After CD 7 I did, indeed, reduce my Follistim dose by half. My E2 was at 879.
Today is CD 9 and I had another poke and prod appointment this morning. Dr. Tran gives me a B+ grade in terms of how everything is going, which Ian finds awesome and perfectionist Sharon finds OK. Basically, the only reason I don't have an A is because there are 2 follicles that are bigger - sort of leaders of the pack. So, there is the idea that those are probably the two "best" ones containing the "best" eggs. Unfortunately, they will likely get lost in the process because they are maturing too quickly and it's more important to get the quantity of the pack than the potential quality of those two. The pack contains 15 follicles that are all right in the range we want them to be in and another 2 or 3 that are dragging behind that will probably not mature on time. Dr. Tran did say there's a chance that if the timing works out, we'll be able to grab those two along with the other 15, but it's not very likely.
Either way, it looks like I'll have 15 follicles, at least, and hopefully they will all be full of awesome amazing mature eggs ready to be fertilized! I was asking Dr. Tran about what would happen if this cycle didn't work - if I would be on the same drug protocol etc the next time. He said that I would - that it was perfect for me and they want to start people on a higher dose of the stims and have them reduce as time goes on. He also said my hormone levels are within normal range. So this is all good. But, he also pointed out that he thinks it is very likely that I'll have embryos to freeze and be able to do a FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) next time, if there is a next time. This made me happy.
So, in the meantime, it is looking still like probably a Sunday trigger for a Tuesday retrieval, but he mentioned it might possibly be a Monday trigger for a Wednesday retrieval. I am frantically trying to make sure everything at work will be OK no matter which days I'm not here...just sort of over-scheduling staff at the branch the whole week because the whole week is pretty much potentially sick days.
My next appointment is Sunday morning, and we should really (I hope) know then. He did say that if my E2 levels look high today, they'll have me come in tomorrow morning as well, so I'm waiting on that call. I usually hear around mid-afternoon. Now that this is actually happening, it all feels really fast moving. Which is great!
In the meantime, all side effects still out in full force. Mostly, aside from tiredness, I am feeling extremely bloated. All the ladies out there can picture that feeling of bloat that many of us get when we are about to ovulate and/or are about to get our periods. Well, so that's when you have one follicle growing big in there. I have 20. So, let that give you some sense of the extremeness I'm talking about here. There is a tenderness that feels a little like gas, but isn't. Also, it feels like I ate a whole turkey, but it went in my ovaries instead of my stomach and I can't poop it out.
For the nerds out there - this is what it looks like each time I get an ultrasound. I'm getting really really very very good at reading them at this point! I stole these from the various internets. Also, I feel like I need to add IANAD (I am not a doctor). So, ya know, this is just my understanding of things. As is everything I post up in here.
Speaking of "up in here", OK...
Today is CD 9 and I had another poke and prod appointment this morning. Dr. Tran gives me a B+ grade in terms of how everything is going, which Ian finds awesome and perfectionist Sharon finds OK. Basically, the only reason I don't have an A is because there are 2 follicles that are bigger - sort of leaders of the pack. So, there is the idea that those are probably the two "best" ones containing the "best" eggs. Unfortunately, they will likely get lost in the process because they are maturing too quickly and it's more important to get the quantity of the pack than the potential quality of those two. The pack contains 15 follicles that are all right in the range we want them to be in and another 2 or 3 that are dragging behind that will probably not mature on time. Dr. Tran did say there's a chance that if the timing works out, we'll be able to grab those two along with the other 15, but it's not very likely.
Either way, it looks like I'll have 15 follicles, at least, and hopefully they will all be full of awesome amazing mature eggs ready to be fertilized! I was asking Dr. Tran about what would happen if this cycle didn't work - if I would be on the same drug protocol etc the next time. He said that I would - that it was perfect for me and they want to start people on a higher dose of the stims and have them reduce as time goes on. He also said my hormone levels are within normal range. So this is all good. But, he also pointed out that he thinks it is very likely that I'll have embryos to freeze and be able to do a FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) next time, if there is a next time. This made me happy.
So, in the meantime, it is looking still like probably a Sunday trigger for a Tuesday retrieval, but he mentioned it might possibly be a Monday trigger for a Wednesday retrieval. I am frantically trying to make sure everything at work will be OK no matter which days I'm not here...just sort of over-scheduling staff at the branch the whole week because the whole week is pretty much potentially sick days.
My next appointment is Sunday morning, and we should really (I hope) know then. He did say that if my E2 levels look high today, they'll have me come in tomorrow morning as well, so I'm waiting on that call. I usually hear around mid-afternoon. Now that this is actually happening, it all feels really fast moving. Which is great!
In the meantime, all side effects still out in full force. Mostly, aside from tiredness, I am feeling extremely bloated. All the ladies out there can picture that feeling of bloat that many of us get when we are about to ovulate and/or are about to get our periods. Well, so that's when you have one follicle growing big in there. I have 20. So, let that give you some sense of the extremeness I'm talking about here. There is a tenderness that feels a little like gas, but isn't. Also, it feels like I ate a whole turkey, but it went in my ovaries instead of my stomach and I can't poop it out.
For the nerds out there - this is what it looks like each time I get an ultrasound. I'm getting really really very very good at reading them at this point! I stole these from the various internets. Also, I feel like I need to add IANAD (I am not a doctor). So, ya know, this is just my understanding of things. As is everything I post up in here.
Speaking of "up in here", OK...
This is what a healthy ovary looks like during a typical menstrual cycle. The whole sort of middle grey area (shaped sort of like a kidney) is the ovary and all the darker black spots are follicles. There is one clearly dominant follicle that will send out an egg at ovulation.
This is an ovary in the midst of taking stims for IVF. You can barely see the outline of the ovary because it is so full of follicles. There are like 10 of them visible here, but when the doctor or tech is doing an ultrasound the wand is moved around (inside the vagina) to see all of the follicles. So you'll see a screen like this and measurements'll be taken, and then it might move around and find more.
wow, it's looking pretty amazing. thank for sharing the pics actually, I've seen lots of my own ovaries from this angle by now (both natural cycles and stimulated IUI cycles) but it's actually really interesting to see after IVF stimulation.
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