CD7: Vag Cams and Vampires

Today was my first monitoring appointment after beginning Follistim injections.  For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of experiencing this, it is important to monitor how many follicles you are growing and what your estrogen levels (E2) are.  A developing follicle starts to release estrogen, so this is a way to tell if you have maturing eggs. 

Ever since I hired Scott, I have had every Thursday off - thank God - because I have been driving to Akron almost every single one of them.  So I go in for my appointment at 10am.  I sit in the waiting room until 10:40 until the first nurse comes to get me.  We head off to the blood draw room, and I give her the same warning I give everyone: I am a VERY hard stick.  Tiny veins, that roll, and none on the surface.  I had pumped myself full of a diet Dr. Pepper and giant glass of ice water on the drive up, but it did not matter.  That giant biotch stuck a needle in my left arm and fished for a vein for at least 3 minutes... I thought I was going to pass out.  She finally found one, but didn't get it very well, so it took another minute to fill the tube.  I know this because I was staring at the Paul Frank monkey clock on the wall to keep from slapping her across the face.  She sends me back out to the waiting room to hurry up and wait some more. 

An hour after my scheduled appointment, they take me back to the exam room.  If I had patients waiting an hour to be seen, I would be out of business.  I guess people are more desperate to have help making a baby than they are to see clearly.  I go through the normal stripping routine, waist down, and sit.  And wait.  And wait some more.  Dr. Mooney comes in accompanied by an intern - helps to explain his tardiness.  Vag cam comes out and off we go.  Except the intern can't get it to focus on my ovary.  (This is better than the previous intern I had who couldn't find my uterus.  Um... Push the wand straight forward... Would you like me to do it for you?)

Right ovary is being pretty lazy.  Only one very small follicle (it's still early though).  Left ovary had at least 3 that have started to develop.  Mooney was pleased and said he would base my dosage off of the estrogen levels that came back.  He said he wants it to be more than 100, but absolutely no higher than 500. 

The nurse called about 4 hours later and said that my levels were a little high for this stage of the game (it was 390) and that he wants me to decrease my dose from 150 IUs to 100 IUs daily, continue injections for 4 more nights, then return Monday morning for more blood and more ultrasound.  When on injections, you have to be checked every 2-4 days. 

I'm a little worried that with an initial E2 that high that I may end up overstimulating and having to cancel our cycle.  They don't want you having 17 eggs and the chance of 17 babies.  There's nothing I can really do but wait and hope... and hope that I don't get the same digging ho-bag at Monday's blood draw. 

         I try to wear interesting socks for them to look at when down in my business

                                                     Vag Cam, does not phase me anymore

                                                                  Battle Scars