@dragonette505 thanks for explaining on the whole length of stims thing. This morning my follistim marks day 9 of stimming so if I trigger tonight I'm triggering on day 9, whereas my first 2 IVF cycles I triggered the night of day 8 which I always felt was short. Guess I'm just hoping this extra day is the magic!
Hmmmm it does seem short as far as what ive heard, but I don't know exactly what your protocol is. From what ive seen, most people don't even go in for monitoring after they begin stimming till stim day 6 and then eod or every day till triggering. One clinic also made me come in day after triggering to make sure you turn a hpt (my last one you just do that yourself at home). I'd love to hear what your protocol was (including if you did BCP or priming of any sort in advance of your stimming). It may also just be that your eggs mature and respond to the meds a little faster than average or that you are on doses that require less stimming. but it looks like only a 2 day difference in actual stimming between you and what is "standard"... and you can see how almost NOTHING is standard in an IVF cycle....lol
my protocol (for comparison) estrogen priming 3 days after ovulation last cycle until stims begin stimming phase starting Thursday 1ml Omnitrope 150 IU Follistim 150 IU Menopur These doses for 4 or 5 days and either continue, change doses and or add ganerelix I believe I will be doing a dual trigger as I also have leuprolide as well as my HCG trigger
All done with the egg retrieval !! It was pretty scary at first because it seemed so much more medical than I expected..if that makes sense lol. They gave me propoful to knock me out and I woke up feeling out of it but I came to pretty quickly. I am home now and feel tiny bit crampy but not bad because they gave me pain meds.
Of the 23 follicles they got 18 eggs retrieved ! Husbands sperm sample was perfect so I guess now we wait ! I go back in on day 5 for the transfer.
@Hopeful_mom....yes my insurance covers 100%! I have up to $50,000 in fertility treatments and my husband has up to $50,000 in fertility treatments. We're very luck to have this amazing insurance! We recently just switched to my insurance from my husbands which covered $0 in fertility so we had been paying out of pocket for testing and IUI's.
I hope everyone with an ER scheduled for today does well !!
@dragonette505@Momifbysea@Hopeful_mom @BusinessWife....thank you so so much for all your well wishes and kind thoughts ! It is so nice to speak freely to ladies who 100% understand every part of this process...good and bad ! You absolutely were all right though....it was over before I knew it ! I imagine the waiting process is going to be the hardest part now ??
@Malibu45 18 eggs is amazing!!! Relax and enjoy this moment, wow! Yes, I think the wait is the hard part now. Whatever you can find as a happy distraction is what I'd recommend!
i had a good appointment this morning, they saw 4 good ones on each side which at my age I am SUPER GRATEFUL for! I just need one normal, maybe two... They'll call me later with instructions to trigger or not but I expect I'll trigger tonight for Thursday retrieval. I'm getting really excited.
@dragonette505 I don't do the priming so it's true how every plan can be so different. I do BCP for 22-23 days starting cd1, along with aspirin and supplements, then the following Monday I start stims (FYI my period usually comes the Saturday right before stims so stims are like cd3 or 4). I do 150 follistim along with dexamethasone and aspirin mornings, then 150 menopur evenings, with monitoring starting morning of day 3 of stims, every other day until day 7 when I start daily monitoring. I usually add Ganirelix on stim day 7 at night, this time I also got that extra day of Ganirelix on day 8 and then today day 9 I did the follistim and will probably be doing 2 ovidrels to trigger tonight.
@Malibu45 I know exactly what you mean about being surprised... My first retrieval I guess I was expecting something more like where I went for monitoring... I didn't realize it was such a big deal. But nope! Its like a real operation so its in a real deal room. I said (possibly under the influence of drugs) that I felt like a stock car getting worked over by a pit crew! lol So glad you got so many eggs! Like I said, usually you have a few less eggs that visible follicles.
@Momifbysea Okay... so in your case, having been on BCP means you were down suppressed the cycle before... in my case I'm being minimally suppressed by the estrogen priming post O the cycle before. In some ways, you've actually be in a cycle longer than me (since you have been regulating since last cycle). I think maybe that's one reason your stimming is a shorter length (though 9 days is pretty much spot on for you this cycle). How much HCG is in each ovidrel? I think I'm using Pregnyl this time (10,000 IU) but I feel like ive used ovidrel and it was the same amount...? Cant remember
@dragonette505 I'll have to check the ovidrel tonight to see, no idea. You are so knowledgeable on all this thanks for explaining! I just felt like I was being rushed on those other cycles because I wanted to keep stimming but there was a lead follicle they worried about losing and this time they're all more in sync size-wise.
@Momifbysea unfortunately I've done this 5 times yeah, a lead follicle will do it! If you o then it's game over! Its so hard to just trust. Believe me, I'm sitting here right now second guessing my doc! Lol!
@Malibu45 Yay for being done with retrieval. 18 is a stellar number! Hope every last one of them fertilize. The next 5 days were the longest and stressful for me. I had to have my mom prescribe Buspar for anxiety that I never had before the week after retrieval.
@momifbysea So glad you have 8! I'm glad a few more showed up later. You're getting close!
AFM, I got the call for a 12:15 transfer tomorrow. The embryologist also said she would call early about the status of the embryo post thaw. I forgot that there's a chance it won't survive. Ugh! She annoyed me but questioning me 3 times about finding out the sex of the embryos. NO I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! She goes, ummm ok. I could picture her rolling her eyes. Whatever!
Me:35 DH:37 Married 09/2013
*TW* TTC #2 since June 2016 *END TW*
Endometriosis
March 2017- IUI#1- Clomid - BFN April 2017 - IUI #2 - Clomid, Ovidrel - BFN May 2017 - IUI #3 - Clomid- cancelled cycle
@allycheer00 YAY!!! The survival rates of thawing embies are very high (mid to high 90's depending on the quality of the embryo). Don't think about that too much.... let the embryologists worry about that. You just line up some comedies to watch while partial bed resting after transfer. They say the more you laugh the better your odds of a positive!!
@Malibu45 18 eggs??!?!!! That's amazing!!! Good job! I hope you are not too bloated today! I didn't realize that the follicles fill back up with fluid once they are drained. I only had 7 retrieved and I felt like one of those big parade balloons! Lots of rest, fluids, and send hubby out for lots of treats! You deserve them!
I always love hearing about different protocols people are on. It's a total crapchute, isn't it? I don't respond well to gonal-f. I think next time I'm going to ask for a different protocol.
My protocol was: supressed with Suprefact nasal spray - 1 spray in each nostril 5 times per day stimmed with gonal-f (started at 150, increased to 375 after 4 days) and menopur (150) triggered with 10,000 hcg post-retrieval, oral estrace twice per day and prometrium suppositories (2 caps, 3 times per day)
My beta is tomorrow (finally!) and I haven't POAS since Saturday. I'm not feeling optimistic. But I appreciated your continued good vibes!!
@megmac2010 I love hearing about other peoples protocols too! Do you know how many antral follicles you started out with? What makes you think the gonal-f was no good for you? I cant believe you resisted testing! I don't think I could do it because id just want to be prepared when I get the results. I always going to be at work and I would simply break down at this point.
Yes I'm so happy with 18 eggs ! This whole cycle was so fast I can't believe it ! I onky started the stim medications last Saturday and had the retrieval today (Tuesday). I responded very fast !
I feel so groggy and tired right now after waking from nap. And I have such bad heartburn..wonder if that's from anesthesia ?
The doctor did go over hyperstimulation and signs etc. but because I had less than 20 eggs I did not have to go on the special diet they direct you to do to prevent hyperstimulation. I just have to watch for it but I should be fine they said.
@dragonette505 I started with 8-10 on each ovary. In both of my IUI cycles and my IVF, I was verrrrrry slow to respond to gonal-f. In my second IUI, they took me off gonal-f altogether and switched me to menopur and I still only ended up with 1 follicle.
We we almost had to cancel this IVF cycle, as after 10 days of stims my estrogen was super low and I had no follicles bigger than 10mm! I just wasn't responding. I was lucky though, I had a few take off. When I triggered I had one measuring at 18 and a few 15. They must have grown a lot between trigger and retrieval to end up with 7 eggs. I'm hoping to try a different drug next time!
@Malibu45 I got OHSS both of my last two cycles with 18 and 19 eggs apiece. Just keep an eye on it. They kept telling me I was too old to get it Dr google and my new doc says its more based on estrogen at and after trigger, weight and of course high numbers of egg retrieved. They may have gotten under 20 eggs retrieved for you, but you had more follicles.
It's funny you say that because the OR nurse said she thinks they should go by the amount of follicles you have not eggs, but the doctors go by numbers of eggs. Hopefully I don't ! She said by day 3 ill know by how I feel
@megmac2010 it may also be due to the suppression... its hard to say. Well hopefully you wont need to do another cycle (still keeping my fingers crossed). But if not, what I did was go do a consult at another local place that's highly respected. Even though I didn't end up cycling with them, I had more ideas to throw at my doc.
It's funny you say that because the OR nurse said she thinks they should go by the amount of follicles you have not eggs, but the doctors go by numbers of eggs. Hopefully I don't ! She said by day 3 ill know by how I feel
Well funny enough I didn't get ohss when I retrieved 24 so there really is no saying... well except for durn sure my estrogen was super high these last two cycles so that has a lot to do with it.
@Malibu45 Congrats on 18 eggs! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/lh/sjau0ds66qz7.gif" alt=""> I hear what she's saying about follis vs. eggs... fx you recover well after. :) we were in a similar boat - totally oop for all our testing .... then when it was getting real about his retrieval and doing ivf, I took a job with amazing ivf coverage just so we could move forward. You gotta do what you gotta do!
Hi ladies! Congrats on the great number @Malibu45 !! I'm glad it all went smoothly for you
Well, we have had a bit of a rollercoaster morning. My doctor retrieved WAY more eggs than I was expecting..... 13 !!! She was excited, and I was too, but then I knew we would be pressured to use them all, and we had already decided we would only fertilize 5.
We got the call about maturity, and 11 were mature and looked great! BUT she told us that DH's sample was much poorer than she expected; the sperm have poor motility, shape, color everything We were so devastated to hear that. Our doctor recommended trying to fertilize more, obviously, which was really difficult to hear.
In the end, we decided we still felt like 5 was right for us, and we needed to trust God with the outcome. We opted to freeze the remaining 6 good quality ones, which I'm happy we decided to do.
I know we're very lucky to have so many eggs, and I am truely grateful. Only time will tell if this was the right decision, but I know if we fertilized more and then ended up with extra embryos, we would have regretted it more.
So anxious for tomorrows report I have to go into work in the morning to make up for today, and I'm already anxious that I won't be able to focus on my patients waiting for this call.
Me 34 DH 36 Married since July 2010 MFI (High DNA Fragmentation) & Mild endometriosis
TTC #1 since June 2015 Aug 2016 - May 2017 6 IUI's with letrozole - BFN April 2017 - laparoscopy to remove mild endo June 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU - Cancelled early ovulation, no eggs retrieved. Aug/Sept 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU, cetrotide - 13 eggs retrieved, 11 mature 5 eggs ICSI'd 6 eggs frozen - 1 day 5 blast transfered, 2 expanded blast frozen - BFP! May 2018 - Baby girl born - Our Joy
TTC #2 since July 2019 July 2019 - FET - BFN Jan 2020 - FET - canceled due to family health issues Mar 2020 - FET - low beta - chemical pregnancy July 2020 - ICSI'd remaining 6 eggs - 3 fertilized - 2 survived to early blast stage, transfered both - Chemical Pregnancy
So excited for you! @ReesaAnne16. Sorry you Hs sample wasn't better. I know that must be disappointing. :/ but fx for good new tomorrow and that's awesome you can still freeze the rest!
Has anyone used crinone ? I heard you should walk around after inserting it to make sure it absorbs all the way ? Also, I heard it builds up and needs to be cleaned out ???
@ReesaAnne16 I wish you could've seen my face reading your post - 13 on a mini stem thats BEYOND AMAZING!!! I think your plan is great - younger eggs are always the way to go, your plan is spot on, thrilled you have the option. Sorry about DH sample I feel like I went through that this cycle myself with trying frozen and feeling like i might have made the wrong decision....I'm still feeling very hopeful for you!!!
@Malibu45 whoah 18 that is AMAZING - what a champ, good for you! Can't wait to hear your great update tomorrow!! Glad hubbs stepped up to the plate nicely!! One less stresser i hope!! AND your insurance is amazing - can you adopt me As for the crinone question yes I have no heard that too, if you walk after insertion it will adsorb better BUT you will have some build up I'm sure (which is normal too) and then will take the chuck out...TMI, i was taking that with estrace and thought I was giving birth to a baby smurf...true story
@megmac2010. still looking forward to a great update tomorrow - you've got great will power!! you are PUPO!!!!
dragonette505 always love ur updates as I learn something new! Today the day has been crazy 13hrs straight and my first break...of course i'm here but I'm glad I"m not hurting as much today so i'm hoping that i'm starting to med!! Hoping I'll feel more relieved after the RE tomorrow too! You're eclipse pic is awesome!! Is it possible you're place doesn't make you come in sooner because of your history and how you respond? Many places are different...Mine has you come usually every 2 days to make sure you don't need cetritide sooner as I have been different though my cycles. Last time I stemmed 14 days...cycle after 10 days...go figure...
@MomifbySea.WHOAH 4 one each side - loving it thats awesome!!!! u go whitcha bad self!!! I just finished writing above how each stemming cycle is different BUT I will add that for us...not sure its a age thing BUT they do look to start to lean to trigger IF they think they might start to lose one or two also. They really want to hit it just right...its not easy. But after talking to the nurses and RE as I like to play DR too I see why this last time she wanted to get me in rather then going the extra day...maybe my one wonky egg this time was cause I waited too long....who knows...its a gamble each time in the end.
allycheer00 whoah PARTY TIME!!!! omg i'm so excited!! yay!!! This toally just perked me up as I still have work waiting for me....I can't wait to hear how it goes!! You're strong not to know They're just thawing the strongest and going with that right? Sending u all the sticky vibes in the world!!!! I'm terrified about the thaw too i get it. I like dragonette505 stats and lets stick with that!!!
AFM: I've been crazed that I just checked in on u guys last night and realized I didn't leave my update on my lil ones so here it is...it didn't change much but thats ok too!! So I had my 5 fertilized, had a 5AB blast on day 5, then on day 6 i had another 2 blasts 4BC, quality means they were expanding but didn't start hatching...I was upset originally BUT healthy pregnancies still happen from these lil embabies so I shall still have hope. My other 2 lil fighters they still watched on Day 7...I'm impressed with my girls that both were still in the running! They pooped out in the end and stopped expanding BUT I loved that they fought!!! So that makes another 3 for testing...praying theres normies to come back PLEASE!!!! I can't say I'm not a lil disappointed I didn't get more to test since more eggs were retrieved this cycle...but it is what it is.
BusinessWife this is a total after thought as I was a reading your earlier post but in reading a thread about OH sperm count not being good and ppl posting sample seman results etc reminded me of me going on about OH sample this round which still concerns me BUT during my IUI times I posts his numbers all the time (AND HE WOULD KILL ME IF HE KNEW FOR ONE) but even though I asked the RE I was still so baffled at how one time its 30mill and another time u get 2mill after wash. I was more then a lil upset to say the least but I never really thought I was offending some one on the MFI side at all....so if I did I'm sorry. Its unfortunate at this stage of the game every part is just so difficult!! I'm beyond no sleep but I hope this made sense
History of TTC in spoiler box
TTC since 2014 Unexplained Infertility - but I am 40...Low AMH .30 7 - IUI (50mg-150mg Clomid) Feb - August 2016 all BFN IVF#1 August 2016 (Antagonist protocol 4/5 eggs) Cancelled cycle RE thought I would get at least 10. IVF#2 Sept 2016 (microdose luporn pro - disappearing follies, ONLY ONE, convert to IUI) BFN IVF#3 November 2016 (4 ER, 3 F, 3DT)-BFP with TWINS // MC both at almost 10wks IVF#4 March 2017 //EPP (10 ER (1 wonky so 9 ER) 7F, 3B (5AB, (2)5BB) PGS tested- ALL abnormal IVF#5 April 2017 // EPP (7 ER, 7F yes! 6B) 2/5 day 4/6 day - 2 PGS normal! yes!! IVF#6 May 2017 // Antagonist didn't have time for Estrogen Priming...(4 ER, 3 F, 3B) (5AB, (2) 5BB) 2 PGS normal, yes!! IVF#7 June 2017 // EPP praying this is it and then on to an FET!
@hopefulmom I know, we were shocked by how many were retrieved. It really is amazing (PS I am totally sold on the "It starts with the egg" supplement plan now, after being on it for 2 months) Did you freeze eggs or use frozen eggs? I wasn't sure what you meant by "trying frozen" this cycle. I hope you have several normals in your 3 embryos from this cycle
@BusinessWife how did everything go for your baseline? I feel like we are MFI/IVF sisters I'm glad you finally get to start stimming soon!
@allycheer00 Praying for a successful transfer for you tomorrow! This is your first FET correct? How exciting!!!
Me 34 DH 36 Married since July 2010 MFI (High DNA Fragmentation) & Mild endometriosis
TTC #1 since June 2015 Aug 2016 - May 2017 6 IUI's with letrozole - BFN April 2017 - laparoscopy to remove mild endo June 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU - Cancelled early ovulation, no eggs retrieved. Aug/Sept 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU, cetrotide - 13 eggs retrieved, 11 mature 5 eggs ICSI'd 6 eggs frozen - 1 day 5 blast transfered, 2 expanded blast frozen - BFP! May 2018 - Baby girl born - Our Joy
TTC #2 since July 2019 July 2019 - FET - BFN Jan 2020 - FET - canceled due to family health issues Mar 2020 - FET - low beta - chemical pregnancy July 2020 - ICSI'd remaining 6 eggs - 3 fertilized - 2 survived to early blast stage, transfered both - Chemical Pregnancy
@Hopeful_mom. Oh really, it's okay. Everyone does it! And I don't take offence - I mean it's like comparing apples to oranges when it's azoo. We still don't really know why his tubes are missing, or why his FSH was slightly elevated... (both times +/- 11 I think, before the Clomid jacked it way up), but it is what it is. 0 is 0. We are just lucky they found some to retrieve! bc not everyone gets so lucky there, either. :/ Believe me, I would have loved to have IUI as an option, but it never was, and TBH, when ppl start talking in much depth about counts, I kind of glaze over lol just bc it doesn't mean much to me without a personal frame of reference! Lol. I understand that everyone's path is different... everyones treatment plans evolve in their own way, it's normal. I feel bad too sometimes, but it is what it is. Like if my amh is 2+ or my two afcs were 19 and 21, someone else with lower amh might be like oh this B! But at the end of the day, we are still here in the same ivf boat, and we're no two couples alike! Everyone's dx is a complex thing, and I would hope the same goes for anyone struggling with female factor, that like, they wouldn't hold it against me, bc obviously no one would wish our dx on her own husband! Right? It's definitely tough at times. It's all very emotional stuff, but I guess that's why I love this community so much - we can come together and support one another, respecr each other's struggles, and learn from one another, too. ❤
@ReesaAnne16. So excited to hear your next report... (((hugs))) hang in there!!! My baselines went great! She saw 10 less than 10 on one side and 11 on the other, and BW came back estrogen at 51 and progesterone at. 4, so we were good to go! I started at 300 Follistim and 20 of low-dose HCG on Monday night, so tonight will be my third night, and then I go for monitoring on Thursday morning!!! Can't wait to see how things are coming along!
Hi ladies...what should I be doing to prevent OHSS ? If that's at all possible. My doctor said I should be good but I am scared of developing that and im also confused. Everything I am reading online says high protein and high sodium diet...but my operating room nurse told me low sodium ?? I've been drinking Gatorade but don't know what else to do as they told me I'll be fine. Also, will they still do a transfer if you develop OHSS ?
@Hopeful_mom I Did go in for baseline monitoring as normal on CD2... I think she definitely is doing something different than my other clinics in that she looked at my history and my cycle sheets and how for the first several days I had antral follicles of a small size which grew at a normal (not accelerated from meds) daily rate until they reached the size in which the stimming meds actually have effect on them. She said it doesn't hurt really to do the shots those first days, but basically it can be a waste of money since you are not impacting the follies. I am just going with what shes says...lol So happy you got 3 more to test!!! That's amazing.... little by little building up a great stockpile!
@BusinessWife you are so right that there are so many things to compare but it doesn't even matter. I think the same thing... Ive had girls say (not mad or anything) but like ive been asked: oh whats your AMH (by my age group ladies which is over 40) and when I say, they are like: OH that's so much better than mine... I'm all like... but uhhhh we still both don't have babies, right? Like they will have a better FSH... I'm not mad! Gurl... it all sux with IF....theres something not working right in the picture for all of us or else we would be on some parenting board complaining about whether or not our car can fit another car seat for all the babies we are popping out! grrr/lol
@Malibu45 I wouldn't *worry* about ohss... just watch for it... if you are getting MORE bloated and short of breath in the next few days then alert your nurse... they can do an ultrasound to see if fluid is building up and they will know the level its at right away. There are three levels: Mild, Moderate and Severe. Ive had both mild and moderate. Mild is manageable and you should feel better in about a week, moderate will probably get you medicated with Cabergoline or something like that... if you have OHSS you CAN have a transfer, but its not suggested if you have higher than Mild as it will just get worse before it gets better if you end up pg, and you could get hospitalized and it could be bad for a pg. Do you know your estrogen levels around trigger? That would give me a much better idea. If they are not elevated then you may be more like I was at my first largest retrieval where I didn't have OHSS even though so many were retrieved.
@ReesaAnne16 I loved both It Starts With Egg and How To Improve Egg Quality and implemented suggestions from both books!
@dragonette505...my estrogen level the morning of my trigger shot was 2,472.
HOLY CRAP...just got results from the lab, out of my 18 eggs, 17 were mature and 13 fertilized !!!!
First of all YAY great stats!! Cant wait for your day 3! Secondly... Your estrogen was pretty low on the OHSS scale so I can see why they are not concerned. That's great because you should have no problem with a transfer!
Im enjoying one day without needles but now I'm impatient for tomorrow morning! The waiting is hard.
You all are so right about comparing, we are all here with different issues as to why it hasn't worked yet and I appreciate the support so much because everyone "gets it." So thanks for being here on the good and bad days!
@dragonette505 thank you! What's the poas about? Never have done that after trigger? As for your other question, I haven't let myself really go there mentally because I've never made it that far, makes me nervous, trying to stay in the moment I guess? But our plan is, if we are blessed enough to have an embryo then we will freeze all for testing per our dr's recommendation. Right now my mental focus is on hoping and praying for actually having eggs in the follicles and that they are mature. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic this time with having gone the extra day stimming!
You ladies are so busy! I'm mobile the next two days so it's hard to respond. @Malibu45 Those are some stellar numbers! You're estrogen wasn't too high so I'm hoping you avoid the dreaded OHSS. I never got it but I didn't have a huge amount of follicles either. @ReesaAnne16 Yay for a great retrieval. It's good that you considered your options and went with what's best for you. Sux about the sperm quality this go around but you always have a chance for a redo with the frozen eggs. Winner! @Hopeful_mom I LOL everytime I see you call them, "my girls". It's cute! Three ain't so bad. I'm betting on at least two coming back normal. Glad you're on the up and up. Sorry you're working so much. Booo! @dragonette505@BusinessWife Keep those stim updates coming! It's so exciting!
For those who asked, this is my first FET. I'm terrified it won't stick because I only have one left. I can't see myself going through another round of IVF because I *think* I'd be OOP. Maybe I'll win the Powerball tonight. I can't remember. Have any of you done a FET before? They chose the embryo that made it to 6BB at 5 days and it survived the thaw just fine. Thanks @dragonette505 for the reassurance! I got clarification on what the numbers meant this morning because I thought the 6 was for 6 days of development. Whoops lol. So, two more hours til go time!
Me:35 DH:37 Married 09/2013
*TW* TTC #2 since June 2016 *END TW*
Endometriosis
March 2017- IUI#1- Clomid - BFN April 2017 - IUI #2 - Clomid, Ovidrel - BFN May 2017 - IUI #3 - Clomid- cancelled cycle
Re: Anyone doing IVF in July/August?
Hmmmm it does seem short as far as what ive heard, but I don't know exactly what your protocol is. From what ive seen, most people don't even go in for monitoring after they begin stimming till stim day 6 and then eod or every day till triggering. One clinic also made me come in day after triggering to make sure you turn a hpt (my last one you just do that yourself at home). I'd love to hear what your protocol was (including if you did BCP or priming of any sort in advance of your stimming). It may also just be that your eggs mature and respond to the meds a little faster than average or that you are on doses that require less stimming. but it looks like only a 2 day difference in actual stimming between you and what is "standard"... and you can see how almost NOTHING is standard in an IVF cycle....lol
my protocol (for comparison)
estrogen priming 3 days after ovulation last cycle until stims begin
stimming phase starting Thursday
1ml Omnitrope
150 IU Follistim
150 IU Menopur
These doses for 4 or 5 days and either continue, change doses and or add ganerelix
I believe I will be doing a dual trigger as I also have leuprolide as well as my HCG trigger
Of the 23 follicles they got 18 eggs retrieved ! Husbands sperm sample was perfect so I guess now we wait ! I go back in on day 5 for the transfer.
@Hopeful_mom....yes my insurance covers 100%! I have up to $50,000 in fertility treatments and my husband has up to $50,000 in fertility treatments. We're very luck to have this amazing insurance! We recently just switched to my insurance from my husbands which covered $0 in fertility so we had been paying out of pocket for testing and IUI's.
I hope everyone with an ER scheduled for today does well !!
@BusinessWife....thank you so so much for all your well wishes and kind thoughts ! It is so nice to speak freely to ladies who 100% understand every part of this process...good and bad ! You absolutely were all right though....it was over before I knew it ! I imagine the waiting process is going to be the hardest part now ??
i had a good appointment this morning, they saw 4 good ones on each side which at my age I am SUPER GRATEFUL for! I just need one normal, maybe two... They'll call me later with instructions to trigger or not but I expect I'll trigger tonight for Thursday retrieval. I'm getting really excited.
@dragonette505 I don't do the priming so it's true how every plan can be so different. I do BCP for 22-23 days starting cd1, along with aspirin and supplements, then the following Monday I start stims (FYI my period usually comes the Saturday right before stims so stims are like cd3 or 4). I do 150 follistim along with dexamethasone and aspirin mornings, then 150 menopur evenings, with monitoring starting morning of day 3 of stims, every other day until day 7 when I start daily monitoring. I usually add Ganirelix on stim day 7 at night, this time I also got that extra day of Ganirelix on day 8 and then today day 9 I did the follistim and will probably be doing 2 ovidrels to trigger tonight.
@Momifbysea Okay... so in your case, having been on BCP means you were down suppressed the cycle before... in my case I'm being minimally suppressed by the estrogen priming post O the cycle before. In some ways, you've actually be in a cycle longer than me (since you have been regulating since last cycle). I think maybe that's one reason your stimming is a shorter length (though 9 days is pretty much spot on for you this cycle). How much HCG is in each ovidrel? I think I'm using Pregnyl this time (10,000 IU) but I feel like ive used ovidrel and it was the same amount...? Cant remember
yeah, a lead follicle will do it! If you o then it's game over!
Its so hard to just trust. Believe me, I'm sitting here right now second guessing my doc! Lol!
@Malibu45 Yay for being done with retrieval. 18 is a stellar number! Hope every last one of them fertilize. The next 5 days were the longest and stressful for me. I had to have my mom prescribe Buspar for anxiety that I never had before the week after retrieval.
@momifbysea So glad you have 8! I'm glad a few more showed up later. You're getting close!
@ReesaAnne16 Any updates? How are you feeling?
AFM, I got the call for a 12:15 transfer tomorrow. The embryologist also said she would call early about the status of the embryo post thaw. I forgot that there's a chance it won't survive. Ugh! She annoyed me but questioning me 3 times about finding out the sex of the embryos. NO I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! She goes, ummm ok. I could picture her rolling her eyes. Whatever!
Me:35 DH:37
Married 09/2013
*TW* TTC #2 since June 2016 *END TW*
Endometriosis
March 2017- IUI#1- Clomid - BFN
April 2017 - IUI #2 - Clomid, Ovidrel - BFN
May 2017 - IUI #3 - Clomid- cancelled cycle
July 2017- IVF #1-Microdose Lupron protocol, Gonal-F, Menopur, HCG trigger- 12 mature eggs, 9 fertilized, 4 frozen- 2 PGS normal!!
August 2017- FET #1
I always love hearing about different protocols people are on. It's a total crapchute, isn't it? I don't respond well to gonal-f. I think next time I'm going to ask for a different protocol.
My protocol was:
supressed with Suprefact nasal spray - 1 spray in each nostril 5 times per day
stimmed with gonal-f (started at 150, increased to 375 after 4 days) and menopur (150)
triggered with 10,000 hcg
post-retrieval, oral estrace twice per day and prometrium suppositories (2 caps, 3 times per day)
My beta is tomorrow (finally!) and I haven't POAS since Saturday. I'm not feeling optimistic. But I appreciated your continued good vibes!!
I feel so groggy and tired right now after waking from nap. And I have such bad heartburn..wonder if that's from anesthesia ?
The doctor did go over hyperstimulation and signs etc. but because I had less than 20 eggs I did not have to go on the special diet they direct you to do to prevent hyperstimulation. I just have to watch for it but I should be fine they said.
This math is too mathy!!!
We we almost had to cancel this IVF cycle, as after 10 days of stims my estrogen was super low and I had no follicles bigger than 10mm! I just wasn't responding. I was lucky though, I had a few take off. When I triggered I had one measuring at 18 and a few 15. They must have grown a lot between trigger and retrieval to end up with 7 eggs. I'm hoping to try a different drug next time!
Dr google and my new doc says its more based on estrogen at and after trigger, weight and of course high numbers of egg retrieved. They may have gotten under 20 eggs retrieved for you, but you had more follicles.
this is literally me with decimals!
Well funny enough I didn't get ohss when I retrieved 24 so there really is no saying... well except for durn sure my estrogen was super high these last two cycles so that has a lot to do with it.
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/lh/sjau0ds66qz7.gif" alt="">
I hear what she's saying about follis vs. eggs... fx you recover well after. :) we were in a similar boat - totally oop for all our testing .... then when it was getting real about his retrieval and doing ivf, I took a job with amazing ivf coverage just so we could move forward. You gotta do what you gotta do!
Well, we have had a bit of a rollercoaster morning.
My doctor retrieved WAY more eggs than I was expecting..... 13 !!!
She was excited, and I was too, but then I knew we would be pressured to use them all, and we had already decided we would only fertilize 5.
We got the call about maturity, and 11 were mature and looked great!
BUT she told us that DH's sample was much poorer than she expected; the sperm have poor motility, shape, color everything
In the end, we decided we still felt like 5 was right for us, and we needed to trust God with the outcome. We opted to freeze the remaining 6 good quality ones, which I'm happy we decided to do.
I know we're very lucky to have so many eggs, and I am truely grateful. Only time will tell if this was the right decision, but I know if we fertilized more and then ended up with extra embryos, we would have regretted it more.
So anxious for tomorrows report
MFI (High DNA Fragmentation) & Mild endometriosis
Aug 2016 - May 2017 6 IUI's with letrozole - BFN
April 2017 - laparoscopy to remove mild endo
June 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU - Cancelled early ovulation, no eggs retrieved.
Aug/Sept 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU, cetrotide - 13 eggs retrieved, 11 mature
5 eggs ICSI'd 6 eggs frozen - 1 day 5 blast transfered, 2 expanded blast frozen - BFP!
May 2018 - Baby girl born - Our Joy
TTC #2 since July 2019
July 2019 - FET - BFN
Jan 2020 - FET - canceled due to family health issues
Mar 2020 - FET - low beta - chemical pregnancy
July 2020 - ICSI'd remaining 6 eggs - 3 fertilized - 2 survived to early blast stage, transfered both - Chemical Pregnancy
@Malibu45 whoah 18 that is AMAZING - what a champ, good for you! Can't wait to hear your great update tomorrow!! Glad hubbs stepped up to the plate nicely!! One less stresser i hope!! AND your insurance is amazing - can you adopt me
As for the crinone question yes I have no heard that too, if you walk after insertion it will adsorb better BUT you will have some build up I'm sure (which is normal too) and then will take the chuck out...TMI, i was taking that with estrace and thought I was giving birth to a baby smurf...true story
@megmac2010. still looking forward to a great update tomorrow - you've got great will power!! you are PUPO!!!!
dragonette505 always love ur updates as I learn something new! Today the day has been crazy 13hrs straight and my first break...of course i'm here
You're eclipse pic is awesome!!
Is it possible you're place doesn't make you come in sooner because of your history and how you respond? Many places are different...Mine has you come usually every 2 days to make sure you don't need cetritide sooner as I have been different though my cycles. Last time I stemmed 14 days...cycle after 10 days...go figure...
@MomifbySea.WHOAH 4 one each side - loving it thats awesome!!!! u go whitcha bad self!!! I just finished writing above how each stemming cycle is different BUT I will add that for us...not sure its a age thing BUT they do look to start to lean to trigger IF they think they might start to lose one or two also. They really want to hit it just right...its not easy. But after talking to the nurses and RE as I like to play DR too
allycheer00 whoah PARTY TIME!!!! omg i'm so excited!! yay!!! This toally just perked me up as I still have work waiting for me....I can't wait to hear how it goes!! You're strong not to know
AFM: I've been crazed that I just checked in on u guys last night and realized I didn't leave my update on my lil ones so here it is...it didn't change much but thats ok too!! So I had my 5 fertilized, had a 5AB blast on day 5, then on day 6 i had another 2 blasts 4BC, quality means they were expanding but didn't start hatching...I was upset originally BUT healthy pregnancies still happen from these lil embabies so I shall still have hope. My other 2 lil fighters they still watched on Day 7...I'm impressed with my girls that both were still in the running! They pooped out in the end and stopped expanding BUT I loved that they fought!!! So that makes another 3 for testing...praying theres normies to come back PLEASE!!!! I can't say I'm not a lil disappointed I didn't get more to test since more eggs were retrieved this cycle...but it is what it is.
BusinessWife this is a total after thought as I was a reading your earlier post but in reading a thread about OH sperm count not being good and ppl posting sample seman results etc reminded me of me going on about OH sample this round which still concerns me BUT during my IUI times I posts his numbers all the time (AND HE WOULD KILL ME IF HE KNEW FOR ONE) but even though I asked the RE I was still so baffled at how one time its 30mill and another time u get 2mill after wash. I was more then a lil upset to say the least but I never really thought I was offending some one on the MFI side at all....so if I did I'm sorry. Its unfortunate at this stage of the game every part is just so difficult!! I'm beyond no sleep but I hope this made sense
Unexplained Infertility - but I am 40...Low AMH .30
7 - IUI (50mg-150mg Clomid) Feb - August 2016 all BFN
IVF#1 August 2016 (Antagonist protocol 4/5 eggs) Cancelled cycle
IVF#2 Sept 2016 (microdose luporn pro - disappearing follies, ONLY ONE, convert to IUI) BFN
IVF#3 November 2016 (4 ER, 3 F, 3DT)-BFP
IVF#4 March 2017 //EPP (10 ER (1 wonky so 9 ER) 7F, 3B (5AB, (2)5BB) PGS tested- ALL abnormal
IVF#5 April 2017 // EPP (7 ER, 7F yes! 6B) 2/5 day 4/6 day - 2 PGS normal! yes!!
IVF#6 May 2017 // Antagonist didn't have time for Estrogen Priming...(4 ER, 3 F, 3B) (5AB, (2) 5BB) 2 PGS normal, yes!!
IVF#7 June 2017 // EPP praying this is it and then on to an FET!
Did you freeze eggs or use frozen eggs? I wasn't sure what you meant by "trying frozen" this cycle.
I hope you have several normals in your 3 embryos from this cycle
@BusinessWife how did everything go for your baseline? I feel like we are MFI/IVF sisters
@allycheer00 Praying for a successful transfer for you tomorrow! This is your first FET correct? How exciting!!!
MFI (High DNA Fragmentation) & Mild endometriosis
Aug 2016 - May 2017 6 IUI's with letrozole - BFN
April 2017 - laparoscopy to remove mild endo
June 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU - Cancelled early ovulation, no eggs retrieved.
Aug/Sept 2017 - Mini IVF letrozole 12.5mg, Gonal-F 75IU, cetrotide - 13 eggs retrieved, 11 mature
5 eggs ICSI'd 6 eggs frozen - 1 day 5 blast transfered, 2 expanded blast frozen - BFP!
May 2018 - Baby girl born - Our Joy
TTC #2 since July 2019
July 2019 - FET - BFN
Jan 2020 - FET - canceled due to family health issues
Mar 2020 - FET - low beta - chemical pregnancy
July 2020 - ICSI'd remaining 6 eggs - 3 fertilized - 2 survived to early blast stage, transfered both - Chemical Pregnancy
@ReesaAnne16. So excited to hear your next report... (((hugs))) hang in there!!! My baselines went great! She saw 10 less than 10 on one side and 11 on the other, and BW came back estrogen at 51 and progesterone at. 4, so we were good to go! I started at 300 Follistim and 20 of low-dose HCG on Monday night, so tonight will be my third night, and then I go for monitoring on Thursday morning!!! Can't wait to see how things are coming along!
@BusinessWife you are so right that there are so many things to compare but it doesn't even matter. I think the same thing... Ive had girls say (not mad or anything) but like ive been asked: oh whats your AMH (by my age group ladies which is over 40) and when I say, they are like: OH that's so much better than mine... I'm all like... but uhhhh we still both don't have babies, right? Like they will have a better FSH... I'm not mad! Gurl... it all sux with IF....theres something not working right in the picture for all of us or else we would be on some parenting board complaining about whether or not our car can fit another car seat for all the babies we are popping out! grrr/lol
@Malibu45 I wouldn't *worry* about ohss... just watch for it... if you are getting MORE bloated and short of breath in the next few days then alert your nurse... they can do an ultrasound to see if fluid is building up and they will know the level its at right away. There are three levels: Mild, Moderate and Severe. Ive had both mild and moderate. Mild is manageable and you should feel better in about a week, moderate will probably get you medicated with Cabergoline or something like that... if you have OHSS you CAN have a transfer, but its not suggested if you have higher than Mild as it will just get worse before it gets better if you end up pg, and you could get hospitalized and it could be bad for a pg. Do you know your estrogen levels around trigger? That would give me a much better idea. If they are not elevated then you may be more like I was at my first largest retrieval where I didn't have OHSS even though so many were retrieved.
@ReesaAnne16 I loved both It Starts With Egg and How To Improve Egg Quality and implemented suggestions from both books!
HOLY CRAP...just got results from the lab, out of my 18 eggs, 17 were mature and 13 fertilized !!!!
First of all YAY great stats!! Cant wait for your day 3! Secondly... Your estrogen was pretty low on the OHSS scale so I can see why they are not concerned. That's great because you should have no problem with a transfer!
Im enjoying one day without needles but now I'm impatient for tomorrow morning! The waiting is hard.
You all are so right about comparing, we are all here with different issues as to why it hasn't worked yet and I appreciate the support so much because everyone "gets it." So thanks for being here on the good and bad days!
@Malibu45 Those are some stellar numbers! You're estrogen wasn't too high so I'm hoping you avoid the dreaded OHSS. I never got it but I didn't have a huge amount of follicles either.
@ReesaAnne16 Yay for a great retrieval. It's good that you considered your options and went with what's best for you. Sux about the sperm quality this go around but you always have a chance for a redo with the frozen eggs. Winner!
@Hopeful_mom I LOL everytime I see you call them, "my girls". It's cute! Three ain't so bad. I'm betting on at least two coming back normal. Glad you're on the up and up. Sorry you're working so much. Booo!
@dragonette505 @BusinessWife Keep those stim updates coming! It's so exciting!
For those who asked, this is my first FET. I'm terrified it won't stick because I only have one left. I can't see myself going through another round of IVF because I *think* I'd be OOP. Maybe I'll win the Powerball tonight. I can't remember. Have any of you done a FET before?
They chose the embryo that made it to 6BB at 5 days and it survived the thaw just fine. Thanks @dragonette505 for the reassurance! I got clarification on what the numbers meant this morning because I thought the 6 was for 6 days of development. Whoops lol. So, two more hours til go time!
Me:35 DH:37
Married 09/2013
*TW* TTC #2 since June 2016 *END TW*
Endometriosis
March 2017- IUI#1- Clomid - BFN
April 2017 - IUI #2 - Clomid, Ovidrel - BFN
May 2017 - IUI #3 - Clomid- cancelled cycle
July 2017- IVF #1-Microdose Lupron protocol, Gonal-F, Menopur, HCG trigger- 12 mature eggs, 9 fertilized, 4 frozen- 2 PGS normal!!
August 2017- FET #1