Or you can have this (pardon the dark picture, but I already put everything away and didn't want to get back out to retake :) ...
I know what I would pick! Oh, wait...oops. Until we have a baby, my mind is not always going to think we made the right decision. And this doesn't include the other bazillion dollars we paid to the fertility clinic today. We've paid for some medications/injections prior to this, and we'll pay for some more in a few weeks, but this was definitely the major sticker shock day. We are officially poor!
When we were building our house last year, at every step my husband would proclaim, "It's starting to feel like a real home!" It got to the point that his daughter and I would say it in unison any time we walked through the door of the house in progress. This whole attitude is repeating itself again with IVF. Every time we reach another step of note, he says, "This is getting exciting. It just feels so real now." Which is likely very true, but just kind of humorous to hear repeatedly.
Anyway, the "steps" that triggered this ecstatic reaction today was (1) my baseline ultrasound and blood work and (2) the purchase of the stimulation injections or the "stims". In IVF message board lingo, I'll be "stimming" my little heart out starting Monday, as everything looked a-ok at my baseline appointment.
Since I've been in suppression stage until now, the baseline appointment was to check that the suppression worked and my levels were at a low enough level to start the stimulation. The blood work checks my estradiol or E2 levels among other things. This is essentially my estrogen level, which should be low given the estrogen suppression shots I've been taking. They want the levels to be below 75 pg/ml, and mine was 32 pg/ml. Good to go!
Due to my estrogen being nice and suppressed already, they cut my dosage in half for the remainder of the cycle. I'm definitely hoping this helps with the side effects, which have been pretty miserable. I've had a horrible cold for the last couple days, and after further research and a note to the doctor, it appears that is a side effect. My poor co-workers are bearing the brunt of that godawful noise coming from my cube. I'm getting some hot flashes, but nothing too major, but also having consistent headaches. I suppose my potential future children will give me headaches, so all good preparation, right?
Luckily, my sweet husband is doting on me quite a bit in the midst of my hacking and headaches, and is making a lovely shrimp linguine for us right now. As hokey as it sounds, he has been the most amazing partner through this. While I would likely be upset if he was anything but, given this is a true partnership undertaking, I have seen/read instances where the husband is definitely not quite as great. And therefore I know I'm extremely blessed, especially since I get to keep him no matter what the outcome. Thanks, lovey!
No comments:
Post a Comment