Southbound.

I thought when I got to finally say we were headed home IVF would be behind us. Sadly, that's not our case. 

The retrieval finally happened on Thursday! They retrieved 39 (!!!) eggs! In the world of IVF this is incredible!! Explains why I was in so much pain leading up to retrieval. 25 made it to fertilization and 17 fertilized normally. But more on all of this later. 

When we were told we may have to do a freeze all cycle I was worried. I didn't want to invest so much and go home empty handed. Our doctor said it would be up to my body whether or not we transferred or not. I was confident we were hanging out till Wednesday. However, when I woke up Friday things changed. My body essentially was rejecting some of the medicines I needed. Nausea, vomiting, headaches, and pain in my heart. We called in go check and they sent us to a new location to be checked out. Words like "emergency ultrasound" "possible surgery" and "remove dangerous fluids" were all being used. Thank God, everything checked out normally, and we were sent home to rest. Sickness never went away and finally Doctor called us in for a meeting and evaluation on Saturday morning. 

Our doctor has been incredible and explained to us everything that was going on. She essentially said my body was an over achiever and over stimulated. My progesterone level (which makes embryo attach to the lining) spiked too soon. Because of this it reduced our risk of a success by 50%. This was our deciding factor to come home. Those are not odds I am willing to take. 

On top of all of this, I want to be healthy when I carry our child. I want to look back on this time and be thankful for every minute. Right now, I'm just sick. Ill be glad to remove some of these pills for our regiment and focus on what's next. 

Our center was so great we already have our FET (frozen embryo transfer) cycle arranged and we will be back in Chicago on October 24. Yup, one year to the day that we got the news of our first pregnancy. I have prayed God would ease my hurt a little on that day. What better way to ease your hurt than to be excited about a new life being put into your body. 

GOD IS GUIDING THIS JOURNEY! I may not always know His plan, but he does!!

So now we head south! I'm excited to see our dogs, to snuggle with our cat, to sleep in my bed tonight, see our families and our friends! 

Plus, I hear its fall like weather at home! Looks like we did bring a piece of Chicago home with us! You're welcome GA! 

Weary

I wish I had positive good news to report, and I do in one aspect.

Friday was our first appointment in Chicago. Our thoughts were that we would have one appointment and do the retrieval on Monday. Not so much! We believed all along going in that we would be here for 10 days MAX. That is now almost 14 days.
Friday's results came in and the numbers and count were not fantastic (6 follicles and E@ was 109) . "Come back Saturday"
Saturday's results came in and tech was pretty positive that I would be back on Sunday. No retrieval on Monday (8 follicles and "a bagillion" small ones and E2 was at 541) Come back Sunday" 
Sundays results came in still I was told to plan to come the next day (14 follicles highes one being 21mm and E2 was 962) Was told to come back Monday. This now moves the retrieval til Wednesday.

By Monday my body is tired. Mike is tired, I am tired.  We are at the doctor's office every morning before 7 am and I am having an ultrasound and being stuck every single day. I am a small vein person, so they are sticking the same vein every day. I look like a junkie.

Monday the tech said she was sure she would see me tomorrow. No more Wednesday retrieval for me! Levels came back and all the small follicles are catching up, so I have to give them some time. Follicles were at 18 and the E2 is 1793. Sure enough we were told to come back on Tuesday.
Tuesday (9-10-13). The tech sounded confident that I was done.She said she counted 28 follicles  Got the results back a little while ago, she was wrong! There are 41!!!!! In the world of IVF that is amazing and bad at the same time. My E2 is now 3019. My ovaries are the size of tennis balls (normal women are the size of walnuts), which explains all the uncomfortable feelings.FINALLY I get to do my "trigger" shot and our retrieval is set for Thursday.

However, there is a problem. Along with all my other levels my raising really high, my progesterone levels are getting to high. This is a #1 indicator for OHSS. OHSS is extremely dangerouns, and will not go away once pregnant, so it could also be dangerous for baby. I will continue to have blood checked, but if levels do not level out we have 2 options.  All of my levels being so high, and the high quantity of eggs, is a dead give away.
      1. Take our chances and continue on with the risks (failed IVF, higher rate for miscarriage, and in most extremem cases death for me)
      2. Retrieve all eggs, and freeze. Wait for one month and come back once my blood levels have returned to normal levels.

Essentially Mike and I only care about having a healthy happy pregnancy. What might be inconvenient now and uncomfortable, will be worth it the day we hold our baby in our arms. I will fight whatever I have to in order to achieve that. Mike is adamant that we will not pursue anything that puts my life at risk.

So retrieval is definitely set for Thursday. Tomorrow is a no shots day :-), and I plan on enjoying that!  From there it is day by day. Blood work in the AM and results in the afternoon. Worse case scenario we come home on Saturday and make the trip again in October or November. Or we come home on Wednesday, and take our chances.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. My body is tired, my body is sore, my heart is tired, and my body has reached it's limit. We miss our home, we miss our family and friends and shockingly we miss our jobs! We feel like God is guiding this journey, and I am confident he will continue to do so. We love you all!

We did get one beautiful sightseeing day. Thanks to the USO everything we did was wither free, or BOGO! Enjoy our pictures from Chicago!

                                                                Navy Pier Ferris Wheel

                                                              Navy Pier and Chicago

                                                                        Wrigley Field
                                                                         

                              We will always be Braves Fans, but the Green Giant was worth seeing!

Blogging from Chicago!

Greetings from the Windy City!

Mike and I made the long journey from our little town in GA to Chicago, IL. We arrived here around 9:30 CST last night. We unloaded a car that was loaded down, and headed straight to bed! This girl was tired, and all I did was ride!

This morning (September 6, 2013) started out as breakfast in the hotel. If anyone ever doubts my thoughts on how much my husband eats: I had a small amount of eggs, and turkey bacon for breakfast. Mike had Eggs, hash-brown casserole, potato cakes, muffin, cereal, yogurt and a huge waffle! THE BOY CAN EAT!!

Next, we made the short drive to our Dr.'s office. We pulled in and I got super emotional.

The center that will change our lives!

The update is my body just isn't cooperating! I have been increased on meds (on Wednesday) and still with the double dosage, my body isn't growing what it needs to. I have approxiamatley 10 follicles present when there should be around 20. I am waiting on a call to confirm what to do from here. The nurse said it probably means longer periods of meds.

Which means more money for meds, more money for the hotel, and more money for food. I am continuing to pray, and hopefully everything falls into place as it should. Will you also pray with us?

Medicines

Did I robs pharmacy? Nope. Did I clean out our medicine cabinet? Nope. Is that mine and Mike's medicines combined? again, nope. Is that all the medicines I will need for 10 days? BINGO! One month ago I took 1 tiny pill a day. Now it has progressed to this. 

8-29 was my first baseline ultrasound that begins IVF. My levels were all good according to Doctor. 

Our injections began on 8-30. My stomach has been really crampy, and tender, I knew this was to be expected, and oh the hot flashes! My only negative side effect has been the hot flashes! 

Mike has been incredible through this whole process. He tells me to relax, will do any housework and will rub my feet anytime I'm sitting down. Our next ultrasound is Tuesday and then we get the green light to travel!