It's the all the fun, all the time show

IUI#1, Day 10.

Dr ICU is slightly less unpleasant in person than he was on the phone. Yes, it was he who did my scan this morning. A bit of the racing driver phenomenon (nyeeeeeeeaah, round the corner, vrrrrroooooooom, vrrrroooooom, nyeaaaah (sorry cannot find the right way to type racing car noises, but basically it's lots of vigorous moving around the corners without much warning)), but not as much as the one I had on day 2. He also did the v disconcerting thing of frowning a lot at the screen, looking worried, and at one point turning to the student who was in the room to say: "Can you see the endometrium? It's not very well defined..." Given the numbers below I think it was a screen thing rather than a problem with my lining, but who knows. He also said nothing for the first 5 minutes or so, which is also very disconcerting. So I was very disconcerted.

H eventually saw I was a little tense, and asked if I was ok, at which point I got up the courage to say: "I just need to know what's going on". Then Dr ICU started letting me know what he was doing, frowning all the while.

• Good news: Lining 9.5mm
• Good/bad news: Right side: One follicle at 20mm, one still at 11
  Left side: Four follicles: 15, 14, 14, and 13mm
• Bad news: My temperature was up this morning

So it looks as if one egg has either already gone, or is about to go, and the others won't be ready. I know that's not a disaster, but it's so much less than I was hoping for. They will wait for the bloods and decide at lunchtime if we should come in tomorrow for insemination or wait til Monday -they don't do inseminations on Sundays.

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Update: E2 is 2601 (708 US), LH 3.5.

So I haven't ovulated and don't seem to be about to. Thank goodness. Dr ICU told me that I need to come in for a scan tomorrow, and in the meantime stop the Puregon. If there are four follicles at more than 17mm they will cancel the cycle. If there are three or less, they will go ahead. I asked him if he had any clinical evidence that it made sense to cancel the cycle with four follicles given my age, and he said "It's not clinic practice to give patients clinical evidence". GRRRRRR. I asked him if there was any scope for discussion on the issue, he told me "It's clinic policy, if you'd read the material we gave you, you would know that". GRRRRR.

This conversation went round in circles somewhat until I gave up. Scan at 08:30 tomorrow. Wish me luck. Not sure what to wish for at this point, I guess it's three follicles at 17 or larger, and that the other two stop growing. Wierd to wish for something that the research says is less likely to get me pregnant, but there you go.

Comments

[Nico]

Good for you for saying something to Dr. ICU. And it sounds like he responded well.

This is all so frustrating though! Why can't it be a science instead of an art? (By that I mean if you give X amount of drug, you get Y response, none of this uncertainty!)

Keeping all my bits crossed that it works out!

[Katie]

I'm sorry it wasn't all good news, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[cass]

I think it's absolutely absurd (and completely frustrating) for doctors to refuse to share information. I think they just don't like having their expertise challenged. What they consistently fail to acknowledge is the amount of research some patients have done on their own, that renders said patients capable of having discussions about the clinical data.

Enough with the ranting. Here's hoping your follicles slip neatly past the clinic guidelines so you can go ahead with the cycle. Will they be triggering ovulation? I ask because from what I've read, that can sometimes help smaller follicles to catch up, so if you trigger with just three biggies, but have another close behind, it still might come through in the end. (Maybe this will split the difference between what they're willing to do and what you'd prefer!)

[Pamplemousse]

Aah, UK clinics! Between HFEA and NHS protocols, we are stuffed. Good luck tomorrow. Hopefully no drugs tonight will hold some back.

[Nico]

I'm glad you haven't ovulated yet. Will they give you a trigger shot to cause the ovulation?

I definitely think there's a good chance you'll be okay tomorrow - the RE I went to for a second opinion a while ago, whom I *really* liked, had told me that follicles grow at an average of 2mm per day. So tomorrow your 20 and 15 should be good to go, and the 14s borderline. So hopefully only one of those two will grow and they'll let you go ahead. And if they tell you that they're both at 17 and they're cancelling, make them measure again!!! (Well, ask them really nicely...)

Dr. ICU is a prick.

[Julianna]

What an asshole. Like you need that shit.

Damn, it would be nice if they just did the IUI regardless. I know there are strict guidelines regarding multiples over there.

I just hope you have the exact number you need to get the go ahead.

Thinking of you.

[Amanda]

Good luck with your next scan! I hope your follicles cooperate.

[Susan/holdingpattern]

fingers crossed for you, Thalia!

[millie]

Hope you have 3 beautiful follies and all goes according to plan.