3rd injection

I took my last Letrozole/Fe.mara pill last night and I gave myself my third and final injection of Bravel.le before my follicle scan tomorrow. We are scheduled for 8:30 AM tomorrow November 1st, any bets on when I will actually be seen?

The final injection went much like the first shot but with just a tiny bruise. Not nearly as dramatic as the second injection and not nearly the same size bruise.

Lets all hope for 3 follicles or less!

Has anyone successfully given themselves their own trigger shot? I don't think my husband can do it, but I don't know how I am going to shoot myself in the ass.

I'm so hoping that this cycle will go well, even without a BFP, we will know how I respond to injectable medication. My only side-effect so far is a rip-roaring headache that started yesterday afternoon and has yet to go away.

Vlog on second injection

Hey guys!

I just wanted to post real quick, I'm at work and wanted to show you my lovely bruise from my second injection. The camera is better on this computer and easier to use than the one on my home computer. 

Basically, I'm a dunce. I gave myself the first injection on Friday without a problem, no bruise, no pain, no nothing. However, the second injection didn't go as smooth. I was doing the injection and noticed an air bubble in the syringe, I panicked and knew that you weren't supposed to inject yourself with air, so I pulled the syringe out half way through and tapped the syringe to bring the air to the top then forgot to push the plunger to get the air out. I stabbed myself a second time, very near the first injection site and pushed the plunger down injecting myself with air and all. Honestly the air bubble was rather small, but I had to google it. It turns out that for air to be a big problem, you have to inject a lot and have to inject it directly into a vein, my belly fat will not be a problem. All that worry for nothing, and a bruise as a result.

Hope you like seeing my face and hearing my voice as I've included a video below. (let me know if you can't view it, I used the video uploader within blogger to record and upload)

I had to stick myself

I'm now past the chaos that is the essence of working with my RE...and the online pharmacy...and the local gyno.

I received the all clear yesterday on CD3. Which, oddly enough, included an US on the belly in addition to my old friend from last year, Wandy.  However, it was done here in town (finally a move in my favor). I was the last appointment of the day and worried that the results wouldn't get to the RE on time, but I got a call from the RE's medical assistant while driving from the hospital back to my office, so it must have worked out just fine.

Then, my meds arrived today at the house while I was at work (freaking out about the tracking info that showed my meds hadn't been picked up from the pharmacy...stupid discrepancy with the tracking number, which they changed after they sent me the e-mail with the number)

As if things weren't screwed up enough, my husband had to leave town this morning. So I was left all to myself for my first injection. Several girls at the office offered to come over and do it for me, which was a bit creepy...they were very excited to volunteer...but I sucked it up and did it myself (while laying back on the couch in case I passed out...I'm not scared of needles, but you never know). Then when I was texting my husband to let him know that I had done it, he was emphatically trying to tell me to get someone over to do it for me (he is scared of needles). I don't think he would have been any help had he been here. I must admit that I felt uneducated and unprepared (I had no class or instruction on injections, just a note on what meds to take when), so I just followed the directions that came with the meds. It turned out ok and I didn't even have to google anything.

For my own notes: I've been instructed to take one 2.5 mg tablet of Letrozole/Femara for 5 days (CD 4-8), and one injection of 75 IU Bravelle for 3 non-consecutive days (CD4, CD6, CD8), I have Menopur, which I have been instructed not to use yet, and Novarel for a trigger for later.

Do those meds seem accurate for someone who does ovulate on their own? They said it was a low dose because they don't know how I will respond.

Ready...Set...Go!

So I know that this topic has been debated to know end, but I've finally found the true answer.

How do you get AF to start when you are anxiously waiting on her?

Tell the dental assistant that you can't have x-rays because you are trying to get pregnant and don't know yet about this cycle.

CD1 started yesterday afternoon and I'm trying to get my CD3 ultrasound scheduled.

If you predicted that I would have difficulty getting this scheduled with the local doctor, then 10 points to you because you are right!

I've placed a call to the local doc's scheduling assistant, but had to leave a message, we had tentatively scheduled an appointment on Monday, but obviously that will be too late. I have also put a call into the RE for back up, but I really don't want to have to cancel out a half day or more of patients to drive to El Paso. I'm waiting to hear back from both, but have to see patients today too so I've made my assistant aware that she is to go ahead and answer my cell if they call that number, but either way to go ahead and make an appointment. 

My other blog

Some of you may know that I've dabbled with writing other blogs.

I have a family blog that I have yet to link to over here, mostly because I don't write much on it. But also I want to be able to share more details that I currently feel are appropriate for this space.

However, I do want to like up to the blog that I just started. I've posted here about my pyrex collecting, but decided to write about it in it's own space.

It still needs some work, but come check me out at http://pursuingtheperfectpiece.blogspot.com/

We have a plan...again...

Finally met with the RE again yesterday. It turns out he does want a consult with his patient prior to doing a procedure...I asked. So it looks like I should just keep that in the back of my mind for future reference. However, there were new girls at the front desk, so who knows how it's actually supposed to be, maybe he was just covering for them.

We set up a plan for the next few months. A plan that I'm actually happy with. A plan that doesn't leave me feeling like I'm just sitting around. However, it was nice to try naturally again while having hope that it would work.

We will be doing injectable IUIs. Each month until I get pregnant with a maximum of 4 cycles. He said that if we needed a break emotionally we could take a month off.

The plan really sounds like most I've read about online.

I am to call on CD1 to schedule a CD3 screening ultrasound. They will check for ovarian cysts, fluid in the uterus and any other abnormalities. If CD 1 occurs on a Thursday or a Friday I am driving to El Paso on the weekend for the ultrasound. If it happens any other day, I can go to a local doc to have this done and save myself the 4 hour round trip drive (and a half day or more off of work). The local doc trained under the doc in El Paso, but is technically just a gynecologist, not an RE (that would be too convenient).

If I get the all clear, my meds will then be shipped directly to me so that I don't have to go back and pick them up. I have a list of meds, but not with me as I type this, it would be interesting to me to compare to you girls as I wasn't paying much attention as others were going through their meds when they were doing IUIs.

I will then schedule a follow up ultrasound for a follicle count and measurement. This has to be done by the RE in El Paso. From the paperwork I was given, it sounds like this will be 6-9 days after the original ultrasound. I will then be given a time and date for trigger and IUI.

However, he did say that we could continue to try timed intercourse if for some reason we can't get an IUI done with my work schedule. He says that the IUI only improves our odds by 5-10% per cycle.

He said that he would not recommend IUI or timed intercourse with more than 3 mature follicles.

Because I asked, he gave me the following statistics. I have about 25% chance of getting pregnant each cycle using IUI. With 4 cycles I have up to about a 75% chance of pregnancy total. With 3 mature follicles at trigger, 2 out of 10 women will get pregnant with twins and 1 in 300 will get pregnant with triplets. However, the increased estrogen of medicated cycles will cause my endometriosis to grow back. Therefore the likelihood of success decreases with each subsequent cycle.

I just hope I get pregnant at all.

I will be calling for more detailed quotes, but he through out the number of around $1000 per cycle. That seams reasonable to me, but I bet it will be more like $1500.

I still think that for a woman who has the financial means to afford these fertility treatments, it's been an awful long wait to get where we are, which is still no further than when we first started, or so it seems to me.

Back on the Weekly Wednesday Weigh-ins...

I know that I sort of stopped with the Weekly Wednesday Weigh-ins without any sort of explanation. And...well...I didn't have a good enough excuse to post here. I had lost 12 lbs and felt good and felt like I looked better. Then I had the lap for endo, and I just sort of quit trying. Well, I'm back up 4 lbs and still had 8 more lbs to lose originally...So I'm back on the wagon now.

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal. (BMI info from this website)

Starting weight: 145        
Last Week's Weight:132 (last time I did a www post)

Current Weight: 136 (-9 lbs total, 11 lbs to goal!!!)   
Goal Weight : 125       

Starting BMI: 26.5
Last Week's BMI: 23.4

Current BMI: 24.1 (In the normal range!!)
Goal BMI: 18.5-24.9 or exactly 22.1 for goal weight

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals.

Progress on last week's activities:

I've missed yoga for 3 weeks straight, first she cancelled class, then I felt sick, then this week I had an online webinar to watch. Plus...I've been lazy.

 

However, I have been on 3-4 leisurely bike rides in the last few weeks, however, it hasn't been enough.

Activities for this coming week:

At least 3 times a week, I'm going to pack my bag for the gym before I go to work. One day will be yoga and 2 times will be weight lifting or cardio. 

I will go on one bike ride each week, likely on the weekend.

3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing. 

 

I had put off losing the rest of this weight because I didn't want strenuous exercise to affect my fertility. But who was I kidding, I despise strenuous exercise. My version of exercise is mild at best. However, exercise does work, so I'm back to it now.

3 year anniversary!

Today is our wedding anniversary! 3 year ago I married the sweet wonderful man that is my husband. 

I sort of can't believe it has been that long...

Don't mind the beer in his hand, I just thought it was a cute picture of us

I loved the candid shots more than the photographer's actual pictures