Transfer

The transfer went fine today. We ended up putting 2 back. All 3 made it out of thaw but the one didn't have enough live cells to make it worthwhile.

Of the 2 we put back, one had 90% live cells and the other had 80%. That didn't sound too great to me but the doctor said it's really good so I'll take his word for it.

Beta is scheduled for October 13th.

Back to bedrest.

All Set for Transfer

Just received a call from my clinic.

I have to be at the clinic by 12:15 for transfer at 12:45 on Tuesday.

I'm still extremely worried that the embryos won't make it out of thaw and asked if they would call me if something happened. She said the chances of all 3 not making it are very slim and each has a 85% chance of making it.

That's makes me feel better.

I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic with all of this. I know the success rates with frozen transfers are lower than with fresh. But, are we offsetting the decreased statistic by putting 3 back?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Oh! Don't mind the change in the way my blog looks. I just get bored. I re-arrange the furniture in my house just as often!

Updates

Just a few updates...

Kaly is continuing to improve. Her levels dropped again last night to 3.4. Still not normal but at least it's heading in the right direction. We're going to continue on our course of treatment for another week and then check her again. The vet hinted last night that he thinks this was all caused by an infection.

That's pretty scary when you think about it. She was probably a week or so away from dying had she not received treatment.

I also had my 2nd lining check this morning and I was at 7.2 mm. My RE is letting me move forward because the lining looks so good, regardless of the thickness.

So, transfer is scheduled for sometime Tuesday, 9/30. They thaw the embryos the morning of so I'm assuming it will be in the afternoon.

Of course, I wouldn't be my usual worrisome self if I didn't worry about how many will make it out of thaw. I'm praying all 3 will be ready to go.

Superstar!

I talked to my nurse coordinator today.

I'm going back on Thursday for another lining check.

She also said she spoke with my RE and that Dr. B was very impressed with my triple lining.

Apparently, I'm a SUPERSTAR when it comes to layers!



So, my nurse said she thought Dr. B. would probably let me move forward with the transfer, even if I don't get to 7.5 mm.

I'll keep you posted after my appointment on Thursday!

Lining Check and Other Updates

I have good news and so-so news.

First, Kaly is continuing to improve. She was home with us Thursday and Friday and only getting subcutaneous fluid shots. We checked her levels again Saturday morning and her creatinine dropped again to 3.7.

That was awesome news! She's not in the normal range yet (high end is 1.4), but good news nonetheless.

Her phosphorus and BUN are also close to or within normal range. She has another check-up on Wednesday and we'll see if she is continuing to maintain her levels.

I also had my lining check this morning and it was OK.

Not great. Just OK.

I'm at 7.0 right now. My clinic requires a minimum of 7.5 - 8.0mm to continue with the FET so I'm almost there, but not quite.

I guess a bright spot is that I'm triple lined.

Whatever the hell that means?!

So, they are giving me 4 more days to prove myself and then we'll see where we are.

What's killing me is that the FET cycle was supposed to be SO much easier than a fresh cycle.

What if I get cancelled again? I don't know where that leaves us. I hate the thought of having 3 perfectly good embryos waiting for me and I can't even get my stupid uterus ready.

I can create new embryos perfectly fine but I can't use the ones that already exist?

How messed up is that?

Update on Kaly

We got some good news tonight.

Kaly's creatinine level dropped from 7.3 to 5.3. While it's still not in the normal range, the vet said he'll take it. Her blood cell count is normal, she's eating and she looks good.

So, she gets to stay home with us and receive subcutaneous fluids 2x/day and then we'll take her back on Saturday to check her levels again.

Who knew that my IVF shot experience would help keep my dog alive?

While we aren't out of the woods yet, if we can keep her levels maintained, she might be OK for a little while longer (maybe weeks, maybe months).

For now, I get to keep my Kaly Bear.

Things That Suck

In keeping with my "Things That" theme, I thought I'd share what's been happening since Saturday.

As you may know, we have 2 dogs and a cat. They are all considered "senior" at 9 and 10 years old.

Kaly, our female Akita, is my sweet little bear.



She was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease about 2 years ago and we knew the lifespan after diagnosis was approximately 2-3 years.

For the most part, she's been doing great. I noticed she was a little lethargic and sporadically vomiting ever since we picked them up from the kennel after vacation. She was treated for giardia (a common worm) about 2 months ago and the symptoms seemed to be mimicking that again so I totally expected to take her in, get some medicine and she'd be good as new.

The vet, Dr. B., didn't seem to suspect anything - thought it might be gastroenteritis but took some blood "just to see if anything was going on".

On Saturday, we got a call from Dr. V. saying the protein levels in her blood were "alarmingly high" and she requested we bring Kaly in STAT.

We're still trying to figure out exactly what is going on but it's looking more and more like Kaly has kidney failure.

We've been doing fluid therapy for the last 2 days during the day and we get to bring her home at night and she does seem to be responding but we know we have to face the reality. She can't function without her kidneys.

The last 2 days have truly sucked. For those of you who have pets, I'm sure you completely understand. My DH and I are prepared for the worst and the decision that we'll most likely have to make.

We've already spent close to $1500 and if we were rich, I'd say "Do whatever you have to". Unfortunately, we're not and finances do come into play.

So, for now, we're continuing with the fluid therapy and we'll see where we are on Friday. If we can get her levels down to where she is stable, the concern becomes whether she has enough function to maintain her blood levels.

With all of this going on, the FET cycle has sort of moved to second stage. I'm still doing my shots and taking my pills. My first lining check isn't until 9/20 so I don't have any news anyway.

Things That Are Blue...

Let's play a game.

Think of 5 things that are blue.

Done?

OK, you probably thought of things like:

- the sky
- blueberries
- the ocean
- jeans
- flowers

You may have even gotten creative and thought about The Blues Brothers or Blues music.

But, I bet you didn't think of one thing!

My nether-region.

Oh yeah.

That's right.

6 Estrace pills vaginally = blue coochie!

I figure I won't have to worry about my Halloween costume this year.

I'll just go as one of two people.

Smurfette:


or

Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka:



It'll be great!

Round Two

We officially kick off FET Cycle #2 tonight. Here's my protocol:

- 0.2 ml Delestrogen, intramuscularly, every 3rd night
- Estrace tablets, vaginally, 1 in morning and 1 at night
- Baby Aspirin, one per morning

First lining check - Sunday, September 21
Estimated transfer - Thursday, September 25

I have mixed feelings about this cycle. I'm actually feeling rather blase' about the whole thing. A symptom of 2 prior disappointments? Probably.

I just don't think I'll allow myself to get excited about this one until I pass my first lining check on the 21st.

I do have one coincidence that I wanted to share. It's a little freaky and might quite possibly prove that things do come back around.

Last year: Had AF for my sister's b-day party
This year: Had AF for my sister's b-day party

Last year: Got pregnant September 16th
This year: Estimated transfer September 25th

Last year: BFP on October 8th
This year: Pregnancy test October 9th?

I can't believe it's been a year since all of that happened. I can remember sitting in bed after the surgery and thinking that we'd do IVF and I'd be pregnant again by April, 2008.

Foolish, foolish girl.

Who knows? Maybe this cycle will be the one.

Crampy Crampy Bo-Bampy

Fee fi fo fampy... Crampy!

Yes, that's right folks! I have cramps from hell!

And, as far as I can tell, not a whole hell of a lot to show for it except some light spotting.

I don't know if today is Day One or not?

So, I'll hang out today, in the midst of Tropical Storm Hanna, and see what starts brewing.

Oh, and speaking of TS Hanna, so far all of the hype as been just that.

It's R-A-I-N-I-N-G people!!!!!

No scary, torrential downpour and there aren't any winds.... it's a nice, steady rain.

But, if you guys don't hear from me for a few days, call out the Coast Guard. Maybe I've floated away.

Do A Little Dance

I talked to my nurse coordinator yesterday and we're still waiting for good ole AF to arrive.

My next FET cycle won't officially start until then.

So, my hubby and I decided to do a little dance.

To one of my favorite songs, "Get Down Tonight" by KC & The Sunshine Band.

"Do A Little Dance, Make A Little Love... Get Down Tonight"

Maybe our fantastic dancing abilities will entice her to come.

Enjoy!

Back from Vacation

Hi there!

I'm back from vacation and it was so nice to get away. We had decent weather - only one real cloudy day.

I wish I could say it was also nice to not have to think about my upcoming FET cycle but I did... a lot.

I finished my Provera on Thursday and I'm still waiting on AF. My RE said it usually takes 4-5 days once you finish so I'm still within her time frame.

But, you guys know me. Yep, Short Bus.

I was also a little stressed when I got home because I expected my new protocol to be waiting for me, but it wasn't. With it being a holiday weekend, I was worried that if I did get my period, I wouldn't know what to do.

As usual, I did all of that worrying for nothing because nothing happened.

I don't really have anything else to report. Just wanted to check in.