Retrieval

Well, the retrieval went well - 15 eggs total, 8 on the right and 7 on the left, I think, although I was a bit spacy. The drugs they give you make me talk a lot and I am glad my husband is not in the room because he would continue to tell me all the "funny" (read embarrassing) things I said. Apparently this time I talked about how I dress my dog up for Halloween and how I want chickens. I have no idea where that came from, other than the fact the I do really want a few chickens someday. It is a bit of a sore spot with my husband and I because we do live in a pretty big city and have a city sized yard and chickens are, well messy. But I grew up in the country and we always got our eggs from the farm and it is just so much better. Anyway - I have NO idea where that came from because we have not discussed chickens for quite some time. I fear what else I may have said.

So now begins the official freak out for me. At this point in IVF #1 we got 7 eggs and only 4 were mature and none fertilized properly. They don't know the reason for the lack of fertilization but the embryologist said my eggs were highly fragmented. My FSH score is 7.4 and E2 was in the suitable rang, my ovaries are of good size and I have a good antral follicle counts so what else could be making my eggs of poor quality, if in fact they are? Some scenarios the embryologist suggested were the medications used for stimulation or suppressions or some inherent sperm defect since we do have to ICSI to get any fertilization. I just hate all the unknowns in the process. I will say that this cycle was so much better than last - no headaches, more eggs, good E2 - on day 4 of IVF #1 my E2 was only at 29 and this time it was at 182, so I seem to be progressing better. I do really hope that is the case. Perhaps it was the acupuncture??

On a final note - I must add that my clinic is so great. I really feel like Dr. Bowtie (note - today was the first time ever in 2 years that I have seen him w/o a bowtie b4 he changed into his IVF outfit - very, very weird) wants me to get pg, not just from a fiscal perspective but because he is such a great person. The lab folks are so personable, even as they prick you, and the IVF nurse/tech is just so caring, skilled and has a great personality. Not to mention that the CNP/Midwife I love so dearly was there today and she stopped in to reassure me after the procedure. They really are great people.