March IVF group

hej2021

Hi guys - apologies if this is duplicative, I saw a March FET group but not a March IVF group.  

Anyone else planning to start stims this month? My husband and I will be starting our 2nd round of IVF this month. We are trying long lupron since my doctor said that some people have success and improve the quality of embryos (albeit sometimes at the expense of quantity). We previously did the regular Gonal F/Menopur + ganarelix and had 12 eggs retrieved / 10 mature / 7 fertilized / 3 day 5 embryos / 2 PGT-A euploid girl embryos. We were happy at the end of the day with the 2, but we want 2 kids and the feedback that we got is that you typically want 4 embryos for 2 live births, plus the quality wasn't great with all embryos 2BB or below, so here we go again... Figured it made sense now given I'm 34, and currently not traveling or going into the office for work, so if there were ever going to be a good time to do another round, this would be it. 

lylf

Hi, I started my meds on Feb 27. This is our first time and I’m doing the gonalf 200 and menopur 150 method. I found out FET is a separate service and am really freaking out about what that cost will be. Also taking Omnitrope and started Ganirelix last night. Both of these needles are awful blunt and it is so painful to stab myself with it. The gonal f and menopur needles go in fine. I’m also giving DH hCg injections and his needles go in easy too.

sfield21

Hey, just jumping over from the March FET board..

@lylf sometimes there is blunt fill needles as well as a smaller injection needle, just double check it’s the right one, or maybe ask your clinic for a smaller needle. My transfers are around $2000-$3000 for assisted hatching and transfer fees. Plus I’m on estrogen and progesterone which for me, the progesterone is not covered. 

Best of luck to you both during your stims. 

jlr54

Hi there, I also am planning to start stims this month. I’m 29 with no diagnosis contributing to infertility other than I can’t conceive naturally. My wife and I have been TTC since September of last year with donor sperm. I will be carrying. We did 4 unsuccessful IUIs and this will be our first IVF cycle. I got all my meds last week and now am just waiting for my period to start so I can go for baseline U/S and bloodwork. We are doing a non-OCP antagonist cycle. I usually have very regular 28 day cycles but of course this month when I actually want my period to get here, it’s days late! 

skyee87

Hi all! New member (long time lurker). Also starting meds this month (which prompted me to sign up and post!). I'm 33 with no diagnosis contributing to infertility. DH has Klinefelter's Syndrome so we have to do FET (need PGS). This is our first IVF cycle and we are pretty much newbies with the entire process so apologize in advance if I ask any dumb questions! :blush:

Got the meds via mail this weekend and so overwhelmed already! I'm supposed to get started March 14, but the injections are really intimidating. I've seen some posts about it, but is there a trick to how to do the shots in a way that is less painful (i.e., direction of the needle, etc.)? Also, any words of wisdom regarding the Menopur dilution process?

Looking forward to sharing this journey with y'all! <3

hej2021

@skyee87 - welcome! and i totally get that the medicine for the first time can be super overwhelming! i should be starting the same week as you, maybe a few days later. my tip for the shots - i usually iced the area for a couple minutes before injecting and mixed the menopur ~10 minutes before injecting, as i found that reduced the burn. my husband actually injects so i'm able to close my eyes which is helpful for me. he normally stuck it in at a 90 degree angle which worked for us but didn't really try other angles so can't speak to what's best. good luck!

@lylf - i agree with @sfield21 , maybe you can try a different needle? i personally didn't find the ganarelix needle to feel any different than the others.  sorry that the additional cost caught you by surprise - that's never a fun realization  

@jlr96 - i hear you! the waiting game is the worst - i am waiting to start my medicine right now and just want to get it over with. unfortunately, this whole process has sooo many periods of waiting ... it's tough!

Lisa3379

@skyee87 I was totally intimidated, too, and I have a needle phobia. Honestly? It really wasn’t too bad. Toward the end, after I had been poked probably 20 times at that point, I used an ice pad on my stomach for a few minutes beforehand, and then microwaved it and held it there for awhile afterward. The heat felt really nice. But you’ll get used to it. I had my husband do it all because there’s no way I could ever work up the nerve. 

This website has videos for every type of medication you could get, that helped teach us what to do: http://freedommedteach.com/eng/

lylf

Thanks yall. I’m projected to do my trigger shot tomorrow. The nurse mentioned something about sugar instructions tomorrow. Does anyone know what that’s about? 

Also trying to think positive, i have at least 15 follicles of decent size and many smaller ones. We are going to fertilize 10 eggs and freeze the rest. Hoping our baby is somewhere in these follicles. 

skyee87

@lylf so exciting! Sending you so much good energy for the ER! You got this! <3

@Lisa3379 thank you for the link! It was SO helpful! Just watched this morning with DH and we feel somewhat confident now (which is A LOT better than how we felt before!) :D I'm also going to do the ice/hot pad.

@hej2021 thank you! Super appreciate the advice and will definitely do it! DH is also doing the injections so hearing from you that I can just close my eyes and it'll be done helped me feel better. :# Also, how awesome it is that we are *almost* on the same timeline! Definitely looking forward to sharing experiences.

Had my pre-visit start call today and the IVF office walked me through all the meds and the tentative calendar - what started off for us as being very (but very) intimidating now has turned into just plain excitement. Don't get me wrong, I know we have a long road ahead with a lot of MAYBEs, IFs and PROBABLY NOTs, but just getting started and giving this a shot feels like a big step forward! :smiley:

tangerine32

@skyee87
I second the freedommed videos. I watched them ahead of time and then literally followed along as I mixed the drugs and put together the needles. My husband was in charge of starting/stopping video as I did the steps. The first time or two is intimidating but it gets easier!
I would add that I iced the injection site afterward even if it didn't hurt-- I felt like it reduced bruising (no idea if that's true!). As far as the needles, they are really not that painful. I noticed that sometimes I was so excited to be done that I pulled the needle out too quickly and might have unnecessarily nicked myself once or twice. So I just remind myself to stay focused.

lylf

I just triggered. Harvesting at 9 am on Thursday. To all you other ladies, I’m thinking of you too and wishing us all the best. 

The injections and surgery aren’t what have me frazzled. It’s everything that comes after. Trying to stay positive. I plan to see a friend on Saturday. We’ve kept in touch but I haven’t seen her since covid. Trying to focus on that to keep my stress down. 

Also, I hear alot of people that have their husbands give them the injections. Kudos. I wish that would work for me. I think I’d feel some romance in the process if we did that. But my DH has no interest and I kinda feel more in control doing it myself. I know I’m doing it right and I can control the speed. But it really does make me feel disconnected from him. He also told me to stay off the forum as I’m obsessing. Makes me feel even more disconnected. How can I not obsess when my estradiol is nearly 6000 pg/ml, I’m super emotional, bloated, and constipated, and we’ve been trying for so long. For me, I know this is the only time I will harvest. We will do as many FET’s as we can afford to get the family we want, but I also have always wanted to adopt. My goal is one biological, one adopted, the other can go either way. I try to keep reminding myself that they can all be adopted and that will be allright. But the instinct and constant disappointment has become so strong I’m feeling really broken. I just want to move past this pain and wither emerge victorious or move on from my grief. 

I am seeing a counselor but ironically she’s currently on maternity leave. Everyone in the world is moving forward and I’m standing still kinda feeling really sucks. And this week I also got passed up for a promotion. Just feeling it from all angles. Sorry for the rant. 

Lisa3379

@lylf I’m sorry you’ve been feeling disconnected from your husband during this process. I can see how that can make you feel alienated and kind of alone, especially at a time when you need as much support and positivity as you can get. Please, feel free to rant away when you need to. Know that you have a bunch of ladies in similar situations rooting for you.  

hej2021

@lylf - I'm so sorry to hear that you are feeling like that. It's totally understandable though - even without all the extra hormones from the injections! We are all happy to support you. I'm sure your husband is trying to think about what would make him feel better (e.g. not being on the forums) but it's honestly different for every person. I find it really helpful to hear from others going through the same experience so that I know that I'm not crazy for feeling a certain way or being anxious at particular points. I also recognized at one point that I was spending too much time thinking about IVF and reading about IVF so needed to take a step back. You know what's best for you and hopefully he can understand that. I hope your appointment today goes well - thinking of you!

As for me, I start lupron tomorrow and then should start the stims in a week or so. I'm a little nervous because I'm also going on a mini 2 night vacation to the beach this weekend and I'm worried the lupron will make me feel off (I've never taken lupron before). I've tolerated most of the other medicines decently well so hopefully that's the case with this one too. I just kind of want the next couple of weeks until the retrieval to go by quickly - I want to get to the transfer   

lylf

Thanks @hej2021. I just got home from my retrieval. I had 15 follicles of decent size and tons of small ones. But I only had 8 eggs retrieved. Pretty sad about that. I was really expecting more, but I keep trying to think that’s at least 8 chances. 

Now I’m also wondering is it possible I’m not making eggs? Could all these failed IUI’s have also been because I wasn’t releasing any eggs? What can be done about this?

i really thought I’d be really happy today but I’m just worried. My husband all decided last minute to do PGT-A. Sooo... now more money and not sure if my insurance will cover or not. 

I see my primary doctor tomorrow and hoping for some anxiety meds. 

sfield21

@lylf 8 eggs is a great number!! 

I just wanted to tell you about my experience so far... and it’s in my signature too. 4 failed IUI’s, on to IVF with egg retrieval in 2018, 27 eggs retrieved, 23 mature enough for ICSI, 19 fertilized, 13 frozen at day 5 blast. Transferred one, became pregnant and daughter born May 2019. TTC #2 and no luck after 3 transfers, PGS tested remaining 9 embryos and only 2 are normal. 

3 failed transfers adds up, mentally, emotionally and financially. Yes PGS testing cost us $5300. But the meds add up every transfer too. 

Looking back I wish we would have done pgs testing right away. But I was in the “you’re young and don’t need PGS” group. So we took the Dr’s advice. We would have potentially avoided a lot of heart ache and months wasted. 

Try to stay positive, you’re working with a great number of eggs and I hope you get a few good PGS tested embryos 🤞🏻 The future looks bright for you. Take a few days to rest ❤️

lylf

out of the 8 eggs only one was mature and it failed to divide. The doctor was really surprised by this outcome given the number of follicles I had. And I don’t know if I can afford another round. I’m so heartbroken. 

skyee87

@lylf sending you a big hug right now. Don't think there is anything that I can write that will help ease what you are feeling, but know that I am thinking of you and sending you tons of love and strength. Don't hesitate to take some time off for yourself. This process is so taxing mentally and physically, there is nothing wrong with taking a step back and focusing on yourself, regrouping (physically and mentally), and giving this another shot (if it is what makes sense to you and your husband then at that time). 

sfield21

@lylf I’m so sorry to read your update. I completely agree with @skyee87 and couldn’t have said it better. 

I am thinking of you and sending positive support. One step at a time and you’ll figure out your next steps. 

hej2021

@lylf - I am so, so sorry to hear that. Please take the time that you need to grieve and take care of yourself - this is a grueling, heartbreaking process and my heart goes out to you.

skyee87

First shot of Ganirelix done last night! It did hurt a little after, but nothing to write home about. Thank you all so much for easing my mind and sending me the link to the videos! Only weird thing was that we noticed a "gurgling" sound toward the end of the shot - is it normal or did we accidentally leave bubbles in? Trying to make sure we do it right tonight!   

presendiz

Good morning, I wish all of you the best of luck!
This is our 2nd round of IVF. My retrieval day was yesterday. They got 5 eggs but 4 were mature enough to fertilize. The doctor just called to let us know that 3 are looking good so far. I am so bummed that we worked so hard and we are only looking at 3, possibly 2 to transfer. Does anyone have any success stories with this few of eggs? 

mbradfo2

@presendiz
I had my 2nd IVF cycle in Jan (doing a transfer this month) -- we've only ever gotten 2 blasts to transfer. My first cycle in 2017 5 eggs fertilized -->  2 untested day 6 blasts. 2nd cycle we got 2 tested normal day 5 blasts. My first transfer back in 2017 resulted in our happy and healthy daughter, so success is absolutely possible. It's just stressful to not have that buffer! I just focus on eating healthy and keeping stress low during the transfer period, so no special tricks or anything. One thing I did do for my first transfer was to take time off from work around it so I could relax and just enjoy myself a little. 

skyee87

Hi all! Just a general update on my end - started stims on Saturday and been doing them for the past three days. Had the follow up bloodwork and U/S today and things seem to be good. Estradiol went up from 65 (Friday) to 113 (today), so I *think/hope* that's good.

I haven't really had any headaches or any soreness after taking the stims, but boy, am I nauseous today (which definitely triggered fears of OHSS in my *very* anxious mind). Talked to the clinic and they took note of it, but otherwise they don't seem too concerned. Next appointment is this Thursday and then another follow up on Saturday. Grow follicles grow!

brwneydgrl82

Hello all!! I’m currently going through my first ivf cycle, which was almost cancelled because I had a small cyst on my right ovary. My baseline estrogen was 29. Day 3 estrogen was 135, day 5 estrogen (taken today) was 212. Today I had 5 follicles over 7mm and 2 under 7mm. I’ll find out Friday if my ER date is still 3/31 or if it will be pushed back to 4/1.

skyee87

@brwneydgrl82 Hi!! My ER is also anticipated for the week of 3/29-4/1 but no confirmation yet! So exciting! 

Hoping you find out soon when the ER date is and grow follicles grow! Are you planning on doing a fresh or frozen transfer? 

brwneydgrl82

I went in today for bloodwork & an ultrasound and I have 6 follicles ranging from 8-17mm. There are smaller ones that weren’t counted. My estrogen was 441 today. I go back Monday for more bloodwork & another ultrasound. I was told to plan on giving the trigger Monday night, and that the retrieval would be Wednesday. 

I’m doing a frozen transfer. My RE does not do fresh transfers.  What about you @skylee27? Frozen or fresh transfer ? 

skyee87

@brwneydgrl82 so exciting for Monday! FX for more follicles over the weekend! 

Also doing a frozen transfer! We have to do PGT-A, so looking likely for early May. How about you? Have you discussed timing with them? 

AFM, going tomorrow for Day 7 ultrasound/bloodwork. Day 5 follicles were measuring between 5-12mm, so hoping there's been some growth since then. Have one larger follicle (12mm) that I'm hoping doesn't lead us to a canceled cycle (which makes me so anxious about tomorrow)!

brwneydgrl82

Keep me posted. I will keep my fingers crossed for you! 

My dr advised against PGT, so we are not doing it. If all goes well, the transfer would be the week of May 10. 

This whole process is a lot... mentally & emotionally.  I’m 38, with 1.5 ovaries, endometriosis & diminished ovarian reserve/premature ovarian failure. This last year my fsh went from 11-17. I feel like it’s now or never. 

skyee87

@brwneydgrl82 thank you! Went to my appointment this morning and I had some follicle growth (with the gap between "lead" and others remaining the same) so my cycle will not be canceled. Stimming today and tomorrow and returning on Monday for another ultrasound/bloodwork. 

Completely agree with you regarding the process. Hang in there! Sending you tons of baby/embie dust. You should join us on the May/June FET thread! 

hej2021

@brwneydgrl82 and @skyee87 - you guys are both so close!! hoping everything progresses well and that you both have easy egg retrievals sending you both lots of baby dust.

i'm on day 3 of stims now - can't wait for this to be over even though we're just getting started, haha. we had a little mishap and accidentally injected the wrong dose of one of the meds yesterday but luckily our doctor said it's not a big deal and shouldn't impact results. phew!

jlr54

Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since my initial post so I just caught up. I found the stim and ER process to be very mentally draining as well as physically so I totally understand now the emotional rollercoaster it is. Wishing for a smooth and successful cycle for all of you ladies. 

I finished 9 days of stims on 3/19 with around 14 good sized follicles. Had my retrieval 3/21 and they were able to retrieve 11 eggs, 8 mature with 7 of those fertilizing. Just got my freeze cycle update and 5 of them made it to the blast/biopsy stage! Feeling so relieved but now it becomes another waiting game for those PGT results. It looks like we’ll be ready to do a FET early to mid May. 

brwneydgrl82

I’ll join the other group as well Feeling a little disappointed today... This morning at the scan I had 6 follicles ranging from 13.79-22.25, I was hoping more would have popped up over the weekend. Waiting to hear back on my estrogen levels to see if my trigger will be tonight or tomorrow night. 

@skylee27 How are you doing ? 

Good luck @hej2021

It’s such an emotional rollercoaster @jlr54
but we’ll all make it through this ❤️

Update: my estrogen came back at 1171. I trigger tonight, get more bloodwork tomorrow morning. My retrieval is scheduled for 9 am Wednesday. 

 

jlr54

I know it can be frustrating to have such a range of sizes @brwneydgrl82, hoping the next day or two pushes them all to where they need to be and you get some great eggs from those follies!

skyee87

@hej2021 Thank you!! I 100% hear you on wanting it to be over!  I apologize in advance for my TMI, but the last three days have been surreal on how much I'm feeling bloated and constipated, lol. It's so funny how it went from excitement about doing something new and getting started with the process to just avidly looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. So glad the accidental dose will not impact anything!! We did a more diluted Menopur than we should have the first two days (before I caught it) and I so can relate! Hang in there for the next few days

@jlr54 Yay!! I'm so happy for you! 5 is a great number! FX for the PGT testing - please let us know how it goes!

@brwneydgrl82 So exciting for your trigger shot this evening! And I definitely hear you on how stressful this all is - I'm somewhat in the same situation (5 follicles, ranging from 10-18mm as of today, with 3 others below 10mm) and I keep telling myself it is not a numbers game and quantity does not always dictate quality, but I'm pretty anxious about the retrieval. Sending you tons of baby dust for the next few hours/days!  

AFM: got my ultrasound and bloodwork done...E2 is at 885.2 pg/ml and they've started tracking my progesterone too. Stimming tonight and have another ultrasound/bloodwork tomorrow. Assuming where the levels are at, I may be triggering tomorrow night! 

Wild question - does it matter the location we inject the meds on for purposes of encouraging follicle growth? My left ovary has definitely been lagging and most of my "good" follicles are on the right ovary. Arguably, today is my tummy's left side's turn to get stabbed, but wondering if I should do it on the right side since all the big follicles are there? It probably doesn't matter, but that is the wild stuff going on in my brain right now!   

 

jlr54

@skyee87 I also felt sooo constipated during stims and after ER. It wasn’t till almost a week after that I was back to my normal bowels, and that it was also with taking a stool softener. Your numbers seem to be right on target! On the day of my trigger my estrogen was 1400 and I thought it might have not been high enough to produce enough mature eggs, but it’s true that quantity does not always mean quality! And I avoided OHSS which I was very glad about because it doesn’t seem fun. Hoping for the best ER for you. Also, no worries on where you stick the needle, the meds will still make it to both ovaries! Haha

skyee87

@jlr54 Thank you! Is there anything you've done preemptively to avoid OHSS? I've been dreading it. I did an uterine analysis before starting all of this and felt so uncomfortable for about a week after - wondering if it will be the same this time around. 

Update: Triggering tonight!   

jlr54

@skyee87 woohoo! Can’t wait to hear how it goes. I definitely went hard on the hydration and electrolytes leading up to and after the ER. I used the liquid IV packets instead of Gatorade to cut down on the sugar (or there’s also zero sugar Gatorades) but I would say hydration is the biggest thing. And some of it that is out of your control has to do with estrogen levels and number of follicles but your numbers seem right in that good range for high yield without overdoing it. Wishing you the best for Thursday!

@brwneydgrl82 just read your update, I hope your retrieval goes smoothly and you get some great results!! I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow!

brwneydgrl82

The retrieval went well. I’m a little sad, out of the 6 follicles, they got 4 eggs. Hoping they are all mature, that they all fertilize & that they make it to day 5.

skyee87

@brwneydgrl82 happy to hear it all went well! FX for mature eggs and them making it to day 5. I've been reading about folks who had 5 or less eggs retrieved and some were still able to go 100% all the way - praying for you.

brwneydgrl82

Thank you all for your support & words of encouragement! I’ve been kind of bummed today, hoping for good news tomorrow & Monday.

@skyee87 how are you doing? Are your triggering tonight ? 

jlr54

Praying they all make it to blast @brwneydgrl82! The wait to find out is the worst.