday but I refused to do it again. As I finish my salad at the "White Chocolate Grill" in Park Meadows tonight, I reflect on the day. Here's how it went down. I got all glammed up and decided to hit Boulder after the clinic. Went for my daily appointment and here is today's follie line up:
21, 20, 17, 16.5, 15, 14.5, 11, 9, 8.5, 7, 6 (at >22 or <15 they are unusable)
So here's the weird part. All of the ones on the left overy grew the expected 2mm and all of the ones on the right did not budge, actually, they shrank. AND, we have two that showed up for the party, but very unsociably late. They will sit in the corner drinking Gonal wine, watching everyone else having fun on the drugs.
So here's some relief. Egg retrieval will not be on Monday YEY! Can't wait to get hubby at the airport tomorrow and show him what I got him today in Nederland. Oh Right....back to my day. I found the most amazing thing in Nederland....an insiration...and perhaps a little something to keep me going through all of this. They reconstructed an Carousel from 1910, put it in a building and now it's a museum with an indoor Carousel ride. For only a $1 per ride, I couldn't resist. I rode the Zebra. All three times. Between the second and third time, I visited their puppet room, upstairs in the attic. I was in heaven. I love those little cove attic rooms, and I told that to the little puppet on my hand. Hey, what happens in the puppet room, stays in the puppet room. Then one more ride on the Carousel. While I was gliding up and down, round and round, I felt like a kid and a mother all at the same time. It made me laugh and then cry and then laugh again. The name of the Carousel was "Carousel of Happiness". Then it dawned on me. Maybe I was brought here today to cheer my soul, or to bring me some solace in that magic attic room. Or maybe because there will be some happiness at the end of this little merry-go-round too.
21, 20, 17, 16.5, 15, 14.5, 11, 9, 8.5, 7, 6 (at >22 or <15 they are unusable)
So here's the weird part. All of the ones on the left overy grew the expected 2mm and all of the ones on the right did not budge, actually, they shrank. AND, we have two that showed up for the party, but very unsociably late. They will sit in the corner drinking Gonal wine, watching everyone else having fun on the drugs.
So here's some relief. Egg retrieval will not be on Monday YEY! Can't wait to get hubby at the airport tomorrow and show him what I got him today in Nederland. Oh Right....back to my day. I found the most amazing thing in Nederland....an insiration...and perhaps a little something to keep me going through all of this. They reconstructed an Carousel from 1910, put it in a building and now it's a museum with an indoor Carousel ride. For only a $1 per ride, I couldn't resist. I rode the Zebra. All three times. Between the second and third time, I visited their puppet room, upstairs in the attic. I was in heaven. I love those little cove attic rooms, and I told that to the little puppet on my hand. Hey, what happens in the puppet room, stays in the puppet room. Then one more ride on the Carousel. While I was gliding up and down, round and round, I felt like a kid and a mother all at the same time. It made me laugh and then cry and then laugh again. The name of the Carousel was "Carousel of Happiness". Then it dawned on me. Maybe I was brought here today to cheer my soul, or to bring me some solace in that magic attic room. Or maybe because there will be some happiness at the end of this little merry-go-round too.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Diary of an Egg Farmer
The perils of egg farming is that you drop and break some. And that's what may happen in my case. I have to admit that I pressured my doctor to put me on high doses of follicle stimulating meds in hopes of getting more eggs this time to mature. She did, and instead of getting more mature eggs, we got less eggs overall, some overcooked, and some raw. Sorry about that. Too tired for better imagery. Maybe the same result would have occured had I been on a different protocol, but here is the measurement of all the follicles (egg is inside each follicle) that they are tracking. These are in millimeters. They grow 2 millimeters per day, and I get an ovulation trigger shot when they are 20mm, and retrieval is at 22 mm, 36 hours later, before I actually ovulate. That's the point - egg retrieval, not egg hunt. Here are my follies, from largest to smallest
18.5, 18, 17.5, 16, 14.5, 13, 11, 10, 8
They have to be at least 15 mm by retrieval to get a decently mature egg. So if they grow 2 mm per day and my retrieval is on Monday morning, TWO days early, the line up is:
22.5, 22, 21.5, 21, 18.5, 17, 14, 12. So it looks like 5 eggs, maybe 6, as the first and last would be unusable. Dropped and broken.
We came to Denver to get a baby (or two), not neccessarily more eggs than in Calgary (8 there) . But one usually goes with the other. So this reality, along with having to dish out $500 to have Stef fly out here sooner, my friend from California coming on the day of the retrival for 'the visit of the century' and me feeling like superb shit, I had a little cry today. But talked to hubby and my friend E, who set me straight. All is better.
Thanks for all your advice on where to go and what to see and where to eat everyone! I have loved Denver so far. Went to the 16th street Walking Mall today but it's funny how something is fun for only so long when you're by yourself and not feeling well. I truly wish I felt up to leaving the hotel to get a milkshake. I've been thinking about it all day. I haven't been waking up at 5am since I got here and between the cumulative sleep deprivation, hormone overload and stomach ulcer, I can only dream of a milkshake.
Thank you for reading this and for listening. It's good company knowing you're on the other side as I sit in an abandoned hotel lobby because my bed was starting to feel like an iron. It's friday night....I would usually have just put the birds to bed and my hubby would be calling from our TV room what's taking me so long to join him. Don't remember what's on TV on friday nights, but I do know he'd be on the other couch. Just within arms reach. Instead of wresling for the remote, chatting during commercials or hearing him eat his favorite snack - a shiny Granny Smith apple that I always buy for him, I'm sitting alone in a quiet hotel, counting my eggs before they hatch. Silly, silly girl.
18.5, 18, 17.5, 16, 14.5, 13, 11, 10, 8
They have to be at least 15 mm by retrieval to get a decently mature egg. So if they grow 2 mm per day and my retrieval is on Monday morning, TWO days early, the line up is:
22.5, 22, 21.5, 21, 18.5, 17, 14, 12. So it looks like 5 eggs, maybe 6, as the first and last would be unusable. Dropped and broken.
We came to Denver to get a baby (or two), not neccessarily more eggs than in Calgary (8 there) . But one usually goes with the other. So this reality, along with having to dish out $500 to have Stef fly out here sooner, my friend from California coming on the day of the retrival for 'the visit of the century' and me feeling like superb shit, I had a little cry today. But talked to hubby and my friend E, who set me straight. All is better.
Thanks for all your advice on where to go and what to see and where to eat everyone! I have loved Denver so far. Went to the 16th street Walking Mall today but it's funny how something is fun for only so long when you're by yourself and not feeling well. I truly wish I felt up to leaving the hotel to get a milkshake. I've been thinking about it all day. I haven't been waking up at 5am since I got here and between the cumulative sleep deprivation, hormone overload and stomach ulcer, I can only dream of a milkshake.
Thank you for reading this and for listening. It's good company knowing you're on the other side as I sit in an abandoned hotel lobby because my bed was starting to feel like an iron. It's friday night....I would usually have just put the birds to bed and my hubby would be calling from our TV room what's taking me so long to join him. Don't remember what's on TV on friday nights, but I do know he'd be on the other couch. Just within arms reach. Instead of wresling for the remote, chatting during commercials or hearing him eat his favorite snack - a shiny Granny Smith apple that I always buy for him, I'm sitting alone in a quiet hotel, counting my eggs before they hatch. Silly, silly girl.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Follie Folly
My IVF gals know that a 'follie' is our term for a follicle. In IVF it all starts with glowing follicles, which in turn have an egg in then. On the other hand, according to Wikipedia:
"A folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs"
So, it turns out I have 8 dominant ornaments and two small ones. And they do transcend the normal range. They are extravagant and growing fast. Faster than expected, so I'm hoping they will take my meds down and let some small follies catch up, rather than change my egg retrieval day to sooner. That would suck. So just waiting for the call from the nurse.
As for being Denver, it rocks. Literally...can see the mountains from my room. Love it. And I am very impressed with how well I did to get here. Big pat on my back. As I reflect, from the last negative result in November to now, it's exactly 5 months. The amount of paper work, phone calls, panic, running around and 90 !!! e-mails with my nurse, I'm here. I'm even more impressed how long it took me to sneak in a shiny new pair of Nine West pumps from DSW last night. Hadn't even unpacked yet! There are so many cool places to eat and shop here, I don't know what to do with myself. At this moment though, a nap is in store.
Thank you all for advice about my follies. It helped. And I get to have dinner with IVFlygirl tonight. How great is that!!
"A folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs"
So, it turns out I have 8 dominant ornaments and two small ones. And they do transcend the normal range. They are extravagant and growing fast. Faster than expected, so I'm hoping they will take my meds down and let some small follies catch up, rather than change my egg retrieval day to sooner. That would suck. So just waiting for the call from the nurse.
As for being Denver, it rocks. Literally...can see the mountains from my room. Love it. And I am very impressed with how well I did to get here. Big pat on my back. As I reflect, from the last negative result in November to now, it's exactly 5 months. The amount of paper work, phone calls, panic, running around and 90 !!! e-mails with my nurse, I'm here. I'm even more impressed how long it took me to sneak in a shiny new pair of Nine West pumps from DSW last night. Hadn't even unpacked yet! There are so many cool places to eat and shop here, I don't know what to do with myself. At this moment though, a nap is in store.
Thank you all for advice about my follies. It helped. And I get to have dinner with IVFlygirl tonight. How great is that!!
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