Stim Day Eleven.
Right Ovary:
18, 17.5, 17.5, 16.5, 14.5, 13, 13, 13, 12, 11
Left Ovary:
17.5, 17, 16.5, 16.5, 15.5, 14, 13.5, 13.5, 12.5, 12.5, 12, 11.5, 11
Lining:
9.something (I may have dozed off for a moment while she was measuring it, and let me tell you the ability to fall asleep with a transvaginal ultrasound probe halfway to your tonsils is a skill I wish I hadn’t had a chance to acquire).
E2:
2,155
They want me to stim one more day, come in tomorrow morning, and trigger that night for a Saturday retrieval. The thought is that one more day will allow a few of the smaller follicles to catch up. According to the nurse, follicles need to be about 15mm to contain a mature egg. I am all for retrieving more eggs, but I am feeling quite nervous about my E2. To recap:
Friday: 127
Monday: 881
Wednesday: 2,155
Looking back at my notes, it appears that I was told by Dr. Doctor that they cancel for E2 levels over 5,000. My ovaries hurt, I am worried about OHSS, and they have not decreased my dose. Am I doomed? How doomed, exactly?
I am formidably cranky, which may have something to do with the fact that I am uncomfortable and want desperately to be at home eating cheese whilst buoyed by a cloud of downy pillows, but am instead hunched over my desk at work with my eyes on the clock. The nurse asked whether I was having any pain and I explained that I seem to feel fine in the morning, but by the end of the day my ovaries scream in protest and my bladder whimpers piteously when asked to perform its duty. I go to bed bloated and exhausted, but wake up back at my normal size, my ovaries calm. The nurse suggested I take breaks throughout the day to “put my feet up,” apparently assuming I work in a cushy bordello where that sort of thing is encouraged in between trying on negligees and posing suggestively in rosepetal-scented baths. I did upend my wastebasket under my desk, but there isn’t enough room under there to extend both of my legs, so I am trading off—right, then left—while scowling, which seems to soothe me. Like I said, I am glad we are letting the smaller follicles catch up, but my god, I am ready to be done with this part of the cycle. My humblest apologies for morphing so suddenly from “I’m just delighted to be here” Alexa into “If you speak to me I will wrench off one of your (ugly, by the way) sandals and forcibly insert it into your rectum” Alexa. I assume it is the hormones that make me feel as if the entire world is conspiring to annoy me (WTF, Vogue magazine? Every September you put out your “Biggest! Issue! Ever!” in some unwinnable race of disk-herniating, ad-laden bulk. When will it end? I am pretty sure this year’s edition is heavy enough to fall into the category of “Things I am not allowed to lift after embryo transfer.” Also? SIENNA MILLER CAN SUCK IT).
Whew! I’m glad I got that off my chest.
24 Comments
Sienna Miller is an atrocity.
But: holy shit! You are one hell of a follicle grower!
Be careful, Alexa, she will suck it. :)
I love it when people say things like “take some time to put your feet up at work.” I work at a clinic and there is still no place to rest or put your feet up. Brilliant.
Uh, just prepare yourself–during my 2ww I blew up by 2-3 inches over the course of each day (returned to normal overnight, only to repeat the whole delightful thing the next day). And that was with only 3 follicles and E2 around 1000, so…diluted Gatorade, that’s what helped me.
And hey, hooray for Lefty for joining the party with a vengeance! Hope the E2 stays under control.
The new Vogue is fatter than my hometown phonebook. Ugh.
Good luck tomorrow!! and my friend you have discovered a new talent - dosing off while having an U/S .. Niiiice!!!
You’re growing a great crop! Sounds like you’ll get lots and lots of nice eggs. And I was wrong about the extra shot of hcg for preventing OHSS, it was actually half a dose for the trigger. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17579978&ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Feel free to tell me to go suck it too if you’re not interested!!!
Good luck! Hope you avoid OHSS
The whole put your feet up thing is like all the diet plans that tell you to eat 4-8 small meals per day. What the hell? Who has that kind of time?
Yahooooooo, Alexa! I mean… I’m sorry you’re feeling so shitty, but I’m so excited about those results.
Oh, and the shitty feeling is only going to get worse for a while yet. I secretly wore my old “transitional” maternity pants during the wait before the blood test, then shortly after the postitive test, as the bloating subsided, I was able to switch back to my regular fat pants for the next 8 weeks or so of the pregnancy.
Maybe you could get one of those George Costanza desks, where you can crawl underneath and take naps?
Good luck! I am getting ready to start my own IVF cycle and reading about yours has (1) given me hope that some of this might actually work and (2) made me laugh my ass off (which I could definitely use these days). I will be keeping my fingers crossed that your E2 stays under control.
Sounds like you’re mighty uncomfortable. Hopefully it will all be forgotten soon. Good luck!
De-lurking to say that I’m sorry you’re so uncomfortable, but good luck!
You’re still entertaining and funny when cranky, which is nice. I have a feeling I just get whiney and gloomy, so go you! :)
Goodness! That’s some niiiiice follicle-growing. My E2 was over 3,000 at trigger, as I recall, and I had a similar follicle count. Surprisingly, while I was somewhat uncomfortable and a bit bloated, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the cycle before, when my E2 and follicle counts were much, much lower. As someone above suggested, drink whichever sports drinks you can gag down. Not sure why, but my RE also recommended protein-rich foods to help control the symptoms.
Best of luck to you. Looking forward to the retrieval numbers on Saturday!
–Bugs
I ditto Littledifficult. You have been so helpful - I too am just starting my IVF cycle. I wish you the best of luck and thank you again for your humor and honesty.
You may not be doomed. You may have to deal with a bit of OHSS. But at least you are not a poor responder. Crossing my fingers for tomorrow.
I think those numbers look really good. Your littlest ones are probably going to be immature at retrieval but you still look like you will get a fair number of mature eggs. That is great news. Good luck.
Ah, I am thinking you will be fine. I have no medical rationalization other than a hunch, but you certainly will have a good crop to fertilize and a strong change for frosties.
When I almost over stimmed and OHSSed this last cycle (the 19+ follicles) at our clinic Dr. Bowtie told me that they would just freeze them and do a FET the next time around if my E2 was just way too high at or still after transfer. I don’t think that will be your problem though, it usually starts to level off when the follicles are maturing.
So, Sat. looks like it will be out for you…I know the truth, you really hate us and begged them to make you go another day :-)
You are sooo close Alexa!! Best of luck for Saturday :)
Holy shit, that’s a mighty fine follie count! Congrats to you, lady. Well done. I hope you manage some rest, somehow. Good luck!!
I am impressed! Wow–those are some great follicle numbers. Hang in there just a little bit longer.
Sorry the trash can isn’t more comfy.
I honestly don’t know what Sienna’s famous for besides sleeping with Jude Law and calling Pittsburgh Shitsburgh (or would that be Shittsburg?).
man! nice numbers! is there such a thing as ovarian jealousy? I think I have it.
your blog never ceases to entertain me. even on my crappiest days I am almost certain to get a good chuckle from flotsam. thanks.
Snort.
Hilarious.
I hope retrieval goes well.
Holy jumping jesus on a pogo stick… that’s a lot of follicles!
Good luck with retrieval.
So, by my count, without an extra day of stims, that’s 9 good sized follicles. That seems like a great number!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you make it through the next 36 hours with minumum pain and no overstimulation. Hang on Alexa, you’re doing great.