Friday, August 10, 2007

IVF #2 already?

I guess I'd always hoped that I wouldn't need to qualify the term IVF with a number, but it's looking like the case. It certainly does help keep things organized, though.

Anyway, Numero Dos has been sort of this abstract idea all summer, so it's hard to believe it's finally here, but now that I'm on bcp it's definitely getting real. I ordered my meds this morning and have my calendar all ready. I'm trying to keep a lid on it, but I'm getting kind of excited again. Of course I'm not so excited about the six-plus shots a day I'll be taking, but I think just being proactive again has got me all giddy. Also I like collecting information and organizing calendars (weird for someone who's really not all that organized in life) so getting all my protocol info gave me an excuse to calendar-and-spreadsheet-it-up a bit. Geek!!

So my protocol looks like this:

BCP through 8/15
Baseline 8/18 and if all is ok, I'll take my evening shot of microdose lupr0n that night.
The next day I add in the stims, so each morning I'll take 3 shots:
10iu lupr0n
225iu foll1stim
75iu repr0nex

and then each evening I'll do it all over again! In fact sometimes it could be more than 3 shots. My coordinator suggested I buy the foll1stim in the 300iu cartridges (rather than 600) because the overflow is the same amount (about 120iu) in every size, so I'll save a little money by getting 12 overflows rather than 6. but probably have to take a few multiple shots to get my dose in. Who knows how much it will really save, but any money saved at this point is a good thing. Especially given the fact that I QUIT MY JOB! AND I DON'T HAVE ANOTHER ONE!*

I'll also continue taking dhea and wheatgrass and although I won't be drinking those delicious herbs once I start stimming, I will have acu three times during the middle week of my stims. That's a whole lot. Last time she used the electrostatic (?) stimulator which was in a word, weird. She thought she'd done it before with me, so had it all hooked up, and casually said to me (while I'm laying face down) "Ok, I'm going to turn on the electro..." "WHAT?" I yelped, yanking up my head, which was of course stuck to that little piece of paper that's supposed to keep things all hygienic, and probably messing up all the needles. Once she explained it to me and I could feel it working I wasn't so freaked out, but for a while there I thought I'd accidentally signed up for electroshock therapy. In the end it was fine. Just like a light tapping on my lower back. Hopefully it did the trick!

I don't get a monitoring u/s until day 7 of stims, which is a little odd (although Amy R has the same thing happening). I'm guessing that since I'm on the max dose of meds, there's no real reason to check in any sooner? Who knows. It's fine with me because the fewer opportunities I have to obsess over follicle counts and sizes, the better! Not that I won't do it on my own.

Anyway, I've got some excitement and hope brewin'. I will try my best to keep them both to a minimum by remembering the complete and utter meltdown I had last time, but I don't know if I can do it. Come along with me?


*So, I didn't get into it too much in my blog, but I HATED this job. I've been working in nonprofits for way too long and am so over it. I kind of knew that going in when I took the job in January, but stupidly I thought this would be different. Nope. So I've decided to head back into the "real world" and hopefully make some decent money. I'm going to temp a bit to get a feel for what type of company or which industry suits me best. It's also good timing because if I happen to be not working while I'm going through the transfer, etc, that's definitely not a bad thing! My last day is next Wednesday and I am pumped!!! Between this and my new IVF cycle, so far August is a banner month! I just hope September is even better. I mean, it has to work this time, right?

4 comments:

Mama Bear said...

I'm so excited about IVF #2! It seems like they learned a lot during the first one, so I think this cycle is going to look really good. I'm really hoping for the best for you, Erin, and have a good feeling.

Also--congrats on quitting the job! I know that probably sounds strange, but I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage. So, I wish you the best in your search for something better!

Unknown said...

Hey congrats on turning over the new leaf job-wise! I know its not January 1st, but I hope the rest of 07' will bring good changes to ALL aspects of your life :)

Geohde said...

Man, that sure sounds like a busy protocol.

I'm sorry that your job was so sucky that you had to quit. How unpleasant.

Von said...

Best of luck with it all. You certainly see to have it all under control.
Good luck also with the new job. How exciting and the perfect thing to keep other things off your mind.