Well as you can see, the E2 this round is much more steady. I managed to get 9 days of stims in--although my follicles are all really big so hoping they aren't over ripe. I trigger tonight and will have ER on Friday. Hoping I'll be able to still do a podcast on Friday to update everyone with my egg counts. I'm going to guess 11 but it would be great to have more. But 11 mature eggs would be fantastic. 1st IVF I had 14 eggs and 2nd cycle I had 20. Don't think I'll get that number of eggs judging by the number of follicles I have. I know it's quality over quantity but quantity sure feels pretty nice. :)

Very excited with my E2 from today. As you can see by the graph, an E2 of 1604 after 6 days of stims is a much better place for me to be in. Last 2 attempts my E2 was approaching 3000 by this day. Hoping my follies aren't too big tomorrow and I have lots of even growth.

Sorry about the delay in the posting. Libsyn (my hosting site) was down for awhile. So this cycle seems to be going better than the last 2 but still way too fast. I'm only on 150 IU each day and still E2 is going up and up. You can see by the graphic that it's not as crazy as the last 2 times but still crazy enough. Today's wanding revealed 6 follies >10 mm but <18 mm on the R and 3-4 in that range on the L. Have 3-4 <10 mm on R and 1-2 <10 mm on the L. I may have more but I get kind of confused and overwhelmed when they do the u/s. Anyway, E2 is 1299 after 5 days of stims. Lining is at a 10. This is compared to an E2 of about 1600-1900 on the last 2 rounds after day 5. I just would really like to stim for at least 8 days this round. I'll post updates on here when I can.

So there is research showing that the more stressed you are before a cycle, the less likely it will be that you will get pregnant. So I really wanted to try and stay calm this round. But it's been a rough week. I've had to scramble to readjust my travel schedule and cancel a visit to my husband's parents because of this upcoming cycle. I've learned now that, at the last minute, I have to take classes this semester ("Hi professor, I'll be missing this week of class because of bed rest...don't ask."). And my husband is at the end of his rope with cycling. He's ready for it to be done. Without his optimistic support, it makes staying stress-free even more difficult. Hoping at least the cycling part will be stress-free. I'd like for a cyst-free post-lupron baseline with a good deal of antral follies thrown in there for good measure. That's not so much to ask?

I had 2 small cysts on each ovary. They took my E2 and neither seem to be functioning cysts so I start lupr0n tonight. I'm kind of freaking out because the RN left a message saying that once I get my period, I'll come in on cd2for blood work and u/s and then start stims. This is completely different from how I have done it in the past. Usually, I'd go by my schedule. So, no matter when my period starts, I start stims after 10-13 days of lupr0n (whatever they scheduled me to do). My schedule has me starting stims on 8/24. But that would mean getting my period 6 days after stopping the BCP. Last time, I got my period 1 day after stopping BCP. So, this is problematic for many reasons:
1. I haven't started steroids yet. Figured I would have 12 days to be on them before stims as per my calendar. Now I'm guessing more like 6 days. I've always taken them at least 2 weeks prior to stims and I am hoping 6 days will be enough. I have to be on them to stim or I won't respond at all.

2. We're scheduled to go out of town for DH's parents anniversary party. Now it looks like I'll be in full fledged stim mode. This means DH goes without me. This means I give myself my shots. This means we lose money on my ticket. This sucks.

3. I've scheduled IV1g based around this schedule. As it stands now, it'll probably be too late. But I won't know until I get my period. Very frustrating.

On the upside, earlier schedule means when we have friends come into town in mid September, I'll be close to the end of the 2ww versus smack   in the middle of it. I'd rather be able to celebrate with them (with sparking grape juice) or cry with them (over copious amounts of fermented grape juice) :) than be wanting to POAS every morning.
Oh, why does this have to be so freaking complicated??? On the upside, yay for no functioning cysts, right?

My acupuncturist did a great job getting rid of the BCP-induced nausea. Now just awaiting my baseline scan on Monday so I can start lupr0n. This week I discuss why I'm a worst case scenario kind of person (like knowing where the exit rows are on planes)--and how it meant I knew way too much about IF treatment before I was IF. I also talk about how life is supposed to go on despite being in debt and spending way too much time doing IF treatments. And I'll ponder how best to answer the question "Do you want kids?"

Well I'm on my way to IVF#3...again. Started the BCP and it's making me really queasy. Dates are as follows:
8/13 start lupr0n
8/24 start stims
ER on 9/5 and ET on 9/8

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend by the pool. Trying to get as much relaxing in as I can before things get crazy with IVF scheduling!