Pregnant Or.... Not?

Since the retrieval and transfer, I have had various symptoms that have continued until now.  I should be nearly six weeks along and due at Christmas, however, our first ultrasound is Monday (our 7th wedding anniversary) so we will know more then.

My symptoms have included:  sudden extreme fatigue, sore and swelled breasts right away, urgency to urinate, craving really hot tomato juice, don't sleep well at night, loss of appetite earlier in day, cramps in low abdomen. I swear I feel the baby or babies changing my body which is super cool!  Ice cream upsets my stomach and so do sweet drinks like cappuccino.  My sense of smell is super human!

Have I ever mentioned that when I want to do something I am impatient? I wanted to know so bad if either of the 2 embryos we transferred had implanted. I put post-it notes up counting down the days until our first beta test.

It was so hard during the 2ww (2 week window) after the transfer.  It was too early to take home pregnancy tests (hpt) but I couldn't resist.  I was reading profusely soaking in all the information I could on the experience of others and the science behind hcg beta blood tests.  What is hcg?  That silly fad diet I am so not a fan of (no offense to anyone)?  Ahh, yes. HCG is a hormone found in pregnant women.  So.  I did a trigger shot of HCG on Friday the 31 of March and then within 36-72 hours the embryos were ready to be retrieved.  Then I did the 3dt (3 day transfer IVF procedure) as previously  mentioned.  Well, you need the hcg out of your body to get an accurate result on your hpt.  The first pregnancy test I took at home was one of those outdated interpret-the-line tests.  It was negative.  Well.  It was much too soon since.  However, what that test was possibly telling me is that the hcg from the trigger shot was out of my system.  I read and read and believed that it takes a maximum 10 days to be out of your system.  HCG is what pregnancy tests read to determine a pregnancy.  BFN.

I didn't take any hpt's that next day but did the following 4 days.  All POSITIVE.  BFP!!  Started testing positive 7dpt3dt.  My transfer was 4-5-12 and retrieval was 4/2/12.

My first beta test was 10dpt3dt and I was PREGNANT with a beta result (reading hcg levels) of 145. The next test needed to yield a 290 and we ended up with 375.  After doing research and speaking to my cousin (pregnant with twins), we learned that these numbers are within the twin range on the beta master list.  Could it be true? Could both of the beautiful embryos have implanted?  When Dr. Doherty was told of my high beta levels she had replied that they should be that high as they are the best embryos she has seen in years! WOW.  What a compliment! LOL

So, here we are and we should be nearly 6 weeks pregnant.  I am so excited for Monday's first ultrasound but scared at the same time.  I hope all goes well.  I am sure it will though!

The only sad news I have to mention is that we were only able to freeze 3 embryos- the other 5 didn't make it and that did make us sad.  We are attached to these embryos we have a picture of.  So, we really do want twins.  We are 100% unable to conceive on our own without the help of IVF due to male factor infertility.  We must retrieve his sperm to get it via testes biopsy.

Onward we move. Muah! -The Lucero's

How To Prepare & Inject Menopur

When I was about to start my shots, my brother searched his cell phone for youtube videos on how to do specific injections.  I happened to watch one while I did my first injection.  It helped a ton.  Today could be my last day of Menopur injections since I have blood work and an ultrasound in the morning so I thought I had better get recording. 

Insurance: Covered or... Not

It's How Much for IVF?! O_o

When it comes to IVF (in vitro fertilization), there doesn't appear to be any cheap routes whatsoever.  Some find themselves against a brick wall much like we felt when wanting to use an agency to adopt.  Some $20,000 price tag attached and that was one of the smaller fees.  I don't know how I managed but two years ago I was able to get our health insurance to cover my $50,000 Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery and we thought I would get pregnant after getting that weight off.  It didn't happen and now we know whatever I do it won't get me pregnant, as I was not the one with the complications.

So, here we are with Aetna health insurance through Nate's employer, Kraft Foods Global.  We have always had great insurance with them.  I have been calling into Aetna a lot, asking around and asking my fertility clinic about the financial burden that IVF can be.  We were provided with good news in two instances:

• Aetna covers $30,000 lifetime maximum medical coverage for fertility with the plan we have
• Ironically, effective January 1 2012, if the fertility drugs are billed through a pharmacy instead of with an office visit (medical claim) then the fertility drugs will be covered up to a lifetime maximum of $15,000 (if billed with an office visit they count towards the $30,000 medical)

Now, let me tell you how amazing this is.  My fertility drugs they are putting me on for the February procedure are going to be $5,000 and I thought for sure they were going to be out of pocket.  God just blessed us again.  We are so blessed that they are covered.  We were smart though to make sure to take flexible spending money on both our employers to cover any medical costs outside the realm of insurance like the sounding I am doing in February which is $350 out of pocket.  That, my friend, is so being paid with my Flexible Spending Account card. And this is just the beginning.  I am about ready!

Our shot education class is January 10th and I go on my first trip the 11th.  The IVF will be in mid-February and we are so excited.  This is a rare instance where an insurance company is truly doing what they should- cover fertility treatments.

Beautiful Uterus

*Warning: Some content is inappropriate so...

if you are gonna tell me so...

or complain or tease me-...

save yourself and...

x out of the window.

  Thanks!!

this blog and all contents within the blog are for both humor and education from what we are learning- have fun, lifes too short to be so serious

So, time for some more tests.  I have been found to NOT carry the CF gene (Cystic Fibrosis gene) we previous discussed.  We now are able to proceed.  We go in on a Sunday morning to the hospital, why a Sunday you wonder? Well, it was day 3 since starting menses and I had to have the hormones checked in my blood that particular day so 7:30am, Nate in slippers, we arrive.  There is a room full of young couples.  Few women alone. We wait for a short time before being called in to have blood drawn.  Nate was being tested for HIV, as was I plus my hormone levels.  Checking for things like FSH and I did ask what we were looking for there.  I was told my the amazing nurse that if the number comes back in the teens it means the brain is working harder for creating hormones to have an easy pregnancy/conception and also means a nearing of menopause which I want nothing to do with at this time.  No way.  I am 33.

*For those of you wanting more information on testing with a HIGH FSH see this: FSH stands for follicle-stimulating hormone. It is a hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland that, in the female, stimulates the ovaries to develop a follicle (the housing that accompanies the egg prior to ovulation) – each month. It can be thought of metaphorically as the gas pedal which causes the ovaries to ovulate each month. As women age, it becomes more difficult for the ovaries to ovulate as the supply of eggs gets reduced and so the level of FSH rises (in order to push down the gas pedal further) over time. When a woman enters menopause, her ovaries are depleted and the gas pedal stays depressed permanently; that is to say the FSH level remains high. It is also possible for young women to have prematurely high FSH. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follicle-stimulating_hormone*

It was only three hours before I received a call from the reproductive office mentioning that my level for FSH was 6.something which is great and the other levels were normal, as well.  Again, we proceed.  We haven't received our HIV tests back but that is the last of our concerns at this point.  Test for Sono is scheduled for the 22nd of December and the sounding will wait until the day of either egg retrieval or implantation.  I do not recall.  The sounding normally takes place the same day as the Sono but due to being on the cusp of a new year I had to split them as one is covered by insurance (sono) but not the sounding prior to IVF- it's out of pocked either $350 or $375 SO... I am using my Flex Spending Account after January 1st to cover it.  I made sure to load up on my employers and Nate's for flex spending to help compensate anything that may be needed out of pocket this year going through IVF, pregnancy, childbirth and normal health.  (I am going to create a new blog about insurance coverage, etc so I can elaborate on the flex spending, as well)

I went into my sono appointment early in the morning.  No big deal, only a tad nervous that something could go wrong like with Nate and his condition.  Total shocker for us.  So, in the dimly lit, very modern and comfy clinic room I undress from the waist down (yep) and cover myself with what any man would believe to be a table cloth.  I sat for about fifteen minutes waiting, looking around and thinking.  Waiting.  Anything fertility related makes me instantly anxious and impatient. :) Human. hehe

Tap, Tap! It was Dr. Doherty and a helper (I am terrible with names, sorry!).  They were giggling and Dr. Doherty was looking so... non-sterile. I mean that as a total compliment.  She was in dressy clothes, her normal cute heels and great hair- big smile.  This woman radiates whenever I see her.  I feel such a positive energy with her presence.  This is the woman that is going to make our dreams come true.  The woman that is going act as our stork in the life of reproduction.  She is my savior on earth, a true angel and it makes me choke up on how much she means to so many people.  Making huge dreams come true.

They start prepping and I get that hand motion to lay back and get in the stirrups. Previously I had observed a fancy odd computer for ultrasounds or so I believed, I saw a catheter- why was there a catheter? I don't like those.  Eek.  There is a small cup of a brown liquid and the usual long swabs.  So here I am, feet up, legs spread with two women with front row seats. Now, if you know me, this is prim-o, grade-A, , awkward and awesome material. Now they're poking around, business as usual, when the assistant says 'you sure do have the eggs'.  LOL.  How do I respond to that? LOL  I want to crack up. O-M-G. I must be a freak of nature. She starts pointing out how the gaining of 15 pounds (which I have almost done) and stopping exercising for now will be the perfect combination for IVF.  When the examine is over, my doctor sincerely looked me dead in the eyes and told me I have a 'beautiful uterus and things couldn't look better'. That's right people, be jealous. I have a beautiful uterus. I have to laugh about this.  I had no idea how to respond to that so I simply replied, "Thanks?" She gave me a big smile and said there shouldn't be any problems with the IVF.  We are all ready to go whenever we say - GO!  After talking with one of the girls there we realized we really have to wait till mid February to do the IVF due to my extensive travel schedule.

*a brown watery soap was used to 'wash' the lining of my uterus by injecting it with the catheter and then the sono was done to view the uterus and these are the pics I took. Now if you have medical knowledge and 'see something', I did overhear a conversation not to worry about it and that it appears to be in the abdominal wall. I didn't ask but I only assume weight loss surgery related- probably scar tissue being seen but that is pure assumption.

Next Appointment: January 10th, 2012: Shots Education

Next Blog: Insurance Related, coming soon