| Left ovary | 2 follicles — 10 mm and 12 mm. The only ovary responding so far. |
| Right ovary | Minimal response — one very small follicle ~5 mm. |
| Overall | Low response. Disappointing, and a surprise to all of us in the moment — though in line with the baseline (AFC 4, AMH 0.9). |
| Plan from here | Because only the left responded, we’ll give the right ovary a chance to catch up before triggering. Possibly 2–3 eggs to retrieve this cycle. |
The doctor was reassuring on what this does and doesn’t mean: quantity and quality at the first ultrasound aren’t determinants of a successful outcome. A low count can still come with good egg quality.
Hydration note (a lesson for next time): at the baseline scan I had emptied my bladder, which made it hard — Dr. Filková had to dig around and a nurse pushed on my abdomen to improve the view. Today I peed earlier but loaded up on fluids beforehand, and I think the scan went better for it. The clinic never mentioned this, but Grace Fertility always asked me to arrive with a fairly full bladder for better contrast.
She gave a balanced view of all the possibilities without pushing us toward either hope or despair, which was genuinely helpful. I really liked her — good bedside manner, a little friendlier than Dr. Filková, and efficient with the ultrasound.
Tuesday I’ll do all my injections in the morning before driving to Brno, have the scan, and learn what the rest of the protocol looks like (when to trigger, when retrieval is). Today’s doctor said retrieval will very likely be Friday, Jun 12.
The doctor handed us a protocol sheet to manage medication pickup at the dispensary. We picked up only what’s needed through Ultrasound #2:
It was not a smooth pickup. The dispensary nurse spoke little English and was quite laid-back about quantities — she asked how much we wanted to get, which isn’t the answer you want when getting meds right matters so much. With our coordinator out for the day, I felt that gap.
So I sat down and worked out two things: (1) the prescribed protocol amount and how much Gonal-F and Pergoveris I should have used over 5 days, and (2) the actual amount remaining in the vials, for comparison. We called my mother-in-law (Ibolya) to take the pens out of the fridge and check. There were minor discrepancies because the vials tend to be slightly overfilled — so we decided to buy only what was needed up to Ultrasound #2. Meds invoice to be added later for reference.
Retrieval is under general anesthesia, so a pre-operative exam is required:
There was a mix-up. On the protocol sheet the doctor first wrote Jun 8 for the next ultrasound, and on the calendar dates she marked Monday, then crossed it out and marked Tuesday. We asked reception to confirm. They said our coordinator could let us know on Monday — but I insisted we check right then, because if we waited and we were actually meant to arrive for a scan, we’d miss it (it’s a 5-hour drive). Reception went back to the doctor and confirmed: Tuesday, June 9.
We briefly discussed with the doctor whether to just stay the few days between Tuesday’s scan and Friday’s retrieval rather than driving back and forth. Afterward Adam and I decided against it — too long to be away without Nathan, and not feasible to bring him along either. Adam was confident the drive there and back is doable. So the plan: Tuesday day trip; Thursday evening drive over + overnight; Friday retrieval in the morning, back by late afternoon/evening.