...my progress that is. I have had 2 monitoring appointments so far, and no measurable follicles yet.
What are my estrogen levels, you ask? 15 on Saturday, 187 today. Going in the right direction, but damn. Hurry up.
In the meantime, my Menopur shots have started to burn (they had me increase from 75u to 150u) and I have started some fantastic mood swings and emotional episodes. Good times!
On the upside, both on Saturday and today, they were able to see both ovaries with dildocam. So, I'm pretty much over my retrieval fears. Small victory, right?
So, to close this brief post, a couple of questions:
PCOSers: How long did you stim with your IVF cycles?
Everyone: What are your favorite ways to pass the time during your cycles and TWW?
Song of the day: His Royal Fabulousness is a huge fan of The Doors.
See if you can guess why I chose this song. :)
5 days actually. Weird I know. But I was also micro dosing the Lupron too.
ReplyDeleteI am still figuring out how to get through the 2ww without obsessing!! I guess I just try to find ANYTHING else to do. Favorite thing is keeping busy in the evening, when I'm most likely to play "spot the symptom" (and also when I'm closest to google)
ReplyDeleteLOL, is that like "guess my follicle growth?" :)
DeleteI can't find all my cycle sheets (we're in the midst of a move) but believe it was usually 8-10 days for me.
ReplyDeleteI take a gazillion hpt in the 2ww- I know, bad of me...but it passes the time.
Hi! I'm new here from ICLW and I randomly selected you for my blog love post tonight! I did 6 IVF cycles to have my family. Sometimes, I stimmed longer than others, try not to stress over timing. I have a post about IVF advice (http://stressfreeinfertilityblog.com/2010/08/25/ivf-advice/) and the 2ww survival guide (http://stressfreeinfertilityblog.com/2010/03/10/the-2ww-survival-kit/). Good luck with this cycle! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links! I'll be sure to read your tips.
DeleteI think I was supposed to stim for 9, but they pushed me out one more day for a total of 10. I felt pretty normal through stims, not bloated at all, so I felt like they weren't working, but everytime I went in, I had good progress. Not as many big juicy follicles as I wanted in the end though. I think I had like 4 over 20 or 22, and the rest were about 16-18.
ReplyDeleteDuring my stiming I wanted to see or talk to no one except for my hubby. I didn't even blog about it (later I did though). My hubs was gone traveling for work most of the time, so I gave myself my shots which I looked forward to each day, went to acupuncture, skyped with my bestie, watched a lot of TV, laid really low and quiet, went to bed early and tried to be as healthy as possible. I didn't want to be caught anywhere where I would feel pushed to have a drink or explain myself or my moods. I basically hid under a rock. :)
Oh, the 2WW was the worst!! I cried and felt desperation everyday. Unlike my stim cycle, I could not relax. (I think I knew it my heart it didn't work). My acupuncturist pissed me off, so I started testing day 5 or 6 past 5dt, just to become a little more okay with the idea of it not working so when I got my news I wasn't devestated. Before I got in a funk though, my plan was to watch funny movies, but somehow that didn't happen.
Good luck lady! Visualization I hear helps a ton, and I will always regret not eating organic pineapple! :) I guess spend your 2WW with the least amount of regrets and taking as best care of yourself as you can.
Thanks Lanie! What on earth did your acupuncturist do to make you mad?!
DeleteHang in there girl!! It seems like this whole process is just hurry up and wait! Everything goes slow! :) As far as the 2ww, do whatever you can to enjoy it and relax. Don't hesitate to turn down stuff you don't want to do, this is about YOU!!
ReplyDeleteTWW Passing Time? I spend the whole 2 weeks pretending that I'm not in a 2ww...
ReplyDeletegood strategy :)
DeleteNew to the blog world and a new follower! I am coming in kinda late but excited to see how this cycle goes for you. IVF is next step for us. In TTWW now...best way to pass the time for me is to write, read and take long hot baths. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following!
DeleteI do not have PCOS, but my bloodwork was 100 at day 3 and 150 at day 5 last cycle and was moving along really slow (I triggered at 15 days). But it sounds like you've had a better jump than I did so here's hoping it keeps a moving :)!
ReplyDeleteI was a slow stimmer. Because of the PCOS, they were very conservative with my doses. I stimmed for probably 11-12 days and grew slow and steady. I know it's frustrating, but I think it's the best way.
ReplyDeleteHi...randomly chose your number from ICLW and TOTALLY can relate! Oh yes...can I relate! I've done two fresh cycles. The first cycle was a lupron cycle and it was 11 days of stimming, though they stopped the lupron earlier than they planned bc I was too suppressed and upped the meds.
ReplyDeleteSecond cycle was THIRTEEN, which seemed like an eternity.
Each cycle, I freaked out...especially with them upping the menopur, because I kept worrying about the egg quality- and my LH being through the roof (and not knowing because my RE would not test it for my sanity's sake and in his defense, he was right!!!). I can't tell you how often I heard, "It's like baking brownies. They take time. Don't worry about day to day. Think about the end. It only takes one." I wanted to punch every person who told me that.
That said, as I am on day 9 of stims, I am also wondering how much longer, ha ha. I should also mention (though there's heartache with my first one) that both cycles, long, crazy stims and all, produced beautiful, beautiful little boys and because I have that experience with the first two cycles, I can breathe a bit more right now.
Just a hair.
Best of luck!! I can't wait to see how it goes.
Oh, and for the TWW? I also taught doing my first cycle (not the second, nor this one) and I was just too darned busy and tired to worry. One weekends, though, I treated myself to a movie (butter popcorn and everything!) each day. :)
Wow, you are a trooper! Thanks for visiting the blog!
DeleteI love the Doors :)
ReplyDeleteMy best advice is to find good distractions. The Hub and I just got into How I Met Your Mother and so we spent lots of time watching episodes of that but I think we've only got another 4 or to go before we're completely caught up. Then I'll be back to the drawing board. Unfortunately for my brain and chubby tummy, television and movies seem to be my most effective distractions.
P.s. I want details about these mood swings! :)
Ooh the random giggles to crying is kiiiiiiiind of ridiculous. Not to mention I am ready to kill people at work. Grrrrrrr. I'll post specifically about the 'swings soon.
DeleteFirst, I don't know why it has taken me so long to follow your blog. You comment on mine a lot and I haven't been reciprocating. Shame on me.
ReplyDeleteSecond... bummer about the Menopur shots burning now! Are you injecting really slow? That always seemed to help the burn for me w/ Lovenox...
And finally, the only way I know how to pass the TWW is by peeing on sticks... :/
Good luck, I'll be stalking the hell out of you!
Ok, I remembered a distraction! In the TWW following my FET, I bought the first 4 seasons of The Big Bang Theory and watched a lot of that, and laughed my ass off. It was a really good distraction!
DeleteI'm so excited you found me. I love your blog by the way. How are you holding up?
DeleteWell, never having done this whole IVF thing before I can't speak from experience but I can tell you that I watched the Oscar nominations this name with great interest, hoping that that would be a good distraction during the wait! I'm setting myself the goal of watching all 9 Best Picture nominees this year and that will require no small amount of Netflix strategizing and driving to random movie theaters nowhere near my house. And then I will be the most insufferable person at the Oscars party I plan on hosting, too!
ReplyDeleteI walked on the treadmill and read almost everyday while stimming and that helped a lot, I will probably do the same in the 2ww so long as I feel good enough to do it!
ReplyDeleteAnd totally agree with Charlotte on the Oscar nominee marathon! I was just thinking the same thing!
Here from ICLW! I was a sloooooow stimmer...but not a PCOSer. I think I stimmed for 4-5 days longer than the anticipated dates. During the 2WW, I think I made DH take me out a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy ICLW!!!
tina
#49
Popping over from ICLW! I also have PCOS and if my current 2ww turns into a BFN, we begin IVF next month. My fingers and toes are corrsed tightly for you and I will be following your journey. - Katie #86
ReplyDeleteHi there I'm from ICLW :) I was a very slow stimmer as well although I don't have PCOS its from age. I went 6 days longer that anticipated. I was doing retrieval for surrogacy at the time and our match fell through 3 days after fertilization...we have 3 frozen embryos now but are waiting for a match in the mean time we are gearing up for dIUI and I hope my 2WW is full of fun, and anticipation! I may be a chronic POAS girl though. I can recommend an awesome set of books though: Janet Evanovich writes a numbers series One for the Money that is coming to theaters this Friday is the first one. If you want to laugh yourself silly read them! During my Stemming I also tried to learn to knit...I'm still learning, and that was Nov-Dec 2010.
ReplyDeleteHi from ICLW! For this IVF (had my ER this morning) I stimmed for 14 days but I am DOR. It felt like forever though! During the 2ww I plan on reading lots of good books, baking lots of yummy treats, and just trying to keep busy and distracted! Good luck!
ReplyDelete~ICLW 61
14! Wow! You are a hero. :)
DeleteI was NEVER a good 2WW-er. I pretty much just poked myself in the boobs for two weeks every month to see if they were sore. (Not USUALLY in public, though.)
ReplyDeleteHave you read "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman? It's like Harry Potter, only college-aged kids, sex, and drugs. It's REALLY good.
And I like murder/mystery/serial killer stuff. In that genre, my current favorite is the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child - the main character is kind of like Jack Bauer from 24. They ROCK, and I devour them.
You could also spend countless hours on Pinterest (another current favorite activity). Or use Stumble Upon to find things to pin...or activities to keep you entertained during the 2WW.
I'll keep thinking.
I recently bought a scrapbook and all these supplies and during my 2ww I intend on making a masterpiece out of it, while I make a scrapbook of our December trip to Italy. I'm also slightly addicted to pinterest! Anyway, newest follower here. Found you on cyclesista. I'm in my first IVF cycle this month! Good luck to you!!
ReplyDeleteHoping the 2WW goes quickly for you - fingers crossed! xxx
ReplyDelete