IVF - My Partying Follies

I am so mad that Green Bay lost yesterday :-( Dang it. I was really REALLY hoping they would win – I didn’t think the Giants (UGH!) would beat them. When the Giant’s kicker missed the easy field goal to put the game into overtime, I literally jumped onto DH, screaming happily. The entire bar was going nuts since most were rooting for GB. Obviously, that joy was short lived… and if you didn’t watch the game, you’re probably wondering what the hell I am talking about.
Oh wait, this isn’t a football blog, is it?

I really can’t figure out why I have not been into the good ol’ blogging thang recently. You would think I’d be posting daily since I’ve entered the world of IVF.

Here’s the quick and dirty update: I’ve been on Brave.lle and Mena.pur since January 11. Started at 300 amps of Brave.lle, and have been upped to 450. Mena.pur has stayed at 150 amps. Just started Ganirel.ix this Saturday.

Follicle growth has been a little slower than I expected. As of last Friday (Jan. 18) I had about 13 follicles but the biggest was only 10. My left ovary has been taking a break too – only four on the left side. This happened on my last medicated cycle in November ’07 – all the follies were on the right. And, when my RE checked my follies during the IVF mock transfer in December (no meds) the one follicle was on the right. (yes, natural ovulation!) Prior to that, the left side was keeping up with the right. While my RE says nothing indicates that my age has affected things at this point, I have to wonder, as my 37th birthday approaches, if things are slowing down. Grrrr.


Anyway, my lower abdomen just started getting rather bloated over the weekend, and I thought that I had better see a big follicle party going on at my checkup today. Well, it seems as if there really was a party going on because I now have 16 follicles. The sizes are as follows:

Right:15, 15, 13, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 7, 6

Left: 13, 13, 11, 9, 6, 5

Even my lefty follies were partying this weekend! Obviously, the 5 and 6 ones probably won’t be mature by retrieval day. My RE still wanted to move things along which is why my Brave.lle injection was increased. I go back tomorrow, and egg retrieval is probably going to be Friday, possibly Saturday depending on how fast the follies plan on growing.

I made it clear to my RE at the beginning of this cycle that I would really like to have embryos to freeze if possible. I have no idea if I can carry a pregnancy and I would really like some frosties in case this first round does not work. And if things do work this time…. then we can try and have more kids without another full IVF cycle.

I am extremely curious to see how my eggs fertilize. Since my condition is completely unexplained, and I have never been pregnant for even one second, I don’t know if my eggs just don’t fertilize, or they do fertilize but just don’t implant.

I was very upset when AF arrived right before the New Year and I knew I was about embark on IVF. I’ve since gotten over that and accepted things. I visit my RE again tomorrow.