Friday, July 24, 2015

Meds have arrived! - giant needles & fun facts

Hello GIANT needles, you literally are a pain in my rear!
I was REALLY hoping to have a baby from this last treatment, and not have to see you for a couple  more years, but here we are. I was more excited to get these today than I thought I would be though!

I really do have a love-hate relationship with these things. I love them because they mean treatment time! Which hopefully = a positive pregnancy test and a healthy baby! But, I absolutely hate them because they're so dang painful! Big, sore, hot, lumps that don't go away for like 4 months. No exaggeration there. Makes sitting, sleeping, walking, and really just existing, very unpleasant. And, I'm sure I will get horrible migraines, nausea, bloating, and insomnia from the meds again, but we are praying hard that our prayers will be answered and that it'll be worth it! So very grateful to have this opportunity and other snowflakes waiting for us. And, the pain is SOOO worth it when you hear those four magical words..."Congratulations, you are pregnant!"

Fun facts about the meds...

Estradiol Valerate (Estrogen): This shot works along with the estrogen naturally produced by the woman's body during her cycle, it just supercharges it is all. Estrogen shots help build up the uterus wall lining, a "fluffy" and thick lining is essential for the embryo(s) to implant. The estrogen also is needed by the embryo for nutrition after the implantation. Last treatment, my lining wasn't progressing as fast as it should with just the shots, so I had to do the pill version of the shot also. And both definitely did the trick! Embryos cannot be transferred into the uterus with a thickness less than 6 - 8mm. Last transfer, I went from 6 something to 10.8, which was great! The pills aren't pleasant, but I needed them.

Progesterone Oleate (Progesterone): Around the mid point of a woman's cycle, an egg bursts out of its follicle (follicles contain immature eggs until they're ready to be released) and travels down the fallopian tube to be fertilized. After ovulating, the woman's ruptured follicle releases progesterone to keep her from shedding her lining, giving the new embryo time to attach after its been fertilized. But, since we are doing a fertility treatment and putting the embryos straight into my uterus, skipping the whole ovulation and fertilization process, my body wouldn't know what to do without the progesterone injections. The embryo wouldn't have time to attach well before I started my cycle again. So...hooray for these painful shots, ha ha! We want to keep that baby in there, don't want another miscarriage.

The body is an amazing thing, and so are fertility treatments! Its a miracle anyone gets pregnant in our opinion, whether its naturally or with help, ha ha. So many things have to be just right, it truly is a miraculous thing! Once starting the treatment in early September, I will continue these shots again until I'm about 10 wks pregnant. Here's to hoping for another positive pregnancy test!


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