Saturday, after much drama from my clinic, we started stims for IVF #3. My doc had me on 375 units of Brav.elle, 7 units of low dose HCG, and 5 units of lu.pron. I'm not feeling much. And, actually, on Saturday I had my best run of my post-partum life. I ran 4 miles in 45 minutes and, actually, had one 10 minute mile. Woop woop. I sure hope that's my last 10 minute mile for a while ;).
Anyways, he started me out at 375, which didn't surprise me. It's a dose more commonly seen in women in their thirties, but my ovaries are clearly not spring chickens. (no offense to you women in your thirties, clearly my body thinks that's how old I am). I have had a feeling all along that this cycle would work, but that we would not have stellar numbers. Or rather, I would not have stellar numbers. The nurse called with my new instructions and my levels and confirmed what I was thinking. After 3 days of stims my estradiol was only 117. It's no shock that the doc upped my Bra.velle dose to 450 units. The nurse was very sweet and assured me that things are looking very similar to our successful cycle... My estradiol at this point last time was 145. So, yes, very similar, but it's still looking like it's going to take a lot more for my body to get going. In case you aren't familiar with the cost of IVF, taking 450 units a day of injectable medications means that I am spending roughly $372 a day JUST on that medication. That's a whole lot of money I am dumping into my body on a daily basis.
My blood results really sent me into a funk. While I know deep down that my body is just not performing like it should (meaning like a 26 year old), I still keep holding out hope that somehow I'm going to start having amazing results. The delusional part of my brain keeps thinking that maybe I'll end up with 10 mature eggs and 2-3 5 day embryos that are perfect. In all reality, I will be LUCKY if I end up with 5-6 mature eggs and THRILLED if I had 2-4 embryos on day 3. And I will probably collapse (out of shock), if I have several 6-8 cell embryos on day 3. And I am so scared that I will have nothing on day 3 or that I will only have 1 or 2 mediocre quality embryos. And part of me is scared of a BFN, but not really. Am I making any sense? I really don't want another BFN, but I'm at peace and really praying this all works out and I get my BFP.
All this IVF stuff is just so exhausting. I'm already tired of shots. I'm already tired of blood draws and I'm really dreading my ultrasound on Thursday (appointments with the vag cam just really get old). BUT, I am thankful that we can afford IVF. Thankful for a shot at another baby. And thankful that I have Piper smiles and giggles to keep me going.
Now can I just fast forward to the day I get my positive test?
What is your least favorite part about TTC? Do you have decent veins for blood draws? What do you wish was different about your fertility?
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So far my least favorite part has been the insurance nightmares, but I'm scared to death of all the needles. I HATE needles and have crappy veins, and I still have a bruise from my blood draw last Monday.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog today to witness my little freak-out. Obviously not my favorite part of TTC. So exciting that you are on your way, and I wish you the best of luck with this cycle. Hope you get your BFP!
ReplyDeleteI so relate to you as we are already thinking of #2 and knowing it will be come to going back to the RE to achieve our dreams of giving our baby boy a sibling or two! Good luck with this cycle!!! :) My least favorite part - definitely the needles. I haven't been through what you have - we got #1 (after 2 losses) with an injectable IUI cycle. I'm hoping we'll have that same luck with #2 too, but oh those needles. It isn't horrible when the hubs helps out, but giving them to myself, I'm a big wimp!
ReplyDeleteI think my least favorite part is what you're describing here...having some idea of where your test results should be, and having them miss that window. For me it was hard to stay positive when I was questioning everything, including my body. And I'm sure the drugs didn't help either.
ReplyDeleteOh man. The waiting is the worst. Not knowing. Not being in control. Hormones going crazy. Nobody understands. Being a complete psycho... I hope your wait is easy and fast. And I hope it turns out that you have several 6-8 celled embryos. :)And I hope that their floor is clean so you can collapse on it without getting the plague.
ReplyDeleteIt bodes well that so far this cycle looks like your succesful cycle! I hope that it turns out to have the same result!
ReplyDeleteAnd good job with the running 4 miles! I worked long and hard to get up to around 5 miles and haven't managed anything close to that in nearly 2 years! Eeek!
We never got to try IVF because of logistics (IE, I live several thousand miles from the closest facility that does it). I have no idea how you do all the shots and blood draws and tests. It would drive me insane! I admire you big time for your determination in your quest. :) Actually, I did have a few trigger shots when we were able to do IUIs. I detest needles, I did before, and I do even more so now. So yeah, probably good we had to stop! (BTW, I'm adding you to my blog list.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! I have really enjoyed reading your blog and am following you! :-)
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