Today is 11/11/11 which in our world is a very cool thing! I have always had a thing with the time and date being anything with 11's. I have read many articles about the significance of 11 and how in numerology it is a powerful number. So Justin and I spent the day together (he was off work) and pampered ourselves with massages, a nice lunch, and pedicures. Justin and I noted the time today when it turned 11:11am and will do it again at 11:11pm. I know we are weird, but I am hoping the day brings some positive energy to this process.
Ok on to the crazy:
The effect of the hormone injections have definitely set in!! My hormones are going crazy! I have hot flashes throughout the day and my mood seems to be on a roller coaster from happy to sad to mad in a matter of minutes. Wow, look out! I yelled at a girl i work with last night, because honestly I haven't had the guts to do it, but apparently these hormones raging through me have given me the gumption to tell people how I really feel and call them out if they are rude. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'll have to say I felt great after it happened.
We went to the doctor yesterday (Thursday) and had the usual things done. First was the paper towel skirt portion with the ultrasound. The doctor seemed to be in a positive mood and I told him about my positive thinking and mantra. He agreed that thinking positively is actually scientifically proven to help have a better outcome with this process.
He said the results of my blood work came back from Monday and my baseline estradiol levels were normal and my progesterone level was baseline normal as well. That's a good start.
So the ultrasound showed 3 follicles on the left side and possibly one on the right. Which is totally weird because the last several months the right side has been the only side producing anything, and now apparently the left side has woken up and decided to be a part of this. I asked about the possibility of more follicles still popping up and he said it happens all the time, so I need to keep my mantra going. The 4 follicles that I have are not big enough yet to harvest, so he said I must keep on the same amounts of the first 2 drugs, and then this morning (Friday) he instructed me to start the 3rd injection which is also done in the stomach in the morning. The 3rd drug prevents your body from ovulating these follicles, so that they can be harvested.
The doctor seemed very positive about the 4 follicles. He said all we need is one good one, but realistically we want more than 1 follicle to have better odds.
We also had blood work done at this appointment. Add another vial to the count. The lady who usually doesn't do her job very well drawing blood actually did an ok job and Justin was there to hold my hand so that helps. This testing will check my estradiol level again. The doctor said with the amount of drugs I am on and based on what he sees on the ultrasound the number should be over 100, at least. Here we are again! This is the same time that we had to stop everything last time. But since we see follicles growing, we are moving forward!! Yay!
We were supposed to have an appt today, but the doctor decided to cancel and have me just come in tomorrow morning (Saturday). So I haven't gotten my results back from Thursday's blood work. But I am assuming it had to be over 100 or I would have gotten a phone call. So that is all good news!
How am I doing with the shots? Ugh! Not good yesterday and today! My stomach seems to be getting really sore and tough from all the needles, so each one has begun to hurt worse. I have been using an ice pack like always to numb up my stomach before each shot, but yesterday and today the ice pack doesn't seem to be helping at all. The second drug that burns going in was very painful last night and almost unbearable tonight. I started crying immediately after Justin did it tonight because it felt like burning poison going into my stomach. I am not sure how many more of those I can take without losing my mind. The new 3rd drug we started this AM was not that easy either because Justin couldn't get the needle to go in all the way. It was really strange. So after 5 pokes he had to jab it hard to get it to go in all the way in order to be able to release the medicine. NOT fun! Makes me nauseous just typing about it. The worst is when we have to do 2 injections of the first easy drug because the cartridge runs out midway through!!! So like this morning for example i got poked with needles 7 times before it was all said and done. Again, NOT fun! It is a crappy way to start your day. So you can see how someone might be a little emotional just from that, let alone the drugs that are making you more emotional on the inside. I started using a heating pad on my stomach this morning after my injections to help with some of the soreness. As I sit here typing I have the heating pad on there again.
I can't believe how much different this process is this time around, physically and emotionally! A whole different ball game.
I just have to remember that this is all for an amazing end result! Hard to remember sometimes, but I try.
Jenny
Blood draws 9 Vials 28
Injections 33
Needle pokes-too many to count!
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