Hello from Alaska!!! Or not (with update)

Thank you for all of your thoughts. As several of you suggested, because I am still on the menopur, I am not quite coasting, just way down regulated.

It is so, so hard to let go and just let these folks do their jobs without questioning their decisions. To not get all bunched up and desperate feeling. Our desire for this to work out is so strong (I know you understand this), that's it is tough to just lie back and relax about it. Your words and thoughts helped, as did speaking more in depth with my nurse today. So thank you.

Largest follicle is now measuring at 20 mm and they are counting 18 of the suckers total. Tentative trigger date is tomorrow, with tentative retrieval on Friday...but we'll see. Haven't heard from the IVF nurse yet and things seem to change frequently around here, so expect an update later today/tonight on the status of things.

Because I don't have so much vacation time, I arranged to "work remotely" while I'm here. I'm the telemedicine expert in my department, so I'm able to beam myself into meetings, etc., as needed. Only one colleague knows where I am and why I am here. The rest, including the boss, are in the dark (I told my boss I could give her more info if she needed it and she said she didn't need to know and was ok with me working away from the office for the week. Fine by me.) I attended two videoconference meetings with folks in my department today and people were sort of asking where I am. Where am I? Well, colleagues, I am working remotely! (said in friendly but nonsharing voice) Period. One of them said it looked like there was a glacier behind me on the video monitor. That must be it - I'm in Alaska! No, dear colleague, it's just the white wall of my hotel room.

The cold I had weeks and weeks ago seems to have developed into some kind of chronic cough reactive upper airway disturbance thingy magingy. As in, my airway has been increasingly spasming and I am slightly short of breath, even at rest. I've been cleared by the Denver clinic to go on inhaled steroids and an albuterol inhaler to try to get things a little better in the breathing department before the egg retrieval. Since I'm in the mile-high city, this little breathing snafu has me more short of breath than I was in NYC, wheezing and coughing my way through my day. Today is day two of the inhaled steroid, so hopefully things will calm down soon.

That's about it here, for now. Expecting a call shortly from the IVF nurse with my estrogen level and medication instructions for tonight.

And then tonight? Off to an awesome restaurant called Root Down. We went there during our last IVF cycle and it was absolutely delish. Look forward to getting to dine there again.

Mo

Update: My estrogen level is up to 5,600...even with no gonal-f. So I had to go in to the Denver clinic to get a Centrotide shot and am now officially completely coasting. No gonal-f. No menopur. And Root Down was just as good as we remembered. Yum!

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