6dpiui

So today is 6dpiui (days past IUI), 7dpo (days past ovulation), and 8 days past trigger (no fancy abbreviation for that one).

My chart says I ovulated the day before the IUI and based on ovulation pains followed by lack of ovary pressure on that day I'd have to agree. An egg can live up to 24 hours after it's released so let's hope mine did just that.

The trigger shot is still in my system. A pregnancy test taken this morning showed a faint line and since it's very unlikely I already implanted and have enough hCG in my system to register positive, I know it's from the trigger. Last time it was out by 6dpo but I guess it's like a pregnancy and can be different every time. I'm expecting it to be fully out by tomorrow or at the latest Thursday.

As far as symptoms go, not too much to report. I'm very sleepy but it's probably from the trigger shot and/or waking up early. Heightened sense of smell is there but that's a post ovulation thing for me. So is a bit of nausea every now and again (check!) so not much to go off of for pregnancy symptoms. I've also got my usual twinges and pains in my uterus and my cervix has been hurting so those point to AF coming. Noticeably (and thankfully) absent are the headaches. I usually get them nearly every day after ovulation but I haven't had one...yet. my worst ones come a couple days before AF arrives so we'll see.

We're one week down and one to go. My chart looks great but that really doesn't mean much at all. Women with great charts don't end up pregnant and women with crappy charts do. Happens all the time.

Only time will tell...

UPDATE: Mild headache. Crap.

IUI Day!

I'm all inseminated. Procedure was fine. Things got a little complicated because my uterus/cervix is tilted so they had to re-adjust the speculum a couple times (which one thing no one tells you is they can't use lube so that's fun) and they had to change catheters to get past the tilt but after that, smooth sailing. Pain free with just minor cramping afterwards. I am a little tender now but it's not horrible.

So let the 2ww begin!

CD14

I skipped yesterday. But don't worry, all my symptoms are the same as they have been. Well, I was horrifically irritable yesterday which is more than my mild irritability but all the rest are still the same.

So today was our follicle scan.

We are ready to go!

I had 1 follicle that was 19x20 so I take my trigger shot tonight and we have the IUI on Wednesday.

Shit just got real.

CD12 (And Some Helpful Explanations)

As I post my symptoms every day, I realize that some people read them and are probably like, HUH?

For instance, ovary pressure. I could probably ask someone what that felt like and they may give me a completely different answer than I would give. So I'm going to go through some of my symptoms and really explain them cuz someone could be experiencing the same thing but use a different term than I do.

• Ovary Pressure- When I say I have ovary pressure, what I'm feeling is a kind of pressure or discomfort where my ovary is. Especially when I pee. Usually when I have a good follicle growing, I'll get a discomfort in the ovary that has the follicle whenever I empty my bladder. It literally feels like the follicle is the size of a baseball and emptying my bladder moved it back to it's normal spot and oh can I feel it. I wouldn't say it's painful all the time, but the bigger it gets the more painful peeing can become. I also feel the pressure throughout the day depending on what I'm doing. Definitely can feel this pretty painfully the bigger the follicle gets during sex. Gets pretty uncomfortable but it's a good sign things are growing so I don't mind it. Basically to me it all feels like a mass/bubble/heaviness in my ovary. I think I explained that the best I could.
• Twinges- Twitches or spasms. Usually when I'm about to ovulate or get my period, my lower abdomen/pelvic area twitches. A few specific random spots over and over again. 
• Cervix Pain- For me it's a stabbing or shooting pain that goes through my cervix. Never experienced this pain before I had my child (who wasn't even delivered naturally) but I get it now whenever my cervix is opening (and sometimes closing).

Another thing I would like to mention is what exactly I am doing this cycle as far as fertility sign tracking. I realize I don't exactly need to do any of this since I am being monitored by ultrasound, but I like to anyway.

This cycle I am

• Temping 
• Using A Fertility Microscope 
• Using OPKs

I may start checking my cervix but it really isn't necessary since we'll be doing IUI.

CD11

Had my follicle scan this morning. As I thought, I don't have any follicles big enough yet. But I'm only on CD11 so it's not that big of a deal. I do however have 1 follicle on my left side that is at 12mm. When I did my last medicated cycle, I did Clomid on days 5-9. Four days after stopping Clomid I had 1 follicle on my right ovary at 11mm. This time it's a 12. I know it's only the difference of a millimeter but I feel like days 3-7 work better for me.

I go back in Monday for another scan to see if it's ready and if it is, I'll do the trigger shot that night and the IUI will be Tuesday morning.

Now the question will be, will I keep just the one follicle or end up with 2 like last time?

I'm hoping for 2.

I wanted to add that my uterine lining was at 5.9mm. My last RE never said anything out loud while he was measuring so I never knew what my lining was at. This doctor is amazing and relays everything to her nurse out loud.

5.9mm for my cycle day is good. They want your lining between 6mm and 12mm (some say as much as 14mm is good too) and since I'm only on CD11, and your lining typically grows 1mm per day, I should be at 8.9mm on Monday for my next scan and 9.9mm on Tuesday for my IUI. 

List of symptoms:

• Headache
• Hot Flashes
• Twinges
• Ovary Pressure

CD10

Headache
Irritability
Ovary Pressure

I think that's all my symptoms today. It's been a long day so it's not a pretty post like usual.

Follicle scan in the morning. Don't have high hopes for any good sized follicles (because I'm a slow start) so basically I'll probably be going back in for another in a few days.

CD9

Ok, lesson of the day. Don't take an OPK too soon after ending Clomid because you can get a false positive. I've never had a problem with that before but I guess there's always that possibility.

But anyway, here's the symptom list...

• Hot Flashes
• Cervix Pain
• "Fullness" in my lower abdomen by my ovaries

CD8

Wow was yesterday a cranky day for me. I was wondering when the Clomid mood swings would really set in lol. Luckily I have an awesome husband who knows it's just the meds talking. (love you!)

This Picture Immediately Came To Mind

So here is the list of symptoms for today (and as always, it's updated as they occur):

• Tired (could just be the past week catching up with me though)
• Sensitive Nipples
• Ovary Pressure
• Cramping (especially in ovary area)
• Ovary Pain
• Hot Flashes

CD7

Today is my last dose of Clomid. Not much to report. I'm a little cranky today but that could just be from the puppy. I have no pressure in my ovaries but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. It just means they aren't big enough yet which obviously wouldn't be happening on CD 7 anyway.

List of symptoms:

• Irritability 
• Ovary Pain
• Hot Flashes
• Sensitive Nipples

CD6

Ok, CD6. There were a few days there I didn't update, but mainly cuz nothing was really going on. (Plus my best friends were in town so we were pretty busy).

SO here is the update.

I started Clomid on CD3 and surprisingly haven't had too many side effects. I've got my usual hot flashes and some ovary pain and maybe a little nausea (but that's not entirely Clomid related, I get nauseous close to ovulation on natural cycles too) and I was dizzy for maybe half a second on CD4 I believe. Ok and we can't forget the irritability on CD4 too.

I've been keeping track of all my symptoms on Fertility Friend for both my obsession and the surveys I take at every appointment for the PCOS study. If I don't track it all, I'll forget everything the second I go to write it down.

Fertility Friend has been the best thing I've ever done to chart my cycles and symptoms and honestly, I've learned a lot about my body's pre-ovulation signs in the 6+ years I've been keeping track. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to conceive because you never know if that eye twitch you get every so often doesn't end up coinciding with ovulation. Trust me, I have some odd ovulation signs that I never would have thought could be ovulation signs if I didn't chart and notice a trend.

But anyway, I go for my first follicle check on Friday and hopefully we see some growers.

UPDATE: I also ended up having some cervix pain which is always a good indicator of ovulation (and AF). Whenever my cervix hurts, it's because it's opening.

List of symptoms:

• Hot Flashes
• Ovary Pain
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Irritability
• Cervix Pain

CD2!

Yesterday I got my period unexpectedly early. Since I was on Provera, I wasn't expecting it for a few more days but I am totally fine with it coming early! So I called and set up my baseline ultrasound and had it today. Everything went well! I still have a bunch of cysts on both ovaries but there's one on my right side that is at a 6 and she said that should be the one that progresses with Clomid. I also get to start the Clomid tomorrow on CD3 which I've been begging doctors to do since my second cycle on it years ago. And I didn't even have to ask! She just told me start it tomorrow. And I also just got the call that I will be in the stair-step group of the study so if I don't respond to the Clomid, they just up my dosage instead of canceling my cycle. Super happy and super excited to get things going! My first follicle check is on the 17th and if all goes well, the IUI will be a few days after. :)