I Dream of Needles

Yesterday's baseline sonogram displayed exactly what needs to be happening at this point in my IVF cycle.

"Your woman parts are boring right now."

Yup, a direct quote from the quirky, dry humored ultrasound tech! :)

Confused, I asked if that was a good thing, and she explained that was a very good thing. The Lupron is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing - suppressing my ovaries, which means 1) I'm injecting myself correctly (phew!) and 2) my body is responding to the drug just as it's supposed to.

After my sonogram, I went nextdoor to have my blood drawn for my E2 (or estradiol) blood test, which measures the amount of a estradiol hormone in my blood. At this point in my cycle, we want my results to be really low (below 71), and my results came back at 32. Woo hoo!!!

So, because everything is going as planned, my Lupron dosage is remaining the same and my stimulation injections are still set to begin on Saturday.

After my blood test, I had my first acupuncture session. It was an interesting experience and I can't really say it met my expectations (maybe they were a little too high?).

Firstly, the acupuncturist's office is really in San Jose. He has a small (and I mean, teeny tiny!) office at RSC in San Ramon, where he meets with infertile women, like myself, who want acupuncture treatment during their IVF cycles. So, when he asked me to lay down on a table in a room smaller than some people's walk-in closets, I was automatically turned off. The room also had a funky smell. Ew!

Secondly, the acupuncturist has the hardest Chinese accent to understand. He tried to explain things to me, but I could only make out every few words. I was so excited when I understood something, but then would feel so discouraged when he gave a full explanation of something and I didn't catch a single word! I could only say, "What?" so many times before frustrating him and embarrassing myself.

Thirdly, after the acupuncturist strategically placed about 20 needles in me (ranging from my ears and forehead to my hands and arms, then down to my legs and feet, with a few in my stomach too) all I could hear is Ella! No, not in my head! I literally heard her! My mom and Ella were in the waiting area, and the closet room I was laying in shared a wall where the two of them were sitting and not-so-quietly talking.

So, while laying there, meditating, praying, focusing on my breathing (and not on the needles!), all I can hear is Ella. Oh my sweet daughter! You are so loud! :)

In any case, it wasn't hearing Ella that turned me off from the whole experience. I guess I was hoping for some magical experience where I would walk away completely relaxed and uplifted. Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe I'm not the type of person that will benefit from acupuncture? I don't know.

Anyway, I'm thinking I'll give it one more shot. Each session is costing me $60 (after insurance), though, so it's hard to knowingly drop another $60 when my first session was such a turn off, but I think I owe it to the acupuncturist and to myself to at least try it one more time.

Okay, that's my update for now!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and allowed yourself time to reflect on all of life's blessings. One of my biggest blessings is coming home tomorrow! I can't wait to get a "big hug big kiss" (what Ella says) from my big man.