CD 12

Today was CD 12 for us. I went in for monitoring and there was 1 follicle 22mm same as it was yesterday. The nurse advised me to trigger tonight and IUI tomorrow or Sunday depending on what my bloodwork showed. Later today she called and said to trigger tonight after 8 and come in for IUI on Sunday at 9:20 am. I'm really hoping that this is good timing. Last time I think I was surging on my own so I triggered on CD 14 and had the IUI the next day. This cycle has been very different, the follicle is bigger and IUI will happen 37.5 hrs after trigger. The nurse said that cycles can very and it's nothing to worry about. Hoping and praying that this eggie and timing brings us a BFP!  

~Sticky baby dust to all~

Cycle#2 updates

We're on Cd11 today and I have one plump follie at 22mm. The nurse said we would either trigger tonight or tomorrow and insem the next day. They haven't called tonight so maybe tomorrow I will trigger and iui on Saturday. I was so surprised that it was that big already cause last time I had a 20mm follie on Cd14 and we insemed on Cd15. I haven't had much monitoring this time cause the clinic was closed a few days. So I have only gone in on Cd3 and now Cd11 and I'm going back again tomorrow. 

I'm really hoping and praying that this time works. DW's bday is January 21st and that would be the best bday present ever for her! We had a pretty rough Christmas cause she called home to Europe to talk to her mom and then she asked to talk to her dad (who hasn't spoken to her in 2 yrs) he refused to come to the phone. So that broke her heart :( She really thought that he would at least come to the phone and say Merry Christmas. Other than that sad part, Christmas was ok. DW bought me an iPad! I was totally shocked!!!!!!! She said I deserve it cause I have gone through so much for our future baby already. 

That's all for now. Baby dust for all. 

Relax

So I was again following up with my IUI nurse about levels and timing and what not. Please see below for her email. lol 

Hi Alishia,
Just to clarify, it is not the rising LH that triggers the surge. Estrogen
elevation is what triggers the LH to surge. When the LH peaks it then sends
the ovulation signal which will then happen in approximately 36hrs. The
peak LH surge number is quite variable. It normally sits at the low
baseline level throughout the follicle development but when the estrogen
level peaks, it triggers the LH surge to start. LH can spike up to and
certainly over 23, maybe even closer to 100 (this is the same for everyone
who ovulates). When we take your blood, we are only catching just a brief
minute in the day. When LH is found to be surging, the level may be on it's
way up or down as we do not often capture it at the peak. 

I certainly don't mind giving you explaination about levels and measurements
but please know that we are monitoring your cycle closely. Dr. M
would not want you stressing about numbers and focussing on the cycle too
much as this could have a negative impact on the cycle in general. There
are a lot of variables with biology which can be expected but also cause
stress for people not typically exposed to these factors. 

We want you to be as relaxed as possible so you have the best chance
possible :)

Take care, L

I don't totally get all of that but I get the you need to relax girl part. lol 

CD3

So today was CD3. Goodie! I got stuck by a needle, had a full bladder ultrasound and then got the probe. The tech was in there for quite some time and I was starting to get nervous. I guess she kinda noticed that and said don't worry everything looks beautiful. So I was happy to hear that. I didn't get back any of my results so I have no idea how many follicles I have lined up in there. I tried counting her clicks and I think it was about 8 on one side and 6 or 7 on the other. I think I usually have about 15/16 on day 3. 

The nurse instructed me to come back on Christmas day. She said they would only be doing ultrasounds that day. But when I went to book an appointment they were all confused and said they weren't open. I called later on and tried to get everything sorted out. Turns out they want me to come on CD11 which will be the 27th. Last cycle I went in on CD3, 9 and then every day until IUI day. So of course I email L my IUI nurse to confirm that this would be ok. She said "Yes, that should be fine as you did not get triggered last cycle until day

14. Thanks for checking." 

Sure hope she's right! 

New protocol? Nope.

So earlier this week I thought I might be getting a new protocol to boost our chances. But I didn't. Here's the email from our IUI nurse. 

Hello A,

I did speak with Dr. M yesterday afternoon. He informed me that he is
happy with the way your cycle went. I discussed that fact that you have
limited tdi samples. He suggested you verify with the donor bank if in fact
there is a limited supply as you may very well use up 4 just with the next
few attempts. Success rates are about 25% each time you try, so 1 in 4
attempts yields a pregnancy. 

We can try adding injections to your protocol which usually increase the
number of follicles produce. This does not increase your chance to conceive
as the percentage is still 25% BUT it does put you at higher risk of twins
of which if you were to conceive with the cycle, it is a 25% chance to be
twins. 

Another option is to go for IVF. Success rates for your age group is about
69% with 25% risk of twins as well. IVF is quite costly at about $9000
including the TDI sample, but not including injections and other drugs.
There is a preparation phase for IVF which would need to take place before
proceeding, this takes approximately 1 cycle to prepare. 

It is understandable that you may wish to try to use the same donor, however
it is not really recommended to tailor your treatment protocol or put you at
higher risk, using more aggressive treatments in an effort to work around
the availability of one particular donor. Dr. M used the analogy of a
button that you may like, on an article of clothing and because you like
that particular button, you buy all your other clothing to go with that
button. So, most would not likely purchase all other items using the one
button as the focal point.

To summarize, he liked how the cycle was going so far and would prefer to
continue that way for now. If you are interested in any of the other two
options let me know however he really would rather you try to open your
options for the TDI sample selection instead of putting yourself at higher
risk using injections to work around one selection. 

Let me know how you wish to proceed. If you have further questions please do
not hesitate to contact me. 

Take care,

L 
GNT/IUI Nurse

My reply to her was Thank you L. I will review this with my wife who is against having twins! Haha So I'm guessing we will stick with the same protocol this time around. 

New Protocol!?

Last night I sent an email to our RE reguarding our protocol. I asked him to review my charts from last cycle and let us know if anything should change to maximize our chances as we have only 4 vials of our dear donor left now. He emailed me back saying he has reviewed my charts and has suggested some changes that the iui nurse will go over with me. I wonder what it will be. I want to increase our chances of concieving but I'm worried about the multiples factor! Yikes maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. 

*~*~Baby dust to all and to all a good night~*~*

She's here

AF came! I literally said "Yay" out loud when I noticed. But let me tell you she is back with a vengeance cause she's been kicking my ass all day. Major cramps and severe lower back pain. Welcome Cycle Day 1.