Great news - I'm pregnant! I'll post a picture when shes born (due may), but the pregnancy is going well with no complications - all is well. I'm in good health and good spirits. spending all my free time juicing, eating, and reading Ina May Gaskin books.
ALSO ALSO! If you read this blog and decide to donate your eggs too - the agency I worked with is www.growinggenerations.com please drop my name (genevieve zzyzyx) - they promised me $100 per referral. Thank you!
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Saturday, March 17, 2012
I bought a house !
recent update: i rarely have cramps. and my annuals have all been normal.i'll let you know if i develop any health problems or fetuses :).
after the donation, I had leftover needles and medication, I didn't remember to bring them to give back to the doctors office and they didn't ask for them, but some fertility doctors ask for the leftovers back. I thought about selling them, but decided to throw them away. I'm not sure that was the right thing to do for the environment :/
also i keep forgetting to sign up for the anonymous donor registration website - its a list i can sign up for as an anonymous donor that links my donor number to my information, so anybody interested (adult spawn or infertile parents) could look me up if they wanted. Growing Generations egg donation agency has a clause in my contract that says if my donated genetic spawn develop any genetics related diseases they would notify me so i would be aware, so i could get tested for it, or my future children could be tested for it? in a hypothetical situation this contract clause serves as a medical protection. in exchange, i'm expected to notify the agency if I, or any person in my immediate family, develop any genetics related diseases. and i've told the infertile parents and the agency that if they ever wanted to contact me they could. the anonymous donor registration website is more for the children, when they grow up, if they want to seek me out without getting the information through their parents or the agency. i want them to be able to find me, that would be pretty cool.
So yeah, i finally used my egg donation money as down payment on a home! yay! when i have kids and they act up, i can tell them i sold their older brother and sister to buy a house (ha ha, just kidding!!)
but i WILL i'll tell my future kids about their genetic brothers and sisters when they're adults. then they could register on the anonymous donor website as genetic siblings too, if they wanted. (reuniting siblings: another function of the registry) I recommend all donors sign up for that registry. I dont think anonymity is polite.
here is the anonymous donor sibling registry:
(https://www.donorsiblingregistry.com/)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
post donation checkin
my period started today. exactly 10 days after the egg retrieval procedure. they said it would take around 2 weeks and then i could have intercourse. yay.
i calculated all the reimbursements to a grand 960 dollars. all those birth control pills and train tickets added up after 6 months on hold. i used my credit card for everything, so i'll just pay my credit card bill with the check i get from reimbursements. last time it took a while, and they needed more documentation for some of the birth control prescriptions. they needed a signed patient history report from the pharmacy with the medications listed and which doctor prescribed them. i kept like every receipt and printed up my credit card bills and everything and sent all that documentation with the reimbursements form. the envelope costed me like a dollar to mail.
i received the rest of my egg donor compensation check for $9,250.00 a few days ago. thats all going into my savings. i'm building a down payment fund for a house. since thats the third donation, egg donation has earned me 28,000.00 thus far. though i blew the first 8,000.00 on useful shit like this laptop i'm typing on. and my scanner and my printer and my adobe creative suite 3 software, among other fancy electronics. the second donation i saved most the money. then borrowed a few thousand to pay off my credit card and fix my car. i've finally paid that back to my savings account.
the healing process was pretty much painless. some mild cramping after the surgery a couple times a day. nothing that would need a pain pill. and when i sneezed i could feel my ovaries all of a sudden. like my body contracting in the sneeze brought my awareness to my ovaries. thats all long gone.
i calculated all the reimbursements to a grand 960 dollars. all those birth control pills and train tickets added up after 6 months on hold. i used my credit card for everything, so i'll just pay my credit card bill with the check i get from reimbursements. last time it took a while, and they needed more documentation for some of the birth control prescriptions. they needed a signed patient history report from the pharmacy with the medications listed and which doctor prescribed them. i kept like every receipt and printed up my credit card bills and everything and sent all that documentation with the reimbursements form. the envelope costed me like a dollar to mail.
i received the rest of my egg donor compensation check for $9,250.00 a few days ago. thats all going into my savings. i'm building a down payment fund for a house. since thats the third donation, egg donation has earned me 28,000.00 thus far. though i blew the first 8,000.00 on useful shit like this laptop i'm typing on. and my scanner and my printer and my adobe creative suite 3 software, among other fancy electronics. the second donation i saved most the money. then borrowed a few thousand to pay off my credit card and fix my car. i've finally paid that back to my savings account.
the healing process was pretty much painless. some mild cramping after the surgery a couple times a day. nothing that would need a pain pill. and when i sneezed i could feel my ovaries all of a sudden. like my body contracting in the sneeze brought my awareness to my ovaries. thats all long gone.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
2nd ultrasound and extraction surgery
my second ultrasound, they saw 14 eggs (again) and measured them at 16 and 18 millimeters. the doctor said they're ready to come out and i needed to take the trigger shot (hcg) that night at 7pm exacly.
and then i had to reschedule work in order to make the saturday morning appointment. they put me up in the le parc suites hotel. waaaay better than the beverly hilton. so nice. we (husband and I) stayed there friday night because our appointment was 6:30 in the morning. got to the fertility center at 6:30. they took my vitals had me sit on a bed watching the news from a big screen tv on the ceiling. i dressed into the open in the back gown and they gave me those socks with traction.
the anesthesiologist came in and put an IV in my hand. then they walked me into the operating room and a nurse carried my IV with my saline drip along after me, i sat on the bed thing and scooted down to the edge so the nurse could strap my knees to a holder thingy. then the anesthesiologist put a couple of drugs in my IV and i started to get drowsy and then he asked how much i weigh and pushed a large syringe full of some anesthesia or something into my IV drip, and shortly there after i passed out and woke up in the recovery area with a nurse calling my name. she took off my IV and asked if i wanted any ibuprofen. i took it.
they said they counted 17 eggs. the nurse explained that sometimes theres more than one egg in a follicle (thats one way twins can happen).
its now 13 hours after the surgery and i feel a little bloated and when i have to pee i feel a lot of pressure on my ovaries. i've been on ibuprofen all day. but when they begin to feel crampy i take more, and thats when i notice it. the bloating could be gas. we ate at a restaurant we're not used to eating at.
and then i had to reschedule work in order to make the saturday morning appointment. they put me up in the le parc suites hotel. waaaay better than the beverly hilton. so nice. we (husband and I) stayed there friday night because our appointment was 6:30 in the morning. got to the fertility center at 6:30. they took my vitals had me sit on a bed watching the news from a big screen tv on the ceiling. i dressed into the open in the back gown and they gave me those socks with traction.
the anesthesiologist came in and put an IV in my hand. then they walked me into the operating room and a nurse carried my IV with my saline drip along after me, i sat on the bed thing and scooted down to the edge so the nurse could strap my knees to a holder thingy. then the anesthesiologist put a couple of drugs in my IV and i started to get drowsy and then he asked how much i weigh and pushed a large syringe full of some anesthesia or something into my IV drip, and shortly there after i passed out and woke up in the recovery area with a nurse calling my name. she took off my IV and asked if i wanted any ibuprofen. i took it.
they said they counted 17 eggs. the nurse explained that sometimes theres more than one egg in a follicle (thats one way twins can happen).
its now 13 hours after the surgery and i feel a little bloated and when i have to pee i feel a lot of pressure on my ovaries. i've been on ibuprofen all day. but when they begin to feel crampy i take more, and thats when i notice it. the bloating could be gas. we ate at a restaurant we're not used to eating at.
Monday, March 15, 2010
1st ultrasound
was this morning at 9. i spent the night at a friend's house in hollywood so i wouldn't have to get up at 4 in the morning and battle traffic for 80 miles.
i arrived early and they called me in early. i sat on the ultrasound table with my shirt and the gyno pink paper skirt thingy for about 5 minutes. i passed the time watching the monkey mobile above my head. hoping my bicycle was still locked up outside when i got done. the nurse lady entered with the doc and we got started. they had to finish my FDA tests, so i had a gonorrhea test and stuff. and then the ultrasound. for this ultrasound they use a transvaginal wand. the inside of you body is weird looking. i saw my spine, or a poo, not sure. and my bladder (looked like a HUGE empty bowl.)
the doctor counted the holes in each ovary and measured the diameters. each ovary had 7 developing ovum with the larger ones at 12 and 13 millimeters. each ovary looked like a swiss cheese avocado. or a cluster of large bubbles.
i can feel the pressure more today than yesterday. its significantly more heavy. theres awareness. and stuff.
they said everything is going as planned (thank buddha) so the calendar says i'm to continue the medications until thursday for my next ultrasound.
side effects:
pressure from swollen ovaries
the shots are beginning to hurt more because the skin i'm using to inject the medications is running out of surface area and getting more tender.
i have the desire to work out strenuously. like go running or do a million sit ups. till i'm aching and sweaty. maybe its because i'm not allowed.
i arrived early and they called me in early. i sat on the ultrasound table with my shirt and the gyno pink paper skirt thingy for about 5 minutes. i passed the time watching the monkey mobile above my head. hoping my bicycle was still locked up outside when i got done. the nurse lady entered with the doc and we got started. they had to finish my FDA tests, so i had a gonorrhea test and stuff. and then the ultrasound. for this ultrasound they use a transvaginal wand. the inside of you body is weird looking. i saw my spine, or a poo, not sure. and my bladder (looked like a HUGE empty bowl.)
the doctor counted the holes in each ovary and measured the diameters. each ovary had 7 developing ovum with the larger ones at 12 and 13 millimeters. each ovary looked like a swiss cheese avocado. or a cluster of large bubbles.
i can feel the pressure more today than yesterday. its significantly more heavy. theres awareness. and stuff.
they said everything is going as planned (thank buddha) so the calendar says i'm to continue the medications until thursday for my next ultrasound.
side effects:
pressure from swollen ovaries
the shots are beginning to hurt more because the skin i'm using to inject the medications is running out of surface area and getting more tender.
i have the desire to work out strenuously. like go running or do a million sit ups. till i'm aching and sweaty. maybe its because i'm not allowed.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
day 16
just a quick report on potential side effects,
my muscles feel like they tire more easily than normal. i have some muscle aches going on today. ( i did have a busy day at work, and that im sure would cause some of the aches )
no medicine-head (like yesterday). mentally i feel clear. maybe a slight headache? or a sinus ache? clear sinuses, but i feel some tension. could be leftover from the workday?
my stomach growled again. (violently!)
Today i feel aware of a heaviness in my ovaries. or a fullness. i didn't notice it yesterday, but its there now. i noticed i was stepping more carefully than normal when i thought about my ovaries, so as not to jolt them?
i've been taking calcium supplements to avoid lupron's notorious side effect: bone pain. it has been working, i think.
i could be mistaking some of my muscle aches for bone aches... usually i bike to work (up and down some hills) but i think i should walk most of the way. at least until the pelvic heaviness gets worse. in a few more days, my ovaries will be swollen with ripe ovum and it will feel crazy, and i will not want to run or jump or move suddenly because i'll have a weird desire to protect them from movement. or at least thats how it was the last 2 donations.
my mood is good. normal. happy and content. i'll do my shots in like an hour.
my muscles feel like they tire more easily than normal. i have some muscle aches going on today. ( i did have a busy day at work, and that im sure would cause some of the aches )
no medicine-head (like yesterday). mentally i feel clear. maybe a slight headache? or a sinus ache? clear sinuses, but i feel some tension. could be leftover from the workday?
my stomach growled again. (violently!)
Today i feel aware of a heaviness in my ovaries. or a fullness. i didn't notice it yesterday, but its there now. i noticed i was stepping more carefully than normal when i thought about my ovaries, so as not to jolt them?
i've been taking calcium supplements to avoid lupron's notorious side effect: bone pain. it has been working, i think.
i could be mistaking some of my muscle aches for bone aches... usually i bike to work (up and down some hills) but i think i should walk most of the way. at least until the pelvic heaviness gets worse. in a few more days, my ovaries will be swollen with ripe ovum and it will feel crazy, and i will not want to run or jump or move suddenly because i'll have a weird desire to protect them from movement. or at least thats how it was the last 2 donations.
my mood is good. normal. happy and content. i'll do my shots in like an hour.
Friday, March 12, 2010
day 15
just did my shots tonight. even though i alternate legs, there are a couple sore spots on my thigh. one little dime sized bruise and a couple needle hole red dots. i poked around to find the spot that didn't feel sore (cause i dont really remember where i injected it over the past couple weeks), if i were smart about it i would have a system or order to do the shots so they are spaced out for optimum healing and all that. I have just been poking randomly around my outer thigh and i have a feeling i've been poking in the same places.
lupron didn't hurt. stung a tiny bit after the med was in the skin. follistim didn't hurt, just felt funny. the follistim needle is the smallest, but this time i jabbed my skin at a little bit of an angle so i felt a pinch when it pierced the skin. thats not normal. usually i dont feel the needle going in when i quickly jab it in like a dart. menopur always stings. i think its the medication. its also the most volume of all the shots. so some of that pain is probably my fatty tissue having to move out of the way for the bubble of medication.
i'm being very careful to prime every shot (push out all the air until a bead of medication comes out of the needle tip before injecting). yesterday when i did my shots, i'm not sure, but i suspect i left some air in the needle of the menopur shot. i dont remember priming that one, and then when i did the shot i wasn't thinking about it and may or may not have injected a tiny bubble of air also. not sure, but now i'm paranoid about it and being extra careful.
side effects: maybe fatigue. i didn't sleep much last night because i went out to a show. i got 5 hours of uncomfortable sleep. i fell asleep in my clothes and underwear: sports bra, and kept waking up with neck and back and jaw tension, but it was too cold to get out of the covers and undress myself (i am used to sleeping naked). my sports bra always creates tension like that when i wear it for too long. But anyway, i kept waking up adjusting the covers and tossing and turning.
so all day today i feel like i have a thick fog behind my eyes. like they should be closed and the fatigue sucks me dry like a mild nausea or headachy sensation. almost dizzy with exhaustion. i wonder how much of this has to do with how hard i bicycle to work. i need to begin walking up those hills. i'm not supposed to do any 'strenuous exercise' at this stage of the donation. I always bike up the same hills everyday for work, and they dont make me break a sweat, but my heart rate goes up and my breathing gets heavy. i wonder if thats okay.
my stomach was absolutely growling around lunchtime, which is unusual. I was crazy ravenous. i ate breakfast only few hours earlier.
also i've been having little muscle twitches. random. like my calf will twitch slightly and then my neck muscles will twitch.
i'd better go. i just closed my eyes for a second and i fell asleep and dreamt i slipped on something and my legs jolting woke me up. and its happening again. falling asleep...
lupron didn't hurt. stung a tiny bit after the med was in the skin. follistim didn't hurt, just felt funny. the follistim needle is the smallest, but this time i jabbed my skin at a little bit of an angle so i felt a pinch when it pierced the skin. thats not normal. usually i dont feel the needle going in when i quickly jab it in like a dart. menopur always stings. i think its the medication. its also the most volume of all the shots. so some of that pain is probably my fatty tissue having to move out of the way for the bubble of medication.
i'm being very careful to prime every shot (push out all the air until a bead of medication comes out of the needle tip before injecting). yesterday when i did my shots, i'm not sure, but i suspect i left some air in the needle of the menopur shot. i dont remember priming that one, and then when i did the shot i wasn't thinking about it and may or may not have injected a tiny bubble of air also. not sure, but now i'm paranoid about it and being extra careful.
side effects: maybe fatigue. i didn't sleep much last night because i went out to a show. i got 5 hours of uncomfortable sleep. i fell asleep in my clothes and underwear: sports bra, and kept waking up with neck and back and jaw tension, but it was too cold to get out of the covers and undress myself (i am used to sleeping naked). my sports bra always creates tension like that when i wear it for too long. But anyway, i kept waking up adjusting the covers and tossing and turning.
so all day today i feel like i have a thick fog behind my eyes. like they should be closed and the fatigue sucks me dry like a mild nausea or headachy sensation. almost dizzy with exhaustion. i wonder how much of this has to do with how hard i bicycle to work. i need to begin walking up those hills. i'm not supposed to do any 'strenuous exercise' at this stage of the donation. I always bike up the same hills everyday for work, and they dont make me break a sweat, but my heart rate goes up and my breathing gets heavy. i wonder if thats okay.
my stomach was absolutely growling around lunchtime, which is unusual. I was crazy ravenous. i ate breakfast only few hours earlier.
also i've been having little muscle twitches. random. like my calf will twitch slightly and then my neck muscles will twitch.
i'd better go. i just closed my eyes for a second and i fell asleep and dreamt i slipped on something and my legs jolting woke me up. and its happening again. falling asleep...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
week 2 of shots
i was on lupron 15 U for 11 days. then the lupron went down to 10 U when i started the ovarian stimulation hormones on tuesday. they have me on 175 Follistim and one vial (75) menopur.
i'm starting to suspect that all those side effects from the first donation were manufactured by my brain. i dont feel any side effects besides some mild muscle twitches and menstrual cramps (cause they delayed my period by a week). I remember in previous donations feeling some intense sexual side effects. maybe i was releasing some built up tension or maybe i released a mental blockage that allowed me to feel that way. well thats gone now, so i'm bummed about that a little.
i felt some aches i'll blame on lupron. lupron causes "bone pain" and other bodily aches. apparently it tries to rob your calcium. so i've been taking an excess of calcium just to safeguard myself. that seems to prevent those side effects. i have a calcium chew that tastes like a tootsie roll and contains 500mg of calcium. i like to eat 3 of those a day.
it would be so easy to do this again. but my sex life has suffered enough. i think this will be my last donation. but damn, i'm buying a house soon, and another 10,000 would really make my monthly mortgage payments cheaper. i have saved up 10,000 aleady from previous donations. the first 8000 i blew on stuff i use everyday like my laptop and software and my scanner and printer and stuff. i'd donate again if i knew i'd be chosen right away by gay people and not put on hold for 6 months. cause that sucked.
i'm starting to suspect that all those side effects from the first donation were manufactured by my brain. i dont feel any side effects besides some mild muscle twitches and menstrual cramps (cause they delayed my period by a week). I remember in previous donations feeling some intense sexual side effects. maybe i was releasing some built up tension or maybe i released a mental blockage that allowed me to feel that way. well thats gone now, so i'm bummed about that a little.
i felt some aches i'll blame on lupron. lupron causes "bone pain" and other bodily aches. apparently it tries to rob your calcium. so i've been taking an excess of calcium just to safeguard myself. that seems to prevent those side effects. i have a calcium chew that tastes like a tootsie roll and contains 500mg of calcium. i like to eat 3 of those a day.
it would be so easy to do this again. but my sex life has suffered enough. i think this will be my last donation. but damn, i'm buying a house soon, and another 10,000 would really make my monthly mortgage payments cheaper. i have saved up 10,000 aleady from previous donations. the first 8000 i blew on stuff i use everyday like my laptop and software and my scanner and printer and stuff. i'd donate again if i knew i'd be chosen right away by gay people and not put on hold for 6 months. cause that sucked.
Friday, February 26, 2010
day 1 of lupron
earlier in the week i received the calendars from the fertility doctor, so the process is finally beginning.
they told me to continue taking the birth control pills until i got to a certain day, and then i had to start a new pack (even though i wasn't finished with the old one) to manipulate my menstrual cycle. so i've been on that new pack for like 5 days. i will be taking those pills for another 4 days.
today is the first lupron shot. i will be taking lupron for a total of 17 days for this cycle. the lupron medication is a synthetic version of a chemical already in our bodies that prevents estrogen from being created or released. it pretty much keeps my hormones in check, prepping my body to do everything in time just right for the mass ovulation at the egg retrieval surgery.
so the first 11 days i will be shooting 15iu of lupron. then the dose goes down to 10iu once i begin the follicle stimulating hormones. 15 iu of liquid is about the volume of the size of a pencil eraser. i just shot it into my thigh:
quick lupron subcutaneous injection instructions: wipe the skin and the medication bottle with alcohol. let dry (or else it will sting). wash and sanitize hands with alcohol. take syringe from package and pull the plunger to 15iu. turn lupron bottle upside down and poke needle into bottle. push 15iu of air into bottle, pull 15iu of medication into syringe. turn bottle upright (syringe upside down) and pull out needle. flick out any bubbles, press plunger until any bubbles leave and theres a bead of medication at the tip of the needle. with one hand, pinch the fat and aim the needle at the middle of the pinched fat. hold the syringe like a dart and at a 90 degree angle to the skin just stab really quick dont stop until the needle ends. pretty much jab it in without any hesitation and it will stop on its own without any pressure. thats the best, most painless way to do it.
that didn't hurt. but i didn't keep the syringe very still while the needle was in my skin as i readjusted my hand and fingers up to the plunger to press the medication into my fatty fat fat... so that might cause a bruise later from the needle wiggling around in circles under the skin... it felt funny pushing the meds into the fat. not painful, but funny. then i waited 5 seconds and pulled out the needle really quickly. a tiny dot of blood, smaller than a neighboring freckle, came out after a few seconds but didn't grow or anything. it felt a little bit stingy or itchy after that and then a minute or so later that went away.
there will be no more alcohol or sex for me. not until the egg retrieval (which, according to the calendar, will be in about 3 weeks)
they told me to continue taking the birth control pills until i got to a certain day, and then i had to start a new pack (even though i wasn't finished with the old one) to manipulate my menstrual cycle. so i've been on that new pack for like 5 days. i will be taking those pills for another 4 days.
today is the first lupron shot. i will be taking lupron for a total of 17 days for this cycle. the lupron medication is a synthetic version of a chemical already in our bodies that prevents estrogen from being created or released. it pretty much keeps my hormones in check, prepping my body to do everything in time just right for the mass ovulation at the egg retrieval surgery.
so the first 11 days i will be shooting 15iu of lupron. then the dose goes down to 10iu once i begin the follicle stimulating hormones. 15 iu of liquid is about the volume of the size of a pencil eraser. i just shot it into my thigh:
quick lupron subcutaneous injection instructions: wipe the skin and the medication bottle with alcohol. let dry (or else it will sting). wash and sanitize hands with alcohol. take syringe from package and pull the plunger to 15iu. turn lupron bottle upside down and poke needle into bottle. push 15iu of air into bottle, pull 15iu of medication into syringe. turn bottle upright (syringe upside down) and pull out needle. flick out any bubbles, press plunger until any bubbles leave and theres a bead of medication at the tip of the needle. with one hand, pinch the fat and aim the needle at the middle of the pinched fat. hold the syringe like a dart and at a 90 degree angle to the skin just stab really quick dont stop until the needle ends. pretty much jab it in without any hesitation and it will stop on its own without any pressure. thats the best, most painless way to do it.
that didn't hurt. but i didn't keep the syringe very still while the needle was in my skin as i readjusted my hand and fingers up to the plunger to press the medication into my fatty fat fat... so that might cause a bruise later from the needle wiggling around in circles under the skin... it felt funny pushing the meds into the fat. not painful, but funny. then i waited 5 seconds and pulled out the needle really quickly. a tiny dot of blood, smaller than a neighboring freckle, came out after a few seconds but didn't grow or anything. it felt a little bit stingy or itchy after that and then a minute or so later that went away.
there will be no more alcohol or sex for me. not until the egg retrieval (which, according to the calendar, will be in about 3 weeks)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
3rd donation still on hold -
i was right about when my period would start. i was ovulating on the 16th and 17th. my cycle started on the 30th like a normal person. i called the doc, and he said 'perfect'. then told me to take more femcon fe birth control pills and wait for an email with the 'calendars'. the calendars email is the one with the schedule of when i'm supposed to take what drugs. and then the special pharmacy will call to confirm my address and send me all the fertility drugs in a styrofoam refrigerated box. and we can get this thing started.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
3rd donation update
so the intended parents have had me 'on hold' forever. after i cleared my medical screening, the fertility doctor put me on birth control pills so i'd be all ready for when the surrogate started her period. things haven't gone as planned. there was some sort of issue with the surrogate's legal clearance, and meanwhile, for 5 months i'd been buying these $60/month pills waiting to get a phone call. and it sucks because im' not even supposed to be using the pills for birth control. so i feel like i'm just obediently wasting them.
i filled out reimbursement forms for the pills. i'm going to go ahead and mail them in. theres no reason to wait until after the retrieval to mail them out. especially because there has been such a large wait to get this thing started
i did get that phone call a couple weeks ago. the doctor's office called after i finished a pill pack, they wanted to know when my period starts so that they could make up a calendar for my meds. yaaay! finally!
but Femcon fe birth control pils have a few side effects, one of them is a missed or wussy period. mine over the months of taking the pill had gradually stopped. i still get the sensations before period time, but it has dwindled down to virtually no blood flow. so the nurses had me go get an estradiol level test to make sure i was where i was supposed to be in my cycle for the donation calendar. the first estradiol level test made the nurses tell me to get a second estradiol test in a week. so i did the second one and from the 2 tests they could tell that i wouldn't have a period for another 2 weeks.
i know that after the 2nd donation i was keeping track of my natural cycle, and that it had gotten longer. to 35 and 40 days. so i wonder if the birth control pills didn't work to keep my cycle regular or what happened. Now i'm under strict orders not to take any more pills, and i'm supposed to wait for a full period and call them when that happens. i had some spinnbarkeit yesterday and today, which leads me to believe that i'm naturally ovulating now and wont have the period for ANOTHER 2 weeks...
i was really hoping to get this donation done before my work picked up during the spring
i filled out reimbursement forms for the pills. i'm going to go ahead and mail them in. theres no reason to wait until after the retrieval to mail them out. especially because there has been such a large wait to get this thing started
i did get that phone call a couple weeks ago. the doctor's office called after i finished a pill pack, they wanted to know when my period starts so that they could make up a calendar for my meds. yaaay! finally!
but Femcon fe birth control pils have a few side effects, one of them is a missed or wussy period. mine over the months of taking the pill had gradually stopped. i still get the sensations before period time, but it has dwindled down to virtually no blood flow. so the nurses had me go get an estradiol level test to make sure i was where i was supposed to be in my cycle for the donation calendar. the first estradiol level test made the nurses tell me to get a second estradiol test in a week. so i did the second one and from the 2 tests they could tell that i wouldn't have a period for another 2 weeks.
i know that after the 2nd donation i was keeping track of my natural cycle, and that it had gotten longer. to 35 and 40 days. so i wonder if the birth control pills didn't work to keep my cycle regular or what happened. Now i'm under strict orders not to take any more pills, and i'm supposed to wait for a full period and call them when that happens. i had some spinnbarkeit yesterday and today, which leads me to believe that i'm naturally ovulating now and wont have the period for ANOTHER 2 weeks...
i was really hoping to get this donation done before my work picked up during the spring
Monday, October 26, 2009
they're still screening surrogates
i've completed my screenings. legal, medical, psyche. the fertility doctor asked me to notify them when i got my period, and then they put me on birth control pills to keep my cycle regular until they find a surrogate. I received an email from my case coordinator that they found a surrogate they like, she's completed the screenings, but it will take 2 weeks to get the results back for her tests. once the results come back they can chose her if they want and get the process started. finally.
then they'll want to find out where she is in her cycle, and they'll sync me up with her cycle. this process isn't as exciting for me as it was the first 2 times. now it feels like no biggie. i'll take some shots and then they'll put me to sleep and retrieve the eggyweggies. and then i'll buy a house. and 18 years later some very familiar looking kids will maybe find me? and we'll catch up. or they'll ask me for money or something. and i'll tell them to get a job.
then they'll want to find out where she is in her cycle, and they'll sync me up with her cycle. this process isn't as exciting for me as it was the first 2 times. now it feels like no biggie. i'll take some shots and then they'll put me to sleep and retrieve the eggyweggies. and then i'll buy a house. and 18 years later some very familiar looking kids will maybe find me? and we'll catch up. or they'll ask me for money or something. and i'll tell them to get a job.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
third donation update
since last month, i went to my medical rescreen and saw my uterus for the first time. i usually have to pee when i do an ultrasound, but this time my bladder wasn't in the way. and both of my ovaries looked really cool. the doctor said it all looks healthy, no cysts. and my medical clearance should come soon.
i did the phone interview with a lawyer about the egg donor contract. i will not try to contact or steal the child - blah blah blah... i faxed it to the office, and i still need to mail the envelope. i'm waiting until i go to the post office so that i can get a receipt and get reimbursed for my postage. since the contract is like 20 pages and they want me to mail 2 signed copies to them. thats kinda a heavy thing. that will be my legal clearance.
i already got my psychological clearance.
when i went for my medical rescreen they gave me birth control pills and told me to call them when my period starts. i called them already. it started yesterday. they started to give me zovia, but i requested femcon fe because i liked it better. so i got femcon fe.
so now i'm going to begin taking the birth control pills and wait until they figure out a medication calendar for me and the surrogate.
my last donation was only july. so i have to wait until at least mid october for the extraction surgery. looks like we're timing it correctly.
my cycle in august was like 35 days long! i kept thinking, damn aren't i supposed to have my period? and then i was like, shit, i hope i didnt' impregnate any of those leftover eggs the doctor didn't get! that would suck.
i looked on my profile to see how the extraction went. they only took out 10, but they fertilized 6 or 7. thats pretty good as far as the ones that got fertilized, but i thought i had way more eggs than 10. so they didn't get all of them. i also felt like i was hyper ovulating throughout the past couple months. i feel healthy.
this is gonna be my last donation, unless my single gay baby daddy wants a genetic sibling, cause it destroys my sex life. its not worth $10,000.00 to be abstinent. its just not healthy.
i did the phone interview with a lawyer about the egg donor contract. i will not try to contact or steal the child - blah blah blah... i faxed it to the office, and i still need to mail the envelope. i'm waiting until i go to the post office so that i can get a receipt and get reimbursed for my postage. since the contract is like 20 pages and they want me to mail 2 signed copies to them. thats kinda a heavy thing. that will be my legal clearance.
i already got my psychological clearance.
when i went for my medical rescreen they gave me birth control pills and told me to call them when my period starts. i called them already. it started yesterday. they started to give me zovia, but i requested femcon fe because i liked it better. so i got femcon fe.
so now i'm going to begin taking the birth control pills and wait until they figure out a medication calendar for me and the surrogate.
my last donation was only july. so i have to wait until at least mid october for the extraction surgery. looks like we're timing it correctly.
my cycle in august was like 35 days long! i kept thinking, damn aren't i supposed to have my period? and then i was like, shit, i hope i didnt' impregnate any of those leftover eggs the doctor didn't get! that would suck.
i looked on my profile to see how the extraction went. they only took out 10, but they fertilized 6 or 7. thats pretty good as far as the ones that got fertilized, but i thought i had way more eggs than 10. so they didn't get all of them. i also felt like i was hyper ovulating throughout the past couple months. i feel healthy.
this is gonna be my last donation, unless my single gay baby daddy wants a genetic sibling, cause it destroys my sex life. its not worth $10,000.00 to be abstinent. its just not healthy.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
psyche re-screen for 3rd donation
i went into the office to retake the 'are you crazy' computer test. according to some law, the records need to be updated every year. so instead of doing the psyche interview over the phone like last time, i had to go to the office in person and take the 50 minute test. i loved it. the questions are so funny. questions like: I hear voices other people dont hear. Somebody is out to get me for sure. My father is (was) a bad person. I wish i weren't bothered by sexual thoughts.
Its a true false quiz. and some of the questions are a little tricky: Have you ever not not had a strong fear for an inanimate object?
the next step is to speak with a psychologist over the phone about my answers to the quiz, and how i felt about the last donations and all that normal psyche re-screen stuff. i'm waiting to hear back from her. I sent an email to my case coordinator to let him know i took the psyche rescreen computer quiz.
i requested a copy of the psyche test results from last year, i want to compare the results from last time and this time. according to the person at the office, people's results dont really vary much.
I also requested a copy of my otis-gamma IQ test for MENSA. i dont know if i want to fork out $50 a year just to have a MENSA card. but it would be funny to have. I really wanted to see which questions i answered incorrectly. But aside from MENSA theres a couple other high IQ societies i qualify for, those would be cool to join just for fun.
Its a true false quiz. and some of the questions are a little tricky: Have you ever not not had a strong fear for an inanimate object?
the next step is to speak with a psychologist over the phone about my answers to the quiz, and how i felt about the last donations and all that normal psyche re-screen stuff. i'm waiting to hear back from her. I sent an email to my case coordinator to let him know i took the psyche rescreen computer quiz.
i requested a copy of the psyche test results from last year, i want to compare the results from last time and this time. according to the person at the office, people's results dont really vary much.
I also requested a copy of my otis-gamma IQ test for MENSA. i dont know if i want to fork out $50 a year just to have a MENSA card. but it would be funny to have. I really wanted to see which questions i answered incorrectly. But aside from MENSA theres a couple other high IQ societies i qualify for, those would be cool to join just for fun.
reimbursement issue resolved
i received my check for the reimbursements today. $576. they got everything correct, i got $128 per trip i drove to the appointments and back for the mileage. so everything worked out. i have been fully reimbursed. one month and 9 days later.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
great links
here are a few links for general egg donation process questions:
http://www.americanfertility.com/services/eggdonor-donor.php
http://www.asrm.org/Patients/topics/eggdonation.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/egg-donation.htm
those are really good informational websites for egg donation questions.
here are a few for lupron questions:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/019943s029,020011s036lbl.pdf
http://movingmountainsforkids.com/precociouspuberty.asp
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/hormones/a/lupron.htm
http://coe.ucsf.edu/fibroids/bg_treatment.html
It has been almost a whole month since my second donation. I felt a little funny in my right ovary around ovulation time (just before and during spinnbarkheit). almost crampy. It seems like the sensations were ovulation sensations, and they were more intense because of the healing process, or maybe that was just some healing stuff going on. or something.
i finally heard back about the reimbursements. they need prescription labels for the zovia pills i bought. when i sent in the form, I included the receipts from the store, the information booklet, and a printout from my credit card with the same info. but that wasn't enough. they sent my case coordinator a message that i needed to further prove that i bought those items by going to the pharmacy and getting a printout of the labels. So i went to the pharmacy and got the informational booklet printed out again, and a form that showed the medication and the fertility doctor's name and all that. hopefully that will be enough. the pharmacist said she couldn't print up the labels for the first purchase because it was made at a pharmacy in los angeles. if i have to go to los angeles to get a reprint of the zovia labels to prove to them i bought the zovia, i'm going to make them pay for the gas.
another thing that made me upset about the reimbursements: they say they're only going to cover $100 for the car rental. My car rental bill came out to $112 after taxes and everything. and then i had to put gas in the tank to even get up to los angeles, because they gave me the car rental with an empty tank (naturally) so i paid about $40 for gas. the agency says they cap their reimbursements for car rental at $100 and they cannot reimburse above that, and i'm wondering, who the hell can get a car rental to go 240 miles for under $100 after taxes and insurance AND gas?? thats not at all reasonable. so i'm going through a slow moving bureaucratic process to get properly reimbursed for the damn rental car. i just called around to several rental car places in my area to get quotes to send to the agency. i'll keep you updated.
http://www.americanfertility.com/services/eggdonor-donor.php
http://www.asrm.org/Patients/topics/eggdonation.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/egg-donation.htm
those are really good informational websites for egg donation questions.
here are a few for lupron questions:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/019943s029,020011s036lbl.pdf
http://movingmountainsforkids.com/precociouspuberty.asp
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/hormones/a/lupron.htm
http://coe.ucsf.edu/fibroids/bg_treatment.html
It has been almost a whole month since my second donation. I felt a little funny in my right ovary around ovulation time (just before and during spinnbarkheit). almost crampy. It seems like the sensations were ovulation sensations, and they were more intense because of the healing process, or maybe that was just some healing stuff going on. or something.
i finally heard back about the reimbursements. they need prescription labels for the zovia pills i bought. when i sent in the form, I included the receipts from the store, the information booklet, and a printout from my credit card with the same info. but that wasn't enough. they sent my case coordinator a message that i needed to further prove that i bought those items by going to the pharmacy and getting a printout of the labels. So i went to the pharmacy and got the informational booklet printed out again, and a form that showed the medication and the fertility doctor's name and all that. hopefully that will be enough. the pharmacist said she couldn't print up the labels for the first purchase because it was made at a pharmacy in los angeles. if i have to go to los angeles to get a reprint of the zovia labels to prove to them i bought the zovia, i'm going to make them pay for the gas.
another thing that made me upset about the reimbursements: they say they're only going to cover $100 for the car rental. My car rental bill came out to $112 after taxes and everything. and then i had to put gas in the tank to even get up to los angeles, because they gave me the car rental with an empty tank (naturally) so i paid about $40 for gas. the agency says they cap their reimbursements for car rental at $100 and they cannot reimburse above that, and i'm wondering, who the hell can get a car rental to go 240 miles for under $100 after taxes and insurance AND gas?? thats not at all reasonable. so i'm going through a slow moving bureaucratic process to get properly reimbursed for the damn rental car. i just called around to several rental car places in my area to get quotes to send to the agency. i'll keep you updated.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
its been over 2 weeks since
the extraction date. my period came just fine. it was healthy and average. not like the scanty spotty nonsense i had the past several months. it actually felt pretty good to have a normal cycle. my husband and I attempted sex, and at first it felt good, but then after a little bit, it felt a little tender and crampy, and we stopped. and then i felt a little emotional and depressed for a couple days.
after my cycle was completely over, like a half a week later, we tried again (gently) and it felt okay. and then we tried a third time a few days later and it felt good. so i feel better about myself now that my vagina works again. the tenderness has all gone away. no more nipple or breast tenderness. i can work out and get all sweaty without discomfort.
abstinence is really hard on a marriage.
i almost didn't donate a second time because of the affect the 1st donation had on my marriage. but then they called and told me a single gay man wanted a baby, and i support the gay community whole heartedly. i really really wanted to donate to a gay man. so i chose to donate the 2nd time. it feels really good to give like that.
So a week ago, the agency called me asking if i wanted to donate again, or how much time I wanted off. at first i told them 6 months to think about it. and then i decided, maybe only if another gay person wants a baby - i'll only donate to gay people.
and then i was contemplating the entire process, and its really not so bad. the hardest part is the abstinence. and the emotional disconnect that happens to a marriage when you take away healthy intimacy.
I did some research into the health effects on a donor. some studies have shown that long term repeat egg donors can go through menopause earlier, contract ovarian cancer, have fertility issues. Those are the most predominant risks. I'm not worried about those things as much. I welcome an early menopause. My diet is predominantly alkaline, and wont likely grow cancer. and worst case scenario, i adopt instead of conceiving my own baby. That wouldn't bum me out so much. the tiny bruises on my belly and thigh have long since healed. the one injection in the upper thigh was a blood vessel. or so says a friend who used to be a junky. she told me i probably tried to inject the medication in a blood vessel or capillary or whatever, and it burst it open and i had a little blood pocket bruise thing that took forever to go away. I need to remember to put pressure on the plunger and pull back a tiny bit, so see if theres blood in there. they told me to do that, but i didn't always do that.
i found a good website http://www.asrm.org/ its the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. they set guidelines for egg donors as far as how often they donate, and the IVF fertility hormones they can use and stuff. they have a list of egg donor agencies that abide by these guidelines. my agency is on the list: http://www.asrm.org/Patients/eggdonor_agencies.pdf
But the biggest news: I got a call today, from the agency. The intended parents from the first donation want a sibling. they asked if i was willing to donate again to give them a sibling. they want it from the same genetic mother. And i know I was thinking about only donating to gay intended parents, but I think this is the one exception i didn't think about.
they told me in the beginning that some infertile couples get donations, have the children and then want donations again from the same donor for siblings. So this isn't a huge surprise for me. The baby has been born, and they're all high on the new parent happy cloud. I kind of share their glee. I want to give them a sibling. I told them yes.
So i'm donating again. the donation wouldn't be happening until the holidays. they give at least 6 months in between. it takes time to find a surrogate, and arrange all the paperwork and screenings and stuff. That will give me plenty of time to drink alcohol and enjoy my intimacy.
after my cycle was completely over, like a half a week later, we tried again (gently) and it felt okay. and then we tried a third time a few days later and it felt good. so i feel better about myself now that my vagina works again. the tenderness has all gone away. no more nipple or breast tenderness. i can work out and get all sweaty without discomfort.
abstinence is really hard on a marriage.
i almost didn't donate a second time because of the affect the 1st donation had on my marriage. but then they called and told me a single gay man wanted a baby, and i support the gay community whole heartedly. i really really wanted to donate to a gay man. so i chose to donate the 2nd time. it feels really good to give like that.
So a week ago, the agency called me asking if i wanted to donate again, or how much time I wanted off. at first i told them 6 months to think about it. and then i decided, maybe only if another gay person wants a baby - i'll only donate to gay people.
and then i was contemplating the entire process, and its really not so bad. the hardest part is the abstinence. and the emotional disconnect that happens to a marriage when you take away healthy intimacy.
I did some research into the health effects on a donor. some studies have shown that long term repeat egg donors can go through menopause earlier, contract ovarian cancer, have fertility issues. Those are the most predominant risks. I'm not worried about those things as much. I welcome an early menopause. My diet is predominantly alkaline, and wont likely grow cancer. and worst case scenario, i adopt instead of conceiving my own baby. That wouldn't bum me out so much. the tiny bruises on my belly and thigh have long since healed. the one injection in the upper thigh was a blood vessel. or so says a friend who used to be a junky. she told me i probably tried to inject the medication in a blood vessel or capillary or whatever, and it burst it open and i had a little blood pocket bruise thing that took forever to go away. I need to remember to put pressure on the plunger and pull back a tiny bit, so see if theres blood in there. they told me to do that, but i didn't always do that.
i found a good website http://www.asrm.org/ its the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. they set guidelines for egg donors as far as how often they donate, and the IVF fertility hormones they can use and stuff. they have a list of egg donor agencies that abide by these guidelines. my agency is on the list: http://www.asrm.org/Patients/eggdonor_agencies.pdf
But the biggest news: I got a call today, from the agency. The intended parents from the first donation want a sibling. they asked if i was willing to donate again to give them a sibling. they want it from the same genetic mother. And i know I was thinking about only donating to gay intended parents, but I think this is the one exception i didn't think about.
they told me in the beginning that some infertile couples get donations, have the children and then want donations again from the same donor for siblings. So this isn't a huge surprise for me. The baby has been born, and they're all high on the new parent happy cloud. I kind of share their glee. I want to give them a sibling. I told them yes.
So i'm donating again. the donation wouldn't be happening until the holidays. they give at least 6 months in between. it takes time to find a surrogate, and arrange all the paperwork and screenings and stuff. That will give me plenty of time to drink alcohol and enjoy my intimacy.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
last progesterone lozenge
i know i was really complaining about the flavor of these earlier, but i swear i was almost craving one of these lozenges after i got off work. and now as i'm sucking on the last bitter yellow square of progesterone goodness, i'm a little bummed this will be my last.
so i still feel a little bloated. but it feels more pms bloaty.
i learned a couple things the past few days healing.
after egg donor extraction:
1. dont attempt pilates
2. dont attempt clitoral orgasms
i'm not sure how long i should wait for these things, probably the 2 weeks they estimate for intercourse.
the past couple days there was still some tenderness going on deep inside.
my breasts feel bigger and are still sensitive (especially nipples). not in a good way either. its not as bad as when i first injected the HCG. its going away.
the past few days, i wasn't as excited about making myself food as usual. my stomach would growl and grumble loudly, but i was too lazy to do anything about it so i'd eat out more than normal. now i haven't heard my stomach growl for a while, and i was excited about making myself food today. so thats good i guess.
I mailed in my reimbursements form for all the things i put on my credit card (amtrak tickets, meals, gas, bus fare, birth control pills, rent-a-car, etc) they added up to about 400 bucks. so i should be getting a check for those within the week.
i also received the rest of my payment in the form of a final check today $9250.00 i'm not touching any of it this time.
so i still feel a little bloated. but it feels more pms bloaty.
i learned a couple things the past few days healing.
after egg donor extraction:
1. dont attempt pilates
2. dont attempt clitoral orgasms
i'm not sure how long i should wait for these things, probably the 2 weeks they estimate for intercourse.
the past couple days there was still some tenderness going on deep inside.
my breasts feel bigger and are still sensitive (especially nipples). not in a good way either. its not as bad as when i first injected the HCG. its going away.
the past few days, i wasn't as excited about making myself food as usual. my stomach would growl and grumble loudly, but i was too lazy to do anything about it so i'd eat out more than normal. now i haven't heard my stomach growl for a while, and i was excited about making myself food today. so thats good i guess.
I mailed in my reimbursements form for all the things i put on my credit card (amtrak tickets, meals, gas, bus fare, birth control pills, rent-a-car, etc) they added up to about 400 bucks. so i should be getting a check for those within the week.
i also received the rest of my payment in the form of a final check today $9250.00 i'm not touching any of it this time.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
extraction
i drove to los angeles at night to avoid traffic. got to the beverly hilton. checked in. the room was huge! there was a flat screen television and the entire wall of one side of the room was a window with huge curtains. there was a sofa and a couple tables and stuff. nice room. $200 a night. the lobby itself was really fancy pants. the entire place just screamed "we have too much money"
i wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight, so i rushed to order food. got a couple of salads. cost $40. for 2 salads. it came with bread and butter on a table with a vase and orchid. the salad kinda sucked. total rip off. for $20 each.
then we tried to check our email, and internet wasn't free. it cost $50 for 24 hours of internet... there is free internet pretty much everywhere else in the world expect for this stupid hotel. that was kinda shocking. and then i took a bath, and the soap smelled like a solid bar of cologne. it was sooooo gross. i'd feel a little more comfortable in a motel 6. with free internet mild soaps and cheap food. lesson learned.
got up super early to drive down the street to the appointment. when i got there they put me in the patient waiting room. gave me a bag labeled "patient belongings" told me to change into the open in the back gown, putting all my stuff in the sealable bag. they gave me socks to wear. socks with traction. i love those socks. so i changed and then sat on the hospital bed thing in my gown tied closed in the back. the nurse told me to get comfortable. and she turned on the flat screen television hanging from the wall. news about michael jackson's family and the funeral procession.
the nurse gave me a sturdy denim blanket and kinda tucked me in, took my blood pressure and heart rate with that machine they clip on a finger that somehow knows your blood's oxygen level too. asked me when i ate last and when i gave myself the trigger shot. then left me alone with the michael jackson news.
a couple doctors began arriving for work and passed me walking through to the IVF lab. smiled and said hello with their coffee in hand. then the anesthesiologist arrived. greeted me and looked at my paperwork and set up a saline solution IV drip thing, putting a flexible needle in my vein on my left hand. taped it really really well onto my hand.
i never feel at ease until they tape it securely like that. but he did a very good job. it felt cold when he finally got it going. he didn't put anything in the IV yet. just set it up. then i waited there for a while. maybe 5 minutes. he came back and messed with the IV thing. maybe put something in there? i remember last donation, they put a drug in the IV before walking me to the operation room. maybe he did that. i didn't see him though. i was too busy with the michael jackson memorial news on the television. i loved michael jackson growing up. he was my david bowie.
a couple more people arrived and began arranging things in the operation room. the surgery was supposed to begin at 7:30 on the dot. i noticed a clock in the room said about 7: 25.
then a nurse helped walk with me into the operation room. she wheeled the IV behind me as i walked. there was a bed next to the ultrasound machine. instead of stirrups, there were knee rests. she helped me onto the bed and undid my ties to my gown so i could lie down on the bed without lying on knots. i was completely careless. not at all embarrassed about my nakedness under the gown. she pulled the gown out of the way, so it was more like a blanket with armholes than a gown.
i scooted down as to her directions, until i was in the right spot. and she put my knees in the stirrups. and strapped them there with a velcro tie thing. as she was doing that the anesthesiologist asked me how much i weighed, i responded, to which he began pushing an entire syringe full of some drug into my IV. i started to feel a little disoriented, so i lay back down and the anesthesiologist put an oxygen mask over my nose and put 3 sticky things on my chest to read my EKG i guess. then the pulse rate monitor and blood oxygen level monitor went on my finger and began beeping with me.
the fertility doctor arrived and put on the gloves and started up the ultrasound machine, there was my ultrasound guided needle that would suck the eggs out with the juice in the follicles, it was already out of the autoclaved bag and attached to the ultrasound wand. the bag wrapper had my name on it on a tray of gloves and tools next to the doctor's stool between my legs.
The doctor turned on the light and directed it towards my crotch, ready to begin the procedure, there was a point where i feared the anesthesiologist wasn't doing a good enough job, because i think last time i had passed out by now. So i thought about saying something to let them know i was still conscious, but i decided that would sound alarmist and stupid. so i began actively, but casually, looking around the room. i decided that would make it obvious that i was alert in case they thought otherwise.
i became aware of a conversation going on across the room between the nurses and the doctor, they were looking at a chart on the wall and discussing whether it was 15 or 16 follicles, and the doctor was asking them 16? and i raised my head and asked,
"is that how many follicles i have ready?" and he looked at me and asked,
"how many follicles did they say you had?" and i thought about the 2nd ultrasound and responded,
"i think she said 8 on one side and 6 or 7 on the other??" and he said,
"hmmm. i thought you had more that that."
I found that conversation strange. and comical. i mean, i was talking to this doctor between my legs and the doctor has the mask on and a light on my vaj. it was almost a monty python scene. or maybe it wasn't that weird, maybe i was just feeling high.
so i made a face that said, 'we will find out i guess' as i put my head back down i really started to feel drugged and weird. out of the corner of my eye i noticed the anesthesiologist put another bit of something in the IV. i decided to relax and let things happen, in a sense, thats when i surrendered any attempts to stay alert. i lay back and lazily stared at the hot air balloon mobile they had hanging from the ceiling. i just enjoyed the sensations i was feeling from the drugs. i remember thinking how appropriate that mobile was. light. airy. looks like how anesthesia feels. flying. floating to some distant land while some fertility doctor puts a sucking needle through your vagina and into each of your swollen ovaries. thats the last part i remember about the operating room.
while i was under they had drained the fluid of each follicle. in the center of each follicle somewhere in the fluid was a ripe egg ready for fertilization. so after draining the eggs out, they would put the liquid under microscopes and find the eggs and isolate each one into different test tubes. this was all happening in the next room. the IVF lab. i dont know how long they wait until attempting to fertilize the eggs. there was nobody else in the office. so i didn't see the surrogate or the intended father.
they had also carried my unconscious body off of the operating table and transferred me to the hospital bed they wheeled into the room. then when they got me positioned correctly, they wheeled me back to the patient waiting room with my IV still attached and dripping saline solution into my hand vein.
i awoke and a nurse offered me cold apple juice. i drank it from the plastic bottle she held to my lips, i said thank you. it had only been about 15-20 minutes. i was drowsy. i noticed the news was still on with michael jackson's funeral procession. some jerky jerk helicopter was following the procession to the funeral, and there were interview clips with the mother of his children and a bunch of nonsense i wasn't fully aware of yet. the nurse was watching with great interest. as she took my blood pressure and sort of multitasked. i asked how many follicles i ended up having, the nurse didn't know, she said, they're figuring that out now. but i think she thought i meant eggs. or maybe i said eggs... they would have known how many follicles i had as soon as they looked with the ultrasound machine. the nurse asked if i had cramps. i hadn't even fully thought about how my body felt until that moment, then i thought about the cramps i might have, and there they were. so i said yes, she offered me 1 or 2 tylenol. i asked for 1 please. then they gave me the tylenol, and more apple juice. and they let my husband come in and hang out with me. he seemed amused by my loopy appearance.
the nurse put that finger oxygen pulse reader thing on again. i saw my oxygen level was only 96%. i began breathing deeper and it went up a couple percentage points. so i made a point of breathing deeply until it was at 100%. i drank the rest of the apple juice, and the nurse went over recovery info with me and my husband. i signed the form that i understood. i was supposed to call them immediately if i had any fever or bleeding or severe abdominal pain or difficulty breathing. she said there might be some spotting (from the 2 holes they poked in my vaginal wall) thats normal.
i had to hang out there for a while more until the drip IV completely drained into my body. we chatted about michael jackson and watched the news while waiting for the bag to empty into my veins. when i finally took in all of it, she took off all of the tape and removed the IV from my hand and told me i had to go pee before i could leave. so they helped me up. i made a joke about them putting vodka in my drink and i said i was fine, i was kind of clumsy and couldn't walk straight, so she didn't believe me, so she told my husband to come into the bathroom with me and i stumbled into the bathroom and i peed just fine. when i wiped i had some blood, so i grabbed a couple light pads. i didnt end up needing them, though. i got dressed into my clothes and they let us go. i wasn't allowed to drive for the rest of the day, but i could eat or drink anything i wanted now. so we went out to lunch. we got to leave by 9.
I had mild cramps all day. i didn't take another tylenol. they weren't bad. i had to walk slowly in the same way as before the donation, but this time, instead of feeling careful because i was protecting the ovum, i felt like it was just sore like i hurt myself (which i did). i felt like i had to shit the whole day. but when i tried i didn't want to push cause i was tender in my reproductive areas, so nothing came out. finally towards the end of the day i was able to go. it was all dense. probably from the fertility drugs and stuff.
and there was a spot i couldn't sit on somewhere if i slouched just right and tried to sit down, it felt tender and uncomfortable. i sat the wrong way twice. and then as soon as i repositioned myself i felt fine.
the cramps went away by the evening. and i began to forget about my healing insides. i was reading self magazine and there was a part about exercising and i decided to do a few keguls. BAD IDEA. that made my general vaj area hurt. i had totally forgotten about my surgery.
then in the evening i took my fist progesterone lozenge. it tasted bitter. like gross. and they tried to flavor it with mint, but it didn't work. i would think trying to mask the flavor with orange would go over a little better. but yeah. postage stamps taste a little bit better than the progesterone lozenges. I have to take them for 5 evenings straight to convince my body that i'm back to normal. and then i should have my period in 2 weeks exactly. and by that time, i will be healed enough for intercourse (WHOO HOO!!). i am a little terrified of getting pregnant now on accident after all those fertility hormones. so we'll be extra crazy careful.
this morning my case manager called to check up on me. now i get to fill out the reimbursements form. i bought a few amtrak tickets on my credit card. and the birth control pills i paid for. and gas getting up to appointments. and i had to put the rental car on my credit card (for insurance reasons). and the lunch we enjoyed the day of the donation. all of those things will be covered. but i have to attach receipts and all that to the reimbursements form, and mail it to them as soon as i can.
today i'm just resting. i got today covered from work. i dont think i would feel comfortable working yesterday after the surgery, but i could have worked today just fine. i'm going to work tomorrow.
i wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight, so i rushed to order food. got a couple of salads. cost $40. for 2 salads. it came with bread and butter on a table with a vase and orchid. the salad kinda sucked. total rip off. for $20 each.
then we tried to check our email, and internet wasn't free. it cost $50 for 24 hours of internet... there is free internet pretty much everywhere else in the world expect for this stupid hotel. that was kinda shocking. and then i took a bath, and the soap smelled like a solid bar of cologne. it was sooooo gross. i'd feel a little more comfortable in a motel 6. with free internet mild soaps and cheap food. lesson learned.
got up super early to drive down the street to the appointment. when i got there they put me in the patient waiting room. gave me a bag labeled "patient belongings" told me to change into the open in the back gown, putting all my stuff in the sealable bag. they gave me socks to wear. socks with traction. i love those socks. so i changed and then sat on the hospital bed thing in my gown tied closed in the back. the nurse told me to get comfortable. and she turned on the flat screen television hanging from the wall. news about michael jackson's family and the funeral procession.
the nurse gave me a sturdy denim blanket and kinda tucked me in, took my blood pressure and heart rate with that machine they clip on a finger that somehow knows your blood's oxygen level too. asked me when i ate last and when i gave myself the trigger shot. then left me alone with the michael jackson news.
a couple doctors began arriving for work and passed me walking through to the IVF lab. smiled and said hello with their coffee in hand. then the anesthesiologist arrived. greeted me and looked at my paperwork and set up a saline solution IV drip thing, putting a flexible needle in my vein on my left hand. taped it really really well onto my hand.
i never feel at ease until they tape it securely like that. but he did a very good job. it felt cold when he finally got it going. he didn't put anything in the IV yet. just set it up. then i waited there for a while. maybe 5 minutes. he came back and messed with the IV thing. maybe put something in there? i remember last donation, they put a drug in the IV before walking me to the operation room. maybe he did that. i didn't see him though. i was too busy with the michael jackson memorial news on the television. i loved michael jackson growing up. he was my david bowie.
a couple more people arrived and began arranging things in the operation room. the surgery was supposed to begin at 7:30 on the dot. i noticed a clock in the room said about 7: 25.
then a nurse helped walk with me into the operation room. she wheeled the IV behind me as i walked. there was a bed next to the ultrasound machine. instead of stirrups, there were knee rests. she helped me onto the bed and undid my ties to my gown so i could lie down on the bed without lying on knots. i was completely careless. not at all embarrassed about my nakedness under the gown. she pulled the gown out of the way, so it was more like a blanket with armholes than a gown.
i scooted down as to her directions, until i was in the right spot. and she put my knees in the stirrups. and strapped them there with a velcro tie thing. as she was doing that the anesthesiologist asked me how much i weighed, i responded, to which he began pushing an entire syringe full of some drug into my IV. i started to feel a little disoriented, so i lay back down and the anesthesiologist put an oxygen mask over my nose and put 3 sticky things on my chest to read my EKG i guess. then the pulse rate monitor and blood oxygen level monitor went on my finger and began beeping with me.
the fertility doctor arrived and put on the gloves and started up the ultrasound machine, there was my ultrasound guided needle that would suck the eggs out with the juice in the follicles, it was already out of the autoclaved bag and attached to the ultrasound wand. the bag wrapper had my name on it on a tray of gloves and tools next to the doctor's stool between my legs.
The doctor turned on the light and directed it towards my crotch, ready to begin the procedure, there was a point where i feared the anesthesiologist wasn't doing a good enough job, because i think last time i had passed out by now. So i thought about saying something to let them know i was still conscious, but i decided that would sound alarmist and stupid. so i began actively, but casually, looking around the room. i decided that would make it obvious that i was alert in case they thought otherwise.
i became aware of a conversation going on across the room between the nurses and the doctor, they were looking at a chart on the wall and discussing whether it was 15 or 16 follicles, and the doctor was asking them 16? and i raised my head and asked,
"is that how many follicles i have ready?" and he looked at me and asked,
"how many follicles did they say you had?" and i thought about the 2nd ultrasound and responded,
"i think she said 8 on one side and 6 or 7 on the other??" and he said,
"hmmm. i thought you had more that that."
I found that conversation strange. and comical. i mean, i was talking to this doctor between my legs and the doctor has the mask on and a light on my vaj. it was almost a monty python scene. or maybe it wasn't that weird, maybe i was just feeling high.
so i made a face that said, 'we will find out i guess' as i put my head back down i really started to feel drugged and weird. out of the corner of my eye i noticed the anesthesiologist put another bit of something in the IV. i decided to relax and let things happen, in a sense, thats when i surrendered any attempts to stay alert. i lay back and lazily stared at the hot air balloon mobile they had hanging from the ceiling. i just enjoyed the sensations i was feeling from the drugs. i remember thinking how appropriate that mobile was. light. airy. looks like how anesthesia feels. flying. floating to some distant land while some fertility doctor puts a sucking needle through your vagina and into each of your swollen ovaries. thats the last part i remember about the operating room.
while i was under they had drained the fluid of each follicle. in the center of each follicle somewhere in the fluid was a ripe egg ready for fertilization. so after draining the eggs out, they would put the liquid under microscopes and find the eggs and isolate each one into different test tubes. this was all happening in the next room. the IVF lab. i dont know how long they wait until attempting to fertilize the eggs. there was nobody else in the office. so i didn't see the surrogate or the intended father.
they had also carried my unconscious body off of the operating table and transferred me to the hospital bed they wheeled into the room. then when they got me positioned correctly, they wheeled me back to the patient waiting room with my IV still attached and dripping saline solution into my hand vein.
i awoke and a nurse offered me cold apple juice. i drank it from the plastic bottle she held to my lips, i said thank you. it had only been about 15-20 minutes. i was drowsy. i noticed the news was still on with michael jackson's funeral procession. some jerky jerk helicopter was following the procession to the funeral, and there were interview clips with the mother of his children and a bunch of nonsense i wasn't fully aware of yet. the nurse was watching with great interest. as she took my blood pressure and sort of multitasked. i asked how many follicles i ended up having, the nurse didn't know, she said, they're figuring that out now. but i think she thought i meant eggs. or maybe i said eggs... they would have known how many follicles i had as soon as they looked with the ultrasound machine. the nurse asked if i had cramps. i hadn't even fully thought about how my body felt until that moment, then i thought about the cramps i might have, and there they were. so i said yes, she offered me 1 or 2 tylenol. i asked for 1 please. then they gave me the tylenol, and more apple juice. and they let my husband come in and hang out with me. he seemed amused by my loopy appearance.
the nurse put that finger oxygen pulse reader thing on again. i saw my oxygen level was only 96%. i began breathing deeper and it went up a couple percentage points. so i made a point of breathing deeply until it was at 100%. i drank the rest of the apple juice, and the nurse went over recovery info with me and my husband. i signed the form that i understood. i was supposed to call them immediately if i had any fever or bleeding or severe abdominal pain or difficulty breathing. she said there might be some spotting (from the 2 holes they poked in my vaginal wall) thats normal.
i had to hang out there for a while more until the drip IV completely drained into my body. we chatted about michael jackson and watched the news while waiting for the bag to empty into my veins. when i finally took in all of it, she took off all of the tape and removed the IV from my hand and told me i had to go pee before i could leave. so they helped me up. i made a joke about them putting vodka in my drink and i said i was fine, i was kind of clumsy and couldn't walk straight, so she didn't believe me, so she told my husband to come into the bathroom with me and i stumbled into the bathroom and i peed just fine. when i wiped i had some blood, so i grabbed a couple light pads. i didnt end up needing them, though. i got dressed into my clothes and they let us go. i wasn't allowed to drive for the rest of the day, but i could eat or drink anything i wanted now. so we went out to lunch. we got to leave by 9.
I had mild cramps all day. i didn't take another tylenol. they weren't bad. i had to walk slowly in the same way as before the donation, but this time, instead of feeling careful because i was protecting the ovum, i felt like it was just sore like i hurt myself (which i did). i felt like i had to shit the whole day. but when i tried i didn't want to push cause i was tender in my reproductive areas, so nothing came out. finally towards the end of the day i was able to go. it was all dense. probably from the fertility drugs and stuff.
and there was a spot i couldn't sit on somewhere if i slouched just right and tried to sit down, it felt tender and uncomfortable. i sat the wrong way twice. and then as soon as i repositioned myself i felt fine.
the cramps went away by the evening. and i began to forget about my healing insides. i was reading self magazine and there was a part about exercising and i decided to do a few keguls. BAD IDEA. that made my general vaj area hurt. i had totally forgotten about my surgery.
then in the evening i took my fist progesterone lozenge. it tasted bitter. like gross. and they tried to flavor it with mint, but it didn't work. i would think trying to mask the flavor with orange would go over a little better. but yeah. postage stamps taste a little bit better than the progesterone lozenges. I have to take them for 5 evenings straight to convince my body that i'm back to normal. and then i should have my period in 2 weeks exactly. and by that time, i will be healed enough for intercourse (WHOO HOO!!). i am a little terrified of getting pregnant now on accident after all those fertility hormones. so we'll be extra crazy careful.
this morning my case manager called to check up on me. now i get to fill out the reimbursements form. i bought a few amtrak tickets on my credit card. and the birth control pills i paid for. and gas getting up to appointments. and i had to put the rental car on my credit card (for insurance reasons). and the lunch we enjoyed the day of the donation. all of those things will be covered. but i have to attach receipts and all that to the reimbursements form, and mail it to them as soon as i can.
today i'm just resting. i got today covered from work. i dont think i would feel comfortable working yesterday after the surgery, but i could have worked today just fine. i'm going to work tomorrow.
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