~*~ Spring 2009 IVF Thread ~*~ - Page 5

[wtg4miracle]

Originally Posted by poetgirl

Question: So I've done 5 days of Follistim 300iu and I'm not bloated at all. Should I be? Just wondering...

I am not sure about this. It might be to soon.

This is for the IVF veterens here. We need you bellybean and abeecharmer to chime in!

[snowbell]

wtng, dh and I took doxycycline for 10 days 2x a day. It's an antibiotic that gets rid of any possible infections that have been inhibiting conception. The Dr. told me it is very costly to run a test to actually see if either partner has the infection. So, instead they have patients take doxycycline for precaution.

Perdita, so I ran into the same issue of flying right after beta. Before my first beta, dh and I got an opportunity to fly to NYC (a long cross-country trip). Of course, I was worried that if I was pregnant it would not be a good idea to fly. I talked to the nurse quite a few times and she said it was absolutely fine to fly that early before an u/s confirmed a healthy pregnancy vs. ectopic. She said that she wouldn't really want me to fly at 6 weeks if we didn't know if it was ectopic because there could be a rupture on the plane (I believe in the fallopian tubes). BUT she said at 4 -5.5 weeks it would be fine because it would be too early for an ectopic to rupture. I guess if the flight is more around 6 weeks you could go in before the trip to look for the sac, which would let you know it wasn't ectopic. She said besides this one issue of ectopic pregnancies and flying, that flying is totally safe in pg until much later. It sounds like if you have the chance to go stay on the ocean, I'd take it!

poet, don't worry about not bloating. I hardly bloated with my IVF cycle even though I bloated A LOT with my injectable cycle. I kept waiting for the bloating to come but thankfully it never did! Keep us posted on the u/s tomorrow! Grow follies, grow!

[wtg4miracle]

Snowbell--great you chimed in, thanks for popping in to help us. These are the kind of questions that will be needing your help as we get closer to ER and ET . Thanks for explaining the doxycycline. They might be meant for me since there are only 6 capsules in the vial.

Poet--You are doing great this cycle. 20 possible follies. Yeah! Gl with the us and bw tomorrow. I am following you closely cause I will be right behind you soon. Its nice of CRM telling us not to get constipated.

Perdita-Its good to know that you can squeeze May in. Its these little bumps in the road that makes one go bonkers.

Leewoss-congrats on your pregnancy. You must be so happy. What was your protocol like. I am so interested in others protocols and see what they are doing.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Thank you, Snowbell, that was very helpful!

[Pearl1]

perdita - i still think that's crappy, even if it was in the forms up front. here's hoping she is right about may!

leewoss - i dont think a blood test can show a false positive (only urine hpts). congrats on the recent success!

poet - good luck with the u/s tomorrow, hope things look perfect! grow, follies, grow!! i did gonal-f, not follistim, but i think they are basically the same thing. i didn't have any bloating at all. don't worry about the lack of bloating, consider yourself lucky!!

~sarah

[luckyIVF]

Perdita - Full?! That's a crappy way to run a practice! They must be in high demand in your area, so I guess that's a good sign. You're a bigger person than I for accepting it and moving on! I would have thrown a big old fit!

Wtg - I'm on Bravelle, Lupron and Ovidrel trigger shot. 45 vials sounds like plenty. When I stimmed the first time, it was for BD not IVF and I got 10 follies. So, I know Bravelle works for me. Its what I'm using again this time. I have some left from my last cancelled cycle so I dont know exactly how many vials I'll have - something around 30 I think. It's really an easy shot.

Poet - so glad you're feeling better! Somehow, I'm 180 degrees and feeling great, too! Moods?! I'm so excited to see how your stims go!

AFM - I got my schedule and I'll start Lupron on 3/17 and stop BCPs on 3/25. (Juliasmom - can you add this to our list) thanks.

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by luckyIVF

AFM - I got my schedule and I'll start Lupron on 3/17 and stop BCPs on 3/25. (Juliasmom - can you add this to our list) thanks.

I start on 3/19 - we're almost lined up! :

[wtg4miracle]

I am right behind you gals, March 24th for me. (Lupron/supression).

LuckyIVF--wow, this is very interesting we are both using Bravelle. It looks like we are using the same protocol. I have question, did you refrigerate the meds once they came in. The bottles say you can leave at room temp or refrigerate. Which is best you think?

poet--how did your scan go?

[Julia'sMom]

Wow! It's been a busy/talkative day!

Perdita Ugh, that is so wrong! I'm so sorry it happened, although it is nice to know you will be in the most successful month. up:

Wtg You're meds sound fine. I also have doxycycline to take just after ER. I was told it's a precautionary measure against any possible infection from the retrieval.

Poet I also didn't get bloated until closer to ER and most seriously after the retrieval. Good luck at the u/s today!

Bellybean Good luck at your u/s today, too!

LuckyIVF I'll update you!

:

[poetgirl]

Hey Everyone! Well back from u/s. It was okay and I'm going to stay positive. Of our 20 follies, 5 are above 8 mm, 6 are < or=8 and 6 are < or = 6.
2 good things. 1.) I always got an early dominant follicle during injectable cycles and that is not happening and was the suspected "reason" why that never worked. That this is progressing at the same rate and slower is good for me. 2.) Lining went from 4.1 to 9.8. Now I hope estradiol read comes back good. So I feel a bit less like a mother hen today (what DH was calling me) but the 8s could catch up and we'll probably end up with 5-10 eggs. Today will be day 6 of stims.

Some of you know this but my sister has dealt with IF too and she had 4 ivf attempts and never stimmed. The last time she had 2 follies and they even did an ER but they were empty, no eggs inside. So, I have to be very thankful for every follicle working hard for me. I have so much compassion for my dear body for trying so much. I will keep sending it and my follies the LOVE.

Thanks to you all for being supportive.

[Julia'sMom]

Poet - it sounds like your body is right on track. You seem to be stimming slow and steady, which is great! If it makes you feel better, when they did my ER (ivf#1), the follies were anywhere from 23 to 12 and they all produced eggs. There's still plenty of time for the 8's and even the 6's to catch up. Also, my RE says that day 5 is the first day that your body is on the full dose of stims. Apparently, it takes 5 days for them to build up before coming in full force. Did they give you an estimate for how long the stimming portion takes?

Keep the LOVE!

I'm still waiting on af. Last bcp was on Monday. Anyone know about how long it takes to arrive? Does it make a diffence that I was only on bcp for 2 weeks? My appt is next Tuesday, so I'm really hoping af shows and is receding by then.

[wtg4miracle]

Poet--yay for the great scan. You are having a great positive attitude in this. Great number of follies. Its looking good.

Julia's mom--Usually I get AF about 5 days after stopping the last pill. I had to cut my self short by 7 pills last month cause I was going in for surgery. The Re wanted me to have my period before surgery. It was a forced AF. But it did come in 5 days even after only 14 days of the pill. Boy I was so nervous that it wouldn't come but it did.

[poetgirl]

Thanks Julia's Mom and Wtng!
You make me feel very soothed. I'm glad to know about the day 5 full stim thing and that the smaller ones could catch up. I was disappointed. The plan is for me to continue with 300 iu follistim and go in for bw and u/s in 2 days, then again in 2 days, so Sat. and Mon. Mon. will be day 10 of stims. We're thinking maybe ER next Thurs. and ET on Sat or Sun (they only do 2-3 day ET, but they're in top 2% of nation for success rates). If we only get around 5 eggs, we'll do ICSI.

Question: For those who've stimmed before, how many days of stims did you have?

Julia's Mom, AF vibes! :

[Julia'sMom]

Originally Posted by poetgirl

Question: For those who've stimmed before, how many days of stims did you have?

ivf#1 - 9 days of stims, trigger on day 9, ER on day 10
ivf#2 - 12 days of stims, trigger on day 12, IUI on day 13

[poetgirl]

Originally Posted by Julia'sMom

ivf#1 - 9 days of stims, trigger on day 9, ER on day 10
ivf#2 - 12 days of stims, trigger on day 12, IUI on day 13

Thanks Julia's Mom! Anyone else?

I just gave myself 2 shots and they both bled after I took the needle out, a little blood on the tip of the needle too. Never happened before. Is this okay? They didn't even bruise up or hurt.

[BellyBean]

Wow! This thread is super active! I guess that just means lots of BFPs!! :

Poet - Congratulations on the good u/s! Those smaller ones will catch up in no time, and you'll know a little more when you get the E2 levels back. I started getting bloated around the 5th day (but don't forget I definitely over stimmed!!)
Total I did 9 days of stims, trigger day 10 (pm), ER day 12 (am) - but the first 2 days I stimmed morning AND night!

Perdita - thats really crappy that they are "full":, but it sounds like you are taking it much better than I would.

Thanks everyone for sending the : for my ultrasound today! It must of worked. We saw the cutest little baby in there, and to top it off we even saw the heartbeat. It was a magical moment for us

[poetgirl]

Oh Belly, Oh joy! : This is truly wonderful! I'm so pleased for you and you must be over the moon. Just beautiful!

Thanks for sharing your situation. My E2 was 378 so far. Any thoughts on that? Did you have smaller ones in the halfway u/s that caught up? Thanks for your advice. I'm the only one stimming right now, so I really appreciate yr reply!

[wtg4miracle]

BellyBean--congrats on seeing the heartbeat. You guys must be so excited. I can't think of anything in life so wonderful.

Poet--I feel so bad that you are the only one stimming right now. I am happy that the IVF vets are here to help you. I know I will be asking the same questions also.


Ok I have a question that is kind of weird but its bothering me alot.

When the day comes to do ER, dh has to give his "sample'. I have been reading that it takes about 6-8 hrs for the eggs to fully mature. I thought sperm don't live that long outside the body. I am really worried about this since dh wants to collect at home and then bring it in when I go for ER. If he does this we are already talking about 1 hr that the sperm have to survive longer. He has SEVERE anxiety performance. I am thinking about having him go there and freeze some in the next few weeks.

Any ideas on this? Am I thinking to much here. For the ones who did IVF already did you have your dh/partner collect at home or in the office? I can't believe this is causing alot of stress for me.

[snowbell]

poet, looks like things are moving along! don't worry about the blood on the needle. a few times i had blood IN the syringe. the first time, i called the advice nurse and she said it was fine.

i did 8 days of stims.

i would try not to think too much about your E2 levels unless the dr. shows concern. did your clinic say your level was fine? i just tried to trust the nurse whenever she told me mine was fine. i wish i could help you from a more medical perspective but i don't know much about them expect that they wanted to see mine around 2200 before i triggered. i am sure yours is on target.

i'm really happy for you that things seem to be going well without any more stumbling blocks!

bellybean, i am so happy that you got to hear the heartbeat!!

wtg, ask your clinic about timing. they'll be able to tell you if it's okay to do it at home. my dh also had some performance issues because they told him he couldn't use any type of lube (baby oil, olive oil, etc.), which we always use. for IUIs he always did it at home but for IVF he had to do it there. but if your dh is more comfortable at home, hopefully he can do it there!

[wtg4miracle]

Snowbell-- how come he had to perform in the office for the IVF and not the IUI. Did they say why? I hate to call them on this. They will know I am going nuts.