On Saturday October 3rd we completed our first, and hopefully only, embryo transfer. We transferred a very healthy 5-day old embryo, or a blastocyst. Now, since embryo transfers aren't exactly common place, most people don't know exactly how they work. So, I'll go over what preparation was needed for the embryo transfer and how the procedure itself goes.
We began our preparation all the way back in July, when I began taking daily prenatal vitamins, folic acid, and baby aspirin. Then in late August I began a daily subcutaneous injection of Lupron, a hormone that decreased my own production of estrogen to prevent me from ovulating. I always joked that they were giving me menopause some the Lupron stopped my own ovulation cycle. Every morning I injected myself in the belly with an insulin sized syringe. At the beginning of September I began taking Estrodiol, injectable estrogen, every Tuesday and Friday night. It's an intramuscular injection, so I need Jack to administer them since I couldn't reach easily on my own. When I had an ultrasound in mid dormer to check my uterine lining, it wasn't quite as thick as they wanted it to be, so they started me on Estrace. Estrace is a pill form of estrogen, and much to my dismay, I had to take it as a vaginal suppository every morning and night. It paid off, because my uterine lining quickly thickened just the way they wanted it to!
Left to right: Lupron, Estrodiol, and Progesterone
I stopped my Lupron injection a week before the transfer, and stopped taking the Estrace the following day. On Monday the 28th, I started taking Medrol, in pill form, twice a day. Medrol is a low dose steroid that suppresses the autoimmune response to lower the risk of my body rejecting the embryo. It also tastes like bile, it's literally the worst pill I've ever had to take. That Monday we also added a Progesterone intramuscular injection that Jack has to administer to me every morning. The Progesterone in oil is about as thick as penicillin, so I have to put a heating pack on my back and warm the Progesterone in my hands to make it easier to inject and prevent bruising. The next day, Tuesday the 29th, I started taking Azithromycin, an antibiotic, until the day of the transfer.
Finally, transfer day! We went to the clinic a half an hour before the procedure where they gave me a Valium to make me sleepy and help me relax. Then they placed the microscopic embryo in my uterus with a little catheter, monitoring the placement with an tummy ultrasound. The embryo was so tiny you couldn't see it on the ultrasound, they had to check the catheter under a microscope to make sure the embryo was actually placed. The embryo they placed was a 5 day embryo that was, along with the other embryos, fully genetically tested so they could transfer the healthiest embryo and have a greater chance of success. That night I began an additional Progesterone vaginal suppository and started taking my Estrace morning and night again, luckily this time by mouth.
I have to continue most of my hormones until my 10th week of pregnancy. My intramuscular Progesterone injection every morning, my intramuscular Estrodiol injection every Tuesday and Friday night, vaginal Progesterone every night, oral Estrace morning and night, and of course, my prenatal vitamins, folic acid, and baby aspirin every day. It's a lot to keep track of, but it will be very worth it to see the look on the parents' faces when they hold their baby....
BOY!!!! for the very first time!
