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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Let's get this party started!

Let's get this party started!
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
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Or so said my RE tonight when I told her I started spotting and CD 1 would most likely be tomorrow. But first, let's back that ass up and let me tell you about yesterday's consult.

Thanks to the support group I started, I've been friendly with Dr. S for a while now and absolutely adored her as a person. She's young, ambitious, brilliant and I hope if I ever have a daughter, she grows up to be just like her.

Anyway, yesterday, I totally fell in love with her as a Dr.

This was my longest consult ever.

Words can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to her for being so through. Us IVF chicks are nuts, I feel like you can never give us "too much" information. PSA: to all REI's it's better if you just tell us all the things. Otherwise, we're just gonna google the hell outta that shit and well, we all know how that goes.

She basically started from scratch and asked me all the "new patient questions" then she asked me for my questions. I had told her in advance I had "a list".

We went over them all.

She took all my thoughts, apprehensions and concerns in to consideration and I felt like I had a say in things.

Since SART says my % of a live birth is 71% after 3 cycles and I've already done 4, she wanted to change things up.

So the plan is as followed:

-Repeat all bloodwork for me and DH
-Repeat HSG + SIS
- on CD 21 start Lupron
- once on Lupron have Endo Scratch (this was one of my questions and I was glad to hear she was on board with it)
- wait for AF
- baseline appt.
- start stims on the max dose 3+3 (225iu Menopur + 225iu of Gonal F)
- retrieval
- transfer
- get pregnant
- have a baby

Also in that list was to lose about 13lbs before stims. I've already lost 25 pounds since my last FET in October. If I make it to my goal weight, which coincidentally is what she was hoping for also, I will weigh almost 40 lbs less than I did then.

13lbs to go!

Tomorrow I will call to schedule my next few appts.
Blood work is scheduled for the 8th (me) and 10th (DH)

So here we go!

She made me promise to go in to this positive and thinking it will work.

She says she feels good about our plan and I do too.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
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I’m a bad blogger.

I realize I have an incredibly terrible habit of neglecting my blog when infertility sucks and my cycles fail.

I apologize.

I started this blog 8 years ago and I feel like I should start over.

So that’s what I’m going to do.
So.....

Welcome! My name is Justine. I’m 33 (almost 34) years old and I live in South Florida. I am the wife of a pretty cool guy that I met at work 13 years ago and a mom to the most amazing kid I’ve ever met.
Amazing kid is the product of my first IUI (you can read that story here) and was a pretty awesome bonus considering it was a pretty terrible first IUI. There were needles and tools and a lot of people looking at my lady parts in a very short amount of time. 

Side note:
If you’re a modest person, infertility will throw that shit right out the window. Be prepared. 

Back to business…
Let me give you a little timeline. Grab some popcorn, it’s a long one.

>>2007
November 2007: Got Married to aforementioned Pretty Cool Guy.

>>2008
May 2008: Let’s make a baby!

June 2008: Realized I stopped birth control sometime in 2004 and never had an oops. Time to see the OB. Try for 6 months and if not pregnant come back.

December 2008: Mayday! It’s not working.

>>2009
January 2009: Appointment with new OB for PCOS Testing. 

March 2009: Dx with PCOS, OB basically says I’m too fat to get pregnant lose 50lbs and come back in 6 months.

May 2009: Officially depressed and blaming my body on its inability to perform its most biological given purpose.

June 2009: Despite exercise and dieting weight loss is not happening. Decide waiting is nonsense, and book an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist.

July 2, 2009: Meet Dr. W who is an ANGEL gives me hope and sends me for testing. Blood wrok

July-August 2009: Husband and I undergo basic testing. Ultrasound and blood tests for me, blood tests and semen analysis for him.
Side note:  If you hate needles….let’s just say you’ll soon thank infertility for making you besties.

August 2009: Dr. says tests look good. We’ll move forward with IUI.

September 2009: IUI Cancelled due to cysts


October 2009: Ovaries are good!

IUI #1 Baby Making Kit includes:
5 days of Clomid
[1] 150iu Injection of Follistim
Ovidrel Trigger

October 25 & 26, 2009: B2B IUI’s

November 5, 2009: Tested at home. +
November 9, 2009: PREGNANT! Beta 102 14dpiui 
November 13, 2009: Beta 714 18dpiui
November 19, 2009: 1 Little Sac growning in the right place
December 3, 2009: 1 Perfect Little Baby 


>>2010

February 2010: We’re having a BOY!



July 8, 2010: Best. Day. Ever.
Jose Antonio | 6lbs 8oz 20” long


September 2010: Mom dx with MDS


>>2012

January 2012: Lost Mom :(

December 2012: Let’s have another baby!

>>2013

January 2013: More testing. All good.


February 2013: IUI 1+2 Failed


Clomid + Follistim + Trigger

April 2013: IUI 3+4 Failed


Clomid + Follistim + Trigger

May 2013: IUI 5+6 Failed
Clomid + Follistim + Trigger


June-August 2013: Mental Health Break


September 2013: IUI 7+8 Failed
Follistim + Trigger



October 2013: IUI 9+10 Failed
Follistim + Trigger



November 2013: IUI 11+12 Failed
Follistim + Trigger



December 2013: Taking an extended break. Dad has cancer and won’t make thru 2014 :(


>>2014

August 2014: Lost Dad :(

August 2014: Started a new job


>>2015

March 2015: Let’s give this another shot. 

April 2015: Visit with Dr. W. More testing. 

May 2015: Results came back.
Me: Tests came back alright. Put on Met since insulin levels were a little high.
DH: Morph and Motility are both down significantly.
Dr. says: She doesn’t think we should keep investing time, money and emotions in to IUIs.


May 2015:

IVF/ICSI Fresh Cycle #1
My baby-making kit includes:
BCP (Reclipsen)
Menopur
Follistim
Ganirelix
Pregnyl (HCG Trigger)
Crinone (Progesterone Gel)
Doxycycline (Antibiotic)
Oral Estrace



June 2015: Start Stims

July 6, 2015: First Retrieval
11 Eggs Retrieved
4 Mature
4 Feritlized

July 11, 2015: 1 “Fair” 5 day Hatching Blast Transferred

July 22, 2015: Negative Beta


July 27, 2015: Baseline for FET

IVF/ICSI FET Cycle #1
FET Medications:
Doxycycline
BCP (Reclipsen)
Lupron
Estrogen Patches
Crinone (Progesterone Gel)

September 2, 2015: Transfer of 2 Thawed “Fair” 5 day Blasts


September 11, 2015: FET Failed


Sept. 2015-Dec.2015: Break due to no more IF money left in insurance

>>2016

January 2016: Husband’s new insurance has coverage! Let's do this!


March 2016: Round 3 Consult. 

Plan: Leave the frostie we have left in the freezer and do another retrieval.
IVF/ICSI Fresh Cycle #2
My baby-making kit includes:
BCP (Reclipsen)
Menopur
Follistim
Ganirelix
Pregnyl (HCG Trigger)
Crinone (Progesterone Gel)
Oral Estrace
Doxycycline (Antibiotic)

April 2016: SIS shows a bunch of polyps that need to be removed

April 15, 2016: My first surgery in the history of ever.

April 30, 2016: Start Stims


May 12, 2016: Retrieval

7 Eggs Retrieved
5 Mature
4 Feritlized

May 15, 2016: Transfer of 2 “Good” 3 Day Embryos

May 28, 2016: A little bit Pregnant! Beta 13

June 1, 2016: Beta 125. Progress.

June 3, 2016: Beta 264. Doubled.

June 7, 2016: Beta 620. Nurse says look out for signs of Ectopic.

June 9, 2016: Beta 852. Dr. W says ultrasound tomorrow. Pregnancy most likely not viable.

June 10, 2016: Hardest day to date. Ectopic confirmed. I was alone. All I heard was “We need to terminate this pregnancy”. The rest was a blur. A lot of crying and self loathing. I went across the street after appointment to get Methotrexate shot. The crying and self loathing lasted for weeks. There is no crueler punishment for an infertile than to be told that you basically need to abort the baby you been trying to have for years. It also comes with an immeasurable amount of guilt.

July 2, 2016: 3 weeks later, beta s finally negative.

July 28, 2016: Post Ectopic HSG to confirm tube is still intact.


August 2016: Start BCP for FET to transfer last 2 embryos.

IVF/ICSI FET Cycle #2
FET Medications:
Doxycycline
BCP (Reclipsen)
Lupron
Oral Estrace
Crinone (Progesterone Gel)
Progesterone in Oil

October 17, 2016: Transfer of 2 “Fair” 5 day Blasts

October 30, 2016: Cycle Failed. 4 Transfers, 7 embryos, still no baby.

>>2017

And here we are. 2017. If you made it this far, you're awesome.

After my (what went wrong, what the fuck, what’s the plan) follow-up call with Dr. W back in November, I decided I would wait before doing anything else. By the end of my last cycle my weight had gotten up to 289. Terrible.

I’ve been trying my best to lose weight since and at 264 now, I’ve lost around 25lbs. 

A few weeks ago, after learning that the office is so booked up that appts. are being schedule 5 weeks out, I decided to make my return appointment. I wanted to give myself a deadline.

March 27th it is.

Sadly, and those of you who know me know how much I LOVE her, Dr. W is no longer visiting the office I always went to. ::queue tears::
They also now have a new office 15 minutes from my job. With her blessing, my next appointment is with the “New Kid On The Block”.
Dr. Sueldo is incredible. She is the newest doctor at the practice and absolutely brilliant. From the moment I met her I knew she would be an amazing asset to the practice and I feel fortunate that she was brave enough to take me on as a patient. 

As I mentally strap myself in for another ride, I’m flooded with emotions (and I haven’t even started the meds yet!). I’m feeling many things…excitement, disbelief, hope, happiness, caution, insecurity…some more prominently than others.

26 days.

See you then!
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