Step 2: check

Period arrived midday yesterday so I called the RE office and have a baseline u/s scheduled for early Friday morning. Now making a mental list of things to ask, should I pass the u/s check:

What are the possible side effects of Clomid?

When does monitoring start and does it entail bloodwork?

If I normally ovulate early (earliest, day 7, latest day 11, average day 9-10) does that affect when they will start monitoring? Will Clomid tend to speed up follicle development?

What things do they want to see while being monitored? What are the things that might cause this cycle to be cancelled?

Questions for myself: How much googling do I want to do beforehand? How much do I want to obsess (read instill fear and expectations) about the next steps?

As this cycle is moving forward, one thing I’m finding is that it’s easy to say I’m going to take it one step at a time and not think beyond that, but in practice it’s difficult. Step 3 is to pass the baseline u/s, but if I do, then the next step after that is to start taking Clomid. Practically, it’s not possible to pause, let Step 3 sink in then start thinking about step 4. This is all going to happen within a short time frame in the Dr.’s office which means I have to think several steps ahead if I want to take advantage of the time I have in there. And, that’s where I get into trouble because really, this whole process, if everything goes smoothly, is a continuum where steps mesh and overlap with other steps. Also, there is almost no way to think about these steps without considering what to expect if things go right. If something goes wrong, easy. We stop, we cry a little and then we re-evaluate what this means for using my eggs to try to get pregnant. But, if the next step goes well, then I can expect that we will do Clomid to induce follicle development and if that goes well, then I can expect we will trigger to induce ovulation and if that goes well…well, you see where we’re headed, right?

So, I guess the big question is how many steps can I prepare myself for without driving myself back to the emotional rollercoaster that was my life when we were trying to get pregnant on our own. That’s a ride I want to avoid getting on again.