Just waiting

Not much is going on with me fertility-wise. I think Clomid gave me a cyst like the last time I used it since AF has not arrived (10 days after stopping Prometrium). So, it is a waiting game ... ho hum ... this cycle is going to be a killer when all is said and done, when you consider the Prometrium (i.e, lush lining), the delay (i.e., the lining is continuing to grow), and being on a daily aspirin (i.e., blood thinner). So, I have to wait until Monday and contact the fertility center and they will bring it on with Provera, a medication my Mom used to use in menopause. Fun.

My Meds Have Arrived!

It was a happy Thursday last week, when my injectable meds arrived via Federal Express. I was painting my bathroom when the delivery arrived. I unpacked it ... my oh my! How wonderful! I had all sorts of things in there, including EVERYTHING you could possibly need for the injections, like alcohol swabs, extra needles, the Follistim pen, you name it. There was even a prescription antibiotic in there ... not sure quite what that one is for, but hey, I'll take it. And for this grand amount of drugs, I paid $80. Wow. Compare that to the $3000 bill without insurance.

So, here I sit awaiting AF so that I can go to the fertility center and get trained on how/what to do. It's a good thing, you know. I'm feeling positive about this next phase.

Surprises and Prometrium

I went to the fertility clinic last Monday for an ultrasound, bloods, and my HSG. Well, the bloods went fine. And the ultrasound showed ... shoot! Just one stinking follicle. (The purpose of Clomid was to produce more than 1 follicle.) Well, that follicle was a 20 and the nurse practitioner decided to trigger me for insemination the next day.

No HSG. Instead, I have to wait a month for that little bit of fun. I hate it when they change tracks on me like that. So I triggered that night and had my IUI the next day (12 hours later). I am just still confused about an IUI at 12 hours, since I have heard and read all alond the trigger takes 36-40 hours to work and frozen sperm lasts 12-24 hours. So if the egg comes out at 36 hours, the last dying sperm have no time to work their way in to the center of the egg. Maybe I'm just a worrywart. Who knows. But it was still a surprise to trigger and insem so quickly.

Well, I am now taking Prometrium for 11 days after the IUI. I had my IUI on Tuesday and started the pills on Thursday. Let's just say they aren't exactly fun. I am awake at all hours, I seep goop (they are taken vaginally) and I get too hot as I sleep. On the plus side, though, they may just be the thing I need to make a pregnancy stick.

Hopefully. We'll see.

My First Clomid Cycle

Well, after all the disappointing Femara (letrozole) cycles I have had (8 IUIs, 1 chemical), I am embarking on my first Clomid cycle. I had an ultrasound yesterday and there are 5 possible follicles (darn, not many at all!) with a size from 8-10 mm. (great!), so I began my Clomid last night. Yeah!

As an aside, I also had my CD 3 bloods drawn. Well, to get 1 vial of blood, we had to do a total of 5 stick attempts. In between sticks 4 and 5, I went home to drink fluids and get warmed up. I also wanted to calm down. I'm not sure just what the first phlebotomist was doing but he caused such pain on the initial attempt, I started crying and that arm hurt all last night. It throbbed in the muscle even and is still tender today.

So, my HSG is scheduled for Tuesday at 12:30 with an ultrasound preceding the procedure. Maybe, just maybe all will be set for an Ovidrel injection Tuesday night for insemination on Thursday? Dare we hope?

My swimmers will be arriving at the fertility clinic Wednesday. I have gone with a new donor, a guy with blue-green eyes. I selected him because I have a blue eye and a blue-green eye, although I was born with blue eyes (they have changed color over the years). My eyes are so light now, gray is the best descriptor, until I wear something brilliant to dark green, in which case the blue-green eye matches the color of the shirt and my blue eye just looks normal. So I avoid that color, just so that I don't have people stopping, staring, and saying "Did you know your eyes are 2 different colors?" Like I could miss it ... So, anyways, in selecting this donor, it was the usual points I look at - height, weight, IQ, type of hair (no curls for me), and familial health history. It looks like they have a propensity for lung cancer, but the folks who died of it were lifelong smokers. So I will have ammunition with my child to avoid smoking by saying it is a hereditary weakness. My own parents smoked for over 40 years and neither has yet had a cancer scare (God willing there is none in the future). And with just 1 instance of cancer (prostate) in 100+ maternal and paternal family members back to my grandparent's generation, it looks like we don't have much of a cancer gene. So, that said, while the cancer was a concern in the new donor, it did not weigh too much. He's clean otherwise, no thyroid issues, no Alzheimer's. So ... who knows?

Anyways, those are all the updates. On other fronts, I finally have electric service in my bedroom (yes!), have updated the service in the house from 70 amps to 200 (just today!), and will have a new 1/2 bathroom within the month. Mega nice. And the economy is tanking ... so, I am just delighted my mortgage came from my folks and that the rate is fixed and not adjustable. Other than that, same old same old. Have a happy day!

Updates

I have been most remiss. I have not updated until now for 2 reasons. First, I have been incredibly busy with the move. Next, there has really been nothing to update.

Now, though, there is a mite bit of news. I have an appointment at the REs next Friday. That is great news! It is a few days prior to CD 3, which will allow me to have some testing done and .... cross your fingers .... maybe try again this cycle. We'll see. I just have to wait for big expenditures until after October 2nd, which is when my insurance plan takes effect.

I moved from NC to NY this past month and am gripped in all the oddness that renovating brings. Well, maybe I should say, trying to renovate. These tradesmen in NY simply don't seem to want to work! The new job is FANTASTIC. And I am adjusting well.

So, all that said, sorry for the wee post. It's been a slow fertility month!

The Storm Clouds Have Lifted

Well, contrary to my expectations, I did not close on my house on Thursday like I was supposed to do. Instead, I have some frustrating dealings in which I finally realized that the seller was lying, his attorney was lying, or his listing agent was lying. Whichever the case, I got the royal shaft. My house will close Monday by POA. I am here in NC waiting for follicles to develop and my hormone levels to rise for my insemination on Tuesday. My parents (what awesome folks they are!) have gone to NY to handle things for the closing. My dad and brother will tear out the carpet and tackstrips and demolish a closet, all for the floor refinishing man, who rearranged his schedule to get me on Tuesday. Phew.

I got rather stubborn about things. I have $1000 in sperm waiting, for this final insemination at this RE's office. When I finally move, that's it ... I ordered the sperm at the last possible moment on Tuesday, once I knew the closing would occur on Thursday .... Thursday left enough time to get up there, close, and rip everything out. Of course, I must have counted my chicks before they hatched ... I did not close on schedule. So once it all went kerfluey, I crunched dates, travel times, CDs, and anything else which mattered and was basically up a creek with no paddle. My dad volunteered and I took him up on it, a 2 day trip for him and Mom, just for me to be able to stay here to get my swimmers. You never know, this could be the time.

Of course, I would love that. However, reality is staring me in the face. I really don't have a Fertile Myrtle reputation. I am harking on my 40th birthday (fertility drops so low) that I can hope and pray all I like and it has little chance of actually working.

So, all that said ... I'm off to pack!

It Is Pouring!

Okay, I think I have a handle on my emotions right now. I have been in negotiation for purchasing a house up where I will be working. I have a contract, I have arranged EVERYTHING and am ready to close this Thursday. Unfortunately, someone along the way dropped the ball. There is another owner to the house, another owner who was unknown until the title search. My contract is technically null and void. If the other owner wants to, I can whistle in the wind and not have the house ...

I have a floorman coming to sand and refinish the floors on Monday. I have the electrocity being read and placed in my name as of Thursday. I have the water being read as of Thursday. I have the hazard insurance waiting on a firm closing date and that policy will be purchased. I have myself and my parents waiting on tenterhooks for "the word" that all is good, that we can get on the road for the 10 hour trip for the closing. And nothing ...

No word.

Frustrating. I know it must seem to everyone who speaks with me that I am a willy-nilly person who can't make up her mind on things. Everyone in the know with this house purchase understands I have been the one waiting for everyone else to catch up ... waiting to hear from the lawyer, waiting to hear from the electrician, waiting to hear from the realtor. Ugh. Not a good situation. And now waiting to hear from the previously unknown owner. What a catastrophe.

I am sure at the heart of all this is a family fued. How, after all, can you forget or not realize that there is another owner to the property. The lady died, so it stands to reason that the property would go to her 2 sons. Well, per the seller's realtor, it just went to him ... and now we hear there is another owner? Hmmm ... makes me think there is a reason the guy "forgot" about the other owner.

So, as you can see with me, when it rains it pours. I will be on CD11 on Saturday and just spoke to the RE's nurse about maybe needing to move the ultrasound and bloodwork from then until Sunday, since I may well be up in NY (if the guy can be found). She said not a problem. My swimmers will be here on Thursday and can wait for me. I'll let her know the status of things when I find them out.

I'm going to go out now for a big, juicy steak dinner. My mom suggested I make my own, but since I have no plates (they are all packed and READY TO GO - UGH!) then I'll head to my favorite restaurant for a last meal.

Pouring ... my, it is pouring.