Wednesday, December 12, 2007

CD1

Wooohoooo! AF finally arrived at exactly 8 p.m. last night. That would make today CD1, right? Since if you get AF later than 6pm CD1 is the next day? Hmmm, I will ask when I call me RE and set up my day 3 u/s and b/w. I talked to my nurse yesterday, she said everything is set for me to start this cycle and she doesn't know why the other lady used the word "probably." I was definitely relieved. So, if today is in fact CD1, which I believe it is, then CD3 will be on Friday. So we will start the stims Friday night. We have to go to the pharmacy tonight and pick up the Follistim cartridges (which supposedly come with needles?) and the RE's office will give us the Follistim pen on Friday. AF is definitely here with a vengeance! She must be mad because I have been talking crap about her in an attempt to lure her out of her hiding place. Now she is making me pay for my smart remarks. The Prometrium gives me a different kind of AF than the Provera. I cant explain it except that I have different side effects this time. Usually I have pretty bad cramps a couple of days before AF arrives, this time not much. This time I had much more emotional side effects (ie. being a real b*tch.) Last night, after I discovered AF, I went to bed at 8pm and slept until 6 this morning. I woke up at 6 completely drenched in a cold sweat and was actually shivering. Really strange. ***I just called my RE, today would be CD1 and my appointment is scheduled for Friday at 7:15***

So the plan is: CD3 u/s & b/w on Friday. They will give me the Follistim Pen on Friday and show me how to use it. They will call me in the afternoon with my b/w results and tell me what the doctor has decided my initial dose of Follistim will be. I guess he waits to see the blood work results. She didn't tell me when I will come back for my second scan. Does anyone know how soon they bring you back in after your initial injection?

A couple of questions for those of you that have done this before:

1. I want to pay much more attention to particulars this time (ie. follicle size and blood levels.) Did you just take notes while your doctor was doing the ultrasound? How did you get all the specific information like the exact amount of follicles, their sizes, and E2 levels? I don't remember them telling me anything specific about blood results other than it looks good. Is there a place I can look online that tells me where my levels should be?

2. Is it beneficial to temp BBT while doing injectables? I haven't done BBT in 4 or 5 years, before I knew there was a problem, but for some reason I have the need to really know what is going on with my body this time and to keep track of symptoms. Do the medications affect your BBT? Would it still be accurate?

3. Is there any limits to what I should be doing physically once I get the IUI? I am doing a dinner theatre for church which involves some dancing and a lot of moving around. I am contemplating telling the director that I can't do the dances after I get my IUI. I just don't want to do anything to hurt my chances after we spent all of this money.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to comment on my blog and to those of you that just lurk (I know you are there) come out and say hello! Sorry I am so full of questions but remember, we haven't done any type of treatments for about 2 years so it's like starting all over again.

Last but not least, please stop by Cece's blog and give her some love, she is going through a hard time.

5 comments:

AwkwardMoments said...

First congrats to AF arriving and getting the show on the road. To asnwer your questions:

1- I would ask my u/s tech the follie size and remember them til i got to the car are wrote them down (or wrote them down after i got dressed again. When my nurse would call me back with my e2 lvls, i just asked for the numbers. There is no amount of follies that are good/bad really. You want the follie to be mature before triggering with hcg. Mature is about 16- 25mm in size.(most dr's like to see 3 follies at a mature size- too many and you risk multi's) Your e2 (ESTRADOIL) lvl will rise according to how many follies you have as they mature. your follies shold grow about 1-3mm a dayish give or take some. You Uterine lining will increase also it should get to be about 7-12mm in thickness arounbd trigger day..

check out this website - most info is pretty accurate :http://www.fertilitytoday.org/frequent_questions.html

2- I would not worry with bbt or opk's if you are being monitored. The ultrasounds are way more effective. You will know where your body is and what it is doing by the blood work and monitoring.
also for a lil assvice, It's best to just leave some things up to the dr's, medicine, and prayers and let them do the job for you. I know that is easier said than done. But you are paying them to do this for you .. so let them. (sorry for that if it upset you)

3- your limits should be what you are comfortable with. some people are more comfortable with different levels of activity- you do what is best for your mental/physical state - this is your body and your time and your enegry.

My first IUI, I was just excited to feel like we were making progress and I used it as an experimental phase. That may not have been the best way to approach it. But i allowed myself to enjoy the science and wonder of it all. It was comforting for me to see how mu body did respond. Also know that all bodies do not respond the same way. Treatments and Infertility can not be compared. It's unique to each person and its your story and your journey. I wish you the best in the cycle. May this be your last for a good 9 months!


(sorry it got long and wordy- just know you are in good hands)

Cece said...

First, thanks for the love. I needed it.

As for levels and numbers and everything? If you are that kind of gal, ask for it. I was, and it helped me understand what was going on. But I got all my level advice from the gals on pregnancy.org - it's a worthwhile bulliten board if you didn't know about it already. For activity? Again, ask your doc - but if you were doing it before you should be able to do it in the 2ww. But, my nurse gave me great advice on all this stuff - if you'll blame yourself later (if it didn't work, if you have spotting, whatever) don't do it.

Its all about YOU and what you are comfortable with. Less stress is best.

My_Herstory said...

Hi Morrisa, best of luck with your cycle!!
I tracked my levels during my first IUI because I wanted to kno how my body reacted to everything. It was rather neat to see the numbers and understand fully how things work and what they look for.
As far as doing your dances and such, the dr told me to continue on like normal. So I did. Although, I haven't been to the gym, but I think that's because I've been preoccupied with to many thoughts, and some of the side effects had turned me into a lump on my couch for two weeks. I could tell I wasn't use to them. Least I know for next time what to expect (and to push myself a lot more and make the time for the gym cuase I miss it) if this cycle is a bust.
I wish you the very best for a successful cycle!

CAM said...

I never did the bbt at all...so can't comment there. With follicle size etc. I always ask tons of questions to the doc and the nurses. They tease me about it now - and I always make sure that I can see the u/s monitor to see exactly what is going on. I do know that the more uniformly the follies are growing, the better. Physically you do whatever you have done before. The only time you'll be uncomfortable is a few days before the hcg trigger b/c you are so bloated and full of fluid and follies that you feel yucky. I am excited for you and your upcoming cycle!
Thanks for your comments on my blog. The support from blogland is so great!!
:)

Rebecca said...

I did three IUI cycles and they didn't really temper my activity at all...which is nice. I didn't ask about the follicle size, but my husband (an engineer) remembered and tracked everything. Now that we're in IVF, I'm a lot more "on top" of things.

I never relied on BBT - especially when you're working so closely with your doctor, their results are much more accurate.

Good luck and know that you're not alone!