Baseline Ultrasound

Yesterday we took a trip to Peoria... it was such a rainy, gloomy day.  At times I couldn't see anything in front of us while I drove.  We got to Methodist and there was a break in the rain that lasted long enough for us to make it inside.  YAY!!! :) Our appointment was for a baseline ultrasound.  My previous baseline ultrasound occured after I had already started injections, so I wasn't sure what to think about this appointment.  The doctor came in, did his business with the ultrasound wand, told me the first ovary looked good, and that the second ovary looked GOOD!!! WHAT??!?!?!? Then he said I had no cysts... WHAT?!?!?! When he left the room (2 minutes total face time) Mike and I looked at each other and said, "Looks good?!? Do you think he even looked at the right things?"  See, we have NEVER heard that both ovaries look good.  And we have never heard that I had no cysts!  The best that I have heard is that cysts were getting smaller.  So, obviously I did the only thing that makes sense... I said, "It must be the acupuncture!!!"  I realize that not everyone believes in the healing qualities of acupuncture, but I feel like it has been worth the long drives and the late nights from traveling up to Bettendorf for treatments (and worth the money... but at this point the costs of treatments are just a major thorn in my side... they keep racking up and I just keep writing checks, handing out my credit card, and hoping that some day this is all worth it!!!) So... though I will never truly know what made the difference I will not regret my decision to try acupuncture!  I have been thinking about it for years and I am thankful to the Lafever/Coulter family for encouraging me to try it!! :)  

So, next steps... Friday morning I will start injections.  Friday night at the Queen/Manker reception I will get to mix and inject a new medication for the first time.  YIKES!!!! Nothing like trying a new medication in a public place.  Mike said he thinks our hotel is very close to the reception site, so hopefully we will just run over there and take care of business.  The process of mixing the meds has me slightly freaked out, but I know I can do it! I might panic or cry, but I know I can do it!!! ;) 

I have an accupuncture appointment scheduled for Monday, but I think I should probably check with my doctor to see if he approves that type of treatment while under his care and giving myself injections morning and night.  Then, the following Wednesday when I will go in for my next ultrasound.  They will look for follicle growth at that point.  Hopefully the change in protocol will be just what I need to have a better outcome this time around!!  They will determine if it is the appropriate time for me to add a third medication to my protocol.  Last time they decided to have me wait a day before starting it.  I then have an appt. scheduled on Friday to check the progress that my follicles are making.  (This is where we were when everything was cancelled last time.)  If all looks well I will have another appointment on Monday the 27th and our target retrieval date is the 29th.  Then the next day they would inform us of how the retrieval went and then they would keep updated about the process from that point on.  

I am very glad that we are getting closer to injections.  Though we have been "in cycle" from the point that we started birth control again it didn't feel like it.  Once I start injections that is when I feel like we are actively working toward this goal!  

As we get closer to injections I feel like I am a lot calmer than I was last time.  I think it is because I kind of know what to expect.  Yes I am freaking out a bit about the new medication and mixing it correctly (1 cc of saline to 4 vials of the powder... I really don't want to mess it up considering the extreme expense of those vials!!!!), but I am not freaked out about the process itself at this point.  If I allow myself to think about the progesterone issue I get nervous that I will have a reaction again (understandable considering I haven't completely recovered from my first reaction).  But, overall, I feel that my prayers for peace with this process have really been answered.  I know that I have done absolutely everything I can to prepare myself for this cycle and there is nothing else I can do.  This is in God's hands now.  

So, when I pack for the wedding Wednesday night I will pack my injection bag and pull out my travel cooler for the meds that need refrigerated and hope for the best!  The fact that this isn't the first wedding reception we have had to do an injection during makes this a little less scary, but not much!! ;)  

I will keep the blog updated as we move forward.  Hopefully I will be posting soon that I feel like my ovaries are huge... and hopefully they will be huge with follicles this time instead of cysts!  

Time to watch Chicago Fire on DVR!!!! And, then time for bed!!!! Goodnight!!!