Head is still swirling from the good drugs... but wanted to let you all know the good news: 28 eggies!
Okay, now I'm going to watch a football game (Go Pats!) and doze.
Hugs,
~Jem
Showing posts with label ER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ER. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Day 11: Trigger! (updated)
Scan went really well today. I was convinced I hadn't progressed much since Tuesday, but all 22 follies (Yippee!) had in fact grown. The biggest were all measuring 18 mm, which Dr. Z said was his sign to "go for it." Lining is a nice 9 mm. I'm waiting for my call-back with my E2 levels and a report on Mr. Jem's SA (yes, he "gave" again today, in search of live, motile sperm!).
So, yup. It's Trigger Day! At 9:00 p.m. exactly I'll be doing my HCG shot to trigger ovulation in exactly 36 hours after the shot. Egg Retrieval will be Sunday morning at exactly 9:00 a.m.
I'm the only ER that morning. My Natural Killer cells are still elevated, so they'll just change out my IV drugs for Intralipids after ER.
I'm so excited about this cycle and ER. I'm glad it's on Sunday so I'll have all day Monday to relax and recover, too. I might work from home on Tuesday. We'll see how I feel.
Speaking of work, I better get back to it. I have a deadline today that I have to meet. My mother is in town, from the Pacific Northwest (where I went to High School) and is staying with my aunt. I want to be available to see them. They might come visit here tonight or tomorrow.
Okay, folks, we're really doing this! Hi-ho, Trigger, Away! (I couldn't resist).
~Jem
Update: E2 = 4,743 "good rise" considering I've been taking 4 mg of Estr.ace daily and have 22 follicles producing away. I did tell the nurse who called me with the update that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. She's going to consult Dr. Z who may put me on water restriction. Maybe having pizza (gluten-free) with mushrooms and pepperoni for lunch wasn't a great idea)
Update: E2 = 4,743 "good rise" considering I've been taking 4 mg of Estr.ace daily and have 22 follicles producing away. I did tell the nurse who called me with the update that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. She's going to consult Dr. Z who may put me on water restriction. Maybe having pizza (gluten-free) with mushrooms and pepperoni for lunch wasn't a great idea)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Post-op
We were at the clinic at 5:45 a.m. this morning and by 6:30 I was under. When I woke, Dr. W said we had 14 eggs and enough fresh sample (from yesterday AND today) from Mr. Jem to fertilize them. I needed some extra pain medication, which made recovery time a little longer, but that's fine with me... was home by 8:30 a.m. and back in bed. I slept until 1:30 p.m., had a light lunch (home-made soup - recipe to follow) and chicken. Then back to sleep, Fluffy curled up by my feet. Bliss.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
For IVF #1 we had 24 eggs. This time we got 14. I'm hoping for quality over quantity ("It only takes one" blah, blah, blah).
Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
Still a bit spacey, so I'll sign off. I'll report in tomorrow when we get the fertilization report.
~Jem
Basic Veggie soup
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (I used 2 small fresh onions)
4 cloves pressed garlic
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 bundle kale (or chard or 1/4 head cabbage), chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped (optional) or you could add a can of beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups green beans, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 tsp thyme or herbes de Provence
6 cups chicken broth (I used Organic, free range)
Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until nearly translucent. Add the garlic, but don't let the garlic brown and saute another couple of minutes.
Add the rest of the chopped veggies, sauteing for another minute or two. Add the thyme and salt and pepper while sauteing. Add broth.
Continue to simmer in the pot until the veggies are tender or transfer to a crock-pot, and cook on low 7-9 hours or 4-6 hours on low (timing may differ, depending on your crock pot).
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Mr. Jem's business
This post is all about Mr. Jem and his man-business.
Two years ago when we started TTC Mr. Jem had his first SA. The doctor's first question when the results came in where, "Has Mr. Jem had any chemotherapy?" The answer was "No, why?" His response: "Because there are virtually no sperm in the sample."
Yes, dear readers, the results were that bad. 100 thousand swimmers. Too little to check morphology. Bad, especially as 25 million are the minimum amount to be considered normal.
Mr. Jem was in a sucky job and tho we had "pulled the goalie" he wasn't really in a good place to even talk about having a baby until Summer 2009. He retested. 600K.
The Diagnisis: Male Factor Infertility. The treatment: IVF with ICSI.
We had been doing acupuncture as soon as we decided to do IVF. The acupuncture clinic didn't really take his low count very seriously. They had him on special vitamins, Chinese herbs and only did acupuncture right before the SA. They (and our RE, Dr. W) said: "It only takes one sperm." Well, actually, it takes more than that!
The week before ER, his SA came back with zero sperm.
***Sounds of tires screeching to a halt***
Because of this, he had a testicular biopsy the day of retrieval to get sperm for the IVF with ICSI. After cutting into both sacs they were able to extract enough to fertilize my eggs AND freeze some for next time, if necessary. The silver lining from all this is that Mr. Jem found a urologist he really trusts.
Since the IVF, the urologist, who I call Dr. Johnson, did blood work on Mr. Jem. Mr. Jem had low testosterone. His FSH was normal. The way Dr. J. described it was, "The brain is sending the signal to the factory, but the factory isn't making any sperm."
In December Mr. Jem's Free Testosterone was 35, well below normal. Dr. Johnson put him on Test.im. After 4 weeks, Mr. Jem's level rose to 75, within normal. Dr. Johnson switched him over to Clom.id for two reasons: 1) to produce more better sperm so we can see if we can get PG naturally (we are MFI, after all, and if we can avoid another IVF cycle, that would be WONDERFUL) and 2) there's a generic equivalent to Clom.id (unlike with Test.im) so it costs $35 instead of $200 per month.
There are also other medical benefits of a normal testosterone level: it protects bone density, protects against heart disease, can help him lose weight and gain muscle mass, as well as raise his libido (always good!). Mr. Jem's sex drive has always been lower than mine, which has been the source of a lot of conflict over the 11 years that we have been together.
So, with the addition of Clom.id and more testosterone, I hope Mr. Jem's energy, libido and sperm count climb.
I just wish that Dr. W had told us to see the Urologist BEFORE we started IVF. He didn't. He said, "Don't bother." I disagree and urge all of you who are MFI to make sure you check out all the options. Oh, and freeze sperm when you get the chance, rather than relying on getting a good sample the week before retrieval. If I could spare anyone the heartache and worry of that, I will have done my job here.
I'd love to hear anyone else's (or DH's) experience trying to increase sperm count. What did you/he take? How did it work?
Jem
Two years ago when we started TTC Mr. Jem had his first SA. The doctor's first question when the results came in where, "Has Mr. Jem had any chemotherapy?" The answer was "No, why?" His response: "Because there are virtually no sperm in the sample."
Yes, dear readers, the results were that bad. 100 thousand swimmers. Too little to check morphology. Bad, especially as 25 million are the minimum amount to be considered normal.
Mr. Jem was in a sucky job and tho we had "pulled the goalie" he wasn't really in a good place to even talk about having a baby until Summer 2009. He retested. 600K.
The Diagnisis: Male Factor Infertility. The treatment: IVF with ICSI.
We had been doing acupuncture as soon as we decided to do IVF. The acupuncture clinic didn't really take his low count very seriously. They had him on special vitamins, Chinese herbs and only did acupuncture right before the SA. They (and our RE, Dr. W) said: "It only takes one sperm." Well, actually, it takes more than that!
The week before ER, his SA came back with zero sperm.
***Sounds of tires screeching to a halt***
Because of this, he had a testicular biopsy the day of retrieval to get sperm for the IVF with ICSI. After cutting into both sacs they were able to extract enough to fertilize my eggs AND freeze some for next time, if necessary. The silver lining from all this is that Mr. Jem found a urologist he really trusts.
Since the IVF, the urologist, who I call Dr. Johnson, did blood work on Mr. Jem. Mr. Jem had low testosterone. His FSH was normal. The way Dr. J. described it was, "The brain is sending the signal to the factory, but the factory isn't making any sperm."
In December Mr. Jem's Free Testosterone was 35, well below normal. Dr. Johnson put him on Test.im. After 4 weeks, Mr. Jem's level rose to 75, within normal. Dr. Johnson switched him over to Clom.id for two reasons: 1) to produce more better sperm so we can see if we can get PG naturally (we are MFI, after all, and if we can avoid another IVF cycle, that would be WONDERFUL) and 2) there's a generic equivalent to Clom.id (unlike with Test.im) so it costs $35 instead of $200 per month.
There are also other medical benefits of a normal testosterone level: it protects bone density, protects against heart disease, can help him lose weight and gain muscle mass, as well as raise his libido (always good!). Mr. Jem's sex drive has always been lower than mine, which has been the source of a lot of conflict over the 11 years that we have been together.
So, with the addition of Clom.id and more testosterone, I hope Mr. Jem's energy, libido and sperm count climb.
I just wish that Dr. W had told us to see the Urologist BEFORE we started IVF. He didn't. He said, "Don't bother." I disagree and urge all of you who are MFI to make sure you check out all the options. Oh, and freeze sperm when you get the chance, rather than relying on getting a good sample the week before retrieval. If I could spare anyone the heartache and worry of that, I will have done my job here.
I'd love to hear anyone else's (or DH's) experience trying to increase sperm count. What did you/he take? How did it work?
Jem
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Ritual and the Emergency Room visit
The Ritual
Friday night I lit the Shabbat candles and said the prayers that thousands of women have said before me. Mr. Jem and I broke the bread and drank together as part of a ritual to recognize the sorrow of losing our embies and asking G-d for hope and for G-d's help when we are feeling so sad, so powerless.
We read how the tribes of Israel were founded not just by patriarchs like Moses and Abraham, but by women like Hannah who faced infertility and who prayed and asked for G-d's help. It brought me comfort to know that I am not alone. Not only do I have all you wonderful women and men on the interweb, but even the Torah/Bible has stories like ours, stories of barren women who cried out in the pain of their loss, who prayed and hoped (and finally got what they wanted - a baby). I'm still waiting for my own happy ending.
The Emergency Room Visit
I'm not yet feeling 100% hopeful, mostly due to this ectopic pregnancy that landed me in the Emergency Room Saturday night. Let me explain.
Saturday I ate normally but was experiencing some pain in my abdomen and an urgent trip to the bathroom in the morning. I felt better in the afternoon and Mr. Jem and I went with a friend on a walk at 4:00 p.m. Half-way (1 hour) through the walk (an easy hike) I started feeling very light headed and dizzy, so much so I had to stop and sit down more than once. I didn't feel hungry, but thought it might help to eat. Food usually makes me feel better.
We went to my favorite Pizzeria. I always order a bowl of soup because the pies take a while to come. It was minestrone and I didn't eat the beans, as I read that eating gassy food was not a good idea on Metho.trexate. Just before the pizza arrived my abdominal pain got really bad. Mr. Jem ran next door and bought me Ginger ale. The pain got so bad that I had to tell Mr. Jem and my friend R that I needed to go home. The pizza arrived, MR Jem and R ate a piece each while we paid the bill and we left. This was around 7:00 p.m. I called the clinic and was connected to the on-call doctor, Dr. Alternative. She asked me a bunch of questions (how sever was the pain, etc.) and said she wanted me to go to the Emergency Room.
At the ER they saw me pretty quickly. I explained what was going on (ectopic pregnancy, Metho.trexate on Wed, being monitored by my RE) to the Intake Nurse, the Doctor, the ER nurse and the nice sonographer. Was only mildly annoyed by the questions like, "When was the date of your last period?" and "When are you due?"
My answers: "Period? Irrelevant. I did IVF and we transferred three embryos on January 7." "Due date? I wish. This is an ectopic pregnancies. My HCG was too low and hasn't been doubling."
Oh, the other thing is they kept referring to Dr. Alternative as "Your OB" - Again, "I wish I had an OB. She's an RE at my fertility clinic."
Sigh.
They drew more blood (and put in an IV line - oww!). Two hours later I learned that my HCG was 350 - double the number (150) from Wednesday, just as Dr. W had said might happen.
Everyone at the ER was great. I especially liked the nurse, a cutey named Max who had a wonderful bedside manner. Oh, except when he tried to insist on putting in a catheter for my u/s. I told him no, I would drink lots of water and it would work. Luckily my argument won. It took about an hour to see get an ultrasound. U/S - via belly and vag - came back clear. Big sigh of relief. No exploding ovaries or tubes. Yay!
The ER doctor called Dr. Alternative with the results. She wanted me to stay for observations, but he said it wasn't necessary. My pain was mostly in the upper abdomen and was most likely a reaction to Metho.trexate. That was my conclusion, too. I am glad that they took the situation seriously, tho. Better safe than sorry.
So they sent me and Mr. Jem home. We got home around 11 p.m. Luckily, Mr. Jem had eaten a couple of pieces of pizza when I was on the phone with Dr. Alternative at 7:00 so he didn't starve. No pizza for me! Wasn't even hungry.
Today (Sunday), I've been relaxing and not eating much since. Ginger ale is my friend. Got two calls from the clinic - one from Dr. Alternative and another from the nurse. I feel very well monitored and taken care of.
I have to go for another Beta tomorrow (Monday). Hopefully we'll see the numbers go down. G-d, I hate saying that. It's so wrong. So, so wrong on so many levels.
So, as a result. I didn't:
- Get a mani/pedi like I wanted to
- Go to a charity event tonight that was taking place on a huge docked ship. Mr. Jem didn't go either, which made me feel bad. I guess IF is f'ing up both our lives.
Yes, folks, I want my life back. I want to feel normal. I want to be able to exercise, to have a glass of wine, to drink coffee, to take rigorous hikes, to have sex again. For fun.
Okay, thanks for letting me vent.
Yet again, IF is an @sshole (this is how comedian Doug Benson closes his podcasts I Love Movies).
Friday night I lit the Shabbat candles and said the prayers that thousands of women have said before me. Mr. Jem and I broke the bread and drank together as part of a ritual to recognize the sorrow of losing our embies and asking G-d for hope and for G-d's help when we are feeling so sad, so powerless.
We read how the tribes of Israel were founded not just by patriarchs like Moses and Abraham, but by women like Hannah who faced infertility and who prayed and asked for G-d's help. It brought me comfort to know that I am not alone. Not only do I have all you wonderful women and men on the interweb, but even the Torah/Bible has stories like ours, stories of barren women who cried out in the pain of their loss, who prayed and hoped (and finally got what they wanted - a baby). I'm still waiting for my own happy ending.
The Emergency Room Visit
I'm not yet feeling 100% hopeful, mostly due to this ectopic pregnancy that landed me in the Emergency Room Saturday night. Let me explain.
Saturday I ate normally but was experiencing some pain in my abdomen and an urgent trip to the bathroom in the morning. I felt better in the afternoon and Mr. Jem and I went with a friend on a walk at 4:00 p.m. Half-way (1 hour) through the walk (an easy hike) I started feeling very light headed and dizzy, so much so I had to stop and sit down more than once. I didn't feel hungry, but thought it might help to eat. Food usually makes me feel better.
We went to my favorite Pizzeria. I always order a bowl of soup because the pies take a while to come. It was minestrone and I didn't eat the beans, as I read that eating gassy food was not a good idea on Metho.trexate. Just before the pizza arrived my abdominal pain got really bad. Mr. Jem ran next door and bought me Ginger ale. The pain got so bad that I had to tell Mr. Jem and my friend R that I needed to go home. The pizza arrived, MR Jem and R ate a piece each while we paid the bill and we left. This was around 7:00 p.m. I called the clinic and was connected to the on-call doctor, Dr. Alternative. She asked me a bunch of questions (how sever was the pain, etc.) and said she wanted me to go to the Emergency Room.
At the ER they saw me pretty quickly. I explained what was going on (ectopic pregnancy, Metho.trexate on Wed, being monitored by my RE) to the Intake Nurse, the Doctor, the ER nurse and the nice sonographer. Was only mildly annoyed by the questions like, "When was the date of your last period?" and "When are you due?"
My answers: "Period? Irrelevant. I did IVF and we transferred three embryos on January 7." "Due date? I wish. This is an ectopic pregnancies. My HCG was too low and hasn't been doubling."
Oh, the other thing is they kept referring to Dr. Alternative as "Your OB" - Again, "I wish I had an OB. She's an RE at my fertility clinic."
Sigh.
They drew more blood (and put in an IV line - oww!). Two hours later I learned that my HCG was 350 - double the number (150) from Wednesday, just as Dr. W had said might happen.
Everyone at the ER was great. I especially liked the nurse, a cutey named Max who had a wonderful bedside manner. Oh, except when he tried to insist on putting in a catheter for my u/s. I told him no, I would drink lots of water and it would work. Luckily my argument won. It took about an hour to see get an ultrasound. U/S - via belly and vag - came back clear. Big sigh of relief. No exploding ovaries or tubes. Yay!
The ER doctor called Dr. Alternative with the results. She wanted me to stay for observations, but he said it wasn't necessary. My pain was mostly in the upper abdomen and was most likely a reaction to Metho.trexate. That was my conclusion, too. I am glad that they took the situation seriously, tho. Better safe than sorry.
So they sent me and Mr. Jem home. We got home around 11 p.m. Luckily, Mr. Jem had eaten a couple of pieces of pizza when I was on the phone with Dr. Alternative at 7:00 so he didn't starve. No pizza for me! Wasn't even hungry.
Today (Sunday), I've been relaxing and not eating much since. Ginger ale is my friend. Got two calls from the clinic - one from Dr. Alternative and another from the nurse. I feel very well monitored and taken care of.
I have to go for another Beta tomorrow (Monday). Hopefully we'll see the numbers go down. G-d, I hate saying that. It's so wrong. So, so wrong on so many levels.
So, as a result. I didn't:
- Get a mani/pedi like I wanted to
- Go to a charity event tonight that was taking place on a huge docked ship. Mr. Jem didn't go either, which made me feel bad. I guess IF is f'ing up both our lives.
Yes, folks, I want my life back. I want to feel normal. I want to be able to exercise, to have a glass of wine, to drink coffee, to take rigorous hikes, to have sex again. For fun.
Okay, thanks for letting me vent.
Yet again, IF is an @sshole (this is how comedian Doug Benson closes his podcasts I Love Movies).
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Egg & Sperm Retrieval
Our day started early... 4:45 a.m. we were up.
Mr. Jem tried a fresh sample. No go. Who does well under pressure like that?
Anyways, we were at the clinic before 6:00 a.m. At 6:30 all Mr. Jem's paperwork was done and the had Mr. Jem walk, in his gown, cap, and socks. Unfortunately, Mr. Jem has "vagal syndrome" and passed out half way to the operating room. Luckily, the OR nurse and caught him and helped him to the ground. Oh, what is "Vagal syndrome"? It's a physiological response to the IV (or other needles). Mr. Jem gets pale, clammy, sweaty. This is the first time he passed out.
Anyways, they wheeled him into the OR. Over an hour later, they wheeled him out. Right as they were preparing me for ER (egg retrieval).
Poor guy, they urologist had to cut into both scro.tum, took 6 samples. Not a lot of sperm. Hopefully enough to fertilize my eggs.
Okay, on to my procedure.
They put in the IV (sans problem) and I was able to walk over to the OR and get up onto the high table without problem. The anesthesiologist was goofy. His first words to me where, "I'll be your bartender today." Whatever it was they gave me was amazing because after climbing on the table, I don't remember a thing until I work up an hour (?) later.
Dr. (re-)Wonderful stuck his head in the curtain saying, "Good news. I was able to get 24 eggs."
24 is a beautiful number. The woman in the bed next to me (who I never saw) woke up not long after me had 8. Not to belittle her 8, but boy was I proud of my 24. Fricking 24!
I (think I) remember Dr. Wonderful saying that they think they got enough sperm to fertilize all my eggs. At around 3 p.m. I called and left a message with my IVF coordinator asking, but got no call-back. I hope no news is good news.
My aunt and uncle came to pick us up at 10 a.m. at the clinic and brought us home, made us a wonderful lunch, lounged in our back yard in the sun while both of us slept and then made us dinner. I love, love, love my family. I'm forever grateful to them for their love and support.
I've been laying on the couch, with a heating pad on my belly (best investment EVER). I've been drinking gatorade to prevent OHSS and my belly is still very, very full. I have to eat small meals, because I get full very fast. No nausea or queasiness. I'm feeling mild cramping.
Mr. Jem is also near me, a bag of frozen peas cooling down his guys. We have our first progesterone in oil injection scheduled for later this evening. Vico.din is standing by in case his pain increases.
Sharkey, one of our wonderful cats, is on my legs, purring away. Fluffy is curled up on my chest.
I'm feeling very, very fortunately. I'm so glad we passed this huge milestone. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love and support.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Hi-ho, Trigger, Away!
As of 8:30 p.m. (Pacific) I am officially triggered, officially ovulating!
Yippy-kay-yay, mother-fraker!!!
In exactly 36 hours we'll be harvesting those eggs. BTW, here is my first sonogram of my right ovary!
Beautiful, isn't it? Look at those gorgeous follicles. A face only a mother could love.
***
I'm still feeling so many contradictory emotions, and it's not just due to the elevated estrogen! Right now I feel elated, hopeful. And then I think of Mr Jem's seaman (ha!) analysis tomorrow, and I'm full of dread. If it doesn't go well, he'll visit the urologist tomorrow afternoon to prep for surgery on Egg Retrieval on Thursday. If they don't find sperm, then we'll have to go with donor sperm. Mr. Jem was involved with the selection, but after looking at a bunch of profiles he said, "You pick, I can't take this anymore." This was when he was told that we had a 98% chance of getting sperm from a biopsy. We'll know for sure our chances tomorrow.
So many ups and downs in this process.
Yippy-kay-yay, mother-fraker!!!
In exactly 36 hours we'll be harvesting those eggs. BTW, here is my first sonogram of my right ovary!
Beautiful, isn't it? Look at those gorgeous follicles. A face only a mother could love.
***
I'm still feeling so many contradictory emotions, and it's not just due to the elevated estrogen! Right now I feel elated, hopeful. And then I think of Mr Jem's seaman (ha!) analysis tomorrow, and I'm full of dread. If it doesn't go well, he'll visit the urologist tomorrow afternoon to prep for surgery on Egg Retrieval on Thursday. If they don't find sperm, then we'll have to go with donor sperm. Mr. Jem was involved with the selection, but after looking at a bunch of profiles he said, "You pick, I can't take this anymore." This was when he was told that we had a 98% chance of getting sperm from a biopsy. We'll know for sure our chances tomorrow.
So many ups and downs in this process.
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