Our appointment with Dr. Z. this morning -yawn - went very well. Zzzzz...oh, sorry. I am exhausted! Getting up at 4:30 a.m. So that we could hit the road by 5:30 for our 8:00 appointment in Seattle has kicked my ass and taken names. Paul had a nice nap on the drive home, but here I am, still awake, awaiting the arrival of dinner so I can go to bed! This commute thing is going to be tougher than I thought...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
So, the cyst is still there, but had decreased by 20%, and my estradiol has dropped to 22. Great news! Dr. Z. pointed out that we can now see my right ovary instead of just the massive cyst, so that's a huge improvement. He also showed us three - possibly four - antral follicles on the right, and said there could be others hiding under the cyst. We will be starting with at least 7-8 antral follies, well within the 5-10 he likes to see.
He gave us four options for moving forward, with pros and cons for each. Two of the options would likely delay us another 6 to 8 weeks (staying on birth control to shrink the cyst, or letting me ovulate naturally and rescanning after a cycle). A third option, leaving it alone and stimming with it there, providing it wasn't still producing estrogen, also had more cons than pro.
Option 4 was the best, so tomorrow afternoon Dr. M. will be aspirating the beast in his office (saving us lots of hassle and money over doing it in Dr. Z's operating room). Since this is a medical issue, insurance will cover both ultrasounds and the aspiration (and anesthesia).
Then...drumroll...I stop BCPs on Thursday and start my stims - 225 Gonal-F and 150 Menopur - Saturfday evening! I go back again at *gulp - kill me now* 7:15 a.m. On Wednesday the 3rd for another ultrasound and E2 check, then on Thursday, when I will likely add the Saizen (growth hormone) and Cetrotide (antagonist). Egg retrieval is tentatively scheduled for 10/10, embryo transfer 10/15, and because today I do feel hopeful and optimistic, first pregnancy ultrasound will be (see how I did that?!) November 14th, with a due date of July 3rd. (Now, instead of anxiously hitting that dreadful 14 week milestone over Christmas, we can now potentially happily anticipate just reaching the start of the second trimester at that time...although also cerclage. Hmm.)
Anyway, we are happy to be moving forward. Tine to go watch those drug mixing/injection instruction videos!
Yeah, I like how you did that ;)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are moving forward after today:)
ReplyDeleteI know it's a pain to have such early mornings, but it will soon be behind you and you can get some much needed rest.
Good luck today!