Day 7

I started feeling crampy toward the end of the day. The meds feel like they're really starting to kick in and bloating has fully settled in. I forgot this part of the cycle, where you feel like you're holding two grapefruits as ovaries. At least the headaches are gone, thanks to the new eye drops.


I'm trying to figure out when egg retrieval will be so I can plan for it, but I know that it depends on how I respond to meds. As it stands right now I'm estimating it can be anywhere from Thursday to Sunday. I hope it's not on Saturday, but I also hope it's not on Friday because I have a major meeting on Friday morning. It can't be rescheduled because it includes 30+ people so I would have to just call in sick. I don't like doing it, but it is what it is.


As for acupuncture, I was able to finally talk to the acupuncturist after playing multiple rounds of phone tag. She gave me a lot of information and what I gathered from it is that I don't think it's for me. She suggested a once/week regimen and said most people do it for 3 - 6 months before they even start IVF. She doesn't have Sunday or evening appointments (until after a transfer, weird rule) so that would mean I'd have to take off time from work to get it done, which includes 20 min driving in each direction to her office, and the hour of the session. She also doesn't accept my insurance.


When I asked the monitoring doctor about her recommendation about acupuncture, she chose her words carefully and basically said that a lot of patients find it relaxing and because they are more relaxed they see higher success rates.  She made sure to clarify that it's not medically necessary but if it makes me feel better they support it 100%. 


The acupuncturist mentioned that it's helpful for balancing hormones, helping the ovaries reduce in size after a retrieval, etc. All the things she's mentioned aren't issues for me. We've had beautiful, strong embryos. The problem is that they didn't stick the past two times. Realistically speaking, in the "real world," people don't try two months in a row and then decide something is wrong if they're still not pregnant. IVF raises the rates but it's not a guarantee of anything.


I can get on board with adding a relaxation routine to my life, but I don't think it has to be acupuncture.  There's massage, yoga, exercise, meditation, and probably other things I'm not thinking of. I've never had a massage before but I did a little research and there's a great place right near me with evening and weekend appointments. Beside that I've read that massage can help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and relieve muscle tension. To me that sounds like a lot of the same benefits that acupuncture boasts.


As soon as I find out when the egg retrieval is schedule for, I will plan to get a massage the day before. If I like it, I'll schedule one for the day before or day of the FET transfer, assuming we have something to transfer.

Day 6

A few quick updates:


IVF:  We're moving along!  Today's monitoring included bloodwork and ultrasound. Meds upped again and I'm scheduled for another appointment on Friday.


Eyes: In other news, I also had my eye appointment and apparently I have dry eyes. I got some eye drops and the symptoms were better almost immediately. She suggested to take them every few hours for a week so I'll give it a try.


Acupuncture: I'm looking into more information. I've heard from some people that acupuncture helped them relax throughout the cycling process which led to successful transfers and pregnancies. I know acupuncture isn't a miracle, and if it was required as part of the transfer process it would be part of my treatment plan. I'm not a stressed person and I have a pretty positive attitude. Even so, it's a stressful process so acupuncture can't hurt, right? It costs $140 for the first session and $90 for each session after that. It's not covered by insurance. So is it worth it for "can't hurt?" I'm not sure.


Home décor: We're having a hard time tracking down a contractor to do our basement.  We have two we're vetting but so far we haven't been able to nail down a date. It's the first phase of major house decorating so it's annoying that it's being held up. New update on that soon.


Looking ahead: Pesach prep is going to be right around a potential FET. We usually have guests stay over and I don't know if it's a good idea this year. Best case it will be right at the beginning of a preg; worst case... we'll be grieving another negative beta. I don't know the answer but I'll explore more in a future post.