Hello little follies

This morning marks day 9 of injections and our first Ultra Sound and blood test for IVF cycle #2.

After awkward chat about the passing of my dear kitty, the nurse lubes up the dildo camera, and I see something similar to the picture above.

Upping the initial dose to 250iu (international units) has appeared to be working, because today we have 16 follicles all between 9 and 11mm. (This result is already much better than where we ended up with our cancelled cycle, having only 2 follies at 12mm and about 20 at 6mm and under).

This explains why even my trackie dacks are tight and it's uncomfortable to bend down and tie my shoes.

So now the plan is to continue to carefully grow them (as they need to be bigger than 17mm to be worthy of pick up), without adding any more, because then I will enter the dreaded realms of OHSS territory. (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome ).

 We scan again in 2 days... fingers crossed.

Pull the trigger

So I thought I would get a break from all the needles during my exile into limbo land...

After a weekend of sadness followed by a few weekdays of sadness, I called the clinic.
It had dawned on me that I didn't really know what was meant to happen next.
The nurse may have explained it to me, but since I was a little girl, I've had a bad habit of not actually listening when people are telling me things, especially if it is important information or some sort of directions to follow!

So I spoke with the head nurse at the IVF clinic yesterday, and she suggested I come back in for an Ultra Sound to see if I have managed to ovulate as yet.
Due to the constant dull ache in my ovaries, I guessed I hadn't... and I was right.
In my left ovary currently sits one big fat egg (26mm) and heaps of smaller ones.

So today’s scan proved two things -
1) It was the right decision after all to cancel my first IVF cycle, as much as it broke my heart, it wouldn’t have resulted in more than 1 or 2 viable eggs.

2) I find it really, really awkward to have small talk about the weather and the weekend’s activities when there is a giant dildo poking around inside me!

So tonight I inject the Trigger shot and hope that it doesn’t cause OHSS (Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome ).
It also means that I will ovulate this weekend, so it was not so subtly suggested that we "get busy" trying!

With my husband’s Oligospermia (low count and low quality) the odds are stacked against us, but none the less, I think a romantic night away in swanky hotel is just what the doctor ordered!

All clear!

So we have been given the all clear for another year!
I just wish the Oncologist didn't have to be such a dick about it...
We are obviously stressed, worried and only there to find out if the cancer is back or not... I don't want to discuss business, the weather or life in general.

On another note, yesterday we had our PRE-IVF blood tests.
So those results, along with the ULTRASOUND I had 2 weeks ago will determine the drugs and hormones I shall be injecting myself with.

Speaking of the ultrasound... I really wish I had read the information letter better!
I remembered to drink lots of water, but I was not expecting the nurse to be lubbing up a giant dildo camera!