Dos and Dont's

Day 14. Spent the day with my dear friends and loved ones.

I started feeling massive headache this afternoon -- not sure if it was because of the heatwave or a side effect from the Ovidrel -- and took a nap. Woke up with an even worse headache, so I had to take some acetaminophen pills to alleviate the pain. After a while, the pain reliever started to kick in and I felt much better.

I will have my egg retrieval tomorrow done at 7.30am tomorrow morning on Day 15. Go to this link to learn more about the egg retrieval process.

Got a long list of what to do and what not do from the clinic for egg retrieval tomorrow. The list  reminds me of a patient's pre-op list since it will be done under anesthesia.
- No food and drink after midnight.
- No contact lenses, eye glasses, etc.
- No nail polish, makeup, elaborate hairdo, hairpins
- Do not bring valuables
- Remove denture, inform Dr if loose tooth, etc.
- Empty bowel, bladder close to surgery
- Bath night before / morning after surgery, do not apply anything on skin
- Change in general health or cuts / rashes, inform Dr

Again, I am not so nervous about the egg retrieval perhaps because this is the second time around and I know what to expect. The only thing I totally am not looking forward are the IV needle and the sharp pangs that will come following the procedure. Hopefully the doctor will give me enough pain killers to deal with the pain.

I will be sleeping early tonight, so I will be fresh for tomorrow's procedure. DH will give his sample tomorrow as well at 10 am. Hope we have good quality eggs that will be fertilized and make good embryos.

Final Countdown

Day 13. Last day of injections. Hurrah!

DH and I purposely kept all the syringes and vials from the two weeks of hormone injections, partly because I wanted to see how much was going inside me, but also because we felt more comfortable disposing the medical waste at a hospital facility rather than at home.

The syringes and vials used for my short protocol 

IVF which lasted 13 Days. 

Can't imagine having to do this for long protocol. 

Apparently a lot jabbing, especially done by a non-medically trained person such as myself, doesn't do the body good. I kept hitting the small, tiny veins while doing my subcutaneous injections (subcu-whaaa? Click here to know more about it). So, the nurse told me that is what causes the bruising. 

Left side of my stomach. Photo taken today.

Right side of my stomach. Photo taken today. 

The doctor gave me one final injection, which was the Ovidrel, to do in the evening at 10.30pm. The timing was to be precise as the nurse calculated it considering the time of injections and egg retrieval, etc. It must be real important that I take it at the specified time. 

Pre-filled Ovidrel syringe (similar to Ogalutran).

Needle going in didn't hurt, and surprisingly the Ovidrel didn't hurt going in either. I read there are some side effects but at least I am aware of them and will deal with them as they come (hope they don't though!). 

We are still set for egg retrieval on Day 15. Don't know why but I don't feel nervous yet. I mean, should I?  I was a nervous wreck the first fresh cycle as well as the frozen ET. What's different now? I guess I have come to the realization that if it is meant to be, it will happen. All we can do is just try our best. The final decision and outcome is beyond anyone's control. 

On a separate note, yesterday was the one year anniversary of the day my dear friend and mentor passed away. I always looked up to her for advice and guidance, and she was always such a cheerleader in DH and my ART efforts. I wish I could share with her this IVF experience so she could see how far I have come to learn about patience and acceptance. 

More Smore

Day 12. Tomorrow is the last day of injections! What a relief.

Doctor visit went well this morning. Bloodwork from Day 8 came out ok, and I had more blood drawn out to make sure my hormone levels continue to be in check.

Ultrascan showed my uterine lining is super thick at close to 20mm (I think thats what the doctor said), and we are aiming for 22mm, which is a good thing I'm told. The thicker the uterine wall, the better it is for the embryo to (hopefully) implant itself.

My left ovary is still a stubborn little fella with only one decent size egg and two additional small ones hanging out in the follicles. My right ovary is a bit more cooperative (read: responsive) and currently shows 5-6 eggs.

So, in total we may have 6-7 viable eggs. I hope we have some good quality ones to work with which can grown into beautiful and healthy embryos. I am just thankful I have any at all. Everything is a blessing! Must remember this at all times.

Based on my bloodwork and ultrascan, the doctor feels that I have met the criteria to begin the egg retrieval procedure which is scheduled for Day 15 at 7.30am. I hope we can wake up early! Definitely both DH and I are not early risers, but I think we should make an exception this time. (Note to self: Hello? Seriously, hello?)

This an outpatient procedure and will be performed under sedation. I got a whole list of instructions from the nurse on what to do this weekend (Days 13 and 14) prior to the egg retrieval Day 15. Will share more on that later.

I have made a conscious decision by the way of not browsing the internet re the average number of eggs a woman has at egg retrieval. Too much browsing can be damaging to your brain. And the thing is, you can't make comparisons or it will drive you insane. Like my doctor said, we're going for quality over quantity.

"More isn't always better. Sometimes it's just more" - Sabrina Fairchild

When I'm Feeling Blue

Day 11. I keep telling myself I have just a few more days to go of shots until egg retrieval. My stomach is definitely feeling very tender and blue with bruise marks around the injection areas.

Camera 1. Left side of my stomach. 

Photo taken today. 

Camera 2. Right side of my stomach.

Photo taken today.

Follow up consultation with the doctor is tomorrow. Hope the blood results from Day 8 come out alright. For some reason I am not so nervous going through the IVF treatment this time around. Perhaps because this is our second fresh cycle IVF and third embryo transfer attempt, both DH and I are a bit more relaxed and accepting of the whole process. 

I am trying to think positive and just go with the flow. No sense in worrying, no sense in pushing. It is all beyond my, no, our control. It took me a long way to get to this emotional state. I guess failure teaches one humility. And, boy, have I learned my lesson. 

The love and support I have been receiving from family and friends is also an important factor on my positivity. It turns out once I was more honest about my IVF treatment to the people who matter to me (instead of staying home and keeping everything to myself and in my head), the stronger my support network became. We definitely can't do this alone. 

Keep Cool

Day 10. It doesn't matter where I inject now. It stings. And, the hormones sting going in. The Puregon, the Menopur and the Ogalutran. It was fine the first week, and now everything stings. 

Today, I am starting to experience pain throughout the day around the injection areas when I'm walking up the stairs or when I'm bending over to pick up something. Basically, anything that requires me to stretch my stomach muscles. So looking forward to my last round of injections -- four more days to go!

Lego time. Screw on, plug in...

I noticed this morning that I am starting to experience some hair loss, not too significant, but quite a bit to alarm me. I guess that's normal. The same thing happened during our first IVF. Hope it doesn't get too bad. Don't want to look like an Easter egg just because it's coming in a few weeks.

One happy thing to report: I finally found a way to cool myself off without having to resort to air conditioning by the way. I have started to eat more ice cream and fruit slushy in addition to lots of iced water. Anything to keep me cool!

Finding the Perfect Balance

Day 9. Wow. I am now experiencing hot flushes almost non-stop unless the air condition is on full speed at 18 degrees Celsius. The fact that the city is experiencing a heatwave is not helping things.

Well, my stomach is definitely super-sensitive. I can only imagine how it must feel. Three times nine, that's 27 injections in nine days. There is only so much surface area I can insert the needle in and it's starting to show.

Bruising from all the injections on both sides 

of my stomach. Red dot from this morning's 

Puregon pen injection. 

Did the injections at the clinic. The first injection I must have pushed the Puregon pen in wrong because it hurt so much going in (needle and serum). When I took the pen out, there was a bit of bleeding (usually the needle comes out clean and I just swipe my skin with an alcohol swab). Notice the red dot on the skin in the picture above. As usual the injection hurt for a while but the pain went away after half an hour except for the area of the Puregon pen injection. It stung for almost the whole day.

Took a bit too long at the doctor's clinic with my first shot, so the nurse was kind enough to help me with the Menopur and Ogalutran shots. Why does it take her like five seconds do each one? Because she is medically trained professional... hello?

Doctor visit went well this morning. The ultra scan showed that my uterine lining is thickening well and the doctor upped my Progynova intake to three times a day starting tomorrow. He noticed that my left ovary is not responding as well as my right one. Ultra scan showed one maturing egg in my left ovary and four to five on my right. Again, quality over quantity I keep telling myself.

Blood test results from Day 5's visit came out ok, or so am told by the doctor. Drew more blood today and will have a follow-up visit on Day 12. Based on my body's reaction to the treatment, it seems that egg retrieval will take place on Day 15. We still don't know whether we will do a three or five day embryo blastocyst transfer.

It's a fine line between expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Finding the perfect balance is tough, but no one ever said this was going to be easy.

Rest and Relax

Day 8. I have started to get all OCD with my morning ritual. Finding myself lining up the syringes left to right and making sure to prepare everything just so.

I may have gone overboard with the alcohol swabs.

You think?

Need to wake up early for my follow up consultation with my doctor tomorrow morning. I am trying not to be too nervous about the blood results and tomorrow's ultra scans of my ovaries. Like my doctor said, no sense worrying as it won't make a difference. Quantity over quality is what we are looking for in terms of eggs. 

Just need to focus on feeling relaxed, eating healthy, sleeping well and take some nice walks for exercise. Whoosah. Whoosah.