Ovarian Cyst Aspiration

I'm home from having the cyst on my left ovary aspirated.  It was highly unpleasant but not horrible, it was on of those things that was bearable because it only lasted a minute. So here are the gritty details. They clean off your cervix then put a shot of Novocaine in your vaginal wall, next they insert the ultrasound probe and the needle catheter.  The needle then goes through the vaginal wall into the ovary and they suck out the fluid and remove the needle (assuming there is only one, I had 2 but she got them both). Then they hold pressure on the spot where the needle went in for a few moments to stop the bleeding.  That's it, you are done. Its hard to describe what it feels like, the Novocaine shot feels like any other Novocaine shots, just in your hooha instead of your mouth. The needle hurts, its a deep pain and then you start what feels like a continuous hard cramp that lasts until they take it out. I've been cramping ever since, which they said I would and have been bleeding some, which they also said I would. They gave me a prescription for antibiotics as a safety measure.

I go get followup blood work tomorrow to make sure my E2 level is dropping, I have to get that done before 9am.  They will then call and tell me what to do about meds, I was supposed to start the E2V shots tonight but have to wait now. They said my calender will probably just be pushed for a few days.  I need to get my period before I start the stimulation medications and the cyst producing estrogen was preventing that so hopefully that starts soon.

 The doctor said that I have a good number of follicles on both sides which is a good indicator of response at this point, I hope she is right.

I'll update once I hear from them tomorrow.

cyst

I went in for my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork today and found out I have a 1.5mm cyst on my left ovary that is producing estrogen. My E2 level is 162 so they are going to aspirate the cyst tomorrow afternoon. I will not be put under for this, it will be done using a local anesthetic. This will likely push the start of my estrogen injections to next week so that they can make sure my E2 levels go down. The nurse said I'll probably get more blood work on Monday to check. I'll update again tomorrow, I'm feeling kind of down in the dumps about this, it seems like the deck is stacked against us.

In other news the steroids are causing me extreme insomnia this cycle and I am SO exhausted!

bloated

I'm pretty sure its too early on in the process for me to be this bloated, I'm going to blame it on the birth control pills because I'm pretty sure they are evil, luckily tomorrow is the  last one.  My colitis is also flared up too though which makes my abdominal region uncomfortable. My pants are tight and I've been eating a lot less than usual the past week.

milestone

My  husband gave me my injection this morning, that was a big milestone as he'd never done one before.  He will have to start giving me the intramuscular estrogen shots next week so we are trying to prepare him. Though he pointed out that there is a big difference between an insulin needle and a 1.5 inch intramuscular needle.  I'll try to take a picture of them side by side for comparison.   Here is an image from another site. The bottom one is the size needle for most of my injections, the subcutaneous ones, the middle one is the one we'll be using for intramuscular.

So second time through the meds I'm more easily able to distinguish between side effects and normal craziness and the fact is the Lupron makes me lose my mind; it makes me ADD and very forgetful.

And we're off!

Officially kicked off IVF#2 this morning with a Lupron shot and a dexamethasone pill. Here is hoping this cycle is better!

Prep

There are A LOT of meds involved in IVF. The only way to keep track of what you are supposed to be doing when is to me organized and methodical.  I spent a little bit of time today organizing my meds for the upcoming cycle. I have a Google calendar specifically for my meds that has alarms for each one and has the dosage for each one. I put all of my appointments in that calendar as well and share it with my husband. Below are some pics of meds and organization, the only thing not shown is I keep a roll of paper towels handy, I spread one out on the counter to prep my shots on. I sit on the toilet (lid closed!!) to prep everything then look in the mirror to give myself the actual shot.  I'm rather well endowed so I can't see my belly over the girls, hhaha, so I always clean a bigger area than I need with the alcohol wipe because aiming in the mirror is hard!

This is my guest bathroom. I use the guest bathroom because I don't have room in my master bathroom counter and don't want to worry about getting hairspray and makeup in my meds. There are two sharps containers because one is from last cycle and not quite full. I had a total of 40 shots last time before being canceled.  This time if things go well I will have 50+.

I was able to clear out one drawer to store meds in, Menopur does not have to be refrigerated until its reconstituted.

 I purchased one of those small three drawer organizers from Wal-Mart to put my needles and syringes in, bottom 2 drawers are syringes and top drawer is all needles 

 

I tape two version of my med calender to the mirror, the top one is the one from the clinic that shows everything on it color coded. The bottom one is one I made for myself that shows the times I take everything (I also get a reminder on my phone) and allows me to mark off each med/day and highlight dose changes. 

    

And let's not forget the drawer full of meds in the refrigerator! Follistim has to be kept refrigerated as does the suppositories, so I place them in zip top bags and throw them in next the the cheese and eggs. 

Getting Ready for Round 2

So when my period still hadn't started 7 days after taking the Provera my RE said to start birth control pills anyway, that my lining was fairly thin and it would't matter, that was Wednesday. The past two days I've spotted a little bit, not much. I start my injections on 1/22 which is this coming Wednesday, I'll get my bathroom med area all prepped over the weekend.

Update

I went to the RE today because my period still has not started, he did and ultrasound and said everything is normal. He gave me a prescription for Provera to start my period. I take 50mg (5 10mg pills) tonight and that is all, he said my period should start soon after that and everything will be go for this cycle.

Waiting

Its been 23 days since I stopped meds and I am still waiting on my period to start. I'm going to call the nurse on Monday if it hasn't started by then. I don't want this to delay our next cycle.

As for the next cycle the official "cycle date" is February 17th; I start a new round of meds on January 22nd.

They are changing things up just a little bit for this cycle. Last cycle I was on a conversion protocol (A/ACP), this cycle I will be doing an estrogen priming conversion protocol ( A/ACEP).  

I will start on birth control pill as soon as my period starts.
Dexamethasone starts on 1/22 as does Lupron
I am Lupron 10 units for 5 days then lower to 5 units for 3 days
Last BCP will be on 1/26
1/30 I will have my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork
I start Ganirelex 125mcg on 1/31 and am on that throughout the cycle (longer than last time)
I start Estrogen intramuscular injections every 4 days on 1/31
I add Estrogen suppositories on 2/9
I start Follistim 600units on 2/10 for 2 days then lower to 375 units
I also add Folic Acid on 2/10
Menopur starts on 2/12 with half vial daily throughout the rest of the cycle
On 2/17 I have my first follicle check ultrasound and check E2 levels, I also start antibiotics that day
IF things go according to plan then  I would have my egg retrieval around 2/22

My husband will have to give me the estrogen injections, he is NOT looking forward to that at all!

Oh, and I'm STILL tapering off the dexamethasone from the first cycle. It down to 1 every 4 days now, only one more left!

I'm also planning on starting a high protein low carb diet next week, I'm taking CoQ10 for about the past 2 months.