Fall IVF Support Thread - Page 2

[blueyezz4]

Keria - I think I'd go right to an IVF as well if i were you!! I don't know the full facts about your MFI, but I had a friend whose DH's count was under 5,000 (i think it was) and they recommended going right to IVF and they got their (+) on the first try. Good luck to you both!! I hear ya... about how nice it is not to obsess over a month!! My only problem is that when I don't obsess or really try to plan I almost feel as if I'm wasting a month! LOL

Samkris - Good luck to you!!!! I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and I have a feeling this will be your month!!! I wish I could help with your questions about being nauseous. I am just heading into my first IVF hopefully this month or next, but have done about 6 medicated IUI's. I wonder if that might be a part of OHSS, do you know?? I know after my IUI's I would just feel like I had been hit by a truck. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site so I'm sure someone would know. Maybe give it today and call your RE's office tomorrow if it doesn't let up!!! Yeah, like everyone else asked....when is your beta???? Fingers crossed for you!! Oh, can you explain the assisted hatching to me? I know it is what it sounds like, but how do they do it and how do you know you need it or don't need it? Sorry, all this IVF stuff is new to me!!!! Thanks!!

Tear - Thanks so much for adding me!!!! How are you and how was the first day of school??? Are you a teacher or in school yourself??

Slylives - how are the meds going??? How many follies do you have so far?? Thinking of you and hoping all is going well!!!!

Keria - did you have your appt? How did it go???? Hopefully well!!!!


??? Would taking Lupron be the same as taking BCP for suppression? I'm confused? I'm supposed to start by taking Lupron and not BCP.

??? I've been watching You Tube videos ( i know it is pretty sad) of women who decided to V-blog their IVF to just get a better understanding of what people go through. Watch out... you can get addicted to it!!! LOL :0) Anyways, what does it mean when people say they want their embryos to go to full "BLAST". Would that be like full maturation before you put them back in? Sorry, like I said this is all new terminology for me!!! Medicated IUI's just seemed so easy to get and this IVF stuff is a little more complex!!!

AFM - Just waiting to get tomorrow over with so I can find out if I have to have surgery or not! It is crazy how one day will determine the next couple of months of your life!!!! We will see!!!

[samkris123]

Blueyezz: Lupron is much stronger than BCP. Before IVF, I went through two cycles of Lupron Depot injections to manage endometriosis. The first cycle, I received an injection every month for 3 months. The second cycle, I received one injection that lasted for 3 months. The Lupron kicked my body into FULL menopause! Mood swings, hot flashes, no periods . . . the whole shebang! As for the Lupron that they give you for IVF, I believe the dose is a lower concentration. Don't quote me on that, but I remember discussing Lupron as a suppresant in IVF with an RE a year ago. Basically, I think it's more effective than BCP. I would still ask your doctor.

Keria: I agree with Blueyezz. My husband had a low morphology count and we did ICSI without hesitation. Our doctor said that because it significantly increases your chances, he generally always performs ICSI. We were also told to go straight to IVF. I don't have experience with IUI or any other IF treatments, so I am not able to compare the pros and cons from personal experience.

Tear: Thank you for the warm welcome! It is extremely therapeutic and helpful to have a connection to other women going through the same experiences.

My 1st beta test is September 21st! It won't come soon enough! My husband and I can't decide if we want to do a HPT the Sunday before (we will be in Texas at my parents and thought it would be neat to tell them in person, but also don't want to have a false negative or negative and be bummed the rest of the trip). My nausea has subsided and I am feeling much better.

I believe that "Full Blast" means that they are wanting to do a day 5 transfer. By day 5, after egg retrieval, the embryos should be blastocyst. At this stage, the embies are stronger and are almost ready to attach. Pregnancy success rates are a little higher with a day 5 transfer. The rates tend to be higher because the lab is able to monitor the embryos longer and pick the best of the best for transfer.

On the other hand, some believe that a day 3 transfer is more beneficial (this is what we had). On day 3, the embies have anywhere from 6 to 8 cells (sometimes 10). 8 cells is the ideal number. The argument for a day 3 transfer is that the embryos are better off inside the uterus to mature than inside the lab's incubator. Some labs have the ability to set-up a very similar environment to the female body, however, some labs don't have the experience or technology to mock the human body. Most labs will do a day 3 transfer when only a few eggs (2-3) fertilize. They believe that some of the embryos, possibly even all, could fail to survive beyond day 3 in the lab and that the embryo has a better chance inside your uterus.

Assisted hatching also increases your success rate, however, depending on the lab's experience and method, there may be rare side effects (you can find this info online). I believe AH is most often performed on day 3 transfers (we also did AH). The lab creates a small opening/hole in the zona, or outer shell of the embryo. A laser or acid solution is the most common method for creating this hole. AH helps the embryo hatch out of its shell so that it can attach to the uterine lining. Some embryos have very thick shells or lack the energy to hatch by themselves. "Failure to Implant" is a big reason why IVF doesn't work in a lot of cases. The embryo doesn't implant sometimes because it can't hatch. With an experienced lab, there shouldn't be negative side-effects. One side effect of AH, however, is an increased chance of identical twins. I read somewhere that it increases your chances by 25%. This percentage could be different for different doctors and clinics.

[samkris123]

Keria: What does AF mean? When is your HSG? I wish you the best of luck! After my HSG, I had some cramping and a little bleeding.

To All: If any of you have any questions about the IVF experience from meds, to egg retrieval, to ET, or anything in between, please don't hesitate to ask. I would love to share my experiences with others (I wish I had someone during the first part of it). I also need to occupy myself during the 2ww! Lol!

[poetgirl]

Blue, the higher your estradiol gets on your cycle, the thicker the zona gets. The embryologist will know by lookiing at your embies. There was a huge difference in the zonas of my two cycles.
Also, I took estrace and progesterone instead of bcp during the prep cycle before in addition to the lupron, so I believe they have diff. functions but hat would be a ques. for the RE.

...just lurking a little to cheer y'all on ...

[blueyezz4]

Samkris123 - Thanks so much for all the info!!! This is for sure a learning experience for me!!!!! Yeah, my starting dose of Lupron is 20 units (0.2ml) on CD 21. We will see!!! Hope your TWW goes by fast!!!!!

Poetgirl - Always good to see your name pop up!!!! What made the difference with your two cycles, you might have told me already. I'm suppose to be starting estrace a little earlier on in the cycle than normal to help build up my lining so we will see. I'd love to watch the whole process... it is just so amazing to me!! Hope you are well!!

[slylives]

samkris123 All the very best to you! I hope you are feeling better. I will be thinking of you on 9/21.

AFM - The stims medication (Menopur and Follistim) are going OK, although it stings a little when I first push the plunger on the syringe..but I can live with it. Generally, the process has been much easier than I first envisaged it to be. Having said that, I've only had three days of stims, so maybe the crazy mood swings haven't started yet! I had my estradiol done today and everything looked normal, and I have my first ultrasound on Tuesday.

[Keria]

sylvies that's good to know that it has not been that bad so far, I'm needle phobic.

[Tear78]

blueyezz, how did your appointment go today? Oh, and I keep wondering...do you pronounce your username "blue eyes" or "blue yezz?"

I'm unbelievably overwhelmed with school, but I'm going to go read up and catch up. It sounds pathetic in a thread with only a few members, but can you post any important updates for the front page in bold for now? Thanks, loves! I worked all weekend at my hubby's art show, and school is kicking me in the gut right now. I'm so tired...this is why we're not doing any interventions THIS month. (ps--I'm a teacher, not a student. 5th grade, but I got moved up from 1st grade, so EVERYTHING is new. yikes!)

Keria, good luck at your appointment tomorrow!

updated: blueyezz - I was wondering about the lupron and the bcp combined, too. It seems like they both do the same thing. I feel so unknowledgeable about it! I do know that I used lupron during my iui cycles to keep myself from ovulating early, and it sounds like my dose was much smaller than samkris'. Ok, now I'm going to go read where poetgirl probably explains it. lol Great to see you poetgirl!!!

samkris, thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge! I really appreciate your support, and I'm glad that this little group is here. Thanks, ladies!

slylives, I'm glad the stims are going well! I also found the menopur stings a bit. But as far as side effects: clomid was WAY, WAY WAY WAY WAY worse. I really didn't notice anything with the injections except feeling full and like I was just two big walking ovaries. Let us know how your ultrasound looks! What was your estradiol level?

ps - for me, since they want to do the bcp, suppression means three weeks of the pill, then one week of lupron, then starting stimulation... So really we're looking at stimming in late October.

pps - that was, like, THE most scattered post. Sorry.

[Tear78]

Originally Posted by Keria

How was the movie Tear?

I was struck really hard by a quote in it, though I'm not sure how I feel about it.

"The fear of loss is a path to the dark side. Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into The Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

It's a lot to swallow, but I've been thinking about it a lot.

[blueyezz4]

Tear - Yes, it's Blue Eyes - just to answer your question!!! Had my appt today and surgery set for next Wed the 22nd. Will be in a full arm cast for a week. Sure will make typing hard. I'll have to hunt and peck for a while. So that means we will be moving our IVF out a month - prob. early Nov instead of Oct now!! Bummer!!! Wow, that is a deep quote and a lot to swallow!!!! I agree!!!!!!

I asked my nurse today if Lupron would be kind of the same as BCPs for supression. She said their clinic doesn't normally use BCP and that some clinics will use them for supression to have better control of their patient's cycles. Not sure if that answers the question or not, but that is what I got.

[Keria]

My appointment did not go so well, my doctor wouldn't even discuss IVF she wants Dh to go see another Urologist/Andrologist because apparently the one we saw was not good enough for her taste, then if DH does have a varicocele she wants him to have a surgery that has a 30-50% chance of improving his counts then wait 3-6 months to see if his counts improve and if they don't we could discuss IVF/ICSI. Needles to say I'm getting a second opinion hopefully with a doctor that respects my wishes, I feel the clock ticking, if I didn't have other issues going on I might consider waiting but with my high FSH and for some reason my cycles are getting shorter I feel I have no time to spare.

[Keria]

Tear that qoute sure makes you think, with that said I don't think it's humanly possible to not to fear loss, not exclusively the loss of people one of my greatest fear is the loss of the dream of getting pregnant.

[slylives]

keria - I am so sorry you had a frustrating appointment. I too felt very strongly that time was ticking, and I essentially walked into my last RE appointment and said "I want to do IVF. Now." I hope you can find someone else who is more cognisant of your need to get moving.

AFM - I had my ultrasound today and have 11 follicles and a lining at 8.5, so everything is looking good. Trigger is scheduled for the weekend (tentatively) and retrieval on Monday. At first I wondered if I should actually have more follies, but the nurse told me that I should be feeling "really pleased" about how everything is going. I know that IVF isn't a cure-all, but I can't help but think "I'm going to be pregnant next week!!" But with my history, I really should be more cautious.

[Keria]

Wow sylvies I remember when you posted in BSL that you anted to move on with IVF, and here you are now it seems so fast, 11 is great and you ARE going to be pregnant next week.

Now that I had a little time to think about the appointment it was probably my fault I just sat there and said ok to everything she said, I wasn't clear with my desire to go ahead with ivf, I was just in shock when she told me that our chaces of conceiving naturally right now are slim to none so don't even bother trying until we get DH's issues resolved, I did ask if with the counts like they are right now we could concieve with IVF and she said yes but lets not get ahead of ourselves. In the mean time I got my HSG scheduled for the 22 and I'm thinking of getting an appoinment with one of the IVF specialists in that same fertility clinic.

Also DH says he likes the doctor that he saw and does not want to see the super duper special urologist my RE recomended so we'll see.

[blueyezz4]

Keria - I'm sorry to hear about your appt!!!!! I think I'd go and get an 2nd opinion! I always figure a second opinion can't hurt. Good luck to you!! Now a days you really have to be your own advocate in healthcare it seems!! It's kinda sad!!!

Slylives - 11 follies sounds good to me!!! What size are they at right now? Who knows, by the weekend you may even have more!! Fingers crossed for you!!!!! Keep us posted!!!

[slylives]

More follicles!!

Another ultrasound this morning - now there are 15 follicles, with 12 or 13 at the same size (the other 2 or 3 being smaller.) Another ultrasound tomorrow and then we are looking at trigger on Saturday, retrieval on Monday.

My goodness. It's happening. It's actually happening.

[Tear78]

Blue Eyes - That's a bummer about the surgery. Boy, it kind of feels like once you decide for IVF there is a ton of waiting, then it all happens all of a sudden. Sorry the waiting part just got longer. Do you think you'll do the BCP for suppression? I had heard about that reason for doing it, which isn't good enough for me, but i've also heard others. I'll let you know what my doc says after our appointment.

Keria, I TOTALLY hear you on feeling like time is limited due to the high FSH. It really freaks me out. I'm so scared that they will do the IVF and say, "sorry, but your eggs are all of poor quality." oh man...it's the reason I want to rip off the bandaid, so to speak. I, too, fear the loss of the dream to be pregnant and have a biological child. and I hope you find a doc that will listen better, or that you'll make your current one listen.

slylives, wow! I'm so excited for you!!! Everything seems to be going really well. Hang in there a few more days! I think I'll also be thinking "this is it, I'm getting pregnant" when we do IVF. I think it's important to think positive, but I know the fear of falling hard. We're rooting for you!!!

Court, oh wise demonstrator of the sane don't-log-on philosophy, I salute you! How are you doing?

Samkris, you must be dying with anticipation! How are you feeling?

afm...where's that "twiddling thumbs" smilie? I'm really all swept up with school and not really focused on this yet, it just seems so far away.

[ratgrl]

Hi ladies, hope you don't mind me poking my head in... I was pretty active on the spring IVF threads here, since we went through our first IVF cycle in Feb/March. We had great success with it, followed by a 1/1,000,000 fluke that took that success away.

So here I am, a few months wearier and missing some anatomy, and suppressing for our first FET cycle. I did my 3 weeks on BCP, overlapped with Lupron, and I'm about 3 weeks into the Lupron now. I start my estrace on 9/19, my transfer will be on 10/6 with a test date of 10/17. I'll give the FET this: it's a lot simpler to plan around... just a few visits for bloodwork, two or three ultrasounds, and everything planned ahead of time.

As far as BCP vs. Lupron for suppression, it really seems to be physicians' choice... some docs like BCP better for fresh cycles and some like Lupron. I reacted strongly to the BCP the first time but they really wanted me to do it the second time too. A friend of mine seeing the same doc was more vehement about not doing BCP again and she suppressed on Lupron only.

If any of you have IVF questions I can answer I'd be happy to be a resource for you... I've got experience + perspective at this point

[slylives]

ratgrl Welcome - it's nice to have another voice of experience. I am so sorry to hear of the fluke that took your success away.

I had another ultrasound today - 14 follicles. 6 are mature as of now, and 8 are about to mature. So yet another ultrasound tomorrow, and probably trigger tomorrow night and retrieval on Monday. Although I have the injection routine down (and it's really no big deal after a couple of days) I am definitely starting to feel uncomfortable. Very bloated - and although I know it's mainly fluid it feels very much like trapped wind. Looking forward to tomorrow night and doing the trigger.

[Tear78]

slylives, eek, you've triggered and you're waiting for retrieval!!! Good luck tomorrow! ps - hope you're feeling better

ratgrl, I remember you and I think I followed your story in a lurky manner. I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it, or leave it behind? I added you: are you starting the estrace at the same time you start stimulation...wait, that's today! How did you react strongly to the bcp? My fear is that it will a. make me depressed (clinically) and b. suppress me so far that things won't start up again. I'm talking with the RE on Wednesday. I'm sorry you're here, but glad we can support each other.