No period...

After egg retrieval, the nurses told me to expect to have a period within 1-2 weeks, and they were spot on.  I started my cycle on April 22, which was 12 days after egg retrieval.  I was hopeful that this cycle would be my typical 33-34 days long and it would be finished before we left for Jamaica.  However, I waited and waited and never started a new cycle.  After 39 days, I called Mid-Iowa and talked to a nurse about my lack of period.  She said they like to see patients have a period every 35 days or less throughout the process and recommended coming in for an ultrasound and potentially starting a drug to induce my period.  So on Monday, June 3, we went to the office to see what was going on.

The ultrasound showed several hemorrhagic cysts (which are common after egg retrieval).  During egg retrieval, the doctor drains each follicle to remove the mature eggs inside.  Sometimes the follicles fill with blood and cause bloating and cramping. They resolve on their own after a couple of months and are nothing to worry about.  We also saw that my uterine lining was somewhat thick, but I still had not started my period (after 42 days at this point).  So my nurse recommended I start taking a birth control pill to prevent me from getting a period in Jamaica and to force a period later.  The plan is to take 2 packs of pills and then have a bleed.  At that point, I will get in touch with my nurse and we will time out my med calendar for our frozen embryo transfer (which will begin with another round of birth control pills).