Day 5 Egg Transfer --- it happened!

First of all, nobody wasn't really sure if my ET was a GO today till RE checked my fluid level. If it was too much, I was told all the eggs had to be frozen for next time FET.  Today I went to my appointment time, bladder filled with water like I was instructed. In a procedure room, DH was looking nervous.

RE checked the fluid level. All the fluid was pretty much gone! He said that my ovaries are huge. I guess that was expected. My bladder was filled, uterus looks good, no more fluid in ovaries--- so I did Egg Transfer!! 

RE and embryologist gave me a picture of 2 best ones!

My nurse was pushing lower tummy with ultrasound devise and UGH it was SO uncomfortable. My bladder was hurting. Anyways, everything went perfect. The nurse told me to stay laying very still for 10 minutes and that she would be back with a bedpan for me to pee in. Ah I started to sweat after a few minutes, couldn't hold pee anymore. I tinkled a bit and told DH to go get the nurse.  I seriously think I have 1 main bladder, and 2 reserves. I had to call her 3 times for pee pan in 45 min. I wish I could pee like a horse at once and done with it. Oh no. It's kinda silly but I was dealing with bladder issue a lot more than feeling the happiness of reaching to the egg transfer and seeing this miracle science technology. 

I've been together almost 9 years and this is the FIRST TIME his sperm and my egg met! Isn't that something!??  Now I wait.  My first Beta is next Wed 9/7, 2nd is Fri 9/9. They said they would tell me the result on of after 2nd Beta.

Day 3 Fertilization Report

Recap of Egg Retrieval 8/25 : 26 retrieved, ended up 24 matured, 17 fertilized

Day 3

3 embryos @ 4 cells

5 @ 5 cells

4 @ 6 cells

2 @ 7 cells

3 @ 8 cells

My nurse said 14 are doing good. But the 3 embies with 4 cells are very slow, not looking that good. 

I have a "Tentative" Egg Transfer scheduled on Tuesday 8/30. I say "tentative" because RE needs to check my fluid level before okaying for the 5-day transfer.

Another issue I am having is that PIO shot is kicking my butt. So far I have 3 pokes on my butt and they are reddish and a little swollen. If I keep doing this everyday, sooner or later my butt cheek is going to be double in size!

Sweet Potato Fries w/ indian spices

I have too much influence from FoodNetwork TV Program, Aarti Party.  I DVR every single episode of her cooking show. I LOVE indian spices. So exotic and flavorful. This is one of the easiest. If you are tired of regular potato deep-fried french fries, this will top that. Healthy baked sweet potato fries!! Yummy!

Serving : 4

Cook Time : 35 min

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

3/4 teaspoon garam masala (it's a seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices, then again into 1/2-inch sticks

Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450F (230C)

1. In a small bowl, toss together 1 heaping teaspoon of salt ( yamamori 1 teaspoon), garam masala, cumin and some freshly ground black pepper to taste.

2. Add the sweet potatoes to a large bowl, drizzle with enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Toss well to coat evenly.

3. Pour the sweet potatoes onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, making sure all the pieces are evenly spaced. Bake 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway through. remove the potatoes from the baking sheet and serve immediately.

Israeli Couscous w/ Mint & Lemon

Do you like minty lemony flavored salad?? This is it!

Serving :6

Start to Finish : 30 minutes

Ingredients :

Salt for pasta water

8 oz (1 1/2 cups) Israeli couscous (pearl couscous)

5 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

5 scallions, thinly sliced diagonally

1/3 cup golden raisins

3 TBSP very thinly sliced lemon zest

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted ( you can toast in a frying-pan)

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Directions:

1.Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add couscous, and cook until al dente. Drain, and drizzle with just enough oil to coat. Spread on a baking sheet, and refrigerate 10 minutes

Adding all the ingredients on top of couscous

2. Combine couscous and remaining ingredients. Sprinkle some salt for more taste. You can add more lemon juice or olive oil to your liking.  Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 min before serving. 

Egg Retrieval

So on my 2nd Ultrasound on 8/23, I had 32 follicles, which is down from 39 on 8/22. Did the trigger shot at 10:30pm which is 36 hours prior to retrieval. RE said the timing is very important, especially me being over stimulated a bit. The cramping yesterday 8/24 was worse but not a whole day, just from time to time. I couldn't sit still all day so I was in the kitchen cooking! I prepared 5 different dishes! Anyways, today was the big day. Egg Retrieval. I got 26 eggs, 22 matured ones! Not so bad, right? My RE said the trigger shot timing seemed to be perfect. And I am so happy that we could save those eggs!! I am still bloated. Not as bad. At least I don't feel like I am a frog anymore,, all those eggs are out of me! Now I wait to see how many of those are going to survive to day 5 for transfer. Meantime, THE PIO shot starts tonight! Scary....   The nurse gave me sets of smaller needles for injection saying that I don't have enough meat on my butt for bigger ones. That was very nice of her! Dosage is 1cc a night. Is that a standard? Let's see how wimpy I really am on these shots.. 

Ultrasound #2

After I was told I don't have to be back for ultrasound until my blood test shows lower E2. This morning, I went in for blood test. The E2 was down to 5700 from 6400 yesterday, showing it went down. I guess stopping the stim shot was good. They called me while we were shopping in the AM saying that they wanted me back in the office for 2nd ultrasound. So I did. My follies are now up to 20mm. They want me to start suppositories tonight. Trigger tonight at 10:30p, ER on Thursday.

RE said I might be in pain or some kind of discomfort after ER since I have so many follies now. He said my ovaries have to calm down or I have to feel ok in order to do ET.  And of course, over-stimulation can compromise the quality of eggs, but he won't know until he pulls out those eggs. I understand, in short, that basically my body has to be good and embryo have to surviving on day 5. Skipping the fresh transfer and having have to freeze all my eggs are still a very possibility at this time. (sigh)

Ultrasound #1-- Over Stimulated?- Change of Protocol

Today, I had a very first ultrasound to see how I am responding to fertility drugs, and to count and measure follicles that are growing in my ovaries.

Before I signed up for the cycle, RE did say that I might respond to those fertility stimulation drugs easily so he had to be really careful of my dosage. Well, he was right. I think this is the result of over stimulation. I had 39 follicles today. When I left the office, my protocol for the drugs were the same,,, which I am to get Follistim and Luveris shots tonight as I have been doing. My nurse called me just now saying that they made changes on my protocol. From what I understood, my ovaries got so excited with all these stimulation drugs, responded really well. But having lots of follicles means lots of estrogen produced. As a result, my estrogen level is high and this is not good for egg transfer. The worst case, she said, is that I might have to freeze all the eggs and wait for the FET. Just disappointed. But I don't expect EVERYTHING to go perfect from the gekko anyways. I have to be OK with that.  My nurse said If that happens, this is the best for my health.She explained to me in a way I can calmly understand the situation.
So for now, I will go to blood test every morning to monitor my estrogen level. Then they will do u/s again. I am hoping I get to do at least ER as planned.