Saturday, November 28, 2015

Medication Protocol

New House
*Photo by our amazing birth photographer who was also our fantastic realtor
I'm a little behind blogging because The Dahlager Family was on the move again.  Ben and I purchased a house at the beginning of November in an adorable neighborhood.  We totally won the neighbor lottery when we learned not only do the people across the street have kids the same ages as our kids who are REALLY NICE and their mom teaches yoga-I'm pretty sure we'll get along, but my dad's cousin lives just a couple blocks down our street.  It's so wonderful that the kids have neighborhood kids to play with.  We left amazing neighbors back in Sauk Rapids, so this made the transition a little easier on all of us.  I think we'll always miss our neighbors up there though!  We had our work cut out for us to modernize a 1970's home filled with shag green carpet and matching wallpaper...lots of wallpaper!  We have almost completed the bedroom projects and Ben hopes to get started on a little demolition work while I'm away getting pregnant with another man's baby.

Check Out the Matching Green Curtains


1st day of Lupron

On November 7th I began my Lupron injections for 10 consecutive days.  Lupron is used to quiet my ovaries so I don't ovulate.  I was a little freaked out about the first one because no one really wants to give themselves a shot in the belly, but the first week wasn't really as bad as I had led myself to believe.  Days 8, 9, and 10 were a little rough.  I don't know why, but my pain receptors in my stomach must have increased in their sensitivity.  Those last few injections hurt and left me with a couple burses.  I was totally relieved to have those 10 days over and done with. 










On November 12th I started my Estrace oral tabs.  Estrace thickens my uterine lining, which is where the embryo will be placed through a catheter on the day of the IVF transfer.  I had to ask my surrogate support group and my coordinator at IARC if it was common to have an obscene amount of discharge from the Estrace.  I didn't remember that side effect when I got pregnant with Spencer.  I learned from experienced women who have done this many many times that each medication protocol can be extremely different.  This made me happy because I'm terrified of the side effects I had from the Progesterone last time.
On November 13th I had to get follow-up blood work to make sure my rubella booster worked and to verify that my hemoglobin was up.  I had to start taking iron supplements this fall to boost my levels.  I was cleared to keep on track with my protocol!  Everything looks great.   


IP-A doesn't like needles so I'm pretending this is painful just to be funny
*I was in the middle of painting when I ran to this appointment.  Normally I don' leave with paint all over me.
My Beautiful Uterine Lining is on the Monitor
On November 25th I had my transvaginal ultrasound to measure the thickness of the uterine lining.  I had an ultrasound tech named Liz.  Liz was fantastic!  Even though she was probing around with a big wand up my who-ha, she made the experience very comfortable and she clearly enjoys learning about surrogacy.  They want us to measure at an 8.  I measured at an 11 when I got pregnant with spencer, and this time I measured at a 13.6!  The results came back from our doctor that said 14, so I'm not entirely sure what the official number was, but our coordinator said that we may have hit a record high for any of her programs.  I also noticed this week that I have gained a lot of weight.  I don't own a scale, which I highly recommend for everyone, so I don't know how much, but my cloths fit differently and I don't feel like normal self.  I remember some of the ladies in my support group talking about gaining weight from the protocol medications but I didn't remember feeling this awful about my weight gain last time.  I'm sure it will all fall of when I start vomiting anyway. 

 
Uterine Lining


A Must Have for Progesterone Suppositories
On November 26th I started my progesterone vaginal suppositories.  The progesterone prepares my uterine lining for the implantation of the embryo and to hold onto the pregnancy.  Last time these little suckers extremely altered my taste buds.  I was so sensitive to sweets that apples and bananas were too sweet to eat.  It is also worth mentioning that it leaks out constantly throughout the day.  It's pretty gross and a pad is necessary.  I woke up at 5:00 on Thanksgiving morning completely freaked out!  I thought I was going to vomit, and my heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.  Nothing about surrogacy scares me except the progesterone!  I couldn't fall back asleep and it took a couple hours to pull myself out of bed to insert my first suppository.  I learned from last time that it's much more comfortable to avoid using the applicator and just get it as close to the cervix as one possibly can.  I don't know why the first one scared me as much as it did,  I am fully aware that it'll take a few days for the side effects to kick in anyway.  Last night I put in my suppository and had a really powerful sneezed about 10 minutes later.  The suppository shot out like a rocket into my underwear.  Of course I couldn't waste it, so I just shoved that escapee back in place.  I about died with laughter! 
SCARRIEST PART OF SURROGACY!...PROGESTERONE
 I'm probably as excited as a kid on Christmas morning - I'm off to Canada for the transfer really soon!!!