Sunday, 26 February 2017
Thursday, 23 February 2017
The Egg Collection Saga: Day 1, Saturday 11th February
On Monday I updated with the news we received on Saturday when we learned how many of our potential babies had made it to Day 5. Today I'm going to take a step back in time to the 11th of February when the process of egg retrieval kind of started.
We had a really short visit to the hospital in Glasgow to pick up the non-hCG hormone injection that I was to use as a trigger. We didn't stay in Glasgow very long. Mr Click was suffering from a cold and I was feeling pretty uncomfortable with my grapefruit-sized ovaries.
When we arrived back on the island, we took Tara straight to the Kennels and got her checked in for two nights. This gave us one less thing to worry about the following morning and we knew she would be well cared for while we were off to Glasgow (again).
My trigger injection was a drug called Suprecur (I think this is the brand name for Buserelin, or vice versa). I'm more experienced with this drug as a nasal spray which I've used during my previous frozen transfers. Normally I take it when my Prostap injection is starting to run thin and it keeps my cycle switched off so the meds the hospital prescribe can take over.
You can see from the picture below, this came in a massive vial, containing 5.5ml of the solution. I needed to take 0.5ml of it at 9:30pm on the dot.
I was really grateful that this didn't require mixing. The most nerve-wracking bit was making sure I had the right measurement in the syringe. This syringe was slightly different to the ones I've been using for the Menopur (the plunger inside was slightly curved so I was worried about making sure I was reading it correctly).
The needle was a little bigger than the others I've been using. I think it was wider. I certainly felt it going in and it was harder to get in at first. The needles did have these nifty built in needle covers (the brown and green plastic things in the picture above); that was handy.
This drug begins the process of ovulation so that the follicles are ready to release the eggs they've been growing and maturing over the previous however many days of 'stims'. Normally a trigger is used with the hCG hormone (that's the pregnancy hormone, the one which pregnancy tests look for to determine a positive pregnancy test).
The hCG hormone is the one which can help trigger OHSS or Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. That would be the thing which put me in hospital during our cancelled cycle way back in 2013. I will admit that I was slightly disappointed at not getting to use the Ovitrelle trigger shot I'd originally been given, purely because I knew once I took it I'd get a positive pregnancy test and I thought that would be kind of cool to do. Of course, not having my ovaries trying to kill me again was far more preferable.
Once the trigger shot has been given, regardless of which sort it is, you've got 36-38 hours to get the eggs collected. So we were given a time of 7:45am to be at the hospital on the Monday and had no more injections to do or drugs to take after this one.
It was just a question of waiting.
And of making our way to Glasgow, which turned out to be a little trickier than we'd expected!
We had a really short visit to the hospital in Glasgow to pick up the non-hCG hormone injection that I was to use as a trigger. We didn't stay in Glasgow very long. Mr Click was suffering from a cold and I was feeling pretty uncomfortable with my grapefruit-sized ovaries.
When we arrived back on the island, we took Tara straight to the Kennels and got her checked in for two nights. This gave us one less thing to worry about the following morning and we knew she would be well cared for while we were off to Glasgow (again).
My trigger injection was a drug called Suprecur (I think this is the brand name for Buserelin, or vice versa). I'm more experienced with this drug as a nasal spray which I've used during my previous frozen transfers. Normally I take it when my Prostap injection is starting to run thin and it keeps my cycle switched off so the meds the hospital prescribe can take over.
You can see from the picture below, this came in a massive vial, containing 5.5ml of the solution. I needed to take 0.5ml of it at 9:30pm on the dot.
I was really grateful that this didn't require mixing. The most nerve-wracking bit was making sure I had the right measurement in the syringe. This syringe was slightly different to the ones I've been using for the Menopur (the plunger inside was slightly curved so I was worried about making sure I was reading it correctly).
The needle was a little bigger than the others I've been using. I think it was wider. I certainly felt it going in and it was harder to get in at first. The needles did have these nifty built in needle covers (the brown and green plastic things in the picture above); that was handy.
This drug begins the process of ovulation so that the follicles are ready to release the eggs they've been growing and maturing over the previous however many days of 'stims'. Normally a trigger is used with the hCG hormone (that's the pregnancy hormone, the one which pregnancy tests look for to determine a positive pregnancy test).
The hCG hormone is the one which can help trigger OHSS or Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. That would be the thing which put me in hospital during our cancelled cycle way back in 2013. I will admit that I was slightly disappointed at not getting to use the Ovitrelle trigger shot I'd originally been given, purely because I knew once I took it I'd get a positive pregnancy test and I thought that would be kind of cool to do. Of course, not having my ovaries trying to kill me again was far more preferable.
Once the trigger shot has been given, regardless of which sort it is, you've got 36-38 hours to get the eggs collected. So we were given a time of 7:45am to be at the hospital on the Monday and had no more injections to do or drugs to take after this one.
It was just a question of waiting.
And of making our way to Glasgow, which turned out to be a little trickier than we'd expected!
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Currently...
Knitting...
... Ernie!
Yup. It's another clown.
This one called Young Ernie and he's slightly shorter than our friend Bertie (who measured about 22 inches from the bottom of his feet to the tip of his mushrooms). Ernie's due to come in at around 18 inches.
Ernie is a One-Clown Band so I'm hoping he'll turn out as well as Bertie. If he comes out looking good I'll be offering him to the local community band to help raise funds for their planned trip to Germany next year.
Awaiting...
... some yellow yarn.
You see the yellow I used on Bertie's hair and top. Well, I've only got a small amount of it left, probably just enough for Ernie's hair, but not for the drum he's carrying on his back (which you can't see in the pattern picture above). I wasn't sure exactly which colour I needed because it's hard to tell on the computer screen. I've hedged my bets and just ordered two different shades so I can pick and choose.
Needing...
... to sort out my yarn cupboard.
Our downstairs cupboard is home to the Christmas tree, Mr Click's records, the downstairs vacuum cleaner (yes, our tiny cottage has a downstairs vacuum and an upstairs one), some steps, and boxes and bags, and piles of knitting supplies. It's actually taken over all of the other stuff we store in there and it's desperately in need of reorganising.
Case in point: a few months ago I ordered some very nice grey yarn (it was actually when I was working on Bertie up there), it arrived and I went to put it away, only to discover another two or three balls of grey yarn at the bottom of a box I'd forgotten about. Oops.
Other little jobs which are currently on the cards: reorganising the DVD/blu-ray shelves and cupboard, rearranging my bookshelves (I've gotten a lot of new books in the last few months and they're all slotted in all over the place with no order to them at all) and reorganising some of the stuff in the spare bedroom now the rat cage is no longer in there.
Planning...
... a duvet day.
On Saturday I fully intend to spend as much of the day in bed as possible! Last week I was recovering from the egg retrieval op and wanted to be as near to the phone as I could in case the hospital phoned with an update on the embryos, so there was no long lie in for us.
I've lined up a list of activities which can be done from my station in bed; reading, letter writing, bullet journalling, colouring in, blogging. I've planned meals and selected viewing material. It's going to be an awesome day.
Are you busy crafting anything at the moment?
... Ernie!
Yup. It's another clown.
This one called Young Ernie and he's slightly shorter than our friend Bertie (who measured about 22 inches from the bottom of his feet to the tip of his mushrooms). Ernie's due to come in at around 18 inches.
Ernie is a One-Clown Band so I'm hoping he'll turn out as well as Bertie. If he comes out looking good I'll be offering him to the local community band to help raise funds for their planned trip to Germany next year.
Awaiting...
... some yellow yarn.
You see the yellow I used on Bertie's hair and top. Well, I've only got a small amount of it left, probably just enough for Ernie's hair, but not for the drum he's carrying on his back (which you can't see in the pattern picture above). I wasn't sure exactly which colour I needed because it's hard to tell on the computer screen. I've hedged my bets and just ordered two different shades so I can pick and choose.
Needing...
... to sort out my yarn cupboard.
Our downstairs cupboard is home to the Christmas tree, Mr Click's records, the downstairs vacuum cleaner (yes, our tiny cottage has a downstairs vacuum and an upstairs one), some steps, and boxes and bags, and piles of knitting supplies. It's actually taken over all of the other stuff we store in there and it's desperately in need of reorganising.
Case in point: a few months ago I ordered some very nice grey yarn (it was actually when I was working on Bertie up there), it arrived and I went to put it away, only to discover another two or three balls of grey yarn at the bottom of a box I'd forgotten about. Oops.
Other little jobs which are currently on the cards: reorganising the DVD/blu-ray shelves and cupboard, rearranging my bookshelves (I've gotten a lot of new books in the last few months and they're all slotted in all over the place with no order to them at all) and reorganising some of the stuff in the spare bedroom now the rat cage is no longer in there.
Planning...
... a duvet day.
On Saturday I fully intend to spend as much of the day in bed as possible! Last week I was recovering from the egg retrieval op and wanted to be as near to the phone as I could in case the hospital phoned with an update on the embryos, so there was no long lie in for us.
I've lined up a list of activities which can be done from my station in bed; reading, letter writing, bullet journalling, colouring in, blogging. I've planned meals and selected viewing material. It's going to be an awesome day.
Are you busy crafting anything at the moment?
Monday, 20 February 2017
9 Fabulous Embryos
I've got my laptop out for the first time in over a week so I'm just getting caught up online. Sorry for going quiet on you.
I'll share a proper update later in the week but for now I will just say, we got the call from the Embryologist on Saturday to confirm that we had '9 Fabulous Embryos' (her exact words) which had successfully been frozen after making it to Day 5 Blastocyst stage.
That's the little note I scribbled as the Embryologist was on the phone. My hand was shaking so badly that the nine came out looking more like a zero the first time I wrote it, hence the fact I went over it about ten times.
We have to wait about 6-8 weeks for my body to recover but then we can start the process to thaw them out and see about putting at least one of them where it belongs.
I'll tell you more about it later this week (and I might even get one of my vlogs up at last as well)!
I'll share a proper update later in the week but for now I will just say, we got the call from the Embryologist on Saturday to confirm that we had '9 Fabulous Embryos' (her exact words) which had successfully been frozen after making it to Day 5 Blastocyst stage.
That's the little note I scribbled as the Embryologist was on the phone. My hand was shaking so badly that the nine came out looking more like a zero the first time I wrote it, hence the fact I went over it about ten times.
We have to wait about 6-8 weeks for my body to recover but then we can start the process to thaw them out and see about putting at least one of them where it belongs.
I'll tell you more about it later this week (and I might even get one of my vlogs up at last as well)!
Sunday, 19 February 2017
Sunday, 12 February 2017
Saturday, 11 February 2017
Not Quite AWOL
Sorry for the radio silence the last couple of days. I fully intended to post Pocket's introduction yesterday but I've felt totally drained and kind of emotionally fragile, so writing a blog post about anything just seemed like way more effort than I was able to put in.
Here's a quick rundown of what I've been up to:
Wednesday
Here's a quick rundown of what I've been up to:
Wednesday
- Trip to the hospital - I recorded the journey from the 5am start to our arrival at the hospital for a future vlog, I'm just a little behind on the editing of them.
- Scan revealed 10 follicles (plus littlies) on each ovary. They measured from 10-15mm and the nurse had barely got the ultrasound probe in before she said 'oh! You're a quick responder!'
- Was warned that they might want to make an adjustment to my Menopur or that I might be ready for egg retrieval as early as Sunday. We were given our Ovitrelle trigger injection to bring away with us to be on the safe side.
- Got a phone call when we were on the way home to say to carry on as we had been, but to come back on Friday and not to take the Menopur on Friday morning in case we were going to trigger.
- Found out afterwards that my E2 (estrogen levels) were 5,961 which is pretty damn high.
Thursday
- Went to work feeling pretty uncomfortable and really should have stayed home. I had to wear a dress and everything because my work trousers were too tight around the middle.
- Felt pretty miserable all day and had no energy to turn on my laptop, bullet journal or anything.
- Felt kind of anxious about the upcoming appointment on Friday so didn't sleep very well.
Friday
- My ovaries exploded! Not literally (thankfully) but it seemed like they were seriously considering it. I was feeling really bloated and the scan wasn't exactly fun.
- The scan took quite a while to do because there were so many follicles to count, this time twenty or more on each side, and all measuring between 10-20mm (plus the ever present littlies).
- It was at this point that a freeze-all cycle was mentioned as that's the standard policy if more than 25 eggs are retrieved. I took a while to process this because at first I couldn't figure out how they were expecting me to get so many eggs; then I realised that in total I had 40 follicles, not 20!
- My blood was drawn and I was advised I'd get a call about what would happen next when they had the results. In the meantime I was told to drink little and often, eat plenty of protein rich foods (chicken, eggs, milk, yoghurt), and take it easy. We toddled off to KFC where the chicken nuggets knew exactly how I felt (see photo above).
- We were only home for about 45 minutes when the hospital called and my immediate thought was that they were going to cancel us. I've been having flashbacks to our first cycle for the last couple of days, just little things which reminded me of it, so the 40+ follicles was an awful lot like the '30+ here and 35+ over there' appointment we had at the Nuffield.
- My E2 levels had risen to 13,182! I believe the correct medical term for this is 'Oh Crap!'
- We're not cancelling the cycle! We're doing a freeze-all!
- I can't trigger with an hCG based trigger as that will push me into hyperstimulation (and we know how that ended last time) so I'm using one called Buserelin which I've used in nasal spray format for down regulation on both my frozen cycles.
- And I was to do it on Saturday night ready for retrieval on Monday. The one flaw in this plan was that the injection in our fridge was an Ovitrelle (hCG-based) one.
Today
- So it was back to Glasgow today to go pick it up, run over the basics of using it and go over what I need to do for egg collection on Monday.
- The Suprecur injection seems straightforward (though, alas, it's not in a pen). I have a massive vial and a tiny syringe and I only need to use the .5 of the 5.5ml bottle.
- I do my last Cetrotide injection in about three hours and then at 9:30pm on the dot I give myself the final injection of this stage of the process.
What Next?
- Tara has been checked into the kennels and our hotel in Glasgow has been booked (we've got to be at the hospital before 8am on Monday so we're not willing to take a chance on the ferries).
- I'll get sedated and will have my follicles aspirated (via a very large needle shoved into a place where very few women want to have a very large needle shoved). Hopefully they will find a nice clutch of eggs (which haven't been harmed by the 'coasting' which means we've not fed the poor things for two days). Mr Click will do his thing and if all goes well they'll be forcibly introduced to one another some time afterwards.
- Hopefully we'll have lots of happy and healthy embryos who won't be too disgruntled at having to spend a few months chilling in the freezer before my ovaries resume their normal service, when we will wake them back up and put them back where they belong.
It's been a long old week here!
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