Follicle Count & More
On Monday I received a call from my specialist's office asking if I would be available to come into his office for an ultrasound for a follicle count. I wasn't expecting an ultrasound so quick in the game, but I was nonetheless excited. One step closer to having another little baby(ies) in our arms.
I couldn't sleep at all. I specifically stayed home from the gym Monday night so that I would be able to get to bed early. 6:30 AM rolls around EARLY for a mom when her child sleeps in until 10:30 every morning. I finally fell asleep around 3:30 AM Tuesday morning & was almost positive that I was dying from exhaustion. Having to wake up Penelope at 7:30 AM was a chore in itself, but we prevailed and she had an excellent time snoozing at her godmother's house and watching Finding Dory in nothing, but a diaper. Auntie for the win!
As always, I was super early to my appointment and stayed in my car trying not to throw up from the nerves for almost an hour. I started replaying thoughts in my head for this blog post & started to write down a couple of things since I want to be as honest as possible with our journey through IVF.
I started on the birth control pill April 19th, 2017 & did my day 3 blood work. Some may be confused with this, but it's a normal part of the IVF process. Most doctors will put their IVF patients on birth control to have control of the exact timing of the whole process. Only after I labeled the days correctly was I then told not to take the last week of pills. HAHA! I ended up blacking the last week out.
It was an awkward time to begin the birth control pills due to the fact that I would have to start taking them on day one of my period & I already don't have any energy to begin with during that time. Our cousins came into town that weekend & I was stressed out to the max. Apparently one of the uncommon side effects of this particular birth control pill is fatigue. If I stopped moving at any point in my day, I couldn't keep my eyes open. If I put Penelope down for a nap and had 2-3 minutes of quiet time I would pass out before I could turn the channel on the TV. It's really hard to be able to go out with your cousins that you rarely see when you feel like you don't have the ability to have a clear thought. We went to a buffet here in town and by the time we were done, P was begging for a nap & all I could think about was sleep. We got home, P laid down, and I remember reaching for the remote. Lights out. Never made it to the remote. I barely left the house while they were here and felt like a complete buzz kill for their trip. Sorry guys =/
Another side effect that has been a joy *sarcastic sigh* is the breakthrough bleeding. I'm pretty regular with a three day period and then I am good to go. Again, totally normal, but annoying to say the least.
My skin is enough to drive me crazy. I'm more oily than normal and blemished. Im assuming it's because of the new hormones. Luckily for me I have a wonderful concealer that I received from my girl Christina Rawlings (Check out her stock here) and setting powder.. BEAT THAT FACE GIRL.
On to my ultrasound!! I finally collected myself and walked into the office. First thing first, there was a mix up at the front desk and the receptionist was asking for $159 upfront. Ummmm, No. Our insurance already covers EVERYTHING we are to have going on when we pay the original $2,911.05. The girl wanted to argue with me about this until I asked her to grab my coordinator that I have kept in close contact with and who called me to set up the appt. She was even confused as to why the receptionist couldn't read a file, but was demanding payment.
I was immediately taken back to my ultrasound room, removed everything from the waist down, and patiently waited for my dr. I have been waiting for the results from my day 3 blood work to find out if the past issues that I have been having was because of a wonky thyroid.
My dr walked in and began talking to me about my blood work immediately. He stated that he was happy to see my blood work come back pretty normal with the exception of my thyroid and my AMH levels (Anti-Müllerian Hormone) were much higher than expected. Anti-Mullerian Hormones are the hormones that are given off by developing follicles, so I was told that it wouldn't be too surprising if I had more follicles that normal. It's normal to have 5-8 follicles on each ovary & with an accelerated AMH reading, he was expecting maybe 8-12 follicles on my ovary. I say ovary because I only have my right ovary after my ectopic pregnancy in May 2016. Well surprise surprise, the first thing my ultrasound revealed was that I DO HAVE MY LEFT OVARY. The hell? How does a doctor put on the final reports that I no longer have a left tube or ovary, but voila, I still have an ovary. After that wonderful discovery he was a little quiet. He checked my right ovary and discovered I had about 34 follicles. my left had about 16. 50 FOLLICLES. FIFTY! He started saying that my thyroid levels and AMH levels made sense and began asking me if I was every diagnosed with PCOS ( Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), which I have asked to be tested for, but was never taken seriously by my OB. Same OB that didn't take my bleeding or pain seriously when I called multiple times and ended up in the ER from the ectopic that ruptured. Surprise, Surprise! He let me know that I indeed do have PCOS & he was shocked that it wasn't caught years ago.
It all began to make sense though. My sudden weight gain even while working out & clean eating, weight loss, hair loss, anxiety, and depression made sense all at once. I battle this day in and day out and for the first time in my life, I finally had an answer as to why. I immediately felt relief, however I began to get nervous because this can complicate things even more.
With the high follicle counts and PCOS we now have to be extremely cautious with watching my hormone levels and the injectible stims when we prepare for the Egg Retrieval as we do not want to cause damage to my ovaries like ovarian torsion or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Ovarian torsion is the ovary twisting and cutting off the blood flow, hence causing death to the ovary. Definitely not something that we want to happen. OHSS can cause a SLEW of other problems including major fluid that can accumulate in the abdomen & cause pressure on the lungs. This is also something was do not want to chance.
I will be carefully watched and minimal stims will be administered to make sure that we dont have too many follicles mature at once and lesson the chance of OHSS and ovarian torsion.
I am so thankful for a medical provider that takes my health so seriously. It makes me very happy that I have found the right one for our growing family.
My next appt is May 2nd at 10 AM & I will update then.
Until then ,
XOXO
I couldn't sleep at all. I specifically stayed home from the gym Monday night so that I would be able to get to bed early. 6:30 AM rolls around EARLY for a mom when her child sleeps in until 10:30 every morning. I finally fell asleep around 3:30 AM Tuesday morning & was almost positive that I was dying from exhaustion. Having to wake up Penelope at 7:30 AM was a chore in itself, but we prevailed and she had an excellent time snoozing at her godmother's house and watching Finding Dory in nothing, but a diaper. Auntie for the win!
As always, I was super early to my appointment and stayed in my car trying not to throw up from the nerves for almost an hour. I started replaying thoughts in my head for this blog post & started to write down a couple of things since I want to be as honest as possible with our journey through IVF.
I started on the birth control pill April 19th, 2017 & did my day 3 blood work. Some may be confused with this, but it's a normal part of the IVF process. Most doctors will put their IVF patients on birth control to have control of the exact timing of the whole process. Only after I labeled the days correctly was I then told not to take the last week of pills. HAHA! I ended up blacking the last week out.
Another side effect that has been a joy *sarcastic sigh* is the breakthrough bleeding. I'm pretty regular with a three day period and then I am good to go. Again, totally normal, but annoying to say the least.
My skin is enough to drive me crazy. I'm more oily than normal and blemished. Im assuming it's because of the new hormones. Luckily for me I have a wonderful concealer that I received from my girl Christina Rawlings (Check out her stock here) and setting powder.. BEAT THAT FACE GIRL.
On to my ultrasound!! I finally collected myself and walked into the office. First thing first, there was a mix up at the front desk and the receptionist was asking for $159 upfront. Ummmm, No. Our insurance already covers EVERYTHING we are to have going on when we pay the original $2,911.05. The girl wanted to argue with me about this until I asked her to grab my coordinator that I have kept in close contact with and who called me to set up the appt. She was even confused as to why the receptionist couldn't read a file, but was demanding payment.
I was immediately taken back to my ultrasound room, removed everything from the waist down, and patiently waited for my dr. I have been waiting for the results from my day 3 blood work to find out if the past issues that I have been having was because of a wonky thyroid.
My dr walked in and began talking to me about my blood work immediately. He stated that he was happy to see my blood work come back pretty normal with the exception of my thyroid and my AMH levels (Anti-Müllerian Hormone) were much higher than expected. Anti-Mullerian Hormones are the hormones that are given off by developing follicles, so I was told that it wouldn't be too surprising if I had more follicles that normal. It's normal to have 5-8 follicles on each ovary & with an accelerated AMH reading, he was expecting maybe 8-12 follicles on my ovary. I say ovary because I only have my right ovary after my ectopic pregnancy in May 2016. Well surprise surprise, the first thing my ultrasound revealed was that I DO HAVE MY LEFT OVARY. The hell? How does a doctor put on the final reports that I no longer have a left tube or ovary, but voila, I still have an ovary. After that wonderful discovery he was a little quiet. He checked my right ovary and discovered I had about 34 follicles. my left had about 16. 50 FOLLICLES. FIFTY! He started saying that my thyroid levels and AMH levels made sense and began asking me if I was every diagnosed with PCOS ( Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), which I have asked to be tested for, but was never taken seriously by my OB. Same OB that didn't take my bleeding or pain seriously when I called multiple times and ended up in the ER from the ectopic that ruptured. Surprise, Surprise! He let me know that I indeed do have PCOS & he was shocked that it wasn't caught years ago.
It all began to make sense though. My sudden weight gain even while working out & clean eating, weight loss, hair loss, anxiety, and depression made sense all at once. I battle this day in and day out and for the first time in my life, I finally had an answer as to why. I immediately felt relief, however I began to get nervous because this can complicate things even more.
With the high follicle counts and PCOS we now have to be extremely cautious with watching my hormone levels and the injectible stims when we prepare for the Egg Retrieval as we do not want to cause damage to my ovaries like ovarian torsion or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Ovarian torsion is the ovary twisting and cutting off the blood flow, hence causing death to the ovary. Definitely not something that we want to happen. OHSS can cause a SLEW of other problems including major fluid that can accumulate in the abdomen & cause pressure on the lungs. This is also something was do not want to chance.
I will be carefully watched and minimal stims will be administered to make sure that we dont have too many follicles mature at once and lesson the chance of OHSS and ovarian torsion.
I am so thankful for a medical provider that takes my health so seriously. It makes me very happy that I have found the right one for our growing family.
My next appt is May 2nd at 10 AM & I will update then.
Until then ,
XOXO
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