Day 8 of stimulation, follicles plentiful

Today they scanned my ovaries for follicles. I have been feeling a bit of tension in my lower abdomen for the past few days. It just feels “crowded” down there,  as if there are lots of little follicles cramped together in a small space.  And so it is! 25 follicles of various sizes, from 5 to 25 mm. The 25 mm one is likely to be a cyst which sounds like a problem but the nurse wasn’t worried so I won’t worry either. There were 12 follicles of size 10 -17 mm which she said were likely to contain eggs. 12 would be a terrific number. I am so pleased and proud of my body.  Uterus lining is 6.6 mm and has to grow to at least 7 mm until the day of embryo transfer.  She also took a blood sample to check the estrogen levels. This and the follicle size will determine when they do the egg collection. They are likely to ask me to come back for another scan either on Sunday or Monday and then do the egg collection on Tuesday or Wednesday. I will be 41 years old by then. Saturday is my birthday. Guess what I’ll be wishing for when blowing out the candles?

The whole process so far feels quite benign to me. I was so scared that I would feel really bad physically because of the down regulation and emotionally because of having to do it on my own. But in reality it is not very different from the DI process only that I take more medication. I feel fine physically and mentally as well.  A bit more tired maybe than normal.

By the way, I did not stop exercising or changed anything else in my life.  I do yoga 2-3 times a week and run on the treadmill 2-3 week for 30 minutes.  I try to avoid caffein and alcohol but I am not religious about it. I feel fit and healthy and certainly not like I am 41 tomorrow.

clinic appointment no 2

First I had to pay 160 pounds. For the scan the nurse would do today. I understand that I have to pay for all this but it seems quite cruel to make this such an obvious prerequisite. Is this about making money or is it about helping people to conceive? Can’t that be done more discreetly?

The nurse scanned my uterus for possible fibroids (none!) and said that it was nice and smooth and had an even lining which still had to develop a bit. That’s ok as I am on only day 9. Then she counted the number of follicles. 6 on the right and 7 on the left with the leading follicle on the left. The number seemed to be good f0r a 40 year old. If the number was <5 they wouldn’t give it much chances. If the number was >10 I would be polycystic. I looked it up on the internet and they speak of much higher numbers. I wonder if they would add the follicle count from both sides? That would make it 13 for me which sounded much more like what I’ve seen quoted on the net.

The nurse will now match a donor for me. I don’t get to choose. They do it for me! Not that I mind that much but if there is a choice I’d like to be asked. She said that they have a few coming through the system. When, exactly, will they be assignable? She will call me on Tuesday.