4th and Final try

Yesterday morning was very busy for me. 

My new cycle started on Wednesday and when I called my nurse I was expecting her to tell me to come in on Friday for my baseline ultrasound but instead she told me to come in on Thursday between 8:00-9:00am. This would be fine on any other day but yesterday. On Thursdays at 7:30 I have a standing physical therapy appointment and I also had to drop my dog off at the vet to have her teeth cleaned and pulled.  So I was up by 6:25 out the door by 7:00 dropped Barklee at the vet by 7:15 made it to PT just a few minutes late and then I was off to my doctor appointment by 8:00 making it there by 8:40.   I feel like I got a lot accomplished before 9:00am. 

Another appointment with my old friend!

At my appointment I was given the all clear to start my 4th  (and final) IUI cycle. During the ultrasound they check my uterine lining to make sure it is thinning properly, which it is, and they check my ovaries for cysts, 0 cysts for me.  

After the ultrasound I met with my nurse to get my protocol for this cycle. 

CD2: Baseline Ultrasound

CD3: letrozole 2.5mg 6-9am

CD4: letrozole 2.5mg 6-9am

CD5: letrozole 2.5mg  6-9am. Gonal-F 37.5iu 6-9pm

CD6: letrozole 2.5mg  6-9am. Gonal-F 37.5iu 6-9pm

CD7: letrozole 2.5mg  6-9am. Gonal-F 37.5iu 6-9pm

CD8: Gonal-F 37.5iu 6-9pm

CD9: Ultrasound, possible blood work 

I will update again soon!

XOXO

Brooke

The wait is over, the results are in...

And they are a big fat NEGATIVE. 

This cycle was not successful. 

Meaning it's time to start again. I will call my nurse tomorrow to let her know we want to do one more IUI cycle. I think this next cycle will be our last IUI, if it is not successful we will have to discuss IVF. 

Hope you all are having a great Sunday! I had a good day spending time with  my fur babies at the dog park!

XOXO 

Brooke

One Week Down

We have made it. One week down, one week to go!  

I was pretty busy at work this week which helped make Monday-Thursday pass by quickly. This weekend moved a little more slowly since I was left alone most of the time since my husband is working the noon-midnight shift.  

But I found ways to keep myself busy:

Making yummy food
Chicken, Broccoli, and Pepper Stir-fry and Chocolate Chip Scones!

And I made a sign/picture for my husband for valentines day with all our special dates :)

Only one more week till I test.  I have no feeling either way right now if this month will be successful or not.  

 continue to pray that I will get to see 2 pink lines next Monday!

Hope you all have a great Sunday Night.  Now I'm going to enjoy watching the SNL 40th Anniversary special.

XOXO

Brooke 

Two week count down

My two week wait officially started yesterday since I'm not supposed to test until Sunday February 22, sooooo long!  I have been trying to keep myself busy this past weekend spending time with my husband and fur babies.

The two week wait can be torture: trying to not obsess and keeping yourself busy so you aren't wondering what every twinge or ache means. So how do you keep yourself busy? What can you do to keep your mind from wondering what may or may not be going on inside your body?  This two week wait I decided to comprise a list of things I'd like to do to try and stay busy.

1. Crafts: I have quite a few craft projects I would like to try and complete. So why not filling my time during this agonizing wait by doing things I enjoy. Whether it's making a new wreath or playing with the cricut my husband got me for Christmas I'm sure it will help pass the time.

2. Walking: I try to go on a walk every day, that doesn't always happen, but I try.  I love getting outside enjoying the fresh air and decompressing. ( My dogs love it too and get very excited when its their turn for a walk. With four dogs we have a rotation because I only take one at a time.)

3. Baking: I enjoy cooking and baking. So passing the time making yummy treats doesn't seem like a bad way to go. Plus I'm sure my husband will be thrilled to have homemade cookies around the house.

4. Yoga: I have just start to try and do some simple "fertility" yoga (anything to get a baby, right?).  I found a These poses Pinterest and have been trying to do them.

5. Organizing my Closet: This is something just for fun and I will probably save it for this weekend since it will takes lots of time and my husband will be gone all day working the 12-12 shift, so he won't be around to entertain me. 

6. Work: I'm not sure this should really be on the list since I have to go to work, but it does keep me busy at least Monday- Thursday (I keep my Friday's open to do makeup therapy sessions and normal don't have any so I get a three day weekend most weeks)

7. Taking my fur babies to the dog park: Something we all can enjoy as long as the weather is nice. 

8. Cleaning: I'm a strange person and actually enjoy cleaning my house, at least when I have the time. Vacuuming, dusting and straighting up makes me very happy when the house looks good. 

Those are all the ideas I have so far. If you have any I would love to hear them. And if there is anyone who is also going through the two week wait as well, I hope it goes by quickly for you! 

I will keep you updated on the next two weeks.  Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!


XOXO
Brooke

IUI #3

This morning we went in for our third IUI.  It went well as far as I can tell and like I always do on IUI day I feel optimistic.  Chris actually got to stay with me this time instead of having to leave right after his part for work, so that was a wonderful change.  Sometimes it feels so strange to think we could be making a baby while I'm laying on a table at the doctors office and he's off at work.  This time we were at least together and able to talk, hold hands and just enjoy the fews minutes I had to lay on the table before leaving.  

FOLLICLE AND SWIMMER COUNT

Follicle: 2-3 mature follicles

Swimmers: 38 million motile (Best numbers so far!)

Foot Five while waiting for the timer to go off!

My instructions now are to begin progesterone suppositories on Sunday and to take a pregnancy test 2 weeks from then, on Sunday February 22.  Oh how I hate the two week wait.   I'm going to comprise a list of activities to help pass the time during those weeks.  If you have any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated! 

As for now I'm going to try and enjoy the rest of my day, thinking about trying not to think about the IUI.  I will be back soon with a list of ways I will plan to try and survive these next few weeks without going crazy!

Hope you all are having a great Friday!

XOXO

Brooke

Cycle Day 11: Ultrasound and Blood work

I went in this morning for another ultrasound and blood work to see how my follicles were growing.  I think I had one, maybe two decent sized follicles with lots of smaller follicles.


FOLLICLE COUNT
Right Ovary: 17mm, 15mm, 13mm, 12mm
Left Ovary: 13mm, 13mm, 12mm


My nurse called with my instructions:

CD 11: Trigger with HCG injection at 5:00pm
CD 12: 9:00am: husband stops at the lab to provide his swimmers
             10:00am: IUI #3 with be done! 


We are headed into the office tomorrow for our third IUI!  We are excited and ready for tomorrow.


Will keep you all updated on how tomorrow goes!


XOXO
Brooke

Cycle Day 9: Ultrasound

I went for my ultrasound this morning at 8:00.  No better way to start the day then with a transvaginal ultrasound!  I was a little surprised with the results of my ultrasound, I didn't have any mature follicles =(   This is the fourth cycle I have done with the combination of letrozole/gonal-f and the first cycle I haven't had to have a blood draw on cycle day 9.  

FOLLICLE COUNT
Right Ovary: 14mm, 13mm, 12mm, 11mm
Left Ovary: 11mm, 11mm, 11mm, 10mm  
(lots and lots of little follicles)

My nurse called me this afternoon with a new game plan for the next few days:

CD 9: Gonal-F 12.5iu
CD 10: Gonal-F 12.5iu
CD 11: ultrasound and blood work

I will keep you updated on how the ultrasound on Thursday goes.


XOXO
Brooke

Starting again

My doctors appointment last week went very well.  I was able to get tons of information and have my questions answered.

1. Should I be concerned that I have had 2 miscarriages? (Because I am)
My doctor told me that at my age he expects 10% of pregnancies to end in miscarriage.  He was explaining to me that an early miscarriage is normally our bodies way of protecting us from something that wasn't right;  either the egg or sperm wasn't normal or there was a problem with the cells dividing properly.  So he told me he wasn't too concerned and that my next pregnancy had a 70-80% chance of being normal and carrying to term.    

2. Are there tests we can run for repeat pregnancy loss (RPL)?
Yes, we could run a repeat pregnancy loss panel.  This would include taking blood from me and my husband, checking for chromosomal abnormalities in both of us, and also checking for immune and clotting problems in me.  

3. Do we continue with iui? If so, how many?
Yes.  When I first met my RE he told me that with IUI your best chances for getting pregnant are in the first 3 IUIs.  My early miscarriage was IUI number 2, does this mean we only do one more IUI or do we start over counting to three?   My doctor told me he would support doing 1 or 2 more IUIs since the process had actually worked for us, but the choice was up to me.  

4. Do you think the miscarriages could be due to poor egg and/or sperm quality?
Possibly was the answer I heard. My doctor had stated that early miscarriages are your body protecting yourself from something that wasn't right; either caused by poor egg or sperm quality or the cells not dividing properly.  

5. If the miscarriages were due to poor egg/sperm quality, would IVF be a better choice since the development of the embryos can be watched?

My RE stated that he would support a decision to move on to IVF if that what we chose.  With IVF they would be able to see which embryos were developing properly and if we had great concern we could test the chromosomal make up of the embryos before transferring them to make sure they are normal and healthy.  


What have we decided and where are we going from here?  After talking to my doctor and my husband we have decided to try 2 more cycles of IUI before moving on to IVF.  I was given the go ahead last week to start a new IUI cycle since my hcg level was back to 1 which is considered not pregnant.  

I am now cycle day (CD) 8 and have been following the same protocol as last cycle:

CD 8: Hopefully last night of injections

CD2: ultrasound and blood work: I was given the all clear to start a new cycle
CD3: Letrozole 2.5mg (6-9am)
CD4: Letrozole 2.5mg (6-9am)
CD5: Letrozole 2.5mg (6-9am)      Gonal-F 50iu  (6-9pm)
CD6: Letrozole 2.5mg (6-9am)      Gonal-F 50iu   (6-9pm)
CD7: Letrozole 2.5mg (6-9am)      Gonal-F 37.5iu  (6-9pm)
CD8: Gonal-F 37.5iu (6-9pm)
CD9: ultrasound and possible blood work


Tomorrow morning I will be going in for another ultrasound to check for follicles.  If any of the follicles are close to being mature I will have blood work done.  In the afternoon my nurse will call and tell me what the next step will be.

I will keep you all updated

XOXO
Brooke