In the online land of infertility, there are abbreviations for just about everything. I've introduced you to a few, and others may be new to you, but to me they are standard:
FSH- Follicle Stimulating Hormone
BFP- Big Fat Positive (on a pregnancy test)
BFN- Big Fat Negative (on a pregnancy test)
DH- Dear Husband
DOR- Diminished Ovarian Reserve
IF- Infertilty
AF- Aunt Flow
IUI- Intra-uterine insemination
IVF- In-vitro fertilization
ART- Advanced Reproductive Treatments/Technology
TWW- Two Week Wait - the waiting period from the time a woman ovulates until she can take a pregnancy test (or until AF arrives)
I could go on and on. But I won't because I want to get to the best one yet.
I thought that my nearly three years dealing with trying to get pregnant and surfing my 'fantasy baby league' (as DH calls BabyCenter ) that I had come across every abbreviation there is. Until today.
Today I discovered my most favorite abbreviation ever.
Today I discovered that I am PUPO. Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise.
Now don't get too excited because I am not pregnant yet. We just did the IUI a few hours ago and we won't know if this cycle was successful for a few weeks. But this newfound PUPO status allows me to really hope, to really believe that this time might be successful. It's and abbreviation reserved for the select few of us who have undergone ART, where science has stepped in and given us the chance at parenthood that Mother Nature herself couldn't provide.
The IUI went really well today. Scott's count was through the roof and even after the wash he still had a very high count. (He wants everyone to know that he has super swimmers.) Ater they did the wash the sample was a grade "A", which is really good. It means all the little guys were moving well and swimming straight. My ultrasound on Friday showed two very good size follicles. According to the technician and the RE I should release two eggs. With two eggs releasing we have a very good chance that at least one will fertilize. The procedure today was very quick and painless. The woman who performed the IUI was great and explained everything to us before she did it.
We left the office feeling very hopeful and now knowing --that at least in the world of IF-- for the next two weeks we are PUPO.
Lilypie Maternity tickers
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Ready to Trigger - Chicken!
A lot has happened since my last post. We were accepted to the study last Thursday and I started taking my meds on Friday. I went back to the clinic yesterday morning for monitoring. They took blood to test hormones and did an ultrasound to check my follicle growth. Everything looked good. I have two follicles ready to go, one in each ovary. They were 20mm and 21mm which is a really good size, and even better that they are so close in size. Usually if one is larger than the other, the smaller one will stop growing, and the larger one will take over and be the only egg to release. If both are very close in size as they develop and stay close in size until I trigger, then there is a very good chance that I will release both eggs. Twins? Maybe. But let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.
I was planning giving myself the trigger shot Friday night. When you get to this point in fertility treatments, everything is pretty precise. My bloodwork and ultrasound showed that I was almost ready to ovulate on my own, and the trigger shot needs to be taken at a point when the follicles are large enough to contain mature eggs to release, but before my body ovulates on my own. The nurse told me that I needed to trigger between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on Friday night. This is because the trigger shot makes you ovulate approximately 36-40 hours after you take it and the release of the eggs needs to be precisely coordinated with the timing of the IUI. We will go back to the clinic Sunday morning for the IUI, which will be 36 hours from the time I 'triggered' (took the shot).
Well, 9:00 rolled around last night and I was talking to my mom on the phone. I had to let her go so I could prepare and take the shot. This form of the trigger shot is different than the one I previously took. Before I took Ovidrel which comes already prepared in a syringe with a needle. I only had to swab my belly with some alcohol, pinch up a little bit of belly fat, stick myself and plunge the medication into my belly. This time around it's not so easy. This dose is an intramuscular shot and needs to be administered into my butt muscle. Yes, into the muscle. I was pretty sure I could do it myself and the nurse assured me that there are may women who do this. And Scott, I love him dearly, but he said "I can't even watch an episode of Gray's Anatomy without feeling sick, there's no way I can give you the shot."
So, at 9:15 I started to prepare the shot. One vial of water to reconstitute the freeze dried medication, one vial of the medication, one syringe, and three needles. (Just in case I need more than one try.) I mixed the medication, drew it up into the syringe, tapped out the air bubbles, swabbed my hip with alcohol, counted "one, two, three..." and hesitated. I was nervous that it would really hurt, that I wouldn't be able to pull up the syringe to check for blood, what if I had to pull the needle out and do it again? So, I started over, counted again "one, two, three..." pulled back to poke myself, and then hesitated. I did this about a hundred more times. It was now 9:30 and I realized I just couldn't do it myself. I was a total chicken-s#*t! Time to call in for reinforcements.
I called my mother-in-law and said "Diane, are you busy? If I drive down to your house can you give me a shot in my butt?" Thankfully I had already talked to her and asked her if she could give me the shot if I wasn't able to do it myself. She said "Of course!" I grabbed the syringe, the two extra needles and the box the meds came in, threw them in a ziplock baggie and headed out to Machi's house. As I'm driving down to her house I realize I don't have a prescription for the medication that is now sitting in a syringe, in a plastic baggie, in the front seat of my car. (Because this is a study, the coordinator just gives me the drugs when I am at my appointment. I don't fill a prescription at a pharmacy) I am in my pajamas and winter coat, tennis shoes untied, in my coke-bottle glasses, looking a little rough and very frazzled. I am contemplating a quick prayer "Please God, don't let me get pulled over!" as I try not to speed down to Machi's so she can give me the shot before 10:00. I was convinced I somewhat resembled a drug addict.
I made it to her house with ten minutes to spare. Munchie (Diane's beautiful but high-strung sheltie) is yipping at me and turning in excited circles at our feet as Diane tells me to lie across her couch with my booty in the air, pants pulled down over my right hip, as she taps the air out of the syringe and then gives me the shot. Munchie realized the situation was serious (LOL) and calmed down She even nuzzled up to me as I was lying on the couch. It was hilarious. I am sure others have endured stranger situations to get to their goal. I had to laugh. The whole thing was hilarious. But we managed to get it all done. I stayed at her house until midnight eating some delicious raspberry-chocolate ice cream talking about the follies of dealing with infertility. It ended up being a very nice evening.
So we wait until tomorrow (Sunday) morning when we go back to the clinic for the actual IUI. Then I go back about 9 days after the IUI for more bloodwork and yet another ultrasound. Two weeks from Sunday, if I haven't started my period, I will go back for a blood draw to check my beta levels to see if I am pregnant. If I am, I will shout it from the mountain tops, post it on Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even my email signature at work. Okay, probably not there, and definitely not before we first tell our parents. But we are so excited and hopeful.
Which leaves me in a strange place. I've shared quite a lot of information with friends and family, even some co-workers. So most people will know when we should know if we are pregnant or not. I am sure some will be anxious to hear the results, but I am afraid that if it doesn't work I may not want to share the news right away. I don't know. I guess I don't really want to think about that. The good thing is that with the study, we get four chances so I am not feeling too much pressure for this first cycle.
For now, I will probably post again tomorrow to tell you all how the IUI went. And then we will wait and see. Because the trigger shot is actually the hormone your body produces when you are pregnant, which is the same hormone a home pregnancy test detects, I can't test early. The trigger shot will produce a false-positive on a home pregnancy test for about 10-14 days after the shot. The only way to know if we are pregnant is to wait for the blood work in two weeks. So, let the waiting begin.
I was planning giving myself the trigger shot Friday night. When you get to this point in fertility treatments, everything is pretty precise. My bloodwork and ultrasound showed that I was almost ready to ovulate on my own, and the trigger shot needs to be taken at a point when the follicles are large enough to contain mature eggs to release, but before my body ovulates on my own. The nurse told me that I needed to trigger between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on Friday night. This is because the trigger shot makes you ovulate approximately 36-40 hours after you take it and the release of the eggs needs to be precisely coordinated with the timing of the IUI. We will go back to the clinic Sunday morning for the IUI, which will be 36 hours from the time I 'triggered' (took the shot).
Well, 9:00 rolled around last night and I was talking to my mom on the phone. I had to let her go so I could prepare and take the shot. This form of the trigger shot is different than the one I previously took. Before I took Ovidrel which comes already prepared in a syringe with a needle. I only had to swab my belly with some alcohol, pinch up a little bit of belly fat, stick myself and plunge the medication into my belly. This time around it's not so easy. This dose is an intramuscular shot and needs to be administered into my butt muscle. Yes, into the muscle. I was pretty sure I could do it myself and the nurse assured me that there are may women who do this. And Scott, I love him dearly, but he said "I can't even watch an episode of Gray's Anatomy without feeling sick, there's no way I can give you the shot."
So, at 9:15 I started to prepare the shot. One vial of water to reconstitute the freeze dried medication, one vial of the medication, one syringe, and three needles. (Just in case I need more than one try.) I mixed the medication, drew it up into the syringe, tapped out the air bubbles, swabbed my hip with alcohol, counted "one, two, three..." and hesitated. I was nervous that it would really hurt, that I wouldn't be able to pull up the syringe to check for blood, what if I had to pull the needle out and do it again? So, I started over, counted again "one, two, three..." pulled back to poke myself, and then hesitated. I did this about a hundred more times. It was now 9:30 and I realized I just couldn't do it myself. I was a total chicken-s#*t! Time to call in for reinforcements.
I called my mother-in-law and said "Diane, are you busy? If I drive down to your house can you give me a shot in my butt?" Thankfully I had already talked to her and asked her if she could give me the shot if I wasn't able to do it myself. She said "Of course!" I grabbed the syringe, the two extra needles and the box the meds came in, threw them in a ziplock baggie and headed out to Machi's house. As I'm driving down to her house I realize I don't have a prescription for the medication that is now sitting in a syringe, in a plastic baggie, in the front seat of my car. (Because this is a study, the coordinator just gives me the drugs when I am at my appointment. I don't fill a prescription at a pharmacy) I am in my pajamas and winter coat, tennis shoes untied, in my coke-bottle glasses, looking a little rough and very frazzled. I am contemplating a quick prayer "Please God, don't let me get pulled over!" as I try not to speed down to Machi's so she can give me the shot before 10:00. I was convinced I somewhat resembled a drug addict.
I made it to her house with ten minutes to spare. Munchie (Diane's beautiful but high-strung sheltie) is yipping at me and turning in excited circles at our feet as Diane tells me to lie across her couch with my booty in the air, pants pulled down over my right hip, as she taps the air out of the syringe and then gives me the shot. Munchie realized the situation was serious (LOL) and calmed down She even nuzzled up to me as I was lying on the couch. It was hilarious. I am sure others have endured stranger situations to get to their goal. I had to laugh. The whole thing was hilarious. But we managed to get it all done. I stayed at her house until midnight eating some delicious raspberry-chocolate ice cream talking about the follies of dealing with infertility. It ended up being a very nice evening.
So we wait until tomorrow (Sunday) morning when we go back to the clinic for the actual IUI. Then I go back about 9 days after the IUI for more bloodwork and yet another ultrasound. Two weeks from Sunday, if I haven't started my period, I will go back for a blood draw to check my beta levels to see if I am pregnant. If I am, I will shout it from the mountain tops, post it on Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even my email signature at work. Okay, probably not there, and definitely not before we first tell our parents. But we are so excited and hopeful.
Which leaves me in a strange place. I've shared quite a lot of information with friends and family, even some co-workers. So most people will know when we should know if we are pregnant or not. I am sure some will be anxious to hear the results, but I am afraid that if it doesn't work I may not want to share the news right away. I don't know. I guess I don't really want to think about that. The good thing is that with the study, we get four chances so I am not feeling too much pressure for this first cycle.
For now, I will probably post again tomorrow to tell you all how the IUI went. And then we will wait and see. Because the trigger shot is actually the hormone your body produces when you are pregnant, which is the same hormone a home pregnancy test detects, I can't test early. The trigger shot will produce a false-positive on a home pregnancy test for about 10-14 days after the shot. The only way to know if we are pregnant is to wait for the blood work in two weeks. So, let the waiting begin.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Accepted!!!
Just a quick update. This past week has been very busy, and a little stressful. We've been chugging along with the testing at the clinic so that we can participate in their study. Yesterday I had my cycle day 3 bloodwork done and my FSH and E2 levels were tested. FSH was 10.8 and E2 as 42. Both levels meet the study requirements and we officially start cycling today! This means that I start taking the stimulating meds to get ready for the IUI (insemination). I went back to the clinic this morning for yet another full blood work-up and an ultrasound. This is the second ultrasound at the clinic and I had 14 antral follicles again!!! This is fabulous news.
I was also assigned my medications today. Scott and I were both hoping for the Menopur, which is an injectable drug. But we didn't get the Menopur. Instead we received either Clomid or Femara. We don't know which one because it is a blind study. Also, the pills are over-coated and don't look anything like the pills I took before so I have absolutely no idea what we got.
We are very excited and hopeful that the treatments will finally get us pregnant! I'll try to keep everyone posted.
I was also assigned my medications today. Scott and I were both hoping for the Menopur, which is an injectable drug. But we didn't get the Menopur. Instead we received either Clomid or Femara. We don't know which one because it is a blind study. Also, the pills are over-coated and don't look anything like the pills I took before so I have absolutely no idea what we got.
We are very excited and hopeful that the treatments will finally get us pregnant! I'll try to keep everyone posted.
Monday, March 7, 2011
One Step Closer
I went to the clinic today for a physical, baseline blood work, pap, and ultrasound. Scott goes for his semen analysis on Thursday and I go next week for my hormone check at the beginning of my cycle. We are one step closer to meeting all of the requirements for the study and being able to start our first treatment cycle next week.
The exam went well today and my ultrasound looked really good. I am in my luteal phase, which is the two weeks after ovulation but before my period starts. Dr. Manny said it was a great time for the ultrasound and he was able to get some really good images of my uterus and ovaries. (Dad, sorry if you're reading this!) The really, really good news is that I had quite a lot of follicles. The last time I had an ultrasound to check antral follicles I only had nine follicles total --that was nine in both ovaries combined. This time I had eight in my left ovary and six in my right, for a total of 14 follicles! 14 follicles is normal! 14 follicles is actually fabulous!!!! 14 follicles without any stimulating drugs!
This is really good because with my previous results combined with the elevated FSH and my low-ish AMH, my follicle count showed a *slightly* diminished ovarian reserve. The 14 follicles today shows that I have more follicles developing this cycle, and more than I've had in any of my previous monitored cycles.
What does this all mean? Well, my elevated FSH means that my body is working harder to produce follicle--my body has to produce more of the Follicle Stimulating Hormone to produce the follicles, which develop and one releases an egg each cycle. My previous AMH level of 0.8 correlated to my antral follicle count of 9. Typically your antral follicle count is ten times your AMH level. So RE's use the AMH level to confirm what they see in the ultrasound when checking antral follicles. A normal AMH level is around 2, but anything under 1.0 is considered on low end. As I explained in my previous posts, this all meant that I had - at best - slightly diminished ovarian reserve. According to my previous RE, and all of the research I've done, this is probably why we haven't been able to get pregnant yet. Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) means that I don't have very many eggs left, and those that are left may not be the best quality, and tend to not 'want' to fertilize. The low antral follicle count means that there aren't that many eggs developing at the beginning of each cycle, so chances aren't very high that there are very many good eggs in the group. Those of us with DOR are just waiting for that one really good egg to develop and hopefully be fertilized. It's not that we can't get pregnant, it just means that each month our chances are lower than the average bear. It takes longer to get pregnant, and time is not on our side because our ovarian reserve continues to lower over time.
Okay, back to my appointment today. If I had my AMH checked this month, it would probably come in around 1.4, which is significantly better than my previous 0.8.
I don't know why my numbers are so much better. It might be due to the fact that I've been taking wheatgrass twice daily for the past few months. The wheatgrass is supposed to improve your egg quality and quantity, so it seems that I am seeing some real results from it. Dr. Manny said it's okay for me to keep taking it, so that is good. And, I really, really like Dr. Manny.
So, that is all for the update today. I am getting more and more excited as we get closer to starting the study.
The exam went well today and my ultrasound looked really good. I am in my luteal phase, which is the two weeks after ovulation but before my period starts. Dr. Manny said it was a great time for the ultrasound and he was able to get some really good images of my uterus and ovaries. (Dad, sorry if you're reading this!) The really, really good news is that I had quite a lot of follicles. The last time I had an ultrasound to check antral follicles I only had nine follicles total --that was nine in both ovaries combined. This time I had eight in my left ovary and six in my right, for a total of 14 follicles! 14 follicles is normal! 14 follicles is actually fabulous!!!! 14 follicles without any stimulating drugs!
This is really good because with my previous results combined with the elevated FSH and my low-ish AMH, my follicle count showed a *slightly* diminished ovarian reserve. The 14 follicles today shows that I have more follicles developing this cycle, and more than I've had in any of my previous monitored cycles.
What does this all mean? Well, my elevated FSH means that my body is working harder to produce follicle--my body has to produce more of the Follicle Stimulating Hormone to produce the follicles, which develop and one releases an egg each cycle. My previous AMH level of 0.8 correlated to my antral follicle count of 9. Typically your antral follicle count is ten times your AMH level. So RE's use the AMH level to confirm what they see in the ultrasound when checking antral follicles. A normal AMH level is around 2, but anything under 1.0 is considered on low end. As I explained in my previous posts, this all meant that I had - at best - slightly diminished ovarian reserve. According to my previous RE, and all of the research I've done, this is probably why we haven't been able to get pregnant yet. Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) means that I don't have very many eggs left, and those that are left may not be the best quality, and tend to not 'want' to fertilize. The low antral follicle count means that there aren't that many eggs developing at the beginning of each cycle, so chances aren't very high that there are very many good eggs in the group. Those of us with DOR are just waiting for that one really good egg to develop and hopefully be fertilized. It's not that we can't get pregnant, it just means that each month our chances are lower than the average bear. It takes longer to get pregnant, and time is not on our side because our ovarian reserve continues to lower over time.
Okay, back to my appointment today. If I had my AMH checked this month, it would probably come in around 1.4, which is significantly better than my previous 0.8.
I don't know why my numbers are so much better. It might be due to the fact that I've been taking wheatgrass twice daily for the past few months. The wheatgrass is supposed to improve your egg quality and quantity, so it seems that I am seeing some real results from it. Dr. Manny said it's okay for me to keep taking it, so that is good. And, I really, really like Dr. Manny.
So, that is all for the update today. I am getting more and more excited as we get closer to starting the study.
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