Holy Follicles Batman!

Well ... scan this morning was pretty good. Had at least 6-8 on the left, and probably 5-7 on the right. He really couldn't measure all the ones on the left cause they were all cluster and smooshed up against each other. All measuring around the 16 mm mark. Dr. Smooth was actually positive and almost enthusastic!

I was so worried that I would stall with the decrease in meds. I still need to get the E2 to be sure that hasn't happened, but things look good. Dr. Smooth figures trigger Mon or Tues and then ER on Wed or Thurs. This is really going to happen. And we may get a decent number of eggs. Wow.

I'm really getting excited. But trying to remember that lots of eggs doesn't necessarily equal a positive beta. But it gives me more hope.

I know some of my cyclesistas have had a little rougher time this go-round. I'm thinking of you girls and hoping things get better. I've been there, and it sucks. Hugs to you.

Still Keepin' On

I hate that I'm not really writing about anything but my cycle, but I'm low on time. Resident Boy is on vacation and we are trying to get ready for the holidays. So I've only had a little time for blogging. Sorry!

Today's scan was pretty good. Although Dr. Smooth almost walked in on me standing in the middle of the exam room sans clothes from the waist down. When I said "just a minute," he wasn't really listening and started to come in! I had to say again, with a bit of irritation, "just a minute," and he got the message. He felt really bad. I didn't really care that much, just about everyone in the office has seen my hooha -- although I guess the receptionist has been spared.

There were quite a few follicles, at least 8-10 around the same size. To me they looked around the 12-14 mm mark, but as usual he didn't say. And today I didn't ask. Trying the less is more approach. But E2 did more than double (up to 1600ish from that 660ish) -- so they actually backed down my meds a bit. I asked him whether he thought we would make it to trigger. He hedged of course. With how my last cycle went, I don't totally blame him -- I could crap out at anytime. But I'm thinking if we can get pretty close by day 12 of stims, that we will be okay.

On a deep level there is a tiny glimmer of something making me think this cycle is different. Whether its the dhea or the new protocol, I don't know. But last night I started actually thinking about how we could come up with dough for putting some in the freezer. And even how we'd do an FET to try for a third child later. How crazy am I? Of course, I promptly did a 180 and worried what I would do when this cycle was canceled. Ain't cycling fun?

Slow, slow, slow, but steady *UPDATED*

Scan this morning. I'm not sure how I feel about it. There were lots of follicles (more than 9 I think), but they were all pretty small. I had Dr. Smooth today, in fact he is the IVF guy until Dec. And he often doesn't say much. To me the follicles looked around 5-7 mm, which isn't bad, but not great for day 5 at a pretty high dose of Gonal-f. I'm a little nervous. With that dreadful failed cycle, the big problem was I needed max meds for a really long time, too long. And with this slow start, I'm worried we will again get to day 10 or 12 and not be ready for trigger.

I told him about my spotting too, which was still happening yesterday. He was surprised (duh, so was I) cause my E2 is high enough to keep that from happening. But my lining looked fine. He said if it continues, they need to know because "that is not a good sign," but I didn't have any this morning -- so hopefully that issue is over.

Of course I was googling first thing after my appointment. One study said E2>350 on day 4 is a good prognostic indicator. And my E2 on day 3 was 229, so I'm hoping I'm close to that mark. At least that's what I'm holding on to until I get my levels and instructions today.

Dr. Smooth is nice, but I can't wait for Dr. Mumbles to take charge.

UPDATE
E2 =662, so it did double, as required. Largest follicle was 10 mm on each size. But I suspect in general, most were smaller, probably about 7s. They did not increase my meds. I think this is a good sign, but since we only have 75 IU of play until we are at max, I'm not sure if they are just trying to save it for the end. Recheck on Friday. I'm trying to believe that we are going to make it in under the wire before the stim winds up being too long, but I can't say I'm not still worried. Going out tonight for Resident Boy's department happy hour thing, and need to get ready for SIL visit this weekend. So I'll hopefully be busy and Friday will come quickly.

THANKS to all you who have been cheering me on!

Pheww!

Thanks for hanging with me. To top things off they didn't call until almost 3 pm. But the waiting room was packed this morning so I guess there was a lot of Monday appointments. Of course I worked myself into a panic that my results were so bad that they had to consult all the doctors to figure out what to do with my crusty old ovaries.

Turns out E2 was 229. Thank G-d. A perfectly nice number. In my failed cycle I barely got over 100 by day 5, so things are definitely better. Aaahhh.

Now I have faith that we may actually make it to retrieval. They didn't even increase my meds. So, moving forward and repeat E2 PLUS ultrasound on Wednesday.

First E2 for IVF #3 Today

Aaaahhh. I'm a nervous wreck. My left eyebrow has been twitching since my blood draw. I was feeling pretty positive all weekend during my shots, but now I'm doubting everything. The lupron has been giving me mild headaches, but otherwise no major side effects of any drugs. But this morning I started spotting again. This happened about 5 days into my stim cycle last time because my E2 was still really low. Now its happening again, so I am really concerned that nothing is happening. WHY did it have to happen? Especially this morning. Couldn't I have gotten my results first?!

Resident Boy is on vacation this week, so that is nice. But he can only be so helpful with this meltdown. He tells me to pretend I don't know anything and not to think about it -- yeah, right. The call should come by about 2pm, when I think they will tell me its low and up my dose to the max. This would not be a good thing. I have a feeling we are not making it to retrieval.

I know I need to be positive, but for the next couple hours I don't think its possible. I'll let you know.

Tentative ovaries

So, my ovaries haven't completely left the building -- but I still fear they are packing their belongings and getting ready to vacate the premises. My E2 today was 344, so rising and more than doubled in 48hrs. The good news is that I finally have an US on Sunday with Dr K. Woo hoo! The bad news is I need more drugs. I ordered more today because of the weekend, but I'm worried I'll probably still need more.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement the last 2 days. Especially to Mel for convincing me my ovaries are too cultured for FL. And Leah for offering to compare protocols (I'm still going to take you up on that). And to Tam for stopping by and offering kind words. I'm amazed at you all for how you can support others while your own lives are crazy.

There are lots of ideas swirling through my head to talk about, but DH is actually home for the first night all week. Tucking J into bed and trying to pretend we are a married couple. Avert your eyes!

Let Them Eat Cake (or PIE as it were)

Thanks to the Town Criers for giving us a reason to eat cake (or pie). Congratulations on your Blogoversary and for being an inspiration to us all. Being the rebel that I am, I had to eat pie rather than cake. Okay, really its because I went berry picking this week and had strawberries coming out my ears. So here is my MIL's wonderous strawberry pie. She used to run a strawberry and raspberry farm in Ontario, Canada.

But despite celebrating such a nice occasion, I'm feeling a bit nervous about my cycle now. Went for my first E2 after starting my miracle/good ju ju meds, and got the results today -- levels were a bit low. So they're bumping up my evening dose and I go back Wed. The spectacular nurse reassured me that Dr K isn't worried and that I've been slow to start in other cycles. But I still can't help worry some. Wish I was having US on Wed too, but no luck, just repeat E2.

Why is it that IF makes us so superstitious? I have NEVER been like that. Sometimes I feel more crazy than an NHL player in the Stanley Cup Finals (however, I refuse to grow a beard or wear the same underwear every cycle). But it seems everyone in the process gets hung up on omens and signs. Even the nurse who draws my blood said that maybe its a good sign that I feel so tired this cycle. It makes me crazy! I'm a scientist by training -- I KNOW there is no such thing. But we all do it. Will IF's hold over me never end?!