Well hello there!   Six days into Lupron and feeling good, Wade & I are both full of smiles!  I am thrilled that I am feeling strong, healthy and most importantly haven't turned my household upside down..........at least not yet :) HA HA I am thankfully and surprizingly feeling CALM, imagine that!   I think that I am definately anticipating my appointment Thursday and the next step of "stimming" ( as the forums call it online) to start boosting production of follicles & eggs! Another injection, WHOO HOO!  Will definatly blog on Thursday afternoon to let you know how my supression check goes :)  Until then thanks for following me :)

Cycle Day #18

Second day of injecting Lupron..........no site reactions!  Piece of cake :)  YAY!
So far no crazy mood swings or irritability.... unless you count me crying during a baby story on TLC at lunch today!   HA HA  I would have done that anyway right...

Looked up trial embryo transfers online tonight, BAD idea!  Not much uplifting news to report there, one UTube video made is sound pretty bad actually - lots of cramping & pain during & after.  I like the idea because the doctor is able to determine the depth of the uterus and will be better equiped to place the actual embryos on implantation day in the prime location... just not looking forward to the procedure!   I have to be confidant though that my pain tolerance will kick in and it will be no big deal! :)

On to another day.....

First Injection Day!

Hi there!  Well today was my first injection of Lupron!  I lined up the Lupron along side my Copaxone ( MS therapy) and had a hay day!  At first I was stumped about injection sites because I figured it would probably be better to keep one away from the other.  So Lupron in the tummy & Copaxone in the leg. No big deal actually!  The amount of medicine in the Lupron suringe is 1/4 of my MS therapy so it was fast & easy!  Good news is that I did not have any site reactions with the Lupron, HORRAY!  The Copaxone gives me lumps & bumps and aches for 20 minutes after sometimes..............I am used to this so this was a breeze!
The goal of Lupron is to suppress my hormonal system.  It acts by suppressing the pituitary gland (the gland which is normally responsible for triggering ovulation).  This is working toward the  "suppression phase".   We do not want my body to ovulate on its own so along with the birth control pills this is what regulates that until we get to the next phase which is to begin FSH ( follicle stimulating hormone).   I will take the Lupron until next Thursday 9/2 when I have my suppression check. This appointment will take 3 hours and will include a blood test, an ultrasound, a history & physical and a trial embryo transfer. If at that time my system is suppressed then the Lupron will be cut from 10 units to 5 units.
So we are moving along!  I can't believe how fast this all seems to be moving already!  It is hard to believe that in less than 4 weeks we will have the implantation!
Oh and guess what my mom is coming to visit us 9/16-9/20 so we are hoping and praying she will be here for the BIG DAY! :)

Meds!

WHOA I received my box of medicine today from the pharmacy, BIG like I expected!  I have to say that I was not shocked by the packaging or size because I get a delivery of my MS meds like this every month!  I was surprized however by what was IN the package & the number of 18 1/2 gauge needles!  Those of you who do not know needle"speak" that means "really long and fat" needles done for Intramuscular injections = HURT!!!
  These are the ones I start in a few weeks that Wade will have to give me straight inthe tush............sounds like fun times ahead! I am pretty used to self injecting by now but I do have to say I am a little intimidated by these big daddy ones!   I lost count after 33 on this one alone, lots of other vials,boxes and accessories as well!  I hope I can keep it all straight, good thing our IVF training class had a power point with notes! Pretty sure I will be using this daily!
Today is Cycle Day #12, I have felt great all week and days are just passing by........ possibly the calm before the storm but I can hang - I GOT THIS!   ( remind me of this as I moan & groan in future posts).
Ok well about to start the weekend with the hubby! On to week 3 and injections on Wednesday!

One Week Down!

Today is cycle day #7!  I made it the first week YAY!   The last 5 days I have felt great & full of energy!   Nothing too huge to report at this point we are just in the midst of getting checks ready to send out tomorrow to the fertility clinic and pharmacy and scheduling the delivery off the meds!  I have been told to expect a huge box, so I am gearing up for that! Ten more days & I will start taking my first injectible, Lupron, so I will have two injections each day including my MS therapy.  I knew the medicines were going to be expensive but I almost dropped the phone when I got the quote of $4300!   I am learning how blessed we are to have partial insurance coverage that covers a percentage, so down to $2600 out of pocket - BIG improvement! The prescription costs are a seperate cost above and beyond the whole IVF process so again learning day by day!
I do have something exciting to report , I learned yesterday that my sister in law & husband will be going through all of this within days of Wade & I!  We are 6 days apart on our cycle days, how crazy is that!  I am SOOO happy to have someone going through this with me!  God's timing that it worked out to be less than a week of each other!
Well that is all I have for now!

Decisions

So another heavy conversation with the "genetic counselor" at Nashville Fertility Center & more to tell!  We have learned about & been offered "PGD" Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, a procedure that involves the removal of a single cell from the embryo looking for chromosome abnormalities. By 72 hours after the egg retrieval the embryos have between 6-8 cells, at this point a procedure called "embryo biopsy" is done to gently remove one of the cells.   Though this is a relatively new procedure with IVF the technique itself is already done commonly in the IVF lab.  There is no damage to the overall embryo nor does it eliminate any part of the future fetus.  The benefits to using this technology are basically to avoid the risk of implanting abnormal embryos.  Studies have shown that PGD increases implantation rates & reduces the rate of pregnancy loss by half!  This screening would lower the risk of Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis & Tay Sachs diseases.    There is much, much more but this covers the basics.
So with that being said we have decided to move forward with PGD. I know there are probably alot of strong opinions out there about why to do this or not but for us we have made this decision to do this.....
I was shocked to learn that 60% of embryos tested via PGD are abnormal! WOW
So on the negative side we are lessening our amounts of embryos to implant but again I think it is worth it if the technology is available.
Three days after the egg retrieval the PGD is done, if we meet the criteria of having 4 embryos with 6 cells or more.  The MOST exciting thing we learned is that IF we are able to have PGD we will be able to find out the gender BEFORE the implantation!  Again WOW, huge!  So this does not mean they will do gender selection by any means, that was very clear - we will just be told.  They asked if we wanted to know( YES),  we will find out the PGD results and gender about 30 minutes before the implantation..................BOY is this going to be a big day!   Depending on how you look at this option is can be good or bad but how AWESOME to know if there are little girls or boys being implanted.
I know all of this sounds crazy compared to conceiving  naturally,  kind of hard to wrap my head around it all !  But it is still SO amazing!   We all have to keep an open mind , I am learning this more and more each day!
So as I get the financials together and get ready to cut some HUGE checks I feel blessed to have this opportunity!  On to Cycle Day # 5 !

Day #2 Expectations

I am reminded today that God doesn't always answer prayers as we expect!  I have been continuosly praying for guidance & was stopped in my tracks today via a visit to a high risk fetal medicine doctor. This was part of my pre-requisities, our goal was to discuss IVF & MS and pregnancy & MS.   I was surprised & happy to learn that Dr. Kang wants me to remain on my MS therapy, injections and all thoughout the IVF AND pregnancy - wow!   She explained that the risk to me doesn't outweigh the risks to the fetus.  As Dr. K put it the mama is the ship and the baby is the passenger, mama has to stay afloat & as long as these medicines are not in a dangerous class (mine are not) then she suggests this often. So HUGE weight taken off my shoulders there, I will not need to wean my body off of the drugs that help keep me stable - GREAT news!
So as I sat in here office I mentioned to her that I am trying to get a few stubborn ( REALLY stubborn) pounds off before the hopefull pregnancy.  I mentioned that the personal trainer I hired  worked me hard Monday and that my body feels something close to being run over by a truck!  Yea I guess I forgot to explain in my blog this whole plan I put together about getting "healthier" than ever before I gain baby weight.........
She quickly explained to me that this is NOT the time to focus on losing weight or heavy weight training........ I shyly asked "well what about boxing"???  Again a NO!   Dr. K says that starting now my goal is to maintain weight and eat healthy, no hard ab or core work and nothing that would raise my heartrate over 130.  Apparently she thinks through all of this that I will be able to remain calm and stress free............well I can't give her a hard time as she has conceived two babies via IVF  - she understands this process & yes it makes sense!
So guess I won't be the smokin' hot pregnant mom ..........................just a happy one!
Guess I have to let go of my trainer ( poor Whitney, I was so excited) after only one workout out of eight!
 I am trying my best to remember that God has my best interest in mind and this is His guidance!   My plan will go on the backburner for the next 12 months or so!
Ending the day with a heating pad on my belly to reduce the cramps and bloating I have had SO BAD today...........tomorrow is another day!  Cycle Day #3 to be exact!

Day #1!

Welcome to my blog!   The Wynn baby journey officially started today, one day down 58 to go!
At this point those of you who are reading this know that we are going through IVF ( Invitro Fertilization) in hopes of gettting pregnant.  To stay sane through all of this I thought it would be fun to blog the process, the good & bad!  I have to warn you that this may be a little graphic, lots of "female" terms!  I want this to be real & raw! Hopefully this is a good way to keep everyone up to date on where we are & what is next!

So get ready here we go!  First step starting birth control pills Wednesday, doesn't that just seem weird?  Right from the get go let's mess with my Estrogen, can't wait for the hormonal changes that come along with this...... I know Wade is looking  forward to this part as well :)

I am SOOO excited!  Today is a BIG day that I will always remember!  Prayers, Prayers, Prayers!!!