Monday 10th August - meet the doctor!

MONDAY

Walk down to Prospect Svobody (find the big statue above - not me - or the other trad Virgin Mary) and see lots of cabs all over the place. DH flags one down and we go to Intersono for 9.00AM and get charged 40UAH (should have been 20 -30). Astonished at the state of the cabs - they look like they won't make it to the end of the road, let alone the clinic!

TIP 1 Take a sheet of paper with the clinic address in Cyrillic. This way you can just shove it at the taxi driver (who almost certainly won't speak English) Also worth trying to agree price before you go.

We went straight to the desk and asked for Dr Lubov. Get to put on lovely blue shoe covers (why don't any UK hospitals do this?) Meet Lyucyna and are whisked upstairs to have immediate blood tests for Syphilis, etc. Amazed at getting instant results (a prick in the finger which is then put on several different paper tests) when NHS take a couple of weeks.

Wait for 15mins back downstairs, then meet Dr Lubov (Young and speaks fluent English). Further questions and then asked to take knickers off. This was in same room as DH. Went behind small screen and then on to bed - impressed by very decent ultrasound machine (unlike Altra Vita's which looked like it needed to be wound up). Lyucyna pointed out that lining good at 13mm and fibroid should not be a problem.

TIP 2 Wear a skirt, you only have to hitch it up and not quite so embarrassing!

We were told that donor was currently having her aspiration. Dr Lubov then suggested we go get some food and coffee on other side of block. Back for 11am for DH to do his “business”. Think this fairly straight forward as he didn't seem to comment much on it. Both of us wondered if we should have made love the day before - would it have meant weaker sperm? Something to look at in future (if necessary!).

Medication revised, now only taking three Proginova each morning and starting to take 800mg Cyclogest each evening. Other medication as before, I.e. 1 Aspirin, 1 Folic Acid and 1 preconceive vitamin tablet.

Waited for confirmation that all is okay (on very comfortable sofa in clinic lounge) before clinic ordered taxi to opera house (with reputable taxi company).Told to return on Saturday for ET.

Walked around the Plaza, but was very disappointed to find that there were to be no performances at the beautiful Opera House while we were there.

Very hot day and lovely cool spray spattered from the fountain.

In afternoon, went for lunch at restaurant on Rynok Place - The Centaur (named after famous little drunken centaur on wall round corner). Attempted to eat traditional Ukrainian lard. I had recently tasted this in Lucca, Italy and was very impressed - it didn't taste of fat at all - texture much stronger and was more like a smoked meat - and I was keen for DH to try too. But this was not Italy. This was just rolls or slices or swirls of pure greasy fat, with some slightly flavoured. And we had a whole plate to eat! We both felt sick. We then followed with traditional Ukrainian Dumplings (with truffles - Varenyky) swimming in olive oil, served with cream and more fat. Felt really ill. Had ordered glass of Ukrainian wine, which tasted like dettox.

TIP 3 - learn Cyrillic before you go - you will be utterly lost otherwise. Many of the words you will see will just be English written in Cyrillic! Fortunately we did learn it. NB The Ukrainian Cyrillic is slightly different to the Russian - don't get muddled!

Had a great time wandering around Rynok Square - beautiful buildings all around and each one has a story! Lots of museums for later perusing and lots of tourist trinket shops!

Went up the tower, which is on the top of the Municipal Building in the centre of Rynok Square. Great vews! Nb You have to pay a tiny fee to go up - find main entrance and it's just to your right.

Found cornershop at end of our road and bought some supplies – cheese, bread and yoghurt drink (we were trying to buy milk) for supper. Quite tricky finding milk - moloko - as they have hundreds more cartons of fermented yoghurt than milk, and the milk is UHT. Like Moscow, we couldn't get fresh milk (not sure why in Lviv - we were told they "don't do cows" in Moscow, tho!). DON'T put the fermented yoghurt in your tea by mistake! And don't smell it - it reeks of yeast!

TIP 4 - If you want milk, make sure it says “Moloko”.

Sun 9th Aug - We are off!

SUNDAY

Drove up to DH's parents on Sat night and expected to get a few hours sleep, but it wouldn't come. Dozed for half an hour when alarm started screaming. DH's dad kindly gave us lift to Heathrow airport.

Queues not too bad, but even arriving with nearly and hour & half to spare we had to go straight to departure lounge and onto plane. Flight on time. Austrian Airlines, breakfast 1 croissant....!

Arrived in Vienna on time and began to have sense of adventure beyond the total exhaustion! Felt the need to experience Austria so had Strudel and Sacha Torte in airport cafe. Bought perfume and touch eclat for DH's bags. Horrified to find flight to Lviv on Toy-Town plane that didn't respond well to turbulance. Convinced going to die on landing. Survived landing in back yard of Country house, ostensibly Lviv airport. See above. And yes, that is the airport building!!

Waited 1 hour to get through customs, to find baggage is waiting in corner of what looked like a post office. Lviv customs officers can hardly cope with tiny plane. How will they cope with Euro 2012 football fans?

NB We were warned that they would try to sell us insurance and to have our proof to hand - this did not happen to us, but worth bearing in mind just in case!

Botticelli like 15 year old taxi driver meets us and takes to apartment, embarrassing moment when we realise that the journey is not on account and we have no Ukrainian Hryvna or even Euros to pay with. DH has to run off to find a cashpoint, which he does, while I stand smiling with taxi driver and woman who is going to let us into apartment. She speaks no English (this, we were to find, is more than usual) and he does - but he's so young & pretty I am loathe to speak to him as he may think I'm chatting him up!

TIP 1: have cash in euros to pay for taxi.

DH returns with money - we pay him 90 UAH, which makes me think we are being ripped off (I later work out that it's only about £8). Apartment fantastic, lounge fitted with TV, DVD, Hi-Fi, etc. Bedroom also has TV. Kitchen well equipped. Bathroom has Whirlpool bath.

All for £35 a day.

Go out to eat at local restaurant - literally round the corner. Horrified at menu entirely in Ukrainian. For quite a while we stared at it in the forlorn hope we would understand it - we could read Cyrillic - but few words made any sense, it was like it was in a foreign language or something - doh! We eventually plucked up courage to ask waiter for an English menu and he did so! DH remembers that Landlord requires full payment and is picking it up at 9.30pm. So DH leaves after main course and comes back later, £350 lighter.

TIP 2: Get out all money for hire of apartment - you will probably be asked for it when you arrive

Back to apartment and a very heavy sleep!

Not long to go now

Well, we leave Sunday at 6.05 am. The flights are pretty bonkers and there is a later flight (also by Austrian Airlines) to the same connection in Vienna, but leaving only 30 mins to connect. So that was our choice, 30 mins or nearly 4 hours. We opted for the latter in the end. I could see us just making that 30 min connection, but I could also see our luggage taking its own vacation to Rome!

I opted to take the medications on the flight with me - I couldn't bear the thought of losing them with the baggage. So I ordered a letter from the doc and phoned the airline to make sure it was ok to take syringes etc on board - they said yes and they would organise authorisation for me. So that was nice!

The apartment rental dates are now changed to Sun - Thur and I've booked a taxi to pick us up. DH's parents are putting us up on Sat night and so we only have a 30 min ride to the airport. We'll only get a couple of hours sleep, but we might get some more on the plane.

Have had to reorganise my teaching and have left my students in the capable hands of one of them. Will show her the lesson on Sat, so she can demonstrate to them. Have bought food for kids to manage while we are away.

So much still to do!

Here's a watercolour I did of some tomatoes!

Oh dear oh dear

Ok - got email this morning from Intersono to say donor's follicles developing quicker than they expected and they need us there earlier. So now we have to leave on Sunday, not Tuesday.

They've also asked me to up the progynova from 2 tabs to 4!

They wanted me to get another lot of blood tests, but I can't do that in time now. Have sent them more basic details again too - not sure what happened to the last lot we sent. Oh well. Things are happening.

So we have to book flights tonight - thank god we didn't last night (I was desperately trying to get DH to do it, thank heavens he didn't listen to me).

Here is a pic of a cross cat - not far off how we feel!

Booking the flights!

Well! Have had the go ahead from Intersono to buy the flights! How exciting is that?

Otherwise, all well. Certainly a lot less bruising on the belly now that I don't pinch so hard.

And here is some more eye candy - my latest watercolour, this time of Green Day.

Feeling a lot better

Much more myself now I've started the Progynova (yay for eostrogen) and have been up to wee small hours (3 last night) painting. Good to feel so productive again. Painting Green Day right now and will let you see it when it's done!

Bruising came back day before yesterday, but yesterday was bloody but not bruised - have noticed that I accidentally have been holding gun in the wrong way and have been preventing the plunger from going down as fast as it should. Maybe that's what I need to do to stop the bruising? Heaven knows, it just seems to be hit and miss.

Started the reduced dose of suprefact yesterday (from .5ml to.2ml)

Still waiting the absolute green light from Intersono, so no flights purchased yet - we are due to leave in 9 days!!!!!! At least the apartment is booked.

Here is a great link for those who are going abroad for ivf and have been told to inject suprefact (or other stuff), with no other information.

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7258

I found this site absolutely invaluable for helping with injecting. It is actually for diabetics, but the procedure and information is just the same (just drug and amounts differ). Intersono simply told me to inject .5ml suprefact daily and that was it - it was down to me to get the drug and to know how to use it! Even the doctor was no help at all (he wouldn't even let me have any needles) - when I suggested asking a nurse to show me how to do it, he said I would have to pay for her time - effing bastard. So I did it myself with the help of 2 friends who had done it already and, of course, the wonderful internet.

Your picture for today are some peonies I painted in acrylic

Feeling better

Yes, I am definitely feeling better. In fact yesterday, a few hours after taking the progynova, I felt positively euphoric and my headache (that had become a permanent fixture) completely lifted.

Today I feel fine too. Still a bit tired, but otherwise ok. The dreaded bruising is gone - both of my last two injections have left no bruises whatsoever.

Intersono have been in touch to say the donor has begun her stims and they will let me know how her follies are developing in a week. They have also asked me to send them copies of our passports.

I am still waiting the absolute go ahead before we pay over £900 for two return tickets.

And finally here is a picture of a rose I did in pastels.

Starting the Progynova

As my period started a day early, Intersono have asked me to start the Progynova today (which is 2 days earlier than the protocol). I'm quite happy to have some sort of hormone as I hope that will stop the headaches. Also, no bruises from last night's jab, just a little spot from where it bled. I tried not to pinch so hard and also didn't use any form of cooling. I also upped my Vit C. No idea what worked, but just glad it did!



Here is one of my latest portraits to make the page interesting - this one is of Johnny Borrell of Razorlight - I had to paint him - he has such a pretty face!

Bit bruised and battered

As ever, to keep the blog interesting - here are some pics of one of our cats, Misty, who is a polydactyl - has an extra toe on each foot. They're also called Mittens Kittens - if you look at the pic below you can see it looks like he has thumbs!

So! One week on suprefact and I'm feeling pretty bruised. I can't seem to find a way to stop it. I've always bruised really easily and am usually covered in them - I think I have thin veins - I know nurses taking blood or putting in drips etc can take forever and leave me looking like I've done 20 rounds with Tyson!

Ice works fairly well at numbing the site, but doesn't stop the deep blue and yellow marks the following day. Oddly, I've managed to do it twice with only tiny bruises, so it's definitely down to my technique. Last night (which has only left a small mark) I didn't squeeze the flesh so hard against the syringe gun, which probably cushioned the blow a lot more. But I have bruises over 3cm each, so I am really running out of space on the belly (not to mention looking really shocking!).

I've finally got in touch with Intersono - I needed to confirm that all is well with donor before I book any flights (which are going to cost around £900). They say the donor starts her treatment on the 30th and to wait until then.

And my period started, which although a day early is still good. When we were with Altra Vita my period started too late and the treatment was delayed for yet another month. So a day early I can live with. Will be interesting to see if they move dates forward a day, I doubt it somehow. The period combined with the suprefact has turned me into a headachey slug.

If all goes well with the donor, I start the progynova and aspirin on Sat.

Here's hoping.

Beginning to feel the effect..

So it's been 4 days and the suprefact is definitely taking effect.
Day 1 - nothing.
Day 2 - snapped at everyone - all noticed change in me. Desperate for sex (!) (and got it - yay!)
Day 3 - much better mood, but headache all day - took migreleve to get rid of it in the end + pint of guinness.
Day 4 - mood good - headache still there - still want sex. Rather confused by this, as thought the suprefact put you into an instant menopause (not far off where I should rightly be) and low libido is usually assumed to be part of that. Still, increased sex drive it is - which means I now want it more than partner (usually we're pretty well matched) so he takes it in turns to look both horrified and delighted.

NB I don't think anyone wants pics of suprefact, needles and syringes (let me know if you do - I'll happily oblige) so I stuck a pic of one our cats (Mordred) to make this page seem more interesting!

Second Journey Begins - Lviv here we come!

Have finally started our journey again. It's taken a lot of emails to and fro and even more tests. But after 2 false starts (donor dropped out and then later, the new donor wasn't ready) we are now on track.

We have paid for half the tx, which came to £1,515. It would have been cheaper in dollars, but we didn't get the option. 3k is still loads cheaper than nearly anywhere else and I have only heard good things about Intersono.

Intersono sent me the protocol, which is nicely laid out in calendar form, explaining all the drugs I will need and when to use them. The donor will have her aspiration on 12/13th August and the ET will be 18th.

We have booked an apartment in Lviv (or Lvov) from the 11th to the 20th. The apartment was only £38 a day and is really lovely - not to mention right in the centre of Lviv! I am holding off the flight booking as I'm worried that it may all get cancelled - but once I know the donor is well on her way with her tx then I will book it.

I took my first injection of suprefact yesterday. I did it during the day as I wanted to make sure I got it right. I am lucky in that I have one very lovely friend who has been through Intersono (with great success) and another who is also going through ivf in this country. Both had syringes etc to spare and it meant I did not have to buy any!! I managed to get the suprefact from my surly GP, but he made me pay for it. I also got all the other drugs I needed at the same time - it all came to £70. One of my friends gave me an injection gun and it's so easy to use (once you've figured it out!!) that I would recommend it to anyone - particularly those nervous about giving themselves injections. I have a small bruise from the site, although I didn't feel anything at the time. I do bruise easily, so maybe I should go for the buttock. Intersono have not advised on any of this - so it's asking friends and looking up on the internet for most of my info. I'll give the belly one more go - God knows, there's enough flesh there!!

Will keep updating from now on, as it may well help others.

Any questions, please email me!

Here we go again...

Ok. Here is the next saga.

We reached a point where we might just have fitted a treatment in before our January 5th wedding, but then our donor dropped out, so I decided to leave everything till later. Then 2 days after our wedding, we were on our honeymoon, my dad died. So there was a lot of stuff happening in our lives.

But now seems right and a couple of weeks ago I emailed Intersono to let them know we are ready. After no reply for over a week I contacted them again. This time they let me know they have a donor for me and after checking the details I said great, let's get started.

Today I was asked to let them have the usual blood tests, but have replied that mine are now out of date (3mth time limit) and could we have them when we get to Intersono. Also questioned a test for RW, whatever that is.

So we are off on the test road again. I'm not going to say blow us baby dust or any silliness like that. We're just going to have another go and see what happens. Worse case scenario we get to visit yet another wonderful country - can't wait. Lviv, Ukraine, here we come (in one respect, quite literally).

Testing, testing

Been to docs for next round of tests.

Trying to get K to get a sperm test - I keep reminding him and he keeps saying he will do it, but so far not. The docs have been helpful with the tests, but I can't get an ultrasound for another 6 weeks and the high smear for another fortnight. It's all bloody tedious.

I know the ultrasound could reveal a much bigger fibroid and if that's the case, Intersono may well turn round and say not until it's removed. And we'd have to have that done abroad as we couldn't get it done on the NHS and it would cost a fortune privately. So I'm not paying them anything until that's done. I want to get the scan done privately - but how do I persuade K to give me the money for it?

It's all such a lot of bloody work.

Latest from Intersono

Got this yesterday.

Dear Penny,
We need to have following examinations :
1)HIV, hepatitis B, HCV, syphilis ( both of couple are undergoing to those examinations in spite of using donor’s egg or donor’s sperm).

2) Ultrasound examination. Ultrasound have to be done between 6 and 11 of your monthly cycle to check on thickness of lining and any obstructions that would prevent pregnancy. We also need to know, that there are no fluid in tubes and some cysts in ovaries.

3) Gynecological examination with pap test and bacteriological examination, chlamydia trachomatis detection.

4) mammography;


All is bog standard apart from Mammography. Bit worried that it will cost me a fortune. All will have to wait till after Burley show - just so much going on right now I can't concentrate.