CD 2....start stims

Started taking follistim 300mg this morning. I also started the doxycycline antibiotics and will be taking them for 8 days. It's rainy in my part of the world, so the plan is to crawl back into bed for a couple more hours. And then tonight, 3 vials of menopur (225mg) before going out to ring in the new year. Be blessed!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

CD1

AF finally arrived this morning so today is CD1. Stims start tomorrow follistim (am) menopur (pm). I finally opened my box of fertility goodies, and boy can that stuff be intimidating; needles, cartridges, vials, and swabs. I actaully felt like a nurse practitioner. The PIO looks interesting and not as thick as I thought it would be. I feel very optimistic and excited about this cycle. My next appointment for b/w and u/s is next week. Let the show begin!!

Baseline Appointment.....yippeeee!!

So I had my baseline appointment this morning. I was a bit feaked out but quickly got over it when I saw the waiting area looking like Sunday morning at IHOP. The new office was orderly and on task. I went in for b/w first and suprisingly my veins were in the mood to be knicked. It was painless and I was quickly ushered into the u/s room. For minute I thought I was on the Avatar set because there bigs screens with 3D images all over the place. I was able to see my camera shy ovaries and a fibroid just below my uterus....uuughhh!!. Re said it was nothing and it wouldn't stop the cycle. I was given a lab line number and told to call after 2pm for my lab and u/s results.

2:00pm -  Baseline report indicates that everything is exactly the way it should be........follicles are small, uterine lining is thin, and estradiol level is nice and low. All hormone levels were in the normal range. Not sure if the fertility cocktail is working. I sure hope so!!

It is finished

I took my last BCP on Christmas morning. I was excited and nervous at the same time, kinda like.....was I good enough to get a bike or will I just get another game of Monopoly. The supplies are all ordered and should be arriving by Wednesday. We have a RE appointment Wednesday morning for b/w and u/s. AF has not arrived yet, but hey, I never liked her anyway. I start antibotics and stims on Friday and then off to being bloated, cranky, and irritable. I have a new RE who made minimal changes to my protocol. So as it stands I will be taking follistim (300) menopur (225) ganirelix (for 5 days), and PIO (for 3 days).  I added CoQ10 and bee pollen to my fertility cocktail. Stopped taking propolis 2 weeks ago. I wonder if it was ever this hard for the little old lady that lived in a shoe????

Big Girls Don't Cry

Okay, so I had my SHG procedure on yesterday. And it wasn't bad at all. Not to mention I popped two Tylenol's a hour before I arrived. New RE is very nice and informative. We received our new protocol. This time RE is adding PIO for 3 days starting on the day of the ER. I've heard those intramuscular shots hurt like a Bitch!! But that's alright. If I didn't cry yesterday, I won't cry later.

Yummy Fertility Cocktail

Ok, so, I went to the local Vitamin Shoppe thinking I would be the only person there. Silly Me!! That place was bursting at the seams with men and women. I guess people really are taking charge of their personal health. Anyways, I ask the worker to show me where I could find Royal Jelly and Propolis. I slowly walked behind her like the walk of shame, as if people knew why I was going to that isolated area of the store. When I arrived I was standing in the midst of four other women, all inspecting the Royal Jelly labels. I smiled at the confirmation that I was not alone.  I pretended to read the bottle but only lingered so I could hear the conversations about the Royal Jelly. One lady was buying it at the advise of her doctor, two other ladies were told by a homeopathic doc to buy the stuff. All purchases were to increase chances of fertility. So now, I have my very expensive purchase of Y.S. Organic Royal Jelly and Propolis. Thank goodness I'm not allergic to bee's. I'll be taking this fertility cocktail along with DHEA and Wheatgrass until my January IVF. Wish me luck!! Wish me Sanity!!

Wheatgrass (or Barley Grass) - helps the cervical mucus and uterus have the right ph balance needed for conception and implantation. Can help restore hormonal functioning.

Royal jelly -  can  raise fertility levels by balancing and boosting the hormonal levels 

DHEA - is a hormone building block that decreases with aging. A study reported that taking 80 milligrams per day for 2 months improved response to gonadotropic drugs.
**Note** don’t take for long periods of time. Women with elevated male hormones should not take DHEA.

Urban Legend

No one ever told me black women could experience infertility. I always thought it was someone else's problem and I didn't need to bother with knowing too much about it. I thought black women could have children at the drop of dime or whenever they wanted. So, are you telling me that urban legend is untrue?? One of my unmarried girlfriends became pregnant at age 40 with a casual partner. I cried all night when I got the news. And then my neighbor across the street became pregnant, with a casual partner. Both women are super intelligent with nice paying jobs so if they can get pregnant without trying me and DH should breeze right through TTC with no problems. WRONG!!! We've been TTC for almost 2 years and I can't help but scratch my head. I've never hit the lotto, I've won very few door prizes, and my sister always beat me in Yahtzee, so you see statistics have never been on my side. So why now am I in that statistically growing group of women who are having difficulties naturally concieving??? It's not fair.