July 2018 IVF

Drove2u · May 2018

I know it’s still kind of far away but that’s the month I’m looking at now. Just a little background: I’m back on the boards TW: I got pregnant naturally about three maybe four years ago years ago now on the first try which resulted in a CP. we tried for another year and a half with no luck. We then attempted six iuis which one resulted in an ectopic but luckily they caught it on time. After six iuis we went on to IVF and got pregnant with my daughter who is now 16 months. so we’re trying for our second now. END TW

I returned to my clinic just yesterday and now that we have four frozen embryos we’re looking for a July transfer. I have my hysteroscopy scheduled for June and now just waiting for my period to come to go for a baseline. I’m really hoping we will continue with all of this. Not sure about the financials yet andthis will be discussed on Monday. Just really want insurance to cover this otherwise we’re out and not going to proceed. Was hoping for some July transfer buddies here as this forum really helped me get through it last time.

Drove2u · May 2018

@jelisha12 hi!! Where are you in the process now?

kristimh80 · May 2018

@Drove2u I started a July FET if you'd like to join in there as well.

Drove2u · May 2018

@kristimh80 oh man!! I didn’t see that!! Ok! Will join there instead!!

katie35 · May 2018

Thanks for starting this board! At this point we are planning a July retrieval. We are planning to send the embryos for PGS testing so will be transferring hopefully not too far in to the future.

A little bit about our history. After the typical year of trying and a few rounds of clomid, found out husband has bilateral absence of vasdeferens, meaning IVF with ICSI was our only option.

Did our first retrieval in Nov of 2014. From that we ended up with 12 day 3 embryos.

Fresh transfer - chemical pregnancy
1st FET Feb 2015 - BFN
2nd FET Dec 2015 - BFN
3rd FET Dec 2016 - Added endo scratch, endometrial HCG, and resistant uterine protocol - BFN
Intra uterine scope and biopsy Dec 2017 - Found nothing that could be causing us not to concieve
ERA Jan 2018 - Found I was post receptive and we needed 12 less hours of progesterone before transfer
4th FET - because of needing to mimic ERA cycle, had to thaw all 4 remaining embryos to day 5. In that process 3 of the embryos arrested and the remaining embryo was very poor quality. We weren't too surprised when that also ended in a BFN.

So now we are back to the beginning. We are hoping that testing the embryos might give us some answers.

This time around I am also more focused on trying to be as healthy as possible to try to produce the highest quality eggs I can. I read the book "It Starts With The Egg" and it was super eye opening. I feel as if I am so muchmmore equiped with knowledge now than IIwas with the first retrieval. Here's to hoping that the life style changes we are making help!

I look forward to meeting everyone and good luck!!

Drove2u · May 2018

@katie35 wow!! What a journey!!
What kind of tips were in this book?

katie35 · May 2018

There was a lot of good information about how certain chemicals (BPAs and Pthalates) are in our everyday products and how those chemicals can negativity impact egg quality. It also gave good information on how to avoid them ( i.e. stay away from plastic food/water storage, buy soaps and lotions which don't contain "perfumes" (Pthalates)). It also gave good information on why it is so important to stay away from refined carbs and sugars. Both of the above seem to be impossible to follow 100% of the time but I figured doing my best can't hurt!

Good luck with your meeting on Monday @drove2u and fingers crossed insurance comes through!!

mich_elle · May 2018

Hi there! Popping in from the May 2018 IVF thread! @katie35 I started that one and I adapted a spreadsheet from another bumpie, which I've attached to my siggy. I just had my ET today so not sure what the future holds for me. But, feel free to copy, edit and link the new one in your siggy so others can jump on the July IVF train! I have found it helpful to organize my info and to see where other ladies are in the process. Best of luck to you!

katie35 · May 2018

What a great idea! I will try to get that going.

And good luck to you, @mich_elle. Here's to hoping the next couple of weeks fly by and you get some great news at the end!

mich_elle · May 2018

Thanks @katie35!

k8dunks · May 2018

Hi ladies! Thanks for making the group. Never posted before but have been following along with several groups along this process. After 2 years of trying, my husband and I were recently diagnosed with MFI and low AMH/low progesterone and are planning for our first egg retrieval and fresh embryo transfer at the end of July.

Anybody have any success with acupuncture? Worth it or no?

Any tips or advice appreciated!

katie35 · May 2018

Hello @k8dunks! Thanks for joining the group. I am anxious for July to get here! Though we haven't been successful yet, I have found that accuppuncture not only helps with my stress levels, it also helped quite a bit with my lining thickness. I say if you are able to do it, go for it!

emmasemm · June 2018

Just a little bump for this thread as July is getting closer

Hope you’re managing the wait @katie35 @k8dunks and have schedules and meds
I guess a few more will join in the next weeks, July and August are normally quite busy with teachers!

katie35 · June 2018

Thanks for the bump @emmasemm! I received my meds on Friday. We have our screening ultrasound next week on the 14th. Hopefully everything looks good and we will get our calendar.

@k8dunks , any updates from your end?

Also, attached in my signature is a new copy of the spread sheet that mich_elle provided. I have added in my information (at least what I have so far).

July will be here soon!

bakerstreetboys · June 2018

Hi ladies,
I will be starting my first round of IVF this month, with an egg retrieval and transfer hopefully in July. I'm 40, we have been trying to a year, and *tw we have had two losses*. We will be doing a long patch protocol, so waiting to start OPKs on day 10 and then the patch when I get a positive. I look forward to chatting with you ladies and learning more!
@mich_elle Sorry to see that your first round didn't work. Fx for you this time around!

hanrowe · June 2018

Hi ladies! I will be starting my first round of IVF at the end of July. We have MFI and have been TTC for 2 years. I am 28 and DH is 29. I am very nervous and anxious. Good luck everyone ☺️

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

hi to everyone. i am cautiously joining this board... we are attempting to have our first IVF cycle and fresh transfer in July. still have some hurdles to overcome and not sure it will come to pass but hoping for July! i think we'll have more info this week. if not July then we have to wait until September (and I'm sure you all can relate... I'm so tired of waiting!) RE wants me to do an endo scratch as well. GL to everyone with all the mental and physical preparation and scraping together all of our money to pay for this!

emmasemm · June 2018

@katie35 how did your screening go?

@bakerstreetboys I’m not sure how long is long, but I am coming to the end of two weeks of estrogen patches for priming. AF should come Tuesday, baseline Wednesday. Did you already get your positive OPKs?

@hanrowe welcome and no worries. We will help each other through.

@wishing-and-hoping hey old friend. Hope you’re clearing those hurdles one by one.

mackorori · June 2018

I’ve been following boards and posting some in our journey these past two years with *tw two losses* and one round of IVF. You don’t realize how age impacts fertility until you are there. My numbers look pretty good for 42, it’s all about the quality unfortunately.

We did IVF in March with 13 mature eggs that ended with one embryo passing PGS. For life reasons we needed to wait a few months for a FET, but after some soul searching decided to do one more IVF round to see if we can get any more embryos. If we wait until after the FET and it doesn’t work or we have a loss, my egg quality will just be worse. If this round 2 doesn’t work and we only end up with our one to try, then we will just hope for the best!

I started my priming meds this week and should start stim around July 11, target ER July 23rd with PGS again. She is throwing everything at this including adding Saizen to my protocol. Does anyone have experience with that? It’s supposed to help with embryo quality. As with anything I’m sure it works for some and not others...

I’m looking forward to being more active on the board this go around and going through the journey of riding this IVF train one last time with you ladies. Good luck to everyone!!

mackorori · June 2018

To the acupuncture question - I have used it and I think it’s helpful, particularly for the transfer as I understand it. It helps with stress and also just keeping things balanced, good blood flow, etc.

anared · June 2018

Hey Ladies,

I am planning on my first retrieval in July, depending on my insurance of course. In the meantime I started the birth control pills while we wait to hear if we are approved. If we are lucky enough to move ahead with a July retrieval I probably won't transfer until August since we have to do ICSI and PGS.

@katie35 thanks for the information! I haven't read the book but I have heard about it and currently trying to switch out my products for more natural ones. The hardest one is deodorant of course. I have been through so many. When I asked my RE about lifestyle changes he said as long as you don't smoke and do drugs you are fine but I still would rather do everything I can to make this successful.

I have my fingers crossed for everyone!

katie35 · June 2018

@emmanemm screening looked good! We are just waiting for some additional blood work to come back and then (if everything looks ok) we will stop the birth control and start stims 4 days later. I am guessing this will be end of this coming week sometime.

@mackorori I am curious about the Saizen. Is that a medication that you take? The REs in my office are starting to wonder if the issue from our first round was related to quality.

@anared my mother in law sells Norwex products and I was able to get some deodorant through her. I have liked it so far. Fingers crossed the insurance comes though!

Good luck everyone! July will be here before we know it!

mackorori · June 2018

@katie35 it’s a growth hormone and an injectable med. From how my first round went and a little research (not much out there, doesn’t seem to be common) I gather they are hoping it will help with the quality in terms of the embryo growth, fragmentation, etc. I’m not sure it can do anything about egg quality in terms of chromosonal issues. I’m calling around to pharmacies Monday to see the cost, it’s off label use so not covered and probably not cheap. Will keep you posted as I find out more.

bakerstreetboys · June 2018

@emmasemm Today is CD10, so I have started OPKs. Negative today, which is good because I don't even pick up the patches or learn how to use them until Tuesday! I want to ask questions like "can I showed/bathe with them on?!" It sounds like we're on a similar protocol; I'll be on the patches until AF arrives, and then start with the monitoring and two different injections a day. The nurse made an off the cuff remark about some women only needing the patches to get pregnant, so that's why they don't give you the other meds until AF arrives, but I'm going to follow up on that. If the patches prevent ovulation, how could you get pregnant? So many things to learn!
I hope this next cycle works out for you and you get more fertilized embryos

emmasemm · June 2018

@bakerstreetboys
I’m not really sure what your nurse means...
This link explains estrogen priming simply.

https://www.center4fertility.com/blog/2013/07/22/ask-dr-marc-what-is-estrace-131990

To answer your question, if the patches are not cheap crappy quality then yes you can shower and bathe with them on. It’s advisable to avoid lingering for an hour in the bath with lots of products in it, as of course they can loosen the sticky on them.

But my clinic also said if one falls off just replace it ASAP and then change as per the original plan (even if it means only wearing a patch for eg 8 hours before changing). For that reason they gave me a few extras. I never had one fall off yet. In fact removing all the sticky stuff is the most tricky!

Estrogen can also be prescribed after transfer, together with progesterone, but I never read alone that it helps in literal phase. What it might help is that you have several follicles lined up and you could then use gonadotropins to stimulate follicle growth and just do TI or IUI. But after priming without injectibles I would be worried the follicles would not “wake up” from their deep sleep the same as in a cycle without priming - they typically need the kick from the injections.

I don’t think they are preventing your ovulation - i think they want you to have the positive OPK so when you apply the patch ovulation is already under way and once the estrogen enters your system you are in your literal phase already.

Many clinics don’t give meds out until after baseline in case a cycle is cancelled or delayed (eg a cyst or not enough follicles or too high FSH). However most meds are dated at least six months ahead so I’d rather have my meds to be sure there is no logistical reason not to start.

And if you want a head start before your appointment then there are lots of links but this one explains the antagonist protocol quite well (you can do it with or without estrogen priming).

https://www.advancedfertility.com/ivf-stimulation-antagonist.htm

If there is anything I would advise that is to read up, get to know the main terminology and question everything you don’t understand until you understand and feel comfortable. Nobody will ever care about the details of your cycle as much as you do (no matter how much you’re paying them).

If you have any questions just shout up any time. I speak English, German, basic French and Chinese - and fluent IVF!!! Not sure that’s going on my CV though ;-)

Although it’s a few years old, the IVF chapter in “Fertility and infertility for dummies” is also a very easy read. Very relevant might be the section “taking your medication without having a nervous breakdown”. The first night of injections you will double check everything and be certain you’ve screwed it all up. By night 3 or 4 you’ll be almost bored it will seem so easy.

emmasemm · June 2018

@mackorori
I also use HGH. There are a few different brands, but in the end they are pretty much same-same.
It is indeed intended to support egg quality. Though the research is definitely not the most clear statistically on the other hand the cohort of patients who are likely to be best helped is very small and basically nobody is interested in being in a blind trial as none of us wants the placebo! Also most studies are self funded.
However for poor responders, those younger women with proven egg quality issues and for women over 38 there is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence. You’re right that it doesn’t supposedly reduce percentage of chromosomal abnormalities but does supposedly help with the overall functioning of the egg.
We are using the HGH during stims which is the traditional way. Each round costs us about $1000 for the dosing we are on. I assume you’re in the USA in which case it will depend which state you’re in.
We actually ended up liaising with the local rep for the manufacturer and they are very interested to support use for IVF (as i think they see it as a nice little sideline!).
I had no side effects when using just for 10 days at a time.
The newer way to use HGH is at much lower doses for a few months before retrieval as we know follicles are recruited over several months. This study is still ongoing. But you can get a partial same effect if you’re doing multiple back to back cycles with HGH only during stims. (That’s what we are doing)

bakerstreetboys · June 2018

@emmasemm Thank you so much for writing all that out! It was such a whirlwind appointment that we had; the decision was made to do IVF, and then we had a ton of information thrown at us. I have a list of things to ask and clarify on Tuesday.
We're paying enough for it, so they should definitely take the time to answer our questions. Most of the information I find online is from the US, and since we're in Canada, things are a bit different. I will check out your links.
Thanks!

mackorori · June 2018

@emmasemm thanks for the additional background, much appreciated!

emmasemm · June 2018

@bakerstreetboys

You might find a few drug names are different but you’ll see the active ingredients are the same. I have prescriptions from one country and fill them in another. We have to translate the licensed product in one country to the one in the other as they are not licensed with the same name in all countries! But you will quickly find your way.

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

well, we are still tentative (waiting on DH to decide if he is comfortable moving forward), but we're proceeding as if we are doing this. I talked to my RE just now about what the timeline would look like and the retrieval would be ~July 9th. WOW that is so soon... basically everything I have planned for life and work are about to go out the window!

emmasemm · June 2018

Hope everyone is doing ok.

I had baseline yesterday which for me was a good one and we started stims last night. First monitoring is Monday. At the moment ER is most likely 2nd or 3rd July. But as the priming was more effective this time maybe I will need an extra day or two. Let’s see!

bakerstreetboys · June 2018

@emmasemm Exciting that you've started stims for the next round! Fx that you have good results on Monday.

@wishing-and-hoping Wow, that's great that you don't have to wait long at all!

I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs until I start the patch next Wednesday. Time is moving so slowly!

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

@bakerstreetboys - so I am definitely a newbie, but it's so interesting how everyone's protocols can be so different. I don't do the patch, or any form of estrogen that I can see looking at my calendar. It makes you start to wonder, am I missing something I should have? But I guess everyone just does it a little different.

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

also paging @cloggins32709 this is the July 2018 IVF group!

bakerstreetboys · June 2018

@wishing-and-hoping and-hoping I'm a newbie too, this will be my first round! I have spent so many hours looking up different protocols that I've driven myself crazy! I'm just going to trust that the RE knows what she's doing...for this round anyway

I'm 40, so have a lower ovarian reserve than some; that's what my protocol is based on.

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

@bakerstreetboys gotcha, hope it gives you a good response then! yes we have to trust so much!!

question to any of you that have done PIO before - my IVF nurse suggested we do progesterone in ethyl oleate because it is thinner, you don't have to inject as much, and you can use a smaller gauge needle so it's overall a lot less painful - progesterone in sesame oil is covered for me but I'd have to pay OOP for the ethyl oleate - I think she said it's about $60 for a 20-day supply. anyone have an opinion on this? worth it?

katie35 · June 2018

@wishing-and-hoping for most of my cycles I have used progesterone in sesame oil. It does tend to be semi painful, especially after a few injections. I will say that my first round was the most uncomfortable. I really had a hard time even being able to sit. The following rounds though I learned some tricks that made it better (warm the syringe in your hand for a minute or two to make it thinner, massage the injection site, make sure you move around after the injection). It is uncomfortable but tolerable.

With all that being said, for my last round I had to get my progesterone through a compound pharmacy due to the shortage. They mixed it in a much thinner oil and it was WAY more comfortable. I would say that if you are ok with spending the money, it might not be a bad idea to go for it.

Ragan520 · June 2018

Hi fellow IVF friends! I was hoping to join in as I am getting ready to start my second IVF round. TW-First IVF ended in CP at 5 wks in early April with no ❄️. - end TW. I am on my last few days of BCP and will have my baseline 7/5 and start stims on 7/6. Just wanted to say hi and wish everyone the best of luck and sending us all baby dust!

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

@katie35 thanks for the advice - I am going to try and return the sesame and buy the ethyl oleate. Looks like they are just $15 different per 20 day supply - worth it IMO!

welcome @Ragan520 - sorry about your first round and hoping you get your THB from this round

anyone doing a fresh transfer?

wishing-and-hoping · June 2018

also @katie35 i just requested access to the spreadsheet - so you know that cnor416 is me!

Ragan520 · June 2018

@wishing-and-hoping Thank you! I will tentatively be doing a fresh transfer but RE is concerned about OHSS as my E2 was pretty high last cycle and we will be upping my gonal f this cycle.... so he will be closely monitoring it and make a decision just before trigger.

July 2018 IVF

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