FET 6: Lining check (2/16/18)

This post was originally written on the date in the subject line. All posts for FET 6 were saved as drafts and posted together as a series on one day. Read more here. 

On Friday I went in for the lining check. In many ways the FET protocol is so much easier than IVF. Less appointments, less medication, less of a roller-coaster regarding emotions and hormones. In general just a lot less anxiety overall. The FET protocol has four appointments:
- Baseline
- Lining check
- Transfer
- Beta

The whole thing is a month to five weeks from start to finish. There are two weeks between baseline and lining check, then a week after that is the transfer. The 2ww varies by clinic and some people wait as few as 8 days before getting their beta. My clinic is pretty set on a full actual two weeks so we wait thirteen days before beta. Sometime I want to wait more... just hold on to hope for a little longer. I never do because if it didn't work then waiting just means unnecessary butt shots of PIO for no reason. But I digress; back to lining check.

Friday morning was the first day off work for the long president's day weekend but I couldn't sleep late because I had an early appointment. I got to the clinic and there wasn't much activity going on so I assumed I'd be seen quickly. I made sure to drink a lot that morning to try and avoid any blood draw issues. The tech who called me back looked tense and worried, very different from her usual chipper self. It was also a tech that's usually in the lab drawing blood but sometimes they rotate so it didn't seem so out of place. I was concerned there was something wrong with my file or protocol but she just said they're going to do the ultrasound first and left the room. The ultrasound tech came in, checked the lining. Anything above 8 is good. Sometimes my uterus likes to be an overachiever and have 12s but anything above 8 is "excellent."

For comparison, my lining at previous Lining Check appointments:

FET 5: 10.37 mm
FET 4: 8.69 mm
ERA I: 11.70 mm
ERA II: 9 mm
FET 3: 10 mm
I didn't keep records for FET 1 and 2.

After that I went back to the waiting room to wait for bloodwork. I had just enough time to text my husband an update before getting called back. New person. Uh oh. I told myself I'll give her a chance before asking for the other tech who is more experienced with my vein.

She was very chatty and while I don't normally engage, this time it was interesting. She asked if I had a long wait time and I said not really. She said they had a girl almost pass out in the chair when the other tech drew her blood. I said that doesn't bode well for the duration of her stay at a fertility clinic. Good luck to her. It explained the worried look on the other tech's face when she called me back for the ultrasound. While we were chatting she was checking and rechecking my vein. She apologized for "being OCD" but I said I'd rather you check it a hundred times and only stick me once. I told her I drank a lot of water but that it's a tricky vein and not to feel bad if she doesn't get it. See what I did there? Setting the stage for calling in the cavalry because I'm too chicken to hurt her feelings even at the expense of my pincushion arm. She got it on the first draw. We all cheered. All told it was a quick appointment, 35 min total.

I got the call from my nurse later that afternoon. Lining is at 8.7 mm and E2 518 with low progesterone. Good to start PIOs, but with very specific instructions.

My nurse got detailed directions from the lab who said that they timed the ERA II results based on when I took the first shot that cycle and when the biopsy was. This was to calculate an even "more precise" transfer window. She gave me instructions that the first PIO shot had to be at 9:30 PM exactly on Sat night but the subsequent shots can be more flexible as long as they're within up to 24 hours of each other. Weird. But at the same time, I'll accept any supposed advantage I can get. I had plans to meet with a friend on Sat night. I didn't want to cancel but at the same time I had this PIO shot stuck in the middle of the evening. Turned out there was bad weather and no one felt like going out in the snow and ice so we rescheduled. My husband is a pro already and we did the shot on schedule without incident.

For the very first time, I organized the meds and all accompanying paraphernalia in a little basket. It's easier than having to haul out the big box it came in where I hid it in the closet like I've been doing for every single past cycle. This is so much better! I think I didn't want to do it previously because I didn't want it to become part of the "normal" landscape of my room but it so is and nothing I tuck away in the closet will hide that fact.

I had so much anxiety leading up to this week but right now I'm just super chill. I wasn't even worried about the lining check or bloodwork. I'm very much in the "if it's meant to happen, it will happen how it's supposed to" camp these days. The only thing I'm a little bit concerned about is that our transfer is scheduled for a Friday and we have guests coming for dinner that night. We scheduled it months ago based on their work schedule and babysitter availability (they're coming without kids). They're not the type to cancel unless one of their kids is sick... and even then probably not. I'm planning to make everything in advance and just chill and relax but I know myself and I know I'm going to want to be up and about taking care of serving stuff and clearing up, etc. I could cancel but I think it would be nice to hang out with friends and laugh and chill instead of anxiously channeling my inner couch potato worrying about every twinge.

T minus 5 days!