Just an update to state there is nothing to update. I have been having a kind of crampy feeling on the right side that I am thinking is a cyst on my right ovary. Nothing new and to be expected with the meds I took for this cycle.
It's still 3 more days before I can test. I am aiming for Thursday because I am confident the Ovidrel will be out of my system and if I am knocked up it should show on a test by then.
I have avoided buying the tests because if I have them in the house I will pee on them. My theory is that if I see a positive then I will assume it's the Ovidrel talking and if I see a negative I will assume it's just too early, so why waste the tests and get myself all crazy over it.
I am pretty proud of myself and how calmly I have been waiting. I seem to have lost that really confident feeling I had right after the IUI. I realize that this is still a long shot and not a guarantee by any means.
I have also felt relief every time I remind myself that this is the last cycle of meds and procedures. Adoption has become a welcome thought to me. The Husband also seems more ready to move on. I am not researching anything right now because I don't want to jinx the chance we have, but I have made it well known to all of our family and friends that these are our intentions.
So to sum it all up, this will either become a pregnancy blog or an adoption blog in the next week or so. Either way, wish us luck.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Procedure
I was amazed at how calm I was leading up to the actual IUI. Normally I worry and obsess over every little medical thing, but I was relaxed and confident.
Since we live so far from the OB/GYN office, we had to decide when to "collect". It finally occurred to me that there was a men's restroom in the main lobby of the woman's center where my Dr's office is. Since we needed to be there early and since it was a woman's center, I was confident that there would not be a huge crowd for the men's room and the Husband would have privacy to do his thing. He wore cargo pants and tucked the little specimen cup into the side pocket and I waited in the car until he came out and bagged the "collection" in the paper lunch bag we brought just for the occasion.
I was told that someone would be in the office by 7:30 am, but when I got to the door it was locked. I could see lights on in the reception area so I knocked and Little Bo Peep (did I mention that it was Halloween?) came to the door and whisked the Husband's little swimmers away to be washed and spun. I questioned the fact that they wrote nothing on the label of his specimen cup to mark them as ours, but they assured me that we were the only ones there with sperm for the day and it would be fine.
We had breakfast and walked through Target until it was time for the procedure. When I told the receptionist that I was going to run to the restroom, she told me to hold it and to drink more if I could since a full bladder was better. I wish someone had mentioned this sooner.
Within 15 minutes of my second arrival, I was taken back to a room by a pregnant nun. I was told to strip from the waist down and sit on the funky reclining table with the paper sheet over my naked parts. I usually am left in these freezing cold rooms forever, but I only waited about 5 minutes before Dr. Wonderful (Yay!) came in with her sexy vampire assistant and got down to business.
I put my feet in the stirrups and scooted down to the edge of the table. The actual procedure took about 2 minutes from speculum to done. I felt a slight cramping sensation when she inserted the long, skinny tube thingy, but no actual pain or even discomfort.
The vampire quickly tilted my table back until I almost slid off head first and then adjusted the head part back up until I felt like I was sitting in a big baby carrier. Dr. Wonderful asked if I was cold and then told me that she wanted me to stay like this for 20-30 minutes and then a nurse would come back and let me know when I could get up and get dressed.
I didn't wear a watch and there were no clocks in the room, so I have no idea how long I actually stayed there, but it felt longer than 30 minutes. Longer is better I guess. I had brought a book to read, but opted to just lay there and concentrate on getting pregnant.
Finally the nurse came back and I cleaned up and got dressed. I was very surprised at how much liquid there was. When I told the Husband, he asked if I was worried that everything got to where it needed to be. I told him that Dr. Wonderful had mentioned the wet factor and that I am sure it was normal, but I still worried until I came home and researched it.
When I was cleaning up I noticed a slight hint of pink and when I got home it was a very light shade of dark pink, like old blood. Just the slightest bit and no cramping at this point. I went back to bed since I had to work that night and when I woke up I felt fine. About 9 pm that night, 12 hours after the IUI, I felt a cramping feeling in my right ovary area and back. I am wondering if it was ovulation. I drank some water and the feeling went away. It lasted about 1 hour total time. The next morning I had slight cramping in the same area, but milder and it only lasted for about 15 minutes. I have felt completely normal since then.
Dr. Wonderful said that I can test 2 weeks from the day of the IUI. Anything before that could read false positive I guess. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, but I have a good feeling about this cycle. We will know soon enough I guess.
Since we live so far from the OB/GYN office, we had to decide when to "collect". It finally occurred to me that there was a men's restroom in the main lobby of the woman's center where my Dr's office is. Since we needed to be there early and since it was a woman's center, I was confident that there would not be a huge crowd for the men's room and the Husband would have privacy to do his thing. He wore cargo pants and tucked the little specimen cup into the side pocket and I waited in the car until he came out and bagged the "collection" in the paper lunch bag we brought just for the occasion.
I was told that someone would be in the office by 7:30 am, but when I got to the door it was locked. I could see lights on in the reception area so I knocked and Little Bo Peep (did I mention that it was Halloween?) came to the door and whisked the Husband's little swimmers away to be washed and spun. I questioned the fact that they wrote nothing on the label of his specimen cup to mark them as ours, but they assured me that we were the only ones there with sperm for the day and it would be fine.
We had breakfast and walked through Target until it was time for the procedure. When I told the receptionist that I was going to run to the restroom, she told me to hold it and to drink more if I could since a full bladder was better. I wish someone had mentioned this sooner.
Within 15 minutes of my second arrival, I was taken back to a room by a pregnant nun. I was told to strip from the waist down and sit on the funky reclining table with the paper sheet over my naked parts. I usually am left in these freezing cold rooms forever, but I only waited about 5 minutes before Dr. Wonderful (Yay!) came in with her sexy vampire assistant and got down to business.
I put my feet in the stirrups and scooted down to the edge of the table. The actual procedure took about 2 minutes from speculum to done. I felt a slight cramping sensation when she inserted the long, skinny tube thingy, but no actual pain or even discomfort.
The vampire quickly tilted my table back until I almost slid off head first and then adjusted the head part back up until I felt like I was sitting in a big baby carrier. Dr. Wonderful asked if I was cold and then told me that she wanted me to stay like this for 20-30 minutes and then a nurse would come back and let me know when I could get up and get dressed.
I didn't wear a watch and there were no clocks in the room, so I have no idea how long I actually stayed there, but it felt longer than 30 minutes. Longer is better I guess. I had brought a book to read, but opted to just lay there and concentrate on getting pregnant.
Finally the nurse came back and I cleaned up and got dressed. I was very surprised at how much liquid there was. When I told the Husband, he asked if I was worried that everything got to where it needed to be. I told him that Dr. Wonderful had mentioned the wet factor and that I am sure it was normal, but I still worried until I came home and researched it.
When I was cleaning up I noticed a slight hint of pink and when I got home it was a very light shade of dark pink, like old blood. Just the slightest bit and no cramping at this point. I went back to bed since I had to work that night and when I woke up I felt fine. About 9 pm that night, 12 hours after the IUI, I felt a cramping feeling in my right ovary area and back. I am wondering if it was ovulation. I drank some water and the feeling went away. It lasted about 1 hour total time. The next morning I had slight cramping in the same area, but milder and it only lasted for about 15 minutes. I have felt completely normal since then.
Dr. Wonderful said that I can test 2 weeks from the day of the IUI. Anything before that could read false positive I guess. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, but I have a good feeling about this cycle. We will know soon enough I guess.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Update on the shot
Sorry about leaving anyone hanging, but these last several days have been insane for us because of a huge craft sale a good friend and I were doing. That is over and I am here to fill in all the details on our little adventure.
I am scared of needles. I have gotten better (don't you kind of have to when you are undergoing fertility testing and treatment? It's really inconvenient to panic and faint that often.), but I still am very nervous about them and just try not to think about it too much when I need a shot or blood drawn. That was my plan for this Ovidrel shot and it worked until about 5 hours before the scheduled 9 pm torture.
I read the instructions several times and decided that 8 pm would be plenty of time for the meds to get to room temp. At about 8:50 pm I handed the Husband the instructions and went to the first aid kit to pull out gauze pads and alcohol swabs. By 9 pm on the dot the Husband was on his knees, pinching by belly fat and ready to jab the needle in. This is when the real panic set in. I wasn't sure if I was going to hyperventilate or pass out first. I was holding onto the bathroom counter for support and was afraid to open my eyes for fear of seeing the needle jamming into my stomach in the mirror.
Turns out I didn't feel a thing. He told me the needle was already in and the only time I might have felt a slight sting was for a fraction of a second when he started pushing the plunger. He did the whole professional hold the gauze pad over and remove the needle and I held it there for a few minutes, but when I took it away I couldn't even see where the needle had punctured me or feel where it was either. I did develop a bruise about the size of a quarter in the spot, but it is not sore at all.
Later that night I crawled into bed and started thinking that I really should have read the info that came with the meds to know what side effects to look for (translation: worry about). Good thing I did the shot before reading the side effects. I told the Husband that I was even more resolved that if this cycle doesn't work then we move on to adoption. The thought of OHSS is enough to make me light headed, and the risk for cancer, minute as it might be, is not something I am willing to risk time and time again.
Tomorrow I will give you all the crazy details of the actual IUI procedure. I had a hard time finding really good details from people who have experienced IUI when I did a search, so I want to give a really detailed blow by blow of my experience so maybe it will help someone frantically googling IUI to know what to expect.
I am scared of needles. I have gotten better (don't you kind of have to when you are undergoing fertility testing and treatment? It's really inconvenient to panic and faint that often.), but I still am very nervous about them and just try not to think about it too much when I need a shot or blood drawn. That was my plan for this Ovidrel shot and it worked until about 5 hours before the scheduled 9 pm torture.
I read the instructions several times and decided that 8 pm would be plenty of time for the meds to get to room temp. At about 8:50 pm I handed the Husband the instructions and went to the first aid kit to pull out gauze pads and alcohol swabs. By 9 pm on the dot the Husband was on his knees, pinching by belly fat and ready to jab the needle in. This is when the real panic set in. I wasn't sure if I was going to hyperventilate or pass out first. I was holding onto the bathroom counter for support and was afraid to open my eyes for fear of seeing the needle jamming into my stomach in the mirror.
Turns out I didn't feel a thing. He told me the needle was already in and the only time I might have felt a slight sting was for a fraction of a second when he started pushing the plunger. He did the whole professional hold the gauze pad over and remove the needle and I held it there for a few minutes, but when I took it away I couldn't even see where the needle had punctured me or feel where it was either. I did develop a bruise about the size of a quarter in the spot, but it is not sore at all.
Later that night I crawled into bed and started thinking that I really should have read the info that came with the meds to know what side effects to look for (translation: worry about). Good thing I did the shot before reading the side effects. I told the Husband that I was even more resolved that if this cycle doesn't work then we move on to adoption. The thought of OHSS is enough to make me light headed, and the risk for cancer, minute as it might be, is not something I am willing to risk time and time again.
Tomorrow I will give you all the crazy details of the actual IUI procedure. I had a hard time finding really good details from people who have experienced IUI when I did a search, so I want to give a really detailed blow by blow of my experience so maybe it will help someone frantically googling IUI to know what to expect.
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