Before I left work yesterday, I decided to call the two pharmacies Dr. K's office lists as keeping Letrozole and Ovidrel in stock to confirm their ability to fill the prescriptions. The first location is closer to my workplace but in the exact opposite direction of home. The person I spoke to confirmed that both medications were in stock. The second location is on my way home from work if I were to take a different route home. When I spoke to their pharmacist, he left me know that they had the Letrzole but not the Ovidrel, which he'd be happy to order. I was worried about getting caught up in traffic going the opposite way from home so I decided to go to the second pharmacy. Unfortunately, that didn't work out how I had hoped it would.
When I presented my prescriptions, one of the techs left to confirm they had the medications in stock. I figured no big deal and assumed it was fine since I had likely spoken to someone else. Then it became clear that there was a computer error and they did not, in fact, have either medication in stock. They offered to order them for me, but I let them know I needed to begin the Letrozole that day. I almost thought I'd have to drive the 30+ minutes back to the first location when they told me they would call around for me. You don't see customer service like that everyday! So they called the pharmacies in the area and found one that had the medications for me.
I was trying to remain calm, but I was beginning to panic at the thought of not being able to start the Letrozole as instructed. Another happy surprise was when I was told that both medications would be only $67! I was under the impression that the Ovidrel alone would be roughly $200!! I love surprise savings that's for sure.
I have to take the Letrzole at around the same time everyday until Monday so I held off on taking them until a time I am usually home from work. The pills are so tiny it's hard to believe they'll be enough to work (hopefully!). So far I'm not really feeling any symptoms. Hopefully that isn't just beginner's luck.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
2/26/2015: CD3 Ultrasound
This morning I had my CD3 ultrasound at Dr. K's. The ultrasound allows them to see the activity level of my ovaries. The woman performing the ultrasound let me know that they hope to see "quiet" ovaries at this point in the cycle. Luckily, my ovaries are behaving just as expected. This means I can began taking the Letrozole today and will continue to do so through CD7 (Monday, 3/2).
I will return for a CD14 ultrasound on March 9th. At that ultrasound they will be looking for mature follicles which are 18-20 mm in size. The thinking is that each mature follicle has the potential to drop one egg. Once we have mature follicle(s), I will be instructed to give myself the trigger shot. After I have the trigger shot, I will return for ultrasounds every day so that the ovulation can coincide with the insemination. If there are not mature follicles on CD14, I will return for ultrasounds every couple of days so they can look for them to develop.
I asked for an estimate on when I expect to take the trigger shot of Ovidrel, but she said it really depends on each person's body. Since my periods are not very regular, it's even harder for her to guess. She also said that sometimes people need more Letrozole or another course of treatment all together.
Before I left today's appointment the ultrasound technician gave me a form for J and I to sign. It's to let Dr. K know what our decision is going to be regarding multiples. Some people cancel the cycle completely if it looks like there are more than a predetermined number of follicles. Other people go for it and choose to selectively reduce once it's determined to be a successful cycle. Other people continue the cycle only if the number of follicles is under a predetermined number.
Once I got into the car, I called her to give her the update and we both agree we will continue with the cycle no matter what and selectively reduce, if necessary. We both feel that my health has precedence over any potential child so it wouldn't be worth taking on the enormous risks of a multiple pregnancy of that magnitude.
I tried to run to one of the pharmacies Dr. K recommends (because they keep the fertility medications in stock, unlike others) but they didn't open for another 40 minutes and I had to get to work. I will be leaving early so I can drop off the prescriptions for Letrozole and Ovidrel (and hopefully wait for them to be filled) before I head to my biweekly therapy session.
Fingers crossed for my body to have a great response to Letrozole and mature follicles on CD14!!
I will return for a CD14 ultrasound on March 9th. At that ultrasound they will be looking for mature follicles which are 18-20 mm in size. The thinking is that each mature follicle has the potential to drop one egg. Once we have mature follicle(s), I will be instructed to give myself the trigger shot. After I have the trigger shot, I will return for ultrasounds every day so that the ovulation can coincide with the insemination. If there are not mature follicles on CD14, I will return for ultrasounds every couple of days so they can look for them to develop.
I asked for an estimate on when I expect to take the trigger shot of Ovidrel, but she said it really depends on each person's body. Since my periods are not very regular, it's even harder for her to guess. She also said that sometimes people need more Letrozole or another course of treatment all together.
Before I left today's appointment the ultrasound technician gave me a form for J and I to sign. It's to let Dr. K know what our decision is going to be regarding multiples. Some people cancel the cycle completely if it looks like there are more than a predetermined number of follicles. Other people go for it and choose to selectively reduce once it's determined to be a successful cycle. Other people continue the cycle only if the number of follicles is under a predetermined number.
Once I got into the car, I called her to give her the update and we both agree we will continue with the cycle no matter what and selectively reduce, if necessary. We both feel that my health has precedence over any potential child so it wouldn't be worth taking on the enormous risks of a multiple pregnancy of that magnitude.
I tried to run to one of the pharmacies Dr. K recommends (because they keep the fertility medications in stock, unlike others) but they didn't open for another 40 minutes and I had to get to work. I will be leaving early so I can drop off the prescriptions for Letrozole and Ovidrel (and hopefully wait for them to be filled) before I head to my biweekly therapy session.
Fingers crossed for my body to have a great response to Letrozole and mature follicles on CD14!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
2/24/2015: Officially starting the process!
Well, I can honestly say I have never been more excited to see my period! I started my period last night around 7pm which means today was Cycle Day 1 for Dr. K's purposes.
I called the ovulation induction nurse this morning and left a message. One of the awesome nurses called me back just a couple hours later. She set up my CD3 appointment for Thursday where they will take baseline blood-work and a trans-vaginal ultrasound. She also let me know that we can go ahead and order our sperm vials!
In previous conversations, the nurse let me know that some people order multiple vials at a time in order to cut down on shipping and handling costs. Any little bit helps when one try costs in excess of $1500.00 so we decided to go for it. Originally we were going to order two vials at a time, but we have enough money saved to do three tries total (including the IUI procedure and fertility drugs). J and I are hoping we won't need more than one try, but it's nice to know we have some flexibility.
Our vials should arrive at Dr. K's office on March 3rd. After my appointment on Thursday (CD3), once everything looks fine, I will start taking Letrozole through CD7 (Monday, 3/2). On CD8 (Tuesday, 3/3) I believe I will have another ultrasound and blood-draw. From this point, they're looking for mature follicles (18-20mm). Once I have a mature follicle I will have to give myself the "trigger" shot of Ovidrel. The insemination will then be scheduled. One week following the Ovidrel, they will do another blood-draw, this time looking for progesterone to confirm ovulation. Two weeks after the Ovidrel, they will do a blood pregnancy test.
According to my calculations, we will be inseminating sometime the week of March 9th and later taking the pregnancy test sometime during the week of March 23rd!
I hope J will be able to be with me for the insemination...she has a business trip that was just scheduled for that week. If my calculations are correct, she may be out of town when I find out if we are prego as well. If that's the case, then I will have even more opportunity to plan for a special way to tell her of any good news! :)
All of this is so exciting which, naturally, means I've been furiously Googling different IUI success tips and tricks. I would love for this one try to be the lucky one! I've read that women who consume 2-3 servings of whole dairy products have greater IUI success so I've been incorporating more of those into my diet. I've also read that pomegranate juice is supposed to help so I started having my 8oz./day last night after dinner. Another thing I've read is helpful are brazil nuts, but I can't find them for the life of me. I will keep trying, but I think it would be counter-intuitive to stress about them in the long run. I have a list of other things to ask Dr. K about: baby aspirin, a warm compress on the uterus post IUI, and more.
I called the ovulation induction nurse this morning and left a message. One of the awesome nurses called me back just a couple hours later. She set up my CD3 appointment for Thursday where they will take baseline blood-work and a trans-vaginal ultrasound. She also let me know that we can go ahead and order our sperm vials!
In previous conversations, the nurse let me know that some people order multiple vials at a time in order to cut down on shipping and handling costs. Any little bit helps when one try costs in excess of $1500.00 so we decided to go for it. Originally we were going to order two vials at a time, but we have enough money saved to do three tries total (including the IUI procedure and fertility drugs). J and I are hoping we won't need more than one try, but it's nice to know we have some flexibility.
Our vials should arrive at Dr. K's office on March 3rd. After my appointment on Thursday (CD3), once everything looks fine, I will start taking Letrozole through CD7 (Monday, 3/2). On CD8 (Tuesday, 3/3) I believe I will have another ultrasound and blood-draw. From this point, they're looking for mature follicles (18-20mm). Once I have a mature follicle I will have to give myself the "trigger" shot of Ovidrel. The insemination will then be scheduled. One week following the Ovidrel, they will do another blood-draw, this time looking for progesterone to confirm ovulation. Two weeks after the Ovidrel, they will do a blood pregnancy test.
According to my calculations, we will be inseminating sometime the week of March 9th and later taking the pregnancy test sometime during the week of March 23rd!
I hope J will be able to be with me for the insemination...she has a business trip that was just scheduled for that week. If my calculations are correct, she may be out of town when I find out if we are prego as well. If that's the case, then I will have even more opportunity to plan for a special way to tell her of any good news! :)
All of this is so exciting which, naturally, means I've been furiously Googling different IUI success tips and tricks. I would love for this one try to be the lucky one! I've read that women who consume 2-3 servings of whole dairy products have greater IUI success so I've been incorporating more of those into my diet. I've also read that pomegranate juice is supposed to help so I started having my 8oz./day last night after dinner. Another thing I've read is helpful are brazil nuts, but I can't find them for the life of me. I will keep trying, but I think it would be counter-intuitive to stress about them in the long run. I have a list of other things to ask Dr. K about: baby aspirin, a warm compress on the uterus post IUI, and more.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
1/1/2015-2/18/2015: Timeline of Our Progress
Even if there's nobody but us reading, it's disappointing to have neglected this blog for so long.
Between our post on 10/12/2015 and January we found out that, unfortunately, the one donor we really liked did not have vials left in stock. Obviously, we didn't want to settle on just anyone but we just want to move through this process as quickly as possible so any hiccup, no matter how small, was very discouraging. Here is an update of our process since last fall.
Between our post on 10/12/2015 and January we found out that, unfortunately, the one donor we really liked did not have vials left in stock. Obviously, we didn't want to settle on just anyone but we just want to move through this process as quickly as possible so any hiccup, no matter how small, was very discouraging. Here is an update of our process since last fall.
January 7, 2015
I check back in with Dr. K's staff to determine how much of the IUI/Donor Sperm Checklist items we have left. They tell me that they are only waiting on copies of tests we thought they already had, the signed consent form, and a urine sample from me.
January 20, 2015
We pulled potential donor profiles (again!) and discover that our guy is back in stock!!! We narrowed the candidates down to two: one is an aspiring comedian and the other is in finance.
February 4, 2015
While at the airport on my way to a conference for work, I find out that the Governor of our state has decided that our marriage from March 22, 2014 will be legally recognized! This is important because now J will be listed without any problems on the birth certificate of our future children!! We were one of 300+ to be married the one day that same sex marriage was legal in Michigan and we are so happy our gamble paid off!
February 11, 2015
I run to Dr. K's office before work to hand deliver the test results, signed consent form, and give them a urine sample for testing. We are officially done with the checklist!
February 14, 2015
We decided to spend our Valentine's Day finalizing our sperm donor. We paid for a few a la carte items the sperm bank offers such as the extended profiles and childhood photos for each of our two finalists with the assumption that the medical history would be the tie-breaker so-to-speak. After seeing the childhood photos of the comedian and reading the extended profile while I was printing everything, I know he is not our guy but I don't say anything to J until we can sit down together. Once she sees the profile and photos, she takes the words right out of my mouth and we have our donor: the athletic, driven, finance guy who has the same ethnic background 100% as J.
We also work on setting up our account with the sperm bank we will be using which includes signing one of the most intimidating consent forms/liability releases I've ever seen. The only thing we need to complete is a form from Dr. K's office that give us authorization to purchase the vials we need for IUI.
February 16, 2015
I email the authorization form, pre-filled with my information, to Dr. K's office.
February 18, 2015
We receive an email in response from the RN at Dr. K's office, Dawn, telling us that she has submitted our form and is ready to hear from us on my Cycle Day #1 (which should be coming at the end of this week). We also receive a confirmation email from the sperm bank telling us our account is ready to place orders!
I check back in with Dr. K's staff to determine how much of the IUI/Donor Sperm Checklist items we have left. They tell me that they are only waiting on copies of tests we thought they already had, the signed consent form, and a urine sample from me.
January 20, 2015
We pulled potential donor profiles (again!) and discover that our guy is back in stock!!! We narrowed the candidates down to two: one is an aspiring comedian and the other is in finance.
February 4, 2015
While at the airport on my way to a conference for work, I find out that the Governor of our state has decided that our marriage from March 22, 2014 will be legally recognized! This is important because now J will be listed without any problems on the birth certificate of our future children!! We were one of 300+ to be married the one day that same sex marriage was legal in Michigan and we are so happy our gamble paid off!
February 11, 2015
I run to Dr. K's office before work to hand deliver the test results, signed consent form, and give them a urine sample for testing. We are officially done with the checklist!
February 14, 2015
We decided to spend our Valentine's Day finalizing our sperm donor. We paid for a few a la carte items the sperm bank offers such as the extended profiles and childhood photos for each of our two finalists with the assumption that the medical history would be the tie-breaker so-to-speak. After seeing the childhood photos of the comedian and reading the extended profile while I was printing everything, I know he is not our guy but I don't say anything to J until we can sit down together. Once she sees the profile and photos, she takes the words right out of my mouth and we have our donor: the athletic, driven, finance guy who has the same ethnic background 100% as J.
We also work on setting up our account with the sperm bank we will be using which includes signing one of the most intimidating consent forms/liability releases I've ever seen. The only thing we need to complete is a form from Dr. K's office that give us authorization to purchase the vials we need for IUI.
February 16, 2015
I email the authorization form, pre-filled with my information, to Dr. K's office.
February 18, 2015
We receive an email in response from the RN at Dr. K's office, Dawn, telling us that she has submitted our form and is ready to hear from us on my Cycle Day #1 (which should be coming at the end of this week). We also receive a confirmation email from the sperm bank telling us our account is ready to place orders!
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