First Injection Complete!!!

WHEW! Just finished my FIRST Gonal-F injection!!!! I swear, despite having given thousands of SQ injections at work in the past, I was shaking like a leaf getting ready for my injection!!! The kit they gave me had this cool tiny square ice pack and I placed that on the spot for a few minutes before injecting and I swear that thing was a miracle-worker! I didn't even feel it!!! Yay!!! My first injection is done!!! So excited!!! 1 day down... 10+ more to go! lol

Initial Visit!

So I had my initial visit this morning with the local RE. They sent all of my results to my actual RE at RBA and I just got the call from my nurse! My Estrogen was 33. Which she said was normal. My pregnancy test was negative (whew!). And I had no cysts on my ovaries. She forgot to add my TSH to the orders, so I am not sure what that is, but she did not seem too concerned with it. She just said Dr. T would want to see it come down some. So I guess it is no biggie!

I get to start my Gonal-F 225u SQ tonight at 9pm! I repeat this every night and my next appointment is Tuesday at 7:15am with the local RE. After this appt they will decide if I need to come up for the following appt (CD 7) or if I can go one more time to the local RE. But for sure I will need to be in Atlanta starting CD 8 and up until after embryo retrieval (tentatively Sep 19th).

Giving myself a SQ injection for the first time ever tonight!!!! Yikes!

Let The Fun Begin!

AF has officially come to visit!!! That means today officially starts DAY ONE of my first IVF cycle!!! My initial monitoring appointment is tomorrow (9/9) at 9:45am! (that's a lot of 9s!) My tentative Embryo Retrieval date is Monday 9/19. I am well aware that this date is subject to change based on the maturity of my follicles, but it still feels crazy to be talking actual dates!!! I am planning to take my dad with me to Atlanta starting next Wednesday night (9/15) and we'll stay until ER is complete. Jay will be joining us during the weekend and possibly staying until ER. However, if ER keeps getting pushed back then Jay will have to return home to go to work. He can miss 1-2 days, but cannot miss an entire week! I am SO nervous about spending a week alone with just my dad and my 15 month old son! More than anything, I am nervous about trying to survive a 5-6 hour drive with DS in the car. He is a HORRIBLE car-rider. I guess I just have to keep the end-result in my head and try to stay calm and flexible!

The next big question will be... WHEN will we go back for our FET? I, myself, am wondering the SAME thing!!! Of course I would love to go back as soon as possible! However, several weddings are getting in the way. One of which is out of state for me. It all depends on whether or not my RE can "manipulate" my next period for timing purposes. If I can start AF in time I could possibly squeeze one FET in before the Nov 5th wedding. We shall see. I cannot wait to be pregnant with my baby girl! It seems like such a dream, but to make it a reality seems crazy!

Oh, and I forgot to add, I still have to get my TSH re-drawn tomorrow. If it is still too high I guess they might cancel my cycle. How bad will that suck after getting SO excited about everything? SO BAD! FX that does NOT happen!!! lol

Longest 2WW Ever

I swear, this Two Week Wait (2WW) is longer than the one after ovulating (and conceiving my DS) back during my only month TTC in 2009! I'm not even TTC right now and I am bored and ready for the 2WW to end!!! Bring on AF!!! I'm ready to get started with this "harvesting" cycle!!! SO excited and anxious to know how many girl eggies we'll have waiting on ice after Genesis performs PGS. All my meds are here and waiting to be used!!! I'm expecting AF to arrive probably Mon-Wed next week. SO soon!!! SO excited!!! Crossing my fingers BIG TIME that my thyroid cooperates and will be at a level low enough for me to cycle!

SO SOON NOW!!!! YAY!!!

+OPK & Updates!

Updated the Price Li$t and Test Results posts!!! We now have a price tag on this cycle's medications and we got the results of MY genetic test. Also, today I got a +OPK and a "peak" reading on my CBEFM! Which means AF is only 10-14 days away... thus beginning my first cycle (as long as my TSH is OK). It is weird, I keep forgetting that my TSH is so high. I keep thinking that I am definitely going to cycle in a few weeks b/c of all the work and planning I've done... I keep forgetting it might not happen. That is such a bummer. I guess it is best to think happy thoughts and accept the bad if it happens. Better than thinking the worst the whole time! Getting a + OPK was such a surprise! I don't know why b/c last cycle I got a +OPK at CD 21 and today is CD 20. I just have been SOO stressed out about everything so I thought that I would either have an anovulatory cycle or be really late. I never expected to be early! Even if it is only by 1 day! lol.

Things are slowly but surely falling into place! Not long now!!!!!! YAY!!!

Blue & Pink: Test Results: I will try to keep a list of all our blood work and test results here on this entry! Semen Analysis : Normal Volume: 3.0 mL
Concentrat...

Blue & Pink: Price Li$t: Keeping a list of the expenses related to Gender Selection for our dream daughter: (OOP: Out of Pocket) (I: Insurance) RBA Consultation wi...

Thyroid U/S & Antibodies

So I got the news today that my thyroid u/s was abnormal. There were "multiple nodules" but they were all very small in size. None were larger than 5mm, and they do not worry unless they are greater than 1cm. So I will probably need to have repeat thyroid u/s's every 6-12 months to make sure the nodules do not get any larger. Also, my thyroid antibodies came back elevated. They were 719. And the normal level is anything less than 8.99. All of this leads me to believe I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. It is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid causing hypothyroidism. I still have to be on Synthroid though so not much changed despite more results. I will need blood levels monitored possibly forever to keep my TSH within a normal, healthy range. As depressing as it is to think that I'll have a medical condition that needs to be medicated for the rest of my life, I am happy that it is something quite manageable. They are going to test me for Rheumatoid Arthritis since my mother has this disease and it is also an autoimmune disease. The two could be interrelated. I will be devastated if I have RA. Just wanted for the lab order to come in the mail and then I'll go get my blood drawn to test for RA. I am praying hard that the test is negative.

Results are in!

I posted below (test results entry) but I'll post here as well, the rest of my pre-testing lab values are in! Everything looks great! So here are the fertility values:

LH: 4.8
Estradiol: 26
FSH: 5.1
AMH: 6.32
Prolactin: 2.3


Also had my thyroid ultrasound today. I'm not sure what the results are yet, but I did watch the u/s tech measuring a few "dark spots" on my thyroid. I asked her if they were bad (I know she isn't allowed to discuss results but I didn't want to worry for days if it was normal) and she said it was "nothing to lose sleep over", but that my doctor will discuss all the results with me when she receives the official report from the radiologist. She did say that if they haven't called by Friday I could call them b/c the results would definitely be ready by then. Whew! I would hate to have to wait the weekend with NO answers! I'm actually a little nervous now. I went into the thyroid u/s thinking it was just going to be routine and nothing special and now I'm actually a little nervous about the results. I wish I hadn't been watching the u/s monitor! Made me super paranoid that those "dark spots" were something really bad. But if she said I shouldn't lose sleep then I will try not to dwell and worry. (Easier said than done).