Endo biopsy: redux

I had my usual preparatory endometrial biopsy today.  For those unaware, there's some science out there that nicking the uterine lining in the cycle before an IVF (or FET, in my case) causes it to grow back thicker and stickier for implantation.  This was my third endo biopsy since starting infertility treatment.  I'm hoping it will be the first one to actually get tested out with an embryo.  Up to now we've never made it that far; either the cycle or the transfer has been cancelled.  I've been jabbed in the ute a lot for no reason, it appears.

As you may recall, it was at my last endo biopsy that I discovered my super vaginal strength.  Can I just say that, out of all the Google search terms that lead people to my blog, "super vagina" is far and away number one?  I have no idea what those people are looking for, but I'm sure they're disappointed.

This time around my vagina behaved itself.  I think it was mostly due to the fact that my RE went a lot easier inserting the catheter this time.  Which in my head means that my vagina is less of a Clark Kent/Superman type thing and more of a Bruce Banner/Incredible Hulk type thing.  Poke my cervix too hard and VAGINA MAD!  VAGINA SMASH! 

While there I took the opportunity to ask my RE about what has been my biggest preoccupying worry to date: the thawing of our blastocyst.  Amber had an interesting post a while back talking about the 90% survival rate for embryos frozen through the process of vitrification, or flash freezing.  Apparently, the old "slow freeze" method can result in ice crystals forming inside the embryo which can break off and cause damage.  Interestingly, studies have also shown that blastocysts frozen by vitrification have higher implantation and clinical pregnancy rates.

Unfortunately I wasn't really clear on whether our lab uses vitrification or some other method.  So today I asked my RE what the chances were that our blastocyst wouldn't survive the thaw.  She very confidently told me that we had a less than 10% chance of that happening.  She said that she could count on one hand the number of times it had happened to her patients, and that if I was to ask the embryologist at the lab he would wave his hand at me and tell me not to worry about it.  I didn't bother to get into specifics of how the lab freezes everything (since I figured that was more a question for the embryologist), but suffice it to say that I left there feeling better about the whole thing.  I'm going to pack that worry away now and not let it come out again until the morning of my transfer.

So right now I'm just waiting for CD1 so I can start my Estrace and get this show on the road.  I'm not sure why, but I've been feeling a lot more positive lately.  I've been feeling like this just might work.  Nobody move, nobody change ANYTHING!  I'd like this feeling to last.