First was the ultrasound. I have never had one of these, but it actually wasn't that uncomfortable. The nurse hands you, well, an instrument that's just like plastic-y and tells you to insert it down in the nether-regions. Then she moves it around examining your ovaries and all the various tubes and pipes down there. (You can find the dirty details of a transvaginal ultrasound: here.) Apparently my right ovary is down a bit, and my left one is way left. She said "You might feel this a bit more," but I really didn't. Which is a plus.
Then I had my blood test. I've never had blood drawn before (shocking, right? the nurses were surprised), and honestly this 'hurt' - or simply caused more discomfort - than the ultrasound. I simply just didn't watch, and it wasn't so bad. I'm rather proud that I wasn't a total baby about it actually. I do not like needles. But not seeing it helped tremendously.
They also gave me the birth control pills I'd need to be on for this, which are called Femcon. Apparently the reason you have to be on a certain kind of BC is because some types of the pill have higher doses of hormones and/or vary more greatly; whereas Femcon hormone levels vary less, in my understanding, and are low-dose, allowing for greater control over the biology of the process. I was told to simply take all of the pills and skip the placebo week (for the week of your period), meaning I won't get a period. In fact, you're supposed to do that the entire time, which means I won't have another period until the retrieval process is over.
Later that afternoon, though, the dr's office called and left a voicemail with my test results. Apparently I have a small cyst on one of my ovaries, which they tell me is nothing to be concerned about. According to emedicinehealth:
Ovarian cysts affect women of all ages. The vast majority of ovarian cysts are considered functional (or physiologic). In other words, they have nothing to do with disease. Most ovarian cysts are benign, meaning they are not cancerous, and many disappear on their own in a matter of weeks without treatment. Cysts occur most often during a woman's childbearing years.
The long and short of it is that I have to have another ultrasound. While on the Femcon BC, my hormone levels should even out, and the cyst may go away on its own. Additionally, one of the extra health benefits of Femcon is that ovarian cysts may occur less frequently. Huh, go figure! So I'll take the BC as one usually would and go in again during my next period. (Too bad - I was kind of looking forward to not having a period for the next couple of months, not gonna lie.)
I also officially signed my 23-page contract and sent it to my attorney. I've been meaning to update you on some of the questions the contract cleared up as well. I'll get to it, though - looks like I'll have at least a few more weeks of waiting for this whole thing to get started.
