Pinch Poke...the first shot a success!

Not sure why, but I woke up this morning excited that it was the day to start my first injection. I guess because this means we're another day closer to egg retrieval day, which means another day closer to implantation day, and another day closer to the blood test which will let us know if that this IVF cycle was successful. I got up before Brad and Bailey got out of bed so that I could do the injection so no one would watch the first time. I told myself that some people have to give themselves injections everyday if not more than once a day for different medical reasons, and if they could do it, I could do it too. I pulled up the how-to video on the fertility clinic's website, got all of my supplies together, and followed along step-by-step. When I got to the actual injection part, the needle just went in....I'm pretty sure I didn't even think about it. Maybe I should have been a nurse! :) It didn't hurt at all, and I was actually very proud of myself. I told Brad that he could watch me from now on because it was nothing. Now I just hope all of the other injections are just as easy!

I also got a very helpful tip (along with a lot of other helpful advice) from a new friend that I met through the blog world who has now become my email penpal. She told me how helpful it was that she had a daily calendar labeled with daily medications, doctors appointments, etc. I took her advice and made a calendar and labeled what I needed to do everyday. I like having everything all layed out, and it's nice to be able to check days off as we go through them. Everyday for the next week and a half pretty much looks the same....finish the BCP by next weekend and 10 units of Lupron daily. February 11th is my first doctor's appointment which will be my suppression check.

Meds are in!

Earlier in the week we received our first shipment of medications. A few things were left out, so the pharmacy sent another shipment yesterday. I think I have everything that I will need (unless they increase my medications during my cycle). I am missing one box of my Follistim cartridges. Because of insurance, they can only send so many boxes at a time, so I have to call the pharmacy back when I start these injections to get my last box shipped to me. Our dining room table has turned in to a pharmacy, so we've been having to eat all of our meals at the coffee table, which doesn't usually happen with us. Bailey is really enjoying us eating in the living room though. :)

EVERYTHING


JUST THE NEEDLES AND SYRINGES


I start my first Lupron injection tomorrow morning. I'm sure I'll post again tomorrow letting you all know how this goes. Brad has already read the side effects for this, and he's not looking forward to what he's read! :) haha

More GREAT news!

After a week of worrying about Bailey, we finally heard from the vet on Wednesday with an update from the lab. Her so-called malignant tumor ended up being a benign follicular cyst. Brad looked this up on the internet, and every website compares this to an ingrown hair! I don't think I've ever been so relieved. We got home from work Wednesday afternoon, and told Bailey she was cancer-free! WOOHOO!!! :)

Bailey

In case you haven't heard we've had a little scare with Bailey (our four-legged daughter). We took her to the vet on Thursday morning to have a little spot removed from her leg and to have her teeth cleaned. We noticed the spot back in the summer sometime, and we didn't really think much about it because a lot of dogs get little bumps and it's usually nothing. The vet was pretty sure it was nothing too, but when he went in to take it out, he said it worried him because it was harder to get out and it was stuck to other things about it. He had to do a little extra "digging", but he's pretty sure he got it all. We went to pick her up from the vet Thursday night, and the vet said he would be very surprised if it wasn't a malignant tumor. WHAT?!? Our 3-year-old baby might have cancer? You can imagine the look on our faces when he was telling us this. They sent the tumor away to the lab to get tested, and we should know in the next few days whether it is malignant and whether he got it all out. We are really hoping and praying that it's nothing....if you all know us, you know that Bailey is just like a child to us. I'm pretty sure she does have a better life than some kids. Please pray for Bailey and the good news we're hoping to receive later in the week regarding her health. We know dogs don't live forever, but she is too much of an important part of our family for anything to happen to her right now.

What would we do without this?

GREAT news on Day 5!

When we went to our IVF class back in October, we were told that the medications alone would cost around $3,000 for most people. At the time, I knew my insurance would not cover ANYTHING related to fertility, so this was an expense we were expecting to pay at the time. Well, since then, I've dropped my insurance and I am now on Brad's. Since Friday, we've been on the phone off and on with different pharmacies price-checking everyone's rates for all of the meds. We finally heard back from the first pharmacy that contacted us today, and they told us it was going to cost just a little over $2,000 for everything. When we heard this earlier today, we were actually happy with that because we were thinking it would be closer to $3,000. On the way home from work today I got the best news that we've heard so far! Brad's presciption insurance called me back, and we had no clue, but his insurance pays for ALL of the meds....yes ALL of the meds!!! All we have to pay is the co-pays for each! Altogether I think it's going to cost a total of around $160! I didn't believe the girl on the phone at first, and I think I asked her about 20 times if she was sure that was right. Needless to say, this is the best information we've gotten so far, so hopefully that great news will continue to come our way in the up and coming weeks! :)

Let the journey begin!

Yesterday was the big day we were waiting for! Cycle day 1 of our IVF cycle was officially here (today is actually cycle day 2). I called our IVF nurse, Jen, yesterday after school to get everything started. We received our "plan" for the next couple of months, we talked to the speciality pharmacy in NYC where we'll be getting my medications from, and we completed the payment to the clinic. I still don't think Brad has gotten over ths shock of having to pay that much money during one phone call.
As for the medications, the pharmacy is supposed to be running our prescription insurance to see if they'll cover any of the meds. We've been told they do pay some, so we're hoping that's still the case when we hear back from them on Monday.
It's so nice to finally have everything mapped out now. Here's a little preview of what's to come...I start taking 21 days of birth control pills tomorrow, then on Thursday Brad and I both start a z-pack. I will begin the Lupron shots on January 31st...this lasts 2 weeks. Brad is excited about this one. Our IVF nurse and his aunt, Sherri, have warned him that the nickname for this drug is "menopause in a bottle." I'm kind of anxious to see what that's going to be like! :) Brad's already mentioned that if it gets too bad, he might be moving out for a couple of weeks. haha
I will be going down to Nashville on either the 10th, 11th, or 12th of February for my suppression check. This is just where they'll be checking to see if my hormones have been suppressed enough from the Lupron. February 13th is the day I start the FSH shot. After I begin this injection, I will be going back down to Nashville on Feb. 17th and 19th for monitoring. This is the point that they want to make sure my ovaries aren't hyperstimulating (or doing too much). The actual egg retrieval will be sometime during the week of February 22nd.
The UK game just came on so it's time for me to cheer on the CATS! Over the next few weeks, I'll have a lot more to be blogging about, so be sure to check back often! :)

Getting closer....less than 2 weeks!

Well, we're down to less than 2 weeks before we start the whole in-vitro process....I can't believe the time is already here. Where did 2009 go? We have had a very nice and relaxing couple of months not worrying about all of this fertility stuff. It was such a good idea for us to wait a couple of months to start. It has given me time to process everything, and I am actually EXTREMELY excited to get the ball rolling. Yes, I'm still not looking forward to the daily shots in the stomach...and eventually my back hip (I don't think anyone looks forward to that part), but I am looking forward to the outcome of what this whole process will bring. One of my best friends, Stacey Forsythe, just gave me a book to read before we start everything. It's called The Secret, and it's just mainly about how positive thinking brings positive results. So yes, I KNOW that what we are doing is going to work. :)
Brad and I went to Walgreens on Friday to get our first presciptions filled. For the first couple of weeks all I have to do is take birth control pills and a z-pack. I think they're trying to do something to my hormones so that they will be ready to go. Brad also has a tough job to do. Not only does he have to deal with me and all of the crazy meds that will be in my body, but he also has to take a z-pack! They want to make sure our bodies are clear of any bacteria so that everything will go more smoothly.
As far as the holidays go, we had a GREAT Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families! We (including Bailey) were spoiled AGAIN! My parents got us a Wii, and I think I am obsessed. I always thought boys were supposed to love video games, but I just can't quit playing! I figure that I better play it while I can because starting tomorrow it's back to work! I am looking forward to seeing my kids at school, but I am also counting down the days until my next break...2 full weeks until I get a 3-day weekend. :)