Hi everyone,
Today Dean and I went in for my Sonohysterogram, as well as submitting Dean’s sample for his semen analysis. We cant help but joke and wonder if anyone has been in a rush to the IVF clinic with their semen sample and been pulled over. “Sorry for speeding officer, but I needed to get to the RE in under and hour to make sure that my sperm doesn’t degrade. It’s riding shotgun, right now.”
I digress. Let’s get back to the serious stuff:
I went into the procedure room and was told that the sonohysterogram would be similar to a normal ultrasound, so I needed to disrobe from the waist down. As a pro-tip to anyone reading this: whenever you go to the RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist), always dress in layers and multiple pieces, so that you do not have to be fully naked for a vaginal ultrasound. Doctor C came in and asked how I was doing, and I made a joke that I was “ready and naked for her”. She laughed heartily and thanked me for that because she had had a trying morning and needed the laugh. I explained that I joke and laugh when I am nervous, so I was happy to help in any way I can. She told me to not be anxious and explained the procedure to me, which I had (of course) already researched (I temporarily lifted my moratorium on Google). I remarked that it seemed very similar to the HSG and Doctor C told me it should be less painful because she wouldn’t need to use a catheter with the balloon at the end like with the HSG and that I shouldn’t feel the cramping that I experienced with the HSG since they aren’t forcefully pushing in the contrast.
It started off just like a Pap does with the stirrups and the speculum. Only with the sono, there’s a small catheter that goes through your cervix and up to the uterus to push in saline while the RE takes images. As you can imagine, this is not a terribly fun experience when you have a very full bladder. I am happy to say that the sono was incredibly easy. I had a pinch of discomfort when they inserted the catheter through my cervix, but otherwise it was painless. The worst part for me was honestly just having the urge to pee! Most importantly – there are zero abnormalities in my uterus or cervix. No scarring, no polyps or fibroids! I was worried about this, because during my HSG in 2014 the doctor advised that there was either a very small polyp or blood clot present. Doctor C said it must have been a clot (which is relatively normal) and that it just resolved over time. They also took measurements of my uterus, so that when they perform our transfer, they know exactly where the blastocyst will be implanted. I got to see the images she took, and to a layman everything looked great. It’s always cool to see your ‘insides’ in this way. Well, it is to me at least…
My AFC (Antral Follicle Count) today was 16, slightly lower than last week, but not by much! Here’s the criteria they are looking for:
“Depending on the number of antral follicles, a woman is considered to have low ovarian reserve, if the count is less than 6, adequate or normal ovarian reserve if the count is 6-10, and high ovarian reserve if is greater than 12.” So, 16 is pretty damn good if I say so myself. Anything that means I can take a minimal amount of the stimulants, is chalked into the ‘win’ column over here.
But WAIT! There’s more!
I also received clarification on the Attain program that we were interested in selecting. That program covers 2 fresh transfers, and unlimited frozen embryo transfers. But, you do need to alternate between a fresh cycle, and an FET cycle. Meaning – if the “fresh” cycle failed to result in a successful pregnancy and we had several blastocysts that were eligible for FET, we would have to use those frozen blastocysts before we would have another full fresh cycle of stimulation/egg retrieval. So, all that is pending right now are the results of our progenity bloodwork to make sure that we are not both carriers for the same genetic disease. I should be hearing those results next week or the week after that. Once we have the ‘all clear’ there, we would be starting the IVF treatment on my next cycle which is due April 7th.
So, things are moving along very well and positively, we just need to get the ‘all clear’ on that bloodwork to make sure we can start next cycle. Send us all your love and positive thoughts in the meantime!