IVF: Suppression Ultrasound and Blood Work

On November 22, Adam and I went to our fertility clinic for a suppression ultrasound and blood work.  The purpose of the ultrasound and blood work was to check that my reproductive system had been completely suppressed, or basically shut down.  The doctor wanted to be able to have as much control as possible over when and how quickly my eggs would grow.  

I started out getting my blood drawn.  This was the first of many blood draws.  I was lucky that our fertility clinic had a lab on site, which apparently isn't always the case.  So I got to know the nurses who drew blood really well over the next few weeks.  And I was super thankful that they were good at drawing blood, which made the process pretty painless each time.

Then came the ultrasound.  They did a vaginal ultrasound, which doesn't hurt or anything, but isn't exactly pleasant.  It's essentially just a wand thing they stick up your vagina.  Pardon my bluntness, but that's what it is.  I just like to clarify these things in case you are really wanting to know what to expect.  

The ultrasound showed that my uterine lining was thinned out, which is what they want at this point in the process.  And that my ovaries weren't actively growing follicles.  It also showed that there were no cysts on my ovaries and that my uterine lining didn't have any cysts or polyps, which was thanks to the polypectomy that I had back in June.  

Since my ovaries and uterus were cooperating, we could move onto the next step in the IVF process.  The next step is the Ovarian Stimulation Phase.  I'll chat about all the fun injections that are a part of that phase in my next post.     

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