Can someone please explain something?

I think I'm confused. I say "think," because I'm not even sure if I'm confused. LOL!

My blogging friend, Michelle, at No, I'm Not Fat, Just Pregnant (who recently got to change her title from "No, I'm Not Pregnant, Just Fat"), brought something to my attention. She had a failed IVF cycle just before my failed IVF cycle, and recently received news that her first FET attempt made her pregnant with twins, no less!!! (Congrats, again, girl!). Her RE explained that her IVF cycle was unsuccessful because her estradiol levels were too high, making her uterus too hostile for implantation.



So, naturally, that made me wonder about my levels. I stimulated a lot (more than average, I think, with 19 mature follicles retrieved). The more stimulation, the higher the E2 (estradiol) blood level. There is a direct correlation between the number of mature follicles and the amount of estrogen in the body. It's a delicate dance that the doctor has to pay close attention to, with wanting to stimulate enough to produce lots of mature eggs without rising the woman's estradiol levels to a dangerous zone

Here are my estradiol levels from my December IVF:

• 11/24 - 32.3 (after suppression with Lupron)
• 12/1 - 228 (day 4 of stims)
• 12/4 - 817 (day 7 of stims)
• 12/6 - 1,787 (day 9 of stims)
• 12/7 - 2,789 (day 10 of stims)
• 12/8 - 3,632 (day 11 of stims, the extra day of stimulation)

The night of the December 8th was my trigger shot, and my eggs were retrieved the morning of December 10th. Do any of you know if the 3,632 measurement is considered high? Is it within the normal range? Does anybody with a successful cycle remember what their levels were?

Okay, now to my confusion...

As I understand it (and I can be, and most likely am, wrong!), estrogen is important in preparing the uterine lining for successful implantation. It is the hormone necessary to make a woman's uterus ready to hold a pregnancy. Because I produced so many mature eggs and, from what I can tell, my estradiol level was solid, why was my uterine lining not very thick (8.4mm)? Don't they all go hand in hand?

That then brings me to my next question. My doctor is doubling my Estrace (estrogen) prescription (and I will be inserting one vaginally) to help make my uterine lining thicker for my FET next month. But won't that, in turn, make my estradiol level higher, which isn't necessary a good thing because a high estradiol level makes the uterus less susceptible to implantation?

As you can see, my mind is going in circles. I think I'm just questioning everything because I so badly want our FET to work. I'm an over-analyzer, over-thinker, over-researcher by nature, and throw infertility into the mix, and here I am! :)