someone who understands ovulation/ birth control?

[skookie]

Hey ladies.. i have googled this over and over again to no avail so i'll try to explain what's going on.

I'm starting IVF soon.. we have all the meds ordered and they are due to arrive in the next few days. We have a meeting with our RE in a few days to do an ultrasound and I know we will know more then but i'm dying to know when i'm going to be able to start my IVF cycle...

My doc put me on birth control leading up to the IVF cycle. i was on it for a few weeks and went in for an ultrasound about a week ago (done by the nurse. my doctor was at a different location so i didn't get to talk to him). The nurse told me i had "ovulated through" the birth control. i saw it on the ultrasound, as well, two big-looking follicles or cysts or whatever. she told me this can be attributed to the fact that i accidentally took my pill the next morning instead of the night like i was supposed to, about three times. i forgot to take it at night those few times, and took it as soon as i remembered (the next morning). she said that can actually make you ovulate. i had no idea just taking it the next morning a handful of times could make you ovulate. it makes sense now. lesson learned.

so apparently i "ovulated" or "was about to ovulate" or something.. that particular ultrasound was about a week ago. at that time, they prescribed me another pack of birth control pills which i've continued to take. that's the part that confuses me a bit.

so now i'm about 3.5 weeks into taking birth control and i'll find out when i'm going to stop and what's going to happen in a few days but i'm just so confused. if i "ovulated through" the birth control why did they have me continue it? wouldn't they just let me naturally finish the cycle, start my period, and go from there?

reading all this, is anyone able to calculate approximately where i might be in my "cycle" and when i might be able to start IVF? it is probably a really weird question but i'm so confused. i haven't ever really been on much birth control in my life and i don't understand how, if i was on birth control and just took it late a few times, how i could have ovulated since ovulation normally takes two full weeks OFF of birth control to actually happen. That's not really the part i care as much about as where i'm at in my cycle and when i might be able to begin. I've never done IVF before so when to start and all that is new to me.

any guesses on when i'll be able to start my cycle and what's going on? again, i know i'll be able to ask my doctor this in three days but i'm really antsy and anxious to know more.

also, i have 29-day cycles and usually ovulate around day 14 if that info helps.

 

[Dazed]

I can't help, but I hope you get your answer soon! I would say that you are just about at the end of a "cycle" since I think the standard BC pack is 28days. But really, there is no telling when you will be able to start your IVF cycle.

 

[Lirpa11]

I may be wrong, but I think the pill is being used to bring your horomones levels down to a baseline level before they start the fertility horomones. It helps the drugs to be more effective. Ovulating may affect the horomones but I'm sure they will monitor you anyways and change it if they need.

Good luck!

 

[aidensmommy1]

I may be wrong, but I think the pill is being used to bring your horomones levels down to a baseline level before they start the fertility horomones. It helps the drugs to be more effective. Ovulating may affect the horomones but I'm sure they will monitor you anyways and change it if they need.

Good luck!

This is absolutely correct!

I started my BCP 4 days ago and my RE said THAT is the official start to "cycling" for IVF, as thats their way to "control our hormones" much easier and preserve any follies for the stem meds to produce better quality eggs. Thats probably why they want you to take them for another 2-3 weeks, since you did ovulate the last time. So given that you oed, I'm a bit confused as well. I go see my RE tomorrow and can ask this question for you. I know clinics differ but maybe he can give an idea of whether they'd normally give another 21 days on BCP or maybe that's why they say 3-5wks is in the case of O occurring...? I see what your question was now...it took me a minute! Lol. Now I'm very curious as well. Ill get back to u if I learn any new info! GL hun!

BTW, is this ur first time trying IVF as well? Its mine and I'm so excited ans nervous all at once! Waiting for just the meds to start is killing me! I want dates for all of this given to me, asap! Lol FX we both get started very, very quickly and see nothing but success! GL again!

 

[skookie]

I may be wrong, but I think the pill is being used to bring your horomones levels down to a baseline level before they start the fertility horomones. It helps the drugs to be more effective. Ovulating may affect the horomones but I'm sure they will monitor you anyways and change it if they need.

Good luck!

This is absolutely correct!

I started my BCP 4 days ago and my RE said THAT is the official start to "cycling" for IVF, as thats their way to "control our hormones" much easier and preserve any follies for the stem meds to produce better quality eggs. Thats probably why they want you to take them for another 2-3 weeks, since you did ovulate the last time. So given that you oed, I'm a bit confused as well. I go see my RE tomorrow and can ask this question for you. I know clinics differ but maybe he can give an idea of whether they'd normally give another 21 days on BCP or maybe that's why they say 3-5wks is in the case of O occurring...? I see what your question was now...it took me a minute! Lol. Now I'm very curious as well. Ill get back to u if I learn any new info! GL hun!

BTW, is this ur first time trying IVF as well? Its mine and I'm so excited ans nervous all at once! Waiting for just the meds to start is killing me! I want dates for all of this given to me, asap! Lol FX we both get started very, very quickly and see nothing but success! GL again!

Thank you for your sweet message. I just saw this! Yes this is my first IVF cycle and I'm a huge ball of excitement, nerves, you know, everything.. I finished the stimulation phase and did the trigger shot last night and my egg retrieval is tomorrow but I won't be able to do a fresh cycle because my progesterone unexpectedly surged. So I guess we will be freezing the embryos/eggs but I have no idea what to expect after that as far as timeline. I have only talked to the nurse, as that's who told me I won't be able to go forward with a fresh transfer.

Have you started the stimulation drugs yet? I found that it was not so bad but I've heard you get more bloated and feel a bit worse after the egg retrieval so I'm of course nervous about that. And I have no idea what is going to happen with all this and I'm having an extremely hard time waiting, too.

 

[skookie]

also, as an update.. they started me about a week after this and my doc was confused as to why they had even kept me on the BC. i think my ovaries were a little out of whack. my doc told me that looking back at the images he didn't think i ovulated. my blood tests seemed like i didn't ovulate. but i had a couple of "leftover" cysts that i think might have been from the "ovulation." i think i did ovulate but my doc was just glancing over thing in retrospect.. i'm wondering if my current progesterone surge and issues with having a dominant follicle that is "too mature" are results of my ovaries not being totally "at rest" when i started stimming.