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!