I went in for my first day 11 ultrasound this morning and the first thing my RE did was check my lining. It was very thin (despite taking estrace twice a day for the past few days), but it did have a "triple lining" which is a good sign. He then took a closer look at my right ovary. "There's nothing!" he exclaimed. Then he looked at my left. "Still nothing!". Great. Just my luck. He pointed out some very very tiny follicles, but there was nothing to measure. The ultrasounds was done in less than two minutes.
I was expecting to have small follicles, because I know I don't get "full" and ovulate until day 22, but I wasn't expecting "nothing". He wasn't either. He immediately said that I should stop my estrace today and begin to take another round of clomid for the next five days, then resume the estrace. I'll have another ultrasound next Tuesday, the 27th, on day 19. Apparently, it's better to take more clomid in this cycle than waiting until the next one (I asked). But I'm worried about being overstimulated. And annoyed that I must spend even more money.
250mg/clomid a day for five days. The most I've ever taken is 150mg/day, so this seems like a lot to me. Plus the fact that I took 150mg for five days last week, so it will be doubling up. Yikes. Let's hope I get some nice large follicles, but not too many.
The only upside is that we can relax during our Thanksgiving vacation and don't need to meticulously plan alone time together. At least there's that.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Ultrasound Tomorrow
Today is cycle day 11. My "natural cycle" last month ended up the same as usual - no pregnancy. But luckily I did get a period, so I did not need to take medroxyprogesterone to induce one.
Now I am starting my first medicated cycle with a fertility clinic. I took 150mg of clomid days 3-7, and days 8-12 I am taking estrace twice a day. Tomorrow, I will have an ultrasound with my Reproductive Endocrinologist. He will be measuring my folicles to determine when one or more will reach the 20mm size needed for ovulation (for instance if the follicle is at 14mm tomorrow, with an expected growth rate of 1.7mm a day, I would reach 20mm 4 days later). Once I'm at 20mm I will take a shot to induce ovulation. The goal is to shorten my cycle so that my body doesn't wait until day 22 or after to ovulate.
I have to admit, I'm pretty nervous about the ultrasound tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect. Will my follicles be at a good growth spot? Or will they be non-existent and only grow later in my cycle? I'm worried they will be unhealthy in some way. Hopefully all will go smoothly.
I'm trying not to think too much about future planning and ovulation until we get an estimate of when I might get to 20mm. The problem may be timing with Thanksgiving coming up! Actually, we'll almost certainly be staying at my husband's family's house when we have to give the shot and try to time everything correctly with intercourse. Not the greatest scenario, but it's not possible to time these kinds of things. I'm just crossing my fingers that it all works out - especially acquiring my shot away from home. I'd rather not have to bring it through TSA with a doctor's note and then have to store/hide it in the shared fridge until it's time.
Besides the ultrasound, in the morning I will also be testing my AMH with a blood test. I hope this also comes back with good results! My husband will be taking a second semen analysis. His first came back in the "normal" range, but at the low end. The doctor would like to know if this first test is a representative sample, because if it's his "best" day then there might be problems if the new sample comes back below 20 million.
Now I am starting my first medicated cycle with a fertility clinic. I took 150mg of clomid days 3-7, and days 8-12 I am taking estrace twice a day. Tomorrow, I will have an ultrasound with my Reproductive Endocrinologist. He will be measuring my folicles to determine when one or more will reach the 20mm size needed for ovulation (for instance if the follicle is at 14mm tomorrow, with an expected growth rate of 1.7mm a day, I would reach 20mm 4 days later). Once I'm at 20mm I will take a shot to induce ovulation. The goal is to shorten my cycle so that my body doesn't wait until day 22 or after to ovulate.
I have to admit, I'm pretty nervous about the ultrasound tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect. Will my follicles be at a good growth spot? Or will they be non-existent and only grow later in my cycle? I'm worried they will be unhealthy in some way. Hopefully all will go smoothly.
I'm trying not to think too much about future planning and ovulation until we get an estimate of when I might get to 20mm. The problem may be timing with Thanksgiving coming up! Actually, we'll almost certainly be staying at my husband's family's house when we have to give the shot and try to time everything correctly with intercourse. Not the greatest scenario, but it's not possible to time these kinds of things. I'm just crossing my fingers that it all works out - especially acquiring my shot away from home. I'd rather not have to bring it through TSA with a doctor's note and then have to store/hide it in the shared fridge until it's time.
Besides the ultrasound, in the morning I will also be testing my AMH with a blood test. I hope this also comes back with good results! My husband will be taking a second semen analysis. His first came back in the "normal" range, but at the low end. The doctor would like to know if this first test is a representative sample, because if it's his "best" day then there might be problems if the new sample comes back below 20 million.
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