#cetrotide

08/06/15

Today was our first scan since starting on the drugs to see how The Wife was responding to them. She’d got the first appointment of the day so it meant her leaving earlier than normal to get there which also meant me getting up early to give her the second Cetrotide injection. Bleary eyed, I managed to get it done without mishap or injuring her.

She called me after the scan to let me know that that there were six follicles of about 13-15mm in size, but that there were around twelve that were still very small. At this rate, this could mean that they decide to do the egg collection earlier than anticipated as the six could be ready by Friday. This could mean that the remaining twelve follicles would not be harvested if they were considered too small.

The other option, if growth continues at an expected pace, would be to wait until the twelve are good to go but that it may be too late to collect from the other six. This is a bit of a dilemma in terms of whether or not we would have enough eggs to be able to split to do both IVF and ICSI which is what we would like to do. Eighteen would give us that luxury but six wouldn’t.

I visit the clinic for blood work and an ultrasound. My follicles are looking good -- they grew! -- but not quite good enough. I can see on the monitor that some are about 18mm, but many are smaller. I know they are looking for many follicles to be larger than that size. 

I take my Cetrotide again to prevent premature ovulation and then wait for the call with today’s instructions. I had no idea how much waiting would be involved in this process.

When the call comes, it’s weird news. My estrogen level is high, nearing the 3000 threshold where I’d be considered at risk for Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). They tell me to take NO Menopur at all tonight, and just 75iu of Follistim. I’m glad because I’m running out of unbruised space on my belly for shots. There is one wonderful spot that never hurts and never seems to bruise -- I guess nothing is there except fat.

I have to return tomorrow (Sunday) morning for another blood test and ultrasound. I wish for my follicles to grow, bursting in size like grapes. I envision them becoming large and healthy. I feel like I can feel them inflating like balloons. Maybe I can.

More blood work and ultrasounds, more Cetrotide. The skin reaction from the Cetrotide is getting milder each time. Everything seems to be going as planned, because I get a call from the clinic telling me to keep doing what I’m doing: 75iu of Follistim and 75iu of Menopur. 

This is great because 75iu of Follistim is really easy to inject, and 75iu of Menopur is easier to prepare than 150iu. 

No doctor appointment today: an unexpected respite. I inject the Cetrotide in the morning, followed by another red mark and hive. It fades away within 2 hours. Then I try to be productive for a few hours before I start dreading tonight’s shots. 

I can’t imagine how this experience would feel if I were working full-time. I’m so thankful that I have the ability to relax, to give myself a break and read or watch TV or write. I wrap myself in a blanket to keep my stomach warm and imagine my eggs growing inside their follicles. I feel like I can feel them growing. 

I keep eating my no-sugar, no-caffeine diet to stave off panic attacks. I hold my breath when I start to feel a little fluttery. I looked up foods that lower adrenaline and decided to eat a lot of them, in an effort to counteract the weird panicky feelings. So I have (all organic) blueberries, lentils, walnuts and 100% cacao, no-sugar chocolate (which does not taste good!), and green juice with spinach, cucumber, celery and lemon. Drinking green juice is like drinking sanity.  

This is only a little different from my usual organic pescatarian diet, but it helps a lot. What doesn’t help is that I can’t take all my usual supplements, just a prenatal vitamin, vitamin D and CoQ10. 

My ultrasound goes well -- maybe up to 14 follicles are there. They are still tiny. The clinic had told me I might need to take the Cetrotide shot immediately after my appointment, but based on the ultrasound I don’t, so I bring it back home. I don’t need to wait for a call because I have all the medicine I might need.

Around 11:30 I get a call from the clinic. They got the results of the blood test and my estrogen is over 1000, so I need to take the Cetrotide as soon as possible. As in now. Cetrotide is an anti-estrogen so it will counteract the rapidly rising hormone and prevent a premature LH surge that could cause ovulation.

Thankfully I’m home. I start rushing around, taking the Cetrotide out of the fridge to thaw for half an hour (cold medicine hurts more when it’s injected) and then mixing it. Or trying. 

I cannot suck the medicine out of the vial with the syringe. There are a billion bubbles in the medicine and it won’t dissolve. Is this normal? The video says particles are bad. I discard this one and try another one, but the result is the same. I call the clinic. 

It is normal. The nurse walks me through it on the phone, telling me to rub the vial between my hands to make the medicine dissolve. So I’m standing by the counter with this vial with a syringe stuck in it, rubbing it furiously. 

After it dissolves, they tell me that if I can withdraw about 90% of the medicine into the syringe that’s fine. So I do. Tip: Inverting the vial and then withdrawing the needle along with the solution didn’t work for me. I ended up with air and more air. It was much easier to get the solution out by holding the vial upright with the needle in the bottom and then tilting it slightly, so I could suck out as much solution as possible. 

The injection needle is longer than the one for Follistim and Menopur. It’s 3/4 inch instead of 1/2 inch. I’m terrified. 

I take deep breaths. Ice the area for 2 minutes. Freak out and ice it again. Finally, about an hour and a half after I got the call, I inject the medicine with my aunt’s help. To my great shock, the needle and medicine don’t hurt at all. 

Afterward, I’m a little scared of an allergic reaction so I sit quietly for half an hour. The injection site gets red like a big mosquito bite with a hive, but I call the doctor’s office and they tell me that’s common. I check the packaging and it’s written there too, so I get on with my day. 

IVF Cycle: Week One Update

Hey lovelies,

IVF cycle one is in full effect! It’s been a busy week of stimulating drugs over here at the MacDonald household. I had my ultrasound and blood work to see how everything is going. Here is the run down of this month so far…

Cd-1: Baseline ultrasound and blood work and period– freaking period. Never can count on her to show when you want her to. You want to be pregnant? BAM comes…