Retrieval and Implantation

We had the retrieval last Sunday and it went well. Kelly has been a bit sore but doing well. They retrieved 19 eggs and only 10 fertilized. As of today there are only 7 embryos - 4 of excellent quality and 3 good. This is great news because we can freeze some if this round doesnt take.

The implantation will be this Friday. Kelly will be on bed rest for 48 hours after. That will be rough for her I'm sure but a small price to pay. We will find out on Monday the 28th whether or not this took.

We are very excited and extremely hopeful!

Wish us luck and say a prayer.

Jake

Step 2: Follistem

Kelly starts her follistem shots on Wed. These are the shots that allow her to produce multiple follicles or as I like to call them, eggs. She will do this for about 10 days (give or take a day). Looks like we will have the retrieval around the 14th then the implantation about 5 days after that.

Last time the doctor gave her too high of a dosage so she was "over stimulated" which caused some major discomfort. Dr. Barnett has since modified the prescription so it looks like she wont have that problem this time.

Despite the hormones, Kelly has been doing pretty well. No major mood swings and I still have my head. Good job.

Shots Have Begun

Just wanted to bring you up to speed on where we are at now. We have been a bit frustrated because we have been pushed back a couple of times because the Dr's new lab had not been completed yet. We are now good to go and are very excited..but not overly.

Dr. Barnett put Kelly on the pill and she's been on it for about 2 weeks now. This is helping regulate this cycle. Yesterday she started the Lupron shots which keeps her from ovulating. She will continue this during the whole process...until the Dr. says stop. In about 9 days or so she will start the follistem shots which help her stimulate the follicles (eggs) in her ovaries. After about 1.5 weeks of that she will take Ovidril which will make her ovulate those eggs for extraction.

If my memory serves me right it will be the week of Sept 7th when Dr. Barnett extacts the eggs and fertilizes them. It will be about 2 weeks from retrieval date when we find out if it took.

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Laminaria Placement

Have officially started down the path of our second IVF cycle. This is actually our third attempt at an implantation as we had a frozen embryo transfer that failed as well. Needless to say, we are very excited and hopeful....even confident I would say.....that the third time's a charm.

Our first true appointment was last Thursday. Kelly went in for a Laminaria placement. A Laminaria is "medical seaweed" that is about as thin as a match stick and is placed in the cervix to dilate it. Kelly's is a bit constricted and has an odd angle to it that can cause difficulty during implantation. Therefore, Dr. Barnett thought the Laminaria would help with that because it acts like a sponge in there, absorbing moisture, enlarging, resulting in an expanded cervix. It only stays in there for 24 hours and is then removed. The expansion is supposed to be good for a couple of months.

Kelly has had a little cramping and discomfort since but everything should be ok.

It was our intention to have the implantation done late July - early August but because of logistical issues (doctor moving offices and scheduling of the embryologist) it looks like it's going to be late August.

Again, we are very excited and I will try and keep this updated with our progress.

Send us good mojo please.

GUEVARA
Norma E. Guevara was called home by the Lord on June 7, 2009, at the age of 53. She was born in San Antonio, Texas on May 31, 1956 and was the youngest of four children. She is preceded in death by her parents, Bruno V. & Belen R. Guevara. She is loved and will be missed by her children; daughter Sandra Renee Moya and husband, Steven Escobar; sons, David Moya Jr., and Benjamin David Moya; grandchildren, Lauren-Renee Castelo, Mia Celeste and Yasmine Escobar, Antonio Moya and Kiaya Marie Moya; sister, Irene Longoria; brothers, Diego R. and Albert R. Guevara; and her beloved Mark Ferro; and numerous loving nieces, nephews and friends.Visitation will be held at Castillo Mission Funeral Home from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, with a Rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. The funeral procession will depart the funeral home at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10. 2009 for a 10:00 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at the St. Anthony Claret. Interment will follow at The Cordi-Marian Resurrection Cemetery. The family would like to acknowledge the care and compassion offered by the Amedisys Hospice and South Texas Oncology. Dr. Lisa Fichtel and Chase Bank for all of the care and love that was provided during this time of need.

We will miss you Tia. RIP

Givin' It Another Go

Well we went and saw Dr. Barnett again this past Monday. Looks like we are going to try to start shots in June for a July transfer. He seems to think that the last two failed attempts were just bad luck....humph! I hate it when he says stuff like that. It sounds like Dr. Buch telling me that there was no improvement from my varicosele surgery because it's just me. When they tell me that stuff I just want to say What? We have just spent thousands of dollars for all this failure and all you can tell me is "bad luck" or "it's just you"? AARRGGHH!! The upside is that Dr. Barnett is donating some folistem that other patients have given back. That should save us a few hundred dollars.

Oh well ok now that Im done venting we are excited about the opportunity to try this again. The only thing different Dr. Barnett is going to try is using a laminaria to widen the cervix. It's medical seaweed?

So the plan is to start shots mid June for a mid July transfer. We are thinking of putting more than two eggs in this time....provided we have enough.

Anyway, that's it for now. We will keep you posted. Will also be posting on Twitter.

The Great Cole-ini