3 Corpus Luteum at 5 week scan - Triplets??

[briggsy's girl]

The corpus luteum signifies the number of follicles that developed and burst this cycle. Not all follicles release eggs and not all eggs fertilise. There is a slight possibility but it would be likely they'd see more than one "smudge" if that were the case....


Eta: when they give you the trigger you can have more than one follicle (I usually had upwards of 20 immature follicles) - but they use the size of the dominant one/s to decide on trigger time. You likely had one that was large enough to release a mature egg, and a few that were too small (but because they still ruptured and released the immature egg at trigger, a corpus luteum was formed at each location)

[jetalexjay]

Thanks for the reply.
I realise not all 3 could have been fertilised, but my doc was positive I released 3 mature eggs. I just thought that if only one fertilised then I would have only one corpus luteum? I mean if I only had one baby in there, why would 3 cl be hanging around? I though the other 2 would have absorbed back into the body by now. I have heard of women having an early scan and seeing one sac and going back a week later and seeing a second!

Sorry, didn't see the Eta part. Doc says they were all mature and of the same similar size and mature

[briggsy's girl]

your ovaries won't recognise whether one or three embryos have implanted - the HCG was recognised and the corpus luteum were created.

i would take notice more of the pre-ovulation information regarding mature follicles than the post ovulation CL size. follicular development is very standard - 1-2mm per day, and has to be a certain size for a mature egg to be released - if there was only one follicle large enough when they triggered, there would be no way others could increase to maturation rapidly (trigger stops growth of follicles).

as i mentioned, i used to get upwards of 20 immature follicles and between one and three dominant follicles during an IUI cycle - the cycle my daughter was conceived, i had one dominant follicle but well over 20 immature follicles on my right ovary. at the early scans i had, my ovaries were described as chunky and covered in corpus luteum from the immature follicles...

[jetalexjay]

My fertility doctor and nurse always told me that the trigger gives the follicles one last super boost of growth before they are released. I already had one mature one and 2 smaller ones and because it was earlier in my cycle than when I would normally trigger, I still took the puregon shot before my scan as I thought I had at least 2 more days to go (have never triggered that early in my cycle before) so with the puregon and the trigger on the same day the other 2 follicles could well and truly have reached a mature size in the 36 hrs before ovulation. My 1st mature follicle reached 20 mm in just 10 days!

I usually just get one follicle each cycle. This is only the second time I had 3

[briggsy's girl]

well i guess it's a waiting game - i don't know your clinic protocols - mine would trigger with up to three follicles at mature size, most others would only do up to two. i would still be wary of pinning too much weight in the idea of all three not only releasing mature eggs (if two were lagging), but also fertilising and then implanting. as i said, nothing is impossible, but improbably is probably a better word to use. i guess you'll only have a few more days before they scan again for viability and count

[jetalexjay]

Personally I'm hoping it's just 1! I already have 3 boys. Just really wondering why all 3 corpus luteum would hang around for so long (I understand why one would). Like you say, I'll just have to wait till next week for another scan Thanks!!!!

[briggsy's girl]

As I said earlier, your ovaries aren't smart enough to recognise how many embryos implanted. The hcg doesn't just hit one cl and close the rest down. They all have the the exact same response to the hcg so none of them will disappear until the placenta takes over

You'd get the exact same response if you continued luteal phase support shots with The trigger drug (puregon or similar) as they have hcg in them so the cl will all respond. It's a good thing. Should give better support to your pregnancy than a single cl.