First US on IVF cycle

[OhMeOhMy]

I had my first US the other day (day 2 of my cycle) and there were six eggs on the left and 3 eggs on the right. With a 4 mm lining. I have only taken the oral bc and the lupron to this point, I start my Gonal F 900 on thursday. Is that amount of eggs "normal"? I kept telling SO I felt like Super Egg Woman. :LOL

[AdinaL]

Sounds about right - they are SUPER tiny at this point, so it is a little misleading when they tell you there are that many follicles. They aren't really measurable, just the ones that are visible. I ended up with 18 eggs...so wait!! You will really feel like super egg woman by the end! :LOL

[mumm]

I am on cycle day 5, and had 27 follicles at my us this am. But only two are over 10mm, and that is all I count at this point. I usually have at least 8 over 18 mm by the time it counts.

It only takes one!

: for us both!

[OhMeOhMy]

And here I was thinking I was Super Egg Woman! :LOL None of mine were over 10mm. But I don't start Gonal F 900 until Thursday. It's my understanding that is what will aid in a "growth spurt" of the follicles. (Correct, yes?) I have another US planned for Monday, so I am hoping and praying that I have lots and lots o' follicles that are mature by then.

Does anyone know how big they have to measure to be "usable"?

AdinaL - How many did you have implanted? They said they want to do 2 on me. Oh, is this you? :adina: I have been meaning to ask, lol.

mumm - Is this your third go around with IVF? I notice you have two children already. Did you use frozen eggs? I am still contemplating if we save eggs or not for another go around. I am not really sure I want to go through all these drugs again (if frozen embryo is a viable option later).

Good luck to all of you other TTC mamas! :
And congrats to all of those who have already fufilled their dreams! I sure do have a whole new understanding of "going the distance" to be a mama. All of you women rock!

[chiromama]

My follicles didn't start getting substantial till after I was on the G-F Good luck!!

[AdinaL]

The Gonal F is the growth stimulating hormone, so yeah, once you start that, they will begin taking leaps forward. Naturally you ovulate when your follicle is at 21mm. That is when they are mature, so they want to get as many of those follies as close to 21mm as possible so there are as many mature ones as possible. Which means those ovaries of yours....are gonna feel like softballs in your tummy! :LOL

If you can freeze any - do!! FET is much less expensive and much less invasive.

I transferred 2, A quality, day 5 blastocysts. One took. Transferring two greatly ups your chances of being pregnant. But hopefully your embryologist will sit down with you and discuss quality and how many they think you should transfer in order to maximize your chances.

Good luck darling! And keep asking if you have questions! This whole process is complicated and freaky....we can all use some extra voices on our side every now and again.

[mumm]

I am on my last cycle before starting IVF. My two kids were simple clomid babies, but it hasn't been so easy this time. Several bio chem, but no luck even with the gonal-f.

This is the last medicated iui cycle I need before I can buy into an insurance policy that will cover IVF. Ugh, still at close to $5000 a cycle it is killing us. Plus we use donor sperm and only have 4 vials left after this cycle. And he is not willing to donate more. (Which I can understand. 9 years ago when we started this we were all at different places in our lives. He has been more than generous with time and, well...... )


But... I agree with Adina, freeze what you can. It only makes sense from my, limited, understanding. Both for your bodies sake and your wallets. It is funny how I always avoided anything to do with IVF, because that would never be for me. Now I really need to start paying attention!

If you liked watching the u/s, wait until the gonal-f kicks in. It really is amazing how our bodies work. We've been at this for so long, that my 5 year old can now tell size and number on the screen! You will feel the heaviness in your ovaries as time passes.

Let us know what shows up on your next u/s. Mine is tomorrow, at cd9, after 6 nights of gonal-f (112.5 iu).

Super Egg Women Unite! :LOL

[mumm]

At my u/s this morning, I had a uterine lining of 11 mm and my left ovary had 17 follicles- 15 mm, 2 at 12mm, 2 at 11mm and a bunch of little guys. My left ovary had 8- 6 little under 10 mm and 2 at 12. E2 level at 413.

Adina, since you probably know this- what should the E2 level be at the time of the IUI?

OhMeOhMy, how did you come to skip medicated cycles and move onto IVF? Not wanting to be nosey, just curious if you are paying out of pocket for IVF or if your insurance is willing to cover for some other reason without needing to jump through all their hoops first. Tonight is your first dose of gonal-f?

I'm finding the cost of all this to be quite stressful. While I am having an u/s I can't help but think "All this fun and I get to pay $335 for this exam!" :LOL

[AdinaL]

Wow...that is a lotta follicles. You are doing IUI not IVF right? I actually don't know what the E2 level should be - since with IVF they do their best to keep that number as low as possible and have everything be mature. If the E2 number gets too high you are at risk for OHSS...so currently your number sounds pretty good - how many days of stims are you doing?

[mumm]

I should have realized that they would not want it higher for IVF! I am doing an IUI and just did a quick google search which says 200 for every follicle over 18 mm. Or some docs want a standard 150. Thanks though!

I have done 6 nights of gonal-f, another tonight and then who knows? I think probably 1 or 2 more after that before the iuis. I was hoping to do the insems over the weekend since my partner will be around, but think that will be a little too soon. So I think I'll be on my own early next week. It is always fun trying to keep the kids quiet for 45 plus minutes in a little exam room after waiting for 60 minutes in the waiting room. Especially when the last 20 minutes are spent lying on your back! Can't you just picture it!

[chiromama]

Mumm, I love your siggie. I agree with Adina, that is a lot of follicles! How do you feel about multiples?

[mumm]

Chiromama- Funny you should ask! My first gonal-f cycle was almost cancelled because I had 12 large follicles. We debated and debated and debated and went ahead with it. It was a bio chem pregnancy. Now I take less gonal-f. Healthy almost full-term twins would be ok. (I've got two breasts, right! ) But more scares the living daylights out of me because I assume there will be health issues for everyone. And I would not have a homebirth with twins. But I think this is getting ahead of myself.......

I've been a little rude and have not officially congratulated you or Adina on your pregnancies. I've spent a fair bit of time crying and being angry while reading posts and blogs of yours (and Adinas). I remember gettting pg with my son after way too long of trying and then suddenly being hit by major paniac. What had I done??? You'll only worry and be scared for the next 25+ years! :LOL What a trip though.......