IF Testing & Treatment w/o Feb 5

britters314

**This is a place for those of us who have already started TTC, but have started infertility testing and/or treatments. You can express your thoughts, feelings, and frustrations on infertility. TTC can be a long journey naturally, then add in the difficulties associated with infertility, and it becomes a whole new ballgame. The road to infertility can be lonely, frustrating, and complicated, so let's make this a place where we can vent, ask questions, and support one another. Feel free to resurrect this thread at any point in the week if you have something to say. Treat this as an ongoing conversation.

Diagnosis (if you've been):

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched):

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):

How are things going?:

Any questions?:

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick?

aisleofviewtwo

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): IVF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Egg retrieval

How are things going?: I had to fire my husband as injection administrator after he was so lightheaded that he had trouble following the instructions and needed to lie down afterward. We’re both a little frustrated he can’t do this one thing in a process that is so taxing on me, but at the same time, my prediction last week that the control freak in me would prefer to do it myself was 100% correct.

Had my first check-in at the clinic this morning, and they said everything looked great! Details in spoiler for anybody interested.

As of today I’ve got 5 follicles in the 10-12mm range, and 10 more that may or may not catch up. Starting Ganirelix tomorrow to prevent ovulation. Fewer than I’d hoped for, so starting the positive self talk that it’ll be ok if we need at least one more retrieval to get the numbers we need. There’s already some relief in knowing that my body seems to be responding well to the meds.

Any questions?:

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick? Ugh as a historian by training it’s too hard to choose! But I do think the women’s march on Versailles, one of the early events of the French Revolution, must have been a sight to behold. (Fun fact: the marathon for the 2024 Olympics in Paris is planned to follow the route taken by the marchers!)

ATolentino89

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): TI

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): medicated TI

How are things going?: good. Got my TSH rechecked and it's down from 5.11 to 2.41; I have a couple of good eggs and I trigger tomorrow. We just got home from a late night trip to Walmart to get Pre-seed. We're trying it all and next step is an iui.

Any questions?: nope

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick?
I would love to watch my grandparents meet and fall in love. 

britters314

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): Benched

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Paperwork for embryo adoption

How are things going?: Good. It’s looking like we’ll be able to finish up all this paperwork and do the home study visit around the end of the month or beginning of March and then we hopefully don’t have to wait long to be matched with a donor family!

Any questions?: Nope

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick?
First expedition to the South Pole would be pretty cool to see, assuming I’d be safe (and warm lol)

bumblebee0210

@aisleofviewtwo FWIW, I had many ER cycles where I had zero measurable on that first visit, and everything we got was from the smaller guys. But I do caution everyone to go in thinking about "banking" (to the extent that it's affordable), and trying to be realistic about multiple cycles, because there is typically so much variation. But the good thing is they're growing! Exciting to be finally moving forward..

Diagnosis (if you've been): RPL, DOR

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): TWW (FET)

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): FET

How are things going?: I hate this week. I feel terrible from the progesterone, and even with my rational brain that has been through this, it's impossible not to try to over interpret every twinge. Also I am so tired.

Any questions?: 

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick? I think I would just want to witness everyday life in the pre-industrial period. Maybe Europe?

inthewoods23

@aisleofviewtwo grow little follicles grow!

@ATolentino89 nice drop of the TSH! That's great!

@britters314 you've probably answered this before, but what's the average wait time to get picked by a donor family for embryo adoption? I hope your wait isn't long!

@bumblebee0210 you and me both hating this week. Except mine is because AF is here. Bleh. And I didn't have that great of an appointment with my OB this morning.

Diagnosis (if you've been): immune and blood clotting issues

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): TI

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): just following the same immune protocol with meds and lovenox. I really need to get in contact again with my RE to see if she'd do an endo scratch but I'm guessing I wouldn't be able to have that done for this cycle. Boo.

How are things going?: So my RI had suggested doing monitored medicated cycles with letrozole to confirm I am in fact ovulating even though I consistently get positive OPKs, I get a BBT temp shift, and my cycles are regular. He said that doesn't 100% prove it but monitoring via ultrasound would. I talked with my OB today and she's not recommending it because 1, she says there's no point in taking the medication if I'm already ovulating (in her words, I get a period so therefore I'm ovulating) and 2, they only do monitored cycles with IUI. They don't do it with TI. Oh and she said there's no proof that endo scratches do anything so she advised against that too. I'm still going to ask my RE about it. I'm pretty much ready to ask if I can switch to a different OB in the practice. I've never cared for how my OB talks. Like I felt kinda scolded for my questions and no amount of advocating for myself would get her to reconsider. We did also talk about how this is cycle 3 and I'll be 35 in 2 months so I'm thinking DH and I may as well set up a plan to get the fertility testing redone (it's been 2+ years at this point anyway) for when we hit that benchmark. It just feels really weird that I'd be back in the trenches of that when I feel we're both totally healthy and my fertility (last it was checked) was on the "more fertile" side.

Any questions?: mm no. Tips for feeling less sad about not being pregnant? 

GTKY: If you could go back in time to witness a historical event, what would you pick? I like @bumblebee0210 's idea of pre-industrial times. Like what was life like before cell phones and other modern things that we have. What were the simple times like!?

bumblebee0210

@inthewoods23. Honestly I feel like OBs are terrible at RE stuff. They are still just like "have sex on day 14 ok bye". I don't think they have a lot of training in this area, and I wouldn't really listen to them. Just talk to the RI/RE.

AFM-- beta is tomorrow. Just wanted to say I will probably ghost if it's positive. Being a RPL-er makes those first few weeks complicated, feelings-wise, so I likely won't be anywhere. If you don't hear from me-- you can assume it's (tentative) good news! I'll be lurking over here and crossing my fingers. If it's bad news, I'll be back.

aisleofviewtwo

@bumblebee0210 I’ve got fingers and toes crossed for you!! Hoping not to see you around these parts for a good long while, and wishing you peace as you navigate whatever the future holds 💛

inthewoods23

@bumblebee0210 yeah I was thinking I should contact the RE soon in case I need to get reestablished with her since I haven't seen her since before the pandemic. My OB's office does offer some fertility testing and treatment like IUIs. I'm not sure they actually have an RE on staff though. Maybe they as a practice don't, but it's with coordination with the medical group they are considered part of. 🤷‍♀️

My OB wouldn't listen when I tried to describe "weak ovulation" which I KNOW someone here once discovered they have. Where yeah it looks like you've ovulated but the egg doesn't actually release (or maybe releases before the egg is actually mature so there's no chance it could get fertilized). Like pretty sure that's a thing. She was just so quick to shot everything down. 🙄

Good luck tomorrow! Keeping my FX! 🤞🤞🤞

britters314

@aisleofviewtwo FX the rest of those follicles grow!

@ATolentino89 Yay for TSH dropping!

@inthewoods23 They say it's an average of 3-4 months for matching, then a few months for getting contracts signed and shipping the embryos over. It could take us less time to get matched, though, since we are pretty open on what we'll accept and the fertility clinic we are working with will accept any embryos. Sometimes matching can take longer if the fertility clinic is picky about what embryos they will work with.

ATolentino89

@inthewoods23 I think I have the opposite problem and I would ovulate dead eggs. Purely speculation at this point but these past 3 medicated cycles are so wildly different from my natural cycle. 

aisleofviewtwo

@inthewoods23 @britters314 my ovaries appreciate the encouragement, they’re working just as hard as they can 🤗

Mid-cycle update in spoiler:

We’re now up to 10 measurable follicles!! Ranging from 10.0mm to 16.9mm. Not sure we’ll be able to get all of them mature in the retrieval window, but trending toward an egg count in the upper single digits, which is on the high end for what my clinic expected given my diagnostic numbers. Going back in on Sunday for labs and ultrasound. To be continued!