Monday, October 27, 2008

Cycle update

Since I'm actively in a cycle I could give everyone an update. It's weird because I'm not doing all that much so it does not really seem like a real cycle.

I started Lupron a week ago. I stopped BCP's on Friday. That combo isn't doing much for me. Headache, nausea, fatigue. If I didn't just have an u/s I'd think I were pregnant. I'm hoping this wont last too long. On Wednesday I get a blood test. I think I will start the estrogen that day. I think that means the donor will start stims around the same time.

I have a blood test on Monday Nov 3rd and blood test-u/s Nov 7th. ER is scheduled for the week of Nov 10th. So depending on the donor's progress (and my lining) I may have another u/s that week.

I intend to write the donor a letter. Is that weird? I just always thought I would write one so that she could know me a little (while preserving my anonymity). It's just always felt weird to me that I got to know so much about her and she doesn't know anything about me. Also, It's my only opportunity to express my gratitude. What would/did you include in such a letter?

12 comments:

Summer said...

I wrote my donor a letter. Like you, I wanted her to know a little about me and what it meant to me to receive her eggs.

It was a difficult letter to write, though! I started and stopped so many times. Some were too "gushy." Other versions I felt weren't personal enough. I finally ended up writing about why I needed donor eggs and how I came to decide to use donor eggs (vs adoption or some other way) to try to have kids.

bleu said...

I am excited for you to have things so underway!!

I am not sure what I would write, I think I would write what was in my heart and then edit it not to be too terribly sappy, as I tend to gush.

Anonymous said...

I wrote my donor a letter, I didn't find it hard at all. It came out more or less by itself. I wanted to let her know what kind of people we were, why we picked her, that we knew what she was doing was difficult, why we were so grateful to her, and that she should feel free to contact us in the future if she wanted. If I had to do it over again I would have cut short the "here is the horrible road we have travelled already" part of the letter, I think that was more for us than for her. We got a beautiful note back from our donor as well, which was above and beyond the call of duty. She said she was particularly grateful that we recognized the discomfort she was having from the drugs and that it was nice to know we were specific real people. My clinic says the donors LOVE these letters.

Paula Keller said...

I have no idea what I would say! I mean, what an incredible thing to do for someone. I think I'd just really want her to know how grateful I was.

So excited that you are starting your cycle!

I start estrogen in a few weeks also. I just read an article that says when your estrogen levels are high, you are more focused than any other time. Seems positive, so I think I'll latch onto that.

I think it made me feel hot-flashy. Let me know if you feel the same way.

Birdee said...

I have no idea what I would say to a donor, I choke up just thinking about it. How emotional for the both of you.
I read in a conceive magazine a story about a woman who used a donor egg to have a baby. I don't know what's in the hearts of women who take this route, but this article I read left me curious, did you get much of a choice in picking a donor? and if so, what did you look for, what made you pick her?
I hope these aren't insensitive questions, I just remember the article glamorizing these options and I wondered if they really exist.
I'm so glad to hear things are moving along for you.

Anonymous said...

We had our ER today, and I wrote my letter to our donor last night. It actually came out easily, maybe a bit sappy but I'm pretty emotional and I wanted her to get an idea of *me*. I thanked her for all she went through, told her a bit about how we met, what we like to do, and general beliefs. Our nurse told us it was customary to give a small gift to the donor as well at this clinic anyway, so I got her a snuggly bathrobe, that will hopefully feel good in the next few days; and a beautiful necklace with her birthstone (garnet) designed by the man who made our wedding rings. Sappy, but I just loved it, and I hope she does too.

Chelle said...

I am so happy that your cycle is under way. I think that it is great to write the donor a letter. I think she will really appreciate learning more about you.

I am really hoping for this cycle!

Renovation Girl said...

I love the idea of writing the letter and I think that most donors would love to hear about you and why you chose this path. If you speak from the heart, it will be the right thing to say.

Keep us posted on this cycle...I'm so excited for you!!

Soapchick said...

I think a letter is a great idea, I'd like to write our future donor a letter as well....I just haven't thought too much about content. Hope you find the right words for you.

Brenda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brenda said...

(sorry for the above)

Hi, I just found your blog. We are in a DE cycle now, just a little ahead of you. We're now waiting for the donor to get AF and go in for her baseline. Estimated Nov. 2. Then she starts the stims.

We thought a lot about how/if we would talk to the donor. We thought about writing her a letter, but we have decided to meet her. That is if I don't chicken out. The meeting for us is really to serve a dual purpose: we would like to express our gratitude, but we also would like to say that we have met her so that if we are fortunate enough to get pregnant, we could tell our kid(s) about her. Just thinking about it makes my stomach flip a little. I hope you update with what you decided to write...I may steal a little of it. :)

Bella said...

I think it is awesome of you to write her a letter. I imagine doing the same thing one day when/if we get to that point. I think just some general things about you and DH as well as your gratitude for what she's done would be good. I am so exicted for you and I look forward to hearing about your ER/ET and BFP :)