How You Like Your Eggs

Fried or fertilized?  Yes, I'm keeping with the song theme, and this one just always puts a smile on my face!  Thank you Turquoise Jeep!

Funny songs means once again it's time for an update on my girly parts.  As of my last post, I was heading in for an ultrasound.  That was Friday morning, and I know some people (at least I hope) are wondering how it went.  Well very good news...everything is still looking great and we are getting a bit more aggressive this month.  Like I predicted, my doc is keeping me on 50mg Clomid for this round.  Along with the Clomid, I will be going in for a mid-cycle ultrasound on the 15th.  I would call it Sunday brunch with the doc, but since the appointment is for 8am, well I can't even call that breakfast cause it's just too damn early!  This particular ultrasound will be to check and see how my follicles (a.k.a where the egg comes from) are responding to the Clomid.  In other words, Clomid is supposed to encourage smaller follicles to mature which then could lead to more than one egg being ovulated (This is how it works in my case since I already ovulate regularly).

If I have the right size follicles, the leading one should typically be at least 18mm-20mm at this point, then the doc will either tell me to take my Ovidrel injection or wait for natural ovulation to occur. Oh yes, the Ovidrel.

I swore I'd never stick a needle in me unless it was to get high!

Basically Ovidrel is an hCG trigger shot that induces ovulation. With the shot, I would ovulate within 24-48 hours later. Although I ovulate normally, we are looking to induce with the shot this month to:
A) Know more precisely when to do the IUI, even though the doc is confident our timing has not been an issue; and
B) The shot would make all my follicles release their eggs.  Therefore I would most likely have more than one egg viable and waiting for fertilization.  This, with the Clomid, carries a higher risk for twins (very low risk for other multiples) but that is a small risk to take in this process...one that I'm willing to take at this point.

Yes, this is how I imagine my eggs hatching after the trigger shot!

So, I imagine I'll be going with pricking myself with a needle this month instead of waiting for my LH surge.  I wanted to be more aggressive, and that is exactly what I'm doing.  Hopefully this will be the lucky month, as IUI #3 seems to be statistically the one to bet on!

So there you go, all nice and updated so you can now go back to work on Monday feeling all is right with the world.  Once again, keep all those fingers and toes crossed!

I Won't Back Down

In case you didn't notice from the title, I'm back using song themes again today.  I kind of like inserting music videos into my posts, so this will probably become a regular feature from here on out.  And since I am such a music junkie, it seems quite natural for me to have taken this turn.  Today's selection, Johnny Cash's I Won't Back Down, pretty much perfectly describes my feelings towards this whole trying to conceive process at this moment.  As of yesterday, it became official that this month's IUI was once again unsuccessful...BOO!!!  But I'm not going to let that deter me.  I knew this process was not easy nor guaranteed to work the first couple of go rounds...well it's not really guaranteed to work at all, but that's not the mindset I prefer.  I prefer staying positive!

So, on to the positive side...

Tomorrow I go in for yet another ultrasound to once again check my girly parts and make sure they are in good working order. I have no doubt they will be, but this must be done at the beginning of every new cycle. Tomorrow I will also discuss with my doc which next aggressive step I can take. Last month I went from all natural IUI (my first round was with no meds) to 50 mg Clomid with this last IUI. I'm not sure what the next step will be, but I prefer not standing in one place for too long. The most important thing to me, something I will be insisting upon, is a completely monitored cycle this round. No more relying on just the OPK (ovulation predictor kit) to tell me when I'm IUI ready.  This time I want additional ultrasounds throughout my cycle to make sure my follicles are maturing properly and being released without a hitch.

I have a feeling not a single male will get this one!

I want to know for 100% certain that I am ovulating normally. Sure I'm getting my LH surge every month, but I want to know that my egg is definitely being hatched afterward (uber scientific terminology there) and within the normally expected time frame (12-48 hours after surge). It is not enough this time to rely on drug-store gadgets, this time I want the high-tech treatment!

Other things that may change this round...doc may decide to increase my Clomid to 100mg. I doubt this since I seem to ovulate without any problems, but who knows. Doc may also decide to go ahead and give me an hCG trigger shot rather than waiting for natural ovulation to occur. If this is the case, I will post later as to why he would choose to go this direction and explain further what it means. I feel no need to go into the details until I know for sure. For now I'm simply throwing possible scenarios around...these I've gleaned from other women's experiences. What I do know for certain is that if this round doesn't work, we may be looking at moving to IUI with injectables or possibly even IVF. My doc is one of those who doesn't believe in wasting precious time by repeating the same failed process over and over (and believe me when I say my time is precious at almost 38 years old ).

Yes!  I know already! Sheesh!!!

I really do like that about him...it makes me feel confident that my time will eventually come! Until then, however, I can pass the moments waiting by playing this fun little board game I found!

I'm sure this can be turned into a drinking game somehow! 

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Sitting Waiting Wishing

I thought I would go ahead and continue my theme of song titles as post headers since they seem to be so appropriate (at least the titles) to my current situation.  So, my current situation...

So far, I'm still waiting for a sign...no positive HPTs (Home pregnancy tests) over the weekend and no sign of my cycle restarting as of right this minute.  Then again, today is my first day off the progesterone which is meant to delay my cycle. So as of this point, it's either I'm late with my hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) levels rising (possibly late implantation?) or I'm just not preggo. Either way, the waiting is making me nuts! Technically, if my cycle runs as it has in the past, my actual period is not due till tomorrow. However, due to the clomid this past cycle, I think it should be running closer to 28 days instead of the usual 30. But who knows, I'm not a doctor!

For my Star Wars fans! 

So there you go. I promised to keep everyone posted, and I lived up to my promise.  Of course, still keeps your fingers crossed that maybe my negative HPTs are just because of my current levels and that I am actually with child this month!  If that is not the case, then it is back to the docs probably Friday to start the process all over again.  Good thing is that the average IUI success rate is on the third go around.  If I have to do a third go around, then it'll be a highly monitored cycle with more ultrasounds to make sure my follicles are developing, maturing, and ovulating properly.  They may even decide to put me on some injectibles, but we'll wait to see on that one.  Although I will not look forward to another month of clomid and progesterone, I'll do what I must to get this little one on the way!  Guess I better reserve two more vials of goods from my donor just in case...

Dare you all to call this number!

or I could just text this guy!
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