CD15: Anticipation

I sat around yesterday morning with both phones by my side, not sure which one would eventually ring. When it came in on my cell phone I recognized the number and panicked a bit ... I hate getting the clinic phone calls no matter what they are.

Fortunately, it was good news: the embryologist said that my little bean had survived the night and was at the 2pn stage.

Whew.

I started progesterone yesterday - 400mg twice a day. 800mg total. That's quadruple what most of my doctors have had me on. I read a few of Dr. Czech's studies and it seems that he gets better pregnancy rates with this method in older patients. Glad this guy is on the ball with the meds.

Today the embryologist called at the same time. I was even more panicked today as so many embryos just don't make it past the first day or two. I've also been hemming and hawing on whether email my manager regarding my absence for a few days.

Good news again!

3 cells!

I asked the embryologist what the normal range was for an embryo that "made it" at this point. She said 2 to 5 cells is normal and that mine was doing just fine.

Whew.

I made a point of asking her about my zona and whether it seemed that ICSI would have been required. But she explained that she wasn't the person that did the ICSI so she didn't know. She said there weren't any comments in my file. She did say that they see a 60% fertilization rate without ICSI. My one natural fert cycle was at 67% so it was a bit higher than that but not by much.

So I'm busy today trying to get the apartment in order for when I return on Thursday or Friday afternoon. I'll be in a hotel tonight through Thursday morning, complete with room service, housekeeping, and a shuttle to get me to and from my appointment. I hope it all goes well and that there aren't glitches with shuttles and meals that I couldn't have forseen. I've got my laptop & meds all packed away. I still need to grab hi protein snacks that I can take to the hotel to supplement the room service meals. I'm going to head out late tonight and stay there tonight so that my room is all set up in the morning and I can come back and lay down for the next two days.

The embryologist is supposed to call me by 8AM to let me know if the embryo is still alive. Another call I have to endure and hope that there's good news on the other end of the line.