Friday 29 January 2016
Baseline scan
Good news, Auntie Flo came for a visit on Wednesday so I could stop panicking and we went for our baseline scan today. The waiting room was packed, there were five other couples at one point. There were no delays though, I was called through at 9:35am. I didn't catch the nurse's name but she was nice as everyone is at this clinic. I was done in 15 minutes and she found out that my lining is thin but not as thin as it should be, indicating that I will still bleed a bit more. Ovaries were nice and quiet, she saw 9 follicles in my right ovary and 10 in my left one. Great result! I was told I'm good to start my stimulation phase (Gonal F injections) on Sunday 31st January. That's in two days!! Normally they let patients have 6 doses of stimulation drug before next scan but we'll be coming after five just to make sure that everything is going well. So we're going there next Friday and after that probably Monday. Can't wait!
Monday 25 January 2016
Clumsy or not?
Uh-oh, another bruise. I thought I would be getting better at injecting myself but I'm not. It seems I'm developing a kind of pattern. When I inject in the left side of my lower belly, it doesn't hurt but it bruises. If I inject the middle section, oh it hurts. The right side is problem-free so far. Rick asked me why don't I just inject in the right side then but I was told to alternate sides and cover the whole 'big smile' area (belly button being the 'nose'). I'm starting to get a bit worried for when I'm doing two injections a day (buserelin and Gonal F). On the other hand hopefully the baseline scan in 4 days will be good and will be able to start the stimulation phase of the treatment soon. Only if I start my period though. That is essential to have happened before the scan, otherwise we will have to reschedule it for next week or later. My period is supposed to start today but nothing yet. I should calm myself down as there is still a few days window before panicking and calling the clinic.
Here is a picture of my 2in1 bruise (the one from last Friday, 10 days ago, still hasn't disappeared, making the left side of it blue-yellowish and right side blue-dark purple, sorry for that much detail but it looks like my best piece of art work).
First injection
Ok, here it is. Friday 15th January 2016. My first injection. The next two weeks of the treatment is called down regulation. It's stopping the natural production of hormones that control ovulation. I was said it would be similar to menopause. My dose is 50 units which will go down to 20 units when I start taking Gonal F (stimulating drug which causes more follicles to mature). I wasn't really afraid of the needle or the pain, after all I donate blood and the needle in comparison to this one is something else. It was more like a fear from the uknown and that it will be ME who is gonna have to put the needle in me. The injection has to be taken between 6 and 8pm so I picked my time to be 7:30, in case I was in a gym or somewhere. Set alarm for everyday in my phone and after a week also on my Fitbit, in case I didn't have my phone on me or I didn't hear it. Fitbit came later because I didn't know I could set alarms on it, haha. To be honest, I don't really need any reminders because constantly on my mind. You need to do the injection, don't forget the injection...
The very first injection didn't hurt at all but gave me a massive bruise. I bruise very easily so it didn't really surprise me and I did ask the nurse about it. All good. It made me feel a bit...different. I might have been all just in my head but I did feel a bit strange. Bit of a headache and my belly stang for a while. I spent the rest of the day resting in bed, went to sleep early and the next day I was back to normal.
Today, when I decided to start this blog, it is day 8 of buserelin. A few days ago the injection stang and itched a lot for couple of hours but apart from that, nothing. No more bruises, no side effects. Until today. Yesterday I suffered from diarrhea and headache but I thought it might have been because we went for a birthday dinner of my boyfriend's step mum and we had a really BIG dinner, cake and all. Today I woke up with a sore throat which went away after a while just to be swapped with a headache, belly ache, chest pains and the urge to cry for no reason. Some fever occurred as well. That all kind of indicated towards OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) which we were warned about by the doctor and the nurses. We discussed whether we should call the clinic or go to A&E but I don't like making fuss about nothing. I eventually got better and got a Chinese takeaway out of it as well. Yay!
The very first injection didn't hurt at all but gave me a massive bruise. I bruise very easily so it didn't really surprise me and I did ask the nurse about it. All good. It made me feel a bit...different. I might have been all just in my head but I did feel a bit strange. Bit of a headache and my belly stang for a while. I spent the rest of the day resting in bed, went to sleep early and the next day I was back to normal.
Today, when I decided to start this blog, it is day 8 of buserelin. A few days ago the injection stang and itched a lot for couple of hours but apart from that, nothing. No more bruises, no side effects. Until today. Yesterday I suffered from diarrhea and headache but I thought it might have been because we went for a birthday dinner of my boyfriend's step mum and we had a really BIG dinner, cake and all. Today I woke up with a sore throat which went away after a while just to be swapped with a headache, belly ache, chest pains and the urge to cry for no reason. Some fever occurred as well. That all kind of indicated towards OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) which we were warned about by the doctor and the nurses. We discussed whether we should call the clinic or go to A&E but I don't like making fuss about nothing. I eventually got better and got a Chinese takeaway out of it as well. Yay!
Nurse's discussion
A week came by and we were on our way to the clinic again. We met Laura, the nurse who was going to take care of us. She is absolutely lovely. She knew I already had my drug teach so that made it easier and quicker as well. I also got the first drug dispensed to me the week before. She confirmed for me that I would start injecting Suprecur® (buserelin) on 15th January, only 2 days later! She also booked us in for a baseline scan in two weeks time, 29th January. She was explaining what will happen after that if everything goes well. It started to feel that it is actually happening.
My first consultation
After Rick's procedure we were told they did find sperm so we were good to proceed with the treatment. I booked my appointment for 6th January 2016 with gynaecologist. I was told in the letter I would have a pelvic exam and an ultrasound scan and we both might have some blood tests. All good.
The doctor was very nice and welcoming and took his time with explaining everything to us to make sure we knew exactly what he was talking about. At the end I did not have any scans or exams. I was on day 12 in my cycle so the doctor said if there was a free appointment for nurses discussion and 'drug teach', we could start the treatment this cycle. That was exciting to hear. They actually taught me how to use different types of injections that very same day and they also took mine and Rick's blood for more tests. Unfortunately they didn't have time to discuss our dates but made appointment for us in just a week, Wednesday 13th January, which meant we COULD start the treatment this cycle, day 21 being 15th January. Amazing!
TESE
When this happened: 15th December 2015. The day finally came. Rick is not happy. It was Tuesday and he didn't appreciate my idea of having chicken balls for dinner on Monday. He was hungry and thirsty but that was necessary because of general anaesthesia. We arrived for 12:30pm, being told he will go in the theatre between 3 and 4pm. Nurses kept coming and going, measuring blood pressure, filling out different forms, especially the one where he could choose what sandwich he's gonna get after he wakes up. We tried to watch Game of Thrones on iPad but were told off. Phone batteries started dying after couple of hours of playing and fidgeting to kill some time. Finally, at 3:45pm they came for him. I asked how long it will probably take and was told sometime between an hour or two. Not too bad, I could eat my salad now I brought with me but didn't want to eat in front of him and tease him with it. He did tell me a salad is not gonna tease him but still... It was food, right?
They wheeled him back after only 45 minutes. They surprised me, I was comfy sitting in a hospital chair, his wheelchair in front of me with my legs nicely on it. We needed to move everything so the bed would fit. He was so cute. Told me he forgot to count to 10. I kept cuddling him and reassuring him that it's done now just to find out later he didn't remember first 15 minutes of being back from the theatre. Complete waste of time it was then, haha.
We were told earlier they would tell us the results before we go home. It was quite a crucial moment because we had no idea whether Rick was able to have his own baby after 8 years being it the chair. While he was in the theatre, because he was the last patient going through this procedure that day, the couple next to us got their results. I could not not hear it, there were only paper curtains between the beds. They were told the doctors did not find any sperm. They looked for it in both testicles for over hour and a half but unfortunately didn't find any mature sperm. I couldn't imagine how devastating that had to be to hear. It made me only more afraid what our result was going to be.
The urologist came fairly early, maybe half and hour after Rick was back from the theatre and told us they found sperm and extracted 6 ampoules where 1 is normally enough for one cycle. What a relief! On the other hand I felt bad for the lovely couple next to us because they had to be able to hear it too...
Got home ok with me driving and spent 3 days in bed, doctor's orders. Within 5 weeks it is nicely healed and we can't almost tell where the incision was.
They wheeled him back after only 45 minutes. They surprised me, I was comfy sitting in a hospital chair, his wheelchair in front of me with my legs nicely on it. We needed to move everything so the bed would fit. He was so cute. Told me he forgot to count to 10. I kept cuddling him and reassuring him that it's done now just to find out later he didn't remember first 15 minutes of being back from the theatre. Complete waste of time it was then, haha.
We were told earlier they would tell us the results before we go home. It was quite a crucial moment because we had no idea whether Rick was able to have his own baby after 8 years being it the chair. While he was in the theatre, because he was the last patient going through this procedure that day, the couple next to us got their results. I could not not hear it, there were only paper curtains between the beds. They were told the doctors did not find any sperm. They looked for it in both testicles for over hour and a half but unfortunately didn't find any mature sperm. I couldn't imagine how devastating that had to be to hear. It made me only more afraid what our result was going to be.
The urologist came fairly early, maybe half and hour after Rick was back from the theatre and told us they found sperm and extracted 6 ampoules where 1 is normally enough for one cycle. What a relief! On the other hand I felt bad for the lovely couple next to us because they had to be able to hear it too...
Got home ok with me driving and spent 3 days in bed, doctor's orders. Within 5 weeks it is nicely healed and we can't almost tell where the incision was.
Our first visit to the clinic
When this happened: 4th August 2015. The first appointment actually worked perfectly because it didn't collide with Chelsea match we were going to the very next day. Yes. Football nut right here next to me.
We arrived and everything was good, everybody was very nice. We saw a urologist and he told us about our options with sperm retrieval. After a little chat we ruled out electro-ejaculation and also PESA (percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration - trying to suck sperm from epididymis with a fine needle) and decided for full surgical retrieval called TESE (testicular sperm extraction) where a small incision is made and sperm is retrieved 'manually' directly from testicle.
But first Rick needed to get some blood tests done to see if his testosterone levels were good and also needed to be routinely checked for hepatitis and HIV, otherwise they couldn't go forward with the procedure and subsequently freeze any sperm. We decided to go to our GP to save some money but we learned that was quite a mistake. We booked 14 days holiday in Tenerife from the end of August till 9th September 2015 and they didn't have any free appointments before our departure so had to book it for second half of September which postponed everything by approximately a month already. Also the urologist told us there is about two months waiting period for this procedure. Great. More waiting. But we kind of expected it to be quite a long journey so it wasn't that bad.
After holiday blood was taken. We were waiting for the results. One week, nothing. Two weeks, nothing. Third week we called GP to find out. Oh, they were there after a few days from the blood taking. Hmm... Alright now, could you please fax the results to the clinic? The GP knows why and where. Ok, thanks. A week passed, no phone call from the clinic. We called them to find out they didn't get any test results. We called the GP again and asked them to fax it again. After two more calls back and forth they got the results! After that we got a confirmation letter that the TESE will take place on 15th December 2015. That wasn't even two months, only a month and a half so we were happy.
We arrived and everything was good, everybody was very nice. We saw a urologist and he told us about our options with sperm retrieval. After a little chat we ruled out electro-ejaculation and also PESA (percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration - trying to suck sperm from epididymis with a fine needle) and decided for full surgical retrieval called TESE (testicular sperm extraction) where a small incision is made and sperm is retrieved 'manually' directly from testicle.
But first Rick needed to get some blood tests done to see if his testosterone levels were good and also needed to be routinely checked for hepatitis and HIV, otherwise they couldn't go forward with the procedure and subsequently freeze any sperm. We decided to go to our GP to save some money but we learned that was quite a mistake. We booked 14 days holiday in Tenerife from the end of August till 9th September 2015 and they didn't have any free appointments before our departure so had to book it for second half of September which postponed everything by approximately a month already. Also the urologist told us there is about two months waiting period for this procedure. Great. More waiting. But we kind of expected it to be quite a long journey so it wasn't that bad.
After holiday blood was taken. We were waiting for the results. One week, nothing. Two weeks, nothing. Third week we called GP to find out. Oh, they were there after a few days from the blood taking. Hmm... Alright now, could you please fax the results to the clinic? The GP knows why and where. Ok, thanks. A week passed, no phone call from the clinic. We called them to find out they didn't get any test results. We called the GP again and asked them to fax it again. After two more calls back and forth they got the results! After that we got a confirmation letter that the TESE will take place on 15th December 2015. That wasn't even two months, only a month and a half so we were happy.
How it all started
Hi, my name is Eva and I'm 26. Ricky, who is 25, and I have been together for 2 and a half years now and would like to start our little family. Ricky has been in a car accident several years ago which left him quadriplegic because of C5/6 complete spinal injury. He will have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair but we met after his accident anyway so I don't see it as a problem or obstacle in anything we do. Of course, we have to adjust our plans when travelling or going some places but sometimes with difficulties it has always been manageable.
Please see this blog only as my online diary, following our journey through IVF.
We started thinking about having a baby sometime at the beginning of last year (2015). We had to go to GP once so we thought we might as well ask them about our options in this matter. They were very nice and understandable and booked me for some blood tests to see if my hormone levels were OK. That all went well and after learning I was good to go, we were expecting referral letter to IVF clinic. Nothing came. Couple of months passed and still nothing. We found ourselves at GP again so asked about it but they said because we were there that time because of Ricky, they couldn't look into my file and check anything. Big disappointment and we felt a bit cheated. After that I booked myself an appointment to get the referral letter. That was in June or July 2015. I got to GP. There was another person in the room but have no idea who that was. I didn't mind really as it was nothing embarrassing to ask. I explained we came in a few months earlier and about the blood tests and everything and that I would like them to type me the letter and the response I got was: ,And what do you expect them to do about that?' I felt like an idiot. Well... They have their methods how to retrieve sperm from my boyfriend and how to help us conceive but they were the doctors so why should he ask me like this in a very rude and irritated way? I left with nothing and still angry I googled IVF clinics in UK. Found a nice one about 45-minute-long drive from where we live. Great. Got boyfriend to call them to see if they do people with spinal injuries. Got ourselves an appointment on August 4, 2015! Yay!
Please see this blog only as my online diary, following our journey through IVF.
We started thinking about having a baby sometime at the beginning of last year (2015). We had to go to GP once so we thought we might as well ask them about our options in this matter. They were very nice and understandable and booked me for some blood tests to see if my hormone levels were OK. That all went well and after learning I was good to go, we were expecting referral letter to IVF clinic. Nothing came. Couple of months passed and still nothing. We found ourselves at GP again so asked about it but they said because we were there that time because of Ricky, they couldn't look into my file and check anything. Big disappointment and we felt a bit cheated. After that I booked myself an appointment to get the referral letter. That was in June or July 2015. I got to GP. There was another person in the room but have no idea who that was. I didn't mind really as it was nothing embarrassing to ask. I explained we came in a few months earlier and about the blood tests and everything and that I would like them to type me the letter and the response I got was: ,And what do you expect them to do about that?' I felt like an idiot. Well... They have their methods how to retrieve sperm from my boyfriend and how to help us conceive but they were the doctors so why should he ask me like this in a very rude and irritated way? I left with nothing and still angry I googled IVF clinics in UK. Found a nice one about 45-minute-long drive from where we live. Great. Got boyfriend to call them to see if they do people with spinal injuries. Got ourselves an appointment on August 4, 2015! Yay!
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