April IVF

munchkin02888

hello ladies I am new to this board. I am actually new to IVF. I have been on Birth control almost 21 days this Sunday will be my last day on them. I am always on time for my periods always regular only lasting 4 days every 28 days. I got my last period March 3rd. I then got it again last night. I called my nurse she said that when you start BC you could spot a little that is common but to have a full period that's not really common. I have a full period blood clots and all I told her. I was due Monday for my ultra sound and blood work but now the doctor has moved it to tomorrow morning to make sure everything is ok and check my levels. All my other test and saline ultra sound have all come back normal. Has this happened to anyone before?

daisy222-2

cmiller73 hahaha that chicken/egg story. Thanks for the laugh, cmiller73's husband.

And I hadn't thought about giving up baths! :O    I do love a hot bath. Its the only thing that can warm me up if I get cold.  I should ask my clinic what they think...

My update is that based on my estrogen levels, my "cyst" was just a giant follicle. They don't seem worried, so I am good to start meds tomorrow!   (Menopur and Gonal-F). I didn't want to get ahead of myself so I haven't learned how to take any of them yet.  The nurse over the phone just made mixing the Menopur sound really hard   There are probably videos online? Any tips about this one, or is it really self explanatory if you have directions in front of you?

This is my first round so I really don't know anything yet, and it really nice to read all of these updates about follicle counts and what you all's doctors and nurses are telling you. Thanks!

Ash_SE

@daisy222-2 it isn't that hard after the first time. It intimidated me as well. Did they send you q caps or do you have to use a needle to mix it? 

cmiller73

@daisy222-2 there are tons of videos that you can pull up and do alongside as you go through the steps (watch, pause, you do it, then hit play again styles) and honestly I did that every day of my first round.  It was comforting and actually kept me relaxed and focused when having to do them so early in the morning and also sometimes half drowsy at night! Freedom Fertility has a great MediTeach link on their site, but there are also good vids you can find thru googling your exact meds.  Remember there are lots of dosage differences, and mixing with caps vs needles so just look for your exact protocol instructions and BAM! There they are! GL!!

daisy222-2

Thank you @cmiller73 and @Ash_SE . 

I believe they did send q caps, although all meds & paraphernalia arrived jumbled in one giant box and I haven't yet figured out which accessories go with which meds. Tonight I will figure it out and find some videos. Thanks!

I have one more question for anyone who has been through this before: Did you try to plan your life so that you were always at home during the injections, or did you end up doing them on the go no problem?  I guess the meds can be left unrefrigerated for a month after opening, right? So I don't need to worry about that aspect? (am thinking of Gonal-F and Centrotide specifically). And then I guess its best to have a sharps container to put the needle right into, but ???    And once you know what you're doing, its just a <60 second thing, right? So can do it in a bathroom or a private office? 

Sorry for all the silly questions, I just feel very unqualified to be doing this! Before I did IUIs the nurse gave me a whole demo of how to use the ovidrel trigger shot... where to inject it, how to get out air bubbles, how fast to push the plunger and how to hold the syringe. And this was the most easy/minor of injections possible, lol.  And I am somehow totally on my own for all of this!  I know it will be ok, everyone else has figured it out so I will too. Thanks for listening

daisy222-2

munchkin02888, no, that has never happened to me, but it sounds odd! I hope everything is ok and it doesn't delay you getting started!

2MomsHoping

Hi Everyone,

IVF Cycle #2

Protocol:  Antagonist

Type:  Egg Retrieval, we will be doing a freeze all and sending whatever blasts we get along with two blasts from IVF#1 for PGD.

What am I doing to pass the time?  Lol my first thought was what time?  We switched REs so our pre-IVF has been a whirl whin of repeat testing, extra testing for recurrent losses, consult appointments, and embryo/sperm transfers.  I was actually shocked that things fell into place so quickly I was hoping to start sims by the end of April and found out as long as my baseline ultrasound is clear tomorrow I can start shooting up.

Look forward to being on this wild adventure with all of you!

@fivetimesnoluck

1- My significant other and I met after one of my friends picked her out off a dating site.  I was told I was horrible in picking my own matches...I guess she was right.  It wasn't love at first sight but it was calm comfort like being with someone you automatically trusted.

2-My favorite way to spend my alone time is reading, watching bad reality tv (bachelor/teen mom), and crocheting.

3-My favorite season is summer.  I love going to the beach, all the street fests, and free movies/concerts in the park

@KLake42
My wife has an awful sperm count as well :P If we don't get any luck with this stim cycle on me we are going to try out reciprocal IVF next time around.  Good luck to you both.  

2MomsHoping

@MMD1986 I'd be up for a book club 

2MomsHoping

@daisy222-2  

I'm probably going to start my sims tomorrow on friday too!  For the meds I would bring them with me sometimes.  If you are on gonal f like I am I think that one has to stay refrigerated all the time.  I used a makeup bag with two sections and kept a mini ice pack wrapped in a tea towel in one compartment and the drugs in the other also wrapped in a towel to stay cool but not frozen.  There are medicine refrigerated containers you can buy on amazon for a less bulky solution.

For the sharps I just recapped them and put them in the sharps container once I got home.  I've done fertility drugs in my office at work, in public restrooms, in the car, in friends bathrooms...I guess I just get around. 

I also second the recommendation for watching the videos for the menopur it sounds really complicated but after watching the video a couple times it seemed much easier to me.  

Good luck!!

nim81

@munchkin02888
Hi, I'm new as well and new to IVF. Yes that happened to me before when I was on birth control and when I stop the pills I had a second period. 

Update:
I had my baseline ultrasound today and everything looks good and I start my injections this Saturday. I picked up my medicine and didn't realize there's alot to take during IVF lol.

artemis618

@daisy222-2 Glad your "cyst" is not actually a cyst and that you're good to go!  Last round I had 3 shots each night (then 4 once I added the antagonist) so I just made sure I was home for them.  For me it ended up being more like a 10-minute thing each night because I'd mix the menopur then try to let it sit there mixed for 10 min to try to get it to sting less, and I'd give myself the gonal-f and Omnitrope and ice a little for the Cetrotide while that sat.

AFM, had my baseline u/s this morning and just waiting for AF to show, then will start stims on Monday assuming she shows up (I'm usually very regular but not sure if the lupron is doing anything to my cycle - well obviously it is, but if it's making me a day or so late).  But I've been down regging with lupron since last Tuesday night.  So I'm right behind you!

Praying this goes better than the last time as my ER may tentatively happen 10 days before our first one's EDD and it could make for a very rough month

EDIT:  Just as I was thinking my life's pretty boring and I'm usually home around 8pm anyway, I learned that I'll likely have to pass on birthday festivities for first night of shots (only 3 for now) Monday night. So over IVF limitations (travel, post-ER/hysteroscopy exercise & pelvic rest, being home for shots, even thinking about calcium/magnesium intake while I was on doxy...) getting in the way of...life.

munchkin02888

My doctor pushed up my blood work and ultra sound to this morning it was scheduled for Monday. Thank you 

brooklyngirl18

@Daisy22 I'm so glad the 'cyst' turned out to be a follicle. no advice on the shots, I haven't gotten there yet but good luck! 

artemis618

@laurad75 Thinking of you for ER today (if I'm not mistaken?)!  From what I recall last time you were out for the day, but please give us an update when you're up to it!

daisy222-2

2MomsHoping. I'm glad it is realistic to do things on the go. Menopur (that gets mixed) is just in the AM and currently I am just doing Gonal-F in the evenings, & the pen format seems much easier to do in my car or whatever. So I think I will be fine! Thanks for the storage idea.

@munchkin02888How did your US go today? Hopefully you are still on track.

@artemis618 That does sound like a rough month   Hopefully you can stay busy, which is hard (like your edit said) with so many limitations. I play sports (softball) twice a week at night, and I am not sure how that is going to be affected. I hadn't heard about calcium/magnesium intake limitations while on doxy, is this something your dr/nurse said or the drug insert info?

I just found out my RE is on vacation all of next week and so we can't be in any communication until the day I show up for the retrieval. I'm not sure I would need him for anything, but I wish he was around. Who will be looking at my US/blood results to see how things are going? Hmm....

Started stims this morning, I did figure everything out (thanks internet). The Menopur did sting quite a bit, and it was really hard to push the plunger in for some reason, so the actual injection seemed like it took forever. My husband was like "hurry up!!!".  Hopefully I get better at it. I'm sure anyone who has done the PIO shots is laughing at me, I have heard those are ACTUALLY rough

radmom27

I'm so jealous of everyone starting stims!  I'm so ready to just get started again.  I am at least another week or two away if all goes well.  I had a major blowout with my clinic yesterday.  They asked me to come in for day 17 Progesterone before starting my estrogen priming.  I went yesterday for the day 17 test and got a call yesterday afternoon that although my level indicated I ovulated, that my RE was out of the country so we would have to postpone.  I've been around the block with this stuff more than a few times so I told the nurse that waiting was not an option and that I wanted to talk to the doctor covering for my RE.  She then told me that there was no covering doctor and that I was out of luck.  After informing her that this was not an acceptable answer, she hung up on me!!!  I called back and after going through a few staff and nurses was able to talk to a covering dr who told me that of course, I could start my estrogen priming.  It was infuriating to me to know that if I was less informed (if it was my first time maybe) that I wouldn't have understood that if I waited until my dr returned next week, that I would have had to wait another month, and in my case I would have had to have another endometrial scratch.  
But the good news is that I started estrogen priming and am on my way!  

artemis618

@daisy222-2 and @radmom27 I wonder if all of our REs are heading to the same conference (not really because my RE will be out the week after @daisy222-2 's).  Assuming AF comes and I start stimming next week, I'll see my own doc next Friday then not till ER as well (but will see her partner for interim monitoring).  That's kind of bad they didn't tell you whom your points of contact would be though.

@daisy222-22 Congrats on starting stims!  Just having one pm shot does make t easier to do on the go.  We shall see - last time I felt okay exercising till about a week in, then my ovaries just felt...heavy, and then the risk of ovarian torsion occurred to me.  Plus, I didn't realize how tired all that stuff made me till i finally *didn't* have to give myself any shots (the day after trigger) and i felt like I had so much more energy.  Like even last week a 7-8pm tap dance class last week made me "late" for my 8pm lupron shot.  The EDD was actually my DH's birthday (and his mom and I actually have the same birthday, oddly) so trying to find something fun and distracting to do.  But fingers crossed this cycle goes better!

Re the doxy, I think it was on one of those many warning stickers on the bottle (I understand calcium/magnesium/doxy can all mess with the absorption of each other), but also I was warned to take it with food because of nausea.  But I was taking it for inflammatory cells the hysteroscopy/biopsy identified, so was on it for two weeks (of thinking about the latest I could have my yogurt since...antibiotic, then take the doxy, then my bedtime magnesium ).

Yay for priming @radmom27 but that's super annoying.  I can't believe she hung up on you - that's so rude!

daisy222-2

radmom27 that is infuriating!! I am glad you knew enough to push for what you needed. How unacceptable to hang up on you. You were not asking for anything unreasonable. But glad you are getting started again

@artemis618
Thanks for sharing. I should probably exercise while I still feel like it. And "ovarian torsion" does sound like something real and something that could happen while playing softball (swinging a bat, etc). I should probably ask a nurse.

During what periods of time were you taking the doxy? I have the prescription filled, but no one has hold me to start taking it yet. My ER is planned for 4/4 and then a 5 day fresh transfer. I've been assuming they will tell me when to start taking meds that aren't already on my calendar (and this is not), but I should not assume too much..... (as radmom above pointed out, they don't always have a clue, haha. And now its the weekend)

Thanks for helping a new person out   Hope things so smoothly for you this time around!

MMD1986

My baseline went well yesterday. My nurse said I won't start a period due to lining. So stims will start on April 3rd. 

Momifbysea

@MMD1986 I'm glad your baseline went well!

@daisy222-2 I'm super impressed at your doing the shot- extreme anxiety about the injections here, so go you!

artemis618

@daisy222-2 I think maybe because I'd been through an egg freezing cycle before (but like 4.5 years prior - when I *really* didn't know what was going on), my office didn't actually tell me anything about exercise restrictions.  Like they didn't mention (and I didn't ask about) any exercise limitation during stims or not exercising for two weeks post-ER, so I unexpectedly had to move my ski trip from last month to this month.  But I think different offices say different things about exercise and pelvic rest during stims/post-ER.

i haven't taken (and wasn't taking) the doxy as part of egg retrieval/IVF.  I had a two week course to address the "inflammatory cells" (PID?  Who knows?) from my 2/23 hysteroscopy and biopsy.  I just sort of (maybe mistakenly) assumed they put something in my IV for the risk of infection from ER? I've never had an ET (we *TW* got pregnant naturally the month after we got married last year, but haven't tried since because we decided to go the IVF route for the prospect of PGS testing to try to reduce the chances of another loss).  Last round I wasn't as open to a transfer 'cause the goal was to hopefully get something to test, freeze, and bank, and I figured I should at least do the two ERs my insurance covers.  But since it's not looking likely we'll ever get that far (and this is 2 of the 2 insurance-covered), I'd opt to put whatever we've got left back in ASAP this time (so the hysteroscopy--> doxy was to get my ute in tip top shape so that we're ready for a transfer this time).  

I think I've maybe read about people starting the doxy the day of egg retrieval, but ask your doc's office.  My ER is tentatively scheduled for several days after yours, 4/7-8ish, if AF comes this weekend (I am totally blaming the lupron for her tardiness).

Thanks for the well wishes - hope you're enjoying your weekend!

nim81

@daisy222-2
The IVF coordinator gave me a calendar and we (husband and i) have to take Doxycycline for 10 days. I think I started the doxy on my cycle day 17. Good luck with everyone!

Momifbysea

I emailed my clinic because doxycycline was on the meds list but not in my pharmacy bundle that arrived. The nurse said they used to use doxy but now switched to Augmentin (both DH and I take it for 7 days). He took his this past week while I did the dreaded Flagyl and I start mine this morning. They had advised that I could split up my two antibiotics between two weeks to go easier on my stomach. Hoping the Augmentin won't give me the GI issues that the Flagyl did. Anyway, I guess they give us this to really clean us out and make sure there's nothing bacterial that would potentially hurt our outcome.

kiwisun4385

IVF cycle # -  1 (Previously did 4 rounds of IUI letrozole), technically they are saying this cycle is an IUI with injectables, but we are going in strong with the injectables and hoping to switch to an IVF cycle if my body reponds well.

Protocol - I am on day 5 of stims, using gonal f & menopur ( I mix them together in the PM) and will start taking Cetrotide tomorrow morning.  I have an Ultrasound & bloodwork tomorrow morning also.  

what are you doing to pass the time?? - Oh just trying to read some of these posts to educate myself, watching random shows on Netflix, and also reading!

cmiller73

@kiwisun4385 Welcome!

munchkin02888

Blood work and ultra sound came back normal. Stopped BC and start Follistim Thursday and then ultra sound and blood work again next Monday. 

cmiller73

Ugh, just a quick venting.

 I'm testing for surge and now I am on day 14 of my prep cycle and NOTHIN. UGH. Any other ladies gone immediately into another retrieval cycle and experienced a quick AF but a longer time to LH surge?

rainbowwishes5

@cmiller73 not as of yet but man that's super frustrating!!! 

Ash_SE

That is my fear with doing a FET. That my cycle or lining all of a sudden will get wacky! Hugs 

Ash_SE

AFM, I just did trigger. ER is Tuesday morning. Today on U/S I had 7 follies all 18.5-21 and another 9 bigger than 15. I didn't get my estrogen number but the day before was 2000 so I'm guessing higher than that. Tommorrow will decide if I'm doing PGS and FET or a fresh transfer ( if we get any day 5 at all). It all depends on insurance and number of blasts. I'm trying to get the straight answer. The doctor also think I have immune issues and am doing that protocol so PGS might not solve our issues. I was having ectopic and CPs ( with betas that got lower and lower with each CP over the years- like my body was doing a better job each time of killing it off). 

laurad75

@artemis618 Thank you for thinking of me.  I took a wknd break from TB to focus on something else for a couple of days.  They retrieved 2 eggs and 1 fertilized.  By the end of the week I should learn if the embryo makes it day 6 and then it will be frozen and PGS tested.   

@ash_SE GL tomorrow! 

fivetimesnoluck

Good afternoon, ladies! I am excited to read of so much progress for you all!

As for me, DH and I made the official request for our egg donor on Friday, so it's getting real! We are using frozen eggs from an anonymous donor and chose her based on a few basic qualifications. Once we make the actual payment tomorrow, I will arrange for the shipment to be transferred to my clinic for storage until transfer day.

My next CD 1 should be April 6 or 7, and that's when I will start my protocol. Since I didn't go through retrieval, it's a little different than most of you, but includes estrace, baby aspirin, doxycycline, a steroid (medrol), and progesterone. I expect transfer to happen at end of April (probably the 26th or 27th).

I am anxious as anything.... really hopeful that we have enough good quality blasts to go ahead and put two back.

Have you all already made decisions on how many embryos you will transfer?

Keeping you all in my thoughts!

Momifbysea

@fivetimesnoluck how exciting! I think we will transfer just one, of course, assuming we get one PGS normal. I understand being anxious, it's really getting real!

KLake42

@fivetimesnoluck- I'm excited for you! We might move to donor eggs at some point--it's so encouraging how high the success statistics are!

I had my baseline this morning, and I'm just waiting for the phone call about my blood work to know that I start estrogen tomorrow, for a fresh transfer.  My wife's baseline is Thursday, so she should start stims on Friday.  Then it gets really real for her!  It's her first time having her body involved in a fertility effort (we almost started in Jan, but cancelled when she wasn't fully suppressed), and I know she's both excited and scared. 

I just...  I'm so ready to stop worrying about getting pregnant, and start worrying about staying pregnant, and birth, and all the stuff to worry about after that.  This has been a long two years.

edited for formatting

Aera11

That is so exciting @fivetimesnoluck!!

AFM.....I'm CD10 and today my estradiol dropped a little.  I added in cetrotide last night so I know that can effect the estradiol level but it still makes me nervous.  My numbers rose so much more last time.  Have any of you had this happen and not had your IVF cycle cancelled? I'm trying to not over think and stess out about it but now I'm getting worried they'll cancel this cycle.

artemis618

@cmiller73 Sorry you're body's not cooperating the way you'd like it to at the moment.  So much of this is waiting and it's the worst.  I just yesterday got AF four days late - just in time for me to start stims tonight.  My last ER (for first IVF) was 2/2, and i started BC on CD3 again planning on another antagonist cycle, but then only stayed on it for a week to maintain visibility for a hysteroscopy.  Since I switched protocols to luteal lupron, I had to wait to ovulate and somehow (if you count hysteroscopy/day after last OCP as CD1) still managed to ovulate on CD14 - so no delay there for me, but maybe the lupron made AF late as I've never had a cycle that long.  Hope your surge comes soon!

@Ash_SE GL tomorrow!

@laurad75. Thinking positive thoughts for your embaby!

@fivetimesnoluck Congrats on making the official request - that's really exciting!  AFM, I'm hoping to get...something to transfer this time.  I wasn't as open to a transfer last time since I wanted to get through the two IVF cycles my insurance covers and the whole point of our going straight to IVF was for PGS, but if it's again looking like our embryos just don't like the petri dish, I'll put back whatver they'll let me ASAP.

brooklyngirl18

@fivetimesnoluck good luck!!!

kiwisun4385

I had an appointment today, the ultrasound tech said I had a ton of follicles - she measured about 10 good sized ones on each side but said she'd be there all day if she measured all of them.  I started Cetrotide today, and go back on Wednesday.  Estimated egg retrieval will be Saturday.. it's getting real now! Excited and nervous at the same time.  

daisy222-2

Hope everyone is doing well. I am tired   I've added in centrotide now as of tonight, and after my first injection, it made the injection site VERY itchy. Anyone else  experienced this? This wasn't mentioned as a side-effect in the enclosed drug information, but probably isn't too big of a deal.

I asked about doxy after we were talking about it here over the weekend, and turns out they just forgot to tell me to take it. Grrrr. On my calendar, when I started BCP several weeks back it says "husband begin doxycycline" and apparently I was supposed to interpret that as "husband and patient begin doxycycline", b/c I am a psychic.  It doesn't sound like its a big deal that I didn't take it, but these sort of small miscommunications happen just frequently enough w/ my clinic that I get worried they will forget to tell me something that actually matters

kiwisun4385 Yay that is so exciting! Those are so many follicles!

fivetimesnoluck woohoo congrats on having a donor! That is exciting! Sending you good thoughts! To answer your question, I think we are going to go w/ two, assuming this is possible.

KLake42 Good luck! Sounds like you have been doing a LOT of waiting and are now super close. So much annoying waiting in this process.

Ash_SE I hope everything goes well tomorrow! Do you now know if fresh or FET?

Ash_SE

@daisy222-2 I got confirmation that it won't count as two attempts so I'm doing PGS and FET. Thanks! Waiting for the doors to open at 7 now! Due to crazy DC traffic we got here 30 mins early!