Estradiol levels, etc.

First, this is the picture of the good luck charm the pharmacy sent with my medications. I like it - it's currently on our fireplace mantle. :) (Yes, we DO like metal sculptures!)

I went to my appointment this morning for my estradiol check. My veins are soooo bad - I told the phlebotomist usually my hand is best, but she wanted to try my wrist vein since it looked pretty good. OUCH is all I have to say about that! Yikes. Plus the bandage kind of looked like I was trying to off myself... but she was super nice.

About 2:30 p.m. I noticed my test results were back - my estradiol level was 188, up from 32 last Thurs. I was curious about what that might mean, and found the following link:

http://www.advancedfertility.com/ivfstim.htm

It explains how estradiol levels should rise during an IVF cycle and why they are monitored:

"Blood hormone levels and developing follicle sizes are monitored. Ultrasound is used to measure the follicles. Estrogen hormone blood levels are important. Estrogen (actually estradiol) levels are usually under 60 pg/ml at cycle baseline and rise significantly as multiple follicles develop. Peak estradiol levels in IVF at the time of HCG are usually between 1000 and 4000 pg/ml. The stimulating process usually takes about 8-10 days Graph showing estrogen hormone levels during an IVF stimulation Estradiol starts low and rises to 1000 to 4000 pg/ml by the time of the HCG injection The HCG injection is given when the estrogen level and the follicle measurements look best for successful IVF outcome. The HCG shot is needed to induce final egg maturation."

So... I thought 188 might be a little high at this point, and I was a little anxious about what that would mean for my dose today.

I had meetings at work from 11-2:30, then 2:45-4:30; I realized in my last meeting that I hadn't heard from the nurse yet and started worrying that maybe they forgot me... so, I left a message at 4:30 p.m.

I got home and the nurse called at 5:45 p.m. GOOD NEWS! I'm responding well to the medications and can decrease my FSH dose to 2 vials vs. 3 vials of Bravelle for today and tomorrow. Thankfully I seem to be cruising along - fingers crossed all continues to go well! :)

Also - kudos to Blake - he tried a shot of saline in his belly last night to see how it felt. Lucky for him, he hit a spot that wasn't sensitive. It meant a lot to me that he did that.