Confusing ultrasound

[Leah26]

Well I just got back from seeing the RE this morning at my CD14 u/s. I've had lots of O pain since CD7 so I thought I'd probably have some good eggs. I also had a lot of pain on CD12 that made me wonder if I was O'ing but thought it was too early since I normally O around CD15 or CD16 and DTD just in case but let it go otherwise. Well, I get to the u/s today and the doc says my lining looks weird. The exact word he used was vacuolated. First he said that if I didn't get pregnant this time he wanted to do a CD5 u/s next cycle and possibly another d&c if it's still an issue. Of course this upset me terribly since it's been 5 months now since the m/c and I already had a d&c once, did cytotec, and birth control pills to get back on track. Then he looked at my left ovary and said it looked collapsed and he thinks I may have already O'd once and I have 3 more eggs between both ovaries one of which looks like it could be ready in two days if I haven't O'd already. Then he said I had a small cyst forming on my left ovary too and after that said there was a good chance my lining was just fine and I already O'd and that's why it looks the way it does. He said if this is the case it's perfectly normal. However, I never got a clear positive OPK which is confusing to me. Of course, I wasn't using them regularly when I may have gotten a positive if I did in fact O on CD12.

Basically, we have no clue what's going on right now and I'm super confused. I was so looking forward to some positive information today and more than anything clear info on what's going on and the doc really won't know unless I get pregnant or we do a CD5 u/s which may mean missing another cycle of fertility meds. Has anyone ever had this before and does anyone know what vacuolated means in relation to your uterine lining? The doc made it sound like this is normal after O so...who knows. Sure felt like I was O'ing on CD12...Any insight would be fantastic. I'm trying not to freak out here but I'm on the verge.

[Lunarmoon]

I really hope this is your cycle!! I don't want you to have to go through all of that stuff again!! I'm sure it is that you O'd early, and a strong O at that. FX and !

[Lizamay]

I haven't experienced this, but I tried to look up some stuff on the Internet about it but I agree it's super confusing! Maybe try and call your Drs office and let them know that you are confused about it, what your question is, and if they (the dr or rn) can give you a call back with the answer. I am see your dr does not want you at home worrying about this! And patients call drs all the time with qs, so don't be embarrassed, they are there for you!

[mamabear26]

I really hope this is your cycle!! I don't want you to have to go through all of that stuff again!! I'm sure it is that you O'd early, and a strong O at that. FX and !

Leah, I agree with Lunarmoon. This was probably be a strong O and a really soon!

[Leah26]

I sure hope so. I'm so confused. I looked some things up and it looks like from what I read, if I already O'd and super early than what the doc said about my lining isn't a big deal and is normal for a post O lining because it's preparing to allow implantation. If I haven't though then it could be potentially bad though I suppose a d&c can fix it all. Man do I not want another d&c after avoiding a second one for months and having a post op infection after the first...not good for me to have one that's for sure. I guess I'm most confused because I've been getting negatives on the OPKs since CD10. I'm doing the digi ones and I'm not sure if you're supposed to look at the lines on those or not and I'm kind of wondering if there's a dye issue. I've had 3 that looked positives to me but both lines were SO light they were barely visible. I had others that the control line was super dark...I don't get it. I wonder if the dye is too light if the test can read it properly. I knew I shouldn't bother with OPKs again. Lol. They just stress me out. I have way too many eggs not to O though. Doc thinks I already O'd plus I have two in my left ovary and one in my right and at least one in the left that could be ready to go in two days if I haven't O'd or if I'm going to O twice...weird.

I felt for sure that I O'd Tuesday but I've never O'd as early as CD12 before so I thought maybe I was just crazy. We had DTD once before that and did that day too just in case thank goodness. I bet it happened then and the rest of my eggs just weren't mature enough this month. Who knows how many I had though? At least 4 I think which seems kind of unheard of on Femara without trigger or something. We'll keep DTD though just in case for at least another two days and I'll keep taking the OPKs. Pretty sure I'll be done taking them after this month though. It's just too much stress when we can just DTD every day for a week and be covered.

[lalymommy]

Found this which indicates thst is normal a few days after O, so wishing you good luck that you caught that eggie!!! I would continue to DTD these next few days in case you didn't catch it but O twice like he said. I have never heard of this vacuolation stuff, must be very hush hush medical terms but doesn't appear to be a big deal or a problem.

"The amount of subnuclear vacuolation is at its maximum in the early secretory phase (days 3-4 post-ovulation or days 17-18 of the cycle) and are initially seen to line up giving the appearence of a line of vacuoles and a line nuclei."

[mamabear26]

I know for me, cd12-14 is when I O but my cycles are only 26 days. I agree with lalymommy to keep up dtd for a few. Good luck ,hun! FX for you!

[Leah26]

Found this which indicates thst is normal a few days after O, so wishing you good luck that you caught that eggie!!! I would continue to DTD these next few days in case you didn't catch it but O twice like he said. I have never heard of this vacuolation stuff, must be very hush hush medical terms but doesn't appear to be a big deal or a problem.

"The amount of subnuclear vacuolation is at its maximum in the early secretory phase (days 3-4 post-ovulation or days 17-18 of the cycle) and are initially seen to line up giving the appearence of a line of vacuoles and a line nuclei."

Thank you so much for this! That makes me feel better. That pretty much lines up with what the doc said. I don't get the whole OPK thing but I KNOW that O'ing is not a problem on Femara for me. I respond super well...especially if I have 3-4 eggs. That's nuts. I doubt I O twice since that seems super rare but who knows...I'm kind of tempted to just throw away the OPKs and be done with them. I think they're making my stress worse.

Also, I called the doc back and said I had some questions that I didn't ask because he had med students and I didn't want to interrupt their training or something...which is partially true. They said they'd call me back with answers.

[preciousnd98]

I don't know much about what the doc is talking about, but I hope that it is post-o and that is why things look a little off. I never did OPKs when on Clomid, but when I was using them, I never got a + any cycle, so I think it is possible to have just missed o with opks. I also was ready to trigger on CD12 with all of my Clomid cycles, so it is definitly very likely you o'd on CD12. Fingers crossed for you!

[Lizamay]

I vote throw away the opks!!! They were kinda wacky with me too (cb+ and wondfo-) which was so stressful!
Wishing you GL and sending lots of your way!

[proudmommyof3]

I hate when things are confusing.....I am praying you get some answers when the doc calls back and praying so hard for your BFP!!!!

[Leah26]

Thank you ladies! Without all of the support here I would lose my mind. I feel slightly better after talking to the nurse who was wonderful and answered all of my questions without getting mad or treating me like I was stupid. I really appreciated that. Lol. Ok first off...my lining. She said that what it meant was that it has a tear drop shape to it instead of being more flat like it should be at this point in my cycle. She said she wasn't sure if it was different after O but he said that. She also said if it was something to be concerned about he would have done something right away and would have cancelled this cycle so she said he's just being cautious in wanting to check it on CD5 if I'm not pregnant this cycle because of all I've been through already. She said that he told her after I left that looking at my chart there's no way it's from the m/c in April that I had such a hard time recovering from. He said it almost looked like some tissue. Personally, I think it's leftover progesterone. The doc said usually it comes out pretty quick but it took 3 months for me to expel all the tissue from the miscarriage and that was with a d&c. These things don't happen quickly with me. So I'm not too worried about that at the moment. Even if I'm not pregnant I have a feeling it'll be fine when he checks it next cycle after a period. I think he expects that too or he would have been more worried.

As far as the follicles go, and I'm sure it's important to use the right terminology here...he said that I had a follicle on my left that had collapsed already and it was a good size. I guess what he meant by this was that I had in fact released an egg already. He said I had some cyst action too which must mean I'm post O. I guess he really was just thinking out loud when he was saying the other stuff just trying to remind himself where I was. They said because the u/s was done after O they won't know how good of an O it was until my progesterone draw next Wednesday which makes me a little nervous but I had pain all month so I know something happened. The nurse also said not to worry too much about the OPKs. She said to keep taking them just in case they show something but that they have a lot of patients that claim to get negatives all the time when bloodwork and u/s proves that they O'd. She said that's not uncommon really.

Overall, I feel much better after talking to her. I do kind of feel like I have a cloud hanging over me or something but I'm determined to try to stay positives in case I do get pregnant because I was positives, happy vibes for baby. Sorry this is so long. I tend to be long winded. Lol.

[mariahpoo2]

Wow that does sound really confusing. and

[NHKate]

I'm no help, just wanted to wish you luck. I hope you guys caught that egg!

[Lunarmoon]

I agree that you should maybe loose the OPK sticks!! You seem to always have a strong cramping when you are Oing, and I would base it on that. I wish that you won't have to worry about any of this next cycle!! ;) Can't wait for your belly to grow with a bundle!!!!

[mamabear26]

Leah- I am so glad you are feeling more reassured. Sometimes we just need things explained a little slower and have our concerns heard. It does help. I agree with Lunarmoon about the cramping. I know when I O each month. I have thought about using opks this fall but I know so I think its a waste of money for me. I just want to say good luck with this cycle. I hope that little eggie got caught!

[Lizamay]

Im glad they were able I help explain it!! Hope you had a nice big O like they suspect an you get your soon!!!

[Leah26]

Thank you ladies! I'm feeling much better today. This has happened one time before where they thought I had a polyp and they were all concerned and said if I wasn't pregnant they needed to do a CD5 u/s again even though the last was normal and that was fast for a polyp to grow and then I got pregnant and at my first u/s the doc said that spot was gone so it must have just been a thick place in my lining. He explained then that mid-cycle u/s aren't very reliable for evaluating much other than your eggs and lining for implantation so I'm not too worried today. We probably missed DTD the day before O but we DTD two days before, the day of and two days after if it was CD12. If it was CD13 than we still have it covered, even better though. So we did all that we could and now we just wait....the fun part. Ugh! But I'm okay though. I think the worst that can happen is I'm not pregnant and I have to skip a cycle to confirm that I'm okay to try again. There are worse things.

[mamabear26]

Glad to see the positive attitude! I know we can all get really upset and sad and angry every time we see a bfn but deciding to look forward is all we can do. I hate to be sad all the time! lol

I pray things go well this cycle, Leah! You deserve a