Gearing Up For Round 2

The plane tickets have been purchased, the accomodations have been booked and I will start birth control bills December 30th! I am excited that it is getting closer to going again but am nervous that I still have a fallopian tube that can cause the demise of this second round of IVF. I keep having arguments, with myself, that maybe it would've been better to just remove both fallopian tubes while we were at it that way those embryo's would have to stay in the uterus!! K, so that might just be a tad bit drastic but hey I tend to be that way. That is really my only concern going into round two since round one went soo smoothly and virtually pain free. Except for the accomodations since I try to look for cheaper but nice places to rent the first time around was cheap and nice but located in the Ghetto. This new place is in Casco Viejo which is the old town Pananma City that is being refurbished. It is safe inside of Casco Viejo but very unsafe outside of it which is fairly close to where we will be staying. Hopefully it all turns out well and we will be happy with our choice. We are also going to spend a week in the upper end of Panama on an island on the Carribean side that is supposed to be spectacular! We just need to decide which island we want to be on.

Update

So I thought I would update this blog before I continue on with posts. We went in for the 7 week ultrasound to see a heartbeat and had a unexpected surprise. It turned out that one embryo took and had a heartbeat but was in the fallopian tube. So after doing another HCG test and finding that my BETA was over 8,500 the doctor said we needed to go in surgically and remove the embryo and possibly the tube as well that day. We went in at 4:30 that afternoon and had the embryo and left tube laproscopically removed. The procedure went well and I was able to go home that evening. Recovery has been fairly smooth sailing, the first week I was quite a bit sore but things have been great ever since. We are planning on doing a second round of IVF in Panama in February so hopefully this time around those darn embryo's will stay where they belong, in the uterus!! This time they only have one tube that they can wander down so my odds are better. I will start blogging again closer to when we leave.

Here are the surgery pictures for your viewing pleasure

First Dr. Appointment

Today I met with an actual OB for the first time to go over my meds that I am on and what the next steps should be. I was lucky to get one that is practically next door and in the physicians building attached the the hospital. I of course googled him and found a few physician review sites that had reviews and all had 5 stars. Doesn't necessarily mean he is what I want but my first impression was a good one. He listened to what I had to say and the explanination of what I am taking and then let me ask a bunch more questions before leaving. I have an appointmetn on the 25th to do our first ultrasound and then have time to go over all my questions so I can decide if I want him as my main OB or if I need to start the hunt over. Hopefully I won't and this will be one of the first simple things I will have to do in getting pregnant. It is pretty fun to write and say that I am pregnant it doesn't really feel real kinda pretend like. I am sure it will sink in once I actually have a tummy. I can't wait!!

Second Beta

I got the results of Saturday's beta test and it was 162!!!! It is viable so far and more than doubled!!! I can relax a little now and try to enjoy the next few weeks before an ultrasound to see a heartbeat. I am going in to see one of the OB's tomorrow morning to go over everything and make sure I am on track.

Second Beta Wait

Inbetween my beta tests I have been having some bright red blood spotting for one full day and then half a day. Today I have not had any spotting what so ever which makes me feel better. Every morning I have been taking a pregnancy test to give myself some comfort that I am still pregnant. I will get my second beta results on Monday when the doctor's office is open again. It is really irritating that the lab won't just give me the nuber but oh no that would be interpreting the results!! How ridiculous!!

First Beta

So today was my first beta test and it came back positive with a Beta of 70. I will retest on Saturday and hopeufully they will double!! I am cautiously optimistic about the whole thing at the moment. Last night and today I have had brownish discharge which I haven't had before. I am not too worried about that as I have read that this can be a sign of implantation and nothing to really worry about. So I will go with that theory for now!!!

Status of Extra Embryos

I got the email yesturday from the doctor that the three remaining embryos did not get to blastocyte stage therefore will not be frozen. I was not too sad or disappointed about them not freezing as the cost of freezing them and then to put them back in would be only a few hundred cheaper then doing a fresh cycle.

Home Again, Home Again

We have made it home safe and sound!! The flights were long but overall not too bad. I definately have missed my husband, my wonderful bed and my puppy Charlie. I was actually happy to be back to work on Monday doing something so I am not thinking about what is going on inside all the time. So far I have not really felt too much except a little indigestion and a lot of gas bubbles. I do get a little neausiated in the evening but I think it is due to my Metformin not anything. I was reading on a forum and saw this little daily chart of what is happening:

this is what happens in a 3dt :

1dpt ..embryo is growing and developing
2dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst
3dpt....Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day
4dpt.. Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining
5dpt.. Implantation begins,as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining
6dpt.. Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining
7dpt.. Morula is completely inmplanted in the lining and has placenta cells &
fetal cells
8dpt...Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood
9dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
10dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
11dpt...HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on
HPT

I am on 3dpt so hopefully they have reached the Blastocyte stage and are hatching out of thier shells right now!! I feel calm and positive at this point but cautious as I don't want to be too disapointed if it doesn't work.

Embryo's on Board

Today was the transfer, so exciting!! I was told to drink 6 to 7 glasses of water before coming and to wear loose clothing that was easy to get on. So I started drinking 2 hours before the appointment because I hate drinking water so it takes me about that long to take that much water in. I was dying by the time we got into Panama City and on the way to the appointment. When we got there the nurses said I could go to the bathroom but could only pee for 10 seconds and then had to stop so I would have enough liquid. We had to wait for about 40 minutes before they were ready to do the transfer and I had to run and pee for 10 more seconds becuase my bladder was hurting soo much. I went in and the Dr. checked to see if my bladder was full enough and he commented that it looked like I drank a gallon of water! I laughed and asked if I could go pee again to let some more out. He said I could so off I went. Then we got to go and see the embryo's on this screen. We had 3 grade 1 and 3 grade 2 embryos. So he discussed why they were given the grades and what it meant and all about Blastocytes. He was soo great and thorough. Then we went back in and got ready for the transfer. It didn't hurt at all and we could see the catheter on the screen and the Dr. told us when they were being put in. It took maybe 5 minutes and then I just had to lay there for 10 or so minutes before getting changed. Now I am on relax mode for the remaining two days that we are here before flying home. Everything has gone soo smoothly so far I am hoping that it continues and it is a success!!

Number of Embryos

This afternoon I called and they said that 6 fertilized and are growing so that is great!! I am happy that I have that many so we hopefully will have a good group to choose from. The Dr. I spoke to told me that on Friday I have to drink 6-7 glasses of water and bring loose fitting clothing which I am not looking forward to having a full bladder!! I have enough trouble drinking one bottle of water so I guess I better start practicing!

Ebryo Retrieval

Tuesday we went in for the embryo retrieval. I had to fast and my appointment was 10:00 am so that wasn't too bad. We arrived and they were all waiting for me so I went right back and got changed and was taken to the room where they were going to do the procedure. The anastesialogist came in and explanied what he was going to do and how I would feel afterwards and talked me through putting in the pick line and giving me the anastesia. Dr. Berbey came in and checked my ovaries and said they looked good and that it would be over quickly and he would talk to me afterwards. I went right to sleep and woke up like from a nap which was nice. They brought me into the other room to rest in a chair and my mom came in and sat and chatted with me. Jesse was still off doing his business so he wasn't back yet to come in. Then we went and talked with Dr. Berbey and he said that he got 8 follicles and that they would be doing ICSI on them in a little bit and that I could call tomorrow and find out how many fertilized. Then he explained all the other medications I have to start taking and how important it was not to miss any of them. We had talked about only doing the first shot of Progesterone that day and then suppositories so he had the nurse give me the shot which was a piece of cake and didn't even feel it which was great becuase everyone says how painful they are. Then I went to the pharmacy and picked up the gel progesterone, estridol, folic acid and a few other things. So I look like a walking pharmacy with all the pills I get to take for the rest of the time!! I start tomorrow with all of them so we will see how that goes.

Third Appointment

Saturday was my third appointment with Dr. Berbey. We just did a check of the follicles to see how they were growing and to give me the Lupron shot to take that evening at 11:30. The update is I have 9 good sized follicles that he will take and about 6 more that are too small. Everything else he said is looking good. Funny story, we were in the office talking with Dr. Berbey and he was telling us where we should go to eat on Monday night for a nice dinner and my dad walked in. Dr. Berbey didn't know that it was my dad but thought it was my husband, so he turns to my dad and I and says now no sexual relations! I started laughing and explained that was my dad and not my husband. We were all rolling with laughter it was pretty funny!!

The Lupron shot was soo easy and the needle was very tiny so it didn't hurt at all and today we are going to relax and get ready for the big retrieval day tomorrow!!

Second Shot

Today was the first day for two shots and the first shot wasn't bad and the second I didn't feel at all!! I was worried all last night about it hurting and where to put both injections. All very silly but hey when you are paranoid about needles I guess that is where your mind goes, crazy!! So I have three more double days then back to one!! Sadly though the one goes to IM in my butt, not fun!!

Second Appointment

I had my second appointment today and it was short and sweet. Dr. Berbey did the ultrasound and said everything is looking good and I have 8 eggs growing so that is good. I start two injections tomorrow which I am not looking forward to. Yesturday my injection started stinging while going in and forming a hard lump that did disspate in a few minutes after rubbing it. Then today the injection site swelled a little and stung again. I think my body is not liking be poked all the time!! So tomorrow isn't going to be fun but hopefully I am wrong. I have not noticed any weight gain, swelling or any other side effects from the injections which is great!! Saturday is the next appointment and my husband is flying in, it will be a good day!!

Update

We have been on the beach for the past three days which has been wonderful. There is a lovely breeze while on the beach and the shores are beautiful!!! The shots are still going just fine and I don't have any reaction to them which has been nice. I am now just taking the one injection for four more days and then to two injections for four days. Hopefully things still go well and I continue to feel good.

We Have Arrived

After waking up at 3:30 am on Wednesday morning and started our 8 hours of flight time and 3 hour layover in LAX. We arrived at the International airport at sunset which was beautiful to fly into. We were picked up by Eric, the CEO of Ageless Wonders Panama, and taken for a lovely tour of the city as we went to our accomodations. I would like to say that I am soo glad I went through this medical tourism company and would highly reccommend them to anyone that is looking to do IVF in Panama. Eric and Ilka speak fluent english and of course spanish and have gone above and beyond making sure our accommodations were safe and that we got on the bus alright. It is humid here but so far we have had a cool breeze each day. We are staying in a bungalow in Gorgona by the beach which is lovely.

Fertility Doll

My friend brought me a fertility doll from Africa to bring with me on this trip. So here she is in all her fertile glory!!! My mom and I joke that if we leave the doll around in one place to long things around it will begin multiplying!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow morning is the day!! Bright and early my mom and I will go to the airport to fly to LAX then to Panama!! I can't believe that it is really here and that I am going, I have spent so much time planning the trip that now I have to sit back and relax. Not easy!! We will be staying in a B&B in the city the first night so that we don't have to figure out the bus system the first day but can just relax and get acclumated. Then we will be off to the Pacific coast to a beach house for the remainder of the trip. I guess I better get to bed before it gets too late.

The Beginning

Most people who we tell that we are going to Panama to IVF is "Why go there when you have US doctors here?" My major reason is the money. Due to the high cost of IVF/ICSI here we would not be able to afford the procedure for several years, as we are only wanting to pay cash for the procedure. That is the last thing that we want is the stress of being in debt and pregnant!! Before we knew for sure the IVF was our only option I began researching IVF, checking out various clinics in the U.S., inquiring about price and success rates and following IVF forums to be prepared for the worst case scenario, having to IVF with ICSI. Through my research I discovered serval medical tourism companies that talked about doing IVF in other countries and the money that can be saved but still have quality care. I then began the research on all the various clinics around the world, which are a ton, that handle interanational patients and reading patient reviews on forums. The majority of the paitents were very happy with thier treatment and the protocols that were used and even those that weren't successful the firt time would reccomend returning again. I found a great website where the lady talked to hundreds of International clinics and got the main information that you would need and posted them to a website so other people could use that information as well. It was very helpful and it gave me even more clinics to contact myself. After putting together a very extensive spreadsheet including procedure costs, medication cost estimates, travel, lodging and expenses, success rates, protocal and Doctor eduction I decided the best option for me was to go to Panama to Centro Fecundar with Dr. Berbey. They do have a clinic in Costa Rica as well but you have to travel to Panama to do the actual ER and ET so I thought it would be less stressful to be in one place and deal with one doctor. I also got an interpretor with my medical tourism company that I went through that will accompany me to every appointment so that we don't have any communication problems. They have been great to work with and are always emailing me and have set up several phone conferences with me and with Dr. Berbey as well.

I leave on September 8th and my first appointment is September 9th and 2:00 pm. I am excited to move forward with IVF after two years knowing something wasn't right but not getting any response from doctors. My goal is to keep a daily journal of what I am doing and the procedure so that I will have a logged reminder of the process but also for others looking into other options in IVF that they may have a better understanding of what is out there for them as well.