Ovidrel

Well ladies, I officially took the shot on Saturday morning. I tell you what, I was soooo freaked out because I don't do well with shots at all. I can do tattoos ad piercings (I have multiple of both) with no problem but shots are a whole different story!

So the syringe is tiny; there is maybe an inch of liquid in there. The needle is tiny as well (see below).

 

I laid down on my bed, swabbed my hip, measured the area where it needed to be pricked, pinched the skin and braced myself! It got in about one to two millimeters before I pulled it out because I was so freaked out by the pain of the prick! I talked myself back up and said "Megan, just do it already and get over it you big baby!" I just pinched again and stabbed in in (gently) then let go of the skin and released the plunger full of liquid into my subcutaneous layer. It wasn't bad at all.

I didn't have any crazy side effects. I didn't bleed at injection site, in fact you couldn't even tell I took the shot. I did however feel a slight pain in my abdomen on the right and left sides near my belly button when I laid on my stomach. I also noticed a slight tension on the muscles in my uterus that isn't normal for me. I also have a very sticky/thick cervical mucus. I guess of the side effects I experienced are what it would feel like if I had normal functioning but since I have never experienced that, it was all foreign and weird. Today I have felt more tightening in my uterus (this time its not just from touching the outside, it from cramping type tinges). My doctor told me these side effects are a good sign.

I took an ovulation test on Sunday morning (doctor told me it wasn't necessary but I needed to see if it was actually working) and my surge line was so dark it was crazy! I also took one again this morning and I still have two lines, but the second line is the same darkness as the baseline. I was so happy! It validated this whole process for me. It is actually working.

So of course, there is timed intercourse with this process (which we're not mad about hahaha) so hopefully with all of this treatment I'm getting, I will become pregnant! I have to begin the progesterone tablets (those were $103), vaginally two times a day. This is supposed to help strengthen my lining and help the fertilized egg to attach and stay there. It is also supposed to help prevent miscarriages.

I take my pregnancy test on the 28th so I will update when that happens to let you know if all of this has worked this time around! I am very hopeful and praying hard that this happens!

I Can't Believe It's Real....

GUYS! I just got back from my doctor's appointment this morning and I have such great news!!

I got my second ultrasound and my doctor is pleased with the results. He couldn't stop smiling. My follicles have grown. On my right side, my larger one is now 17x19mm and there is another one which wasn't worth measuring on Wednesday that has grown significantly and is now 10.5x9.5mm. On the left side, the bigger one is growing pretty slowly and is now 12x13.

Dr. T is having me take my shot tomorrow morning and do timed intercourse then I have to take a vaginal progesterone pill twice a day. I take my pregnancy test around the 28th. If it is positive, I schedule a blood test with Dr. T to confirm the pregnancy and continue my progesterone pills. If it is negative then I stop the progesterone, start my period then start this process all over. Dr. T, Shannon (his wonderful nurse), Ryan and I are all hoping for a "one and done" process hahah

This appointment seriously made my day! I was so nervous going into it but was praying and reading through some fertility scriptures while waiting in the waiting room. I have tried to stay super positive through this whole experience and so far it has paid off tremendously. So many people worry and stress so much throughout this time but they don't see that there is a connection between their stress/worry level and their results! You must stay positive and have fun! Don't make conception more of a chore than it already is... I know with multiple doctor's appointments and medications and rising cost, it can be hard but just remember that the desire to conceive stems from a desire God has placed within you to be fruitful and multiply with the man you love and have been married to. You are creating a human being who can do great things, that is half you and half your husband. Remember that always. Don't make it a boring chore like doing the dishes or vacuuming the floor for the 10,000th time this week because your dogs shed like crazy. Make it fun like God meant for it to be!

Ok, off my soap box now and onto praying even more. I pray that all of your wishes of babies come true and that your journey is fun and the burden of infertility feels light!

I'm Making Progress

Well ladies, I went in for my first follow-up ultrasound yesterday (Wed. 9/10/14) to see if the Letrozole has been doing it's job.

I have some good news and some not as good news about it. I'll start with the good news because I'm staying positive about this: I have follicles and they are growing. One of the biggest if 14mm. Which brings me to the not so good news: My follicles aren't quite mature enough yet to take my shot so I must return to my RE tomorrow for a follow-up ultrasound to see if they are continuing to grow.

I am really praying that this is going to work. My RE seemed happy with the results so I'm going to take that as a good sign and run with it haha. I must say, I was kind of hoping to go in there and for everything to be ready to go. I'm also hoping this will be a one-and-done sort of thing.

I'd rather not deal with the disappointment so many people deal with through this process... I don't do so well when I'm failing. I know it's my body that isn't functioning properly but it's still MY body. My husband's swimmers are "super swimmers" and I'm the one who would be in charge of letting us both down if it doesn't work. I'm not trying to melodramatic but it's a little hard when you know that it will be 100% your fault if you don't have your own children....

The hubby is super optimistic and I am being so as well. He is also willing to anything and everything, as many times as it takes with no regard towards money until we have a child (our own or adopted). His motto has been "try and try, save and save, whatever it takes to have a baybay" (if only you could heard how he says it lol). I hope he continues to see things that way. I hope he continues to be optimistic through the whole process.

I told my mom what was going on and informed her of the fact that we are going through this process. She loved the thought of it (she's been trying to decide what she should be called, anything but grandma, for about a year or so since the girls aren't sure what to call her) but she did remind us of the very real possibility that we could have a miscarriage. She wants us to be prepared and also have that thought in our mind because it happened to her twice and she wasn't prepared (she didn't have PCOS and she was young, with three successful pregnancies/births prior to her miscarriages). My mom is just like me in the way she gets excited about something but also thinks of some of the bad things that could happen to prepare herself. Which is a good thing.

Both the hubby and I know and have thought of what we would do if we had a miscarriage because as you all know, the chances of that happening with having PCOS or going through fertility treatments is pretty high. We know it would wreck us but we think it's something we would have plenty of support to make it through. We pray each and everyday that I get pregnant this month and that the baby is born full term and healthy.

So ladies, wish me luck at my appointment tomorrow and if you pray, please pray for me... I'm pretty nervous!

Insurance and Money

So, my insurance ended earlier that I thought it would and hubby switched jobs so we're in transition of insurance (aka without until he gets insurance from work). So for now we're paying everything out of pocket, which would have been the way anyways because neither of our insurances covered any infertility services at all, except for the diagnosis of infertility. So we've been saving for medical costs and we've also been putting some money aside for the past couple months for the baby so we can be as prepared as possible. My appointment on the 27th, should have been $140 but my doctor cut me a break and it was only $82!! Then he prescribed me prenatals, which ended up being free at Meijer! I had the Letrozole sent to Meijer as well and that was going to cost me $126! Yikes! Luckily, Shannon, the ever so wonderful nurse of Dr. Thomas, told me if it costs more than $10, call her immediately and she'll transfer the prescription to the UC West Chester Pharmacy because they can get it there for $10 if I am willing to drive the 30 minutes and be there by 5:00pm, I was totally fine with both! I had her transfer it and it turns out, it only cost me $5.37! I'm saving all kinds of money left and right! My next appointment is supposed to cost $432.00 because its an office visit and ultrasound... I hope it will be cheaper but we're prepared for the expense if need be :-)


Meijer has free prenatal vitamins (you need a prescription) and they have free Metformin Immediate Release pills, given in 30 day increments!! I just found this out and got a little more excited than I probably should have gotten! But honestly, prenatals in the store cost around $20 for a 1-2 month supply and Metformin costs me about $36 for a 1 month supply...I'd like to save my $50+ dollars each month and put it towards my medical appointments with my RE.


Talk with your doctor about not having any insurance or if your insurance doesn't cover any procedures. For my RE, he is the head of the UC Medical College OB/GYN Department so he has students in his office all the time and is willing to let his students do the procedure (basics like a PAP, ultrasound, etc.) for a fraction of the cost he would charge if he were doing it himself. Maybe your doctor is willing to cut the price down or work on a payment plan for you. Infertility is expensive!

Our Journey Begins Now...

So I went in to see Dr. Thomas on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 2:30pm to discuss how to transition from birth control to the complete opposite. Well lucky me, I was approaching my last week of birth control so his response was, "Stop your birth control this Saturday, start taking Letrozole in Tuesday, come in to see me on the September 10th for an ultrasound to make sure it's working. If it's working you take a shot of Ovidrel then have timed intercourse and hopefully you'll be pregnant by the end of the month."


As if it would just be that easy. He has me completely convinced it will be but there is a small part of me that says "You're broken, it won't be that easy!". The hubby and I have been in good spirits though because we feel we're ready and as prepared as we can be for a baby, now to just have this thing!



We have both been very positive and looking forward to the Tuesday I began my medicine. My doctor prescribed me Letrozole, which is the generic for Femera and is supposed to help my body ovulate since it doesn't do it on it's own. I had no idea this medication existed. I did research for Clomid, I even ordered some online (which I will be returning). I heard terrible things about the side effects of Clomid, and while I know everyone reacts differently to medication, I also know that I usually suffer some side effects terribly, such as the nausea/diarrhea, headaches/migranes, dizzyness, etc. so I was afraid. I was so relieved when he decided to go a different route because I was so afraid. I will document my days on this medicine so I can give someone an insight into what Letrozole/Femera are like. I won't bore you with too many miniscule details such as my complete schedule for the day if nothing happened.

Day 1:

6:30am- Woke up
7:45am- Ate a few mini chocolate donuts on my way in and drank some grape juice :-)
8:30am- Took two, 2.5 mg pills; began work

Side effects today: A little gassy (it could be from the Mexican food from the night before, my approaching menstruation or just the medicine... not sure); a little spacy/time moving faster than I think

Day 2:

6:30am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and some grape juice
8:30am- Took two, 2.5 mg pills
9:00am- took my prenatal vitamin
9:30am- Took a Notary Public test and felt fine
10:30am- Began work

Side effects: none

Day 3:

7:00am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and some Gatorade
8:30am- Began work
8:33am- Took two, 2.5mg pills
9:00am- took my prenatal vitamin


Side effects: none

Day 4:

6:30am- Woke up
7:15am- Ate a Special K breakfast sandwich and an Orange Pineapple Apple juice
8:30am- Took two, 2.5mg pills; began work
4:00pm- Talked to my doctor because I was in a panic. (the lady from billing called and told me I needed to pay for the "package deal" for monitored cycle but I didn't think I was on the monitored cycle just yet... I needed clarification before I paid a little over $1000.00 for something I didn't need.)

Side effects: none

Day 5:

8:30am- Woke up; took two, 2.5mg pills
8:45am- Went back to sleep
10:00am- Woke up
12:00pm- Went to Covington's Oktoberfest

Side effects: none


Overall, my experience was pretty great. I had to remember to take the medication at the same time each day but I had no side effects at all unlike the horror stories I have read about Clomid! I'm glad my doctor went this route! I have my follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday to see if the medication is working and if I'm creating good follicles. If I have really good ones, I take my Ovidrel shot on Wednesday, if they are good but still growing, I will take the shot a few days later. So cross fingers and pray for me!

So have any of you had any experiences with Letrozole/Femera and Ovidrel? I'd LOVE to hear your experiences!

Expenses and Other Stuff

Okay ladies, let me get really honest here... Having PCOS is expensive and the testing is outrageous!

I have insurance that covers a decent portion of all of the tests I've had to take and everything but man oh man, I still have to pay out the butt for the stuff that isn't covered! I just got a bill (insurance covered around 70%) and it was for $967.00!!!

So in my last post, I mentioned my doctor wanted me to have an HSG test (Hysterosalpingogram) in days 4-12 of my cycle. I called to schedule the appointment and to
my surprise, insurance wasn't going to cover any of it! This was not something I was warned
about when I had my last appointment so I was not prepared for the price tag or the fact that
they needed most of it when I scheduled the appointment and the rest the day of the
appointment. The test was going to cost $750.00 and I needed $450.00 when scheduling it.
Seeing as how my test was to give my doctor a better picture of my PCOS,I felt it should've
been covered. They lady in the financial/billing department said that they can't bill it for my
PCOS since it is a infertility test. I explained to her the purpose and that I'm not trying for a
kid right now. She recommended a Saline Sono (Sonohysterosalpingogram) instead, so I called my doctor to see if we could do that instead since it could be billed for the purpose that it was serving, to see the extent of my PCOS and how everything looks in there. He said it would be okay to do that test and I scheduled it.

I did not enjoy that test not one bit. I'm sure it was made worse by the fact that I have some sort of an infection or something... It could also have something to do with the fact that I had to have the test done twice since for some reason the device was letting bubbles out... Or the fact that there was my doc, a med student, and two nurses in there with the lights off and a lamp shining onto my hoo-ha... Or a combination of all of the above!

After the shock of the pain that occurred when they inserted the catheter and inflated the balloon, the rest wasn't bad. I did have to wear a pad afterwards because they used a crazy amount of saline to get the test done (twice) so that it didn't look like I peed my pants lol

I did find out that everything is in working order though, all tubes are open, no cysts (which I haven't had any since I've been his patient and am not aware of a history of having any cysts ever), uterus is in a great position and it all looks "normal". Yay for great news!!!!

The hubby also got tested and his little swimmers are what my doctor calls "Super Sperm" because of his results (imagine my husband's reaction when I came home and told him that... you'd swear I came home and told him I was pregnant lol).

So now for the journey on the way to parenthood can begin shortly.

The Start of a Long and Hard Journey!

Well folks, as disgusting as this may be to some of you, I am posting my before pictures and current height/weight and measurements. This is mostly for my own personal record but hopefully it will inspire some of you on your journey as well. (Excuse the mess on the counter, this is our spare bathroom and my mom has been staying with us while going through a nasty divorce b/c her husband shut the power off )

As many of you know, having PCOS means you are (most likely, not always), overweight AND it is stubborn weight that won't come off because your hormones are all kinds of wacky. Well I fall into that category. Very quickly I might add! I've never been a stick but I've usually been in pretty decent, athletic shape. I was never considered "obese" and was barely considered overweight (by 5 pounds my doc would always say) but just a year and a half prior to finding out I had PCOS, I gained 25 pounds... That's what sparked the thought that I might have it and low and behold, I do. I know firsthand that it's not easy, I have been trying since the first 10 pounds creeped up on me. I would go to my local Planet Fitness 5 days a week for hours at a time, I'd walk to work everyday (as long as it wasn't snowing or raining because I had to cross two major roadways) instead of drive since it was close, I watched what I ate and I did personal training sessions once per week. Never lost a pound. Instead I gained. UGH! It is so frustrating. Trust me, I know how you feel.

I have begun, as of last night after these photos, measurement and such were taken, the Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 Video. Let me tell you what, it kicked my butt HARD last night. I don't think I've sweated that much in my life (it could also be due to the weather and the fact I don't like to turn my A/C on because it costs a ridiculous amount each month to have it on). I worked it out hard and had to pause in between the circuits for a water break. I won't recommend it yet because I have no results to say it works BUT I will say that if I am going to be working out as hard as I did yesterday, then it should work by the end of the 30 days. I am going into this with realistic expectations though. I do not by any means expect to have a body like Jillian Michaels by day 30 (wouldn't that be nice?!?) but I would like to be slimmer, lose 15 pounds and be able to start the video again until I am the size I would like to be. My build screams "I can handle huge muscles!!" and I'm going to give it what it wants! It's all about goals and hard work! My BMI right now is at a 29.2, which is classified as being overweight. In order to be in the normal/healthy range, I need to get down between 114-149... My goal is to be down to 140 by the end of the year and I think it's very reasonable as long as my meds keep working, my work-out keeps working and I don't get pregnant by December hahah I would love to stay at 140 but I could go lower if my body allows me to get there healthy.

My Goals:

-Lose 30 pounds by September 1st.

-Lose 20 more pounds by December 31st.

-Have toned arms

-Lose my bra fat

-Start my period on my own without needing medication

-Get my testosterone level within normal range

-Drink more water and less soda

-Be able to hike to the top of the Natural Bridge without getting winded

-Discern portion sizes and control my eating at family events/holidays.

-Have clearer/less oily skin

-Get pregnant by the time hubby leaves for basic or just after technical training :-)

My Measurements:

Height: 5' 5.5" (I don't anticipate this changing)

Weight: 178

Bra Size: 40D

BMI: 29.2 (overweight)

Bust: 42"

Chest: 38.5"

Upper Arm: 12.5" (left), 13" (right)

Forearms: 10.5" (left), 10.75" (right)

Waist: 36.25"

Hips: 42" 

Thighs: 25" (yes, measured both and they were the same)

Calves: 15.5" (again, they were the same)

Neck: 14.75"