Newbie needing some info

krissie281 · August 2015

I'm starting ivf this month due to low sperm count on my husbands end. I have clear bill of health on my end had one child naturally already. What should I expect medication wise leading up to the egg retrival. I'm reading lots of stories of woman with their own fertility issues on their end but that's not my case and not sure if treatments are the same no matter what. Thank you

MKLEWIS2010 · August 2015

***BFP mentioned ***** Hi I also had MFI. The type of treatment does depend on the woman and her diagnosis. For example some women have to have higher doses of the meds because they will only respond well to that. My protocol was menopur, follistim, ganirelex - to stop me from ovulating & pregnyl--trigger shot. The injections except for the trigger were not too bad. The menopur burned a little going in. The trigger had me sore for a day since its intramuscular. When my medications arrived I was very nervous and anxious but also excited to start. There are a lot of medications and needles and you will quickly overcome any fear of needles that you have. You will be going for monitoring I went literally every two days and some times every day for BW and ultrasounds. To me the hardest part is the emotional aspect of this journey, I initially thought it would be the needles. I also set myself up for disappointment since I figured it would work the first time. We did have a BFN for our fresh transfer which they did five days post retrieval. However a month later we did a frozen transfer and the statistics for frozen transfers are much higher than fresh at my clinic the stats are doubled. You should talk to your doctor about the protocol and find out what the goal is for the amount of follicles they want to see. You want to have a good number but not too much as to avoid OHSS. I had 33 follies and 28 oocytes. We ended up with 4 embryos. We now have 2 frozen left. Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope I helped! Good luck! When do you start your stims?

MelenaZ · August 2015

This is my first IVF cycle. I am on day 8 of stim injections. My regimen is also fsh, menopur, and ganirelex (no trigger inj yet). So far the worst s/e that I have had is fatigue, I am always tired, and major abdominal bloating. Doesn't help the sleeping issue that I have to wait until 10-11pm to take the ganirelex. I have also been having headaches, but I think that is related to the decrease in my coffee intake. Other then that it is ok.
I am a big wimp with any medication that I take so I try to just keep myself busy at work in the day and I don't think about it, and I try not to stress or overthink every feeling I have.

krissie281 · August 2015

How long is the process from starting the med until retrival date? I'm just meeting with the doctor this friday. Thanks for the info

MKLEWIS2010 · August 2015

It's about two weeks, but it does depend on how you respond to the meds. Your follies should be around 18-22mm in size. So they usually monitor you every other day to check the sizes.

MelenaZ · August 2015

There is about 10-12 days of stim injections until retrieval date. It all depends on your hormone levels and size of follicles. When ur close ur RE will tell u it's time for a trigger shot, then 36 hrs later is retrieval.

krissie281 · August 2015

Thank you! I'm so scared of the needles that's the only problem I'm scared of is the needle sizes lol

MelenaZ · August 2015

The needles are very small. U barely feel them go in. What u do feel is stinging from the medication. It burns for a little while after but then it goes away.
I was so excited to start, then the day I started I got very scared. Scared mostly because I was stressing about side effects. But they have been minimal.

krissie281 · August 2015

Thank you so much. Sorry for all the questions. Where do the needles go into? Feel free to inbox me if you don't want this on the thread

MelenaZ · August 2015

No problem. Inj go below belly button.

MKLEWIS2010 · August 2015

@krissie281 you should see if your nurse can give you a teach class it helped me to feel more comfortable with the injections.

AdorkablePixie · August 2015

@MKLEWIS2010 I am about to start Menopur (hopefully this week), did you notice any side effects other than the stinging when the injection went in? I am so nervous about injecting myself. I am terrified of needles. Do you have any pointers?

@krissie281 Good luck with everything! I hope it goes well for you,

MKLEWIS2010 · August 2015

I didnt have any side effects from any of the meds, but I went straight to sleep after. I was very tired and fatigued when I started the PIO injections. I had my DH do the injections because I couldnt, but looking back at it now, those subcutaneous shots are not that bad and I could do those myself if necessary, the needles are much smaller. I dont think I could do the intramuscular ones on my own, but I might have to because I have to travel for work soon. Some women suggested treating themselves with a piece of chocolate after. I was terrified of needles but now it doesnt bother me. I know you can do it, the first few times might be hard but once you realize that its not that bad you will be okay. The fear is more in your head than anything else (at least for me) I would flinch in the beginning but then when its done and its very quick I wondered why I was scared because its barely a pinch. Is there anyone that can help administer the shots for you?

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