***Note: These are not my ultrasound pics...however, this is very similar to what I see each time I get an ultrasound. Each black area is a follicle on the ovary. The bottom half of the pic is a stimulated ovary***
We are almost there!!! Yay! I have about 5 mature follicles along with quite a few smaller ones. My labs look really good and they told me that I was almost ready for retrieval. I was told to take another stimulation shot tonight, then my other injections in the morning before going back to the doctor for more labwork and another ultrasound. My nurse believes that I will have to "trigger" tomorrow night and have the retrieval on Sunday morning in Charleston. My appointment tomorrow will give us the final answer. Let's hope I don't have to wait almost TWO hours to be called back like I did today! I guess they don't care that you have to take off work every other day to do this.
The trigger injection is one of the most critical parts of the cycle. It induces the final maturation of the eggs, loosens the egg's attachment from the follicle wall, and allows for timing of the egg retrieval. It basically prepares my body for ovulation...however, my doctor will manually ovulate me before my body does the deed itself. I will have the retrieval exactly 36 hours after I give myself the trigger.
The trigger is called HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and is the same hormone that is present in pregnancy. This hormone is what makes a pee stick turn positive when you are preggo. Therefore, if I try to pee on a stick (too much info, I know) in the next couple of weeks, it will say that I'm pregnant. The only way to confirm that the IVF works is through a blood test 14 days after the retrieval.
I know this because I had to take this injection with all 6 of my IUI's and made the mistake of testing too early. It is pretty cool to see a positive on a pregnancy test though. Sometimes I would just do it for the fun of it, haha!
And P.S...My ovaries don't feel like peaches, they feel like WATERMELONS!
4 comments:
I love the images...it's about all I know in my ultrasound class. I got to impress the class with my skills (I've sadly had so many ultrasounds that I can understand those images)! I told a girl she had 3 follicles and she was like huh? LOL, I had to explain that I was having IF issues. :)
Dang girl, watermelons are huge! I'm so excited for this to be over and see that BFP!
babyparamore.blogspot.com
Well that sounds like good news. :) Here's hoping things continue to go well. Can't wait to hear about Sunday!
You need to write a book after all this is over, you really write well! I'm so proud of you, and I'm so lucky to be going on this journey with you and Andy! I love ya'll! I will miss you next week at the gym! I know Jennifer will take good care of you! Be careful and take it easy!!!
Love,
Mmmie K
So, I totally agree with your mom about the whole writing a book thing...I think that would be awesome! I'm glad we got to work together today & we wish you luck as you head to Charleston this weekend! Try to get some rest. Love you.
Bear, Amanda & Peyton
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