It’s been a month, so I should probably post an update. The ERA biopsy I did last month actually worked (it’s about time), and the results showed that I need to be on the progesterone medicines — the ones that start following two weeks of estrogen and before the transfer — one extra day. While I’ll probably always wonder if that would have made a difference when we transferred the sole “my egg” embryo last year, at least we have a slightly (teeny?) better chance with the next transfer.
When will that happen? Well, I had two choices:
1. Prep for a transfer beginning with my next period, which would mean I’d be on hormones beginning mid-November with a lining check likely the day after Thanksgiving. Given that we’re hosting 11 adults and 2 kids for Thanksgiving dinner at our NEW house, that wasn’t ideal. Nor was the thought of having to consistently take not-so-easy-to-take medicines twice daily at the same time every day. Or the idea of having to “act pregnant” all throughout the holiday season.
2. Delay all the transfer prep until January.
Originally, I was going to just push through and get the transfer over with because I’m not expecting it to work out (although it would be nice if it did). But then I started to think about the logistics of that — dealing with the holidays while on hormones (again), not being able to participate in the 8 weeks of festive imbibing that happens in this town, worrying about always being home to do my morning and evening medicines at the exact right time, and the crushing disappointment when the transfer doesn’t work out ruining the holidays.
My husband and I talked it over and decided to delay it and start the process in January with my January period. When I spoke with the nurse, we worked through the timeline and it ended up with me needing to do an ultrasound (if things worked out) right in the middle of CookieCon at the end of February. No way am I missing that convention.
So my nurse and I redid the dates, developing a schedule that should work for my desire to plan around both the holidays and CookieCon. With my December period, I’ll call the nurse and finalize the exact timing, but the idea is that I’ll go on birth control for about 10 days, then four days after that I’d start the estradiol (estrogen) again, which may or may not be over New Year’s Eve, but there aren’t any restrictions on just the estrogen. Then in early January I’d go down to Tallahassee for the lining check, and if all looks good I’d add in the progesterone meds for 6 days instead of 5. Transfer would be on day 7, then the two week wait, then the blood test. The timing for that ends up with me either knowing the transfer failed by early February, or with the first ultrasound at least a week before CookieCon.
And that’s the latest update. I’m looking forward to enjoying a holiday season without being on hormones or de-hormoning. Next update will probably be in early January (maybe late December if I’m feeling ambitious).