More Waiting...

Before we started our first medicated cycle, I had already mapped out how I thought things would proceed over the next few months. According to my calculations, if we were unsuccessful the first time, then we would have to sit it out the next cycle due to a vacation we had already planned. After all the waiting we had been through, the last thing I wanted to do was sit through a break cycle. So I prayed and prayed that my 2ww would end with good news.



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In a way, it did, just not how I imagined. The femara seemed to have regulated my cycle pretty well, because instead of the usual 35+ day cycles that I typically have, AF showed up and I ended up with a 29 day cycle. Even though I had tried to mentally prepare myself for this, as with every cycle, I could not help but feel extreme disappointment that yet again we were without a baby. The good news was that between getting AF really late the last time, combined with the fact that I had a shorter 29 day cycle this time, we wouldn't have to sit the next cycle out. We could go on our vacation and do my first follie scan after we got back. I was sad, but at least we could do another medicated cycle immediately without any further waiting.
Getting disheartened of failing cycle after cycle, I asked the doctor about the possibility of doing an IUI (intrauterine insemination) instead of just timed intercourse. Some women have what's called "hostile" CM that kills the majority of the sperm before they get to the uterus. A post-coital test can be done to determine if you have hostile CM, or you can simply do an IUI and have the sperm injected directly into the uterus to bypass the CM. An IUI also allows a higher number of sperm to be in the uterus, whereas with TI only the best and strongest swimmers make it through. The doctor said that all things being equal, doing an IUI would increase our chances of conception by 6% with each cycle. With the procedure costing about $300-400 and us having to pay OOP (out of pocket) for fertility treatments, we opted to try one or two more TI cycles before moving on to IUIs.

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Before starting our next cycle, the doctor had me come in for a baseline ultrasound to check for cysts that may have developed during the previous cycle. This is typically done on CD3, but due to my schedule I came in on CD2. A lot of women wonder what it's going to be like getting a transvaginal ultrasound during your period. Thankfully, it's all in a day's work for the doctors, so it's more awkward for you than anyone else. It's like getting your first pap smear - the doctor doesn't even think twice about it, but for you, you're nervous/anxious and aren't sure what to expect. Rest assured that no one (except you) is even thinking twice about the fact that you are bleeding. The nurse puts an absorbent sheet under you before the doctor comes in, so you don't have to worry about bleeding on anything. I had already talked to some other women who had been through this, so I knew what to expect. The ultrasound took all of one minute, but all I could think about was whether I was leaking onto the pad and what the ultrasound wand would look like when she pulled it out. She was so quick about it, though, that I didn't even really get a chance to see the probe cover before she threw it away. The good news was that all looked normal on my scan and I did not have any cysts. So we had a green light to move forward with the cycle and start meds.



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We ended up having a great vacation, which helped take my mind off the wait until my next ultrasound. I was supposed to go in on CD12, but did not get back from my trip until CD13. I felt pretty good going into this appointment because I knew I had responded fairly well the last time. The only change I was hoping for was a few more follies. Last time, I only had one mature follie, and if we could stimulate two or three to develop, I figured I might have a better chance of conceiving this time. The five minutes I spent waiting in the exam room for the doctor to come in seemed like an eternity. When she finally came in, I so anxious to find out what was "brewing" inside me! She scanned my ovaries and again I had just one lonely follie developing. The big shocker this time, though, was the fact that my follie was already 24mm! I was surprised I hadn't already ovulated on my own (though if I had, we would have been ok because we starting BD'ing during our trip just in case). My lining was a nice, thick 13mm so the stage was set and perfect for implantation. Without any scheduling conflicts this go around, the doctor went ahead and gave me an injection of Novarel (hCG) to trigger ovulation. 95% of women will ovulate when given this injection, usually between 24-36 hours after the injection (though some women ovulate earlier and some a little later). The doctor said that she normally instructs her patients to BD every other night after the trigger, but I had such a nice, large follie that she wanted us to BD every night for the next 3 nights. We diligently followed doctor's orders, but just to be on the safe side, we BD'ed for the next 4 nights instead of just 3. In all our months TTC, I had never ever felt myself ovulate before, but this time I swore I felt a mildly painful twinge in the area of my ovary two days after the trigger. Was that really ovulation? I'm not entirely sure. What I was sure about was how torturous this 2ww, like all the previous ones, was going to be...


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