November/December IVF

Piperella

Wanted to wish @chelsbum good luck tomorrow during your FET and fx for @MSR1977 and @sfleiss on the ERs. How did your FET go today, @kated0724?

I had my ER today and they were able to retrieve 30 eggs.  Not sure how many follicles, but know out of all the follicles they retrieved 30 eggs.  Hoping for some good ones in there and I'll hear from them tomorrow as to how they are doing.  My RE gave me tylenol with codeine and it's making feel weird, but better than super crampy.  I do have a heating pad on my stomach and have been laid up on the couch today.  I went ahead and took off for tomorrow, but we'll see how I feel then.

@Carlaisy - FET is Frozen Embryo Transfer.  In IVF, you either do fresh or frozen transfers.  FET is frozen.

@takethelongway - 38 follicles is awesome!  You never know how many more will grow over the next couple of days!!!

Hope I didn't miss anyone else going for a ER or transfer today or tomorrow!  If I did, I apologize in advance and will blame it on the ER. :-P

emsmama15

YAY @Piperella!! 30 is awesome!!  So happy for you!  

@takethelongway - Any thoughts on when you'll have your retrieval?  Your estrogen level is great too!

Good luck tomorrow @sfleiss!!  

Hopefully a few more pop up by Wednesday @rshatsky, but it DOES only take one.  

I hope everything went well this morning @kated0724!

Good luck tomorrow @chelsbum!  

I know I missed someone.  I'm so sorry!!  

emsmama15

I DID miss a few...

@luvsong012 - Is our transfer on for tomorrow?  GOOD LUCK!!!  Are you doing one or two?

@MSR1977 - good luck with retrieval tomorrow!!  Fingers crossed!!

takethelongway

@Piperella I'm glad your retrieval went well! Great numbers!

@emsmama15 I'm not sure, but my RE dropped my Gonal-f dosage for tonight so I'm thinking (hoping) to trigger tomorrow and retrive on Wednesday. I have so many worries though!

bailey813

@piperella way to go. Amazing numbers. Hope you start feeling less crampy soon!

2legbaby

Congrats @Piperella! Hope you recover quickly!

kated0724

@Piperella Congrats! 30 eggs is awesome. I'm sure you will have some great ones. Rest and drink gatorade! I was similar to you in that I had 36 retrieved, but got super hyper stimulated. Take care of yourself!

@Piperella and @emsmama15 FET went great. It was such a beautiful experience. Although we didn't ask for a specific gender, we were able to find out that they transferred a male 6aa embryo. I go for bloodwork tomorrow to test estrogen and progesterone levels, and then next Tues, the 8th, for my pregnancy test. Not going to POAS before then! @luvsong02 how did your transfer go? @chelsbum good luck at your transfer! 

Does anyone know what levels are good for progesterone and estrogen blood work after FET? I don't know if theres something I should be hoping for. 

@MSR1977 and @SFLEISS I hope your retrieval went well!!

Carlaisy

Thanks @Piperella ! We will be transferring fresh for our cycle. I hope I will have some ladies going through the same cycle time as me on jan 11..I start meds then. What is the gatorade story? Please do tell!!!
@luvsong how do you decide how many eggs to tfer? Does your RE guide you? I am 39 so I am not sure if they discourage a certain number?
Fx for all you FET gals especially xxx

Piperella

Thank you ladies for all the support and well wishes after my ER.  It really does mean a lot to read them.  My RE called and said out of the 30 eggs retrieved, 25 were mature, and 20 fertilized!  I'm really excited about those numbers and hope that as many of them continue to grow as possible.  He said I should get my period within 10 days, and if I do, it may be possible to do a FET on the very last day the clinic is open for transfers in December.  Hoping my body cooperates!

@kate0724 - So glad your FET went well.  Keeping my fx for you!  I can only imagine how hard it will be to not POAS!!!

@Carlaisy - Gatorade and SmartWater have electrolytes, which helps keep OHSS at bay.  I am not a huge gatorade fan, so I only drank one bottle.  I prefer smartwater so I just kept drinking that to make sure I could flush out my system to try to bounce back as quickly as possible.

Hope everyone has a great Monday (it's so ugly outside here in VA) and I can't wait to hear some updates from you all!

Alyeena

@Sfleiss I also want to say that you may not lose half of your eggs, it really is a case by case basis. In our case had 12 eggs, 11 fertilized and 7 made it to blastocyst stage. 

@piperella Congratulations on all your eggs, I really hope you do get to do a transfer before Christmas. 

The same thing is happening with me my transfer will most likely be on the 15th, the last they are open. They close very early I thought, it really surprised me, thankfully I made it before the cut off date... I would never of been able to wait until January I probably would of started crying.

Alyeena

@kated0724 Congrats on your FET. Hope all goes well for you. How did you find out they transferred a male embryo? Is ot part of genetic testing?

kristylang

@Piperella congrats on your egg count. That's awesome. FX for you!!!

I started my Lupron on Saturday and then tonight we add Menopur and Follistim. Lupron gives me small beaches and I don't really have an appetite. Has this happened to anyone while they were on this? My first IVF try we did not do Lupron. Let me tell you I'm so glad I sit have to do the Androderm patches anymore. Those itches so bad and leave marks for weeks that make my body look like I went paint balling. Haha, but I would do them again in a heart beat if it helps me get pregnant.

I'm also doing acupuncture and have been since May. That doctor has me taking Chinese Herbs. Do you ladies think I should continue to take them or should I stop since I'm doing my stims now? He said I should continue with them because they are helping balance my body which I just got my period yesterday and I barely have cramps which is due to acupuncture, so I'm happy with that. Just curious if anyone else went though acupuncture and was taking herbs.

FX to all the Dec. stims!!!!

Alyeena

I cannot say if you should stop the herbs or not, but just in case you did not you definitely need to let your RE know. 

kated0724

@Alyeena thank you. yes, I did the comprehensive chromosomal screening/Pgd on all of my embryos. My husband really wanted to know so we asked after the transfer.

kated0724

Thank you! @Piperella

MSR1977

Hi Bump family,

I'll update you on my ER this morning after a couple "shout-outs":

@piperella YAY for your successful ER!

@chelsblum and @sfleiss looks like y'all had procedures with me today as well? Would love an update.

@kated0724 praying for that healthy boy!

(Sorry if I missed anyone. I'll go back and check)

-Retrieved 19 eggs (my last ultrasound, day of trigger, I had 25.) sad I lost 6 eggs. .
-so far, I have 11 mature they are going to ICSI tonight and 6 "maybes" that may catch up tomorrow to be fertilized.
-I weighed 117 going into surgery, only 2 pounds up over entire IVF cycle. I now weigh 122. So, really uncomfortable and they are keeping an eye on me.

I'm worried for so many reasons...anyone have this happen, and it resolve in its own?

Just weird since it was a sudden onset of gain. Hoping it's just from water/Gatorade I've been chugging since I left surgery.

(I'm sorry if I missed anyone else on the status check...). Xoxo. FX

emsmama15

@Piperella -- 20 fertilized is AWESOME!!  I'm so hopeful I'll have such good results!!!  

@MSR1977 - 11 plus 6 maybes is great!  I hope they all fertilize with ICSI.  Keep us posted.  

@kated0724 - Congrats on your FET.  I love how you describe it as a "beautiful experience."  That really touched my heart.  I hope your little boy embie nestles in.    

@carlaisy - my RE has recommended numbers to transfer based on age.  At my clinic, you'd probably be able to transfer up to 2 at age 39 (3 if they are not as good of quality).  But ultimately, it's your decision if you want to do just one.  

I had my first monitoring appointment today.  Had "lots" of small follies, two measurable at 12-ish.  NP said I'm responding REALLY well.  Same doses of Gonal-F and Menopur.   My E2 was in the 200's, so I'm starting Ganirelix tomorrow night.  Not looking forward to another shot added to my repertoire.  Oh well.  It's worth it.  That's my mantra lately.  

2legbaby

Congrats @Piperella- what a great fertilization rate!!

@MSR1977 11 is a great start-FX for a high fertilization rate for you!!!

@kated0724- can't believe in 8 days you will know- crazy!!!! We are doing PGS testing as well and (FX!) assuming we have embryos to transfer this time we also decided not to know before transfer, but cool you can find out right after

@kristylang- I have never taken lupron, but I would second @Alyeena and make sure your RE is ok with the chinese herbs

@emsmama15- how are you hanging in cycle buddy? I had my appointment today as well. I had some big follies on the left but my right (just like last time) is lagging behind- 1 big one and 6-8 smaller. My E2 was in the 300s and I am also starting the Gainrelix tomorrow:) They are increasing my menopur to 150iu from 75iu, which is a little weird because initially they indicated they would keep the same. I also get to start growth hormone on Wednesday pushing my injection total to 4! I'm going to need a longer theme song

Hope everyone else is doing well with their retrievals/transfers!

kated0724

@MSR1977 don't worry, you will be ok. I also gained after ER- 6 pounds in one day! I was absolutely mortified. Drink a lot of Gatorade or coconut water, less water, and try to eat salty foods. I ended up getting OHSS, and had a lot of fluid retention. It did resolve on its own, but I needed to stop the hormones for that to happen. My fresh transfer was canceled because of you have so much fluid, the chances of success go down. I was totally devastated but now realize it was what needed to happen to have a healthy pregnancy. My doctor recommended FET and here I am. I know how scary it can be and am sending you happy thoughts and hugs!

kated0724

@emsmama15 thanks so much

joyful38

Hi everyone! I start day 1 of follistim tonight! And as of right now, dec 10th retrieval... Nervous but excited to finally get this going!!

kristylang

@2legbaby and @Alyeena. I spoke to my husband and we both have decided I should stop the Chinese herbs. I continued to take them during my first round of IVF and figured since they have aligned my body maybe we should just focus on the shots I'm doing now.

I hope everyone is doing well! Stay positive because the end result is what matters. Keep your eyes on the prize ladies.

kated0724

@2legbaby isn't it crazy?! Sending you lots of happy thoughts!

sfleiss

Holy cow @takethelongway, those are amazingly no numbers!! @piperella, your numbers are awesome too!! Great jobs guys! @MSR1977, my nurse told me today if that happens to call right away bc you may have OHSS, which she said usually resolves itself, but it is bad if you actually conceive after your FET, so call the dr! @alyeena thank you for telling me about your success with limited loss of eggs. I thought I did really well, but reading some of these numbers makes me feel like I didn't! So I did have my ER today, and was so scared bc I have never been out under before, but I had an amazing anesthesiologist that really calmed me. I had 16 eggs, and find out tomorrow how may fertilized. Today, my nurse told me absolutely no caffeine, but I know you can have up to 3 cups when pregnant, so I'm wondering why I can't have any now? Anyone know? Aside from the headache from lack of caffeine, I'm feeling okay, definitely keep popping Tylenol. So cool that @MSR1977 and @chelsblum had the ER today too! Nice to know we aren't alone!

kennelchick

Hi everyone,
Yay for all the ERs I just read about! I'm very excited for you all. I have two more days of BCP and then start injections. I can't wait to get to where you all are in this cycle!

takethelongway

Anyone else have a retrieval on Wednesday? I just did my trigger shot! RE had me do a 100% Lupron trigger, no hcg due to the amount of follicles I have. At ultrasound today my ovaries were touching each other (no wonder I'm uncomfortable!). I'm ready to get these eggies out RE said she expects 17 eggs based on my numbers today. Blood work in the morning to make sure trigger worked and retrieval at 7:45 on Wednesday

emsmama15

Good luck @takethelongway!!  Yikes to the ovaries touching each other!!

Ugh @2legbaby!  FOUR shots?  Here I am whining about three!!  We truly are cycle buddies though, aren't we?    

luvssong012

Hi ladies! It seems like things are going smoothly for many of you. I'm so glad!

As for me, my ET was supposed to be yesterday but when we showed up, RE told us that they needed to push back ET for one day. She said my embryos were great but they still had not made it to blastocyst stage yet. I was so bummed! I couldn't help myself tearing up after RE left the room.

Anyways, so we went back this morning, transferred 1 4AB embryo! I was a bit sad to hear that we might not end up with any embryos to freeze. I'll get a call tomorrow to know for sure. Just to recap my stats... 18 retrieved, 16 mature, 7 fertilized, 1 4AB embryo transferred and unsure how many I have left to freeze yet. After all, it only takes one, right?? I am going back in for beta on 12/14. I'll probably end up using hpt prior to my beta. LOL.

@Piperella 30 eggs! holy moly! Great number!

@Carlaisymy RE told me she recommended transferring 1 embryo. I am 34, diagnosed with unexplained infertility. My RE made it seem like I did not have much say in how many I could transfer. It could be also because I didn't insist on transferring multiple embryos either.

@kated0724 I concur! ET (although mine was fresh) was a beautiful experience. I really really really hope your embryo sticks!!!

@emsmama15 thanks for checking up on me (and every one else on this post!) how are you tolerating meds?? <

MSR1977

@takethelongway they put me on Cabergoline to manage my OHSS yesterday after ER. That along with loads of Gatorade (G2 low calorie) + v8 + protein drinks only have helped tremendously. I'd say by tomorrow I'll be feeling almost normal again. Peeing every hour and dropped a couple months overnight doing that. So, OHSS managed.

Update on my little Eggies:

19 retrieved
11 mature
6 "almost mature" they watched overnight and 3 became mature.
(So total 14 mature)

8 out of first 11 FERTILIZED
*potentially 3 more since they are being ICSI with frozen "backup" sperm sample we had
*confusing, but they have technology to let IMMATURE eggs mature overnight. A day later than mature eggs ready for immediate fertilization

So, "potentially" 11 fertilized, but will know THURSDAY how many total survived to make it to Genetic lab for PGS testing (chromosome)

Thank goodness I had so many eggs to start, Bc they didn't receive as many mature eggs from that large batch they anticipated.

takethelongway

@MSR1977 I will be on cabergoline as well! Did you trigger with Lupron? I'm so worried I messed something up and I'll ovulate too soon! I had blood work this morning so I'm just waiting for the nurse to call me and talk me down from the ledge I started the G2 this morning per nurse instructions and am just trying to remain calm. Nice egg and embryo numbers!

MSR1977

@sfleiss how are you recovering?

@luvssong012 I'm excited for you! We kind of have similar numbers and I have to play the waiting game for 3 of my eggs to mature!! (Before fertilized, but still a waiting game like you). Come on slowpokes!!

@takethelongway DON'T be nervous....(I know easier said than done.). Here's some good news: you already have a script for Cabergoline, are you going to take tonight? I waited until onset of OHSS, so preventative is best! Also, i kind of wish they had done Lupron Bc there's VERY little risk of OHSS. If any. (So I've heard). They gave me a 7500iu shot of HCG, so mid range. However, it's a catch 22....if you look at my numbers, a lot more were retrieved relative to what eggs were mature. So, any MORE Stim would've been bad OHSS, any less would've produced less mature eggs. So it's a tricky science.

Are you doing ICSI? Stay calm and I'm saying prayers for you tomorrow.

emsmama15

@luvssong012 - the meds are going okay.  Today is the first day I've gotten the heavy feeling in my pelvis/ovary region.  Prior to that, I was thinking "is there anything going on in there?"  HAHA!  It'll be interesting to see how my follies have grown at my ultrasound tomorrow morning.  I start Ganirelix tonight.  I'm really, really hoping to get a good response and to have "extra" to work with.  We've been thinking I have an egg quality issue since none of my medicated cycles worked despite lots of follicles, so I want LOTS to work with so I end up with a few at the end.    

takethelongway

@MSR1977 I start taking the cabergoline tomorrow after retrieval. My nurse just called and I was to administer 1500iu of hcg, which lucky for me, I'm at school and hubby brought me meds and the school nurse did it so quickly I didn't know what happened! So now I'm at more of a risk for OHSS, but if my body needed the hcg, then that's good. Yes, we are doing ICSI. My practice only does ICSI

Joyzie77

@2legbaby .. Glad you are moving forward.

Joyzie77

@ShanTeach .. Don't lose hope. I had 16 retrieved and only 6 made it. After PGS testing we only had 3. You should post about the 3 day transfer. I am sure others have had success. We transferred 2 last time based on the doctors suggestion and our history. We have unexplained fertility. Unfortunately they didn't stick but we are hoping this last embaby will this month. Keep us posted.

MSR1977

I'm a little concerned Bc I just now found out that my clinic does biopsy day 3 versus 5 PGS testing. Has anyone else done this? Seems too early

2legbaby

Thanks @Joyzie77!

@luvsong012 sorry your ET was postponed, but glad it went well and FX for a sticky bean in there!!

@MSR1977 my clinic does day 5  testing, but I did read some about day 3, the one concern is that there are less cells so potential higher risk for damage to the embryos and that sometimes they may biopsy and result is abnormal, but due to them being so very "early" they can revert to normal (read about transfer of abnormal embryos with lethal abnormalities only based on day 3 biopsies and the women went on to have healthy babies). If it is routine for your clinic to do day 3 I'm sure the embryologist is good, but it would be worth asking why day 3 vs 5....congrats on your 8 fertilized and FX that those other 3 join in

@emsmama15 I started to feel the bloating today too...and hot flashes...I'm normally always cold and I keep having flashes of heat and have to take off some clothes.....good luck with Ganirelix tonight!!

Alyeena

@sfleiss If your nurse told you no caffeine then please it would be better not to drink any. It is good advice for everyone really, it is definitely better to completely cut off caffeine when pregnant. I never even have coffee, and rarely will have some coca, so I cannot know how hard it is to stop. But definitely it is better, just like no alcohol.

@MSR1977 Congratulations on your eggs those are great numbers, hopefully many make it to blastocyst stage.

@Luvssong012 Congrats on your transfer, hopefully the little embryo sticks! Sorry to hear you had to wait one more day, I would of been so sad too, but if it is better that way, then it is worth it. 

@Takethelongway Good luck for your retrieval tomorrow, I really hope all goes well for you.

@kennelchick Yay, you start really soon the injections, I am happy for you. I remember when I was at that stage I was so excited, at first I had no idea about the BCP and I was so sad I had to wait a month more than I thought, but you get there eventually. Hopeffully all goes well and you are not uncomfortable and you make many eggs.

kristylang

My doctor says no alcohol (obviously) and no caffeine. I haven't been doing caffeine for a while, so I'm good with that. This may be a dumb question but does that include chocolate? I have a major sweet tooth and know that chocolate does have small amounts of caffeine. What do you ladies think about this?!?!

I pray that my numbers are as good as you ladies. My first IVF cycle they only got 1 egg. I'm diagnosed DOR, so it's very nerve wracking through all this in hopes I get a couple good eggs. They've changed up my meds so I'm happy with that. Added androderm patches and I'm on Lupron. Other new meds but I'm not on those yet. First u/s and blood work this Friday. Super excited.

HBamama2B

@sfleiss the reason behind no caffeine is that it is a natural diuretic which will cause you to urinate excessively, exacerbating the risk of OHSS. And the general rule during pregnancy is 200mg a day 1-2 cups, not three.... Gulp. Sorry, I know that sucks. For withdrawal, drinks extra water with electrolytes before bed, it will help the next day.

@kristylang yes, chocolate has caffeine. And there isn't really a decaf version! it ranges from 4-34mg per oz or snack depending on what you are eating. 1 bar of dark chocolate has 70mg. If you google caffeine in chocolate a little ticker comes up and you can check your specific snack item and amount.