Well, today didn’t go quite as I had hoped. We are still moving forward though. Just not as quickly as I had thought things would be. Apparently my body is just as stubborn as my heart and mind.
Today’s appointment revealed that even though I’ve been on Clomid for the growth and development of my eggs and follicles, they aren’t as “big” as Ginger would’ve hoped. She said that doesn’t mean that they’re not working, it just means they’re not ready yet. Currently, there is a prominent follicle on the left ovary, but it is still only 12mm in size. It needs to get up to 18mm to be viable. Again, it should grow anywhere from 1-2mm a day. So Ginger is hoping that it is as big as 16mm on Thursday. I go back in on Thursday for the same ultrasound/measurements to see how far I’ve progressed in 2 days. She believes that I won’t be ovulating in the next few days, possibly even the next week (based on the length of my last cycle, my body could wait until Day 18 to ovulate instead of the normal Day 13-15).
She has also started me on a drug called Vagifem. Now, while it’s not necessarily used for fertility treatments, the main hormone in the pills are what my body uses to thicken the lining of my uterus. Currently, my lining is only 5mm thick, and it needs to be at least 8mm for a fertilized egg to be able to attach.
If she does in fact do the insemination this week/round, she wants me to come back in a week later for blood work to test my Progesterone level again. If implantation occurs, there should be a spike in progesterone as that is the hormone that helps facilitate a successful pregnancy. If we get a positive pregnancy test but my progesterone levels don’t change, I could “miscarry” or flush the egg off 2-3 weeks after fertilization/implantation. We don’t want that, of course.
I’ve administered my first dose of the Vagifem, and it’s making me quite nauseous and cramping a little right now – this is no bueno lol. I am trying to stay positive, but today was a little discouraging. Just going to have to buckle down and keep plowing through I guess. I won’t let it ruin my Christmas if we don’t get to try this week and have to wait until January. But I’ll admit it…. I’m sad. :-(
Until next time……
