April 2017 - FET #2, Everything and the Kitchen Sink

90% of IVF (or trying to conceive, aka "TTC" if you're in the know) is waiting.  And a substantial part of the waiting is waiting for your period to either come or not come.  Aunt Flo, The Red Barron, Cycle Day 1, The Crimson Tide, whatever you want to call it.  More often than not you're waiting on it to come or not come.

After stopping the progesterone (and estrogen, but really it's the progesterone that does the trick), it was going to take anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks for my cycle to start again.  That's delightfully awful forecasting, right?

And the longer it took, the more the denial gremlin whispered in my ear that maybe, just maybe, there would be a miracle and Schrodinger would work things out.  They would write medical journal articles on me and my miraculous pregnancy...  The only way to be certain it failed is if my period came, and it hasn't come yet, right?  Cough..cough...

Ultimately it was Wednesday, 5 days after the day I stopped meds.  I cried again.  I know, you might be growing tired of hearing about how much I cry, but it was the final confirmation of failure for Schrodinger.  It was most definitely over now.  Plus, if we really were serious, it meant we would be getting started on FET #2 very soon.  I was to call in and get an appointment right away for an ultrasound and blood test during my first day or two of my new cycle.

"Wanda", my hot lunch date.

I called and set up a date with "Wanda" along with a blood test.  I went in on Thursday, April 13, and saw my own RE for the first time since the news of the failure.  He walked in and said, "Hey there, how are you holding up?"  He was still disappointed, I was trying to hold it together, but I just squeaked, "Not so well, but I'm ready to go again."  He gave me a big hug and let me cry into his scrubs for a moment.

I asked if there was anything else we could do.  I would stand on my head indefinitely after the transfer, if he thought that would help.  Let's throw the kitchen sink at it, please...as long as we aren't doing any harm, I want to try everything.  This is our last normal embryo.

He said he'd think about it, look at my blood tests, and consult a couple of the other doctors at the practice if there was anything else we could try without hurting anything.  The one thing he could think of was taking a longer-term steroid (Plaquenil) for the full duration starting with the estrogen, instead of a short term predinsone for the few days right around the transfer.  Later the nurse called and said he was also considering something called Neupogen, which would be an infusion into my uterus before starting progesterone to help the lining be extra sticky.  The Neupogen would be a decision made after my first lining check, and would depend on how I am progressing.  Trying to learn more about this one before the time comes...

Overall, the message was that I am clear to start estrogen pills (Estrace) and patches (Minivelle), as well as the Plaquenil, on Saturday.  This puts my Progesterone starting on April ~28, and my transfer on May 3.

It's amazing to think that two years ago, we were only just about to start trying with Clomid, and here we are approaching our 9th IVF-related procedure.  Back then we called IVF the "nuclear option", not to be confused with what just happened in government recently.  It really did seem like the big guns at the time.  I guess it's true what they say...