I went in for my third (and final) monitoring appointment this morning. I guess the upped dose of Follistim did the trick, because I will be "triggering" tonight. I do not know exactly how many potential follicles I have, but my best guess would be a minimum of ten. There is still time for more to grow and mature, so we just never really know what we will get until the day of retrieval. When the nurse gave me all of my instructions today, though, she said that this was a "good" cycle...whatever that means!
I must set my alarm for just before midnight tonight, because the Ovidrel (triggering meds) injections must be given at an exact time. I must give the injections AT midnight because my egg retrieval is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, exactly 36 hours after the trigger. The Ovidrel will help the follicles reach maturation points and then be ready to be released (ovulation).
Starting today, I must take a five day dose of an antibiotic. I am now done with the lupron (suppresion) and Follistim (stimulation) injections. Yay! I am not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight on Tuesday, given that the ER is done under light anesthesia. On the day of the retrieval I will take a pillow, blanket, and warm socks with me(they really are patient friendly at this clinic!). I also have to take some additional meds with that will be administered via my IV (one is an antibiotic due to my history of endometriosis and adhesions / the other is an anti-nausea med). I have to arrive at the clinic on Wednesday at 11:30am. Matt must be there for his "big show" (sperm collection) and to drive me home. We will be there for at least 3 hours. It is a big day...and it is now right around the corner!
The date of our egg transfer (ET) will be dependent upon the number of follicles that fertilize and produce embryos, and then how those embryos are progressing. If we have a decent amount of embryos that are progressing normally, then we will be able to do a 5 day transfer. If there are not a lot of embryos that survive and progress well, then a 3 day transfer will be in order. We will just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.
