Swimmers On Board!

My new lucky socks

As of about 8:45 this morning, I'm PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise) once again!  I waited for no more than 5 minutes in the waiting room at my RE's office before being called back by MA, one of the nurses I've known forever.  In no time I was undressed and in the stirrups.  I was told my cervical mucous was beautiful (it's possible I blushed) and the catheter slipped in and then 22.8 million swimmers were set loose to do their job.

Last night I (finally) did a little research on estradiol levels and Femara, and found some very reassuring information.  Bear with me for a little science talk.  Femara is an aromatase inhibitor, and works to prevent estradiol production.  When estradiol levels fall, the pituitary is stimulated by GnRH to make more FSH, which then stimulates the growth of follicles.  So estradiol levels are suppressed to get more FSH, which makes it sound like estradiol levels would be expected to be low in an Femara cycle.  I found lots of anectdotal evidence to support this, then found a study that confirms it.

The study was designed to look at women who were undergoing egg retrieval before starting chemo for breast cancer.  The study had the women treated with Femara and then a gonadotropin (injectables) compared to women treated with just gonadotropins alone.  The end results were similar fertilization rates and number of embryos obtained, but significantly lower estradiol levels in the Femara group: mean +/- sd 483.4 +/- 278.9 vs. 1464.6 +/- 644.9 pg/ml; P < 0.001.

So we're talking estradiol levels of roughly 480 in the Femara group vs 1460 in the non-Femara group with very similar outcomes in an IVF cycle.  That, plus the fact that my estradiol was 250 the cycle with Finn makes me feel MUCH better about my chances this cycle.  I just hope the timing was right - I was a little late with the trigger shot thanks to trying to get Finn to sleep...my good CM and easy IUI make me think the timing was fine, but of course I have to have something to worry about.

We celebrated by meeting my sister and her boys at a local farm for some pumpkin picking before lunch. We picked out the perfect pumpkins in the pumpkin field, then went for a hayride and saw some pigs, chickens and horses.  The boys had fun - and Finn really enjoyed spending time with his cousins.

And now the two week wait begins again!