IVF Number One - Day One

Bright and early this morning, I hobbled in to the fertility clinic (I hurt my knee pretty bad on Friday - more on that later) and had my baseline ultrasound and blood work. I remember when I used to be scared of needles and would almost cry any time I had to get blood taken. Ah, those were the days. Dr. S came in to do the ultrasound, check my lining, and check the depth of my uterus. She said my ovaries look nice and quiet (the right looks really good, apparently, whatever that means) and my lining is nice and thin. She had to insert a catheter to measure the depth of my uterus to determine how deep they insert the catheter during the embryo transfer in a couple of weeks. The last time I had catheters inserted was during our IUI's last winter and it hurt a lot back then. It still hurts now. She tried two sizes and still couldn't get through, so she ended up using this painful tool to straighten my cervix out and finally got in. I had some pretty good cramps for a few minutes, but nothing I've never felt before.

I came home and waited for the clinic to call with my blood results and the final go ahead. I got the call at 11:15 - my blood work showed my estrogen was 'below 72', which means I have no cysts or rouge follicles growing. So, I start injections tonight - 150 UI of Gonal-F and 75 UI of Luveris. I continue to take the Suprefact, which I've been on since February 2, but drop from five sprays a day to three.

Now, when you do IVF, there is a lot of information and...medical stuff to deal with. The afternoon I pulled the Luveris and one of my Gonal-F pens out and set everything up on our kitchen table.

It's a bit overwhelming

The Gonal-F is a pen, so all I need to do is insert the needle, twist the dial to '150', and inject in to my stomach or thighs.

Easy-peasy!

The Luveris is a bit more involved. It comes in two vials - one of saline, and one of the medication in powder form. Using a syringe (no needle on it yet) and something called a Q-cap, I pull the saline out of the first vial and inject it in to the powder. I swirl it around until it dissolves (no shaking - it creates bubbles) and pull it back in to the syringe. Add the needle and inject in to my stomach or thighs. I've read that this one might sting, so I'm planning on icing for a bit first.

Let's hope the instructions are clear enough.

I go in on Wednesday to get more blood tests to check on my progress. My estrogen should be rising indicating that my ovaries are being stimulated and creating those precious eggs. As long as my numbers are not too high, I don't go in again until Saturday, when I get more blood work and an ultrasound to count follicles. I'm just so glad we've passed this first hurdle and can get going!

Now, the knee injury. On Friday, Derek and I went skiing and I fell pretty hard on our first run. My ski got caught up and I twisted as I fell. When I fell, I felt and heard a loud pop in my left knee and had significant pain. After about 10 minutes, the pain started to subside and I tried to stand on it...no go - it felt like it completely dislocated and collapsed inwards. I was taken out by ski patrol and we went to the hospital. The preliminary diagnosis was a dislocated knee, but after some of my own research, I think it's more likely I tore my Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL). I am in a brace and on crutches, but the knee still feels pretty unstable. The bad news is that if it's a complete tear, I'll need surgery, and I'll need it before I attempt to support pregnancy weight on my knee. That means we might have to postpone.

I spoke to the nurse and she suggested we continue on with the injects until I can see the physical therapist on Tuesday. If it's something that is going to require surgery, we do have to option of freezing everything, or there is the possibility of doing the surgery with an epidural instead of general should I become pregnant (general anaesthetic isn't really recommended in pregnancy). If it does not require surgery, I'll be undergoing intense physical therapy to rehabilitate my knee as quickly as possible.

So, fingers crossed for lots of eggies and no surgery! Here we go!