Rob and I met in March 2007. This is our journey into parenthood- for now its about our struggle TTC however I know that someday there will be stories from a Mama here!
Happy ICLW! It's International Commenting Week so welcome to anyone who has never visited before. No lurking allowed this week be sure to stop on in and leave a comment and the address for your blog- I'll be sure to stop by and visit too!
Rob and I are in the midst of our first (and fingers crossed only) IVF cycle after 6 failed IUI's and over three years of TTC. Tomorrow is our egg retreival day and we are filled with so much hope for the things that are yet to come.
That doesn't mean we haven't had our times of despair and sorrow. I surely have cried enough tears during this journey- but for right now we are doing our very best to surround ourselves with positive thoughts.
I wanted to share this video on Egg Retrieval. It's helped ease some of my fears about tomorrow.
I should mention this is not my clinic- just a video I found online, but they do a wonderful job of explaining the procedure in a short amount of time without too much medical jargon to cloud the point.
Basically we will arrive at 10:30 am and they will prep me for anesthesia. I was told to wear my warmest socks (which I bought a week or so ago-- those big shea socks with all the fuzzy stuff on the inside) and comfy clothing. I was advised not to wear any jewerly, no make up, no hairspray or perfume, and no nail polish.
They advised me that the procedure itself shouldn't take much more than 30 mins to 60 mins depending on how many follicles are there and there accecibility. Afterwards I can expect to be there another 30 mins to 60 mins depending on how I recover from the anesthesia.
If the past is an indicator I should pack a bucket, because almost ever instance where I have gone under I wake up and then puke a short while after. Rob has taken off all of tomorrow since he will need to be there not only to drive me there, but to contribute his part in this as well. He also took off on Friday so that I can take it easy for the day.
For today I plan to hydrate properly and eat a later then normal dinner since I will under go anesthesia tomorrow morning and can not eat after midnight tonight. I think I am going to be so excited I won't even notice that I missed my morning coffee.
I hope to update you all tomorrow once I am feeling up to it about how many eggs were retreived, but if not I surely will update you all by Friday.
On Friday the embryologist should call and update with the number of embryo's and hopefully schedule our transfer day. My clinic does 3-5 day transfers- so Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday could all be possible transfer dates.
My only plan for the weekend is to head to Church either Saturday night or Sunday depending on what our transfer day will be and continue to thank God for all that he has provided during this journey.
Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers- I truly feel blessed to have such an amazing support system to lean on during this journey.
I truly can not wait for my next update to you all!
Happy International Comment Leaving Week- or better known as ICLW! If you aren't familiar ICLW is a week where bloggers come together -catch up with one another and leave comments to let one another know we are out there and we are reading. Its an oppurtunity to read some new blogs and learn about what others -that you don't normally follow -are up to. If you are interested in participating you can learn more- here! As always thank you to Mel for organizing ICLW for all of us!
If this is your first time visiting us there is an easy catch up for our TTC Journey so far here. Right now we are on the brink of our first IVF Cycle and I am battling reoccuring Strep Throat. For those that normally follow along I am feeling a bit better today. I called out of work yesterday and did not get off the couch the entire day. I was diagnosed with another round of strep throat and a possible pneumonia (due to what I am bringing up when I am coughing.) I was placed on stronger antibiotics and told to rest, rest, rest. I have a lot going on this week- but I refuse to take on anything extra or above what I already have and when I have down time I will be laying down.
About a week ago I had my trial transfer and SIS and it was pretty much a disaster- you can learn about how my exprience went here. All the findings were good and we are currently awaiting my immune system to reboot itself and my insurance company to authorize the IVF prior to being able to move forward.
We are some of the lucky ones -we have the ever rare IVF Insurance Coverage. Something I wish everyone was so lucky to have. My husband and I have been trying for over 3 years now and IVF would not be an option if it wasn't for this coverage- at least not right now. So after 6 IUI's we will hopefully be moving forward shortly with our IVF as we welcome in 2014. If you are the praying type- Prayers for health and healing needed as I need to be in my best health moving forward.
2013 has been a rough year for us- Rob lost his job in June and I found myself as the sole income for our household. Rob's Mom also battled breast cancer and his father fought off multiple infections due to his complex health issues. My father was without work and no longer was eligable for unemployment and my Mom was only brining in her dissability. Our families became closer thought as we all fought through this year together. We watched many of our friends welcome their own childeren this year and we continued to fight for our own. We cried many tears- some from sorrow- others of joy. While 2013 is on the way out- and I truly am glad to see it go since it was an uphill rough battle- we ended it with a true blessing.
Last night we met with some of our very best friends and they honored us by asking Rob and I to be the God Parents to both of their little boys. This is such a huge blessing to us- mainly because they would trust their boys with us knowing we aren't parents. We love those two little guys with all of our hearts already and there is no doubt in my mind that we would raise them and treat them with unending love. We felt so blessed last night. It was such a wonderful way to help us usher in 2014 and out 2013.
I hope as the Christmas Season is upon us that you too are able to find something to pick out of your year as a blessing. Even if you've dealt with unimaginable grief try to find a way to close out 2013 with some joy. Whether its finding the smallest thing-- or a wonderful blessing like was given to us- try to close out 2013 holding something special and joyful in mind.
I hope that if you struggled in 2013 that you will prosper in 2014. I hope your Christmas's are spent with family and love and joy. I hope that if you are hurting you are able to find something to bring you joy and love.I hope that if 2013 was a year of sickness for you or your loved ones that 2014 brings health and healing. I hope that 2014 is happier for so many of us.
Thanks for stopping by<3 If this is your first time visiting be sure to leave a comment so I can visit your way too!
Good Morning and thanks for taking time to stop on by if you are from ICLW. To catch you up if you either haven't been here in awhile or are new here.
I am Kasey- I am 28 and I have PCOS
DH is Rob- He is 38 and he's good to go
Together we have been trying for 3yrs.
This weekend was our 6th- and final, though that is subject to change depending on my mood- IUI attempt. Not that we are giving up, just rather going to be taking a break from continuous treatments to detox my body and my mind. Together we are exhausted. My clinic would like us to move forward with IVF if IUI 6 doesn't work. This is a choice we don't take lightly and so we will take the holiday's off to make that decision if IUI 6 is a bust.
So in other news- at my job we have to fill out a form to receive our annual Flu Shots. I work in a hospital system and at times with high risk patients. I would love to have a Flu Shot to protect, not only me, but my family. So anywho- I filled out my form with the medications I was taking and I am now denied my annual Flu Shot, because I am taking medications associated with pregnancy.
Except I am not pregnant.
Yippee. It doesn't matter though, because once your form is filled out and the verdict is read you are done-zo until next year.
I'm annoyed. To say the least. I'll have to call my doctors office and see if they will give me a flu shot or go to CVS. Either way there should be a clause on the annual Flu Shot form for those of us that are taking medications to become pregnant, but aren't.
Happy ICLW thanks for stopping by!! If you haven't followed along so far here is a quick update for our Journey So Far.
If you aren't familiar with ICLW its a wonderful group of women who have become some of my best friends and biggest supporters- you can read more about ICLW here. If you are looking for a group to help pick you up and cheer you on they got your back :)
So far IUI #5 has gone like this- -First no follicles wanted to grow. --Then no follies grew again. ---Then one follie showed some initiative and grew enough to keep the cycle moving forward and left a little hope. Which brings us to today- first off my lining is T/L 12mm which is prime baby making goodness. Three cheers for uterine lining! My Right Ovary- which was 11mm and (2) 9mm follies- today they are 16mm and (2) 13mm -my cyst seems almost resolved. He didn't even measure it. My Left Ovary-which was 9mm and 8mm follies- today they are (2) 13mm So we went from little to no hope to possibly having to cancel the cycle because if they all continue to grow we would be talking about the possibility of 5 mature follicles. Dr O says he doesn't want me to trigger yet and I need to come back again in Monday for yet again another ultrasound and more blood work. Im also continue 225 IU Menopur and Dex .25 daily. **edited my APN just called and told me my estrogen is still low and they do want me to up my Menopur to 300 IU daily till Monday. Which officially scares me, but she says its going to be just fine. There are a few scenarios here- Scenario 1- I surge on my own and ovulate prior to Monday's appt. IUI would be canceled and DH and I should proceed with caution on TI b/c lord only knows how many follicles I could release. I have a friend who had twins with a 14mm follie. Scenario 2- I don't surge on my own. I return Monday and the perfect/ideal number of follicles continue to mature. 3 at most continue growing and then I trigger and have my IUI Wednesday. Scenario 3- Anything over 3 matures and the IUI is cancelled fearing high order multiples. So now I go from praying "grow grow grow" to asking for God to only let a few grow and stop some of the others. I feel like I am being picky here, but quintuplets is not something I am ready for, however I am ready for a baby or two. God has a plan here. Praying it all turns out exactly how its suppose to. Happy ICLW my friends and thanks for all your well wishes, happy thoughts, and prayers. IUI 5 is still moving forward- however with caution.
Good morning fellow ICLW's. If you are not familiar with ICLW you should check it out. The premise is that comments are the new hugs and basically we're spreading some hugs- check it out here. Some back story about me- DH (Rob) and I met in 2007 and were married in May of 2010. Rob is 10 years older than me and we knew we wanted to have kids right away. In October of 2010 I went off my BCP for a tonsillectomy and we decided to start trying after I recovered from surgery. Thus started a much longer journe
y into parenthood then we ever could have imagined. November 2010 was my first full month off BCP in about 10 years. We went on a trip with friend to the Dominican Republic and when we returned home I never got my period. I thought I was pregnant already- naturally- and bought every pregnancy test known to man. They all were negative but I still had no period and at that point I was almost two month late. I researched with good old Google and found those stories of women who never got a positive pregnancy test and still were pregnant. At that point I called my ob/gyn and he sent me for a beta. I found out later that day I was not pregnant. In February 2011 my period finally returned. It was awful and long and awful. Did I mention awful? I contacted my ob/gyn who told me that my body just needed to adjust to being off the BCP after being on it my entire adult life. He told me if we were serious about having kids than I should get my health in order and lose weight. I have been overweight basically all my life. This time in my life was the heaviest I ever was- naturally I was what I like to refer to as "fat and happy". In May 2011 we celebrate our 1 year anniversary on a magical trip to Disney. During our trip we discuss how we thought we would be pregnant by now and decide to work on getting healthy as a family. We decide that when we get home we will get really serious lose weight and be serious about TTC. Not that we weren't serious before- but this started the temping and OPK's and obsessing over the internet. In September 2011 I returned to my ob/gyn for my annual Pap. I was down 30lbs, but still dealing with long periods followed by short periods. My ob/gyn called me with the Pap results and it was found that I had abnormal cells and they needed to do more tests to make sure they were not cancerous. An entire new journey began for a year to make sure I did not have cancer. Some "cancerous like" cells were detected and I underwent a multitude of tests and a cervical scraping to get rid of any abnormal cells that were left. The experience was traumatizing and I spent a year in and out of the ob/gyn having tests and blood work and repeat Pap smears. It was not until my next annual appointment in September 2012 that I was told I definitely did not have cancer and that the cells were just abnormal. I had another Pap done at that time and they gave me the all clear to continue TTC. We left the office relieved and worried that something else was wrong. We left with a script for HSG and SA for DH. In October of 2012 I had my HSG. They told me I had what they thought was scar tissue in my fallopian tubes. They were able to clear it with the pressure of passing the dye. Everything else is clear. Robs SA came back with great numbers and my ob/gyn says in the months after an HSG you are more likely to get pregnant. We grab more OPKs and are still expecting the best. In the months that follow literally everyone around us falls pregnant. I don't want this to sound like we are mad or upset with them at all. We are extremely happy for our friends and family. It does weigh on us though. Why not us? Why not yet? What more do we need to do? In January 2013 I make an appointment with the local RE. We have a ton of blood work and tests. Basically I have recently been diagnosed with A-typical PCOS- I do ovulate, but not all the time. I have weird cycles, but I can also have normal cycles. They can be long, they can be short, and they can be right on time. I have high testosterone and DHEAS and low progesterone. I am started on Dexamethasone .25mg every day to help with the male hormones that are high in my system. In April 2013 we do a Clomid 100mg cycle with IUI- BFN, possible I didn't ovulate my progesterone was very low. In May 2013 we do a Clomid 150mg cycle with IUI, definitely ovulated but my progesterone is still very low. In June 2013 we do a Clomid 150mg cycle with IUI and Progesterone after ovulation- BFN Progesterone comes back great, but still not pregnant. July 2013 we come up with a new plan of starting injectables and I start fertility acupuncture. I want to get my mind settled and help with some of the emotions I am feeling. That brings us right here to August. We are in the middle of a Menopur Cycle and praying that one of my follicles matures. This journey has been long and full of emotions. It has wrecked havoc on some friendships and it has also garnered new friendships. My faith has been strengthened and I have prayed more over the last few years than I have during my lifetime. I know that there is something more that we have yet to see from this struggle and someday we will understand it all. For now I am working on keeping my faith and marriage strong and working towards our future whatever it may hold. We both know we want to be parents and we will do whatever we have to in order to reach that goal. Rob recently lost his job and the stress has been rough on us. I think our marriage is stronger now than it was when things were easy and carefree. We are currently in the process of assessing our life here in New Jersey and contemplating a major move away. I've been leaning on my bloggy friends for support and I am so glad I have you all here for me when I am stressed or sad or worried or just plain crazy. This community is amazing and if you haven't joined in yet and are just lurking- trust me- these people will help pick you up when you are down. Im lucky to call you guys my friends and have you on this journey with me. So happy ICLW and welcome to Stupid Broken Eggs <3
