Mock Mock Cycles

(Only my family will get that title!)

So we're still in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment. As I mentioned in September, my sister has to do two mock cycles to see how she responds to the protocol they have her on. Basically, they're forcing her uterus to go through a menstural cycle, but without the ovulation bit. So they give her estrogen to build up the lining, and then once it gets nice and thick, they give her progesterone so she gets her period.

Unfortunately, through a series of miscommunications, her first mock cycle in October was a complete bust. There was a mix up in dosing instructions somewhere between the clinic and the pharmacy, and Lara ended up taking progesterone during the first half of her cycle, which she isn't supposed to do. She did build up a nice lining eventually, but the test results weren't going to be representative, so we had to start all over again.

Her second first mock cycle started almost three weeks ago. She had her first ultrasound last week, and after two weeks on Estrace, her lining was only at 4.4 mm with a barely there triple stripe (trilaminar). They like to see 7 mm or more, and a clear triple stripe, for an embryo transfer. So, she's continued on 6 mg of Estrace for the last week and has another ultrasound today. Hopefully her lining is developing well and we can move on to the second mock cycle. If it's not doing so well, they're going to try a different protocol and we have to start all over AGAIN! So much waiting. Fingers crossed for a good ultrasound!

By the way, my baby fever has lately kicked in to overdrive. I am surrounded by pregnant women and babies right now, and my craving for one of my own is sometimes overpowering. It's doubly hard because Derek and I are preventing right now in preparation for the IVF and it feels so weird. I guess it gets rid of the stress of the TWW, which is nice, but it still makes me a bit sad that we are losing time.