Cyst Be Gone!

So, AF came yesterday (Sunday) when I woke up. I called the on-call RE nurse yesterday while I was at work to let them know and figure out what to do next. She told me to call the office Monday morning so they could schedule me for a sonogram.

So, after my run this morning (I finished C25K!! woot!!) I called the RE office and she said, how soon can you get here? I was like, I just ran, so I need to shower...maybe an hour? So they set up and I arrived at the office 1 hour later! I didn't even have to sit in the waiting room! They are seriously on top of their game!

Sonogram: This was my first sonogram while I was still bleeding from AF, it didn't phase the staff one bit. I guess they are used to it. The first thing my RE asked was "do you have any questions?". I said "absolutely! I have them all written down!". I whipped out my phone and started firing. I explained to him that if we get to IUI#6 and we get a BFN then we will have to take a treatment break for financial reasons and that I felt like I was "running out of time". He answered all of my questions to the best of his ability and I was satisfied with the answers. He said that if he didn't think IUIs would work for me then he wouldn't do them, he would tell me if we needed to go straight to IVF or not. He said he truly believes the IUIs will work, which is why he is still optimistic and wants to keep doing the same protocol. He did say that if we get a BFN after IUI#6 then he would suggest I think about IVF, if for no other reason than to move this thing along and get KU already. He understand that it is expensive, which is why he has done so many IUIs with me, he thinks they will work and they are cost effective. He is very very cost sensitive, which I appreciate.
He may not do the "normal protocol" that other REs do but I think I understand why. He separates what is absolutely necessary and what is just "nice to have". He whittles it down to the most cost effective approach since all of his patients are OOP, he wants to do what it takes to get you KU but costing you least amount of money. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that.
After all of my question, it was on to the sonogram. My cyst is gone!! He said my ovaries look "beautiful". I even have a 8mm follicle on my left ovary and another one on my right. I was sort of surprised by the size of the one on my left, I didn't realize one could be that big this early. So, all clear to start with IUI#5!

Plan: I will start Femara 10mg tomorrow (CD3) until CD7. I will go in for a monitoring ultra sound on Sunday Sept. 1 to see how my follies are.

Here goes nothing!! IUI#5 here I come!! Don't you dare make me go to IUI#6!! That's my safety IUI!!



What the....

 

WHAT THE...

This is what I say and look like almost every time I got to the bathroom. Spotting. I have been spotting for almost a way now. It's not like, oh my period is about to start spotting, it's like WTF spotting. I won't go into detail of the color and texture, but WTF!!!

I have asked Dr. Google and of course it says I probably have cancer....or....hormone imbalance, infection, ectopic pregnancy, blah blah blah.

I am going with the hormone imbalance. Remember that cyst I had/have? That can definitely cause wonky things to happen and totally mess up my cycle.

Nothing says "you are totes preggers!!!" so I'm trying not to get too excited. I am blaming it on the cyst.

 

So, that is where I stand. I am on CD28, it has been 13 days since I did my trigger. I plan to test on Monday if AF doesn't come.

 

But serious...WHAT THE...!?!?







 

Side Note!! One of my very dear IF friends is KU!!!!!  You know who you are!! God has the craziest timing, but man do prayers work!!

Oh the Cuteness!

I really have nothing exciting to write about. I start school on Friday so my free time will be very limited from then on out.

I just wanted to do a cute gif post!!








aren't they cute??!!
Side note: I have added a donation button to the top of my blog. This is in no way a way to put pressure on anyone. This is simply a way that, if you feel led, to donate to the cause of helping us continue with family building. The money raised will go directly toward IF treatment, adoption, or if we get a BFP then towards baby fund (college fund mostly). The donation is through Paypal so it is safe and secure. Thank you in advanced.

Exciting things are Happening

So, Since being benched a week ago, I have been busy!!

I have been "ok" with the bench because it gives me time to think, and I don't feel like this cycle has been a total loss. Let me start with the first exciting things

1. I ran 3.38 miles!! Each mile represented something in my life causing me stress/anxiety. The first mile was my work stress. Work has been extremely stressful due to some pretty wild patients. I have dealt with this by drinking. Wine is my friend = ). Plus, alcohol makes me frisky, which brings me to stress #2. IF. Since being benched, my RE told me to take OPKs until I got a positive and then do a trigger shot and TI. This whole week I have been taking OPKs at 2:00 in the afternoon, at work, at home, wrapping OPKs in paper towels and staying in the bathroom for 5min+. My co-workers probably think I have GI issues. Anxiety #3...School.

2. I had orientation for Graduate School on Thursday. It is so surreal to think that in a short few days I will be starting graduate school. I am a graduate student. I am starting classes to become a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I am extremely excited, nervous, intimidated. My goal has always to continue my education and become a Nurse Practitioner, it is just so wild that that time is now. I signed up for 3 classes, 6 hours. I will be going to school part time so that I can still work full time. all of the classes are online. It should take me 3 years at the least to finish. I am in no rush. But....if I have a baybay while I am still in school then I will take a break for a semester making my graduation date farther away (which is FINE with me!!!). I am taking a Diagnostic Laboratory class, a Discipline in Nursing class, and an Advanced Physical Assessment course. The Assessment course will probably be the hardest class, while the other two (I hear) are pretty easy. Since I work at the hospital where the school is, the hospital pays for 6 hours a semester of school. So, the only thing I have to pay for are books. I bought 3 books new because they would be helpful in the long run, and I am renting the rest from Barns and Noble. What a life saver B&N is!!! Soooo much cheaper!! I am getting all of these books for more than 50% less than if I bought them. Oh yeah, and I have to buy a laptop. Well, technically I have one but it died last weekend so my trust in it is out the window. I explained to hubby the concerns I have with the current laptop and that my school is 100% on the computer, so I need something I trust and is reliable and has all working parts. So....it worked!! I am hoping we can order the new laptop soon! My most favorite part of starting school is putting all of the due dates in my monthly/weekly planner!! So fun!!!
I'm such a dork

3. I got an +OPK today!!! I have been peeing on these freaking OPK sticks since Sunday. The whole time, I never thought I would get a positive, because I didn't think I would get an LH surge. I didn't give my ovaries enough credit!! I got a positive OPK today. Today was my short day at work, so I peed at 2:00pm, left work at 3 and did the trigger at 4:00. We will TI tomorrow night. We BD'd last night, and on Tues. night. So our timing is pretty good! FX that this benched cycle isn't a total bust!!

I've Been Benched

So, today was my monitoring appointment with my RE to see how my follies are growing. I took Femara 10mg Cycle day 3-7. Today is CD8. I told my RE's nurse about our plan to take a IF treatment break after IUI#6 if we don't get good news before then. She cried with me, comforted me, and made me feel like I wasn't "giving up". I really appreciated her comfort. I even showed her the good luck trinket a friend gave me who is also dealing with IF. It is a small charm book with pages in it you can write words that bring hope or dreams you want to accomplish. I only have one page written on, and I wrote "Hope". She really loved the trinket and the meaning. 

The clinic was very busy, apparently they try to have all the IVF cycles cycling at the same time. So they were rushing around doing various important looking things. I probably sat on the table bottomless for about 45 minutes. I was soooo close to pressing random buttons on the ultrasound machine!

Eventually Dr.P came in and we started the ultrasound. My lining was only 4.4, which is thin, but I am only on cycle day 8 so it's still real early in my cycle. I think he found a 9mm on the right. and a 8 and 12mm on the left? Something like that. Oh, yeah, he also found a hemorrhagic leutal blah blah something cyst. 

So, I have a flippin cyst on my ovary. This means he doesn't want to waste an IUI on a cycle that is less than ideal. I appreciated that and agreed with him. He said that the new plan would be for me to do OPKs (ovulation predictor kit) starting Sunday at 2pm until I get a positive. Once I get a positive I can do my Ovidrel trigger shot and do timed intercourse (TI). 

I stopped listening after he said hemorrhagic blah blah something cyst so i am not sure what side it is on or the size of it. He did say that these cysts can take a little while to go away but didn't say exactly how long. If this cycle doesn't work then I will call and go in early in my next cycle to assess if my cyst is gone or not. 

I am ok with this. Do you know why? Because I now have an extra month before our "break". I now have 3 months to try with meds instead of 2. This is what is keeping me from crying. 

I went out and got some smiley face OPKs. I have a sack full of Wondfo OPKs in my bathroom but they can be hard to read sometimes and I think a smiley face will be easier. 

Once I get a positive smiley face OPK then I will give myself the trigger shot as soon as possible and then TI the next day and the next....and then the next to be safe = )

So, this is where I am at. Benched.