I’m so excited to be starting my FET #2 cycle at 42 and half years old!! I decided to document this one a little more in detail, including the numbers from the test results. This is appointment #1: Baseline.
Transfer day of FET #1 was absolutely the perfect day. You can listen to that day HERE. Unfortunately, FET #1 ended in a chemical pregnancy. Afterwards, we asked the clinic what additional testing could be done to make sure my body was ready for the next transfer. She ensured us it was nothing that we did, but she suggested a biopsy to test for infection (CD-138) and another to test for lactobacillus (EMMA). For this FET #2 cycle we are using our last frozen embryo from donor eggs and my husband’s sperm, (we had two embryos to start with). Before I could start this cycle I had my vitamin D and thyroid tested.
| TEST | MY RESULTS | CLINIC’S RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| CD-138 (infection) | no infection | NA |
| EMMA (lactobacillus) | 3.6 | normal >3.7 |
| Vitamin D | 61.30 | normal >30 |
| Thyroid | 3.29 | normal = 0.270 – 4.20 |
My baseline appointment was yesterday. Typically, the natural process during this time of my cycle is to have high estrogen levels and a thick lining of the uterus in anticipation of an egg (fertilized or not). The goal of the appointment is confirm that birth control did its job of suppressing my natural hormones. This means my estrogen should be low and the lining of my uterus should be thin.
I first started off the appointment with blood work. They drew blood to test my estrogen and HCG levels. Then I went back to an exam room for the sonogram. “Undress from the waist down.” How many times have you heard that?! The sonogram showed the lining of my uterus was thin, and it also showed a small cyst on one of my ovaries. She said it was 12mm in size (if my memory serves me right). She went on to say it could have been from my previous cycle and wasn’t worried about it. It was very small. Everything from the sonogram looked good to proceed pending results of the bloodwork. They can visibly see the lining of my uterus, but they also like to confirm with bloodwork.
| TEST | MY RESULTS | CLINIC’S RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Estrogren | 38 | <75 |
| HGC | .1 (negative) |
The nurse called later that afternoon to say my bloodwork came back normal. I needed to stop birth control and take (3) 2mg tablets of Estrace every evening for the next two weeks.
My next appointment is on October 18, 2023 which will be a sonogram to check the appearance of the endometrium (lining of the uterus). The job of the Estrace medication is to thicken the lining of the uterus. It is expected to have vaginal bleed after stopping birth control pills.
Not sure if it’s the medication that I started last night, but I had to go to bed EXTRA early because I was SO sleepy.
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