So, I seem to have made it onto the very short list of people (possibly consisting of only me) who manage to develop OHSS while doing a FET.
Of course, it's reasonably common to develop it while doing an injection IUI cycle, and that's essentially what I did, minus the IUI. So logically it makes perfect sense. It's just absurd. Who the hell develops OHSS during a FET cycle? Me, that's who.
I'd be elated if it were a few day in the future and I could count it as late-onset OHSS, which almost always is a harbinger of pregnancy. But it is, sadly, too early for anything but early-onset, which is a harbinger of... larger pants sizes.
S'okay. It's mild, so far, nothing but a belly gone up one clear size in jeans since Friday. I lost a bunch of weight in the past year, so I don't even look too odd, just kind of back to normal rotundity. It's just... OHSS? Really? Really?
Showing posts with label OHSS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OHSS. Show all posts
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, December 4, 2008
24DPO beta
3838.
Doubling time: 49.7 hours.
There's no progesterone because I wasn't due for another beta. I've been cramping a whole lot (no spotting though), and my OHSS suddenly got all better, and I was utterly convinced that I was miscarrying again. So I fished out one of the many beta lab slips from my last miscarriage (m/c betas don't care about progesterone). I just waltzed right in and gave it to lab and got my blood sucked. I figure what are they gonna do, put the blood back? Not tell me the results?
Anyway, the take home messages are
I'm going to go home and sob with relief and bury my head in Animal Crossing. I figure this set of results will give me 24-36 hours of relief before the crazy starts up again.
Doubling time: 49.7 hours.
There's no progesterone because I wasn't due for another beta. I've been cramping a whole lot (no spotting though), and my OHSS suddenly got all better, and I was utterly convinced that I was miscarrying again. So I fished out one of the many beta lab slips from my last miscarriage (m/c betas don't care about progesterone). I just waltzed right in and gave it to lab and got my blood sucked. I figure what are they gonna do, put the blood back? Not tell me the results?
Anyway, the take home messages are
- As of 8:30 Thursday morning, I am still pregnant and everything is still in normal range;
- I have truly never been crazier than I am right now.
I'm going to go home and sob with relief and bury my head in Animal Crossing. I figure this set of results will give me 24-36 hours of relief before the crazy starts up again.
Friday, November 28, 2008
How my family took it...
Well? They're excited? They were stunned? They're calling me every day? My mom read up on OHSS and quizzed me to make sure that I didn't have a severe case (I don't)?
I have such mixed feelings about having told them. Part of me wants to bask in the attention and approval, which I am finally receiving in buckets. The last thing I did that they really approved of was 12 years ago, when I enrolled in grad school. I dropped out a few years later, became a lesbian, it's all been downhill since then. They love me, and they try, but I can tell that they have to work really hard to be supportive of me and my choices.
I get tolerance, and I'm grateful for that. I don't get offended when they discuss, in front of me, what gift can possibly be large enough for them to give my sister and her husband for their upcoming 15th wedding anniversary (my darling and I have been together for 11 years, and no, I'm not holding my breathe waiting for a card). I reinforce them heavily every time they mention my partner's name or send her greetings or remember her birthday (which they have done two years running now -- major progress).
But yeah, I get tolerance. I don't get approval. Having it now is freaking me out a little, and maybe making me a little angry.
I didn't feel that I had much of a choice about telling them, since there was no way I could travel as huge and OHSS-y as I am. But I can't get past the thought: if I miscarry again, then not only will I be heartbroken but I'll have disappointed my parents.
In other news, keep staring at my taut abdomen. Whatcha doin in there, huh? Whatcha doin? Still alive? Gimme a sign, here.
I have such mixed feelings about having told them. Part of me wants to bask in the attention and approval, which I am finally receiving in buckets. The last thing I did that they really approved of was 12 years ago, when I enrolled in grad school. I dropped out a few years later, became a lesbian, it's all been downhill since then. They love me, and they try, but I can tell that they have to work really hard to be supportive of me and my choices.
I get tolerance, and I'm grateful for that. I don't get offended when they discuss, in front of me, what gift can possibly be large enough for them to give my sister and her husband for their upcoming 15th wedding anniversary (my darling and I have been together for 11 years, and no, I'm not holding my breathe waiting for a card). I reinforce them heavily every time they mention my partner's name or send her greetings or remember her birthday (which they have done two years running now -- major progress).
But yeah, I get tolerance. I don't get approval. Having it now is freaking me out a little, and maybe making me a little angry.
I didn't feel that I had much of a choice about telling them, since there was no way I could travel as huge and OHSS-y as I am. But I can't get past the thought: if I miscarry again, then not only will I be heartbroken but I'll have disappointed my parents.
In other news, keep staring at my taut abdomen. Whatcha doin in there, huh? Whatcha doin? Still alive? Gimme a sign, here.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
11dp5dt/16dpo beta
224.
Progesterone: 298.
Doubling time: 49.9 hours. Not rock-star, but well within normal range (as opposed to my last 14-16dpo set, which were barely within normal range).
In other news, I'm enormous, bloated and largely immobile thanks to OHSS. Accordingly, I had to cancel plans to fly up to Boston to see my folks for Thanksgiving, which I knew would disappoint them terribly. Accordingly, I told them why.
holyshitholyshititoldthem
it felt wonderful but so, so naughty.
just. I don't know. I'm sitting here very quietly, sipping my V8 and homemade electrolyte drink, trying to make peace with the hope that keeps flaring within my heart. It seems so very dangerous, but it simply will not go away.
Progesterone: 298.
Doubling time: 49.9 hours. Not rock-star, but well within normal range (as opposed to my last 14-16dpo set, which were barely within normal range).
In other news, I'm enormous, bloated and largely immobile thanks to OHSS. Accordingly, I had to cancel plans to fly up to Boston to see my folks for Thanksgiving, which I knew would disappoint them terribly. Accordingly, I told them why.
holyshitholyshititoldthem
it felt wonderful but so, so naughty.
just. I don't know. I'm sitting here very quietly, sipping my V8 and homemade electrolyte drink, trying to make peace with the hope that keeps flaring within my heart. It seems so very dangerous, but it simply will not go away.
Monday, November 24, 2008
9dp5dt/14dpo beta
115.
Progesterone: 320.
Over the weekend I
I have been staring at the clock all day. These are the things I mentally rehearsed hearing:
Your results are back -- the beta was 8 and you can stop your medication.
The beta was 18
The beta was 26
The beta was 54
We're supposed to call for results between 3 and 4. At 2:59 I picked up the phone and the moments I was on hold I could have measured by the heartbeat pounding in my ears.
115 is a solidly normal beta. Not high, not low. Last time at 14dpo my beta was 74, on the low side, although not wildly so. 115 is a happy number. 115 is a healthy number. 115 is just fine.
In other news, no surprise, I have developed a mild case of OHSS. At least, I thought it was mild; when I went in to have my blood taken this morning, Inappropriate Lab Admin Asst took one look at me and said "You blowin' up again?" Me: "Looks like." Anyway, besides the OHSS, I feel pretty good. Not a lot in the way of symptoms except cramps, which don't concern me -- I figure it's just the embryo bedding down. No spotting at all.
Thanks so much for all of the good wishes and crossed fingers on my previous post. Really can't say how much it means to me that you are all out there rooting for us. I could never have anticipated the extent to which this has become a group project.
Next adventure: Wednesday's repeat beta. Since you all did such a splendid job with the finger-crossing for this beta, your next assignment is think doubley thoughts.
Progesterone: 320.
Over the weekend I
- peed on 1,214 sticks
- convinced myself that the line was getting lighter, not darker
- had weeping fits since it was clearly all over
- gathered up all my peesticks and begged Her Indoors to hide them very, very well.
I have been staring at the clock all day. These are the things I mentally rehearsed hearing:
Your results are back -- the beta was 8 and you can stop your medication.
The beta was 18
The beta was 26
The beta was 54
We're supposed to call for results between 3 and 4. At 2:59 I picked up the phone and the moments I was on hold I could have measured by the heartbeat pounding in my ears.
115 is a solidly normal beta. Not high, not low. Last time at 14dpo my beta was 74, on the low side, although not wildly so. 115 is a happy number. 115 is a healthy number. 115 is just fine.
In other news, no surprise, I have developed a mild case of OHSS. At least, I thought it was mild; when I went in to have my blood taken this morning, Inappropriate Lab Admin Asst took one look at me and said "You blowin' up again?" Me: "Looks like." Anyway, besides the OHSS, I feel pretty good. Not a lot in the way of symptoms except cramps, which don't concern me -- I figure it's just the embryo bedding down. No spotting at all.
Thanks so much for all of the good wishes and crossed fingers on my previous post. Really can't say how much it means to me that you are all out there rooting for us. I could never have anticipated the extent to which this has become a group project.
Next adventure: Wednesday's repeat beta. Since you all did such a splendid job with the finger-crossing for this beta, your next assignment is think doubley thoughts.
Friday, November 14, 2008
4 days past ER: mostly sunny with a few clouds
Mostly sunny:
As of yesterday, the embryos were doing great -- 16 of the 19 were "doing well"; 8 of those were 8 cells grade 1. We're set for a transfer tomorrow. This is really really great.
Wednesday was my birthday, and it was nice.
A few clouds:
I've had slight cramping and spotting. I thought to myself "hey, nothing to worry about, it's so slight" but called the RE just to be safe. Apparently telling your RE that you're spotting the day before transfer wins: stat bloodwork, a pelvic exam, an ultrasound, an Estrace prescription at the ready, and the note that if you start bleeding harder to call right away and we'll cancel the transfer.
Erp.
I'm trying to stay cool. It could all be just fine.
Other slight clouds: the ultrasound showed some fluid sloshing around my abdominal cavity; although I feel okay, I haven't dodged the OHSS thing entirely. I'm to chug electrolyte drinks. Also, my good right arm vein is mostly used up -- guess it gets scarred after a while. The vein I have on my left arm is not very accessible, so if my right arm poops out they will have to start on my hands, which sounds unsightly and unpleasant.
And that's the news.
As of yesterday, the embryos were doing great -- 16 of the 19 were "doing well"; 8 of those were 8 cells grade 1. We're set for a transfer tomorrow. This is really really great.
Wednesday was my birthday, and it was nice.
A few clouds:
I've had slight cramping and spotting. I thought to myself "hey, nothing to worry about, it's so slight" but called the RE just to be safe. Apparently telling your RE that you're spotting the day before transfer wins: stat bloodwork, a pelvic exam, an ultrasound, an Estrace prescription at the ready, and the note that if you start bleeding harder to call right away and we'll cancel the transfer.
Erp.
I'm trying to stay cool. It could all be just fine.
Other slight clouds: the ultrasound showed some fluid sloshing around my abdominal cavity; although I feel okay, I haven't dodged the OHSS thing entirely. I'm to chug electrolyte drinks. Also, my good right arm vein is mostly used up -- guess it gets scarred after a while. The vein I have on my left arm is not very accessible, so if my right arm poops out they will have to start on my hands, which sounds unsightly and unpleasant.
And that's the news.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Day 11: Trigger Day
Almost all good news today! My ovaries are humming. A solid handful of follicles popped up overnight. We're now hoping for 10-12 total, much better than I'd feared.
Other good things: my birthday is on Wednesday, and today I went on a shopping spree and snagged the Wii Fit I'd been wanting, as well as a pile of Nintendo DS games. These should keep me out of trouble during any OHSS-related confinement. Which brings me to the only not-perfect thing, which is that my doctor wrote Get your electrolyte and protein drinks ready! on the bottom of my instruction sheet. Underlined. I take it to mean that he expects me to get OHSS again.
Well, we're reasonably prepared, and even if I do get it I expect the whole thing will be less traumatic second time around -- I'll be uncomfortable, but at least I won't be scared.
Oh! And when we were wandering
around the mall, I saw this sculpture in the Pottery Barn window and was immediately drawn to it. I wasn't sure why -- according to the label it's a reindeer, and I don't celebrate Christmas and in fact have a slight Jewish-girl jealousy/aversion to Christmasphenalia. And the percentage of times when I walk by a store window, see something, and then go in and buy the thing in the window at full retail approaches zero.
But, as I was looking through the window, my darling reasonably suggested that this sculpture is in fact quite evocative of the Celtic stag-god Herne/Cernunnos. He's a powerful male fertility aspect. I bought the large one, with the leaves blooming from his antlers, and he's making me very happy. My eyes like looking at him, even though he's taking up half of the bedroom vanity.
I intend to hang necklaces on him eventually, but have been warned not to do so until I'm already pregnant, so as not to feminize the powerful male fertility aspect by making him look like a pretty pretty princess.
Update: I have triggered! I am now a ticking time bomb of superovulation! Whee!
Other good things: my birthday is on Wednesday, and today I went on a shopping spree and snagged the Wii Fit I'd been wanting, as well as a pile of Nintendo DS games. These should keep me out of trouble during any OHSS-related confinement. Which brings me to the only not-perfect thing, which is that my doctor wrote Get your electrolyte and protein drinks ready! on the bottom of my instruction sheet. Underlined. I take it to mean that he expects me to get OHSS again.
Well, we're reasonably prepared, and even if I do get it I expect the whole thing will be less traumatic second time around -- I'll be uncomfortable, but at least I won't be scared.
Oh! And when we were wandering
around the mall, I saw this sculpture in the Pottery Barn window and was immediately drawn to it. I wasn't sure why -- according to the label it's a reindeer, and I don't celebrate Christmas and in fact have a slight Jewish-girl jealousy/aversion to Christmasphenalia. And the percentage of times when I walk by a store window, see something, and then go in and buy the thing in the window at full retail approaches zero.But, as I was looking through the window, my darling reasonably suggested that this sculpture is in fact quite evocative of the Celtic stag-god Herne/Cernunnos. He's a powerful male fertility aspect. I bought the large one, with the leaves blooming from his antlers, and he's making me very happy. My eyes like looking at him, even though he's taking up half of the bedroom vanity.
I intend to hang necklaces on him eventually, but have been warned not to do so until I'm already pregnant, so as not to feminize the powerful male fertility aspect by making him look like a pretty pretty princess.
Update: I have triggered! I am now a ticking time bomb of superovulation! Whee!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
5wk6d
I'm glad to say that I am much much better -- I have been steadily improving since last Thursday, and this morning I was able to zip up a pair of pants that I own! Exciting stuff, although baggy tops will be my fashion choice for the forseeable future. The water-loss seems to have plateaued at a weight that is only about 5 pounds over my usual weight, but it seems to be a very puffy 5 lbs.
I went back to work on Monday, which was strange and frightening after a week of staring at Internet TV. People have been kind and seem to have realistic expectations of how long it will take me to catch up on the backed up stuff, so that's all good. I have been informed that the rumor mill here has determined that I have a bad back, a fairly natural conclusion given my stooped, awkward gait right before I left.
I love how odd my body feels. Small changes, mostly, but enough to remind me that something is Different. I'm peeing three times a night. My breasts are sore (although not nearly as painful as they were on birth control pills) and heavy. Instead of staying up until 12 or 1 fooling around on the interwebs, I am eagerly turning out the light at 10:30. I burp a lot. My head hurts in the afternoon. It's all pretty awesome, and I am not being sarcastic.
Ultrasound this Friday. I feel naughty and furtive every time I do something that presupposes that this pregnancy is viable, like google hospitals or calculate daycare (urp). It seems arrogant and designed to attract the attention of the bad spirits. But all the same, right now, this minute, I am pregnant and I am delighted and I am going to enjoy every strange second of it.
I've even made the incredibly uncharacteristic choice not to have yet another beta before the ultrasound. I could have another, but I'm not. This week I am letting things unfold. I bet I'll be a lunatic by Friday.
*burp*
I went back to work on Monday, which was strange and frightening after a week of staring at Internet TV. People have been kind and seem to have realistic expectations of how long it will take me to catch up on the backed up stuff, so that's all good. I have been informed that the rumor mill here has determined that I have a bad back, a fairly natural conclusion given my stooped, awkward gait right before I left.
I love how odd my body feels. Small changes, mostly, but enough to remind me that something is Different. I'm peeing three times a night. My breasts are sore (although not nearly as painful as they were on birth control pills) and heavy. Instead of staying up until 12 or 1 fooling around on the interwebs, I am eagerly turning out the light at 10:30. I burp a lot. My head hurts in the afternoon. It's all pretty awesome, and I am not being sarcastic.
Ultrasound this Friday. I feel naughty and furtive every time I do something that presupposes that this pregnancy is viable, like google hospitals or calculate daycare (urp). It seems arrogant and designed to attract the attention of the bad spirits. But all the same, right now, this minute, I am pregnant and I am delighted and I am going to enjoy every strange second of it.
I've even made the incredibly uncharacteristic choice not to have yet another beta before the ultrasound. I could have another, but I'm not. This week I am letting things unfold. I bet I'll be a lunatic by Friday.
*burp*
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Important Items of Business
Item #1: a praise-song for my sweetheart
My completely self-involved blog has paid insufficient attention to how really really great my beloved is, and it's time for me to remedy that.
For the past week-and-change, my darling has nursed me and catered to my cranky immobile self literally night and day (and when I say "literally", I mean literally). I'm tottering around the house now, but at the worst of it all I could do was ease my way to the bathroom and back -- and yet I was supposed to eat every single hour during the day and drink constantly. How did this happen? My darling running up and down the stairs dozens of times a day, bringing me iced Ensure and V8 and SmartWater, carting down armfuls of dirty glasses, making me endless scrambled eggs (mmm albumin!). I think I've put about a thousand miles on that girl since this started.
Oh, right, and if I don't eat every 2-3 hours throughout the night I wake up with hideous piercing stomach pains. So what does she do? She somehow magically (without setting an alarm) wakes up many times during the night to feed me and shove a straw between my sleepy lips. I barely remember it, but in the morning I remember that I didn't have stomach pains last night.
Other greatnesses of her:
A lot of women with OHSS do end up in the hospital, and I firmly believe that her care has kept me at home, kept the OHSS from getting worse, and kept me from being a total emotional wreck.
This one's for you, sweetie. Couldn't do any of this without you, wouldn't even be trying.
Item #2: Today's 96-hour beta came back at 1,111. Besides being a cool number, that is a doubling time of 42.5 hours. HELL YEAH THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. Something in me is relaxing a little, maybe even starting to believe.
Item #3: Today is 5wks 1 day. I have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday, 6wks 2days. Can I just say: holy crap.
My completely self-involved blog has paid insufficient attention to how really really great my beloved is, and it's time for me to remedy that.
For the past week-and-change, my darling has nursed me and catered to my cranky immobile self literally night and day (and when I say "literally", I mean literally). I'm tottering around the house now, but at the worst of it all I could do was ease my way to the bathroom and back -- and yet I was supposed to eat every single hour during the day and drink constantly. How did this happen? My darling running up and down the stairs dozens of times a day, bringing me iced Ensure and V8 and SmartWater, carting down armfuls of dirty glasses, making me endless scrambled eggs (mmm albumin!). I think I've put about a thousand miles on that girl since this started.
Oh, right, and if I don't eat every 2-3 hours throughout the night I wake up with hideous piercing stomach pains. So what does she do? She somehow magically (without setting an alarm) wakes up many times during the night to feed me and shove a straw between my sleepy lips. I barely remember it, but in the morning I remember that I didn't have stomach pains last night.
Other greatnesses of her:
- She has a special gift for stuffing pillows around me in a way that suddenly magically makes me comfy when I would have sworn to you that there was NO WAY I could be comfy;
- She has been entirely gracious about my incredible bipolar mood this past week, calmly handing me V8s as I skyrocket between elation and despair;
- Since I've had to sleep sitting up I wanted a neck pillow -- you know, one of those airplane-style U-shaped ones -- and when we didn't know where to buy one, she went downstairs, whipped out her sewing machine and made me one. Yeah, she's crafty too.
A lot of women with OHSS do end up in the hospital, and I firmly believe that her care has kept me at home, kept the OHSS from getting worse, and kept me from being a total emotional wreck.
This one's for you, sweetie. Couldn't do any of this without you, wouldn't even be trying.
Item #2: Today's 96-hour beta came back at 1,111. Besides being a cool number, that is a doubling time of 42.5 hours. HELL YEAH THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. Something in me is relaxing a little, maybe even starting to believe.
Item #3: Today is 5wks 1 day. I have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday, 6wks 2days. Can I just say: holy crap.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
18dpo/13dp5dt: the happiest misery ever
This morning's beta: 232, for a doubling time of 50.5 hours. GREAT FANTASTIC CLOSE ENOUGH I'LL TAKE IT!
My hematocrit (how thick and sludgy my blood is) is also greatly improved from Wednesday. This surprises me, because since Wednesday I have just continued to inflate -- I had to borrow clothes from a bodacious friend (thank you dear) because not a thing I own will go over my body, not even my loose t-shirts. And even the jeans I borrowed wouldn't fasten, I had to do the ol' "hair elastic round the button" trick in order to be decent enough to leave the house. I have the perfect pregnancy half-basketball stomach. But despite my startlingly distended abdomen, the OHSS is actually going well. OHSS really only gets scary when your blood gets too sludgy or you stop peeing -- my blood's improving and I am still peeing like a champ (pause for me to accept adulation for this achievement. Thank you, thank you very much.). I'm swilling SmartWater, V8 and Ensure and sloshing gently from the sofa to the bathroom and back again and yeah, that's pretty much my entire range right now.
Part of the cause of my unwieldiness might be my amazing impressive progesterone level -- 352 (normal range for first trimester: 10-47). Holy crap, no wonder I've had heartburn. Anyway, the P4 level could be contributing to poofing me up . RE has dropped my nightly progesterone shot to half of its previous volume. This is good news because a) it might help my various symptoms, and b) it'll hurt less.
Still can't move or eat or sleep too much, but I'm feeling very chipper indeed. I'm hard to convince, but that 50.5-hr doubling time is making me think you know what, I might just be pregnant.
My hematocrit (how thick and sludgy my blood is) is also greatly improved from Wednesday. This surprises me, because since Wednesday I have just continued to inflate -- I had to borrow clothes from a bodacious friend (thank you dear) because not a thing I own will go over my body, not even my loose t-shirts. And even the jeans I borrowed wouldn't fasten, I had to do the ol' "hair elastic round the button" trick in order to be decent enough to leave the house. I have the perfect pregnancy half-basketball stomach. But despite my startlingly distended abdomen, the OHSS is actually going well. OHSS really only gets scary when your blood gets too sludgy or you stop peeing -- my blood's improving and I am still peeing like a champ (pause for me to accept adulation for this achievement. Thank you, thank you very much.). I'm swilling SmartWater, V8 and Ensure and sloshing gently from the sofa to the bathroom and back again and yeah, that's pretty much my entire range right now.
Part of the cause of my unwieldiness might be my amazing impressive progesterone level -- 352 (normal range for first trimester: 10-47). Holy crap, no wonder I've had heartburn. Anyway, the P4 level could be contributing to poofing me up . RE has dropped my nightly progesterone shot to half of its previous volume. This is good news because a) it might help my various symptoms, and b) it'll hurt less.
Still can't move or eat or sleep too much, but I'm feeling very chipper indeed. I'm hard to convince, but that 50.5-hr doubling time is making me think you know what, I might just be pregnant.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The report at 16dpo/11dp5dt
Beta report: still didn't double, but did rise.
12dpo/7dp5dt: 45
14dp/9dp5dt: 74
16dpo/11dp5dt: 120
Doubling time is 69 hours. Still, as friend Rebecca usefully reminded me, less than 72 hours is within normal range. of course I was hoping it would be a robust and comforting 48 hours, but still within normal range, still within normal range, still within normal range, I'm going to keep saying that until I believe it. Oh hey, how did I get the beta, you might ask, when I wasn't scheduled for one until Sunday? My dear wife reminded me that I had the (undated) lab slip and that all I had to do was sashay in, hand over the lab slip, and get the blood drawn. What're they going to do, cram the blood back into my veins? Then I called the RE's office and explained to the nice girl that I needed another lab slip for Sunday because I used the one I had been given today. Oops. I think she thinks I'm a bit of a loon, but who cares? She got me another lab slip.
Cramping and spotting report: Uterine cramps are still low-level and steady, with the occasional one that really makes me wince. Spotting is also steady but extremely light. I'm not too worried about those, as both seem common enough. Some women cramp steadily through the first trimester, apparently.
OHSS report: don't ask. Fortunately, the stomach cramps have been radically reduced by switching to an entirely liquid diet and eating (sipping) small amounts every hour or two. Unfortunately, this includes the night time -- if I don't put something in there every few hours I wake up feeling like I've got hedgehogs moshing in my stomach. I have learned, however, that Ensure is surprisingly tasty.
Hospital staff report: Inappropriate Lab Administrative Assistant was on duty today, the one who cheerfully told me on Wednesday (when my stomach was smaller than it was today) that I look six months pregnant. I am not walking these days so much as I am scuttling, since I can't come anywhere near to standing up straight. So today I crab walk my way in to get my bloodwork and the dialogue proceeds thusly:
IALAA: What's wrong with you?
Me, dumbfounded: I have ten pounds of extra fluid in my abdominal cavity.
IALAA: Oh. Is that a good thing?
Me: No.
IALAA: Huh.
Now, she works at a blood lab in a hospital. Presumably the hospital is full of sick people who walk funny because they're, you know, sick, or hurt or something. Does she really ask all of them what's wrong? Because I think what she should do is take people's lab slips and show them into the blood draw rooms and tell them to have a nice day.
Freaky fact: by some reckoning, 16dpo/11dp5dt = 4 weeks 3 days pregnant. Can't think of it that way yet.
Career report: I told my boss yesterday that I definitely wouldn't be in until Monday, and I don't know what I'll do if I still can't walk/eat/etc by then. Go to work with my grossly distended abdomen and explain to every single person why I can't walk? Take even more sick time? I have plenty of accrued time, but of course it's never politically neutral to take it. I may just have to say fuck it to all that, though. I'm not sure I'll be able to sit at a desk come Monday.
I have thought a bit about being a lesbian going through fertility treatments as opposed to being part of a straight couple going through fertility treatments. The people I work with are great, but I'm just not sure that I could expect sympathy and support for doing something that is so very outside of their frame of reference. I can so clearly imagine the puzzled stares: if she wants kids so badly, then why did she become a lesbian?
Gratitude report: I'm grateful for all the lovely, lovely comments I've gotten on my blog. I'm unutterably grateful that right this second I am pregnant. I am grateful that my BFF has secured for me a Wii. Her offer came at a time when I was feeling particularly physically wretched and thus entitled to any amusement I desired. I really think I've been trying to get a Wii for just about as long as I've been trying to get pregnant, although not with as concerted an effort (I stubbornly refused to pay more than the base price of a non-bundled unit).
Final score: I'm scared and uncomfortable but I think I'm winning.
12dpo/7dp5dt: 45
14dp/9dp5dt: 74
16dpo/11dp5dt: 120
Doubling time is 69 hours. Still, as friend Rebecca usefully reminded me, less than 72 hours is within normal range. of course I was hoping it would be a robust and comforting 48 hours, but still within normal range, still within normal range, still within normal range, I'm going to keep saying that until I believe it. Oh hey, how did I get the beta, you might ask, when I wasn't scheduled for one until Sunday? My dear wife reminded me that I had the (undated) lab slip and that all I had to do was sashay in, hand over the lab slip, and get the blood drawn. What're they going to do, cram the blood back into my veins? Then I called the RE's office and explained to the nice girl that I needed another lab slip for Sunday because I used the one I had been given today. Oops. I think she thinks I'm a bit of a loon, but who cares? She got me another lab slip.
Cramping and spotting report: Uterine cramps are still low-level and steady, with the occasional one that really makes me wince. Spotting is also steady but extremely light. I'm not too worried about those, as both seem common enough. Some women cramp steadily through the first trimester, apparently.
OHSS report: don't ask. Fortunately, the stomach cramps have been radically reduced by switching to an entirely liquid diet and eating (sipping) small amounts every hour or two. Unfortunately, this includes the night time -- if I don't put something in there every few hours I wake up feeling like I've got hedgehogs moshing in my stomach. I have learned, however, that Ensure is surprisingly tasty.
Hospital staff report: Inappropriate Lab Administrative Assistant was on duty today, the one who cheerfully told me on Wednesday (when my stomach was smaller than it was today) that I look six months pregnant. I am not walking these days so much as I am scuttling, since I can't come anywhere near to standing up straight. So today I crab walk my way in to get my bloodwork and the dialogue proceeds thusly:
IALAA: What's wrong with you?
Me, dumbfounded: I have ten pounds of extra fluid in my abdominal cavity.
IALAA: Oh. Is that a good thing?
Me: No.
IALAA: Huh.
Now, she works at a blood lab in a hospital. Presumably the hospital is full of sick people who walk funny because they're, you know, sick, or hurt or something. Does she really ask all of them what's wrong? Because I think what she should do is take people's lab slips and show them into the blood draw rooms and tell them to have a nice day.
Freaky fact: by some reckoning, 16dpo/11dp5dt = 4 weeks 3 days pregnant. Can't think of it that way yet.
Career report: I told my boss yesterday that I definitely wouldn't be in until Monday, and I don't know what I'll do if I still can't walk/eat/etc by then. Go to work with my grossly distended abdomen and explain to every single person why I can't walk? Take even more sick time? I have plenty of accrued time, but of course it's never politically neutral to take it. I may just have to say fuck it to all that, though. I'm not sure I'll be able to sit at a desk come Monday.
I have thought a bit about being a lesbian going through fertility treatments as opposed to being part of a straight couple going through fertility treatments. The people I work with are great, but I'm just not sure that I could expect sympathy and support for doing something that is so very outside of their frame of reference. I can so clearly imagine the puzzled stares: if she wants kids so badly, then why did she become a lesbian?
Gratitude report: I'm grateful for all the lovely, lovely comments I've gotten on my blog. I'm unutterably grateful that right this second I am pregnant. I am grateful that my BFF has secured for me a Wii. Her offer came at a time when I was feeling particularly physically wretched and thus entitled to any amusement I desired. I really think I've been trying to get a Wii for just about as long as I've been trying to get pregnant, although not with as concerted an effort (I stubbornly refused to pay more than the base price of a non-bundled unit).
Final score: I'm scared and uncomfortable but I think I'm winning.
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