Beta #3 :)

I can't be more excited. My beta on thursday was 40. Not too great, but not bad either.

i had a repeat beta today, 4 days after the last one. According to doubling rules, my beta today should be around 160.

Um, nope.........262 baby!!!! Progesterone even went from a 5 to an 11.

This could be real - i can't believe it. I go back on Wednesday for a repeat and then will have an u/s sometime next week.

I AM PREGNANT!!!!!!

I gave in and tested

Well, when I was in the $tree the other day, I just could not help myself. I bought 3 HPTs. I figured even if I got negative, I only spent $3. I really wanted to hold out until tomorrow, but...I am glad I did not.

I tested at 10dpiui - negative. No big deal.
I tested at 11 dpiui - positive - maybe. The line was so so light that I only saw it when I took the test apart and held it up to the light.
I tested at 12 dpiui (today) and it was positive. Again, a faint line. But I could see it without any tricks. Trust me, I know all the tricks to see a positive hpt.

I AM PREGNANT

You would think that this is where this post would stop. But you would be wrong.

I tested at 6:30 this morning when I got up. At about 8:30 I went to the bathroom and I was spotting. I had joy for a whole 2 hours. How could this be happening again?

I called my RE and asked what I should do, he said to come in for a beta and progesterone check. I basically jumped in the shower and got there asap. I knew I had to be there by 9:30 because that is when the courier comes to pick up the blood.

I get there with plenty of time.

I got the call later in the afternoon. I am pregnant, but barely. Beta = 17 and P4 = 4.4.

He said the spotting could be from the low P4 and he upped my Prometrium. I have to go back on Thursday for a re-check of levels.

He also reminded me that beta doubles every 48 hours (about) and that at 15 dpiui (my original beta day) he would like to see a 50 or higher. So, if you do the math - 17 double would be 34 which (if doubled) would be over 50 by friday (original beta day)

I am more concerned with the spotting/bleeding than I am with the beta numbers. The spotting has turned more into bleeding. If I was not TTC, then I would totally think today was the start of my period.

Right now, we are basically in limbo. I am just totally praying that this is "normal" bleeding. My sister also reminded me that there was a strong possibility that I was pregnant with multiples and maybe I am losing one of the multiples and will continue with the pregnancy. My God, I hope she is right.

I hope I have better news on Thursday.

I think we might do injectables

Talked with RE today, he does not think we should jump right to IVF. He thinks we might have better success if we try IUI with Injectables. He said my issue might be the meds I am taking, not the IUI. After all, the IUI is getting me pregnant.

I might be starting injectables with the next cycle. I just have to wait for my post D&C period and need to have all my other bloodwork come back ok.

I am Ok with not going to IVF - it is a big step from IUI. Even if the injectable cycle does not work for me, at least it will be a "practice" for IVF.

The doc will call me this afternoon with what I hope is my last beta. If the beta is zero then I can go in and do the rest of the RPL panel. He said that the results only take a few days. We have already done the tests that take a long time.

I might ask him to Rx the injectables for me now, so that I have them no matter when I get my period. I have to mail-order them. I would hate to not have them in time.

Oh - also - the genetic tests from the D&C were "normal" However, they can not tell if the tissues were from an embryo or from me. If the tissues were from me, of course they would be normal. Even though the results were normal, it is still possible that there was a genetic defect with the embryo.

So - we move foward from here.

UPDATE: RE Called, beta is down to zero. I will go in this week for the rest of the RPL panel.

Beta # 3 and U/S issue

Beta # 3 was today - 1700!!!

Here is the run down of betas

#1 - 165
#2 - 626
#3 - 1700

Of course, I am thrilled. They have more than doubled each time. My progesterone has dropped a tiny bit. So, now I am on supplements twice a day. My level was 20, the doctor does not seem concerned. But, like he said, better safe than sorry. I will take them 100 times a day if that means keeping this pregnancy.

When my doc called, he said that I could come in next week for my first u/s. He wants me to come in my Wednesday (my birthday). I think I might push it to Friday though.

Some info: I had my IUI 2 days before "standard" day for ovulaltion. So, today I am either 4w6d (IUI) or 4w4d (LMP). I know 2 days really do not make a difference in the grand scheme of things. But they make a difference at this early stage.

If I go next wed, I will either be 5w6d (IUI) or 5w4d (LMP). I am 100% sure that I will not see a heartbeat at this early date.

Since u/s are on a walk-in basis, I was thinking about going in on Friday. The dr said it was ok if I wanted to wait.

I figure that:

1 - I really don't want to have the u/s on my birthday
2 - If we wait until Friday - we have a better (but not guaranteed) chance of seeing the heartbeat.

On the Friday I will be either 6w1d (IUI) or 5w6d (LMP) - which obvious is no guarantee that we will see a heartbeat anyway - but better than on the Wed.

This is where a few days DOES make a big difference.

So, as much as I would LOVE an u/s as soon as possible, I am almost 100% positive that we are going to wait until the Friday. Maybe it will be a GREAT b-day present (2 days late)

Second Beta!

beta # 2 = 626. That is a doubling time of 1.55 days. I am thrilled. I think my son is suspicious, he flat out asked me if I was pregnant.

I flat out told him "Colin these things take time". He is a little kid who has NO concept of time, if I tell him in a few weeks that I am pregnant I doubt he will do the math.

So, I go back on Wed and then hopefully an U/S next week. The only thing that sucks is the fact that my weeks change on a Sat. My local clinic is not open on the weekends. Which means that I have to go to the main clinic if they do the u/s on sat.

I think I might go to the main clinic (at exactly 6 weeks) on the sat. And then for the next u/s just ask if I can do them on the Fri - so I will be 6 weeks 6 days, 7 weeks 6 days, etc.

I want to do the first one at 6+ weeks because the last time we did not see a heartbeat at 6w0d - I would rather wait an extra day and have a better chance of seeing it.

One thing that works on my side is that I did my IUI early, so I am really 2 days ahead - well at least that is what I am thinking.

How can a phone number make you want to throw up

Seeing the phone number from my RE always makes me want to hurl.

Beta # 1 = 165
Progesterone = 30

So, good solid numbers

P4 is only 9.8

Last cycle I was on progesterone. I started 2 or 3 days after TI. When I did the IUI this cycle, I asked if I would still use the progesterone - the PA who did the IUI said, "no, not until we check your levels"

I thought is was strange, because I had my P4 checked today at only 5 dpiui, I usually have it checked at 7 dpiui. I am not the doctor so I go with what they tell me - well most of the time I guess.

My clinic only calls when there is a problem. If you get no call then everything is a-OK. When my phone just rang and I could see that it was the clinic, my hearts starts to beat out of my chest.

My P4 is only 9.8 - they like to see 10 or higher. Which means progesterone shoved up the hoo-ha. Lucky me.

Maybe the did the P4 at 5 days past to catch any low levels early on??? Who knows - I just know that I will be following doctors orders

Random Post

This post is going to be a mod podge of stuff.

First:
I had my Progesterone (P4) blood test done today. My arm is getting pretty black and blue from all the bloodwork. One thing that has really helped me is bringing my own band-aids. I know this might sound silly - but I have pretty sensitive skin. And, the bandages that they use are the medical-super sticky-never come off kind. I really think it make the bruise worse. I would have a bruise and then have a rash from the bandage.

Sometimes it seems like they had better clear bandages - but it was hit or miss. I tried to just press the cottonball down for a few seconds, but the nurse always wants a band-aid. So, I starting bringing my own. It works for me.

I guess the results will be in either this afternoon or tomorrow. I will not get a call with the results unless the P4 is low. If the P4 is low, then they would Rx progesterone.

My clinic never call with bloodwork results unless it is a problem. I guess I like it this way. It prevents me from over thinking the numbers (aka googling the results). I did ask what my E2 was though, but they had to call me anyway to tell me to trigger - so she had the results in her hand when she made the call.

I guess for pregnancy tests (beta) they would call no matter what.

Second:
I am sure Colin's boy-scout troop thinks he is poor.

The troop is having their troop dinner this weekend. It happen to fall on the same night that I planned to have dinner with all of my sisters. The sister dinner was planned way before the troop dinner so Colin will be going by himself to the dinner while I entertain my sisters.

The troop dinner is a pot luck....every time we go I make and bring something. And although I have not had a kitchen for the past 19 months, what I bring is always homemade. I do all of my cooking on a hot plate or the BBQ grill - yup - even baked goods.

Anyway, Colin is at the meeting and a troop mom says to Colin, "Colin, since your Mom and Dad are not coming, why don't you just bring brownies?"

Colin replies, "I can't, we don't have a stove in our house". And of course he did not explain that we are renovating the house and that his mom still cooks (every night mind you).

So, I am sure this mom thinks we had our gas turned off or something. I might have to make a fancy meal just to prove that I can still cook in my non-existent kitchen.

Third:
Speaking of Non-existent kitchen......I HATE my house. Totally HATE it. You read correctly, I do not have a kitchen. I have not had one in over 19 months.

When we bought our house we new we had to put a lot of work into it. We started doing major demo. We ripped out the kitchen thinking we would put a bathroom and laundry room in it's place. The kitchen would be moved to another location in the house.

We spent $15,000 on a variety of things - not all home repair stuff though. The $15K went towards demo, dumpsters, new electric for the new bathroom, new plumbing for the bathroom, framework for the bathroom, drywall, paint (upstairs), bug exterminator (3 times), closing costs, one new window, labor expenses, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't rememeber.

When we spent that money, we thought that at least we would spend that much less when we finished all the projects.

Well, I guess that is not the case. So far each contractor that has looked at the house is not even take all of our work into consideration. It is like, "hey, thanks for doing all the hard work, however it does not change the price"

We have decided to go with the one company that I got a great vibe from and who is about in the middle price wise. They are coming over to give us a detailed proposal. Which is great, considering we still don't know if we got the loan and if we did how much it will be.

Our loan officer is on vacation all week, so we will not know until she returns. And even at that point, we might not get our money for a few weeks. It is just so frustrating.

I just can't wait for it to be done already!!

Blood work for E2 is back

I just got the call. My E2 (estradiol) level is 362. I will trigger tonight and then do IUI on Wednesday.

According to this chart - 362 is a good number. My doc said it was a good number. So I guess I'm good.

YAY for IUI #1

Day 13 Scan and Bloodwork

Went in today for U/S and B/W. Today is cd13.

I have 2 measurable follicles.

Left - 14 mm (seems pretty small to me)
Right - 20 mm (big enough - I have no idea)

So, I was given my "collection cup" and the doctor will call this afternoon when my bloodwork comes back. The Doc will let me know when to trigger with the Ovidrel. So, I guess depending on my LH level, my IUI could be as early as tomorrow or anytime until Thursday. So, we will have to wait and see.

I googled "mature follicle size" and it seems like you need at least 18mm - but 20 still seems small to me. And the 14 is really small. So, hopefully both will grow nice and big so when I trigger I have at least 1 really good one.

Concerned about IUI timing

I went in for CD3 stuff today. Everthing looks good.

I was originally going to do clomid 3-7, then go in on CD11 for u/s and bloodwork and then probably do trigger on cd 12 (evening) and IUI on CD14 (this is assuming that everything goes according to "plan"

So, my office is actually a satelite office of many offices - which is not a problem.

But, today the doc said the I have to do clomid on CD 5-9 and then go back to the office on CD13 for u/s and bloodwork. - this is mainly because my office is not open on the weekends.

If I trigger on the evening of CD13, there is a possibility that I could ovulate on my own with just the clomid on CD14 - right?. So if I have the IUI 36 hrs after trigger then that would be CD15, and I could have missed my window.

The nurse did not seemed worried, so I am not sure if I should be worried.

If you take clomid 5-9, instead of 3-7, maybe you ovualte later than CD14? I hope so. I would really hate to mess up my first IUI because of a timing problem.

I asked if I should bring the trigger with me on CD13. I guess if I am ready to trigger on CD13 at the appointment, then I would do so and then still have the IUI on CD14 (24 hours after trigger)

I know the RE knows what he is talking about - and I don't want to question his authority, the timing just makes me nervous.