The Rainbow Connection...

When I was a little girl growing up, my parents took me to see the Muppets and told me that I should dare to dream and that if I could dream it I could achieve it. I listened to Kermit as he sang "The Rainbow Connection" and knew growing up that wishes and dreams were possible....

Photography Credit

Today I went in for my second Follie Check and my wish came true. I have been praying all along that this cycle go smoothly, that I feel at peace, and that I grow lots of follies. Today's ultrasound was great! I had 12 or more follies on each ovary 10 and above and tonight my dose of Follistim drops to 150iu for the next two nights. I go back in for my third and final Follie Check on Thursday. I told Dr. T that he was amazing and asked him how could he get so many eggs from me this time at a much lower dose; when my first IVF at my old clinic stimmed me with 375iu. He smiled and told me that he just knew. I love the fact that my RE is so positive and a dreamer like me. God has used him to make so many people's dreams come true and I know some way, some how mine will come true one day too...

Until Next Time,

In a NY State of Mind...

So I drove into Manhattan this Morning from the Outer Boroughs to my clinic clearly in a New York State of Mind for my first Follie Check and E2 Blood Work:

Photography Credit

My lining was a 10 after 5 nights of Stims.

On the right - There were many Follies under 10


On the left - There was one Follie that was 13, one that was 11, two that were 10 and many more under 10


My E2 results will be coming in this evening. Dr. T says we are on the right track and he wants to be careful with me and go a little slower, because I have PCOS and we have a tendency to produce alot of eggs, which can lead to OHSS.

My Instructions:
Continue Stimming with 225iu Follistim for the next 3 nights
Lupron 5 untis AM
Folgard
Dexamethasone
1 Prenatal Vitamin
0.5 vial of Luveris
Add 500mg Ciprio twice daily


My next Follie check and E2 are Tuesday January 18...

Have a Great MLK Weekend,

Kicking it into High Gear....

I start STIMS today!



I will be on 225iu of Follistim in hopes of kicking my ovaries into high gear to grow some good follicles and eggs. Here is my stimulation protocol for this week:

AM 5 units of Lupron
Folgard
Dexamethasone w/ Largest Meal
1 Prenatal Vitamin
.o5iu Luveris
PM 225iu Follistim

My first Follie Check/Estrogen Hormone Check is this Saturday, so I will have another update then...

Stay Tuned,

Update: Follie Check #1

I had my first follicle check this morning.

My lining is at 5mm and is still homogeneous. I was concerned about this, because at my suppression check it was 7mm. I didn't understand why it would get thinner. The RE that did my US this morning (not Dr Z but his associate Dr B) said that since I still had my period at my US and spotted for another 2 days following, that my lining would get smaller because of that and it will likely start growing from here. I'm very comfortable with his explanation, but I'm going to start drinking my pomegranate (pom) juice anyway, to try to fluff up my lining.

My follicles seemed good too... on the right, I had 5 small follicles, unsized, with a lead follicle at 11mm and another at 10mm. On the left I had 5 small follicles. Dr B said that it is okay for now and that today's visit was mostly to make sure I wasn't moving too fast. I also had blood checked today for my estrogen levels (E2).

Well - my follicles might have looked okay for a first US, but we're guessing that my E2 was in the tank. I got the call around 3:30pm.

They're stopping the lupron (the suppressant) and DOUBLING my menopur and gonal-f (the stims). So, of course, I was concerned that they think i'm over suppressed now. However, the great ladies on the infertility forum convinced me that everything is going to be okay - it's probably a reaction to my low E2 (which will rise as my follicles get bigger). The ladies say I probably just need a jump start to get the party started.

So, now my protocol is, 150 units of Gonal-F in the mornings and at night 150 units of Gonal-F and 2 vials of Menopur.

My next US and E2 check will be saturday morning at 7am.

Until then, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.... follicle wishes and thick lining dreams.

Suppression Check, checked!!

I got to the RE at 7:30am for the monitoring cattle call, where it's first come first served from 7-8:15 for blood work and vagcams. Considering that I didn't get out of there until 9:45, i think next time, i'll be there right at 7. Maybe even a few minutes before. Might be rough, considering it's almost 40 minutes away, but I was almost late for work this time, and don't want to take that chance again.

Anyway - the update.

I took my first shot in my leg today, previously i've been doing them all in my arms. starting monday, i'll be taking 4 injections daily. I needed more options than my arms. And since it seems that my RE is more strict than some others, i can't take them in my abdomen. The leg shot hurt, but at least i'll be able to do them myself.

Bloodwork (bw)
I don't know if I'll even find out the results of the blood work this time, but I really don't care yet. I'll want to know my estrogen (E2) levels and progesterone (P4) levels as time goes on.

Ultrasound (us)
We're very happy about my vagcam results. My IVF Nurse (F) did it this time, rather than Dr. Z, so the eyes on the US were different. She also had a much lighter tough, and wasn't looking for things as aggressively as he does. 10 days ago, Dr Z saw 14 antral follicles. F saw 11. I'm okay with that. She said the most important thing is that there's obvious activity in both ovaries. The other great news is my endometrial lining. It measured 7mm. F said that is a great starting point. Apparently they like to see lining from 8mm-13mm for implantation, and I'm well on my way to that point. It's also homogeneous, which means it's one layer right now. Eventually, they'll want to see it at three layers for implantation to occur.

Stimulation Protocol
So, here we are... i'm ready to start cranking these follies out! Sunday morning, I'll reduce my Lupron dosage by half to 10 units (and hopefully lose these migraines in the process). Then, sunday night, I'll take 150 units of Gonal-F and 1 vial of Menopur.

Monday starts my new schedule:
In the morning:

• Gonal F 75 units
• Lupron 10 units
  

At night:

• Gonal F 75 units
• Menopur 1 vial
  

My next monitoring appointment will be thursday morning. My dosages may be adjusted based on the bloodwork results and the ultrasound that day.

Thanks for all of the continued good wishes and T&P. With your support, I might just get through this.