Rise and Shine Lazy Ovaries

Karl and I met with our RE this morning, and I just love that lady! We talked about my overall lack of response to the Clomid and got our next plan together. I know Clomid works well for some, but I have not had a good experience with it. My ovaries don't really respond to it, I'm dizzy, emotional, and have hot flashes while I take it, and it keeps making my endometrium thin. I didn't want to take it again, and luckily, I won't be taking it anymore! They did an ultrasound while we were there to check on my cyst, and I was so excited to find out that it is leaking fluid and shrinking!

Here are the specifics on our next plan...

I'll start taking Prometrium in a couple days to bring on a new cycle, and once I start, I'll take Letrozole (aka Femara) on days 3-8 of my new cycle. On days 8-11, I'll get injections (Follistim) in my stomach, and I'll take estrogen again beginning on day 9 until they tell me to stop. The Letrozole and Follistim will help me make good quality follicles, and the estrogen will help my endometrium get and stay thick. On day 11, I'll go in for an ultrasound, and we'll see how I'm progressing. If I need a couple more days of injections, we'll do that; if not, I'll get an HCG shot that night, have a PCT (don't even ask what this is...it's completely disgusting and humiliating) done the following morning, and depending on the results from that, we'll either do an IUI (intra-uterine insemination) or enjoy the comfort of our bedroom. Got all that? Pretty simple, huh?! ;) There are more details, but my head was starting to spin, so I figured that was enough. Luckily, they gave me packets of information and a nice little calendar to keep track of all that. Also, they gave us a DVD to learn how to do the shots in my stomach.

It's really funny how when you want something as bad as I want a baby, things that used to bother you don't anymore. In the past, I would have cringed at the thought of getting shots 3 days in a row, and I would have freaked out over the thought of getting them in my stomach. Right now, I cannot tell you how excited I am about the idea of these things! I could feel myself beaming as she was going over all this. I know of so many people who have gotten pregnant with the injections, and I'm getting extra support with the Letrozole. Anything that wakes up my ovaries, I'll do! The doctor recognized how precious this next cycle is since it will be my last one of the summer, and she's trying really hard to get me pregnant before I go back to school. I can't tell you how much it means to me that she thinks about a little detail like when my first day of school is when she's making out our next plan. I'm not just a patient with her; I'm a person who has a life outside of infertility, and she incorporates that life into our plan. How incredibly thoughtful is that?!

Anyway, time to wake up sleepy ovaries! You got lots of work to do!