Stims DAY ELEVEN

So let's get to the nity gritty and then I will babble ;)
So I have 28 follicles like they had said last week but they separated in size. One group of 12-14 are ready 18-20mm) and the other group is 11-13mm. But my Estrodial levels look good today :) Yesterdays was 1600 but todays was 3000 so we trigger tonight! I took my last stim this morning!
I took Ganirelix tonight at 8pm, I take trigger tonight (and since my E2 wasn't horribly high I don't need to Lupron trigger) of 10,000 HCG at 11pm tonight for the ER at 11am Thursday :)

Physically- Heartburn is GONE! OMG THANK GOD! It had to be the ABX! I normally have a stomach of steel but I did NOT handle those antibiotics at all! it was horrible! 3 days of heartburn, bleh!
My boobs HURT today, holy hell! They are fine as long as I leave them alone and don't nudge them, touch them, get near them...
Bloating and cramps... If I wasn't an acupuncture believer before I AM NOW! So after my acupuncture appointment my bloating went down. But then it didn't come back... So much that I was afraid I O'ed and that the scan would say everything is gone! I was actually nervous because I felt so good! But obviously there is plenty of going on in there! My ovaries look pretty darn big! But even today and tonight I feel pretty normal! I look a bit bloated but don't really feel it and I am not achy and yucky like I have been- it's AWESOME! I am thinking the shoe will drop and I will be feeling it before the ER on Thursday! LOL! But until then I am doing well!

Emotionally I think it's taking a bit of a toll. I took a nap today and felt off after because of a dream... I think everything kinda hit me. I am a control freak and the hardest thing for me is to not to have control and SO many variables! So much could go wrong and I am trying not to focus on that. So far I have been doing great BUT I think it's getting to me. Feeling better though tonight thankfully :)

Tomorrow I need to get work done... I don't want to have to stress about it after the ER or next week after the transfer. I am also going to try and de-stess and mentally prepare for Thursday morning!

A breakthrough! --- Baseline u/s

 (Stopped at Trader Joes on the way home and bought these and thought it was funny because we have to use my eggs and do the transfer by 9/14 :)

So much happened but most of was emotionally- finally a breakthrough!

I have been working really hard on my stress an anxiety, doing okay but still not where I want to be.
Went to the appointment today nervous. If there is one thing an infertile can count on, it's that you can't count on your body (to do what you need). I had visions of being told my cysts were worse or my ovaries were having a party trying to ovulate. I didn't trust in the birth control mainly since I feel so hormonal and feel ovary pain and cramps.
Well I guess I don't fully hate BCP because they are doing what they are supposed to! *happy dance* No cysts and everything looks great! He did my Antral follicle count and it was 24 this time! eek! Which makes me feel that much more comfortable with the antagonist protocol!
Speaking of... So when Dr. H originally called and told me my protocol, I had no idea what antagonist protocol was or why he would use it. After researching, I found that it seemed like the best bet for me with my high response to oral stim drugs and my PCOS, but is that why Dr. H ordered it? I thought so, but I remembered when I got that one bad FSH I asked about estrogen priming protocol to combat that. However later I got my FSH redone and it was normal so that was supposed to be thrown out the window. I should have just asked the WHY weeks ago but I kept waiting and had NO IDEA how much it was eating at me until today. My mind has been racing wondering if he was going off old information... Wondering if he didn't remember my history or I was just a number. I worried maybe he didn't know what he was doing and maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. <--- Yes I did go there. I have anxiety disorder and it feeds off itself. I had no idea though how much this one question was bothering me though! Or obviously I would have asked weeks ago! LOL!
So anyway, I asked him why he chose the protocol and he proceeded to explain about how he expects me to have a high response and is looking to avoid OHSS :) And then I asked why we were using an HCG trigger and he said that we actually don't know yet what we will be using. If my ovaries go crazy nuts and I have 8 millions follicles and a high chance of OHSS, we will trigger with Lupron.
Have I mentioned I love this man? Seriously I really like him and he has a way about him. He is very charismatic but also knowledgeable. I need someone I feel knows more than me to lead me... And honestly I normally know more than doctors or just as much and that's not very reassuring. I feel like Dr. H knows his stuff and loves his job. I feel like he listens and I feel like I should trust him. I feel like he could teach me and will let me in on as little or as much information as I want or need.
His assistant on the other hand... She is SO SO nice. But I don't have confidence in her knowledge. Dh put it best- She seems to know her job, but you ask beyond that and she seems to answer things oddly and has a hard time understanding. She reminds me of my mother which is not a good thing as I care for my mother. It's frustrating but again, she is SO sweet. And honestly I can always call Dr. H if I need to. It was my bad for not doing sooner!
So after the appointment I found that excitement I lost a while ago! I am getting excited and not so terrified any longer! YAY!!! I am just riding this wave and encouraging it! SO HAPPY to be back here where I was when I made the final choice to do this!

Antral follicle count & Trial Transfer- CHECK!

No reason behind the image... Just couldn't think of anything else to put ;)

So today went well. Some drama over payment but Dr. Harris rushed in and smoothed it over. He has amazing people skills! I also put a face to my case manager Day. She is really helpful and nice :)

The Antral follicle count was 19 :) Pretty good for a 36yo I think!

16-30 follicles

Normal (good) antral count, should have an excellent response to ovarian stimulation.
Likely to respond well to low doses of FSH drugs.
Very low risk for IVF cycle cancellation. Some risk for ovarian overstimulation.
Very good pregnancy success rates overall.
Yay! Sign me up! Sounds good :) BUT I am smart enough not to count my chickens before they hatch! ;)

The trial transfer went super smooth and hardly felt it. He measured and also said straight and easy to Day while she took notes. Love being called easy :p
Even though I am on BCP there were 2 cysts- follicular and hemorrhagic cysts I think. I did labs to see if they are producing hormones.
I also did my labs for the rest of the IVF check list which was a pain because they first lab wouldn't take Kaiser orders *rolleyes*

I am supposed to take a 2 day break from BCP starting tomorrow night and then get back on them. I am waiting to get my calendar in the mail tht will tell me the plan and when/if I start Lupron. I am however marked to start stimming medications on 8/30! :)

So now I just need to get past this stupid surgery! blah. Send me 'don't puke' vibes! :p 

Antral follicle count & trial transfer info

So next Thursday I have the appointment for both as I have mentioned. I want to make sure that this blog is easy to follow even for people who are new to all this- at least one person mentioned they were thinking IVF and were going to follow to learn more.  Got me thinking I need to be clear WTH I am doing and why. So I make no promises but I will try!
So the antral follicle count- Basically this is a simple u/s to see how many "resting follicles" I have going on. You want to see a good amount going on. basically it is used, "for estimating ovarian reserve, the expected response to ovarian stimulating drugs, and the chance for successful pregnancy with in vitro fertilization." My Dr is going to decide after what drug protocol he want to do from how many I have. I am curious to see as my OBGYN has made at least 3 comments about my antral follicles and how I have as many as a 21yo LOL! But I wonder if maybe she is mistaken and those are PCOS cysts? But then again I don't have the numbers with my bloodwork indicating my PCOS is out of control and the cysts are the one thing I have never been told I actually have (the main reason i thought I didn't have PCOS). And I tend to over-respond to oral medications so maybe she is right? Guess I will know Thursday! Here's hoping there are a ton of the resting follicles!
The trial transfer- Basically he is going to use an u/s to see the size and shape of my uterus and get an idea where he would want to place the embryos when we transfer. They use a catheter similar to IUI but I have heard it's not flexible. I have heard some horror stories so I hope it's not painful!