Anyone doing IVF in July/August?

helloworld9

For those of you following my mom drama, I felt so unwell after ER that I decided to cancel the trip. I was dreading the phone call I made to my mom this morning, and I told her I had pretty bad period cramps with diarrhea. She said that's ok and we chatted for a bit. Dodged a bullet! She's still going on the trip. I felt pretty bad but I'm just not ready to tell her about IVF. So many people think negatively about it.

I went back to the clinic this morning because I seriously thought I had OHSS. The doctor on staff there looked at the ultrasound and said that everything looked fine for someone my size and the number of eggs retrieved. He said the bloat can persist for 2 weeks post ER. I was like, are you kidding me. I felt so physically bad!

Our fertilization report came in. 15 mature, 10 fertilized. Now for how many make it to blast...

@Dwmmwd - My husband and I both drive Hondas. We love our cars. Congrats!

@Irisheyes81 - Yup I didn't realize just how hard ER hit me. I've read stories that goes both ways. Some women are up and about the very next day, others end up in the hospital.

@baker+RN - Good luck on ER!

@quinnf2017 - My over obsession has completely taken over my TTC. It's depressing. But we women can't help it.

@Holls214 - Yay for FET!

@sleepyrn - Hello! That's exciting. I hope this yields great results!

AlohaKumu

@helloworld9 As much as I know that you didn't want to tell your mom anything and/or have to cancel the trip, I am relieved that you made the decision to rest with those symptoms. That's fantastic that you got 20 eggs and I hope you start to feel better soon.

Holls214

@helloworld9 yes unfortunately the bloat does last a while when you produce a lot of eggs. My bloat lasted 1 1/2 weeks and I ended up with Moderate OHSS. Just make sure to drink a lot of electrolytes. Get some rest. Looking forward to your updates! 

funkykey

@helloworld9 - great news! Not about the OHS symptoms, but that you got so many and so many have fertilized!! Also great that your mom took it ok!

I haven't been feeling so bad but I've taken it really really easy. 20 eggs is a LOT too- a lot more than I had! - so maybe your ovaries need extra rest. Good for you for checking up on it and I hope you feel better soon! 

p2007

So much activity! I have been away because my mum was visiting, which was nice because I didn't have time to obsess about IF.

@helloworld9 20 eggs! That's great news! Take care of yourself and drink lots of electrolytes. 

@funkykey that's a great number! 

@quinnf2017 Welcome! I just gave up on trying not to obsess, ha ha

@Bababatty I was told no running but that I could bike. I commute to work and I think I will continue to do so as long as I feel ok.  

@baker+RN good luck on ER day! 

AFM - On Thursday I got my suppression check and my cyst was smaller (1cm). The hormones were fine so they let me go ahead. I started dexamethasone on friday and stims on saturday. I just returned from blood work check and I am now waiting to see if everything is going according to plan.

helloworld9

AlohaKumu, Holls214, funkykey, p2007 - Thanks everyone! The recovery has been tough for me. I don't know how people do multiple IVFs! I think I'm just chicken. This is definitely a journey.

baker+RN

Just got home from ER - retrieved 16 eggs. Still a little loopy, hubs popped out to the store to get my norco and some pads, and I'm curled up with my heating pad and kindle (reading Harry Potter). Peeing hurts my right ovary but I peed! Resting today, awaiting the cal from the lab tomorrow to find out how many eggs fertilized.

baker+RN

@helloworld9 I don't think you're a chicken - 20 eggs is quite a bit to recover from!

@p2007 great news about your cyst! Hope everything is smooth sailing from here on out for you!

helloworld9

@baker+RN - Wow that's a lot of eggs! My husband got my Norco the day of ER but I have been too afraid to take any. I've had bad experiences with hydrocodone (severe nausea and passing out), so I took about a dozen Advil instead. Peeing hurts! Although, not as much as UTI peeing (UTIs are horrific for me), but still. It really hurts the abs.

funkykey

@helloworld9 - no, for real, I don't think you are a chicken. It's just anecdotal, but a couple of the women who I've talked to who end up with 3-4 eggs are like: "after retrieval I felt fine!", whereas the ones with much larger counts seem to be more affected, barring any ovarian conditions. I think it makes sense - like, emotionally, getting 3-4 eggs would be really tough, but physically, more than 15 would take a LOT out of you. I hope you are being really kind to yourself!

@baker+RN - congratulations! Rest up!

AFM: So far, our little embryos seem to be doing fine. We'll know for sure how things are on Thursday - they said they'll start counting them on Wednesday, but if some are promising and look like they need more time, we'll wait. I'm expecting to lose some, but I'm optimistic that we'll have a couple make it to blast!

dragonette505

Wow... so much to catch up on! Congrats to all of the ER's! Hoping your fert reports are great!!

megmac2010

Hi everyone! Happy to hear that some of you are retrieving lots of eggs! Fingers crossed for all of you!

I'm on a long protocol, and today was my down regulation check. I am officially down regulated and ready to get started! I start stims on Thursday. I feel like it's already been a crazy long cycle. I can't wait to get started. I'll be on 150iu of Gonal-F and 150iu of Menopur, but those doses seem low to me. Fingers crossed for lots of follicles!!

allycheer00

I had friends in town over the weekend so I've been away. It's really great to see all these big numbers!  I hope all of you get tons of embabies and you start feeling better soon.

Welcome @quinnf2017 and @sleepyrn

@dwmmwd A new car is a great little distraction through this process! Something shiny lol.

AFM, I'm on day 10 of stims and it looks like I may have 2 to 3 more days. My Gonal-F was increased again so I had to order more. Grrrr! I knew I was going to be a slow grower but I guess it could be worse. I have 12 follies between 16 and 9mm so good that they're relatively close in size.  Now to daily monitoring from here until trigger.

Holls214

Hooray for all these great ER's. Peeing definitely hurt afterwards... it goes away for some days. Get some rest and relaxation! Good luck with the stims @allycheer00. Sounds like things are progressing! 

baker+RN

@helloworld9 I've had the same issues with Percocet before after jaw surgery (or it could've been delayed reaction to versed anesthesia), and puking after jaw surgery is the pits! So the anesthesiologist today gave me zofran, reglan and phenergan IV - covering all his bases lol. I just took one norco and I plan on taking it sparingly because it does make me retain urine, plus I hate how awful I feel coming off of it when taken around the clock. So, trying for balance. 

@megmac2010 someone had posted a page back that they'd found something detailing what hormone levels should be, expected ranges during stims. Maybe they could post a link? Was it @allycheer00? I can't remember!

@allycheer00 I also ordered extra gonal-f for slow to rise e2 - but slow to rise is better than rising too fast. I have 2 extra pens now ugh. Btw - there is more than 300IU in each pen, my Pharmacy and nurse told me. They're purposefully slightly overfilled so even after you've given yourself the total 300IU from the pen, dial up your scheduled dose and see if you get any extra out of it before throwing it away. It's like $1/IU!

helloworld9

@funkykey - Thanks! The only person I know IRL who did ER was a friend who did egg freezing and she had 5 frozen. She told me she went back to work the next day so I was like oh that's not too bad haha. Ugh I was so wrong to think that way. I really hope you get a lot to blast!

@dragonette505 @Holls214 - Thank you! I really hope everyone has great blasts.

@megmac2010 - The stims are going to fly by before you know it. I too was on 150 menoput and 150 gonal f, for 12 days. I don't think those are low doses at all! I felt really full and bloated come ER.

@allycheer00 - Gonal f is so expensive! That sucks. But hopefully you get a lot of eggs! I used up 2 900 vials but still had some overfill left in them (maybe like 100 in each?)

@baker+RN - I had local anesthesia for my wisdom teeth removal and that was the one time I used hydrocodone after (it really hurt). But I ended up passed out on my bathroom floor not too long after. It was surreal.

baker+RN

@helloworld9 yikes! Well maybe some Tylenol #3 instead? I've been told to avoid NSAIDs (ibuprofen, aleve, Advil, Motrin) because it can thin out the uterine lining. 

helloworld9

@baker+RN - I guess since I'm not doing a fresh transfer, they told me ibuprofen was fine. Are you doing a fresh transfer?

baker+RN

@helloworld9 ah. Yes we are doing a fresh transfer

gfgrump

Hey Ladies,
Lots of activity since I was last on. Been busy dealing with running errands and making jeans the past couple days.
@baker+RN great news on the numbers.  Take care of yourself.  Try some tylenol.  I've never done well with pain killers either.
 
@allycheer00 sorry about having to order more meds. But after my cycle was nearly cancelled last time, I think anytime things are still moving along in a positive direction, that's success.  At least they're all growing together. That's great.

@megmac2010 I'm also on 150 of the menopur.  And I think around that of follistim, so seems normal to me. My husband handles the meds, so I actually can't even recall how much at the moment.  I just know it all hurts.

@helloworld9 I really think it's like everything else with this whole process. Everyone is different- different amounts of meds, different responses, etc. So I think how people respond will be different.  My last ER was super easy, but who knows next time.

AFM, another monitoring appt tomorrow. Hoping those follies have grown.  Oh and I finished my jeans. But I'm really annoyed with myself bc I did a nice job on them but managed to put a hole in the front. So I'm making another pair.  But for a little non-ivf distraction, here's a picture.

baker+RN

@Dwmmwd that's awesome! Yep, I'm sticking to 1000mg tylenol every 6, unless it gets to be too much. So far so good. Heating pad too. Peeing and sneezing are the worst, honestly. Though I haven't gone #2 yet haha! 

Bababatty

Hi ladies, lots happening while I've been away for the weekend!  

@funkeykey Hooray for such a fantastic retrieval and fertilization!  FX for lots of blasts!  Hopefully all this good news will help the time pass quickly while you sort out that polyp.

@helloworld9 Congratulations! 20?! Amazing!  I am really, really sorry that you're having such a hard time recovering.  It sounds like it was good that you cancelled the trip, and I'm so glad your mom was cool with it and didn't pry.  Phew!  Hoping to hear good things about blasts!

Welcome @quinnf2017!  I think I'll be just a few days behind you in the stimming.  Good luck!

Welcome @sleepyrn!  Good luck!

@p2007 Glad to hear about the cyst and that you were able to start this weekend!

@baker+RN Huzzah for 16 eggs!  I love your idea of curling up on the couch with a heating pad and Harry Potter.  I think I'll do the exact same thing.

@megmac2010 I have my meds written down at home, but I think those sound like similar doses to what my RE intends.  As I recall--this was now about a month ago, so I could be wrong or just making this up--I think the nurse said they'd do a lower dose because I don't have any known egg problems and responded well during IUIs.  Perhaps it's the same for you?

@allycheer00 Bah to the slow growing and shelling out more money for Gonal-F.  Great news about the number of follies you're growing, though!

@Dwmmwd You made those jeans yourself?  I am so impressed!  I'd really love to learn how to sew.

AFM IVF training class on Thursday and then I'm about 90% certain we'll start our IVF cycle this weekend.  I've really enjoyed this month break, but I'm actually getting excited to start the cycle.  Probably the first time in two years I've been happy for AF to come--although she'll hold off until at least Friday if she knows what's good for her.  

baker+RN

@Bababatty Thank you! What are the training classes? My clinic sent me to a video tutorial site for stims shots, but I wanted more info than it provided. Probably due to being a nurse, but I was kind of annoyed that they were just like "take this med at this time this way," and didn't explain what it was, what it's purpose was, expected effects and how it worked, and possible adverse side effects to look out for. It was like pulling teeth to get that info - and I'm still not 100% crystal clear on what I took or why. They don't teach IF drugs in nursing school, so this was all a bit foreign for me, I can only imagine if I didn't know what I do know. Bottom line: I wish my clinic offered an IVF class!!! I'm excited for you to start your cycle and hope AF can wait til Friday for you!

AFM- Got the call from the lab today with an update. Update: of the 16 eggs collected yesterday, 15 were mature and underwent ICSI. Of the 15, 7 fertilized to 2pn stage today. Hoping they can all make it to blast stage so we can do PGS testing, at which point I think it would be a frozen transfer? I was thinking it was fresh but I don't think that's possible with PGS turn around time. 7 is less than ideal, but it's a lot more than we expected going into this, considering we didn't even know if DH had sperm in the first place. So trying to stay positive! DH is starting to allow himself to feel hopeful and excited (if you recall, he tends to be more pragmatic, cautious), and was searching videos on how to introduce your cats to a new baby  

Holls214

@baker+RN fingers crossed for you! I know my PGS testing took over a week. We weren't going to do a fresh transfer anyways but I think with the testing you have to do a frozen but I'm not sure. 7 is a good number! 

funkykey

@Bababatty - gah!!! So excited for you!!!

@Dwmmwd - the jeans look great! So cool!

@baker+RN - that is awesome news! FX for blast and PGS testing! Also, super cute re: the cat videos. That's adorable!

@megmac2010 - excited for you to get started!

@allycheer00 - how are you doing?

helloworld9

@baker+RN - 7 is a great number! Hopefully a lot make it to blast.

baker+RN

Yep, it'll be a FET if we can get more than one embaby to blast stage for PGS. While FET looks to be ideal in terms of pregnancy rates over fresh, it would be way more convenient if it were a fresh transfer this week instead!! I have a flight from west coast to east coast at the end of September when the FET probably would be (AF depending). Argh. So many options. Well, so many *potential* options. Let's see what these embabies do first. 

Edited for clarity

[Deleted User]

Hoping to hear more great reports from everyone in the next few days!!! ❤

We've got two days and two sleeps till DHs retrieval Friday morning, and I'm just WFAF to time my CD3 testing.  Sigh.  Just mildly annoying not knowing for sure when AF is going to show.  If I get spotting today and she comes tomorrow, I could <i>maybe</i> get CD2 labs when I bring over his samples Friday morning... or got back for CD3 Saturday... or else if she takes another day or two and CD1 isn't till Friday or Saturday then I guess it'll be Monday for CD3 or CD4.  Gahh.  I dunno why I just find that uncertainty so annoying.  One more stupid thing to obsess about...  fx going into work will help the day pass faster and not dwell on everything too much!

dragonette505

@BusinessWife That's so exciting!

baker+RN

@BusinessWife how exciting! I'm not good with uncertainties, either, or waiting lol so I feel for you! 

Bababatty

@baker+RN Congratulations on 7!  FX for good turnout on the blasts and good PGS results.  Also fantastic that you were able to get so many with the unknowns about your H's sperm.  I'm happy for you!  Re: the training class, my understanding is that it's precisely what you said you wished you had.  I think it's an opportunity to learn about the medications, how to administer them, what they're used for, etc.  It's four hours long, so I hope they're covering a lot!  I'll let you know when it's over.

@BusinessWife Exciting!  I hope AF times herself well and conveniently, and you get good results from your H's retrieval on Friday.  

baker+RN

@Bababatty Thanks! Wow, sounds like your clinic has a system down! Good luck, I hope you learn lots!

Update from embryologist: all 7 embabies are still cookin' as expected! Plan to culture out to blast stage, with tentative day 5 transfer on Saturday (unless >1 looks good to freeze, in which case we will do PGS and FET in September)

Still sore today, every step seems to shake my ovaries and whatever fluid is left in my abdomen. Someone in my local FB IF group mentioned something that hadn't occurred to me yet - If we don't do a fresh transfer, and I end up stopping hormones, then all this plump, fluffy hormone-induced uterine lining still has to be shed Sooo that being said, I'm saving up the rest of my narcotics for if/when AF comes because that's going to be a MONSTER to pass  My cramps are usually bad to begin with, I don't want to think about how awful these could be!.... 

How's everyone else doing today?

marioana99

Back, I took a break from the forum because I want to think as little  as possible about IVF. I was at my day 5 us this morning, got 6 follicles, only 2 measurable at 5mm. At the day 3 us there was nothing measurable... It looks like the last cycle is repeating, and i am so afraid I will ovulate on my own again...

baker+RN

@marioana99 I'm sorry it sounds like you're having a rough time. I hope the break helped your head space a little. This can get so all-consuming. Did your doc say they'd try something different/tweak something this time to try and prevent a repeat? FX that your follicles wake up soon for you!

marioana99

@baker+RN
Last cycle I was on half a dose of Ganirelix and I ovulated a few hours before retrieval. They triggered because my LH started rising although they would have wanted another day or two of stims. 
This time I started with half a dose for the first 5 days and today I am supposed to increase it to a full dose.
Theoretically it should be ok, but this protocol is long, first 7 days I was only on estrogen and ganirelix, then added the stims and I am already mid -cycle (theoretically if it would have been a normal cycle I was ovulating today) so until I get to day 12 of stims I will be a week after my normal ovulation and I am afraid even a full dose of Ganirelix won't stop the LH...

baker+RN

@marioana99 I wonder why only half a dose of ganirellix?

marioana99

@baker+RN
The protocol start at the premises that DOR patients have a higher that normal LH in their system from the beginning of the cycle which can damage the eggs. So you start half a dose of Ganirelix on the first day of cycle and I think they thought it was enough to suppress the surge...

p2007

@baker+RN I hope that those embabies keep growing! 

@BusinessWife Good luck with the retrieval. What I have found is that with the treatments it is impossible to make any plans. 

@Dwmmwd I can't believe you made those jeans!!!

Had a day 5 check up today. Things are moving slowly. There were 7 or 8 follicles, all still pretty small. 

Hopeful_mom

HI Ladies,

Seems like a busy summer in IVF land lots of familiar names and some new ones glad to see so many of you having success!  Congrats on the great ER, good luck to those stemming and hoping everyone get nice normal blasts that will become our take home miracle babies!!  Many of us here have many obstacles and I agree you have to be very strong to make it through this process.  I guess I'm still *lurking* as I'm not sure my body is ready for another cycle of IVF but we shall see if I'm a go this weekend when I go in for monitoring. 

funkykey congrats on ur numbers hoping another great report is coming your way!!  you're getting close lady!  I'm sorry you'll be delayed but we know this process always throws us curveballs    As long as we become bump buddies then its all good

@BusinessWife I'm still playing catch up but glad to see you are in it - wishing you all the best!!  Looks like you're making some great progress!

Looking forward to seeing more great updates from you all!  Sparkling baby dust to everyone!

funkykey

OMG guys, the wait between day 5 and day 6 is not a joke!

Yesterday was day 5 for our embryos, and we got a call that only one had made it to blast. Because we had 9 embryos at day 3, I was crushed. The lab said they'd watch the others, who had developed but more slowly, overnight, but that sometimes when they're growing slowly, it's because they're starting to shut down.

Up until day 3, the embryo development is largely determined by the oocyte, and after day 3 sperm quality plays more of a role, so I (of course) started reading up heavily on all the things that could possibly be wrong with my husband's semen that would explain why 8 of our embryos hadn't made it, and decided that he was going to need to make some serious lifestyle changes, even though he exercises regularly and kind of watches his weight and eats vegetables every day (except he smokes, so I was like: "that is the culprit!)... Basically, I completely panicked, and was convinced that the worst had happened. 

I woke up every 2 hours last night, I was so anxious, and just prayed that at least one more embryo would make it to blast. Like, just one. I haven't prayed in years, I'm not even that religious. It just felt like it was the only thing I could do.

Then they called this morning, day 6, and 3 of the other embryos pulled through overnight and made it to blast, and I just felt like: "Thank God." 

So, we have 4 blastocysts on ice, and I feel such a profound sense of relief and just so extremely thankful. Thanks especially to @Irisheyes81 who was a huge support to me yesterday afternoon when I was freaking out - I like to think that your prayers made a difference!!! Thank you so much!!!!

(ps. posted a version of this update on this weeks T-TTC thread too.)