August/September IVF/FET

mtpbadger · July 2016

Hey all! I've been lurking from the June/July board and after getting a BFN from my first IVF/FET cycle today, I'll bthe starting another FET cycle the end of Aug with a new protocol. Looking forward to getting to know everyone! And glad to see some familiar faces on here and hoping this will be our months!

PhotogDana · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 awesome scan!! Looks like we'll be having our retrieval on the same day. Potentially. Spoke with my RE this morning and it looks like 5 eggs for us and retrieval Friday or a slight chance of Thursday. I was diagnosed with DOR so he was expecting the low number of follicles. The got 10 on the scan and 5 look promising.

sunnshine-2 · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 I started on two vials of menopur and it does sting! Good news is when my doc increased to 3 vials it didn't sting any more then it did with two.

@andreap681 great news at scan. Sounds good to me. :-)

@mtpbadger welcome!

@photogdana welcome!

@rachnan good luck tomorrow!

@bells520000 good luck at your appt!! Fx for you!

My retrieval is also tentative for Friday! I'm starting to get really nervous. The last two night since I added centrotide I have been waking up all night and sleeping like crap. My doc increased my gonal F again (up to 375) and kept the menopur at 3 vials until Wed. I had one follicle measuring bigger then the others at 15 but most were around 11-13 range - seems like my one ovary didn't get the message as it has one big follicle (15) and others are around 10. My other ovary is doing great though all between 11-13.

I found out last night that my step father had passed away of massive heart attack. It's a huge shock to our family. He was a great man and played a huge role in my life growing up.

APM_SLP · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 thanks for the awesome spreadsheet and congrats on the scan! Friday is so so soon!

@Sunnshine I'm so so sorry to hear about you're step father. Prayers for you and your family. He'll be watching over you during this journey!!

KirstenCas · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 I'm starting my cycle with ganirelix and I think it burns and stings worse than any of the other shots! Sounds like you are going to have a great retrieval

@mtpbadger hiya, fx for a good cycle
@Sunnshine sorry to hear about your FIN, GL on your retrieval

AFM - still on my estrace, testosterone, ganirleix until my Thursday baseline, fx

Questions - so do you guys actually have a follicle count at your baseline? is that your antral follicle count?

kyrgyzshan · July 2016

@KirstenCas out of the many baseline scans I've had I've never gotten a count. That doesn't mean they didn't count, but they've never told me.

lrynwnab · July 2016

This thread is really picking up, it's very exciting. @Sunnshine I am very sorry to hear about your stepfather. That's awful.

I had my baseline today and all was well enough to move on, even with a low antral follicle count. After trying several protocols, we hope this is the one that at least gets me to an egg retrieval. Clomid days 2-6, along with GonalF 300 and 2 vials of Menopur. All starts tomorrow.

Rachnan · July 2016

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone! I go in for a 5:30pm transfer and unfortunately my husband can't be there **TW** since he has to pick up our 2 year old from school. Hopefully I'll start a good trend for this group!

jodes727 · July 2016

@Sunnshine sorry to hear and your loss.

I had had my last u/s and b/w today and my estrogen came back high and they are thinking I'll end up with ohss. They said to start a high protein, high salt diet and drink lots of V8 (yuck) and/or Gatorade. Anyone go through this before and have any advice? I will also start on Dostinex tomorrow am.

Trigger shot tonight at 9:30 pm and transfer Wed am. We need to be at the clinic by 6:30 am

Kp214 · July 2016

I just received my protocol for the September cycle. No suppressing, 150 of follistim, 150 of menopur, omnitrope for a few days prior to retrieval, antagonist, and trigger shot (can't remember the name). My RE said we would be doing lower doses since we are going to get a comparable number whether I'm on the max dose or a minimal one. However, the only change is no bcp and a reduction from 300 of follistim. Does this seem standard for a lower stim cycle? Seems like a lot of meds to me. Thanks for any thoughts you have or experiences shared.

JamieH2000 · July 2016

@sunnshine- so sorry to hear about your stepfather :0(

@kristencas- I actually had an US and antricle follicle count during my consultation and they used that to give me my odds. its a good indication of ovarian reserve and how many eggs you could expect from IVF. Maybe ask next time you are there if you are curious?

@rachnan- good luck tomorrow! We will all be rooting for you!

stranzm · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 - Great news. I had 22 in my first fresh cycle. I was so uncomfortable the afternoon before egg retrieval that I left work early because I couldn't stand sitting in my office chair anymore

AFM: I've been MIA because we finally moved - on the hottest days of the year. House is still a bit in transition, but I'm getting there. Also, I just got hooked back to the internet. Frustration = Comcast transfer of service. I've been on a little bit of a withdrawal from my laptop

We are a definite go for the August cycle. Baseline was last Thursday and looked good. AF showed up a few days late, but came over the weekend so I will stay on my protocol timing. Starting Follistim tonight.

bells52000 · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28. Good luck! That's great cycle news. I am a newbie to this process but I did two vials on me opus in the beginning before my dosage was reduced. My shots hurt more when they were reduced! I figured out my husband was just getting more comfortable with the shots and was injecting it faster. The slower the better on that one worked for me.

@Sunnshine. I am sorry to hear about your loss. Good luck!

@PhotogDana. Welcome. And while this is my first cycle, I feel like everything changes so frequently that things could turn back In the right direction for your next scan. Hope it goes well for you.

@jodes727. We are retrieval buddies. Hope it all goes well for you!

As for me, I have my retrieval appointment Wednesday at 10am. I just received my lupron trigger an hour ago. I am always nervous when I take a new medication. But it was nice to have one shot instead of three!

My progesterone stabalized so the RE said now I may not have to do an all frozen cycle. I am overstimulated so they will hopefully gather up a good number of follies. I am still debating whether I will get pgs. For some reason I can't decide. RE says I am the perfect candidate because of my age, my ovaries are huge because of the overstim, and that they will be able to reduce the #eggs down to just the "good ones". Makes perfect sense, but I somehow just want the fresh cycle. I think I am being impatient.

RVloution · July 2016

Hi all! I hope it's okay that I am posting. I am new to this board and this is my first IVF cycle. That said, I have read through all 12 pages to get caught up, and feel like I know you ladies already

! I started stims on Friday, 200IU of follistim and 75IU Menopur. While I have felt a bit bloated and have a constant dull headache, I haven't really had any other symptoms, has that been the case for anyone else? Or does everyone get other symptoms too? Does it get worse with consecutive days?

I have an u/s tmrw so they can track how my body is responding to the stims. I don't really know what to expect since this is my first time going through it, and after reading everyone's comments I am now realizing that ER is not a foregone conclusion! So now I am just hoping that all goes well with the stems and that they are able to do my ER next week.

I am so excited to have a community to share this with, as I feel like I am not that informed about the whole process, and so far it has kind of gone by very quickly. Aside from DH, there is no one that I would talk to about it would really understand the agony of waiting, which we have definitely been feeling, but I know ours doesn't compare to some of you on here, and I admire the hell out of those of you who have been doing this cycle after cycle, and remain as positive as you do.

@jodes727 super exciting that your trigger shot is tonight! FX for lots of high quality eggs!!! Can't wait to hear how it goes. Is that diet that you described supposed to help with OHSS? Did they tell you what the purpose of it was?

@Sunnshine I'm really sorry for your loss. Hopefully you get some great news post-retrieval on Friday!

@wifeinraleigh28 Sounds like you had an amazing scan! Congrats!! To you and @PhotogDana - GL on Friday!!! Sending lots of good thoughts to you both!!

kyrgyzshan · July 2016

@RVloution this is my 3rd IVF after 3 IUIs and every time I have the same symptoms as you. Minor bloating (until the trigger!!) and a constant nagging headache that usually goes away with Tylenol and LOTS of water. Good luck to you!!

PhotogDana · July 2016

@Sunnshine I am so sorry about your stepfather.
@wifeinraleigh28 the ganirelix stings for so long. I use one of those buzzy4shots to help with the burning.
Please tell me the nausea goes away. Tonight is the worst I've felt. Headaches for the past few days and now horrible nausea. It's only a few more days, I can handle it but oh my goodness.

Kp214 · July 2016

@RVloution I didn't have a lot of symptoms when I stimmed. Just a full, bloated feeling as retrieval day got closer and a slight headache. Good luck!

littlesunshine-2 · July 2016

Great to see all the activity and progress on here!

I had my final appointment today before my transfer! My lining was measuring at 8.9 mm so we are set and scheduled the transfer for 8/2 at 12:30 p.m. I can't believe it is so close and I am feeling excited, but also worried that I will end up disappointed.

@shauna43 How's everything going for you, transfer buddy? I hope you're also still set for next Tuesday!

wifeinraleigh28 · July 2016

@JamieH2000 I was originally told my FET would be at the end of August, but then I was delayed a week. So now I'm thinking it will probably be in early September. I know that I will need to go on BCPs again when my period starts and then they decide when to take me off it to start preparing me for the FET. It sounds like some good recovery time for my body, so I'm cool with it!

@Kp214, @AugustAng, and @bells52000 Thanks for your advice on the menopur... definitely going to tell DH to go slower with it tonight. Last night I told him to go quick because I thought that would just make it over with faster... but oh my goodness that was the worst it hurt!!! I couldn't move for a good 10 minutes

@AugustAng I am so glad you are moving forward with another cycle and also switching things up your protocol this time. I'm so sorry about how things turned out last cycle

@mtpbadger I'm so sorry to read about your BFN over here

(haven't yet checked June/July). I sure hope you are successful in August! What is your new protocol? I'm glad they are switching things up for you.

@PhotogDana and @Sunnshine Yay for possible ER buddies!! Friday is a big day for our group

@Sunnshine I am so, so sorry for your loss! That sounds so tragic, and I'm sorry you have to grieve while you're going through treatments like this. Also just wanted to add that I have been sleeping terribly too. Tossing and turning all night long... and just feeling downright uncomfortable.

@Rachnan GOOD LUCK TODAY!!!

wifeinraleigh28 · July 2016

@jodes727 I'm sorry things aren't going according to the plan that you wanted. If it's any consolation... when we were trying to decide between fresh or frozen, I asked my RE what he would recommend if I was his daughter. He said without a doubt he would recommend doing PGS testing and an FET. He said it's easier on your body to take a breather before the transfer and by doing PGS testing you are significantly decreasing your chances of having to go through loss. Good luck with your retrieval tomorrow!

Welcome to our group @RVloution!

BornReady · July 2016

@wifeinraleigh28 My RE said the same thing about PGS. She believes it will be the standard of care in a few years.

A question.... Anyone taking melatonin? I'm taking it occasionally due to stress/anxiety/all the other emotional side effects of infertility. I'm prepping for a FET and when I asked my RE about it, she really didn't have an opinion and was like you can take it or you can not take it. Uhh, thanks? I've tried searching for info online, but can't seem to come up with much. Anyone been given any guidance in this area or have wisdom to offer.

mtpbadger · July 2016

Thanks for the welcome ladies!

@wifeinraleigh28, thanks, hopefully the new protocol will improve my lining! I'm going to take the next 4-5 weeks off since I'll be out of town for 1.5 weeks the middle of August and don't want to try and squeeze another cycle in before that. My RE is fine with me not going on BCPs since I asked if that suppressed things TOO much and since I don't ovulate on my own (like, ever) she said we could give that a try. So on 08/23 or 24th I'll go in for baseline, and if everything looks good, start on estrogen patches and estrace vaginally that day along with lovenox injections and steroids to see if that helps increase blood flow and reduce any possible inflammation of the uterus. She said adding those two in can't hurt so we'll give it a try. She's pretty stumped as to why my lining doesn't respond to estrogen but believes it has to do with my PCOS and a higher amount of androgen hormones that inhibit the estrogen. It's gotten up to a 6 with my last IUI before IVF so she knows it can do better than what it did for this FET. We discussed a endometrial scratch but she said the studies haven't really shown that improves things and my clinic did it's own "mini-study" on it and didn't see much of a different. She said if this next cycle doesn't work she will be open to trying it. DH and I also discussed last night that if the next try isn't successful and my RE is still unsure how to proceed, we may look for a second opinion, either within our current clinic (there are multiple locations and probably about 40 different REs) or another local clinic.

wifeinraleigh28 · July 2016

@mtpbadger I'm glad you have a plan in place. I hope you enjoy your vacation next month! We are taking one as well... decided to do so while we could in between egg retrieval and transfer. No one needs vacations more than we do here dealing with all this!!

caseyw8784 · July 2016

@bornready - someone had told me that melatonin could mess up conceiving, so i stopped taking it. then recently i've seen a lot of posts and articles saying that it can actually help prepare the body for a FET. i asked my RE who said she's read those articles too and it can't hurt to try, so I've started taking it again.

following what @KirstenCas and @JamieH2000 were talking about, but is your antral follicle count usually a guideline as to how many eggs you should expect during an ER? for example, if your count at the baseline US is like, 7 or 8 you wold expect to get just a handful of mature eggs, but if your baseline count was 35 or 40, you would expect to get that many more?

JamieH2000 · July 2016

@caseyw8784- This website is actually the clinic I go to and they use the counts to predict success since its a numbers game usually with how many eggs you get...

https://www.advancedfertility.com/antralfollicles.htm

Since I have one bum ovary with AFC of only 2 and one good ovary with 10, that gave me a total of 12 AFC so they put me in the 43% change of success for my age. That was a little disappointing, but obviously it could be worse so trying to stay thankful for the one good ovary. I have also heard of people that stim really well getting more eggs than their AFC since some antral follicles are so small they can't count them (I think my acupuncturist who did IVF only had like 12 AFC but got like 18 eggs or something like that), so its not a perfect science...

caseyw8784 · July 2016

@JamieH2000 - thanks for the link! I'll definitely take a look at it when i get a break from work!

ADRIANAC1982 · July 2016

Morning ladies,

I started Gonal-F friday 225 units, and today we are still showing 15 follicles, with my biggest at 8mm....Not sure if thats good or not but I guess Ill know when the nurses call later today!

To add insult to injury, my uber driver must know the drop off address is a fertility clinic because I got out and he screams "good luck with making the baby" Ummmmmmmmmm thanks!

Kp214 · July 2016

@ADRIANAC1982 sounds like you are off to a good start! Good luck! That's funny and also mortifying about the uber driver.

ADRIANAC1982 · July 2016

@Kp214 Good to know thats a good start. Hopefully these follies grow and maybe that some more make an appearance

I wanted to crawl in a hole! There is a ton of construction by my clinic so everyone was just staring as I did my uhhhhhhh thank you strut

Kp214 · July 2016

@ADRIANAC1982 sounds like you handled it well! I would have turned bright red and rushed into the office, not looking up.

bells52000 · July 2016

@JamieH2000. I use that website all the time! They have great information! if their clinic is half as good as their website, you are in good hands!

bells52000 · July 2016

Question for those of you who looked into PGS. I have been back and forth one.

Here is my background, I am 41, first time Ivf. I am overstimulated. Triggered yesterday. My retrieval is tomorrow. Yesterday's last scan showed 12 follicles over 18, 3 at 17, 13 at 15-16 and 9 less than 13. Because my progesterone went back up, they most likely have me moving towards a freeze all cycle.

My logic is if I am going to freeze, I may as well test them first. It's $2000 for 8 embryos and $~300 for each additional.

So the question, would you do the pgs? If so, would you do it on all the embryos if you get more than 8? Maybe just 8?

Does you office transfer just one egg if you test them? My RE said if I do PGS testing they will only transfer one egg later even though I am 41. But they would do 2-3 if we do a fresh transfer.

I need to to decide for tomorrow. Dr said they could/will lose a few embryos during the screening. In my mind the freezing and thawing selects the tough eggs already and maybe PGS isn't necessary? I just don't know. It's a lt of $.

gatorlorit · July 2016

@bells52000 I have to tell you I struggled with this exact decision. To give you my history, I had one failed FET in April, and am set for my second transfer tomorrow. I chose not to have PGS done because I wanted to transfer 2- my office is the same way about only transferring one if they are tested. (I've always wanted twins, and I'm 38.). I also believed that freezing and thawing created survival of the fittest. Hindsight, I would have done PGS. I transferred two last time, and had a chemical pregnancy. The RE said it was likely that the ones we transferred, though graded well, were abnormal/ not genetically compatible, and that's why they didn't stick. PGS takes out that uncertainty. If tomorrow doesn't work, we will go through another round and definitely do PGS. Just my thoughts/experience...

bells52000 · July 2016

Thanks for your advice @gatorlorit. I am not looking for twins. Two daycare bills scares me! I just worry at 41, one egg, just seems so unlikely. But RE says the reason the rates are lower as you are older is because 80% Of my eggs could be abnormal. If I test out that risk, then I go back into the low risk category and therefore a single egg transfer is the way to go.

Leaning towards testing. I still don't know!

RVloution · July 2016

@kyrgyzshan @Kp214 Good to know that having only these minor symptoms are normal and thanks for the well wishes!! Good luck to you both as well!!

@ADRIANAC1982 oh my goodness, how mortifying. I am in the uber on my way to my u/s now, let's hope my driver keeps his thoughts to himself!!

@Rachnan Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

@wifeinraleigh28 Interesting about the doctor's recommendation to do FET - thanks for sharing! Makes me wonder if my current plan to do a fresh embryo transfer is a smart one since my body has never done any of this before (been pregnant, done IVF or any fertility treatment) and it might be a lot for it. I have been so concerned about doing whatever we can to make this happen right away but maybe that shouldn't be my focus, and my general well being should. Luckily I am headed to dr appt now, so I'll ask. Nevertheless, thanks for mentioning that.

Question for all: I am supposed to be doing ER early next week, and if I don't hyper stimulate, they will do PGS testing on the embryos (apparently they can do this overnight), and then proceed with a fresh embryo transfer. After reading all of the above it seems that most people are saying that PGS and Fresh Embryo Transfer are mutually exclusive, has anyone done the PGS and Fresh Embryo Transfer?

JamieH2000 · July 2016

@bells52000- honestly, part of the reason I chose that clinic is because I liked how informative and open their website is. It seems like many clinics don't display odds/protocols/etc that I thought it was a really good thing that they did. I always prefer to be more informed than less about this whole process. Its actually a smaller clinic with only 2 REs, but I really clicked with the one I saw and just decided to go with them since their results are so good (I know they aren't perfectly comparable) and it just felt right. I am having the PGS debate in my head lately too, but since I am 28 its not really recommended for the cost (like $4000 at my clinic). If I were you, I would go for it since I think the $2k is worth it to screen out the best ones.

wifeinraleigh28 · July 2016

@RVloution My clinic doesn't offer fresh transfers if you do PGS. It would require a really fast turn around that we aren't provided with. My clinic uses Genesis (which it sounds like a lot of the ladies on here are using) and the turn around time is 7 days, much too long to be able to do a fresh transfer. Does your clinic do the testing in house? Maybe that would be why you can get quick enough results...

bells52000 · July 2016

Our clinic uses Natera. I am in NJ and they are in CA, so no fresh trans for us. I read that some places do offer fresh PGS transfer but most are moving away from it because it uses a day six instead of a day five transfer. I guess day five is the hot spot for success.

I think ink I may not decide until I hear from dr today. My progesterone is high...2.7. They said anything over 1.5 they switch to freeze all. I think I need to hear it from them before I decide! Before, I was leaning yes, now it's no again. In a few hours I will prob flip flop again.

ADRIANAC1982 · July 2016

@RVloution Hopefully your Uber ride was better than mine.

Nurses called and tonight I am adding the Menopur into the Mix.

5 unites of Menopur
Going down to 150 for the Gonal F
and 75 units of the Menopur

My poor tummy, its already starting to bruise!!

babylonghorn16 · July 2016

Hi Everyone!

Hoping I can join this group since I'm right on the cusp of July/August! My 1st FET is this Friday 7/29! Beta will be on 8/9. I had a fresh transfer back in May that was unsuccessful most likely bc I overstimulated... they went through with it bc I had 13 embryos and they thought that it couldn't hurt to try.

@bells52000 I would recommend PGS testing. My thought process: we are already spending so much time/effort/emotional stress/money on this process, might as well pay a little extra to ensure you are transferring "normal" embryos and have the greatest chance for success. My clinic's pricing is similar to your's - $2500 for 8 embryos $250 for additional ones. As I mentioned I had 13 embryos... we fresh transferred one that ended in a BFN. PGS tested 8, and 7 came back normal. So we have 4 untested ones - not willing to shell out the extra $$ just yet. I hope you come to a decision that works for you!

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