Tuesday, September 16, 2014

IVF Update: Egg Check

Yesterday was our first egg check after starting meds last week. It was cycle day 7, and I have scans Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They do a scan to see where my follicles (which hold the eggs) are in terms of growth, how many follicles (and therefore eggs) they can expect, and how my lining looks.

They started with the lining. I have trouble getting lining that's thick enough when using a frozen protocol, but my lining is thick and plump on stim meds. It was measuring 8-9mm already! Holy moly. I'm a little nervous it will end up too thick, but she reassured me it was fine.

Then she went to the first ovary. As they rotate the wand, different follicles can be seen, each view they count what they see and measure some of them to get an idea of my average follicle size. And then they measure the biggest follicles because I need to start a med to keep me from ovulating when my biggest follicle reaches 12mm. It looked like this:


The picture isn't of a great shot, but I only have it because Mckenna requested a picture of the "peanuts I just ate"...so we happen to have the picture from the scan. Yes - I do tell her that we are looking at the snack I last ate. I usually am sure to eat peanuts, blueberries or grapes before a scan so she can help look for my snack.

Anyways, so then they go to the next ovary and do the same thing they did on the first side. I make so many eggs that they usually just measure a sampling and stop around 10 follicles a side.

It was a good visit. I'm excited to see how things are looking on Wednesday! Another little update is that I started taking the meds I need to take that helps prevent miscarriage. This means I have to add Heparin and 10mg of Prednisone to my current meds. I'm a little nervous about starting Prednisone as I know how it makes Ronnie feel and act, but they have reassured me that on that dose I should be ok. If anyone has any thoughts or experience on 10mg, please share them with me, so I can know what to expect. I will be on both the meds until 12 weeks, if we get pregnant. So potentially (and hopefully) 2.5 months-ish.

Prayer Requests
- Our follicles continue to grow as projected and that the eggs inside are GOOD quality.
- I have little to no symptoms from the Prednisone - AKA I don't become a crazy lady.
- My body doesn't get too overstimulated (I'm high risk for OHSS), so that we can do a fresh transfer.
- My lining is growing in a way that a little love (or two) will implant and stick around for 9 months.