Transfer Day & Goodbye from me

I had such an amazing morning!

I drove to the clinic to meet my recipients so that I could go in with them to watch the transfer take place. It was so generous of them to invite me in and I was so happy to see a bit of the scientific side of it.

They started by telling us that the embryo they have chosen is a hatching blastocyst, and apparently that is very good. There were another 2 that were also ready to go so they were going to be frozen today. Three others were just about ready but needed to develop a touch more, so they will be frozen tomorrow, and it seemed like the remaining three were maybe not going to make it to the freezing stage. So to only lose 3 along the way is really good because I read this morning that it is usual to lose around half the embryos, so 3 out of 9 aint bad!

The doctor then came in and got my recipient ready, telling her that he was very happy with the quality of the embryo being transferred and then we got to see it on the screen! It was amazing to look at, such a teeny tiny thing, full of circles and squiggles which will hopefully one day be the placenta, the sac and a foetus, and all that good stuff. They then drew it up into a syringe looking thing with a long tube on the end and inserted it into my recipient. Just as the doctor began to push the syringe to release the embryo I reached down for her hand and held on tight. It was such a union of the two of us, and it was a really lovely moment. Her hubby stood right beside us and we all waited to hear that it had gone well.

The doctor looked up at us and explained that it was complete, and now she is to rest up and relax as much as she can. He wouldn't give us a percentage on what her chances are of falling pregnant from this, but before we went into it (several months ago) he told her that she would have around 40% chance of this being successful. But for the time being she is pregnant until proven otherwise :)

So there won't be much from me on here anymore, that is the end of my journey. I will however stay in close contact with the couple, and hopefully things go well for them. Most of the people reading this blog know me so I will be sure to keep you all updated with any progress.

Thanks for reading and asking questions, it has been a wonderful time of my life and I have been so lucky to have been able to do this and it only makes me appreciate motherhood even more, which I never even thought was possible. I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Thanks, and bye for now........

Lisa xxx

1 day to go until transfer

Tomorrow they are going to transfer one embryo into my recipient and I have been invited to go along and witness it! I'm really excited about it and can't imagine what a 5 day old embryo even looks like. The earliest I ever got to see my kids was at about 8 weeks, so I am intrigued and excited and feeling full of hope and love. I soooo hope this first transfer does the trick.

So let me update you on how the embies are doing today -

3 are early blastocysts
3 are morulas
2 are early morulas
1 has 10 cells

A morula is the second stage. Once they are fertilised they count the cells until they all start to blend in and melt together. That is usually 10-30 cells and they call them morulas.

A blastocyst (known as a blastie) is a morula that then forms a fluid filled cavity, where they can see fluid forming between the cells. That is what they want the embryo to be to be able to transfer it.

Day 4 is usually when they become a morula and day 5 they progress to a blastie. We are only on day 4 and already have 3 exceeding expectations, 3 that are right on track (all 6 have been classed as "A grade") and the other 3 are just a touch behind but not out of the race just yet. So it seems to me that at worst case scenario we have 6 great embryos to work with.

We are so close now, so please send your positive energy to my recipients tomorrow morning, we need all the luck we can get!

A little update from the scientists...

They have just called my recipient and told her that of the 9 embryos -

7 have 4 cells
1 has 5 cells
1 has 6 cells

That doesn't mean much to me, but she said that 4 cells for today is "optimal". Apparently they all grow at a slightly different rate so there is no knowing which ones will be best, and they choose the strongest and best embryo on the morning of transfer for implantation, so until then we just have to sit and wait and take in the newest developments.

3 days til transfer!!! :)

We now have embryos

Things are happening - from the 13 eggs that were strong enough, they fertilised each of them with a single sperm and from that they have now created 9 embryos! That is a great result.

Apparently it is quite normal to lose a few along the way, so by then end of the week we will more than likely have less than 9, but hopefully not too many drop off. The more embryos that grow nice and strong, the more chances my couple have of falling pregnant. So come on embies, you can do it. Form those cells and show us how clever you are xx

Egg pick up day!!

Today is my little boy's 3rd birthday! Happy birthday my sweetheart, I love you.

This morning I went into Maroubra Day Surgery for my quick 15 min procedure of egg retrieval. I went in, spoke to a nurse, then the anethetist, and then it was off to theatre. Just before I was put under they put a piece of tape on my hand and told me that they would write the number of eggs collected on it so that as oon as I woke up I could see it. Before I knew it the room was spinning and I was out.

I woke up and immediately looked at my hand......... 15. I couldn't believe it! I figured it would be 10 at the most because that is all they ever saw in my ultrasounds, so I was in a happy sense of shock. I started crying and the nurses thought I must be in pain (how embarrassing!) but it was just me being emotional and a little proud of myself.

I discovered I had a tiny little bit of pain, I would say it's a cramp that feels like mild period pain. I already had a warm heat pack on, and the nurse came over with some Panadol and asked me if I needed anything stronger, but I didn't.

I was able to get up and get dressed right away while the nurse called my recipient who was coming in to drive me home. While I waited for her I had a well deserved cup of tea and some bikkies. When she arrived she brought in the most beautiful bunch of flowers I have ever seen and a whole bag jam-packed full of handmade chocolates. Talk about spoilt rotten!!

So I came home and watched a movie with my hubby while I put my feet up and started drinking water. I need to drink lots over the next few days to keep my system functioning well. I feel really good other than being a bit light headed from the drugs, but I have absolutely zero pain and I didn't get any bleeding whatsoever. I feel like they looked after me very well.

Just a few minutes ago I got a call from the scientist to say that of the 15 eggs collected they are able to use 13, as only 2 of the eggs were a bit immature, so that means they will try to fertilise 13 and then they will call me to let me know how many actually take, so I am feeling really good about this. I never expected to be able to give the couple 13 chances of pregnancy so I am feeling wonderful and am so, so happy for them.

Now I am about to get ready to go to the U2 concert. What a day huh?! Good news all 'round :)

Day 16 - my injections are finished!!

I am officially finished my injections! I just had my normal two injections at 8pm, and at 9.30pm I had my trigger injection. It's called Ovidrel and it's purpose is to mature my eggs and make them release so that they can all be ready for egg pick-up on monday morning.

The nurses told me that this needle is quite blunt and that I might have to really force it in to my skin, which made me really queasy, but maybe they were being sneaky. I prepared for the worst, gritted my teeth and went for it........ and it slid in ever so nicely. It was actually one of the easiest injections I have done on this 2 week journey. It was a very nice way to finish!

I am scheduled to go in for my egg pick-up at 8.30am on Monday morning, I go in to theatre at 9.30am for a 15 min procedure, and should be released by 11.30am. Then that will be my part of this journey over, but I will pop in here every few days to update you on my progress, and what my recovery is like.

Tomorrow is my son's birthday so I'd best be off to bed so I can wake up fresh with him at whatever godly hour he decides to wake up tomorrow. Goodnight all xx

Day 15

This morning was my very last ultrasound and the follicles are looking good! The nurse counted 10, most were a great size with a few immature ones, and she said to tell my recipient that I'm looking fantastic. So pleased :)

She made sure I had enough drugs to get me through to Saturday night, when I have the trigger injection. That injection is the one that makes my body release all the eggs. We are so close now!!

Only 2 more nights of injections and then that is the end of the road for me, there will be nothing more that I can do. I truly am surprised at how quickly it has gone. The very first night I thought that 2 weeks of injecting would be really hard, but seriously, it only feels like a few nights ago and already I am at the tail end. It's quite hard to wrap my head around actually.

Day 14

I have realised something. I do so much better with the injections if I don't bother icing my skin beforehand. I really thought it would help to numb my skin and make it easier, but tonight I forgot to ice and it was sooo much easier! So from now on, the ice stays in the freezer.

I had to give myself a small dose of Pregnyl today, so that's 3 injections in the one day - eek! But luckily for me I only had to do the Pregnyl once because it is very tricky.

Monday is definitely going to be the day of egg pick-up which happens to be my son's 3rd birthday. Luckily it is one of the days he goes to daycare anyway, so my hubby will be home with our daughter and they will drive me into the day surgery for my procedure, and my lovely recipient has offered to come in and see me afterwards and drive me home to save Matt the big trip. So sweet! It will be great to see her again and to be able to share the moment with her right after they have taken the eggs that she will carry, hopefully to full-term.

Day 13 blood test results

It seems everything is going great guns. My levels are up at 4000 now which is right on target, and egg pick-up is pretty much all set for Monday.

One more set of bloods and another scan on Friday morning, and until then I remain on my high dose of 400 of Puregon plus the Orgalutran. Tomorrow is my first day of giving myself a very small dose of Pregnyl which I am quite confident in now.

Only 4 more days of injections to go!!!

Day 12 & 13

The blood test results from Monday's blood test were fantastic!! They were hoping for me to be over 500 and my levels were 2156! :)

So the ball is rolling, everything is working just as it should and I am feeling very happy and confident about everything.

This morning I had my next scan and blood test. The scan went very well. It seems I have 9 follies growing, with 8 of them being nice and big and strong. The largest one is a whopping 20mm, then most sit around the 15-17mm mark, whilst the 9th follie is just 10mm. But the nurse this morning said that by Friday's scan they should have pretty much all caught up to each other and be roughly the same size. I think they like to do egg pick up when they all measure somewhere around 18mm.

I have been getting little pains in my ovaries every now and then, nothing extreme, just something I can feel for a short period of time before it goes away. Apparently that is just because the eggs are growing much bigger than they normally would so I can feel them in there. Plus I am fairly bloated pretty much all the time, particularly at night, it's a touch uncomfortable but all that will go away once the eggs are retrieved.

It is looking like the egg pick-up will happen on Monday - the day of the Jay Z & U2 concert. I am soooo hoping it can be scheduled for another day but unfortunately it looks like I might be missing the concert :( But if I can make a little human life out of this then missing a concert will be well worthwhile! It just sucks that I never seem to do anything exciting, and then on the day of my one big planned event, something else comes up. Murphy's law, right?! It happens everytime, ha ha.m Not to worry.

Now I await my next blood test results, and hopefully all is going well there.

Day 11

Today is Day 11 and I went this morning for my ultrasound and blood test.

It was a new nurse so I told her about my low levels of Oestrogen and she said that the follies will still be small. So she got the beloved dildo-cam out and had a look. She counted 8 good follies with a few more that weren't so important. She was looking for them to be in clusters and of a good size.

Her first remark was that they are all growing nicely together at the same rate which is a really great sign. She measured them and they were a good size with the biggest being 13mm and the average somewhere around 10 or 11mm. So now we just have to wait for them to grow a bit more and then we will be ready for the egg pickup.

I also got another blood test so I should be hearing back about that within a few hours, so I will come back and let you know how my Oestrogen levels are looking.

But I am feeling good again about everything now and am no longer worried that I am not doing a good job :)

Days 9 & 10

Days 9 & 10 happened over the weekend and all went well.

I went to the clinic to have my small dose of Pregnyl, and the nurse described it to me like this - think of it like a casserole. We put all the different drugs in to make up the recipe, but sometimes you just can't tell how much flavour it will already have, and how much you need to tweak it. You are like a casserole that needs a pinch of salt, and the Pregnyl is your pinch of salt. It's going to bring the casserole together and make all the flavours work well in the one pot.

So now I need to have the Pregnyl once every three days just to boost my system a little bit and keep everything working nicely together. Phew! Not as bad as I thought it was.

Day 8 - blood test results

It seems my system is not reacting to the drugs the way it should be and my levels of Oestrogen are sitting at 432 when it really should be up over 500, so now my dose of Puregon has increased to 400 (it has doubled!) and I have to go to the clinic on the way home from work to get an injection called Pregnyl. Usually it is used to bring on ovulation (releasing the eggs) but I will be getting a very small dose which they are hoping will just boost my system a bit and get things powering to where they should be.

I also have to go back on Monday for another blood test, ultrasound and one more shot of Pregnyl.

I hope my body starts reacting the way it is supposed to, I don't want it to be letting down the team :(

Day 8 - blood test and ultrasound

I wake up this morning and instantly feel my belly - it is still a touch swollen but I take a look and the redness has gone completely. It is no longer itchy or painful either. Phew! I have an ultrasound this morning anyway so I will make mention of it and see what the nurse says.

I go to my appointment, which is for an ultrasound and blood test. The reason they want to do the ultrasound is to take an early look at my eggs to see how many there are and what measurements they are. Before she starts the scan she tells me that because my Oestrogen levels were low that my egg count won't be great, but it's nothing to worry about. Now that they have upped my dose it will improve and we should see the improvement by my next appointment on Monday.

She inserted the camera up my hoo-haa (it is affectionately known as dildo cam for obvious reasons) and took a look at what was going on with my ovaries. I had 5 eggs from my left ovary and 4 eggs from my right. Those numbers didn't seem very good to me at all and I felt immediate disappointment. I had one of these scans a few months ago just after I had agreed to become an egg donor and I had 8 eggs on one side and 11 on the other - and that was with no drugs at all, so I hope that I can pull those sorts of numbers this cycle, or better.

Then she gave me another blood test to see how my levels of Oestrogen are going now after having the higher dose of Puregon for a few days, and my nurse will call me later today to tell me the results and if there is anything that needs changing.

I tell her now about my adverse reaction to the Orgalutran last night and she says that it is a very normal reaction. A lot of patients get a red mark that is about the size of a 20c piece. Mine was long and oval, more like the size of an Arrowroot biscuit, but she didn't seem concerned. She told me to ice it if I have any dramas as that will help reduce the swelling and the pain. Also, she said she will make mention of it to my nurse today who will then call me with the blood test results and speak to me about my reaction and if there is anything else I can do.

It seems like the egg pick-up is going to be on Wednesday or Friday of next week, only 5-7 days away, but I truly am hoping it can be the Wednesday, as my son's 3rd birthday party is happening on the Sunday and I want to be up and about and be able to enjoy the day. If the egg pick-up happens Friday there is every chance I will still be in a bit of pain from the procedure, so here's hoping.

Day 7

I have a funny story about last night.

We were invited to go in to Surry Hills, and being that I would be out at the time when I normally have my injection, I packed my cooler bag with everything I needed and took it with me in the car. I assumed I would be inside by 8pm, but when we got there it was virtually impossible to find a space to park, so 30 mins later (and very frustrated) we finally found a spot and it was right on 8pm, so I decided just to get it over and done with in the car. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but my hubby was next to me and he came out with "I can't believe I am sitting next to you, shooting up in some back street in Surry Hills" ha ha. Am I a junkie? :)

It all went well, no hassles whatsoever. I am really getting used to these needles and it's nice that all of a sudden it's no trouble to do it.............

Until night time came along and it was time to start my second injection. I took it out of the box and it is really a syringe! None of this fancy pen business - it's a syringe with a big air bubble and I have to shoot it all in - air bubble and all.

I go to put it in and it feels like it's blunt. I can't get it in so I have to really push through the skin with a bit of force. I start to empty the contents and YOUCH! This one really hurts. I finally get to pull it out and the stinging doesn't stop. I feel my body want to bend over to compensate for the pian. Standing up straight hurts, so I retire to the couch with a bowl of ice-cream to make me feel better.

After 20 mins it is still really hurting, so I take a look at the site where I put it in and it is completely red, swollen and even a little itchy at the sides of it. I automatically think I have had a reaction to the drug, so I get out all my info and read that 10-15% of patients experience this and that it should disappear within 4 hours. Lucky me! So I go to bed and hope that all will be ok in the morning, knowing in the back of my mind that I have an after hours number that I can call at anytime if I feel unsure about what is happening.

Day 6 - blood test results

I just got a call from the nurse about the results of my blood test.

She said my Oestrogen level is 361 but they would like it to be above 500, so now I have to change my dose of Puregon from 200 to 300. I have tonight's needle at 300, then tomorrow night I have the same as well as one more needle. It is called Orgalutran and it is used to prevent early ovulation. Basically they want to make sure that all these lovely eggs I am creating will stay put til they need them. But this means that I have to have 2 injections nightly instead of just one although I'm not really worried about that at all - if I can do one, I can do two!

My next step is to go back to the IVF clinic and have another blood test as well as an ultrasound early Friday morning. I think they take a look inside and do an egg count so it will be nice to see how my body is playing along with all this. I hope I get a good result.

Days 4, 5 & 6

I'm sorry I haven't been able to come on here and update, but our home computer has given up on us completely.

The last couple of days have been ok. Two days ago I came down with a 24 hour gastro bug which was fun! I thought I may have been suffering some side effects from the Puregon, but after a quick call with the nurse from the clinic I was quite convinced it was just a bug. But the lovely nurses called me back the next morning to see how I was feeling because they were concerned about me, awww. Feeling loved ♥

Then that night was the first time my hubby was home while I did my injection, and he sat there and squirmed whilst I got on with it. He said he got chills and couldn't have done it himself.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, but I felt back to normal which was nice.

This morning I went to the local IVF clinic to have a blood test, and you'd think after all these needles I've had over the past few days I would have been ok with it, but YOUCH! It was a massive needle and the wound wouldn't stop bleeding for several minutes, even after applying pressure for the walk back to my car. But I guess it makes my night time needles look easier now which is always a good thing.

So today I should receive a phonecall from the nurse looking after me with the results from this morning's blood test. With that information they will be able to tell me if I need to change my dosage at all to make sure that my body responds well to the drug. It's good that they keep right on top of it, making sure that everything is working the way it is supposed to.

Day 3

Ok, so it's only been 10 minutes or so since my last post, but I just did my second ever injection, and I had next to no fear which was nice and a bit unexpected.


I went through the motions very carefully to ensure I did everything correctly, took the needle out, picked up my tissue (which I was sure to get after last night's freak out) and there was no blood! Not even a speck. Typical, ha ha. But I am very pleased with how it went.


I think when hubby watches me do it tomorrow night he will be very surprised to see me just pick the needle up and stick it in without a worry. Feeling a bit proud right about now :)


xx

Day 2

Well, it is really Day 3 already but I want to tell you about my first experience of injecting myself which happened at 8pm last night.

A few girls I know have been through IVF and had some pointers for me about doing the injections, and the one I used last night was to take the loaded pen out of the fridge 15 mins before using it. This apparently makes it closer to room temperature which means you don't feel the cold rush going into your body which can be quite uncomfortable.

So at 7.45pm I took it out of the fridge and set myself up - alcohol swab, new needle tip, sharps box ready. I turned the dial up to 200, which is my dose for the next 4 days and tried to wait patiently for 15 mins, but I had no hope. I was anxious and a bit jittery, and wanted to get it over and done with, so at about 7.52pm I decided it was now or never, I thought I could do it so I picked up the alcohol swab, cleaned the pen, cleaned my skin, correctly applied the new needle tip and was ready. I pinched my skin out just like they showed me to and held the pen.................... but I couldn't put it in. I was frightened! And my hubby was at work so there was nobody to turn to, I had to do this. Now.

I took a little breather for 30 seconds, regrouped and thought about what this meant to my recipient. I thought about her happiness, pictured her smiling and laughing and all of a sudden I had the urge just to stick it in, so with gritted teeth I ever so slowly inserted the needle, then slowly released the drug. I waited 5 seconds, as instructed, before pulling it out and I was done! That was everything they had told me, I did it all correctly and then the strangest thing happened - there was blood. This, I was not prepared for. I know it sounds dumb not to expect to see blood from a needle wound, but they had prepared me so well on what to do, every single step, and stopping the blood was not in their instructions. So I went from a feeling of being confident in knowing I did it all right, to running around like a mad woman trying to find a tissue. It seems so silly but my mind just didn't expect it. Tonight, I will have a tissue on hand ready to go, ha ha.

Another funny thing that happened was that as soon as I was done my son woke up and got out of bed, he came up to the kitchen where I was and just looked at me, like "are you ok mum?" so I gave him a big monster cuddle and tucked him back into bed. It felt like he knew what just happened, and that he was giving me some love and support because hubby couldn't be here to do it. My little champion ♥

So round 1 went well, not really any pain at all, and it has me far more confident for tonight's needle. Speaking of, I should get to it now. Goodnight all.

Day 1

It is here! Today is Day 1 of my cycle which means that we are really doing this and I am very excited that the day has finally arrived! This journey has been in the works since early September, so really I guess it has moved along at a fairly rapid pace in hindsight, but it has felt like quite a rollercoaster ride to get to this point, and I am happy we are finally here and ready to go.  

I have to start my Puregon injections tomorrow night. That will my stimulate my body to make follicles, so that we can get lots of eggs by the time we get to the egg pick-up. The Puregon injections come in a pen so apparently it's a bit easier to administer.

The needle is very fine and I have already had a practice at injecting it several days ago, so I should be fine, but please all keep your fingers crossed for me and send me plenty of strength so I don't wuss out. Eek!

The Last Pill

This morning was a bit momentous for me - I took my very last contraceptive pill.

I went through the same physical motions as always, but today it felt different, knowing that over the course of the next 2 weeks my body is going to be creating eggs that could possibly one day create a gorgeous little human life for another family ♥

So here is hoping that I can make lots of good, strong, high quality eggs for the scientists to work with. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Orientation

This morning was my first big step into the start of my cycle. I went to the clinic in Maroubra and met the beautiful nurse who is going to look after me during my time there. She was so lovely, so helpful, and a pleasure to deal with. The first thing she did was take me through what was going to happen during our time together, and then she started talking about the injections - eek! I am feeling quite aprehensive about giving myself injections, but I know it's only 2 weeks at most so I can do it!

She gave me a practice run on a little rectangle pouch that was skin coloured - that was all it had in common with skin though. When I pushed the needle in it made me squirm, but I was assured that putting into my fat will be much easier and won't require so much of a shove.

After my practice run she went and got all my drugs, popped them into a cooler bag and we (Ruby came along as my support team) were on our way.

So now I have lots of info on these drugs to read, a few forms to sign, and my next step is to stop taking the contraceptive pill. That happens in the morning. From there I wait for my periods to arrive and then I have to pluck up the courage to get the first needle out of the fridge and stab myself with it. Fun!

Hello!

Welcome everyone! My name is Lisa, I'm 32 years old, a mum to 2 beautiful kids and I am about to undergo a very exciting and very daunting journey. I am going to donate my eggs to a couple to give them the opportunity to have a baby.

I first heard of egg donation in 2008, and instantly I knew it was something I wanted to do. I read up on the internet about it, looked at forums, and gained as much knowledge as I could. Then when my hubby and I completed our family I started to think more seriously about it. In August I started looking at ads wirtten by couples who need somebody to donate their eggs to them so that they can have the chance of falling pregnant.

You see, my parents struggled to conceive me and in the back of my mind I always thought that I would experience a level of infertility, but we were so easily blessed with our kids, and I never take that for granted. So knowing that I have good eggs (and make some pretty darn cute kids, if I do say so myself) I feel a strong urge to want to help people in need of precious eggs.

I found a beautiful couple and connected with them almost instantly. Within a few conversations I knew they were the couple I wanted to help. We met and it was obvious that this was going to be a great relationship, so I offered them my gift of eggs and from there we started our journey. We have already have a few experiences which have had our emotions flying high and dipping low, but the important part of this journey for me starts tomorrow. I go for orientation at the clinic where it will all take place.

So please feel free to come and check in and read where I am up to. I know this is not going to be easy, but I am excited and feeling very positive about it all. It's only a few weeks out of my life and could create something so incredibly wonderful.

Thanks,

Lisa xx