Estrogen Side Effects

At first the estrogen patches weren't giving me any issues but now they are starting to become very annoying. They hurt like hell! It feels like they're burning off my skin. I am now wearing four at a time and I hate them with a passion. My skin is dark red where the patches are and very sore. I'm not sure how much more I can take of this, and my stupid pharmacist said that there's no other brand. I'm having a hard time believing that crap. There's no way in hell that these big stupid things are the only patches they sell, there's just no way. I'm kind of getting sick of the pharmacist blowing smoke up my ass and lying to me. Our insurance only covers generic brands, and even though I told the pharmacist that I don't care if I have to pay extra money for better patches, he still says that these are the only ones I can get. I had no idea that skin could get this red and the stupid pharmacist doesn't seem to care. I have an appointment with the doctor in the US on Monday so I am going to show her what these stupid patches have done to me in hopes that she will put me on a different kind of estrogen. The Dr. in Atlanta prescribed Vivelle Dot Patches, but they're not sold in Canada. I wonder if I get a prescription for them in the US if a pharmacy there can fill it. If I can't get Vivelle Dot patches or a different form of estrogen I'm going to ask the fertility specialist here if there's another type of patch.

Not only is the estrogen irritating my skin, it's also making me quite cranky. I've been in a bad mood ever since starting them and it gets worse every time I increase the dose. My butt is swollen from the patches. I'm bloated everywhere to the point where my clothes aren't fitting me. I am always exhausted, I'm not sure if that's from the lupron or the estrogen but since I got more tired once I added estrogen I'm going to blame it on that.

Tomorrow I get to add a whole bunch of other crap to the mix of drugs I'm taking...YAY me!

Things to Do In Atlanta

The countdown to Atlanta is on. In 4 days DH and I will be on an airplane flying south for fertility treatment. I never imagined in my life that I would need to leave the country for a medical procedure. Socialized medicine in Canada sucks! You certainly do get what you pay for. DH and I have never been to Atlanta and don't have the slightest idea what we will do when we are there besides uncomfortable medical stuff. DH wants to go to the aquarium and I would like to go on tour of The Walking Dead set, but besides that I'm lost for ideas. Our hotel is right next to a mall so I can see us doing a lot of shopping, yay for cheap stuff and sales! Here in Canada everything is expensive. I can buy a pair of shoes in the US for a third of what it costs here.

Out of the blue, DH told me he wants to go to The Simpsons Springfield in Orlando. I thought he meant in a few years from now, but he wants to go while we are in Atlanta lol. We are renting a car and it takes 6 hours to drive to Orlando from Atlanta, well maybe 3 hours with the way DH drives lol. Of course since he mentioned Florida I became really happy and have been bugging him to go. He loves The Simpsons so yesterday while he was working I sent him this picture via ichat to remind him about it.

He was quite surprised when he saw a message from me because I never use ichat lol. He started laughing loudly and said thanks for planting the seed. Hmmm, he's the one that planted the seed in the first place lol. It's not a for sure thing yet because DH hurt his back a while ago and can't do much. He said we will go depending on how he feels when we're in Atlanta. He loves The Simpsons so much that I'm sure he's going to want to go. I think it would be good for the both of us to go to Orlando and get things off of our mind. This is a very stressful time for the both of us and entertainment is healthy.

I'm not totally sure what we will do there yet and since I'm such a planner, it's kind of bugging me. I'm sure we will have lots of fun whatever we do. When I get home I will do an Atlanta/Orlando review lol. If anyone reading this lives in or around Atlanta please give me some suggestions.

Lining Check

For the first time in months I was at a fertility clinic getting an ultrasound. DH and I woke up around 6 this morning for my appointment. DH is great, he's my number one supporter and is by my side for everything. He always comes to my appointments and has never missed one. That's what best friends are for, they're always by your side. I feel so grateful to have him as my husband. I never believed in love or soul mates until he came along.

I was a bit nervous about todays ultrasound for a few reasons.

1.  I wasn't sure if my lining would be thick enough to continue my cycle. (It's never thick)
2.  I was afraid the ultrasound tech wouldn't be nice, and was nervous that someone else would be looking at my private parts lol.
3. I thought I would have a hard time getting results faxed to the US clinic we are using.

I am happy to announce that everything turned out great and everything is going as planned. My lining was better than ever at 10.4mm and is trilaminar! 

At my old clinic my lining was never trilaminar and was always double layered. My scam artist of a doctor said that it never mattered how many layers my lining was, as long as it is over 5mm. I am so happy to be out of that place. I was so happy when my nurse called me this morning to say that my lining, according to the ultrasound technician, was the best she has ever seen for someone on estrogen patches. While I was there the tech told me that my lining was perfect, beautiful and fabulous, something I never heard anyone say.

For once in this journey everything is going great. Before my IVF cycle, I wasn't confident at all that it would work. I was a maniac thinking that something would go wrong, and it turned out I was right. This time I'm very confident and deep down can feel that it will work and I will finally have my long awaited BFP. 

I'm Starting to Feel Better

Trying to get pregnant has been one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I used to be in a very dark place during TTC. Everything made me depressed and I wasn't interested in things that I normally find interesting. I'm a huge TV fan, yeah I'll admit that I am a couch potato. There's nothing more I enjoy than sitting in front of the TV with my laptop. To some of you that may sound pathetic, but it's what I enjoy. For the longest time I lost interest in TV and my computer because I found it hard to concentrate on anything. And it seemed as if everything I watched on TV had something to do with pregnancy. We saved $20 a month on electricity from keeping the TV off lol. I found it hard to go outside because everywhere we went I saw a pregnant woman or teenager. I love shopping but couldn't bring myself to go to a mall out of fear for what I might have seen. I stopped participating in online support groups for infertility because I found it really hard to give support to others when I was feeling so down myself. There were days where I couldn't get out of bed. Sometimes I would spend hours crying. I was so frustrated and confused about infertility.

For whatever reason I have changed. I don't feel bitter and depressed like I used to feel. Instead of feeling sad and angry towards pregnant women, I am happy for them. I'm glad they're pregnant and  hope that they didn't have to go through what I am to get their baby. I don't wish infertility on anyone and pray that women don't have to go through hell to have families.

Yesterday I looked for some old online friends to see how they were doing. Most of them have babies and some are pregnant with their second or third. I was looking at pictures of their families and was so excited for them. It was great to see how happy they were and how much their babies have grown. I did this once before and regretted it and cried as soon as I saw pictures of their babies. But yesterday was different. I wasn't sad at all looking at pictures of their children and could only think of how happy I am for them.

I also find it easier to browse through forums, and for the first time in years I like to look at pregnancy tests, especially squinters lol.

I'm afraid I will turn bitter again if my egg donor cycle doesn't work, but I know we have tried almost everything to achieve our goal and feel lucky DH and I are in a position to afford IVF with donor eggs.

The only thing that's on my mind...

By the end of this month I will know if my cycle has worked. I may use a FRER 10DPO. If I can find a good deal on them, I'll take one every day after my transfer. I don't know what I will do yet. Do I want to surprise myself and wait? Or do I want to take one every day?

Ovary pain and EWCM, this could be a problem.

Yesterday I began to have ovulation pains and EWCM. Now I'm starting to freak out thinking that the Lupron isn't doing it's job and I am going to ovulate. If Lupron is working and I'm not ovulating, then why am I having ovulation pains, could I have cysts? I guess I will find out on Friday when I have my lining check. The EWCM could be from the estrogen patches. Since I started my cycle, I have been worried about every little thing that could go wrong.  I pray that my ultrasound on Friday is normal. It's hard to believe we are leaving in little over a week.

Estrogen Patch Trouble

The good news about the estrogen patches is that they don't make me itchy. I have sensitive skin and break out easily in rashes when I come into contact with certain things. I have two doctors, one in Georgia and one here in Toronto. The doctor in Georgia orders my medication and then the doctor here prescribes it. Not too long ago I noticed that my estrogen patches are different from the ones that the Georgia doctor ordered for me. They are different brand names, but this could be a problem. I am supposed to be taking Vivelle Dot patches, but since they don't have Vivelle dot patches here in Canada my pharmacist gave me these huge ass circle patches. Eventually I will need to have 4 patches on at once, and I don't think that's possible because there are only a few parts of my body where they can go. Look at how big this thing is:



I guess as long as the patches give me the same amount of medication as the ones that were ordered there shouldn't be any problems. I want to email the egg coordinator, but I am scared that she will delay my cycle and tell me that I have to use another form of estrogen. We already booked our plane tickets so I don't want to risk my cycle being delayed. I asked my pharmacist if he can get me a smaller patch and he said he would look into it. Yesterday I wasted 3 patches because it wouldn't stick to me. Because these things are so big, they crumple up on me and I get worried thinking that maybe they're not working like they should be.

I just realized something, the donor egg program we are in has to be completed within 2 years. That means that if it doesn't work, I will have to spend the next 2 years on injections, pills and patches. That's a lot of drugs, I hope I can handle it.