O pangs and then some

One grumble today: I found out on Friday that a guy I work with is expecting. His wife is 8mo pregnant! I'm not totally surprised that I've only just now found out about it and not directly from him I might add. I wouldn't have been totally shocked if I would have heard "Oh, by the way, my wife had a baby a couple of months ago.." from him. I've worked with this guy for 3 years (although the last 6 mo he's been in a different department, but we still interact on a regular basis) and this is just the way he is. It still doesn't take away the sting of hearing about his good fortune and I can't help but uncharitably think that I've been married longer than him and probably trying longer than them also. That was my only downer to my wonderful Friday.

And now on to other stuff...

After my  +OPK on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, I am sure I O'd during the day on Thursday. I felt it! I haven't felt O pangs in such a long time, like, for the last couple of years. It makes me wonder if around the time I stopped feeling O pangs is when my endometriosis showed up? Having mostly 28 day cycles (sometimes 27 or 29), I am quite confident that I ovulate around CD14. This would be confirmed in my mind, especially when I could feel pinching O-like pangs on the right or left side each month. I even tried telling a doctor around that time several years ago that I didn't feel them anymore and he just told me that women don't always feel them. But I used to! So why wasn't I anymore? Ugh, I wish more doctors would actually listen to us when we say something about our own bodies. (Enough of that rant. That's for another post, someday.)

As for Thursday, I was able to entice hubby into the bedroom for a bit of fun. Even if the outside and inside temperatures had been close to +30C for several days and have continued to be that hot since then. But, that is also the only BD we've gotten in this cycle around O time. Either it will work or it won't. I'm trying not to dwell on it much.

After what I believe was O on Thursday, I have continually had a stitch in my right side, right where my O pang was. Sometimes it is quite pangy and painful and others it is just a tugging feeling. Last night (or was it the night before?) I could barely turn over in my sleep because it hurt so bad. And still, more than 2 days later, I'm still feeling pangs where my right ovary is. Seriously! I'm just wondering if my O was so eventful and explosive that it has maybe bruised the area. (I never would have thought of this if it wasn't for a friend who had it happen previously and told me about it. It also happened to be the cycle she got pregnant.) I'm also feeling quite bloated the last 2 days or so. It's been short lived for that feeling to be gone.

No FET this month

I got (what I think is) a positive OPK last night and again this morning, but the clinic is counting yesterday's OPK as the day in which to count from. It would mean my FET would have happened on Monday, but no one is in the office on Sunday to thaw my lonely embryo. So, no FET this month.

Now, if I would have not tested yesterday in the evening or just not have said anything to the clinic, they would have gone by this morning's +OPK and I would have my FET on Tuesday. Doh! Hindsight is 20 / 20.

I am quite sure I have ovulated today. I've felt pinchy-twingy-pangs on my right ovary area off and on during the day. At one point they were much stronger than the rest. Now, my right side is just tender and a bit crampy. It almost feels as if I was kicked in the ovary. I manged to talk hubby into a BD session last night and I've almost extracted a promise for another tomorrow (Friday). Not that I really have any hope or expectations that this cycle will be any different than the previous 35 cycles, but you can't blame a girl for trying. Plus, I love my husband and I love being intimate with him!

I'm not too sad about the FET not working this month as I was already prepared for a summer break. The FET would have just been an added bonus and also allow us to start 100% fresh in the Fall. Now, we'll have this one lonely embryo to try an FET with before going onto IVF #3. I've been in a good frame of mind for the last 2 or so weeks. I hope I'll be able to continue this feeling of positivity and goodness. Having +25-30C degrees of wonderfully amazing weather right now doesn't hurt either! (I'm so not cold! Even my feet are warm.)

Happy start of summer to all!

CD10

 I went to my PGH appointment today to see about doing a FET with a natural cycle this month and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it all. I mean, I was feeling quite positive and upbeat the last week and a half. No stress and just going with the flow. As I was leaving PGH today, I sort of felt a bit down and not as upbeat. I guess we'll just have to see how things go, won't we?

Anyway, first thing was first at the appointment. I was asked when AF arrived (10 days ago) and if I was taking Zumenon (no, this is a natural cycle).  I was then told/asked to de-robe my lower half and hop up on the table. The doctor spent forever with the magic wand up my lady bits. Seriously, she was looking and looking at things for close to 10 minutes. Usually the doctors only look for a minute or two tops! It seemed there was lots to look at.

I have several liquid filled cysts on my right side, but thankfully they are not endometriosis related. The doctor wasn't so concerned about them. She thinks they might be left over from last cycle. The bummer part of having all of these little cysts is that they look a maturing egg. Some of them were definitely too big to be an egg, but she wasn't able to tell if one of the others was a normal sized maturing egg or if the egg was one of the smaller ones, thus meaning O won't happen for longer. On the left-hand side, there is my endometrial cyst. It is still right around 2cm, which is good. If it grows too much more (up to 3 cm?) I'll have to possibly go in for surgery again to remove it. The doctor commented that my lining was a bit thin at 6,6 - 7,4 mm. When asked I was told it should be closer to 1cm. My lining being thin is common for me. Sad, but true.

After my uterus was studied so intently and I was able to put my clothes back on. The doctor and I discussed my plan of action this month. For the next 5 mornings I will take an OPK to see if it is positive. If it happens to be positive tomorrow, this cycle is out the widow this month for the FET as the transfer would need happen next Monday. And the FET can't happen on Monday because they would need to thaw the eggie the day before and PGH isn't open on Sundays. The rest of the possible +test/transfer days are: Thurs/Tues, Fri/Wed, Sat/Thurs and Sun/Fri. If I don't get a + OPK at all, the cycle is out of the window. The doctor said that since this is a natural cycle they need to have a +OPK test to proceed. As my body will have to produce the FSH hormone on its own. I'm sure my body will ovulate, but I'm not sure the tests will pick up the hormones to give me the positive I need.

Finally, I asked some questions that I'd been thinking about lately and I got some answers, but not a lot. First, I asked what will happen if this FET doesn't work and we head into our 3rd IVF. What happens? She said that the nurses, doctors and lab tech-doctors will have a meeting to go over past treatments and make a plan of attack for the up coming cycle. I'm not sure if I (and hubby) would be involved in this meeting or not. If the 3rd IVF fails, I'm not sure if I'll get a 4th chance via PGH (public health care) or if I'll have to start with a private clinic and more expenses.

Second, I asked what blood tests I have had done and if there are any more that I could have done. I've had HIV, Hepatitis B & C and Syphilis test done, all negative of course. And then this year I also had an endometriosis growth blood test done, or at least something along those lines. And in any case, the results came back normal. The doctor did prescribe one more blood test to be done: AMH, which is Anti-Mullerian Hormone. I wasn't sure what this was, so I had to Google it. From my new understanding it is a test some doctors use as an indication of ovarian reserve or function. I'm ok with that test.

Third, I mentioned my discomfort and almost pain in my lady bits after stopping Lugesteron when I get a BFN. The doctor said that the symptoms I described are not unheard of. She then went on to ask if I have any allergies to nuts. I told her I don't have allergies per say, but I do find that I have irritations to. (Does having an irritation-reaction count as an allergy? Even if I haven't been diagnosed with a 'nut allergy'?) So, she wrote me a prescription for Progesterone to try next time around.

Fourth, the doctor put us in line for our 3rd IVF treatment to tentatively start during week 36 (September sometime).

So, to sum up this very long post.  If I get a +OPK in the next 2-5 days, I'll call the clinic and go in for a FET. If I don't get a +OPK, hubby and I will have to time our own IC and life will continue like normal this summer. If the FET doesn't happen this month, our next appointment would then potentially be sometime in August, depending on if I happen to be in China during the important time of my cycle.

Thank you to those of you who managed to read this far.