CD32, 6DPO

Dr New called yesterday with my results and they are looking pretty good:
e2 = 593
p4 = 44.3

I had a Pregnyl booster injection last night (1500iu) then was told to have sex last night, tonight and Saturday. Not sure why but am following Dr New's orders. I'm very happy with those numbers and looking back over my previous stimmed cycles my p4 levels around the same time has never been above 32...I wonder if this is a good sign?

I have another e2 and p4 blood test on Monday.

CD30 but 4DPO

I’m not exactly sure if I’m in the 2WW as it never really turns out to be 3 weeks waiting. It all depends on whether or not I have a booster Pregnyl injection. I don’t like Pregnyl, I have all the pregnancy symptoms without the actual pregnancy.

My bruise has gone just in time for another blood test tomorrow, where I don’t find out the results until Friday…sigh!

We only managed to ‘do it’ twice on Saturday just before ovulation. Didn’t manage it on Sunday nor Monday, but that’s a whole different story. I know that I did ovulate early Sunday morning due to the pain in my left ovary. Fingers are crossed that there were still enough ‘guys’ present to fertilise. But who knows, it is just a matter of waiting, which I have no patiences for.

CD25

Things are sure moving along really quickly now. I’ve taken a photo of my arm as the bruise is hideous, it has never been this bad...sigh....the things we infertile do and put up with!

I came out of a 1.5 hr meeting to find 3 missed calls on my mobile from Dr New’s office. Dr New wanted me to go for an internal ultrasound today, at the time it was 12:30pm. As she (Dr New’s secretary) was telling me this I was sitting at my desk opening and closing my mouth like a fish…..how the hell was I going to get to Clayton for a scan, today. But she had booked me into Epworth hospital in Richmond, which also has IVF offices.

All I'm going to say about getting there is FUCKING FOOTY FUCKING TRAFFIC. Walking 5 blocks in heals to get a Tram.

But it was worth the walk as here are the scan results:

Uterus lining good (can’t remember the number)

1 smallish endo cyst...never seen that before

Right Ovary = 14mm dominant follicle with 10 4-8 mm follicles

Left Ovary = had two 15mm dominant follicles with 15 4-7 mm follicles (WOW)

Oh and e2 = 595 (from yesterdays blood test)

On the tram back to work I was stressing that they would cancel the cycle with so many dominant follicles and they were / are smallish. I’ve heard that 18-22 is the ideal size and that they grow 2mm every day.

But the cycle is going a head, I’m to have one more 150ui Gonal-f tonight then 5000ui Pregnyl tomorrow, then intercourse Saturday, Sunday and Monday with an e2 and p4 blood test next Thursday.

CD22

e2 up to 395, GREAT NEWS!!!
I'm to continue with 150ui of gonal-f until and including Thursday where I will have another e2 in the morning to find out the results on Friday.
I'm so glad that my levels went up and a nice big jump to, I did tell Dr New that I only respond well to Gonal-f if the dosage is higher than 112.5. As I had tried, 37.5, 75 and 112.5. 150 was the right number of me each time. Oh well, I suppose he had to learn the hard way...but do you think that I have the right to say to him "I told you so?"

All sorts

Mimi
I tried to keep a level of animosity with this blog, but it really hasn’t worked. I didn’t use my nickname for a while, but then started to. I still refer to my husband as Mimi, which is can come across as strange to others. But that is my nickname for him, and I think that it is about time that I introduced his real name and an explanation for Mimi.

We are of a Hungarian decent and speak it often at home Mimi’s real name if Tibor a typical Hungarian name. But he hates it, when he was growing up no-one could pronounce it so he changed it to Tim, that’s what everyone calls him. Expect for the old’s and when Ellie and Tina were young they could say Tibi (which is the nickname to Tibor) they said Bibi and then I got Mimi. From now on I shall refer to my husband as Tim.

Coping
For some reason I’m not really coping at all today, all I really want to do is just dive into my bed and just escape the world for the day. Escape into one of my romance books that I can’t seem to get enough of, or into one of the many teenage movies I own. But I can’t it is Tim’s birthday tomorrow and we are expecting a series of visitors all afternoon.

Up until today I thought that I was coping ok with this cycle but when I woke up this morning I was just all depressed and filled with THE question of ‘WHEN”. I hate feeling like this and no amount of wishing will help me get to my destination.

I had tried to let go of my fear (here) but I worry that it has crept back in, and if I’m really honest I am scared shitless right now. I’m not really scared about not ever having a child as Tim and I have a plan. I’m scared about this cycle..of falling pregnant again and having another miscarriage, of tomorrow or whenever I find out that my e2 levels have dropped again. Of not seeing a nice big juicy mother of a follicle when I have a scan. Of giving Dr New unconditional blind faith that he has my best interests at heart as he is monitoring my cycle himself.

People say to stay positive but I’ve never been a positive person ever…it is too hard to be positive..but I agree with these people on the outside and say stupid things like “I know that this will happen for me”. But internally I’m just trying to take it a day at a time and not give into all my fears. Is it normal to be this scared? I haven’t even ovulated yet and I’m scared that I’m going to loose another Bobim. Are other infertiles this shit scared also, or is it just me? How can you stay positive?

What makes it so right in this world that infertiles know what e2, p4 hCG beta levels, FSH, LH , EWCM all these acronyms stand for and what your respective numbers means?

One of my favourite sayings is “Ignorance is bliss” and honestly I would rather be ignorant of all those words and meanings than have to go through this shit. How is it right that I have to get instructions of when to ‘do it’ with my husband, the whole aspect of making love to reproduce is not even involved in the equation. Or that my stomach is riddle with little bruise from when I have to inject myself? (A whole separate post on that one to follow)

Not so bad

Just got the call my cycle has not been cancelled. I'm to continue with the gonal-f 150ui (is that right?) until and including Monday. Another Blood test on Monday and more instructions on Tuesday.

Is this the worlds longest OI cycle?

OH FUCK

I don't know what this means but my e2 levels have dropped, what I do know is that this is NOT a fucking good sign...
1st e2 = 114
2nd e2 = 199
3rd e2 = 235
4th e2 = 221

waiting for a call back with instructions.... please don't cancel the cycle, please don't cancel....

shit, slowly going insane....oh god

CD16

Just a quick update as I'm at work, e2 level rose to 235 on Monday. Dr New called yesterday with further instructions, increase dosage to 150ui until and including Thursday. Another e2 Thursday morning and further instructions on Friday.

I just want to have the internal u/s, I have a great sense of accomplishment when I see my nice big follicles present on the screen. I just hope that they are growing nicely and because we are taking it slow the egg quality will be better.

End_Result - thanks for your comment about going slowly, it really helped. I'm just so used to an OI cycle going by so quickly. But now I think that maybe that was my problem in the first place and could be a reason for all the Chemical pregnancies (to be read as miscarriages)

CD12

I had another e2 blood test on Thursday and my levels rose to 199, I’m to continue with the gonal-f until and including Monday, another e2 blood test Monday morning.

I’m trying not to analyse the results but to be honest it is hard not to, when comparing the other OI cycles my e2 levels are really low. But I trust that Dr new knows what he is doing, it feels good getting my instructions from his directly rather than through a nurse. I also wonder if the Metformin is affecting my e2 levels, see there I go again comparing, wondering, stressing about something that I’m not even educated in.

Food for thought

My morning ritual is to scan my favourite blogs to see if there are any new posts and then proceed to devour what has been written. I’m a bad lurker I rarely comment mostly because of my ill-conceived low self esteem issues. Basically I feel like I really don’t have anything important to say.

Whilst I started this blog sometime ago, I have been a phantom in the blog world for almost 2 years. It started with a post on EB where someone had linked to Terita’s blog. After reading the relevant post I was hooked, I mean who couldn’t be!

To my dismay or Terita’s I then proceed to copy every single post of hers to a word document so that I could print it out to read on the train and I mean every single post. At the time I was very early into my infertility issues and the one thing that has stuck with me was the same sense of drive, which is that I will not let fate dictate whether or not I will have a child. I will stand my ground shaking my fist at fate “You will not get the best of me; I’m not through with this fight yet!”

So this morning like every morning I read all my blogs, where I came across this post:

Some people get driven to their destinations in a limo; some people have to drive themselves. Others need to take a cab, some are forced to take trains or hitch hike. And some of us had to walk barefoot, along a long and lonely road, in the blistering sun watching everyone else whizzing past with relative ease. You could say “does it matter how you get there, what matters is that you have arrived?” To me, it does matter. Yes I have arrived at the same place as everyone else, but I cannot forget how I got there. See the scares on my feet? They tell a tale of my journey here. I can’t pretend that they do not exist; they are a part of who I am.

I may not be there yet and it may take me awhile to get to my destination but these words have haunted me most of the day, and with Terita’s permission I have posted them here and I think that I might even add some of the words to my profile. I could not have said it any better.

Can anyone pass me a band-aid, my feet a sore?

CD7

Quick cycle update, my e2 (oestrogen) level was 114, this time in my last OI cycle it was 218. I don’t know what my baseline e2 was, but I guess that I have not jumped up as much as I should’ve. But I’m not stressing actually I’m feeling quite calm about this cycle. Dr New said his secret to success was slow going wins the race.

I’m happy to take things slowly, part of me doesn’t really feel like I’m cycling we do the injections at night but I haven’t really given it much thought at all. A totally different experience this time around.

Orders are to continue injecting 112.5ui of Gonal-f Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, another e2 blood test on Thursday morning but to call Dr New Friday for more instructions.

CD6

Not too much to report on the cycle front, my period is almost gone which is a good thing. I’m still doing ok on metformin, only have the occasional side affect now and then but nothing to complain about.

One more gonal-f injection tonight of 112.5 and then another blood test tomorrow morning. I will call Dr News office tomorrow afternoon for further instructions.

Diet Day 7

On Friday I checked the scales and in the 4 days since I started eating better I had lost a kilo. I give all the credit to water; I’ve been trying to drink at least 3 litters of water a day. Everywhere I go my bottle of water goes with me, it does mean an increase amount of time on the toilet but if I loose a kilo in 4 days what should I be complaining about?

I have not had to hold Mimi’s feet yet (yippee) which I am most grateful for. Friday night Mimi suggested that we have take away so that I didn’t have to cook (last week I choose to have take away on Thursday) which would’ve meant that we would’ve had take away 2 nights in a row.

Something in my snapped and I got up off my arse and cooked dinner, which I am most proud of. I’m hoping that week 2 will be just a good, this morning I woke early deliberately to organise the menu for the next week and organise the shopping list.

So far so good!

Amazed

Friday was my last official day off from work, as of Monday I will be back at work full time. Mimi also wasn’t working so we took the opportunity in going to our local shopping centre and do a bit of retail therapy or try to anyway.

Apparently we live in one of the fastest grown areas, there are new house popping up every week. Since we have been living here (8 years now) the area has really changed, it is the ideal location for young families. Even though it is 45km out of the city it is still very popular.

Mimi had to get his license renewed and while I was sitting there waiting for him I was amazed at how many pregnant women, women with baby strollers there were. I was thinking about how brave infertiles are that they able to leave the house. The heart ache that some women must go through walking in these types of shopping centers. I remember back to after my first m/c how hard it was just to walk from shop to shop and how I had a small(ish) panic attack.

I have resigned myself to the fact that finally holding our bobim may not be an easy thing for us to achieve and it may still be a long journey ahead for us. For me it was not that hard to see all those ladies with children or the much desired baby bump. But having said that I am yet to step a foot out side my house since Friday. Could be an unconscious thing?

Diet Day 2 (more importantly CD01)

I have not yet needed to hold Mimi’s feet as I’ve been pretty good the last day and a half. Bugsy has been a great help in keeping tabs on me and we are encouraging each other through out the day.

More importantly my period has finally arrived, so today is officially CD01. After a 108 (approx) day cycle, it is a relief to feel like a woman again, a woman that has period pains.

Baseline e2 (oestrogen) blood test tomorrow no base line u/s required, Thursday I’m to start Gonal-f again my starting dose = 112.5. So stimming is for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then another Blood test on Monday.

The roller coaster cart has started climbing the hill, the start of the journey has begun. Am secretly shitting myself…but shhh, don’t tell anyone!

All ready

I’ve got all my drugs ready, picked up the extra Gonal-f pen and Pregnyl 5000 yesterday afternoon. The chemist has also ordered extra for me so that if I need extra mid cycle or the ‘incident’ happens then we will know that our local pharmacy has them in stock. Couldn’t ask for better customer service than what I’m getting there.

So I’m ready for the next OI cycle, I’m optimistic have all the good vibes staying positive yet not overly confident. All I need now is for my period to start.

I will call Dr New on Tuesday to give him an update on the Metformin situation, the not so nice side affect is here but I’m able to handle it. I don’t care if I suffer from it during the day, I just don’t want to be on the toilet at night.

I want to know if I should start taking Primolut (similar to Provera) to bring on a bleed. I’m eager to get started, when I’m cycling with OI it really feels like we have a better chance of successfully achieving our dreams. It seems without drugs my body cannot be relied upon.

All sorts

Hoping that this post will finally work now:

Work:

Went back to work this week after my holidays, it was good to get back and see everyone and I was looking forward to the next phase of my project starting. Which I think highlighted the fact that I do enjoy my job even though I don’t like the money. I have decided to see the rest of this project through to the end and then look for another job (if I’m not pregnant by then), this time I will be looking for contract work $$$$.

I’ve also decided to go back full time in September, it is time for me to stop being selfish, the whole reason why I went part-time was to relax and try to loose weight. I’ve sure relaxed, actually I’ve developed a sloth complex but as for the weight, who am I kidding? In all this time I’ve not lost anything, well the weight comes and goes it is up and down.

Mimi has still not been able to find a full time job or steady casual work. I feel really sorry for him as it sometimes seems as though recruitment and would be employer companies are dicking him around. There will be days where he won’t hear a thing from anyone and then there will be days where he is constantly on the phone. Financially it is getting a bit tight.

Meds:

I’m back on the folate, multi-vitamin and metformin this time around has been ok. I’m only taking one tablet a day (half in the morning and half after dinner). No sign of the dreaded ‘D’ yet, which is good and I will be slowly getting my body used to it before going to two tables a day.

Me:

I’m feeling really good actually, not tired, not stressed, really positive and full of life. I look at Mimi’s work situation and the Bills coming in and normally I would stressing about it, but now it’s like “Humph…she’ll be right” (whilst shrugging). It might be the flower essences, it might be metformin but honestly I don’t care what it is I’m just glad that I feel this way.

Ellie:

While we were at Lindeman Island Ellie had her appendix (sp?) removed and the surgery went well as expected. When we were to arrive home she was meant to come over her for some TLC whilst Mimi and I were still off work and on holidays. My fucked sister decided to let her 14 year old daughter decided that she is ok to go to school (against dr orders) earlier and that Ellie would be better of with her grandparents (BIL parents). My sister will never learn that these people are not the right influence on her kids. To say the least I was pissed off as we could’ve stayed longer at Lindeman.

Ellie did go back to school earlier and then spent the whole weekend and most of this week in hospital again as she got an infection, where they had to drain the puss everyday (with no pain killers)…sorry for TMI. I didn’t take the high road a smirk and say…”She would’ve been better off at my house”. Ellie is doing much better now but is under strict instructions to stay at home and not to go to school until she is better.

TTC:
There is no sign of ovulation or of my period which means no ovulation no baby, no period no ovulation induction cycle. I may need more patients to allow metformin to kick in.

Dr New

I’m back from the appointment with Dr New who believes that I’m not borderline PCOS but definitely have PCOS. This is the whole reason why I have trouble loosing weight and why I don’t ovulate.

I’m being put back on Metformin, one tablet a day for 2 weeks to see if I still suffer any side affects. But if I do suffer then I’m to take something similar to Provera to start my period.

Dr New said that he will be personally monitoring my next Ovulation Induction cycle. Which is good news and I liked Dr New felt very comfortable with him.

I can’t help feel as though there was something missing, I think that I was expecting way too much. I’m sick and tired of my weight being an issue with trying to conceive a child.

Dear Bobim

I know that it has been a while since I last wrote you a letter; this does not mean that I don’t think of you. You are never far from my thoughts.

We are going to see a new Fertility specialist on Monday and part of me is very excited yet another part is also terrified and full of questions. We are half way through the third year of really trying to have you and it seems to be getting harder rather than easier. By now you should’ve been with us, you should’ve been reaching a birthday.

By now I should be starting to try and conceive your brother or sister. This is not how I had envisioned my life. I always wanted to a ‘young’ Mum having you in my mid twenties, but now it looks like that you will be joining us in my early thirties, if ever.

I have to believe that you will be with us soon otherwise I will go insane I think. Daddy and I were talking the other day about our plans for the future and now that Daddy has started studying we were talking about what will happen in three years time.

We both agreed that we did not want to be ‘Bobim-less’ in 3 years time, but we haven’t agreed as to when we would stop trying for you. I’m not ready to say STOP, it has been enough. I am ready for the consequences of that decision but just not ready to give into my infertility. There has to be a way that you will be conceived and stay with us. I believe that there is a solution out there for you and me to be together, what the answer is I don’t know. I just pray that this new Dr will help.

After shock

After our lovely holiday we arrived back to our clean lovely house, but is it too quiet. At times I hate it; this house was deliberately built with extra bedrooms for our children and they are empty of baby things, with the exception of the ‘chest of dreams’ they are just too quiet.

My desire for a child has not been diminished, if anything our holiday has increased my want. I think that this is really hurting my Mimi which most hard to bear.

At times (like right now) I feel an overwhelming sense of failure as a wife, mother and woman, I can’t even keep a pregnancy, I thought that I had put all those feelings aside and moved on. But there are times many times where the feelings just seem to overwhelm me.