May 2018 - IVF

sunny_side

Hello Ladies! 
I would love to jump in for May IVF. It nice to see @mandurz from April and AMAZING news on your 6 mature/ fertilized. Fingers crossed for your call on Monday. I love your lucky number 4 and look forward to reading about it. 
@madasm0530 totally understandable feelings. These nurses have most likely seen it all so if they tell you not to worry, they are right ☺️. Are you taking Lupron? 

As for me, starting my 4th ivf cycle this year! This time I had 4 follicles at my day 2 visit. Previously I’ve done 75 gonal, 75 menopur and 20 lupron 2x per day. I’ve had 2 failed cycles and 1 cycle that produced 1 normal pgs tested embryo. 

Today they have me starting a new protocol with Clomid( which I’ve never taken) and then gonal F starting on day 8. 
Has anyone taken clomid? Hopefully it is minimal side efffects

madasm0530

hi @sunny_side! welcome! 
I only took clomid for 1 cycle about 100 years ago. It did not work for me, personally, and not that you'll experience this but I was a fire breathing human. no other fertility drug has affected me that way! GL!

I am not taking Lupron - just follistim and menopur right now. 

mandurz

@sunny_side I did clomid this cycle and last. It's what my Dr said was considered a "low stimulation cycle". Will you continue the clomid til trigger? What about shots, how often will you do the gonal f? 

Honestly I didn't have any major side effects with the clomid compared to just the shots. I was tired the whole time but I am sure that was just normal reaction to stimming in general.

mayflower513

Welcome @sunny_side!!

hows everyone doing??  @mich_elle are your meds all set and are you all set to start tonight??

Can anyone tell me what I should expect to feel on follistim?

sunny_side

Oh. No. Fire breathing human should totally be listed on the box if it is a side effect because that sounds intense! lol. I asked about the Lupron because i believe it is a suppression to make sure you don’t ovulate prematurely ( or get a period). They added lupron to my second and third IVF cycles. 

sunny_side

@mandurz Yep. They told me it was a low-dose protocol. At first, I objected because in my opinion -the more drugs for better results I should have... but they told me that Clomid mixed with Gonal-F may be the right combination. Apparently, it works with the pituitary gland or something in the brain. I start gonal F on day eight (150mg) and then continue it until trigger.  

mandurz

@sunny_side some Drs are actually starting to see that the more aggressive the stimming, it actually hurts the quality of the eggs. Of course not being a professional I don't know wither way but I certainly hope that in my case a lower stim helps the quality.

sunny_side

@mayflower513 we’re tou able to get your monitoring pushed to a date before 5/8? How are you feeling? 

@shalee1019 I missed your post from 4 days ago but I hope everything went well during your last US. Hopefully so and you are getting ready for Egg retrieval. It is hard when none of your friends are going through it or you know people that it worked, immediately the first time. Hang in there!

@mich_elle we’re you able to get the meds on time for a surprise 5/3 start?? I hope you were able to make it work this month!! 

mayflower513

@sunny_side kind of, I get bloodwork 5/7... I wish they were doing an us too but ill take whatever!!

hopefully this cycle works better for you!  Do you have anything frozen from your first 3 cycles?  Have you done/ are you doing a fresh transfer?

madasm0530

happy Friday! 
I had an us this morning and everything’s right on track for retrieval on Wednesday. I’m adding in ganirelix tonight

madasm0530

Mobile ate the rest of my post.. hope everyone has a great wknd 

mayflower513

That’s great @madasm0530!!  Do you have the premixed ganirelix?  How are the other shots going?

ill be on follistim for now then will add in menopur and ganirelix after 5 days i think.  I’m nervous for the first shot tonight!!

mich_elle

@prudence9-2 Yes, I got them through Freedom yesterday at 3:30pm so I was able to take the two doses of MDL the RE told me to take (4pm & 10pm). Today is my official day 1 start so the clock starts now. Thanks for your support How are you feeling?

@mayflower513 Thanks for trying to calm me down! I did just that: called, paid and they overnighted them. I was able to take the the first couple of MDL doses (& cried like a baby: scared, nervous, sad) and it wasn't that bad. Today is officially day 1 so 10 units of MDL this am along with 225 units of Follistim. Tonight, MDL & Follistim again along with 20 units of low dose HCG.

@mandurz Wow 6/6! You're so lucky! FX Monday brings more good news!

@madasm0530 I'm sorry you're worried about the spotting but I'm sure they would tell you to come in if they were truly concerned. How is it today?

Hi @sunny_side and welcome! GL in your May cycle & with the Clomid. 

mayflower513

@mich_elle yay!!  I’m so glad it worked out for you.  It’s starting!!

we aren’t supposed to drink at all while on stims, right?  I have that wedding on Saturday and a glass of wine might be nice but I figured I can’t even have one.

prudence9-2

@mich_elle good! Glad you got everything on time! Freedom are the best in that sense. You can always count on them to get the meds to you on time. 

And good luck! When is your first scan?

suziev3

@madasm0530 That's great!  Best of luck on Wed. 

@mayflower513 I'm doing my first stim shots tonight too!  I have been doing Lupron but now I'll add gonal-f and Menopur.  Totally normal to be nervous, but you will be a pro in no time.  Just do it quickly and if you are worried about pain you can numb yourself with an ice pack first.  

@mich_elle Congrats to getting your meds and starting! This process can def be stressful at times, but also exciting.  FX to speedy retrievals for all of us. 

mayflower513

Spreadsheet for those on mobile!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E9syRZY17j2PF-UgdBpU70DPPY2EplxXNHw4Trc-G4g/edit#gid=0

mayflower513

Good luck @suziev3!  Where are you in the cycle?  When is your next appt?

mich_elle

@mayflower513 Yasss! What an emotional rollercoaster! As for the drink, I don't know the answer to that! Ask your nurse I find it hard to believe that *one* glass of wine will affect anything! I was looking at the spreadsheet and we are like, hand in hand over here! Did you start your sims today???

@prudence9-2 Freedom even called me today to ensure that I was satisfied with everything and to see if I had any questions! Umm, 5 stars for them...that's so refreshing! My first scan will be Monday. What about you lady?!? How are you feeling? When's your next appt? 

@suziev3 Thank you! Yes! I'll be rooting for all my May Ladies!

mayflower513

@mich_elle yes, starting follistim tonight... in a little less than an hour!

prudence9-2

@mich_elle Yeah, freedom are great! One of the most reliable companies I've ever ordered something from. And even when they mess up the order, it's usually just the wrong number of syringes or needles and they send it.

I'm actually gonna get some more PIO from them tomorrow...

My status in spoiler:

Yesterday I had my last appt at my RE. And that's it, I graduated!!!!
Today was my first OB appt and now I'm on the "regular" pregnancies schedules..  which means my next scan will be 3 long weeks from now!!

mich_elle

@mayflower513 yay! Misery loves company, lol! GL, it's not too bad. 

@prudence9-2 loving your spoiler! Congrats and best of luck to you ❤️

mayflower513

Yay @prudence9-2!!  Congrats and good luck!!

@mich_elle it wasn’t bad!  Took me a minute to stick myself lol.  And it was kind of anticlimactic.  But... fx it’s doing it’s thing haha.

prudence9-2

Thanks @mayflower513 and good luck to you too!!!

mayflower513

How’s everyone doing??

mich_elle

@mayflower513 I'm doing ok. 5 shots/day is leaving my belly a bit black n blue. I think I nicked a nerve last night and it HURT! This morning I realized that if I stab myself quickly it hurts less! Hurrah! How are you doing? 1st scan tomorrow, right? Same as me? I'm also having a repeat SIS & an endo scratch so I'll be feeling like crap later

mayflower513

Yikes 5??  You poor thing!  I only have the 1 and it definitely is better to just jab it in!

I only have bloodwork today.  Good luck at your appt!!

retro_belle24

Hi everyone! So much to catch up on. I see that some of us have started the shots, that's great! I started on the 5th and yesterday was the first full day. I was a little nervous about the evening shots because I do 3 of them and one of them required a little mixing of powder and liquid but after watching the freedom pharmacy videos, it wasn't so bad. I've def. started the spotting this morning so that's annoying but to be expected. 

First bw is this Wednesday, I'm looking forward to what the results say

suziev3

@mayflower513 I’m on day 5 (day 4 of stims) Next US and bw will be Tomorrow. Can’t wait to see if things are moving in the right direction. Best of luck with your bw today. 
@mich_elle  I hope you are feeling ok post RE appointment. 5 shots plus endo scratch and I don’t know what “sis” is ,but that’s a lot all at once. Maybe pregnancy will seem easier for us after having been through all this! 
@retro_belle24 yay, for starting your shots!

Can’t seem to add myself to spreadsheet on mobile. 

madasm0530

@mayflower513 how is everything going with the follistim? i've always found that to be the easiest - the needles are so little!

@mich_elle my belly is a little black and blue too and oh-so bloated. what are your 5 shots/day? that's so much!

@retro_belle24 i made my H do all the mixing of the meds. he's more precise than I am. GL at your bloodwork this Wednesday. hopefully everything's looking good!

AFM, I had an ultrasound this morning and we're all set for retrieval on Wednesday. I have a total of 25 follies. I am feeling so bloated and gross - I'm really looking forward to Wednesday! The plan is day5 transfer; so next Monday! eek!!

retro_belle24

@madasm0530 GL for your retrieval! I bet you'll feel so much better in the next few days after. The bloating is one thing I'm not looking forward to. 

@mich_elle I'm sorry to hear about your black and blue tummy. I've heard that if you grab a little hunk of tummy and shoot the needle into the hunk, it helps. When I did the menopur shot last night, it actually hurt a little! I wasn't expecting that kind of pain. I feel under false pretense that it wouldn't hurt since the Lupron didn't hurt. Silly me. 

madasm0530

@retro_belle24 I thought the SAME thing about menopur. It stings a little bit 

mich_elle

@mayflower513 Thanks! Just got back from appointment and, it wasn't too bad although I think they should hand you a stiff drink or a shot to take before you do this! I'll wait for labs results to come back later today to see if I need to adjust my dosage (she's looking specifically at my estrogen level) because there's been no collie growth yet. It's only stim day 4 for me and she said that by day 6-7 I should start to see measurable growth. Wait and see, right!? When's your first scan?

GL @retro_belle24! Shots, shots, shots!

@suziev3 Today is stim day 4 for me too! ::high fives you:: GL with your appointment tomorrow & FX for a good report! So in addition to the scan & labs drawn today she did the endo scratch (suctioning tissue in uterus with pipette=OUCH!) and then a repeat SIS (saline sonogram-fill uterus with saline to look for abnormalities=OUCH!). Since I've had to have a polyp removed in the past, she anted to be sure nothing regrew since February. All clear! Now, ***if*** I get any embryos to transfer with this cycle, maybe they'll *stick* more due to the scratch. Hurry up & wait! FYI, I only read mobile anymore bc TB eats my posts otherwise! Try from a laptop? GL.

@madasm0530 Yeah, it's easy to see where previous shots have been so there's that. I'm taking 10 units MDL 2x/day, 225 units Follistim 2x/day, 20 units low dose HCG 1x/day. And, wow! 25 follies! That's amazing! GL on Wednesday!!!

retro_belle24

@mich_elle wow, you've had a busy morning! I've never heard of an endo scratch before, it sounds painful. Have you had that done before? 

mayflower513

@mich_elle you’re really getting put through the ringer!  I will found out what’s next when they call this afternoon about bloodwork - hopefully bw/us weds.  They’re looking at estrogen as well.  

@madasm0530 I’m pretty bloated/gassy and tired and have had some headaches and I’m only on day 4!!  GL on your retrieval!  25 is amazing!!

has anyone started ganirelix?  I’ve read/heard the needle is dull but also that the liquid is thicker so I’m wondering if it’s maybe not dull but just a thicker gauge?  Thoughts?  I should find out in a couple of days.

madasm0530

@mayflower513 I just finished my 3rd dose of ganirelix last night. It's definitely a different feeling than the menopur and follistm - thicker is a good way of putting it. I also swelled a little bit immediately after the injection, like a mosquito bite (a good MN analogy ), but went down about 30 minutes following.  

mayflower513

Ok so my estrogen came back at 352 (I don’t know where this falls, she just said I’m responding well) so I am reducing my follistim to 125 and adding in menopur and ganirelix all tonight then tomorrow start doing ganirelix in the am and menopur and follistim at night.  Going back weds am for bw and us!

retro_belle24

@mayflower513 that's good that you're responding well  

mayflower513

Thanks @retro_belle24

Edited because I answered my own question.

mayflower513

Well, the menopur sucks!