Not Enough Eggs!!

The first ultrasound during my stimulation period was Wed. 3/7. I prayed hard and often for a good outcome, but wasn't expecting much since my E2 level came back at a 58 when they should have been around 100.

I spent Monday and Tuesday (3/5 & 6) crying randomly because of my poor E2 levels. I felt like a failure. I wondered why I couldn't seem to produce enough eggs now, yet I'd already given birth to 3 children without any outside help.

It was the moment of truth. I would find out just how many follicles I had produced. I hoped for 6 or 7.

The Dr. came in a began the ultrasound. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't thrilled with what he saw on the monitor. He told me we only had 4 follicles. He also reminded me that just because I have 4 follicles doesn't mean I'll have 4 eggs.

I was discouraged and mad at myself. I walked into his office where he told me that we may want to stop everything and restart all medications. The benefit would be, a much higher dosage of medication in hopes I would stimulate more follicles. He followed that with a grim outlook on doing that, but telling me that I probably wouldn't produce many more even with a higher dose of medication.

My heart sank. I wanted to cry. He assured me that he still felt like everything would be ok, that he can work with 4 follicles. It's just not ideal.

He said, we would make the decision on Friday (3/9) after taking another look at my ultrasound.

There were a few things he noticed that day that were discouraging. I began to spot. This is not good! He told us that he cannot do a transfer with a lining that looked like mine that day. It was measuring a 7 and my understanding is that it needs to measure 10+.

He also found a cyst on my right ovary that wasn't there before. This was a whole new concern.

He put me on Estrodial twice a day to improve my lining and said he hoped the cyst would go away on it's own.

My husband and I left that appointment feeling a bit heartbroken and sad. We continued to talk about the positives the Dr. had told us and that overall, he still thought we'd be successful.

On Friday we arrived at the Dr's office, in hopes we'd get some good news...and we did.

After the ultrasound, the Dr. told us that we were still a go for a retrieval and transfer the following week. I was so happy. However, he reminded me that my E2 levels are continuing to come back low. The one drawn on 3/7 came back at 200. While this is an improvement, at this stage, I should be around 200 per follicle and I was far from that. He told me he wasn't concerned with that right now.

The cyst didn't seem to be a concern either at this point and my lining had improved from a 7 to a 10+. He instructed me to continue the estradiol for now.

He scheduled us for weekend appointments. This way he could monitor my follicle development.

On Saturday my follicles along with my lining were looking good. He instructed me to stop taking the estradiol and to return in the morning.

The next morning, 3 of my follicles measured at 18 and one at 17. This meant they were mature and ready to come out!! I was so excited! This also meant I could stop my injections!!

At 1:15am Monday morning I administered Ovidrel into my stomach. It would be the last injection in my belly for this cycle. It was important that this medicine be administered at the exact time as instucted. According to reports I've read, the ideal time to remove follicles is exactly 36 hours after Ovidrel is administered.

On Tuesday, 3/13 at 12:15 pm, I went in for my egg retrieval. To read about this, please see my blog "Egg Retrieval".

Egg Stimulation, The $300+ Nightly Injections

Below are photos of me preparing and administering my evening dose of egg stimulation medication. If you have a weak stomach or don't like graphic photos, I suggest you skip this blog. I post this information and my personal experience to educate those who are considering or going through similar fertility treatments.

As much as I was excited to start my egg stimulation, I was tense, shaking nervously, and worried I would make a mistake or somehow mix the medicines wrong.

Due to my inability to produce eggs, my dose of Follistim and Repronex was probably higher than most.
<----My daily dose of Follistim & Repronex. I gave myself this injection for 9 days.





I begin by placing everything I need on a clean surface.

<----Sharps container, Repronex and Follistim along with my syringe and proper injecting needle.








<----Inside the Follistim Pen. The evening this was taken, I had run out of Follistim and was changing the cartridge.










Here, I've drawn up my Repronex dose and am tapping the air bubbles out. ---->






<----I carefully measure out my Follistim dose, and inject it into the Repronex I drew up in the syringe.







A final tap to release the air bubbles and it's time to inject. Due to a tummy tuck I had 4 years ago, I tend to try to give my injection in the "knumber" areas of my belly. Once I find the perfect spot, I grab onto my stomach, and inject the needle. I asperate the needle to assure I haven't hit a blood vessle (if blood enters your needle, you've hit a blood vessle and need to restart).




After finding the right spot, I wipe it with an alcohol pad and injecting the needle. ->








<----Dispersing the medication.
I feel a sting with the initial poke and start of the medication, but the real burn begins about 1/2 way through the injection and lasts several minutes after I was finished.


If you feel as though you can't give yourself an injection, your mate can do it for you.

My husband gave me my first Lurpon injection and after that I said, "Forget it"...I'll do it myself. There was something about watching him, that freaked me out and I decided from that point on to administer them myself.

The first morning after my stimulation injection, the site was very tender and red. I wore sweats because the top of my jeans irritated the area worse. After calling my Dr. and doing some research online I found out that this is a perfectly normal reaction and that Follistim can burn due to it being kept in the refrigerator.

After that, I decided to warm the injection a bit by holding it in my hands, administering the medication and then apply an ice pack. After Day 3, I no longer had bright red spots and no longer needed to use the ice pack to help with the discomfort.






<---- The morning after my first stimulation injection. The redness and tenderness went away approximately 24 hours later.


On the 4th day of my injection, I had an E2 test. According to pinelandpress.com the ideal result is 100+ pg/ml, mine came in low at 58.

My Dr. called me that evening and doubled my medication dose. This meant I didn't have enough medication to get me through the rest of my IVF cycle. Even though I was a bit nervous to find out how much more Follistim I would need and the expense of it, I knew it would be worth it.


As I stated, I stimulated 4 follicles in 9 days. The number of follicles was very low and caused initial concern. You can read about that in "Not enough eggs".

Egg Stimulation Begins Tomorrow!

The time is finally here!! Tomorrow I start my Repronex and Follistim to stimulate my ovaries!!!

I have to say that up to this point, it hasn't been too bad. I've definitely had some emotional moments. The headaches from the Lupron and birth control were no fun and being on the verge of tears hasn't been exactly a blast. However, knowing that in just 2 weeks, we'll be doing our retrieval and transfer makes the emotional roller coaster, and headaches worth it!

Starting tomorrow, I will give myself a Lupron injection each morning and my Repronex/Follistim injection each evening. I have a blood draw on Monday and another ultrasound on Wednesday to see how I'm progressing.

God willing, I will have produced lots of good eggs for my retrieval the following week!