July 2018 FET

Drove2u

Catching up now. :-) First I wanted to say you guys are all super awesome!! and I'm cheering everyone on always, even if I'm not responding. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my mom. It was great seeing her this weekend. We went out for dinner with her and it was her first time out in over a month. She loved it and we had an awesome meal celebrating my dad’s birthday and Father’s Day. Back to the grind tomorrow already.

 

ChristenMA83 that’s crazy about the environmental issues. Where do you live? Ugh and so sorry about your husband and surgery. Poor guy! And poor you! Lol about it helping sperm production.

 

kristimh80  so happy to read that ERA is complete! Yay! You should be getting your results soon then. And happy to hear that AF came and you can get this show on the road. :-) 

 

madasm0530 LOL on the meaning of WTF appt. That’s what I figured it was but wasn’t sure. Good luck on your blood draw tomorrow!

 

Momifbysea welcome! And FX that this one works!! Where are you going in NY? I work there. No experience with ERAs here. Sounds like you are taking it nice and slow to increase your chances. Good for you!! I probably would do the same thing even though I HATE waiting in general lol but would know that it’s the smart thing to do.  

 

lizy181 that’s so awesome that you have your calendar already. Jealous. :-) 

 

 

leilee101  I don’t know anything about assisted hatching but that’s awesome that you have two frozen!! Don’t get depressed about the one year IF. I went through 9 or 10 months of it ***TW my first time around and it finally worked. *** END TW*** so it’ll all be worth it in the end. J  What causes TSH and prolactin issues? OMG, I’m so clueless on everything. Sorry for all of the questions—to everyone! LOL

 

J1006  ugh sorry about the Ureaplasm.  What causes it? Glad that it just takes antibiotics to clear up though.

 

ndz2018  so sorry to hear about the delay BUT end of July will be here in no time. It’ll go by so fast. J But I hear you on the disappointment and I’m sorry you’re going through this right now. Enjoy your time before then though! Will you ask your RE why you’re waiting another cycle? Did AF arrive yet?

 

bpietronicco  that’s great that you have a schedule. And doing an ERA. And sounds like you have an awesome attitude about all of this!

 

suziev3  my transfer is supposed to be around July 4th as well! We will be doing it together.

 

AFM: Been saying AF is going to show up in two weeks. I just checked my calendar and it’s actually only 9 days!! Let the countdown begin. Lol Will be starting very soon. Its kinda becoming real now!! 

ChristenMA83

@drove2u so sorry to hear about your mother and all that you're going through.  It's so nice you got to spend some valuable time with her over the weekend.  We live in the Cincinnati/Dayton region of Ohio.

@kristimh80 yay for CD1

@leilee101 LOL at your mom's excitement on toxins.  I feel you on the hormones.  I'm finally off them for a while and I have the worst skin problem I've had since high school.  Not quite Acne, but so many annoying oil bumps and pimples.  ugh!

The EPA rated Ohio the 2nd most toxic state in 2010, and we live in a region with a ton of the top toxic sites in Ohio (like Wright-Patt Air Force Base), so guess we won the jackpot there.  I'll still be surprised if this test shows anything, but it's definitely interesting.

I joke about DH's surgery helping, but when we asked the RE about the Flonase prescription he was put on, the doc said if anything it may help his quality by opening everything up (not like a ton, but definitely not hurt)....so maybe there's a thin silver lining in there somewhere.

ndz2018

@Drove2u Thanks doll! I'm not happy having to be on BCP for 2 weeks but it is what it is. I suppose if I really wanted to jump in it really is my decision but now that I'm thinking about it maybe its for the best. I've kinda accepted it at this point and will just enjoy the summertime, drinking, eating subs and soft cheeses for now

@ChristenMA83 Yes there always is a silver lining ...who know flonase may do the trick and all of us with MFI will be running the doc for a script for our men

AFM, Still waiting on Af here I feel like it is coming super crampy all weekend, moody af, low back aches my typical pms symptom but nothing yet. I mean today is only CD30 so I guess I shouldn't be that worried... last time I thought Af will be here right before starting IVF in Dec i kept saying any day and of course i was 10 days late WHY is it always when we want it to get here it never shows up on time!?!?!

ChristenMA83

@NDZ2018 lol, let's hope it's that easy and we've stumbled upon a miracle cure.

kristimh80

@ndz2018 I wish I could give you my AF! It's been the worst one in a long time...even taking birth control isn't helping much. 

ndz2018

@kristimh80 I’ll take it!  Do you think it being worse has anything to do with the ERA? 

kristimh80

@ndz2018 Yeah, I figure has a lot to do with it. In a way I'm ok with it because since IVF stuff started...all my AF's have been pretty short and lighter than usual. Now I can say...I don't miss the old days like this! lol 

Momifbysea

Just catching up since we are in the middle of packing our house here and every room looks like a storm came through LOL!

@Drove2u thinking of you and your mom and I'm so glad you had a good lunch out together! I have had family members go through that and have two close friends now going through all the treatment so I understand. As far as where I will be...I used to live near Albany and will be going to Rochester for my brother's finishing of his neurosurgery residency and then also to Queensbury (near Lake George) to visit my husband's family. We will be there a week.

@ChristenMA83 I'm glad your doctor is being so thorough. I used to work with several toxicologists (I am in public health and worked on a climate change and health grant at the time) and I do remember noticing how excited they got about stuff like that! I think there's a lot to it though after reading the peer-reviewed literature. I also recently read about a study of nurses that looked retrospectively at their fertility and found fertility was lower in women who ate a good amount of fruits and vegetables than in those who ate less vegetables. They controlled for other factors of course, and attributed it to the pesticides on the fruits and veggies. Obviously they were making the point that it isn't the fruits and veggies that are bad (recommended organic as that would increase your fertility from antioxidants) but rather, saying that those pesticides can outweigh the goodness you were doing your body trying to eat healthfully in the first place. Pretty amazing.

@madasm0530 I hope your blood work goes well today.

@kristimh80 thinking your results should be back any day now?

@ndz2018 exactly, when we want her to show up she doesn't! Hopefully soon, this waiting is so so hard!

Speaking of waiting, I'm so torn on the mock transfer. The mature, responsible part of me says that even though the wait might be longer, to do the mock transfer because with my luck I'm someone with an abnormal timing. And then the impatient part of me that is so tired of years of this now says wow, I could be having my transfer less than a month from today, and chances are more that it will work versus won't work, and it's so tempting to think I could be so close to it, but then the other voice comes back and reminds me that I worked so hard for these two, should just stick out the long course and give it the best chance possible. Insurance won't cover but DH is on board with whatever I decide and I will listen to my RE when he calls after he's back on the 18th. Thanks for listening, sorry to ramble there... Related to that, does anyone know if you do a mock transfer cycle, do you have to do the next cycle on BCP again? So instead of it slowing my timeline by one cycle is it really delaying it by two cycles? I shouldn't be so impatient but it's tough after how long it's been! I was realizing that this September will mark two years ago that we first walked in to the RE office for a consult about why after a year things weren't happening for us. It's been a ride for sure!

ChristenMA83

@Momifbysea that's interesting on the pesticides.  It's crazy how many factors go into reproductive health, it's surprising the IF statistics aren't higher than 1 in 8.  The waiting is hard.  Given your history, I think I would wait it out and do the mock transfer but OMG the waiting is hard.  Looked at your signature, your DD and I share the same birthday

Momifbysea

@ChristenMA83 Cool, I love your birthday and will never forget it now! I agree on the mock I think, but have to say I'm disappointed that our RE never brought this up! The only reason I even knew what this was was from reading about it on here, honestly, what would I do without this group of awesome women! It's empowering to say the least and I'm so thankful for everyone here.

sidilly

So much to catch up on!
@kristimh80 So glad your ERA is done and yay for CD1. I hope you get your results real soon and move onto your FET quickly.
@ChristenMA83 Your RE seems to be amazing by really looking into everything. At my practice they seem to blame all failures on embryo quality which is really frustrating. Looks like you will be quite busy in the coming months so hopefully time will just fly by for all of us and August will be here in no time.
@Drove2u I am glad your mom is feeling better and you got to spend time with family. FX that your AF arrives on time.
@Momifbysea Welcome to the board. 5 IVFs is a lot! I totally understand your impatience with wanting to do the transfer asap, but the ERA option sounds like a really good idea.

AFM I've been feeling a little down these days, kind of waiting for time to pass by and forget about my TFMR. The sad part is this scar and guilt is probably going to stay with me forever. Just trying to stay optimistic for my 4 frozen embies and praying that one of them will turn into a baby. We decided to not do PGS on them out of fear that the additional thaw/freeze might damage their structural integrity and lessen the chance for implantation. I had my 2 week post op on Friday and everything seem to be fine. HCG still at 143 as of Friday but this is supposed to be normal at this point. I will be meeting with my RE on June 20 and will have my HCG measured again at that point. I hope to get my period by the end of June and then wait one more cycle (hopefully on BCP) before I can get into the FET game. So really looking at an August transfer at this point. 

sidilly

@bpietronicco Just seeing now that you will be doing an ERA too so we might end up transferring at the same time around the end of August.

kristimh80

@Momifbysea Awe I totally get your frustration...esp since I'm in the middle living the "delayed life" due to it. I really wish I was able to do this ERA testing before I ever transferred since we only had 2 embryos as well...and now I'm sitting here with only 1 :-/ But I doubt my doctor would have ok'd it since most women are in the normal range. Do what's best for you! I know you don't want to wait anymore and I def didn't want to. But the idea of going thru another retrieval because something could be off, didn't sit well either. 

@sidilly ((hugs)) So sorry you're feeling down lately, but it's totally understandable being everything you've gone thru. Hopefully on the 20th, you'll have a good appointment and can get a plan for your FET. From experience, having some sort of plan / next steps always seems to help a lot. Least you'll feel like there is some progress Did you mean you didn't want to PGS test your embryos after they were frozen? They aren't frozen until day 5-6, then biopsied before freeze in a normal situation, so wouldn't affect them any more than a normal frozen transfer. 

sidilly

@kristimh80 Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I will definitely try to come up with a game plan with my RE. I'm hoping for a round of BCP right after I resume my period and then go straight into FET without the additional two weeks of BCP that normally precede FETs. I will be asking for some sort of ovulation induction and then transfer 5 days after it as I know I can implant for sure with a timing like this. Not so sure fully medicated cycles work well for me, especially without having done an ERA. We did not PGS the embryos before freezing because of all the controversy around PGS and also because my first 2 IVF cycles only yielded 2 blasts total. So if we want to test now, we would have to thaw, test, refreeze and then thaw and transfer which is too much poking around with the embryos to me. 

kristimh80

@sidilly Gotcha...I thought that's what you meant by the PGS testing Since you've been able to get pregnant, you probably don't need the ERA since HCG wouldn't be there if implantation didn't happen. We only didn't PGS testing due to age etc, at times I do second guess if I should have but my last miscarriage pre-fertility treatments...my doctor thinks was due to an abnormal embryo. 

sidilly

@kristimh80 After what happened to me, I think PGS is totally worth it if you have 5-6 blasts to work it. It can save you so much heartache. If I end up doing a new fresh cycle, I will probably go for it too.

kristimh80

@sidilly I wish I had been one of those people that batched embryos from the beginning. We sent 6 for PGS and only 2 came back normal. I wish all of this was easier! 

Momifbysea

Ok just got my FET calendar and if I don't do a mock transfer then it will be on July 12. Or I guess the biopsy for the ERA would be on July 12th, so something will happen on July 12th. 

Momifbysea

@sidilly I just saw your update and I'm hoping that your appointment on the 20th goes well and you can move ahead with a FET plan! That's really encouraging that you have 4 frozen!

kristimh80

@Momifbysea Yay for July 12th! Exciting which ever way you decide to go!

kristimh80

Here's the July FET Spreadsheet to add your information to. It helps so are able to keep up with everyone's status a little easier :-) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PqHtrytUaRN_XJDNAG7vQ-zNLqSHCw6Rw3E03BVzB6E/edit#gid=1692034548

suziev3

I was out of town for the weekend and catching up now!

@ChristenMA83 I had never heard of the environmental panel but glad your RE is thorough. 
@Drove2u Sorry about your mom.  That is a lot to deal with on top of IF.  Glad that your mom is feeling a better. Hopefully we start off a long string of positives!
@J1006 Hope your AF comes soon. 
@leilee101 I would be happy to do the honors if I am the first!  I had the same thing with TSH.  Levels were normal until after retrieval.  Very suspicious I think.  I take synthroid everyday now and it came down pretty quickly.
@Momifbysea Totally understand your issue with waiting.  It's been one and half years for me at the RE and any delay is agonizing.  You have come so far that it might be worth it to do the test to be sure. 
@sidilly Sorry you are feeling down and sorry about your TFMR.  There are so many highs and lows in this process. Glad you are trying to stay optimistic and looking towards the future and being proactive.  

AFM,  AF has arrived on schedule.  Never thought I would say "Yay!"  for AF, but there you have it.  Let the FET cycle begin.  

ChristenMA83

@momifbysea I was just reflecting yesterday on how great these groups can be.  It's so nice to be able to talk to and learn from people who get it and have been through it.

@sidilly ((HUGS)) sorry you're feeling down.  I'll probably be in the August FET boat with you.  Ditto what @kristimh80 said on the plan.  Knowing the next steps always helps me keep my head up.

@suziev3 Yipee for a punctual AF and moving on with FET!

AFM: I had my consult at my regular OB/GYN office this morning to schedule the hysteroscopy.  My usual GYN wasn't available for two weeks so I met with another doctor in the office, which meant I had to explain our entire history, but it was better than waiting.  I felt like I had to convince her to schedule the procedure because she didn't understand why he wanted it....in the end I guess we got there or she's calling the RE for more info.  And now I wait 4-5 days for her scheduler to call me to schedule the procedure.

Still waiting on AF.  Cramping like crazy today which is unusual for me, but no other signs she's on the horizon.  Hopefully soon.

kristimh80

@suziev3 YAY!!! Glad everything is on schedule for you!

@ChristenMA83 Hope you can get it scheduled soon! Hopefully then they talk to your RE's office they won't question it anymore. Guess most OB's don't randomly do them, so probably why she was confused

sidilly

@Momifbysea Thanks for your kind words. July 12 is so close and it's great that things are moving forward for you.
@kristimh80 Thanks for reposting the spreadsheet. I entered my deets just in case, even though I will probably be an August transfer.
@suziev3 Thanks for the encouragement. Can't wait until next week to finally have my appointment. Re: TSH levels after retrieval, were you on Lupron at some point during your fresh cycle? I think Lupron suppresses the thyroid as a side effect and that's why TSH levels can go up. I had the same thing happen with TSH jumping from 1.7 to slightly over 3  2-3 weeks after the retrieval. It's only temporary and you could look into increasing your Synthroid just a little bit to compensate.
@ChristenMA83 Thanks for your support. You are absolutely right that a detailed action plan with dates to look forward will help me out a lot. FX crossed I get that from my RE next week. Is hysteroscopy the same as saline ultrasound? I will have to do a saline ultrasound to make sure everything is still fine with the uterus before proceeding to FET. It's very frustrating that you have to deal with scheduling issues, hopefully you'll get the procedure scheduled much sooner than the 4-5 days. Sometimes people just don't get how excruciating waiting can be and we need to be proactive to make things happen on our timeline. FX AF arrives today!

ChristenMA83

@sidilly The earliest my RE would have been able to do it was 7/9 because they schedule all surgeries once a month...so if I can get it in before that I'll consider it a win.  The Hysteroscope is different from the saline ultrasound.  With the saline, they insert fluid in your uterus and view with the ultrasound.  With the Hsyterscope they actually insert a camera into the uterus and are then able to clean out any abnormalities that are found, they can also sample and test the lining for bacteria or other issues.  I did the saline ultrasound back in January or February - it was pretty simple, some mild cramping.  They'll put me under anesthesia for the hysteroscope.

Momifbysea

@suziev3 thank you, and after sitting with this a little longer I keep leaning that direction too. It's like, we've waited this long, what's one or two more months.

@ChristenMA83 it sounds like it just wasn't her norm to schedule that, so I'm sure once she checks in with your RE it will go smoothly, but again, the wait sucks! Hang in there and glad you will have anesthesia for it. It sounds like a pretty amazing procedure actually, if they can get any abnormalities they find in there. Would that put you into August then for FET? I'm thinking maybe that's when I will be if I decide to do the mock transfer this month.

@kristimh80 thanks for reposting the spreadsheet - now that I have my calendar I was able to final enter my info. It's so nice to be able to see everyone's details in one place! 

Just thinking about everyone's ups and downs and reflecting on what an AMAZING group of women we are! I mean, talk about resilience, right? Wishing everyone a wonderful day out there! (ok this MAY be the estrace making me so up right now, but hey I'll take it...)

Drove2u

ChristenMA83 that’s crazy that you have those all of those EPA issues. Is it because of factories? That’s great that you will be scheduling the hysteroscopy soon. Has AF come? Wow! You will be put under anesthesia for they hysteroscopy? I didn’t even get that option. But it also lasted only a minute and wasn’t painful at all. I found the saline ultrasound more painful.

 

 

ndz2018 omg yes! You really do need to enjoy your summer!! I kinda think why I’m starting this now and not after the summer. Ha! But if it doesn’t work the first time it’ll be close to the end of summer anyway. Did AF show up yet?

 

kristimh80 ugh! Sorry about painful AF.  Thanks for the spreadsheet reminder again. J I updated.

 

Momifbysea where are you moving from and to?  I love Lake George. We used to rent out an island and go camping there with a bunch of our friends. We stopped doing that for a couple of years now but hope to start it up again soon! So I did a mock transfer, at least that’s what my RE called it and it was done during my hysteroscopy. No meds. Is that what it is? It was literally a 5 second thing. Glad to hear that something will be happening on July 12. J

 

sidilly  so sorry you had to go through all that. But that’s amazing that you have 4 left!

 

suziev3 that’s great that AF has arrived. Do you have to see RE on CD 2 now?

 

AFM:  Just waiting on AF here—7 days or so to go.

ChristenMA83

@Drove2u yeah both the RE and OB said I'd be put under for it.  Still no AF.

leilee101

@Momifbysea ah the age ol' conflict of heart vs. brains. It sounds like you know the ERA is the right move, but of course your heart is begging you to get on with it. An ERA on 7/12 would still land you with a transfer this summer, What does you RE say about it?

@sidilly so sorry to see what you have been through. I'm just coming over to this board after my first IVF cycle failed, and I feel the same way about PGS testing on the remaining frozen ones. God forbid this FET doesn't work and I have to cycle again, I will definitely do PSG on any future retrievals. 

@ChristenMA83 FX that you get it scheduled quickly and AF shows up soon!

@suziev3 woohoo for starting our July FET party! Do you have a tentative transfer date yet? 

@kristimh80 Thank you for posting the spread sheet again - I'm going to fill it out tomorrow after I meet with my RE for WTT appointment so I have some concrete info for it

@Drove2u so apparently TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is caused by an overactive thyroid, and can cause prolactin to rise as well. They also asked me if I had stimulated my nipples before the blood test I was like wtf!? Soo strange. They had me retest this morning and everything came back way lower and in range, so turns out to be nothing after all. The only thing I can think of is that I drank a bunch of wine Friday night before my Sat am blood test and maybe something to do with the sugar?? No Idea. FX your AF comes sooner than expected!

@ndz2018 ugh that sucks!! I hope it comes soon, so damn frustrating. Have sex that always makes mine come ...

Can't wait to post updates tomorrow after my WTF appointment.. I made a list of questions for my RE that includes some of the feedback I've gotten from you lovely ladies, so thank you all! 

ndz2018

Hey guys got lots to catch up on! Got into a car accident yesterday. I’m ok nothings broken but I’m pretty sore and banged up. The car MAY be totaled and went to the emergency room just to make sure.. have some nasty whiplash and sore from the impact. Thank goodness no one was hurt. A big Penske moving truck was coming into my lane( I was In the left lane on a two way highway) and blew my horn but nothing. I even went into the shoulder to try to avoid this accident but he came into the shoulder and smashed the ENTIRE passenger side of my car. It was frightening!

Ill catch up when I get to my laptop. But CD 1 is today.. I’ll be going in probably Thur for CD 3 US and BW followed by 2 weeks of BCP. 

Momifbysea

Edited to add: ndz2018 I just saw your post as I posted mine - omg I'm glad nothing's broken and how scary is that? What the heck was the other driver thinking, wow!!! I hope your soreness goes away soon, sounds like some major chill out time is in store for you! And CD1 too - glad to hear on that front that you're onto your next steps at least!

@leilee101 YES on the heart versus brains!!! yep you've nailed that one on the head. I was laughing reading your first two sentences though because they totally sound like a horoscope lol. My RE is back on the 18th so he's supposed to call me after that and we will discuss. Can't wait! As for PGS, we were torn on that too but even though we only had 3 to test, we decided to go for it, hoping it would save heartbreak in the end. I do worry about the freeze and thaw though, but in the end, we are giving what we hope are the best odds for success!

@Drove2u we are just doing an in-town move down in Kansas, but up until a couple of years ago I lived near Albany. I haven't been back since we moved away so that will be strange! I am excited to visit the garden where we got married and of course, see Lake George, we're staying at a hotel right by the lake. So it's a mock transfer but purpose is to get a biopsy done so we can do the ERA test and see if the usual timing of the transfer would be right for me or if it would need to be adjusted in either direction in order to be the right window for implantation to occur.
 

kristimh80

@ndz2018 Oh my goodness! So glad you are ok! I hope you get to feeling better soon!!! So sorry you're hving to deal with that right now Bright side, CD 1 showed up...so one step closer! These next 2 weeks sound like they maybe a good recoverey time to get back to normal. Hopefully your car is fixable, if not...a good time for an upgrade

ndz2018

@kristimh80 and @Momifbysea Thanks Guys!
Yes, I’m def just resting for a few days. My neck and back are sore and apparently it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. They gave me some muscle relaxers and pain killers which are helpful, I try not to take it and didn’t need it till about an hour ago. I am going for an MRI tomorrow afternoon let’s hope there’s nothing worse going on in there. 

Its looking like my tentative FET will be July 17th. 

kristimh80

@ndz2018 ((hugs)) Praying everything tomorrow goes well!

leilee101

@ndz2018 omg that’s so scary!! I’m so glad you’re ok.. you must have been in shock. Probably still are. Please keep us posted after the MRI, I’m sure everything is ok but that’s good they’re double checking everything.  At least AF decided to show...! Finally

ChristenMA83

All the discussion about ERA, I wanted to share this article that popped up in my email yesterday.  I absolutely love this site and all the fertility information they give.

https://www.fertilityiq.com/embryo-transfer/when-is-the-era-test-appropriate

@leilee101 @Sidilly I am right with you on PGS testing for the remaining embryo.  For me it's too risky to thaw and refreeze, might consider it if I had more than one but I don't.  I will definitely be testing if we have to do another retrieval.

@leilee101 you mean you don't routinely stimulate your nipples before giving blood?? LOL, what an odd question.  Good luck at your appointment today.  Hope you get all the answers.

@ndz2018 so glad you're OK.  That sounds terrifying.  Hope your MRI goes well today.

ndz2018

Awe thanks guys. Worst part is when he hit my i did a 180 on the middle of the highway and was facing the wrong direction!!  Super sore today! Guess they weren’t joking when they said there’s a 2 days delay when it comes to this stuff. I feel like an old lady.

Still waiting for my nurse to call today about coming in on CD3 for baseline and then start BCP for two weeks. After what just happened I’m almost thankful to have the extra 2 weeks in case there is something going on with my neck and back. I have An appointment with a chiropractor tomorrow to see if he can help me out a little and maybe get some relief.

kristimh80

@ndz2018 Awe I hope you get lucky and won't have to go in for CD3 since going on BCP. I called my doctor for mine and was told not to worry about it just yet. Thinking, that would be one less thing on your plate right now Let us know how things go at the doctor today!  

leilee101

Just left my consult and feeling optimistic. My RE is strongly against transferring 2 (we have 2 left on ice). He said it would not increase my chance of getting pregnant but would greatly increase my chances multiples. He said he’s not super surprised that the fresh transfer failed but will be surprised if the FET fails, and thinks it’s highly unlikely two separate FETs wouldn’t work. He bragged a bit about their FET success rates, says it’s around 70%. They do all FETs with assisted hatching. Timeline wise, looking at the second week of July for transfer.