Out of the 11 eggs retrieved, 6 of them were mature. And of the 6 mature eggs, 4 fertilized!! This is a great result as we have never had 4 embryos!! The embryos will continue to divide over the next few days and we are scheduled for the embryo transfer on Sunday at 10am! We will not find out what grade the embryos are until we are there to do the transfer.....they grade the embryos on how cleanly they divide and the less fragmentation the better. Our prayers now are focused on perfect division of the cells which will result in beautiful day 3 embryos!
I start the progesterone in oil injections this evening, which is probably my least favorite of them all. This injection has to be given in the muscle of my butt and is NOT fun!! The only comforting part is my hubby has become a pro at it from the past experiences so I have faith in him to not hurt me too bad!! This injection will continue every night at 9pm sharp through the beta test which is scheduled for 7/1. Progesterone is given to help the development of the endometrium, which must thicken and become more vascular to support the developing embryo. The drugs I was on for fertility shut this part of my brain off, therefore, supplements must be given to support this function.
I also started taking Estrace 2mg twice daily which will help my estradiol level as well as help support my uterine lining.
I am also on Medrol, which is a steroid, for 5 days and this helps prepare my endometrium for implantation.
I have ceased taking the DHEA which I was on for 90+ days and I am ecstatic about this! Being that it is a mild testerone it has wreaked havoc on my skin and I am REALLY hoping things get back to normal quite quickly!!
Protocol – Fertility Drugs: Progesterone in Oil 50mg; Supplements: Medrol 16mg, Estrace 2mg (2x), Metformin 1500mg, PreNate Essential, Fish Oil, Probiotic, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, baby aspirin, B12
Emotions/Sanity Check - Very postive.
Clinic visits – None.
Daily Affirmation - I am grateful for all things in my life.
Things went perfectly!!! We got 11 eggs which is double the amount we have ever had before!!!! I was so excited when I heard the number 11 I started crying tears of joy!! Now we are waiting on the lab to call and tell us how many eggs were mature and the number that fertilized. Please pray for perfect, mature, healthy eggs that fertilize beautifully! I will post an update when we know more!
It is here!!! I do the trigger shot tonight at 9:30pm and will have surgery on Thursday at 8:30am!! There are lots of hurdles coming that we will need many, many prayers for. The immediate one is the egg retrieval. Please pray for excellent skills from the doctor performing the retrieval and that many, many mature, healthy eggs are able to be extracted.
The phases are as follows:
- Extraction (we need mature, healthy eggs)
- Fertilization
- Healthy cell division resulting in beautiful embryos with little to no fragmentation
- Embryo transfer
- Beta test (shows if we were successful or not)
It is going to be an exciting yet stressful next few weeks and we will tackle this one phase at a time. I try so hard not to get ahead of myself because each phase is key to moving on so I have to remind myself to take it one step at a time!! I will post on Thursday after the retrieval with the number of eggs extracted....until then, lots and lots of prayers!
Protocol – Fertility Drugs: Pregnyl 10,000 IU (trigger shot); Supplements: DHEA 75mg/per day, Metformin 1500mg, PreNate Essential, Fish Oil, Probiotic, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, baby aspirin, B12
Emotions/Sanity Check - Excited, Anxious yet relaxed and really tired. I know, I know...that doesn't make sense.
Clinic visits – Ultrasound and Bloodwork: 8 follicles growing and they didn't tell me my estradiol today....
Daily Affirmation - God has been by my side each step of the way and he will not abandon me now.
8am comes awfully early on a Sunday morning! For those of you who know me well......I LOVE my sleep!! However, I welcomed getting up so early on a Sunday because that means we are still in the game!! Today the follicles are still growing and we believe there are seven. My ovaries like to hide so the nurse was having trouble getting clear shots of the development going on. My estradiol level went from 206 on Friday to 370 today, which is great. The nurse is guessing we will do my trigger shot on Tuesday which puts me having surgery Thursday to extract the eggs. I will know FOR SURE once I have my next bloodwork and ultrasound which is on Tuesday morning. The awesome news is it looks like we are going to have enough follicles to move forward! So now we are praying for the most perfect, healthy follicles for retrieval which will result in perfect little embryos!!
Protocol – Fertility Drugs: Follistim 450 IU, Menopur 150 IU, Ganirelix 250mcg; Supplements: DHEA 75mg/per day, Metformin 1500mg, PreNate Essential, Fish Oil, Probiotic, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, baby aspirin, B12
Emotions/Sanity Check - Very optimistic, yet really tired! These drugs are sucking the life out of me!!
Clinic visits – Ultrasound and Bloodwork: 7 follicles growing and estradiol is at 370
Daily Affirmation - God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind.
The nurse called and my estradiol level went from 70 on Wednesday to 206 today so it seems like things are looking up!! I add the Ganirelix injection back into the protocol tomorrow. The Ganirelix is used in this phase of the cycle to prevent premature ovulation. The puppetmaster (aka my doctor) took control of the cycle early on and will use this to keep control until he wants me to ovulate. When the follicles are "mature" which is indicated by size, we will use a "trigger shot" to induce ovulation 36 hours after it is administered....which is when I will have surgery. But I am getting a little ahead of the game, lets focus on lots of healthy follicles growing like they are supposed to for now!! =)
Protocol – Fertility Drugs: Follistim 450 IU, Menopur 150 IU; Supplements: DHEA 75mg/per day, Metformin 1500mg, PreNate Essential, Fish Oil, Probiotic, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, baby aspirin, B12
Emotions/Sanity Check - Excited!! Sure wish I could have a beer....but I am grounded from alcohol hopefully for 10+ months! =)
Clinic visits – Ultrasound and Bloodwork: 7 follicles growing and estradiol is at 206.
Daily Affirmation - every aspect of my body is working just the way it needs to for everything to be perfect in the end.
Thank you, thank you, thank you........for all the prayers, they worked!!!! We have 7 follicles that were measurable today! They are no where near ready but at least they have decided they want to participate! The nurse also mentioned that the lining of the uterus looked awesome which indicates the horomones are working. I am still waiting on the bloodwork results which measures my estradiol levels.
Estradiol is a hormone that stimulates the lining of the uterus, causing the lining to grow, and to make itself ready for embryo arrival. Estradiol is tied into pregnancy by it's method of production: oocytes (eggs) contain follicles. These developing follicles contain 'granulosa cells'. These granulosa cells synthesize the estradiol and release it into the blood circulation. This means that more follicles produce more estradiol. This helps measure how many follicles are actively developing. The longer they continue to develop, the longer the estradiol level continues. As they develop, the level continues to rise. This rise can further indicate that the oocyte within the follicles is reaching its maturity.
I will send the remainder of the update once I hear from the nurse on the levels. Thanks for all your continued support and prayers!!!
Tomorrow is a pretty big day. If the follicles have not decided that they want to cooperate, the IVF mission will likely be cancelled. Please pray for us tonight and tomorrow morning.
Protocol – Fertility Drugs: Follistim 450 IU, Menopur 150 IU; Supplements: DHEA 75mg/per day, Metformin 1500mg, PreNate Essential, Fish Oil, Probiotic, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, baby aspirin, B12
Emotions/Sanity Check - I have really tried to stay positive today and not let the negative monkeys dance in my head. I believe I have done a pretty good job and feel pretty grounded for tomorrow.
Clinic visits – None!
Daily Affirmation - you can't MAKE life, you need to LIVE it! (this popped in my head yesterday and I thought it was kind of catchy! =))
