Thursday, February 04, 2010

Monkey See, Monkey Do...

Yesterday I had my first monitoring ultrasound with Dr. Bird.  I already felt like someone was slowly blowing up two balloons in my abdomen so the added pressure of the ultrasound didn't help.  I now fully understand the reason for an empty bladder prior to these visits!  Each ovary had multiple follicles and all were still small.  My lab work showed a good Estradiol level and Dr. Donesky told me to keep my shots the same.  I know I'll make it through this process but all I can think is how am I going to make it another week if these spaceships inside me keep getting bigger?

 

So I find myself making twice as many trips to the bathroom.  Apparently I can't hold my water like I used to!  I suddenly can't get enough chocolate.  My brain seems to be hovering in a constant state of fuzziness.  But no crying spells and I haven't locked myself out of the house while walking the dog yet, so it could be worse.

 

Tomorrow I do another ultrasound and recheck the lab levels.  And my dear hubby comes home from Florida tomorrow too!  I'm looking forward to a restful weekend in baggy pants ... hopefully that's what he wants to do this weekend too.

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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

On Pins and Needles

Although it seems a long time coming, I finally started stimulation on Sunday for an egg freezing cycle.  There is a long, boring list of circumstances that have led me to this point, so with the support of friends and family I will cryopreserve my hopes of becoming a mother someday.  I've worked at the Fertility Center in one capacity or another for more than six years now and naively thought my experience would negate the stress involved with an IVF cycle ... I was wrong!  Thursday I stressed about my first transvaginal ultrasound, but Katie was gentle and patient and explained what was on the screen and what it all meant.  Friday found me in tears more than once as I anticipated miscalculating my dosage or breaking a needle with no one but my dog to help (since my amazingly supportive husband was out of town).  The snow was beautiful but damaging as I had a fender-bender on my way home from work, which only added fuel to the fire my emotions had already started.  And with hubby getting home from Phoenix late, I very much felt like my world was crumbling around me.

 

Sunday morning came, and I unloaded the supplies out of my refrigerator.  I had to give my husband, who had finally made it home via shuttle bus, two shots (unrelated to fertility) first and then loaded up the dosage pen to administer my own.  I was surprised when he said he didn't think he could inject himself.  I told him we never know what we can do until we have to and that I was choosing to give myself my own injection since he was flying out of town again that afternoon and I'd be on my own that night anyway.

 

I love all things medical.  I minored in Biology in college, and I am not squeamish of blood or needles or open-heart surgery, for that matter.  Still, there is something strangely wrong about jabbing a sharp object into yourself intentionally.  Bless the designer of the needles for that pen for making the sharpest, tiniest needle possible.  I am happy to report that I did not pass out, throw up, break a needle or administer the wrong dose - success!

 

Sunday night I was on my own.  With Rhetta, my eleven-year-old Shepherd mix, watching intently from behind her baby gate, I prepared two shots as instructed.  Now an expert with the pen, I quickly administered that injection without a hitch and went on to shot number two.  I stuck the syringe into the plunger and tried to press all the air out of the syringe before drawing the solution into it, but no luck.  All the thumping and redrawing did nothing for the pesky little bubble.  Not deterred, I confidently jabbed this needle into the other side of my belly.  Wow!  This needle is apparently not made by the same people who made the pen needle, but with some pressure it did the job.  The solution burned a little as I injected it, and I was left with a tiny red spot when it was over.  Rhetta looked on with approval.

 

I'm sitting here sipping a 7UP and thinking of my paternal grandmother because she used 7UP to cure everything.  We were not particularly close, but she struggled with infertility herself in the '40s.  How times have changed since then.  How different she and I will always be, and yet, the desire to have children remains the same.

 

I already know the plans I have for you.  I will help you, not hurt you.  I will give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Baseball & Babies

When Armand and I started dating, he was already an Atlanta Braves fan, and I couldn't stand watching baseball.  Every time he would talk about driving down to Atlanta for a home game, I would roll my eyes and dig in my heels.  We went to a game or two a year, and the joke was that I went for the concessions alone.  I told Armand over and over that there was nothing entertaining about watching two guys play catch with 60 feet and a batter between them.  I would cheer for whoever was up to bat, hoping for a high-scoring game.

We've been married seven years now, and many things in our relationship have changed - including who is the bigger baseball fan.   This October has been blissful for me because my sweet husband is traveling on business, leaving the TV available for as much baseball as my heart desires.  I have three disappointments with the post season.  First, my beloved Braves were eliminated by the Rockies in the wild card race.  Second, the Yankees actually made it to the playoffs.  And third, Cole Hamels of the Phillies isn't locating his pitches as well as last year.  I can't wait for 7:57 p.m. tonight!

So when I realized that the Fertility Center's second Conception 101 class would fall during the World Series, I had a moment of fear.  How would I choose between a fun class about my favorite medical topic and the first game of the Fall Classic?  Fortunately for my fellow baseball fans out there, Tuesday, November 3, is a travel day for the Yankees and Phillies (if the Series lasts that long).  So come join us at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the Fertility Center for a free class with my docs to help you make a game plan for bringing your own little slugger home!  Here's some feedback from our last class:

"The forum was exactly what I needed in order to become familiar with your facility and the procedures available there.  The staff was extremely friendly and I would certainly not hesitate to use your facility or recommend it to others."   -Sharon B.

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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

For starters...

Welcome to the premier post for Kindeling Hope!  My name is Kindel Devoir and I have worked for Drs. Bird and Donesky since 2003 in multiple capacities.  My average work day now consists of calling on insurance coverage prior to a new patient's appointment or for established patients who are scheduled for a specific procedure.  Then I contact those patients and share what I learned.  Some days are good and some are frustrating, as I'm sure anyone can imagine when you deal with insurance companies.

We held a Conception 101 class in our lobby yesterday evening where both docs shared all kinds of infertility information and Shirley answered insurance and financial questions.  It was a fun group with good questions, but there's one I'd like to address in particular.  One attendee raised his hand and explained how he and his wife had changed or removed all the bad habits that might be negatively affecting their fertility, but he also wanted to know whether the condom might be getting in the way?  YES!!  Take the condom off!  Consider joining us on Tuesday, November 3, at 6 pm for our next class so you won't miss any other "fertility gems" that might be uncovered!

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