February IVF/FET

mouse39

I finally got my period today 15 days post ER. Now I am just waiting for the lab to call me with the results of genetic testing to see if we are moving forward or back to stims.
#thezaltyberger I felt the same way. I feel like it took me longer than most to get back to normal but my doctor said it was normal. Depending on how much the ovaries grew.

mbradfo2

It's been a week! (is it only wednesday?)

Had retrieval this AM and they were able to get 9 eggs, which isn't horrible. Hopefully they are mostly mature. They're going to call me tomorrow with the initial maturity and fertilization results. This was when we lost most of our embryos last time -- our fertilization rate was 5 out of 9 (of that, we still had 4 going on Day 3).

@thezaltyberger
You only need 1 to be the golden embryo! Will you be doing PGS? I ended up with 2 untested frozen day 6 embies after my first IVF cycle and one of them is now a 2 year old little girl. So the numbers might not be very comforting, but you're not out of the game. 

I'm dreading the series of calls over the next 5 days; it's so stressful when I see their office number pop up on my phone. My clinic gives daily updates about the process. 

thezaltyberger

@mbradfo2 9 is great!! Especially since you have such solids historical stats!!! How are you feeling? Let us know how the call goes tomorrow, fingers crossed for you!!

I know I need only one. I guess because nothing at all has worked (3+ years of trying naturally, 2 failed IUIs, now this attrition rate that’s vastly below the stats published online) I feel demoralized and unlikely. I’m already preparing myself for the implantation not working. Or the embryos not surviving the thaw. Or any number of terrible possibilities simply because all my and DH’s tests are fantastic, my body responds SUPER positively to the meds from the IUI and now the IVF stims, and yet....absolutely nothing happens. Never a single day or moment of BFP. Just a black box no one can explain to me and BFN after BFN. I’m sorry I’m being so negative. It’s hard to keep my chin up some days.

mbradfo2

@thezaltyberger
I felt the same way as you did during my first IVF cycle, so it's totally normal to sorta feel like you're just waiting for more bad news. 4 years without a BFP, 3 failed IUIs, m/c of my first BFP, big attrition during IVF -- I didn't believe anything would work for me. I guess you have to just keep plodding ahead. It reminds me of Frozen 2 -- "when you can't see the future, all you can do is the next right thing (the next step)". Bonus points: They actually did a whole song about having to just move forward when all seems lost; it's one of my favorites in the movie.

AFM, I'm mostly feeling okay! Just having a bit of a whirlwind day with DD being sick so I didn't  get much relaxing done when I got home. I am super craving an auntie anne's pretzel right now and trying to figure out how to get one XD XD

thezaltyberger

Thank you @mbradfo2 ❤️❤️❤️ Your DD is one lucky gal and I hope you get that pretzel!!

PrettyPalomino

@thezaltyberger  - don't be discouraged with those numbers, the odds are in your favour with a 50%(ish) success rate each transfer We also had about 18 retrieved/matured/fertilized and ended up with 4. It was a shock... but the doctors were over the moon happy for me, which helped put things into perspective. 

@mbradfo2 - that's so awesome that they give you daily updates! I was kept in the dark until day 6 or 7... talk about nail biter

AFM: I've been a dissapearing act since my December freeze all retrieval. We had a mock cycle in January, I passed (yay!) so we were going to proceed with an unmedicated FET this cycle. Things were moving along nicely but monitoring US's showed a tiny bit of fluid in the endo cavity. They checked again the day before scheduled FET to make sure it had reabsorbed, and it hadn't they called to cancel my FET, and I pushed back... I asked if we could proceed anyway with our lowest quality embryo (binucleated B4-BB) and they basically said sure, it's your embryos. They wouldn't give me any info on what the success rate might be, they don't even try to measure or quantify the fluid, they just have a hard "is there fluid or not" policy, but based on what the US techs and Dr. Google have told me, I felt like it was worth a shot because it was so minimal. Even if it reduces our chances to like 5%, it's still better than nothing and we never really intended to use this binucleated blast anyway.

Anyway, all that to say that we had our FET yesterday! And actually the doctors said they couldn't see any fluid on the abdominal US (but that this isn't the best way to spot it...) either way, they gave me a ballpark success rate of 20-25% which I'm actually SO happy about. It doesn't feel like a total waste of an embryo, it feels like a legit chance. So now I'm going nuts in the 2ww. Will probably start testing around 4dpt heheh (no trigger shot, so no false positives for me). FX!

sfield21

@PrettyPalomino exciting!! Congrats on your transfer!! Really hoping this works for you! I’m the same and begin testing really early.

@thezaltyberger hoping for good news today from your embryo report!

AFM: I have my CD14 checkup tomorrow (US and bloodwork) to see how my levels and lining are... FX for good news and then I think I will start Crinone and pio for 5 days then the transfer. 

mouse39

@thezaltyberger do not lose hope. We will all get through this bump. You will see in the end everything will turn out great and you will have your little one. 
@PrettyPalomino congrats on your FET! How was the procedure? I heard they have it on a big screen so you can see is that true? I've always been an early tester. My partner was given 2 boxes of PT by a transporter. Over 200 test I go crazy.

hej2021

Hi all - I'm new here and just found this forum while searching around for people sharing their experience going through IVF. I'm mid way through my first IVF cycle - stim day 9 today - and reading about all of your experiences and all of your support for each other has been really, really helpful. So just wanted to thank you all for that!

So far, everything seems to be going well with the stims, except for the fact that I am SUPER bloated and miss eating normal food (have been trying to eat really really healthy). Yesterday, they saw 14 eggs >10mm, but probably still 1-3 days away from my trigger shot. Then begins the really nerve wrecking part (from what I've learned from you all!).

Sending positive thoughts to all of you for good news!

danij823

@thezaltyberger Aw ! I feel you on that girl!  Those BFNs are the worst!   I had an IVF class last night where I was told that the average couple can expect 1-3 embryos per retrieval.  I was super surprised because I thought the average was higher after reading all the forums and posts.  I'm completely terrified as well. The thought of repeating this process is...well overwhelming to say the least.  My Honey and I will only be able to afford to do this once as it's all out of pocket.  

dukie001

@mbradfo2 congratulations on 9 eggs, now fingers crossed for good quality embryos 🤞🏻✨And I hope you DD feels better, it sucks when children are sick. Get well soon 
@thezaltyberger don’t kick yourself too hard for having these feelings. I understand it’s easy to give advice to stay positive. But have faith, everything that happens - happens for a reason. We are rooting for you and praying you’ll get your baby, because you so deserve to be a mom. ❤️

@PrettyPalomino hey girl! Congratulations on being PUPO! Hope this little one sticks. Lots of baby dust to you. And if you test, keep us posted! I can be your line eyes 👀😁
@mouse39 they are really making you wait with those test results! 

@h@hej2021 welcome! You are in the right place. It keeps my sanity by talking about IF here.

thezaltyberger

Thank you @danij823 where are you in the process?

Welcome,@hej2021! Sorry you have to be here, but at least we'll be in it together. Stay strong - just a few more days to go! The last few are the most uncomfortable, but be kind to yourself, stay seated and relaxed as much as possible, and indulge when you can. You're almost there!

Thank you @mouse39 you're always so positive

@sfield21 thank you for thinking of me!! I think you missed my earlier freakout/meltdown about my results. I've calmed down that they're not as bad as my initial reaction, but the rundown is 28 eggs retrieved, 23 mature, 13 fertalized, 3 embryos frozen. I just freaked out at the very, very high attrition rate, but really appreciated that my doctor called, said he saw this as a huge positive and was really excited for me, and that nothing I said could make him not see this as a win. I was crying hysterically, having expected more embryos than I'd ever need, which is not the case. But I'm okay now, having put things in perspective, and trying my hardest to focus on only one step at a time. FET scheduled for late March/early April. They want me to get two periods after my ER to recover fully and the first one should start on Tuesday. How are you doing

danij823

@thezaltyberger I just started BC and Testosterone gel on Sunday and will hopefully start stim meds on 2/18 with a tentative egg retrieval scheduled for 3/1.  It all feels so far away!  The waiting seems like the hardest part so far, although I haven't started injections.. 

thezaltyberger

@danij823 let me assure you that time will pass quickly I agree that waiting is the hardest by far. The stims, though not super pleasant, felt like taking action and being productive toward my goal and helped pass the days faster. Hope you feel the same and hope you don't have any BC side effects like I did! (terrible irritability and mood swings, poor DH!)

danij823

@thezaltyberger so far I just feel on the verge of crying all the time. Luckily the BC is only for 2 weeks.  I thought it would be longer so it was a pleasant surprise.  I can't stop worrying and thinking about this  though, it's all consuming.  Hopefully it will all be worth it!  You have two cycles to go before transfer?  

thezaltyberger

I think it'll be worth it and I wish that for everyone here! Yea, they told me I had to wait to get two periods. First one is next week. I've never been excited for a period before haha! They said you can get temporary cysts on your ovaries after ER and also because I had such a "big" response, my body just needs some time to rest and recover. Their feedback was that my discomfort could continue into pregnancy if I did the fresh transfer - 28 eggs was just a LOT. Even now, 8 days later, I am still feeling some very slight pangs of discomfort (totally manageable), and the fresh transfer would've been last Monday. That just felt like a bit too much to handle!

mbradfo2

They called today -- 7 were mature and of that 4 fertilized. So, basically at the point we were with the first IVF cycle. The nurse was happy with that number and told me the embryologist said everything looks like it should be at this point (for the fertilized eggs). FX we get at least 1 or 2 for testing. If we have only 1, I -might- not test. It depends on whether I can handle another m/c or not; I'm not sure it would hit me as hard now, but also not sure if I want to test that. And it's a bunch of money to waste for an abnormal embryo. 

@danij823
I think the stims go pretty quickly and they keep you busy with all the appointments and such. The wait to start is definitely the worst part, probably only second to the nail-biting of waiting for the update on your embryos. 

@thezaltyberger
I think it's also totally possible that you might have way too much estrogen in your system for the start of a healthy pregnancy! So, it sucks to wait, but I think it will be worth it as well. You did have an amazing response to the stims!

@dukie001
Thanks -- DD was perfectly fine today! No fever, no fussiness, totally back to herself. I guess it was just one of those 24 hour bugs. I spoiled her a bit and let her have an ice cream cone for breakfast XD XD

@PrettyPalomino
FX for you!

@mouse39
They showed the cath insertion and embryo deposit on the screen at my doctor's office for my previous FET. To be honest, I'm awful at reading ultrasounds and didn't really get much from it XD 

hej2021

@mbradfo2 - crossing my fingers for you on those 4 eggs!! Totally hear you on not wanting to test if it's just 1.
@thezaltyberger - thank you! I am definitely sitting a lot - it's actually tough to sit still and not exercise at all but I can definitely tell my body needs it. The wait for you must be so tough, but definitely sounds like the right move. 28 is a lot!! I can't imagine how hard it must be to recover from that. Your body has been through a lot so hopefully you can enjoy the rest a little bit :)
@danij823 hang in there - the BC was tough on me too so I can totally relate to the feeling of wanting to cry all the time!
@dukie001 - thank you!! Seems like a great community.

Crossing my fingers that tomorrow is my trigger shot - I could REALLY be okay without ever taking Menopur again ;)

danij823

@mbradfo2 4 sounds promising!  Hope they all keep growing!
@thezaltyberger It sounds like it's absolutely the right choice after that crazy egg retrieval! I know the waiting around is tough too though. 
@hej2021 I made the mistake of watching The Notebook last night and my husband thought I was never going to stop crying, LOL!  I hope you get to trigger soon!  So exciting! 

Thank you all for sharing all your stories and all the support.  It is incredibly helpful to my mental health through this! 

mouse39

Here is my updated. I just received a call from the lab. To recap I started with 12 eggs retrieved, 9 of those fertilized, and only 4 made it to day 7. Those 4 were sent to be tested genetically. Of those 4 only 1 came back eligible for transfer. Not sure how I am feeling, I was hoping for at least 3. I told them I would rather not know the sex drive it's only 1. Not sure if I should take my chances with that one or go through the cycle again to try to get more embies.

thezaltyberger

Oh @mouse39 god I know that mixed feelings experience so well, I've been going through it all week. Dashed hopes, confusion, feeling down. I FEEL YOU. But let's take a moment to celebrate that healthy embryo! A wonderful opportunity! Is a fresh transfer on the table for you? Or only FET after 1-2 months? I don't think that you can make a bad choice honestly. The reason being that 1-2 months won't make a huge difference. If you do a transfer soon, you'll also know soon if you were successful. If you are - wonderful! Never have to do this again! If it doesn't work, then you've only lost a small number of months and can embark on another round of stims.

Alternately, if you go for another round of stims right now or next month, you'll again only lose 1-2 months by delaying the transfer. You might have a shot to implant more than one if your doctor thinks it's a good idea, or an opportunity for back-to-back transfers if the first one fails. Maybe that's slightly better? Though I know the physical and emotional toll of going through another round of stims when you didn't expect to is probably overwhelming right now.

While I know how you're feeling now, I'd say there are no bad options in front of you, and one healthy embryo that could turn out to be the one!

And we'll be here for you regardless of what you choose or what happens every step of the way

mouse39

@thezaltyberger ♥️♥️ thank you for celebrating my embryo! My doctor wants to do a FET and when we spoke he said he was only transferring 1 regardless. I haven't told my partner yet but I think I am leaning more towards just taking my chance with that one embryo. As I think back all my tests and my partners came back normal. I now believe all my miscarriages were due to chromosome abnormalities. Thank you for your online support it means so much to me. 

danij823

@mouse39 Man, 1 of 4 doesn't sound that great.. but yay for one healthy embaby!!!    
That is such a hard choice!  Are you hoping for more than one child ultimately?  Or just one and done.  I am hoping for just one but if I only get one shot and it fails then right back to where I started so man, that's so tough.   Maybe you can transfer and hope for the best and only redo stims/ER if you have to? 

mouse39

@danij823 yes I am hoping for only one baby and that's it I'm done. I probably will just take my chances.

danij823

@mouse39 I think that is the choice I would/will make if that is the decision I'm faced with.  
Keep the hope either way lady!  It only takes one and you've got it ! 

soccergirl23

@mouse39 I'm sorry to hear that (I had very similar results) but yay for one healthy embryo! We are also only wanting one so we're using our one healthy embryo and hoping for the best. I figured why go through more rounds of IVF if this one works and also, I think I would feel bad not utilizing extra healthy embryos (maybe?). I don't think 2 more months of trying an FET will impact egg quality or anything like that so why not try? We could get lucky! Just my opinion and current path forward

dukie001

@mouse39 congratulations on a healthy embryo! I know you disappointed, but on the bright side there is a reason to celebrate the one that you have. It could’ve been bad bad and no embryos. So try to look at the positive here. ❤️ We are all hoping that FET will go well and you’ll have a baby in your hands

hej2021

Quick update - No trigger for me today :( My largest egg was 18mm so getting close though... I'm going in again tomorrow - fingers crossed!
Random question. Is anyone else using a mail order pharmacy? My insurance requires it but it's the WORST. so many stressful days wondering if I'd get my medicine in time. Today, it literally came in 12 minutes before I needed to take it! Definitely adding stress during an already stressful time :/

@mouse39 sorry to hear that you were disappointed. i am very hopeful for your 1 healthy embryo though - i have a good feeling about that one :)
@danij823 ohh man - watching the notebook during an IVF cycle is a bold move! ;) i'm making my husband screen all of the movies and shows we put on to make sure they aren't sad or stressful, haha

dukie001

@hej2021 I use that kind of pharmacy and I had to stress out couple times too. Takes long time for some meds. Twice my package was delivered to a wrong address, but that on UPS. Both times I was freaking out though

mbradfo2

@hej2021
I used Freedom Pharmacy which is mail order, but my doctor sent the order directly to them and they were pretty good at getting it to me ASAP. I think they are specialized for fertility meds so they understand the time sensitivity. When I had my last FET, I had to get my PIO and estrogen patches from a specialty pharmacy in Miami though, which was a pain. They delivered it, but it was a big hassle to call and order it each time I needed a refill and then hope I would get it before 6 pm when I did my PIO shot. PIO is a whole 'nother story for me since I basically would almost run out before refilling it -- the early weeks of my pregnancy were really difficult for me emotionally, waiting for each scan (I got 4 from 7 weeks to 10 weeks) and I didn't want to order a bunch only to find out that I had miscarried. So the annoyance was mostly of my own making.

@danij823
One of my favorite shows was Call the Midwife and I basically had to stop watching it from the beginning of my IVF cycle until I had my little girl. It just made me so upset and stressed me out. I was very happy that they addressed infertility on the show with one of the main characters, although somewhat disappointed that she ended up having that "miracle" pregnancy and all was roses. That was hard to stomach when I was going through all this crap. There was also a sitcom with Meliisa Joan Hart in it that I had to stop watching since they were doing the whole TTC/baby thing in one of the last seasons. Too triggering. 

AFM
All 4 are still going, so that's good news. One of them seems a little wonky per the embryologist (well, he used different words) so that one may end up arresting by tomorrow. My stats on my first ER were 5 fertilized, 4 on day 3, 2 on day 6, so I feel okay with everything so far. DD has been a delightful distraction at the very least; today she "cooked dinner" for me lol

hej2021

@mbradfo2 So glad to hear that all 4 are still on track! That's great news. Hoping that continues!
We are using Freedom Pharmacy also. Since it's in the winter in Boston, we've had a few hiccups and the delivery services in my area are also just terrible. And with my dosages changing each couple of days it's been tough. But I think I should be good on medicine until my egg retrieval. Good to know that the PIO can be a pain (literally and figuratively, haha). I just asked for mine to be sent before the egg retrieval just to be safe :) Thanks for the heads up.

thezaltyberger

I’m in Boston too @hej2021

mbradfo2

Dropped down to 3 still going, but report from embryologist is positive, nice number of clearly differentiated, regular cells, no multinucleation (which often indicates a chromosome abnormality). 

@hej2021
@thezaltyberger
Not from Boston myself, but one of my favorite cities to visit! I'm pretty far from you guys lol -- southern Florida about 1.5 hr north of Miami XD. For the record, the specialty pharmacy that refilled my PIO was located in Miami and the distance always made me super nervous about it getting to me on time! My RE is also minor local celebrity due to doing a successful transfer with flashlights and some generator back up during a hurricane XD XD

thezaltyberger

So weird, I got my first post-ER period super early on day 24 when my cycle has always been very regular and consistent starting between days 27-30. It’s a verrrrry heavy and painful period I woke up around 5:30am with really awful cramps. Normally only my back hurts, but now my stomach hurts and I can feel what I think are my ovaries pulsing. Ugh. Silver lining I suppose is that this means my FET will be moved up by a few days in March!

sfield21

@thezaltyberger really sorry about your embryos, but 3 is still great. 3 healthy embryos to give it your best shot! Hoping the period pains subside soon, can you take Advil or midol? Advil extra strength liquid gels always seem to work for me. 

@mbradfo2 hoping those last 3 embryos make it for you! Sorry if you’ve said already, but are you pgs testing? 

AFM I had random slight spotting Thursday night, like the smallest amount but I wanted to mention it to my nurse at my appt on Friday. So just to be safe my RE wants me to come back tomorrow (Monday morning) for a double check to make sure everything is looking good before adding in the progesterone. My lining was 17mm, so I think everything else was fine. Has anyone else had something similar happen? I’m hoping everything is fine tomorrow and we can add in the progesterone and book my transfer... fingers crossed I guess! I’m just worried something is messed up or the timing won’t be right anymore. I’ve always started my progesterone on CD14 and transfer on CD20, but now that will all be pushed by 3 days. 

hej2021

@thezaltyberger - oops, to clarify I am not in Boston (anymore! I lived in Cambridge, MA for a while and loved it ) but Freedom Fertility is so we still had to deal with some weather delays. You guys got a bit of snow lately it seems Hope you managed to stay warm!  And sorry you haven't been feeling well - hope you feel better soon. That's good news on moving up the transfer!

@mbradfo2 - oh WOW! I am glad you weren't the patient during the hurricane - how stressful! But love that your RE was so committed! And that's great news on still having 3!

@sfield21 - best of luck for a good appointment! Good that your RE is bringing you in just to double check - always better safe than sorry, IMO Sounds like it could very easily be nothing though.

AFM - we ended up triggering yesterday so tomorrow is my retrieval. I'm nervous and really hoping everything goes well / they get lots of eggs / I have an easy recovery / my estrogen isn't too high for us to do a fresh transfer. I know a FET isn't the end of the world and would let us do the genetic testing in between but patience has never been my strong suit, haha. Any post egg retrieval tips? I've heard a high sodium, high protein diet is good - and I got stool softeners because I've heard the after effects on your digestive track can be less than stellar... Open to any other suggestions! 

dukie001

@sfield21 good luck to you! Hopefully your schedule remains the same. When is your transfer? 

@mbradfo2 fingers crossed for your embies🤞🏻

@hej2021 good luck to you tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes smoothly 🥰. The only advice I can give is just take it easy afterwards. I was super sore for about two days and just chose to lay on the couch. 

@thezaltyberger sorry for your painful AF ❤️. Hang on there. One down and one more to go! 😉 

AFM I just had a long weekend that I spent at home because the weather is really cold. On Friday I got my COVID vaccine, need to get a second dose in 21 days. I decided to get it now because I would have to get it anyways. In the military they vaccinate us for everything  and don’t give us a choice, it’s mandatory. You name a disease, I’m probably vaccinated for it 🥴.... Still taking my birth control and slowly getting more and more irritated with everything. God I hate all these extra hormones. 

danij823

@hej2021 Good luck today!  Hope they get lots of good eggs! 

PrettyPalomino

@thezaltyberger Rough start to the cycle, but great news about things moving along at an acceleterated pace!

@mouse39 They had the ultrasound screen right in my face on the table to watch the procedure, and a separate TV with the lab's view of the embryo under microscope. I got a quick flash of that embaby right before transfer. Looked like jello    They also printed out a sonogram with the embryo labeled on my uterine lining! I chuckled at first because it felt a bit pre-mature to be given a picture of a possible baby. And then proceded to stare at it for 15 mins straight in the "recovery" room. Way to mess with me, Doc. 

AFM today is 5dp5dt. I found a reddit post that has me feeling alllll kinds of crazy. I posted a discussion about it. I gave up on my internet cheapie HGC tests and purchased FRERs off Amazon so I am patiently (hah) awaiting their arrival today. I'm pretty much deliberately drinking minimal water in anticipation of a mid-day test. According to that post, tomorrow (6dp5dt) is the BIG day. I'm a ball of nerves, just trying to keep busy at work, but sadly it's a quiet day on that front. Ugh. Yucky. What a rollercoaster. I haven't been this emotionally charged since my teenage puppy-love days. "Is he going to call me? Should I call him?". DON'T miss it.

sfield21

@PrettyPalomino LOL!!! Love your post and I totally feel you. My fingers are crossed so hard for good news!!