Monday 2 November 2009

Feeling better, and looking forward

I'm feeling better this morning. I felt quite unwell over the weekend, and very very tired - but this morning my temperature is back to normal AF levels, and I think the progesterone is finally getting out of my system. I actually slept for about 10 hours last night, and although DH woke me when he came up to bed and I woke one other time, I fell back to sleep easily and had no Insomnia Hour, for the first time in what feels like months.

The only thing of note that we did over the weekend was to go into a travel agency and book a holiday. It'll be the first time in my life that I've been on a package holiday - we just said, "We want some winter sun, and we want to leave next weekend - what've you got?" and about half an hour later, we had booked a week in Lanzarote. I'm still sad that we've had to postpone our trip to South Africa, but Lanzarote's a pretty good consolation prize.

When I called the clinic on Friday, it was Nurse Not Quite who answered the phone. She booked us in for our follow-up appointment - I was hoping to go in as soon as possible, and willing to go that day if I could. Unfortunately, the first date she offered me which we could actually do is in two weeks today - the day after we get back from Lanzarote. I'd rather have a firm plan before we go, and can't help feeling that Nurse Perfect or Nurse First Time might have done a better job of squeezing us in, but c'est la vie.

So, here are the questions I've thought of so far that I'd like to ask Mr No Nonsense when we see him. I'm sure I'll think of more, but if any of you can think of anything you think I should be asking about, please tell me.
  • I ended up getting more eggs than I thought I would, and three of them fertilised - but what did the embryologist think of the quality of them?
  • What did she think of the embryos? How many cells were they when they were transferred, and did you think there was a reasonable chance they might implant?
  • Do you think it's worth trying again?
  • I think I responded quite well up to the point of embryo transfer, but is there anything you would change about the dosage or choice of drugs next time?
  • Would assisted hatching be worth considering?
  • I've sat out the cycle after the first IVF. Can we start again as soon as my next AF shows up?
My wonderful wonderful boss has said that, since the training day I'm organising in early December is just for the department, and since we have no teaching going on in December, if it turned out that the date currently set for it wasn't convenient for me, there would be no problem with changing it. So the thing which could have prevented us trying again next cycle is no longer an obstacle.

Nurse Not Quite has tentatively pencilled us in to start again in about 20-24 days' time (going by the usual length of my cycle), but obviously that won't be definite until after we've spoken to Mr No Nonsense.

So all in all, I'm feeling much more positive. As a little bonus, I felt so ill during the first cycle that now that all the bloating has gone down, I find that I've lost about 9 lbs since the cycle began. With a week in a 4* hotel on an all-inclusive rate coming up, I may be about to regain some of that, but for this week, my clothes are fitting me a bit better.

And now I'm off to the gym for the first time in a month, before settling down to do some serious work without the distraction of breaking off every two minutes to wonder if I'm pregnant.

5 comments:

  1. Wow! I googled Lanzarote -- it looks gorgeous! I hope you both have a wonderful and relaxing time there ... you deserve it after all you've been through. I am glad that you are feeling better and are thinking about trying again, too. That is great that you might be able to start again so soon.

    I can't recall how thick your lining was last cyle. If it wasn't super thick maybe you could ask them if there's anything they can do to make it better. Also, if they say the quality of eggs or embryos didn't look so good ask about changing drugs. That is what my RE did for me this time to see if it improves quality. Ask about the different types of protocols they have for IVF (there are so many it might be worth googling for some general info ahead of time). See if another protocol might be worth trying (if, again, egg or embryo quality turns out to be an issue).

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  2. A vacation sounds like just the thing. :)

    It sounds as though you are rebounding pretty quickly and I'm really glad for that. Ready to move on to the next step and slay this dragon!Hopefully the next appointment will bring some enlightenment and you'll feel even more positive about the next cycle.

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  3. Yay for a vacation. I'm going to have to google Lanzarote too as I have absolutely no idea where that is but it sounds exotic.

    Re: questions to ask at your review. I'm not sure what protocol you were on but I would definately question if there was another one you could try. Some protocols are better for lower responders and my RE said that it's worth changing protocols if you didnt have success as each one sends a different message to the ovaries so you've got to find the right 'message' for your specific ovaries.

    PS - i have nominated you for an award. Check out my blog for details.

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  4. Enjoy your vacation! I hope it's just what the doctor ordered...and that your able to get the new plan ASAP when you get back!

    Thank you for the very wise comments on my blog, by the way. I needed them!

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  5. Yay - so pleased to hear you sounding so positive sweetie. The holiday sounds like a much needed break away before hopefully getting back on the rollercoaster. You're doing amazingly well hon. Sorry, I can't really think of any questions to add, but have you looked at this:
    http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=66634.0

    Your boss sounds fab. Take care hon xx

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