So Far, So Good

I haven't written much about this FET cycle. Mostly that's just because of how busy life has been (see last post). But also maybe because I don't want to jinx anything? Today is Day 10 of the protocol they have me using, although it's a little confusing since technically I started one of the drugs (Lupron) on September 8, which was before Day 1 (which was September 17).

Basically, I started the Lupron while I was still on the pill for a few days. Then I was supposed to be just on the Lupron and then have baseline monitoring (bloodwork and ultrasound). On my original schedule, the baseline monitoring would have been Day 0 (September 16). However, I had been having some pretty heavy spotting while on the pill, which then got worse once the pill was phased out and I was continuing on just the Lupron. I was kind of worried the spotting would be an issue since it was almost full flow (but in a weird way - it would sort of ebb and flow each day, always tapering off to nothing overnight). Ultimately, they had me come in early for the baseline monitoring on Day -2 (September 14) just to make sure there wasn't anything strange going on. The u/s tech assured me that it was just my body having a semi-period and it wouldn't interfere with the actual cycle. So that was a relief.

On 9/17 I was cleared to officially start cycling for an FET date of 10/6. I'm currently still on Lupron (a lower dose than at first) as well as baby aspirin and oral estrace (I'm allergic to adhesives so no patch for me). As of today I'm up to 3 doses of estrace per day. My last dose of Lupron will be middle of next week, and then things get pretty complicated with the addition of 4 more drugs. Yikes! I had a monitoring appointment this past Wednesday and the tech said everything looked "perfect". My lining is thickening nicely and all my bloodwork came back fine. I have one more monitoring appointment this upcoming Wednesday and then I assume I'll get more details about the actual transfer day.

Some random thoughts/observations about doing an FET cycle so far:

• In some ways, it seems just as (if not more?) complicated as a fresh cycle. It's definitely longer (21+ days as opposed to 10-14 for a fresh) so maybe that's why...
• There are STILL lots of needles! For some reason I just assumed there would be fewer needles but apparently I was wrong. It still involves nightly stomach stabbing and pretty soon I get to start the PIO butt shots as well. Woohoo!
• The side effects aren't as bad... This could be just that I'm less attuned to them this time around? Maybe having been through pregnancy and postpartum hormone fluctuations it just isn't as noticeable? Maybe I was just hyper aware last time with my fresh cycle because I'd never been on any of those drugs before so I was analyzing every last symptom to the nth degree? Maybe the fact that I haven't just been through 6 months of Clomid cycles beforehand helps? Who knows. 
• I looked up a due date calculator specifically for FET cycles and based on the transfer date of 10/6, it told me I'm "currently 1 week pregnant". Ha! 

So there you have it. So far it's going well... I think?