Polka Dots

I had a blood test and ultrasound yesterday morning.  The ultrasound went really well.  My follicles are growing at a very reasonable rate.  My lead follicle (that's the one that gets the biggest first) is 10 mm which is exactly what they would have expected.  A fully mature follicle is 18-20 mm, so when the time comes for them to retrieve the eggs, we are hoping that the majority of the follicles are within this range. 

The blood work from Saturday came back with my estrogen levels being at 252.  Ideally, those levels double every 48 hours.  On Monday, the levels should have come back around 500, but instead, they were at 699.  According to the nurse practitioner, this is not a huge concern.  However, they decided to have me skip one night of the Menopur stimulation medication in an attempt to slow things down.  That's the super long needle, so I was totally stoked to skip out on it for one night.  I was in such a good mood, I think it confused Ryan.  

Lately, I've been noticing that I bruise much easier than I ever have before.  I think that it is likely a result of the 81 mg aspirin I take daily.  (Aspirin is a blood thinner, so bruising is a common side effect.)  I am basically covered in bruises.  It seems like everything I touch leaves a purple spot on my skin.  That includes the three needles I use daily.  I wish I could have gotten a clearer picture of it, but my stomach looks like it's covered in purple polka dots.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but to give you an idea of what I'm looking like these days, here is my super bloated non-six-pack.  There are probably five or six more needle sized bruises you can't see.  The buttocks looks worse, but I will spare you the torture of that photograph.  

Tomorrow I am going in for more blood work and an ultrasound.  They will measure the follicles again, let me know how my estrogen levels are progressing and adjust my dosages accordingly.  Also, tomorrow, they are doing something called a trial transfer.  That means they are taking the same catheter that they use on the day they put the fertilized embryos back inside of me and they are placing it through the cervix into the uterus so they know exactly how long that catheter should be.  This keeps them from risking hitting the lining of the uterus with the catheter on the day of the transfer.  That is important because that lining needs to be intact for the embryos to implant into it.  

As we get closer and closer, I am getting more and more nervous about things.  I can handle the needles, the surgeries, the procedures.  What I am most frightened about, is going through all of this and having the result be a negative pregnancy test.  Granted, things will change as we find out what egg quality and embryo development brings, but currently our Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) is advocating that we place only one embryo because our statistics are looking very good.  In the average woman going through assisted reproductive therapy, there is a 30% chance of one embryo implanting and a 60% chance of ending up with at least one child if you place two embryos.  If you place two, there is also the risk of twins which increases the chance for preterm birth and risk to the mother.  However, we are still going to push for two embryos.  I don't care if my odds "look" good.  I would much rather deal with the risk of a multiple pregnancy than the defeat of no pregnancy at all.  Not to mention, with the expense of this process, we would have to wait 2-3 years before we were able to attempt it again financially.  By that time, our chance of success would decrease simply because of our age.  I am hoping that the doctor sees our point of view when the time comes for transfer next Saturday.  But, I suppose I am worrying unnecessarily now.  These things won't become sincere issues for another 11 days if everything goes according to plan.