National Infertility Awareness Week

Hi friends! It is National Infertility Awareness Week! I didn’t know there was a week of awareness, but that’s awesome.

I’ve been on this journey for about 16 years. It is lonely. Especially if you don’t have the support that is needed. I finally have the support, love and encouragement with my husband, who is of course on this journey with me. And we have it from all of our closest friends and family!

Never in a million years would I think I’d be doing IVF, and if someone asked me if I would write a blog about it – I would probably have said no way. However, I am. And I am so glad that I am because it is helping us so much!

Please share this blog with anyone you know going through any type of fertility treatments. We have so much more knowledge than we could have ever imagined and I am more than happy to share it.

So.. we don’t have much to share with you this week. Except I am on day 3 of my cycle and we have 12 frozen embryos. 😃 We are waiting for the results on the biopsies from each of those embryos to tell us which ones have the right number of chromosomes. The ones that win, will be the ones that will be eligible to be transferred. We will also find out which sexes each embryo is. So exciting!! As of last Wednesday, the doctors office told me 10-14 days is when we will find out. Not the 5 days that I read somewhere?!?! Oh well, it is going by so fast. We are so excited!

We will post when we find out any more news. We know you all can’t wait either. Thanks again as always from the bottom of our hearts for reading and caring!

💋 ❤️

Cells are happening

We got good news today, (Monday)! The fertilized eggs are creating cells. There are at least 11 that are 8 cells (growing perfectly) and several that are 4+ cells. The doctor said he’s seen babies be born that we’re only 4 cells at this stage. So that is exciting news! On Wednesday (today) they will start the testing. We will definitely know by next Wednesday how many have the right amount of chromosomes to be frozen and awaiting transfer.

I went in on Monday, because of the discomfort I was still having. I was checked out and all is well. My ovaries are so enlarged (each about the size of an extra large potato), and they are normally about the size of a chicken egg. (Please don’t quote me!!!) I am not a doctor and I didn’t ask to be sure. I got that info off of the internet, and you know what they say about the internet!? 😂 Anyway, it is painful just to walk to the bathroom and back. But, he told me to take it easy and to walk slowly.

On Tuesday, the doctors office called to let us know we may have to pay more money because the amount we paid for the embryologist was only for up to 8 pre-embryos to be biopsied. They aren’t sure how much more it will cost or how many more than 8 there will be until Thursday, but they will call me today with what they do know. Exciting news and holy cow more money?!?!

I am excited to get back to feeling good again. I am not complaining in the least-this process is all worth it to me/us!! We are beyond thrilled so far! We are talking about the future including children now-which seemed almost impossible before! We cannot wait to get the good news next week!

Stay tuned! And as always, thank you with the bottom of our hearts for reading and thinking about us! 🤞❤️🙏😘

My little surprise from Jay the day of the retrieval! 🥰❤️

Egg Retrieval and the Fertilization Process

Hi everyone! This has been an emotional couple of days. I had my egg retrieval procedure done yesterday, Friday, April 12th at 9:15am. It was a pretty quick procedure. By the time I laid down on the table it was about 9:30 and I was in the recovery room by 10:05/10:10 am. The doctor told us he retrieved 27 eggs, probably about 19 of them mature. He also took the fluid out of all of the little cysts that were on my ovaries. There were quite a bit. He had to leave 2 alone because they were close to a blood vessel. He also let us know that my ovaries were really enlarged, another symptom of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. OHSS.

According to The Mayo Clinic, less often, OHSS happens during fertility treatments using medications.

Symptoms of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome often begin within 10 days after using injectable medications to stimulate ovulation. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and may worsen or improve over time.

With mild to moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, there are several symptoms. I have the following:

• Mild to moderate abdominal pain
• Abdominal bloating or increased waist size
• Nausea
• Tenderness in the area of your ovaries
• Sudden weight increase of more than 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms)

Some women who use injectable fertility drugs get a mild form of OHSS, which goes away after about a week.

The doctor put me on a medicine that I started a few days ago to help with this. I can’t wait until it goes away because it is very uncomfortable. Even walking and emptying my bladder causes discomfort. I’m taking Advil and Tylenol with codeine right now to help with the discomfort.

However, I just got the best news today! My doctor called to let us know there were actually 24 mature eggs yesterday. And….. 21 fertilized!!!! We are over the moon HAPPY!!! This pain is all worth it. He said now we have to see how many make it to the 5th day. They will call me on Monday with any updates that they have. This is truly the best news we have heard in a long time.

Of course I will update when we hear any news. Thank you all who prayed, wished, sent positive vibes, envisioned good thoughts. Whatever and however you thought about us we appreciate it with all of our hearts! We know it all helped!

Now, we are praying for the fertilized eggs to turn into blastocysts that are ready to be transferred!

Egg Retrieval Anticipation…

Hi! I am growing some eggs! Not sure exactly how many, but a good amount. And because I have PCOS, my ovaries are swollen and I have many, many little cysts growing as well. The nurse told me today that my ovaries are actually really close together. So, to say the least, I am a little uncomfortable. I am not complaining because that means the meds are doing what they are supposed to do, WORKING!! 😃

I am going to the doctors office every day this week to check the ovaries and the size of the egg follicles via ultrasound and getting bloodwork to check the hormone levels. Still giving myself injections nightly. It is looking like we will be doing the retrieval on Friday or Saturday this week. Hopefully Friday.

It’s actually a very quick procedure. I watched a YouTube video with my little sister this weekend of a woman having it done. After she was under with anesthesia, the doctor retrieved 17 eggs in about 5 minutes. Crazy. From what I’ve learned they go in and with some type of needle empty each follicle out (that holds the eggs), and the actual egg is only about the size of a piece of sand. That is so crazy to me! The things you learn in life, lol. 🤪 My doctor will empty each follicle regardless if its viable or not because of how large my ovaries are and how uncomfortable I am. He doesn’t want them to keep increasing in size.

So, after all of that is done I will wait for my period and then start the birth control pill on cycle day 5 and take it for a week or so until my body is ready for the pre embryo transfer. Until today I was under the impression the transfer would be 5-6 days after the egg retrieval. I guess I didn’t pay attention to that detail when the doctor was explaining the process. It definitely has been a roller coaster of emotions this past week. Good news all around but I think the hormones are pumping like crazy and I am feeling it. I’ve been happy, shedding tears, irritabile and a little anxious. Sleepless nights from how uncomfortable I have been. I’m swollen all over. Bloated in the abdominal area. It is all worth it, I know it. I just wanted to share what I have been going through.

For now I am growing lots of eggs! Wish us luck for healthy eggs and fertilization this weekend!

As always, thank you so much for your support and reading about our journey! Much love ❤️

Injections in April

I started my injections on Sunday. So far so good. I’ve been to the doctors office to get blood work twice and all is good. I’ve only had to inject one medication instead of two so far. I think that is a positive thing. I go back on Friday.

It’s pretty easy to do on myself, the injections. The needle is thin enough and I inject it into my thighs. Jay is so anti needles, because it makes him nauseous just thinking about it. So I’m alone on this one. Which is fine. 😜

I did not hear back from the therapist last week that I called. And honestly, after writing the post last Wednesday, I started to feel better. I guess just getting it out of my head and into words really helped. We also got many encouraging messages from friends from our past that have gone through IVF or something similar, and that helped too. So, thank you all for reaching out. It really means A LOT!! I do see an acupuncturist too, who is amazing, and she is SOOO helpful to me as well-body and mind.

Everything is going along well as planned, just doing the daily shots and waiting for the appointments. Nothing much to talk about this week.

Thank you all for reading and your support. It has truly helped us get through this with good spirits!!

Lots of Love! 💕❤️🥰

Anxiety

I’ve never known what anxiety really was… Until a couple of years ago, after going to a therapy appointment. I was dealing with it and didn’t know. I knew people had it, I knew it caused attacks. I just didn’t understand it. And I got through it.

The last time I went to therapy was because I wanted children so bad and I couldn’t keep it together. Woman all around me and close to me were having babies. So many. I had just gone through a divorce a year or two before and was with the man I couldn’t believe I had found. Jay. We were such a good match. We had both been through not so great relationships, we didn’t regret anything. We just learned from them. We learned how to be better partners and we learned for sure what we didn’t want in a partner. We learned that communication should be easy, not hard. We found each other. And we are thankful for that every day of our lives ❤️. We did fertility treatments with IUI for almost 9 months. To no avail. 😞

Back to anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Well, guess who is experiencing anxiety. Yes, me. I know I shouldn’t be. I’ve been to plenty of therapy. I’ve read books on how to keep it away. I’m thankful for everything in my life. I know I have worked very hard for everything I have and cannot be more happy with it. However, I’ve only had one outcome with the past fertility treatments. And it is consuming me right now.

I start this process on Friday. Don’t get me wrong. I am so excited. I cannot wait. Jay is excited as well, and a little worried. We have a lot invested in this. We didn’t just have twenty something thousand dollars lying around. It’s a lot.

I contacted a therapist yesterday that came up in a search for an infertility specialist. I haven’t heard back yet. If she doesn’t respond today I’ll search again. I probably should have done this weeks ago, but I thought I could handle it better. I know this anxiety isn’t good for my body and I wish I could stop it. But it is affecting my work, my body (I keep getting sick), and my home life. We talk about it together, and Jay is supportive with what ever I need to do.

I didn’t know what I was going to write in this post. Until yesterday. I wasn’t going to write it. But, the reason we are doing this blog is because we want to share our journey. Good and bad. If we can help one person, or one couple, it would be worth it. If not, it is helping us.

Anxiety is a real issue. If you have it, please seek help. Do not be afraid. I didn’t understand the difference between anxiety and depression a few years ago. I know now, and I am better for it. I don’t believe in medicine for me. But, that’s because I don’t have it as bad as other people. I don’t have anxiety attack’s and I don’t discard them. It’s a real thing.

So, wish us luck 💕. I will take care of myself-and will probably do more of a weekly update from now on because, it is on….. 😃 I start my appointments this Friday and the injections on Sunday.

Thank you for reading and sending your positive thoughts and prayers. We need them! We appreciate all of you so much!

❤️💕🤞🙏

Medication education

I didn’t think I would need education on my medication lol. But, yes I did.

IVF is not for the weak or disorganized.

I have PCOS. So it’s a little more entailed than maybe someone without it. Plus, I’ve been on a blood pressure medicine for about 6 years now. So there are more things to take into account for this process.

First, I have to go off of my blood pressure medicine and hope that my levels stay normal so I do not need the medicine any more. *It has been 2 weeks and my blood pressure has stayed in the normal range 😃, I bought a new machine so I can take it three times a week to make sure it doesn’t elevate.*

On March 21st I have to go in and have an EKG. I will have to be put under for the egg retrieval, so the anesthesiologist needs the results before the surgery.

I had to start a medication called metformin. It is a medicine they give to patients with insulin resistance. According to my doctor, taking it while producing eggs will help the ovaries not to be hyperactive during this process, which is possible since I have PCOS. 🤞

Next, we have to pay for the fertility drugs so I can start them on March 31st. I had to be educated on how to give myself injections and how to properly store the meds. I’ve given myself injections before, so I’m not concerned about that at all. I’ll be giving them in my upper thighs. There is about 8-10 different medications that I will have to take within the next month, including a birth control pill that I will start next Monday, take it for a week and then wait for my period to start.

March 29th I go in for some blood work. Then on March 31st I start with giving myself two different injections, that is day one. Day two will be the same. And then on the third day, I will go in and have an ultrasound and more blood work. Later that day the nurse will call me to let me know how to proceed with the medication, what to take and when. I will have to give myself the injections at the same time every day between 6-9pm. For example, if on day one I give myself the injections at 8pm, that is the time I have to give them for the days following. I have to go in for more blood work and ultrasounds about every two days until they think I am ready for egg retrieval. They expect that to be around April 10-12th. Of course those dates could fluctuate depending on how my body responds to the medicine.

Once I start the medication I will not be able to exercise like I am used to. No running or boot camp for me for a while. Also, after the retrieval and the embryo transfer, I will have to take it easy for a couple of weeks. That will be tough. I use my exercise as a stress relief. And since fertility medication affects the hormones, yep… I am going to apologize in advance for any mood swings that come from me in the next few months. 😬 😘❤️ I am also prone to depression-so I will need my friends and family to keep me level. 🙏🥰❤️

Waiting with positive thoughts and prayers. Please send them our way!!! 👶❤️🙏🤱