Cycle 1, Day 8

So I'm one week in, I did my first EV injection in 21 days a few days ago after my washout phase (my previous peak was at 541 pg/mL)... I definitely noticed my mood being a bit better the morning after my injection; I had an E2 serum level draw on day 2 that came back at 65.1 pg/mL which is solidly in the menstrual/early follicular range. I'm honestly not sure the last time my E2 level was that low.

During the washout phase I noticed many of the typical "period" symptoms; I felt bloated, felt random tingling in my breasts, and had a few days of diarrhea along with experiencing a light bleed from my vagina for a few days (this bleeding seemed to not be caused by/independent of dilation).

Since the injection, my Inito tests confirmed that my estrogen levels are rising. Inito measures E3G, a urine metabolite of estradiol, so day-to-day values are noisier than serum, but the overall trend is clearly upward. I am planning on doing another E2 serum level draw on day 13 to catch the value at the peak of the ovulatory phase and then another at day 21 at the peak of the luteal phase.

Another funny thing with the Inito is since it's primary use is fertility tracking, it categorizes readings in to low, high and peak fertility windows; with my E2 rising from my baseline after my injection on day 5 it let me know yesterday (day 7) that I had "high fertility today". Gave me a bit of a giggle.

Separately, on the microbiome front, I received the preliminary results back from my Evvy Vaginal Microbiome test; those results only found one strain (Prevotella bivia) present in the sample. I'm starting to use the VagiBiom vaginal suppositories with the intent to start "seeding" the canal with healthy Lactobacillus strains. P. bivia is categorized as disruptive and has been associated with dysbiosis, so introducing Lactobacillus through VagiBiom is the first step toward shifting that balance.

More to come!