Calling all April IVFs! - Page 2

[marly33]

Wow !! ALOT OF VENTING BEING DONE THIS WEEKEND. I KNOW HOW ALL YOU GIRLS FEEL WE HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR 5YRS. WE ALWAYS ASSUMED IT WAS ME CAUSE IM THE ONE WITH ALL THE PROBLEMS : PCOS, i ONLY HAVE ONE FALLOPIAN TUBE, I DON'T REALLY OVULATE ALL THE TIME . BUT WE LATER FOUND OUT MY HUSBAND HAD HIS OWN PROBLEMS . WHICH THREW US FOR A LOOP CAUSE WE NEVER REALLY THOUGHT HE WAS AN ISSUE . INSTEAD OF ME BEING DEPRESSED MY HUSBAND WAS THE ONE THAT WAS DEPRESSED. WE FOUND THIS AWSOME CENTER (SOUTH FLORIDA CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE) HONESTLY I HAVE NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT THIS CENTER ( AS OF NOW ) MY DOCTOR IS GREAT. VERY CARING AND MY IVF COORDINATOR MADE OUT MY CALANDAR AND AS OF NOW EVERYTHING IS ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE SHE PLACED THE ORDER FOR MY MEDS THE SAME DAY I SAW HER AND THEY WERE CALLING THE SAME NIGHT TO ARRANGE DELIVERY DATE. tHIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE TREATMENT I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER CENTERS HAVE THIS OPTION BUT WE DID THIS THING THAT IS CALLED MONEY BACK GAURANTEE THE WAY IT WORKS IS YOU PAY AN EXTRA $4300 AND YOU GET ANOTHER CYCLE FOR FREE YOU PAY NOTHING IF THAT ONE DOESN'T RESULT IN A PREGNANCY EITHER AND YOU DECIDE NOT TO DO ANOTHER ONE WITH THE CENTER YOU GET BACK ABOUT $10,000. IT'S LIKE SECURITY. IF YOU DO GET PREGNANT YOU LOSE THOSE $4300. EXTRA YOU PAID . I HAVE LOTS OF FAITH AND HOPE THAT THIS PROCESS WILL WORK . THE DOCTOR AND THE NURSES SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS LOOKING GREAT . SO LETS SEE I LEAVE ALL IN GODS HANDS. I FINISH AGESTYN TOMMOROW I SHOULD GET AF WHEN THAT HAPPENS I HAVE TO CALL THE IVF COORDINATOR AND SHE SCHEDULES A ULTASOUND AND BLOOD WORK FOR SAT OR SUN AND I START STIMULATION IM STILL ON LUPRON. HAS ANY ONE GOTTEN ANY SIDE AFFECTS FROM LUPRON? I HAVE GOTTEN THE TIREDNESS, SOME JOINT PAIN AND A LITTLE SWELLING BUT NOTHING MAJOR. DOES THE STIMULATION MEDS GIVE ANY SIDE AFFECTS? I THINK IM GOING TO BE TAKEN GANOL-F WELL FOR EVERY ONE !!! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY LADIES

MARLY

[Seedlings]

Soulshine - I wish I would of checked in last night . I am so sorry for your pain. What you wrote is amazing and thanks for sharing. I wish that everyone could read it.

[Kat's Mommy]

Soulshine

I understand.

Big, big hugs to you.

~ ~ ~

I started Puregon this weekend (still on lupron). Just wondering if anyone would know the reason to lower the dosage? Talking to my RE is impossible and the nurses don't answer questions. I get a phone call every day to tell me what to do, but when I ask questions, they don't know how to answer it beyond "yup, yup...your body is doing well on the drugs".

Each day, my puregon dosage has gone down. I went from 175 puregon to 150 puregon to 125 for today.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

You're probably responding nicely to the Puregon, and your E2 levels are likely rising quickly - they want to make sure you don't over-stimulated, so they scale back the dose to try and find a nice balance between too little and too much.

I was on 300 of Puregon last cycle LOL. I could see the $ floating in front of my eyes every time I jabbed myself!

[goblue]

Soulshine--i'm so sorry for the rough night you had. Infertility is indeed the toughest road that many of us will go through. Hopefully you can give yourself a little space between you and your sis until you are done with the IVF.

Kat's Mommy--I agree with Perdita about your E2 levels rising. The same thing happened to me;they took me from 225 Gonal-F down to 75, down to 0 but I still overstimulated. To be safe, I would find out exactly what is going on with your E2 levels so you know how the levels are climbing.

4 more days before starting Lupron. Praying every single night for a successful IVF/ICSI cycle. :

[crazyrunningmama]

and luck to you all!!!! Fingers crossed!!

[jempd]

Hi. also doing an ICSI/IVF with male factor (hence the ICSI) and am scheduled for tomorrow, in fact. Day five. So far so good.

Crossed fingers and best wishes to all of you.

Oh fun it is, especially the progesterin needles.

[goblue]

Jempd--Congrats on almost being done with the IVF/ICSI process!! Can I ask if this was your first IVF/ICSI? Fingers crossed that everything continues to go very smoothly!! And keep us posted...it's always great to hear success stories.

[marly33]

hi goblue !! are you PCOS is that why you over stimulated? I am PCOS and the doctor told me that poly cystic women tend to produce alot eggs during stimulation . I am a little scared about that any information will be greatly appreciated

[jempd]

Thanks, goblue!

It's the first one. I have done IUI before but never IVF. I'm having some of the embryos frozen and will try one more if this cycle doesn't work, then we're done, so I feel a lot of pressure what with all that is riding on this working. I am so nervous I feel a little faint but am also weirdly calm. Also every once in a while the amount of money spent (and spending) on this flashes through my head and I feel a little naseous.

Reading some of these posts has me agitated though, some of the treatment these posters have gotten by nurses and doctors is just inexcusable. I am lucky in that I don't have to drive far and that I think the clinic is pretty good, though it is huge and thus you feel as though you should take a ticket for your turn or something like that. But to be treated so callously, as if everything else weren't stressful enough!

They say April is the cruelest month--let's hope that this April is the kindest instead.

[goblue]

Hi Marly33--

No I am not PCOS. In regards to my overstimulation, the RE said "It's just one of those things". Apparently some women have healthy/sensitive ovaries that go nuts on the meds with even low dosages. So unfortunately I had to write it off as a learning experience. Now I know that each time the nurse calls, I should keep track of exactly where my E2 levels are, how many follicles I have and what size they are. No more just taking the meds instructions without asking appropriate questions first!

I've read the same thing about women with PCOS tending to overstimulate but I assume your RE would be all over it. Where are you in your cycle? Have you started stimulation meds yet? I overstimulated on day 9 of Gonal-F but the only symptoms I had was a bloated belly (which at the time I attributed to winter fat).

[marly33]

thanks for answering so quickly goblue. my doctor said that i will be monitored more thn normal . i get off of agestyn today ( agestyn is a pill similar to BC but since iam epileptic i can not take BC ) i am currently on lupron i go in on sun for an ultra sound and blood work and that night i start gonal-f so lets see how it goes. the nurse said i have to go in and see them daily retrieval is scheduled for the 17th if everything goes according to plan .

has any one had any side effects from taking the lupron ????

[soulshine]

i am triggering tonight! i thought i would be on stims for 3 more days, but things went faster than guestimated so, retrieval is on 4/4, transfer on 4/7.

after getting cancelled, i am so thankful to be 'here', to at least have the opportunity to try and see what happens!
we are doing ICSI and AH. i am just hoping there are healthy eggs in all the follicles, and that we get a great fertilization report, with stellar embryos for the transfer!! everything has to fall into place 'just so'. it really wracks the nerves, doesn't it?
i have been on the antagonist protocol and am really pleased with the results. i find it all very fascinating, the way the different hormones work with eachother. the follicle counts, E2, and lining have all cooperated nicely, and its hard to imagine that it wouldn't work, yet i am not getting too psyched up because it could just as easily not work. but, mind as well stay positive...

vwchick, jempd, seedlings, goblue, marly, perdita, kat's mommy !!
any updates? i'd love to hear about how you are all doing, what you're thinking, etc...

[goblue]

SOULSHINE!!! GOOD LUCK WITH THE TRIGGER!! I'm so excited for you and hope hope hope you get lots of healthy eggs fertilized successfully! Did they tell you how many follicles have developed? What are you using to trigger yourself? (just curious because I haven't gotten to that point yet). It's so wonderful to hear that all your levels and counts look great. Let us know how things progress!!

I start Lupron on Friday and can't wait! Funny, I never thought I'd be excited to give myself injections but that's what this process is all about.

[soulshine]

thanks goblue!!

we are using pregnyl for the trigger. i think i remember that when we did the iui's, the trigger came in a pre-frilled syringe, but this one you have to mix it yourself. and its one of those biga$$ needles, but its quick and then its over.

i know what you mean about getting the shots started! i came up with a different meaning of 'ivf'- 'its very frustrating' especially all the waiting!
are you doing anything differently this cycle from last? when my nurse called each day with the scan report, i asked her what my e2 level was that day, and the measurements of each follicle on the right and left, as well as my endometrial #. i asked so many questions! mostly along the lines of 'is that normal? is that 'good' is that 'bad'?' most of the time she couldn't really answer the subjective ones, she always says 'there is no normal in ivf'.

[Seedlings]

Originally Posted by jempd

Hi. also doing an ICSI/IVF with male factor (hence the ICSI) and am scheduled for tomorrow, in fact. Day five. So far so good.

Crossed fingers and best wishes to all of you.

Oh fun it is, especially the progesterin needles.

Good luck tomorrow .

[Seedlings]

Originally Posted by soulshine

i am triggering tonight! i thought i would be on stims for 3 more days, but things went faster than guestimated so, retrieval is on 4/4, transfer on 4/7.

after getting cancelled, i am so thankful to be 'here', to at least have the opportunity to try and see what happens!
we are doing ICSI and AH. i am just hoping there are healthy eggs in all the follicles, and that we get a great fertilization report, with stellar embryos for the transfer!! everything has to fall into place 'just so'. it really wracks the nerves, doesn't it?
i have been on the antagonist protocol and am really pleased with the results. i find it all very fascinating, the way the different hormones work with eachother. the follicle counts, E2, and lining have all cooperated nicely, and its hard to imagine that it wouldn't work, yet i am not getting too psyched up because it could just as easily not work. but, mind as well stay positive...

vwchick, jempd, seedlings, goblue, marly, perdita, kat's mommy !!
any updates? i'd love to hear about how you are all doing, what you're thinking, etc...

Soulshine,

I will be : that all goes well.

What is your plan after retrevial and transfer? Does your re recomend bed rest or taking it easy? Good luck !

[Seedlings]

Well I saw this posted on another site and thought I'd share it here. It is so thought provoking and long but a worth while read.

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Originally Posted by soulshine

vwchick, jempd, seedlings, goblue, marly, perdita, kat's mommy !!
any updates? i'd love to hear about how you are all doing, what you're thinking, etc...

Thank you for asking :-) I'm still just on bcps - start suppression on the 6th. 3 more days of no jabbing myself - I'm considering trying my thigh this cycle for a change of pace (oh man... how's that for a strange statement).

I have cut down on nursing quite a bit last cycle in hopes that I may respond better to the stims. 300 of Puregon is a LOT (then again, I was at 250 my first cycle, with no nursing - I'm just not a good responder!). I am working hard to be very positive about this cycle. Stars are aligning in ways they didn't last cycle - my DD has started sleeping through the night, DH looks like he's getting a very juicy lateral transfer at work, the snow is melting, and I just feel calmer. We'll see how that stands up in a couple of weeks!

Soulshine - thinking of you!! That did go fast!

[Kat's Mommy]

Soulshine - hope everything goes according to plan!

I dropped down to 75 of puregon, and they want me to do an ultrasound tomorrow.

Of course, this is Murphy's law working with (or is it against?) me. My DH has been dropping off DD at daycare every morning, while I wake up at the crack of dawn to be one of the first in line for blood work before I go to work.

Tomorrow, he needs to get into the office really early, so I will be dropping DD at daycare, then heading to the clinic. And of course, the clinic wants blood and ultrasound from me...

Murphy's Law...