Our last appointment for the day was with our doctor and nurse. They met with us separately and the whole process took about two hours.
Our original and agreed upon plan was to split whatever we got 50/50, or biased in our favour if we ended up with an odd number of eggs. What we didn't realize is that there are three different types of eggs you can pull from a follicle: mature, borderline and immature. I think I mentioned these earlier, and perhaps mentioned that about 70% of mature eggs fertilize, 40% of borderline eggs fertilize, and immature eggs are destroyed. Let's just think about the mature eggs because those are really the only ones that count. Of those 70% that fertilize, about 70% of those make it to a good quality embryo on day 3. So if you start with six eggs, you end up with three or four high quality embryos, of which you would transfer two and freeze whatever is left. Around 70% make it through the freeze thaw cycle, so there is a chance you can lose these ones too.
The doc thinks I will probably produce six to eight mature eggs, and a number of borderline eggs. If this was not a shared cycle, we'd have plenty to go around. But it is shared, so we had to decide who gets all the good ones.
The point the doctor made was that if I get pregnant with this cycle, Lara has to wait upwards of two years before I can cycle again (after I have the baby and breastfeed), while I only have to wait two months. Thinking of it that way, the doctor suggested that Lara be the primary, and therefore, she gets all the best eggs first. The number she threw out there is six mature eggs. Lara and Roland get six of however many mature eggs I produce, and we get the rest, giving them the best chance at a successful pregnancy. So, if I produce eight mature and four immature, we end up with two mature, and four immature after they take their guaranteed portion.
Over the last few days Derek and I have discussed this, and I've done some soul searching, and I think this is the right thing to do. I think I am ok with waiting a few extra months if I need to, whereas Lara told me that they'd pursue other options if they can't use me. I'd like to give them the best shot at using Lara's genetic material first.
So, we just have to figure out the details, put it down on paper, have it witnessed, and send it to the clinic. Getting it on paper prevents two very hormonal women (remember all the medication we're on!) from getting in to a fist fight after egg retrieval if anyone should change her mind (and I'd totally win, by the way).
Just to wrap up, Lara got her prescriptions for her mock cycles (she has to do two) and starts October 4th when her and Roland get back from Jamaica (lucky jerks!). She'll be on Estrace (estrogen) and Prometrium (progesterone) to simulate a normal cycle. She has an ultrasound on day 13 to check her lining and make sure she's responding properly. Once her two cycles are done, we can move forward with the IVF(s). Based on her schedule and the fact that the clinic closes for Christmas, we're now looking at January for cycling rather then December.
So that's the whole situation. People keep telling me that I have so much patience with this, but really, what else can I do at this point but keep waiting?
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