IUI #2 Is On!

I got a chance to speak with my RE today and she is recommending that we move forward with another IUI for this cycle! This means that if everything goes well and they continue growing, we'll be triggering with 7 mature little eggs in the next few days.

Seven follicles might seem like a lot for your average person and I can definitely see why. I have no intention of becoming the next octo(septo)mom and the potential for 7 little embryos to implant seems crazy. Most doctors suggest you trigger with one or two eggs, if you're okay with the possibility of twins, and might even cancel a cycle that showed 7 follicles. For us, this is not the case.

Back when we were first discussing IVF vs IUI, our RE Dr. K said she would be thrilled to see a 30% fertilization rate from my eggs. I'm only 27 but we don't know what shape my eggs are in because of the FXPOI, and from what I've researched, there's definitely a drop in quality in cycles where you produce tons of eggs. Someone without FXPOI might see 7 out of 15 eggs harvested fertilize and maybe 5 might make it to day 5 for freezing. I might be lucky to get 2 out of 7 and we're expecting those same odds, if not less, for IUI since the sperm won't be hand delivered to their eggs.

My hope is that with 7 potential targets for our sperm to hit, we might get super lucky and have 2 fertilize and implant. Three would give us better odds, but it's probably too much to ask for. Statistically, if our 50% odds held, one embryo would have Fragile X and the other would be healthy. Unfortunately, we all know that statistics don't hold up in small sample sizes. With two embryos we would really be just as likely to get two affected fetuses as two unaffected fetuses, and my fear is that we might end up having to terminate the whole (potential) pregnancy.

I have been mentally preparing myself for a TFMR (termination for medical reasons) since I got my Fragile X Premutation diagnosis, and although it's horrible and gut wrenching to even think about, I think it would be a lot easier to cope with if we get to take home a baby at the end. With a twin or triplet pregnancy, assuming we can get pregnant at all, I would be incredibly happy to end up with just one healthy baby. It would be horrible to have to terminate one or more affected fetuses, but we'd still get one child in the end so it would all be worth it. Getting pregnant with an affected singleton, or affected twins, having to terminate and come home with no baby, would be devastating.

For now, I'm trying to stay positive as usual, hang with my fuzzy babies, and send lots of good vibes to my follicles. I took 6 vials of Menopur today in a single injection, boy did that burn like hell, and I'll have my next appointment with my RE or nurse tomorrow morning to see how the follies are growing. They'll either be nice and mature and (just about) ready to trigger, or not quite grown and I'll need to continue stimming for a couple days.  I think I have 10 vials of Menopur left so I could do one more day of 6 or 8 vials before buying more, or two days of 5 vials if she wants me to reduce further. I'll also have acupuncture a couple hours after my appointment with Dr. K so I'll ask my acupuncturist S to do everything she can to increase blood flow to my ovaries and uterus. Fingers crossed for good results!

My waiting buddies. They're sleeping so sweetly because they jumped up on the counter while I was on a conference call and ate the four bowls of food I had laid out for dinner. Or more accurately, Fuckie(the white one) ate three bowls of dinner while Cillian ate his own. Now I get to defrost more food for the other two hungry kitties. Thanks Fuckie.