So the scan this morning was good 
My lining is at 8.4mm and we have follies. Lots and lots of follies. Probably around 6 – 8 per ovary all at 11+mm. I administered 2 amps of menopur and 1/2 a cetrotide today, will have 2 amps menopur & a full cetrotide tomorrow and have been told to up the fluid intake to a minimum of 4 litres per day to try and combat the ever lurking OHSS…
So I’m happy cos clearly my PCOS ovaries are responding well to the stim and my lining is looking really good this early in the game.
I scan again on Friday morning.
We had dinner with my family over this past weekend. We were all talking about how wonderful it will be when this IVF works and what our plans would be to find out the baby(s) sex etc.
My Mom asked if we’d been thinking about names. (And I did not even freak out at her about jinxing stuff, see keeping all zen and calm on this one!) Cliff pipes up and says if it’s twins we’ll name them “At last” and “Finally”.
So there you have them. The names of our one day babies. At last. Finally.
Sjoe!
I cannot believe that I’m already 7 days into IVF #3 and have been stimming since Friday and have had my first intralipid infusion this morning. The stims are going well – on 2 amps of menopur per day and right now I’m doing well on them. Not having any adverse reactions and am still being pretty much hormonally normal (ie: no menopur monster developing – lucky Cliff). I did manage to nick a vein in my tummy on Sunday morning but otherwise all good. Note to self: Don’t rush the jab! You will bruise! Scan on Wednesday to check what is brewing on the inside.
Intralipids are interesting. I was told to expect the drip to last anything from 3 – 4 hours and to make sure I had loads of padkos and to drink loads of water. So armed with 6 muffins, 2 apples, 2 tubs of yoghurt, 2 litres of water, my laptop, 2 books and my cell phone I made sure I was ready for action. In went the needle, out came the clear prep liquid and then came the lovely milk drip. I was told to expect an achy feeling in my arm and shoulder as well as possible dizziness and nausea. All I felt was a very slight ache in my shoulder. I read blogs and chatted to some of the patients husbands (and scared the pants off them – the whole you know this is my fourth treatment and third fresh IVF thing… they were all first timers) who were waiting for their wives to get out from ER and just under 2 hours later my milk drip was done and dusted. I now have a slight headache from it but am feeling right as rain and am at work listening to the rain beat against the windows.
I don’t know why but I’m always so amazed at how quickly time seems to fly when one actually gets going with treatment. Any infertile will tell you that the waiting we do is ETERNAL. And I know that many of you reading this are now nodding your heads and saying Amen sista! Its like wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, until you start treatment and then all of a sudden time leaps into warp and before you know it you’re heading into ER and ET and then wham, you hit that brick wall as you slam into the wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait mode again during the two week wait.
I’m just grateful that we’ve got the opportunity at trying this again. That with this attempt we have the chance of getting what we wanted again. That this one, this lucky number 3 (or 4 if you count the FET) could very well be THE one. The holy grail. Oh how our heart’s are yearning for that.
Filed under: Blah Blah Fishpaste | Tags: accidents, children, stitches, tetnus shots
Shame my poor little neice.
She was running around at school yesterday and fell on some piece of pipe somewhere and has messed up her knee something aweful.
My sister called me in a state while she was rushing to the doctor to have it looked at and my niece was in high spirits. It was just a little scratch she said, she was doing just fine, it was just bleeding a little bit when she bent her leg etc.
It was a very different story once he had seen the doctor, she called me to say that she only had three words for me – ouchie bouchie wouchie! She got tetnus shots and had to have 5 stitches in her knee. What I loved most was that she told me she’s taking it easy for the night and is out of doing her chores! (Milking it for all its worth)
I was thinking to myself how hard it must be as a mother to see your kids hurt like this and to have to deal with these kinds of accidents in a calm, rational manner so as not to scare your child even though you are probably freaking out inside.
And I have to admit that I cannot wait for our turn one day.
I popped what I hope is my last ever birth control pill this morning.
Which would normally have meant eagerly (for once) awaiting AF’s appearance at my house but considering that I’ve been bleeding/spotting for 21 days straight now, it means that I’m going for a “CD2″ scan on FRIDAY. A mere 48 hours away and we’re heading into fresh IVF # 3 territory.
And I’m honestly so excited at the possibility that I might be celebrating a pregnancy sooner rather than later. I know I keep harping on about this, but I have SUCH a good feeling about this treatment. It feels right. It feels like it’s going to be the one.
Filed under: IVF #3 | Tags: Faith, God, Hope, infertility, IVF, Jesus, miracles, religion
I’ve had this on my mind for a while now. I know that there are many people out there who believe that as Christian’s you should not seek out the help of ART. That you should pray harder, practice more faith and just believe that God is going to bless you with children in His time.
I know that God’s time is perfect. I know that He wants what is best for me. I know that He loves me above and beyond my wildest imaginings. And I know that through this journey of infertility He is shaping me, testing me, guiding me and moulding me. Sometimes in ways I cannot fathom.
I was thinking a lot of how miracles happen all the time and how I was hoping that this time, the miracle would happen to us. I was wondering if we were doing the right thing by moving ahead with our third fresh IVF. During a conversation with a friend who is going through a tough time, it hit me. A miracle aha moment.
When one thinks about the miracles that Jesus performed, He had to work with something first to make the miracle happen. Think about it. Water into wine. Five loaves of bread and two fish to feed five thousand. Friends who had enough faith to lower a cripple man through the roof to his feet, a woman with a blood issue to touch him etc.
I’m the calmest I’ve ever been going into a treatment. Even my freaky bleeding has not really phased me overmuch. I think I’m finally at the point where I can honestly say that I’m letting go and letting God. I’m working with the doctors at my clinic so that God has something to work with to complete a miracle in my life. Our 3rd fresh IVF is the work that we need to put out there, so that He can breathe life into my womb.
I’m believing for our miracle. In a calm and “given over to God” manner. I have faith that this is going to be it. May His will be done.
Filed under: Blah Blah Fishpaste | Tags: blogging, definitions, word verification, words
I don’t know about you guys but those word verification thingi’s really irritate the crap out of me. I know and completely understand why people choose to use them – but personally they just annoy me.
That being said I have seen some pearlers of late and thought I would put definitions to them – cos that’s how I roll… so here are the words that word verification spits at us with my own creative infertility slanted definitions…
We try aggin and aggin to fall pregnat
the place we WISH our conceptions would take place after all
what we all wish we had in this journey - hinsit which is 20/20
What we feel like when all pumped full of menopur
We wish we get O, sic ti at the end of a treatment cos it means BFP!
- what we all lack on this journey! No more hurry up and wait for us!
What word verification pealers have you seen? And have you ever tried to make up definitions like I did?
Filed under: IVF #3 | Tags: ART, birth control pills, breakthrough bleeding, IVF
I’m have been approaching my upcoming IVF with a sense of calm and am making sure that I don’t allow myself get bogged down by it all. BUT. I started having some feelings of anxiety creep in this week, not cos I’m freaked out about the procedure itself but because at this stage of the game with only 7 days left of birth control pills left to take, I am still bleeding from my last cycle and when I started the pill in the first place. I’ve never had a break through bleed while on the pill. Never.
So considering that I was on CD 13 on Monday and still bleeding (not heavy at all – more like medium spotting – but red and enough to warrant use of a tampon) I sent my FS an email asking him if this was normal and wondering (cos you all know that I’m a qualified FS right? [not!]) if I needed to head in for a scan and bloods to check what my ever weird body was doing. I would hate for this to delay the cycle now that we’ve decided to move ahead, blah blah fish paste…
This is what he mailed in response:
“The breakthrough bleeding that you are currently experiencing is not a matter of concern. It is quite common, 30% of patients going onto the pill in preparation for ART will experience varying degrees of breakthrough bleeding, especially the PCO patients. The issue is to ignore it and continue taking the pill. If the bleeding persists throughout the packet we shall scan on the 2nd day after having finished the pill.”
So it seems that it’s all above board and that the anxiety I had started to allow myself to feel was all for naught anyway. I’ve decided to not let it bother me (it is irritating though, I mean come on 15 days of bleeding? Just bugger off already AF and come back again when you’re supposed to for gosh sakes!) and just take it one day at a time all the while merrily popping my little white birth control pill and doing my utmost to maintain the feeling of Zen that I’ve got going on… *in with the good, out with the bad, in with the good, out with the bad*
It’ll be interesting to see how long it lasts.
Filed under: Blah Blah Fishpaste | Tags: Cape Town, Durban, friends, no place like home, traveling, work
Last week I was travelling for business.
I left late on Tuesday evening and arrived in Cape Town late that night. I had been pre-prepared to expect the sound of a train at about 04h30 but after arriving late at night and not being familiar with the bed and the sounds of the flat I was staying at freaking me out (trees’ branches were scraping the windows – very eerie) I only fell asleep at about 02h00 and then this train comes rattling past my window and in my confusion I thought it was the office lady arriving for work and banging on the door. So picture it, I jump out of the bed, bang my head on the TV stand, race downstairs, and open the door to fresh air – only then did I realised that it was the bloody train making that racket. I spent the whole day in meetings and doing store visits and then finally got home to kick up my heels to realise that my options of TV viewing were extremely limited. Thankfully I got a good night’s rest and Thursday was busy, busy, busy rushing from store to store then battling traffic to get to the airport to fly to Durban. I again landed late and was collected by my friend Mich’s husband. What a nice time I had with her. It was SO good to catch up and meet her little miracle. Then off to the Pavilion shopping centre it was to do store visits with my Durban team and then back to the airport where my flight was delayed by two hours!
Everyone always thinks that travelling for business is so glam and fun – and while I do admit it *can* be for the most part I’ve realised that I’m a home body, I love my bed and my pillows, I love my DSTV, I love being around my husband (even tho I sometimes want to kill him) and I love being with my hounds.
It’s so true my friends – there truly is no place like home.
