Sympathy or Congrats Fruit Bouquet?

Satuday August 29 was the day that I had to go for the test to see if the IVF worked or not. The clinic recommended that I get bloodwork, but I also read in the papers that I could do a urine sample at the Doctors office. The only thing that was not recommended was a home pregnancy test. So Shayne and I went for the bloodwork and then stopped at the Doctors office for the urine test. The doctor came in with bad news, the test was negative. We were pretty devestated.
My sister brought this basket of fruit for us. It was very neat and beautiful and it put a smile on our face at least for a short time. We pretty much ate most of it except for a small bowl.
A few days later we decided to call the fertility clinic and get on the list for the other embryos that are still in Calgary. We started looking into other options as well.
A few more days passed and the results from the blood work were in. I asked Shayne if he wanted to come and we both decided that it was not necessary for him to come since we already knew the results.
The doctor came in and said, " I have some good news for you." The doctor had a very strong accent so I thought I misunderstood him and I asked him to repeat what he said. He showed me the results and explained some numbers to me and, it was true. I am a pregnant lady. I guess that the urine sample was not strong enough because with the blood work there was no question. I was in shock and called Shayne as soon as I got out of the clinic. I think that he was in shock too! We still had a hard time believing it until the fertility clinic called and verified the information.
We are also going to be cautiously optimistic because miscarriages are much higher with IVF. I am now 5 weeks pregnant and the expected delivery date is May 5th, 2010. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

Transfer

The morning of August 13, 2009 the embryologist from the clinic called. She said that 4 of of the 13 embryos did not make it overnight. It sounds kind of silly but I felt bad for the embryos that did not make it even though they are just cells at this point! There is this other procedure that they offer only in a needed case. It is called assisted hatching and it is only offered in problem situations. This lady informed me that there is a possibility that the embryos may need this process and that I needed to start the medication immediately. I was not to happy with this ladies attitude as she did not have much of a sympathetic voice.
The next day on Friday August 14, 2009 I was full of anticipation and was up at 6:00 with only about 4 hours of sleep. I was eagerly waiting for the clinic to call and inform us of how the embryos did overnight. At about 9:15 they called and the news was not that great. At this point in time the embryos should be at the 8 cell stage and none of ours are. Therefore they suggested that we do the assisted hatching and transfer the top three. So at this point the chances of a pregnancy have dropped dramatically. Not impossible, just less likely.

The procedure was painless and Shayne got to witness it as well this time. We actually got to see them transfer and they looked like little stars on the monitor. They also gave us a picture of the three embryos that they transferred which is interesting because you can physically see all of the cells.

This picture was taken after the transfer in the waiting area where I had to lay in this chair for 30 minutes. It seemed to take forever.

Three Sisters

This morning we got the call that we were expecting from the embryologist. She said that 17 of the 18 eggs fertilized overnight. We were ecstatic, optimistic, but cautious at the same time. They advised that we should freeze 4 eggs immediately and continue to see where the rest of the 13 lead us. Shayne and I decided to follow their recommendations.
As we go along in the process we are more curious to find out what the problem is. At this point we know that there is no problem with eggs or the fertilization of the eggs. Maybe there is a problem with development or implantation? Only time will tell.
This evening we decided to go to Canmore and have a massage and dinner there to celebrate. We went to the same pasta place that we went to last year ( and you know that is is fantastic when we go to a pasta place for a second time). Luna Blue is the name of the restaurant and I would highly recommend it if you are in the mood for pasta.

This mountain range is famous in Canmore and is called the three sisters. It is not a visit in Canmore without appreciating this mountain range.

Today is retrieval day. I was scared, nervous and excited all in the same breath. This is where they get you all ready before you go into the surgery room. Shayne was allowed to be in this room with me so he held my hand while I got the IV. Then I was off to the surgery room where I recieved all of the great drugs! They had a camera on the end of the probe ( just like the ultrasound machines) and a large tv so that I could see the eggs being retrieved. I watched the first couple of them get retrieved and after that I just talked the entire time with the nurse about what our plans for the next few days were. They did give me more medicine than usual because my left ovary is stuck to the top of my uterus ( which makes retrieval a little more difficult). I am a little disappointed that I didn't watch the whole thing, but at least I got to see some of it.
They were able to retrieve 18 eggs in total. It is a little more than we were expecting, so that is good. Now we just have to wait and see how many will fertilize.

This picture was taken on Saturday August 8. This machine I know all to well and it is the internal ultrasound machine. I have to have these ultrasounds everytime I go to the clinic.
Today the ultrasound showed that I have about 12 eggs and they range from 1.4 to 1.8 cm. The doctors advised that we are pretty much ready to take the final injections. On Sunday I will have to take one of the usual injections and then a different one which will assist in the final maturation. The retrieval is now set in stone for Tuesday August 11, 2009.

The Old Apartment

My sister Angie and her kids came on Wednesday to spend some time with me in Calgary. The first day they were here we swam in the hotel pool and then went to Canmore for some ice cream. The little kids have never seen the mountains so they were in awe. Before we left we took the scary drive up the mountain ( the nordic court road) so that they could really appreciate how big the mountain was. I kinda chuckled when Izabella said, " I think that I am a little bit scared Mommy"!
On Thursday morning I had an appointment at the clinic and everything appears to be moving along. The new dose is working fine and the follicles are increasing in size. It does look like the retrieval date will need to be moved though. Who knows, things change daily!

After my appointment at the clinic we all went to the zoo. It rained a little, but it was good because it was not that busy. We walked for over 3 hours to get through the zoo and we really did not cover everything. The Calgary zoo is one big zoo for sure.

When we were done at the zoo Angie and the kids went home and I decided to stop at our old apartment. Considering the house that we have now it is hard to imagine that we ever lived here! Our apartment was the one on the top left hand side. It was less than 600 square feet and we could not even fit a kitchen table in it. Money was not plentiful back then and this is what we could afford. We did have some good times here and this is Tuckers first home. We did not keep him here long though as he has to much energy for a little apartment!

Just What I Needed

This morning I had another appointment at the clinic for an ultrasound and bloodwork. The ultrasound showed that the follicles have only grown slightly and not as much as they would like. So I have to double the dose of one of the injections Gonal -f. I guess that it is nor really bad news, but it is not good news either ( as Shayne says). The clinic psycologist met with me this morning to check and see how we are holding up. She explained to me that this process is like a rollercoaster and that some days I may get bad news. So at least I was prepared for some not so positive news before the ultrasound.

I was in bed this afternoon resting when I thought that I heard something by the door. I just ignored it but then it became clear that it was someone knocking. I looked out the peak hole to see if someone was knocking at my door and I saw a lady standing there. I thought that this lady must have the wrong room as I was not expecting any guests. So I opened the door and the lady said " you have some flowers here for you". I was totally shocked and looked at the name to ensure that she had the right room. Sure enough my thoughtful husband sent me a beautiful arrangement of flowers. This truly made my day, thank you so much Shayne. You have no idea how much this cheered me up! I really am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband. Love you!

Amazing Scenery

After the great news from the fertility clinic we decided to head to one of our favorite places (Canmore) for lunch. We walked downtown for awhile and bought a few items for house and then we had lunch on the patio at The Wood restaurant. The food was so good and fresh, but nothing could beat the beautiful view that we had. The air just smells so fresh and like flowers. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Calgary Fertility Clinic

This is the Foothills Professional Building and the Fertility Clinic is on the second floor. It is located about a block from the Foothills Hospital. On Saturday August 1 we had an appointment to see how things were progressing. The ultrasound showed that I had a total of 12 follicles which is ideal. At this stage there should be 10-15 so everything is working accoding to plan at this point.

Care Package

On Wednesday July 29, 2009 I went for blood work to ensure everything is still on schedule. The tests turned out positive and we are still set to be in Calgary on Saturday August 1 for the two weeks. We are going to leave Friday after work again and Shayne is going to stay the long weekend with me and then return to Edmonton on Monday. He will come back to Calgary either Thursday or Friday depending how my body reacts to the medicine.

My sister Angie put this awesome care package together for me filled with all sorts of bath and grooming items. Also included was a New Beginnings luck charm, a necklace with a "believe" charm, some scratch and win tickets and 2 cards. One of them brought me to tears, it was so heartfelt. Thanks Angie, I really appreciate this!

Injections

I went for an ultrasound on Tuesday July 21 and discovered that I had a cyst on my left ovary that may need to be relieved before the fertility treatment can continue. The clinic recommended that I go to Calgary on July 25 to get blood work and an ultrasound to see what this cyst is doing. So on Friday after work off we went.
The ultrasound showed good news, the cyst went down on its own and everything was "nice and quiet" which is what we are trying to achieve. So we kinda hung around Calgary for a bit waiting for the blood work results and then at about 12:15 they phoned with more good news. The blood work showed that my body is finally in chemical menopause and we can start the new medicine on Sunday. I found out that now I will have 3 different injections per day and I am not to happy about that! The medicine that I am on includes: a Luvarus injection, a Gonal -f injection, a Lupron injection, an antibiotic, a baby aspirin and a prenatal vitamin. I take all of this everyday and I kinda feel like a druggie!

On Monday I started to prepare for Calgary and started giving the injections to myself. I really don't like doing this but I really have no choice.

Disappointing

On Tuesday July 7 I had to go for some blood work. I had to pay $42.00 for same day results to tell me something that I already knew. The nasal spray superfact was not working. The fertility clinic decided to put me on a different medicine called Lupron which is injections. This is the medicine that my friend Marzena was on, so I took a little comfort in that. I will need to be on this medicine for the duration of the treatment which means at one point I will need 2 injections per day. I really despise all injections, but I am most fearful of when I go to Calgary and have to give them to myself ( thankfully Shayne gives them to me right now). This is not fun and very frustrating!

Quick Trip

On June 30 we had to take a quick overnight trip to Calgary for an ultrasound on July 1. I don't know why, but every hotel I stay in I have to take pictures of it. I guess it's because they would help me remember what the hotel was like if I wanted to stay there again. This is the hotel that we stayed in and I will be staying in the same hotel when I go for 2 weeks. One of my favorite part of this room was the bathroom sink. I would love to have this in my bathroom! This room also had a king size bed, a separate living room, 2 t.v.'s, a fridge, microwave and many other amenities. The hotel also had a swimming pool and a jacuzzi. I would recommend this hotel if you want to stay near the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

When you check in they give you a little scratch and win card. I took it back to our room, scratched it and we won $100.00! We were a little skeptical and thought that there was some sort of catch. We took it to the front desk and sure enough, we won $100.00. I don't know who was more excited, us or the cashier. Apparently she has given many away and has never seen a winner!

One other thing that I did not want to forget was the ride to and from Calgary. There was breaking news that Danny Heatly was going to be coming to the Oilers. I had to listen to sports radio for 3 hours on the way there and 3 hours on the way back. Of course whenever we were in the car for short distances we also had to listen to a sports station. I had my hockey fill for a very long time and the worst part of it all is that he did not even come to the Oilers!

This is the first medicine that I started on Thursday June 18. It is a nasal spray that I have to take 5 times a day. It must be strictly taken at 7:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM, 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM. This is supposed to stop all hormones and put my body into medical menopause. The doctors recommend this so that my body will restart everything from the beginning. I also have to take a low dose aspirin and of course prenatal vitamins.

So far I have not experienced any symptoms except grouchiness! Poor Shayne! I am really trying not to take it out on him, but I don't know how successful I am.

The Start

On Monday June 8 I got the call from the Fertility Clinic that I was going to be starting IVF this cycle. I was very excited and scared at the same time. I am not going to go into details of all the emotions because I would be here for hours! Then on Wednesday June 10 I received my BOX of medicine that I will be taking over the next month or so. Thankfully we have insurance because this box costs over $1700.00! At this point I was thinking that this was now becoming a reality! The next picture of the spray was supposed to be included in the post, but it just was not working (thats why I waited so long to post this picture).