September/October IVF

Hoping4Success

@Hopeful_mom oh trust me i know how that feels i had to take out a loan for mine ugh it sucks 

caseyw8784

@Hopeful_mom - i will definitely share all those details, i just haven't done the stims cycle and ER yet. it's my first cycle too (that I've been waiting on delay after delay after delay since april, really, so i'm quite ready to get the ball rolling faster now!) Though, I will share that I don't except that there will be a lot leftover to freeze, since we have to do both PGS and PGD - even though i just turned 32, my RE warned us that of those that make it to Day 5 biopsy, to expect 50% to be lost cause they're abnormal...boo.

So...I'm hoping that I will get lots of eggs in the ER to begin with!

Joslynj11

@Hopeful_mom I am going to look into some other pharmacies in the next couple days to see if I can get the new meds cheaper but if not I plan to just see what happens with him or get the original med list so we can get started. I can share how many eggs I had though with my first ER. I had 23 retrieved, 15 mature but only 8 to freeze. Unfortunately we lost 4 during our thaw for our second FET so now we're back to square one.

@caseyw8784 I am sorry to hear that you have been delayed so long. I know it must be killing you but I can only hope its worth the wait!!! Are you closer to finding out when you can get started?

FatPony

@hopefulmom - My PCOS ovaries produced a whopping 38 eggs retrieved, and we got 28 embryos in 2014. I responded so well that they had to reduce my meds. Sounds like a lot, but we had bad attrition rates through the freeze/thaw/grow cycle. I currently have 6 zygotes (0 days old), and 6 frozen blasts (Day 5). I'm a big believer in quality over quantity. Although both transfers I've had resulted in pregnancies (1 perfect baby, 1 cp), so idk what the heck. I've stopped trying to make sense of it and just try to go with the flow. 

Def let us know how many you get. Even if you have low numbers, quality plays a big part (ie- you many not lose many to freeze/thaw like I did). GL

TtcCanada

First round of IVF. Last BCP will be taken on 29. First ultrasound on sept 1. Meds start sept 3. Gonal F & menopur. Did IUI before in December. Unsuccessful. Husbands motility is low so IVF is our best (only) option. With Icsi. Here to follow along with everyone's story, to know I am not alone. This experience is a tough one on a marriage. We are a couple who never has fought before. Married 4 years. But the stress is taking its toll....

caseyw8784

@Joslynj11 - hopefully soon! I'm having some issues with family members getting tested and sending the results to the genetics lab (I'm a carrier for a single gene disorder so we are doing IVF to it won't be carried on) to make a genetic probe to test the embryos against...that's been the main hold-up all this time. i'm hoping it'll all get going in the next couple weeks... FX

Hoping4Success

I am livid right now i can scream so i picked up my perscription and of course i didnt sit there and go through a huge shopping bag to check if all is there wel guess what i get home and my follistim is not there the pen is but that actual vial no where to be found has this happend to anyone? Im soo pist right now and they are closed im afraid they will tell me oh we put it but clearly i dont have it omggg let the stress begin and this is why i dont wait for the last minute because if i had to start tommrow it would have been ruined omggg sorry for the vent ugh

--

FatPony

^yikes, that sounds stressful! 
And @caseyw8784 - that would drive me absolutely insane to be waiting on other ppl!!!! Arg!!!! Just the wait list for IVF/FETs drove me insane; I can't imagine what you must be feeling. Hopefully it gets done quickly!! 

Today ay my brother in law had o get his first injection at home in the leg (can't remember what for). He was all freaked out about it, and *gasp* he has to take an injection every 2 weeks!!! Poor little cupcake! I couldn't help laughing at him

caseyw8784

@FatPony - i hate it! going insane and so frustrated that something that DH and I should be 100% in control of...and it's completely out of our hands at the moment...doesn't sit well with me...lol!

i'm completely terrified of needles  (so ivf is gonna be interesting! haha!) so i feel a little bad for your BIL....i was telling my best friend (who is type 1 diabetic) about the shots for the stims cycle, and she was like "yea, thats gonna suck...but its only for 2-ish weeks...i have to do it every day for life!" lol

mjacks16

I will be another FET for September. I posted over on the Aug/Sept thread also, but may fit in over here better. Who knows!? Good luck to you all!  

@Hoping4Success I had a problem once not being able to get one of my vials of Follistim on time and the clinic had some that they will 'lend' out and you just have to replace just incase of these situations. 

tcolechia

I will be doing a FET this cycle starting in Sept. Transfer will be scheduled for the first week of October if everything goes well. I did my first fresh IVF cycle in July. I'm getting anxcious to start this cycle. We had PGS testing on 8 of our frozen embryos and they all came back looking good. FX this cycle works for us. I have been more private with our family and friends about this up coming cycle so we don't to explain everything to them. Explaining this process to people who aren't going through it is stressful. It's just easier to write to you girls!

Joslynj11

@caseyw8784 For some reason I thought I replied here already too. I am so sorry to hear that you and your DH have to put so much in the hands of your families in order to get started. I feel for you because it would be like pulling teeth to have my brothers jump through IF hoops for me. I hope you all are finally ready to get started soon!!!!

JESSABER0414

Hey Ladies, I'm going to join you here from the August/September board since my schedule is ER on Sept. 29 and Transfer Oct. 3rd, tentatively of course. Good luck to everyone, looking forward to getting to know you all and cheering you on. 

AFM : I'm 34, DH 38. Married almost 2 years, trying the whole time. Did 3 rounds Clomid with TI then transferred to my current RE. Found PCOS, 3 rounds Letrozole with TI and 3 rounds with IUI, all BFNs. I'm on BCP now until Sept. 11. Baseline US and Estrogen level Sept. 15 for first IVF. 
Planning ICSI with all and no PGS testing. Hoping for a short ride on this scary roller coaster!

Hoping4Success

@JESSABER0414 hi we are cycle buddies i am now on bcp for 3 weeks dont know exactly when i will start stimm and all the dates my re is putting my calandar together i have low amh and im 30 

monkeylicious

Hi all. Just finished bcps, testosterone priming until Sunday and blood work Monday morning with probable stims beginning Monday night, Gonal and Menopur. This is my first go, so I am beyond nervous. Had my baseline and mock transfer yesterday, 7 follies showing! I hope they all show up for work! Planning for fresh transfer on the 15th. Good luck everybody! 

Hopeful_mom

@Hoping4Success i totally get ur rant, as i'm discussing the additional meds for my cycle with my dr I keep questioning her about the trigger shot.  Does it have to be refrigerated and what is the name etc. WHY O because i'm pretty sure i dont have it...and its friday about 3pm and technically need it for saturday.  So after calling the dr office 10x as they were closing for the day till i got some one and then the pharmacy to see where the drug was, was just about enough stress for the day.  Its not easy keeping track of everything and considering i spent 1600 I figured everything was all set.  I guess i'm glad i kept questioning it.  Now its on its way to me, lets hope fed ex actually delivers.

I know this is my first cycle and i gotta tell ya i feel like a wimp.  These last few days of the menipur has been Burning alot when injecting and i have a red rash and crazy itchiness for hours after, anyone else??

To all the ladies that this isn't your first round g-d bless you are champions!!!  this shit is not easy, i hate the needles, i hate it all and the thought of having to go through this again is not exciting me.  I think i'm a lil frustrated that its looking like i will have 3/5 mature follies ready and i just dont know what to do.  Do we go for it and see what happens, cancel it and do an IUI.  I'm all out of pocket so its tough not knowing you can go through all this and not even come out with one.  I'm terrified to say the least!

thank you all for sharing your info. 
FatPony caseyw8784 joneser1281 Joslynj11 It does concern me that some of you had such great numbers and like they say you then end up with half.  But starting out so low i'm just not sure what to think.  Tomorrow is day 9 and blood work will decide whether tomorrow is trigger day or not.  Wish me luck that i have some great mature AA eggs in the waiting!!

mandasand so glad the military is stepping in and u were excepted, thats a huge break.  Hopefully that will take some of the stress out of it for you!!

It does suck that we all have to be here BUT it is great hearing from all of you so you don't feel alone and crazy.  I feel bad for me and then I read from others and everyone has a tougher story then the next.  Hoping i see lots of BFP from all!!!

Wriggler

I'm looking at oct/nov but oct still fits here so I'll say hi We're from San Diego going to reproductive sciences medical center, seeing Dr Wood.

Wriggler

@mandasand its nice to see another San Diego girl

mandasd

@Wriggler yay, another SD girl! We are at Navy Medical Center. We originally were at SD Fertility but I was accepted at NMCSD...very fortunate because the cost is significantly lower. It took some time and lots of research on my part. My husband is retired Air Force and I always had my own insurance through my work. I originally thought the Navy infertility clinic was closed down but they got funding so I switched my insurance to hubby's and was able to get in. I've heard people wait a year on the ivf list but it took only 5 months for me. We did try an IUI but wasn't getting my hopes up...all the other fertility doctors I've seen over the past 3 years said IVF would be the only option for me. Fingers crossed! Im feeling in such a better spot. We just moved into a lovely home, the dogs are good, job is good, hubs is good. So I'm hoping this feeling of peace will help.

There was another thread about whether or not to tell your boss/work about treatments. I finally broke down, and against my beliefs, told my boss. I travel 50% for work, lately I've been gone more than I've been home. So I really wanted my boss to know I needed to take a break from travel. There was talk about another International trip in Sept, so I needed to avoid that! I recently was able to hire two more staff on my team (I manage a marketing department), so this has helped me! Now I'm just waiting for my period so we can get this started!

Hopeful_mom

Hi all!!
hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! I feel exhausted with all the blood work and us everyday definately doesn't let me sleep.
Happy to say I finally finished all my shots and meds for this cycle of ivf yay!!!! Took my trigger at 10pm but still have to go back for more blood work to make sure I did it right, please lord!
A little disappointed that we're only really seeing 4, hoping one or two of the smaller ones catch up! I know it quality over quantity just getting very nervous I won't have anything to transfer and this will all be for nothing.  Ivf is suppose to be my saving grace so I need this to work!!!

@mandasand it's great hearing everything is falling into place for you, hopefully that's just what you need for a successful cycle!!
@Wriggler welcome, sorry you find yourself here, will this be your first cycle? Best of luck!!

@monkeylicious love ur name!! Best of luck on Monday as of now I should be doing my retrieval so I'm hella nervous too!!

question for anyone that has done the noveral trigger I'm super itchy in my boobs and in general, anyone else experience side effects?

PCOSat25

Good evening ladies. I will go ahead and jump in here. I am completing my first IVF in September on a VERY tight schedule. We have the egg retrial timed for the one week my husband will be home visiting on leave from his deployment  

Quick background: I am 26, dx with PCOS and one blocked tube, status post 3 unsuccessful TI cycles with clomid and 3 insuccessful IUI cycles with letrozole and gonal f. On my last IUI I had a bad reaction which resulted in an ovarian tortion. Ouch! The doctors have decided IVF is the only option moving forward so they can keep better control of my unpredictable ovaries. 

I started BCP 8/15-9/11. Quick period and then it is onto my antagonist cycle with gonal f, Menopur and cetrotide. Planned trigger with Lupron and hcg. 

The planned retrieval date is 9/27 and I am PRAYING that holds true as it will be my golden birthday, turning 27. That has to be good luck right? 

Anyone else on on a similar timeline? Starting stims around 9/16? 

Hoping4Success

@PCOSat25 hi so we are about on the same boat maybe a week behind i started bcp 8-22 and will be on them for 3 weeks then i assume get my period and start stimming as well out date are very similar cycle buddies

PCOSat25

@hoping4success I am excited we are so close!!! You might even end up a little ahead of me as I have to be on BCP just a week or so longer. They had to extend the BCP to make sure egg retrieval was timed for when DH is home. We have frozen samples in case something happens but ideally we will be able to fertilize with fresh sperm. 

I just had had a hysteroscopy on Friday to make sure everything is all nice and clean to start! Now I am in the process of ordering my medications. The volume is kind of overwhelming!!!

how are you feeling about everything?

Hoping4Success

@PCOSat25 ill be most like finish ny bcp by 9-12 i am still waiting for my nurse to get my calendar together i already have my meds ready to go im a planner and i hate waiting last minute so i already have the meds im really excited but also neevous i have a low egg reserve so im afraid about that hopefully i can at least get 5-6 good eggs that fertelize and make it to freeze ill be super happy with that its tough im paying all oop so its gonna cost me about 18k 

mandasd

@PCOSat25 even with best intentions, cycles can easily change. What normally should have been 1 week of stim ended up being 14 days for me. If you are on a tight schedule, I would highly recommend your hubby give a sample when he's home and freeze it, just in case! Also if he's in a place where he can provide his sample now and have it shipped to your clinic that would be good. They do their best to "predict" your cycle but this can be very difficult. 

PNW12RN

I kinda sorta fit here....

I am 38; had aggressive breast cancer at 35 and chemo destroyed my ovaries.  We did freeze embryos literally the day before I started chemo, but only one of my 8 embryos made it to day 5 and was chromosomally normal.  I got the all-clear from my oncologist to move forward with a pregnancy last September, and we finally did a FET in July, but had a BFN.

Before that FET, we did try another ER, but my ovaries did not respond at well and it was cancelled pretty early in the process (silver lining: I still have most of the spendy meds and won't have to buy them again)

With no further options to get eggs from me, my 36 year old sister has offered to be an egg donor.  We have an appt on 8/31 for an US to make sure her ovaries are accessible for an ER (she has had a hysterectomy and sometimes the ovaries migrate up a bunch after that--we don't think it will be an issue).  Her labs have already come back with good levels, so this is our last hurdle.

She will do an ER in early October, and I will do an FET either in late October or November, depending on how many embryos we end up with.  My sister has a BRCA mutation (not the same one I have--we won the genetic lottery), and we will do PGD to screen for that if we have more than 3 good embryos to use, which takes like 6 weeks.  If we have 3 or less, we will do just PGS and the earlier FET.  

We plan to transfer 2 embryos if we have them. I need to have my ovaries removed before I am 40 (because of my BRCA1 mutation), so we are pushing things a bit (my birthday is in October) and this will be our last attempt to make embryos.

caseyw8784

@PNW12RN - welcome! i think i recognize your name from earlier months, so, welcome back!

PCOSat25

@mandasand no need to worry. We have frozen samples for back up  

JESSABER0414

@PCOSat25 We are on the same schedule for now! I take the last BCP 9/11 and projected ER 9/28. We are freezing a sample this week just in case my DH has to be out of town,  or more my luck gets sick that week. I have PCOS and did most of what you did as well. I'm only doing Follistim and Ganirelix for stimming. Good to have buddies on here!!

Hoping4Success

@JESSABER0414 all of us should me on the same schedule how cool abd almost same protocol im on bcp now until 9-11 or 9-12 havent gotten my caladar then menapur 75 iu and follistim 225 iu wit ganaralix and pragnyl trigger

PCOSat25

So excited there is a group of us so close together! 

annebenton22

Hey Ladies...thought I would go ahead and introduce myself. I won't start my meds until the end of Sep., plus we are planning a frozen transfer for November instead of a 5 day fresh transfer. So, I may be in and out of the board but will try and keep up with everyone!
We did a 5Day transfer in June with 2 good quality embryos and BFN, had none to freeze so we are starting over! We have learned a lot from this cycle and I am happy to share anything or answer any questions for those of you going through it for the first time. 

I have a SIS next week to check for fibroids/polyps. If we are all clear, we will move forward. I am with ACRM in Atlanta, in case there are any other Southern ladies on the chain! I am really working on my mental/emotional stability this time around with fertility acupuncture, gentle yoga, and therapy. It has all helped tremendously! 

Sending good vibes out to all of us over the next few months~

JESSABER0414

Great! This makes me feel more comfortable. And less surreal! Good luck to us all and FX for starting soon and moving along quickly:-) 

JESSABER0414

Oh and I have scheduled a fertility massage this Friday so I'll let you know how that went. 
Thinking about buying the IVF Circle and Bloom mediation series.  Have any of you tried those? I'm a nurse, so it's been hard to accept the other factors besides science that are keeping us from conceiving,  but I'm finally getting in tune with my body and opening my mind to help.

KirstenCas

Hello everyone, just got a call that i'll start stimming for IVF#4 this Wednesday...totally threw me for a loop. I look forward to getting to know you all. My details are in my signature. Anyone know anything about Mircrodose Lupron Flare protocol?
@JessaBerra can't wait to here about that massage!

annebenton22

@JESSABER0414 I have used the circle and bloom and love them! I listen to them before bed and fall right asleep, helps calm me overall! I think anything that relaxes you and helps with emotional stability is a huge plus, because this is a "journey" and whatever makes it a little less miserable is worth it!

@KirstenCas you have been through a lot and hoping for the best this time around for you lady! Hang in there!

Hoping4Success

https://www.medicaldaily.com/eating-avocados-more-triples-ivf-pregnancy-success-rate-241240

So i just found this article as i googled it and wondering why my accupunturist told me to eat avocados here i am lol

JamieH2000

Hey ladies- can I join you?! I recognize some familiar faces, and though I wish none of us are here, I look forward to doing another cycle with you all and hopefully more success!

I'll try to get caught up on all the posts, but its exciting that some of you are getting started already! I feel like my whole past year has just been a waiting game and trying to enjoy each day and moment, but it gets hard when it feels like a part of you is missing.. especially when you are around others with their beautiful families.

All my details are in my siggy, but essentially started my first IVF in August after 2 IUIs in the spring and Lap surgery in June. My IVF was cancelled in August due to low response (only 2 follies grew to maturity after 7 days of stims) and it has been a hard few weeks since now I am doubting that this will ever work for me. I know I can get a better response (got 5 follies easily in May with low does of stims), so just hoping the protocol they put me on with birth control suppression was too suppressing for someone with borderline DOR. I just found out today that my IUI (from the cancelled IVF) was BFN, so now just waiting to get AF. I believe we will do either an estrogen priming protocol or Microdose Lupron Flare protocol (both meant for poor responders based on my research). I anticipate starting stims end of sept/early Oct, so in the meantime will just be cheering you ladies on!

@Kristencas- I have been following your story and really hope this round is the one for you! sounds like we may end up on a similar protocol!

@hoping4success- I have been doing acupuncture for the last 2 months, and they are all about eating avocados too! glad to hear there may be some real science behind that! who doesn't love guacamole?!

@annebenton22- so sorry to hear about your last cycle. I hope your SIS is clear and you are able to move forward with this next cycle right away!

PCOSat25 - You are one strong lady to get through all this while your DH is deployed! I hope the timing all works out so he can be here for ER and ET!

PNW12RN- I really hope everything goes smoothly for your sister's ER and you have your embabies soon! If you can beat cancer, you definitely got this! Lots of baby dust for you and DH and I look forward to following your journey!

I know I missed some so I'll try to get caught up soon! Has anyone started a tracker spreadsheet yet?

KirstenCas

Ugh I'm trying to make us a spreadsheet but not having much luck, i'll have to ask wifeinraleigh :P

mandasd

I'm starting up acupuncture again. My acupuncturist said I only need to come 1x per week and when I do the transfer she will do some special sessions for me. Since I switched to Tricare acupuncture is not covered so I'm paying out of pocket.

Went to NMCSD yesterday to get some more bloodwork and pick up bc. They decided to do a bunch more test just for fun I guess (I only needed one and walked out with them taking 7 vials). It's amazing how used we get to needles during this journey!