Follicles, follicles everywhere!

Headed to KC yesterday for a blood test followed by an ultrasound to look at the ovaries and count and measure follicles. A very cool test. The right ovary looked to have 12+ follicles that all measured around 9-11 mm. They looked kinda like a bunch of dark grapes. The left ovary either had fewer, or they stopped looking around, but they got to 17 follicles and were happy.

I get to stop taking the morning Gonal F shot, and increase my dosage for the nightly shot. I go back Monday for the same exact tests. Retrieval may be Wed, Thurs or Fri. They want all the follicles to get to about 20 mm.

I got several pages of new instructions for when we get closer to retrieval. On the day I take the Oviderel, the trigger shot, I will stop taking all other shots and the Dexamethasone. The day before retrieval I only take the baby aspirin and prenatal vitamin...but I also pick up several new medications for later from the pharmacy: Darvocet for pain, Medrol, ZPak and Valium. I also pre-register with the hospital and the Anesthesia Department.

Day of retrieval we'll report to One Day Surgery. I'll get an IV and R and I will talk to the anesthesiologist and physician. Retrieval will last about 30 minutes. "The physician will aspirate fluid from the follicles through a needle using transvaginal ultrasound guidance. The eggs come out with the fluid. The fluid will then be passed to an embryologist in the IVF lab where the eggs will be counted under the microscope." Afterwards I'll remain in recovery for 1-2 hours. Then go home rest and take the pain medication as needed. We'll get an egg count after retrieval.

Day after retrieval we'll start getting daily embryo counts.

2 days after retrieval I start the Progesterone shots, Medrol, and ZPak.

Day of embryo transfer we'll report to the office where I'll take the valium. We'll get to see the embryos on a monitor. It will take 5-10 minutes to transfer the embryos, and I'll have to remain at bed rest for about 15 minutes after the transfer. After that, inactive for 2 days. Not on complete bed rest, but no housework, projects, errands or chores. No aerobics or jogging until the pregnancy test.

Pregnancy blood test 8 days after transfer. If it is positive, it will be repeated approximately 2 times to make sure hormone level is rising appropriately.

I can't believe we're almost there! It really has gone pretty fast.