IVF 8: CD13

I was in yesterday for monitoring; back again this morning. I think I've figured out the system: since the bloodwork lab is on a different floor than the rest of the clinic where ultrasounds are done, and each has their own sign-in sheet and wait time, it has to be properly managed for maximum efficiency.

Since ultrasounds take longer between people, it's key to check in and get on that list first. Then you count how many people are ahead of you and multiply it by 5 minutes each. Even though it takes longer than that per person, there are multiple monitoring rooms so it averages out. If there are more than 3 people ahead, it's worth it to go down and to try to get bloodwork done in the meantime. When it's not crowded, bloodwork takes about 5 minutes total. If it is crowded, the wait can be up to 3 minutes per person in the waiting room, because there are multiple people drawing blood. The most I've seen was a full room with 20 people. It's a crapshoot and you never know what will be until you get there.

This morning I got there at 7:15 am and signed in upstairs. There were 8 people ahead of me so I went down for bloodwork. There was only one person ahead of me there. I was back upstairs with only one person ahead of me. Total time from leaving the parking lot to back to my car: 38 min. Score! That's a lot better than last Monday when it was 1 hr 45 min.

My dosage is a lot more conservative than in previous cycles but I'm still responding well. Some follicles measured in the 18s this morning. There were some 15s and 16s so I bet they'll stim another day to give them a chance to grow. There were also some smaller ones in the 9s and 11s. It was about 20 all together but I don't think the smaller ones count if they don't mature and fertilize.

I have enough meds to stim tonight. If they decide to go longer I'll have to reorder meds. As it looks right now, I think they'll stim tomorrow with a retrieval Thursday. Waiting for bloodwork results to confirm.