March 2018 IVF

stephanienj · March 2018

Update- I'm triggering tonight- Retrieval at 8:15 Tuesday morning. 16 follies so far, but I know 4 of the newer ones are small, so I doubt they'll be mature. 3 are borderline, so I'm hoping for at least 9 mature. But since I have a couple at 20+, we don't want them to overcook.

@mcgeeva - how ya feeling today? Any update for your trigger?
@frenchiemom80 - How you feeling since the retrieval, any update on the fertilization?

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@teamginger13 welcome! I’ve never heard of this protocol... but seems like the protocol you did last time is what I’m doing now.

@stephanienjer good luck with the trigger tonite. Hope the 3 borderline will make it!

mcgeeva · March 2018

@suzycupcake so finally got a call at 5 so I trigger tongiht at 11:45 wooo finally!

Well ll yes I feel liek there is a ton to try so never give up. Some meds just don’t work for us pcos girls depending on the issue. I knew girls with pcos - not insulin resistant who did just clomid and iui and boom got pregnant. Then got pregnant all natural with their next kids. That was never me but I know stims work! All worth it in the end.

suzycupcake · March 2018

@mcgeeva Awww yay! I'm so glad you get to trigger. Yassssss! Please keep me posted. I'm stalking your journey now haha

mcgeeva · March 2018

suzycupcake ha thank you! Well I am hoping this all work out first go round but we shall see. I think I will feel a whole lot better once I know how many good embryos I have after testing. I need a cheat sheet for everyone..I'm having a hard time keeping up

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@mcgeeva glad you get to trigger tonite!! Good luck!

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

Hi All!! Here's where we stand! 10 eggs - 8 were mature and 7 have fertilized! Now we are on the 5 day wait and then the 7 day PGS testing wait.
AFM I kind of feel like crap emotionally. I know I should be super happy with the results - and I am - but I am an emotional grouch. You spend all of this time injecting yourself with hormones and then nothing.
I hope everyone is doing well today and FX @josiepasta for a positive appointment tomorrow!
Where is everyone else on their stims so I can keep track!

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

Sorry Ladies! I missed that @stephanienj and @mcgeeva are triggering tonight! Good Luck ladies and FX!
We made a little party of it in our bathroom... DH played Nas' Hate Me Now (one of my favorite songs) and we were cracking jokes about how this is our version of doing shots in the club.

mandurz · March 2018

Good luck to the ladies triggering tonight! I can't wait to hear how the ER goes!
@teamginger13 welcome! We will probably be stimming very close together. I will be on a lower stimulation cycle and in Dec when we followed it I stimmed for like 18 days so yeah there's that. Good luck with this process!
@frenchiemom80 that is hilarious about that being our version of shots in the club. Great numbers btw! The fertility game is all about the hurry up and wait and it sucks. I am sure you will get plenty of good embryos from this batch.

josiepasta · March 2018

@frenchiemom80 thanks! Your numbers are looking great so far! So excited for you!

@stephanienj and @mcgeeva hope your triggering went well last night!

AFM, my whole IVF schedule just got turned upside down. I met with me RE this morning and instead of doing the freeze-all and doing a frozen transfer in late March/early April, like we originally planned, she said my progesterone levels are so low (they are around 0.6) that my risk for OHSS is small enough to recommend doing a fresh transfer instead of a frozen. So I just went to the pharmacy to pick up an hCG trigger shot (instead of the Lupron trigger), and will be doing my trigger sometime tonight, my ER on Wednesday morning, and my transfer on Monday! I can't believe how fast this is happening, but I'm so excited!

prudence9-2 · March 2018

Had my b/w and u/s this morning. I can def see the difference that being 1.5 years older does...

at this point (day 5) last time I had e2 557 and this time it’s only 62

they are increasing Gonal to 225.

mcgeeva · March 2018

josiepasta that's super exciting change of plans!! Good luck

suzycupcake · March 2018

@frenchiemom80 Yassssss go eggies and sperm!!!!! What is the pgs testing? Sorry that you feel like crap emotionally. It makes sense though with all of the hormones and I hope that you are doing something nice for yourself. You and YH sound a lot like us. We implement a lot of humor in our journey. Doing shots at the club. Hysterical! Eta: Oh is the pgs testing the same as what @mcgeeva mentioned? It's to see the quality of the embryos?

@josiepasta That's amazing and I'm so excited for you! Fx that everything goes really well and smoothly for you!

@prudence9-2 I don't really know what that stuff means yet, but I'm sorry that you are sad

I hope that this increase does the trick for you. Hugs

mcgeeva · March 2018

@suzycupcake - PGD checks the number of chromosomes, quality of the egg and for any genetic disorders. Usually never covered by insurance but figured at this point it was worth the 3k to put in a more viable embryo.

mandurz · March 2018

@josiepasta I am so excited for you! Hope all goes well.
@prudence9-2 sorry that your hormones are not cooperating as well this time around. I hope the increase shots help a lot.

suzycupcake · March 2018

@mcgeeva Thanks for answering that for me

To the other comment. Yea cause fertility is a privilege, not a right. Don't ya know? /eyeroll

mcgeeva · March 2018

suzycupcake don't get me started. When I started this journey 8 years ago I fought my company on coverage and had the head of benefits tell me fertility was the same as a boob job or gastric bypass. Livid was an understatement. And since then met many idiots on the way which opinions on treatments.

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

@josiepasta - That is such great news! What's the saying... "Man plans; God laughs". Congrats!

@Prudence9-2 - Yes, age makes a difference but so will upping the meds. I'm 38 and I was on 300 Follistim/300 Menapure and my e2 levels didn't really rise until day 11. And, my RE said if you do a BCP start, it may slow down the response. Keep faith ❤️.

@suzycupcake - @mcgeeva explained it all! At this stage it was worth the extra money for the testing.

Because of my age and dwindling reserves, we went straight to IVF and wanted to use every advancement possible.

@mcgeeva - are you still on track for tomorrow?

All - has anyone looked into writing off their IVF cycles on their taxes? I've done limited research but I think you can do it - something to think about!

AFM - The Super 7 are still kicking it in the incubator. (Their action hero group name is still a work in progress.) Depending on how everything turns out, we will either go for a FET after my next period or jump into another IVF cycle without the BCP start. Hopefully we get the test results before my next period! I am in a much better mood. I think the up and down of the hormones and then the transfer and then adjusting to no hormones kind of sent me into a tailspin.

Edit - @stephanienj - are you still on track for tomorrow?

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@frenchiemom80 I hope that more Gonal will help. But from what I’m reading, 62 on day 5 is not a good news. I’ll be 42.5 next month. I’ve started my first IVF a week after turning 41...

@stephanienj & @mcgeeva good luck tomorrow!!!

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

@prudence9-2 - I understand. I'm keeping you in my thoughts. Actually all of you...

mcgeeva · March 2018

Is anyone on here I’m totally freaking out? I just called the emergency number for my doctor. Er is tomorrow at 11:45 but I’m having stomach pains and I think I’m about to puke up my azithromycin. Has anyone else had this??

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

Here! what did they say? where you supposed to take it with food?

mcgeeva · March 2018

I did I took with a banana. They said it can sometimes send people over the edge so who knows but I feel liek death and totally freaked out.

frenchiemom80 · March 2018

I'm glad you got a hold of someone one... I was WebMDing that stuff at it said the same thing. I know this was the last thing you needed!

tinjp78 · March 2018

@mcgeeva did you get a hold of your dr? What did he advise?

TruStory · March 2018

Hi ladies! I have not been very active on this post but I have been lurking a bit and good luck to everyone stimming and doing ER soon! This is my first round of IVF and so I don't really know what to expect. Last night was my first injection...I'm on 75 Menopur and 225 Follistim. Last night I felt great and ready to go, but then this morning I woke up feeling depressed and full of anxiety, to the point I can barely function. Anyone else ever feel like this? Can I expect this to get worse or better as stimming goes on? Any advise would really be appreciated.

txjewel · March 2018

Hi ladies!
I am catching up on everyone's progress - hope everyone's day is off to a good start!

@josiepasta That's exciting about your transfer on Monday! I think someone above said it, but man, you really have to just roll with the punches with these treatments. Wishing you all the best!!

@TruStory Good luck with your first round of IVF. It's totally normal in my experience to have ups and downs. Just remember why you're doing this and trust the process and your dr. I have found that my emotions are a roller coaster during the whole IF journey. Hope your day gets better!

AFM - I am on day 4 of stims and just had my first official check up. I was suppressed on BCP prior to starting stims and at my pre-scan, they saw 6 follicles. Today, they saw 5 that are growing well. I'm a bit discouraged right now b/c at this point in my first IVF cycle, I had double the number of follicles. My protocol last time was different and they changed it b/c I responded too fast. Argh. Trying to stay positive but am struggling and teary. To top it off, my company is sold as of today and tomorrow I officially work for a new one. Lots going on and I'm trying to hold it together.

mcgeeva · March 2018

@tinjp78 so turns out this happens some times since it’s a weeks worth of zpack in one night. So I just got lucky with all the side effects. I’m at my ER right now waiting but bp is 140/100. Just been a long night I think. Good luck to everyone starting their stims and transfers!

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@txjewel I know exactly what you mean. When I compare my results now to first IVF it’s really depressing! And I’m on the same protocol as last time... But now they increased my Gonal because E2 was very low (only 62)... and I think my follicles were too small for day 5.. they were all 5-6mm.

Did you have b/w too today?

@mcgeeva glad to hear you’re ok. Hope you get some rest today. When is your retrieval?

txjewel · March 2018

@prudence9-2 Yes, I had b/w. Waiting on my nurse to call with the results to see where my E2 is. So sorry to hear your results are behind last time. Can they extend your time on stims to give the follicles time to grow?

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@txjewel they increased Gonal. I have another u/s & b/w tomorrow (day 7) so we will see if that helped.

josiepasta · March 2018

@stephanienj & @mcgeeva hope your ER went well today! Excited to hear how many eggs were retrieved.

@mcgeeva I've never heard of taking an entire Z-pack in 1 day. They had me start my 5 day Z-pack yesterday, with two pills on day 1, and one pill on the remaining days 2 through 5. No wonder you had a reaction, that's got to be rough on your body to take them all at once. Hope you are feeling better.

@txjewel I understand your frustration. On Day 6 of stims I only had 4 follicles, but then when I went back on Day 8, I had 18. I guess sometimes people just explode later on. Switching companies is such a pain, especially on top of all the stress with IVF. Hang in there!

@TruStory this is my first round of IVF too, and I went into the stims shots super excited. It wasn't until day 6 when I lost all enthusiasm and dreaded taking the shots at night. I kind of just stuck with it and made sure to watch a fun TV show during my designated shot time to keep it light. I think what kept me going was the fact that I went to the RE for a follow up every other day, and each time my follicle numbers and blood work seemed to progress. As long as I was moving forward, I was ok. I hope it gets easier for you as the days pass.

AFM - I did the hCG trigger at 7:45pm last night - it was my first butt shot. I did it myself, and it wasn't too bad. The needle actually went in easier than the stomach shots (I guess less sensitive nerves back there). Only hard part was twisting my body in order to pull the syringe back to see if there was any blood. Luckily I had a big mirror to do it in front of. My RE also had me do a "boost" of 450 gonal-f, to help any little follicles to catch up to the bigger ones. I'm very excited to take off stims today and have no shots. ER is at 7:45am tomorrow and I plan to spend the rest of the day in bed with my heating pad catching up on some Netflix. I told DH that I want to eat a high protein diet for the next few days, so he's going to cook me steak tomorrow night!

kyapplb · March 2018

@TruStory first round of IVF here too and I am feeling more stressed and down about it than anything. I’m usuall pretty optimistic/happy so part of me thinks that this is from all the hormones I’m injecting. Hard to do all of this and go through all the shots and financial cost for a “maybe.”

txjewel · March 2018

@josiepasta Good luck with your ER! The rest afterward is so nice, and he steak dinner sounds like a great treat afterward too.

AFM, just got off the phone with my nurse. My e2 was low and with the low follicle count, we are going to cancel my cycle this month and probably go back to the lupron flare next month. A little bummed but also a little relieved. I don't want to go through all this for a poor result.

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@txjewel oh no! So sorry to hear that!!!

Can I ask what was the number? My e2 was also very low but they upped my gonal to try and see if my body will respond better.

txjewel · March 2018

@prudence9-2 E2 was 190. They wanted to see ~ 300. Part of the reason we cancelled is likely due to how well I responded last time and my age. Hopefully yours will improve. What was yours??

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@txjewel my E2 was 62 on day 5. Last time on day 5 I had 577.

now I wonder if my cycle will get cancelled. And if not, should I ask for cancellation? I’m all OOP...

stephanienj · March 2018

Hi ladies, it's been a busy couple of days, and just catching up. Thank you everyone for the well wishes on todays ER.

@frenchiemom80 - I'm cracking up at the Nas themed trigger party! It's great that almost all fertilized. I've got my fingers crossed for your PGS.

@josiepasta - Great news on the low risk for OHSS, congrats on doing the fresh transfer! Good luck on your retrieval tomorrow.

@prudence9-2 - I had a slow start too, my RE upped my dose of Follistim from 150 to 225 also!

@TruStory - Good luck with your cycle, this is my first too, and yes, major roller coaster of emotion, I was fine 1 day and a mess the next.

@mcgeeva - Hope your retrieval went well today, fingers crossed! And hope your feeling better today too!

AFM- My retrieval went well, 8 eggs. I was of course hoping for more, but I'm happy with it. Now the dreaded wait. I'll find out tomorrow how many fertilized. I know it only takes 1, and if we have at least 1 at day 5, we'll be very happy! Not feeling too bad, a little sore and bloated, feel good when I'm laying down, but standing up or walking around is when I feel the pressure and it makes me uncomfortable. But all in all, not too bad.

prudence9-2 · March 2018

@stephanienj glad ER went well! FX for a good fertilization report tomorrow!!!

do you remember your E2 at the beginning? And when it started increasing?

stephanienj · March 2018

@prudence9-2 - I started stims on 2/23- E2 that day was 43. On 2/26, day 4 morning, it was 93...this was the day they increased me from 150 to 225. On 2/28, day 6 morning, it was 363. on 3/2, day 8 morning it was 1019. On 3/3 it was 1651, 3/4 when I triggered it was 2017. Yesterday it was 2148. This being my first cycle, it was really a guessing game of how I would respond and what dose I needed.

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