Waiting for a Window to Open

While I initially hadn't held much hope for Mort's success, I experienced a glimmer of renewed hope two days ago (7dp3dt)when I felt a slight burning sensation in my uterus. I couldn't find any evidence via Google that this was a normal sign of pregnancy, but while reviewing the potential symptoms I experienced during Murtle's 2WW, I learned that I experienced a different sensation in my lower abdomen at 7dp3dt, too. I had described it as feeling as though I had worked out, yet I clearly had not. So, I thought maybe this burning / working out feeling was one of my early pregnancy symptoms and I had a renewed desire to POAS. But considering I didn't get a very faint + on an HPT until 11dp3dt, I knew the chance of me seeing a + today (9dp3dt) was slim to none...even if I really was pregnant. I went ahead and decided to torture myself anyway. I did not see a second line, but I was starting to believe so strongly that Mort was going to make it, that I ended up convincing myself that maybe, just maybe there really was a faint one trying to show through and that it was just going to show itself tomorrow.

Considering I hadn't experienced any spotting yet (I started to spot at 8dp3dt during my last unsuccessful cycle), I thought that was another good sign that this IVF had worked. Unfortunately, my eager anticipation was short-lived because when I got to work this morning, I noticed that I had spotted at some point earlier. It's now been a few hours since I spotted and things seem to be quiet again, but basing things on my past unsuccessful IVF experience, early spotting means the embryo stopped growing. I did experience some spotting when I was pregnant with Murtle, but that didn't start until after I had my second beta.

Prior to and during this cycle, I swore to myself that if this cycle doesn't work, I'm done trying to grow our biological family. I can see why younger mothers seem to have an easier time caring for a baby - not just physically, but also because they probably have a more care-free and laid-back attitude towards parenting. We've already been blessed beyond our wildest dreams with one perfect, happy baby and to think that we'd experience another miracle like this may have been asking for too much.

However, if we didn't try again, I would regret not trying more so because I want Murtle to have a sibling. Not only does she have older parents, but she also doesn't have a very large extended family, either. I am an only child and my husband only has one sibling.

Now that it seems that this cycle is over, I'm not sure what our next step will be. I thought I'd feel a sense of relief in knowing that all of the shots, bloodwork, sonograms, travel to and from DC, and stress of TTCing was over. But I just kind of feel as though I'm in limbo. I met my husband for lunch today and asked him what's next. He wants to try again! I brought up the subject of possibly using donor eggs if we did and, to my surprise, he wasn't as opposed to it as he had been prior to Murtle's arrival on the scene. We had originally talked about using my younger cousin's eggs before I got pregnant with Murtle and my husband was ONLY open to that if we had to go the donor egg route. But he's even now on the same page with me that it might be weird to use her eggs as opposed to an anonymous donor's eggs. Anyway, I really don't know what the future holds, but for now, I'm just going to sit back and see what happens. God has been very, very good to me up to this point and I'm excited to see what He has in store for our family next!

Come On Mort!

Hoping to re-coop my IOTO success with Murtle, a friend of mine suggested to name the new embaby I transferred yesterday, "Mort" -- as in "Mortoise the Tortoise." I think the name is perfect!

So, Mort was successfully transferred yesterday (Wednesday) at about 7:45 am. The only information I got prior to his transfer was that he contained 6-cells and was fragmented. I was able to get a picture of him to compare to Murtle's pre-transfer picture and I'll try to post both here. Dr. Sacks said that he was pretty clear, but contained just two cells on Tuesday morning. Once he expanded to 6-cells, he became fragmented, but Dr. Sacks didn't give me a percentage or grading quality. He simply told me that in his experience, cell growth has proven to be a better indicator of success than fragmentation. But that didn't give me much re-assurance considering Murtle had reached 9-cells by the time of transfer. So hopefully Mort's fragmentation percentage isn't too high and he will keep on growing and dividing now that he's back with mommy. During my "nesting" yesterday, I found Murtle's embryologist report. She had 25% fragmentation and was graded as a "2", with "1" being the highest score. There was another category that had been graded as "perfect." I think it had something to do with the cell shape. If that's what it was, Mort's looked better than Murtle's. Regardless, I need to stop trying to compare the two and just hope for the best. I thought this 2WW would be easier for me this time than it was for Murtle, but it's already going very, very slowly.

CD14 - On the Way to Embryo Transfer?

Work has been keeping me very busy (which probably is a good thing), so I haven't been able to post any updates until now. After the last check-up I wrote about, I had two more and both continued to show promising news:

SD7 (CD9): Three follicles (16, 15, 14); E2 was 675.
SD8 (CD10): Three follices (18, 18, 15); E2 was 795.

I then triggered on Friday night (CD10). Actually, my wonderful former nurse, Emily, came to my home to give me my trigger and boy did she do a great job! My HCG on the following morning was 220. The nurse who called with my bloodwork results said that whoever gave me my trigger must have known what she was doing! And it seems as though she got the job done because Dr. Sacks was able to retrieve TWO eggs during egg retrieval on Sunday morning!

However, the roller coaster ride continues...just one egg ended up fertilizing. I emailed Dr. Sacks for more details about both eggs and he told me the following: "I looked this morning. The one embryo that did fertilize looks good. The other egg was mature and injected with the sperm, but this morning there was no sign of fertilization and the egg was rather dark and poor quality. I’ll continue to watch the embryo and look forward to seeing you on Wednesday for the transfer." After I receievd that email, I felt more hopeful despite having just one of the eggs fertilize since at least the egg that did fertilize looked good and that he expected to see me for transfer!

But then the story took another turn - the nurse who called me this morning to give me another update burst my bubble yet again. She simply told me that the embryo is still growing and that I will receive a call later this afternoon about the the time of my embryo transfer tomorrow. I then had to ask her how the embryo looked today. She told me that it had two cells and didn't offer any more information - or compassion. Aside from her bluntness, this was pretty discouraging news because Murtle was a 4-cell embryo at this stage of the game. I think that even my only embryo from my failed IVF attempt this past fall was 4-cells on the second day after transfer, too. Anyway, this nurse then rudely rushed to get off the phone. I can understand her not wanting to give me bad news, but at least try to show some compassion. Not only is the IVF process expensive, we are talking about people's potential future children here! Plus, I had assumed the news was bad yesterday based on the fertilization report I received from her, yet Dr. Sacks was able to give me the real story. I am hoping that the real story is when they called to tell me about Murtle, it was later in the afternoon, so she may have also just been 2-cells in the morning, but expanded to 4-cells by the time I received the update. There is a big difference between a 2-cell and a 4-cell embryo two days after egg retrieval. It would have been nice for this nurse to offer that information - or any information. I wonder if she's simply clueless about things. When I asked her yesterday if the reason one egg didn't fertilize was because it was immature and if it then matured, would they still try to ICSI it, she told me that it was immature and that they wouldn't ICSI it since I had one egg that fertilized. Huh? Not only does that make no sense, but the information was wrong since both eggs were mature.

Since I was still pretty fired up about this nurse's bedside manner, I emailed my current favorite nurse, Amy, who is on the top of the ball and is compassionate (imagine that), to see if she can offer me any more information (like is this new embryo really worse than Murtle) and I even asked for her to give me the updates from now on since I really don't want to deal with this other nurse.

Ok - I feel better now that I vented. In the meantime, I will continue to try to be hopeful about this cycle!

SD6 (CD7) - A Promising Check-Up!

I went in for my first check-up to see if I'm responding this cycle. To my surprise, the ultrasound showed three measurable follicles on my left ovary (a 12, 12, and a 10)! My lining is also responding nicely (which I suspected since I haven't noticed any spotting this time). Dr. Sacks and Amy were also very pleased with my bloodwork results. E2 - 427; P4 - <.2; LH - 1.30. So, my E2 is rising really nicely and it doesn't seem like I'm starting to surge too early. I start my Ganirelix tomorrow, continue my current dosages of stims and Estrace and return in two days for my next check-up. I'm still feeling good and very calm about this cycle!

EPP Deja Vu - SD1 (CD2)

I had my CD2 baseline appointment today. The ultrasound showed no cysts (!) and 2 antral follicles on each ovary (!). The bloodwork also looked "terrific." E2 - 184; P4 - .30, LH - 1.10 and FSH - 4.7. Don't get too excited about the low FSH - it's supposed to be lower because I have been estrogen priming for the past eight nights. The only concern I have is this cycle appears to be an exact replica of my last EPP attempt. The CD I got AF would have been CD 18 (same as last time), I didn't have any cysts on baseline, my lining was fine and my E2 was 187. So, we'll see if I respond. Dr. Sacks decided to try a low-stim approach this time, though - he lowered my nightly dose of Follistim from 450 ius to 150 ius and kept my Menopur the same at 150 ius. I continue to take the Estrace two times a day. My first check-up to see if I'm responding will be on Tuesday...after five nights of stims. I must say that I'm feeling good about this cycle, though. I think I must feel that way, though, because I've made the decision this will likely be my last attempt. Stay tuned!

And the Scenario Winner Is...

#2! I went in today for an ovulation check (CD11) and my blookwork shows that I ovulated (E2: 238 / P4: 3.9). The ultrasound revealed two follicles (we can call them follicles and not cysts since I ovulated). They were both large (at least 25 mm), but one was cloudy, which typically indicates rupture. I'm a bit concerned that the second one wasn't cloudy though, because that means it did not release an egg and could turn into a cyst at the beginning of the next cycle. Anyway, since I ovulated, Dr. Sacks decided to put me on the estrogen pills again. I asked my nurse if doing so will result in the same response I had the last time I had taken them (no response to stims). She is going to check with Dr. Sacks to confirm and get back to me. I'm really trying to take this cycle in stride, but I am optimistic that this cycle will yield better results.

A Little Bit of Information Goes a Long Way

Dr. Sacks is back on my good side. After I sent my new favorite nurse, Amy, an email telling her that I was surprised Dr. Sacks didn't want to do anything until the start of my next cycle and asking her if she knew what his plan was for me, he sent me the following email:

"In general, the cysts on your ovary are either from the previous cycle, or new this month because your body is trying to compensate for the reduced ovarian function. In that case, the level of FSH is higher just prior to the menstrual cycle beginning and the “cysts” are really follicles.

It is impossible at this point to distinguish between these two scenarios, but neither one should delay the onset of the next cycle or stop us from moving forward. In addition, they should not need to be aspirated prior to starting a cycle.

I was going to check you in a week to get a better idea which scenario is more likely, and they would make some recommendations.

If it looks like you have already ovulated, then the second scenario is the case and I may start estrogen pills to block the early rise in FSH for the next cycle. If you have not ovulated, then it is the first scenario and I will just await the resolution of the cysts and the onset of the next cycle."

So, all is well again. I'm very happy he emailed me. However, had I not emailed Amy, I would have simply gone in on CD1 and another cycle would have been lost. This all goes to show you...be proactive ladies!

As Suspected...

I had a cyst (well, I actually have TWO large cysts on my left ovary) during today's CD2 baseline appointment. And go figure that I had a few antral follicles on my right, clear ovary. I really wish I had been monitored a bit more closely last cycle (or at least gotten some feedback when I told Dr. Sacks that I tend to ovulate early) because I truly believe that was a rare cycle in which things were coming together so nicely and likely would have produced at least one good egg. It is not a good sign that Dr. Sacks asked me today what my schedule is like. This can only mean that if there's no scheduling timetable, he may take the slow route to get these cysts to shrink and then we just start all over again. Unless Dr. Sacks does shake things up a bit (but I don't know how much shaking he can do when I have two cysts), I bet he puts me on BCPs to shrink these cysts - or we wait until I ovulate and go on the estrace again. There really aren't that many other options at this point.

I just got my bloodwork call. The cysts were producing E2 (344), so Dr. Sacks actually just wants me to sit out for a month and come back on my next CD2. I'm surprised that he's not even going to try anything to shrink these cysts like he (and my former RE) prescribed in the past. I'm starting to feel a bit more deflated now that we missed my ovulation last month when things were looking promising. The kicker for me is that this cycle's FSH was AMAZING - 2.2! Go figure I have such a low FSH on a cycle where I can't do a darn thing about it.

Back to Square One

Yesterday's appointment showed that I indeed did ovulate. So yes - to answer my earlier question - it is possible to ovulate when your follicles are small. So it's back to the drawing board. I will call on Cycle Day 1 to schedule my baseline appointment and we'll start anew. Dr. Sacks is not going to put me on another estrogen priming protocol considering my non-response from the first attempt.

Riding the Roller Coaster of Infertility

My hopes for going to egg retrieval were very short-lived. I got a rather disappointing bloodwork call today telling me that my LH was surging, so it was likely ovulation was imminent (if it hadn't happened already). I should have given myself that Ganirelix shot yesterday! Amy (the nice nurse) told me that even if we had gotten the results back yesterday, it still probably would have been too late (but I'm still doubtful about that). She asked if my husband and I had gotten any action in (my words, not hers) and I had to laugh inwardly knowing it would have been futile even if we had.

Dr. Sacks still wants to see me tomorrow - I guess to see if I've ovulated (doesn't this sound familiar?). And I have a strong suspicion that when I do get AF in about two weeks and go in for a baseline appointment, there will be cysts. These follies were too small to actually ovulate anything and based on my history, all facts point to cysts ahead. Dr. Sacks is going to have to get really creative for my next cycle. I'm a bit peeved about missing a potential egg retrieval this time. I had a lot of faith in these three follies that appeared semi-naturally. I had emailed Dr. Sacks last week telling him that I tend to ovulate early. He never responded to that email, so I assumed that he wasn't too worried about it. My guess is is that he's not going to be too concerned about missing an IVF opportunity this cycle since his intention was probably just to monitor my body and see what it does without any meds. But considering an opportunity arose for a decent egg retrieval, I feel as though he should have monitored me more closely (especially since I armed him with some information about my cycles). So now I'm back to feeling blase about going in for tomorrow's appointment.

Keeping Things Interesting and Getting Creative (Cycle Day 11)

To bring you up to speed, I was scheduled to see Dr. Sacks last week for a follow-up appointment to my cancelled EPP cycle (in which I had stimmed for 10 days (CD12)). The appointment was supposed to have been a check-up to see if I had ovulated (it would have been CD19). It turns out that that ovulation check-up became a surprise CD4 baseline check-up since it appeared as though I had gotten (a very light and short) AF just three days prior to the appointment (just four days after the cancelled EPP cycle which made that cycle just 16 days). That estrogen priming really must have confused my body, as evidenced by my difficulty in plumping up my lining (an issue that I had never experienced prior to this cycle) and by the lack of response to the high amount of stims.

Unfortunately, due to too high FSH (26) and E2 (94) levels, Dr. Sacks did not give me the green light to start stims for another cycle (which likely would have just been a plain ol' Ganirelex protocol with possibly lower dosages of stims. However, my nurse told me that Dr. Sacks wanted to see me today (on CD11). When I asked why he wanted to see me today, she told me that Dr. Sacks wanted to see what my body was going to do without any meds. I thought that was nice that he wanted to check that out, but I really didn't get too excited about coming in today since it wasn't likely that I could get even a natural IVF cycle in since CD 11 would probably be too close to (if not past) my ovulation day. So, I almost didn't go to today's appointment because I figured there would possibly be just one lone folly that was getting ready to ovulate - why go in to see Dr. Sacks today if I'm not going to be able to do an ER anyway?

To my surprise, the ultrasound showed that I have two follies on my left ovary (which is usually my tough ovary that never really produces much under stims) -- one that looked "really good" (a 12) and a smaller one (a 9)) -- and one that didn't look very "clear" on my right ovary (a 9). I told Dr. Sacks that was about the same response I get when I'm on a high dose of meds and here I wasn't on anything this cycle! He said that the stims from the prior cycle and my higher FSH were likely the culprits and explained that one of the reason a lot of older women have spontaneous multiple pregnancies is because the higher FSH encourages the body to produce more follicles and eggs (however a lot of the multiple pregnancies don't end up that way due to the bad eggs). When I asked what the plan was, Dr. Sacks said that RE said that he's going to "get creative" and depending on what the bloodwork showed, there was a chance that I could go to ER this cycle! Dr. Sacks is great - he really doesn't seem to care that I'm a tough case who is likely to bring down his clinic's stats. He seems to be willing to pull out all of the stops to see if I can get pregnant.

My nurse Amy (who is my new favorite nurse) called later in the afternoon to report that my E2 was 227, but she unfortunately didn't have my P4 or LH levels since there was some error with the lab. I believe this error was actually the clinic's fault since I noticed that the E2 was the only item that had been circled on my check-out sheet. I was going to call to ask the the staff about this after I left the office, but I didn't want to be the pesky patient who is calling them out on possible mistakes...I just assumed that if the E2 was circled, they probably would check the LH and P4 as a matter of standard procedure. Note to self and others - don't worry about being perceived as a high maintenance patient - you're paying a lot of money for these services and the staff really needs to be at the top of their game.

So now what? Dr. Sacks wants me to come back in in two days for another check-up. I just hope that I won't have ovulated by then. I believe I typically ovulate between CD9-13 on non-medicated cycles. But since Dr. Sacks didn't tell me to start Ganirelix today, I am hoping that he knows I won't ovulate based on the size of my follies and doesn't need to know my LH and P4 levels. I was tempted to just give myself a Ganirelix shot to prevent ovulation from happening, but I should just relax and see what happens. Everything happens for a reason, right?

Hope...Then Limbo!

My day started off by showing some promise when I went into my RE's office for my check-up for who knows what this morning. I was originally supposed to go in to see if I had ovulated since I stopped meds last Tuesday but because I started to spot on Saturday and then bled on Sunday, it may have been a baseline check-up - even the receptionist was confused as to why I was there today. Dr. Sacks told me it was a good thing I ended up coming in because it looked like the bleeding was AF since my lining is thin. He even saw a few antral follies! (Or were they just the same follies from two weeks ago that never were able to get going because of being oversuppressed?). Dr. Sacks said he likes the mystery because it keeps things interesting - I thought that was funny. If the bloodwork had looked good, I was going to be able to start stimming tonight! I asked him about trying Femara this time, but he said that he doesn't like it because studies have linked it to birth defects (however, I recently learned that that may be in women who are already pregnant by the time they are using Femara, which would not be the case with me). Dr. Sacks personally doesn't believe it causes them, but he doesn't use it (except on breast cancer patients) because if I were to get pregnant and the baby had a birth defect, I would always be wondering, "what if." Dr. Sacks said that he prefers Clomid. When I asked him about Clomid having a detrimental affect on the lining, he said that it can, but they can always freeze the eggs/embryos until the lining is able to thicken up. So, he said that he'll try what I suggested to him a few days ago - a low stim cycle (using Follistim and Menopur) and nix the estrogen since I haven't been on the pills anyway since last week. So, we'll basically be going for another attempt at the Ganirelix protocol. He told me that he was just able to retrieve four eggs from another patient who just had a failed cycle and then went on a low-stim protocol...so I left that appointment on a nice high.

That high went away when I got the call about my bloodwork this afternoon, though. While Dr. Sacks does think that I had my period, he just wants to keep on monitoring me to see what happens with this cycle. My E2 was 94 and FSH was 26 (argh). I need to go back in next Tuesday for another look. I am a bit worried that this could be the best it's going to get. I wonder if things would have looked more promising if I had gotten into the office on Sunday or Monday and started stims then. I guess I'll never know, but as of now, I'm back in limbo land!

IVF # 3 - Stim Day 10 - That's a Wrap

Well, today's appointment did not go well. There was only one unmeasurable follicle on the right and maybe a few unmeasurable ones on the left. My E2 went down to 214 (from 251 on SD8). Since Dr. Sacks wants to cancel this cycle, I will stop taking all medications. He wants me to return next Tuesday for another ultrasound and bloodwork appointment. I suppose he wants to see if I've ovulated by then and if I have, I'll start this dog and pony show all over again. I really don't know if I should keep this up, though. My body has not shown that it will respond to any amounts of medications, nor estrogen priming. Not only that, but I think the estrogen and stims have taken a much greater toll on my body and state of mind this time around. I don't want to keep doing this to my body and possibly put my future health at risk.

I feel so incredibly blessed that we already have one beautiful and amazing daughter, so I should just count my blessings and call it a day. I think that all of the stars aligned and we simply lucked out with IVF # 1.

IVF # 3 - Stim Day 8 - Not Much Action Yet!

Well, today's ultrasound (# 3) showed not much activity. In fact, it seems that there were less follies than there were on Friday's check-up. On Friday, my RE said I had 3 unmeasurable ones on the right and 2 on the left...which is pretty promising for me. Today, he only mentioned that he saw one (also unmeasurable) on the right and didn't say if he saw any on the left. I'm still happy that a lead follicle hasn't developed, though. And the promising news from today's check-up is that my E2 has finally risen to 251. It seemed to have stalled between my bloodwork appointment on SD3 and my 2nd ultrasound on SD5. I continue to remain encouraged by the rise in estrogen and truly believe that this protocol is the best one for me! There was one little hiccup that I wasn't expecting, though. I have noticed a bit of spotting from time to time. I told my RE this and he said that my lining may still be thin...sure enough, it is. So, hopefully that will pick up, as well. I've never had an issue with my lining before, so now I have something else I need to ensure is in good working order. I'm not going to worry about it until show-time, though, and I will continue to have faith that my body will not let me down.

Finally, I got a nice surprise today when I learned that Emily is still working (or has returned to) the clinic! It was so nice to see her friendly smile and hear the re-assurance in her voice when she called me to report my bloodwork results. I also had a really nice nurse draw my blood today, too. She even told me that she had remembered me from IVF # 2. Luckily, everything with my meds has worked out, as well - I got them...but our checking account took a bit of a hit! It will all be worth it, though, in the next few weeks!

IVF # 3 - Stim Day 3

This morning's bloodwork results are in - after two nights of stimming, my E2 is 193 (it was 187 on Sunday). I've been reading that estrogen levels tend to drop at first during an EPP cycle, so I was happy with the slight increase. I feared that there was going to be a much bigger jump that signified a lead follie had formed. This slight increase helps me keep the faith that I actually do have a few follies forming!

So, things are progressing well aside from a few minor issues: 1) I still don't have my meds and 2) I haven't been very happy with the staff at my RE's office. I think that had they been on the top of their game, I wouldn't be dealing with this insurance complication. My nurse has not been very attentive to little details, e.g., 1) I told her that I had wanted to be on Endometrin three times and yet she still ordered Prometrium for me and 2) I just get the feeling that she's not very compassionate and that she's just bothered by her patients. I miss Emily and Naidra from IVF # 1. They really helped to make things go a lot more smoothly - IVF patients have enough to worry about as it is and having a helpful, responsive nursing staff can really take a big load off of our shoulders. Whatever happened to showing compassion and paying attention to details? That seems to be few and far between among RE's nursing staff. If it wasn't for my strong appreciation for and confidence in Dr. Sacks, I would consider switching clinics.

CD3 Baseline Check-Up

I started spotting on Friday, May 6th, so I set up my baseline appointment for Sunday, May 8th -- Mother's Day. :-) Since I've gone into this cycle thinking only positive thoughts that the Estrogen Priming Protocol is going to be a successful one for me, I had a feeling that I wouldn't have any cysts...which I didn't! However, I don't know if I had any antral follicles -- I can't make out anything on that ultrasound screen - it looked pretty blank to me. Dr. Sacks just reported to my nurse that my right and left ovaries looked fine, clear, ok or something like that. I tried to ask about the antral follicles, but I don't think I was direct enough -- Dr. Sacks just basically affirmed my question that there is a potential for follicles. There is always potential, though...I just don't know if this baseline looked any more promising than my others, antral follicle-wise. Time will tell, but hopefully won't tell me too soon. I'd like to have another "be the turtle; slow, but steady" stimming phase. My E2 was 178 (or 187). That's higher than my past cycles, but that is probably due to me being on estrace for 9 days. I got the clear to start stimming that Sunday evening (450 Follistim / 150 Menopur) and was advised to continue taking the estrace 2x/day. I return tomorrow (Wednesday) for just bloodwork. I assume I'll then return on Friday for my first ultrasound...which is the appointment that I'm really excited about.

As a side note - I've spent the last two days trying to get my meds. Since I have a new insurance plan, I have to go through different hoops to get them...and this time I'm not as fortunate as when I was with my previous company in that the meds (and IVF procedures) are only covered at 50%. I understand how fortunate I am to even get that type of coverage, but it puts more pressure on us for this cycle to be a success. It's a good thing I still have some meds left over from my last IVF cycle or else I may not have been able to start this cycle!

IOTO x 2?

It's time to embark on a quest for another bundle of joy. Considering I'm an only child and my husband has only one sibling (not to mention the fact that we're older parents), we really want Kaitlyn to have a sibling. I actually went through an unsuccesful IVF attempt in November. We tried the same protocol as IVF # 1. Since my response to that cycle was similiar with IVF # 1 (however with markedly more disappointing results*), I asked my RE if we could try the Estrogen Priming Protocol this time. (During my initial consultation with my RE, he told me that was the protocol that he wanted to put me on since he found that EPP worked best for poor responders, but since I had already started the Ganirelix protocol with my former RE, we decided to just go with that one and see what happened). My RE was open to trying the EPP protocol, so here is where things stand today:

CD3 Bloodwork: FSH (10.7) (YAY); E2 (52); P4 (.20); LH (2.0); Lining (8)
CD3 Ultrasound: OK (No Antral Follicles Reported)

I was scheduled to return to my RE's office on CD15 to confirm ovluation. Ovulation was confirmed (according to my CBEFM, I ovulated on CD11), so I started estradiol pills (2 mg / 2x/day) on CD16. Unlike most EPPs I've been reading about, mine doesn't include adding Ganirelix prior to getting my next bleed / AF. My next step is to call my RE's office once I get the bleed / AF and we go from there. Stay tuned! We're hoping for another IOTO success story, if we are so blessed! I'm inclined to think that we simply got lucky with Murtle, so if attempt # 3 works, I will be incredibly surprised and wonder why in the world we have been able to be blessed twice.

*IVF # 2 Stats (Ganirelix Protocol):
9/29/10 (CD2) - Started BCPs - FSH was 6.6!
10/25/10 (SD1) - Started Follistim (450) and Menopur (150)
11/1/10 (SD7) - Added Ganirelix
11/3/10 (SD9) - Triggered (E2 - 561) - 2 follies on R (15 and 24 (cyst?) and 1 follie on L (20)
11/4/10 - E2 dropped to 560
11/5/10 - ER - 1 Egg Retrieved (Again)
11/8/10 - ET - 1 Embryo Transferred (7 cells, 50% fragmentation)
11/20/10 - Beta - BFN