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| My first injection of each day: Lupron |
Update Since my Last Post
As usual, plenty has changed since my last update. On Tuesday, I learned that I have a whopping 26 eggs cooking. Now, the doctor was very clear with me on this high number of eggs. I'll word it as bluntly as the doctor did: All 26 eggs may be retrieved, we may have more than 26 eggs retrieved, and we may have less than 26 eggs retrieved. The role of the Lupron injection I have been taking was to prevent my body from releasing any eggs to early, and, it worked. Positive looking ultrasound? Check!
Next up was my blood work. I have blood draws on the same day I have my ultrasounds as they're both clearly relative to one another. To my sheer joy, my estrogen and progesterone levels are perfect! Our IVF nurse who called me said everything looks great, and, she reiterated her belief that the odds are in our favor. Still, I'll admit to getting on my knees at least once a day and praying for a miracle with our embryo transfer, and, I'm not ashamed to admit it! I'm also thankful the good Lord has blessed me in so many ways. My medical team is keeping me safe, my health is great, and the little body that couldn't is proving to the world it can. Thank you Jesus!
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| My second injection each day: Menopur. And yes, George did have to stick this needle in my tushy! |
Physical Side Effects of Treatment
As of today (Saturday, August 25th), I am taking three injections daily to keep the ball rolling in a positive direction. On a good note, my body is doing so well that my Lupron (the menopause drug) has been decreased from 10ml a day to 5ml a day. Woo hoo! I began taking my lower Lupron dose three days ago, and, today I noticed I am experiencing less hot flashes. I'm still running a little "warmer" than usual, but, disgusting side effects like back sweat are slowly dwindling. I thought the side effects of the Lupron were rough, but, as it so happens, those side effects were practically nothing compared to the side effects that were headed my way!
So, what drugs am I on now? Here's a list of my medication with links - I've included links to each drug should you decide you want to research each medication to learn more about them.
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| My third injection of the day: Gonal-f |
Here is a brief list of my regular daily symptoms at this point:
- Throbbing Headaches: I am a chronic migraine sufferer as it is, so, it was almost a given that I would be among the 41% of women who experience headaches.
- Abdominal Pain and Cramping: I'm not sure how common this is amongst most patients as I developed a complicated ovarian cyst after I began taking my Lupron. Occasionally I wonder if I wouldn't experience these abdominal pains if I didn't have the cyst, however, both of my ovaries are chock full of eggs, and, I do feel the cramps on both sides of my belly. Honestly, I don't care too much about this. When the pain starts I take my Tramadol and plop a heating pad on my belly, and, that at least helps take the edge off of the pain.
- Nausea: Disgusting. That's truly all I can say about that. I have a prescription for Zofran to help ease my nausea, and, I will forever be grateful to the manufacturers of this wonder drug that keeps me from loosing my cookies every day.
- Exhaustion: Give me a bed or a couch, and, I promise it will be put to good use! ;)-
- Abdominal bloating: This has probably upset me more than anything else - yes, I am that vain.! Watching your belly blow up like a balloon is not the easiest thing to calmly witness. I was warned about this side effect ahead of time, but, nothing could have prepared me for the real deal. I can't believe I'm even doing this, but, as a completely honest woman who is laying it all out there for everyone to see, I have an obligation to. Check out this photo below - it was taken a few days ago.
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| I cannot even tell you the pain I was in when this photo was taken - it actually hurt just to stand still long enough for George to take the picture! Thankfully, my new medication has caused a massive decrease in appetite, so, my stomach has already shrunk considerably since this picture was taken. I'll add a new photo in my next post! |
First things first...I feel that I must state the obvious here in that I am clearly elated that science has given George and me the opportunity to have a baby of our own. If we could go back in time to my last and final pregnancy, I never, in a million years, would have imagined George and I would be where we are today. We are so blessed by the scientists, doctors, and nurses who have dedicated their careers to making couples like us parents, and, it goes without saying that we are beyond blessed to have a woman as wonderful as Ashley to allow our baby to grow in her belly while our child grows in our hearts. I could never thank them enough for everything they are doing for us, and, I will be eternally grateful for their compassionate treatment.
Emotionally, I'm holding up as best as I can. I'll be the first to admit that gestational surrogacy is an emotional roller coaster for every reason you can think of. There is the pressure on me to deliver good eggs, the pressure on George to have what it takes to fertilize those eggs, and the pressure on Ashley to carry a successful pregnancy. Last week, after I received the beautiful news about the number of eggs I'm cooking, I made a decision I should have made before we even began this journey - "Let it be."
I'm sure my super positive doctor's appointment played a role in my new, (sort of) zen attitude - after all, I can now say I've given this my all. If it doesn't work the first time, that's okay. George and I have agreed we will keep trying should we need to if that's what it takes for us to have a baby. Anyway, I'm so inspired by my new outlook on life that I am seriously getting a tattoo on my foot. Check out the picture below - I love the font, but, I just want to translate it to Italian so it will read, "lascia che sia." Any thoughts?
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| I adore this tattoo's font! I would just change the words to lascia che sia (let it be) |
Thank God for George!
On this one I must be honest - many women are very frustrated with their husbands around this time, but, not me! I have to admit it - I have the most supportive husband...EVER! He has actually managed to finagle his schedule so he can work from home at least until my egg retrieval! He may even be able to work from home until Ashley's transfer, which would be even more amazing. He has been a total Godsend to me. When I take my shots, he's standing by with gauze pads since my Coumadin has made me a bleeder. Last week when I felt like absolute hell, he sent me off to get a massage to calm my nerves and physical discomfort. Tomorrow morning he's driving me an hour away for my ultrasound and blood work (yes, on a Sunday - I told you there is no such thing as a day off from baby making!). Then Monday he's driving me to an orthopedic surgeon since since my legs haven't gotten any better for two weeks (don't worry - I don't have a blood clot - I was put through the ringer to make sure that wasn't the case). In addition to driving me all over Timbuktu, George has managed to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone since I can't eat and could fall asleep standing up. Well, strike that...I do cook dinner most nights, but when I just don't have it in me, George intervenes as my fatigue reaches its absolute worst around 4:00-5:00 p.m. I'll be the first to admit it; I am incredibly blessed, and, everybody deserves a husband like George. Ooh I just realized you've never seen a picture of him - check us out below on the day I graduated college (yep...at the ripe old age of 33 LOL)!
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| George and me at my college graduation in 2010. Isn't he a hot tamale?! |
Recently quit a few people have commented that they still don't understand the gestational surrogacy process. So, I found a few links for you to check out to hopefully help you along.
- Baby Center - Gestational Surrogacy: http://www.babycenter.com/0_gestational-carriers-surrogacy_4099.bc
- Baby Center - IVF (this will help you understand my drugs a little better): http://www.babycenter.com/0_fertility-treatment-in-vitro-fertilization-ivf_4094.bc
- Complicated Ovarian Cysts (when you read this please remember my cysts are complicated, not functional): http://helpmehelpyourhealth.com/things-you-ought-to-know-about-complicated-ovarian-cysts/.html
Cheers!
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