Walking Pharmacy

Ovulating a big follicle (23mm) kind of hurts! Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to ovulate all the eggs you grow in an IVF cycle? OUCH!

I triggered my 1 little persistent, Lupron-defying follicle on Thursday night and can definitely feel ovulation pain today. Its amazing that it is occurring just about about 36 hours after the shot. My body does actually respond to SOME type of med in the right way.

Also, I started a plethora of other shots and pills for luteal phase support today. I'm a walking pharmacy.Here's the list:

• Progesterone (2x daily Crinone gel) - I like this WAY better than the PIO. Hate hate hate those shots in the bum. Oh, and welcome back Prednisone! You know how much I love you.
• Baby Asprin (1x daily 81mg) - See note below in Levenox.
• Estrace (3x daily 2mg tablets) - Anyone else take this much estrogen during their 2ww?
• Prednisone (1x daily 20mg tablets) - I took this for my last 2 transfers and it seems to help with the feverish feeling I got with my first 3 transfers.
• Levenox (aka - low molecular weight Heparin. 1 40u SQ shot daily) - This, along with the baby aspirin above can help those with high APAs (which I have tested positive for, although this topic is heavily debated). I figure, it can't hurt, and maybe it can help, so I'm willing to give it a shot.

Yes, this may seem extreme, but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Desperate? ... Maybe.

A Dr Google whore?... .Definitely!

Lupron Limbo

I went into my RE today for my baseline ultrasound to see if my body was suppressed enough by the Lupron so we could start our FET cycle... After 4 years and 4+ IVF cycles, I've been getting pretty good at looking at my ovaries on a sonogram screen. As soon as my right ovary came into view and focus, I knew right away that our FET would be on hold.

My body just didn''t want to listen to the Lupron this month and it decided to grow its own follicle... grrr. 1 follicle, 15mm, E2 = 102. And today is CD5 after my birth control period.  Oh, and a bunch of antral follicles to boot. So I have to stay on Lupron for a week and go back in to see if it has shrunk. But my hunch is that it won't (ie, it's a "functional cyst") and we'll have to be sidelined for one more month.

But I'm not really that upset. I guess maybe because I've been through this so many times (not the growing follicle thing, but just cycling in general) that what's one more month, right? And part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, this is the universe's way of saying, hold on girlie... your brother is getting married out of town in early December and there's no way we want you to be late in your third trimester during his wedding, especially since it involves an airplane ride and such. So we'd better make you wait another month or so... Gee, thanks universe... really... thanks... because, um, we could have just done this a few months ago instead when I did my IVF clinical trial and already HAD the baby by his wedding....but NO...

I digress.

So here we stand, in Lupron Limbo for another week, and most likely another month...

Oh, and a strange side note for those of you who believe that our bodies should be and used to be more in tune with nature. The 'functional cyst' thing that happens to many of us in an IVF cycle when they are trying to suppress us with luteal phase lupron, occurs MUCH more frequently during the spring (per my RE).... hmmmm..... Spring = Fertile time of the year?????

I think it just goes to show you that no matter how much we try to and think we can control the human body, there are other forces out there at work laughing at our futile attempts.