24 February 2011
20 February 2011
Target Credit Services
Automated voice: "Because you're such a great Target guest, we want to do something special for you... we will connect you with a representative immediately!"
Next automated voice: "Please hold, a representative will be with you shortly."
- insert hold music and 5 minute wait here -
Awesome, thanks. :/
Next automated voice: "Please hold, a representative will be with you shortly."
- insert hold music and 5 minute wait here -
Awesome, thanks. :/
17 February 2011
Eggs - Post-Extraction - Day 10
Finally, nature is right on schedule... :)
Like clockwork, the nurse said in about 10 days I'd start my cycle. So woot! But ugh... lol. At least I can get back on the pill this Sunday. Weee!
So I think I'm going to donate at least once more before the cut-off age... definitely not within this year, though. I get to call on Monday to see if there was a pregnancy!
Like clockwork, the nurse said in about 10 days I'd start my cycle. So woot! But ugh... lol. At least I can get back on the pill this Sunday. Weee!
So I think I'm going to donate at least once more before the cut-off age... definitely not within this year, though. I get to call on Monday to see if there was a pregnancy!
11 February 2011
Eggs - Post-Extraction - Day 4
Ugh! So imagine what it feels like after you eat gut-bomb foods, multiply that by 5, times 3 days, plus bloating = how I feel. :/
And the best part, is that this'll last another week at least! Blarg.
And the best part, is that this'll last another week at least! Blarg.
09 February 2011
Eggs - Post-Extraction - Day 2
Well, finally feeling great mentally, and I definitely notice a huge difference in my energy. I'm waking up naturally with the sunlight and standing up again at work (not to mention smiling more, too!). But the body is still slowly getting back to normal... bloated again and there's some slight pressure down in my biz-nass... nothing painful though — just annoying.
Looking forward to more improvement over the next week! The Center called to check-up on me and asked if I wanted to donate again. I said probably, but not in the near future... I will call when I'm ready again. I verified the cut-off age being 32, and she said since I'm already a donor, they could push it to 34; however, most recipients choose 'young' eggs over the older ones, so there's less of a chance that I'll be picked. But if it's meant to be, it'll happen, I guess! :)
Looking forward to more improvement over the next week! The Center called to check-up on me and asked if I wanted to donate again. I said probably, but not in the near future... I will call when I'm ready again. I verified the cut-off age being 32, and she said since I'm already a donor, they could push it to 34; however, most recipients choose 'young' eggs over the older ones, so there's less of a chance that I'll be picked. But if it's meant to be, it'll happen, I guess! :)
07 February 2011
Eggs - Day 21 - Extraction!
Woke around 7:30am... couldn't sleep anymore! I laid in bed about 45 minutes, starting to feel hunger pains, but knowing full well that I can't eat or drink anything because of the anesthesia I'm about to receive.
At 9 I called the Minneapolis taxi company... ABC Taxi or something. I sat on hold for a good five minutes, starting to panic that I'd be late to my appointment all due to incompetent taxi service. Finally someone picked up and said they'd send a taxi right out. Luckily he showed up right on time, but this dude... omg... he had to have been at least 85, and he drove like it, too! It took him 10 minutes to drive 1 mile and he put the car in park every time we came to a red light. :| A thought crossed my mind that he was totally milking the ride, racking up my fee on purpose, but on second glance, it was just his age, I think...
Anyway, of course we get there and the fee is just over $6. I have that exact amount in my wallet, and a 10 dollar bill. I say fuck it, and give him the 10, because he seemed like he needed it, and I'm about to get a check for 4 grand... plus he did get me there on time, so whatever. I just wanted to be done with it.
I check-in and sit in the lobby until 9:30; a nurse I hadn't met yet called me back to a different area of the facility that I haven't been to before. We sit in a small prep room, with two chairs and a creepy hospital bed.
Sooo creepy... probably all those hospital horror films I've watched. :)
Anyway, the nurse asks me a few questions and says since I'm a pro to this, she won't give me the full interrogation. :) I sign a release form and she hands me my compensation check (4 grand, bitches!); then she leaves and the anesthesiologist visits me. Same chick I had last time! We chat a bit and she asks me questions, then leaves so I can change into my adorable hospital gown/robe, with a hat and booties to match!
Woot!
Then the doctor comes in (female this time!) and she's also asking me questions... and acting weird like she's high and hasn't slept in days... :/ She says in about 10 minutes, they'll be ready for me, but in the meantime, I can enjoy some digital pictures via a photo frame on the counter, because "she read in my profile that I liked photography". Ohhh, excuse me, I should have mentioned... I like GOOD photography! Snaps! Yeah, some pretty crappy photos on there, so I play with my Droid until it's time.
Around 9:10?, my anesthesiologist brought me down the hall to the procedure room. It's small with no windows and a bed that's clearly attached to the floor and a bunch of other monitors/equipment. I lay down and she pokes me with my last needles of the cycle, to numb up my arm for the IV. She gives me something to 'relax' first, as we're making small talk. Being put-out is the greatest thing ever, so I'm highly enjoying myself at this point. :D
Once I hear the doctor and nurse enter the room, I start to feel the drugs kicking in... I help them prop my legs up into these large stirrups that support the back of my knee (for comfort). Then I feel someone wrapping a medical sheet around my thighs... it's all foggy after that, and I'm hearing myself telling the story of when I threw-up strawberries as a child, and my parents thought it was blood, and even though I did that, to this day strawberries are my FAVORITE fruit. I told this story to the nurses/doctor because I recall hearing one of the women say something about vomiting out her nose one time... and now I can't be sure if this conversation took place before or after the procedure... lol.
So, after story-telling time, I slowly wake up and realize I'm in recovery already! The anesthesiologist is there asking if I'm awake. She props me up and gives me liquid Tylenol and some water. By now I'm feeling the IV in my arm still, and some slight pressure in my pubic area, but no pain. Then the nurse visits and I ask her how many eggs they got. Twelve, she says! Woot! It's the perfect amount they want during a cycle. (Once they remove them from me, they have 4 hours to clean and fertilize each one, then they can store/freeze them so the couple can use them anytime they want!)
Anyway, after a few minutes of rest, they go get Manda and bring her back to get me. Dawn, one of the donor coordinators I chatted with my very first time, comes in and thanks me for doing such an honorable thing. I tell her Manda is thinking about donating, too! And then Dawn and I comment that we didn't see each other this time around... oh well.
After the anesthesiologist removes my IV (and that horrible, sticky, unyielding tape!), everyone leaves and I get dressed. Manda wheels me out in a wheelchair to the elevator. She puts me in the very back corner and takes a photo with her cell... bwahahaha! :) Once we're downstairs, she runs to get her car, plops me in, and we're off!
---
I got into bed after getting home around noon... had some trouble falling asleep, but before I knew it, it was 3pm. I woke, ate some cereal, took my antibiotic, then laid down on the couch for another 2 hours. Finally around 5 I felt awake enough to eat real food.
Now it's nearly 10 and I'm feeling some pressure in my abdomen... nothing bad, but annoying if I'm up and walking around. They say no exercise for 3 – 5 days, which will be no problem for me this winter. :P
Two weeks from now I can call and find out if there was a pregnancy. I asked the nurse if most women put two eggs in, because that gives an 80% chance of pregnancy, and she said yup, usually they do... getting their monies worth, I suppose. Since they basically paid me for my DNA, they can keep the rest of the eggs for later use, or they can donate them to another woman, donate them for research, or destroy them.
---
So now in ten days I'll menstruate and get rid of the left-over eggs they didn't harvest. Tomorrow I'm going to feel amazing! I'll be completely un-bloated and back to normal... until Wednesday, when I'll fill-up with fluid again. :| But, no more needles!!! And I get to sleep-in... and drink if I want... ahhh.
I might do this one more time, before the cut-off age (32)... but we'll see. It went much faster this second time around, and I don't feel like I was as uncomfortable. Probably because I knew what was coming and when I'd be done.
So, fingers crossed for the couple to successfully get some mini-Becky's!!! :D
At 9 I called the Minneapolis taxi company... ABC Taxi or something. I sat on hold for a good five minutes, starting to panic that I'd be late to my appointment all due to incompetent taxi service. Finally someone picked up and said they'd send a taxi right out. Luckily he showed up right on time, but this dude... omg... he had to have been at least 85, and he drove like it, too! It took him 10 minutes to drive 1 mile and he put the car in park every time we came to a red light. :| A thought crossed my mind that he was totally milking the ride, racking up my fee on purpose, but on second glance, it was just his age, I think...
Anyway, of course we get there and the fee is just over $6. I have that exact amount in my wallet, and a 10 dollar bill. I say fuck it, and give him the 10, because he seemed like he needed it, and I'm about to get a check for 4 grand... plus he did get me there on time, so whatever. I just wanted to be done with it.
I check-in and sit in the lobby until 9:30; a nurse I hadn't met yet called me back to a different area of the facility that I haven't been to before. We sit in a small prep room, with two chairs and a creepy hospital bed.
Sooo creepy... probably all those hospital horror films I've watched. :)
Anyway, the nurse asks me a few questions and says since I'm a pro to this, she won't give me the full interrogation. :) I sign a release form and she hands me my compensation check (4 grand, bitches!); then she leaves and the anesthesiologist visits me. Same chick I had last time! We chat a bit and she asks me questions, then leaves so I can change into my adorable hospital gown/robe, with a hat and booties to match!
Woot!
Then the doctor comes in (female this time!) and she's also asking me questions... and acting weird like she's high and hasn't slept in days... :/ She says in about 10 minutes, they'll be ready for me, but in the meantime, I can enjoy some digital pictures via a photo frame on the counter, because "she read in my profile that I liked photography". Ohhh, excuse me, I should have mentioned... I like GOOD photography! Snaps! Yeah, some pretty crappy photos on there, so I play with my Droid until it's time.
Around 9:10?, my anesthesiologist brought me down the hall to the procedure room. It's small with no windows and a bed that's clearly attached to the floor and a bunch of other monitors/equipment. I lay down and she pokes me with my last needles of the cycle, to numb up my arm for the IV. She gives me something to 'relax' first, as we're making small talk. Being put-out is the greatest thing ever, so I'm highly enjoying myself at this point. :D
Once I hear the doctor and nurse enter the room, I start to feel the drugs kicking in... I help them prop my legs up into these large stirrups that support the back of my knee (for comfort). Then I feel someone wrapping a medical sheet around my thighs... it's all foggy after that, and I'm hearing myself telling the story of when I threw-up strawberries as a child, and my parents thought it was blood, and even though I did that, to this day strawberries are my FAVORITE fruit. I told this story to the nurses/doctor because I recall hearing one of the women say something about vomiting out her nose one time... and now I can't be sure if this conversation took place before or after the procedure... lol.
So, after story-telling time, I slowly wake up and realize I'm in recovery already! The anesthesiologist is there asking if I'm awake. She props me up and gives me liquid Tylenol and some water. By now I'm feeling the IV in my arm still, and some slight pressure in my pubic area, but no pain. Then the nurse visits and I ask her how many eggs they got. Twelve, she says! Woot! It's the perfect amount they want during a cycle. (Once they remove them from me, they have 4 hours to clean and fertilize each one, then they can store/freeze them so the couple can use them anytime they want!)
Anyway, after a few minutes of rest, they go get Manda and bring her back to get me. Dawn, one of the donor coordinators I chatted with my very first time, comes in and thanks me for doing such an honorable thing. I tell her Manda is thinking about donating, too! And then Dawn and I comment that we didn't see each other this time around... oh well.
After the anesthesiologist removes my IV (and that horrible, sticky, unyielding tape!), everyone leaves and I get dressed. Manda wheels me out in a wheelchair to the elevator. She puts me in the very back corner and takes a photo with her cell... bwahahaha! :) Once we're downstairs, she runs to get her car, plops me in, and we're off!
---
I got into bed after getting home around noon... had some trouble falling asleep, but before I knew it, it was 3pm. I woke, ate some cereal, took my antibiotic, then laid down on the couch for another 2 hours. Finally around 5 I felt awake enough to eat real food.
Now it's nearly 10 and I'm feeling some pressure in my abdomen... nothing bad, but annoying if I'm up and walking around. They say no exercise for 3 – 5 days, which will be no problem for me this winter. :P
Two weeks from now I can call and find out if there was a pregnancy. I asked the nurse if most women put two eggs in, because that gives an 80% chance of pregnancy, and she said yup, usually they do... getting their monies worth, I suppose. Since they basically paid me for my DNA, they can keep the rest of the eggs for later use, or they can donate them to another woman, donate them for research, or destroy them.
---
So now in ten days I'll menstruate and get rid of the left-over eggs they didn't harvest. Tomorrow I'm going to feel amazing! I'll be completely un-bloated and back to normal... until Wednesday, when I'll fill-up with fluid again. :| But, no more needles!!! And I get to sleep-in... and drink if I want... ahhh.
I might do this one more time, before the cut-off age (32)... but we'll see. It went much faster this second time around, and I don't feel like I was as uncomfortable. Probably because I knew what was coming and when I'd be done.
So, fingers crossed for the couple to successfully get some mini-Becky's!!! :D
05 February 2011
Follicles
So here's an example of what I see on the ultrasound monitor... except towards the end of the injections, I have at least triple this amount and they're much darker, bigger and closer together.
The nurse measures the size of the follicles during the ultrasound, by millimeters; 15x18mm is a decent example of a follicle pocket that has an egg that is ready for harvesting! So they basically quadruple in size in 7 days, which accounts for how bloated and sore you get. :P
The nurse measures the size of the follicles during the ultrasound, by millimeters; 15x18mm is a decent example of a follicle pocket that has an egg that is ready for harvesting! So they basically quadruple in size in 7 days, which accounts for how bloated and sore you get. :P
Eggs - Day 19
Had my appointment this morning at 7:40am. Getting up early on the weekend is much worse than during the week... it's like, everyone else is peacefully sleeping after a hard work-week — and I'm not. Arg.
Anyway, the ultrasound went well! The nurse said I might be able to do my HCG shot tonight, which surprised me... last time it seems like they wanted that one extra day, even though I had about the same amount of 'ready' follicles. So right after the blood draw, I went home and did my usual morning injections, then treated myself to some donuts! Noms.
---
Around 12:30, Dawn called me and said it's HCG time!!! Super excited about that, especially since it means that I don't have to do any more little shots. :D However, I have to do the HCG shot at 10:30pm... had a real hard time finding someone to do it, and then I also realized that Monday would be worse for me to take off than Tuesday, but I have no choice. So after many texts and phone calls and Facebook messages, things seem to be coming into place...
My appointment on Monday is at 9:30am, with the extraction at 10:30am. Oh, also, since I don't have to shoot up tomorrow, I get to sleep-in!!!!! Omg I am SO glad I don't have to be at the Center at 7am tomorrow... I haven't slept-in since 3 weeks ago. Ahhh... it's gonna be so good! Unless the injection site is sore and my ovaries complain... :/
---
Alex did great!!! Felt a poke, but nothing horrible... I stay surprisingly relaxed during those big injections... blood draws, on the other hand — not so much. :P
So fingers crossed that the HCG is swimming through my blood right now, and I'll be Fertile Myrtle on Monday morning!
P.S. Today really sucked... lots of stress and jerky mood swings... yeah, awesome. Glad I'm done.
Anyway, the ultrasound went well! The nurse said I might be able to do my HCG shot tonight, which surprised me... last time it seems like they wanted that one extra day, even though I had about the same amount of 'ready' follicles. So right after the blood draw, I went home and did my usual morning injections, then treated myself to some donuts! Noms.
---
Around 12:30, Dawn called me and said it's HCG time!!! Super excited about that, especially since it means that I don't have to do any more little shots. :D However, I have to do the HCG shot at 10:30pm... had a real hard time finding someone to do it, and then I also realized that Monday would be worse for me to take off than Tuesday, but I have no choice. So after many texts and phone calls and Facebook messages, things seem to be coming into place...
My appointment on Monday is at 9:30am, with the extraction at 10:30am. Oh, also, since I don't have to shoot up tomorrow, I get to sleep-in!!!!! Omg I am SO glad I don't have to be at the Center at 7am tomorrow... I haven't slept-in since 3 weeks ago. Ahhh... it's gonna be so good! Unless the injection site is sore and my ovaries complain... :/
---
Alex did great!!! Felt a poke, but nothing horrible... I stay surprisingly relaxed during those big injections... blood draws, on the other hand — not so much. :P
So fingers crossed that the HCG is swimming through my blood right now, and I'll be Fertile Myrtle on Monday morning!
P.S. Today really sucked... lots of stress and jerky mood swings... yeah, awesome. Glad I'm done.
03 February 2011
02 February 2011
Eggs - Day 16
Ohhh boy... feelin' the pressure today! Getting more bloated and tired each day... every once in awhile, there's this tight pressure in my stomach/ovaries area... probably the eggs babies trying to break their way through my organs! Bwahaha!
Had my first stimulation ultrasound this morning, plus the usual blood draw. The follicles looked good! Medium-sized... hopefully progressing fast! Ready to be done... or just able to sleep-in. :| No word on the blood results, which means keep doing the same levels.
Had my first stimulation ultrasound this morning, plus the usual blood draw. The follicles looked good! Medium-sized... hopefully progressing fast! Ready to be done... or just able to sleep-in. :| No word on the blood results, which means keep doing the same levels.
01 February 2011
Eggs - Day 15
/yawn
Starting to feel pressure down there... pinching... some tightness. The pooch is a bit sore/tender and I'm also getting very bloated! Weeee! :/
Blood work was great on Monday and tomorrow I have Labs plus an Ultrasound. Menopur still = gross. I counted 14 little dots on my tummy, from the injections... running out of real estate! :P
Starting to feel pressure down there... pinching... some tightness. The pooch is a bit sore/tender and I'm also getting very bloated! Weeee! :/
Blood work was great on Monday and tomorrow I have Labs plus an Ultrasound. Menopur still = gross. I counted 14 little dots on my tummy, from the injections... running out of real estate! :P
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