It might be boring, but still, it's progress!

Now, let me put you to sleep with the details... I finished my last Provera pill (10 of 10) on Sunday. In the past when I've taken this to induce a cycle, I only take 5 and then 2 or 3 days following AF will arrive. I expected the wait to be the same in this case, but it wasn't at all; instead it showed up the middle of the next day. Surprise! As instructed, I contacted my clinic to let them know it was CD1. They called in a BCP prescription (for Aviane to be exact, which contains ethinyl estradiol

and levonorgestrel, two forms of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone) and I was told to start my first pill no later than CD5. I have read before about CD3 being a common day women begin the regime, so I decided I would too and popped it late last night.

Everyone always talks about how funny it is that you're TTC and you are on BCP. :-) To me, if it seems weird or crazy, it pretty much fits right in with IF. hahaa! Actually, what I hate about the BCP, which I completely forgot about until right when I opened the pack, is that I feel nauseous from the stupid things. Years and years ago when I was on the pill, I dealt with this constantly. It would always take a good 4 days or so for my body to get used to the low-dose hormones. Even if I take them with food or at night, my stomach will hurt pretty much the entire next day. Ultimately, this is why I stopped taking them and switched to the Nuva Ring. Anyway, is it annoying - yes. Will it be worth it - yes indeed! This is mild to what these next couple months will throw at me, I'm sure, so I best get used to it now. *grin*

Why do most people take BCP during an IVF cycle?
Most of the time, and I fit right into this personally and because I'm cycling at SIRM, women with unpredictable cycles are put on the BCP to sync their body with the rest of the women who are cycling that same month. I believe that sometimes even women with regular cycles will be put on this because they want the ability to do ER & ET around the same days for scheduling purposes. Also, in women who are known to be classified as "high responders" (where they will recruit lots and lots of eggs), the pill is thought to lessen the risk of dangerous OHSS. Since I am PCOS, I fit into this category as well.

A little clarification from my last IVF update...
I spoke with Mary again. Based on her previous note, she cleared up for me that the ER will fall on 8/5 or after (not 8/3). Beginning around 8/3, I'll be in their office sometimes daily for monitoring to see how the follicles are doing. I’ll then have approximately a 2-day break between the HCG and ER and then a 3-6 day break between ER and ET. So, knowing this, I am able to get a better idea that the first two weeks in August will be when I'll be taking quite a bit of time off work for appts, procedures and bed rest.

Things you never thought you'd tell your boss :P
I am fortunate enough to work for a wonderful company. We're a fairly small group (just 13 of us) and the owner/my boss is a young guy himself. I have always been able to be extremely open about family priorities, career goals, etc. and everything as always been very well received. I'm happy to report our upcoming IVF is no exception. I filled him in on the general idea of how things will work, which tells the story of when I'll need to be out of the office and sometimes the very short notice of when I'll need time off (take those two weeks in Aug for example). He was fine with everything and was more interested to say things like "Are you ready for this?" and "I'll be crossing my fingers for you." With IVF, I feel like we have to put our best foot forward and the last thing I need to do is stress about about my job too. It's such a relief to know that isn't a concern - I consider it a blessing from God!

What's next?
I'm waiting to get a call from my IVF cycle coordinator, Peggy, who will then set up our IVF calendar review. I was told on Monday she would be contacting me within a week or so and to mention it to them if I hadn't heard anything. So, I wait. If nothing by, say Tuesday of next week, I call. I think that's fair, don't you ;-)

Oh and - let the countdown to shots begin!
It was also confirmed that down-regulation (also known as ovarian supression) with Lupron will begin on or around July 15 (like I posted way back when). That's now less than a month away - hooray!

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