Big Money, No Whammies!

Day 33 - Monday, March 19th

This morning I traveled to Dr. K's office for my 3rd and final blood test of the initial series.  Other than being a little late (open office hours and I wasn't motivated to arrive right when they opened on a Monday), the draw itself was uneventful.  Once again, the orders were STAT so they should have my results before the end of the day.  Since this draw was technically 3 days after the second, the office will be looking for my betaHCG to be more than double Friday's number (which was 782) and Progesterone should be about the same (which was 38.9).  I should also get the results of Friday's TSH test back today.  As JPug says, we're hoping for Big Money, No Whammies!

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Just heard from Dr. K's office a few minutes ago.  They called at 3:51p...sure to like to make a girl wait!  Today, my HCG level was 2,698 which was more than 3x Friday's number.  My progesterone was 30 and my TSH was 5.0.  Because the TSH is higher than they'd like, they're going to increase my synthetic thyroid supplement to bring the level down and ensure no unnecessary harm comes to our growing Puglet.  I'll have one more blood test later this week to test free T4 (don't know what that is at the moment...will need to do some research to explain) and our next step w/ Dr. K is our 6 week ultrasound on Friday, March 30th.

Number Two

Day 30 – Friday, March 16th

This morning I went to Dr. K’s office for my second of 3 blood tests.  They’ll be measuring betaHCG, progesterone and TSH. 

HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone produced during pregnancy.  According to AmericanPregnancy.org, it’s made by the cells that form the placenta which nourishes the egg after it’s been fertilized and becomes attached to the uterine wall.  In the majority of normal pregnancies, HCG will double every 48 – 72 hours so it’s a good indicator (although not fail-safe) that the pregnancy will be viable long-term. 

Progesterone is measured to ensure the uterine lining is thick…a key component in a successful pregnancy as it helps to create a nutrient-rich environment.  I’ve discussed TSH in detail previously but the quick and dirty is that studies have shown developmental delays in children carried by mothers with a TSH level above 4.0.  I’ve continued my 50mcg dose of Levothyroxine since Dr. K increased my dose in October and feel pretty good. 

There’s no real target for betaHCG on the initial test but Dr. K looks for it to double every 48 hours.  My reading on Wednesday was 345 so today should be about 690 (maybe slightly less as my Wednesday test was over lunch).  Dr. K looks for Progesterone to be above 10 (some doctors look for a number above 20) and should remain pretty constant…hopefully it remains close to or higher than Wednesday’s reading of 28.2.

For now, I’m waiting for Dr. K’s office to call with this morning’s results and hope they’re better than the results of our 2^nd blood test in December.

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It’s 3:40p on Friday and I’m starting to convince myself that Dr. K’s office won’t be calling today.  I’m going through a thousand different scenarios in my mind and am probably getting worked up over nothing…but I just can’t help myself!  Dr. K’s nurse Judy finally called at 3:46p…I ran into a work conference room to have some privacy and she began.  My betaHCG from this morning was 782 (more than double Wednesday’s number) and my progesterone increased to 38.9…both really good signs.  I still haven’t breathed a sigh of relief but I’m very happy that I’m farther along with this pregnancy than I made it in December.  Next up is my third and final blood test on Monday.  Baby steps…literally!

An Unexpected Hiccup

Day 29 – Thursday, March 15th

On my way to work this morning, I was rear-ended on the highway.  I had just crossed over the Bond Bridge going south on I-35 (main North to South highway in KC).  Traffic in front of me slowed…as did I.  I didn’t make one of those super-quick, look in the rear-view mirror to be sure the people behind you stopped too kind of stops…so you can imagine my surprise when swerving cars caught my eye in the rear-view mirror…and I felt an impact.  I knew it wasn’t too bad and I wasn’t hurt so I moved my car to the left shoulder, grabbed my phone to call the police and got out to make sure the other drivers were ok. 

Behind me were two cars…a 10-ish year old cranberry minivan with a male driver who was injured and a newer mint green Honda Element with a crunched front end…but the driver was out of his car and seemed to be fine.  After a couple of attempts, I called the police, checked on the driver of the minivan and gave a status update to the paramedic dispatcher.  We worked with the injured driver to move his car from the center lane to the shoulder and before I was off the phone, the police had already arrived…go KCMO!

I walked back to my car to assess the damage and grab my insurance card and license.  Considering the crash occurred on the highway, I was incredibly lucky.  The rear passenger bumper of my SUV had only minor scrapes and dings which can hopefully be buffed out and repainted.  Once the medics arrived, their standard protocol is to assess the driver of each vehicle to ensure they can be released without going to the hospital.  As they finished my assessment, I asked about the pregnancy.  Because the impact was so minor, it’s unlikely I would experience any negative side-effects…very comforting words to hear.

My car had the least amount of damage and was drivable so the officers took my statement first and allowed me to leave the scene right away…I still made it to work in time for my 8:30am team meeting!  Before the day ended, I had already given my statement to our insurance company and their estimator came to assess the damage and provide a quote…go Travelers!  I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an inconvenience but all-in-all, I’m probably the happiest person you’ve ever encountered post-crash…I’m ok, the car is ok and hopefully TeamPug’s newest addition continues to grow.

Third Time’s a Charm?

IUI Cycle 3, Day 28 – Wednesday, March 14^th (Pi Day for you math lovers!)

This morning I woke up just after 1am.  Nature called so I made my way into the bathroom and took the test.  The package states the result will be ready in about 3 minutes so I finished up my business and moved from the water closet to the main area of our bathroom to wait.  Before I had even gotten into the main area (officially the fastest 3 minutes of my life), the result was visible…“Pregnant”.  Wowzers. 

Although a positive result should bring a rush of joy and excitement, I have to admit…it didn’t.  I’ve had a positive test before…the feeling of ‘Wow, the road to get here was difficult but you finally made it’.  I ran out to purchase ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’, signed up for a growing baby notification website and calculated my due date…but not this time around.  This time I’m thinking with my head instead of my heart.  We have three crucial blood tests to get through over the next week before we can even begin to breathe the slightest sigh of relief.  Pretty deep thoughts for 1am, huh?!

After the positive result sank in, I climbed back in bed and did my best not to disturb JPug.  It took me a couple of hours to fall back asleep and I accidentally woke JPug up in the mean-time.  I told him about the test...and the result...and we're hoping things will go better than they did in December. 

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I went to Dr. K’s office over lunch to have the first of my 3 lab draws…they’ll be checking betaHCG, progesterone and possibly TSH.  The office ordered the results STAT so hopefully they’ll get back to me before the end of the day...

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Just heard from Judy, Dr. K's nurse...my betaHCG is 345 and my progesterone is 28.5.  In December, the initial reading for my betaHCG was 72 so the fact that today's number was nearly 5x December's brings the slightest bit of comfort.  Now Dr. K's office will look for the number to double by Friday (my second blood draw) and double again by Monday (my third and final draw of the initial series).  No expectations at this point...just a lot of hope and positive thoughts that this process has a different outcome.

The Next Go 'Round

Day 27 – Tuesday, March 13^th

I haven’t blogged about TeamPug’s 3^rd round of IUI...until today.  We’re nearly 4 weeks into the process and the path we took was virtually the same as the ones we followed in November/December and January/February.  The main, albeit minor, difference between the two previous processes was that I took Estroidl before insemination to enhance my uterine lining during round 1 but it wasn’t necessary during round 2.  This month Dr. K put me back to Estroidl to ensure my lining was as thick as possible before insemination. 

Just to recap the process…baseline transvaginal ultrasound on day 2, Clomid on days 3 – 7, second transvaginal ultrasound on day 11 and self-administered ovidrel injection on day 12.  Day 14, we headed to Dr. K’s office for insemination and we’re happy to report that JPug’s count improved once again.  The two weeks between insemination and the big test have gone pretty well.  I started volunteering on Monday and Wednesday nights which keeps me busy and work has picked up so my mind doesn’t have much time to wander during the day.  Last weekend was jam-packed full of my cousin’s pre-wedding festivities so our process barely crossed my mind…thank goodness!

Although it’s hard to believe given my two-shakes-from-crazy state of mind last time around, I’ve felt strangely calm about this month’s process.  JPug and I have almost always been successful in life…especially if we put our mind to something.  If xyz didn’t work out the first time, we tried harder and things went our way the second time around.  Infertility is different…no matter how hard you try month after month, it’s a very real possibility that you won’t get the outcome you hope for.  For overachieving TeamPug, that’s a really hard pill to swallow.  I think my state of mind during round 3 can be attributed to the fact that I’m beginning to realize that we’re putting ourselves in the very best possible situation to be successful and we honestly can’t do anything more.  At this point, the outcome is out of our hands.

I say I’ve been calm about the process and I absolutely have…until this afternoon.  After lunch, I noticed some spotting when I used the restroom.  About 1/3 of women who become pregnant experience implantation spotting or implantation bleeding; implantation typically occurs 8 – 10 days after ovulation.  Because the timing of my cycle is well managed as we go through the process, I know that I’m right at 13 days after ovulation, not 10.  Also, the color of the spotting can be an indicator for implantation…typically implantation spotting is pinkish or brownish in color but mine is bright red.  These new developments have crushed any semblance of hope I had for this month’s process working.  In the blink of an eye (or a couple trips to the restroom), it’s become hard to concentrate at work and all I can think about is skipping my post-work meeting and going home. 

Once I arrived home, I wanted to talk about the process and wanted to ignore it completely…all at the same time.  JPug was wonderful and had dinner ready but I didn’t appreciate it.  At some point I finally broke down in tears…the thought of another month gone and the uncertainty of what’s to come are totally overwhelming.  After dinner, I headed to bed and watched some TV before falling asleep…emotionally exhausted…at 8:30p.

Back in Action

Today is Friday, May 18^th…it’s literally been an entire month since my last blog post which is uncharacteristic for me.  Long story short, life has been B.U.S.Y.  I wouldn’t have it any other way but when things get busy, other stuff falls through the cracks and for me…blogging has taken a back seat.  It’s definitely not because I don’t have anything to say…on the contrary…I have lots to say but no time to say it.  Over the past month, I feel like my life has been consumed by busy weekends and the essentials…work, eat and sleep.  A major project is coming to fruition at work next Tuesday (eek!) and I couldn’t be happier…life will slow down once more and I’ll be able to enjoy the little things…like taking walks with JPug and the pooches, cooking, and blogging.  Time for me to get back to work but more posts to come…have a terrific weekend everyone!