Winter IVF Thread : Bring on the BFPs! - Page 60

[rcr]

Well the IUI went well. I treated myself to an $8.00 salad at Panera afterwards. It was yummy. Progestrone check and vodeo conference are next Wed., beta is on the following Monday.

[hope4light]

rcr - glad the IUI went well.  And you deserved the splurge!!!

AFM - Just got back to work after the HSG.  All good, no polyps, all clear.  It was a little painful during the procedure, but nothing I couldn't handle.  They said I was an easy one to do the HSG on, so that's cool.  Some bleeding now, but that's about it.  I don't really feel any cramping. 

I got my calendar for IVF too.  It's all dependent on O'ing when expected and AF showing up when expected.  I'm sure that won't happen, but hey, that's OK.

Last night when I took the doxy for the HSG DH and I did a 'cheers' type thing, to bring on this upcoming cycle.  Today was one more step closer to it feeling real.  Next week we have our first counseling appt Tuesday later afternoon, and then my yearly pap Friday.  The next Monday (the 19th) will be my bloodwork to see if I O'd, then Lupron begins!!

[saphrons]

rcr, so glad to hear the IUI went well!

It's interesting. I received a calendar at the very beginning of my IVF cycle but it was pretty much blank/TBD after the stims started. However, I did have my appointment this morning. The nurse called me back this afternoon to say I needed to come back in tomorrow. She mentioned the trigger shot will either be tomorrow for a Friday retrieval or Thursday for a Saturday retrieval.

I know that some of you ladies have been through more than one cycle, but I have to say that all of my hope is in this first cycle. I know I need to be realistic, but I am just so damn ready to be pregnant. It's been 5 years of infertility struggles. We want this to work more than anything. I'm sure everyone else can relate to this.

[auraleigh]

saphrons- hopefully this will be it!  i know  it's really difficult to manage your expectations, but even if it doesn't work, you are one step closer to figuring out how to get it right.  a lot of the women on here have gotten pregnant with FETs too, which is amazing.  

rcr- i know i've been living in/near NYC for too long when i didn't even blink an eye at an $8 salad.  i'm glad the iui went well!  welcome to the tww.  i'll be keeping you company for least the first part of it. 

hope- glad the hsg went well!  you're on your way!

still nothing going on here. all afternoon i felt on the verge of an anxiety attack, so i came home and did a dance aerobics video, and that seemed to  alleviate things.  this could just be the start of pms?  i've been crampy for about four days now, but i'm always crampy in the tww.  already tired of waiting!  today is 7dpiui at least, so not too much longer. 

[gellybeangrl]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the welcome back. As far as what we have done...over the last 3 years 6 ICI's, 9 IUI's, and one IVF...ALL bfn. We have 3 embabies from the IVF and will be using them this time around. I do have some insurance coverage, but there are co-pays and meds to pay for. If this does not work then we will have to take a few months off save up and try a fresh IVF cycle.

I can't remember who asked, but at Sher I am on a totally different protocol than I was before. This is my first FET. They have me on lupon, instead of follistim, and they have me on Dexametasone, and a few strategic E2V shots to help thicken up my lining. I go into a u/s on 3/23/2012 and if everything goes well I will have my transfer on 3/28/2012.

Rcr~ Glad to hear that your IUI went well...baby dust to you!

Hope~ Yeah for a not to painful HSG, and even better news that everything is clear and ready to go.

Belly~ How are you doing?

Auraleigh~ When you are you planning on testing?

Gelly

[blueyezz4]

Belly - thanks!!! You are so sweet!!!  I'm crossing everything too!

Gelly - I may just be brain dead tonight but what are ICI's????? Some kind of insemination I'm guessing?  Hope all goes well at your u/s.  Keep us posted.

Saphrons - wow, you are really getting close.  That is kinda weird that your calendar was blank?!  Fingers crossed for your ER.  How many follies do you have all together now? How many are you thinking of putting back in, have you talked about that? Yes, it is hard not to get your hopes up for the first cycle.  I remember way back when (6yrs ago) when we first started ttc on our own I just thought that we would get pregnant our first month of trying & boy was I wrong. I had my hopes up for our first IVF as well and we did get a BFP (which i couldn't believe) but then m/c'd so now i kinda guard myself for sure.  I sure hope that your first IVF is a total success!!!!!  Fingers crossed for you!!

Hope4light - glad to hear that the hsg went good and that you didn't have blocked tubes!!  That would really make things more sticky if you did.  Hope your first counseling appt goes well.  Fingers crossed for your upcoming cycle.

rcr - glad the iui went well and i hope you really enjoyed that salad!!! You deserved it!!!!! Hope your video consult goes well.  Did you post your question?  I think you have to like get a user name and get approved to post on that board, so if i remember i think it took me like a day or 2 before i was able to post anything.  Good luck!!!

AFM - Had my first PIO shot this morning and man does my Butt hurt like a son of a gun and it is only the first shot!!!  Ugggh!!!  I used PIO w/ our very first IVF that we got the BFP then m/c'd and it didn't really start hurting like this until like a day or 2 before our beta.  I'm so not looking forward to this.  We even did the shot in the am this time thinking that would be better.  I iced my butt for like 10mins before and while doing that kinda warmed the syringe w/ the PIO in it on my chest as i laid in bed.  I also massaged the area after DH gave the shot to me as well.  Anyone have any other suggestions?  It's going to be a long 2 weeks at this rate.  I should be getting the call tomorrow on what time our transfer will be on Friday morning.  Hoping it isn't too early in the morning!  We will make the 4 1/2 hr drive w/ Abby on Thurs after we both get out of work!!!

[GaleTX]

So wow, tons of catching up to do on here!  Hopefully I won’t miss anyone….

RCR:  I’m so sorry your transfer was cancelled.  How frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time.  Hopefully the IUI will be enough and this will still end up being your month for a bfp.  If you did have to do IVF again, would it be possible to start you on stims earlier and retrieve earlier so you don’t have to worry about ovulation?  I have no idea if that’s even feasible, but I know I’m usually a later ovulator (around day 18) and with the stims my follicles were developed enough at day 14.  Fingers crossed for you!

Blue:  Woo Hoo to your lining today! With transfer on Friday, you have a couple of days to make it even fluffier, which is always a good thing.  My RE likes linings at 9 or greater, so you are already there!  Can’t wait to hear how it goes.  To answer your question, we transferred two embryos.  As much as I would love for it to be twins, I’m thinking single.  We’ll find out on the 19^th.  As for the PIO – I’m getting used to mine and really have no pain from them anymore.  In the beginning I had that horrible pain and they are pretty sure DH either hit the sciatic nerve or got close to it and the oil was resting on it.  I don’t ice at all, I just do heat for about five minutes before and lay the syringe on the heating pad at the same time to warm to oil.  I stack three pillows on the bed and lean over them with all my weight on the side not getting the shot. Then I make sure DH pulls the skin super taut before jabbing me like a dart.  He injects, waits five seconds and pulls the needle out, then immediately massages for a full minute.  Then it’s back to the heating pad for five minutes. So far, so good, though I have to say I’ll be glad when I get the call saying I can stop using them.

Gelly:  Welcome back!  I wasn’t on the board when you were here before, but did some back reading to catch up not too long ago and remember seeing your name.  Fingers crossed this time is the one for you and your stay is short and sweet!

Saphrons:  I’m not sure exactly what you are looking for, but here is my calendar:

2/4 I started stims (Gonal F and low dose HCG) and went in every other day for u/s and bw. 

2/9 I started the Ganirelix. 

2/11 last dose of all the meds and trigger

2/13 retrieval and start doxycycline, medrol

2/16 transfer and start PIO and estrogen

2/23 estrogen and progesterone levels check

3/1 beta

3/5 repeat beta

3/19 ultrasound

Aura:  Fingers crossed for you.  Some people have absolutely no symptoms and are pregnant!  I was pretty crampy the week before my beta and I still feel crampy on and off.  Other than that, no symptoms at all.  When do you test?

Silver:  I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you this cycle.  I know you were hopeful for this cycle, but hopefully some good information was learned with this cycle and your May cycle will be exactly what you need.

Hope:  I’m glad your HSG went well today and no real side effects.  And YAY! To it being normal and “easy”!  What comes next?

Praying:  I’m sorry your cycle was converted to IUI, but have my fingers crossed for a bfp!  You may have answered this already, but do you do two inseminations with your IUIs?  We only ever did one, but I know some REs like to do two.  I soo know what you mean about the cost of meds.  Insurance doesn’t cover fertility meds for us, so I spent a small fortune this cycle.  What meds do you take?

AFM:  Repeat beta was yesterday and was 1411.  Still doing the PIO and I go for my first OB appointment with u/s on March 19^th.

[lyndiramos]

Gale- ive been lurking waiting for your follow up results!! Awesome numbers and look forward to hearing about your u\s!

Got to go but Hello to everyone else!!

[Vegan Princess]

Blue: Definitely use a heating pad after! I found I got more sore when I didn't. I never bothered to ice by I didn't think the injection itself hurt that much - it's the after that did. I also did 30-50 leg swings - forward and back, to get the stuff moving into my muscle. I did them right after the shot, while I was massaging it. That is supposed to help prevent lumps. I really found that no matter what, you will be sore to some degree. But this stuff helps it be less severe. Also, make sure you aren't doing it too high. My nurse drew the circles too high at first and I was SOO sore after my first couple shots. I asked the doc at my transfer and she said to do it lower - that helped some. And make sure to rotate around the entire area you have, don't keep doing it in the same spot. And if you get a lump, definitely don't do any more shots in that spot! It's been 5 days since my last shot and my butt feels mostly normal again - except for the lumps on either side that are still there! Who knows how long it will take for those to go away?

[saphrons]

Blue - My right ovary has a lot of follicles. The left isn't doing as well and only has three large follicles and many small ones. Since I am younger than 30, my doc recommended one embryo initially but it will depend on the quality as well. What about you?

Gale - Thinking positive thoughts for you!!!

I had my ultrasound and bw this morning. The doc & nurse said that it is a real toss up as to whether my trigger shot will be today for a Fri retrieval or tomorrow for a Sat retrieval based on the follicle size. They said that the estradiol level will really determine the answer. It worries me that it's so up in the air right now. After all of this, I don't want the IVF to fail because of a one day trigger error.

On another note, I asked the nurse if I could donate my leftover fertility meds if the cycle worked and she said they were not allowed to accept them. Does anyone have any other ideas on what I can do with my (super expensive) leftover meds/needles/supplies if this works out?

[rcr]

Blue and Sap - I will be crossing everything for both of you.

Blue - ouch. I don't have any advice to add, except a heating pad, which you already know. I didn't post to the board yet, I have been super busy at work. I asked the RN who did my IUI if high progestrone affects an IUI cycle, and she said that the reason they don't do IVF with high progestrone is because my body may O before they get them out, loosing the eggs. With an IUI it is ok if my body Os, because that is what it is supposed to do. Basically, my rising progestrone means that they could loose the eggs before retrieval, which is why they cancel an IVF cycle, but it is not bad at all for an IUI cycle. I did take it easy yesterday, and skipped a stressful meeting at work because I didn't want to get stressed out on my IUI day. Hope your drive goes well, and that abbey behaves in the car.

Gale - great number!!!

Sap - I know the feeling of really putting a lot on a cycle. I have felt that way in several cycles. I feel it in this one, in fact. It is stressful because there is so much riding on one moment.

aura - sorry about the anxiety.

Hope4 - congrats on getting started. I was looking for info on progestrone rises by searcing MDC last night, and I came across some old threads from your first IVF.

gelly - what is E2V?

[BellyBean]

Blue, I only used PIO during my last (sucessful) cycle.  The first day it hurt SO BAD I didn't think I'd be able to keep going.  But the next night it was fine (on the other side).  We tried moving it up and down, in and out, but the right side always hurt more.  Eventually they told me to switch to endometrim (after pos beta) just in case I was at risk for infection.  Sounds like you are doing everything right.  We iced every night :) warmed the syringe, did the shot, rubbed with warm cloth, used heating pad.  I would maybe just suggest moving slighly 1 direcion (depending on where it is right now).  Good luck!  Can't wait for your transfer!

rcr, so glad the IUI went well!  Yum to a panera salad!!!  Sending lots of positive vibes your way!

Silver, thinking about you.

Aura, I had lots of cramping before my positive beta.  Hope the last few days go quickly!

Saphrons, yay for being so close!!  We got lucky when we did our fresh cycle cause there was another lady on the board near me who needed my extra meds.

Gale, congrats on a great second beta!  Don't forget about us on the grad side :)

Gelly, yay for 3 frosties!  Sounds pretty similiar to my successful FET (not sure what E2V is, but I used delestrogen shots twice/week).  Good Luck!   Thanks for asking, we have twin girls on the way from our fifth and final FET last year :)

Hope, glad your HSG went well and you are on your way!

[hope4light]

I only have a quick minute and was checking in, but thought it was amusing that you found some of my old posts rcr!  Ah yes, probably on my second cancelled cycle when I had a natural LH surge.  Like you said, for IVF that's no good at all - in my case I didn't even have any mature follies.  That's why I'm so glad you were in a position to do an IUI - we weren't back then nor would we be today, and that's very annoying!!!

[prayinghard]

RCR:  Glad that your IUI went well.  Here is to BFP's for both of us!  Your mention of Panera has my mouth watering.  YUM!!!  Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Hope:  Glad that your HSG went well and you got good news.  Hoping for you to have easy sailing from now on.

Aura:  I am sorry about the anxiety.  Glad the exercise helped.  It always helps me too.  Your 2ww is almost over!  Are you going to POAS?

Blue:  So sorry that your PIO shot hurt so much.  I am afraid of those things and hope I never have to find out first hand how bad they hurt (see my AFM).  Hopefully, like some of these other ladies, your first shot will be your worst and they will just get easier and less painful from here on out.  My only advice is to make sure that your muscle is as relaxed as possible when giving the shot.  Do not tense up if you can help it.  It only makes it hurt worse.  Good luck.

Gale:  Awesome beta!    So happy for you.  Yes, my RE has always done 2 IUI's.  I am not sure if he would repeat insemination if I had already O'd by the first one, but I never have, so .....  He is really good at doing anything to increase your odds.  As for what meds I was taking, microdose lupron twice a day, 300 IU of Follistim AQ in the mornings and 300 IU of Menopur at night.

Sap:  That is strange that your clinic won't take the meds.  I know that mine does, and they use if for those who would have no chance of IF treatments without some help.  If your cycle is successful (and I just know that it will be), I could either give you my clinics name to send them to, or you can send them to me and I will donate them for you, if you want.  Just let me know.  It would be a huge shame and waste to just throw them out!  Wishing you the best.

AFM:    Triggered on Monday and had imsemination on Tuesday and this AM.  DH came today, so that was nice.  My RE was training a new RN so I had him, his trainee, and another fairly new RN all staring at my nether-regions today.  My DH was laughing.  I think I am over being embarassed at this point.  Maybe it will bring me good luck.  Anyway....  my lining was 9 yesterday and 8 today, so that was a bummer.  I asked my RE, he said it is normal to fluctuate  around Oing b/c of the drop in estrogen.  The one Follie ovulated, but not the other, however, it looked huge on the u/s.  He thinks that there is a chance that it might still O, so he is not starting me on the progesterone until tomorrow.  I will be on the suppositories again, and he is adding oral Prometrium, which he has never done before.  He said that I could use the PIO, but not really necessary.  I was more then happy to agree to NOT using the injection.  He has never delayed me starting the progesterone, so I hope that he is right and the other follie will ovulate and increase my chances at a BFP.

[auraleigh]

ladies, i am losing my mind.

i ended up on the sher institute website tonight, for the first time.  after going down a wormhole of reading message boards and blog posts, i read that dr sher has a lot of opinions on PCOS patients.  most importantly, he mentioned that women with PCOS should never take menopur.  i already have high LH, and because menopur is FSH and LH, in his words it is "putting fuel on the fire".  i have been on menopur for every ivf and iui cycle (other than the one clomid cycle)!!   this is now making me question everything i've gone through in the last nine months.  i'm really frustrated.  and sad.  i've put in my info for a consulation with Sher, as they have an office in south jersey that i could go to if i had to.  *sigh*

[blueyezz4]

Aura - Don't beat yourself up over it!!  I know he told me in the beginning that he felt my past protocol was giving us poor embryos and it really disappointed me too after I heard that, but I just have to trust that everything that my reg. RE has done isn't wrong, it just can't be.  There are just so many methods out there and who knows what is right and what isn't.  It is so hard and frustrating i know.  That is awesome that you are so close to one of his offices though.

Praying - thanks for the tips!!  Doesn't DH have to be there w/ you w/ each IUI b/c he has to give his sample or did he give it and then leave the first time?  Fingers crossed for you!!

Vegan, rcr, Belly - went out and got a heating pad tonight so I'm hoping to use it tomorrow morning after my shot.  Todays shot went a little better.  I didn't ice and i think DH put it a little lower on the other side.

saphrons - how was your E2 level?  Did they figure out the day yet?

AFM - need to go to bed b/c i have a crazy day tomorrow and we will pack up and head to MI after work.  My transfer is scheduled for Friday morning at 10am and we have to be there at 9:30.  Crossing my fingers that we can just thaw one and that it will be good, so we don't have to thaw the vial that has the last two in it so we will have at least one more shot for the future.  Okay, off to bed.  Going to try the heating pad tomorrow after the PIO shot.  Uggh!

[saphrons]

Blue - I can't believe your transfer is so soon. Let's hope they can use the one embie and not have to thaw two. How come they froze two together? Is that the standard approach?

Aura - Interesting about the Menopur. I have PCOS as well and have been using the Menopur the entire time w/ Gonal (although I was ordered to only take Menopur last night). If this cycle doesn't work out, I'll have to ask my doc about the Menopur.

My estradiol level was JUST under 2,000 so they delayed the trigger shot by a day. I have an ultrasound and BW this morning and they should confirm if I will be able to trigger tonight. My biggest angst right now is worrying that I am going to mess up the trigger or not have the appropriate needle. To add fear, they put a little sentence on my instruction sheet stating this was the most important shot of the entire cycle and if it isn't done correctly, there could be no eggs. AHH!

[hope4light]

praying - Gotta love when you are beyond caring when so many people are staring down there!  ha ha ha.  Glad it went well, hopefully that other follie will ovulate and you'll get your BFP this month!!

Aura - Wow, that's crazy news!  Remember that each doc does what they think is right for you.  Maybe he's not doing what will turn out to be right for you, but we have to go into it with a certain level of trust - otherwise why are we dumping all the money, time, energy and emotions into it?  I think it's smart to try to see the other doc, changing may be just what 'the doctor ordered' so to speak.  Hugs to you, at least you know that you're making the right decision to look at other options.

 
blue - Good luck tomorrow!  Let us know how it goes! What clinic in MI are you going to?  I'm from northern OH, so just being curious. 
 

Saphrons - I hate it when clinics do crap like that.  As if you're not under enough stress and hormonal crap, they have to make it worse and freak you out about not 'doing it right!'  Hang in there, I'm sure that you'll have no problem with it, and that it'll be find.  Let us know how the u/s and b/w goes!!

[BellyBean]

Blue, If you want them to thaw the vial with 1, unless they already told you that, I would call to make sure that is their plan too.  Good luck, I can hardly wait!!!

[saphrons]

Just got a call back from the office and my estradiol is at 2,486. The trigger shot is tonight at 11 PM and I need to report back for the egg retrieval on Saturday morning at 8:30 AM. It's really happening. Cross your fingers and toes for me, please!