I began my shots for this latest FET attempt on January 18. I wasn't sure what to expect since I have had varied responses to the Lupron. Fortunately, this time around, Mutant M returned. Outside of the fact that I still suck at giving myself shots, even after all of this practice, I have had no reactions or responses to the meds. Yay!
I have been doing my best not to plan and let things fall as they will this time around. Today, I had my blood drawn for my estrogen levels to make sure my system is adequately suppressed. The magic number was below 50, and I was at 30. The nurse noted that last time I was at 29, and commented that I appear to have a pretty consistent response to the medication. Anyway, because the blood work was good, we set about scheduling the FET. Dear readers, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. My FET is scheduled for Valentine's Day. The day after Ash Wednesday, when Phil's (other) busy season officially begins. The day one year ago when we were excited because our first beta had come back positive. I rather expect that, even without being hopped up on hormones, I would have been pretty emotional that day. Now, it's pretty much guaranteed. And, with the whole Lenten element this time, there will be plenty of stress to try and avoid. Still, I can feel the excitement growing; the hope building. Third time's the charm, right?! I have been trying to keep my feelings in check, knowing that there are no guarantees. It doesn't matter. I am who I am, and I am a person who hopes and dreams big, even if it means my feelings get horribly dashed when things go wrong.
We do have one last, rather important, decision to make, though. Two or three. The doctor has recommended we transfer three embryos given my history and age, and I have researched the recommended protocols and confirmed that three is perfectly appropriate under these circumstances. And, since it increases the odds of success, it increases the odds that I don't ever have to do this again. So, for many reasons, three is the way to go. But, it takes us back to the big question--could we handle multiples if they all stuck around? The answer is, technically, yes. We have the ability and capacity to do it. Nevertheless, it would be extremely challenging. Certainly, I am less afraid that I would actually end up with triplets now that I have had a completely failed cycle and knowing that, each time we go back, the embryos we are using are considered of lower grade than the ones previously. Still the idea of triplets scares me. Enough to stick with two? I'm not sure yet, but we have to decide soon; probably within the next 12 days so that the center knows how many to thaw.
Even so, the news is good and exciting. I start taking the hormones tonight. We are underway. The 18-day countdown has begun! And so, I leave you with my hope, my wish, and my sense of humor. Because, you see, I have figured out what I am giving up for Lent this year. I am giving up not being pregnant.
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
1.28.2013
1.21.2013
(Nearly) Impossible Medicine
The other night, Lil' Bit came home from daycare looking a little rough. Gone was her happy, bubbly, sassy self, replaced by a slow, sad, quiet child who didn't want to do anything. She was sick. That much was clear. But, her nose was clear and she just had a little cough, so we weren't too worried. She went to bed early and with little fuss. Around 9:30 or so, we heard her crying. When we went to check on her, we discovered she had thrown up and had a raging fever. Her face was red and it was clear she felt horrible. Since this is the kid who didn't even break a fever when she had RSV, we cleaned her up, packed her in the car, and headed for the ER. Her fever was 101 under the arm, which meant it was probably higher than that, so they took her back to a room. Long story short, although she got the flu shot, she tested positive for Influenza type A. They prescribed Tamiflu for her, along with Motrin and Tylenol every four hours to keep the fever down, and we arrived back home around 2:00 a.m.
Later that morning, Phil goes to pick up the Tamiflu, only to discover that none of the local pharmacies carry it. He drives 30 minutes into the city to go to a hospital pharmacy where, once they got the prescription, it took them an hour to compound it. Turns out, any of the local pharmacies could have compounded it--they just don't, so they say they don't carry it. Phil then drives the 30 minutes back home. So, after a three-hour production to get the Tamiflu, we have to figure out how to get all of this medicine into Lil' Bit. See, if you recall, Lil' Bit already gets medication 7 times a day. The new meds would require an additional 6-8 meds a day. So, we were now looking at 13-15 medications PER DAY! For a child who is only up 14 hours, this averages to almost one per hour. Worse, anything that has to be taken by syringe, or any way other than the way we do her regular meds, and she throws a fit and won't take them. It makes me angry that doctors fail to take into consideration the practicality of what they are telling parents to do. From the doctor's perspective, they have dispensed their wisdom. It is now my problem, as the parent, to figure out how to implement this, seemingly impossible, regimen on a two-year-old.
So, first, we made a chart and figured out when each of these meds had to happen, and figured out we could probably manage 13, but no more. As a result, she gets five meds between 5 and 6:30 a.m.; four throughout the day; and another four between 5 and 6:30 p.m. We discovered that pills were better than liquids and that, at the age of 2, there are pill forms of Tylenol and Motrin she can have and (if it's grape flavored) will take. As for the Tamiflu, which is in syrup form, Phil figured out a way to mix it with fruit puree and make it a single spoonful so that it looks exactly like her regular med doses. Fortunately, we're only supposed to have to do this for five days. Honestly, once these five days are over, I imagine the old routine of only 7 meds will seem quite simple!
Still, it's frustrating that the onus is all on the parents to figure out how to follow the doctor's instructions. What if there had been no pills and we still had to try and force-feed Lil' Bit all of the new meds, the result of which is her throwing up (so there's no benefit from the meds) and her stopping taking her regular meds? With advances in medicine, surely there's some way to do patches or some other transmission method other than heavily-flavored syrups that makes treating children easier. In the meantime, we'll pray that Lil' Bit doesn't get sick enough to need more meds than she already takes. But, if she does, at least we have a few more tools in our parenting trick bag.
Later that morning, Phil goes to pick up the Tamiflu, only to discover that none of the local pharmacies carry it. He drives 30 minutes into the city to go to a hospital pharmacy where, once they got the prescription, it took them an hour to compound it. Turns out, any of the local pharmacies could have compounded it--they just don't, so they say they don't carry it. Phil then drives the 30 minutes back home. So, after a three-hour production to get the Tamiflu, we have to figure out how to get all of this medicine into Lil' Bit. See, if you recall, Lil' Bit already gets medication 7 times a day. The new meds would require an additional 6-8 meds a day. So, we were now looking at 13-15 medications PER DAY! For a child who is only up 14 hours, this averages to almost one per hour. Worse, anything that has to be taken by syringe, or any way other than the way we do her regular meds, and she throws a fit and won't take them. It makes me angry that doctors fail to take into consideration the practicality of what they are telling parents to do. From the doctor's perspective, they have dispensed their wisdom. It is now my problem, as the parent, to figure out how to implement this, seemingly impossible, regimen on a two-year-old.
So, first, we made a chart and figured out when each of these meds had to happen, and figured out we could probably manage 13, but no more. As a result, she gets five meds between 5 and 6:30 a.m.; four throughout the day; and another four between 5 and 6:30 p.m. We discovered that pills were better than liquids and that, at the age of 2, there are pill forms of Tylenol and Motrin she can have and (if it's grape flavored) will take. As for the Tamiflu, which is in syrup form, Phil figured out a way to mix it with fruit puree and make it a single spoonful so that it looks exactly like her regular med doses. Fortunately, we're only supposed to have to do this for five days. Honestly, once these five days are over, I imagine the old routine of only 7 meds will seem quite simple!
Still, it's frustrating that the onus is all on the parents to figure out how to follow the doctor's instructions. What if there had been no pills and we still had to try and force-feed Lil' Bit all of the new meds, the result of which is her throwing up (so there's no benefit from the meds) and her stopping taking her regular meds? With advances in medicine, surely there's some way to do patches or some other transmission method other than heavily-flavored syrups that makes treating children easier. In the meantime, we'll pray that Lil' Bit doesn't get sick enough to need more meds than she already takes. But, if she does, at least we have a few more tools in our parenting trick bag.
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