CD2

So today is CD2 and I've got a killer migraine. Gotta love those hormones. Anyway, I was back at the clinic today. Everything is still on track. I'm now on estrace - 4mg three times a day, orally. He was telling me to take them when I get up in the morning, when I go to bed at night, and mid day and then he says "and don't forget!". I guess he's had a number of patients that have forgotten. So, anyway, I'm back for a lining check on November 5th which is 8 days from now. We should have a much better idea if retrieval will be the 7th or if it will be shifted off a day or so. That all depends on the donors response to the stims. I checked with the nurse today and she said I can email or call her and get an update on the donors response any time. So, I'll probably do that in the next day or so. Will update when I find out anything.

Fortnight

That's right. If we stay on track for a November 7th retrieval, that's just shy of a fortnight. :)

I took my last bcp yesterday so now I'm just waiting for my period. That should be Sunday if the last 4 cycles are indicative. At my acupuncture appointment last night I ask for extra needles that move blood and chi (apparently they go together) in the hopes that my period would come quicker. I don't expect it to but with the additional needles last cycle, I had a flow that was better than anything to date on while on the pill. It will be interesting to see just how light this one will be given that my last was 2 weeks ago.

If the donor is on track she should be starting stims tomorrow as she would be starting 12 days before the estimated retrieval date. I've emailed the agency to ask if I'll be getting updates on follicle count and such but I've not heard back. I've been getting updates on everything else, so I'd like to think that we'd get this information as well. If not, you know I'll be asking when I'm at the clinic next week.

Anyway, that's all for now.

Midway Point, sort of

Not much to report. I'm on day 7 of the pill and have 5 more days to go. It's just a matter of waiting, but I have to admit time is passing fairly quickly. I'm still going to acupuncture twice a week. Except for a couple of points, I find it relaxing.This time next week I'll be waiting for my cycle but will be about 2 weeks away from transfer!

I've added a new blog to the blog roll over on the right. Not an egg donor blog, but one written from the man's perspective. Frank has a wicked sense of humour and a way with words that will have you laughing out loud. Go and take a peek.

And finally, Patti and Mark have just completed their first IUI and got a positive beta. Woohoo!! Go and congratulate them!

Donor Update

So, I wasn't going to email the agency (since she had yet to reply to my last emails), but I figured I could probably get the information about the donor's protocol I wanted. So I emailed and got a reply within 15 minutes!

She started lupron last Saturday and is set to start gonal-f twelve days before her estimated retrieval date of November 7th.

So if course I start looking at the calendar and counting days and start stressing because the timing just seems off to me, not that I'm an expert.

By my calculations:

Lupron start October 13
Gonal-f start October 26
This means she's on lupron for 13 days where everything I've read says 7-10 days. Has anyone been on lupron for this long?

For me, I'm currently on day 3 of the birth control package. I'm to take it for a total of thirteen days which makes it October 25th. At that point, I wait for my period (which takes 4 days on the pill) and on CD2, go back to the clinic. That puts me back at the clinic on October 31st. At that time, they put me on estrace. (He is not going to be putting me on lupron.) But from all my reading, I should be on estrace for about 10-11 days which essentially is the same timing period as the donor is on gonal-f. Well, if she starts stims on October 26, and I'm not going to be starting estrace until October 31, something seems amiss. I know that when she gets her HCG shot, the amount of estrace I take would be decreased and I'd start taking progesterone

Plus, what if her retrieval date is moved up because they start her stims earlier than the 26th or she reaches maturity ealier, then what?

So of course, I called my nurse but I knew she wouldn't be there. Left her a somewhat rambling message and then told her I'd follow up with an email. I send her a fairly detailed email with the dates and my concerns. I hope to hear from her either by phone or email tomorrow. Will update when I find out.

But the donor has started lupron!

Update:
I spoke with the nurse this morning. She checked out the dates and said we should still be okay with the current protocol, but she did say to take the pill for one day less. So I'll be taking it for twelve days, then stopping, getting my period and going in on CD2 which is October 30th. Oh, and she did say the other recipient is on a similar protocol.