Today was my first appointment with the fertility clinic since my first round of IVF utterly failed. This was a good appointment. I asked my many questions I had and things were mapped out for the coming weeks.
My biggest question was "why did the first round of IVF fail?" And the best answer I got was that the quality of the embryos wasn't the best. They transferred two embryos into me, 1 of which was great quality and the other was ok, but not the best. The other 4 that they tried to grow some more just weren't of a decent enough quality to be frozen.
I also asked what I personally could do to make my chances of getting pregnant better/higher. The doctor said don't drink coffee. To which I replied, that I don't drink coffee (I don't think the one random cup a couple of times a year really counts) nor alcohol and I don't smoke. I do drink tea. She asked me what kind of tea I drink and I told her all kinds. The doctor said green tea would be my best option. I also clarified that I mostly drink hot water flavored with tea. I can use the same tea bag for 3 big cups of tea. I eat healthy, for the most part. And I get some exercise. She said there isn't really anything else I can do to make my chances better, except to relax, not stress (about anything). She said it with a smile and I sort of laughed.
I did ask about the gluten free diet I have been trying for the last 2 weeks. The doctor said that unless I test positive for celiac disease, it doesn't matter if I eat gluten or not. Do I continue eating GF or not?
I also asked about Mayan womb massage. At first she looked very confused and didn't understand what I asked. Once I explained a bit more, she just laughed and said that it won't do anything. :( My heart sank a tiny bit seeing her laugh, but I guess I expected it also. I think I'll continue my nightly tummy rubs.
And when I asked about acupuncture, she said that there are no conclusive studies to show that it helps, but it doesn't hurt either. I'm up in the air about whether to search for an acupuncturist now. Maybe since I'm in the process of IVF again I should wait until after. I'm not sure.
Sheesh, I've said a lot already and I'm not sure that I'm even half way done. lol
I had an ultrasound done (like every other time I've gone in). I still have an endometrial cyst on my left ovary. It is about 1.7mm, which is roughly the same size it was last time I had an ultrasound in Nov. Yay! If it grows to 2mm or more, I'll have to have surgery to remove it before I can continue any more treatments. Along these same lines, the doctor ordered some blood tests for me to check the activeness of my endometriosis. She said it would be a good thing to check again as it was a year ago when I last had it done.
The doctor was also able to tell me that I ovulated recently. I was a bit shocked by that as I have been using OPKs for the last week or so and never once did I get a + test. When I mentioned that to her, she said it isn't uncommon that the tests don't always accurately report LH surges or that it is hard to get the timing correct, for all women. For some women the tests show clearly. Good thing I only have 2 tests left.. I don't think I'll be bothering with them again.
As for the actual plan of attack for IVF this time around, things will be changed up a bit. Last time I did an injection of Procren to stop my body from producing hormones. This time around I'll be taking a nose spray, 4 times a day. (The stronger version of this stuff isn't approved in Finland, so instead of twice a day, I do 4 times.) This nose spray is a "softer" way of making my ovaries stop producing hormones than the injection.
Aunt flow is supposed to come like normal. And then I'll have my next appointment a day or two after she's supposed to arrive. At which time, we'll discuss the ovary stimulation meds. The way things are planned right now, harvesting and insertion should be week 8 (21st-24th of February). It'll all comes down to how my body responds to everything.
I can't help but be optimistic, with a bit of caution thrown in, again. So, here's to IVF attempt #2.
