Here I Go Again- FET #2

Our natural cycle did not work unfortunately, despite all of our best intentions. We timed everything perfectly, followed all the rules, but with only 1-2% chance of conceiving on our own, I am by no means shocked at the result; Especially when Aunt Flo was only in town for one. measly. day. Sure, there is always room for a miracle from God, and He can defy all odds. However, in this case He chose not to. Realistically, I don't need an MD at the end of my name to know that if my period only lasted for one day, I probably didn't build a thick enough endometrial lining to give anything a place to implant, even if there were perfectly fertilized blastocysts floating around in there looking for a nice cushy place to land.

I had my baseline ultrasound today, finalized our schedule for FET #2, and then proceeded to rock out to some Whitesnake in total rebellion. Here I go again! Seriously though, I think the lyrics are actually pretty fitting right about now. And because I love you all so much, I will provide you with this classic at the mere click of a button...

I will not be walking down this road alone though of course. The dearest hubby will be by my side once he returns from FL in 12 days (working on his MBA). A few minor changes with this FET as compared to last time:

1) On days when I only take estradiol twice daily I will be doing one dose orally and one dose vaginally. (Last time I did both orally). This will hopefully give a tiny extra boost to my endometrial lining, since meds taken vaginally are absorbed even more than those taken orally.

2) I will have my lining check later in the FET cycle (3 days later than normal). I did this mostly for scheduling purposes (so hubby will be back & able to attend this appointment) but it also gives my lining a good 3 extra days to grow more than it did last time (8.1 mm). I would love to reach 9 mm!

3) We will have our transfer scheduled 8 days after the lining check (1 day more than normal). This was done mostly for HUBBY'S 37th BIRTHDAY scheduling purposes. We have both sacrificed so much in this process, and we have a special day planned for his bday. I want his day to be special because he deserves ALL of the attention on HIM. I opted not to have my feet in stirrups that day, and we'll wait until the following day for the transfer.

4) We plan to transfer two embryos this time around. We were given about 35% chance of conceiving when transferring one embryo, and using two brings our chances to about 50%. I gave up believing in statistic long ago. They mean nothing if it doesn't work obviously, but if doing two will raise our chances while not increasing risk by much, then we figure we may as well go for it. We still have 4 embryos on ice, so we have enough for two more FET's. Hopefully this will be the one though!

5) Lovenox??? I am torn on what to do about using this as part of my protocol again. My RE does not believe it increases pregnancy rates, even in those with blood clotting disorders, like myself. However, I do have a script for it and can get it filled. He said it can't hurt anything, other than the fact I could bleed to death if I am in a car wreck or something. No biggy there!

But here is the kicker....I HATE THIS SHOT. The only way I can do it is to ice the area on my belly 10 min. before & 10 min. afterwards. Anyone who knows anything about TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) knows that the goal is to keep that area, and your whole body for that matter, WARM while TTC. That is just one rule that is not to be broken and one that has been followed for thousands of years in Eastern medicine. Remember, Eastern medicine has been used way longer than Western medicine has even existed, and I do believe in a lot of the principles.

I have hesitations to do these shots again for all these reasons; the pain & stressfulness, my RE's belief that it won't help until after I get pregnant anyway (to prevent miscarriage), and the whole freezing of my uterus issue.  Plus, I did use it with our last FET and it wasn't exactly the magic bullet .... a lot of hassle for nothing ultimately.

However, could it possibly help? Who the heck knows!  I've also considered starting Lovenox later in the cycle (around transfer time) instead of early like I did with our last FET (CD5). This way I wouldn't have to endure it nearly as many days and would still have the benefits of having the extra blood thinner during the time when an embryo would be implanting. Doctor's who do Rx Lovenox during IVF/FET seem to fall into two camps: Those who prescribe it early on and those who prescribe it at time of transfer.

My brain hurts from contemplating Lovenox and all the other autoimmune protocols I've seen floating around in infertility cyberspace. Part of me wants to just follow my own doctor's advice and believe in his protocol AS-IS with no tweaks or changes of my own. He has been doing this for quite a long time with good results, and I believe he's a good doctor. Another part of me feels like I should cover my bases with more than just baby aspirin to keep my blood flowing optimally. What's a girl to do?