The Eternal Guest Room

Just a quick update as S rests up (she’s eating ice cream and watching Wheel Of Fortune).

The IUI happened without a hitch as usual, but there was a big difference this go around.  My numbers were immensely improved.  The number that sums it up is the Total Motile Sperm (say that five times fast – it’ll be the most fun you have all day).  The number to shoot for there is 10.  Our first IUI, mine was 4.62… not sure why we still did that IUI.  Our second, 7.70… should be good enough.  This time, 17.64.  I’m all man.

Another impressive number is the count itself.  The number to shoot for is 20 million/milliliter.  First IUI was 10.8.  Second was 20.5.  Today’s was 51.  I don’t think I have male infertility any more.

My numbers plus S’s lining and two good follicles point to chances being good.

As many of you know, I’m into the comedic arts.  So before S gets pregnant, I want to share a video from one of my favorite comedy folk duos, Pregnant Women are Smug by Garfunkel & Oats:

My ovaries are overachievers.

(Ovariechievers?)

Fortunately they didn’t release any eggs yet, but it’s only day 8 and I have 2 big follies – one is 24mm and the other is 26mm. That’s kinda big – I think they only need to be around 18mm to trigger.

The sonogram lady was finally back from vacation, which made me happy, but she couldn’t see much on the left side so I kept having to put pressure on various places on my stomach to try to get my intestines out of the way and it hurt. So it ended up being a very unpleasant sonogram anyway.

My lining was at 13mm (!!) which made me happy, since it was only 5.5mm at this point last time. They like it to be at least 7mm. I don’t know if it was just the lack of clomid or if those red raspberry leaf capsules actually did what they were supposed to, but whatever it was, it worked.

The nurse I don’t like took my blood and gave me the trigger shot. When I closed my eyes for the shot she said “Come on, have I ever hurt you before?” and I was thisclose to saying, “Yeah, last time you gave me a 3-inch dark-purple bruise that hurt like a bitch” but I didn’t. You really want to be on the nurses’ good sides. She’s the nurse that always makes me bleed and bruise and be in pain and I really don’t want her to dislike me.

I’m all triggered up. The trigger shot makes your follicles release the egg(s) about 36 hours later.

The IUI is scheduled for tomorrow and I can finally breathe. I was so worried it would be canceled. They require such precise timing it’s just insane.

This has to be the one.

In fact I have a pretty good feeling it will be, because if it works it will seriously complicate some things next spring. That’s how it goes, right?

Please please please…

This morning’s sonogram yielded good news and bad news – things are progressing correctly, but too quickly. We might miss it.

I have 2 mature follicles on one side that are pretty much ready to go, but it’s too early in the cycle to actually do an IUI. I’ll take one more injection of the regular dose (75mg), then tomorrow evening I’ll have a half dose (37.5mg) and go back in for another sonogram on Thursday to see how things are.

By then it may be too late, but we won’t know until then.

So frustrating.

We were in and out of the RE’s office in 17 minutes this morning – I’m pretty sure that’s a record.

We hadn’t been in what feels like forever – 3 months. It was weirdly comforting to be back.

I wasn’t happy at all to learn that the sonogram lady was on vacation, which meant that the doctor himself did the sonogram. It’s bad enough without having the male doctor do it; I’ll spare you the details, but it’s invasive. Not one of those happy gel-on-the-tummy ultrasounds like pregnant women have. Nope.

It was quick, though. The shortest sonogram I’ve ever had, for sure. There were a few cysts, but just the small blood-filled kind that everyone has. Lovely, right?

I start injections tonight and have one every evening until I go in for a sonogram on Tuesday. At that point they look to see how things are progressing, and then we go from there. He said the IUI would most likely be earlier than the last ones, which were around day 12. That puts us right around next weekend sometime, as long as everything works like it’s supposed to. Fortunately I had the foresight to keep both of these weekends free – it’s like I’m catching on to this stuff.

We’ll keep you posted.

A few people pointed out to me that I hadn’t really made it clear when our next IUI would be – but it’s supposed to be this month.

I go in tomorrow for my Day 2 sonogram to make sure everything looks ok. They make sure there are no cysts, check the lining of my uterus to see if it’s the right thickness, and draw blood to check levels of something (horrible, I know; I should know all this by now).

If everything is ok, I think I’ll be starting shots tomorrow. Woo hoo! I get to put them in a cooler and drive them to Amarillo and have D give me shots at my parents’ apartment. Fun! Pick me!

Actually that doesn’t really bother me anymore. I’m just ready to get this going.

For our last IUI, I took clomid (a pill) on Days 5-9 and did FSH injections (shots) on Days 7, 9, and 11, going in for a sonogram between Day 3-5 and one more on Day 12.  This IUI is going to be different.

No clomid (good riddance - that stuff is pure freaking evil. I can’t even put into words my intense hatred of the stuff; it’s treated me badly in too many ways).  

Injections starting Day 2 and lasting for about a week. Every day at the same time (between 7:00-9:00pm). I’m a little hazy on the details since I was given them seconds after bad news several months ago, but I believe I go in for sonograms starting Day 5 and have them every other day for awhile. I’ll have more details tomorrow I’m sure.

I’m ready for tomorrow. I’m ready for this whole thing. Let’s do it!