Sometimes I wonder why things can't ever be easy?
Yesterday the nurse told me I could start the Birth Control Pill (BCP), which, for those of you wondering, is the first step in the IVF process. They usually want you on the BCP (as counterproductive as that may seem!) for a month before you start drugs, to help suppress your ovaries.
So we should be jumping up and down that we got the green light, right? Well... Things are never quite so simple when it comes to us.
I have never tolerated the birth control well. I have tried many different kinds over my lifetime, and all of them have me in the same place -- green and hanging over the toilet. So I have just never been a birth control kind of girl. Until it was time to do IVF that is...
For my first 2 IVF's, my RE had me on a progesterone only BCP -- that I actually managed to tolerate (they say the estrogen causes some people to get sick.) But for my 3rd try, I didn't use BCP at all and opted for a natural start, which worked just as well.
So once we were given the green light to start the BCP yesterday, we requested a progesterone only pack from our new nurse. Unfortunately, they are only allowed to use certain types, so I ended up being a progesterone/estrogen mix. I popped it anyway, hoping for the best, but by 2am I was hanging over the side of the toilet, and my stomach has ballooned up to the size of a watermelon!
Of course it did!
And since we can't get a hold of my nurse today (it being Sunday) we will have to make our own decision, which unfortunately could risk the start date of my cycle and push everything back a month if I make the wrong one.
The way we see it, we have 2 options:
1. Go off the pill (don't take it tonight) and call the nurse Monday and let her know I can't take it. This would mean pushing for a natural start, which hopefully they would agree with but they might not.
2. Take it tonight and then call the nurse on Monday and tell her I have to switch pills to a progesterone only pack. But this means taking it one more night which I really don't want to do, and I don't even know if it's possible to switch pill types mid-cycle.
And once again, it seems the fun never stops! Now excuse me while I go find a toilet.
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5 comments:
Oh no! You poor thing! I'm sorry the BCP's are so hard on you!
If I were in your shoes, I'd take option 2 -ie, take the pill tonight (though that could mean another miserable night), but call the nurse tomorrow for an alternative. I hope they can switch you mid cycle though!
Since so much of all this decides our IVF cycles, I would not *not* take the pill myself. I'd wait to talk to the nurse first.
Take care of yourself, and I'm sorry this is so hard.
Lisa, I suggest you call CCRM again. You will get the answering service but they will answer. Your nurse may not be available but there are others there that should be able to answer your question. If they cannot answer it they should call your doctor (or whomever is on call) to get the answer for you. You are paying so much money and you should expect great service. I look back on my cycle now and regret all the times I didn't push and advocate for myself. I didn't want to seem rude at the time. But, now I realize this is a business to them and they are there to make money. And, for you, this is a place to get pregnant, not a place to make friends or be polite. You want one thing there: to get pregnant....so do what you need to do to get the answers you need to get that done. I'll leave this anonymous but you know me on the IVF board. I'm the one who wants to give you the meds when you come back to CO for your cycle.
that's a bad sign that you might be sick as a dog during pregnancy since the hormones of the birth control are the same as pregnancy. Yikes!! Have you talked to your doctors about this?? Good luck, you've been through so much, you don't deserve this.
Thanks Girls!
I called CCRM and the nurse on call and she told me not to take it tonight. So I'll talk to my primary nurse tomorrow and decide what to do. They'll either switch me (and double me up for one day) to the progesterone only pill, or do a natural cycle start instead. The on-call nurse said it shouldn't be an issue to miss tonight and they won't want me to be that sick so they will think of something.
:)
Dave and Lisa Wow!!! what an incredible whirlwind of a time you both have been experiencing Lisa and Dave , Larry and I have been following your journey and have been thinking of you both so much. Thank you for sharing with us. You have been in our prayers and thoughts during all these difficut emotional days of your lives. Our fingers are sure crossed . Lisa you really are so strong and take care of yourself. Best wishes and hopes Auntie Lynn and Uncle larry P.S. I have written to you at least 4x and not being computer minded they haven't gone to you Sorry trying again !! Lynn
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