Mock Embryo Transfer

Today, I'd like to share what happened during my mock embryo transfer and how it compares with my previous transfers.

Now, the way I understand the mechanics of an FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) is that a catheter is "threaded" past the cervix, high into the uterus. Then the embryos are "loaded" into the catheter and pushed through into the uterus. I don't know how they get the embryos through the catheter. I do know, last time, one of our embryos got stuck and so the process had to be repeated to get him in. Anyway, it's a simple enough procedure on paper.

In my experience, however, the mock embryo transfer (and the real embryo transfer), had been painful and difficult. The problem used to be that my uterus was so tilted and cervix so tightly closed that the doctor needed a very thin, flexible catheter. It took forever to get it where it needed to be. And it hurt.

The procedure is done laying flat with feet in stirrups, just like those lovely GYN appointments. It must be done with a full bladder. Fun. The nurse stands by with the sonogram thingy, PRESSING DOWN on my full bladder so that the doctor can see the catheter going into the uterus. I know, you can't believe how much fun this is. In the past, they've also had to "manipulate" my uterus by pushing from the outside and pulling from the inside... at least, I think that's what happened. It was traumatic; I may have blacked out. (Just kidding... sort of.)

This time, thanks to Mr. Cubby, the catheter threaded easily and the whole procedure was over and done with in a few minutes. And it was painless. Woo hoo!

They also checked the uterine lining. Mine was at 12. Twelve what I'm not sure. Probably 12 cm but I'm going to tell people it's 12 inches so then they can think the little pooch in my tummy is caused by my uterine lining and not the 1/2 pan of brownies I ate last night.

When that's over, you get to run to the bathroom and come back for round two. This is the part that I forgot about because the first part was such an ordeal. It is the most fun part of all. I like to call it the Water Torture Test. So OK, you get back in the saddle, feet in stirrups. Then the doctor preps and the nurse fills a huge syringe with sterile water. Then the doctor says, "You may feel a little cramping."

Here's a clue if you ever have to have this done, "a little cramping" is code. It means that it HURTS. When I had this done the previous three times, I situated my arms over my head, crossed them and gripped my upper arms, squeezing with all my might while I hyperventilated until the cramping subsided. Not your regular cramps. With each injection of water, the cramping would happen all over again. They go through two or three rounds of this. While it hurts like the dickens, it has to be done because they're looking for fibroids and cysts that may interfere with the embryos' implantation.

I have to say, this time around, having experienced the mother of all cramping - contractions - and an unmedicated birth (gold star for me), the cramping was pretty easy to endure. And thankfully I am fibroid and cyst free.

During one of my previous three tests, they found a cyst or two. The good news is that this is not a deal breaker. I asked my RE here at home to monitor the cyst with ultrasounds and within a month or so it had gone away. One of the medical professionals mentioned that it's not uncommon for women to develop cysts especially with the high doses of estrogen in the Estrace. Now you know.

After the mock transfer and the water torture test I got dressed. Then the nurse came in and gave me more birth control pills. Argh. Instructions that I was to stop the Estrace immediately and begin on the BC again. Argh. And she also gave me the injection instruction guides. Don't underestimate the importance of the injection instruction guides or you may end up with a 16 gauge needle in your rear.

If you don't know much about needles, 16 gauge is what "home piercers" use for body piercing. It makes a big hole.

Next, the business manager came in and we talked numbers for a few minutes.

Then the embryologist came in and we talked embryos for a few minutes.

Then the doctor came back and said everything looks great and that he'll see me in September.

Hooray!

Adventures in Tennessee

So, a few days ago I alluded to an adventure we had involving a missed exit, various pungent bodily fluids and no hotel rooms available. This is what can happen when deciding to drive to the NEDC and continue on for a family vacation and why it probably will not happen again.

On our way back up the interstate from Chattanooga to Nashville, about an hour from our hotel (or so we thought) Mr. Cubby struggled with a very busy diaper. This set off a screaming fit that rendered him inconsolable unless taken out of his car seat and held, which is against the law to do if you're in a minivan (or car) unless you're in Mexico, which I've been told has no laws requiring child restraint - in case you were wondering. We stopped and changed him, hoping this would relieve his discomfort but it was to no avail. The screaming continued.

So Mr. Cubby has this thing that used to happen before he started taking Previcid. At night, when I'd put him down for bed, if he wasn't completely asleep, he'd wake up and scream so hard that he would vomit. We hadn't given him the Previcid for that day and about ten minutes into the post-diaper change crying jag, he vomited all over himself and his car seat.

We did what we could to contain the spill with baby wipes and arrived at the Embassy Suites, Nashville Airport with our nearly naked stenchified baby only to be turned away. They had just sold their last room (to be fair, we didn't have a reservation). John asked them to call around to several other nearby properties, all were full. He finally settled on a Ramada Suites a few miles away. When Will and I walked into our room there the first thing Will said was, "Hey guys, this is just like Russia." Needless to say, we got a refund and left the hotel.

So, after leaving Knoxville at 5pm, we arrived at our hotel (The Drury Inn) in Nashville at 9:30 (10:30 Knoxville time).

Mr. Cubby and The Doctor

Sitting in the car (new minivan) next to Mr. Squawkapotomus and the ever bored Will has given me a new appreciation for my parents. I wonder how they did cross-country trips with four kids from the Midwest to Utah or Arizona.

We’re finally kicking into high gear with our embryo adoption and I have some exciting news to report. We drove to Knoxville and arrived today, after a grueling 4.5 hours last night (stopping just past Roanoke) and another 3.5 today to the Baptist Hospital for Women.

I haven’t been in to see Dr. Keenan and his amazing staff since our successful embryo transfer of Mr. Squawkapotomus (aka Mr. Cubby) nearly 2 years ago. Wow, time sure flies. So we went in with several unknowns in play and several misconceptions. But before I get into that, some background first.

Before the embryo transfer, in order to make sure all things are warm and womb-like, Dr. Keenan does a mock transfer. What that means is that he dopes me up on estrogen (faithfully taking it 3x/ day) then brings me in to make sure that a) the catheter (aka embryo subway) will thread into my uterus properly and b) my uterine lining is such that an embryo could snuggle down and make himself at home for nine months without having to share the space with polyps or fibroids. Fun, right?

*At this point blog writing was interrupted due to a wrong turn that landed us in Chattenooga, TN. Wrong turn resulted in a “comedy” of errors in involving screaming, pooping, vomiting, and no suites upon arrival at the hotel.

Can't Leave Well Enough Alone

So the thing is I can't stop worring about my phone call with the Spit Test Nurse. I'm worried that I do have something wrong with me that might cause a problem with our next embryo adoption. Knowing those antibodies are there is bothering me. So I'm going to do a little more study and a little more talking to doctors to see if I can find some peace of mind.

In the meantime, we're scheduled to meet with Embryo Doctor soon. We're finishing up our embryo adoption homestudy. I had blood drawn yesterday to test for HIV, Hep B & C, Syphilis. I need to have a TB test done in the next day or so at Urgent Care. Aaaaannnnd, what else???? Oh, put in all my orders for the drugs I'll need soon. The hardest to get is the progesterone in olive oil.

Normally progesterone comes in sesame oil. Sesame oil provides an easy to inject suspension for the progesterone. Olive oil is slightly thicker and a little harder to get through the needle into my rear. The only problem is that the sesame gives me welts the size of New Jersey and makes it painful for me to sit - allergic reaction to the sesame. I'm fine for the first week or so but then I start getting knots at the injection site and then bruises and then huge welts. I suffered through the first transfer thinking this was normal. Thank goodness it's not.

So that's my current list of things to do. It doesn't look too bad. But hanging over my head is the whole question about treating or not treating my non-diseased but being attacked by my own body thyroid. I just want to have as healthy a pregnancy as possible.

I'm so excited to be pregnant in September.

Apparently it's all in my head

I had a tough day yesterday. I've had a hard day for the last two weeks now that I think about it. The Estrace (as of day 9 of this cycle I'm taking it 3 times a day) magnifies my every anxiety, problem, concern.

So the problem this time is two fold. First, I got a call from the amazing thyroid spit test and was told that ..... I'm normal. Now for most people, this would be great news. I, on the other hand, cried. Part of that was the Estrace. Part of it was that the doctor PROMISED me that I had thyroid issues and I was really hoping that I had finally found a simple answer to the crummy way I feel.

So my levels are normal but, here is the part that makes me search the Internet like crazy, I have thyroid antibodies. Now I hear that and I think, that can't be good. Of course, online there are pages and pages devoted to tales of thyroid antibodies being responsible for miscarriages, infertility, exhaustion, armed robbery and, of course, nuclear war. Apparently it's not enough to worry the medical profession. So now I'm worried that the embryo transfer might fail because I have thyroid antibodies.

I have two friends with real thyroid issues and I feel like a complete stooge because all along I thought it was only a matter of time before I got to join their ranks, get on some good medication, and start to feel better. Deja vu because I also remember feeling this exact same way after most of my other doctor visits, especially the ones where the reproductive endocrinologist reassured me that I probably had endomitriosis.

The second sad thing is that we're changing insurance companies as John changes jobs and our new one ... bites. Well, at least it does compared to our old one. The worst part is that I don't think my midwives are covered.

So to sum up. I'm 11 days into my second cycle. I'm done with the birth control and now into the Estrace part. The Estrace makes me crazy. My crazy makes me sad that my thyroid works. My thyroid meds, which I apparently don't need, would be covered by the new insurance but the Estrace and my midwives will not.

Also of note, for the past two weeks I've been spotting on and off. I seem to remember this happening last time. Mentioned it when I called the nurse and she seemed a little concerned so they'll check things out when I go in.

So tired. I get so wiped out. It's only midnight for crying out loud. I should be good for another two hours.

Exhausted

I finally finished with my first round of NeCon. It wasn't as bad near the end. Maybe I was getting used to it or maybe I was just so happy I was almost done that I didn't notice. A few days ago I started with Estrace, another form of estrogen. It makes me incredibly tired. Not the regular tired I always feel, but a deeper tired. It's the tired I felt when I was pregnant. So with the NeCon I got the nausea. With the Estrace, I'm exhausted. This is also why my entries have decreased significantly. I'm tired by 8 or 9pm and I don't get a second wind.

Typically, when I'm not on hormones, I rally once the kids are in bed. I could be feeling like I can barely drag myself up the stairs but once the baby is in bed and the older boy is quietly talking himself to sleep I start ticking off all the things in my head that I can do and I start to get excited. I never do them. I rally enough to sit in front of the TV with some snacks. But at least I have the energy to get excited about the stuff I could be doing. Now, with the estrace/ tranquilizer once the kids are in bed I'm just counting the minutes until I can crawl under the covers. Of course, I can't go to bed right away. I have a psychological block against doing things good for me once the kids are in bed. So I also don't work out, pray, or eat vegetables at night. I never, ever go to bed when I'm tired. Two nights ago I was so tired that I fell asleep rocking the baby at 8pm. Got up again. Took a mini-nap around 10pm. Went to bed at midnight. It doesn't make sense. I know.

My point is that the estrace makes me tired and I don't get a second wind. It also makes me confused and anti-social. I guess being confused lends itself to being anti-social. I have a hard time following conversations, maybe because I'm so tired. I have a hard time making decisions too.

One thing that has helped me significantly is - get ready for an infomercial - is the Costco version of Focus Factor. You've seen the commercials, right? Boost memory. Boost brain power. Believe me, I need a boost. Here's the thing, it really does help. During the day, when I don't take it, I wander around our house like a zombie drooling on the floors and walking into the walls. The other day I took two, they recommend taking four but that seemed excessive. Wouldn't you know it, I folded all the laundry, bought and built two shelves for our bathroom and built a fireplace for our deck AND cooked dinner AND did the dishes. Still, I'm on estrace and ready for bed at 8pm but I got a lot more done during the day.

Bottom line, if we do another embryo adoption after this one I need to remember to take Focus Factor.