July 2018 FET

kristimh80

@suziev3 Awesome!! Mine is on July 10th. My doctor usually does around 21 day transfers, so maybe yours is similar :-)

@ChristenMA83 Can't wait to hear what your doctor says! Your meds sound so interesting! 

Momifbysea

Regarding the baby aspirin, my RE told me it's to increase blood flow to the uterus. I've been on it as part of every ER regimen and now am on it all through FET and even after that, at least until hcg results are known.

If anyone is looking for a more naturopathic approach that would work similarly, I've taken red raspberry leaf tea, which I read has been used by Native Americans historically for their cycles. I've used it in between when I'm on the aspirin, but haven't done it with the aspirin because I was afraid of getting a double effect so didn't want to overdo anything if that makes sense.

Momifbysea

@leilee101 thanks for those words, they were perfect, I just need to trust, and that's what I told my RE on the phone - in the end, I needed to feel I had an honest conversation with him but he's the doctor, and if he thinks I don't need it then I will go with that. I'm feeling better about the whole thing.

@suziev3 that's great news about your bloodwork! We will be close with our FET dates as I'm 7/12. A bunch of us are midmonth! I'm glad to hear your dr said the jury was still out on the ERA because that's in line with mine saying there were high hopes for the test but they just haven't shown much yet in terms of the percentage of women that they actually help.

@ChristenMA83 that's a good idea about the cute pill case. I have taken my calendar from the clinic and color coded it with colored pencils and then do colored checkmarks throughout the day and that is helping my brain to remember since I keep it on my desk (I work from home).

Edited to add pic of how I track my meds.

kristimh80

@Momifbysea Are you on a lot of meds? They only have me on 2, besides the aspirin I decided to add in. Otherwise, I have alarms on my phone for timing

suziev3

Tetenative transfer July 11!  Of course, the first day of my work partner’s two week vacation. On the plus side I’ll be super distracted during TWW?

ndz2018

@suziev3 Awesome you got your date!!! And yeah that is a GREAT TWW distraction!

Now I'm thinking about add baby aspirin in too! lol So you take it till you get a BFP? or stop after Transfer?

kristimh80

@suziev3 Awesome...you're a day after me now. Are you taking any time off after transfer? I cleared my schedule for the days following.

@ndz2018 Yes, I read some doctors have you take it until 12 weeks like progesterone. It's such a low dose, so I added it and not feeling guilty since you can take tylenol during things

Momifbysea

@ndz2018 yes on the aspirin until BFP (at least that long per my calendar, who knows maybe my RE will say for the 12 weeks?)

@kristimh80 not too many meds, but the calendar I attached was the one the clinic gave me just like they did one for my ER's. All I did was color it in to help me keep track. So I take Estrace 3x a day, baby aspirin (1 - 81mg), 4000 IU vitamin D, prenatals, and then of course the PIO shots starting 6 days from FET. You're making me wonder if I should take some time off work after FET too, hmm. Do doctors say to rest or is it okay to still be active? I don't mean working out (can't remember the last time I did that, haha) but like regular around the house/shopping like kind of stuff?

kristimh80

@Momifbysea My doctor tells me nothing the day of and very light activity the day after. My girlfriends doctor has her on bed rest a few days, so guess depends on the doctor. I've read studies that contradict that saying you don't need it, but I'm planning to be as lazy as possible since it's my last shot and don't want to wonder "what if".

J1006

@Momifbysea love the calendar!  I input everything into my phone so I get reminders when to take/inject everything. I just check it off as I go. 

In in terms of rest after FET, my clinic told me to rest the day of. My nurse said not to cook or do any house work, just bum around on the couch. After that they put me on what they call “light duty” until my beta. No lifting over 10 pounds, no bending, no twisting, no alcohol, no sex, and nothing to increase my core temp (no vigorous exercise and no heating pads on my abdominal area)....I think that was it. I went back to work the next day. 

Momifbysea

@kristimh80 good to know. I will have my transfer in the morning and then will have a car ride several hours back to the state we live in, so hopefully that long car ride is okay? 

kristimh80

@Momifbysea Sure that's fine. If they give you Valium, you'll probably be napping anyways!

@J1006 That's pretty much what I was told too! The one time in life we are told to be lazy!

Momifbysea

@kristimh80 yes, I will take a valium that morning as well as a Prometrium vaginally - I just read that and don't know what that one is yet. Anyway, lazy sounds lovely!

@J1006 good to know. I'll have DH tip the car seat back so I can not bend too much. 

kristimh80

@Momifbysea Prometrium is progesterone. I took those years ago when my OB prescribed it. I remember coming home last time and passing out for a couple hours because was so groggy. 

becca07024411

Hi, I hope you guys don't mind if i join the July FET party (late).  I just tried to catch up on all the elevn pages of comments, omg.  I am guessing our transfer will fall sometime at the end of July or early August.  I won't know any specific dates until CD1, which I am guessing will be next Tuesday.  We had our 2nd ER last Wedneday, so are just to get this party started again!  We did our first ER with an FET in April (I lurked April FET group and still do, but never joined since I found the group too late.  I see several familiar names from there).  For now we are just waiting to get PGS results sometime the end of next week and hoping for good results since we didn't do PGS last round.  Last protocol we did estrace, doxy, prednisone, and PIO.  This cycle my RE wants to add in the failed transfer protocol that includes an endo scratch, some antihistamine, and something else.  Also I had some anticoagulant antibody bloodwork come back borderline so he wants to add in aspirin.  He said if it were to have come back positive they would have added heparin injections.

ChristenMA83

For FET rest our clinic says no bed rest.  Just "pelvic rest" and no lifting, but other than that encouraged me to go about life as normal.  I'll be taking the day of transfer off but returning to work the next day.

kristimh80

@becca7024411 Welcome!! Wish you had said hello in April! The July FET spreadsheet is in my signature if you'd like to add yourself to it Best of luck with your pgs testing!

ndz2018

@becca702411 WELCOME! You’re def not too late to join in! I’ll be transferring later July too! Congrats on your lil embabies! How many embryos were sent out to PGS? FX that majority come back normal  !! 

Each doctor I guess all have different instructions after FET. I’m pretty sure ours is taking it easy that day, aka couch and binge view TV while DH is my butler  and just taking it easy on the TWW.. no heavy lifting etc. I think, since I still have 4 weeks vacation left I’m going to take a few days off and stay at the beach house. Does anyone know if you can swim in the ocean or in general after FET? If not I don’t mind, or is it ok for me to lay in the sun for a few hours? I will Definitely bring it up with the RE but if anyone has any insight on this I’m all ears! 

kristimh80

@ndz2018 That sounds fun!! Laying out maybe ok, but some say no heating pads around your stomach. So not sure if that would be considered the same. I was told no soaking in a tub, so figure same would go for swimming. But your doctor may not care

ndz2018

@kristimh80 I had a feeling that was the case ... looks like I’ll just go ankle deep to cool off and bring a spray bottle to keep cool. I’m definitely making a list of things to ask about what I can And can’t do after FET.

Drove2u

ndz2018  I’m on 2mg of Estrace twice a day for now. And I agree—if it’s pushed back you definetly need to enjoy your summer!! For all of us who can’t really. Haha have those drinks and have fun! So jealous of your shore house—that’s so great that you get to spend some time there. I forget how long I’m on the aspirin honestly. I’ll let you know once I look at my calendar again. I’m kinda taking it day by day here…appt by appt.

 

ChristenMA83 so excited for your July 17 transfer!! That’s great that you got your meds already too! Interesting about the herpes medicine.

 

MomifbyseaJ1006 kristimh80  too…you guys take valium day of transfer?? RE s do things so differently. That was never an option for me. I don’t feel like I need too since it’s a very quick thing but it was never offered.

 

J1006 I think I would rather do two injections a week then multiple pills a day too. But thank goodness for phone reminders!!

 

leilee101 congrats on your transfer date and good luck with your baseline!! I think everyone else answered about the aspirin. I didn’t really know why myself and now I do!!

 

kristimh80  I’m on baby aspirin for a while I think…but I forget for how long. Let us know what you find out from googling. Lol

 

suziev3 I know right! The planning/not planning sucks! It’s nice to have a calendar though so far in advance so you COULD actually plan. Awesome about your transfer date!!

 

 

becca07024411  welcome!! And looking forward to hearing your transfer date!

 

AFM: still on 2mg Estrace twice a day, baby aspirin 81mg once a day and just prenatal. I have bloodwork and US this coming Monday and then I think my meds will change. As I mentioned before I’m just taking it day by day and appt by appt here since I feel like things never stay on schedule. So now, I feel like I just need to get through my Monday appt and then take it from there and hopefully keep progressing. Any fun plans this weekend? We’re just chilling out tonight and cooking some chili. Can’t wait to eat!! We always eat so late. Saturday we have a kids birthday party on a farm and then a pool party after but the weather is supposed to be pretty bad so who knows. And Sunday I really want to do something fun but we haven’t planned that out yet!!

kristimh80

@Drove2u Fun weekend for you! We are the same way...DH always gets home and takes his time for dinner and usually I'm starving by then! We have a gender reveal tomorrow for a girl I went thru IVF locally with. Otherwise, running errands in the morning, then church / church couples group for Sunday. It's gonna be around 100 here this weekend...so I may avoid outside stuff as much as possible! lol

suziev3

@kristimh80 My timing really depends on my lining, since i have trouble with thin lining. Not sure I can take any more than the transfer day off because my work partner will be out o vacay during that time, so I'll actually be busier than normal. Ugh
@momifmysea My doctor says 48 hours of house arrest.  I will probably be breaking that and returning to work the day after transfer, but i have a desk job so...
@becca07024411 welcome!
@Drove2u I'm taking it appt to appt too.  It's less stressful. 

becca07024411

Thanks for the welcome!

@ndz2018 I had 9 sent out (6 Day 5 A/A-, 1 Day 5 B, 1 Day 6 B, and 1 Day 6 C). I also have 2 non PGS tested ones from the 1st cycle still frozen.  We only had 3 make it to freeze 1st cycle, so after the 1st FET didn’t work we decided to go ahead with another ER since we knew we would ultimately end up doing another one at some point in the future anyways and since we are lucky enough to have IF coverage currently and already met all OOP this year, we decided to go ahead and do it now before anything changes.  I was shocked at how much better this cycle turned out compared to the 1st. 

As far as after FET, my clinic is pretty lenient about instruction on activity after transfer.  They say take it easy day of, but then normal activities after that except for jarring exercises and movement it good to keep good circulation and blood flow to uterus.  They used to do 3 days bed rest, then 2, then 1, and did not see a drop of in success rates by reducing limitations.  He was very adamant that after transfer as long as you do nothing crazy, it pretty much is what it is and there is little that you can do to impact if it implants or not.  Maybe that is just to put patients mind at ease, but I don’t know.  They did say no hot tub or bath because that will increase your core temperature, but showers were fine.  Not sure about swimming.  I don’t think they said anything about that.  No alcohol, raw fish, non-pasteurized cheese, or sex until beta.

leilee101

My clinic says “take it easy” the day of transfer but no restrictions really. The day of my fresh transfer, it was beautiful out so I went for a walk around the pond and then went out to dinner with friends that night. That cycle was of course a BFN so this time I will be posted up on the couch because I worry that might have affected it. Laying in the sun is a good thing because it keeps your warm and is relaxing, but don’t let your core temp go up too much! Also my clinic says it’s fine to have sex? But I think this time I might hold off on that as well..
the only thing about swimming is it might increase risk for infection, but if you’re on antibiotics I would think that’s ok.

@becca07024411 welcome to the July party!

i ended up going in for baseline today! Ready to get this started

ndz2018

@becca07024411 FX for many PGS Normal embryos! I remember waiting for the results... and thinking none would come back normal but to my surprise out of the 12 that got sent out 5 came back normal and 3 came back mosaic... I said To DH “That’s pretty good for a couple of old people like ourselves” lol(I’m 37 he’s 43)  I just Sent out an email to my nurse late yesterday, of course she won’t be back till Monday, asking what the abnormal part of my mosaics are and if ( that’s a big if ) we wanted to or needed to use them would they need to be retested? I’ve read quite a few articles about perfectly healthy babies being born from mosaic embryos... point being is the whole PGS thing is very controversial. I never asked about the ones they discarded and what their abnormalities were either but I kind of want to know now. Just some food for thought when you get your results if your curious definitely ask! It also took us about a week to decided if we wanted to find out their genders, but we did! Will you guys be finding out the genders? Your embryo gradings look GREAT BTW!! Loving hearing everyones REs different instructions after FET, what your Dr said makes sense! 

@Drove2u It’s a crappy day here down the shore so we’ll be car shopping and heading to target today. FX I Get my new ride this weekend! I have Such commitment problems when it comes to this stuff so I can See myself sleeping in it for a few days. Tomorrow we’re off to dog beach in Manasquan for some sun and relaxation with our lil old mutt( he just turned 12)

@suziev3 Awesome TWW distraction!! I’m gonna try to bury myself in work afterwards too. Or at least try to. 

ndz2018

@leilee101 WOOHOO!! 

All the early July ladies are kickin it off !! Good vibes too all ! 

kristimh80

@leilee101 YAY for getting started! It's always interesting the different rules doctors have. Mine was rest day of transfer, light activity after, no sex or baths. Since I also had  BFN, I'll be as lazy as possible for a few days. Last time, I was lazy on transfer day...the valium def knocked me out. Then did light stuff after the following days. Besides walking about the house, I'm planning nothing lol It's the 1 time in life we can be lazy and not care  

J1006

@becca07024411 welcome!! FX for lots of normal embryos! 9 is an awesome number. 
@ndz2018 we made the decision to find out why ours were abnormal since a majority of them were. All were missing chromosomes so according to our embryologist they wouldn’t have taken or would have ended in a early miscarriage. It made it a little easier letting go. We only found out the genders of our normal embryos. We said we weren’t, but we just had to  

so excited for all of you getting started!!

ndz2018

@J1006 I def am curious to find out what’s up with the mosaics on Monday.. initially they said they are frozen but don’t recommend for transfer... ummmm if you don’t recommend then why are you freezing them? I know They contain normal and abnormal cells but I wanna Know what that means exactly. 

kristimh80

Well I managed to survive a gender reveal party last night. It was bittersweet, the girl that it was for was someone I met in January thru a local IVF group. 4 of us went thru IVF as a group, we'd meet for coffee, lunch, etc during it all. She ended up being the only one that got pregnant out of all the transfers. I always think after meeting these girls...I wish all of here lived closer and could do the same!  

ndz2018

@kristimh80 I feel the same way! It’s so nice having people to relate to when you’re going through this. To cry to, to joke with, for a hug when things go to sh*t! sucks we’re all spread throughout the country. Honestly I dont Know what I’d do without the support from all of you ladies. 

kristimh80

@ndz2018 Ditto!!! I even told my one gf that's waiting for her ERA result to join us on here too! I love this community so much!! Our local one is ok, but some times there its like a popularity contest and silly. On here, it's genuine support which is what we all need thru it all!

lizy181

Hi ladies! Just wanted to stop by to offer words of encouragement to everyone! July is right around the corner and I’m excited for all of us. For those of you getting pushed or choosing to defer to August, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and keep sending positive thoughts to you and everyone else.

As an update on my journey, yesterday was my last day of BC. I went in today for blood work and my ultrasound. No cysts, the lining was very thin and they found a few follicles growing. My blood work apparently is okay and they’re starting me on the estrogen tonight. I was supposed to start tomorrow morning so not sure what that is about but my next appointment is July 7th. Implantation is scheduled for July 13th.

I hope everyone enjoys the last week of June!

suziev3

@becca07024411 FX for your pgs testing.  It is amazing how different ER results can be.  Mine were also very different from cycle 1 to cycle 2. 
@leilee101  Congrats on starting your cycle! 
@ndz2018 @kristimh80 I know what you mean.  I am so grateful to have someplace to discuss with a supportive group of women who can relate. All my close girlfriends with kids got pregnant right away (even the older ones). so they don't really understand though they try to be supportive.

AFM, I'm feeling pretty anxious right now because my E2 blood test from today came back over 2000 again.  They don't know whats going on with me but once again I have to stop estradiol. I'm glad I trusted my instincts and pushed to go in for another blood test, but obviously upset about what is going on with me.  I'm sure I am going in for an ultrasound and more blood at some point next week.  I should hear from doctor tomorrow.  

kristimh80

@lizy181 Welcome to the July party!! We have a July FET spreadsheet, link is in my signature. It helps we can keep up with each others progress and help be supportive  

@suziev3  Thinking of you!! I hope they can figure out where or how your estrogen is getting so high! I take it the didn't see any follicles on the ultrasound? Maybe your body is sensitive to estrogen pills and don't really need them and can do a more natural approach. FX for some good answers! 

leilee101

@suziev3 wth! Do they think it’s still the cyst?? Are you taking any estrogen pills? Sometimes I think all these meds and simulated cycles just throw our bodies a little out of whack. Sorry to see this update and hope they figure out what’s going on soon.

@lizy181 woohoo for the clear to start! I’m one day ahead of you, lining check 7/6 and hopefully transfer date 7/12. Hopefully we’ll be TWW buddies

suziev3

@kristimh80 @leilee101 I didn't have an ultrasound.  I actually asked to get another e2 check because they weren't going to have me come back until my lining check and I was concerned because of the previous unexpected high E2 and the recent cyst. They had me on estradiol 2x per day but I have taken estradiol many times. I have a problem with thin lining so I don't think I could go without them.  I think it has to be the cyst.  

kristimh80

@suziev3 So sorry girl! I hope they can get you in for an ultrasound soon for more clarity of everything. 

ndz2018

@suziev3 oh no!! I’m sorry this is happening. Let’s hope by stopping for a day or so will bring it down? When is your next lining check/blood work? 

@lizy181Welcome to the July party!!