Good Report!

Baseline ultrasound was great! The lining in my uterus was very thin (which is what we want to start the cycle...) and I had more than 6 preantral follicles (basically the early beginnings of follicles) in each ovary. She stopped counting on 8 on the right and the left had at least 6. She said that 4 is considered good- so for once I did GREAT! Go ovaries!

Robin, the sonographer, and I were joking about how my right ovary always makes plenty of follicles-which is just not productive since I don't have a tube on that side. She said "We're coming to getcha!" So, they can run but they can't hide!

We are, when we start Follistim tomorrow, trying to get each of these "baby" follicles to stimulate so we can retrieve some eggs and fertilize!

Here's a little about follicles...

"A woman's eggs develop inside fluid-filled sacs inside the ovaries called follicles. During a natural menstrual cycle in which no fertility drugs are taken, several follicles begin to enlarge around the time when the woman is having her period.

However, over the course of the next few weeks, only one of these follicles develops to maturity, ruptures, and releases its egg during the process of ovulation. The other follicles that had begun to develop stop growing and degenerate (dissolve), therefore, only a small percentage of eggs present in the ovaries are ever ovulated during the woman's reproductive life span. We can "rescue" follicles and eggs that would otherwise degenerate by giving shots of fertility drugs which contain FSH (follicle stimulating hormone---Follistim). This is the same hormone that the pituitary gland produces to cause one egg to develop. By increasing the woman's blood level of FSH, several follicles may grow at approximately the same rate allowing us to collect more than one mature egg."


Here's what we'll do to those little follicles at retrieval...

"A sterile vaginal ultrasound probe is used to guide a needle through the vaginal wall and into the follicle of the ovary. While long, the needle is not much wider than a needle used to draw blood from a vein in the arm.

Once the needle is inside the follicle, suction is created which pulls the egg and the fluid through the needle and into a collection tube. When one follicle is drained, the needle is gently repositioned to collect fluid from each adjacent follicle. This is done for both ovaries. The follicular fluid is given to the embryologist, who examines it under a microscope to find the eggs."


I know what you're thinking- "What an awesome procedure! What fun! Sign me up!"

Seriously though, isn't it amazing all that they know and can do?!?! And isn't it amazing that anyone gets pregnant!? It truly is a miracle!

Stay tuned...I start Follistim shots tomorrow night!!!

P.S. Dr. Payne stuck a needle in the top of my head today. I still can't figure out where she stuck it in- seriously, feel the tip top of your head- where would you stick a needle?! It's a mystery but it was there! I kept asking Kimeisha to take it out because I couldn't stop thinking about it! (She wouldn't.)