Let's talk about being suppressed BAYBEE!

Let's talk about being suppressed! Woo hoo!! Such a great call this afternoon from my nurse. I kind of knew this morning that the call was going to be good because I was "boring" as the u/s tech said, but actually hearing it was a relief and such a great thing to hear.

So all my levels were low, my lining was thin and all is "quiet" (for now) and I'm ready to start stims TONIGHT!!! I also had 21 antral follicles which is great and is a really good predictor that I'm going to respond well to meds, based on experience and observation done at the Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago, and having between 16-30 antral follicles means that I will most likely have the best response to ovarian stimulation and the pregnancy rates are very good. This nice handy dandy table here is helpful!

From our own observations and experience, here are some general guidelines:

Total number of antral follicles	Expected response to injectable stimulating drugs and chances for IVF success
Less than 4	Extremely low count, very poor (or no) response to stimulation. Cycle cancellation is likely. Should consider not attempting IVF at all.
4-6	Low count, we are concerned about a possible/probable poor response to the stimulation drugs. Likely to need high doses of FSH product to stimulate ovaries adequately. Higher than average rate of IVF cycle cancellation. Lower than average pregnancy rates for those cases that make it to egg retrieval.
7-10	Reduced count Higher than average rate of IVF cycle cancellation. Moderately reduced chances for pregnancy success as a group.
11-15	Intermediate count Response to drug stimulation is sometimes low, but usually adequate. Slightly increased risk for IVF cycle cancellation. Pregnancy rates as a group are slightly reduced compared to the "best" group.
16-30	Normal (good) antral count, should have an excellent response to ovarian stimulation. Likely to respond well to low doses of FSH drugs. Very low risk for IVF cycle cancellation. Some risk for ovarian overstimulation. Verry good pregnancy success rates overall.
Over 30	High count, watch for polycystic ovary type of ovarian response. Likely to have a high response to low doses of FSH product. Higher risk for overstimulation and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Very good pregnancy rate overall.

Now obviously I know this isn't an absolute, but it's just another something that helps me feel better about this cycle than before!

So now tonight I'll drop my Lupron to 10u and take 150u of Follistim (they're worried about OHSS with me) and go in for my first monitoring appointment on Tuesday! I'm anxious to see how I'll respond, but it's out of my hands now. ER will definitely be the week of 1/21 - I'm thinking probably around 1/22 or 1/23 which would be 10-11 days of stimming.

Here we go!!