Progesterone verdict...

Piece of cake! As a matter of fact, it hurt less than the Delestrogen. :)

We've got an 8!

My recheck this morning went well. I've got a lining thickness of 8 so we're ready to move forward. I have to have my biopsy next Wednesday the 26th instead of this Thursday. There has to be a certain amount of time between the lining check and the biopsy, so this week would be too soon.

I continue the Estrace and Delestrogen and I add in the PIO injections starting tonight. Chris joked that I need a calendar to keep up with it all. I actually think that's a great idea!

I'm watching a show on Discovery Health right now about a woman who carried twins for her sister. It's a good show. They could have explained in more detail about the medical aspect of it and what leads up to the pregnancy, but their main focus is the pregnancy and delivery. But thats good too because that's the fun part!

I will update again soon. I'll let you all know if the Progesterone shots are as bad as everyone says they are. ;)

Another update

Well I spoke with Jan (my nurse at Shady Grove) and she said the doctor wants me to have a lining thickness of at least 8 before I start my Progesterone injections. So she called me in a prescription for Estrace, which is an estrogen suppository. I need to do this 2 times a day, along with my Delestrogen injection every 3 nights. I go back in for another lining ultrasound on Monday the 17th. I'm sure I will have at least an 8 by then! As long as it is, I will start my nightly PIO shots and then have my lining biopsy on the 20th.

I got to talk to M on the phone today. We're both so anxious to get our timeline so we know what to do and when...and when the fun stuff starts! We're both kind of in the dark right now...its such a waiting game...but we're both very excited too!

Now, off to the pharmacy to get my goodies!

Chicago and Appointments

Well the group meeting on Saturday was fantastic! I actually got to know people this time instead of hiding behind Chris. Since he wasn't there I was kind of forced out of my comfort zone. Several of us met up in the hotel lobby before the meeting and went to lunch at Bennigan's. That was lots of fun. The meeting went great. We got to hear 2 birth stories and then hear where everyone else was at in the surrogacy journey. There's one surro whose British IM spent a month living with her and her family during the egg retrieval/transfer process. They got really close and now the surros kids consider the IM as part of their family. The surro has an induction planned for April 4th and they are all super excited. There was another IM story that wasn't so great but we dont want to talk about that. LOL! But it was so good to see my counselors again.

So today I had my appointments. My first one was at 9am for bloodwork. My results were back today as well. My E2 (estrogen) level was 216 and my P4 (progesterone) level was 0.8. The nurse at the clinic said those were good and normal. My lining ultrasound wasn't as good. W were hoping for an 8 or better but my lining was between 5 and 6. I think it has something to do with the fact that I had to start on CD3 instead of CD2 as well as the fact that my cycles are 31 days, not the usual 28. So I think I am probably just fine and they had me do this a bit early.

I will have to have the lining biopsy now. =( I start my PIO shots tomorrow night. Those are nightly injections. Then on March 20th I will have my biopsy. Now this was the original plan all along...it was only a couple weeks ago when they changed protocol to only require the biopsy if the lining wasn't lined up perfectly in the beginning. So that will be a fun time I'm sure. Hopefully they give me a good pain pill for that!

I'm pretty bummed about that but I know everything will be fine.

Uh oh...Side Effects

Well, tonight was injection #3 and I've been feeling some side effects. First of all, my moods are all over the map. I've been feeling pretty sad and just in an overall funk for a few days. This could be a combination of the estrogen and the chaos in my life right now with the new house. Our painter is almost done so once he's out of here I think I might feel a little more normal. It's so weird having someone else in your house all day long for several days. Granted, he was our pastor for a while, but its still weird to not feel like you can be yourself comfortably in your own home. Once he's done we can get more things put away and organized.

Also, the estrogen is making me hungry ALL the time. I have been desperately trying to eat healthy things whenever the hunger pang hits, but I dont always make the best decision. I think I've gained some weight and that freaks me out and makes me sad. I know I'll gain weight while pregnant but I was hoping to bypass any cycling gains. I feel so big and bloated...just very unattractive. I hope these feelings go away soon. I have a girls night out with my best friends on Friday night...I know they will make me feel better! I've talked to other surros who said the estrogen made them eat as if they were pregnant. So at least I know its not in my head! :)

Next injection is on Sataurday night, which means I have to take a dose with me to Chicago. I hope I can get it on the plane with no problem. Chris is taking Nicki and I to the airport, and then her husband will pick us up Sunday morning and bring me home. She lives about 4 minutes away from our new house. We're practically neighbors! I hope she gets matched with a wonderful couple soon. She had a thyroid issue pop up at the meeting between her and her potential IPs, and she had a preterm delivery once so they will only let her transfer 1 embryo at a time. So those IPs decided to move on and choose another surrogate. I hope she gets matched with another couple soon...she's a really great gal.

I will update more after the Chicago meeting. I just cant wait to see everyone again and meet the new ladies. It will be a mini vacation for me. I feel like I never get a break here at home so I am really excited about my 24 hours of no arguments, spills, diapers, and laundry. :)

First Injection!

Well, I was supposed to start my injections last night, but I wasn't able to get in to my doctor's office until 3pm yesterday for my blood test so the results weren't in until today. I wasn't allowed to start injections until SG knew for sure that I was not pregnant. Well the results were negative (which I already knew) so I called SG to see if my doctor's office had faxed the results or not, but they hadn't yet. I told the nurse that they did tell me that it came back negative for sure, so I was able to start my injections tonight.

So I got out my supplies: 1 cotton ball, rubbing alcohol, a syringe, a needle, the Delestrogen, and my instructions. I put the needle onto the syringe, drew in some air, cleaned the top of the vial with alcohol, then inserted the needle into the vial of delestrogen. I injected the air into the bottle, then turned it upside down and drew the plunger out to suck in .20 ml of the medicine. Then I pulled the needle out of the vial, tapped it to make the air bubbles rise to the top, then gently pushed the plunger until a tiny drop of medicine appeared on the tip of the needle. Then I was ready to go. I cleaned the area on my backside with alcohol, then I inserted the needle. I didnt push it in far enough at first...I could see a lot of the needle still, so I started gently adding more pressure until the needle went all the way into the muscle. It wasn't so bad. I injected the medicine slowly, then pulled it out. A tiny drop of blood appeared but that was it. I cleaned it up, then I got really light headed. I had to sit down for a few minutes and when I felt better I came downstairs to tell Chris that I had done it, and was light headed again. He got me a bandaid and I sat for a while until I felt better. This was 3 hours ago, and so far I feel fine. My head feels a little funny, but I've been packing for our move this weekend and running all around.

Next time I will do what the instructions say and quickly insert the needle rather than the slow way I did it tonight. But now that I've done it once I'm a pro, right? ;) The injection site is sore but hopefully the soreness goes away quickly. I dont have to give myself another injection until Sunday. I will do this injection every 3 days until March 10th, which is when I go in for my ultrasound. If my lining is an 8 or higher, I am good to go and I stop the medicine. If its less than 8, I have to get that horrid biopsy done. So I am hoping and praying that I've got at least an 8 by March 10th.

So that was my very first injection experience. It wasn't too bad, and I didn't even need to sit there and gain the courage to do it. I just did it. And then it was over. :)

Here's the plan!

I spoke with my nurse at Shady Grove and there have been a couple changes to the protocol recently. I will go in tomorrow to my doctor and have a quantitative beta HCG test done, which will check for any amount of pregnancy hormone in my system. Then I start my Estrogen injections tomorrow night and I will do this every third night. On March 10th I will go in for an ultrasound to check my uterine lining and if it's responding the way it should, I do NOT have to have a uterine lining biopsy. If it looks fine, I will stop all injections and take a medication called Provera to bring on my period. When that happens, I will start the birth control pills to get synced up with M's cycle. Now if my lining isn't responding properly I will need to have the lining biopsy done.

I have no idea what our tentative transfer date will be. Hopefully they will tell me and M once we determine how the mock is going. :)