Tuesday was a busy day. We traveled back from Alaska on the red-eye. We arrived home around noon. We went home to get some rest, and then had an ultrasound at 4:00.
The ultrasound went well. My lining in my uterus is nice and thick, which is what they are looking for. A nice thick lining makes a cozy bed for an embryo. Then they checked to see that the ovaries are suppressed. They had trouble finding the ovaries (again), which is a good thing, because they are smaller when they are suppressed. They finally found them and verified that they were suppressed. That is a good thing because if I were to release an egg, that would mess up the whole cycle.
During the ultrasound they also found a small endometrioma (sp?) on one of my ovaries. That is a cyst caused by endometriosis, and I have had many of those in the past. They said because it is so small, it should not be a problem. But it does piss me off because I've been on all these hormones to keep my endo from flaring up, and here it goes anyway.
After the ultrasound, I had some blood work done. Then I went for acupuncture. I've been doing acupuncture treatments just about every day. Last time I did IVF, the acupuncture appointments were more spaced out, but due to our spontaneous vacation, we've had to squeeze the appointments in to fit the entire protocol. I enjoy the treatments, but the office is on the other side of town and I get tired of driving over there. Just wish I would have started sooner so that I could space the appointments out more!
Yesterday, I got the results of my blood work back. My estrogen levels were a little low, so in addition to the 4 patches of Estradiol each day, I have to take 1 Estrace pill per day. Yesterday was also my last day of Lupron--yay! Today is my first day of Progesterone--meh.
So, hopefully everything will look good by Tuesday, July 22. That is my transfer day! We are still set to transfer just 1 embryo. Please pray for us. :)
One couple's journey through infertility.
Showing posts with label Lupron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lupron. Show all posts
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Dark Side...
All of this fertility treatment, while a miracle, enabling us to build our family, also has a dark side. Also known as side effects. The first time I had to take Lupron Depot for my endometriosis, I distinctly remember the doctor turning to Doug and saying something along the lines of, "Get ready for a roller coaster ride." I think he said it much more respectfully, not to poke fun at me, but to really let Doug know that it was going to be a rough few months. And it was. It was menopause at breakneck speed, complete with hot flashes and mood swings. I hated it.
Fast forward a couple of years to mid-May 2014. I unexpectedly had to have a one month dose of Lupron Depot to calm things down with my endometriosis again. Only this time, it wouldn't be so bad because I knew what to expect.
Aside from the hot flashes, it wasn't a big deal this time. Maybe because it was only for a month, instead of 3. I will say that I don't think that it helped my pain from the endo, but it at least stopped my period, so that could help with some of the damage.
So I thought I was scot(?)-free. Then I started the Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron, but not Lupron Depot). This is a daily injection that is part of the IVF process. It shuts down the reproductive system to allow it to be manipulated with other hormones (crazy, right?).
On day 2 of the Lupron, however, the evil Side Effect arrived. No, not the hot flashes. I wouldn't even call it mood swings. Just pure evil. Ever seen Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde? Yeah, like that.
It happened 2 weekends ago. My sister (also my bestie) was visiting, and we were cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. I went to put the griddle away, and she playfully snapped my brastrap.
I.
Freaked.
Out.
I'm not even sure of what I said (I know swearing was involved. Probably the BIG ONE.). Did I black out? I don't know. She said later that she could see it in my eyes. Like it wasn't even me. It was like everything that had ever made me mad in the history of ever was there in that moment. I did it right in front of everyone, even my little niece. Then, to make matters worse, I went and had some words with Doug for not helping clean the kitchen (so not an issue. He was busy anyway, and cleans the kitchen more often than I do!).
I had to go in my room to have a good cry. I was embarrassed. Angry at myself. Angry at the Lupron. Angry at my ovaries for getting me into this mess in the first place. I think Doug came in to try to console me, but I was just so upset that I couldn't take it back.
I finally calmed down and came out and apologized to everyone. I felt horrible. Everyone was walking on eggshells after that, and I can't blame them. It made me feel even worse. My sister was kind and understanding (as always), but they did end up leaving earlier than they planned. Not that I blame them. I wish I could get away from myself sometimes. I feel like the Incredible Hulk, or a werewolf who needs to be locked away. Now I am afraid of the next time the Lupron Snake (as my sister refers to it) will strike again. I have until mid-July and then I will be done with it. For now.
Fast forward a couple of years to mid-May 2014. I unexpectedly had to have a one month dose of Lupron Depot to calm things down with my endometriosis again. Only this time, it wouldn't be so bad because I knew what to expect.
Aside from the hot flashes, it wasn't a big deal this time. Maybe because it was only for a month, instead of 3. I will say that I don't think that it helped my pain from the endo, but it at least stopped my period, so that could help with some of the damage.
So I thought I was scot(?)-free. Then I started the Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron, but not Lupron Depot). This is a daily injection that is part of the IVF process. It shuts down the reproductive system to allow it to be manipulated with other hormones (crazy, right?).
On day 2 of the Lupron, however, the evil Side Effect arrived. No, not the hot flashes. I wouldn't even call it mood swings. Just pure evil. Ever seen Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde? Yeah, like that.
It happened 2 weekends ago. My sister (also my bestie) was visiting, and we were cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. I went to put the griddle away, and she playfully snapped my brastrap.
I.
Freaked.
Out.
I'm not even sure of what I said (I know swearing was involved. Probably the BIG ONE.). Did I black out? I don't know. She said later that she could see it in my eyes. Like it wasn't even me. It was like everything that had ever made me mad in the history of ever was there in that moment. I did it right in front of everyone, even my little niece. Then, to make matters worse, I went and had some words with Doug for not helping clean the kitchen (so not an issue. He was busy anyway, and cleans the kitchen more often than I do!).
I had to go in my room to have a good cry. I was embarrassed. Angry at myself. Angry at the Lupron. Angry at my ovaries for getting me into this mess in the first place. I think Doug came in to try to console me, but I was just so upset that I couldn't take it back.
I finally calmed down and came out and apologized to everyone. I felt horrible. Everyone was walking on eggshells after that, and I can't blame them. It made me feel even worse. My sister was kind and understanding (as always), but they did end up leaving earlier than they planned. Not that I blame them. I wish I could get away from myself sometimes. I feel like the Incredible Hulk, or a werewolf who needs to be locked away. Now I am afraid of the next time the Lupron Snake (as my sister refers to it) will strike again. I have until mid-July and then I will be done with it. For now.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Again!
Here we go again. Our daughter is now 15 months old. We are so blessed to have her. Even with all we went through, it has all been so worth it to have her as a part of our family. We don't want to be greedy, but we do want more children. Both Doug and I have siblings, and we cherish those relationships. We were lucky enough to have 3 embryos left, so we have decided to do a frozen embryo transfer.
Today (June 11), my medication came in. Last time, I was at my sister's house when my meds came in, and my hubby was camping.
The.
Box.
Was.
Huge.
It was filled to the brim with needles. Some very BIG needles. Some small (but needles nonetheless). And lots of complicated medications. I was overwhelmed. I sat on the floor on my blanket of fertility meds and sobbed. I scared my little niece, who saw me crying and ran to alert my sister. I watch the training videos about 20 times, and then my sister and I tried to do the first injection. It was laughable, if it hadn't been so scary.
The.
Box.
Was.
Huge.
It was filled to the brim with needles. Some very BIG needles. Some small (but needles nonetheless). And lots of complicated medications. I was overwhelmed. I sat on the floor on my blanket of fertility meds and sobbed. I scared my little niece, who saw me crying and ran to alert my sister. I watch the training videos about 20 times, and then my sister and I tried to do the first injection. It was laughable, if it hadn't been so scary.
Today's box was much smaller. Since it is a frozen embryo transfer (FET), there are no follicle stimulation medications. I'm cool with that. There are, however, 56 estrogen patches. That is new to me. This is an insane amount of patches. When women go through menopause, they use 1 patch per month. I'll be using 56 in a matter of a few weeks or so.
It's so much easier this time, knowing what to expect with the meds. I'm still not thrilled about the injections and the bruising and the mood swings, but I've been here before. And I'll do anything to bring my babies home.
I'm trying not to overthink the process and get stuck in the "what-ifs". I also don't want to be naive and assume that everything will go according to plan. I want to remain hopeful, but thankful for what I have. Because I am. And I am blessed beyond measure.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
My First Shot
So on June 6, we saw the doctor for some final tests before we began IVF. Long story short, the tests results were good, so we were sent to the IVF coordinator, who gave us a calendar which laid out each day of IVF. I had no idea the amount of shots, tests, and appointments that we would have!
The doctor put me on an extended regimen of Lupron, which basically shuts off communication from my brain to my reproductive system so the doctor can "drive". He wanted me to start right away, so he had the medication overnighted. We were going to my sister's for the weekend, so we had to have it sent there. Furthermore, Doug was going on a camping trip, so it was up to me to do the first shot myself.
When the package came in, I had a nervous breakdown. The box was fairly large, and was full of all the injectables that I would have to take. I just had this overwhelming sense that I was in way over my head. Doug is usually the voice of reason, but he was out of cell phone range. I just sat on my sister's living room floor, crying, with all the medication spread out before me. And this was ugly-crying. I knew that I was out of control when I heard my 4-year-old niece telling my sister, "Uh, mom, she's crying." I started to pull myself together, so as to stop freaking my niece out.
My sister came downstairs to my rescue. She helped me sort through the medication, determining what was what, and what should be refrigerated. She helped me decipher the code of instructions and watched the instructional video with me (that's right. To teach me how to inject myself with needles, they had me watch a video on my own. Seems like an effective teaching strategy. Not.)
Then, the clock struck, and it was time to get this show on the road. My sister and I were both nervous, and looked like a couple of dummies with needles. No one should have allowed us to perform this task. First, I iced the injection site on my leg. I couldn't ice it for long, because my hand started getting frostbite. I sanitized the top of the vial, put the needle into the vial, and injected air into it. Then I loaded the needle with 20 units of Lupron. Next, Michele was to give me the alcohol swab to swab my leg (see, she helped), but we were in such a frenzy that she threw it in the trash. We both laughed at how ridiculous we were being. At least she had been enthusiastic about throwing it away!
Finally, it was time to do the deed. I counted, "One...two...three..........four..." I'm not sure what I got to. But I was probably supposed to stop at 3. Oh well. When I got up enough courage (probably at 25 or so), I injected it into my leg. Not gonna lie; it stung. But I did it! When I was done, my sister and I jumped up and down like a couple of doofuses (doofusi?). We were so proud of ourselves. Dorks.
Today I will give myself my 23rd shot of Lupron. I have to say, it has gotten much easier, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. One trick is to hold the ice with a towel so your hand doesn't freeze off. That's helped. Also, just stabbing it in quickly helps. I have had a couple of days where I just can't seem to stab it in my leg the way I am supposed to, so I gingerly prick my leg about 3 or 4 times. I know it's stupid, but it's just some mental block that I can't seem to get past. The other thing I've learned is to inject the medicine quickly and steadily. I feel like a pro now. Tomorrow I go down to only 5 units of Lupron a day, which will be a cake walk.
The doctor put me on an extended regimen of Lupron, which basically shuts off communication from my brain to my reproductive system so the doctor can "drive". He wanted me to start right away, so he had the medication overnighted. We were going to my sister's for the weekend, so we had to have it sent there. Furthermore, Doug was going on a camping trip, so it was up to me to do the first shot myself.
When the package came in, I had a nervous breakdown. The box was fairly large, and was full of all the injectables that I would have to take. I just had this overwhelming sense that I was in way over my head. Doug is usually the voice of reason, but he was out of cell phone range. I just sat on my sister's living room floor, crying, with all the medication spread out before me. And this was ugly-crying. I knew that I was out of control when I heard my 4-year-old niece telling my sister, "Uh, mom, she's crying." I started to pull myself together, so as to stop freaking my niece out.
 |
| The dreaded meds! Dun dun dunnnnn! |
Then, the clock struck, and it was time to get this show on the road. My sister and I were both nervous, and looked like a couple of dummies with needles. No one should have allowed us to perform this task. First, I iced the injection site on my leg. I couldn't ice it for long, because my hand started getting frostbite. I sanitized the top of the vial, put the needle into the vial, and injected air into it. Then I loaded the needle with 20 units of Lupron. Next, Michele was to give me the alcohol swab to swab my leg (see, she helped), but we were in such a frenzy that she threw it in the trash. We both laughed at how ridiculous we were being. At least she had been enthusiastic about throwing it away!
Finally, it was time to do the deed. I counted, "One...two...three..........four..." I'm not sure what I got to. But I was probably supposed to stop at 3. Oh well. When I got up enough courage (probably at 25 or so), I injected it into my leg. Not gonna lie; it stung. But I did it! When I was done, my sister and I jumped up and down like a couple of doofuses (doofusi?). We were so proud of ourselves. Dorks.
Today I will give myself my 23rd shot of Lupron. I have to say, it has gotten much easier, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. One trick is to hold the ice with a towel so your hand doesn't freeze off. That's helped. Also, just stabbing it in quickly helps. I have had a couple of days where I just can't seem to stab it in my leg the way I am supposed to, so I gingerly prick my leg about 3 or 4 times. I know it's stupid, but it's just some mental block that I can't seem to get past. The other thing I've learned is to inject the medicine quickly and steadily. I feel like a pro now. Tomorrow I go down to only 5 units of Lupron a day, which will be a cake walk.
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