ChezPerky

Let’s Review!

Me: 31 years old.
Diagnosis & History: Anovulation due to PCOS; Four (+) year history of infertility. 5 IUIs. 1 pregancy, resulting in 1 miscarriage at 12 weeks. No male factor.
Usual response to Gonadotropins: Super-responder. No problems whatsoever. Go me.
This cycle and last? SERIOUSLY MESSED UP.

Okay, so here’s the deal. If you don’t remember, last cycle, I had a little plateau problem… my E2 level went up, went back down, went up a little bit, and hung out for a couple days without doing anything interesting prior to IUI. Follicles were all wonky (splitting, disappearing, whatever). It kind of freaked me out a little bit, but it had to be a fluke, right? Yeah…No.

And now we find ourselves caught up to date for everything prior to this cycle. Now just to refresh your memory….

CD8 (Wednesday)
Right Ovary: 9.6 & 10.2. Another 10 follicles smaller than that
Left Ovary (hereafter referred to as the useless ovary: a bunch of small, meaningless, boring, uninteresting ones.
Lining: 9.2
E2: 71.5
LH: Unknown (they didn’t tell me)

CD 10 (Today)
Right Ovary: 8.5, 8.9, 9.2, 10.3, 11.9 (and about 7 smaller ones)
Useless Ovary: 7.0, 7.1, 9.0 and 6 smaller ones
Lining: 9.6
E2: 71.5
LH: 1.85

Follicles are expected to grow at a rate of about 1-2 mm per day (I’m nearly always on the low end of the growth chart… averaging a little over 1mm per day… most normal humans are closer to 2mm per day). My biggest follicle on Wednesday was 10.2, so they would have hoped for it to be 12-14 (preferably closer to 14) today. Instead, it was 11.9. Not quite 1mm per day. And did you notice that lovely E2 level? I didn’t either. I only see the craptastic one. That is, the craptastic 71.5 that has not changed at all in the two days since the last level was checked. So again, I’m facing a plateau which might possibly mean this is all useless.

Now, the truth is, I never ever put much faith in any individual cycle. I have complete faith that eventually something will work, but I never believe any individual cycle will work. However, I’m not normally so ridiculously negative as to believe any given cycle is a waste of time. I’m beginning to feel that way now.

And by the way, should I be worried that my right ovary (hereafter lovingly referred to as the “Not-As-Bad-As-The-Left Ovary”, or NABATLO for short) is always the producer? Is my Useless Ovary really and truly useless? Is it just there for looks? Did God just want me to have a matched set, even if they don’t work? Or is it purely coincidental? I get that none of you actually know the real answer to that question, but I’m asking anyway, even if I’m not sure what kind of answers I’m hoping for.

BLEH.

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This morning’s monitoring appointment was a little less happy than it could have been. I’ve got too many follicles trying to peak out all at once. Not so fabulous. I owned up to the fact that I’d accidentally (again) increased my dosage by 8 IUs, but also noted that I’d accidentally done the same thing last month. The doctor didn’t think that the 8 IUs were really signficant, particularly in light of the fact that I didn’t have the same response last month to the same dosage. I think my second cycle (could have been the third, I can’t remember) I had a similar response (super-perky ovaries, that is) with only 33 IUs but I still only ended up with 1 mature follicle at trigger time, so I’m not too worried. But look take a look for yourself:

Right Ovary: 8.5, 8.9, 9.2, 10.3, 11.9 (and about 7 smaller ones)
Left Ovary: 7.0, 7.1, 9.0
Lining: 9.6

Maybe I’ll have quintuplets! JUST KIDDING! Seriously!

Even my beloved Margaret (sonographer extraordinaire) asked if I could please tell my ovaries to tone it down. I told her it was all her fault since she’s the one who dubbed my ovaries “perky” oh so long ago. She has promised never to refer to my ovaries as perky again. Until, you know, the next time she does. At any rate, I’ll be going back on Sunday. No dosage change unless my bloodwork comes back all wonky. It’s all good. I mean, after all, why would I want to be anywhere but the clinic at 7am on a Sunday morning?

While I’m disappointed at my ovaries’ blatant disregard for my wishes, my biggest disappointment wasn’t seeing them rebel most annoyingly… Rather, it was that I was put into Room 1 for my ultrasound (I’m not actually serious). The problem with Room 1 is that it doesn’t have a mobile hanging from the ceiling. All the other rooms do. Dr. S. (hereafter known as Dr. Can’t-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging) once told me that he personally hung the mobiles in the exam rooms and I was quite impressed. I mean, really, what else is a girl supposed to look at during an ultrasound? But Room 1 has no mobile, so every time I’m there I harass the staff about the fact that I’m stuck in the boring room. Margaret offered up a Garfield poster, but refused to accept my suggestion of putting comics on the ceiling above the table. “In a fertility clinic? Nah!” Why not? There are bound to be some funny infertility comics, right? Now I must scour the internet for funny infertility comics and I’m asking you, my faithful readers, to help me. I have made it my mission to bring a collection of infertility comics to Margaret before this cycle is done for. So give it your best shot!

Edited to Add: Okay, sure, I COULD be looking at my ovaries during the ultrasound, but really, they’re kinda boring after a while. Plus, what about the 2 IUIs I’ve had in that room? Laying there bored for five minutes afterward with nothing to do but count the ceiling tiles isn’t so fun. Fortunately, the other 3 IUIs I’ve had were in rooms with mobiles! End of Edit

Anywhozit, Dr. Can’t-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging (Dr. CFTWMH) wasn’t the doctor covering monitoring today, so I didn’t get to harass him directly. Instead, Dr. C. was covering monitoring. He’s an extremely good doctor and very well-respected in the Washington Area (named one of Washington’s Top Doctors), but he makes me edgy. He’s very nice and personable, so that isn’t it. It’s that I tend to see him when things aren’t going QUITE as expected in my cycle and he gets this worried look on his face every time. I mean, he didn’t freak out or anything, but he sort of gave this worried sigh-like sound and that worried look flashed across his face briefly. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.

In other news, the Follistim is really getting to me this cycle. I’m moodier than I’ve ever been on Follistim (though maybe it’s just me and I can’t blame the drug) and I’m having a tremendous amount of nausea. If I didn’t know better, I’d be wondering if I was pregnant. But I do know better, and I’m definitely not pregnant. Last cycle I didn’t have nearly as much moodiness, nor nearly as much nausea. But last cycle the Follistim REALLY STUNG every time I used it, and this time I’ve barely felt the injections, so I guess I should count my blessings.

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you posted if anything changes (since I know you’re all just on the edge of your seats waiting to hear my E2 and LH levels!).

Read Full Post »

Let's Review!

Me: 31 years old.
Diagnosis & History: Anovulation due to PCOS; Four (+) year history of infertility. 5 IUIs. 1 pregancy, resulting in 1 miscarriage at 12 weeks. No male factor.
Usual response to Gonadotropins: Super-responder. No problems whatsoever. Go me.
This cycle and last? SERIOUSLY MESSED UP.

Okay, so here's the deal. If you don't remember, last cycle, I had a little plateau problem… my E2 level went up, went back down, went up a little bit, and hung out for a couple days without doing anything interesting prior to IUI. Follicles were all wonky (splitting, disappearing, whatever). It kind of freaked me out a little bit, but it had to be a fluke, right? Yeah…No.

And now we find ourselves caught up to date for everything prior to this cycle. Now just to refresh your memory….

CD8 (Wednesday)
Right Ovary: 9.6 & 10.2. Another 10 follicles smaller than that
Left Ovary (hereafter referred to as the useless ovary: a bunch of small, meaningless, boring, uninteresting ones.
Lining: 9.2
E2: 71.5
LH: Unknown (they didn't tell me)

CD 10 (Today)
Right Ovary: 8.5, 8.9, 9.2, 10.3, 11.9 (and about 7 smaller ones)
Useless Ovary: 7.0, 7.1, 9.0 and 6 smaller ones
Lining: 9.6
E2: 71.5
LH: 1.85

Follicles are expected to grow at a rate of about 1-2 mm per day (I'm nearly always on the low end of the growth chart… averaging a little over 1mm per day… most normal humans are closer to 2mm per day). My biggest follicle on Wednesday was 10.2, so they would have hoped for it to be 12-14 (preferably closer to 14) today. Instead, it was 11.9. Not quite 1mm per day. And did you notice that lovely E2 level? I didn't either. I only see the craptastic one. That is, the craptastic 71.5 that has not changed at all in the two days since the last level was checked. So again, I'm facing a plateau which might possibly mean this is all useless.

Now, the truth is, I never ever put much faith in any individual cycle. I have complete faith that eventually something will work, but I never believe any individual cycle will work. However, I'm not normally so ridiculously negative as to believe any given cycle is a waste of time. I'm beginning to feel that way now.

And by the way, should I be worried that my right ovary (hereafter lovingly referred to as the "Not-As-Bad-As-The-Left Ovary", or NABATLO for short) is always the producer? Is my Useless Ovary really and truly useless? Is it just there for looks? Did God just want me to have a matched set, even if they don't work? Or is it purely coincidental? I get that none of you actually know the real answer to that question, but I'm asking anyway, even if I'm not sure what kind of answers I'm hoping for.

BLEH.

Read Full Post »

This morning's monitoring appointment was a little less happy than it could have been. I've got too many follicles trying to peak out all at once. Not so fabulous. I owned up to the fact that I'd accidentally (again) increased my dosage by 8 IUs, but also noted that I'd accidentally done the same thing last month. The doctor didn't think that the 8 IUs were really signficant, particularly in light of the fact that I didn't have the same response last month to the same dosage. I think my second cycle (could have been the third, I can't remember) I had a similar response (super-perky ovaries, that is) with only 33 IUs but I still only ended up with 1 mature follicle at trigger time, so I'm not too worried. But look take a look for yourself:

Right Ovary: 8.5, 8.9, 9.2, 10.3, 11.9 (and about 7 smaller ones)
Left Ovary: 7.0, 7.1, 9.0
Lining: 9.6

Maybe I'll have quintuplets! JUST KIDDING! Seriously!

Even my beloved Margaret (sonographer extraordinaire) asked if I could please tell my ovaries to tone it down. I told her it was all her fault since she's the one who dubbed my ovaries "perky" oh so long ago. She has promised never to refer to my ovaries as perky again. Until, you know, the next time she does. At any rate, I'll be going back on Sunday. No dosage change unless my bloodwork comes back all wonky. It's all good. I mean, after all, why would I want to be anywhere but the clinic at 7am on a Sunday morning?

While I'm disappointed at my ovaries' blatant disregard for my wishes, my biggest disappointment wasn't seeing them rebel most annoyingly… Rather, it was that I was put into Room 1 for my ultrasound (I'm not actually serious). The problem with Room 1 is that it doesn't have a mobile hanging from the ceiling. All the other rooms do. Dr. S. (hereafter known as Dr. Can't-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging) once told me that he personally hung the mobiles in the exam rooms and I was quite impressed. I mean, really, what else is a girl supposed to look at during an ultrasound? But Room 1 has no mobile, so every time I'm there I harass the staff about the fact that I'm stuck in the boring room. Margaret offered up a Garfield poster, but refused to accept my suggestion of putting comics on the ceiling above the table. "In a fertility clinic? Nah!" Why not? There are bound to be some funny infertility comics, right? Now I must scour the internet for funny infertility comics and I'm asking you, my faithful readers, to help me. I have made it my mission to bring a collection of infertility comics to Margaret before this cycle is done for. So give it your best shot!

Edited to Add: Okay, sure, I COULD be looking at my ovaries during the ultrasound, but really, they're kinda boring after a while. Plus, what about the 2 IUIs I've had in that room? Laying there bored for five minutes afterward with nothing to do but count the ceiling tiles isn't so fun. Fortunately, the other 3 IUIs I've had were in rooms with mobiles! End of Edit

Anywhozit, Dr. Can't-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging (Dr. CFTWMH) wasn't the doctor covering monitoring today, so I didn't get to harass him directly. Instead, Dr. C. was covering monitoring. He's an extremely good doctor and very well-respected in the Washington Area (named one of Washington's Top Doctors), but he makes me edgy. He's very nice and personable, so that isn't it. It's that I tend to see him when things aren't going QUITE as expected in my cycle and he gets this worried look on his face every time. I mean, he didn't freak out or anything, but he sort of gave this worried sigh-like sound and that worried look flashed across his face briefly. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

In other news, the Follistim is really getting to me this cycle. I'm moodier than I've ever been on Follistim (though maybe it's just me and I can't blame the drug) and I'm having a tremendous amount of nausea. If I didn't know better, I'd be wondering if I was pregnant. But I do know better, and I'm definitely not pregnant. Last cycle I didn't have nearly as much moodiness, nor nearly as much nausea. But last cycle the Follistim REALLY STUNG every time I used it, and this time I've barely felt the injections, so I guess I should count my blessings.

That's all for now. I'll keep you posted if anything changes (since I know you're all just on the edge of your seats waiting to hear my E2 and LH levels!).

Read Full Post »

This morning's monitoring appointment was a little less happy than it could have been. I've got too many follicles trying to peak out all at once. Not so fabulous. I owned up to the fact that I'd accidentally (again) increased my dosage by 8 IUs, but also noted that I'd accidentally done the same thing last month. The doctor didn't think that the 8 IUs were really signficant, particularly in light of the fact that I didn't have the same response last month to the same dosage. I think my second cycle (could have been the third, I can't remember) I had a similar response (super-perky ovaries, that is) with only 33 IUs but I still only ended up with 1 mature follicle at trigger time, so I'm not too worried. But look take a look for yourself:

Right Ovary: 8.5, 8.9, 9.2, 10.3, 11.9 (and about 7 smaller ones)
Left Ovary: 7.0, 7.1, 9.0
Lining: 9.6

Maybe I'll have quintuplets! JUST KIDDING! Seriously!

Even my beloved Margaret (sonographer extraordinaire) asked if I could please tell my ovaries to tone it down. I told her it was all her fault since she's the one who dubbed my ovaries "perky" oh so long ago. She has promised never to refer to my ovaries as perky again. Until, you know, the next time she does. At any rate, I'll be going back on Sunday. No dosage change unless my bloodwork comes back all wonky. It's all good. I mean, after all, why would I want to be anywhere but the clinic at 7am on a Sunday morning?

While I'm disappointed at my ovaries' blatant disregard for my wishes, my biggest disappointment wasn't seeing them rebel most annoyingly… Rather, it was that I was put into Room 1 for my ultrasound (I'm not actually serious). The problem with Room 1 is that it doesn't have a mobile hanging from the ceiling. All the other rooms do. Dr. S. (hereafter known as Dr. Can't-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging) once told me that he personally hung the mobiles in the exam rooms and I was quite impressed. I mean, really, what else is a girl supposed to look at during an ultrasound? But Room 1 has no mobile, so every time I'm there I harass the staff about the fact that I'm stuck in the boring room. Margaret offered up a Garfield poster, but refused to accept my suggestion of putting comics on the ceiling above the table. "In a fertility clinic? Nah!" Why not? There are bound to be some funny infertility comics, right? Now I must scour the internet for funny infertility comics and I'm asking you, my faithful readers, to help me. I have made it my mission to bring a collection of infertility comics to Margaret before this cycle is done for. So give it your best shot!

Edited to Add: Okay, sure, I COULD be looking at my ovaries during the ultrasound, but really, they're kinda boring after a while. Plus, what about the 2 IUIs I've had in that room? Laying there bored for five minutes afterward with nothing to do but count the ceiling tiles isn't so fun. Fortunately, the other 3 IUIs I've had were in rooms with mobiles! End of Edit

Anywhozit, Dr. Can't-Follow-Through-With-Mobile-Hanging (Dr. CFTWMH) wasn't the doctor covering monitoring today, so I didn't get to harass him directly. Instead, Dr. C. was covering monitoring. He's an extremely good doctor and very well-respected in the Washington Area (named one of Washington's Top Doctors), but he makes me edgy. He's very nice and personable, so that isn't it. It's that I tend to see him when things aren't going QUITE as expected in my cycle and he gets this worried look on his face every time. I mean, he didn't freak out or anything, but he sort of gave this worried sigh-like sound and that worried look flashed across his face briefly. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

In other news, the Follistim is really getting to me this cycle. I'm moodier than I've ever been on Follistim (though maybe it's just me and I can't blame the drug) and I'm having a tremendous amount of nausea. If I didn't know better, I'd be wondering if I was pregnant. But I do know better, and I'm definitely not pregnant. Last cycle I didn't have nearly as much moodiness, nor nearly as much nausea. But last cycle the Follistim REALLY STUNG every time I used it, and this time I've barely felt the injections, so I guess I should count my blessings.

That's all for now. I'll keep you posted if anything changes (since I know you're all just on the edge of your seats waiting to hear my E2 and LH levels!).

Read Full Post »