On April 13, 2010, Molly had two beautiful, 8 cell embryos (pictured above) transferred. Going strictly by the numbers, we have a 39% chance of success of at least 1 embryo. After almost an entire year of going through the IVF process, it is tough to embrace that our first cycle may not end in success. Ultimately, the decision is not in our hands at this point and we continue to think and live positively.
From the time of transfer, we have to wait 13 days to get a blood test to determine if Molly is pregnant. To be clear, this has been a very long 13 days. Now, with 8 hours to go until the blood test, time seems to have slowed to a crawl.
We are incredibly grateful for the love and support we have felt every step of the way. Between Dr. Schmidt, the NovaIVF staff, friends and family, we could not have a better support group. A sincere thank you to everyone!
Time and again I find that I have selective memory. Case in point – the egg retrieval process. For some reason I thought that after my magic shot, in 36 hours the eggs would just “burst” from the follicles and all the doctor would have to do is suck them up with a turkey baster like instrument. NOT SO.
I was wondering why they offered me valium – finally a perk! – for something so simple. The valium came in pretty handy when the doctor put the IV in me for the local anesthesia. The procedure ramps up to the doctor using a sonogram to guide a needle to pierce and aspirate each of my honeycomb-like follicles to suck the eggs out. Apparently for most women this is only mildly uncomfortable. For me, it hurt due to my crazy hide & seek ovaries. You can watch on the screen as the needle pierces the follicle, collapses it, and then the follicle refills with fluid. Again with the mega bloat!
This was not fun, but the end result was successful. And Brian’s Superman underwear made all the difference. They retrieved 11 eggs, 9 of which were mature. Today we found out we have 7 little embryos dividing and growing!
We are set to go to Nova on Friday (day 3) to see if we will implant. Dr. Schmidt told us to come in with the expectation for Friday implantation. There is a chance, depending on the embryo quality, that we might wait until Sunday (day 5).
For now, I am drinking gallons of water to stay hydrated and get rid of this bloating. I am also trying not to spiral out of control thinking about dreadful “what ifs” for our embryos. Gotta stay positive – home stretch here we come!
It’s ON. Man oh man it’s on. We have been to NovaIVF 3 times this week, each time testing the estrogen levels in my blood and also checking the size of my follicles via sonogram. This morning we got the news that tonight at 11:30pm EXACTLY I get the magic HCG shot that will make me ovulate in 36 hours on the nose. So crazy it’s consistently predictable like that. Thank god I am finally on my last friggin shot. We are set for Tuesday egg retrieval.
There are all sorts of horrible effects from my magic shot that I am reading about. I need to start drinking water like a thirsty person wandering the Sahara. Directions tell me to “sip on something all the time” to try to ward off hemoconcentration or thickening of the blood. In addition I can look forward to even more bloating. Yikes. I am already super bloated from my other shots. My abdomen is so distended, it is a sexy preview of pregnancy. This warning is in effect 3 days after the shot, and up to 2 weeks after. Delicious.
As a sidenote, Brian is probably the mayor (Foursquare) of Nova forever. For some reason, not a ton of people are checking in there…LOL!
The IVF procedure is not easy for either partner, as it is an emotional roller coaster. Each appointment is filled with anxiety usually followed by a recalibration of expectations. While it has been “tough” for me, I must admit that my road is a cakewalk as compared with Molly. What started with acupuncture and vitamins for her has progressed to 2 shots of Lupron a day to today, where there are 4 shots a day. My regimen of Doxicycline and vitamins is definitely a walk in the park.
My role is completely support. I try to support in any way possible throughout each day, having found a couple of areas that I think are valuable – especially because they may not be noticed:
- Being involved with all of the shots. Things as simple as getting the supplies ready, filling the needles, and collecting the trash. It is the least that I can do!
- As the Gonal RFF pen is quite a bit more intimidating than the Lupron shot, I administer it each time. We double check each other on each step (setting the dose, pulling the prescription, etc), but I do the actual injection. I remain as calm and professional as possible throughout to provide support.
- The dishes! While we have always done a great job of sharing responsibilities, the least I can do is step up to do the dishes each night to make life a bit easier on Molly.
- The laundry! Nothing like clothes piling up in the hamper to aggravate an already stressful time!
- Attending every doctor appointment with Molly. While I am decorative during the actual appointment, we are in this together and need each other’s support throughout.
I am always looking for additional ways to support throughout this process. If you have any additions, please feel free to add to the comments below!
I got a clean bill of health from my OB / GYN this week, and was also cleared by Nova to proceed to the next shots. If things look good, egg transfer is in 8 – 10 days!!! Holy smokes we are really getting close!
This morning I started the FSH (Follicle Stimulation Hormone) shots. It is administered from this freaky looking needle pen that you dial to your prescribed dosage. Then you pull the cap until it is as far as it can go, pinch skin, punch the needle in, and then push on the cap which makes a horrible clicking noise until it is down all the way. To make it worse, you have to leave it in for 5 long seconds to make sure all of the medication is absorbed. Let’s just say my first experience was traumatic. I had Brian do the shot, and cried the whole time. I can only hope that tonight’s shot will be easier. The FSH makes my twice daily Lupron shots a cakewalk.
That’s right – I’m now on FOUR shots a day – 2 Lupron and 2 FSH. Ug.
Elizabeth has been helping me with meditation / visualization exercises to help calm my mind. What I REALLY want is a nice tall glass of white wine. I miss those days…
Here is an interesting article on the embryo transfer process. Happy reading!
After a slight setback last week which was corrected by minor surgery, on Friday we were cleared to start Lupron injections. Whoohoo! That means we are still on schedule for a Mid-April ivf procedure. It is such a tricky balance. When you attempt to take over your body’s natural cycles, it can rebel against you – cysts, insane behavior, water retention. How delightful. I am trying to get used to the twice a day ritual of “shooting up”. Who could have ever predicted that needle-phobe Molly would willingly give herself shots?
For those not familiar with the drugs involved, Lupron essentially calms the estrogen way down, and is intended to put me in a menopause-like state. Along the way, Dr. Schmidt is monitoring the effects on my ovaries and uterus to make sure nothing gets too out of balance. In April, once we are cleared, I will switch to injections of FSH (Follicle Stimulation Hormone) to ramp things up in prep for egg collection.
Extra special thanks to Melly and Heather for taking such good care of me last Monday after my surgery. Brian was at SxSW, and I was extremely nervous since I’ve never had surgery besides removing wisdom teeth before. Thank you, ladies for putting a smile on my face – and a yummy dinner in my belly. Fasting sure makes food taste divine.
This weekend has been helpful for trying to stay grounded. A fantastic hike at Cataract Falls, gardening on the deck and a trip to the farmers market – healthy livin and good, clean fun does wonders for the mind. That’s all for now. Gotta go get ready for the pesky morning shot…
Time has flown the past couple of weeks. Both our Makin Whoopie event and the online auction have been huge successes, and we are so grateful for everyone who donated items, attended in person, bid online and also donated money and time to make all of this possible. Going public was initially a hard choice, but the outpour of support from friends and strangers has been life changing. The biggest surprise came through our friend Cindy Snell. She connected us to Dr. Schmidt of Nova IVF who has generously offered to partner with us because of Brian’s particular genetic circumstances and to close any gaps in our fundraising. We met with Dr. Schmidt and loved his manner and approach. He is a very kind man. Can I tell you what a sigh of relief I had? We are now 100% ready to move forward to next steps!
OMG…
Friday, February 5th dawned with a bombshell. I woke up early as usual, made coffee, and sat down to check my email. The first one I saw had a simple but effective subject line: “OMG you are on the front page of the Chronicle!!!!”
We knew there would be a story in the SF Chronicle as a reporter and photographer attended our party. But the front page?!! We thought it would be a human interest story in the back of the Living section at the most. I have to share that my first reaction of seeing Brian and I as 1/3 of the front page was one of slight nausea. It is a surreal experience to ride the ferry in the morning with your face all around you as fellow riders read the paper… Opening our situation to our community was one thing – all of the Bay Area was another. The added stress level was the online commenting. Who are those people who just do a frenzy of non-constructive, horrible, spewing? I pledged to NOT read the comments but through friends and Brian, I have a pretty good idea of what’s there. It is hard knowing that 500 comments are in cyberspace but I want to focus on the positive rather than the negative.
The Positive
Because we went public, people in our lives came forward and had a voice to share similar experiences they had been silent about. Through the article, total strangers came forward and shared their stories and words of encouragement. We were also talked about on the ALICE morning show, and the story has been syndicated in major papers across the US. It is an issue that affects a lot of people — especially those like Brian and I who met their soul mate late in life. At the very least, it is a dialog that needed to be jump started. If our story inspires even one couple to find a creative solution to make their baby dreams possible, I am happy.
So what’s next? We now have a community that is committed to the well-being and success of our baby to be. We have never felt such a wave of support – and this is very powerful. I am starting the process now with NovaIVF. Fingers crossed I have good news to share very soon! Thank you to everyone who made this a reality. We literally could not have done this without you.
Molly and I are incredibly thankful for the overflowing support on just the first day of the website and event going out. Friends from around the world have been sending in donations and offering items for the silent auction. Quite humbling.
We are not done yet! We need your help in getting our message and story out to as wide an audience as possible. Please share across the different services you use: flickr, twitter, facebook, blogs, et al.
Thank you again.
Thanks to the relentless work of Keiko, we have been able to secure the Urban Art Farm for our fundraiser on Sunday, January 31st from 2-8 PM. Invitations will be going out to everyone shortly. It is such a great venue for our fundraiser and we are thrilled.
The donations for the silent auction continue to come in and we will be updating the site throughout the week. Molly and I are humbled by all of the donations by our amazing community. Thank you so much.
Photo credit: Lane Hartwell
Thanks to Keiko, Molly and crew, we may have the venue! We hope to lock it down tomorrow and start sending out invitations. Keep your fingers crossed.
