1st ultrasound and blood draw a breeze

I just got back from my first "official" IVF appointment. Everything went very smoothly. The nurse had to draw blood out of my hand (due to my teeny veins) but did it perfectly. I don't even see a bruise. She was in a good mood because she had just gone to see Twilight last night.

The "wand" ultrasound was a little uncomfortable...no details necessary...but the doctor found that I had 9 follicles in my right ovary. He couldn't find my left ovary and said it was hiding. I guess 8:15am was a little too early for a picture. But yes, I do have a left ovary.

Anywho...

Follicles 101
What are follicles, you ask? Follicles are the fluid-filled sacs in the ovary that develop each month. It is the hope that each follicle contains an egg, but there's no guarantee.

Meds 101
So far I've been taking Lupron, which is a hormone suppression drug.
Suppression drugs prevent ovulation so the eggs stay in the ovaries in order to be retrieved for IVF.

This Sunday (11/23) I will take a smaller dose of Lupron combined with my new ovarian stimulation drugs (mix of Bravelle and a low dose HCG which enhances the effects of Bravelle).

Ovarian stimulation drugs are taken to directly stimulate ovarian follicles, thereby producing as many mature follicles as possible (between 1-20), while minimizing the risk of overstimulating the ovaries during this process. The hope is to produce many follicles with healthy eggs inside.

Here's an outline of the upcoming events!

• Friday (today) and Saturday, 11/22 - same routine - inject 10 units Lupron
• Sunday, Monday, Tuesday nights (11/23-11/25) - inject "stimulation cocktail"
• Wednesday morning, 11/26, 8:15am - blood draw (to see if adjustments in meds are needed)
• Thursday, 11/27 - Thanksgiving...happy or not? We shall see. I'm hoping for happy. :)
• Friday, 11/28, 8:30am blood draw and ultrasound (checking ovaries for hyperstimulation -which wouldn't be a good thing; and to see whether adjustments in meds are needed)

At that point we're just *days* away from the MIGHTY INJECTION which triggers everything to be ready for egg retrieval (retrieval tentatively Thursday, December 4th if all goes as planned). Woohoo!

By the way, I'm feeling REALLY GOOD! No bad side-effects so far, no feelings of despair, no crazy moments. I'm really feeling happy and optimistic about everything. Still so far so good!