Sunday, January 12, 2014

Home Sweet Home

I was going to write multiple times the past two weeks. I meant to write while Indianapolis was a frozen tundra and I was stuck at home for 3 days. I started a post the night before my surgery when we landed in Denver on Thursday night. I thought I'd be able to write a post after my surgery on Friday.

On all accounts I failed. So I'll start from scratch.

T and I managed to work from home and avoid the -30 below wind chill temps that were swirling around Indianapolis last week. We worked side by side on the couch, watched movies, ate chili, made cookies and went absolutely stir crazy.

I was so nervous about the airport being back up and running in time for my flight out last Thursday morning. Luckily, we managed to get out on time and arrived in Denver by 8:15 am. We walked out of the airport and the local weather was a balmy 45 degrees. Literally a heat wave compared to what we just left.



We went straight to CCRM to get my pre-op blood work out of the way. When walking through the door I immediately recognized Jessah from Dreaming of Dimples. She's just as cute and sweet in person (more so!) as she is on her blog. We (and the husbands) went out for a great lunch. We talked about our struggles, our lives and really just had a lovely few hours together. She certainly gave me a bit of peace going into my surgery on Friday. I have such high hopes for her and A and will be thinking about them these next few weeks as they find out how many CCS normals they will have for their future family.





Thursday evening we went to dinner with some of our close friends that live in Denver that were kind enough to let us stay with them. There was something about having a cozy home to recuperate in vs. a hotel room. They are such great people, some of our closest friends and I cannot thank them enough for how supportive they've been.

Sierra was the sweetest little 6 year old that even gave up her bedroom for us. Going to miss her!

Friday morning I arrived at CCRM bright and early. My surgery nurse was awesome. So sweet from the beginning through recovery. I know that sometimes I get a little anxious over my care considering how easy it is to feel so far removed when you are a patient at a clinic 1000 miles away. I will say that every time I am there…it's a reminder of why I made the decision to go there in the first place. I really, really like Dr. G and I feel completely confident in his care for me. He said my surgery was very "easy" and he was really happy with how it went. He was also "thrilled" by my period that I had last week. He told me that multiple times how happy that made him. While he can't say yet if the surgery will work…only time will tell, his confidence has kept my hope alive. My recovery was a bit rough. I woke up and was doing okay in the beginning, but as the pain from the balloon that they had inserted into my uterus to keep it from collapsing or any more scar tissue build up set in, I started to get very nauseous. Nothing was helping. The kept me there an hour or so longer than they expected and when I left I still was feeling pretty rough. I just wanted to get back to bed where I could sleep.

Before Surgery: Happy Suz

After Surgery: I was sure I was dying, but I tried to smile

The rest of the weekend was low-key, hanging out with our friends and their kids. Watched football, played games and got lots of rest. I flew home today, T flew to Chicago for work. Did I mention how awesome my husband was this weekend? If I didn't, I'll mention it now. He certainly earned a couple gold stars.



Next steps are:

I started Estrace 2x a day for the next 3 weeks. I'll then start Prometrium for 10 days. Once I have a period, I'll do nothing for that month. With my next period, I'll schedule another office hysteroscopy at CCRM to see how things look. We'll then do a mock cycle to try and stimulate my lining to grow. I am not sure exactly the doses yet, but I do have my patches, estrace and viagra on hand and ready to go, so it does seem like they are ready to throw the kitchen sink at my lining. I know that should we have to do a second mock cycle, they will add the delestrogen injections.


The bottom picture shows all the scar tissue and the top photo shows after it was removed.


There is one more thing that we'll have to do. Rather than do the Beta-3 integrin test, we are now treating my endometriosis without the test. Considering I had no period for 6 months and we now know my cervix was sealed shut, we know that blood was going out through my tubes, rather than my cervix which has probably made my endo even worse. I'll be doing 2 months of the DepoLupron to treat that before any transfer cycle. I do not know when that will be yet, whether it will coincide with my mock cycle or be after.

Regardless, it looks like late spring or summer before I could even think about a transfer cycle.



21 comments:

  1. I am so glad you posted! Thank you for sharing all that you did. It's amazing to see the difference in the before and after. Sorry recovery was rough for a little while but I'm glad you're healing, warm and ready armed with a plan! So cool you got to meet up with Jessah!

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  2. It was such blessing to meet you in person and spend a few hours with you in Denver. I'm glad that E took good care of you after your surgery and that you made it home safely. Wishing quick healing so you can move forward with your Lupron Depot. Hugs!!!

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  3. Welcome home! I'm so glad that the surgery went well! And I'm SO jealous of you and Jessah... what fun! I know transfer seems forever away, but I'm so glad CCRM is taking all the necessary steps to make your transfer a success! Hope you're feeling better!

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  4. I'm glad the surgery went well! I'm so sorry you were so sick after but am happy to hear CCRM took good care of you. I'm jealous that you and least were able to meet- what a blessing and fun treat for both of you! XO

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  5. So so so fun that you got to meet Jessah! <3 What a sweet time! Glad that you are back home (even though I can't in the least bit understand what it's like to live in those freezing temps)!!! Excited for what the next few weeks will bring! Believing great things!

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  6. That's crazy you ran into her!! How fun!! I am praying you have a speedy recovery and that BIG things (babies) are coming VERY soon for you :) Praying girl!!
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  7. I'm glad to hear the surgery went well! And how awesome that you ran into Jessah! I hope you're feeling better soon, and that time flies until you can transfer one or two sweet embryos!

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  8. Yay! I'm so glad you gave is an update. Have been thinking about you. Looks like you gals had a fun time hanging out. Always nice to meet up with someone u know is going through the same thing. Praying that you heal properly and you can start your mock cycle soon.

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  9. So glad to hear things went well. I hope your recovery is full and fast.

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  10. So awesome that you got to meet Jessah and that your surgery went well! Praying for your continued recovery and healing!!

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  11. I'm so glad you got some positive news! I'll be praying that the next few months go by super fast!!!

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  12. So glad to see an update from you. Those pics certainly don't lie. You look like a new woman inside! So happy you got to connect with Jessah too. Having friends to walk hand in hand through this journey with makes it a tiny bit more bearable, and I'm especially jealous of the lunch with spouses!

    You have been so patient this whole way, and I really feel like this was a hump that you've now conquered and are over. On to bigger and better and more predictable aspects of this DE protocol! Wishing you a speedy recovery and only positives from here on out!

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  13. Awesome news about the surgery! You look squeeky clean and ready to grow a baby now. I hope that you get to feeling better and I will be praying for your happy ending!

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  14. So glad the surgery went well, sorry it took a while for recovery... Hope your recovery is speedy!

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  15. So excited for the update! It really sounds like everything is starting to come together. Even though the waiting until spring/summer sucks, hopefully it is all you need to get everything to work perfectly! The before and after pictures are awesome, that's incredible how different it looks after the surgery. Can't wait to hear the news of your sticky bfp very, very soon :)

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  16. I've been thinking about you so much lately! Hoping for good things, xoxo

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  17. I'm glad to see a positive update from you! Those are some pretty amazing before and after pictures of the scar tissue! Dang! How wonderful to have met up with Jessah. You two ladies are definitely beautiful inside and out.

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  18. First, I'm glad that the weather didn't prevent you from getting to Colorado and getting this important procedure done and behind you. From the before and after picture, it looks like it did wonders to your uterus! The recovery sounded rough, and I'm glad you stayed with friends who welcomed you.
    I'm really glad that you are in good hands over there. It seems like the previous f*$# up helped them realize they need to pay attention to details with your case. I'm so glad that you have confidence in your doctor and that there is a detailed plan.
    I just hold on very firmly to the hope that you will get to the transfer in spring/summer, and pregnancy beyond. It's hard to hope when you're the one mired in all this awfulness, but we can hold your hope while you get through this very tough physical stuff.
    Hang in there, you strong, strong woman.

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  19. Wow, what a story. I love that you and Jessah met! What a beautiful picture. Hugs and prayers and can't wait til you are healed and on the otherside of all of this. :)

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  20. Thinking about you all the time Suzanne!

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