Countdown to baby.....

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

More background...... with a happy ending

So, I started taking clomid in July 2009. It worked for a couple months, then stopped, so my dosage was upped, kind of worked again, but not really.
I decided to step it up a notch, and enlist the help of a Reproductive Endocrinologist. I first saw him in the middle of a cycle. I had 2 large follicles, but no hormones to cause them to be released yet, so he prescribed me a shot that I had to give myself. Yes, that was quite an interesting experience. Nick wasn't home the day I had to do it, so I got everything together (alcohol swabs, gauze, sharps container, etc......), I pulled a chair into the kitchen and sat down. I figured if I passed out from the needle, at least I would be sitting and not fall to far. I took out the syringe, and the needle was actually very tiny. So after cleaning the area, getting a nice good pinch, I stuck it in, surprisingly didn't hurt at all. Thank god for tiny needles.
So now the wait was to begin.
I was so excited this month, since something new was happening, so hopefully it would finally do the trick. But two weeks passed, and I took a test, and till negative. I had seen so many of those in the past year, I was hoping for something different.
Late December, I started a new cycle, went in to the doctor for an ultrasound, and they found a cyst. Very common for someone on fertility meds, but due to that cyst, I had to go on birth control pills for a month. 13 months of trying, and now I have to wait even longer.
Finally, end of January I am done with the birth control. I go back to the doctor for another ultrasound, and no cyst. YEA!!!! I can start a new cycle. This cycle is stepped up from any other cycle I have had, but that's what you go to the specialist for, right?
Well, the cycle started with 5 days of pills, days 3-7 of my cycle. Then the fun part started. I had to do daily injections, in my own home. I NEVER would have thought doctors just prescribed shots to people, and trusted them to do them properly. So, I get these 2 pens filled with the medication I need to take, which come with a few replacement needles. Day 8, I do the first injection, and completely freak out after I did it, because I was convinced that I had done it wrong. I go to YouTube and start looking up videos on this medication, and find a really helpful one that explains to me the clicks the pen makes with the injections, so now I will pay closer attention next time.
Day 9, I do another shot again, I pay closer attention, and know I did it right this time.
Day 10, I head back to the doctor.(This is a recurring theme when you see an RE.) They do an ultrasound, see some good follicles on my ovaries, and do some blood work. I get a call back in the afternoon that I am to continue the shots over the weekend, and come back Monday morning.
Day 13, I go back to the doctor, another ultrasound and more blood taken. Follicles are almost ready. I am told in my afternoon call back to do one more shot from this pen, then the next day to do the other shot (that I had done a few months prior) to make me ovulate.
For once, this cycle, I am not stressing and doing all these crazy things you read about on pregnancy boards. (There are a lot of crazy things people try when they want a baby, and I have tried a lot of them.- Nothing unhealthy though)
So, I followed the doctors orders, finished all my shots, and went back to the doctor at the end of the week to check my ovaries. It showed that I had released 3 eggs, which got me excited, but then also freaked me out about the possibility of triplets. Had more blood work done, and was told to start taking some pills daily, that if I were to get pregnant will help reduce the risk of miscarriage.
So, I start taking these pills, which make me totally sleepy, but so worth it, if it means that it will help the chance of having a baby.
Doctors orders, I am supposed to wait until Feb 24th to take a test. I am determined to wait this long, especially since the last shot I take is one that can cause a positive pregnancy test, even if you aren't pregnant. The 22nd comes around, and I cannot wait any longer. I have a test that is going to expire in February, so I decide to use it, and won't get upset if it's negative, since I know I am testing early.
So, I use the test, and am trying not to pay attention to it, as it is processing. It is a digital test, so it just flashes for a while before the results pop up. All of a sudden, I glance down at the test on the floor, and I see that it says "YES+". I start freaking out, because is it really positive, or is it from the last shot I took still. So, I go to the online pregnancy message boards, and start asking questions for women that have taken this shot before. Most of them say that the shot is always out of their system within 8 days, and I am about 12 days after the shot at this point. So, I am getting excited, but trying not to get too excited, since the doctor told me to wait 2 more days to test.
So, of course, I test again the next morning. That test is also positive. I then call the doctor on my way to work to let them know, and they tell me to come in the next morning for blood work (yes, the veins in my arms hate me at this point).
Tuesday night I decide to surprise Nick with a few early "birthday" presents. He is so happy and surprised.
I test again Wednesday morning and get a "Pregnant" on a Clearblue Easy Digital test. I go in for my blood work, and get the results that afternoon that I am definitely pregnant. And I am told to come back on Friday to check that the levels are rising. (In early pregnancy, your levels should double every 48-72 hours)
Get more blood work done on Friday, and my levels doubled in 36 hours, so things are definitely going great. But my numbers are on the high side, which gets me thinking about the fact that I had 3 eggs released. What if there's 2 or 3 in there? How could we handle that?
So I keep going back to the doctor for a few more times to have the "vampires" take more blood.
Finally, the day comes where I get to come in to get an ultrasound.... how many will there be? I am lying on the table, and see starts the ultrasound, and she is looking everywhere to see what she can find, and we only see 1 sac. It's still early, so that is all we are expecting to see. But, we are both surprised there is only 1. She says I am not out of the woods yet, until the second ultrasound, since sometimes the second one could be a little behind the first one, so we will have to wait until next week to make sure there really is only one.

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