Mel’s Show & Tell — Frozen Embryo Transfer, Step by Step

For Show & Tell this week I thought I go over the steps of my frozen embryo transfer in plain English. Recently I have given my URL to people who don’t necessarily know how assisted reproductive technology works. So, I thought it would be helpful to explain what these next few weeks will be like.

I started a drug called 1upron last week on day 21 of my cycle. The reason for starting that day is that I should have ovulated by then. This is checked by an ultrasound (not so affectionately known as the dildocam) of my ovaries, where they look for a corpus luteum (an empty egg follicle) and a blood test. I inject the medication with a small, subcutaneous needle into my abdomen. No big deal. Stings for a half second, and I get a little itchy at the injection site, but that’s all. Its purpose is to shut down my ovaries, since we’re not using them for this. This is called the suppression phase of the cycle. Not all frozen embryo cycles are done with suppression, but it gives us more flexibility in timing the transfer.

After 14 days of 1upron injections I will go to my local clinic for another ultrasound and blood work to make sure my ovaries are suppressed. (Not anticipating that my poor, old girls will have a problem with this.) Then I stop the injections and start taking estrogen pills to build up my uterine lining. After 10 days of estrogen, back to the clinic for another date with the dildocam and more bloodletting. Hopefully, I will have a nice, fluffy lining. A soft bed of tissue for and embryo to dig in and stay for the duration.

Following a good lining check I will start progesterone. This is in the form of capsules inserted up my hoo ha. Some doctors prefer intramuscular injections of progesterone in an oil suspension. These are LONG, BIG GAUGE needles in the tushie. They need to me long to get into the muscle, and they need to be thick needles because it’s an oil suspension, so too thick to push through a thin needle. There have been many studies that show that vaginal progesterone is just as effective as a HUGE needle in the ass. I know there are exceptions to this, but I am relieved not to have to do it.

A few days after the lining check I will fly to the frozen tundra for my embryo transfer. I’m disappointed that Angrycanrn will be out of town, but I have been emailing another blogger in the area and we hope to meet up while I'm there. An embryo transfer is usually an easy procedure. I know what to expect from my IVF in November. Before the procedure I will drink a good deal of water to fill my bladder. I think this raises up the uterus, making it easier to visualize on the ultrasound. Please correct me if I’m wrong about this, internets. Some people find the full bladder to be the most uncomfortable part of an embryo transfer. I have good kegals (for now), so not a problem for me.

Okay, so … on the table, knees wide apart. Ultrasound is external (no dildocam), so my abdomen is gooped up with ultrasound gel. The tech will get my cervix and uterus on screen. The dr will thread a catheter past my cervix into my uterus. The embryologist will pass a syringe containing the embryos to the doctor, who will inject them through the catheter into my uterus. We should be able to see them on the ultrasound screen. Little bright dots in my uterus. (I love them already.) The dr will withdraw the catheter and pass it and the syringe back to the embryologist, who will check them under a microscope to make sure all the embryos are where they should be and that none are stuck to the catheter or syringe.

I will stay on the table for a while, then they will tell me it’s okay to get up and pee. I’ll go back to the hotel and take it easy for the rest of the day. Of course, I will blog about it! Maybe I’ll give out my hotel phone number by email and some of you can call.

I’ll fly home a day or two later. This is when the hard part really starts. THE TWO WEEK WAIT. Not always exactly 2 weeks, but that’s the phrase we use to refer to the crazymaking time until the official pregnancy blood test. Many of us are home pregnancy test addicts. POAS (Pee On A Stick) junkies. I’m ready. I have a box of 2 lst Response tests, and a bunch of ebay cheapies that are supposed to be generic lst Response. This is THE MOST STRESSFUL part of the process. I will be wondering about every little twinge, poking my boobs to see if they’re tender, debating with myself whether I’m tired from the stress, from the progesterone, or because I’m PREGNANT! Of course I also have to behave as if I were pregnant, so no booze to calm my frayed nerves. Chocolate consumption will increase.

Hopefully, by beta day (pregnancy blood test), I will have gotten clear positives on home pregnancy tests. I know it’s a possibility it won’t work. It will be agony if I don’t get pregnant from this transfer, but it won’t stop me from reaching my goal. We think I should have 2 or maybe 3 tries with these embryos. Can’t stop my multi-tasking mind from planning ahead.

A positive pregnancy test is the just first of many big hurdles to bringing home a baby, but it’s the biggest. Hope this transfer is the one!

Don’t forget to see what the rest of the class is showing.