new to IVF and in need of a reality check!

mamma1614

Hey ladies! I was looking around at where to post this, and this board seemed to fit best .
As titled, I'm new to IVF and scheduled to start my stims on the 31st. Also planning on a fresh transfer.
what brought me to this stage of our IF journey (long story short) was after a year of trying naturally, Then tests, removing a polyp then only to get pregnant and end up having an EP and removing a fallopian tube, and a couple of failed IUIs we decided to give this IVF a try.

So when we first agreed to finally go ahead with it, it was end of November, I just got my period, and my DH and I asked our RE- are the holidays going to interfere with the timing of this cycle? my RE's response was- no not at all, this whole process could be give or take 6 weeks. Us of course, the Naive ones were like 6 weeks?? that isn't so bad! we can do that!
Our RE gave us also the option to try the PGS testing, but he didn't think we had to given our circumstances and our age(me32 & DH 37) so he didn't push us on it, we decided to skip it so we could try with a fresh embryo.

Anyway, this is where I feel like we are a little blind sighted- after going through 3 weeks of the bcp,  I was told by my nurse to get another set of pills since we were infact going to be effected by a few days because of the holidays. So of course I'm like, hmmm ok just a few more days right? then most recently they find in my DH semen there is a slightly elevated level of white blood count, so that may delay some time too. Here is where I'm starting to think, can there be any other delays in this process that is super common?? has anybody actually gone through an IVF cycle within 6 weeks time? Is that unrealistic? I understand the delay with the holidays, but I'm just wondering if most people get delayed because maybe the stims aren't working as they should... and if so how long is it before they correct that? what are any other possible bumps along the way? if you have any other ideas or experiences on what could delay things please let me know! really appreciate it!

tiffanyw1783

Well, my IVF journey has definitely been a long one. My RE said it would take about 8 weeks total. We started BCPs at the beginning of Sept, 2015. We didn't actually complete our first round of IVF including retrieval and transfer until April/May 2016. We delayed due to ovarian cysts, surgery, labs not looking right, follicles not growing the way they should. I actually started stims 4 different times before actually completing a cycle the 5th time! My second round was quick, probably about 7 weeks. But we didn't get to transfer b/c of endometriosis. But the actual cycle went very smoothly! We just finished a frozen cycle that took about 5-6 weeks total. Going in to all this I thought it would be quick. I've now learned to expect the unexpected and expect delays and set backs. It will teach you patience. I'm sorry you're having to go through this! Good luck! Hopefully once you start stims everything goes to plan!!

mamma1614

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to this @tiffanyw1783 and happy holidays to you. I am definitely realizing quick that there might be set backs. I just need clarification on one thing you mentioned, so you had to do like 4 other cycles of stims before you got the right size of eggs? So did you have to buy extra meds for that?? Omg, I have a lot to learn...

tiffanyw1783

My cycles kept getting cancelled because I had a huge ovarian cyst that was stopping my left ovary from producing eggs and making my Estrogen go sky high!  B/c we canceled really early each time I didn't have to buy more meds every time. Toward the end of my first cycle (once I finally got to complete it) my clinic had extra meds that they gave me that others had donated or samples they had.

LizzyLA

I had quite a few delays before starting my stim cycle but not with the actual stimming. I had my ER on 11/16 and was hoping to do the FET soon after. I am now being delayed due to scar tissue and a small fibroid on my uterus. I have remove those in order to proceed with the transfer. So close but yet so far! Now looking at a March FET.

BecauseLove

We actually went pretty fast but still more time than I expected. We had our first consult on 10/14 and had our retrieval 11/10. The holidays threw a little wrench into transfer. We are doing a FET , started meds in Dec and have transfer 1/9 if all goes well....but I intially expected we would be pupo in Dec. 

I think I wasn't prepared to have as few of viable eggs at the end. We retrieved 35+, 30 were mature enough, 16 were able to be fertilized (dh is only 31 with good sperm), only 8 survived to day 6 and out of that only 3 tested normal. 

Also see if you can possibly not fill your prescription in full...we ended up with a lot of extra meds that either we didn't use at all or ended up using in a lower dose. Probably would have saved us at least 1k plus....we paid 6k oop. That didn't inclue FET mess which I didn't realize would be pricey.

APM_SLP

I was supposed to start IVF in May of this year.  My egg retrieval didn't end up being until August! Uterine polyps, genetic testing and retesting, birth control pills, late cycles, You name it.  One thing Ive learned about IVF is never bank on anything and learn to be super flexible.  

With  that being said, make sure your office isn't giving you the run around just because it's convienent for them! 

mamma1614

Thank you @LizzyLA I hear you on the fibroid procedure, I had mine removed in April. Just so you know, This procedure was the easiest I've ever had, and I've had a bunch under my belt (c-section, hernia Surgery, polyp removal and laparoscopic surgery to remove my left tube- which was the worst one of all and I wouldn't wish it on ANYONE). It's amazing how strong we are and what we are willing to go through to have these kiddos huh? @BecauseLove it amazes me when I hear how 35 or 16 eggs or anywhere inbetween ends up filtering down to just 2 or 3 or in some cases one. I think I've heard of enough experiences to have low expectations on the number of viable embryos. I think it would be a miracle if we had two or even one, and one really good one