10 posts tagged “hcg test”

The period appeared. I am so stunned. No other words to describe how I feel right now.

There were absolutely no signs of AF. No PMS. It's not like I was spotting for a couple of days, cramping, no this or that, it just came...

Way earlier than the previous IVFs too ... 13DPO

I'm more stunned because I had no symptoms until this morning.

This afternoon, I noticed bright red spotting, which was not a good sign. Then I was like, "hhmmm, could this be cramps?" then BOOM. The period showed its nasty head.

When I had minor spotting this afternoon, I told my husband about it. He was upset and sad. This is the first he kind of showed any emotions. I could never tell if he was affected by the outcome.

I am going to call Dr in the morning - probably have the blood test done, rather than the schedule beta (Monday, 3/16). 

My mind is so blurred.

12DP4DT (12 day post 4-day transfer) 12DPT (12 day post transfer) 16DPR (16 day post retrieval)

So here I am. The day of my official pregnancy test. I went to the clinic at 9:00am. The receptionist asked me what I was there for, and I whispered "to do blood test, for pregnancy test". I don't know why I was whispering...

The nurse called me in. It was my favorite nurse. Whenever she draws my blood, There are never bruises or spots on my arm. And she always find my vein easily. Other nurses always struggle, "your have small vein, your vein keeps rolling," blah blah blah.

I told her that she was my favorite nurse because she never bruises my arm. She smiled. I brought my courage and said, "I've been spotting..." while she was setting up the test. I was surprised at myself that I was on the verge of tears. I couldn't finish my sentence. I felt like choking up, felt like my throat got clogged or something.

I took a deep breath in.

She asked, "is it spotting or heavy flow?"
"Very small, brown stuff."

She smiled again and said, "That's normal. I think you are good. I'm sure you are pregnant this time." I gave her weary smile, "you think so?" I was about to cry again.

"Oh yeah. One or two. Maybe twins."  she continues, "no cramping, right?"

I got nervous.

"Yes. On and off, it's not bad though... Last IVF, my period came before beta."
"How many did you transfer?"
"5..."

She patted my tummy, "I'm telling you it sounds good, mommy". Again I got choked up.

During these 2WW, I've googled and surfed the Internet until I was dizzy. It was the first time in two weeks someone in real life gave me a word of encouragement about the IVF. My husband is the only one whom I share this IVF experience, other than those who read my blog.

I was thankful for the nurse's words. I didn't realize I would get so emotional just getting my blood drawn!

A few more hours and I will know. I almost bought some pregnancy tests on my way home. What a way to kill time before the phone call! Do I want to get more depressed? Plus I didn't want to waste $20.

The second posting will follow after the blood test result.
 

11DP4DT (11 day post 4-day transfer) 11DPT (11 day post transfer) 15DPR (15 day post retrieval)

Today I'm just waiting for the period to come. If all the dates are the same as IVF #1, it won't come until tomorrow.

The brown discharge came back yesterday afternoon. It's been very, very small but pretty consistent since then and the color got darker I think. This is one of the typical premenstrual symptoms for me. Also l've been getting light cramps on and off. My husband gave me a big hug last night, said "this is not the end of the world". I replied, "but it is the end of our baby dream". He just nodded.

As hopeless as I am, I find myself still clinging to that glimmer of hope. Maybe I'm one of those miracle stories that tomorrow's test will give me a good news. I think I was like that too in the last IVF cycle until getting the period on 16dpo. Last time, my beta was scheduled on 17dpo somehow. Everything was the same. 4-day transfer and all. I wonder why... This time, the test will be on 16dpo. So if everything will be as IVF #1 was, I won't have my period until I come home from the clinic tomorrow. I don't know which would be better, to have the period the day before or the day of beta. It'd be best if it doesn't come at all! 

Either way, this torturous wait will be over tomorrow...

2DP4DT (2 day post 4-day transfer) 2DPT (2 day post transfer) 6DPR (6 day post retrieval)

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to do HPT until the beta test at the clinic. Of course I wouldn't do it today or anything. That's just silly. But I'm beginning to think when I can start testing on a pee stick. The reason is, to prepare myself. Last time, as disappointing as it was, it DID help me to prepare. As hopeful, and positive as I've been this time around, either way, I cannot have the news blasted at me. I know, I know, I sound like I'm just trying to justifying myself about "forbidden" HPT.

Anyway, I may test once this weekend like Friday, then again on Monday or something. That sounds reasonable enough.

5 embryos have been transferred. Honestly, I don't think all will implant. Last time 4 embryos were transferred and none implanted. I don't think they even stuck for one day, since my period came right on time despite the daily progesterone shots.

All we want is 1 or 2. My husband just wants 1. Not that having cute twins is tempting, he is worried about my health and fetal development. Well, he has a point. Anyway, God should know we are not being greedy. We just want to be blessed with one baby. Also having 5 embryos being transferred, there are risks of multiples. Gosh, that would be hard. I did agree to the Dr that I will reduce if that happens. I will deal with it when that happens, I guess. For now, I'm praying at least 1 embryo will stick to my uterus. That's all I want.
 
As for dealing with this tough two-week wait (technically it was 12 day wait, now 9-day wait!), me as ever-obsessive IVFer, I'm staring at the homemade chart. I know it's nuts. Every symptom from IVF#1 was recorded so I have something to compare this time such as when did I start to have bloody discharge, cramps or any kind of pains, etc. If the same shit doesn't have this cycle, I'm hoping I have better signs of good news (BFP)!

****

Progesterone shots since 9/30 am

Endometrin 100mg since 9/29 pm

Medrol 8mg every 12 hrs from 9/29 pm to 10/3 am

Doxycycline 100 mg every 12 hrs from 9/28 pm to 10/2 am

Novarel HCG Shot 9/27 pm 

Gonal-F 225IU from 9/16 pm to 9/27 am

Menopur 3 vials from 9/16 pm to 9/26 pm

Lupron 5 units from 9/16 pm 9/26 pm (10 units from 9/2 to 9/15 pm)

 

The doctor's office just called. The nurse sounded quite depressed. They must hate making this kind of phone calls. I'd dread it. Yes, the result was negative. But I knew it. Not because I had this "hunch". Because my period started yesterday. It wasn't "spotting" and it was indeed the period, so I knew. I even stopped taking the progesterone since yesterday.

Funny thing is I wasn't as upset as I thought I'd be. I was rather relieved. I wasn't relieved because it didn't work. I was relieved because I knew it didn't work and still had to wait for two full weeks. It was so agonizing. I tried to remain hopeful, but when something inside you tells you otherwise, it's hard to ignore.

What's next? My husband tried to cheer me up, I felt so bad. He said "I almost died a few times in my life, being alive and being married to you alone is a gift. So not having a baby is not the worst thing." I almost cried.

We've talked about adoption before. But when I told him how much it'd cost to adopt, we knew that wasn't our option either. Oddly enough, having a baby via IVF as expensive as it is, it's much more economical if successful.

We are going to have a consultation with the doctor next Friday to discuss our options. If we can get another grant, at least we can consider the possibility of another cycle. We don't know yet. We can't go bankrupt for IVF. We still gotta live our lives, y'know...

Anyway, those pregnancy tests were accurate. Sorry for doubting you, HPT!

Tomorrow is long awaited 14 DPT (14 days post transfer/Day 33).

I feel like singing "Tomorow" - tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow...  Will I love tomorrow? Will it give me a great birthday present I wanted so long?

I took the last HPT this morning. The test result was big fat negative. Couldn't get any more negative than that - one dark line - I used First Response. And I have bloody discharge again. I kind of have cramps too. This time it's more like the cramps, not the weird sharp pains. Maybe I am getting my period? This is such a vicious circle!

Well, this emotional roller coaster  will end tomorrow and possibly my journey to have a baby will end too.
I'm trying not to get depressed.

It's hard not to be pessimistic when the odds are all against you. I can't help feeling bad for my husband either, who wants a baby more than me actually. The problems are all on me. He is very healthy. He says I'm silly to feel that way but it's hard not to.

Taking three negative pregnancy tests didn't help being positive either. Probably I should have just waited for the blood test. Ah well, what's done is done.

It's raining hard in New York today. It's supposed to rain all day. The big storm that hit the Dallas area is hitting our region today, they said.

My husband OK'd me to have one drink today. I guess he figured I needed a little picker-upper!

Is this a bad thing that there are no more sharp pains, buttache, breast tenderness, no suspicious discharge, and frequent urination. I never used to get up at night to pee. How many times I've done that the past month?

I had a slight pain in the left ovary tonight (only a little bit - nothing like yesterday's). I think I'm just exhausting myself mentally. I'm sure a lot of women are like that during the two-week wait.

 

My husband is still away. He is supposed to return late tonight (He is visiting his father who has terminal cancer). Today was the last day getting the progesterone injection at the clinic. It's only a 5-minute subway ride from home, so it wasn't that bad. It certainly is easier to get it done at home.

I took another HPT (2nd of the three) this morning. It was negative. It's Day 31 (12 DPT) today. Not even a faint line was there. You know, you hear people saying "at least I saw a faint line next to the test line"? NADA. It really was big fat negative. Probably it was silly of me to take another test after yesterday. I couldn't help it if you know what I mean.

Yesterday was St. Paddy's Day. I'm a drinker. I love to drink, however, trying to be a good girl, I didn't even have a sip on St. Paddy's day. I'm not Irish but who can resist "the official all-you-can-drink day"? I told friends that I was sick. That's the only way for them to believe that I wouldn't be drinking especially on St. Patrick's day. The thing is, nobody (except my husband of course) knows that I'm going through IVF. I put enough pressure on myself, I don't want meddling friends who have no idea what is like to be infertile to be inquisitive. Thank god for the Internet.

I was just thinking whether it is possible to do another IVF. Financially it's pretty much out of the question. Even paying for this round was hard. When I found out the cryopreservation would cost $1,600, I almost had a heart attack. Though it turned out it was an unnecessary worry.

We paid $5,000 plus meds (approx. $200 so far) plus the cost of anesthesia ($500). Co-pays prior to the actual IVF cycle has been $40 per visit (yikes). The nurse told me that I will have to get more progesterone shots and suppositories in case I became pregnant. I think the progesterone was the most expensive meds (with insurance co-pay). The original cost for my IVF was $11,000 I think (not sure anymore). Thanks to the government grant program, we only had to pay $5,000. It's still $5,000. That was tough.

I don't know if we'd qualify for another round of IVF. Even if we did, can we afford it without maxing out our credit cards?

Well, it's 2 days too soon to be worried about that, isn't it?

Another long day continues.

Today I almost forgot how antsy I've been for the blood test. The reason is the sharp pains that have been attacking my right ovary. The pain is so bad I had to lean forward at my desk for a while. It's not 24/7. It comes, stays for a bit and it goes. Then it comes back! I had a little bit of pain in the left ovary too but mostly (90%) is from the right side. This is definitely not the usual cramps I'd have before my period. It was minimal yesterday, and today it's been agonizing me all day. Now I'm worried that my Stage IV endometriosis came back in full force. It'd be such a bad news for my IVF treatment. Severe endometriosis is one of the worst enemies for infertility treatments.

Also I took a pregnancy test. This would be the first of the three tests (I bought 3-stick package so I might as well use them all). After waiting for 5 minutes, I saw the result. This is what people call BFN (Big Fat Negative) eh? My heart didn't sink that much. A few days ago when I got this weird sensation that I failed, my heart sank much lower. Nevertheless I'm disappointed. Should I try tomorrow again or wait until Wednesday?

Will it come back positive even it came back SOO negative on Day 30 (11 DPT)?

Normally two weeks just fly by but indeed this is the longest two weeks I've ever experienced. Friday is my 38th birthday. The test will be on Thursday. Last birthday, I had the laparoscopic surgery for Stage IV endometriosis. It's definitely not the ideal way to spend your birthday. This year, either I will have a big birthday present for me, or I will have most depressing birthday. Yikes.

Keep telling myself "Have some hope" over and over.

I've calmed down a little bit. It's not that I gave up or became more hopeful, I just reassured myself there is nothing I can do - so why fret.

Today is Day 29 (10 DPT). My husband is away until Tuesday so I went to the clinic to get the progesterone injection. Wow the nurse is super-fast compared to my husband! She laughed hearing my awe. "That's my job, I do this all the time!" I know, still it's super-fast!

The bloody, pinky discharge was only a little bit during the day. I didn't see any in the evening. My ovaries still have sharp pains though. My head is oozy too. The funny (!?) thing is, my breast tenderness is gone, my buttache is pretty much gone. The cramp is gone too (other than the sharp pain in the ovaries). Is this a good sign or bad sign? I think the pain I have is related to my endometriosis (my diagnosis).  Oh I had severe back pain (lower back) too. This was the same pain I had right before the surgery for the endometriosis a year ago. Maybe the spotting is related to the endometriosis rather than the implantation??

I bought the pregnancy tests. I haven't tested yet. I'm not supposed to. I was strictly told not to, by the doctor. They said because it's not accurate. I think it's worse to have the false-positive test rather than hit with NEGATIVE. You get so excited and shot down the toilet. My husband is kind of square so he'd be upset if I told him I bought the test.

I think I will use it tomorrow morning. Either way, I will be able to prepare myself.

I heard taking the progesterone delays the period. I wonder if it does with me. I'm pretty regular. But the past four months, I've been irregular (between 27 - 32). I used to be consistent 28-day girl. So I consider the 27 - 32 day cycle very irregular! I had all the symptoms for the period, and it's been almost 4 days since it started. Now nothing.

I got the 3-test package so I can test for 3 days before the HCG test on Thursday.