Monday morning came too soon last week, but also not soon enough. It was still somewhat dark when I left to drive to my doctor’s office, and the clouds hid the sunrise. I was eager to see what the ultrasound would show. Today showed 20 follicles (eggs), and they measured each one. They also did some blood work to make sure my levels looked good.
I got a call later that afternoon and was told to increase the dose of my Gonal-F to 225IU and to continue the rest of my medications. Since today I would be using the last Cetrotide I had, they recommended I order one more. They also recommended I order my trigger shots because I was looking to be close to needing them. I called the pharmacy and requested my trigger shots and a refill of my Cetrotide. They were expected to be delivered to our house the next day. By the end of the day I was tired and ended up falling asleep watching Monday Night Football.
Tuesday started similarly to Monday, with an early morning drive to my doctor’s office for blood work and an ultrasound. Each of the follicles were measured again. The ultrasonographer said things were looking good and I would hear from them later that afternoon.
The half hour drive to the doctor’s office becomes an hour drive to work, thanks to rush hour. This gave me time to pray and jam out to worship music, while also trying to stay awake. I also called FedEx to see if I could get a better time-frame than ‘delivery by 8pm,’ since someone had to sign for the package from the pharmacy. The guy I spoke with said he’d put in a request for the delivery driver to text or call with a delivery timeframe.
At around 9:30am I still hadn’t heard anything, and Mike had to get to work. I called FedEx again and was told I would get a call before the package was delivered. Mike left to go to work and asked my mom to come over to wait for the package. Around 10am I received a notification that a delivery attempt was made, but no one was there to sign for the package. It was just minutes before my mom arrived, and without ever receiving that phone call I was told I would get. I was panic stricken at first, because I needed those medications in that package. Luckily there was an option to pick up my packages at a designated FedEx location sometime after 3pm. Though I had planned on going to Mike’s soccer game, I guess I was going to be making a trip to pick up my package after work.
That afternoon I received another call from my doctor’s office. They had me increase my Gonal-F to 300IU and continue the rest of my medications. This meant I had to order another Cetrotide for delivery tomorrow. At least this time I knew I could be home for the delivery because I’m off on Wednesdays.
By the time I got home Tuesday evening I was fatigued, to say the least. It had been a long couple of days, especially because we had been busy and short-staffed at work. I was looking forward to just focusing on the process we were going through for the next few days. With the possibility of the egg retrieval, I had taken Thursday and Friday off work.
Wednesday morning, I had to go have more blood work and another ultrasound, but fortunately I didn’t have to go as early as I had the previous couple days. Mike was already at work and my mom came over before I left in order to wait for my package from the pharmacy and to hang out with Rudy and Stella.
That morning the ultrasonographer measured each of the follicles again and compared them with the previous measurements. One of my ovaries was tucked up by my bladder, so she apologized for the discomfort. I guess that would explain why I’m getting woken up every night having to go to the bathroom. We kind of laughed about some of the symptoms I had been experiencing. They’re just getting me ready for pregnancy. She then explained that the follicles seemed to be growing well. Some of the follicles may even be getting smushed because they were running out of room. I left the doctor’s office feeling hopeful.
Mike was home from work when I got there, so we sat out on the patio drinking a cup of coffee while the dogs played in the yard. Within about ten minutes of being home, FedEx delivered my medication which meant we were no longer held captive at home. Since we were all hungry, we decided to go have lunch where we could sit on a patio and enjoy the beautiful day. While out and about, I received a call from my doctor’s office. The nurse told me to take my Cetrotide now to halt ovulating any of the larger eggs, and she would call back with further instructions. Woohoo!
When we got home, I happily took my last Cetrotide injection. Then my mom and I did some retail therapy while Mike went to soccer practice. While we roamed one of our favorite stores, I received the call with my trigger instructions. While standing in the Fall decorative aisle I took out a pen and started writing on a random paper in my purse: bromocriptine tablet at 8:45pm then the Leuprolide and Ovidrel injections at 9:45pm. Then I was to take another Leuprolide injection at 9:45am Thursday and repeat the bromocriptine twice a day for the next week. My appointment Thursday morning would just be for blood work to make sure I was ready for egg retrieval on Friday. That evening we had our parents over for dinner to celebrate National Cheeseburger Day, and it was delicious thanks to Mike’s grilling expertise. After dinner, I followed the instructions given earlier, and we were one step closer to making embryos.
At my appointment Thursday morning, it felt somewhat odd to only have blood drawn without an ultrasound, but I wasn’t complaining. I brought my morning Leuprolide injection with me due to my appointment time. The nurse let me into a room so I could give myself my injection. Then I was on my way home and looking forward to tomorrow.
