My super vagina

Well, here it is a nice sunny Saturday and I have started withdrawal bleeding from my BCP suppression, so that makes today CD1.  I haven't called my clinic yet to report in, but this means I'll be in on Monday (CD3) for my baseline bloods and ultrasound, and hopefully starting stims on Monday night if all looks good!

I'm finding myself both excited and apprehensive about this upcoming cycle, which I guess is normal after a previous cancelled cycle as a poor responder.  I'm super excited that this drug protocol will work better than last time, and yet terrified that it won't and our options will narrow even further.  I'm trying not to focus on the negative, and I'm sticking to my healthy (but balanced) lifestyle which is making me feel good otherwise, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I also had an endometrial biopsy done on Thursday.  For those of you who haven't had one done, I beg of you, please don't Google it!!  You will be terrified reading all of the horror stories from women who for some reason claim that this is the worst pain they have ever felt in their entire lives and wished they had been put out for the procedure.  I'm not sure what their doctors are doing to them, and I know everyone's pain tolerances are different, but I had myself so freaked out last IVF cycle only to discover that there's really nothing to it at all.  

The theory behind the endo biopsy is that, if you irritate the uterine lining at some point in the cycle preceding an IVF cycle, the lining will grow back thicker and somehow stickier.  All the better to implant an embyro with, my dear!  You can read about the actual science here.  It starts off like a normal gyno exam, with the doctor inserting a speculum to get a look at your cervix.  Then they insert a small catheter through the cervix and up into the uterus, where they use a tiny bit of suction through the catheter to pull off little pieces of endometrium.  It's over in about 15 seconds and for me, the worst part of it is actually the catheter insertion.  The catheter is slightly larger than the one used for an IUI, so it's a bit more difficult to insert and both times I felt a quick, sharp stab as it was going in which caused me to kind of jerk involuntarily.  This time around I apparently jerked hard enough to clamp the speculum shut, which wasn't a problem at that point since the catheter was already in.  But my RE did say in a kind of surprised tone: "You're very strong!"

So of course I came home and promptly informed M that I had discovered my superpower.  Super vaginal strength!  All this time my sweet little vajayjay has been Clark Kent-ing us, but now it's taken off its glasses and we know the truth.  I can snap a speculum shut in a single clench...and I don't even do kegels!  Now, I just need to remind myself to use this power for good instead of evil...

Anyway, all this to say that I personally don't find endo biopsies all that bad.  I do find myself a little crampy afterward, but my RE had me take two Advil an hour before the procedure so even that wasn't too intense.  I'm also one of those horribly lucky people who's never really had menstrual cramps to start with (yes, I know, you all hate me now) so maybe it's just something about my physiology.  But I thought I would counter all of the very scary endo biopsy stories out there with something a little more positive.

Until Monday!