What I Learned Today

When my brothers and I were little, my mom would always ask us when we came home from school, "So, what did you learn today?", to which we would immediately start reciting our newfound knowledge.  We had our IVF consult this afternoon, and so I've been eager like a little school girl to come home and share with you all what I learned today!

-There will be a total of 4 different shots and 2 pills I will have to take from start to finish.  Here's a little bit about them:

     

     -BC pills: suppresses my ovaries so they can "rest up for the big game"; I am currently taking these 

                     daily until May 18th.

     -Lupron: keeps me from ovulating before my eggies are "plump and juicy"; I will start this daily  

                    shot on May 23rd and continue until the time I take the HCG shot (about 2 weeks).

     -Gonal-F and Menopur: stimulates my ovaries and make those eggies grow!  They are separate 

                    medications that I will combine and give daily for about 10 days (or more if my eggs aren't       

                    responding the way we want them to).

     -HCG: stimulates ovulation; I will take this about 36 hours before egg "retrieval" (and that could be 

                    any time after I finish the growth-stimulation shots).

     -Doxycycline:  an antibiotic used after the embryo transfer; I will take them the day of the transfer 

                    and for about a week after.

     -Progesterone in oil:  keeps the lining of my uterus thick and cushiony so the little embryo will have 

                    some place to snuggle in for the long haul; I will start these shots the day after the transfer 

                    and continue them until Dr T says to stop. 

     

     *Whew!  I'm going to be a walking pharmacy by the time I take all of those!  But I'm going to be a 

      good patient (hard to do when you're a nurse!) and do as I'm told ;)  

-By the time I have finished the growth-stimulating shots, Dr T said my ovaries will be about the size of two small cantaloupes...sound pleasant, doesn't it??  But the bigger the ovaries, the more likely we are to have a good number of eggies, so I say "grow, ovaries, grow!" Guess I need to add sweat pants to the shopping list, huh? 

-I will have to go in for ultrasounds and blood work every other day for about 2 weeks so they can monitor my egg growth.  This includes weekends.  I had to go in for lots of testing with the other procedures, but this takes the cake! This is like having another full-time job!  But it'll be oh so worth it in the end!! :)

-The egg retrieval will be either June 4th, 5th, or 6th, depending on how my follies have grown.  They will go into each of my ovaries with a needle and take out all of the mature follies.  I will be sedated for this (kind of like when you have a colonoscopy done, so you're awake but you're not really coherent)...praise the Lord!  

-Once they've gotten all the mature follicles out, they'll take them to the lab and make sure each one has an egg in it (sometimes they can be empty).  Those that do will be fertilized and then the 5-day wait begins!

-5 days later, they will thoroughly inspect all of the embryos that have survived and choose the best two to transfer.  Any that are left will be kept just in case we need them later (in case this cycle doesn't work or if we wish to have another baby later on).  If we end up not needing them, we can always donate them to a couple who does!  (I love this part--I can participate in helping someone else's dreams come true! Yay!)

-After the transfer, I will be on bedrest for a few days, just to minimize stress and help those "embies" implant!  11 days after the transfer is done, we should know if we're going to be parents or not!  How exciting!

Man, we sure did learn a lot today!  And it only made us more excited to get this show on the road!  So, the next step is to meet with Dr T's nurse (on Monday, May 14th) to go over exactly when to give the medications and I'll get a calendar to keep me organized (they must know I'm a super organized person--I loooove lists and calendars ;) ).  The same day Dr T will look in my uterus to make sure there are no other cysts in there that could keep the baby from implanting and to "map out" exactly how he will put the embryos in (this is a very important part).  

Well, that's all for now!  Sorry if any of that was boring, but I wanted those of you who may be considering or heading towards IVF to know what to expect, and those of you who are just along for the ride to have a little better idea of what's in store for us!  

Please keep the prayers coming..."Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12) Your love, support, and prayers mean so much to us, and I know God hears our prayers!