Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Blood disaster

Sorry it has taken me a while to do an update... I swore that I had updated after my Monday ultrasound but I guess I didn't... seems like I already have pregnancy brain! It must be the hormones!
Anyway... last week I ran into a little bit of a road block with my blood. Fed Ex finally figured out that I was sending something perishable items and I guess I was not packaging them correctly... that's what I get for using a bunch of ice instead of a frozen ice pack to ship... anyway, the Fed Ex lady refused my package. I freaked of course because I needed to get the blood, or at least the results, to Vegas by the next day. Luckily I have an awesome sister-in-law who works in the lab at the hospital. She met me there and was able to send it out to get run. THANKS SYD!!! I would do this every time but it costs me $150 each time I do it because my insurance won't cover anything related to fertility treatments. So as I was stressing about what I am going to do the next time I need to get my blood to Vegas, I got a call from my IVF nurse and she tells me, very nonchalantly, that all of their Arizona and Utah patients use a courier service that will meet them at the lab to pick up the blood and take it directly to Vegas that very same day. hmmmm.... I have been a patient there for how long now... 2 whole years.... and this is the first I have heard of this convenient courier service??? I wanted to SCREAM!! All those times that I have worried about the blood getting there on time and whether or not Fed Ex was going to lose it, again! Oh and then there was the stress of making sure it was all packaged right and that it was cold enough to make the overnight trip and still arrive in good condition to have tests run on it... WTH!!! All of that stress that I could have done without and nobody thought to mention it to me!!
So I took a breath... counted to 10... and took down the courier's number. Then the next day I called and made arrangements to have someone meet me at the hospital at 8 a.m. on Monday to pick up my blood and take it to Vegas for me. Yes it was that easy... I couldn't believe it!
However, I felt a little strange, sitting in my car with my blood in a box and a check for $55, trying to read a book but constantly checking my rear view to see if the gold, Chevy van was approaching. It sort-of felt like I was doing something illegal. I was even more concerned when the man that stepped out of the van (who looked in his late forties) had multiple piercings in his face and a bunch of tattoos. It's a good thing I didn't meet him at the storage unit (which is another option for $5 less). I would have really felt like I was starring in some CSI - Iron County episode. Young, naive, infertile woman, innocently meets 40 year old wanna-be punk at an out-of-the-way storage unit in a dark alley to simply hand off a package... my imagination is going crazy... the possibilities are endless...
So now that we have that all settled, I have one more ultrasound and 3 more blood draws before my FET in 8 days... Can you believe it? Only 8 days!! On Friday I will have an ultrasound and blood work and if all looks good I will do my last Lupron injection Friday night and my first Progesterone injection (the kind that hurts!) on Saturday night. I am expecting everything to look good seeing as the lining of my uterus is already close to 10 mm (10 is where it needs to be for a good chance of implantation). This means that the Estrodial pills have been doing their job a lot better than I expected and I may not have to start on the "itchy" patches.
I am a little worried about the PIO injections (progesterone in oil) though. My tushie is still sensitive from the last FET in Aug 08, I am beginning to think that I may have some nerve damage in that area. Plus, the process is a little bit more difficult with the PIO only because it is much thicker. It takes a much bigger needle to draw it out, and it's harder to inject because you change out the needles to a smaller version so it doesn't hurt as bad. Then you have to massage and warm the area after every injection so that you don't get a knot built up in that spot. Nobody told me this with our first attempt and I had huge knots on both sides... it took my entire pregnancy for them to go away. This time I know better and I hope that it won't be as bad!
So that's where I am at. I am so excited to spend an extra day in Vegas laying by the pool and getting rubbed down!! Oh and I can hardly wait for the Cheesecake Factory!!! I would seriously eat every meal there if I could...that place is awesome!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

You make sure you save this post so your little one can read it! The things you go thru...I had no idea. Thanks for keeping us posted. Have a great mini vacation and rest up...that baby will be here before you know it!!

Lindsay Logic said...

Thanks for keeping us in the loop on all the details. I'm really excited for you! I can't believe all you've been through already! You're a strong woman! :)

Jennifer said...

Yow. What an adventure! Still praying for you.

Inklings said...

These posts have been a real eye opener for me, I had no idea there was so much to go through for in vitro. Good luck!

NEILANDSHALON said...

GO-CANDI-GO!! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE BIG DAY!! I AM THINKING AND PRAYING FOR YOU ALWAYS!! WOOHOO!!

Lightning Strikes said...

I love how you keep us updated on everything that you have to go through!! You are amazing! And I hope all goes well for you!!