Vegas 2013

Adam and I decided to get away for the weekend as a last hurrah before we do all of our IVF stuff and hopefully end up pregnant.

We had a blast. We saw some good friends, ate some delicious food and rode an awesome roller coaster at the New York New York!

Next week, we start doing the ultrasounds and then if all goes well we should be able to do the procedure the following week.

Take two...

Tomorrow starts round two of our IVF. I am starting the Lupron again. I am having mixed feelings about it right now. I am excited to get started again after having to wait for 4 months. I am also nervous because of what happened last time and there is a possibility I could get over-stimulated this time. Please pray for us as we go through this again and cross your fingers that it works. =) I will try to keep everyone updated.

It is going to be a busy couple of months in the Soderborg family!

Featured

Also, take a look at the article I wrote for my friend, Nikki's website. She has done a great job with this website. It is to bring awareness to people about CF.  She asked me to write about Adam and I's story with IVF.

Our IVF story

Better news

Today was our "post" IVF appointment and I was really nervous about what they were going to say. I was so nervous that I didn't sleep much last night. But let me tell you what a relief this appointment was. Our doctor is so wonderful and understanding and optimistic. I don't know what we'd do without his support and compassion. He explained to us that there is nothing wrong with me that they know of. They think they might have just gotten the dosage of drugs wrong. They didn't want to overstimulate me so they gave me the lowest dose they could.

He also explained that they didn't want to proceed with the procedure because it would have cut our chances in half of getting pregnant. That would have been 60% to 30%! He said it wasn't impossible but they wanted to give me the best chance possible. We talked about proceeding with another cycle and upping the doses of medication which I am not looking forward to at all. I think the best news I heard was that I don't have to take Metformin this time!!! ;) Woot!

Actually, the best news that we got was that we can start again in the next couple of months. I will have to have my period in December and then we can start with birth control and so on. We are excited to give this another shot and hopefully this time my ovaries don't give up or give too much.

The one thing I am worried about is that we might lose our grant. We are still within the timeframe but we don't know if they will pay again for restarting. Please keep your fingers, toes, and whatever else you can crossed that they will continue to pay.

I can't tell you how much all your support has meant to me in the last couple weeks. It has really been a struggle for me to wrap my head around all of this. I wish that this appointment had been earlier so I would have had a little more comfort but I can't even explain how much compassion and love I have felt from my husband, my friends and family. It was just so amazing and I am happy to have you all as a part of our journey.

Anyway...that's all for now. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! Here are some pictures from October:

Well...

The last week has been laced with ultrasounds and blood draws. We were getting closer and closer to making an appointment for the retrieval. I even have awesome circles on my back side for more injections. Today was supposed to be the day that we scheduled our retrieval so we did an ultrasound and checked an estrogen level. The doctor wanted to make sure my estrogen was still going up which it has been all week. She has said they wanted it to be 200 for each egg. At approximately 11:00 am I got a phone call from the doctor (usually it is a nurse). She said that she had bad news. Not what I expected to hear. She told me that my estrogen level had dropped by more than half. It had been over 1,000 yesterday and was only 490 today. I was crying quite a bit by now and can't really remember all that she said but she thinks that my ovaries got tired and gave up. She said that maybe if they had done more of the Repronex it might have helped. They were worried about overstimulating me so they didn't want to do a lot of Repronex. 

The next step for us is to make an appointment with our doctor and figure out what our options are. I think they will change my drugs a little bit but I have no idea when we will be able to restart everything over again. I am kind of apprehensive about it because I don't like these injections especially the Repronex. I want to have babies and I want them to be Adam's so I know I can't give up on this option yet. I don't understand all of this yet and why this happened. I know God has a plan but it is not very clear to me. I hope He will make it known to me soon. I was hoping that we were done with set backs but I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised because that is all this process has been is set backs.

Anyway...I am having a hard time with this and not sure how to deal with it because I have never gone through anything like this. I really appreciate all my family and friends and their kind words. I love you all so much. I especially couldn't do this without my hubby. He has been so good to me and has been my rock. I couldn't ask for a better partner to go through this with. I will keep you all updated when we find out more information. Thanks.

New injections

Today I started on two more injections and decreased the amount of Lupron I've been taking. I've been taking the Lupron since 9/23. The Lupron hasn't been too bad because I was able to find a position that doesn't hurt and my husband has been giving me most of the injections. I am also still on Metformin.

Here are some descriptions of what the medication is for.


Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron): While it is important to stimulate several eggs to mature, it is equally important to prevent the release, or ovulation, of the eggs prior to the egg retrieval. Leuprolide Acetate is administered to prevent ovulation and to increase the number of eggs that are retrieved from the ovaries.

 Gonadotropins (Gonal F, Follistim, Bravelle, Repronex and Menopur): These are highly purified preparations of FSH or LH or both and are also administered as a series of subcutaneous injections in the lower abdomen. The gonadotropins stimulate the growth and maturation of the eggs. Side effects include ovarian discomfort, abdominal bloating, ovarian cysts and multiple pregnancies in 10-50% of women.

Luckily, the Repronex is only for 3 days because it is terrible and it hurts! I can't believe that next week we will FINALLY be doing the actual IVF. We have an ultrasound next Wednesday that will determine what day they will do the retrieval and 5 days after that they will do the transfer! It has been such a wild ride and hopefully it will get more wild if I get pregnant! =)

Hospital 2012

Adam was admitted to the hospital on the 14th. He wasn't feeling good at the beginning of the week and luckily had an appointment that Friday. Usually when he gets admitted I have a hard time with it because it messes with plans and life in general. I feel like this time was different. It was an answer to many questions I had about why our IVF cycle kept getting pushed back. If we did it when originally planned to do it the second time then he would have been in the hospital. Imagine that. I am thankful to have received an answer. I am also glad that he will most likely be healthy for the holidays. He's been coming in every 3 months lately so we'll have to see.

IVF update: I started my Lupron injections on Sunday. So far I have not had any side effects but a friend of mine said when she took it the side effects showed up in the second week. Soon I will stop taking the birth control. Then in the beginning of October, I will have another ultrasound. That is all we have scheduled for now. I will try and update on how things are going. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

The Utes won against BYU a couple weeks ago! Wahoo! It was a good game and I was really worried that they weren't going to win. A cool thing that happened while we've been here is that Adam got to meet the current starting quarterback of the Utes! One of Adam's respiratory therapists happens to be his girlfriend and asked him to come up and visit him. I was at the Train concert which was totally worth missing meeting him but I was still bummed I wasn't here. But it was really sweet that he came up here and talk to Adam. Unfortunately, the Utes didn't do too well this last week against Arizona State. I hope they do better against USC!

Let's see, what else has happened. Oh..one of my friends passed away this week. His name is Aaron and he has CF. I meet him when I started working at the Utes and we became friends. He was one of the sweetest people I have meet. I will miss him so much. I hope that they find a cure for this disease. Breathe easy my friend.

We went to Capitol Reef at the beginning of September. I went down with Adam's parents because Adam was SUPPOSED to be working that weekend. He asked if he could have that Saturday off to come down and surprise everyone. We had a blast with his family like always!

Capitol Reef

Having fun with my friend who is a BYU fan.

Carlos

Train concert

Metformin again?

This drug is consuming my life. I am sorry that you all have to hear about it but it is part of the process. I feel like crap most of the day and I want to complain about it somewhere. I just upped my dose for the last time so I hope my body will start getting used to it like people have advised me it will. Then you all won't have to listen to me complain. ;)
On the 2nd of September, I will start a drug called Lupron. I found on the U's reproductive medicine website a good definition of what Lupron does. So here it is:

Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron): While it is important to stimulate several eggs to mature, it is equally important to prevent the release, or ovulation, of the eggs prior to the egg retrieval. Leuprolide Acetate is administered to prevent ovulation and to increase the number of eggs that are retrieved from the ovaries. This medication is typically administered as an injection just beneath the skin of the abdomen or thigh. Side effects may include hot flashes, headache, mood swings, vaginal dryness, bone loss and painful intercourse in fewer than 10% of women.

Yay for more fun! I know it will be worth it but the next couple months are going to be tough. Please keep us in your thoughts! =)

Metformin

Last week we had an appointment with the reproductive doctor. They wanted to do what they call a trial transfer. Warning: this might be TMI for some people. They wanted to make sure my uterus still looks good and measured it. The doctor also counted my eggs and seemed concerned that I am making more than necessary. So he put me on Metformin which is usually a medication for diabetes or a syndrome called PCOS and I don't have either of these. He put me on it to regulate my egg production. It has not been a fun drug to take and tomorrow I have to up my dose. It has made me sick most night with nausea and bowel problems. I hope that is has the outcome that the doctor is looking for.

Also, I will be starting my injection medications on the 2nd of September and then the 12th of September with have our meeting with the psychiatrist. I am not sure what is all going to happen during that appointment but I hope that it goes well and won't postpone this again. I hope that this is finally the right time and nothing else will stand in the way. But I know when the time is right we will be blessed with a beautiful bundle of joy and I can't wait for that day. =) 

Roller Coaster

I like roller coasters. Roller coasters are my favorite ride at amusement parks. It is a thrill of the unknown that usually ends in excitement. I feel like this the same with emotional roller coasters. I know there will hopefully be something exciting at the end of this roller coaster but I feel like it is the roller coaster that will never end.

We probably have to postpone our IVF cycle once again. It will be only two weeks but it feels like another 6 months has been added on. I am not very good at waiting even if I know there is a reason why we have to wait. This has happened so much that I am starting to worry that every time we get closer, something else will happen. Now mind you, I know this is not realistic but it is just how I am feeling. It also could be worse for us but this is something that has not been easy to deal with. You never really know what it is like to have fertility issues until you are going through it. I feel for people who have been dealing with this for a longer time than I have. It is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

There is so many tests and people you have to meet with before you can start the process and some times things fall through the cracks or are not completely understood. I didn't schedule a meeting with a psychiatrist soon enough and unfortunately she was booked out until September 12th. They won't let me start my first IVF med before completing this.

I hope tomorrow will be a better day and that I will get some of my questions answer. I also hope this will be our LAST draw back and we will get to the exciting part of this roller coaster. Thanks for listening.

Graduation 2012

I FINALLY graduated from college! It took me 7 years but I did it. It almost felt unreal to me for the first couple days. It wasn't until I was walking across the stage with my sort of diploma that it hit me! No more homework, no more tests, no more school! Let's just hope that I passed my internship class and pass my licensing exam. ;)

This last semester was probably the hardest time of my life. Working everyday was a lot more stressful and tiring then I thought it would be. It was especially hard at the end. I felt like I had done all I could and I was tired and just plain miserable. Readjusting to a normal life hasn't been all that great either. I am already having dreams about school and waking Adam up to ask him about my assignments. I was excited to be able to sleep in and that hasn't happened much either. I think my internal clock is now set to 7 am.

The one nice thing is that I do get to see Adam more and I am not constantly worrying about something or exhausted all the time. The last week was kind of busy with graduation so I hope things start getting more normal.

My plans now are to take my licensing exam on Thursday and hopefully find a job. I have applied to a few places throughout Utah. I don't want to go too far because I want Adam to be able to work at his job and go to school. So the farthest I have applied to is Ogden and Provo.

Also, I should catch up on the baby stuff. Adam won't be able to give his "genetic material" until the fall due to circumstances I am not allowed to disclose on my blog. So we are looking at about September to be able to continue with IVF. Hopefully I will be able to find a job and that way we can be a little more stable financially. We also might do another fundraiser in the near future so look out for information on that.

Alive?

Hello! This is Christine! I am alive! I have not had a lot of time to update our blog and when I do have time, I usually don't feel like doing much. My internship is almost over so I hope to start updating more. I hope everyone is having a happy Easter! =)

Oh and we are pretty close to getting the grant so we can start the IVF! We just have some more paperwork to fill out! Hopefully one day the paperwork will stop! ;)

December Madness

This month has been super crazy and I haven't felt much like blogging. But I want to catch up on the things that have been occurring.

We decided to do a fundraiser earlier this month and had to quickly get it put together. My friend Grace has put most of it together. She even made a website and everything! If you want to visit it you can go here to view it.
The website gives a lot of details about why we are doing this. We made a bunch of fun goodies and had a bunch of donations from other people but while we were planning this a sad event happened. My friend Spencer died due to some complications with CF. He fought a long time and did so well. He just couldn't do it anymore and now he is breathing easy. Here is his obituary. This was devastating news but we proceeded with our fundraiser and still made it to his viewing and funeral. It was a weekend full of mixed emotions. We were so happy to see how much our friends and family support us and our decision to have a baby and it was sad and painful to let go of a dear friend. 

Anyway...we ended up making almost half of our goal. We want to raise about $3,000 for the genetic testing we have to do. If we make more than that we will donate it to the CF Foundation. I can't express how much everyone helping out means to me. It has just been incredible having the response we've had. It makes me so happy. I feel like our dream is in reach! 

Also, school is over for the semester and that was keeping me busy too. Next semester will be my last semester of college! Woot woot! =) I am so excited! I will be doing an internship at the hospital I currently work in on the psychiatric unit. It is going to be a crazy semester because along with work four, ten hour shifts I will also be working my current job three times a week for twelve hours! So that is everyday! Let's hope I survive!

Now for my hubby, he's been working at ARUP for the past three months and so far he has been liking it. It has been really good for our little family! He is working night shifts and sleeps all day so we don't see each other as much as we used to. But I am glad that he has a job and is liking it. 

His health has been pretty good since he got out of the hospital in October but lately he has been having chest pain. We saw the doctor and she was convinced it was muscle related. So we dodged having to be admitted to the hospital over the holidays. We have to go back though to make sure that is all it was. 

That's all for now! I will try and be better about updating things throughout the IVF process and all that good jazz. Hope everyone has a fabulous holiday!! =)

IVF

I'd like to clarify some things about our pursuits to have a baby and I thought a blog would be the best way to do it. 

At this point in time, I am not pregnant but we are trying to be. The only way we can achieve this is through in vitro fertilization. We are going to apply for a grant that will cover most of the process. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover all of it. We have to do something called preimplantation genetic diagnosis or PGD for short. This test will take a cell from the embryos and determine whether they will have CF or not. This test is something we have to pay for out of pocket and up front. 

Because of this we want to do a fundraiser so we can get the process started sooner rather than later. A couple of friends have given me ideas but I don't know exactly how to get this started. They gave me the idea of doing a bake sale type deal and another friend gave me the idea to make different kinds of popcorn, which is in the works. 

I posted a status earlier to see what people would be willing to donate or help with and I got a lot of baked goods and crafts. So I was thinking of doing a combined craft/bake sale. I really appreciate everyone's willingness to help us because we really want to make this happen. We are also thinking about doing a cash "gift" registry so if people just want to donate money.

I really hope to get some of this stuff going in the next couple of weeks before Christmas comes so please stay tuned. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask either of us. We are pretty open about this matter. =)

Just a thought.

Can November be here already?!?! 

Just saying.

Then we could apply for a grant for IVF.

Sonohystergram...oh yeah!

Today I went back to our reproductive doctor and had a sonohysterogram. What is that you might be asking yourself. Here's a definition:

What is a sonohysterogram? This is a diagnostic screening study which combines transvaginal ultrasound with the infusion of a small amount of sterile saline solution into the uterus to visualize the endometrial cavity (inside of the uterus). The use of a fluid contrast enhances the ability of ultrasound to outline the anatomy of the uterus.

Let me tell you it was a little uncomfortable. I don't want to go into too many details. But overall, everything looks good. It is nice to know I am healthy. 

Now I think our next step is to wait until November and apply for a grant. We are trying to save money which hasn't always been easy for us. So we are thinking about doing a yard sale to help raise some funds. I guess we'll see what happens!