3rd Time's A Charm?????? (Man, I hope so)

We went to the RE this morning for a blood draw checking my estrogen level and an ultrasound. We were looking to make sure that the ovaries had healed from the stimulating drugs last month and that my estrogen levels had come down to an average range after everything.

The ultrasound tech said the ovaries looked really good and that they were down to the size we were looking for them to be. The nurse called and said that the estrogen levels were great too.

So, what does that mean??

Shots, shots, shots.

We start the 2 shots a day again tonight. I have my next blood draw and ultrasound on Saturday morning. Ugh, but a necessary evil.

The RE is recommending us to do a technique called "assisted hatching" this time. This is when they take the outer shell of the embryos and busting through it before they are transferred back into me.

My eggs are great quality, Aaron's sperm count is high and strong (much to his ego happiness), so that's not the issue. We have done 2 different medical protocols and neither have taken, but we have had great numbers of embryos retrieved and many of them fertilized - there has to be something else going on that is keeping those little guys from taking hold in me. I have had my uterus checked out and the lining is good, no polyps or cysts - everything is good everywhere else.

Man, it's frustrating as hell. Everything is lining up great, but those embryos have not taken hold.

They also want us to consider transferring 3 embryos instead of 2.

What the frustrating part is that they do not usually do assisted hatching and this many embryos in someone my age (31 - 32 in November) because women my age often do not need to have their outer layer broken. It happens as we get older and by the time they are doing IVF on women in their late 30s, it's common practice.

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How does this make me feel??

Pseudo-broken that I am on the younger side of the IVF protocols and have to do the techniques for more challenging IVF cases.

Frustrated that this is where we are now.

Hopeful that these changes will make all the difference.

Annoyed at the stimulating shots taking over my life again.

Scared for the pain of the retrieval.

Nervous for the 2ww.

Broke because it's 2 cycles in as many months.

Excited that we will get it in before the new school year starts (I could have my Beta test on my first day of school with students full time depending on when the retrieval will be set.)

Relieve that we seemed to have determined exactly what the issue is with the failures.

Semi-worried that if we do all 3 in the transfer and what happens if they all take???? (Talk about getting more than your dream!!)

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Yes, that's quite a bit of emotions running the whole spectrum of emotions. Unfortunately, it's all at the same time and comes to me in different waves. Sometimes, the waves are tidal waves, other times they are just little ripples in the water.

Well, I have to run and start doing shots again - this is my life from now until who knows when? I hate this part, thank goodness it's only a few minutes a day.