The Meds...

From start to finish, the entire IVF process is about 8 weeks long. We had to wait until my time of the month for February before the 8 week process could begin. Once that happened, I made a phone call to the doctor and we were off to the races. I was provided a calendar - which I rely on heavily.

To start,  I had to have several tests (sonograms, hormone levels, 9 vials of blood taken, etc... ). It was determined that I had a low AMH level. This is the Anti Mullerian Hormone - which is one way to determine my remaining egg reserve. The goal is to have an AMH level of over 1 and mine was .58. Couple this with Jeff's Male Factor and we felt even more certain about our decision to move forward with IVF over the Vericocele surgery. 

Next - I had to get on the pill. Counter-productive... I know. But, the goal is to be able to control when I would have my next period so that the calendar would work out as needed. To say that this is a precise science is an extreme understatement. So, for 3 weeks I took the pill along with Pre-natal vitamins. Jeff and I both started a round of a general antibiotic to "clear out" any infections or illnesses so that we start this process as healthy as possible.

Then came the delivery. The meds were delivered to me in a big box. It was packed with syringes, medicines, a cooler with more medicine and the biggest dose of Anxiety I'd had about this process to date. I carefully placed all the medicines together and wiped the big tears from my eyes. It was finally sinking in that this was real.

I have a tendency to get tunnel focused about things that I set my mind to. I don't pay much attention to the emotion or the fallout that is associated - I just work to achieve the goal. This can be a detriment to me, and on Med-Delivery day, I got my wake-up call. This was going to be very challenging - on my body, on my emotions, on my relationships - on everything. But, there was no turning back. I kept repeating - "The end justifies the means."

The End Justifies The Means...

After 2 weeks on the pill, the general antibiotic and pre-natals, I am due to take my first injection, Lupron. I take a quick tutorial from the nurse and head home thinking this first shot will be a piece of cake. The next morning, I prepare everything as instructed and all that is left is actually putting this needle in to my gut. Actually getting the courage to stick myself (on purpose) with a needle took another 10 minutes. Turns out - it did not hurt much at all... so all Lupron shots since then have been easy.

As of today, I've been on Lupron for 13 days. I've gained 3 pounds, my joints ache, I have night-sweats and the absolute WORST headaches every.single.day.  But, emotional fallouts are at zero and I have only cried once while watching a sad movie. So, I think things could be much worse.

So, as of the end of last week, the pill and the general antibiotic are done. I'm taking pre-natals daily along with my morning Lupron shot. My time of the month came again - which signified the time to start stimulating my ovaries to produce more eggs. I go to another dr. appointment where they do another sonogram and take another vial of blood. They are making sure my ovaries are clean, my iron and other levels are ok. Everything looks good and we are approved to move forward with the next step. She informs me that my daily shot routine will go from 1 shot to 4. I had in my mind that we were going from 1 to 2. I did not handle this news as well as I could have but did avoid crying in their office - so that's a win in my book.

In the mornings, I inject .05 Lupron and 225 IU of Follistim. 12 hours later, I inject 75 IU of Follistim and 1 vial of Menopur (burns - have to numb my skin with ice before I inject). I'm on day 2 of this process. So far, I gained a pound overnight and have been quite miserable from the continued headaches. My expectations are to get as bloated as Violet from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

My appointments for the next week are Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Monday. I only need to go in and get my blood drawn and a quick sonogram. We have to monitor all of my levels carefully to make sure that my body is responding as needed to these drugs. We are also watching to see when all of these stimulated eggs will be ready to retrieve.

Expectations for now are that I will have the retrieval done around March 14th. The eggs will be fertilized with Jeff's sperm that day and then will be transferred back to my uterus around 3 to 5 days later - depending on their progress. Only 2 embryos will be transferred back and the rest of the viable ones will be frozen for a second round if needed.

For now, I feel hopeful. I feel confident that we will be able to expand our family and it remains my top priority. This was definitely not part of our plan, but necessary nonetheless. We are handling things the best that we can and I will continue to document the process as we experience it.