This time it is definitely going to happen - no lucking out at the 11th hour for us this time around. Today is cycle day 1 (CD1). We have our antibiotics and birth control pills in hand and have been directed to begin taking them on Sunday of this week. We've paid our deposit, had our IVF therapy session (mandated by our doc for all IVF patients), pre-authorized the procedure and medications with our insurance, taken all sorts of blood tests and lady-bits tests, and now the time is finally here. We have officially started our first IVF-ICSI cycle. What lies ahead, you may ask. Well, you bet'cha I'm gonna' tell ya'.
Next week (8/28 - 9/3): Expect a call from our insurance company confirming that the RE's office has contacted them and that everything is set up from their perspective. Expect a call from our prescription insurance for the same purpose. Expect a call from Dr. RE's nurse to set up our protocol meeting, where we will discuss what medications I will be taking, how many injections there will be each day, when and how to do them, and all sorts of other details. This appointment should occur either next week or early the following week on either Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. Immediately after that appointment, we will have 'injections class' where we will learn about where to place each of the medications, the best methods for doing the injections as painlessly as possible, and all sorts of other needle-related fun that I am unaware of at this point.
Week of 9/4 - 9/10: Continue birth control pills. Begin Lupron at the end of the week (injection).
Week of 9/11 - 9/17: Continue BCPs & Lupron injections.
Week of 9/18 - 9/24: Stop BCPs but continue Lupron injections. Expect period this week due to stopping the BCPs. 9/23 will be my baseline lab (b/w) and ultrasound (u/s) where they will check to ensure that my ovaries are nice and quiet and see how many follicles are ready to start growing. Begin stims (1 or 2 different injections) on 9/24.
Week of 9/25 - 10/1: Continue with smaller dose of Lupron and stim, stim, stim those follicles! 9/28 another lap and u/s appointment. 9/30 begins the window of possible egg retrieval (ER), but most likely will be a week or so later. 10/1 will be another b/w and u/s appointment.
Week of 10/2 - 10/8: Expect ER this week. Appointments will be every day or every other day for b/w and u/s this week, depending on how my body responds. Injections will be adjusted with every appointment to ensure good growth, but try to not overstimulate me (will talk about possible repercussions of over-stimulation later).
Week of 10/9 - 10/15: Expect ET early this week, if it wasn't late in the prior week.
Then the beta (blood test to check if pregnant) will be 2 weeks from ER. This will likely be around the 23rd of October or so, if I had to guess. So that's pretty much my life for the next 2 months. It's going to be a wild ride.
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