Day 13– Waking up to what feels like a bowling ball resting on my stomach. Is this what it’s like to be pregnant and have to pee every 30-minutes?

The weight of carrying these full follicles is getting heavier and it’s as though gravity is pulling my belly button down to the ground.

My right ovary seems non-existent in my body as I move around but my left is as though there are water balloons squished up in there.

Is today the day we will pull the trigger?

It’s possible and yet I don’t want it to be too early if there is a chance the little ones will still grow to 17 or 18mm. Remember, 18mm is mature and anything smaller may not produce a healthy, viable egg.

I get a pinching prick into my arm. My poor vein is so yellow and bruised.

Into room 3 I go for another monitoring.

As the nurse closes the door for me to undress, I fall to my knees. “God, I surrender this outcome to you. Help me be calm and accepting of what you are doing inside my body.”

A delightful sonographer joins me in the room and we begin.

Sure enough, we have big black circles on the screen. She measures 11 follicles ranging from 9.6mm to 24.8mm, wahoo!! Then comes the left, a little smaller but that is not new information. Eleven follicles there too, measuring from 11mm to 20mm, yippee!

I have 22 follicles measured total with 8 follicles being of mature range (above 18mm).

There are 7 that are either 15-16mm and they ‘might’ grow to be 18mm by the time we retrieve, or they might just be too shy.

I give those over as I can’t do anything about it.

Ok, I’ll be honest, I really want to stick myself with some of the drugs I have at home, even just a little bit just to give that extra boost.

I tell on myself to Hubby so that I can see how insane that would be.

I’m not the doctor, I have never been through this before, and I don’t know what I’m talking about.

I just have to trust. Sit back and trust.

I bet we trigger tonight, so I’ll wait for the call from our nurse to confirm.

Oh my goodness… Thank you body for responding so well to these medications. I don’t know what the quality of my eggs is in there, but I have done everything I can to help them be healthy.

I’m so grateful to be at this point in this journey!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 hours later

We receive a call from Nurse Christine. Wonderful news as she confirms 21 follicles with at least 15 of them being a mature size, yippee!!

Tonight, we will trigger!

She has our instructions for the medications.

Stopping all Gonal F, Menopur, and Cetrotide we turn towards the trigger shots.

Since I don’t have a period without medical intervention, Dr. O’Brien decides to use a dual trigger method. I will inject myself with Lupron and hCG tonight and visit the clinic in the morning for blood work to make sure it’s all absorbed and properly ‘triggering’.

There is a hesitation of using the hCG because it could cause the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

Dr. O’Brien decides to go with a small dose of hCG and will add more tomorrow if my blood work shows my body is not responding.

After a quick tutorial of how to mix the sterile water with the white powder medication, change the needles and draw just the exact amount prescribed, we say our goodbye.

We spend the next 2 hours waiting to hear from the scheduler to know what time to give the trigger shots tonight (which will be 36 hours from the retrieval time).

Trigger shot at midnight TONIGHT for a retrieval of noon in 2 days.

On we go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I fall asleep to help the time pass and wake up at 11:55pm to get ready for the shots. Hubby stayed up and mixed the solutions for me so all I have to do is prick and return to bed.  (What a great Hubby, such support.)

The hormones rush through my body and it takes me an hour to fall back asleep. Finally, I do, one day closer.