CD 4; OMG, I'm counting again?! REALLY?!

And just like that, we're back on the infertility-go-round. There's NOTHING 'merry' about it, that's for darn sure!

We have an appointment booked in Montreal in mid-December for an initial consultation with our RE there. He's ordered a plethora of tests prior to that consultation, as is usual for IVF protcol.

(A note for the men reading: TMI may be incoming. You've been duly warned. After all, this is a blog about infertility and making babies who are our little medical miracles.)

First up: CD3 bloodwork and an ultrasound. (Well, anytime between CD2 and CD5.)

Oh joy.

I had semi-forgotten the dildo cam and its invasive prodding. Nothing like an early morning poke to remind me, now is there? I confess, I can think of much better ways to start my day.

This morning, we began with the dildo cam. And just as I suspected, a huge cyst on the right side. I've been feeling it for months; sometimes it's harsh and I double over, but life goes on, yanno? My RE immediately prescribed b/c pills in the hopes that they'll get rid of the cyst. Forgive me but: Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Now that's funny! We've gone that route three times before, to no avail. I ended up with a laparoscopy on one occasion to remove it, another one burst (ouch!), and yet another was aspirated right in the middle of our successful IVF cycle. Regardless, I'll take the pills and see if anything happens. We have a number of months to play with so something ought to work between now and then. If needs be, we'll aspirate it again before the IVF proceeds.

We saw lots of little follicles on both sides. A very heavy period, which was evident on the monitor, too. My doc wondered if it might be the cyst doing that. I suspected it might be because of the low iron levels at the moment, but I'm taking iron supplements so that would probably have fixed the low levels. Dunno. What are your thoughts? It's been like that since since I had Petite, in fact. Very heavy. Crampy. Clotty. Icky. Like changing protection every two hours for five days straight. Terrible. Just terrible. Not fun at all.

The doc also prescribed metformin again for the PCOS. I've been off it since Petite arrived because I haven't 'needed' it per se (I'm not diabetic, my sugar levels are fine), but it will help with the cysts and other PCOS symptoms. I know the metformin will wreak havoc with my system, but I'm going to need it again for the IVF so I may as well begin now.

After all that was done, I went downstairs to the lab. Trembling.

For my longtime readers, you all know that for me, the blood draws are the WORST part of IVF. Even giving birth to Petite wasn't as bad as having needles shoved in my arms! SERIOUSLY!!! I bruise terribly. Usually bruising lasts 1-2 weeks. My veins are hard to find. They're deep and narrow. They frequently collapse. Techs have told me that my veins are worse than a 3-day old infant. Others have had training to get blood from drug addicts, and they tell me that my veins are worse than those people's as well. How freakin' lovely is that? Fun fun! Oh how I've missed thee, prodding and poking!

Anyway, I managed. I've lost track of where my old phlebotomist ended up, but this morning, a sweet woman by the name of Karen got a good vein on the first try! (YAY Karen! And thank you!) A bunch of vials were taken and with those, the following tests were ordered:

(Updated on November 8, 2010 to include results)
Fasting Glucose -- 5.5 (3.6-6.0)
TSH -- 1.19 (needs to be under 2.5)
Free T3 -- 4.4 (2.6-5.7)
Free T4 -- 16 (12-22)
Iron (Ferritin) -- 29 (LOW: 12-30 = depleted iron stores; currently taking iron supplements but anemia is still present)
FSH (may be affected by the cyst) --4.0 (4-13)
LH -- 1.0 (LOW for Follicular phase; 2-13 = normal)
Estradiol (aka E2) -- 489 (aka 113 in US measures) (46-607, somewhat high for follicular; could be the presence of the functional cyst that is causing the high E2 levels)
Prolactin -- 7.0 (less than 24)
Progesterone -- 1.1 (0.6 - 4.7)
Free Testosterone -- 2.1 ((ND - 7.0)
Testosterone -- 0.6 (less than 2.0)
Blood Group (I know I'm blood type A)
RH Factor (I know I'm positive)
DHEAS -- 4.1 (1.65-9.15)
HIV -- negative
Hemoglobin -- 137 (115-155)
Hematocrit -- 0.4 (0.3-0.45)
RBC -- 4.64 (3.6-5.01)
RBC indices MCV -- 87 (80-99)
RBC indices MCH -- 30 (27-32)
RBC indices MCHC -- 339 (320-360)
RDW -- 12.9 (11.5-15.5)
WBC -- 8.9 (4.0-11.0)
Platelets -- 223 (145-400)
MPV -- 8.3 (7.4-11.3)
Differential WBC's Neutrophils -- 5.79 (1.8-7.0)
Differential WBC's Lymphocytes -- 2.31 (1.0-3.2)
Differential WBC's Monocytes -- 0.53 (0.0-0.8)
Differential WBC's Basophils -- 0.09 (0.0-0.2)
Blood group and RH Factor -- A positive
Rheumatoid Factor -- less than 20 (less than 20)
HIV1/HIV2 screen -- Negative (non-reactive)
HIV Final Interpretation -- No HIV1/HIV2 antibodies detected
Hep B Surface Antigen -- Non-reactive
Hep B Surface Antibody -- Non-reactive
Hep B Core Total (IgG+IgM) Antibody -- Non-reactive
Hep B Virus interpretation -- No evidence of Hep B infection; No evidence of immunity to Hep B Infection
Hep C Antibody -- Non-reactive
Hep C Virus Interpretation -- No evidence of antibody
Rubella IgG -- Reactive
Rubella Interpretation -- Evidence of past infection/vaccination; evidence of immunity.
Rubella (immunity) -- Reactive; evidence of immunity

NOTE: Current meds are 1.0 mcg Synthroid and +/- 150 mg iron supplements.

I think it was five or six vials. I lost track. I was in my happy place and trying hard to keep focussing on other, nicer things.

Anyway, I got the bloodwork done, picked up the prescriptions, and then I made a beeline for the nearest Tim Horton's for some breakfast. I had been fasting since about 11 p.m. last night, so I was getting kinda hungry. I treated myself to an English Toffee flavoured cappucino (yum!) and a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. How sinful is that? Pretty sad when I consider that an indulgence, isn't it?

With luck, we'll have some results in a few days. I'll update as required. Next up: CD21 testing for progesterone and Hubby's bloodwork.

Excuse me. I'm going to go rip off a band-aid and finish my breakfast.

Shout out to:
Mo and Will at Life and Love in the Petri Dish. We're all pulling for you guys. Hang in there. Have faith.

And to you, my dear readers. I need to come comment on a few blogs and I need to get in touch with a few of you for your snail mail addresses. I have NOT forgotten. Bear with me.

Love to all in blogland!