ALL THE MEDS!!Here is the calendar link again to let you know what we are doing day by day.
http://calendar.yahoo.com/jeniferjackson2006
On March 26th I began taking Lupron. I did really well on the drug. The first couple of days I had a pretty bad headache but once my body got used to it, I was fine. Within a couple of days I was having Hot Flashes and Night Sweats uugghhhh! During the blizzard Greg and I went to drive around in the snow and I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I had to roll the window down to cool off. That is not like me! I always need the heater on when I am in the car with Greg and I love fires on the patio with a blanket even if it is summer time! During the night I would wake up drenched, that was miserable and exhausting....I never woke up feeling that I had had enough sleep. I have sold Menopausal drugs for 9 years now and I can say that I can sell it from a whole different prospective now.........I can not wait to start back on my estrogen!
After my baseline sono and E2 blood test on April 3rd I was able to start taking Menopur and Follistim the next night.
(MENOPUR® is a highly purified preparation of naturally derived gonadotropins, called hMG. MENOPUR® contains equal amounts (75 IUs) of 2 kinds of hormonal activity: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which helps stimulate egg production; and luteinizing hormone (LH), which helps the eggs mature and release (ovulate). MENOPUR® helps stimulate eggs to mature in women whose ovaries are basically healthy but are unable to develop eggs. It is not used for women who suffer from ovarian failure.
MENOPUR® is usually used together with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and is indicated for the development of multiple follicles and pregnancy in women participating in an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) program.)
(Follistim® AQ is a recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (recombinant FSH) available in a pre-mixed aqueous solution. The active ingredient in Follistim® AQ Vial/Cartridge is follitropin beta, a highly effective and widely used prescription fertility medication made with state of the art recombinant DNA technology. This hormone is identical to the FSH produced by the pituitary gland and belongs to the group of gonadotropins, which play an important role in human fertility and reproduction. FSH is needed in women for the growth and development of follicles in the ovaries. Follicles are small round sacs that contain the egg cells. FSH stimulates the ovaries to produce mature eggs. Follistim® AQ is used for the development of eggs in women who have problems with ovulation and who are undergoing Ovulation Induction treatment. Some women will also be using this medicine for the development of more eggs when participating in an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) program, such as in vitro fertilization. )
I started the Menopur and Follistim on April 4th and continue it thru April 13th. Everynight I gave myself 3 shots at 10:00. The first time I had to take the Menopur and Follistim I was at my friend Jamie's house. I was so worried about mixing everything right so I was so thankful to have Jamie watch the videos and read thorugh the instructions with me. I think it took us about 30 minutes that night to get them all mixed and taken. It got easier each night, by the end of all of them I had it down without even thinking about it.
On April 7th I had to go in for an E2 blood test. They called me that afternoon and said my levels were increasing. I can't rememer the exact number.
On April 9th I went in for an E2 blood test and a sonogram. Greg was able to make it back in time to go with me. My Estradiol level was 835 and I had 17 eggs.
Dr. Doody's office called and told me to stay on the same dose of everything. On Friday April 9th I drove to Dallas. I am staying with my friend Sandi until the whole process is over. On April 11th I had a sonogram and E2 Blood test. My estradiol levels had increased to 1651. My follicles were growing and they said to stay on the same dose of everything.
On Monday April 13th I went for another E2 blood test and sonogram. Everything went great my estradiol had increased to 3142 and my follicles had GROWN!!! I have had the same nurse but I had not met her yet, we had only talked on the phone. On Monday I finally got to meet her. She is wonderful!! I could not ask for a better nurse. She is so fun and positive! I have just loved working with her!
They called me that afternoon to let me know that I had a few follicles that they thought if they gave me one more day of stimulation shots they be ready to take also. That night they had me take just 1 vial of the Menopur and the Lupron. No Follisitim that night.
The next morning I went in for another E2 blood test and sonogram. They called me that afternoon and said I was ready!!!! That night I would take the HCG shot at 8:30. I kept myself busy that day. After my appointment I drove to Frisco and met my friend Jamie at IKEA then we went to lunch with 2 of her friends. It was us 4 and then one 9 month old, one 10 month old and one 1 year old. All boys, we were able to set on the patio and the boys did great! After that I met Sandi and we got pedicures. It has been good to have great friends to keep me busy through all of this to keep my mind from thinking too much and worrying.
(The hCG trigger injection is a medication known as a human chorionic gonadotropin and is used after other fertility hormones, such as clomiphene citrate or menotropins, to induce ovulation (release of the egg from the ovary) or in women undergoing an assisted reproductive technology (ART), to induce final maturation of the eggs. The dose used for the trigger is dependent on the body mass index of the female.)
At 8:30 I mixed the shot of HCG. I was dreading that shot. I remember from the other 3 times how bad this one hurt. Greg had given me all of those so I was not looking forward to giving it to myself. I reverted back to the 1st night I gave myself a shot and stabbed myself several times before I left the needle in. My friend Sandi was watching me she said "leave it in!" I was so happy that it was over and that this was the last shot I sould have to take. After the shot I took 1 Tetracycline and 4 Methylprednisone.
This morning I had one more appointment for an HCG blood level test. I got a call this afternoon and my levels were good and the retrieval is on for tomorrow morning at 8:30. I left my appointment and went to get my hair done and have lunch with Sandi before I came back to her house and took a nap. I was exhausted this afternoon and I took the best nap.
Greg is flying in at 10:30. I will pick him up from the airport and then we will head to the hotel close to the Dr.'s office. We have to be there at 7:45 in the morning fro the retrieval. Here is a great website that explains the process of the retrieval and what they will do after.
http://www.sharedjourney.com/define/retrieval.html
Greg is going to bring me to Sandi's after the retrieval and then Shawn is going to pick him up and take him to the airport. Greg has a meeting Friday morning with The WT Enterprise Center that he has to get back to.
I will have Greg post all of the updates tomorrow.
Say BIG prayers for us! We are so thankful to have all of you thinking of us!!!
As my friend Jamie would say "Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts!"
