August 10, 2020 – Stim Day 10
What a week. The last few days have been pretty uneventful. A bunch of the same. We didn’t do much at all really. I’ve been steadily doing my injections as instructed. I had a couple of days where they actually hurt. Today was the first day I wasn’t able to do our walk. Physically, my body just didn’t like it. We went a very short ways and then headed back. For now, here’s an update on my last few monitoring visits.
Stim Day 6 – August 6, 2020
This visit was for my first vaginal ultrasound while on the stims. I was number 9 this morning. This was the appointment that was going to determine if we’d continue. At least that’s what I told myself before. The baseline appointment really did a number on me. Like my previous appointments Husband came with me. He dropped me off at the front door and then parked. Due to the pandemic, he’s not allowed to come back with me. Instead, he waits in the lobby.
This time I met with Dr. Black. She was really nice. Much younger than Dr. Rolly. Not that that really meant anything. She also had an intern with her. Emily. They came into the room and introduced themselves. We went over my protocol and what injections I’d been taking. Then she got started. She was speaking with Emily about what she was doing and what to look for. We all chatted about things. Dr. Black was able to find 5 follicles which was great. That confirmed the follicles from the first day and the hidden one that Dr. Rolly said could have been there. The follicles were measured. They were 5, 7, 7, 8, 8 if I understood correctly. She didn’t exactly tell me. She was telling Emily so she could write it down.
I also asked for a refill of the stims as I was completely out of the Menopur and had only one more dose of the Gonal F. They put in the order and let me know when to come back for my next monitoring appointment. After that, I headed to the lab for bloodwork. My phlebotomist, LaTanya, was so nice. She told me she had 23 years of experience. She was very quick and very comforting. After this, we left and went back to the room where I fell asleep and felt pretty out of it for most of the day.
Stim Day 9 – August 9, 2020
This visit was on a Sunday. Surprisingly enough, I was number 10. I figured today would be super slow. Nope. Since it was a Sunday, the lab was closed. The RE (reproductive endocrinology) team had to do everything. Melinda was the nurse at the desk and also the nurse that did the bloodwork. We all have bloodwork at every appointment. That’s the one constant. Apparently, it’s like that when you’re pregnant so this is great practice. Husband came with me again. I remember sitting in the lobby with him and just thinking how some people don’t have to go through all of this to have a baby. They can just do what people do and BOOM! They’re pregnant. We really are going through a lot together.
I was called back for bloodwork. Melinda was so nice. The blood draw was painless. I went back to the lobby and waited to be called back for my vaginal ultrasound. You’d think I’d be used to these early mornings. Nope. That 0700 hits hard for some reason. I’m sure the hormones don’t help. I’m called back and head to the exam room. I snap a quick photo of the setup and then get undressed and seated.
Dr. Guy, the first guy I’ve been examined by, comes in with a female nurse. She was the same one that brought me to the room. They were both so nice. He told me he liked my Hamilton shirt. I appreciated that. He started the exam and questioned me about which ovary was actually missing. He said it actually looked like there was some ovarian tissue on the other side. This was the first I’d heard of this. In fact, he said he’d think that the one we knew about was the one that was actually removed since there seemed to be more on the other side. It was early so I’m barely understanding what he’s saying. I’m just patiently waiting for him to count the follicles that I know are there.
A miracle happened. Something different happened this morning. I prayed to God and asked Him for a miracle. I asked Him to make it known if we should continue. I don’t remember the words, but I do know what my heart was asking. Dr. Guy found 9 follicles on my right side…the side where there was no ovary. He was in shock. I was in shock. He said he had to make sure to print out pictures because the team wouldn’t believe him. He even asked the nurse about the right ovary on the tracking sheet they used. Sure enough, it was completely crossed out. He asked me questions about what happened and said maybe there was a miscommunication from the doctors who removed the ovary. There wasn’t. I didn’t tell him that we’d actually sued about this.
He did say he only saw 2 on the other side. (The side with the 5 we’d seen at the previous appointment.) I think he just wasn’t looking anymore. Do they disappear? I almost cried. I wanted to cry but I kept it together. I couldn’t wait to tell Husband. I won’t lie. I’m a little concerned that he was mistaken. How did a whole new ovary just show up? I FEEL like there’s something there. I’ve felt like it ever since I started the stims, but I thought it was in my head. Like maybe something else was causing the discomfort. Maybe it was sympathy pains. Maybe it was just the uterus acting like I had an ovary over there.
But something tells me that it’s real.
(Here’s a little clarification. I had one of my ovaries removed during an ectopic removal surgery. I couldn’t remember which one so Dr. Rolly told me the right one was removed because she only saw the left one. This is where the information for which ovary I have came from. I didn’t tell them because I didn’t know.)
Stim Day 10
So here we are on stim day 10. Tomorrow is day 11. Tomorrow is the day I’m supposed to do my trigger shot. I have an appointment at 0700 and that will determine that we’re on track. Dr. Guy told me the follicles were growing a little slow but it was actually working in our favor. Our goal is to line up my egg retrieval with Husband’s sperm extraction (TESE). He said that sometimes it can be difficult to extend the time. From the beginning, we’ve said that this process is divine. It isn’t up to us. We just need the players to do their part. So far, that has been the case. I can’t believe that doctor talked to me about canceling and getting my money back and here we are today with a whole other ovary full of follicles. We went from barely having 5 to now having 14!! My babies are in there somewhere.
Now, we have the egg retrieval and sperm extraction. The doctors don’t know if there’s even sperm there to get but I fully believe there are. It’s not even a question for me. I prayed that we wouldn’t have to go through this if this wasn’t going to work. I know that yesterday’s revelation was confirmation that we’re on the right path.
