Thursday, March 17, 2011

Thursday Fertility Forecast: AKA Report #3

Happy St. Patty's to all those out there who celebrate it!  I, for one, will be having a dull evening, void of alcohol, while my hubby drinks himself into a stupor at some Downtown pub.  He invited me to come, but the thought of being the only sober lass in a pool of happy drunkards just doesn't put a smile on my face.  I think I'll stick to some ice cream, a movie and the couch.

I'm not sure if I should be happy about the way things are progressing or not.  My nurse seems to think everything is fine and dandy, and had this report this afternoon:

E2 = 484 (definite improvement there)
Lining = 5mm (up from 3.1 two days ago)
Left ovary = 1 x 10mm follicle, 3 x 9mm and 9 small follicles
Right Ovary - 2 x 10mm, 6 x 9mm, and 12 small follies
* So that's a total of 12 good sized follies thus far.  Maybe I'm being hard on my ovaries, but I was hoping for more.

The doc is increasing my meds again, and I actually had to order some more Follistim: 300 ius tonight and 225 for tomorrow
Increasing Low Dose HCG to 6 units
Lupron still 5 units
Continuing Baby Aspirin

Next appt. awful early Saturday morning (7:40am) hello, 5am wake up :(
They are speculating on egg retrieval for next Thursday/Friday, but it's still too early to really say.  I'm hoping Saturday's count will be so great that they will bump me up to Wednesday, but I suppose slow and steady isn't the worst thing in the world.  I know my doc is being super cautious with my ovaries, and I appreciate that, but I'm also an impatient, hormonal crazy person.

I will probably write more on this later (have to run to acupuncture at the moment), but DH and I are having an awful time trying to figure out how many embies we want to transfer (assuming we will have options).  We are thinking about opting for single embryo transfer - mainly due to the risk factors for twin pregnancies - if the quality is good, but the stress of having to make this decision is driving me slowly insane.  Thoughts? Comments?

10 comments:

  1. It's exciting!!!! We put two back with the hopes that one of them at least would take. A twin pregnancy can be hard, and it can be risky, but many times they are just fine. Believe me, I am a NICU nurse and we see lots of multiples, but plenty more are born healthy at around 37 weeks. Even though I am a NICU nurse, we put back two "so-so" looking embryos in IVF#1 and got one child. None of our embryos were normal looking (all had multiple nuclei) in IVF#2, and we didn't put any back. This time, IVF#3, we put back 2 great looking embryos and no pregnancy resulted. Just because you put two back doesn't mean you'll get pregnant with 2. You could end up pregnant with none, 1, 2, or even 3 if they split (I know two people this happened to). It's all a chance, but I honestly believe that God will bless you with what He thinks you should have. I was terrified of twins with this last cycle (we really thought we'd get pregnant with how well they looked and how well our cycle went), and after not getting pregnant at all, I'd have taken 2, even knowing what I know and what I see at work. It's hard for sure, things would be tight, life would be busy, but you would figure out a way to make things work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Things sound as though they are progressing along nicely!

    I know exactly how you feel regarding number of embryos to transfer. I think that is going to be the hardest decision for us also. I'm not opposed to having twins at all but the risk factors scare me to death... so we are also hoping for one, very good quality embryo to transfer rather than two. It's such a big decision! My clinc strongly recommends a single embryo transfer if possible but I think it's going to be a last minute decision once we find out the quality of the embryos. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

    ReplyDelete
  3. In all honesty, despite the risks of multiples, I would definitely transfer two, especially if that was the recommendation of the embryologist. But, I have a secret wish for twins, because I fear that if it takes me much longer to have the first baby, I will run out of time for the second. Getting two in one shot would be insanely crazy, but I would be done with my family.

    Sounds like everything cycle wise is going great! Early morning monitoring appointments are the worst though, especially on a Saturday. But it's all for a good cause, right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think you are doing great! I'm so excited!

    If you are paying for a single round of IVF I would say to put back 2 embryos. It will give you a better chance. If you are paying for a 'package deal' where you pay for multiple IVF at once for a discounted price, I would say put back 1 embie. That way you feel good about the lesser chance of twins but know you have more IVF cycles to rely on.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have no experience with transferring embryos, but I just wanted to say good luck to you. Whatever decision you make will be the best for you. Keeping your follicles in my thoughts--grow, follies, grow!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good luck with the transfer decision. I've yet to do IVF so I don't have any advice, but it must be a toughie!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Best of luck! As far as how many embryos to transfer: I agree with your thinking of transferring a single, as long as the quality is good and your doc and embryologist agree and you have more to freeze and try again with if this cycle fails. It is such a tough and scary decision (gamble?) though for many reasons, largely cost, right? Which is why so many choose to transfer 2.

    I guess all I can really offer are wishes of luck. I agree with warrior woman, whatever decision you make will be the right one for you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am not sure how many embies I would transfer if I were in your situation - its a tough decision. But whatever you decide to do, I hope the outcome is purrfect!
    I have such a good feeling about this cycle for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like your ovaries are producing some great follies!! I'm sure you're going to have a bunch for them to retrieve!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thinking about you and your appointment today. I hope it goes well.

    ReplyDelete