Mission Possible

Went to the clinic today for the transfer and they managed to create 2 embryos for us. Yippee! Would have liked more, but we'll take it! Not sure of the quality, as they didn't give any info, but we should receive the details by post in the near future.

The transfer took about 5 minutes, had no discomfort, rested for about 15 minutes and then we were sent home. It all happened so fast, kinda felt like wham, bam, thank- you ma'am. The only thing I thought was strange was that they did not use an ultrasound to guide the embryos.

As of now, I've got 2 embryos floating around my uterus. I hope they grow strong and healthy by the minute and stick to my womb. Blood test is scheduled for the 8th November. It's going to be a long 2 week wait to know the results, however we've waited for almost 4 years and we are very close to making this mission very possible!

Will have bed rest today and tomorrow I'll resume as normal. Thinking of very zen and sticky thoughts.

Successful Egg Hunt

I'm totally exhausted so I'll keep this short and simple. Went for retrieval today. Had general anaesthesia and great news, they got 7 follicles! The other day, they only saw 3 or 4 on the ultrasound, but there were actually 7. I hope a lot of them are mature and of good quality - fingers and toes crossed. They will do ICSI. If all is well, transfer is scheduled for Wednesday. Start progesterone tonight.

I've got lower abdominal cramps and my poor ovaries feel like they've been punched, so I'm off to get some rest and dream of beautiful embryos.

Very Limited Numbers

Good news is that I will trigger on Saturday and the egg hunt is on for Monday.

The not so good news is that they only see about 3 to 4 eggs on the ultrasound. Only 3 or 4 eggs!?!?! Ugh! And how many of these will be mature and make an embryo? The doctor said that both ovaries do not seem to be working well due to Endometriosis, thus the limited numbers. This seems to be an uphill battle.

Last time, they retrieved 6 eggs and only 4 of them were mature, which resulted in 0 embryos. This time, who knows what's going to happen, but I will keep hanging onto the glimmer of hope and pray for my miracle baby.

Wordless Wednesday - Play, Explore and Have Fun!

Strike Action Coming To An End!

The "people" of France are on strike! Well, they are often on strike, but this seems to be a serious one, as the "people" are not happy with the government, raising the retirement age from 60 to 62. The "people" are taking to the streets, marching, protesting, even have a clever "operation escargot" happening, in which the protesters drive at 10km per hour on the highway, causing major traffic headaches. Furthermore, everyone is panicking over the lack of petrol, as the "people" are blocking the trucks from delivering fuel.

Traffic, trains, air flights, postal service - it's all messed up, like my ovaries. My ovaries have been on strike for so many years and I must say, like the unions in France, they are reeking havoc and disorder to the system! The "people" may or may not have reason to strike, but my ovaries certainly don't have any right to protest. Without any notice, they just decided to stop working. Wasn't even given the opportunity to negotiate some kind of compromise. Well, I'm taking direct action and getting these ovaries back to work and they will do overtime, to make up for lost time. Had a meeting with the head honchos this morning and they have given me the go ahead to continue with Gonal F, which will call off the strike and put my ovaries back to work. Desperate times call for drastic measures!

IVF #2 - Still At It

Went to the clinic and they have given me the green light to continue treatment, therefore I can start the Gonal F injections (so now it's 2 injections per night). My hubby also came with me to the consultation, as I want him to take a more active and positive role. He still drinks, smokes, etc. which has been a real bone of contention between us, and I hope that the doctor's advice about reducing these bad habits, to improve sperm quality, will be taken to heart. I'm not asking him to stop, I'm just asking him to cut back on the wine, coffee and smoke intake. I know it's easier said than done, so I hope he can find some way to conquer this battle or at least subdue it.

I also had a consultation with the anaesthesiologist and told her that the last time, during retrieval, I should have had general anaesthesia, but ended up having local, because she was not available at the last minute. She said she did not know what happened. In fact, she couldn't even find my consultation sheet in my file. Personally, I think my file got lost and that my general anaesthesia was not scheduled. I hope this time, the paper work gets filed correctly, so that I don't have to endure the pain that I did last time.

At this stage, I find that time goes by a bit faster. My ovaries will now be working overtime and I hope they will produce lots of healthy eggs that will turn into some embryos or at least one. Please oh please.

Wordless Wednesday - Nothing Better Than A Cat Nap

Thank You Robert Edwards!

Congratulations to the founding father of IVF, Robert Edwards for winning the Nobel Prize in medicine. Well deserved and thanks to his vision and development of IVF, nearly 4 million IVF babies have been born! I hope to add to this number in the near future!