October 1, 2012
Second Round of Blood Work
January 2, 2012
Final Results
I feel kinda numb right now, I am sad but I am not as sad feeling as the past two times. I am not sure why that is but at least I am functioning better. I definitely had the right support group this time around. The first time I told family and a couple close friends, the second we ended up telling a ton of people and I hated getting to tell everyone it didn't work and being asked about it. So this time we only told the people that "got it" and would be the support system that both Mr. Explorer Bud and I needed. With all the ups and downs of this cycle my support group, including my buds, were what kept me sane and positive throughout. Thank you soo much!!!
Whats next? I briefly talked to the RE about doing Hormone Replacement Therapy before trying another cycle so I am going to call and make an appointment this week to really talk about it. I am also going to look into acupuncture to see how much it will really cost us to do as well. I am not sure what else we can change that will make IVF work, there isn't anything else left.
December 24, 2011
Levels Rising
February 28, 2011
Test Day Blues with a Twist

http://www.photospin.com/singleproduct.asp?id=35112&search_id=5684&the_page=1&page_offset=0
So I had the first blood test on Saturday but since the Dr.'s office wasn't open that day I had to wait for the results on Monday. I took a pregnancy test Saturday morning finally at 5:30 am after laying awake since about 2:00 am with anxiety about the whole thing. I was having dreams that it was positive and then dreams it was negative, it was all very stressful even in my sleep!! So I peed on the stick and got this ugly result

As you would assume I wasn't too positive about the blood work after that. Although you always read and my Dr. tells me that they are not as sensitive as a blood test and don't stop taking your meds just because you got a negative on a pee stick. So I did the Saturday morning test early so that I would do the Monday morning test before I knew the results of Saturday's. I just wanted to be extra sure in case Saturday's wasn't good. All Saturday I was intermittently crying and trying to be positive about this cycle because that is what you are supposed to be positive. Everyone makes you think that if you are a negative about it that it will ruin everything so I holed up on the couch and watch Chocolate and It Could Happen To You and ate a lot of candy. You know eating your emotions is very helpful, always!! Mr. Explorer Bud then drug me out of the house to eat dinner and I got some delicious raspberry lemonade to feed my fake happiness.
Sunday I was feeling positive and ready for Monday, so I thought. Sunday night I slept for a few hours and then laid awake agonizing over what the results were going to be and I had to have a shot on my left side as well and was going to be mad if it came back negative and I had to take the shot. Finally I got out of bed and read a book downstairs on the couch and tried not to agonize over what might be in a few hours. Mr. EB woke up and gave me my shot, the best he has done yet, and we packed the dog into the car and off I went to the hospital to have my blood drawn for the second time. Funny thing the girl checking me in said she wanted to be pregnant and that it just sounded like fun. I told her well I hope it is an easy process and good luck with that. Then she was asking about me and I told her we had to do IVF and she wanted to know what that was so I explained it to her. It is strange that people don't know what IVF is but I guess if you aren't immersed in it all the time you wouldn't really know.
At 9:00 am I put in the call to the Dr.'s office which they then take down my info and tell me the nurse will call me back. Yes so more waiting!! She calls back and says that it was negative and she is sorry. Me too, believe me, me too!! I tell her I took the second one this morning and if they would call me or if I needed to call them for the results. She said she didn't think they would be any different but I would need to call them back in a few hours if I wanted to get the results. Luckily I was at work, which luckily happens to be at my parents house, and flopped on their bed and cried for a while. Then sent out the mass text message to everyone who was waiting anxiously for the results as well, so at least I wouldn't have any calls wanting to know. Then I went in and cried on my dad's shoulder and then my mom's. It was a good ole' cry fest but you know you do feel better after a good cry. Then Mr. Explorer Bud got out of class and I went and picked him up and had a little cry fest with him.
So here is the mean weird twist of this whole sad story. Mr. Explorer Bud wanted me to call the Dr.'s office and get the results of the second test so I obliged. The nurse call's me back and says well the test shows that my level went from a 1 to a 4 in 48 hours which are really low numbers but hey I should do a HPT in a week and see what it shows. So of course I can't stop taking my shots, a gazillion pills and patches now because what if it works. Now this whole saga is just going to be drug on for another week. I can't get excited because I don't really believe that it will become anything but I am a little happier in that there might just be a miracle in the works here. So Mr. Explorer Bud is out buying 4 or 5 tests so we can do some testing this week and see what happens. There you have it the so very long story of our test results which are now To Be Continued.....
October 21, 2010
Chemical pregnancy: Check
While I would have liked to be one of those miracle low-hcg success you always hear about, why should I be? Absolutely nothing in the reproductive department has EVER gone my way. Ever. I always fall on the wrong side of the statistics. Always. My RE clinic has a 77% success rate for donor cycles. Guess where I fell? My Bitter Infertile's Bucket List just got another check mark. Whoopee.
Why won't anybody believe me when I know that things aren't going to work out? Mr. GB and his foolish optimism this morning...even my RE who seemed to think that a bum lining wouldn't cause issues. Was that some kind of sympathy diagnosis? Can I please get a refund on my embryo transfer because I effing told you so?
I have to go back again in a week to make sure my level is 0. Gee, as if I didn't spend all goddamn summer waiting for my level to go to 0. Now I get to do it again. (Isn't it ironic that I'm more pregnant when I'm NOT pregnant? That I use more pee sticks trying to get UNPREGNANT than pregnant?) And then there are all the hugs and sympathy notes from the nurses and staff. (That's 5 failures for me at that clinic, but who's counting?) I might need two checkmarks next to "Cried at the RE's office."
And is this even a loss? Or is it just some pink dye that showed up due to a chemical reaction?
And to think I thought I could get pregnant again before my due date. HA! Wasn't that a cute little bit of hope wrapped up in a $25,000 bow.
So let me tell you how I think this is going to end.
I will have a follow-up phone call with my RE. She will tell me that she really thought this would work, that I would get lucky. Maybe she'll offer me a discount on a frozen cycle. She'll tell me to wait for AF (which will be here within a week or so), and then she'll tell me to call and schedule yet another hysteroscopy so she can look for scarring. (My gut says that there is no scarring because the transfer itself went smoothly and there didn't seem to be any blockage, but who knows, maybe there is a bad patch or two.) AF is going to make Saw 3 look like a fairy tale. Now I know from experience that my first post-failure cycle always takes 40-50 days (unless she puts me on the pill). Assuming I go pill-free, this pushes us out to 2011 before I can cycle again. And that assumes I don't need any follow-up surgery to deal with scarring. So now I am very possibly looking at celebrating my 40th birthday in February with no baby and no pink dye. Or maybe we'll get lucky and have a frozen transfer on my birthday like the one we had on our anniversary. I'm going to ask for the same doctor as last time (Dr. D). And I'm going to transfer 2 and both are going to stick and we'll live happily ever after and donate our other 3 embies to another couple.
Or something like that.
October 20, 2010
Beta hell
I swear 2010 has been the year of pity parties. I've had more than I can count. No, actually, I can count them, by heart:
- Donor #1 fert report
- Donor #1 freeze report
- Donor #1 bad transfer
- NT Scan
- Termination
- Found out D&C #2 couldn't be scheduled for over a month after my hysteroscopy
- Donor #2 drama (break-up nearly derailed our cycle)
- Donor #2 lining issues
- Donor #2 low beta
So I'm on my second batch of pee sticks. Same brand but the packaging is different. The pee sticks aren't getting any lighter, but they aren't getting significantly darker. Mr. GB is still hopeful, and my cycle buddy (who had a miraculous late-implanter) is also hopeful. Symptom-wise it's hard to gauge what's going because of the massive progesterone and estrogen I'm taking. I never had morning sickness last time so I can't even count on that.
I truly am prepared for the number to go down. All things considered, I'll take a chemical over a miscarriage any day. It's one more thing to add by my Bitter Infertile Bucket List, which I'll be publishing here if things don't go my way. It's something that other infertiles can print out and track on their own. You know, things like "IVF BFN" and "Donor's worst cycle ever." And don't forget such classics as "Cycle delay due to cyst" and "Cried at the RE's office." Check check check check.
I'm going to be at a customer conference again tomorrow, so I'm going to ask my donor coordinator to just email my results because there's no way I want to get that phone call in front of other people. I'm grateful for the distraction.
More tomorrow.
Night all,
Golden Bud
Affirmative
HCG is at 44 and progesterone is at 14. Since my progesterone is still pretty low, they have upped my dosage of devil pills to twice a day.
I go back on Friday for my second draw to see if my numbers double. They didn't the first time, and I'm scared to death it will happen again.
Right now its all about milestones. First, to make it past Friday. Then, to make it past 6 weeks. Finally, to be able to make it to December 20th when I will be in my second trimester.
I'm trying not to get my hopes up right now, but I am trying to be positive.
Here's hoping this is our sticky baby!
October 19, 2010
Back in limbo
She called me today with my blood results and yes they are positive, but the number is "a little low." My hcg level is 34. She said they'd like to see it >50. Granted I did go in a day early, and by tomorrow it may very well be 50, but today it's 34 and now I have something new to obsess about. Great. I was trying very hard not to compare cycles and yeah my pee sticks took longer to darken up this time, but in my head I'd already calculated the doubling rates and knew that if I had a 5 or so at 9dpo (apparently these sticks are sensitive enough per reviews on Amazon), then yeah by now it'd still be on the low side and I'd secretly prepared myself for that. What I also didn't confess to you is that last week I ordered a refill on my pee sticks and they are coming today, and you can bet I will be peeing on them for another couple days.
Can this get any harder?
PS: Hugs to Magnolia Bud for her spotting scare. I hope your ultrasound goes well tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for your well wishes thus far. I hope I don't let you down.
Golden Bud
October 18, 2010
Time to toss the cup!
Tonight I'm officially out of pee sticks. And I'm pretty sure I'm officially pregnant! Here's my final pee-stick gallery, complete with tonight's test. Besides realizing I'm insane, I also discovered that I get far better results in the late afternoon than with FMU. The morning tests just stressed me out. Boo.
I go in for my blood test tomorrow morning, which I'll repeat in 2 days to make sure my HCG is doubling. Assuming all goes well, I'll have my first ultrasound at 7 weeks.
I'm going to try not to get ahead of myself, just in case (a prior loss will do that, I'm afraid). I'll let you know my HCG numbers later this week.
Yippee!
Golden Bud
June 21, 2010
Back from vacation with some beta numbers
The nurse just called... beta 1 at 14 DPO was 390 and my progesterone was 15 (this is great compared to my last m/c which was at 7). I have been using Crinone 8% progesterone suppositories every morning and will continue to use until I am 13-14 weeks pregnant. My 2 beta's at 21 dpo are 3979!!!
According to justmommies.com my levels are doubling every 50.1 hours (2.1 days), which (thank God) they are right on schedule. In a bout 85% of normal pregnancies, the hCG level (also known as beta's) will double every 48 - 72 hours. The next step is the baby u/s. At that appointment my RE will make sure that the baby is growing in the correct spot, check for a few things and see how many there are. I think this is a singleton pregnancy, but hey you never know!
Without further adieu here are a few pictures from the wedding/vacation:
Our View from the balcony
The beach
Where we sat every morning for breakfast... beautiful views
Rehearsal Dinner
The bride's accessories
Bride and Groom
They are so adorable
Us
Bridesmaids
After the Carnival & Fire show
Us
And where everyone ended up after the wedding... with dresses and all!!
March 23, 2010
There's a baby growing inside me!

March 8, 2010
Quick beta #3 update!
My betas still fall just a little above the average levels for singleton pregnancies, so I'm pretty sure we only have 1 in there. But, as I mentioned before, Mr. Worry Bud & I will be happy no mater how many there are as long as the baby(ies) is healthy & growing strong! I'm 5 weeks 2 days pregnant today & our first u/s is next Tuesday, March 16, 2010. I am hoping we get to see/hear the heartbeat at our ultrasound! And I have NO clue how I'm going to make it a whole week & 1 day until any other appointments! I am praying that this next week goes by quickly. I am feeling okay, just crampy on & off, bloated on & off, nipples hurt slightly (but, I mostly attribute that to the Endometrin), and hunger headaches when I don't eat often enough. Thanks again for all the support & continued T&P...it means so much to us!
March 7, 2010
Beta #2 results!
As you can see from the chart above, my hcg levels are a little above the average singleton pregnancy, but I have always read that you can't really tell how many you have based on hcg levels alone, so there could be two in there still. No matter what, Mr. Worry Bud & I will be ecstatic as long as our baby(ies) are healthy & growing strong! We have our last beta blood draw tomorrow morning & then I get to schedule my first u/s. According to the date of my ER, I am 5 weeks 1 day pregnant today! I'm not sure how long my clinic will make me wait to schedule the u/s, but I'm hoping that if all looks good on beta #3, then we can do it on Friday of this week since both Mr. WB & I are off that day already. Speaking of the Mr. - he's soooo cute; he has an iPod Touch & it's pretty much like the iPhone minus the phone part, so he's always downloading random apps. Well he downloaded this "countdown" app & made a countdown until our LO arrives, which would be (according to my ER date) November 6, 2010!!
As far as symptoms, I have been feeling okay - a little crampy on & off (I think this is related to the [TMI] incredible amount of gas I have been having the past couple of weeks), exhausted (but, I always am due to how early I get up for work), slight heartburn on & off, hungry more often, acne, and occasional headaches. On Friday night, after going to the bathroom, I wiped & noticed a little red/brown blood with some clear discharge/CM & got freaked out. I think now that it was some sort of old blood, b/c I only saw it when I wiped that one time & not again, even after doing my Endometrin insert a few hours later. Then, yesterday I had a persistent, dull stabbing pain in my right hip bone; I think it was just early round ligament pain because it was gone after laying down for a few hours. And many women on one of my favorite Internet message boards said they experienced a similar pain early in their pregnancies as well. Either that, or it could be related to my fibromyalgia....I'm just happy it's gone. I plan on mentioning it to my nurse tomorrow & see what she thinks. I'll update again tomorrow after my beta results come in. Thanks as always for all the continued T&P - it really means so much to us!
March 3, 2010
IVF #1 = BFP!!!
I don't have too many words to express how I feel right now - I think I'm still in a lot of shock that this is actually real. Mr. Worry Bud & I are very cautiously excited about everything & giving praise to God for this amazing blessing. I truly want to thank each of you for all the thoughts & prayers you have been sending our way...it all means so so much to us. Please don't stop - we still have several hurdles to get over & will definitely appreciate your continued T&P. But, for today - I am pregnant & I love my baby(ies)! Many blessings to each of you.
September 20, 2009
Being Pregnant is SCARY

September 8, 2009
The numbers are in

September 7, 2009
So now what do I do???

August 25, 2009
Our Miscarriage...
I will never forget the first day that I saw blood in the toilet when I was 6 weeks pregnant.
It was suppose to be a great day for Mr. Bud and me... It was a beautiful Sunday Morning and we were getting ready to go out to buy a few things for a barbeque that we were planning on hosting to surprise the family with the big news.
I woke up and followed my daily routine and as soon as I finished using the restroom I saw some spotting and of course like every pregnant women out there I freaked out. So I told Mr. Bud and we decided to relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Towards the evening time the spotting started to get worst and bright red blood started flowing every time I would use the restroom. At this point, I’m freaking out, pulling out all my pregnancy books, searching the web and calling the doctors office to find some answers.
The doctor on call called me back right away and explained what was going on and there was a 50/50 chance of anything at this point. He explained that there are women out there that bleed all throughout their pregnancies and go to having a healthy baby and then it can be signs of an early miscarriage. He advised me that if I filled up a maxi pad within 2-3 hours then I should go to the ER, luckily the bleeding was not that heavy so I decided to wait it out at home and go to the doctor’s office first thing in the morning.
The following morning I was up as soon as I saw sunlight cracking through the blinds and was ready to go to the doctor’s office. I wanted answers… Was my baby fine, alive, miscarriage, What was going on??? As Mr. Bud and I sat in the waiting room we waited and waited and waited and saw so many happy pregnant couples and he just kept telling me... ‘Don’t worry we will be fine, we still have a 50/50 chance’. FINALLY the nurse called us in 4 hours later and asked for me to POAS to tell us that we are pregnant. All I could keep thinking is, ok the baby is still in there, and we still have a chance, until we went in for the sonogram.
The doctor asked me a few questions, How many weeks? First pregnancy? Planned? I answered everything as fast as a speeding bullet so that she can get the sonogram machine moving to see what was going on in there. Then she asked me again… ‘How many weeks are you?’ I reply waiting for some terrible news just by her facial expressions; I’m a little over 6 weeks actually 6 weeks 5 days to be exact. She then explained that is not possible, the sac was measuring at 4 weeks and there was no heartbeat. She began on explaining all these medical terminologies and all I could think about was this baby that I had been nurturing, protecting, planning the future for was dying on us. All I could as her was why this was happening, is there any chance that this baby will catch up? She then told me we just had a chemical Pregnancy and continued to tell me there was no way that I was 6 weeks pregnant.
I was so frustrated that I continued to explain to this doctor that we were charting so I know exactly when I ovulated and I have normal cycles, but everything I was explaining to her was going in one ear and out the other. All I kept hearing was you must have conceived another day, not the day you think. After the trans-vaginal sonogram she sent me to do blood work so they can test my beta (HCG) levels to determine if the baby was either growing or getting ready for the miscarriage.
A woman’s Beta (HCG) levels should be increasing daily in your first trimester. This is the only way to determine if there are any problems in any pregnancy. The doctor will request you to do blood work at least a day apart and then compare the results. Here is a graph of what it should look like:
On Wednesday I went back to the doctor’s office because the pain was too much and the bleeding began to get heavier. At this point I already knew we were going to m/c. I already had it in my mind and was ready to hear that. My first beta test came back at 565 and the second one at 195, which means there is no hope from here. They explained to us our options of either having a D&C or a natural miscarriage. Due to the fact that I was very early in the pregnancy and we wanted to start trying again right away I decided to have the natural miscarriage. They explained everything to us and the doctor continued to tell me that it was a chemical pregnancy.
That night was the worst night ever, I already knew what was happening to my baby and there was nothing that I could do or have done to prevent this from happening. Now was the waiting game.
Every time I would use the restroom I would look to see if anything was there, a sac a blood cot anything but all I would see is a toilet full of blood. No full maxi pads, just a toilet full of blood. By Thursday afternoon the cramps had gone away and the Bright red bleeding was dark brown spotting. I knew it was over.
I began to research Chemical Pregnancy (CP) and realized this is not what happened to us. Unfortunately CP is very common. 50 to 60% of first pregnancies end in miscarriage very early in pregnancy. Most occur without the woman even knowing that she was pregnant. We had a sac formed without the embryo, so this means it was not a CP but a Blighted Ovum.
This morning was my follow up appointment and everything went just fine, everything was clear in the sonogram and I should be receiving my beta results by tomorrow afternoon to double check that they are under 50.
My Period should arrive within the next 4 weeks and we will begin TTC after that.






