Guess now I'm in a 'Mock 2WW'. Should I practice going insane?

So, I've been hanging out here in BCP land, with nothing much to report and no deep thoughts to share for a quite a while now. Thought I'd post a quick update on my fledgling (yet still exciting, to me!) IVF cycle.

So, today marks 2 and 1/2 weeks that I've been on the blasted bcp's, which meant it was a good week to get my Mock Embryo Transfer procedure out of the way. One more pre-requisite that I can cross off of my countdown-to-IVF checklist!!

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this procedure, it is basically a dress rehearsal of the transfer procedure that will be performed for the gorgeous embryos that R and I are going to make later this summer. Because a transcervical embryo transfer is essentially a 'blind' procedure, most doctors like to do a test run in advance of egg/embryo development, while there is still plenty of time to react to any unexpected difficulties or complications with catheterization or uterine position.

During the procedure, they thread a special catheter through your cervix into your uterus, and they measure the angle and shape of your cervical canal, as well as the depth of your uterus, to make sure they know what size instruments to use, etc. There was no pain involved - in fact the the only thing I could really feel at all was the speculum going in, and then I could feel when they filled my uterus with saline, in order to observe via ultrasound the shape, depth, etc. It was quite interesting to watch, on the ultrasound screen, actually.

Since this morning, I've had some bleeding and cramping on and off, but nothing worth complaining about, really.


I start the daily Lupron injections this Friday! Never having taken this particular drug, I'm not sure what to expect? I've never really had any side effects from anything I've taken so far, not even Clomid, so I'm not really worried. I remember reading on someone's blog that she thought the Lupron shots stung worse than the stimulating drugs. That would be a bummer.


I also found out today what my starting drug protocol will be for stims. I was a little dissapointed at the low dosage he wants to start me on, but I'm trying to just relax and trust him.


Last time, Dr. D started me at 75ius of Follistim. Then I went up from there over the course of 2 months to 200 ius of Follistim - my highest dose, and the dose at which I finally began responding (and over-responding.) Dr. D didn't add in any Menopur until I was already at 150ius of Follistim. My dose of Menopur remained constant for the 2 weeks that I took it - 75ius.


So, Dr. G is recommending that I start out at 100 ius of Follistim, and 50 ius of Menopur. I think he believes that my response at the end of the last cycle may have had more to do with the addition of the Menopur than with the higer dose of Follistim. Let's hope he is right!


At any rate, I do feel good about the fact that Dr. G reiterated to me today that he will not let me go on and on with the stims for weeks and weeks....he said that the longest he would consider going would be about 16 or 18 days. If nothing is happening, we'll stop, and regroup - possibly try another drug protocol.


So, that's my story for now, y'all! I'm trying to allow a healthy amount of hope to start to develop, without letting myself get too carried away....isn't that always the trick?