The two week wait or, more commonly known around the infertility cafes, the ‘2ww’ is pretty much filled with the sound of anxious fingers drumming on my desk. It’s hard to think about much else – and with the holidays coming up, I’m not doing so well thinking about anything but what’s going to come of this 2ww. I am really not feeling very patient – maybe I can find a tricorder on Amazon.
After we found follicles on the right (blocked) side, and got the HCG shot, we came home and spent the next few days ‘doing our thing’. It’s no secret that this whole procedural, scheduled sex takes something away from your sex life. It’s impossible to be spontaneous – unless you usually get naughty at 11 but HEY! you decide to get frisky at 10:30 instead. woot. Thankfully my hubby and me have a really close, really intimate relationship, so we manage to ‘suffer’ through the schedules and planned implantation attempts (how very romantic that sounds!)
What to expect after the HCG shot
The afternoon and evening after the HCG shot, I was cramping quite a bit. When I sat down, I literally felt like I was sitting on a knife. I had to sort of sit sideways-ish to avoid the sharp pain. I cramped on my right (follicle) side mostly, without much really happening on the left. I had at least 3 follicles ready to ovulate when I had the sonogram, so I’m pretty sure that pain was the final phase of follicle maturation and ovulation. The nurse said we should have intercourse that night and every other night for a week. Of course my husband was afraid sex would be painful that night, since I was feeling pain already, but it wasn’t at all painful.
The day after the HCG shot the cramps subsided quite a bit. I still felt that ‘ovulatey’ feeling (kind of like a pencil poking from the inside, around the ovary area). That day I continued cramping on the right, and a little bit on the left, too. Since I didn’t have any mature follicles on the left, I’m not sure why I was cramping there – but we were hoping that my left tube would pick up the egg from the right ovary.
Can a woman ovulate twice in one cycle?
Since then, there’s been pretty much nothing happening. I’ve had some occasional ‘ovulatey’ cramps – I even wondered if I could ovulate a second time, a week after I ovulated the first time. I checked whether or not a woman could ovulate twice in one cycle, and while it’s apparently possible, it’s likely to happen within a 24 hour period. Longer than that, and your body isn’t prepared for a second ovulation. In the end, I’m still pretty clueless about why I was cramping. It is a side effect of the extra stimulation of the ovaries, so maybe it was just a normal after-effect. Maybe, just maybe, it’s a sign of pregnancy – but I dismiss that because from everything I’ve read, the cramping should be more towards the middle as your uterus begins to adjust, rather than around your ovaries. Then again I guess they’re all pretty smooshed together in there and closer than I realize.
BBT, HCG & me
(Image is not a thermometer built for really cold people, but some foreign measurement called Celsius. Use of this type of instrument may require a foreign born husband for translation!)
Even though we did this fertility cycle and my cycle was so scientific and controlled, habit dictated that we continue taking my bbt when I wake up in the morning. Every morning at 8, we measure my temperature – and every morning since the morning after the HCG shot, my temperature has been elevated. It jumped about .7 degrees Fahrenheit after the injection, and it has been between 98.4-98.7 (F) since. I’m on day 11 of an elevated temperature. Although the last mord sith nurse told us to wait until cycle day 35 to test, I know that an elevated temperature of more than 2 weeks can indicate pregnancy. Let’s see how long we can hold out before testing!
Actually, I said I was on day 11 of an elevated BBT – actually I’m slightly feverish. Normally I reach the mid-upper 98 degree (F) range during the Leutal phase (the period after ovulation). Today my temperature was 99.1 when I measured – it’s been up to 99.3 today, so I’m not really sure if I’m running a slight fever, but it could be (here we go again) a sign of pregnancy. I don’t feel feverish or sick, so I don’t know what to think. Mysteries abound. Lots of inconclusive hints, though – love those.
Oh – one side effect of this fertility cycle meds (either the Femara, Follistim, or the HCG, I’m not sure which) I didn’t mention – I guess with the influx of girly hormone goo or something, I’ve been really super emotional. Seems like I get upset over the most trivial things, though at the time it makes complete sense that I would be devastated about something so silly. Or maybe it’s not the meds at all – maybe it’s just all this waiting.