More fun with tests, numbers, and misinformation

I was planning on blogging about this tomorrow since I’ll (maybe) have more information, but what the heck, no time like the present.  Let me start off by saying I am totally confused and don’t know what to do next.

So as of Friday the plan was to start Clomid for this cycle since the consensus seems to be I am NOT in fact ovulating despite all signs indicating I am (except those pesky post-ovulation temperatures, which I admit this particular cycle have been unusually wacky).  My period started two days early which gives me a luteal cycle of 11 days which is not good, and two days shorter than normal, which really makes me think maybe they’re right about the lack of ovulation this month. 

Saturday I’m in hair and makeup to be a bride’s maid in my friend’s wedding and the clinic leaves a message.  They want me to come in Monday for a full work up – more blood tests (FSH and Estriadol) AND an ultrasound to check for cysts.  When I call back I ask why all this, and they say they can’t put me on Clomid until they know I don’t already have cysts, because Clomid can cause cysts.  Did you know that in an ultrasound a follicle can look like a cyst?  Fun!  They now seem to think the follicle they saw on March 14^th that we all thought was sign of a just-missed ovulation was in fact a cyst.  Good times!  So I set up an appt for all this for Monday (today), but I also pointed out that Monday will be Day 4 of my cycle and for FSH and Estriadol they should do the test on Day 3 (Sunday, when, once again, they’re not open).  They say, “oh, don’t worry about that.”  Ummm….ok.

So first thing this morning, as I’m sleeping away ready to get up later and go in for more poking and prodding, the clinic calls.  The woman X (again, ultrasound lady) asks exactly what time my period started Friday.  I say early, when I woke up.  She then says they don’t want to do any testing because it might not get correct results because, of course, it’s Day 4 and not Day 3.  I ask if I can get on Clomid anyway and they say no, not without the tests.  They recommend I just go ahead and try a natural cycle this time, if I want.  So…what should I say to that?  In my head I was thinking I do have this gyn appt at Kaiser tomorrow, so maybe they can tell me something.  Or put me on Clomid (I’ve read you can start taking it Day 5).  And then there’s this whole issue of, well, if I didn’t ovulate in March, that means what I just had is not an actual period but “anovulatory bleeding” which would explain why two days early.  So then what do any of these cycle days mean?  If it wasn’t a period then it’s not Day Anything. 

Right now my only desire in life is to not flush April down the toilet if I don’t have to, which is why I’m sticking with this clinic for now even though they’re driving me crazy.  I just plain don’t have time to do a bunch of research and start all over going in for consultations with new REs and new clinics; if I decide to do that, April is gone.  Maybe the gyn will tell me something tomorrow; but I do worry, because the fact is, a gyn doesn’t know the intricacies of all this stuff whereas a clinic experienced in getting older women pregnant for the last twenty-odd years does (although the way they’ve been with me you’d think they were totally clueless).  It sucks that you can’t really determine if you ovulated or not until weeks later – after all, March was totally normal and by the books until a few days later and those temps just weren’t right, and then the period came early.  Is all of this still recovering from India?  Maybe.  Have I been ovulating but just not March for some reason?  Maybe.  March was a “long” month for me; on the long months are those the months that produce an inferior egg or no egg at all, but on the “short” months everything is cool?  Maybe.  The clinic wants me to start using OPKs as usual when the time comes (probably next week) and then right before do an ultrasound to see how that lining looks.  So most likely what will happen at the end of next week is this – I’ll get all the “signs” (far too disgusting to relate here – you TTC’ers know what I’m talkin’ about!), I’ll get the positive OPKs, I’ll go in on April 8^th for an ultrasound and the lining will be too thin and they’ll tell me I’m not ovulating even though EVERYTHING is telling me that I am.  So we will skip the IUI and then I will take stock and decide what to do – probably start doing some consults elsewhere.  God knows I’ll have the time, then – a whole freaking month of time to try to get someone to give me some answers.

BUT if I go in for that ultrasound and they say the lining is happening then we might just go for it.  Right now I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize the chance to at least try.