Well it is mostly needles. The actual medicaion is to the left.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Injection Time...
I started my lupron injections on Saturday, June 18th. I take one injection every morning at the same time. These injections are used with an insulin needle, so it is not that big. The other injections I will be taking have larger syringes. Ben got up and gave me my injection on Sunday morning, he did a good job even though he was nervous. He has no idea what he has in store when he has to give me my progesterone injections in my butt every morning when we start that. :) My next doctor's appointment is set for July 1st, so I will post an update after that.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Where do we go from here?
This may be TMI for some people, but I am giving detail to let you know how we got to where we are now. I was having very irregular periods for about 5 months and was over it, so I decided that I was going to ask my doctor for birth control when I went in for my yearly exam. So March 30th, I asked for that and she agreed because of the period issues and thought maybe we should take a break for a bit. Because of the irregular cycles they decided to do some bloodwork and then also schedule a pelvic sonogram for the next week. My bloodwork came back normal and then my sonogram showed something on my uterus. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but thought that may be a factor to the irregular cycles. So I was scheduled for a hysteroscopy at the hospital because she didn't have the proper equipment in the office, otherwise she would have done it there. I went in April 25th for pre-op and had to answer about 3 pages worth of questions. One question the nurse asked was if I had ever been hospitalized before, and I answered yes. I was back in March 2003 with a rare condition called Rhabdomyolosis. Crazy name, huh?
The following week I was out in the yard raking and pulling weeds, and it was so stinking hot outside. I went to the neighbor's to watch American Idol and drink wine. About 2 hours later, I started getting tight again in my arms and back, just like what happened in 2003. So the next morning I told Ben and he said I probably just pulled some muscles working in the yard, but I knew better. He ended up taking me to the doctor that afternoon so they could check my CK levels, which I found out the next morning that they were elevated. Now, when I was in Hawaii they were around 20,000, but this time it was only about 1,200. The normal range I believe is between 40 and 500. Needless to say, I had to take it easy for the rest of the weekend and the following week. I also drank pedialyte, gatorade and lots of water trying to flush all of this out of my system. I was so ready to be feeling better. We still don't know if the anesthsia triggered it or not, but I hope I don't ever go through it again.
I went back for a check up to my OB to make sure everything looked good after the procedure and it did. She suggested I go back to the fertility doctor to at least have him help me get my cycle regulated. Ben and I made an appointment for May 17th, and little did I know that day would not be a good day. I thought I was going into this appointment to talk about getting on some meds to help regulate me, instead we walked out of there talking about IVF. I love my doctor, and he really is caring and understanding, but I didn't like it when he told me that there was a 2% chance of getting pregnant on my own due to the irregular cycles. He said we could try to regulate it, but it would most likely not help once I came off the medications. So we talked about another IUI as an option, but that was only about a 10% chance. The last option he gave us was IVF, and that number was much better, a 60-70% chance. Great news! Bad news.....my insurance doesn't cover it and it is a VERY expensive procedure. But all that kept running through my head was 2% so Ben and I talked about it and decided we would go with IVF. They told us that if we decided on the IUI or the IVF to just call them whenever I started my period again and we would get the ball rolling. So, I called them the following Monday and it all started.
We went in on May 26th for an ultrasound and a LOT of bloodwork. They took 5 vials of my blood and only 2 of Ben's. The next thing on the list was to start birth control pills for a few weeks and so that is what I have been doing the past few weeks. They emailed me my calendar (my lifeline for the next few weeks) and that showed what my next month to month and a half would be like. I went in on June 9th for a teaching class on how to administer ALL of my medications I will be taking. Let me tell you, there are a LOT of needles and it all has to be done the same time of day each day. Ben has lucked out on helping with any of that because of his work schedule, so I may have to call on some family or friends for help if I get to a point of not wanting to do it anymore. At that appointment they also did an ultrasound to look at my ovaries, a hysteroscopy just to make sure everything still looked good, and then a mock transfer to make sure he knew where he needed to inject everything on the "transfer" day.
So this is where we stand right now. I start my first dose of injections this Saturday, so wish me luck. The reason for the blog is so we have these memories down the road and also so we can share it with friends and family when we are ready to share our story.
- Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Some of these are harmful to the kidney and frequently result in kidney damage.
The following week I was out in the yard raking and pulling weeds, and it was so stinking hot outside. I went to the neighbor's to watch American Idol and drink wine. About 2 hours later, I started getting tight again in my arms and back, just like what happened in 2003. So the next morning I told Ben and he said I probably just pulled some muscles working in the yard, but I knew better. He ended up taking me to the doctor that afternoon so they could check my CK levels, which I found out the next morning that they were elevated. Now, when I was in Hawaii they were around 20,000, but this time it was only about 1,200. The normal range I believe is between 40 and 500. Needless to say, I had to take it easy for the rest of the weekend and the following week. I also drank pedialyte, gatorade and lots of water trying to flush all of this out of my system. I was so ready to be feeling better. We still don't know if the anesthsia triggered it or not, but I hope I don't ever go through it again.
I went back for a check up to my OB to make sure everything looked good after the procedure and it did. She suggested I go back to the fertility doctor to at least have him help me get my cycle regulated. Ben and I made an appointment for May 17th, and little did I know that day would not be a good day. I thought I was going into this appointment to talk about getting on some meds to help regulate me, instead we walked out of there talking about IVF. I love my doctor, and he really is caring and understanding, but I didn't like it when he told me that there was a 2% chance of getting pregnant on my own due to the irregular cycles. He said we could try to regulate it, but it would most likely not help once I came off the medications. So we talked about another IUI as an option, but that was only about a 10% chance. The last option he gave us was IVF, and that number was much better, a 60-70% chance. Great news! Bad news.....my insurance doesn't cover it and it is a VERY expensive procedure. But all that kept running through my head was 2% so Ben and I talked about it and decided we would go with IVF. They told us that if we decided on the IUI or the IVF to just call them whenever I started my period again and we would get the ball rolling. So, I called them the following Monday and it all started.
We went in on May 26th for an ultrasound and a LOT of bloodwork. They took 5 vials of my blood and only 2 of Ben's. The next thing on the list was to start birth control pills for a few weeks and so that is what I have been doing the past few weeks. They emailed me my calendar (my lifeline for the next few weeks) and that showed what my next month to month and a half would be like. I went in on June 9th for a teaching class on how to administer ALL of my medications I will be taking. Let me tell you, there are a LOT of needles and it all has to be done the same time of day each day. Ben has lucked out on helping with any of that because of his work schedule, so I may have to call on some family or friends for help if I get to a point of not wanting to do it anymore. At that appointment they also did an ultrasound to look at my ovaries, a hysteroscopy just to make sure everything still looked good, and then a mock transfer to make sure he knew where he needed to inject everything on the "transfer" day.
So this is where we stand right now. I start my first dose of injections this Saturday, so wish me luck. The reason for the blog is so we have these memories down the road and also so we can share it with friends and family when we are ready to share our story.
Why I decided to start a blog
Ben and I thought that a blog would be a good way to share with friends and family what has been going on with us over the past 4 years. Ben and I decided that we would start "trying" for a baby in March 2007 when we went on vacation to Georgia. We figured it would take sometime to get pregnant, but we weren't "trying" hard, just preventing. Well after 2 years of "trying" my doctor wanted me to have a test done to check my fallopian tubes to make sure they were not blocked called, hysterosalpingogram (HSG). So we did that in February 2009. That tested showed they were NOT blocked and so there were no issues there. So I was put on some clomid, estrogen and progesterone. Let me just say that my hormones were crazy and I had some serious mood swings. Ben loved it! And so did everyone I worked with! :)
In July we decided that it was time to see a fertility doctor that my OB/GYN recommended. We saw him in August and he suggested an Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and so we planned that for my cycle in September. What a great doctor he was, so caring and understanding of our siutuation. He and his wife had to do IVF 2 times and they were blessed with 2 children. We did the first IUI in September and unfortunately it didn't take. We were bummed, but decided to try the next month. Each time we did it though, it would decrease our chances. The IUI isn't that big of a deal, you take some clomid, estrogen and progesterone and then give yourself one shot in the abdomen about 36 hours before you ovulate. That shot wasn't a big deal at all, except for the 2nd time I had to do it. My parents are in the Shrine, and it was circus time in Fort Worth, and this year my mom got to dress up as a clown and be in a couple of skits so I definitely didn't want to miss that one. Well you have to give yourself a shot at a certain time of day that the doctor tells you, and of course mine would be during a time that we wouldn't be at home. So I went to the circus with the shot in a little cold bottle bag a friend gave me and off we went to the circus. Afterwards, we were celebrating with my parents and I had to run off to another room to give myself the shot. We went in a couple of days later for the procedure, waited 2 weeks, and no baby again. So we decided to call it quits on any further fertility meds and just take a break. I was an emotional roller coaster and the medicine I was on didn't help.
The doctor just diagnosed us as having unexplained infertility. And month after month, we were still disappointed.
In July we decided that it was time to see a fertility doctor that my OB/GYN recommended. We saw him in August and he suggested an Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and so we planned that for my cycle in September. What a great doctor he was, so caring and understanding of our siutuation. He and his wife had to do IVF 2 times and they were blessed with 2 children. We did the first IUI in September and unfortunately it didn't take. We were bummed, but decided to try the next month. Each time we did it though, it would decrease our chances. The IUI isn't that big of a deal, you take some clomid, estrogen and progesterone and then give yourself one shot in the abdomen about 36 hours before you ovulate. That shot wasn't a big deal at all, except for the 2nd time I had to do it. My parents are in the Shrine, and it was circus time in Fort Worth, and this year my mom got to dress up as a clown and be in a couple of skits so I definitely didn't want to miss that one. Well you have to give yourself a shot at a certain time of day that the doctor tells you, and of course mine would be during a time that we wouldn't be at home. So I went to the circus with the shot in a little cold bottle bag a friend gave me and off we went to the circus. Afterwards, we were celebrating with my parents and I had to run off to another room to give myself the shot. We went in a couple of days later for the procedure, waited 2 weeks, and no baby again. So we decided to call it quits on any further fertility meds and just take a break. I was an emotional roller coaster and the medicine I was on didn't help.
The doctor just diagnosed us as having unexplained infertility. And month after month, we were still disappointed.
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