Well, I had my ultrasound 5 days after I started my stim meds and everything looks great. I had about 12 follicles on one side and 7 on the other. That’s tons of follicles! The doctor said that those numbers were great. He did say that my estradiol level was a little high so he reduced my dosages. He also has me coming back the day after tomorrow as oppose to waiting a couple of days. I’m still not feeling bloated yet but I know that could change any day now. I can’t wait to see how many eggs they actually get during the retrieval. Although they see 19 follicles now, the number of eggs they actually get could vary. Some follicles will have mature eggs and others may not. I never knew how intricate the reproductive system was until I started this process.
I never knew that during IVF, you basically make your body produce tons of eggs so that you can take them out and hopefully fertilize them so that you can have tons of embryos. I also never knew that there was a procedure called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) in which they take an individual sperm and actually inject it into the egg as oppose to just putting the sperm and egg together and hope the egg fertilizes. My doctor suggested that we do ICSI since our issue stems from low sperm count. He said that it would increase our chances of success. I’m just thankful that we have a reputable doctor who has made sure to educate us as thoroughly as possible on this process. I feel much better about everything because I feel well informed. Ultimately, this is all in God’s hands and the success of this IVF cycle depends on him.
I will provide another update ASAP!
A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.
Proverbs 16:9 (AMP)
Kristen D. Johnson
