Weather Forecast, Sunny with a Chance of Rain

Well, the cyst is STILL growing and I am on "pelvic rest" because of it. In spite of that cyst, my ovaries are still hard at work...well, my right one is anyway...ol' lefty seems to be slacking a bit. Righty has the cyst and the most follis, with 3 definate and several with the potential to mature in time. While lefty, on the other hand only has 2 and we didn't see any additional potentials on the the ultra sound. No sweat, if I can get maybe two more to mature in addition to the 3 already on the right, I will be satisfied. Now, these numbers are quite low for your typical lady, but since I already have high FSH, it is pretty good to have this number :) I was pretty stressed that I would go in and have them say, OUCH, not today, go ahead and stop meds...I am quite happy to be proceeding :) We added the Ganerelix (SP??) last night. That med is to make sure I DO NOT ovulate prematurely. My estrogen is rising and my progesterone is not, so all good news there. Of course, still a chance that we would not be able to retrieve, just depends on how high my estrogen gets, but hopefully it will keep climbing :D

My next appointment is Saturday morning in Birmingham for an u/s and bloodwork, just to monitor my progress. If everything pans out, I will be back in Montgomery for an appointment Monday-ish and then Wednesday-ish retrieve!

E2: 318
Progesterone: .4
Follis: 5

Knee-deep in needles

I started shooting up on Sunday and yeah, we're pretty much pros already :) We have it down to an art. My alarm goes off at 5:30 and we get the goods out and start mixing away. Roberto actually mixes the shots (don't judge us) and I admininister. I'm only on two injectables right now and then Thursday at my appointment it will be determined if I am having a good response to the meds or not. I do still have a cyst, but since my hormone levels are the best they have been to date and this pesty little cyst is here to stay, the doc decided to proceed and we're down with that :) Oh, I had about 15 potential follicles...that we could see. It is possible that a few more were hiding behind my BFF (cyst). I have to have at least 6 to retrieve, so wish me luck...you know what, don't wish me luck! Prayers, now that is what we need. Luck never has been my thing...

E2: 32.6

FSH: 13.5 **less than 14, YAY!!!

Potential folli: 15

Cyst: 5.4cm :(

Plan B

So look, I'm not much of a "Plan A" kinda person. I'm more into the whole "Plan B' thing, so that is what we are going to do, Plan B, it is referred to as the Antagonist Protocal. I haven't heard anything about this option until yesterday when I was looking on other blogs and forums to see what other IVFer's experiences have been.
Instead of going on birth control for 24 days and then Lupron for 2 weeks, I will go straight to my stimulation medication (gonal-f & menopur) and then a few days later add ganirelix to the mix to supress ovulation until the fabulous follis are good and ripe! When they are on the verge of perfection I will take an hcg trigger shot to make me ovulate about 36 hours later and do a retrieval...assuming I even get to that point. I have read that there is a lower pregnancy rate, but I quickly closed out those blogs or forums...who wants to read that when you're already scraping the bottom of the barrell here...
But the GOOD websites noted that ladies like myself with a lower egg reserve have better ovarian response to this as opposed to the Lupron Protocol. I'm liking the idea of this. Anyways, I have never been so excited to start the ol' menses...
***this seriously needs to work! **SIGH**

Cycle Cancelled :(

Went for my suppression check yesterday and (3) cysts! Are you serious?!?!? one was 4.1 cm and two were around 1.1cm... The bloodwork revealed that my estrogen was high, 195 and it needs to be less than 100. Robert and I are super disappointed. My doc will meet with my IVF nurse today along with three other doctors in the office to review patience and at this time they will discuss the best option for me. I should get a call this evening or Friday, I'm expecting Friday.

I was sooo pumped too. I thought for sure that this was it and one way or the other I could put all of this behind me before the new year. That is just not going to be the case. I was sooo sad yesterday that I just cried, like the big fat, juicy tears. Unfortunately it was Wednesday and we had to go on with church meetings. This was probably a blessing, simply because I wasn't able to sit home and mope and feel sorry for myself. I had to move on and try not to dwell on it. I did find myself thinking about it while people were talking to me throughout the night, like not even listening to what they were saying just looking at them while being in a totally different place. They must have observed a glazed look on my face, haha. Oh well, I guess.
Today I can look at this and recognize that it is not over, it is just, yet another bump in the road for us. At least it had better not be over, these meds MUST be used and shall not be wasted!!!!
One other note, I have the best, most supportive friend! She is willing to listen to me cry and go on and on about this whole ordeal, and yet she never gives me a hard time or blows me off. She is always there when I need her the most, lifting my spirits and reminding me how strong I am...
...Thanks Lisa! Love you girl ;)

OUCH!

We came home to this lovely gift over the weekend....kind of intimidating, huh...

Update

Drain 2 more cysts - CHECK!

Receive meds - CHECK!

Start injections - CHECK!

Started Lupron injections yesterday and I will take my last birth control on Thursday. We are in full-swing here people! I got a good cry in as a result of receiving a narcotic in addition to the Versed for my cyst drain...I don't do well with narcotics. As soon as it hit the ol' vain the tears began to flow, but I must say I felt quite relieved afterwards and have felt so ever since. I think I needed a good irrational cry before beginning.

Taking a P90X break :'(

I am following all of the doctor's orders and recommendations, including avoiding strenuous exercise. I am still doing the warm-ups, stretching and lots of walking with Robert... How did I get so lucky?!?! I might change my tune in a week or so when I am undeniably hormonal and hating everyone within a 50 mile radius...but I'm sure that deep within that cold heart of mine I will still be appreciative of him :)

I am to continue on Lupron until my supression check which is to take place on 11/3

**praying for good results**

What next?

What a day! I have been dreading going to the doctor this month partially because I have come to expect, "not this month" and partially because I dread that magic wand that the nurses seem to think is SO magical that the...victim doesn't seem to feel a thing during the most uncomfortable week of the month...psh! I must say that even though I somewhat expected something negative, I did not expect Sarah (the most awesome nurse, even though she is not the best with the "wand") to tell me I have (2) cysts! Yes, two rediculously large cysts that enjoy ruining my month. One is on the Right, this is the same side that I had one drained last month, it was 4.7 cm. And ol' lefty was a runner-up with a delightful 2.4cm cyst.

The cysts are not going to hold me back this month. I proceed with birth control to start my IVF cycle and then add Lupron injections to the mix later in my cycle. Hopefully this will get rid of my cycsts. If not, no problemo! If the two pests are still present during my supression check, then they will go ahead and drain them before I start my stimulation injections so we should still be able to proceed and have decent results...hopefully!

I will receive my IVF cycle calendar early next week and then go over everything with Janet. I am excited...again :) This is quite the rollercoaster... but I am ready to take, what hopefully, will be my last ride before retiring.