Wednesday, July 1, 2009

After 6 days of stims...

Things I think are looking good. I lost count of the number of follicles- most were about 14 mm and Dr. S didn't even bother to measure all the smaller ones- just said "and there's a lot a smaller follicles as well." My E2 level was 450 (which to me seems kind of low- but the nurse said it was "rising nicely" from the last E2 level). They also did a progesterone check to see how close I was to triggering, but it was still low. So I will be going back Thursday for more lovely b/w and u/s probing. Before getting the b/w results, Dr. S said he thought we would do the ER on Saturday or Sunday. I'm personally thinking it will be Sunday or even Monday.

I have mixed feelings about doing the retrieval on Saturday (with it being the 4th of July and all). On the one side, it would be really neat to be able to say we knew our child was conceived on that holiday and sooner is always better when it means less needle poking. On the other side, I would like to enjoy the holiday- see fireworks, go to a friend's party, go to a nearby city's festival and I couldn't do that if the ER fell on that day. And, if we triggered on Friday (for a Sunday ER) Saturday would be a shot-free day! It would be so much easier to enjoy the festivities without worrying about that.

I am really trying to put my trust in the doctor and nurses at the clinic. I am a little disappointed that my number of follicles isn't closer to 20- because I know this will be our only IVF, no matter what the outcome is. I am hoping for lots of frosties so that we can do FET's. I have always been an overachiever, so I naturally want my ovaries to follow that as well. I know 16ish is a lot better than 3 or another number less than 16, but I still worry. I am also trying to remember quality is better than quantity. I worry about the E2 level, because it seems too low for 6 days of stims. But I try to convince myself that it has got to be good, because my drug amounts are not being changed (still 250 Follistim and 2.5 Lupron) and they would be adjusted if something needed to be tweaked.

On to another topic: my mom. I have mentioned before how she has failed to realize the level of support I need from her as we go through this exceptionally difficult time. Last week my parents went camping, to a place they go every year. This year they decided to go for a full week instead of an extended weekend. I was really hurt and bothered by the fact that my mom knew the suppression was taking longer and that if by Wednesday I had not been suppressed, I would be delayed until the next cycle- but still went to a place where she could not call me to find out the news or provide adequate support. They got home on Sunday. She did not call until 2 pm on Monday. She then spent the first 5 minutes of the phone call telling about their week. I had decided that I would honestly tell her how hurt I was and that I needed more support from her. So I did. I thought I got my message across and I think she understood where I was coming from. She felt badly, and I thought putting it out there helped.

Then I called her after I got the b/w information yesterday to tell her the latest update and that we were potentially looking at a ER for this weekend. Guess what? My parents are going for an extended camping trip this weekend too. She said they are going to leave Thursday morning and come back Monday. She made a point of saying that she's never gotten cell reception from where they are camping, so she is pretty sure she won't be able to call. (never mind that if they drove 20 minutes down the road, I am pretty sure she could get reception!) I was so flabbergasted, I was speechless. Since my next appointment is Thursday morning, that means she won't even know when I am actually having the egg retrieval. She won't even be able to call afterwards to see how it went.

For crying out loud! If SHE was having minor surgery this weekend- I KNOW I would make sure to call right afterwards to see how it went. I've never been under anesthesia or had an IV- so wouldn't YOU think my mother should be around to call???

I thought what I said to her on the phone the other day got through to her. It obviously did not. So I didn't even try to bring it up again after she told me they would be gone this weekend too. What's the point to put myself out there if it isn't going to change anything? I am still hurt and it is causing me stress at a time when I need to eliminate as much stress as possible. So right after I hung up, I called and made an appointment for a massage tomorrow to make myself better and to relieve some of the stress she has caused me. I swear, my mother has not earned any brownie points this month- or earned a Mother-of-the-Year award at all.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry your Mom has not provided the support you need and deserve. :( I just had my first IUI on Sunday. It went well, but I'm with you, I think I'd rather go in on a week day than a weekend or holiday.

K.T. said...

Sounds like the way my Mom reacted/reacts to things. It took hubby having a pretty stern talk with her about how her reactions were affecting me for her to change her tune a bit. It hasn't made all her comments better, but I can tell that she is at least trying.
Horray for a holiday weekend ER regardless of when it happens! I will be starting 3 shots a day on Friday, just in time for the holiday weekend. So we are staying close to home.
Best of luck, I will be checking back!

Lau said...

Sorry to hear about all the stress, Katie. I know how much support is needed at this time. Especially with the hormones all over the place.

I hope you get scheduled for ER on Sunday and you can have a good 4th of July.

I will definitely be stalking your blog for news. All the best!

Melissa G said...

I'm sorry your Mom hasn't been there in the way you need her to be. Sometimes they just don't get it. But YEAY for massages! I think it's great that you are moving forward from it, and focusing on yourself. Hang in there!

BTW, you might want to ease up on the DR.Google. You probably know more about E2 levels than most people should. ;)

I guess on the otherhand, I like to be REALLY informed too. Just try not to make yourself nuts!

HUGS!

Courtney said...

I'm so sorry your mom is still not getting it. :-( I hope your appt. goes well tomorrow and that you get to schedule your ER soon!!!

Kate said...

I think you're doing just fine for your E2 level personally. I'm sure it'll start to shoot up more dramatically over the next couple days, but like you, I'm betting on another 2-3 days of stims for you before you're ready to trigger.
Don't get too focused on the numbers. Quality over quantity is the way to go. I was told 12 mature sized follicles, 6-7 of the "perfect size" and got 16 eggs, 14 mature, 13 fertilized with ICSI, and 6 blasts. I ended up being really happy with that, as I spent most of my cycle hoping for 20 eggs. And have since read of another girl stimming at higher doses, having an E2 at trigger of over 8000, getting something like 23 retrieved, and only having 3 good embryos on day3 to transfer. My RE aims for 10-15 good eggs.
Sorry your Mom's not more helpful. I'm amazed that mine's turned around so well. She used to go on about just relaxing, taking a vacation, take a TTC break, and it'll happen. What are you doing to yourself with the drugs etc. When we moved on to IVF and the first one went badly, somehow she totally changed - gave us money to help fund it, wanted to know the details etc. If she'd still been trying to convince me we were doing the wrong thing, I wouldn't have told her about the cycle at all.
You're probably better off relying on your DH and all the ladies online for support. We'll be here dying to know how things are going with stims, and eager to hear your report on ER.
BTW, I did mine without anything other than local (cause they couldn't get an IV). It wasn't so bad, and I never felt groggy or sick to my stomach. Carried around a heating pad for the rest of the day, but didn't feel too gross. So you never know what you'll feel up to the afternoon after ER.
Hope the monitoring looks great tomorrow!

Kate said...

I had to pop over and clarify: the E2 numbers on my blog are in Canadian units, which are 3.671 times higher than the US units. So I think you're exactly where I was on day6 stims, which was way better than where I'd been on the first try at IVF.
Hope we both get great news tomorrow. I think after day 6 was when my E2 really started to take off as more follicles began to mature. I'm feeling very positive about your cycle!
Can't wait to hear about your fantastic massage either. I could have done with one last week, but was too cheap to go get one when I could get it for free with a doctor's script :)

'Murgdan' said...

I'm sorry your mom isn't giving you what you need right now. I understand. I didn't even tell my mom because I knew she just wouldn't get it.

Also--I know it's hard to trust the clinic. I second guessed everything, yet it turned out all right (not counting the whole failure thing and all...which had nothing to do with them).

I'll shoot a firework off for you on Saturday, either way.

Clare said...

EEk sorry you're not getting the support you need from your mum. Sometimes parents can be terrible at this cos they never experienced IF in their lives so have no idea what we are going through. My mum was like that a bit too. But I let her read my blog and since then she has really got 'it'. My MIL is another story... it's tough when you don't feel supported and the people who are supposed to be there for you aren't. Wishing you the best for this cycle and i hope you get to destress a little before ER. Best of luck.

butamoment said...

You ARE looking good!

Obviously I don't know your mom so of course I am speaking in general terms here. But our parents are literally of a different generation. The first IVF baby was born only 30 years ago. This IVF stuff is rocket science to them. They don't understand all the ends and outs (think about all that you have learned durning this process). They probably had no trouble getting pregnant on their own. They can't fathom what we are going through.

I am so sorry that your mom isn't the support that you had hoped for.

Dianne said...

Ok wow! I just found your blog through kerri. and this post really spoke to me!!! I have had the same feelings with my own mother! I love her to death but I really have felt let down through my IF struggles. I find out tommorow if my second IVF has worked or not (unexplained infertility / scarring issues). I am definetly adding you to me blog list! I look forward to learning about your journey!!!!! Good luck!!!