At this point, my FET cycle is not completely cancelled but just postponed. It will be postponed for four days longer than what they originally planned due to my lining being too thin. It’s not quite measuring as thick as they want it to be for transfer. Hopefully this round won’t be completely cancelled.
Catch-up on Previous FET Prep Posts
FET Prep Week 1: 3.5 months until FET
FET Prep Week 2: Supplements, WTF Email, & Increased AMH Level
FET Prep Week 3: You say Future Tripping, I say Future Planning
FET Prep Week 4: Bad News from SIS Test
FET Prep Week 5: Surgery, Depression & Trip to Nevada
FET Prep Week 6: Relax! You’re on Vacation.
FET Prep Week 7: Food Plan, Medical Debt, Post-op Follow-up, & Imagining Motherhood
FET Prep Week 8: Migraines & Some Good News
FET Prep Week 9: A Tough Decision
FET Prep Week 10: Down-Regulation Started, Infertility Group, Coronavirus Concerns
FET Prep Week 12: Clinic Says “No FET” due to COVID-19 Pandemic, Digital Roundtable on COVID-19
FET Prep Week 13: FET Scheduled After Clinic Partially Reopened
FET Prep Week 14: Plans Changed, Flying Solo, & Confusing Med Instructions
FET Prep Week 16: Injections Started | Approved for Lovenox | New Vitamins to Reduce Anxiety
FET Prep Week 17: Suppression Check Disappointment | The Downsides of Fertility Meds
FET Prep Week 18: Altered Plans Due to Cyst | On Different Pages with Spouse
FET Prep Week 20: Clinic Cancels My FET
FET Prep Week 22: Hormonal Hot Mess
Countdown Until FET: 8 days (as of 07-26-2020)
Transfer Date Postponed Due to Thin Lining
I’m glad my FET cycle hasn’t been completely cancelled, but you really never can tell what will happen next. They said my uterine lining was measuring too thin at 5mm, when it should be 8mm. I think this goes for anyone doing fertility treatment. When I write “FET” in my calendar I always write a question mark next to it. You have got to be flexible with your transfer date, otherwise any delays or cancellations will drive you crazy.
I did my monitoring appointment on Friday. For these appointments I go to one location to do my ultrasound and then I drive to the hospital to do my bloodwork. There are no there are no other labs that I’ve called that are able to do same-day STAT results, so I have to do it at the hospital. Luckily I have a good routine now, to where it’s not so stressful. I wake up early and get to the lab before they open, before the rush of people come. One time I went to the lab and the small office was packed with people (during COVID pandemic) and many were spilled out into the hallway to do their tests. If you go in the middle of the day expect to wait about 1.5 to 2 hours before you will be seen.
Photo of the ultrasound equipment they used to check my uterine lining. My lining was too thin, measuring at only 5mm (needs to be 8mm).
But I find waking up super early and standing at the lab door at 6:45am (they open at 7am) has helped me to be first in line each time now. I’m in and out in about 5 minutes as opposed to 2 hours. Then I get some breakfast, listen to the news a bit, then head to my ultrasound appointment. It’s become quite routine for me now, and I’ve got a system down pat. Basically the only thing I have control of right now is that I can show up to my appointments on time, and take the medicincation when they tell me to. Other than that, everything is left up to fate. But creating a routine definitely helps to reduce some stress.
I have to get everything done first thing in the morning because my clinic in Seattle needs all of my testing done STAT. Seattle is one hour ahead of Anchorage time, so they’ve encouraged me to do all my testing as early as possible in the day to allow for the lab to process the results and for my clinic to call me before they close at 4pm my time. There was one time where the lab was so backed up that they did not process my order. That was on a Friday, so my clinic in Seattle didn’t get the results until the following Monday. This is bad news when you need same-day STAT results in order to find out what medicine to be on that very night. Thankfully that has only happened to me once. In that case the after-hours doctor told me to continue taking my same medication until the results came in that Monday.
My measurements from ultrasound. Endometrium at 5mm (too thin), but luckily no big cysts this time.
For this cycle, I did not book a flight or hotel yet. My nurse advised me to wait until my very last ultrasound and bloodwork before doing this, because the transfer date can change or be cancelled last minute. So at least this time I didn’t have the headache of calling the airline to ask for a refund or credit. And I didn’t have my hotel booked either so I didn’t need to worry about calling them to change my plans yet again. With my last FET cycle I had to do this multiple times. But this time I decided it was too much of a hassle. Might as well wait until I get the official green light instead of planning around a transfer date that will “might be” on a certain date. Being flexible with your fertility treatment plans will save you from a lot of stress. I’m letting you know this as well as reminding myself of this as well.
My new tentative transfer date (key word being tentative) is August 3rd. Maybe this time everything will finally work out.