Day 39 - 10 Follicles So Far!!

Ben came home from work to drive me to my doctor's appointment this morning so he can really be a part of the WHOLE process (even though the majority of it involves just my body). Last time his work schedule didn't really allow much flexibility so, in a way, we both felt like I went through most of the IVF process alone. This time of year his job is much less demanding and I was thrilled to have him by my side. He plans to attend the rest of my appointments as well. It feels good to be going to the doctor as a couple since that is where we have the ability to conceive our children. Obviously we would prefer to be alone in our bedroom for that to happen, but we've grown to accept that this is our path. Being there together for every appointment so we can smile at each other and hold hands is our version of baby-making romance.

At the appointment I had an ultrasound of my ovaries to check the follicle (egg) growth now that I've been injecting stims for the last 4 nights. First our doc said that I have a "beautiful uterine lining." That means my womb is doing a good job of preparing for an embryo to implant. Next he happily told us that there are 10 small follicles at this point. He went on to say that some women only have 1 or 2 and sometimes none after only 4 days of stimming so we should be very please with 10! He said, "if all my patients had 10 follicles this early, then my job would be easy." We were very happy to get the good news. Last IVF cycle we only had 9 eggs total by the end, so being that we already have more this early is a GREAT sign!!

After my ultrasound we moved down the hall to the "blood draw station" so one of the nurses could collect a vial of my blood to send to the lab for hormone level analysis. As she stuck me with the needle in my arm I asked her when the results would be in. She groaned, took a heavy, labored breath and impatiently said, "this afternoon sometime." Ignoring her tone, I asked if it would be too early to call at 3pm for the results. Her eyes darted at me and she curtly said, "DON'T call. Just don't call." I looked at her thinking, "EXCUSEZ MOI?? This is my blood and I have every damn right to know what's in it!!!" So I sternly told her, "well, I AM going to call because it's important to me to know." She begrudgingly agreed to put a note on my chart to have someone call me when the results were in. Damn! Is it really that hard...I'm not asking for much...especially when one considers how much $$$ we have just handed them out of our pockets. Ugh! As rude and off putting as she was it didn't bring me down since we were so excited about our 10 eggies and counting!

But still....Can you believe that?! It will never cease to amaze me how unfriendly and down right rude some of our IVF nurses are. How on earth do they get a job at an infertility clinic anyway? Fertility challenged people are some of the most emotionally sensitive patients out there, so you would think our doctor would try to find really nice nurses rather than the opposite. Who knows, maybe he hired them for their outstanding medical skills...and perhaps with skill comes bitchiness...WHATEVER!?!? I've gotten used to wearing my emotional armour while I'm in that office...it's the only way to get outta there without crying. Ha!

So I just heard back from the lab to learn my hormone levels. E2 (estrogen) is 175 which they say is just right considering the number and size of my 10 follicles. And my LH is 0.3, so NO RISK of early ovulation at this point, which is fantastic.

My doctor instructed me to continue the stim medication as I have been so far(Follistim 300, Menopur 75) and come back for another ultrasound and blood work this Friday morning. Let's hope the nurse I get STUCK with then (pun intended) is one of the nicer ones. :)