Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Suppression
I began the suppression stage of my first IVF cycle on May 31, 2011. In the infertility world, suppression is the shut down of your reproductive system. Ironically you take birth control pills for 3 weeks then Lupron shots in your thighs to prevent ovulation. They do this to make sure all of your follicles (the houses that contain your eggs) are growing at the same rate. In a cycle without suppression, follicles grow at various rates. They want them all the same size for retrieval.
When I am completely suppressed, I will begin the ovulation induction period with Follistim shots in my stomach. Today is June 26 so I have finished taking the birth control pills and have been on the Lupron shots for 11 days. I go for my blood work on the 29th to see what's going on inside me! If I am ready I can start Follistim. If not, I will go for more blood work on July 1st to check the status. Typically you are on Follistim for 8 to 10 days once you start it. After Follistim then it's retrieval and embryo time!
When I am completely suppressed, I will begin the ovulation induction period with Follistim shots in my stomach. Today is June 26 so I have finished taking the birth control pills and have been on the Lupron shots for 11 days. I go for my blood work on the 29th to see what's going on inside me! If I am ready I can start Follistim. If not, I will go for more blood work on July 1st to check the status. Typically you are on Follistim for 8 to 10 days once you start it. After Follistim then it's retrieval and embryo time!
Our History
When we decided we wanted to become parents 4 years ago, we never dreamed we'd be where we are today.....
I found out I was pregnant on my 29th birthday. Perfect timing since I had decided long ago that I wanted to have my first child at least by the time I was 30. Everything was working out just as I had planned. I had a wonderful husband of 4 years, a brand new house with plenty of room for little ones and I was a kindergarten teacher. Our lives were perfect. Then I lost the baby at 6 weeks. I now hate my birthday.
We named him Grant Alexander Davis and we loved him even if he was only here with us for a very short time. During my time of grief, God keep putting the verses Psalm 30:11, 12 in my path constantly. I wasn't sure what it meant but I did know He meant it especially for me.
We tried for an entire year on our own after the miscarriage with no success. At this point we decided to seek the help of a fertility specialist. I was initially prescribed Fremara for 2 months. Nothing. Then the doctor moved us to Clomid with IUI (intrauterine insemination). When I was in my 2ww (2 week wait) to see if I was pregnant, I just knew I was. After all it was the 11th month of the year and I was now 30 years old. (Psalm 30:11). I just couldn't help but think God was speaking to me through the numbers in that verse. I wasn't surprised to learn I was pregnant!
Things were going fine for a while. My HCG numbers were going up like they should. Then on Thanksgiving I started to spot. Having been through this before, I panicked. We called the doctor and were told not to worry because it's normal to have spotting and my numbers looked good. We were supposed to come in for blood work to make sure everything was ok. It wasn't.
When there was no further bleeding and my numbers stopped increasing at the rate of a normal pregnancy, the doctor thought I might be having an ectopic pregnancy. She had us come in for an ultrasound to see what was going on. That's when we heard it........our tiny baby's heartbeat. She was as shocked as we were but told us it still didn't look good because the heart rate was low. She said she'd never seen a baby make it with a heart rate under 100. But I told her God was in control of our baby and He may choose to raise it. He didn't.
We went for several more ultrasounds at my regular OB/GYN for a second opinion. At first they said it was a normal heart rate for a 6 week old baby. Then as the next two weeks went by the heart rate started to drop until we couldn't hear it anymore. Eventually the baby died inside me so I waited to miscarry him. I didn't.
It was the middle of December now and still no blood. We went for the final ultrasound to make sure he wasn't alive and they scheduled me for my D&C. I reluctantly went through with this surgery. These are supposed to be for mothers who don't want their babies, not for those of us who would do anything for them. I woke up from the surgery screaming and threw my mask across the room. I couldn't believe he was gone. We named him Caleb Bradley Davis because Caleb means "faithful." I wasn't feeling God's faithfulness at this point.
We waited until after what would've been Caleb's due date to seek treatment again. We switched doctors and found out I have a clotting disorder that could possibly be the source of my miscarriages. When I get pregnant again, I will take baby Aspirin and Lovenox shots to prevent blood clots in the tiny blood vessels around the placenta. It shouldn't take us long if we do another round of Clomid with IUI. It should work easily like it did last time, right? It didn't.
We did so many IUIs that I lost count. The doctor thought something else must be going on and suggested laparoscopy for endometriosis. I ended up having stage 1 and was told I would be extremely fertile the month following the surgery. I should have no problem getting pregnant now. I didn't.
We moved on to injectable medicine and onto another doctor. After 3 rounds of failed injectable cycles with IUI the doctor suggested IVF. The problem was they only offer it at this clinic 3 times per year. I had a friend who had several failed IVFs and moved to a facility in Cincinnati, OH and had gotten pregnant on her second try. We thought if we are going all the way to IVF, we might as well go to the best place possible to hopefully conceive and keep our next baby. Sooooooooo, that's where we are now! Any prayers for this next phase would be appreciated. :)
I found out I was pregnant on my 29th birthday. Perfect timing since I had decided long ago that I wanted to have my first child at least by the time I was 30. Everything was working out just as I had planned. I had a wonderful husband of 4 years, a brand new house with plenty of room for little ones and I was a kindergarten teacher. Our lives were perfect. Then I lost the baby at 6 weeks. I now hate my birthday.
We named him Grant Alexander Davis and we loved him even if he was only here with us for a very short time. During my time of grief, God keep putting the verses Psalm 30:11, 12 in my path constantly. I wasn't sure what it meant but I did know He meant it especially for me.
We tried for an entire year on our own after the miscarriage with no success. At this point we decided to seek the help of a fertility specialist. I was initially prescribed Fremara for 2 months. Nothing. Then the doctor moved us to Clomid with IUI (intrauterine insemination). When I was in my 2ww (2 week wait) to see if I was pregnant, I just knew I was. After all it was the 11th month of the year and I was now 30 years old. (Psalm 30:11). I just couldn't help but think God was speaking to me through the numbers in that verse. I wasn't surprised to learn I was pregnant!
Things were going fine for a while. My HCG numbers were going up like they should. Then on Thanksgiving I started to spot. Having been through this before, I panicked. We called the doctor and were told not to worry because it's normal to have spotting and my numbers looked good. We were supposed to come in for blood work to make sure everything was ok. It wasn't.
When there was no further bleeding and my numbers stopped increasing at the rate of a normal pregnancy, the doctor thought I might be having an ectopic pregnancy. She had us come in for an ultrasound to see what was going on. That's when we heard it........our tiny baby's heartbeat. She was as shocked as we were but told us it still didn't look good because the heart rate was low. She said she'd never seen a baby make it with a heart rate under 100. But I told her God was in control of our baby and He may choose to raise it. He didn't.
We went for several more ultrasounds at my regular OB/GYN for a second opinion. At first they said it was a normal heart rate for a 6 week old baby. Then as the next two weeks went by the heart rate started to drop until we couldn't hear it anymore. Eventually the baby died inside me so I waited to miscarry him. I didn't.
It was the middle of December now and still no blood. We went for the final ultrasound to make sure he wasn't alive and they scheduled me for my D&C. I reluctantly went through with this surgery. These are supposed to be for mothers who don't want their babies, not for those of us who would do anything for them. I woke up from the surgery screaming and threw my mask across the room. I couldn't believe he was gone. We named him Caleb Bradley Davis because Caleb means "faithful." I wasn't feeling God's faithfulness at this point.
We waited until after what would've been Caleb's due date to seek treatment again. We switched doctors and found out I have a clotting disorder that could possibly be the source of my miscarriages. When I get pregnant again, I will take baby Aspirin and Lovenox shots to prevent blood clots in the tiny blood vessels around the placenta. It shouldn't take us long if we do another round of Clomid with IUI. It should work easily like it did last time, right? It didn't.
We did so many IUIs that I lost count. The doctor thought something else must be going on and suggested laparoscopy for endometriosis. I ended up having stage 1 and was told I would be extremely fertile the month following the surgery. I should have no problem getting pregnant now. I didn't.
We moved on to injectable medicine and onto another doctor. After 3 rounds of failed injectable cycles with IUI the doctor suggested IVF. The problem was they only offer it at this clinic 3 times per year. I had a friend who had several failed IVFs and moved to a facility in Cincinnati, OH and had gotten pregnant on her second try. We thought if we are going all the way to IVF, we might as well go to the best place possible to hopefully conceive and keep our next baby. Sooooooooo, that's where we are now! Any prayers for this next phase would be appreciated. :)
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