November 2018 IVF

nitnat007

Anyone else going to be doing an IVF cycle in November?

We have been trying for 18 months now and have been diagnosed with MFI. This will be our first round of doing IVF w/ICSI. I am also 38, so add us into the AMA camp as well. Stims starting Nov 1st if all goes to plan. 

Hope to have some other ladies join me for this journey to support each other and share along the way. Good Luck! 

lauralee00

Hello! I just had a canceled IVF cycle this month due to poor response. I'm on progesterone now to bring on my period. If I get my period in the next 2 weeks, then I will be doing another cycle in November. My baseline will be on Oct 26th and I would start stims on the 28th.

We have severe mfi and now that I'm 36, we are also dealing with Dor and poor response. My DH has a 0 count now so we are using vials that we had frozen 5 years ago from our 1st IVF try 

Looking forward to getting to know you! Good luck!! This ivf ride can be a crazy one ! 

nitnat007

@leela00 Hi there! I am so sorry that your cycle was cancelled and that you find yourself here. But I am glad that we get to travel this journey together.
I can not imagine how disappointed you must be. Was your cycle five years ago successful? Has your RE discussed how they will alter your protocol moving forward at all?

Our MFI is a Acrosome defect with 2% morphology. Along with an inconclusive Adenomyosis diagnosis for myself. I am extremely nervous about the shots and the hormones. One day at a time right?!

Sending you good vibes for AF to show up so you can get on schedule!

wine_mama16

Hi there! We have done 3 (bumpy) IUI cycles and then came to the determination that IVF would be our best bet. I am about half way through birth control and have my baseline appointment tentatively scheduled for Oct 19th and retrieval Oct 30. I am excited and anxious to go through this process, but it is nice to know that there are others experiencing the same feelings as me.

callingthestork

Hi, I would like to join in.  Hoping to start stims Oct. 26 for a Nov. 6 retrieval.  
I'm 35, we want a big family but.....  I have blocked tubes from endometriosis.   I have done 2 egg retrieval cycles, May and July, and had a cycle in September cancelled.  We only have 3 embryos so far.  
I have high AMH but am a poor responder and have mostly immature eggs.  I'm taking myo-inositol and really hoping it helps!
I won't be doing a fresh transfer,  are any of you ladies planning on one?  I had such high hopes for that my first cycle but my progesterone went too high, and I only got one embryo anyway.

drewsdarlin

My retrieval will probably be in November. will probably start stims around week of October 22 or week after when period comes. 

nitnat007

@wine_mama16 So sorry to hear that your IUI's were not successful and that you find yourself at this point. We will be here cheering each other on through this journey though. Good luck with your appointment on the 19th. 

@callingthestork I will be doing a fresh transfer, all going well. Has your protocol been changed for this cycle at all?

@drewsdarlin Welcome! FX for starting stims. 

drewsdarlin

Thanks

callingthestork

Hi girls,
@nitnat007, yes I have Ganirelix shots during the last 3 days of birth control,  5 days before stims start.  Hopefully that makes an even cohort of eggs grow.  
Hey, I'm excited for this!  The best thing about shots is, I finally feel like i'm doing something actually useful instead of just waiting.
My husband gives me the shots, how about you girls?  

nitnat007

@callingthestork I haven't started shots yet. Will be starting Nov 1st. MH will absolutely be gibing them though. I am that wimp who faints at the sight of blood and requires all the cookies and OJ when giving blood. I don't know how I would cope giving them to myself. I don't even want to see the needle.
I have everything crossed for you that the changes are exactly what you need! And yes, totally get it. The waiting is such a killer, so doing anything is a step forward!

erwahler

Hi all, I am gearing up for our 2nd IVF cycle.  Stimming starting on 10/25 and retrieval should be the week of 11/5.  I am 35 and we have unexplained infertility.  We had 7 embryos after round 1 in June, but PGS tested and only 2 returned normal.  We did an FET in August which failed.  We decided to another round to bank embryos before trying to transfer the second one, and are thinking we will not test this time around.

Looking forward to having a group to travel down the October/November road with.

nitnat007

Hi @erwahler and welcome! Sorry to hear that your first cycle was not successful and that you find yourselves doing another cycle, but glad that there are more of us on this journey together. Being 38 myself, testing was something that we thought about heavily but have also decided against it. We did a lot of reading on it and for us personally, we are ok with forgoing it at this time. Wishing you luck!

nitnat007

 Attempted to make a spreadsheet for anyone who is interested in adding and following along with everyone. Let me know if it does not work though. 

November IVF Spreadsheet

wine_mama16

@nitnat007 Thank you. I actually talked to my nurse about doing a fresh transfer and they highly suggest that I do frozen so that's what I plan on doing. I'll add my info to the spreadsheet. Good idea!

@callingthestork I will most likely be giving myself the shots. We just had our appointment this morning on the instruction of how to give them and walking me through all of the medications.

I will most likely be starting stems on the 19th and I am a little anxious about the shots, but my husband thinks that I should be good with no problem, so we'll see.

ChristenMA83

Jumping in the November pool with you ladies.  This will be our second IVF round.  The first round last February ended up with 9 retrieved, 8 mature, 5 fertilized, 2 blasts for FET.  *TW* the first FET led to a pregnancy and miscarriage at 10 weeks *End TW*  The second transfer (July) did not implant.  We've been TTC for 8 years, DX MFI - but after the last round getting lower than expected numbers they think I may have something going on with my eggs that isn't showing up in the labs.  Baseline is 10/29 and then I'll be starting HGH 10/31 and Stims the first week of November with retrieval the week of 11/12.  This will be a freeze all cycle because our clinic doesn't do fresh transfers.  When we do our FET is up in the air due to stuff going on with my job.

@nitnat007 thanks for starting the thread.

@callingthestork I totally get your sentiment that IVF shots feel like you're finally making progress.  We've taken a few months off since our last transfer and I'm anxious to get back to the process.

erwahler

Definitely feel the same about starting injections - I started my Lupron today.  Every part of this is such a roller coaster, and for the moment I'll try to enjoy the optimism that comes with feeling like we're actually moving forward!

In other news, I got a jury summons for the same week as our ER.  Ugh... has anyone dealt with this before?  I'm going to talk to the clinic about getting a medical excusal because even if retrieval is not that day I will have to go in for a monitoring appointment.

nitnat007

@wine_mama16 I recently read an article about how frozen transfers increase rates of success significantly.Giving the body time to recover after stims plays into it for sure. Good luck with starting stims soon!

@ChristenMA83 Welcome and very sorry for your loss. Glad to have you here with us. Are you on a different protocol from your previous cycle at all? Wishing you all the best. 

@erwahler How is the Lupron going so far? Any side effects so far? Umm yeah, I definitely think that you should be able to get out of jury duty for medical reasons. That is just crazy! FX they are able to sort something out for you. 

embryoman

@nitnat007 @wine_mama16 Yes embryos that make it to freeze definitely improves your chances overall! This indicates that you had embryos that "made it" to freezing. So you didn't just have 1 that was eligible, you had several (or many!), and this implies a good stock of starting material (eggs and sperm).

Tuasdad

Hi all.

For those of you that have had previous attempts fail, my condolences. For my wife and I this is our first IVF attempt. 

My wife is starting Stims on Oct 29th with retrieval falling around the weekend of Nov 10th. Our issue is male infertility due to antibodies in my sperm.

We are cautiously optimistic that since no complications, abnormalities or other issues have been found on my wife’s end, and she’s under 30 (27) that IVF may work. We are hopeful but fully aware there’s a good chance things don’t work out.

We are doing a fresh transfer, assuming there’s viable eggs & fertilization through ICSI gives us at least one transferable option.

My only issue right now is that my wife is over a week late for her period. Ten days to be exact. They’ve done bloodwork (yesterday) and confirmed we’re not pregnant but they said she has ovulated but should have period in next week. She’s normally very regular, in the 3 years we’ve been TTC she’s only been late by a week once. 

Our Dr decided no BC in light of late aunt flow. FX. 

nitnat007

@Tuasdad Welcome! So nice to see a husband join in support of your wife. 
This is my first IVF cycle as well, and also due to MFI (MH has a Acrosome defect). So we will also be doing ICSI and plan on doing a fresh cycle if everything goes well. 
Sorry to hear that YW's period is late. It is possibly delayed due to stress? This has happened to me personally. hopefully the Dr is right and everything will start up on its own within the week. FX for you both!

ChristenMA83

@erwahler I had to get excused from jury duty a few years back just because of a planned and paid for vacation.  With a medical note it should be easy to get out of it.

@nitnat007 The stim protocol is pretty much the same but we are adding HGH and the doc has me on a 2-month detox leading up to stims for both me and DH.  

@tuasdad welcome to the board!

@wine_mama16 our clinic only does frozen because they say they get better results that way.  It's hard though, I can't help but feel like one or two of the embabies that didn't make it to day 5 may have flourished if transferred, but in the end, I trust in my doctor's methods.

wine_mama16

@nitnat007 @ChristenMA83 @embryoman I actually asked my nurse and she pretty much said what you are all saying. The wait will be hard, but I trust my doctors as well and I know they are advising me to the best of their abilities. 
This Friday I have my baseline appointment and I have gotten in all of my meds. At this point it all feels a little overwhelming, but I also feel like I just want to get things started.

Tuasdad

@wine_mama16 Fingers crossed for you. We are also on our first attempt and will be a week behind you. 

@nitnat007 We were wondering the name thing about stress causing her to be so late. Our doctor was not concerned in the least, which at first was surprising but when he explained the blood work and their ideal process for retrieval we relaxed. When you were late, was it prior to retrieval? If so, did it go as scheduled or was retrieval delayed?

nitnat007

@Tuasdad It was not before and IVF cycle, it has just happened a couple times over the years. The following cycles have always gone back to normal, so attributed to stress. I am glad to hear that your Dr is not concerned. I will be sending positive vibes your way for a smooth start. 

Tuasdad

Meds came in today 😬 It just got real. 

@erwahler What came of jury duty? Were you able to get out of it?

ChristenMA83

@Tuasdad getting the meds is such a milestone.  I'll be ordering ours today.

nitnat007

@leela00 How are you making out? Any signs of AF yet?

@wine_mama16 Will be thinking of you tomorrow at your baseline. Hope that it all goes smoothly and you are right on track. Do you have your meds ready to go?

@callingthestork How are you doing? Do you have all your meds to start next week or will you get them at the time? Like you said, we finally get to start doing something. You got this!

@drewsdarlin You feeling ready to start on Monday?

@erwahler Just one more week to go! Hope you are doing ok. Jury duty update? Were you able to get out of it?

@ChristenMA83 How are you doing? Hope you had a good week. 

@Tuasdad How is your W holding up? Did AF make an appearance yet? 

ah80

I am doing my first IVF cycle. I was on lupron last week, cetrotide this week and starting gonal f, menopur, omnitrope, and E2V next week. Egg retrieval is probable 11/1 or 11/2.  I was also super nervous about the shots like some of you have mentioned. I was completely overwhelmed by that and thought there was no way I would ever able to do it, but it really is OK.  Our RN had me do a couple of saline injections to help me never more comfortable.  I have no problem now with the SQ injections. The IM make me more nervous and I need my partners help with that. Our RN helped us with the first one and we are on our own for the next tomorrow.  

Our Dr has said this cycle is my only chance. If I don't respond, that is it. He won't do another cycle with me. I am 38. I have severe DOR. My AMH is .03. Another test had me at <.03. The Dr has estimated my chance of success as in the low single digits. I am really hoping that I respond and that we have the chance to do another cycle for embryo banking. It is a ton of pressure knowing that this is the only chance and part of me would prefer not to know now he won't do another cycle. One thing that has helped through this was actually being able to make the choice to proceed with IVF since there is so much I don't have control over.  I have been really down/sad about my diagnosis and living in this reality. I never could have imagined we would be in this situation. I have had brief flashes of hope that this could actually work in the past couple of weeks. Hoping for a miracle. 

Tuasdad

@ah80 Our thoughts are with you and our fingers are crossed. That’s a tremendous amount of pressure to have on your shoulders. Hoping it happens for you, no matter the odds

@nitnat007 AF finally showed up! Tuesday. A bit surprisingly our doctor decided to have my wife start BC today, preciously with her being late but with bloodwork results he said no BC. We trust he know what he’s doing lol We got familiar with meds and went over calendar yesterday. We start meds on 29th

callingthestork

Hi.  @ChristenMA83, wow, sorry to hear about your losses.  This can just be a tough journey.    
@nitnat007, Thanks for being so warm and kind and welcoming.  Just did the first Ganirelix shot (and spilled a lot getting the air bubble out; you'd think we would be better at this by now😔).  
@Tuasdad, yay!, a man who talks about ivf!  Good luck to you both!  My husband is awesome and supportive, just not verbally.
@ah80, Hi.  Best of luck and prayers for you.  All any of us can do is take this journey one step at a time.  You can and will be a Mom.  Does your RE have you on DHEA & CoQ10?  


If anyone has ever read the donor egg thread, wow those ladies are my SUPERHEROS!  It takes a lot of kleenex to get through it, but I am so inspired by how those amazing women persevered.   Makes my journey seem short and easy by comparison,  and gives me hope if nothing else works.  

Blessings to all of you!

wine_mama16

@Tuasdad Thank you and I hope all goes smoothly for you and your wife. 

@nitnat007 I appreciate the support yes I do have all my meds ready to go!

@ah80 That news can be disheartening, but hopefully you can stay hopeful through this whole process. 

My my appointment went well today. I have 19 follicles on the right and 16 on the left, which my doctor said was good. I started my shots tonight 75ml of menopur and 200 ml of ganirelix. I was so shaky and nervous to do it and almost had a panick attack. I feel ridiculous even feeling that way, but my husband talked me through it and I gave myself the shots. I think it will get easier as time goes on or at least I’m hoping for that. Hope you all have a good weekend!

lauralee00

Hello everyone! I tried adding my info to the speedsheet but I could not get it to open on my phone. I started AF last week and will be on BCP for only 4 days! My baseline is on Friday and should start stims next Sunday. I'm not sure how all the timing with my cycle will work but I'll trust my Dr. My protocol is changing a little bit from last month. I will be taking 250 Follistim (instead of 275 Gonal F), 4 vials of Menopur (instead of 3 vials), HGH, and Ganirelix (instead of cetrotide). Praying I'll have more than 3 follicles and that they will actually grow this time.

How is everyone else doing? I'm going to read thru the thread and try to do personals later! 

callingthestork

Hi.  I was able to use the spreadsheet from my phone after installing Google Sheets app.   Honestly don't know what my protocol is called; it's my doc's "grow eggs or kill the patient trying" one.  300 Follistim & 150 Menopur & 50 microlupron, half in morning and half at night, for 10 days.  Dual trigger of 300 Follistim and 10,000 HCG.  
@wine_mama16, great antral follicle count!!!  Wow!  So happy for you.

erwahler

@nitnat007 and @Tuasdad I got a letter from my doctor requesting that I be excused from jury duty, which I submitted to the county last week.  I haven't heard back yet though so thanks for reminding me to follow up!

We just got back from a weekend trip for a college friend's wedding, it was a welcome reprieve from thinking about all things fertility, and I am so grateful we were still able to go as it fit in between all the appointments.  Now back to the daily grind tomorrow, and my baseline to start stims is later this week.

wine_mama16

@callingthestork Thank you! I’ve been doing stims for 3 days so far and I’m really feeling the effect physically and mentally, but hopefully my follow up appointment on Wednesday will have more good news. I don’t know what my protocol is either so I just Left that part blank. 

@erwahler that’s great to hear that your doc wrote you letter to miss jury duty. You def don’t need more stress while going through this whole process. Good luck on your baseline appointment!

nitnat007

@ah80 I am so sorry that you had that added pressure on an already stressful journey. That can not be easy for either you or YH to handle. Try not to give up hope though, you do have a chance that this will work and that you will get your THB! When you need to vent, we are here to listen and help support through the tough times. GL! 

@callingthestork You are right, those ladies are amazing!

@wine_mama16 Way to go!! Doing your shots yourself and everything. And that is a great number of follicles. How have they been going since? Getting easier to do? Sorry to hear that the effects have started to kick in now though, that really bites. I hope that YH is being very understanding right now and spoiling you. 

@leela00 Hope that this cycle has better results for you! Glad that your RE worked with you in changing things up and didn't just throw out the same protocol. Jealous that you are only on BCP for 4 days though. 

@erwahler Oh that is good news! Hopefully it is all they need to give you the pass. Glad you had a great break from thinking about all of this. GL for your baseline. 

AFM started my Suprefact nasal spray on Saturday and I am not a fan! I get a headache about an hour after every use and it makes me a little dizzy. But, MH got home this weekend so now he gets to take care of all the chores. Silver lining! 

wine_mama16

@nitnat007 The shots have gotten easier each time I do them. It has just become habit, which makes me relieved. My husband is trying, I just feel so emotional which is frustrating. 

My next appointment is this Wednesday and I hope my follicles are still looking good. I may be adding another shot in the morning depending on my scans. Is anyone continuing to workout during this process. I was very active working out 4 times a week for an hour up until this past week. I have had zero energy and I just can't motivate myself. Please tell me I'm not the only one!

nitnat007

@wine_mama16 That is great that they are getting easier each time you do them. I think you just have to let the emotions go, it is short lived. I told MH that he loves me and he needs to remember that going through this process lol. 
On the workouts, I did ask my clinic this question as I also workout everyday and instruct as well so wanted to be prepared. I was told to lift nothing over 10 lbs, no high impact, basically brisk walking and maybe yoga, from the start of stims. So I have gotten subs for my classes and just trying to mentally prepare myself for being out of commission at least three weeks. Mentally I am going to be a mess. 

aneeettt

Hello everyone here this is my first post here and Im soooo stressed about all the process. We have been trying for nearly 5 years and then went to GP in Aberdeen and been referred to Ivf clinic. After all tests we found out my husband has very low count and from 4 sperm samples they manage to freez only 2 they think are the strongest. I had success previous pregnancy but now my FSH level is a bit to high 10.1. 
Started taking Norethisterone tables on the 13th and have to stop them on 1st of November. Hopefully my AF arrived and then Baseline scan on the 5th and  FSH GONAL 300 injection time from 6th and CETEORELIX 0.25mgs injection from 10th. Dr hopes if everything goes well for egg retrieval on the 19th. Hopefully it will work well , I know I have to be positive but it’s not that easy as Dr give as only 10% chances ;( 
Fingers crosses for everyone here hope we can go through this together. 

aneeettt

Sorry forgot to say that Dr said the only option for as is ICSI and the plan is to try to get a fresh transfer if they get any good quality sperm on the day , if not we go for the freez one. I don’t know what to think about it  

callingthestork

Hi @aneeettt, welcome to the board.  Wow, you have been trying a long time.  Was your pregnancy successful?
My doc has ICSI done for my husband and I, and we've had every single mature egg successfully fertilize.  So please think positive!  It only takes one.