Fitness, Freelance & Follicles

Friday, March 19th was a busy morning! I coached two classes, submitted a freelance blog post and had a follicle ultrasound all before 8:30 AM.

The classes ran smoothly, for the most part. But my mind was hardly present for those two hours. I leaned on a high-energy playlist to hide my emotional absence. I was too eager to get out of there and get to my doctor’s appointment.

The Hustle

Between classes, I successfully submitted the weekly Amazon Deals post for MoneyTalksNews.com. One more thing off my to-do list! I had gathered most of these deals the night before, and used my 30-minute break to load the post in WordPress, make sure deals were still active and check that links were working. I thoroughly enjoy the Amazon Deals posts every week. I often find things I want for myself or I want to give others. It’s a great way to build a Christmas list – and make some extra cash at the same time. Win-win!

After the second class, I hustled out of the studio and drove straight to Dr. Ziegler’s office in Eatontown, NJ – a solid 30 minutes away. Thankfully, I did not get a speeding ticket. I was supposed to be there by 8 AM, and arrived maybe 3-5 minutes after the hour. No other patients were waiting in the lobby, which I thought was unusual for a Friday morning. Maybe I missed the rush between 7 and 8 AM.

I waited in the lobby for maybe 15 minutes, trying to distract myself with emails and social scrolling. I was excited to find out if any sizable follicles had formed this cycle, yet I was not hopeful. I didn’t feel anything like I had on the last cycle of Clomid. My boobs weren’t tender and I wasn’t bloated or crampy. I felt very level – normal, even.

The Ultrasound Before IUI

If you’ve ever done a uterine ultrasound you know they’re not the most comfortable.

The clinical coordinator in charge of my IUI, Colleen, came in with a trainee. The trainee conducted the ultrasound. It took a little poking and prodding for her to find and clearly visualize my ovaries. Ouch! But she got it.

Turns out, I had one mature follicle in the right ovary, meaning it measured 18 mm or larger. It was 21 mm, to be precise. There were two others in the left ovary, measuring 16 mm and 12 mm. All we need is one, so they went ahead and triggered me for ovulation. The trigger is simply a shot of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). It goes right in the belly. I didn’t feel any differently after the shot – only tenderness at the injection site.

The trigger forces ovulation within 24 to 36 hours. That meant, I was scheduled for insemination at 8 AM the next day. It all seemed to be happening so fast! My head was spinning and my anxiety quickly set in. As soon as I left the doctor, I called one of my best friends, Chelsey. She has been through IUI before and I wanted her to talk me through this. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer. And I couldn’t yet call Sean, because he was still coaching. So I distracted myself with TV and house stuff.

My mom and I had an afternoon workout scheduled. I wrote out the workout (legs today!). And, at 12:30 PM, we hopped on FaceTime and talked for a while before getting into the actual workout. I needed to clear my head. Sean still wasn’t home. Thankfully, Mom listened intently and calmed me down. “You can only do your best,” she said. Funny how the simplest advice is, sometimes, exactly what you need to hear.

The Timing Fiasco

My biggest concerns about this IUI were timing and telling Sean. Don’t get me wrong; he’s been incredibly supportive – everything you’d want your husband to be. But he also had a busier week than I did. He was scheduled to coach Monday through Saturday and was bound to be exhausted and cranky. (Somehow, he never broke down). But I was very nervous he would be upset about the timing of this insemination. It wasn’t the most convenient thing. We had DRI TRI this weekend at the studios. It’s a big bi-annual event, involving altered class schedules, special templates, dedicated playlists, swag bags, snacks and props. It’s like a bona fide race, but indoors.

Sean was originally scheduled to open on Saturday with the first class starting at 6:30 AM. He would need to leave the house by 5:30 AM, which simply wouldn’t work with our insemination schedule. I needed his sperm sample to be fresh. They require it be produced within one hour of arriving, and I was supposed to be there by 7 AM. I rushed to get his schedule changed without his knowledge. Again, he was still coaching. But I needed to know he could swap with another coach, or this insemination wasn’t going to happen.

Thank goodness the coach replied quickly and agreeably. She was more than happy to swap. So she took Sean’s first two classes. This allowed him to sleep in and produce the sample in a timely manner. Thank you, Linds!!! That took care of one concern. But I still had questions… 

The Important Questions

What if I wasn’t allowed to coach on Sunday morning? We were down three coaches, as is. No one else could cover me on Sunday except Sean, which would make his coaching streak 7 days in a row. Even if I was cleared to coach, could I do the demos? What exercises were off limits? Ugh, what was I going to do?!

The good news is we needed to return to the doctor’s office Friday afternoon for Sean to sign consent forms in person. That’s when I finally got my answers. Colleen assured me I could coach on Sunday, as long as I didn’t do any high-impact exercising or vigorous cardio. Phew! A weight was lifted, and I finally started to get excited about this insemination!  

I’ll write a separate post about insemination day. In the meantime…

Have you ever been through a cycle of IUI? What concerns or questions did you have going into it?