Progesterone

One week down, one week to go. My blood work yesterday showed my progesterone level a little low for implantation/pregnancy so if by chance magic happened last Saturday the doctor wants me to start using progesterone suppositories twice a day. Not a big deal; the worst part is my strategy of trying to not think about all this too much will be harder when every morning and every night I need to do this "just in case" my body might be trying to be pregnant!

The 2 week wait begins

The insemination went off without a hitch this morning! I was there a total of an hour and a half, but much of that was the thawing time of the sperm. After the deed was done, they turned on a little relaxing mood music (a Jim Brickman CD!) and kept the lights dimmed and set a timer for 15 minutes for me to just lie there and be. That was it. Now.... the wait. I go back next Saturday for blood work to check my progesterone level, and the Saturday after that for the official pregnancy test. I am soooo appreciative of having all this close monitoring and for getting to this point. I also really appreciate the prayers, the positive thoughts, and the good luck wishes. It's amazing to feel how much others want this for me, so THANK YOU!

details to follow...

I feel very good about things at the moment, and my plan is to embrace the feeling of gratitude that I was able to make an attempt today.

1 is more than none

So of course I spent the last hour or so reading stuff online and have come back down to reality... sure wish I had more than one follicle going into this!

Q: How many follicles give my best chance of getting pregnant?
A: According to different studies, either 3-4 follicles gives one the best chance of getting pregnant, while more follicles beyond that simply increases the risk of multiples. The U.S. study said 4 follicles, while other countries have data stating 3.
The odds of success are reported to be just under 6 percent and as high as 26 percent per cycle. The low statistics are with one follicle, while multiple follicles resulted in as high 26 percent success.

But one follicle is INFINITELY more than none! :)

IT'S HAPPENING!!!

This morning my little follicle was sooooo close to the magic number 20.... it was 19.5.... and the blood work came back at the right levels still, so tonight I give myself another injection, but this time it is to trigger ovulation, and then Saturday morning I go in to be inseminated! I can't believe an attempt gets to be made! I pulled out the profile on the sperm donor tonight to read through again because I forgot all about that part of it.... the past few months have been all about eggs and now I get to think about sperm too! ;)

grow follicle grow!

Well, this morning that same little follicle was not quite a 16 (a 15.9 to be exact!) I probably explained this before but it needs to get to 20 before an egg might be released from it, so it wasn't as much growth as they had hoped for. The doctor ordered a low dose HSG injection for tonight and tomorrow night to help speed up the growth, and then they are having me come back in Thursday morning. I just have to mention that I am quite pleased and impressed with this office.... instead of having me go to a pharmacy and pay for this out of pocket, they had some on hand that they just GAVE me. Not to mention the flexible hours and the supportive staff... especially the blood draw guy who manages to keep drawing blood from the same vein without any bruising! I'll update again on Thursday!

until tomorrow...

As of this morning, my little follicle is a 15, and the bloodwork came back as it should, so they are having me come back tomorrow morning! Hopefully the follicle grows like crazy overnight! I'm a little surprised they are having me back in a day instead of 2, but I just do whatever they say! :)

A glimmer of hope

Clomid is my friend (maybe!) The ultrasound this morning was disappointing in general because there is only 1 lonely follicle. I had hoped for a least a couple, but now all hope is in this ONE. However, when the nurse called this afternoon with the blood work results, she spoke optimistically! Her exact words were, "you've responded to the clomid" and the odds were against that, so YAY! The hormone levels say everything is headed the right direction this cycle, but the follicle still has a long way to go before an egg might be there.... it is a 12 in size right now, and needs to get to a 20 or more. I go back Monday morning, so PLEASE cross fingers and toes and whatever else that this follicle continues on the current path!

clomid

Yippee.... I get to start clomid Sunday night! Why I am so excited about this is beyond me.... the exciting part is that it's a STEP towards doing SOMETHING, although the Dr. (and nurses) have all pointed out that clomid doesn't typically do much for someone with low ovarian reserve. Anyhow, I start the clomid Sunday, take it for 5 nights, and then go back in for blood and ultrasound on Friday. PRAY that some good follicles develop, and if they do, this could be the month that some of that sperm gets put to use!! :)