Countdown to Harvest Time

After waiting at Dr. Zed's for over an hour, I finally had my last ultrasound and E2 draw today. The numbers looked good. I have 4 follicles on my left side and 7 (possibly 8) on my right side. Of those 11 follicles (maybe 12), at least 4 of them are at 18-19mm. My E2 is at 1,747, which they told me matches up nicely with my follicles.

I'm scheduled for the retrieval at 9am on Friday morning and for the time-being I've stopped all meds. After the retrieval, I'll start up again on the heparin, baby aspirin, and progesterone. Interestingly enough, I'm not taking any estrogen after the retrieval or transfer. Last time, Dr. P had me on both the progesterone and 6mg of estradiol.

I've also ramped up my acupuncture sessions to twice a week and per Dr. Zed's orders, we've focused on suppressing the immune system.

I can't help but compare this cycle to my last and overall, things seem to be going a lot smoother (even Doc has mentioned this). Last time around I struggled immediately out of the starting gate with almost no follicle growth and no rise in E2 for the first 4-5 days of stims. Also, my lining was a bit on the low side, maxing out at 7.9-8mm. Let's hope that this is a good sign and everything will be better this cycle.

On a different note, talk about bruises! Holy cow! The heparin is really starting to kick-in and it's not a pretty sight. I guess no bikinis for me this summer. I'll have to post a belly pic for you. Such beautiful shades of blue and purple....