Last BCP and onto Lupron

I took my last BCP today! Yeah!!!!
I went to the Dr. on Wednesday and got the go ahead to start the Lupron! I have been taking it since Wednesday and have no side effects so far - good news!!!!

The trip to Texas was interesting to say the least. The flight down and getting to the Dr's office was quite uneventful. I had to spend the time until my flight took off which was about 6 hours. I went to a movie and saw The Love Guru.... Holy Cow what a STUPID movie!!!!! Usually Mike Meyers is pretty funny, but this was just unbelievably lame. Then I spent the rest of the day shopping and checking out the area that we will be staying in while we are down there. I was bored and decided to try to get on the earlier flight to go home so I went to the airport about 5:00. Waited to see if I could get on stand-by which was a no go so I waited for my flight. It was late - OF COURSE. So finally, we board the plane about 30 minutes late and taxi out to the runway for takeoff when low and behold - a lightening storm rolls in. UGH! So, we sat on the runway for almost 2 hours waiting to take off which was annoying by itself but made even more so by Lolly Laughs A lot behind me and the Iraq War Profit in front of me! UGH!!! This womans laugh was SO annoying and the guy in front of me just thought he was the Einstein of the war! I swear - something is wrong in this world when your IPod full blast can't block out annoying people! LOL Thank God we don't fly the next time - not looking forward to the13 hour drive, but happy that I don't have to deal with strangers who laugh like witches!

One more day

I have one day left until I start Lupron. I fly to Dallas again on Wednesday to have my baseline ultrasound and then I start the injections. We will be leaving the following Thursday for Dallas. I can't believe that we are already at this point! It seems like I still have weeks and weeks to wait, but I will be stimming in about a week! Whoa!!!

How old am I?

I have decided that I am reliving high school. These BCP SUCK! LOL They are giving me THE worst acne that I have ever had!!! Thank goodness I don't have much longer on them! Ahhhh.... joy joy! Acne, fatigue, gas.... OOO am I attractive or what?! ROFL

"You think I'm gorgeous... You want to kiss me... You want to hug me... You want to love me... You want to smooch me... You want to hug me." ROFL (From the movie Miss Congeniality for those of you who don't know!)

They're here!

I got my medicine and my IVF calendar. The meds are a little intimidating as I have never taken any of these brands before and the needles look A LOT larger (they aren't of course) than the ones that I have used before so my anxiety is peaking about now - but I can do it. I will do it!
So, I have my baseline ultra-sound on Wednesday, June 25th and at that point I will start taking the Lupron (the medicine that keeps my body from ovulating). My first appointment is the 4th of July to make sure that my ovaries are "quiet" and then we will start the stims. We will be leaving for Texas on the 2nd of July and will be down there all month. Thankfully - My brother in law is staying at our house while we are gone so I don't have to worry about our house! I can concentrate on just relaxing and letting the medicine do its job!

Happy Fathers Day

Dreams

Some dream of big houses
Or shiny new cars,
Ours is to someday
Hold a baby that’s ours.
Some dream of more money
To hoard and to keep,
Mine is to someday
Rock my baby to sleep.
Some dream of careers
In buildings so tall,
His is to someday
Toss his kid a baseball.
Some dream of great power
To be strong and tough,
Ours is to someday
Have a child to love.
Some dream of things
Such as silver and gold
Ours is of the day
Our child we’ll hold.

~Susan Reardon

These are a few of my favorite things....

This blog is not only about our trip through IVF, this is a blog about the thoughts and feelings that go into that journey. Today I am nostalgic and thankful. I have these mood swings quite frequently (poor Chris) so maybe by sharing them here I can save my poor husband some of my drama. LOL
I am so thankful for my husband and feel very blessed to have him in my life. So with that said..... this blog is about what I am thankful for~

Our engagement picture....
I am so lucky he wants to spend the rest of his life with me!


Getting married....
Our Oldest nephew, Stephen... he was SO cute this day! Talk about stealing the show!


My favorite picture from our wedding....



My Family at Our wedding....


Our furrbaby, Cassie...


My sister, Shelly and brother in law, Scott.
I am so thankful to have a sister who stands up for me and is there to listen to my ranting and a brother in law who is more like an actual brother versus my sisters husband.


Our niece, Shalyn... she is one of the funniest little girls I have ever met and no I am not partial or anything! LOL


Our youngest nephew, Sawyer (I love this picture! This is his "I don't care" face! LOL)


My wonderful in - laws...


Our best friends renewing their vows...
Chris and Amy have been there for us through thick and thin and we love them.


Our God Children, Samantha, Coby and Alyssa and our other best friends, Gary and Nikki. We are very blessed to have such wonderful friends!


Our friends.....



My beautiful friend, Vonetta who has been there for me and I love her more than she knows.


My beautiful friend, Laura and her twins Jackson and Abby. She has been a constant source of strength for me and helps to keep my spirits up.


My friends Jenn, Joe, and Gayle. Thank you for keeping life fun and not letting me wallow in my own self pity! You all rock!

And to the rest of our beloved friends and family who I don't have pictures of - I love you all!
You are a constant source of strength for me!
I love you all!

My Meds

I finally got THE call yesterday. The pharmacy called and confirmed my prescription for all the medicine that I will need for our IVF cycle. I was initially supposed to be on Menopur and Follistim but I found out that my doctor only wants to start off with the Menopur and then based on my reaction to that medicine the Follistim may or may not be added in. I am a little concerned about that because I don't know how I react to this medicine but I am putting my faith in the doctors that they know what they are doing.
The one good thing about not using the Follistim is that the meds were much cheaper than I was thinking they would be so that was a pleasant surprise. I had them shipped to Amy's house since she was going to be home all day and could sign for them, so I would like to publicly thank Amy for being my dealer. LOL Love you girlie!
As for the other meds, I started birth control pills (BCP) on Tuesday and am doing ok so far on them. The brand name is Portia which I have never heard of before - but so far so good. 9 days left! Yippee!
I hope to receive my IVF calendar soon so that we can start planning the trip back to Dallas. Think that I will start the Lupron on Friday but not sure....

And so it begins....

I got the call from my nurse today- everything came back normal on my test so I start the BCP tonight! Yeah! Holy cow - we're really starting!!!

My name is Sherry and I am a spoiled brat!

What is it about your own home that just makes everything better? Neither Chris nor I slept well last night, both woke up feeling icky and both had headaches. Chris was miserable on the flight home because he got stuck in the middle and the guy in front of him put his seat back, so my 6'6" husband was slammed into an airline seat that wouldn't have even been comfortable for me who is a foot shorter! So on top of already feeling icky he also had to deal with pain in his hip which for a normal person wouldn't be a huge deal, but for someone who has had hip replacement surgery - not a great thing to be stuck in one position for an extended period of time. Thankfully the flight was only an hour and half so we weren't miserable for too long. Once we got home, everything felt better. Our headaches went away as did our general malaise. The only lingering complaint we have is fatigue which is expected....
My father - in - law came and picked us up at the airport and wanted to run an experiment on our pooch. He wanted to see what Cassie would do if he came in and let her out like he has been doing for the last 10 days and then while she was outside Chris and I would come in. So, Dutch came in and let her out and Chris and I snuck into the house and sat on the couch. Dutch let her back in and she went running straight for the cookie room (mud room to normal people) and then noticed me sitting on the couch. She ran into the living room and then turned around and ran back into the kitchen by the cookie room! She barked at Dutch and then looked over her shoulder back at Chris and I and barked at us. She was so confused she didn't know what to do - so she just sat down in the kitchen and barked at us! LOL Crazy dog!!! Gosh I missed her!
So, after being gone for 10 days and living in a hotel I have come to the (not so surprising) conclusion that I am a spoiled brat! I miss my couch, my sleep number bed, my extra large garden tub and shower, my refrigerator with the water and ice in the door - I miss it all. Could I live without all of those - undoubtedly - Do I want to? Heck no! Will I? You bet I will because its for a wonderful opportunity and cause - but don't think I won't whine and complain that I want my things!!!! LOL

French Fries are deadly weapons

I think we are slap happy on cholesterol and fast food from eating out for 10 days! LOL
I think the fat got to us this morning and we got into a French fry fight! LOL
Chris went to get lunch and while he was gone I took a shower. He got home just as I was getting out of the shower and was getting dressed. Well he went to set the bag of food (or what some places are passing their crap as - but more on that another time) and the bag tipped over and dumped his fries all over the table and on the floor.
So instead of being an adult - because we all know that isn't any fun - he grabbed them off the table and started throwing them at me. Of course, not to be outdone, I started throwing them back and the war started!!!! :D
Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I 1) have NO hand/eye coordination and 2) throw COMPLETELY like a girl and have NO aim and 3) am scared of the ball!!! (or whatever is being thrown at me).
So, while we are bombing each other with fries, I was pleasantly surprised that several of my fries landed where I intended them too!!! Long story short, while I was celebrating at my ONE well landed shot, Chris chucks another one at me and hits me right in the face with it!!!! And of course, I closed my eyes and jerked back onto the couch because we all know how deadly French fries are!!!!!! Thank God I had my glasses on and I was protected from the vicious attack!!!! LOL Best part - I had a perfectly shaped grease mark on my glasses that looked like a French Fry!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO

"Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye!"

Beautiful Aunt Rose....

Friday, June 06, 2008

Rose (Paglione) Merrill

June 06, 2008 05:12 am

Died after a brief illness on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Born June 26, 1923. Preceded in death by her mother, Lucia Paglione; father, Antonio Paglione; brothers, Louis and Richard; and sister, Jennie. Survived by sisters, Anne Koncilja and Frances Paglione; and brother, Jim Paglione. Also preceded in death by her husband, Eugene; and her beloved daughter, Linda Sue Humphrey. Survived by grandson, Andrew Humphrey; son-in-law, David Humphrey; and stepson, Dave Merrill. Rose was a 1941 graduate of Pueblo Central High School and a graduate of Midwest Business College. She was a lifelong Democrat, a 60 year patron of Patti’s Restaurant, and a proud and dedicated member of Sacred Heart Cathedral. She was the longest continuously employed data process clerk at the CF&I, working 51 years in the same department. Rose enjoyed life and will be remembered for her playful personality and happy demeanor. She leaves many loving nieces and nephews, lifelong friends and co-workers.

Last test.....

Finally we are done with the tests! Yippee!
I got my BCP pills today and am just waiting for the results of my 2nd PAP to come back before I can start taking them. It is probably going to push our timeline back a week or so - but that is fine with us because we didn't want to miss 4th of July at home - so this works perfect! Thank you God - for another open door!
2 more days and we get to go home! Yeah!!!!

The latest...

It occurred to me that most of the people who are reading (hopefully I am not just talking to thin air LOL) this don't really understand the process that we have to go through for IVF so here is a VERY watered down rendition of what our process and time line looks like.
This trip was to complete the testing that was required by the study - it consisted of blood work for both Chris and I and a semen anti-body test for Chris, which we have never done before so I had to research. Basically - this is what it is:

Antisperm Antibody Test

An antisperm antibody test looks for special proteins (antibodies) that fight against a man's sperm in blood, vaginal fluids, or semen. The test uses a sample of sperm and adds a substance that binds only to affected sperm.

Semen can cause an immune system response in either the man's or woman's body. The antibodies can damage or kill sperm. If a high number of sperm antibodies come into contact with a man's sperm, it may be hard for the sperm to fertilize an egg. The couple has a hard time becoming pregnant. This is called immunologic infertility.

Good news!!! Chris's test came back negative and all of the other counts came back normal so he's fine!
I have to re-do my PAP tomorrow because it came back inconclusive, so that will probably put us back a week on our time line, but a week is better than a month so we are staying positive.

So, now we wait for the results to come back on my PAP, if they come back normal (which I am sure they will - I just had one in January and it was normal), I will start birth control pills for 14 days. After the 14 days, I will start Lupron which is an injectible drug that I will take once a day to shut down my own hormones. This ensures that the only hormones in my body are the ones that I am injecting and give the doctor more control over them.
I will have another ultrasound at that point to make sure that I don't have any cysts and everything looks good and then I will start the stimulating drugs. I will be on Follistim for this study, which is a drug that I have already taken so I know the side effects and know how to take this medicine. It is a shot that I will take in my stomach daily.
Once I start the stims, I will have ultra-sounds every other day until the follicles reach the correct size. Based on my past history with this medicince, I usually produce anywhere from 10 -15 follicles on each side. A mature follicle is about the size of a golf ball, so try to imagine what 20 golf balls in your abdomen feels like. Good times!
Anyway - after my follicles mature, I will take a trigger shot which will force my body to ovulate and the doctor will go in and retrieve the eggs from the follicles while I am under general anesthesia. The doctor will combine the eggs and sperm sample from Chris and hope and pray that they fertilize! Based on how they grow and divide, we will either do a 3 day or a 5 day transfer where they implant the fertilized eggs back into my uterus.
I will start taking progesterone at that point to feed the embryo until the 2nd trimester when the placenta takes over (assuming I get pregnant).
The study that we are participating in is a different way to deliver the progesterone to the mother - whether it is a ring that will be inserted into the mother or a gel that the mother used daily.
After the eggs are transferred back to me, we enter the dreaded two week wait where I will obsess about every little twinge and feeling that I have. ROFL

I get A LOT of comments when people find out that I have to take the shots in my stomach. It amuses me actually. Most of them are in the range of "How can you do that?!" Its amazing what you will do when you want something bad enough.

Many people ask us why we have gone to the lengths that we have to try to conceive and it was summed up in one sentence that I heard this weekend. I was watching “Steel Magnolias” and there is a part in the movie where Julia Roberts’s character, Shelby, tells her mom, Sally Fields character, that she would “rather have 3 minutes of wonderful versus a lifetime of nothing special.” That pretty much sums it up for me.

Sawyer is 6!

Our youngest nephew turned 6 yesterday! We are missing his birthday party on Sunday since we will still be in Texas, but wanted to wish him a very very happy birthday!!! I watched that little shit being born! Wow! Time sure flies!

Good bye Aunt Rose

We lost my Great Aunt Rose today. I will always remember her spirit and sense of humor but most of all - I will remember how she cared enough to remember mine and my sisters spouses names when others in the family didn't care. How she always remembered my nephews and niece and was so sweet to them. She was a very caring person who will be missed greatly. My favorite memory of her is when she was turning 60 years old and we asked her what she was going to do for her 60th birthday and she said "Ohhhh I don't know - maybe I'll shit 60 gold bricks!"

I love you Aunt Rose and I will miss you. Go dance again with grandma and grandpa!

Until That Day

© Chris Belden

Until That Day

Until that day I'll think of you, the love we shared, the memories too.

Until that day I'll think of you, I'll try so hard in all I do.

Until that day I'll find out why, you had to leave with no "goodbye".

Until that day this is so, your family misses you, more than you'll know.

Until that day You'll be with him, your God, your Savior, and new best friend.

Until that day I see you there, you're in my heart, you're everywhere.

Until that day.

The singing Mariachis

This is the 4th day of our trip to Dallas and we have met quite a few interesting folks this time in the Lone Star State. From the mother who entertained her child in the seat behind us on the plane by allowing him to kick my chair the entire ride to Dallas, to the adorable little girl in the shuttle to the car rental area who kept petting my leg and saying "Hi!", to the guy at the front desk of the hotel that couldn't speak very fluent English and when I asked him how to get to our room he just smiled and nodded and said "Yes Yes" (LOL), to the dancing dude that was crossing the street last night. He was just jamming to absolutely nothing while waiting for the light to change! I was trying not to stare - but it was so hard NOT to! LOL
I think we have hit an all time high tonight though.... let me introduce.... Ta Da Da Da!!!........
The Singing Mariachis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have a group of guys in the room next to us who sing and sing and sing and sing. I will turn the tv off to listen to them and it sounds like they are singing old Spanish Mariachi songs - like the ones that go "Aiii IIII yiiii yaiiii" and based on the banging on the walls - I can only assume they are dancing too. *shrug* I want to go out in the hallway and listen at the door but I sure that behavior would be "frowned upon". :D ROFL
On a funny note - Chris decided he wanted to join the band and started singing "We are the World" really loud and they shut up!! ROFLMAO! He cracks me up I swear!