Scheduling...

Still waiting for AF to appear. It's only been a couple of days, so I'm not stressed about it at all. (yet)

Here's the general medicated FET schedule:

CD1 to CD14 - Estrogen, 2mg 3 times per day

CD14 - Ultrasound to measure lining, if over 7mm then...

CD15 to CD19(or to CD21) - Estrogen, 2mg, 3 times per day, then progesterone 2 times per day  400mg in the am and pm.

CD19 to CD21 - Transfer day happens on any of these days.

So assuming that I get AF tomorrow, transfer would be on Feb 18 to Feb 20. My preference would be to get my period on Sunday Feb 1st. That way transfer could be on Saturday Feb 20th and I would only miss 2 days of work. 

I would only be gone 4 days. Fly our Thursday, arrive in Brno on Friday (Feb 19th), transfer on Saturday, fly home Sunday. Not too much to ask, right?

On a completely different note, baby girl has been born. I don't know how much she weighed, but she was 24 weeks 6 days when she was born. She is in the NICU now and as of the last update is doing remarkably well. 

Hurry Up and Wait

The old familiarity of cycling is coming back to me. Today I am reminded of the hurry up and wait sensation that accompanies cycling.  I took my last progesterone pill today; now I just wait for AF to arrive.  Once It gets here I will begin taking Estrogen three times a day. And before I know it I will be on my way to Brno. Now the decision is whether I should go through Vienna or Prague.  I am leaning towards Vienna because I have already been to Prague.

Oh, another update on my friend.  Baby girl is still hanging in there. 24 weeks, 4 days.  I am praying that baby stays put for as long as she safely can.

#microblog monday

It is weird being back on the infertility rollercoaster. Package came from Brno on time – YAY! What if progesterone doesn’t work? Boo. Found my luck earrings – YAY It must be a sign! What if the embryos don’t survive thaw? Boo. The good (?) thing is knowing that this won’t be a years long process, if we do not have success after this cycle we are done.

Friend - Update

A quick, happy update about my friend.  Baby girl is still hanging on and they officially reached viability today. One hurdle down!

Every day inside means more development for the little one and a better chance once she is born.

Thank-you for keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.  They aren't out of the woods yet, but they are definitely on their way.

ETA, just heard from my friend NICU was in to see her this morning, they told her that at 24 weeks, that hospital has a 90% survival rate. Such great news.

It's Here!!!!!

I got home from work today and there was a notice on my door that I have a package to pick up at the post office. I instantly knew what it was - the estrogen & progesterone have made it here from Brno! I am on day 4 of 10 for progesterone. I was so worried it wouldn't get here in time or that it would be held at the border. Holy smokes, this is actually happening!!!!

Yesterday, Little G and I were chatting about one of the girls in her class and how she her Mom was having twins (I'll get back to that later). She asked me if I could have a baby because she really really wants to be a big sister. I am not telling her about going to Brno or that we are going to try again, so of course I said no. She was upset about it and kept asking me why not. So, I told her that she knows that it's hard for me to have babies and that my eggs aren't very good. She looked at me, and very logically told me that I should just go back to the store and get the same eggs that I got before from the lady so that we could have another baby. It was very cute and a little heartbreaking. I very badly want to give her a little brother or sister, but there are no guarantees.

Back to the twins thing - there are no twins, there is one new little baby brother for Little G's friend. So funny, the little girl was telling everyone that her Mom had twins. I met the Dad and his words were "thank the little baby Jesus, there's only one". LOL!

Back to my cycle... here is the way things are looking, I finish my progesterone on Tuesday Jan 27th. My period shoud start 3 to 5 days later (so let's say 3 for the sake of argument). I then take Estrogen for 14 days - ultrasound on day 14 - February 12th, based on the U/S results I start taking progesterone with my estrogen for 7 more days. On Feb 17 I fly to Brno, with the time change I arrive on Feb 18th, transfer on Feb 19th (assuming embryos survive thaw), travel to Prague on the 19th stay in posh hotel and fly home early Feb 20th.

Things will likely shift a little bit, but I hopefully will end up in Brno the week of the 18th.

Oh, and I should mention that I think the weird headaches etc that I was experiencing was from the progesterone. I didn't experience any weirdness today so I must be getting used to it.

#microblog mondays

I feel crappy this morning; wondering if it’s because I started progesterone last night or due to my lack of sleep. Maybe it’s a bit of column ‘a’ and column ‘b’.

Does progesterone make you nauseous and give you a headache?

Progesterone number 1 Done

Tonight I took my first progesterone tablet out of 10. I was supposed to start it tomorrow night, but my body was acting like AF is on the way and I want to keep it at bay.  It just feels right. We are on the path to Brno...I am just hoping that all of the stars align so that we can go through the process smoothly.

Despite my earlier nonchalance I just realized how deeply invested I am.  If this doesn't work I am going to be devastated.  H is so excited and is definitely counting our chickens.  I am trying not to get too swept up.  I guess I am trying to mitigate the possible disappointment of a failed cycle.

From here on out, I will control what I can control and let go of those things I can't.

A Call for Prayers or Good Thoughts For a Friend

A very good friend of mine is going through a crisis right now.  We met online 8 years ago, when we were both at the beginning of our fertility journeys. You know my outcome, but her's is still ongoing. She got pregnant 3ish years ago and had a late term loss (around 21 weeks or so) and recently she became pregnant with boy/girl twins. Almost 3 years to the date of her miscarriage this pregnancy entered the same type of situation.  Her cervix opened fully - nothing to stitch closed. She is in the process of hoping to save the pregnancy and losing it.

Today she is exactly 23 weeks, she has been in the hospital for a little over a week and today she lost her baby boy. He fought galliantly once born, but ultimately lost his life.  7 short days before the medical staff could do anything for him.

Baby girl is holding on, but things do not look good. She needs to stay put for 7 more days.

My heart is breaking for my friend and her husband. Can you hold them in your thoughts, or pray for them if that's your thing?

Praying that my body stays broken until the cycle can start.

I am going to start the progesterone on Monday. It makes the most sense from a timing perspective. I am just praying that my body doesn't wake up and have my AF show up before I can start taking it.

I was thinking about the FET today and the odds of success. I know I will be ok either way; if it doesn't work I will have no regrets. I think if we had decide not to go for it, there may have been doubts.

Guess Work

I picked up my progesterone today. Yay! One hurdle crossed.

Where things get tricky is around the timing of when to take the progesterone. You see, since my family dr. will not prescribe the drugs for the treatment in Brno (no doctor will, not even at the fertility clinic) I have to order the drugs from the CR. They mailed them today - they will take 10 to 14 business days to get here.

I have to start taking estrogen on day one of my cycle. I will take the progesterone to bring on AF. It is 10 days of progesterone and then my period should start within 2 to 10 business days. So, I need to approximate when to take the progesterone so that day 1 does not happen before I get the delivery.

I'm worried that it won't work out properly. But, at this point, what can I do?

Originally I was hoping for a transfer on Feb 21st; it will likely happen the week after.

I just want a chance for this to work.

Progesterone is a Go

I am taking my progesterone starting tomorrow.  I don't know the regimen as she has prescribed it - she faxed the prescription in for me.  If it is the 10 days of pills and then wait for period then I think I will be able to go in February still for the FET.  I am not sure if I would even need to take BCP at this point.  Crazy!

#microblog mondays

On Reprofit's request, I have asked my Dr. for a course of progesterone to bring on my cycle. Next I will take BCP and we will truly be on the road to a FET.

Amazing.

Possibly, probably back in the game.

I got the results of my tests today. My lining was 8mm and I have what looks like a follicle on my left ovary. So, I'm not quite menopausal yet. My FSH was 42, but doesn't really mean all that much since we don't know what day of my cycle I'm on (certainly not day 3!)

I emailed Reprofit with the details of my blood work and ultrasound and now I wait. My consultant is on vacation today so I will hear back on Monday as to what the next steps are.

If I  have to go on BCP, my family dr. will not prescribe them without doing a round of progesterone to bring on my period. And, even then, she's not keen to do it. So, I'm going to go to a walk in and get it.

It is likely that the February date is not realistic so it will have to be moved, but I'm not giving up yet.

The plan was to go in February then if it worked I would be due in November. I would be 44 and all would be right in the world.

Well, if we push it back, then I will be in my 45th year and that just seems more daunting. Maybe we should do a March transfer and go for a December baby again. I don't know why it is such a big deal - it just is. It's a problem I hope to have!

Doom and Gloom

Still no AF in sight and I'm feeling gloomy.

I saw my Dr. yesterday and was sent for bloodwork and an ultrasound. She thinks it is likely that I'm entering menopause - but we can't fully diagnose it until there has been 1 full year without a period.

I explained about doing the FET and wanting to go on BCP. Well, she won't prescribe BCP for me while I do not have my period. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the outcome of my appointment with her.

At the ultrasound they wouldn't tell me anything, but there looked to be a large spot of endomitriosis on my uterus.  At least that's what I think it was, the U/S tech took lots of measurements of it. So, that looks like more great news. Did you know that sometimes csections can cause endometriosis? Yep - I googled it and there hasn't been formal studies of it, but there is some evidence to support that.

This FET is looking more and more unlikely.

ETA - I will get the results of these tests early next week.

#microblog monday

Still no sign of it.
Desperation setting in.
Impatient patient.