Month: September 2018

Day 35, Sort of, also considered Day 0

Published September 30, 2018 by Editor in Chief

This morning we had the retrieval. Here’s how it went:

6:30am – Woke up, stomach hurt, went to the bathroom.
7:00am – David work up, worked his magic
7:30am – We left late! We were supposed to leave at 7:15am.
7:55am – David made it there 10 minutes faster than it takes me.
8:15am – Or thereabouts, we are taken back, I put on the gown and we sign some forms.
8:30am – Someone comes by and reviews our IDs to confirm the sample is ours and we are who we say we are. He is the person who will review the sperm and do the ICSI!
8:35am – Someone from anesthesia comes by and tries to put stuff into veins in my left hand, that doesn’t work, then my right hand, that doesn’t work, so she bandages me up and leaves the room.
8:40am – Someone else comes by and says, “They missed twice,” inspiring great confidence in me, but we laugh it off.
8:45am – Someone else comes by and puts the IV drip in my left arm, in a spot close to where they’ve been pulling blood. Blood did not squirt everywhere, so that went smoothly.
9:00am – The person in charge of explaining the clinical trial we are doing comes by. The trial requires an extra month of drugs that we did not realize. David asks when we can declare we don’t want to do the trial anymore, because we are thinking the same thing.
9:20am – I’m in the operating room! They declare it is 9:20am, I don’t remember anything here.
9:47am – They ask David back to the room I’m in. And I am there. I asked David what I said to him. He says I said, “David, it hurts.”
9:48am – I tell David I am thirsty and he holds up water for me. There are also saltines, and he asks if I want one. I say a small piece. In my head I want him to eat the other half, because I don’t want it. He asks me if he can have the other half. I love him for this – his love of saltines. The Doctor tells us they retrieved 20 eggs, and I will likely feel some pain these next few days. I was planning to play tennis on Tuesday, but this is not happening.
11:35 – We are home. We fall asleep immediately.
12:55 – I am awake and working on a project for a client who called us Friday. He was crying because instead of three weeks from now, his client is going live Monday and wants to know what we can do. I have been working on this all weekend, and I deeply resent my inability to say “No,” to people.

I ate a banana, and in the afternoon David picked up a salad for us to eat this afternoon, and we ate it. My ovaries/stomach still hurt, a lot. They gave us pain killers, but it’s just Tylenol. So I haven’t taken any. I’m going to go lie down now.

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Ode to David

Published September 30, 2018 by Editor in Chief

David I love your medium-length curly hair.
I think you look sweet, strong and debonair
For Halloween you’re going to be Mandy Patinkin
At least right now that’s what you’re thinking.

These last few weeks have felt longer than most
But you were so good, to myself I boast.
You mixed the medications, you got up early,
You weren’t your morning self, which is rather surly.

We made jokes that I so wish I wrote down
And when I was difficult you were the clown
You made me laugh even though it hurt
You cooked us tasty salmon and got us dessert.

This morning’s blood draw shows we’re on track
We’ll review the clinical trial, a little to unpack.
And you have to do your part as well.
You’ll stroke your manhood and it shall swell.

Tomorrow’s the day for retrieval surgery!
Let’s hope Kavanaugh gets slapped with perjury!
Anyway, to phase 1 we can finally say adieu
And I want you to always know this, I love you.

…

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Day 33, Sort of

Published September 28, 2018 by Editor in Chief

Well hello there. Yesterday’s hearing was baffling. I thought about it on my walk to my blood work and ultrasound appointment this morning. The nominee was hysterical when reading aloud his personally written statement. I laughed when he announced he had written it himself like a child might, and then thought “Well yeah, no one rational would sign off on this unhinged, partisan rant.”

I found his behavior and responses wholly disqualifying for the position, regardless of the accusation, which I also believed.

I’ve also been reading analyses of the hearing, and the consensus seemed to be there should be more investigation because she was credible.

I was feeling bloated too, but not so much that I couldn’t walk on the first partly sunny morning we have had in a while. The check-up went smoothly! The nurse used a smaller needle to draw blood on my right arm, and the Doctor was in this morning and measured my follicles. She told me there was a chance I would trigger tonight with an extraction Sunday. I was super giddy to hear this, because I am not interested in receiving more shots, and I feel like my ovaries are going to explode already. She said my blood work would determine the final call.

I asked the Doctor about something David would have to do, and I’m not elaborating here, but I’m documenting it because I returned home and recapped this interaction with David who was annoyed with me about it, but then we had a good laugh.

Anyway, work was busy, but I anxiously waited for my follow-up call formally telling me about the trigger time. And I finally got it around 3pm! Caitlin, my nurse, shared it was trigger night and that I would get a call with the exact time from the operating room. There are 14 large follicles right now. And I don’t have to take the Cetrotide shot in the morning, just a blood test.
So Yay! This phase is almost over!

Something I learned today: estrogen is the reason for discharge. I shared that I had quite a bit of discharge, and the doctor explained that that was because I have a lot of estrogen right now.

…

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Day 30, Sort of

Published September 25, 2018 by Editor in Chief

I walked to my bloodwork and ultrasound appointment this morning, after David gave me the Cetrotide shot. The forecast said it was not going to rain, so I wore a city slicker jacket which looks like a raincoat and costs like a raincoat, but it’s maybe just a windbreaker or a layer of clothing. It’s definitely NOT water proof. It looks cool and has a flattering cut, so I like wearing it.

Anyway it was sprinkling when I stepped outside, and I rationalized a little sprinkle would be lovely on the walk, perhaps it would feel invigorating. I welcomed it.

After three blocks it started pouring. This turn of events was less welcome, but I kept going because turning back would make me late(r).

3/4 of the way there, the sidewalk was closed! It was closed for just two blocks. I didn’t even know they were planning construction there.

I arrived at the office 8 minutes late, which was fine, there were several people ahead of me. One woman was lifting an 8lb weight with her left hand in the waiting room. “That’s a great idea!” I said to her, thinking she was trying to get in a little exercise. “It’s the only way they can see the vein,” she replied sheepishly, lifting more.

I felt bloated this morning, but I pretty much always feel bloated, so I could not tell if the medication is causing it or it’s just Tuesday.

The Doctor did my ultrasound, and she said things were moving along and it looks like we have another week before the removal. This was upsetting because I was hoping we could wrap this up this week! She shared I have some little follicles they are interested in seeing progress, so they can retrieve as many potential eggs as possible. The smaller follicles might not have eggs, she shared, but they want to optimize the retrieval.

I walked back home in the rain.

When I got home, I saw the Washington Post had a digital clip of a young woman deciding whether or not to freeze her eggs. A therapist asked her how she would feel if she froze the eggs and found out that they did not work. She thoughtfully responded, “I’d be upset about all the money wasted.” I thought that was a super honest answer, no matter what stage you are in in the process. It’s all so expensive.

…

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Day 29, Sort of

Published September 24, 2018 by Editor in Chief

This morning David administered a package of Cetrotide, per instructions we received last night. Cetrotide is to prevent ovulation. And tonight he will administer a lower dose of Gonal F and a higher dose of Menapur. Gonal F is to stimulate the follicles and Menapur is to help stimulate the follicles and ovulation. It sounds like these drugs are all fighting each other, but the gist of it is that they’re trying to grow a bunch of follicles (rather than just one) at the same time so they can extract a handful of eggs.

The nurses recommend avoiding exercise during this process, but you are allowed to walk. It’s raining outside, so I roamed the building hallways a little, got the mail, and put my registration stickers on my car license plate. You’re also supposed to limit twisting motions, and it has made me a little more conscious of how often I’m twisting in general. Whether it’s sleeping, sitting on the couch, or even sitting at my desk, for some reason my body is rarely entirely facing forward.

…

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Day 28, Sort Of

Published September 23, 2018 by Editor in Chief

I’ve been just terrible at updating – I’m sorry about that. However counting days has been a helpful reminder of how quickly time flies!

I took my last birth control pill on the 16th. I do believe the pills made me irritable, because on September 7th (day 12) I saw a sketch I had written performed. It had been edited, and I wanted to slap the person or people who had edited the sketch. It’s possible this dismay had nothing to do with the pills, because I’m still angry about it. Either way, I tried to limit my social interactions these past few weeks, lest my rage manifest itself through scathing, clever jabs that I could not take back.

On Day 22, the day after my last birth control pill, I had my check-in. They took blood and did an ultrasound to make sure everything looked good. On Day 24 I got my period, which is a good thing, because if I had started bleeding when they need to extract the eggs, that would have been a problem.

Day 25 was the first day we administered shots. We decided 11pm would be our recurring time. David was a champ: we watched the videos again, he mixed the Menapur, and he applied the shots. The first night the shots didn’t hurt, but the second night the shots did hurt. And last night the Menapur hurt.

Day 28, today, was the day to go in for bloodwork and ultrasound. Based on the results, they would let me know whether to change dosage and whether to take additional medicine. David woke up early to come with me to the appointment, but then I told him he didn’t have to come because he had already done so much. He accepted my empty offer to stay home – which is on me, I should have been more clear about my real needs – I drove to the facility in the rain, and I took the wrong exit, because I did not see the sign correctly and I generally have a terrible sense of direction.

When the nurse took blood, I winced. “I take it you don’t like needles,” she quipped, and I shared I was fine with them before, but given the general increase of needles over the past few days I’ve become more wary of them. Then in the ultrasound room I put the paper cover on the way I normally do, wrapping it all the way around me. Apparently this is incorrect. You are just supposed to use the paper to cover on top of you. You don’t sit on the paper. The ultrasound tech pointed the error out to me. Then I fixed it and asked how I should sit on the chair. The ultrasound tech asked if it was my first ultrasound and shared that she didn’t see a note in my chart about it being my first ultrasound, and had she known, she would have given me more guidance up front. This was closer to my 20th ultrasound, so I shared it wasn’t my first but that the chair was a little different. It was different. The back of the chair was flat, and normally the back of the chair is at an angle. In she went with the probe, and I have 16 follicles on the left ovary and 20 follicles on the right ovary. I asked her about the pain I felt around the medication, and she shared I would have to speak to a nurse and that she was only the technician and not qualified to dispense medical advice.

I shared the irritation in my stomach area with the nurse. “Do you have a lot of muscle in your abdominal area?” she asked.
“I…like to think so, yes,” I replied. (I don’t have the six-pack I aspired to a couple of weeks ago, but I’m not so shabby.)
“The more muscle you have there, the more it’s going to hurt,” she said. “Well that makes me feel better,” I replied.
“You can apply it to other parts of your body, like your thighs,” she advised.

I don’t mean to brag, dear blog, but there’s muscle there too!

Anyway, then I got back in the car, in the rain, and took the wrong exit coming home. But I made it home! I stopped on the way to go grocery shopping with my brother, and I might have bought some Nutella.

And then I might have eaten that Nutella.

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Day 14, Sort Of

Published September 9, 2018 by Editor in Chief

Thursday we had our training session for how to administer the drugs for the IVF. David came with me, which I thought would be a good idea, because I want him to know every detail and be a real part of the process. This turned out to be a mixed blessing.

There were two other women in the training session, and their husbands didn’t come. This is only bad because I felt bad. One woman said in a sincerely jovial manner, “My husband’s going to hear about this!” Then she followed up with: “He got in late last night, and he’s already at work, so I’ll give him a pass.” I instantly liked her and honestly felt like she was someone I would be friends with. If I were younger and had more free time, I would have befriended this woman.

The same woman also gave us some pointers about purchasing medication if you are doing self-pay: she compared the two retailers to the pricing Aetna gave her for buying the drugs. Buying directly from the people who had the deals with Shady Grove (rather than the Aetna pricing) saved almost $10,000! She also said that depending on who she had spoken to, she heard different pricing for the drugs each time she called, because some people knew to look up discounts. The other woman was really nice too, and she had different drugs than the rest of us. I was curious about her treatment, but I don’t know what the etiquette around asking is yet.

We got started with the instructions, and the nurse had laid out practice needles and medicines for us to mix. David was so focused, however, I couldn’t get my hands on any of the medicine. He kept raising his hand to ask questions too. I practically had to pull one of the insertion pens away from him, so I could try practicing with it. But I had to do it subtly so that the other people did not think we were having marital issues or that we weren’t a good team. I don’t know why that felt important to me. I took notes and David paid close attention, so between the two of us we should be able to mix the drugs and provide the correct dosage. They also sent follow-up videos, which was a tremendous relief because that previous sentence I _just_ wrote about us being able to provide the correct dosage based on our notes was a straight up lie. I don’t know why I wrote it. I did not believe it. We will probably play the videos the first few times.

So here’s something else that has been going on:

On Day 2 of birth control (28th), when I last wrote, I had a serious thought. “This is my last chance to get rock hard abs.”
I vowed to get a six pack while I did not have to worry that there was a person growing inside me. I got on the Peloton and cycled hard for 30 minutes, then I took a 10 minute arms class. And at night when we got drinks with friends, I stood the entire time, I asked for water and drank it while sucking in my gut, to strengthen my abdominal muscles. I played tennis extra hard. I rode the bicycle aggressively. I cut back on chocolate.

Then we went to New York and I ate four donuts in twenty minutes, so I remain sans six pack.

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