The pudding club

May 22, 201636 Comments

It’s been almost a week since I was on here…that’s not like me. I have been hiding from the world a little bit. It’s been a really hard week to get through. My first scan looming over my head. Would there be a baby? Would there be a heartbeat? I’ve had lots of lovely messages wishing me luck – but all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep, avoid polite conversation, time to fly.

Thursday morning I felt numb to the world. Fortunately I was busy at work so the afternoon appointment came around quickly. Chris met me at the clinic, he was already there in the waiting room, patiently waiting for me. I felt sick to my stomach. This was it! We didn’t have to wait long before we were called back. The nurse took my vitals (weight and blood pressure), then we went into the ultrasound room together. I sat up on the bed and before I had to time to wonder more about the possibilities my doctor walked in. I don’t really remember what she said to me, but like I had been all week I’d had enough with the small talk.

As soon as the ultrasound wand was in me we could see my extremely hyper stimulated ovaries….I had many huge follicles still – like two times the size of the ones I am used to seeing during stimulation phase. My doctor exclaimed my ‘hyper’ situation, and I said, yes, I have been feeling them 😦 And then she found a sac, zoomed in and there was a little blob on the screen! I was holding my breath as she found the heart beat – and there it was 144 beats per minute (BPM). I just cried. She measured the size of it and it was measuring 2 days behind at 7 weeks 2 days, I was technically 7 weeks 4 days, but she said that was close enough!

As I sobbed, Chris asked what happens next and my Doctor said we now graduate to my OBGYN! Oh…I don’t have one since we moved to the US and went straight from our family doctor to the fertility clinic. Then Chris said we need to find one near our new house…to which I corrected him and he said – “no, we got the house today!” I couldn’t believe it, he was telling me right there that we got the house we wanted and he had the call from our realtor an hour or so before the appointment. Cue even more tears from me and excited happy doctors & nurse in the room. What a day for good big news. I hugged my doctor and nurse and thanked them with tears running down my face! It was surreal as I walked out into the waiting room with my face red from tears, I am sure people couldn’t tell if it was good or bad news I just received!! And that was it…we left our clinic realising we wouldn’t be back too soon.

Finally I’m in the pudding club – for real! I’ve been in a bit of shock, but I am embracing the pregnancy now. I believe it is happening. This is our time. We have even agreed to give the blob a nickname – Rocky – our little fighter. It also looked a bit rock like on the scan 😉

I realised I needed to find an OBGYN quick that works with the hospital we wanted to give birth at, so I did my research and made my first pre-natal appointment in the ‘normal’ world. My first appointment and next scan will be at 10w2d – a little later than they like, but it was the earliest they could fit me in. I’ve also been allowed to switch to progesterone oral capsules (but taken transvaginally) – these little things cost over $380 for 1 month’s worth! Completely different to the progesterone in oil which cost only about $90!!! But I am sure it will be worth it so I don’t have to inject myself whilst travelling again (I’m off to Turkey tomorrow – not looking forward to this trip at all).

This week has been such an emotional roller coaster – and yet on the face of it, it has been easy…we have no complications. Just when we thought this was the end…

IVF Diary Vol III: 14-16 Apr 16

April 16, 2016April 16, 201637 Comments

Medication(s) administered and dosage(s). Transfer Day!!!! PM Progesterone in Oil 1ml Intra-muscular injection, vivelle dot estrogen patches 0.1mg x2.

The past few days Chris has been giving me my progesterone in oil injections because I have been too sore to turn around and attempt to give one to myself in the behind! Last night I prepped the medication as per usual, I iced my backside, then usually I go lie on the bed face down ready for Chris to inject, but this time I decided to secretly attempt to inject it myself! I stood with my side facing the bathroom mirror (which I didn’t actually use in the end). I held the needle like a dart, but it’s very difficult to get a true dart like action when doing this to myself! There was no hesitating this time (I must have tried this about 10 times last cycle). Rather than ‘dart’ it in, I placed the needle on my skin and pushed a little – it didn’t break the skin! I couldn’t feel it because I had iced the area anyway, so I pushed harder. You definitely have to push that thing in a whole lot harder than you might think!!! Anyway, it went in and I started to inject the oil. Chris walked into the bathroom as I was doing this and for a second ignored me…then realised what I was doing, I hadn’t told him I was going to do it!!! He was super impressed!! After I took the needle out I realised that there was quite a lot of blood with this one – typical!!! I hadn’t got the gauze ready. I felt a little dizzy, but not too bad. I put my heat pad on the injection site as usual and gave Chris a high five! Can I give a high five to all my lovely supporters who have cheered me on with this injection!!! You helped me do it! Thank you so much!!!

Medical procedures undertaken. 5 Day Embryo Transfer!!!!! I was very nervous that we would arrive and the procedure would be cancelled because I was still feeling the OHSS symptoms. We arrived at 0700AM at the clinic and we were second in line – there were only two of us patients in the OR today. Learning my lesson from previous transfers I did not drink anything when I woke up and ensured my bladder was as empty as it could be by the time I arrived at the clinic. I started sipping my water about 40 mins before they took me in. They recommend drinking 24oz, but seriously my bladder can barely hold 12oz and with the OHSS the past few days I have only been able to drink about 8oz at the most before needing to pee. Once I was in the OR the doctor told us we had two beautiful embryos to transfer today and one potential to freeze. Once I was in the stirrups, the doctor placed the speculum and the other doctor used the transabdominal ultrasound on my tummy. OH MY GOODNESS it hurt! And this time not from a full bladder! The Doctor exclaimed ‘Oh yes, you do have super enlarged ovaries!’ I just laughed out loud because I could tell him that without the ultrasound. Anyway, the canula tube that the embryos would be transferred by was inserted into my uterus and we were ready to go! The embryologist checked my identity, and went back into his lab and showed us the embryos on the TV screen, confirming they were ours – one of the blastocysts had started to hatch since he took the photo earlier in the morning (a new thing the clinic does!!!! Very cool because before Chris would snap a pic of the TV screen with his phone!). At this point I was crying because of the pain from the ultrasound!!! We watched the embryos on the ultrasound screen ‘arrive’ into my uterus 🙂 We had the same doctor do our transfer for our Positive result last year…not that this should make a difference…but….this is a good sign!!!!!

Any results? The two embryos we transferred were graded 3BB and 3CB (Here is a useful link to find out more about blastocyst grading). There is one blastocyst that might make it to the freezer (FINGERS CROSSED!!! This would be amazing so it can join our other frozen embryo!!!) Sadly the other 7 embryos are highly unlikely to make it to the freezer 😦

The one on the right is the 3BB the one on the left is the 3CB – we haven’t decided on a name for them yet!

What are my symptoms? Still suffering with OHSS, but the important thing is that it is not getting worse. Now we have to hope that it doesn’t get worse if I get pregnant (OHSS can either appear or get worse as hCG levels increases once you actually get pregnant)…so we are still on the watch. I am really getting bored of not being able to do anything other than a gentle walk – and that is a short distance gentle walk too 😦

How do I feel today? I was feeling really anxious last night about today’s transfer and I did not sleep well at all. I had awful nightmares about the Brussels attacks too. I woke up from them and couldn’t stop thinking about it for about an hour or so before I fell back asleep. Today I am feeling relieved that we had at least two to transfer and all those emotions came bubbling up in the form of tears as we left the clinic – a true mix of happy, scared and pained feelings!

BUT I am PUPO! (Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise) and for that I am truly grateful. We will be over the moon if this one blastocyst also makes it to the freezer.

What’s next? The two week wait…..eeeeeeek!!! To pee or not to pee (on a stick)…..that is the question!!!!

The Final Countdown!!!

*Notes. I take First Response Reproductive Health multi vitamin gummies (pre-natal), 5mg Melatonin at bed time and CoQ10 200mg gummies daily. NSTR = Nothing Significant To Report.

IVF Diary Vol II: 26-28 Jan 16

January 28, 20169 Comments

Medication(s) administered and dosage(s). Progesterone in Oil 1ml Intra-muscular injection, vivelle dot estrogen patches 0.1mg x2. I am taking baby steps in learning how to inject the progesterone myself. Last night I held the needle and hovered it above my skin but cried, well sobbed… and begged Chris to do it. I realised that I had never actually watched this huge needle go in before because I have always been lying down on the bed face down. So the first step was watching it break the skin. He checked for blood, then I took over from Chris and injected the oil so I know what it feels like and I took the needle out. There are definitely some challenges with injecting yourself and reaching round at the right angle – fortunately I am pretty flexible (thanks yoga!). We will do the same again whilst I build my confidence up! baby steps….!!

Medical procedures undertaken. Nil

What are my symptoms? My recovery from the Egg Retrieval surgery has been incredible! Compared with last time when I was practically crippled with pain and constipation I am in a way better place. The runny/dribbly/itchy nose and continuous sneezing has started to wear off. I treated the symptoms with nose saline spray (with aloe) and antihistamines. I was only constipated for about 1.5 days, and for someone who poos 3-5 times a day this wasn’t insignificant! But again, it was no where near as bad as last time when it was 3 days. I don’t sleep well when taking the progesterone injections or the estrogen patches, I’m not sure which is the culprit. I suspect it’s the progesterone because I remember being like that when I was only taking the progesterone suppositories for the IUIs. I woke up very early this morning with some sharp tummy pains, the kind you get from being very hungry. OK enough whinging, really, I am in a good place!

How do I feel today? I guess technically we are in the 2 Week Wait. I’m getting nervous that I am too positive now!!! Although last night I had a dream that I had to knit my embryos, and I dropped the last stitch, which meant I dropped an embryo on the floor and I had everyone looking for it!!! Don’t pscyho-analyse me too hard ;-p I went back to work on Wednesday and people were surprised to see me in good health because I had originally booked the whole week off as sick leave based on my experience last time. But it wasn’t needed!

Any results? Out of the 14 eggs that were retrieved, 11 of them were mature. Out of the 11 mature eggs all 11 fertilised successfully! This means an automatic go to Day 5 Transfer space!!! Our clinic doesn’t provide updates on the embryo progress unless things are going badly. We haven’t heard from the clinic and today is Day 3, so we are assuming things are all good. Our next update on how many made it to blastocyst will be on Saturday morning when we go in for our Transfer! It’s really strange because I know so many other clinics offer daily updates, but I’ve come to the conclusion that ignorance is bliss.

What’s next? Day 5 transfer is scheduled for 7AM this Saturday :-s who needs a lie-in when you can make a baby the good old test tube way!

Weight. Aghhhhh. I can’t even….

Waist. Seriously bloated and look pregnant.

Boobs. Getting bigger by the day – someone is happy about this! Not my bra, that’s for sure ;-p

Hours of Sunshine 🙂 The sun has been hiding. I think that the whole sun thing has no bearing on my fertility considering the amount of sun I got in August last year when we went through IVF the first time!

*Notes. I take First Response Reproductive Health multi vitamin gummies (pre-natal) and CoQ10 200mg gummies daily. NSTR = Nothing Significant To Report.

IVF DIARY VOL I: 18-20 Aug 2015

August 20, 2015August 20, 201514 Comments

Medication(s) administered and dosage(s). Progesterone 1ml, vivelle dot estrogen patches 0.1mg x2.

Medical procedures undertaken. Beta pregnancy test.

How do I feel today? I have written a separate post about this today as I felt that my feelings should be captured in their own space. To sum that post up…I’m cautiously optimistic.

What are my symptoms? Sharp pains, sore back and I can feel the nausea coming.

How does Chris feel today? He too is cautiously optimistic too and has an occasional outburst of tears welling up. I love how he shares his feelings with me openly and honestly.

Any results? Maybe I should have put this one higher up. Yes – I am pregnant according to my beta test. I don’t know my hCG levels yet, my phone is playing up so I can’t access them at the moment. But I know that the doctor is not concerned about them. Yey 🙂

What’s next? Second Beta test scheduled for Tuesday next week.

Weight. Holding at a reasonable level.

Waist. Getting smaller!! But not for long, hopefully.

Boobs. Getting bigger!!

Hours of Sunshine 🙂 I got some last holiday sun yesterday as it was my mum’s last day in Virginia, so we headed to the beach for some dolphin watching.

This concludes Vol 1 of my IVF diary and this will be my last ‘diary entry’ (Of course I am blogging still – duh!!). It has been a roller coaster of emotions, I have learned a lot. I will share my ‘lessons learned’ of this cycle later this week. But overall, it’s not a bad note to end on 🙂

*Notes. I take First Response Reproductive Health multi vitamin gummies (pre-natal) and CoQ10 200mg gummies daily. NSTR = Nothing Significant To Report.

IVF DIARY VOL I: 04 Aug 2015

August 4, 2015August 4, 201512 Comments

Medication(s) administered and dosage(s).

Doxycycline to reduce chance of infection after the egg retrieval.

Acetaminophen/Codeine #3 300/30mg 1 every 4-6hrs as needed for pain – although I took one this morning, I’m afraid this is not helping with my constipation and I don’t think it is helping with the pain, so I’m not taking anymore.

Colace, to help counter my constipation.

Vivelle Dot Patches x2 (Estrogen usually administered to menopausal women). These are super easy – they stick to my abdomen…now that is something I can do myself!!! I love the fact that they say on the box “Do not use if you are pregnant”. HA!!!

Progesterone in oil – 1mg. Oh my goodness, this is an intra-muscular injection with a 1.5″ needle. I lay down on the bed on my front. Using a cool pack I iced my buttock cheek in the top right hand quadrant where Chris injected it. I hardly felt the needle going in as a result of the ice numbness, but I felt like Chris was pushing really hard so I said he doesn’t need to put pressure on it when it’s in me! He told me that there was hardly an imprint of the needle on my skin, he wasn’t pushing! I guess that is just how a needle feels going into the muscle! Afterwards we massaged the area and then I applied a heat pad to the injection area. Owwww I feel like someone has kicked me in the butt cheek!! It’s really isn’t so bad, but I am not the one adminstering it, so I can look away!!

Medical procedures undertaken. No procedures on me per se, but my mature eggs were “ICSI’d” yesterday afternoon and our fertilised eggs are being looked after by the embryologists so they develop into embryos.

What are my symptoms? I am massively bloated – my waist increased by 4cm and I put on 3lbs despite the fact that I hardly ate anything yesterday. I am constipated, I poo usually 3 times a day and so far nothing. I’ve taken some Colace which takes 12-36 hours to work – not soon enough. My bowels and stomach also hurt whenever I pee and fart. Farting releases a little bit of the pressure, but does not relieve me! It hurts when I walk, the pain is not getting any better. The nurse said I should call tomorrow if the pain continues to worsen or I put on anymore weight because I could be at risk from Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome. They would need to do an ultrasound to check how my ovaries are doing. I really really hope this starts to go away so I can go to work tomorrow plus I want to be better before my transfer. In the meantime the nurse advised drinking liquids, not just water but juice, gator aid and soup. Eat small portions….I am soooo hungry, but I can’t physically eat a whole meal right now!!

Day 1 – pronuclear stage: 1 cell with 2 dots in the middle. This indicates a normally fertilized egg with each dot representing genetic materials from the mum and the dad.

Any results? This morning I received a phone call from the IVF nurse co-ordinator who gave me an update on egg/embryo status. When I answered the phone she sounded so somber I thought she was going to tell me it had been a complete failure. But here is what she told me. Yesterday they retrieved 9 eggs, 6 were mature, this morning 4 had successfully fertilised, 2 had not, but they may be late developers and so they will call me if they do make it. If they don’t call, they haven’t made it, and 4 will be the number. (They didn’t call in the end 😦 ). I won’t get any more updates until I arrive on Thursday for my transfer procedure (3 days). I’m not sure I like the fact that we won’t receive any more updates, but at the same time, what can I do about it if I was told if they are progressing well? Nothing, so I guess this way it stops us thinking too much about it.

How do I feel today? I am trying to stay positive, I won’t lie that I cried for a very brief while after I got off the phone from the nurse. I was initially upset that less than 1 in 2 eggs made it through to fertilisation. I couldn’t help but think how somehow this is my failure. But I realise this is ridiculous, so I cried for only a minute.

How does Chris feel today? Poor Chris found the intra-muscular injection quite traumatic, I feel really bad. But he did it!!! I will let him tell you all about it in a separate post. He is quite pragmatic about the number of fertilised eggs – 4 today seems like a good number to come away with. However he feels confused, like me, about whether we should wait for a 5 day transfer.

What’s next? I am not sure about the 3 versus 5 day transfer. We do get to discuss things with the doctor on Thursday, but we haven’t talked about it since we started our IVF cycle. I’ve read a lot about the fact that if an embryo doesn’t make it to blastocyst stage at 5 days then it is unlikely to have ever been a viable pregnancy anyway (I am not sure how they can really know that for sure). So wouldn’t it be better to let them get to 5 days to see if they survive to blastocyst stage rather than having false hope with a day 3 transfer and waiting two weeks to see it fail;? This seems like the worst kind of gambling!!!

Weight. I’ve gained 3lbs of whatever over night, it’s not food that’s for sure!!! I’ll keep an eye on it.

Waist. My waist has bloated 4cm in the last 24hrs, which might not sound like much, but it sure is a significant gain for me over this time period!

Boobs. NSTR.

Hours of Sunshine 🙂 I’m not really allowed in the sun because I am taking doxycycline 😦 but I did sneak in a bit (wearing sun cream of course) this morning and had a slow waddle down to the beach.

*Notes. I take First Response Reproductive Health multi vitamin gummies (pre-natal) and CoQ10 200mg gummies daily. NSTR = Nothing Significant To Report.

Surprise surprise!!!! IVF!

May 5, 2015May 5, 201512 Comments

Well my blog post title has given the game away, so in summary…our next step will be In-Vitro Fertilisation!

This morning we met with our RE who reviewed our progress so far, or lack there of. Our tests were all normal, the three IUIs all went according to plan (except of course for the pregnancy part), I responded well to the letrozole with 2-3 follicles, Chris had awesome sperm. We remain unexplained, but she does still suspect endometriosis. If my period pains were so bad that they affected my life and I wanted that to change then she would recommend a laparoscopy. This surgical procedure comes with risk, side effects and can take several months to return to normal, so if my periods were so bad this would be the way forward, however, in my case the benefits are unlikely to outweigh the downsides. So she recommends we move straight to IVF. She explained the overall process:

Week 1 to 2 – after menstruation I start birth control pills for about 14 days, these help to control my hormones

Week 3 – start injectable medications to control ovulation and stimulate follicles to grow – many many more than the 2-3 that were stimulated with letrozole in order to get the best chance of retrieving some ‘good eggs’.

Week 4 – continue injectable medications…have ultrasounds every other day to monitor follicle growth, along with blood work to monitor hormone levels. When the follicles are ready, we will inject the hCG Ovidrel trigger and 36 hours later I go for egg retrieval surgery. Under sedation my eggs are extracted from my ovaries. Chris provides his sperm and my eggs are fertilised in-vitro. After the eggs have been fertilised, the embryos grow for a few days under close watch. Then if they survive, one or two embryos are transferred directly into my uterus.

Week 5-6 – start injectable progesterone until the big pregnancy test either says – “woohoo you are preggers”! then I stay on progesterone, or…”booooo it’s a BFN my friend”, then we will…..well, let’s not go there right now.

This is everything I expected her to say, except for two things slightly different.

First, I need to go for a hydrosonogram. This procedure will produce a 3D ultrasound of my uterus. I will have this last test because I have a severely retroverted uterus they could not see it very well on the HSG X-ray, they want to double check that there is nothing preventing the implantation stage.
My HSG X-ray with my retroverted uterus (it’s hard to see because it’s hiding behind the catheter)

I have been promised this does not hurt quite as bad as the HSG. THANKFULLY!!!!
Secondly, she thinks it would be a good idea to do Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) because we are ‘unexplained’. This is a procedure where a single sperm is selected and injected directly into the egg rather than normal IVF where the sperm is placed near the egg. This procedure is an extra $2,420 so we need to check whether our insurance would cover this or not.

Talking of costs….it is going to cost $9,075 for the IVF which includes office visits, endocrine monitoring, ultrasounds, retrieval, transfer and first pregnancy test. Plus, it is an additional $400 for the anaesthesia. Medication will be approximately $4,000 to $6,000. Then the ICSI procedure is $2,420. Cryopreservation is $1000 then $60 a month for any embryos frozen. Yikes!!!! But we roughly knew this anyway, it’s just a bit scary seeing it listed out like this.

So for now, we start the negotiating with our insurance and the diary planning. It’s looking like a late June start.

Ultimately, today I walked away with this one key figure she gave: for us – a 50% chance of success. In my mind that is pretty amazing. I’ll take that. I’ve always been a glass half full kind of girl, lately it’s been half empty, today I think I’ve been topped back up 🙂

Thank you for all your support and kind thoughts so far, I’m feeling pretty encouraged this will work!

Half way through the two week wait and feeling low…

February 23, 2015March 2, 20152 Comments

So this is it…the half way point in the 2 week wait (AKA the 2WW). I am feeling a little low. It is probably as a result of a mix of things – first of all, being stuck inside all weekend behind a computer, second of all, I am impatient being in the middle of the 2WW, thirdly I am fed up with the progesterone suppositories leaking everywhere. Is there a chance that my feelings are related to hormones and medications? Maybe, I can’t tell.

Diesel don’t look so worried, it’s gonna be OK

My lowness hasn’t been helped that I had two course projects due this evening. Both were programming assignments….the first project I developed a web app that uses the CDC’s most recent data on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Here is some info on it). I was unable to fully deploy the app online before the deadline. It worked perfectly yesterday on my computer and all day today I have bee trying to figure out why it won’t go live. Sooooooo frustrating. Hopefully my graders will see my code and be generous.

My second project was a little dull, statistics and investigating relationships in cars between Miles Per Gallon and transmission types (amongst other things). I completed my report, but in the last hour before the deadline I could not get it to convert to a pdf file. Such a simple task. I am gutted. I will have to re-take this module as it counts for 60% of the grade.

I will admit that I have screamed and cried at my computer several times this weekend. I am not very good at not being in control of it!

Our cats, Sushi and Diesel, have been overly affectionate the last couple of days. I am sure they can sense when we are down or ill.

Next week is a new week, no more snow, warmer temperatures, back to some gentle exercise, and the end of the week we are having friends over to watch rugby, eat some bad foods, and play some board games. Something to look forward to. With all that fun it will then be time to take the test. Which incidentally, will be the same day as our 3 year wedding anniversary – it would be a good present to ourselves if we got the big fat positive. Monday Monday!!!

Sushi and Diesel being cute together, can’t help but me smile

: go home cat, you’re drunk – Classic Diesel

Oh no applicator? Nice one freedom fertility pharmacy…

February 20, 20151 Comment

At my last visit to the fertility clinic I asked the nurse if she had any tips or hints on the progesterone suppositories. She looked at me funny and said slowly,

‘Well, they are trans-vaginal’.

OK so I got that part, but they look a little awkward to insert?

‘Ohhhh, well it’s easy with the applicator’.

Ahhh, well I don’t seem to have been given an applicator.

‘Oh I am sorry, that’s not really helpful’ the nurse sympathized.

No, not much. I’ll figure it out.

Last night was the first evening I had to ‘insert’ the progesterone suppository.

Progesterone Suppositories: Greasy little things

I have to take these for at least 14 days just before I go to bed. These suppositories help to thicken the uterine lining, increasing the chances of a successful implantation. The suppositories are quite small, certainly no bigger than a small tampon. They are oily and greasy, feel like a cross between warm candle wax and hair wax. I think they would melt very quickly if held in your hand longer than a minute.

I forgot to cut my nails. Mistake #1.

When I started walking it began to fall out, I had not ‘deposited’ it in a suitable place. Mistake #2.

I am very much aware of the sticky and greasy residue and so have worn a panty liner for most of the day. When I got home I thought I was done with the leaking. Mistake #3.

I haven’t had any side effects from the progesterone noticeable as of yet. I’ve had a sore lower back, but that could be from trying out a standing desk for the last couple of days. Fingers crossed I won’t get any. Ha…famous last words!

My what big follicles you have – all the better for inseminating with!

February 14, 20153 Comments

Today is Cycle Day 11 and I attended the first ultrasound for my first ever Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). The clinic were very efficient today, I was in and out within 15 minutes. I sat waiting in the examination room for the doctor to arrive, and there on the wall was a poster explaining the differences between fraternal twins and identical twins – A handy guide or perhaps more of a handy reminder of the increased risk for multiples with IUI. Today, the doctor had a student shadowing her, I had no problem with this, but I think he looked a bit awkward throughout – bless his cotton socks.

The doctor showed the student my good uterine lining – apparently three lines is good. This is all new to me, so I appreciated her explaining everything. I had two follicles in the right ovary (as I had predicted) one 20mm and the other 28mm. I also had a teeny tiny one in the left ovary, only 6mm, but she said it might be nothing. So I am ready to go. They don’t open on a Sunday, so my appointment is on Monday 16th Feb. As a romantic Valentines day gift, I get an injection of Ovidrel at 1130pm. Not looking forward to this given my phobia of needles. I am undecided yet whether I will do it myself or get Chris to poke me in the abdomen.

This is all assuming my medication arrives tomorrow as freedom fertility pharmacy have promised me. Today I called them to check the status of my order with regard to my insurance approval. They had the approval for the Ovidrel, but not yet negotiated the progesterone. I don’t understand how this system works in the background, but from what I understand, it is crazy. So I said I would go ahead and pay full price for them rather than wait for the insurance company to do its thing. If it is covered, then I can just try to claim it back later….but I needed my meds ASAP!

The progesterone was $49 and the Ovidrel was $123 full price, with the insurance agreeing to pay up, my 10% copay made it only $12.30. Not too bad.

Cost of this IUI cycle, full price:

Meds inc. letrozole, ovidrel & progesterone: $311
Ultrasound: $225
Sperm Wash:$140
Insemination:$225

Total: $901

Expensive stuff!! Chances of success? Our doctor told us our chances were about 20%. Advanced Fertility.com breaks down the success rates even further depending on age, sperm mobility and treatment options. Apparently there is a 7.6% chance of success with one follicle, and an increase chance to 26% with two follicles. Wooohooo! But those numbers are still pretty small. there is almost a 4 in 5 chance that we won’t conceive. Putting it like brings you back down to earth.

Fingers crossed for a Valentines baby (Just like Chris is!). Happy Valentine’s day everyone!