4 1/2 + (11-1) = cloud 9

Hi friends!

I'm sorry to have left you hanging for so long. It is impossibly difficult for me to type up a blog post on my phone. I was lucky enough to get to a computer for the last post, but that didn't happen again.

Buster and I had a wonderful 4 1/2 days in the city. We did some touristy things, such as hit up the American Museum of Natural History and Ellis Island. We also visited many wonderful restaurants. And shopped. Pretty much all you could hope to do in NYC!

View of lower Manhattan from the Statue of Liberty ferry ride.

My appointments were progressing quite well! Each day, the nurses and study coordinator seemed pleased with my progress and response. At one point, the study coordinator informed me that I'm only the second mini IVF clinical trial patient he's seen with so many follies!

Two days prior to egg retrieval, I had 14 follies. I was incredibly pleased with this, but still nervous about the actual retrieval. What if none of the follicles contained viable eggs?

I think the worrying and questions stems from my "unexplained" infertility. Since we don't really know what's wrong, I fear the worst in every scenario.


Because I had so many follicles, they recommended I do general anesthesia, instead of the typical local anesthesia that most mini IVF patients undergo. We had to pay $500 for it, but I think it was a worthwhile investment.

They got 11 eggs at the egg retrieval! ELEVEN!

I was (and still am) super excited about that number! On the paperwork they give us when we join the study, they anticipate 3-5 eggs, so yeah... I'm feeling pretty good!

And even better... I got a call from the embryologist today. Out of the 11 eggs retrieved, 10 were mature. All 10 were injected with Buster's sperm (ICSI), and all 10 fertilized!

I know that this in no way indicates that all 10 will be around on Day 5, but I'm just over the moon. I was so nervous that none would fertilize, or that all of my eggs would die. So many ridiculous scenarios run through your head during this IVF process.

So, for the next step...

They will let our little babies grow for 5 to 7 days. The ones that make it to blastocyst phase will be frozen. Then, on CD19 of next cycle, I will have my FET, where they will transfer one embryo.

The reason they do not do a fresh transfer with the mini IVF is because of all the Clomid I had to take. Since it has adverse affects on uterine lining, they like to play it safe and just wait until next cycle.

I can't wait for November.