Retrieval and Pre-Transfer

Last Thursday was egg retrieval day. I was beyond nervous! There are so many questions, concerns, and worries that go through your head beforehand. We had to be at the Dr's office to check in at 9 and the procedure was scheduled for 10. My mom came with us so that she could bring me home to rest after the procedure and Brandon could go back to work.

The nurse called me back and took my blood pressure and temperature. Clearly my blood pressure was a little high, seeing as I was about to be put under for one of the most important decisions in my life. At the same time they took me, they called Brandon to a different room. Mom and I went to the recovery room, I had to change into the hospital gown and get ready for them to come get me for the procedure. One of the specialists, Dr. Escobar came in and said it would only be about 20 minutes or so and he would come get me. The anesthesiologist came in and asked some questions and explained what was going to happen.



The nurse finally took me back to the operating room. Once I was in there, I had to verify my name and number with the embryologist that would be contacting me the next day to let me know how many eggs fertilized. After the procedure, the Dr. told me he was able to retrieve 8 eggs. I was expecting more, but was and am absolutely thankful for the eggs they were able to retrieve!

The next day, which was Friday, I received a phone call from the embryologist during my lunch with two of my team members. She said that out of the 8 eggs retrieved, 6 of them fertilized on their own. I wanted to just cry. It took everything I had to hold back tears! I don't know which emotion was the strongest. Relief, joy, excitement, or all of the above. Just to think, I now have 6 babies growing as we speak. They may not be growing inside me at the moment, but they were mine and they had made it this far! She said that another embryologist would be contacting me on Sunday to update me on the embryo's progress. No matter how many prayers I say or how much faith I put into this process, there is always a distant fear in the back of my mind. It's only natural after all the disappointments we have been though on this journey, but I will not give up! When I get that feeling of fear, I try and push it away with more faith and positive thoughts.

Sunday was here and I was trying to keep busy. We had Kaiden for the weekend, and two of my nieces which helped pass the time. We were cleaning when my phone rang. When I answered and she told me that all 6 embryos were still growing as expected and looked great, again all I wanted to do was cry.  I hung up with the embryologist, and sat in the floor for a few minutes and just cried. I never knew the attachment I would feel to those 6 embryos beforehand. It's one of the most surreal feelings knowing I have 6 potential babies growing. For the majority of people at this point in pregnancy, they don't even know they are pregnant. For us, we know how many fertilized and we know how many have survived thus far. The embryologist said my embryo transfer date was Tuesday (tomorrow), and they wouldn't know until that morning which two embryos would be placed inside my uterus.

So here I am, the night before THE most important day of this whole process! All I can do is pray, pray, and pray harder that tomorrow will be successful, that my body cooperates, and the little embryos are able to implant. After tomorrow, there is about a 10 day gap before I will go back in and have blood work done to confirm pregnant or not pregnant. I ask that you continue to pray and keep us in your thoughts tomorrow and through the next 10 days or so.


The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.- Deuteronomy 31:8

Pre-Retrieval

Here we are, the night before the retrieval. A little nervous to say the least. I had my appointment this last Saturday to check the progress of the follicles. I also went in Monday and Tuesday morning for blood work and sonogram. The sonogram showed about 9 follicles on the right and a few on the left. This should give plenty of eggs to work with, hopefully! After the sonogram, I had a meeting with my IVF nurse informing me of my new "agenda" for the next few days of EVERYTHING I had to do and take, day by day.

 At 3 o'clock yesterday,  I had to take my last dose of meds. This meant I was still at school, so I had my school nurse give it to me. There was no way this girl was injecting herself with a needle! I also had to start a new medicine, but at least this one is oral meds. I have to take this one with food, otherwise I will get quite sick.  Last night at 11 I had to take the "trigger" shot, which is an HCG shot to mature the follicles and get them ready to release the eggs. Today I went in and got more blood work to check the HCG levels in my system. If they weren't high enough, I was going to have to stop at a pharmacy and give myself another injection. Thank goodness I didn't receive that phone call and my levels were good.

Tomorrow is one of the two most important days of this process. I will go in at 9 in the morning and check in, and my procedure will start around 10. Dr. Le said the actual procedure only takes about 20 minutes, although I have to be put under anesthesia so that should be fun :/

My mom and Brandon will both be there with me. They will also take a sample from Brandon so that after the egg retrieval they can put the egg and sperm together and they will hopefully fertilize. Otherwise they have to do that part manually, which cost another good amount. They will hold the embryos for 5 days and work their magic, then I will go back on Tuesday for the embryo transfer. Everything after that is up to my body. Lets just pray the embryo implants into my uterus next Tuesday and we will get good news in a couple weeks. I will try and update again on Friday, or possibly tomorrow after the procedure depending on how I am feeling. I don't really know what to expect, so don't count on it :) Thanks again for all the prayers, and keep them coming! Even though in the back of my mind I have a little fear of this not working, I have faith it will!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.- John 14:27

I Trust the Lord Will Take Care of Me!

Sorry I haven't posted lately, it's been a whirlwind of a week! Since the last time I posted, I have been back to Dr. Le twice. Last week I went in for blood work, sonogram, and to talk to the nurse about how to administer all the medicine. Brandon was there with me last week because he is the one administering the shots. If you know me well, you know that I am deathly afraid of needles. Clearly that fear has had to subside for the time being with all the shots I am having to take.

The ultrasound last week was to see how many follicles we were going to be working with, and the blood work was to check my estrogen level to make sure it was safe to start meds. After discussing how to administer all the meds with our IVF nurse, I got to battle insurance and pharmacy miscommunication as well. Not to mention, pay the pharmacy for all my lovely medicine :( Anyways, it all got taken care of and I received all the medicine on my doorstep the next day.

Last Friday we started injections. Keep in mind, these injections are in the stomach. I have a small area where they can be so trying to not inject the same spot twice is a challenge. Friday and Saturday I just had two shots a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I only had to take one of the medicines those two days. Sunday was when the fun shots started! We have to mix 3 different vials of medicine together in the morning and evening so that I am only having to take two shots a day, instead of 8. Thank you Jesus!! The process of mixing all the medicines and preparing for the injection takes a good 5-10 minutes, and boy does it STING! I have to tell myself that it will all be worth it in the end and the shot will only last a couple minutes, each and every time just to get through it.

I went back to Dr. Le today for MORE blood work and another sonogram. They will be taking blood each time from now on to check estrogen and progesterone levels. The sonogram was to monitor my follicles and see how the meds are working. As Dr. Le measured each follicle, he had me write down the size of each one for him and which ovary they came from. He was pleased to see that I have at least 10 that are growing as we speak. That was great news! If you don't remember, the follicle is where the egg comes from. If it doesn't grow and reach maturity, it won't release an egg. He wants each of the follicles to reach about an 18, before completing the egg retrieval. I will go back this Saturday for another ultrasound and I am sure more blood work :/ and possibly every morning next week to monitor their size. As of right now, the projected 'trigger' day is Wednesday and the projected retrieval day is next Friday. When I say 'trigger' I am talking about a different shot that will make all the follicles ready to release an egg so that on retrieval day they are good and ready.

We are almost through this difficult journey! Continued prayers are welcomed,  that this is our time and everything works out.

Lastly, I read this verse yesterday and it has kind of stuck with me...

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. -Psalm 37:7

And one of my best friends sent this one to me yesterday...

She does not fear bad news; she confidently trusts the Lord to take care of her. -Psalm 112:7

Give Me Grace to See Beyong this Moment Here

It's been a few days since I have updated. I went back to the Dr. on Wednesday for the trial transfer. This is where they measure how far in the uterus is, so that on the day of the actual embryo transfer they will know how far to insert the embryo. I was super nervous about this because it is similar to having an IUI (intrauterine insemination). Considering I have had 5 of those, I was pretty familiar with how uncomfortable they are. Some people have better experiences than others. Every time I had one, including the x-ray I had done previously, all the doctors had to use a clamp on my cervix to get the catheter in so they could reach my uterus. Needless to say, it's just a tad uncomfortable.

As I was waiting for Dr. Le to come in to the room, I was trying to calm my nerves by taking deep breathes and praying that I would find comfort and that the procedure wouldn't be as uncomfortable as my previous experiences. The wait seemed like FOREVER! When Dr. Le finally came in the room, he told me he would insert the catheter through the cervix and place a drop of iodine, then we would do an ultrasound to see where in the uterus it was. This lets him know how far in he would need to go in the future. I explained to him that my other Dr. had always had to use a clamp, and he was quick to say he shouldn't have to. I was relieved! The procedure took no longer than about a minute or two, we completed the ultrasound, and I was on my way to talk to the nurse about more IVF details.

The nurse came in and we discussed my tentative schedule for the weeks to come, how many vials of each medicine I would need to get from the pharmacy, the price for it all :( and what the next appointment would consist of. I will stop the birth control on Tuesday, go back in for an ultrasound and MORE blood work, go back again the next Thursday for another ultrasound, and POSSIBLE egg retrieval on October 24. This could change depending on how my ovaries respond to the meds, but that's why we have several ultrasounds to monitor this.

I had to go in for blood work yesterday, October 3, for some routine tests they complete before the IVF process. As I was telling a friend, over the past few months I have had enough blood work to supply a blood transfusion. Oh, well! Hopefully the outcome will be worth it all. So now it is sit and wait for the next Dr's appointment and I will go ahead and apologize ahead of time for the mood swings that are to come in the next couple weeks. Just remember and understand how many hormones I will be injecting each day. It will probably be in your best interest not to say or do anything that may make me mad. LOL

As I was driving home yesterday, I was listening to the song Greatness of Our God, so I will leave this message with you today:

Give me grace to see beyond this moment here,
to believe that there is nothing left to fear.
And You were on it, high above it all,

 You, my God, are greater still

GOD is ALWAYS greater than what you can see. I will continue to pray, keep my faith, and trust he will answer my prayers.