Let the Injections Begin!

{ Before you get excited about the pic, it is a HPT & vial- but from last time! I just wanted to post a pic showing the vial & the hpt gives some size reference. That is an IUI vial & the swimmers fill up probably a third or quarter of the vial, not the whole thing. }

I am done with the clomid finally! Ick, it was making me sick the last few days. A spinning head & belly most of the time. Now on to the Gonal-F shots! We did the first one tonight & it was more painful then I was expecting. Maybe K was pushing really hard? She thought maybe she pushed it in too fast. The info site on net said it would hurt less than Follistim, but so far ah... no. My sister will be doing it tomorrow since I am going out of town w/my family. { K is not going since it is sister's bachelorette weekend thing. } Maybe it will be better if she does it slower. ? I hope it is alright that I put a warm eye pillow on it. It should only be for about 3 nights that I do the gonal -f anyway, so it ain't too bad.

Nurse #2 talked to me on phone today. She said that my Estrodial levels (blood test) were about 530 last try, when I thought I had 5 follies. She said that means I probably only really had 2 good follies and the rest were just playing games, & would never Ovulate. I didn't know that! I thought it seemed low compared to what others said they had, but I didn't know that was a bad thing. She said each follie will = around 150-300 units of estrodial a piece. So now I have to wish for 5 good follies and high estrodial numbers too. How do I get Estrodial? Can I eat something special? I'll have to google it.

Send healthy Follie and Estrodial growing vibes my way please!!!!!!!

HSG is a no go

ok- HSG is cancelled.

Unless some miracle happens, we will be skipping it and just doing the iui anyway, with the hopes that nothing is too wrong with my tubes. My insurance decided today that an HSG is a infertility procedure even if my Dr is saying he wants it due to tubal pregnancy to check for problems/damage. They are reviewing it. Blah. Lady on phone kept spacing off and would stop talking in the middle of each sentence, then start talking again. ? Great. I love it when we are in a hurry to do HSG before too late in my cycle, and I get the lady who is not really even paying attention to what she is doing. :l It would be $800 out of pocket tomorrow to do the HSG w/out insurance. The last place I had it was $350, but I did think they were going to kill me so I don't think I can do that again! They might succeed this time! {accckkk, cough cough -going to die clue in movies }

AH well, I was really looking forward to the HSG clearing out my tubes, for an increased chance. Phooey. Now I will just have to hope that the fert meds give me multiple, healthy eggs and my tubes are clear enough to let one thru. arrg. I am a planner, I do not like flying on hope alone! {pout pout}

{Pic is sunflower from our garden last summer.}

HSG = Give your tubes a test!

Since my HSG is Wed, I thought I'd tell you why I would go thru it again when it was so bad the first time. This will also give you tips to use if you need to have one done. So quick breakdown is that they use a speculum, swab your cervix, then put a tube/balloon in your uterus. They inflate the balloon, then push dye into uterus and tubes. As it goes in, the tech or Dr ( & you) can see the dye spilling out the ends of your tubes (hopefully). It is cool to see pics of your uterus and tubes. It is a reassuring test to have done because it shows if they are all clear so the eggs can travel through-go, eggies go!

I will tell you my Rules For HSG:

• Having it done by my fertility/gyn dr, not just a radiologist who isn't normally working "down there" on women.


• I will be getting a pain blocking shot in my cervix at the beginning of my procedure & taking 1600 mg Ibuprofin ( most ppl take 800 but last time was painful & I am a big girl at 6 ' tall and a sturdy size, LOL). My Dr thinks it is outrageous that anyone would do an HSG w/out giving a shot of pain blocker on the cervix. Hopefully it will help! I guess your tubes can seize up and twist and that is one of the reasons it can hurt. If you have any blockages, that can also cause pain. I must have had a brick wall in one of my tubes last time. :(


• I will take my own pad, and a friend who will drive & hold my hand.


• Not wasting TTC time! After HSG your supposed to have an increased chance for conception for the next 1-3 cycles. Whoo hoo!

P.S. I started my clomid last night & must say I really do like how it makes me sleep! I look forward to that part. I take it at night since it gave me headaches and I didn't like how I felt on it. Since this is my 6th cycle using clomid, I won't be using it anymore. I RR...EEAA...LLYY hope this cycle is the winner! FX!

{pic is a violet from our yard last summer}

Raingardens & organic yards

Since it will be Earth Day, I wanted to tell everyone about raingardens. Many cities are starting programs now. They pay you back $ for putting in an approved raingarden! Raingardens catch runoff from your street, driveway, house, yard, ... holds it in one spot while native plants help filter the water, cleaning it as it drains slowly instead of rushing into sewer. We put one in last year and were sent a check and a form to get a discount with water dept too. They will walk you thru each step or you can contact your local extension office, Master Naturalist or Master Gardener programs for help. ( I took the master naturalist training last year and loved it.)
As another quick plug for organic gardening- my sis and parents lawns have bald or yellow spots right now even though they have been treating them with chemicals and raking all their leaves like good home owners. Our lawn does NOT get raked, or sprayed with anything and it is lush, dark green and so long we have mowed already. Our yard is organic and beautiful! We love to watch/listen to our birds, bunny, butterflies and other wild friends who stop by all the time. We also love to look at the wide diversity of plants- both planted and "found", that call our yard home. Right now, the lawn is full of violets, creeping charlie, a few dandilions and wild strawberry plants. The violets are BEAUTIFUL! I can't tell you how much I love to walk thru the long grass and see all the small purple, white, & yellow flowers everywhere. I'll have to take some new pictures. ( I know I know Creeping Charlie is not native to the US, but we have reached a compromise, Charlie and I, & I don't want any static! LOL) I can't wait to see if any of our fruit trees/shrubs will have fruit this year! Hopefully as spring settles in here and all our plants wake up, we can also sow a seed and wake up our baby! **** Sending seeds of baby dust to everyone! *****