Sunday, March 20, 2011

A Whirlwind & a Trigger


After yet another sleepless night, and early morning monitoring appointment, I was surprised to find out that I will be triggering tonight for an early Tuesday morning retrieval!  That's right, the nurse called a couple of hours back to tell me to take my very last 225 ius of Follistim right away, as we are go for trigger at 9:50pm tonight, and are scheduled for retrieval at 7:50am, Tuesday morning and transfer either Friday or next Sunday. 

Oddly, I feel more scared and emotional than anything else.  I've already cried once, and I'm afraid I might do it again.  My mind is full of "what ifs", so much so that even my GO TO brain numbing device - the television - is having no effect. 

Here is the info I was able to get from the nurse:
Lining = 7.6mm
Left Ovary = 1 x 16mm, 1 x 14mm, 3 x 13mm, 2 x 12mm, 1 x 11mm & 10 small follicles
Right Ovary = 3 x 15mm, 5 x 13mm, 2 x 12mm, 2 x 11mm, and 10 small follicles

E2 = 2595,  LH = 1.5,  Progesterone = 2.1

Supposedly follicles measuring between 15 and 20mm (come on you 12s and 13s!), will tend to give mature eggs.  I know the doc is aiming to get the most he can with this last Follistim dosage and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything gos perfectly and we wind up with lots of mature eggs to work with. 

I'm a little scared that my clinic doesn't really believe in administering pain meds.  They told me that they generally recommend Tylenol for any "discomfort", which made me want to cry (Tylenol does absolutely nothing for me even when I just have a headache).  Apparently, after the procedure I can request something stronger if I feel the need it - I'm already planning on it, seriously.  These are the same people who told me my mock embryo transfer and Hysteroscopy would just require only Advil and might cause minor cramping, and boy were they wrong!  I was miserable even on horse pill Ibuprofen AND Tylenol with codeine.

Seriously, what is so wrong with reducing the patient's pain and anxiety levels?  There is not baby yet, no cause to be controlling substances - the eggs aren't even in there anymore.  I have been a good girl -  taking my vitamins, eating good foods, avoiding coffee and alcohol like they're poison - can't I just have my two days of Vicodin induced comfort without having to beg and look like the druggie girl who can't handle a little pain?  Come on people, really, I mean which one of us will have just been repeatedly stabbed in the vagina with a needle!?!

Anyway, here's hoping for a low stress 36 hours - ha! - and some positive, wonderful, Vicodin-filled results come this Tuesday. 

17 comments:

  1. How exciting for you! Keeping my fingers crossed!!

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  2. I have some Vicodin that expires next month. If you want to email me your address and promise not to turn me in so I go to jail, I'll mail it to you. Otherwise it's just going to get thrown away. : )

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  3. ps my email is luluslaments (at) gmail (dot) com

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  4. Wow, so exciting! I'll be thinking of you!

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  5. Very exciting. But i'm with you on how effective Tylenol is at managing pain... not very. I'll be hoping for your laggards to catch up with your speed demon follies. Best of luck. I know my calendar was very specific - I just have to remember not to get too attached to it - everything is subject to change...

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  6. I can't believe that there are still clinics out there that don't do pain meds. Couldn't they at the very least give you a valium before you head in there for anxiety? I wish you the best of luck and hope you get quite a few eggs mature enough!! Can't wait to hear your fertilization report.

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  7. Hey Girl,
    You are going to do just fine! And your clinic is going to take really good care of you. Your DH will be there with you -and if you are in pain I am sure that he will help speak up for you. You don't have to be brave, this is a really big deal and I think that we have full permission to break down and cry just as much as we want to. Don't forget to use your circle Bloom to fill you head with positive thoughts!

    And in the strange event that you don't get the pain control that you need, just let me know and I'll call your dr for you! I got really good at demanding pain meeds for my DH when he was having the testes biopsies. He was accused by one nurse for abusing the 4 vicoden that were prescribed for him after a testicle biopsy. After I got off the phone we had a large refill waiting for us at the pharmacy. Excuse me, but this is what pain medication was intended for!!!

    You know, if it helps calm your nerves at all, you might try talking with your Dr in advance. Let him know that you are really scared about being left in pain, and make him promise you that he will take good care of you and make sure that you are not in any pain. If he knows how anxious you are he might take extra care to be attentive.

    Ohh, make sure that you have a heating pad at home. The heat on my abdomen helped A LOT.

    As for couch time entertainment, I am a good way thru the season of glee. What a fun show!

    Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you prepare! You are going to be okay!

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  8. Wow, how many days of stims did you end up going? That's awesome you are ready to trigger. Good luck can't wait for your BFP!! Just remember to breathe!!!!!!!!! :)

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  9. I'm on the edge of my seat! I can't wait to find out what happens after retrieval.

    It will be worth all the pain if this works out. Hopefully it's easier on you than you expect. Do you want me to send you Vicodin?! Where do you live?

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  10. How exciting! Good luck tonight and tomorrow!

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  11. Fingers and toes still crossed! I'm so happy for you!
    I can't even imagine the excitement and nervous feelings you are experiencing! Although I do hope to experience them - one day!

    You are one lucky lady!!!

    You'll be in my thoughts all week!!

    HUGS!

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  12. OOOOO so exciting!!! Come on other follicles lagging behind. Grow for your momma damnit!!

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  13. Good luck!!! Just started reading your blog from the ICLW page. Hope all goes well!

    Lissie

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  14. Oh MAN, I'm with you on the pain threshold! I was told the same thing about the HSG -- mild cramps, take some Advil. Wrong. Nope. REALLY painful, right??

    By the way, lots of good looking follies! Go you! Best of luck!

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  15. I'm the biggest baby living, with a very low pain threshhold so i get where you are coming from. I defy any Dr who tells me that an invasive procedure in my girly bits isn't going to hurt. I also cried with nearly every injection. Big fat baby. My suggestion is to not worry about the medical staff liking you, or what they think of you. Ask for what you need. Seriously, speak up for yourself.

    In regard to the anxiety you feel, I know it's really soon, but there are some really great self-help tools that you can learn to help with these situations. One of them is EFT (emotional freedeom technique), which I used with such success for an operation last year that I trained in it so I could help other people. It's something you can learn from an EFT practitioner in person or on the phone, via Skype or various websites. Let me know if you would like to try it and I'll point you in the right direction.

    Good luck!
    Lisa (ICLW #112)

    P.S. It's not too late to register for the Fertility Focus Telesummit, which begins today. 12 fertility experts and 3 bloggers are speaking during the week and it's all free. Go to http://yourgreatlife.typepad.com to grab your free place and listen to my talk today about creating an effective support network. Please spread the word!

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  16. Yay! So excited for you! Can't wait to hear the egg retrieval story. Best of luck my friend! :)

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