Speedbump

February 15

Well, this I didn’t expect: my cycle has been cancelled. And what does that mean? It means I have to stop my meds and let the eggs I’ve produced continue to develop on their own and for my follicles to release them on their own – where they will be lost forever. Or so we hope. Must remember birth control, or else I’ll be in real trouble!

The reason is something I really had no idea could happen. Why was I not prepared for this disappointment? Usually, I’d be the first one to draw out possible downsides to a plan, but for some reason, this time I had not a care in the world. I thought that as long as I gave myself my shots every day at the same time, as long as I took each and every one of my pills, I’d produce follicles, they would retrieve eggs, and everything would be fine and dandy.

Turns out IVF cycles sometimes have an adverse event called a “dominant follicle”. A follicle that develops faster than the others, that produces inhibin – a peptide that inhibits the development of the other follicles, effectively dwarfing them and rendering them useless. Well, turns out I have TWO dominant follicles. So, the final verdict: aside from these two, I have 3 or maybe 4 good follicles that may or may not contain eggs – not worth the effort of retrieval. So we’ve been instructed to stop all meds and wait for our periods, which should come in two weeks or so. Then I’ll go in for an ultrasound to make sure my ovaries are cyst-free on day 3 and we’ll start all over. This time, I’ll likely use the birth control pill – if my hematologist is comfortable with it. Apparently the pill helps prevent this from happening.

Wow, who knew there were evil follicles I had to be on the lookout for. I had been enjoying this ride, where I got to give myself injections – nothing I hadn’t done before, and where things seemed under control. Who knows how many other things can go wrong in IVF cycles. I guess I have some reading to do! Or maybe I should just continue down the path of blissful ignorance I’ve been enjoying and deal with things as they come. Hmmm....