Something is wrong!

It’s been 59 days and I’m still waiting to get my period.  I’m getting nervous that something is wrong since donating my eggs.  I got my period 5 days after the retrieval, but nothing since. It’s frustrating because I’m waiting to start my period in order to begin my next cycle of injections. I am going to donate my eggs again to my friend.

My nurse wants me to get blood work done on Friday if I don’t start my period today.  It’s weird bc I have been feeling like I am about to start for the past few weeks, but nothing! Has anyone else experienced this after a cycle? Should I be concerned?

Dolly Parton Accepts Kenny Rogers’ ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

I love Dolly!!

Why??

After an agonizing 2ww, we found out that it didn’t work. My best friend was not pregnant. It was devastating. We were convinced that after such a smooth transfer with 2 beautiful hatching blastocyst embryos that it wasn’t going to be a matter of having a baby, but rather how many. We were already preparing for cute twin names!

It was an emotional weekend to say the least. A lot of crying, asking why & trying to make sense out of things. Our new protocol for that night was a different kind of shot. VODKA! Mixed with a little flip cup action. This temporarily numbed the pain, but the next day reality hit us like a ton of bricks.

I’m not ready to give up. I told them I would 100% do it again for them. These 2 amazing people deserve this. They would be the best parents anyone could ask for. They want to try again but it comes down to money. This last donor egg cycle cost them close to 22000.00! I didn’t even charge them. I did it for free. The cost is outrageous!

We meet with the doctor soon to hear what went wrong and what our next step is. Fingers crossed we are able to try again…

Embryo transfer

The day after the egg retrieval we got the call that 7 embryos were formed! We were excited. I knew there was a possibility of no embryos forming so 7 was great. To our surprise on day 3 we actually had 12 embryos! We were thrilled!!
6 were grade A- (1.5)
4 were grade B (2.0)
2 were grade C.

Our excitement was deflated on day 5 when only 3 embryos were left. The rest had stalled out. We were told on day 3 to expect only half to make it to day 5,but we were hopeful that ours were going to be different and make it. It was crushing.
2 were grade A-
1 was grade B

The embryo transfer was day 6 and only 2 embryos made it. None were left to freeze :(. However, the 2 we had left were beautiful! One was grade A hatching blastocyst and the other was grade B hatching blastocyst. Despite the disappointment of having no more embryos to try again, we were very hopeful that these 2 amazing embryos were going to take and be beautiful twins!

My best friend and her husband invited me to be apart of the transfer. I was honored 🙂 The whole process went very smoothly. We watched everything on the ultra sound monitor. She said it was very uncomfortable because she had to have a full bladder to make it easier to place the embryos where they needed to be. The transfer was such an awesome and emotional experience. After it was over, we all 3 hugged and cried. It was beautiful. I knew right then that giving this amazing couple my eggs was the best decision of my life.

What a Relief!

After pushing back my egg retrieval two times to allow the majority of the follies to reach the best size, I lost 5 of them by the time of egg retrieval. However, 15 were still retrieved! When I offered to donate my eggs to my best friend,one of my fears was not producing many eggs and letting them down. So this was a huge relief for me.

The morning of the retrieval I was very nervous and excited all in one. The 2 hour drive to the hospital allowed tons of time to worry about what all could go wrong. I was dreading the IV and worried about what to expect when I woke up after surgery. Once we arrived to the hospital my heart was pounding so much I thought it was going to beat out of my chest! The recovery nurse quickly made me feel at ease. The IV went smoothly and they allowed my best friend and her husband to come back with me before the procedure.

When I woke up from the retrieval, I felt no pain at all. I had minor cramps but seriously less than what period cramps feel like. I was released with Tylenol 3 prescription about 2 hours later. I slept the rest of the evening on the couch. I woke up the next day feeling great! As the day went on a little sore but similar to the way my ovaries felt like when stimming. I took pain meds for 2 days after just in case.

Overall, my retrieval and stimming was a breeze!

Needles, needles, & more needles!

So much has happened since my last post. So many ups and downs. A definite emotional roller coaster ride! It all started when I was told that I could not begin my injections as planned because I had already ovulated! I guess the BCP I was on was not strong enough to stop it. When I returned the following week to see if things were ok to start, my hormone levels were too high! At this point I really started to wonder if this was a sign that I shouldn’t be doing this donor stuff. My spinal cord injury gives me enough health issues to worry about. A few days later I started my period which caused my hormone levels to go down and finally got the go to begin. Even though the delay was only a week, it was still a huge disappointment and caused me to worry.

The night I started my injections my anxiety was out of control! I was so nervous about how the injections would make me feel and what it would do to my body. I was on 300iu Follistim mixed with 1 vial of Repronex in the PM to start. I messed up the first attempt because the long mixing needle was not screwed on completely causing it to leak out onto the table. That mixture was a waste! Hundreds of dollars lost all over the table. The next attempt was successful and to my surprise the needle was painless going in. It was so tiny I couldn’t even feel it. Now the meds were a different story. They burned a lot! Because the needle was so tiny, it took forever to push the meds in. I would immediately rub the injection site and within minutes the burning was gone. After a couple of days I was taking 300iu Follistim and 2 vials of Repronex in the PM as well as an AM and a PM Ganerelix injection. The Ganerelix injection was a breeze except for the needle was bigger and dull. It was terrible to get in the skin. Once we learned that we literally jabbed it in hard to make it puncture the skin.

The injections made me feel bloated and full. I could tell that my ovaries felt bigger and bigger everyday. The last few days before retrieval I had difficulty bending over or walking a lot without feeling very uncomfortable. The worst part was trying pee. Due to my spinal cord injury, I have a neurogenic bladder so in order to pee I have to bend over and push on my bladder to squeeze out the urine. However, because my ovaries were so big and tender I was unable to pee like usual. So I had to learn how to catheter myself. It was awful! After many tries, I finally got the hang of it. It became easier and less painful each time.

Overall, the injections were not that bad. Once I got over my fear of the needle, it was a piece of cake. I would totally do it again

Does alcohol consumption affect egg retrieval success?

I have a question for anyone who has been through IVF or has donated eggs. I have been researching online the effects of alcohol on the success of egg retrieval and found conflicting results. Some information says it can reduce the percentage of eggs retrieved and others say it has no effect at all.  Some say drinking wine can actually increase the success of the egg retrieval.  I was so confused that I contacted the nurse and she said that drinking alcohol was fine and didn’t affect anything at all.

I do not begin my injections until mid June (4 weeks away) and def plan on not drinking once I start my injections. I am wondering if a glass of wine or a beer would be ok until I start the cycle.  I’m not a heavy drinker or partier but on occasion I like to enjoy a glass of wine or beer.  I do not want to do anything to jeopardize the outcome of this process so I’m asking for any information that your doctor has told you about this.

Thanks!

The Journey begins!

Last month I met with the fertility doctor for my initial appointment. This included a head to toe physical exam, ultra sound of my ovaries, full description of my family health history, and the dreaded blood work. Eek! I hate needles…. You are probably thinking, “then why are you doing this? The entire process is needles, needles, and more needles”. Yes, I know and I am freaking out about that part, but when I think about the outcome it makes it all worth it.  (Someone please remind me of this when I start my injections! Lol)

Overall, the appointment went good! He explained the process to me and the risks involved.  This appointment was very important to me because I wanted to discuss with him my incomplete spinal cord injury and make sure this process was safe for me to do.  I was injured in a college sport accident years ago which has left me partially paralyzed from the waist down.  I have regained feeling and movement over the years, but I still cannot move or feel my feet.  I have lost all of my balance so I always have to be holding onto something when taking steps. I walk with a forearm crutch or will use a wheelchair for long distances (ie the mall, amusement parks) Due to my poor circulation, I am nervous about the hormone injections causing blood clots. After discussing my health condition, he quickly changed the injections from the Lupron to an Antagon protocol.  He explained that this reduces the length of time that I am exposed to the hormones and will be safer for me. This protocol is only 2 weeks of injections versus 4 weeks if using Lupron. Sold!! I HATE needles. He is also requiring me to wear TED hose during the process.  I do feel better after meeting with the doctor, but the risk of blood clots are still in the back of my mind.

My friend and I were given a script for birth control pills and are now taking them to sync our cycles together.  I have been on Micronor for almost 2 weeks now and my ovaries and stomach feels uncomfortable.  I feel very gassy and my ovaries are tender.  I am on a progestin only BCP because the estrogen increases risks of blood clots.  The reviews of these pills describe the same uncomfortable side effects so I’m not too worried but am definitely dreading how uncomfortable my body is going to feel once I start the injections and my ovaries start to grow 3times in size! Ugh….

Monday I go to my psychological evaluation to complete a personality test and discuss the emotions related to the process.  This is the last step to be cleared by the FDA to be the official egg donor for my friend.  If all goes well, I will begin my injections June 21 with estimated retrieval on July 1!!!

 

A little about me…

Hi! I’m new to blogging but I really enjoy reading about others’ lives so I decided to start my own blog to share my journey of donating my eggs.  This has been something that I have offered to do for my friend who is unable to have her own children because she has low quality eggs.  After many years of trying and failed attempts with IUI’s, her best option is IVF using donor eggs. I love this friend like a sister and can’t stand the thought of such an amazing person not having a child. She and her husband would be the best parents in the world.  It’s frustrating to me that there are so many unwanted pregnancies in the world and mistreated children born to parents who have no business being parents. Then there are millions of people in the world dealing with infertility who would be amazing parents. It’s just not fair!!

So after long nights of thinking and more thinking, I decided that giving them this special gift would not only make her happy but also myself.  I’m not sure if I will ever have children of my own so why not give someone a chance who does want children.