FET#1: CD11

Lining: 5.9 mm
Right ovary: 12.1 mm
Left ovary: 9.5 mm

So it looks like I am progressing very similarly to my last IUI, not surprisingly because I am on the same Menopur dose. If things go the same way, I will probably trigger on CD13 (Sunday), ovulate on CD14 (Monday), and transfer on CD17 (Thursday).

We asked the Professor about the chance of multiples, as we are stimulating ovulation as well as transferring an embryo. He said that it is theoretically possible, but they have never seen it in practise. He also said that animal studies have shown that simply the act of intercourse before embryo transfer can increase the rates of pregnancy.

Feeling much better today. I need to remind myself that the best cure, for me, is just to knuckle down and attack all the work that is stressing me out.

The sun is shining over the soft falling leaves. This might be our last autumn as a family of two (plus two furballs). This is a time to celebrate our love for each other, for cherishing all the wonderful joys already in our life together.

FET#1: CD8

I am participating in a clinical trial for this FET, which involves me injecting half a vial of menopur each night, much like I did for my last IUI. This means that they are monitoring my follicles too, even though we have a little embryo that we prepared earlier.

Stats:
Lining 4.7 mm
Right ovary: One large follicle at 9.7 mm
Left ovary: One large follicle at 8.4 mm

Perhaps another week until trigger? Next check-up on Friday.

Things that are currently stressing me out:
* The hours of sunlight are decreasing, so I am waking up in the dark every morning
* More people are catching the metro, so I now have to stand for 30 minutes to get to work
* My boss is off sick, so I am doing the work of two people
* All projects need to be completed by the end of the year, so we are extra busy
* My mother is coming to stay for a whole week
* I am putting on weight
* Blood tests in the morning, waiting for phone call during the day, injections in the evening

Things that I should be doing to decrease this stress:
* Working hard at work
* Cleaning the house
* Going to the gym
* Eating lots of fruit and vegetables

Things that I am actually doing instead:
* Spending hours on the web looking at pictures of cute animals
* Napping
* Eating chocolate and biscuits
* Worrying
* Feeling guilty

Argh.

IVF#1: Day 9 of Stims

Lining: 6.4mm
Right ovary: 4 follicles, largest ~8mm
Left ovary: 4 or 5 follicles, largest ~10mm
E2: 461
Drugs: 150u Menopur 1xday, Suprefact 3xday

My midwife seemed fairly happy with my scan today. She said that things were growing "not too fast and not too slow". They are keeping me on the same dose of stims, and they don't want to see me until Monday. She estimates my retrieval will be at the end of next week, maybe Friday.

I am really happy with my lining. One of the great things about a slow cycle is that it is giving my endometrium a lot more time to mature, compared to my premature response during IUIs.

Thank-you so much for all your comments, I am reminding myself that we only want one baby, so we just need one good embryo. It's about quality, not quantity.

And my lovely husband (who came with me to the appointment and held my hand throughout) was even thoughtful enough to ask the midwife for a print-out of my follicles because he knew I would be too shy to ask. So here they are - let's hope they're the beginning of something wonderful.

IVF#1: Day 7 of stims

Ultrasound report:
Lining: 4.5mm
Right ovary: 3 or 4 follicles, largest ~7mm
Left ovary: 4 follicles, largest ~9mm

So it appears here in my European clinic they like to stim us long and slow (150u Menopur / day), rather than the quick and fast stim protocols in the US. The midwife told me that she expects me to stim for another 7 days.

Once again, I guess I just have to trust that they know what they're doing. Their live birth/cycle rate (25% for < 36) is lower than the US average (41% for < 35), but that could be for many factors, I guess (like compulsory SET). On the up side these cycles are funded by our universal healthcare.

It is hard to give up control - to let someone else make all the decisions. Part of me wishes that we were at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine with their crazy 66.5% live birth/cycle rate, but then again I am glad that our clinic has an 11% rate of twins rather than their 39%.

How am I feeling? I am disappointed with my thin lining and my low number of follicles. I wanted to get 11 eggs at retrieval, so hoped to see around 14 follicles this morning. Instead I only have 7 or 8. I am constantly terrified that I'm going to forget an injection - or I'll forget my Suprefact and the suppression will wear off and I'll lose all my eggs. I am exhausted from constantly worrying about everything that could go wrong with this cycle.

Edit: My clinic called, and my estradiol is only at 139. They said not to worry that things were really quiet on the scan, this is my first IVF so they are taking things slow. They want to see me again in two days (Friday), and they'll increase my dose then if my follicles still aren't growing.

IUI#3 CD10

I was randomised to clomid this cycle (clomiphene citrate CD3 to CD7, estrogen CD8 to CD12), and as I had some at home that meant that I didn't have to go into the clinic until today. The midwife who was taking my blood looked so young that I was worried that she would be incompetent. I think however the problem was that I am getting old, because she was fabulous. In fact, she coaxed out so much of my blood that I didn't realise that I was continuing to leave little drops of the stuff over the chair and floor of the waiting room. I was so embarrassed to have to get one of the midwives to clean it up for me. Still, better that than leaving human blood around the place.

My follicles seem to be ripening more slowly this time around. Last CD10 with clomid my dominant follicle was at 16 mm, but this time around it is only 11.7 mm. This is great, because I need time for my endometrial lining to thicken up. My lining is only 3.7 mm, the thinnest it has ever been at CD10 - it's gone from 7.6 mm (IUI#1 Menopur) to 4.8 mm (IUI#2 Clomid) to 3.7 mm (IUI#3 Clomid). I have been reading through the literature, and it really needs to be at least 7 mm on the day of the HCG trigger for a good chance of success.

The good news is that the dominant follicle is on my left ovary with the good tube. I should know more when I hear from the midwife this afternoon, but my guess is that I will have another scan in two days (CD12) and that the IUI will be on Monday (CD15).