Month: November 2018

IVF Timeline

/ Hilary / Leave a comment

1_5Yqfls2QmHfRxDiEmi4eVQ.pngWhat’s the timeline look like for us?

If all goes well… this is what the timing and protocol look like for us. The tricky thing to note is that it all depended upon how my body responds to the medication.

It’s my charge to be as calm and relaxed as possible during this time so my body can do what it needs to do. I already know that stress is a huge factor that causes my body to shut down so I will have to build in space for chill nights and calming days.

I put in red the things I’m doing to help this calming process.

IVF Procedure- Step 1: Egg retrieval

Take birth control- 2 weeks

Baseline ultrasound & blood work- Day after last birth control pill

Day 1: Begin medications- 2 days after baseline ultrasound

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur
  • Calming: acupuncture

Day 3: Calming: light workout, acupuncture

Day 4: Monitor appointment (potential to increase medication)

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur
  • Calming: massage

Day 5: Calming: light workout, acupuncture

Day 6: Monitor appointment (potential to increase medication)

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur
  • Calming: acupuncture

Day 7: Fly to Shady Grove

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur, begin Cetrotide

Day 8: Monitor appointment (potential to increase medication)

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur, Cetrotide
  • Calming: walk, acupuncture

Day 9: Monitor appointment (potential to increase medication)

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur, Cetrotide
  • Calming: walk

Day 10: Monitor appointment (potential to increase medication)

  • Medication: Gonal F & Menopur, Cetrotide
  • Calming: walk, acupuncture

Day 11: Monitor appointment & trigger shots and meds

  • Medication: Cetrotide, Lupron & HCG shot
  • Calming: walk

Day 12: Blood work (LH, P4 & HCG) to ensure trigger shot worked

  • Medication: (unsure)

Day 13: Egg retrieval

  • Calming: acupuncture

Day 14: Egg retrieval results/ follow-up appointment

  • Calming: acupuncture

Day 15: Return to Colorado

Day 20-21: Egg/sperm cell growth results- 5-6 days after retrieval

  • Freeze blastocysts that are healthy

—-WAITING GAME—-

Day 30: Receive period

  • Go on birth control until we receive test results

Receive PGS/ chromosome testing results- 3 weeks from egg retrieval

Consult with Doctor O to decide next steps for Step 2: frozen embryo transfer protocol.

Fuel for IVF

/ Hilary / Leave a comment

Many have asked what sort of food I have been eating while preparing for IVF. Keeping my intake simple, I have stuck to the following:

  • Vegetables4dc81320651e4.image.jpg
  • Protein
  • Grain
  • Fruit
  • Yogurt
  • Olive oil

Here are the specific foods that have been suggested:

  • During the menstruation period:
    • Increased iron: meat, fish, leafy greens (chard, kale, collard greens, spinach)
    • Bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, kiwi, citrus
  • During the follicle growth period:
    • Broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, pork, fish, olive oil, avocado, eggs, berries
  • During the Ovulation period:
    • Leafy greens (chard, kale, collard greens, spinach), eggs, meat, fish
  • During the luteal period: (warm foods)
    • Carrots, pineapple, cantaloupe, sweet potato, bananas

I have a cocktail of vitamins as recommended from the fertility clinic. There were more recommendations but they either had traces of caffeine in them or were sleep aids, both which I choose to stay away from.

  • Myo-Inositol- 2000
  • CoQ10- 800
  • L’Arginine- 2000
  • DHA- 1000
  • Vitamin E- 400
  • Vitamin C- 500
  • Vitamin D- 3000
  • Vitamin B- 500
  • Pre-Natal/Folate- 400
  • NAC- 1000

*I’m not a doctor or nutritionist. Please consult yours before taking these supplements.

Peace in the Wait

/ Hilary / Leave a comment

This is not easy. I have turned a corner and I feel as though I’m heading into a cave. I know I have been MIA.

We made the decision to move forward with IVF at Shady Grove in Maryland just about 6 weeks ago. We contemplated jumping right into the cycle as soon as we made the decision, but my chest grew tight with the thought of trying to squeezing it into our already full schedule and reworking some things seemed a little rushed.

Calm.jpgNo, we will wait the extra month and some change before we begin the process. That seems like the best idea and the calmest and serene and yet the waiting has not been easy. I have tried to keep my mind occupied with other things and use this waiting period as an exercise in trusting God, focusing on the here and now, and practicing the belief that what is in front of me is exactly what I’m supposed to be spending my time on, not the future.

I have plenty of projects to keep my body busy, but it’s my heart that I cannot control. The longing to know the outcome.

For the most part, though, I have been pretty surrendered to the process. Open handed to the fact that we don’t have all the answers at this point and we might not in the future. My body feels calm and my mind is relaxed.