I'm Back

Hey ladies, I'm just posting a quick note to say that I'm back from Ireland! It was an exhausting trip and afterward Brandon and I agreed to keep our future vacations to 10 days or less. Anything longer than that and it kinda wears on us and we get a little homesick. Maybe we're just getting old. We also decided that our next big vacation (if we don't have kids) would NOT be an adventure but a relaxing vacation on the beach somewhere. Maybe Indonesia. But that is very far into the future and we're not making plans for that anytime soon. Our next vacation will be at the end of July for my 30th birthday. I'm going to Orlando to see family and of course the Harry Potter theme park!

For now I'm going to be posting all about our trip in three separate posts with the last post discussing my Ireland giveaway! I hope to have the first post up by tomorrow.

On a completely unrelated note, for the Womack ladies who go to Dr. P for fertility treatments, he's putting together a book of our personal stories. If you're interested in sharing your journey of infertility please email it to ourparkerjourneys@gmail.com. I'm not sure if I'm going to include my story unless it turns out to be a successful one. I doubt anyone wants to hear the long journey of 2 IVF's and 2-3 FET's and no pregnancy to show for it lol

Ultrasound #3

Things are starting to move along pretty nicely now. I've got 19 follicles, probably a bit more. Unfortunately the ultrasound machine only records 10 follicles per ovary so once the u/s tech gets to 10 she stops measuring. So there might be more than 10 follies on my left ovary. Here's the numbers for today:

Left Ovary- 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 12
Right Ovary- 8 8 9 10 10 11 13 13 13
Estradiol (e2)- 1,251

It seems that my right ovary has the biggest follicles but the fewest quantity, probably because there's no room for more! Nurse D wants me back for another scan tomorrow morning. It's starting to look like I was stimming slow in the beginning but now my body is in full gear and they want to monitor me a little more closely. I'm definitely feeling the back pain that I had during my last IVF, I'm just glad I was able to avoid it until now. Hopefully I won't have to deal with it much longer but this time I was prepared and bought a nice new heating pad just in case.

Nurse D also mentioned that she's 85% sure that I'm going to trigger on Monday night for a Wednesday retrieval. This is a huge relief because that means I'll have my Saturday transfer and we can go back home on Sunday without a huge rush. Of course that's always subject to change but it's highly unlikely.

Tonight I'm going out with G, a former IVF patient at Womack who ended up with a set of adorable triplets. Craig Morgan is playing on Pope Air Force Base tonight and we're going to go. Brandon doesn't think I should go because there's going to be smoking and loud music, but I don't think that will kill our "babies". Susanne left for the weekend to go home but I'll get my friend back on Monday when she comes back for her next appointment. I'm thinking about making this awesome cake with her to celebrate our IVF cycle. How cool would that be!!

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

Guess who I'm seeing this weekend? I'll give you a hint....

I'm taking a trip down to NC for my saline sonogram and to pick up my meds for my upcoming cycle. While I'm there I'll get to see one of my IVF friends (and fellow blogger!) and my nephew, sister and BIL. The last time I saw Blake he was still in the NICU. I have to admit, he wasn't the cutest baby in the world with his huge head, wrinkly skin and bulging eyes. But I hear that comes with the territory with preemies and 11 months later he's turned out to be a pretty cute baby. When my mom and grandparents found out I was coming to NC they all decided to drive up and visit as well. So it's going to be a pretty busy weekend. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it down next month for his first birthday, but at least I'll get to see him now before he starts walking and talking.

ICLWer's Welcome!

Welcome to my first IComLeavWe. I'm sure there will be a learning curve in this process while I experience a few hiccups as I try to figure this out. My name is Christa, I currently reside in Washington State with my husband. I'm originally from NC, he's from UT. He's a submariner in the Navy so we will not be living here long. We hope to move to sunny Georgia this summer.

I'm currently in Fayetteville, NC going through my first IVF cycle. There are only 6 Military Treatment Facilities in the US that coordinate IVF and the closest one to use (Madigan) has a wait list until April 2011. So I flew out here to Womack because 1) There is no wait list and 2) because I have family living close by who can visit me. Although it turns out that none of them are visiting me so I'm hoping for a visit from a friend or two during the next two weeks. At least I've made a few new friends when I met some of the other girls who are cycling with me this month.

I've only had one ultrasound so far in this cycle but the next week should be a flurry of activity, which I will constantly blog about because I have nothing better to do. So please make yourself at home and feel free to feed Winston, he's always hungry!

A very long day

Well I finally made it to good ol' Fayetteville. I flew in to Raleigh and picked up my rental car and called Nurse D on the way to Fort Bragg. She wanted me to come in for an u/s right away. She was a bit concerned about how I was responding to the stim medication, considering this is my first IVF. I have to admit, I was a little worried too. So my first stop is to Womack for a date with the dildo cam. It turns out that I have about 18 follicles (though I think Dr. P counted some twice) with varying sizes from 7mm to 11mm. My E2 levels were about 660. Nurse D says that's great. That's exactly what I needed to hear. I was so worried that I wouldn't respond well to this medication and now I'm feeling much more relaxed. So I'm chugging along with the same protocol that I've had the past 5 days and I'll go back tomorrow morning for another ultrasound.

After my appointment I checked in at the Fisher House. It's pretty nice, it looks just like a big house with 8 rooms, a kitchen, dining room and living room. They have a computer for internet access (I'm too dumb to figure out how to connect my laptop to the wireless internet). They have two full-size beds and a bathroom in each room with a TV. Downstairs they have a huge bookshelf filled with books, DVD's and VHS movies. I picked up Harry Potter. I started reading the books and I'm getting addicted. Anyway, I think tonight I'll just order a pizza and watch my movie. Tomorrow I'll need to go to the commissary for some real food and a few odds and ends.

T minus 11 days....

and counting! Today was my baseline ultrasound. Everything went fine, the ute and ovaries looked normal. However the doctors at Madigan were a little confused as to why I was getting a baseline u/s when I'm still on birth control pills. I don't stop taking them until next Tuesday. The doctor said their protocol is to perform the baseline u/s after getting off bcp's and before starting the stims. They just assumed the RE at Womack does things differently and did the procedure anyway.

So now things are looking A-okay for my January IVF. In 11 days I will start my Lupron shots, and in 12 days I get the whole cocktail of stimming meds. I've booked my one-way plane ticket to NC and Brandon's round-trip ticket. Unfortunately he will only be able to stay for about 8 days out of the 14 that I will be there. At least he can be there for the most important day, the egg retrival. After all, he is an active participant in this as well and the lab needs his deposit. We don't know if he will be there for the transfer though. We'll just have to see how things go. If he can't make it then perhaps one of the other girls I'm cycling with can take me to the lab since I won't be allowed to drive. Other than that, all is quiet on the fertility front. Now I suppose I'm in the Two Week Wait (TWW) to start this ball rolling.

Feeling overwhelmed

Tuesday night I returned from my trip to NC. It was such an exhausting trip for me, mostly because I had just flew home from Cancun a week before and I was also sick. But it was a productive trip nonetheless. First I met with Dr. Parker (after getting lost on Fort Bragg, damn my GPS!). He put me back on Metformin XR, even though my doctors here said it wasn't necessary because I'm not insulin-resistant. Still, I feel better being on it because I read that it helps to prevent miscarriages. After meeting with the doctor we all had our IVF class. There were about 8 couples there. We learned about the entire IVF process and what to expect, discussed our schedules and learned how to mix the medications. I left there feeling very overwhelmed. I knew that there would be injectible medications along with progesterone suppositories, but I never considered having to take antibiotics, baby aspirin and a slew of other medications! I didn't know I would need VALIUM for the embryo transfer, I thought it would be quick and painless like an IUI. There are just so many ways to screw up, so many do's and don'ts of the IVF process, I'm sure I'm going to make a mistake somewhere. I'm more nervous now than ever before. I keep reminding myself that many women have done this and so can I but I still feel overwhelmed by it all. I guess I will have to take it one day at a time.
So here is my schedule: I stop birth control pills on January 12th (still waiting for my period though, I haven't even started them), I take Lupron twice a day on the 15th, then the next day I start Lupron, Gonal-F and Menopur twice a day. My first u/s appointment will be the 21st, although I will probably fly out to NC on the 19th. Taking my medications home wasn't a big deal, all I had was the Gonal-F and the Menopur, but taking the Lupron to NC will be tricky. I plan on bringing a lunchbox with ice packs and hope the flight attendants will let me store the package in their fridge on the plane.
So for the next few weeks I'm going to try and relax as much as possible, take some vitamin supplements and eat healthy and do alot of praying!! Wish me luck!!

Busy busy busy!!

I know I have lagged in my responsibilities as a blogger but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity in the Singleton home. Brandon finally came home from his deployment a week before Thanksgiving. I flew out to HAWAII to see him while he was in port. We didn't get to do much sightseeing, he had a rough work schedule. But at least we were able to see each other. We also took a week-long trip to Cancun. We had a blast!! Usually when I make vacation plans I try not to visit a place that I've already been, but I would definitely visit Cancun again if I had the chance. However our next big trip will be....Ireland! A co-worker of mine visited Ireland the same time we were in Cancun and her pictures have solidified my desire to visit that beautiful country. It make take a couple years before we go on another big vacation, but one way or another we will go to Ireland.
Tonight I am flying out to North Carolina to finally start my IVF cycle. I will be meeting with the doctor at Womack on Monday, take the injection class, and pick up my medications. I'm assuming that I will also get my medication protocol then. I have no idea what they will plan for me but I hope it's a little aggressive. Even when I was taking the maximum dosage of Clomid I would only get one lousy follicle. I hope the injections will be different. I am curious about transporting my meds though. Will they need to be refridgerated during the trip, or only after I've opened them and started using them? I hope I have room for all of them in my carry-on suitcase and bookbag because that's all I'm bringing with me. I guess I'll find out when I get there!
I can't believe things are finally starting to move with my IVF. I keep telling myself, this time next month I'll be starting my medications and on my way to (hopefully) getting pregnant!!