Fall IVF: beautiful fall leaves bringing beautiful summer babies!! - Page 22

[lilacvioletiris]

I have been reading through and following the progress of everyone.  Hopefully there will be some more BfPs soon.

Exciting news for my DH and me - DH finally got his educational reimbursement - they didn't reimburse for lab fees so it wasn't as much as we hoped, but still significant.  We have about half of what we need for the IVF procedure.  Hope is kindled anew for next summer!

[blueyezz4]

Wow, I feel really behind so I'm going to do my best in getting caught up at least on this page.  Always stalking and rooting for you all!!

rcr - yeah for the last day of bcp and getting started. Can't wait for your cycle in Dec!

Bucket - I know crinone sucks but I think it is better than the shots I think.  Good luck w/ convincing DH to put two back.  My DH was okay w/ that but freaked when I talked about putting 3 back in one time.  LOL  Fingers crossed for you!!!  My RE used to do 2 day transfers b/c he felt that the best place for the embryo is in your own body but i know a lot of RE's don't do that and want to let them go to blast (5 day) b/c they feel if they don't make it this far to begin w/ they wouldn't make it inside of you either.  There are a lot of schools of though on this subject.  Not sure who is right.

Deborah - glad you are getting things started.

Sourire - I hope that your ultrasound goes well!!!  Fingers crossed for you!

Lilac - good news on the money front!!!  Better than nothing!!!  Excited for you to get started next summer.

Shesaid - what day of stimming are you on? 13 on each side is great!!!  Are you sore yet or feeling bloated??

Back to lurking and cheering!!! 

[rcr]

Bucket/ Blue - I thought Crinone was the worst thing ever. I would take 10 shots over a dose of crinone! Also, regarding the 3-day versus 5-day. My doctor always does 5 day transfers, but he will do 3-day if the patient insists. I did three day last tine and will try again. It does feel better having them inside me than in the lab.

[nievesstevens]

Looks like so much progress is being made by so many! Follies, ER and BFP oh my! Also, crinone is all kinds of yucky.
AFM: got my unwelcome visitor a day early so the IVF converted to an iui didn't stick. I am not sure if I had a chemical or if it was the crinone/trigger shot but my breasts were very tender and quite enlarged and overnight it just faded. So I mopped and had two cups of black tea for breakfast and wine at dinner but I also called my RE for next steps info. He wants to do a estrogen priming protocol. Basically, no bcp, estrogen patches during the luteal phase of the preceding cycle then stims as usual. At least that was my take away, they are mailing me info. Because of timing, we wouldn't start until mid December. Any ever done an EPP? From what I've read it's supposed to be beneficial for poor responders (I only had two follicles with one lead follicle)

[rcr]

lilac - congrats on being halfway (financially) there! That is wonderful news!!

Nieves - I am sorry about the BFN. If there is a bright side to it though, at least it was on a converted cycle and not an IVF cycle. I am doing EPP, though slightly different than yours. I had my best egg quality ever last time (my first time doing EPP). I think there are some grads who have done it too. My RE says it is supposed to improve egg quality.

AFM - stopped BCP, and reduced my dose of lupron to 5 (which is half of what I was doing). I stop that on Friday, when I start gannirelix. Monday is my monitoring appointment. I am a little worried that I have a cyst on my right ovary, because it feels a little sore. I hope I am wrong, because that would probably mean a canceled cycle at SIRM.

[Sourire]

bucket - my clinic always does local anesthesia. I'm happy about that because I'm a lot more scared of anesthesia than I am of feeling pain. That sounds like a tough decision about how many to transfer! I'm kind of glad I don't have a choice, by law my clinic is only allowed to transfer 1 embryo.

lilac - I'm so happy you finally got that reimbursement! Do you have to save up the rest of the money on your own?

nieves - so sorry this cycle didn't work out. I'm doing EPP right now but I'm a good responder.

rcr - fingers crossed for no cysts!

AFM - so I just got back from my ultrasound. OMG that 3D ultrasound thing they do is SO cool! I was blown away! Anyways everything is going well. I have a ton of follicles. The biggest follie is at 11mm. I have a total of 9 follicles between 8 and 11mm, 11 follicles between 5 and 8mm, and another 10 follicles between 2 and 5mm. So I think things are looking very promising!

I was instructed to take my first injection of Ganirelix right after my ultrasound, but I was too chicken to do it myself (I've never done any of the injections myself) so I had to pay 30$ for a nurse to do it for me.

The only minor crappy thing that happened is that the receptionist forgot to tell the nurses that I had arrived so I waited in the waiting room for like 30 mins and then I had to go pee so bad (because I drank a huge glass of chinese herb tea on my drive to the clinic) so I tried to snag a nurse and ask her if it was ok for me to use the bathroom and she was super rude to me and I started crying in front of her. Ah hormones!

[auraleigh]

So much to catch up on!  I'll just comment on a few things or I'll be here all night!

Bucket, I am about to finish my last box of crinone.  It's annoying, but it's not the worst.   Also, regarding the 3 day vs 5 day, my first dr always put them back at 3 days but I felt like it was a desperate attempt to put back my inferior eggs before they arrested, so that they could charge me for the transfer.  With SIRM they urged me to wait for day 5, and my DH and I decided that we would be day 5 or bust!  If nothing made it, then we felt that the eggs wouldn't have made it anyways. And I despise the 2ww, so I'd rather transfer nothing than transfer crappy embryos that make me get my hopes up for nothing.   Luckily for me, for the first time ever, we made it to blast.  I think it also depends a lot of the quality of your lab.  

Sourire- I always mixed my menopur and gonal f.  You can add the pen once the menopur is mixed.  

Neives, I did the same (almost) EPP as rcr and it worked WONDERS.  I used it for egg quality, not poor response, but pcos high responders are treated the same as poor responders often.  And now I'm 10weeks pregnant with twins.  

Rcr,  ahh, you're almost done with lupron! Hopefully the headaches will subside once you stop.  I am so excited for Monday!  This is your cycle!!!!

[lilacvioletiris]

Sourire, yes, we have to save up the rest of the money on our own. Likely our tax return will be where we get the next big amount to add to the baby fund.

nieve, I hope the new protocol is just the thing for you.

aura, exciting that you are getting past crinone and on to the rest of your pregnancy.  Milestones are great!

[shesaidboom]

Sourire - do you know why you're getting such a low dose? Is it because you made so many follicles on the Gonal-F/Puregon (I can't remember which you were on)?
I'm more afraid of the anesthesia than the pain too! I wish my clinic did local instead.
I'm glad everything is going well! I'm sorry the nurse made you cry though. I totally understand the hormone thing. Everything makes me cry these days.

deborah - that's so exciting! I'll be here cheering you on.

bucketofrain - I'm glad I'm feeling better about it too!

rcr - that would make sense, and now the others are catching up, which is great!
I hope your results on Monday come back with good news! Hopefully even if there is a cyst it won't be a problem. I have a small one on my right ovary but they told me it won't affect my cycle. Hopefully it will be the same for you if there is one there.

lilacvioletiris - woohoo! I'm glad you and dh are that much closer to IVF. That's great news!

blueyezz4 - I'm on day 9 today. I'm not really feeling bloated, but I am definitely sore! My ultrasounds hurt a lot now.

nievesstevens - I'm sorry your cycle didn't work out. I hope your new protocol works out much better!

AFM, things are looking good. Here are my results from today:

Right side: 13 follicles - biggest ones at 1.6, 1.5, 1.2, and 1.0

Left side: 13 follicles - biggest ones at 1.4, three at 1.2, and 1.0

estrogen - 2089

The estrogen number is freaking me out even though I know it should be higher for IVF because I remember 450 being an amazing number for IUI. I go back on Saturday morning for more monitoring and possible retrieval on Monday. I left a message for the nurse because I was told I'd start Luveris when follicles were around 1.2, but so far I haven't been instructed to take it. Maybe they are waiting for more to catch up?

[rcr]

Aweson Shesaid!! sounds like things are going great for you!
 

[vireoes]

Lilac-great news about the money.  Keep saving hard and you will be ready soon.

shesaid-looks like everything is progressing well.  Keeping my fingers crossed for you having a great ER soon.  My clinic only does generals as well and it is the part I looked forward to the least.  I should have brought a heavier jacket for after, I was cold after getting dressed and ready to head home.  They had plenty of blankets for recovery time, but I take a long time to warm up.

Aura-glad things are still going well for you and that you finished up the crinone.

Sourire-sorry to hear about the crappy nurse, but glad to hear things are progressing great otherwise.

rcr-sorry hear about the soreness, hopefully it is not a cyst and you can continue on with the cycle.

nieve-sorry the IUI didn't stick.  I haven't tried the new protocol you are one, but hopefully it will do the trick for you.  Good luck.

AFM-beta tomorrow.

[BucketOfRain]

RCr: I hope those headaches are getting better, I'm with you'd being so sleepy...lights out by 9:00 lat night and that was pushing it because I was trying to watch a movie with dh

Lilac: so exciting, good luck keeping on track with saving.

Blue: thank you, he did come around to seeing that two was really the best option for success...I did mention putting three back in as well so I think he saw two as a reasonable compromise:). I hope you are feeling good!

Aura: that makes sense about the five day, and it obviously works... I hope you are feelings good! How long after your day 5 transfer did you test? Did you test at home or wait for beta?

Sourie: 3d ultrasound?? I never had that...clinics are so different.thats good about just having local, general is a little crazy. Although some people seem to wake up from it with no difficulty, I felt out of it for the whole day. Sorry about your nasty nurse experience, I am crying at the drop of a hat lately too.

Shesaid: good luck with monitoring tomorrow!

Vireoes: crossing everything for you today, I will be thinking of you!

I had my transfer yesterday, yay! We put back in two "excellent" quality blasts and should have some to freeze:) the procedure was simple and I felt fine after. so now I'm just laying around for the next two days thinking implanting thoughts! They did give me a pic of the blasts they put in which is kind of cool! Beta is not until the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is 11 days past transfer, doesn't that seem long? They are closed for the holiday I guess but this is going to tempt me to test early at home which I was planning to avoid....I stopped being an early tester ages months ago but I may be sucked back in this month!

[rcr]

Vieros -  crossing my fingers for you!! I can't wait to hear the news!

Bucket - Sounds like it went really well! congrats!

[Sourire]

aura & Rcr - I asked the nurse about mixing Menopur and Follistim and she said its not possible because the two meds are not made by the same company in Canada (Follistim is actually called Puregon here) so we can't mix them like we can for other brands.

shesaidboom - my low dose is due to the response I had during my IUIs. As of today my dose will be even lower (see my AFM). Did you hear back about the Luveris yet? Sounds like your follicles are progressing great!

vireoes - I'm hoping like crazy that you have some good news for us today!

Bucket - congrats on your transfer! You're officially PUPO! I'm excited to hear how many you end up freezing.

AFM - 2nd u/s this morning. My biggest follies are up to 15mm. With the 3d u/s machine they automatically measure any follicle that is at least 2 mm which makes the numbers pretty scary when you count all the tiny ones! Last u/s they counted 30 total, this time there are more than 50. 17 of those are 10mm or more. I feel like I'm heading for OHSS. They decreased my meds today... Follistim is now at 75iu instead of 150 so hopefully that slows things down a bit. I'm going back for another u/s on Sunday and my egg retrieval will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday.

The side effects are gradually increasing. In addition to being tired all the time and crying about silly things, my ovaries have started getting pretty sore, I can always feel them when I walk now. I'm also getting some pretty bad nausea when I'm hungry. It's quite brutal when I wake up in the morning and I feel sick when I eat too. This should be pretty good practice for morning sickness, lol.

[auraleigh]

bucket,  hooray!! so glad the transfer went well.  i got my positive 6 days after transfer.  i tested five days after and it was negative, then i figured i'd try again and got my first ever double line.  i'm also having twins though, so that could have been why it showed up so early. 

sourire, ugh, sounds like the hormones are hitting hard!  this last cycle i had so many follicles that my ovaries were "kissing".  it was uncomfortable!  i hope they can stop you from getting ohss, and you can try and prevent bad side effects by drinking lots of gatorade and eating eggs.  the gatorade totally did the trick for me.  

vireoes- good luck tomorrow!!!

[vireoes]

Beta 395! 16dpo They seemed confident that it was a solid number for a singleton.  I go back Monday to refill my meds. :) 

With so many people mid-cycle right now, hopefully it is the start of a great month.  Guess I just needed some fresh embryos to get things going.

[blueyezz4]

Just a quick fly by bc it's 4 in the morning and I'm on my phone.

Vireoes- Congrats!!!! Wow! That's a GREAT first beta number! How many did you transfer? Refresh my memory?? If more than one, my guess is twins!!

[deborahbgkelly]

Originally Posted by BucketOfRain 

RCr: I hope those headaches are getting better, I'm with you'd being so sleepy...lights out by 9:00 lat night and that was pushing it because I was trying to watch a movie with dh
Lilac: so exciting, good luck keeping on track with saving.
Blue: thank you, he did come around to seeing that two was really the best option for success...I did mention putting three back in as well so I think he saw two as a reasonable compromise:). I hope you are feeling good!
Aura: that makes sense about the five day, and it obviously works... I hope you are feelings good! How long after your day 5 transfer did you test? Did you test at home or wait for beta?
Sourie: 3d ultrasound?? I never had that...clinics are so different.thats good about just having local, general is a little crazy. Although some people seem to wake up from it with no difficulty, I felt out of it for the whole day. Sorry about your nasty nurse experience, I am crying at the drop of a hat lately too.
Shesaid: good luck with monitoring tomorrow!
Vireoes: crossing everything for you today, I will be thinking of you!
I had my transfer yesterday, yay! We put back in two "excellent" quality blasts and should have some to freeze:) the procedure was simple and I felt fine after. so now I'm just laying around for the next two days thinking implanting thoughts! They did give me a pic of the blasts they put in which is kind of cool! Beta is not until the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is 11 days past transfer, doesn't that seem long? They are closed for the holiday I guess but this is going to tempt me to test early at home which I was planning to avoid....I stopped being an early tester ages months ago but I may be sucked back in this month!

Mine is 11 days too, only that will end up being on Christmas, so I think I'll be testing at home this time even though I didn't last time.

[deborahbgkelly]

P.S. Birth control until Saturday the 24th and start stimming on the following Tuesday. Woohoo! Retrieval is estimated for Dec. 9 with transfer 12/14. My dad will come from the 7th to the 16th which means that I will have family here for Chanukah! That hasn't happened for 4 years and we were preoccupied with my graduation at that time.

Edited by deborahbgkelly - 11/19/12 at 6:21am

[Sourire]

vireoes - WOOHOO! That is a great number! I'm so happy for you! Did you have any idea it would be positive?