And So it begins...

This past week has been pretty busy for our family. I was off of work for my vacation week so thankfully I was able to just concentrate on me and my family.  I had an acupuncture appointment this week which left me a little disappointed. I am supposed to go two times the day of the embryo transfer before and after. However, my acupuncturist informed me she will be out of town that week. I also tried to get a pic for ya'll of the needles in me, but failed. SORRY!! I also had lunch with a dear friend from high school which brightened my spirits a bit.
I had noticed earlier in the week that Zoe had a lump on her throat. Tuesday it was still there so I decided to take her to vet since I was going out of town at the end of the week. Come to find out she had a high temperature and her gums were bleeding. They drew labs and asked me to bring her the next day so they could clean her teeth. I was really upset because she is ten years old and I did not want her to be sedated. But I knew this is what had to be done. They put her to sleep and cleaned her teeth the next day. They also told me that they believe she may have Cushing's disease. I will take her back in two weeks to draw more lab work for that. If she does it will cost quite a bit of money which we really don't have right now. I am just glad that my sweet baby is home and feeling better

Thursday I went for my appointment with the fertility doctors to just get a baseline of everything and make sure there were not any last minutes cysts or lab reasons we could not go forward. I had a vaginal ultrasound done and labs drawn. Not my favorite kind of appointment, but like Dr. Bouknight said... better than a colposcopy. Everything came back perfect so we are good to go! I started the Lupron shot Sunday morning and will give it twice a day. Tonight I will start the Gonal-F and the Menopur. I have been being brave and giving them myself. I do not know how giving three shots tonight will work. My hubby may have to help me out a little bit with those.

This weekend was also Wired Together Camp. My mom has organized this camp for eleven years now. The last three years I have laid aside my excuses and participated in this camp with the rest of my family. This years theme was Country Western and we had a blast. This camp is for kids and teens that have an internal cardiac defibrillator. We have a lot of the same kids come each year so we have formed some awesome relationships with them. We went bowling this first night and had lake fun and a dance the second night. It is such a good opportunity to get to know some people who just love helping out a great cause.

Getting Closer!!

I have been waiting to post again until I found out all the details from my appointment with the oncologist. My fertility doctor called at the beginning of the week and told me that she was happy with my results and that we could move forward in her opinion. I still have a mild dysplasia, but they are not worried enough about it to stop my IVF. Before I had severe dysplasia which was very close to being cancer so this was definitely a blessing. She said she would wait to say for sure until I talked with the oncologist. However, I did not hear from her all week until today. She confirmed Dr. Bouknight's theory and said that we are good to go!

I also had my appointment with the nurse to go over all the meds I will be taking and how my schedule will look the next couple of weeks. After the 30th things will just depend on how my body is responding to the drugs. I am extremely excited to see what happens!!  The birth control has made me feel a little bit crazy so I will be glad to be done with it soon. 

Also next weekend I will be out of town to help with Wired Together ICD camp my mom puts on at Children's Harbor. Cannot wait to see all the kids there and their families!!

Only Human

There is a lot to catch up on this week. I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I began taking birth control pills last week to start regulating my cycle and help calm everything down. I was getting excited about starting meds because that meant closer to holding a sweet Baby Vines in my arms. However, I did not count on getting bad news before the process got started. I received the dreaded news of another abnormal pap smear. They wanted me to come into the office and have a colposcopy done which takes a larger biopsy and special dyes helps them distinguish the stage of dysplasia is present. I have been down this road before. Two years ago I received the same news and discovered i had the worst dysplasia before the word cancer. So they took out the parts of my cervix that help the cells on it. (sorry if TMI). This surgery has lead to a lot of pain and frustration throughout my fertility surgery. They have to dilate my cervix with a metal rod for each IUI which is nearly unbearable for me. They have also had a lot of concern on whether or not I would be able to easily carry a child term. So the possibility of another surgery is absolutely detrimental to this journey. I know that God is in control, but it just seems like once I get my hopes up I get kicked back down. 

I also get a call while I am at the beach with my family from my doctor saying they would like me to see a gynecology oncologist this time for the biopsy in hopes they can take less tissue this time. I am just praying this is all a false alarm and everything is fine!

On a happier note, I did go to the beach with my mom, dad, Nana and Papaw. It was a nice getaway, but not nearly long enough! We had a little adventure during the trip due to Nana having a seizure in the shower with the door locked! We finally got in and discovered she was okay. Just a scratch on her back, bless her heart.  We ate some great food and had irreplaceable family time.

I also got a list from the doctor this week of all the medications I will take during this process. I will have a visual for you later but here is a sneak peak!

Microdose Leuprolide Acetate ~ 10 units injected 2 times a day

Gonal F ~ 225 units injected once daily

Menopur 75~ 150 units injected daily 

hCG 10,000 units (Pregnyl) injected once

Crinone vaginal gel- Inserted once daily after egg retrieval

Medrol 16mg 5 tablets

Doxycycline- 2 tablets

Estradiol 2mg two times a day

Baby Aspirin 81mg a day

Xanax the day of transfer

So I will be a hormone raging pin cushion in a couple weeks if all goes well with my appointment tomorrow!!

Thanks for the prayers!