Calling all April IVFs! - Page 6

[goblue]

Two words...MENOPUR SUCKS!!!!

I treated myself to a big brownie after that one.

[Kat's Mommy]

Hi Everyone,

Just an update.

The transfer went as well as could be. My bladder was so full I thought I was going to pee on the doctor!

He wasn't too optimistic about my chances, as I only had one fertilized embryo, and it was a 6 cell. He kept talking about "next time" and that if it doesn't work out that he now has a history of what I went through...then, he tells me to have bed rest and relax for 2 days! Argh!

Geez...unless a miracle happens, this is our last chance. There's no magic pool of $$ coming my way, so this is it...I have a blood test in 2 weeks.

Hope y'all are doing well...sending positive vibes to everyone.

[soulshine]

kat's mommy,
congratulations on your transfer
try not to put too much weight on the words of your r.e. he has no magic crystal ball that will tell him there will be a next time. no one knows what that embryo is going to do except, well, no one! r.e.'s are just people, and your r.e. sounds like the type of person who wants to underscore the possibility that you might not want to get hopes too high so that your expectations are reasonable, or something like that. i mean, they just don't know. i have read stories of women who transfer 5-day hatching blasts after a perfect cycle, and their beta is -. so, you just never know. are you visualizing your embryo conitinuing to divide?! that helped me alot. thinking about the embryos inside, doing their thing. i know it helps to have people confident for you... i am confident for you! you have a beautiful embryo inside of you and that's a great place to be!!

big brownie

goblue, don't say things like that! i gained quite a bit over the last few weeks! but, i'm glad you got some soothing from it i found with the menopur, sometimes it stung, sometimes not.

can people update where they are in their cycle again? just curious.

i have 5 days till beta. i have no symptoms, just really mild crampy twinges every once in a blue moon, very mildy sore boobies, but not bad at all. i was really tired yesterday, but don't know if that's related. personally, i don't put too much weight on the symptoms being that much of a harbinger to whether you are pregnant or not... there are too many other things going on... namely all the drugs you've taken and continue to take. so... just waiting, and the warmer weather helps alot!!

[hope4light]

Katsmommy - : coming your way... that little embie may just surprise your RE yet. I'm hoping and praying for you!

jempd and soulshine - I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for everything to agree on a bfp!

seedlings - I know that you won't see this for a day or so, but :: that the ER and ET go well!

goblue - as long as the brownie helped :-)

For me, took my last bcp on Monday, I go for my baseline u/s tomorrow morning, and hopefully if my ovaries really did successfully quiet down after my last overstimmed cycle, then I'll get everything started (Friday hopefully). I'll update after the u/s tomorrow. Hoping for ER on the 28th!!

[hope4light]

I just had my u/s, and already things are looking better. My cancelled cycle they counted 20+ follicles before I started the meds, this time around I had 8 on the rt ovary and 9 on the left... they want them to be less than 8, and I had a handlful at 4, 3 and 2... so the smallest one's would probably die off pretty quickly. I'm going to start stimming with repronex tomorrow evening, although they are going to call me with the dosage. Next Weds I will get another u/s and then start the antegon.

A sigh of relief. My stomach was in knots this morning that they were going to say I hadn't cleaned out enough since the last cycle, or there were too many or not enough follicles to move forward this cycle... you all know those crazy thoughts that go through your head.

So, here goes officially IVF Cycle 1, Round 2!!!

[soulshine]

that's great news, hope!
i am just ending my ivf#1-round 2, and i totally know how you feel! waiting for the 'all clear' was tense! looking forward to hearing lots of great reports from you

i am 4 days till beta. so nervous. its like the train is moving, and there's going to be a turn, and one way leads to a cliff, and the other to paradise! and i'm just a sucker sitting on the train waiting to see which way it goes! my stomach is in knots.

[hope4light]

Originally Posted by soulshine

that's great news, hope!
i am just ending my ivf#1-round 2, and i totally know how you feel! waiting for the 'all clear' was tense! looking forward to hearing lots of great reports from you

i am 4 days till beta. so nervous. its like the train is moving, and there's going to be a turn, and one way leads to a cliff, and the other to paradise! and i'm just a sucker sitting on the train waiting to see which way it goes! my stomach is in knots.

You're in my prayers!!! :

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Hi just checking in...

My bcps are finished. I have my baseline b/w tomorrow morning, and hopefully green light to start stims on Saturday morning. I have a 3-day conference out of town - going to be fun dragging my needles on an airplane! and then start the b/w+u/s cycle middle of next week.

The Suprefact has been good to me this time. Hopefully this cycle will be better than the last!

Crossed fingers to everyone!

[marly33]

hello ladies!! Just updating : I had ER yesturday. they took all 13 eggs out they inseminated 10 and out of those 6 fertilized . ET will be mon or tues. i will know sunday which day it will be . hope all are doing well for all and baby dust for all

[Seedlings]

Jempd - Was your blood test today?

Katsmommy - Keep believing in your little embie. Good things come from small packages.

Soulshine - Do you have any nails left? Hopefully these four days will go by quickly. You said express train right? That should get you there faster.

Hope4light - Good luck with your cycle. I agree with you 100% about the crazy thoughts. Sometimes I feel like I can help control things and then I am like this is totally out of my hands. I am like Krammer "Serenity now, Serenity now"

Perdita - Hope you can enjoy your 3 days out of town and that it is not all work.

Marly33 - That is so great! I am so glad to hear about your wonderful embies. Kind of makes all those shots worth it.

VWchick - Thinking of you.

I survived my er. When I woke up I wanted to go back to sleep, I felt so relaxed and rested . This chickie laid 12 eggs, 9 were mature. My re usually does half icsi and the rest regular. But dh sperm were to busy playing and not fertilizing so all 9 were fertilized with icsi. l am glad to be over 1 hurdle. The pio shots are not bad I just don't look at the needle. My et is scheduled for Saturday

Good luck everyone!

[crazyrunningmama]

and and : to all of you.

Good luck with the conference Perdita, hope you get good weather (snickering from the west coast here )

[hope4light]

marly33 and seedlings ~ : and : for those little guys to do what needs to be done!! Good luck on the upcoming ET's!!

Serenity now, serenity now - I'm going to have to remember that.

Update on me, I got the call from the office late yesterday afternoon to give me my dosage, and they decided to start my stimming last night instead of tonight. So I started at 1.5 ampules of Repronex (so that's about 112/113 IU) and I have an u/s on Tuesday. His plan was to start me out real slow and let some die off before really feeding them like mad to help keep me from overstimming. Wow, do I have a headache today, which is not something I dealt with when it came to my stims last time around. i don't know if it's because it isn't in conjunction with Lupron? So maybe I'll have the headache until I start Antegon on Tuesday? Who knows... but I don't care - I'll take it.

[jempd]

quote: i have 5 days till beta. i have no symptoms, just really mild crampy twinges every once in a blue moon, very mildy sore boobies, but not bad at all. i was really tired yesterday, but don't know if that's related. personally, i don't put too much weight on the symptoms being that much of a harbinger to whether you are pregnant or not... there are too many other things going on... namely all the drugs you've taken and continue to take. so... just waiting, and the warmer weather helps alot!! end quote


See, this is exactly what's so crazy-making in my opinion. You can't put weight on the symptoms but the unconscious part of your mind surely cannot help but do so as your body signals it with these symptoms. I believe I said it before.

I did get Thursday blood test results and the levels look good. The sonogram is May 1. I'm trying to think about what are the best ways to prevent a miscarriage. If acupuncture was in the budget, I'd do that.

BTW: I had one day-5 egg transferred--and of the ones that were fertilized, 4 made it to day 5.

I have a practical question, sort of off topic but I thought you all must be dealing with needles now: how do you dispose of them? I have a plastic sharps box I got from the pharmacy when I got my meds but I feel funny about just putting it, full of needles, in the trash. I wonder if there's something specific I'm supposed to do other than just put it in the trash or if there's anything recyclable about the needles.

[hope4light]

Originally Posted by jempd

quote:

I did get Thursday blood test results and the levels look good. The sonogram is May 1. I'm trying to think about what are the best ways to prevent a miscarriage. If acupuncture was in the budget, I'd do that.

BTW: I had one day-5 egg transferred--and of the ones that were fertilized, 4 made it to day 5.

I have a practical question, sort of off topic but I thought you all must be dealing with needles now: how do you dispose of them? I have a plastic sharps box I got from the pharmacy when I got my meds but I feel funny about just putting it, full of needles, in the trash. I wonder if there's something specific I'm supposed to do other than just put it in the trash or if there's anything recyclable about the needles.

I'm glad to hear that your levels look good!

I put all of mine into a 2 liter bottle with a bleach and H2O mix, but then I do just throw them in the garbage. So, if there's a better way to get rid of them, I'd be interested to know too!!!

[goblue]

A quick update from me:

After 3 days of stims, my estrogen is at 127 and I have 12 "non-measurable" follicles brewing (all under 10 mm). My RE wants to keep my meds level the same for Fri/Sat and then go back in for a check on Sunday. I'm just glad I'm not brewing dozens and dozens like I did before!!

If anyone can give perspective on the estrogen level and how it relates to follicles, I'd appreciate. The nurse said mine look normal...

Hope4light, good luck stimming!! I think Repronex is the same as Menopur, which is one of my injections. Keep me posted.

Seedlings, congrats on getting through the retrieval. Any updates?

Jempd, awesome about your day 5s. Rest easy! As for the sharps container, I believe we are supposed to box them up and mail them somewhere but I haven't figured out where that is yet. Definitely not supposed to put them in the garbage, even in the sharps container.

Many hugs to all of you!

[soulshine]

jempd.
you are so understated! girl, you are pregnant! i am very happy you have gotten to this point!! are you seeing an acupuncturist? that can help with maintaining pregnancy. the progesterone supplementing should help too.

as for the sharps container, our nurse said to stick it in a brown paper bag and bring it in to the clinic and they would 'take care of it' otherwise i think you have to pay to dispose of it properly. i have 3 of them! i think that even if it is sealed, if you throw it in the regular trash, the syringes still have miniscule remainders or meds in them that could leech out into the environment, so its bad to throw them in the regular trash. although someone told me i could do it.

goblue,
great update! i will try to look up the follicle size/estrogen level thing at ivfc. there is a ratio, but i think it is more for when you trigger.

seedlings,
awesome! hurray! isn't it a relief to have those gems out of you?! looking forward to more good news from you. and, yeah, i don't look at that pio needle either. i look at anything but it! i never feel the shot though! icing the area fr a few minutes before helps so much with that.

perdita,
hope your baseline went really well! the time for you has really flown by, at least for me it has!

marly, that's great news about your retrieval and fertilization! way to go! i hope those embryos are growing growing growing. looking forward to some great blasts reports! very exciting!

hope, hurray for starting stims!! i don't know about the headache stuff. can you take anything for it? tylenol? hopefully adding a new med will take those headaches away. thinking of you!

well, i am either going crazy or surprisingly cool, depending on which MINUTE you ask me. i find myself sighing alot! sigh. sigh. its outta my hands!

the worst thing about the progesterone is the fact that, for me at least, is taking any 'i feel like i am going to get my period' warnings away. i am 14dpo, and under normal circumstances, i would be getting my hopes pretty high that this was it! but this isn't normal circumstance, its ivf-land. so, i wait. no symptoms, very infrequent pulley/crampey twinges down there, could be good, could be bad- who knows!

love all the updates! more! more!

[marly33]

hello every one !! just got the call today it looks like ET will be mon at 12:30 very excited

[Kat's Mommy]

Hi! Just checking in with everyone.

marly33 - sending good vibes your way!

~ ~ ~
This is the longest two weeks of my life, and it's only been 4 days! I'm making up symptoms in my head - lots of cramping (must be a good sign right?), do my boobs hurt? (they must!), am I tired? (I think so!)...

I think the cramping is still from the retrieval.
Boobs sore - well, aren't they always?
Tired - aren't I always?

Like I said, I'm making up these symptoms.

Are there any tell-tale signs that this isn't working? I keep wondering about that...

[Seedlings]

Hi everyone. Just a quick update my et is tomorrow.

What have you all done before your et and then after? I have not gotten a lot of info about what to do before. I have read that a lot of people are told to drink water before. Then my re said 2 days of bedrest.

Oh most important how did you decide how many to put back? I am unsure on this. I am older and have always struggled with infertility. So I am just not sure. I am thinking at least 3 (if that is possible).

Kat's Mommy, Soulshine and all 2wwers good luck!

Goblue, hope4light, Perdita, and all pin cushins keep the sanity on the stims.

Marly - Good luck on Monday with your et.

[soulshine]

kat's mommy,
hahaha, i really know what you mean! by week 2, i have just been thankful for each day that i don't start my period! it makes me feel like i am at least still possibly pregnant. the questionable sore boobies, wierd crampiness and tiredness, i keep reminding myself that my uterus was poked thru and my ovaries were mechanically sucked of their contents, not to mention the drug cocktail i have been taking for 53 days now! could be or maybe not- who knows! its really good to stay positive about the possibility, though!

seedlings,
yay for transfer!

as far as how many embryos, for us, the embryologist came in and explained what the embryos looked like quality-wise. he chose the best contenders and we agreed to transfer those. the r.e. told us the risk of multiple statistics. i am 38. that is our r.e's 'magic age' to transfer more than 2, but she is very conservative so she councils to do as few as possible. ultimately though, it was up to us. i suppose we could have demanded to put 4 or 5 back in but she would have been very unhappy about that!

the facts are that at 38, the chances of having a live birth from ivf are 25-30% at very very best. of those % who have a baby, .05% have triplets+, 20% have twins, and 80% have singletons. so, we felt very comfortable putting in 3. taking into consideration what your embryos look like at transfer, too... i don't know if i would have put in 3 hatching blasts!! maybe only 2. but on a 3-day transfer, with really good embryos, we are comfortable with the decision. its different for everyone though. you may want to discuss it with your r.e. before you go in for the transfer, because you will be naturally nervous about the procedure, and you may be all valium'ed up! the thing to remember is, even though extremely rare, the # you transfer can all implant and divide, too! so you put in 3, you could technically end up with 4,5, or even 6. and then you enter a whole other ballgame. so, it has to be a reality you feel comfortable possibly dealing with.

after transfer, they told us 24 hours bed rest, total pelvic rest until beta and then revisit that option, and generally take it easy for the 2 weeks. no heavy lifting or too much exercise, no vaccuming, or things that would cause you to put unnecessary pressure in your abdomen-area. eat lots of protein and stay well-hydrated. and, our r.e. told us NOT to poas! 'too unreliable, and adds too much stress'.

best wishes to you tomorrow! i am looking forward to your report!!