Today was a bit of a disappointment at the doctor. After the usual bloodwork we went back for the ultrasound. I've been taking the Luveris and Gonal since day 3 and since the doses are so much higher than before, I figured things would be coming along nicely.
Well, there are a lot of follicles but they're not as big as the doctor thought they should be. So I guess the ovarian stimulation is working, but not the part to fatten them up. The doctor increased the Gonal from 225 to 300 units, which means we have to open a new pen tonight. Each pen has 900 units so this one will be good for 3 nights and then I go back on Friday.
The original plan had a retrieval date of about the 19th, so Friday would have been the last ultrasound before we trigger ovulation and have the procedure done. But I feel like now that is probably going to be pushed back at least a couple of days. This creates a couple of new problems.
1. After Friday we will be out of the Gonal and if we have to do a couple more days of shots after that we're going to need more. They said that if we need to we can order another pen but they're going to try and consolidate the pens we have now. We have a bunch of pens from before that have just a little bit of medication in each one. The nurse said she could use a needle and put them together.
I try to take half days whenever I can, but if the appointment is in the morning it's easier to get a full day sub. My appointment Friday is in the morning too, but I took my chances and just put in for a half day sub. I hope someone picks up the job because if nobody does, then they ask other teachers to sell their prep time to cover classes with no subs and I would feel bad about that because what they pay you when you sell your prep is hardly worth the missed time.
Plus, my students are starting to notice time time I'm missing. They were really sad that I'm missing their Valentine's party today so I feel bad about that too. I obviously haven't told them why I'm missing so many days so they don't understand and it's hard for me to get on their cases for attendance now.
It's easy to explain and justify missing days when you're already pregnant. And if you get pregnant the 'traditional way' you probably wouldn't have this problem anyway. But if you're considering IVF, make sure you have a flexible work schedule because you might not have control over when doctor appointments come up.
I think if your coworkers know you well enough, they would know you're not the type of abuse your sick days. I bet they are more concerned that you are having health problems, given you haven't provided any info to them. If I saw a hard-working coworker of mine suddenly taking lots of days off, I would be worried that they were extremely ill, not suspecting them of lounging around at home watching tv and shirking their responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've considered that too and I can only imagine what's going around the rumor mill that is our front office. If it works, they'll know soon enough anyway.
ReplyDelete