Hysterscope and polyps removal...

 
So it's been a crazy 2017 so far. On January 1 my father-in-law's health started declining fast from years of dealing with lupus. By Wednesday we knew it was only a matter of time and he wouldn't be with us much longer.

Not knowing how much time he had I kept debating if I should reschedule my procedure or not. After discussing with my husband we decided I would go and do it still since there wasn't much I could do here to help.

My dad offered to drive me down to Utah for the procedure Friday January 6 and we left around 5:30am. I figured we'd be back around 5pm. I was able to stop by my in-laws house once more before I left and said my final goodbyes.

As I was driving to Utah I got the text I dreaded and my heart broke. My father-in-law had passed away at 7:30am.

I felt so torn wishing I had rescheduled so I could be with my sweet husband during this time. My father-in-law was one in a million. I considered him a father and loved him so much. I know He is pain free and enjoying heaven with our son Jayden.

It was freezing that morning ---we are talking it got to -26* at one point. The roads weren't too bad but there were tons of accidents that caused delays but we had left early enough to have a cushion.

I arrived at Utah Fertility center about 45 minutes before I was scheduled and we waited. They took me back around 11 and got me hooked up to an IV. Dr. Conway came in and chatted for a quick minute and then I was out and before I knew it I was waking up in a chair with a heat pad on my abdomen. (Which felt heavenly) My dad came in while I was waking up so he could hear what the doctor said (I was afraid I wouldn't remember) .

Dr. Conway came in and said they removed 2 bigger polyps and a couple smaller ones. She sent them to be tested just in case. I was able to dress and walk out and we drove straight home. I slept most the time from the anethesia but also was able to talk to my husband a little. They had had a busy day as well with meeting with hospice workers, funeral home, and what not.

We had his funeral yesterday and it was a beautiful service and it was wonderful to remember and honor such a GREAT man. He really was the greatest of the great. 

I'm still spotting/bleeding from the procedure which is super annoying. I'm wondering if it's also a mixture of breakthrough bleeding from birth control. Dr. Conway PA Stephanie said it's normal and to just continue as I have. If it last much longer I'll call again and see if I can double up on birth control to stop the spotting.

I start meds in a couple weeks and the the labs and u/s monitoring will start for my transfer in February 17.

I told my father-in-law to make sure he brings us some babies and to hug our Jayden. Knowing he's up there with our future child brings me more hope that this transfer will be the successful one.



 

IVF # 2-- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

So we started prepping for our second FET in August 2015.

 A frozen embryo transfer (FET) is a cycle in which the frozen embryos from a previous fresh IVF or donor egg cycle are thawed and then transferred back into the woman's uterus.

I was on birth control from 7/11-8/28 they do that so they can regulate your body and make sure the timing of the uterus and lining is ideal for a frozen embaby to implant.

My fertility clinic also started me on lupron 8/24 (to suppress my ovaries) which is still funny to me because I don't ovulate. #PCOSproblems

Here was my schedule/protocol

08/24/15- 9/9/15 Lupron 10 units
08/31-9/4 Period
09/07 Estrace 1 mg 7AM/7PM, baby aspirin
09/09 Labs and u/s
09/9-9/10 Estrace 1 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
09/11-09/14 Estrace 2 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
9/15  Labs and u/s--lining getting thicker
09/15-09/19 Estrace 2 mg 7AM/2PM/7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
09/18 Labs and u/s-- lining great 12-13mm
09/20-9/24 Progesterone in oil 1ml/cc (shot in bum), doxycycline 100 mg 2xday, Medrol 16 mg, Estrace 2 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, STOP lupron

09/24 Labs in Spokane-- look good
09/25/15 TRANSFER DAY ---- 2 EMBRYOS (both were hatching)

About 2 hours before your transfer they have you drink 36 oz of water and you are supposed to hold it until after the transfer. They do this so your bladder is full and they can more easily see where they are placing (squirting) the embryo.  

 Having a full bladder is super uncomfortable and I swear I was going to pee my pants or dribble on the doctor but luckily after they checked my bladder they let me release some before the transfer because it was so full. Again a day of no scents, no lotion, deodorant, etc. 

I put on my gown, hairnet, socks and walk into the sterilized room, climb up on the table, stirrup up and the nurse puts the u/s on your full bladder the whole time so the doctor can see where he's placing the embryo.  The doctor, cleans your cervix and preps it and sticks the catheter in until you see it in the uterus, the embryologist shows you your embryos on screen and they are so tiny, like the size of a pin head tiny, zooms in and you can see the cells in it---it's amazing. He sucks both frostys up in the straw brings it into the doctor (all while you're bum is a breezing in the air) #embarassing 

The doctor sticks the straw in the catheter and then pushes (squirts) it out and you see this little white flash and it's over. They go check the straw to make sure it's empty and say clear when they see it's empty. The whole thing probably only takes 15 -20 minutes and then they just had me walk out, finally release my pee and said no exercise, sex, or overheating  until after first pregnancy test.  They said the embryo will not fall out, it kind of just floats around until it attaches (or not) to the uterine wall. 

TWW: Two Week Wait. Waiting the 10 days until you know if the embabies stuck or not.... tried to stay occupied and not think to much about it. But doesn't work so well. 

9/30 Progesterone/Estrogen labs-- all look good

10/4 Did an at home pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE

10/5 Pregnancy lab test HCG 755

10/7 2nd pregnancy lab test HCG 2225ish

10/15 U/S and Labs--- Pregnant with TWINS! We were shocked  and pretty excited (but of course cautiously because of our past) that we had 2 littles growing in there. We kept wondering if we had 2 boys, 2 girls, or one of each. I had a little brown spotting and cramping after the u/s which they say is pretty normal with any pregnancy after an u/s.

10/16-10/19 Brown spotting continued

10/20  Had red spotting @ 3:30pm my heart sunk and I just started bawling. This was all too familiar just like last time.

10/21 A gush of red and a blood clot at 12:30pm. I called the doctor to tell them what was happening and they got me scheduled for an u/s in office @ 4PM. The u/s showed 2 heartbeats and my HCG was 100,000 Progesterone 15 (all good) But I still couldn't feel at ease. This is exactly what happened last time,... I bled. I had u/s and baby was still there. I bled more and baby was gone. 

6:30pm-1:30am more clots and more bleeding.  I knew deep down that I probably would not be carrying these babes full term and it broke my heart. I held onto what sliver of hope I could and kept telling myself that we saw the 2 heartbeats and prayed that all would be how the Lord wanted it to be. Had next u/s scheduled for 10/29

10/22 red spotting and small red clots

10/23-10/27 red when wiped

10/29 u/s showed no heartbeats or blood flow, the babies had stopped growing and measured 6 weeks, placentas had collapsed on each other. Just as I had feared. Dr. Asay came and spoke with us and told us we could do cytotec pill to induce a miscarriage or wait until they pass on their own or do D&C but they don't recommend those this early on in a loss. So we opted for cytotec that we were told to take vaginally at night because most people get nauseated and you can sleep through the worst of it. We picked up the meds and went home.

9:15PM I put the pills in vaginally as instructed and waited for it to start. I felt like not much was happening and slept through the night mostly. I was super anxious because they wanted me to try and collect the "products of conception" (my babies) to see if they could test and see if there was a reason for their loss. So every time I was on the toilet I was looking for what I thought was my babies or the placentas. It was awful.

11/3 I didn't feel as if the cytotec worked so they sent another script of cytotec for me to do and I started it at 1:30pm. Again the anxiety of trying to collect was awful and to add to it the pharmacy messed up my RX and said they couldn't fill it so I had it transferred to another pharmacy to fill it and I was just wanting to be done it had carried on long enough and I was broken inside. At one point I sat down on the toilet and something fell out and I thought it was a baby, but when I got it it was actually just one of they cytotec pills that hadn't dissolved. Seriously my emotions were shot. I thought for sure we were headed to a D&C because things just hadn't happened like I thought they would. 

11/5 labs and u/s showed that I didn't need a D&C (tender mercy) and had passed everything. HCG was 640. They told me they would monitor my HCG levels until they were below 5. 

11/11 HCG labs 365

11/18 HCG labs 170

12/2 HCG labs 33.6

12/16 HCG labs 4

01/2016 Decided to get lots of lab testing done to see if there was a reason I kept miscarrying. Neal and I were both karyotyped and it came back normal, I had tons of clotting panels, thyroid, antilphosopholipid and a slew of others and everything has come back normal. So that led us to do FET 3 that most of you followed us along for...ended in a blighted ovum. So we are prepping for my next FET transfer and saving money to get our embryos tested. I am trusting God that this next transfer goes well since we won't have the money to test them before hand and I truly believe that things will happen how He wants them to regardless so I am trusting him and praying the embryo they choose will be healthy strong and a fighter and that my body with these new meds Dr. Conway is having us try will be the key to a full term healthy baby. 

Update on polyp problem...

I had a friend text me today that my uterus is mean and I just had to laugh cause it totally is dang these polyps!

So I had an emotional break down today and I'm a little embarrassed to even write what happened but I'm going to be totally candid.

I got a call from Dr. Conway's surgery scheduler and she told me the cost estimate that they bill to insurance ($1799 for doctor and facility fee and $600-$1000 anesthesia fee) and gave me the CPT and ICD-10 codes so I could call my insurance and see if it'd be cheaper to do it in Utah or at the hospital here. Called the insurance and they told me it's almost always cheaper to do in office than hospital because of facility fees at hospitals is like double charging you. So Dr. Conway's office it is!

Also after talking with Neal we decided financially it just makes more sense to wait to do the procedure until January since our deductible starts over again then. It's only 3 week wait or so. So I called Dr. Conway's surgery scheduler back and left a message telling her that we would like to wait until January with our deductible starting over and to do it in Utah. I also asked if this would push back the transfer. Which I assumed it would.

I then called the PA at Dr. Conway's office and told her that we would like to do the procedure in January since our deductible starts over then and asked if it would push the transfer back. She said we would need to push back the transfer and that this is the last time they'd let us move the transfer since the scheduling is so tricky and stuff. I got upset and told her it's just due to needing this procedure done and it's not like we are going to flake out. (I was teary and emotional) She told me not to take it that way and that they just have some patients that try and move things around a lot. I told her we can travel to Utah for the transfer, she said we'd have to unless we wanted to wait until April. I told her that's fine and she told me to call back once I have the procedure scheduled so she can start working on a new transfer schedule.

I feel embarrassed and emotional at how I handled things but also upset that she didn't realize how hard this is on me. It's not like I want to have polyps or want to put off my transfer. We also didn't ever move the transfer before hand and we're only doing it this time because of the polyps and financials. I mean to pay $1200 this month for a procedure and then have to pay that all over again next year towards a deductible seems silly.

I realize she probably has not been in the infertility field long ( I believe she was just trained this year to do the scheduling and in April when they did my first saline ultrasound she was being trained to do that then too.) So she is probably stressed with what's on her plate and doesn't really realize how hard it is emotionally on patients. And honestly I've only seen them a handful of times so they don't really know my personality and that I'm organized and on top of things and would never just move a transfer to be more convenient for me and thus inconveniencing them.  Nor does she probably realize the infertility struggles I've had.... (although it's in my HUGE file). I get it it's hard to remember every single patient you see and their whole history but come on you chose to work in a highly emotional field just tread with care and try to be a little more compassionate and understanding. Plus as Neal said "we are paying them a lot of money, and want the best results, so who cares if it's tricky to schedule, we need to push it back."  Love my sweet supportive, knows what to say to make me feel better, better half.

So yes I'm embarrassed and actually put of calling her back today so I wouldn't break down again and had a more level head and wasn't so sassy. I will apologize tomorrow for overreacting when I call her back telling her I have the procedure scheduled.

When the surgery scheduler called back she was super understanding and nice and had spoke with Dr. Conway who said that would be fine to do procedure in January and do the transfer down in Utah in February. I scheduled the procedure for Friday January 6 @ 11 AM. The scheduler told me she would let the PA know and that I should be receiving a new schedule for my transfer soon.


I'm ok with waiting to do the transfer in February. It will probably work out better then anyways. We will be moved into our new house and settled down and no shots for the holidays to worry about.

God is good, and I have to remember His timing and plans are better than anything I could ever plan for myself.

IVF #2 --Egg Retrieval

So we knew we would be moving the summer of 2015 back to Idaho Falls and so we decided to do another egg retrieval in hopes of getting enough embryos to freeze so we wouldn't have to drive back to Spokane to do a retrieval. (there is way more monitoring in retrievals sometimes you're going in daily to check follicle size, etc.) We had paid for 3 tries meaning up to 3 retrievals and 3 transfers or until a live birth was achieved within an 18 month period. So we were ready to move forward to stimulating my ovaries and getting those eggs out. Hoping for more than 3 like the previous cycle. Which we were down to only 2 frozen embryos since the one we transferred ended in miscarriage. 

Here are the meds we used in this cycle (the same as the first egg retrieval cycle with an addition of a couple):

Follistim: this medication contains follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and is used to help stimulate healthy ovaries to produce eggs. This medication is usually used in combination with another hormone (hCG) to bring about the growth and release of a mature egg (ovulation)
Microdose HCG:   or low dose HCG is used for ovarian stimulation during IVF it helps,the smaller follies to grow...sort of tricks them into thinking it is trigger time.
Ganirelix: Sex hormone suppressor: It can prevent premature ovulation in women undergoing infertility treatment.
Lupron: new twist on the antagonist ovarian stimulation protocol for IVF called the "Lupron trigger protocol" or GnRH agonist trigger protocol has recently been used by some fertility specialists to completely eliminate the development of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. (OHSS):
Doxycycline; Antibiotics It can treat and prevent infections
Cabergoline: It can lower high levels of the hormone prolactin in the blood. 
Heparin: blood thinner to prevent clots

STIMULATION PHASE 2015:
5/17  Last day of birth control
5/18  Labs indicate ovaries are suppressed
5/20-5/24 Period
5/21  Labs and u/s
5/22-5/24 Follistim 150 iu, Low HCG 10 units (both are shots in abdomen)
5/22 Neal to take doxycycline
5/25 Labs and u/s
5/25-5/27 Follistim 100 iu, Low HCG 10 units
5/27 Labs and u/s
5/27-5/28 Follistim 100 iu, Low HCG 10 units, Ganirelix (all 3 shots in abdomen)
5/29 Labs and u/s
5/29-5/30  Follistim 100iu, Low HCG 20 units, Ganirelix
5/31 Labs and u/s No Follistim, NO Low HCG, Ganirelix,  Lupron Trigger shot 80 units @ 11:30PM, Have intercourse with condom
6/1 Labs   Lupron Trigger shot 80 units at 11:30 AM

6/2 RETRIEVAL DAY -- Neal dropped off semen sample in morning -- 22 Eggs retrieved 21 eggs mature and placed in petri dish with Neal's sperm (which looks similar to image below)
 
6/3 Day 1- 16 of the 21 Eggs fertilized
6/5 Day 3- 14 eggs still growing
6/7 Day 5- 10 Frozen embryos 4 others still growing
6/8 Day 6 - 2 more embryos frozen
TOTAL FROZEN: 12



My estrogen was too high and I overstimulated (OHSS) so again we did a freeze all to transfer later. 

Now that's just a little run down but now some extra details. As you can see it's busy and every single day you have to remember your meds or are travelling to the doctor for labs and u/s. It's a bit stressful and you're hoping your body responds like it should.

The stimulation drugs are all shots given in your tummy and My Hubster really is the greatest, he squeezes that pooch of mine and sticks it right in like a pro. So on some days I was doing 3 shots a day in my abdomen. It was sore, it was bruised, and I felt like a pin cushion. As I started getting more follicles and they were getting bigger I felt bloated, and looked like I was pregnant and was a quite a bit miserable.

This is an image of what an ovary looks like when it's ready for retrieval x 2 ovaries

On Retrieval Day you don't wear anything with a scent, so deodorant, etc. is out. They took me back and I put on my gown and hair net and socks and they hooked up my IV. They had me walk into the sterilized room, get up on the bed and then they push the anesthesia juice into the IV and I was out.




6/2 Day of transfer Dr. Robins gave me some type of IV after the transfer I think it was creatine (don't remember the name specifically I had just come out of anesthesia) in addition to lots of fluids to help with the hyperstimulation. He said one of my ovaries was hiding so he wasn't able to drain it all and that would cause even more hyperstimulation. I was so miserable and bloated and hurt. I threw up after my transfer and a couple times at home. My sweet parents came up to help us with Grayson and they were a saving grace. Don't know what I would've done without them. Heart bursts with gratitude for them. 
6/3 Hard time breathing again sharp shooting pains up my shoulders and my whole back, laid in bed all day trying not to throw up, nauseated, bloated, had heating packs on my abdomen and back to help the pain. Tylenol wouldn't even touch the pain. 
6/4 Still super sick, hurting every where, so bloated my stomach won't even indent when pushed on, pretty sure I was gaining weight extremely fast which they told me to watch for with overstimulation. Called nurse, she said to come in next day to do a paracentisis to drain the fluid to help relieve pressure. Also started me on Heparin shots to prevent blood clots and cabergoline to help reduce hormone levels. 
6/5 Neal and I went to the clinic early that morning and I had 1200 units of fluid drained by paracentisis. I remember them pumping it out of me and it hurt worse than I expected but probably in part because I had just had needles all over my ovaries and uterus.  It took longer than expected and Neal had to go to work so my dad came to their office and picked me up and sat with me. I felt a tiny and I mean tiny bit better after being drained of fluid. I had gained 30 pounds in less than a week from this over stimulation.
6/8 Was told to continue cabergoline for one more week and heparin for additional 4 weeks and that once I started my period I would begin to feel much better.
6/13-6/17 Period

I looked 5 months pregnant and still felt bloated for at least a month. Looked bloated even longer Wore PJS and big shirts to feel more comfortable and not put pressure on abdomen. It was awful and hellish and I hate thinking about it. I PROMISED MYSELF I WILL NEVER DO ANOTHER RETRIEVAL AGAIN! (I can say that now since we have 11 embryos still frozen) Thank goodness for those little embabies.

Next up FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) #2 

H2O (Saline) ultrasound...

Had my water ultrasound today to see if there are any polyps or other abnormalities in my endometrium for our upcoming transfer in January. They do this to make sure there isn't anything that could prevent implanting of the embryo.

They found at least 3 new polyps (they told me they are like little skin tags). Which is just crazy to me. The first polyp I ever had was before the last transfer and they scrapped it out. So I'm glad they had me do this ultrasound and I'm glad we did it earlier in the month so there is still time to get them scrapped out before transfer in January.

I asked if I could do anything to prevent polyps or what causes them, they told me they just grow-- sometimes it's hormones (which I've been loaded with) but there is really no way to prevent them. 

I'm not going to lie I was a little shocked, I had this blog post draft written last night that all was well and we were a go to move forward....but tis not so. 

So now we have to schedule this surgery in the next 2 weeks to remove the polyps and we may possibly have to drive to Utah to have it done in Dr. Conway's main office. Otherwise we will be doing it in the hospital with Dr. Denson. Either way more money then we were expecting to spend. 

So I'm waiting for the surgery scheduler to call me and let me know what is our cheaper option and if Utah is cheaper Neal is in Butte, MT until Thursday working so I'm hoping they could squeeze us in Friday. 

Also got a call from the specialty pharmacy Stroehecker's for our medications for the cycle. Just for the Progesterone and estradiol shots is $417...but money is just that if I get a baby out of this I don't care what it costs!

I can't believe it's already time to prep for this transfer. I'm kind of in denial and feeling a mixture of emotions. Anxiety, dread of another possible loss and dread the sore bum from shots, guilt of the financial cost, hope this is the one that sticks for good, faith that this is all in God's perfect and capable hands. Loved this quote I read on Instagram today.

Praying for peace of mind and strength to move forward with faith and hope.

And our house is almost done being built! We will probably be moving in right around the same time as the transfer (if transfer doesn't get delayed... or our house). So lots of exciting things coming up.

If you're looking for a good Christmas present or white elephant gift we'd love you too purchase one of our coloring books to help us pay for costs of IVF. The Fiddlesticks one is kind of my favorite haha!

https://www.amazon.com/Fiddlesticks-Clean-Swear-Coloring-Downloadable/dp/1533140774/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1480999239&sr=8-5&keywords=diamond+ink+design


https://www.amazon.com/Adult-Coloring-Book-Inspirational-Relieving/dp/1530103622/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480999280&sr=8-2&keywords=diamond+ink+design

I'm working on the story of our egg retrieval #2 and transfer #2 blog posts so stay tuned. Much love to all who are reading along and following our journey. We appreciate all your love and support more than you even know. 

IVF #1- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

So we started prepping for a FET in December of 2014 for the transfer in January.

A frozen embryo transfer (FET) is a cycle in which the frozen embryos from a previous fresh IVF or donor egg cycle are thawed and then transferred back into the woman's uterus.

I was on birth control from 11/14-12/29 they do that so they can regulate your body and make sure the timing of the uterus and lining is ideal for a frozen embaby to implant.

My fertility clinic also started me on lupron (to suppress my ovaries) which is still funny to me because I don't ovulate.

Started Lupron on Christmas day Merry Christmas to me with a shot in the tummy pooch! 

Here was my schedule/protocol

12/25/14- 01/07/15 Lupron 10 units
01/01/15- 01/07/15 Period
01/07 Labs and u/s
01/08-01/11 Estrace 1 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
01/12-01/15 Estrace 2 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
01/16-01/20 Estrace 2 mg 7AM/2PM/7 PM, baby aspirin, Lupron 5 units
01/21 Labs and u/s
01/21-01/25 Progesterone in oil 1ml/cc (shot in bum), doxycycline 100 mg 2xday, Medrol 16 mg, Estrace 2 mg 7AM/ 7 PM, baby aspirin, STOP lupron

01/26/15 TRANSFER DAY ---- 1 EMBRYO

About 2 hours before your transfer they have you drink 36 oz of water and you are supposed to hold it until after the transfer. They do this so your bladder is full and they can more easily see where they are placing (squirting) the embryo.  

 Having a full bladder is super uncomfortable and I swear I was going to pee my pants or dribble on the doctor but luckily after they checked my bladder they let me release some before the transfer because it was so full. Again a day of no scents, no lotion, deodorant, etc. 

I put on my gown, hairnet, socks and walk into the sterilized room, climb up on the table, stirrup up and the nurse puts the u/s on your full bladder the whole time so the doctor can see where he's placing the embryo. #uncomfortable The doctor, cleans your cervix and preps it and sticks the catheter in until you see it in the uterus, the embryologist shows you your embryo on screen and it's so tiny, like the size of a pin head tiny, zooms in and you can see the cells in it---it's amazing. He sucks the little frosty up in the straw brings it into the doctor (all while you're bum is a breezing in the air) #embarassing 

The doctor sticks the straw in the catheter and then pushes (squirts) it out and you see this little white flash and it's over. They go check the straw to make sure it's empty and say clear when they see it's empty. The whole thing probably only takes 15 -20 minutes and then they just had me walk out, finally release my pee and said no exercise, sex, or overheating  until after first pregnancy test.  They said the embryo will not fall out, it kind of just floats around until it attaches (or not) to the uterine wall. They said they used to have you lay there 20 minutes and then do bed rest for 2 days but that they have seen no extra success in this and that most patients were just more anxious.  Here's a great little read on "Will An Embryo Fall Out after Transfer?"  Of course all doctors have their own protocol and whatnot so it's fine if you do bed rest too.

I was to Continue baby aspirin , Estrace 2mg 7 AM/7PM, Progesterone shot every day until instructed to stop

THE 2 WEEK WAIT (tww) waiting the 10 days until you know if the embaby stuck or not.... tried to stay occupied and not think to much about it. But doesn't work so well. 

01/30 labs Progesterone and estrogen levels look good continue meds
02/04 PREGNANCY labs---HCG level 218 (pregnant!)
02/05 brown spotting
02/06 PREGNANCY labs to confirm pregnancy--- HCG level 723 (levels doubled still pregnant!)
02/11 u/s of baby

02/13- 02/14 brown spotting
02/15 red clots and bleeding (super emotional I was  sure I was miscarrying, we had traveled home to Idaho for the weekend and so I called my nurse LeAnn and she said to come in tomorrow to do an u/s she said it is common to have some spotting with IVF and to just wait and see tomorrow. We rushed, as in drove the 8 hours, back to Spokane for the u/s the next day. My dad and Neal gave me a beautiful priesthood blessing that everything would be fine and I felt so much comfort. )

02/16 labs and u/s --we were able to see baby's heart movement my HCG level now 19,000 and Progesterone level 25. Everything looked good. It eased my anxiety a little.

02/17-02/18 brown spotting
02/19  had more red clots and bleeding 11:45 AM to 7:30PM (lots of tears, anxiety, and feeling that I'm miscarrying again, again nurse said to come in next day to see)
02/20 had labs and u/s saw baby had grown and saw heartbeat (so much love for a little bean already--I thought once I see the heartbeat everything will be fine and continue to develop normally..)

02/21 brown/red spotting
02/23 again more red clots and bleeding  started at 10:15 PM
02/24 lots of clots and bleeding all day (Called nurse again and we decided to wait to do u/s until Friday since there is really nothing to be done either way. Emotional wreck, not sure what to think... Trying to remain hopeful because the last two u/s were good of baby even though I had been bleeding)
02/27 u/s NO heartbeat or blood flow to baby. Baby stopped growing probably 3 days prior (this was hard news and I was alone, Neal had stayed home with Grayson. I asked what next step was and decided I'd like to do a D&C so that I didn't have to wait to pass the baby and we could do another egg retrieval before moving in July...I didn't get emotional until I was in the car, I tried calling Neal to let him know on my way home and my phone was acting up and no calls were going through. I got even more emotional not being able to get a hold of him... the suck in the breath sobs. I was driving through tears and when I pulled in I got to the door and Neal was there and he just looked at me and knew...he hugged me tight and I told him there was no heartbeat and that the baby stopped growing. He held me tighter and felt so bad leaving me to go to work. It was a hard day and even now as I write this the feelings of loss are coming back, the pain has lessened of course but it's still hard to remember. 

3/2 Had the D&C  at Deaconess hospital everything went smoothly(they dilate your cervix and suck or scrape out everything inside your uterus) they put me all the way under and I didn't have any pain afterwards. I was glad we did this rather than waiting to pass on my own, I didn't want to have to see my baby as I passed it and be reminded again of the loss. 

They continued to monitor my HCG levels until they were 2 or lower
3/9 labs HCG level down to 1000 and low iron
3/24 labs HCG level 24
4/21 Labs HCG level 1.6 Started Provera to induce period for next stimulation cycle for egg retrieval
5/4-5/8 Period
5/6 started birth control
5/20-5/24 Period

Up next our 2nd egg retrieval ...

IVF #1 --- Pre-Testing to Egg Retrieval

In August of 2014, we decided we would go to the doctor to start the In Vitro Fertilization process (IVF). Grayson was now 1 year old and I felt emotionally ready to jump in to "trying for a baby" again.

PRE-TESTING
We met with Dr. Robins and went over our options and we told him we would like to do IVF. So we met with LeAnn our nurse coordinator and also Lora the financial coordinator to get things going. Before we could even begin the process we had to have a bunch of Pre-Testing done to see if there was any other cause for our infertility besides my non existent ovulation with PCOS.


My Tests, etc.:
Baseline U/S
Catheter check
Culture (gonorrhea/chlamydia)
Pap Smear
Hysterscope
Day 3 labs/ AMH
CBC/HIV/Blood Type/Rh Factor
Prolactin/TSH/ Rubella
Infectious Disease
IVF Medication and injection instruction

Neal Tests:
Semen Analysis
HIV
Infectious Disease Testing

So by the beginning of September we had all of these things done, and Neal checked out all good, and my tests all came back good so it was just an anovulation problem. So we were ready to move forward to stimulating my ovaries and getting those eggs out.

Here are the meds we used in this cycle:

Follistim: this medication contains follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and is used to help stimulate healthy ovaries to produce eggs. This medication is usually used in combination with another hormone (hCG) to bring about the growth and release of a mature egg (ovulation)
Microdose HCG:   or low dose HCG is used for ovarian stimulation during IVF it helps,the smaller follies to grow...sort of tricks them into thinking it is trigger time.
Ganirelix: Sex hormone suppressor: It can prevent premature ovulation in women undergoing infertility treatment.
Lupron: new twist on the antagonist ovarian stimulation protocol for IVF called the "Lupron trigger protocol" or GnRH agonist trigger protocol has recently been used by some fertility specialists to completely eliminate the development of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. (OHSS):
Doxycycline; Antibiotics It can treat and prevent infections


STIMULATION PHASE 2014:
10/20  Last day of birth control
10/21 Labs indicate ovaries are suppressed
10/23-10/27 Period
10/24 Labs and u/s
10/24-10/26 Follistim 150 iu, Low HCG 10 units (both are shots in abdomen)
10/27 Labs and u/s
10/27-10/28 Follistim 100 iu, Low HCG 10 units
10/29 Labs and u/s
10/29-10/30 Follistim 100 iu, Low HCG 10 units, Ganirelix (all 3 shots in abdomen)
10/31 Labs and u/s Neal to take Doxycycline
10/31-11/1  Follistim 75iu, Low HCG 20 units, Ganirelix
11/2 Labs and u/s No Follistim, Low HCG 20 units, Ganirelix
11/3 Labs and u/s No Follistim, No Low HCG, No Ganirelix, Lupron Trigger shot 80 units at 1 AM, Have intercousre with condom
11/4 Lupron Trigger shot 80 units at 1 PM and Labs
11/5 RETRIEVAL DAY -- Neal dropped of semen sample in morning -- 9 Eggs retrieved and placed in petri dish with Neal's sperm (which looks similar to image below)
 
11/6 Day 1- 4 of the 9 Eggs fertilized
11/8 Day 3- All 4 eggs still growing
11/10 Day 5- 1 Frozen embryo others still growing
11/11 Day 6 - 2 more embryos frozen



My estrogen was too high and risk of OHSS (hyperstimulation) was too high to do a fresh transfer so we did a Freeze all to do a Frozen Embryo Transfer later.

11/12 -11/17 Period and start birth control 11/14 to get ready for FET in January.

No that's just a little run down but now to the nitty gritty of it all. As you can see it's busy and every single day you have to remember your meds or are travelling to the doctor for labs and u/s. It's a bit stressful and you're hoping your body responds like it should.

The stimulation drugs are all shots given in your tummy and My Hubster really is the greatest, he squeezes that pooch of mine and sticks it right in like a pro. So on some days I was doing 3 shots a day in my abdomen. It was sore, it was bruised, and I felt like a pin cushion. As I started getting more follicles and they were getting bigger I felt bloated, and looked like I was pregnant and was a little miserable.

This is an image of what an ovary looks like when it's ready for retrieval...

On Retrieval Day you don't wear anything with a scent, so deodorant, etc. is out. They took me back and I put on my gown and hair net and socks and they hooked up my IV. They had me walk into the sterilized room, get up on the bed and then they push the anesthesia juice into the IV and I was out. Woke up in recovery room with Neal. They told me the retrieved 9 eggs and that my estrogen was too high  so risk of overstimulation was too high so I wouldn't be doing a fresh transfer on Day 6 like we'd hoped.



I went home and slept and put heat packs on my abdomen ( I mean they literally stick a needle in your ovary and suck out the eggs so of course you're sore) that night I had super sharp shooting pain up my back and into my shoulder. It hurt so bad I couldn't even breathe. I panicked I called the nurse and she said it was probably just an air bubble from the procedure and to take Tylenol.

My bloating went down after I finished my period and within a week I was feeling much better.

Next up is our first FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer)....