November IVF

steph8986

Hi Friends!
Didn't see this one started anywhere yet, so thought I'd get it going! Gearing up to start my first IVF. Meds will arrive today. Baseline Ultrasound is 10/27 and Stims start 10/29 for an approximate Nov 9 Retrieval.  I'm doing a delayed FET in January. Lots of emotions. Impatient, anxious, excited, hopeful...
Let's get some introductions going for others doing November IVF! 

@baseballhoney

Aera11

I'm guessing I'll go here but won't know for sure yet!  IVF = all the emotions @steph8986, what protocol are you doing? It all seems overwhelming at first but you'll get the hang of it & you're in good hands with so many of the ladies on here

laurad75

Hi.  I am doing donor egg IVF and we are anticipating a Nov cycle.  GL to everyone!  

steph8986

@Aera11
I'm pretty new to this, so don't really know what the protocols are, but will be starting ganirelex as coming off birth control, then Menopur/Follistim with Lovenox during stim, adding Ganirelex back in before trigger, and HCG/Lupron trigger.
Does that answer your question? haha

Aera11

Haha yes @steph8986!  It'll all make more sense once you get under way

baseballhoney

I am posting in this board too! My first IVF cycle with the same dates as @steph8986. I am exited to have a cycle buddy! I haven't actually had one before. I have done timed intercourse and IUIs before. 

steph8986

@baseballhoney This is our first IVF also. Did 3 rounds of medicated IUI's in the spring. Where are you from? I live in Montana. 

baseballhoney

We did 2 IUI's but 6 rounds of medicated times intercourse. I am from Minnesota. 

zwink1

We're doing our first round of  IVF in (probably) Nov as well. Our initial consult to set up a protocol, do initial bw, order meds, set a calendar, etc is on 10/17, so I'll know more then. GL to everyone!

steph8986

Nice to meet you @zwink1 ! I hope you fall in our month with your IVF

Just got my large box of meds on Friday. The countdown is on! Less than 4 weeks until we start now. Meds look overwhelming, but I've always had fairly high pain tolerance, so not too worried about THAT part of it. (Assuming I don't mess anything up on dosages haha). 

zwink1

Nice to meet you too @steph8986! I introed over here a while back, but mainly stuck to the IF thread on TTGP. 

emmasemm

Hi ladies!

After finishing my first IVF cycle I'm prepping for the follow up with my RE next week (12th Oct) to agree the plan for round 2 in November. My CD3 should be around 3rd November.

@steph8986 and @baseballhoney looks like you'll be a few days ahead of me

@aera11 and @laurad75 any firmer plans from you?

@laurad75 I think you're waiting for final confirmation from your donor's screening?

@zwink1 fx you get everything confirmed on 17th

In case you're on mobile and can't see my siggy I'm 39, DOR and we have been trying for 2.5 years. I live in Germany now, but originally from the U.K. and have lived all over the world including China and Orlando. I only got one egg in my first cycle and it fertilized and we transferred but sadly a BFN confirmed today. Tough, but we did initially expect to need multiple rounds so here I am!

I'm a total data and analysis nerd and have run a spreadsheet for the September group as it was impossible to keep up to date with everyone at different stages. Would be happy to do the same for us for November if you want (you can take a look in Sep IVF thread). I also have a massive decision tree for every stage of my cycle mapped out. Ok geekiness done for today!

Looking forward to supporting each other. 

I have to say the meds were the easy part for me last cycle. 
The waiting and the number of steps where you get info on progress (or lack of progress) and can't really control anything was tough.
But the toughest part was spending two weeks on progesterone in the TWW which if you normally symptom spot sends you into overdrive and can easily make you BSC! Nobody had prepared me for how tough that would be, but this time I feel I can mentally prepare better.

dragonette505

@emmasemm as long as my current cycle seems to be going, my Oct IVF will probably turn into OCT/NOV ivf (I'm also on the NOV fet group lol)
I'll know better where I fit when I finally O... If my O is late then my IVF will probably be more like NOV (since last cycle my doc didn't start my actual stimming till CD7!)
For now I'm in OCT IVF and NOV FET
I'm a huge nerd too (Last week I handed my new acupuncturist an excel spreadsheet of all of my past cycle stats and her jaw dropped)
I may lurk here till I figure out where I'm cycling

laurad75

@emmasemm I'm sorry for the BFN.  I love spreadsheets so please bring it over to Nov.

Yes, I'm waiting to get results from my donor's screening and meanwhile working with our attorney on the contract.  They said the results would take 2-3 weeks so I'm hoping for an update next week.  

I agree that the meds were also the easy part for me.  I haven't had a legit TWW where I thought I had a chance since last November so I'm mentally preparing for that being tough.  If my transfer is indeed in Nov I will likely spend my TWW decorating our apartment for Christmas.  

emmasemm

@dragonette505 is it completely selfish of me to hope you ovulate late enough that you really do join us??? Though I mean none of us needs to add having problems Oing on top of everything else! Where are you on CD now? And did you have delayed O after any other cycles? I'm "interested" to see how my AF and O run this in-between cycle. I am hoping as my RE wanted to see me as close to my planned O as possible he is hoping to get me started on priming after O... let's see!

@laurad75 Xmas decoration sounds like a great TWW distraction (though no lifting...). I will start my dissertation for my EMBA in December, I'm not sure research on top of work and TWW is the best idea but at least I will have a good excuse for being distracted from studying lol! I'm just keen to make sure I have my beta well before we go to my parents for Xmas... 

And it looks like November will be THE gif group! Actually I think @adirat should do another banking cycle with us (just for fun ;-)) as she's always on point with her gif game too!

baseballhoney

I love all the gifs! As for me, got my meds this afternoon. So much stuff! Now to just sort through it and make sure I got everything correct. 

dragonette505

@baseballhoney Last go round when I was doing my meds check, I couldn't find my one new drug because they put it in an odd wrapper with some extra menopur (my pharmacy always sends a couple vials of menopur on the side, I'm not sure why) and I legit imploded! lol I thought they had lost my 2 tiny vials of HGH (growth hormone) which cost me 800 bucks! Guuuurllls...lol
Then While on the phone with them they told me to look in that wrapper...lolol there it was!
Moral of the story... I have a terrible temper!


@emmasemm No, its not selfish! lol It would only set me back a couple week! I am currently on CD 16 I think... On a normal cycle, I O between CD 16 and 18. After IVF I dunno... I sometime O a week later! Also, last cycle, my new doc didn't start my stimming till CD7 (normally I started no later than CD3) So altogether If I O late and my new CD1 is like 10/25, I still probably wont start stimming (if she does the same thing) till 11/1. My nurse has me starting stims 10/16, but that doesn't seem very likely...

adirat

Haha thanks @emmasemm but I'm hoping I can just lurk here and enjoy the gifs while I cheer you all on!

baseballhoney

@dragonette505 I would have freaked out too. Mine were all correct thankfully. I got some menopur on the side too. I though maybe it didn't equal out to a full box. Who knows tho. I hope you are on our board. You are so full of advise, I love it. 

Aera11

@emmasemm I'm sorry for the BFN today, they're never easy  I am currently in the tww/pupo...beta is Tuesday for this previous round (it was IVF #4, worst retrieval of my four).  I have super low expectations and was bump-free pretty much for it just because I was super busy and feeling pretty down about it.  So assuming it doesn't work out, I will definitely be moving onto round #5.  I think I am willing to do 6 before I move on to donor eggs.  What protocol were you on?

@laurad75 I also agree with you both, the meds are the easiest part for me.  I'll definitely be picking your brain about the donor egg process...we're meeting with our RE to discuss it before we start round #5.  I am assuming she'll let us but I definitely want to talk to her in detail about what's involved, etc. FX you get your results next week!

@baseballhoney the first time I got my meds I was so overwhelmed, but definitely organize and go through it all I have a big basket with everything organized and it makes the stim process a bit easier.  I feel like I start to get into a stimming fog a few days in so it helps me keep it all straight!

baseballhoney

@Aera11 I'm sorry to hear this rounds didn't go well. Hopefully you get that BFP. That is such a good idea with having a big basket for the meds. I will have to do something like that after we go for our injection class. I just made sure I had the right amount and dosages of everything and kind of set them aside for the night. Didn't want to work myself up too badly. Lol

Aera11

Thanks @baseballhoney!  We had added HGH this time & I had heard it would either make a huge difference or make things worse, and I definitely ended up with the latter.  So I'd remove that from our next round since I had been gradually improving each time.
yes, don't overwhelm yourself!  It's definitely a lot, but after you have your class & know what you're doing, the basket or a bin will help  

dragonette505

@Aera11 when I was first searching about omnitrope I found quite a few forums where girls would say: this was my worst cycle! But those were their successful cycles! It's supposed to help quality not quantity. Hopefully that's the case for you!!!

Aera11

oh my gosh, funny you bring that up @dragonette505! my mom did her own research on it & that is what she kept telling me too...and I think I remember you mentioning that before when we were talking about it. out of two eggs retrieved, one fertilized and went in on day-3, so FX this is our rainbow but I am honestly not getting my hopes up because they've been sh*t on so many times during all this. I feel like I have all the signs of AF too, bad skin, oily hair, lower back aches...could be hormone side effects too I guess but unlikely. How are you holding up?  how many more retrievals do you plan to do before you do another transfer?

dragonette505

@Aera11 I was hoping to just do a fresh transfer this cycle if possible, but then my durn scheduling nurse dropped a bomb on me saying the doc saw a polyp during a water sono she did after my ER (while I was still asleep) and nobody mentioned it! She still has me on schedule to do a fresh transfer, tho so I'm hella confused!!

dragonette505

Aera11 said:

oh my gosh, funny you bring that up @dragonette505! my mom did her own research on it & that is what she kept telling me too...and I think I remember you mentioning that before when we were talking about it. out of two eggs retrieved, one fertilized and went in on day-3, so FX this is our rainbow but I am honestly not getting my hopes up because they've been sh*t on so many times during all this. I feel like I have all the signs of AF too, bad skin, oily hair, lower back aches...could be hormone side effects too I guess but unlikely. How are you holding up?  how many more retrievals do you plan to do before you do another transfer?

and ps... my cycle wasn't that spectacular
just 2 to freeze
lol

artemis618

Hello, just popping in since I plan to cycle again in November - I can’t believe it’s next month already. I’ll be 40 in days and DH is 42.5 - we’re ttc #1.  This year I’ve participated in the Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun IVF boards, took Jul/Aug off, and finally got a cycle to fit into one month in September (short protocol). This will be IVF #5 (no transfers yet) - we’re trying to bank but it’s a long process at this age/rate, so we continue.

@Aera11 Sorry this cycle wasn’t all you hoped it would be - but it’s not over till it’s over and I’m still hopeful for you.  I’ve used omnitrope on all my cycles this year and my first one I had 3 fertilize via ICSI (of 12 retrieved/7 mature) and no blasts.  I’ve been afraid not to use it because while that cycle did nothing to help our banking goal, I’m afraid it will be worse without it, but who knows?  This last cycle with a new RE I used an extra vial (3 instead of 2 over 8 days - so a third of a vial instead of a quarter each day during stims - and whatever I had left the earlier of day 9 or trigger), so the dose was a little higher (but then I only ended up stimming for 7 days instead of 9-11 as I had in the past on antagonist and luteal lupron protocols).  I’ve read of some people using up to half a vial a day.  Pricey stuff when it might not help.

Hi @laurad75!  It’s been a while - how exciting you’re getting so close!

steph8986

haha @dragonette09 @baseballhoney I also got some "Menopur on the side". Sounds like ordering at a restaurant, but instead of Ranch, it's Menopur, and costs MUCH more than a side of ranch haha. My RE's office just started using a new pharmacy (New Era) and I think they are still getting their stuff together. Told me a cost on the phone, then charged our card for an additional $1500 because they forgot to process my RX Design discount. Called and they fixed it. Then had to ask for a receipt because they didn't send one with the order. The order itself was good though. Prompt and correct. They are in Portland so much closer to me in Montana than Freedom. 
3 weeks until baseline! @baseballhoney !! Getting excited

laurad75

Nice to see you @artemis618.  Glad we are on the same board again!!

steph8986

Also, TMI Vent, but I've been bleeding on the birth control pill they've got me on for a week straight now. They say normal and won't screw anything up. Meanwhile I can't have sex during this "calm before the storm" right now Hopefully stop soon so I can enjoy these last couple weeks before we start! haha.

dragonette505

@baseballhoney @steph8986 now I'm sitting here picturing a sassy waitress asking if I want a side order of menopur!!!

baseballhoney

@steph8986 that would be awful with the bleeding. Fingers crossed it stops soon! 

And @dragonette505 that is totally what I was thinking when reading these. 

Aera11

@dragonette505 how are they just telling you about a polyp??!  wtf -- can they still proceed with your stims/treatment with it?  so the HGH didn't give us numbers but maybe QUALITY? let's hope

@artemis618 I'll be starting #5 as well...I can't believe I am already approaching 5; I feel like I was just on clomid and that was well over a year ago now.  Another omnitrope user!  It is interesting the different protocols for it.  So I used three vials as well starting on day #2 and was told to use it until it was gone...so even after my retrieval I was still using it...I found that odd but went with it.  Yeah, super pricey and that is why I am thinking I would like to do a round now without so I can compare.  It made me super hungry all the time, did you have any side effects?  My RE wouldn't have even suggested it but I did a little research and picked @dragonette505 & a few other ladies minds about it because I am 32 but I felt like egg quality was my issue and it sounded like it could have helped.

ugh I'm sorry @steph8986, hopefully it will stop or lighten up for you!

dragonette505

@Aera11 well I can still do a cycle and bank, but not sure I can transfer
ETA  I ordered 2 vials of omnitrope last cycle and used one and one shot from the second. They've only ordered one vial for me this time 

Aera11

that's good that you could still bank @dragonette505! at least you could do that instead of having to wait. has your RE talked to you about the polyp since the nurse let you know?  why did they change your omnitrope dosage?

dragonette505

@Aera11 I suspect she doesn't think it's making much of a difference? I dunno... she suggested it during our initial consultation, but by the end of the cycle she didn't even have me finish off the second vial. I guess she will stretch the one vial 

emmasemm

@dragonette505 so any sign of O yet? And any more news on the possible polyp?
I'm so far right on track with my cycle as though I hadn't take any meds, which actually makes me wonder if they really had much effect... so something else to add to my list of things to ask in our follow up on Thursday

@aera11 good luck for Tuesday! You never know if this might be the one! 
My protocol was pretty simple - just Pergoveris (instead of Gonal-F) at 225 - no suppression before, no priming. Though basically I didn't really respond and just had one large follie which we got the egg from, so we've got lots to discuss at my follow up this week.

@artemis618 welcome to the November party if you decide to do another retrieval cycle, though hopefully you have a good number after testing this time and might not even need to!

@steph8986 I also love the idea of the side order lol! Hope the bleeding has stopped so you can have some fun ;-) 

AFM just waiting for AF to leave so we can also have some fun ;-) and then prepping for the follow up on Thursday. Then Saturday I fly to China for 2 weeks and DH will join me for the second week, so hoping this will keep us nice and busy until the start of round 2!

dragonette505

@emmasemm that sounds like an awesome trip!!! I'm curious about your protocol... your level of pergoveris sounds pretty standard, but I wonder if they would be open to adding something like menopur to that.... many of us are on both gonal f or follistim AND menopur. My upcoming doses are:

Some people swear by menopur. I think not priming is fine.... sometimes priming can be too suppressive. My doc uses it in hopes of keeping all of your follicles growing together at the same rate.
AFM: I dunno.... my cycle felt so wonky this time. And I got a temp jump today even though I don't really feel like I ovulated 

So i just don't know.... maybe it goes back down tomorrow 

Aera11

@dragonette505 it looks like your dosage was higher than mine too. I'm wanting to poas tomorrow before my blood draw Tuesday...do you know if the omnitripe could turn a test positive?  I triggered 14 days ago & usually that's out of my system 10-11 days later...I didn't pee it out this time so I can't really even trust a positive now but I'm curious about the HGH.

@emmasemm I know, my *tw* last two bfps were surprises but mainly bc I was just doing Clomid & not monitoring my days as closely.  Good luck with your sit down this week!  I did that with my re after two rounds to go over a new game plan and the following round was by best one.  China will be a great distraction!  Are you going for work or fun?  We have so many trips this year for weddings/family things that it'll make navigating our IVF schedule difficult but I'm trying not to think about it too much.

dragonette505

@Aera11 nope! Omnitrope will not give a false positive.... you are good to test!!!
keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!!

Aera11

Oh phewwwwww @dragonette505!  I literally couldn't find anything online about it, just weird random things about How to Fake a Positive (wtf, who does that??) -- so I'm CD26 tomorrow and I'll be 15 days post trigger...beta is Tuesday, I'm thinking I should poas mon & tues, unless af arrives.  I need to learn how to gif on here!!