April IVF-ers!

[Leslie in Chicago]

Hi everybody, I'm back!

I did IVF last spring with no luck. It took a year of tests, uterus surgeries, lots of soul-searching and heartache, and a new improved RE...and I'm doing it again.

Anybody else?

Last time I had the "usual": weeks of BCPs followed by Lupron, then Follistim and Repronex, HCG and the lovely PIO. This time I'm on a much more streamlined adventure. No BCPs. No Lupron! Today is cd3, my labs and ultrasound were good, and so I start Follistim and Repronex. They say I'll be on that for about 10 days, with Ganirelix added in at the end. And of course the HCG before retrieval.

We're doing a 5-day transfer this time, with genetic diagnosis. And this RE uses Crinone, the progesterone gel, instead of PIO.

wish me luck...

[ELKMama]

Yeah, Leslie! I will be excited to hear about it. :

I'm an occasional lurker over here and a regular on ttc 12+ months. Just gearing up for my first IUI. I will be paying attention to this thread this month in hopes of hearing great news from you!

[Dena]

Yay!! I have been watching for this thread!

I'm rooting for you, and I'll be keeping an eye out for some good news!

[Leslie in Chicago]

Hi ELK & Dena! Thanks for dropping in. I used to post on tcc 12+ all the time (ok, for like 4 years). Say hi to Lesliesara and the group for me. Dena, I'm hoping some of your good luck will rub off on me.

So what is it with ART and clinic goof-ups? My last place was a joke -- ordered meds in wrong amounts, disorganized and sometimes downright mean. The new RE's office is 150% better, until last night's melt-down.

I made a special trip to the office--about a half hour round-trip--to pick up my Follistim pen. They gave me a brand-new fancy box. When dh got home, I mixed up the Repronex shot. We opened the Follistim box and.....NO PEN! It was empty! Someone had apparently taken it out. By then the office was closed.

I called, left a message. They called me back, apologized like it was nothing and told me to just come back in today, pick up a pen and start the shots today. But?! Doesn't it make a difference which day I start? Apparently not that much. What about the Repronex I already mixed? Something about putting it in the fridge for today.

Ladies, I know I'm kinda neurotic and, ok, sometimes even a bit high-strung. But I just lost it. There is just so much to do, to keep organized, to understand. Not to mention the stakes. We've been at this for 4.5 years and this is it. Second and last IVF. Is it too much to ask that everything just go smoothly?

The good news is that we had tickets to see Neko Case last night. And so we went, and listened to her astoundingly brilliant voice, and felt better.

Welcome to my IVF cycle...

[Tenk]

Leslie Lesliesarah actually got her BFP this month! She's pregnant after all this.

I wanted to wish you good luck as well, I'm going to IUI just like ELK we can all mosey down this road together.

[Dena]

Oh, Leslie, I am sorry your cycle got off to a frustrating start! I don't know what it is with these clinics - some of the staff and docs seem to not realize what this process is like for us, and how we DON'T need the added stress.

My first clinic was like that - I had to call a doc once after hours, and spent like two hours trying to reach him. I think this was the only time I had ever paged the on call doc to begin with, and when he did return my call, he gave me a hard time about calling! Excuse me, but if you don't want to be called after hours, don't go into medicine!

Hopefully this was the only slip up and the rest of the cycle will be smooth and easy!

[celesterra]

just popping in to add a loving voice of support to you during this cycle, Leslie! I can't wait to celebrate your bfp!

[Leslie in Chicago]

celeste thanks for stopping in, hon!

Dena, I think this happened to me before, but I can't remember for sure. Did you do Repronex/gonal-f and get red spots or welts? My first one flared up big, the second is just a pink rash. I think this is normal...

First check-in is Tuesday, just ultrasound. This clinic is so different from the last; not sure when the blood draws start.

so far, so good.

[noorjahan]

Good luck to you!!

[lesliesara63]

Good luck with your injections Leslie. I'll be curious to hear how things go.

[Tenk]

HI Leslie I just wanted to catch up with you. Thank you BTW for your concern for me. Don't worry I have some concerns too, but thank goodness a great friend of mine just got pregnant off a down cycle from doing 2 IVF cycles. Ok so she did one and nothing, she did 2 and got pregnant and miscarried. The waiting for the next cycle she got pregnant on her off cycle. Before that she did 6 IUI's and before that she did clomid/gonal-f cycles and before that she did just clomid cycles. So I went to her and asked her about the gonal-f (she does not condone what I'm doing but wants me to be safe) and she said that SHE did clomid days 3-7 and started goanl-f on day 8-13 and the triggered on day 15. I don't want to stim for that long so I'm only going to do everyother day. So I'll stim on days 8, 10, 12 and 13, and then probably trigger on day 15. I "normally" O on day 17 but there should be so much more growth with the gonal-f that I can trigger a couple days early. We know that we could end up with 2 or 3 babies, and I'm am being monitored by my doc, so their prepared for me to get pregnant and even with more than one. And so are we. After all this we'll take what ever we can get. I don't know if your familar with my history or not. We have DD8, DD6, DS3 and March 11, 2006 I gave birth to our daughter Kamryn she was 7lbs 3ozs and 19in and she was still born. She got tangled up in the cord at full term, I even told them there was something wrong with her and they still sent me home. I went back 2 days later and told them she was dead. They checked and checked and she had passes about 2 hours earlier. Since then we've been TTC'ing, I got pregnant in Nov and miscarried in Dec. Now we are still waiting for a miracle. I always love to hear success stories tho, so I will keep up with you and your progress. I wish you the best luck ever and can't wait for your BFP.

Love~Teneal

[Dena]

Yes, I did get little red itchy welts with the shots. My acupuncturist said sometimes it is a reaction to the metal content of the needles. Also, make sure that your skin is really dry from the alcohol swab, because alcohol pulled under the skin can cause that too.

Boy, between the welts, track marks, bruises, and leftover sticky gunk from the estrogen patches, I looked like some kind of weird-a** junkie by the end of my cycle! Well worth it though!

Can't wait to see your update on Tuesday!

[Leslie in Chicago]

thanks, Dena -- good point about the alcohol. I'll wait longer for it to dry. How's the PIO butt?

thanks noorjahan!!

lesliesara, you sweetie, dust me!

tenk, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I hope the IUI works! How lucky you are to have three children. I'm 38, we've been trying since I was 33, and we're still working on our first.

[Tenk]

I count my blessings everyday as well. I know we are blessed to have the 3 we have, and I'm sure the good lord will bless you with a child as well. Good Luck to you!
~Teneal

[Dena]

Originally Posted by Leslie in Chicago

thanks, Dena -- good point about the alcohol. I'll wait longer for it to dry. How's the PIO butt?

Well, my dh is the most amazing shot-giver ever - not one bruise or sore spot! He rocks! Plus I got to go on the once weekly time release stuff for the last three weeks, which was awesome.

[celesterra]

Leslie, wasn't your first u/s today? What's the happs?

[Leslie in Chicago]

thanks for asking, celeste

All good news: multiple follies in both ovaries and a nice endometrium. I had only been on meds since Friday, and they seemed surprised to see so much progress, so they did bloodwork, too. The call later in the day indicated that everything looked really good, and they told me to start the Ganirelix shot last night. Ganirelix is like Lupron (which I am not taking) and keeps the follies from bursting on their own.

I go back Thursday for another u/s and labs. :

Dena, my dh is doing all of my shots, too. He's a pro. I showed the nurses my Repronex welts and they said it was perfectly normal. I'm using my thighs now, too. Who knew some belly fat and saddlebags would actually be useful?!

[Dena]

Yay!! So happy that everything is going well!!

Can't wait to hear more and more good news!

[celesterra]

GREAT NEWS, Leslie!

[marlee]

Hi Leslie,

Just letting you know I am cheering you on from the side lines!

I will be doing a natural cycle FET at the end of the month and am gearing up for that.