@leilee101 My RE recommended ERA because we only have 1 frozen embryo. He wanted to make sure the timing was perfect in order to give us the best chance this month. Good luck at your appointment tomorrow!!
Hi everyone! I got my period on Christmas (midnight from Christmas Eve) so I had baseline monitoring cycle day 3 on Thursday. It was great, no fluid and they said everything looked good on ultrasound. Estrogen was 42 and progesterone was .76. They said that’s nice and low and baseline. I spoke to my doctor to do 2 embryos transfers this time. I started on .10 estradiol patches 6 on my stomach changing them every 3 days. Transfer is scheduled for Sunday - Jan 13th obviously depending on monitoring. I go back tomorrow morning for ultrasound and blood work. I hope you all had great holidays!
My transfer is tomorrow 12/31! So hopeful that all goes well. We have a chill New Years dinner party that night which will be kind of weird but hopefully distracting in a good way. (My doctor recommends to not do bed rest, but not lift too much or over exert yourself.) Nervous!
@italianmommy8 Yay!!!! That's so soon....glad your baseline numbers looked amazing! We started a spreadsheet already with everyone's info, scroll back it should still be active
@firstivfoct2018 Tomorrow?! Woohoo....best of luck. Hope it goes off without a hitch....please come back and let us know that everything went well
Trigger warning in signature...
Me: 33 DH: 37 Together since 2010, Married August 2014 TTC: Off and on since April 2015 Diagnosis: Severe MFI 1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17 1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
My last cycle wasn’t cancelled we transferred a 5AB but 8 days later beta was 0 we didn’t do the testing.
Can someone please add me to the spreadsheet. I’m 32, tentative transfer on 1/13 on Estrace patches 6 of them .10 dose every 3 days change them then progesterone w/sesame oil for 6 days prior to transfer day and vaginal insert the morning of transfer. Cycle day 1 this cycle was 12/25. I’m at the doctor waiting to do my monitoring this morning - ultrasound and blood work. We have 9 frozen embryos left. Hopefully we will be allowed to transfer 2 this time - high risk doctor doesn’t want multiples.
I’m also doing laser acupuncture before and after the transfer. My clinic did a study and it helped success rates so why not. It worked the first time even though it ended up being a CP.
Wow 9 embryos! We got a lot but only 2 more usable ones including this transfer. We’re putting in one again and it hoping it sticks all the way through this time!
I do accupunture when cycling too. My acupuncturist does the electro accupunture but I’ve never heard of laser that sounds cool
@mayflower513 my baseline went well! I started gonal f Saturday and will add menopur tomorrow. I’m doing the same dose that I did for stims (175 gonal and 75 menopur), I thought they would do a lower dose? I’m actually going to email them now to make sure the doses are corrects. The goal is to trick my body into making extra estrogen but We are sacrificing the eggs so I don’t want to waste too many lol. Thank you for checking, hope your pregnancy is going well!!
Thank you everyone! The doctor said the embryo thawed great and everything went well at the transfer so fingers crossed into the new year for all of us! My beta is on 1/9.
do you all take off time after your transfers? I work at a school and first day back is supposed to be Wednesday but I work with autistic kids with some lifting required and I’m concerned to do that. But it looks bad to call in sick right after winter break.
@firstivfoct2018 Fingers crossed....that's awesome that your doc thinks everything went well. My clinic only recommends taking the rest of the day off but that you can go back to your regular activity from the next day onwards. Embryos are made to stick to the lining so no amount of heavy lifting is going to dislodge the embryo. I know plenty of women who continued exercising (running, crossfit, etc.) in their first trimester and have babies to show for it so don't let that worry you!
Trigger warning in signature...
Me: 33 DH: 37 Together since 2010, Married August 2014 TTC: Off and on since April 2015 Diagnosis: Severe MFI 1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17 1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
@firstivfoct2018 Congratulations on being PUPO My doctor recommends to be a couch potato for two days after the transfer and not to lift anything more than 5 lbs. But I also heard a lot about being active. I think I will stay home for 2 days and then take it easy. @leilee101 How is your medication dose working for you? I hope everything would lead to a transfer @italianmommy8 How did your u/s and labs go?
Joining in. I was not supposed to have a period before this cycle (I went on BCP after my retrieval cycle just to put things on hold until they had an opening in the schedule), but my baseline on the 21st showed 8mm lining. So I had to wait for my period. I'd also misread the schedule and then misplaced the paper copy and accidentally continue the BCP until the morning of my baseline instead of stopping 3 days before, so I was really kicking myself. But it finally came and on Wednesday, my nurse coordinator said she thought it would be ok to continue the same schedule because it was only 2.5 fewer days of estrogen than originally planned. But there's no monitoring at all until this Friday and the schedule calls for progesterone to start Saturday for transfer the following Thursday. So I'm anxious that my lining won't be ready after all, and they'll push the transfer back. I'm going on vacation 1/14, so fingers crossed for fast growth. Plus I'm attached to/superstitious about a Saturday due date because my successful transfer was for a Saturday due date. I usually am fine with my lining but haven't done oral estrace before. I had a failed natural cycle FET in early November, did a new retrieval and got a miraculous 2 PGS normal embryos from that cycle. One is day 5 and one day 6, both graded good quality. They'll put in the day 5 because they have a very slight preference for day 5 embryos.
I had my ultrasound and blood work yesterday morning. My ultrasound looked great lining was 5.7 mm and my blood work was estrogen 1345 and progesterone .28 which they said was good. They told me to reduce my 6 .10 Estrace patches to 4 .20 instead of 6 for right now. I go back on Friday morning for my next ultrasound and blood work. Thanks for asking 😀 Happy New Year everyone! I hope we all have 2019 babies!
@mayflower513 happy new year! Where you on this cycle?
@dukie001 interesting different recommendations for rest or not after a transfer. My clinic RMA advises against bed rest and advises to go on to normal activity right after transfer, go back to work etc. I don’t know the best option as last cycle didn’t happen for me.
@rmmgr and @ittybittybug-2 you both seem to have tentative transfer dates around me. Mine is tent 1/13. How many are you transferring? How many times have you done a transfer? What meds are you on?
@italianmommy8 just had my transfer....hoping for a super sticky baby. I have a baby shower to plan so I hope that that keeps me distracted enough to not test. We are planning on waiting for the blood test so that it’s a definitive yes or no...I’m hoping to avoid squinting at lines or agonizing over lines getting darker!
ETA: I’m also with RMA! Are you with the NJ group or Philadelphia group?
Trigger warning in signature...
Me: 33 DH: 37 Together since 2010, Married August 2014 TTC: Off and on since April 2015 Diagnosis: Severe MFI 1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17 1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
@ittybittybug-2 and @praying4bump welcome! @SwtAnana Congrats on being PUPO. Now just try to keep a positive thought and no stress. @italianmommy8 All these post transfer activities should be in moderation probably. But I agree with you, the information is very confusing. Last time after transfer I stayed home for two days, but all I could do was think and stress about how the transfer went. But at work I was thinking about work, it actually helped me to cope with stress.
@italianmommy8 Regarding the spreadsheet, you just add yourself. Anyone can edit it. My embryos are PGS tested so only transferring 1. This will be my fourth transfer. I had two to get my son three years ago, and did not do testing then. Transferred two embryos each time then and had a chemical pregnancy and a singleton pregnancy. Then had a PGS-tested embryo transfer fail in November, which was a natural cycle. This one is hormone replacement after the disaster last time, so I am on oral Estrace now, with PIO and Endometrin after.
@ittybittybug-2 and @praying4bump Welcome! @firstivfoct2018 I usually stay couch potato for the day off transfer (I'll walk up and down stairs to keep blood flowing but nothing crazy), and then the next day it's back to normal. I don't usually do any heavy lifting for my job tho, I would avoid that if at all possible. @SwtAnana congrats on the transfer!!! Good luck in your TWW!! @italianmommy8 you should be able to edit the spreadsheet and add your info, I see your name on there so you're doing it right!
I go in tomorrow for my first monitoring appointment since starting my meds. I am so hopeful that things are off to a good start! I just added menopur last night, so I imagine that I will continue stimming well into next week based on how my IVF cycle with the same meds went ...
@firstivfoct2018 I also had FET on 12/31. The doctor who did it (not my usual doctor) was adamant that bed rest is not needed. They only recommended physically taking it easy for the rest of the day, but back to normal after that. Everyone is different, so as long as you aren’t pushing yourself to do extreme physical activity you will be fine.
@SwtAnana The PIO has been ok so far, definitely better than I expected. A girl in my support group had issues with the needle length, but I’ve got enough cushion it’s not an issue for me, lol. My doctor had me do vaginal estrace to get my lining up after monitoring appointment and it worked well for me. I’m back to just oral estrace, plus PIO and Endometrin. My estrace side effects have been much better lately, not sure if my body adjusted or if its progesterone causing new side effects.
@leilee101 it’s interesting that you’re trying to get your body to produce the estrogen. I asked my RE if I could do letrozole but she strongly recommended estrace. Maybe because I have irregular cycles she didn’t want to run the risk of a poor response.
@ittybittybug-2 good luck with the lining! Someone from the December 2018 FET forum said pomegranate juice worked well for her lining. I don’t know if it really works or if it’s more superstitious, but it’s worth a try.
All - best of luck to you this cycle. It’s been 2 days since my transfer and already I want to test, lol. I know it’s best to wait for the blood draw - we will see if I can keep patient until then. Trying to stay distracted and hoping for the best.
@LauraJon2015 Thanks. I don’t agree that waiting for the blood draw is ‘better.’ I think it really depends on knowing yourself and what’s best for you mentally. For me, it’s much better to test early. The shock of an abrupt negative beta or sorrow of a CP would be extremely hard for me to manage if it were to hit all at once. I need time to adjust while I’m also still feeling hope. I know that I’ll feel disappointed if I get an early negative, but that because it’s early, it’s not definite. And if it’s a chemical, seeing the lack of progression will give me an early clue that things might not be ok.
@LauraJon2015 hey transfer buddy! How’s the 2ww going for you? I just had my hormone levels check today and they said my estrogen and progesterone look good, which is good because I’m doing a semi natural cycle. Now just a week until beta. I also didn’t test before beta, last time at least.
i did end up going to work today. The reason I was on the fence is that im a PT and my job is pretty physical. Last cycle I took the whole week off so I kinda felt bad doing that again. I go to RMA nj and they also don’t recommend bed rest at all, but online it seems like many people swear by it. Oh well, positive thoughts.
Annnd I just stayed up late reading all about my symptoms. I’ve been having a lot of cramping which seems like a good sign! But how do you all relax your minds during this wait?
@LauraJon2015 we are only doing it this way because I have had two cancelled cycles due to lining being too thin (One HRT and one natural), so my dr is trying to think of creative ways to thicken it up.
I went in today for my first monitoring scan since beginning meds, 9 follicles with the largest still only at 10, and my lining only at 3.5. It's still pretty early (CD7), and comparable to my IVF cycle in terms of growth rate so I am trying to remain hopeful and calm. Waiting to get my E2 levels back, usually my lining does not get anywhere close to where it should be until E2 is like 2000 so still time but still ... ugghhh this process
Hi ladies! Sending good luck and love to all of you! My retrieval was on November 8th. I had to wait 2 cycles because of OHSS. We will transfer a PGS tested embryo around January 14th. I am doing a natural cycle. I apparently can't do a medicated cycle because I have migraines and can't be on birth control or esterase. I can't believe this time is finally here. Fingers crossed that everything looks good. I have an appointment tomorrow to go over embryo thawing details and my second blood test/sono of the cycle. Any suggestions on helping my lining thicken?
@lwalsh87 Interesting that they were concerned about Estrace with the migraines. I get auras with migraines which means I'm not supposed to take the combination pill because of the increased risk of stroke from the ethinyloestradiol. Estrace is a different form that doesn't apparently have the same risks. But migraines can also be triggered by hormone fluctuations, so perhaps that's what they're trying to avoid? I've done BCP in two cycles so far, with my RE saying that such a short duration shouldn't be too big a risk. I wouldn't have needed the BCP this time except because of the holidays their schedule was tight and they needed to push me back for a week. I also have a monitoring appointment tomorrow to check on things, and I'm really hoping the lining is ready to go so I can stick to the original planned schedule before a late period caused uncertainty! Good luck with yours.
@lwalsh87 I’m doing a semi natural cycle- no meds until ovidrel to trigger ovulation, the estrave and progesterone suppositories, plus a steroid and antibiotic. It’s because I had cellulitis from the pio last month and a CP.
i read a bunch about thickening lining and people mentioned beef stews and pomegranate juice. @leilee101 you could try that too. Good luck with monitoring everyone!
@italianmommy8 My tentative date is 1/17 and they're only letting me do one embryo unfortunately! I'm taking vaginal Estrace gradually increasing dose every few days. Plus medrol before transfer and baby aspirin.
Had baseline US 12/31 and started meds - just hoping now it's thick enough with no funky fluid at my next check 1/12! Anxious about the thickness since I've always been a slow responder. I'm also frustrated because they're refusing to transfer the 2 embryos we have. The 7 day embro is a backup but I wish they'd just do both to improve chances considering 7 day embryos have a less than 13% chance of implantation. Seems like a waste.
A few of you have mentioned migraines - I found that when I used Menopur for the 2nd IVF cycle that destroyed me - I couldn't move for days and they didn't want me taking my rescue Imitrex but I had to in order to function and stop throwing up and going blind. I didn't have issues with Gonal-F and HCG. The estrace is also triggering my migraines and visual auras but not as bad, and at least without eggs waiting for retrieval I'm allowed to take migraine meds. As if we don't have enough to deal with ugh.
Last time I waited until the beta, but this time I’ve been having a lot of cramping so I tested today and got a faint positive!! (The transfer is day 1 right? So today would be day 5). I’m going to hold off testing again until the beta so I don’t drive myself crazy with the line darkening but I feel encouraged:)
Hi Girls- I just added my name to the sheet. Tentative transfer date is 1/28 with a 5 day blast. This will be our first FET. *TW* since summer of 2017 we have had 2 miscarriages and 2 CP. Sperm is fine, I have old eggs. So here we go!! I only have one PGS normal frostie and then 1 mosaic (which the doc didn't really address except to say we will keep it just in case and discuss later)
me 40 DH 43
TTC 1 year
suspected ectopic 10/17 - methotrexate
suspected ectopic 2/18 - methotrextate
DX - unexplained/old eggs
ER June 2017 - 13 retr, 10 fert, 5 to PGS, 1 normal, 1 mosaic
@firstivfoct2018 that’s exciting!! I haven’t tested yet. I’ve been a little crampy, but about the same as last time I was on progesterone so I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out. I hope you get good news with the beta!
@dukie001@firstivfoct2018 my beta is 1/9. I got the first appointment of the day so I’ll find out that afternoon. I’m so nervous!
@ittybittybug-2 thanks for the advice. I read so much about what you “should” do it’s nice to be reminded it’s ok to do things differently if it’s working for you.
@firstivfoct2018 this is my first FET. I did 4 IUIs before, and for the last two I was on prometrium, just in case it would help. I did retrieval around thanksgiving but got mild OHSS (thankfully we caught it before transfer and were able to freeze all).
Re: January 2019 FET
I hope you all had great holidays!
@firstivfoct2018 Tomorrow?! Woohoo....best of luck. Hope it goes off without a hitch....please come back and let us know that everything went well
Together since 2010, Married August 2014
TTC: Off and on since April 2015
Diagnosis: Severe MFI
1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17
1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
My last cycle wasn’t cancelled we transferred a 5AB but 8 days later beta was 0 we didn’t do the testing.
Can someone please add me to the spreadsheet. I’m 32, tentative transfer on 1/13 on Estrace patches 6 of them .10 dose every 3 days change them then progesterone w/sesame oil for 6 days prior to transfer day and vaginal insert the morning of transfer. Cycle day 1 this cycle was 12/25.
I’m at the doctor waiting to do my monitoring this morning - ultrasound and blood work. We have 9 frozen embryos left. Hopefully we will be allowed to transfer 2 this time - high risk doctor doesn’t want multiples.
Wow 9 embryos! We got a lot but only 2 more usable ones including this transfer. We’re putting in one again and it hoping it sticks all the way through this time!
@italianmommy8 here is the spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ak0pYU9dEYf_h7l86krEZopmMoKjWwEcyL0OBR97X4
I do accupunture when cycling too. My acupuncturist does the electro accupunture but I’ve never heard of laser that sounds cool
@mayflower513 my baseline went well! I started gonal f Saturday and will add menopur tomorrow. I’m doing the same dose that I did for stims (175 gonal and 75 menopur), I thought they would do a lower dose? I’m actually going to email them now to make sure the doses are corrects. The goal is to trick my body into making extra estrogen but We are sacrificing the eggs so I don’t want to waste too many lol. Thank you for checking, hope your pregnancy is going well!!
happy new year everyone!!!
do you all take off time after your transfers? I work at a school and first day back is supposed to be Wednesday but I work with autistic kids with some lifting required and I’m concerned to do that. But it looks bad to call in sick right after winter break.
Together since 2010, Married August 2014
TTC: Off and on since April 2015
Diagnosis: Severe MFI
1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17
1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
My doctor recommends to be a couch potato for two days after the transfer and not to lift anything more than 5 lbs. But I also heard a lot about being active. I think I will stay home for 2 days and then take it easy.
@leilee101 How is your medication dose working for you? I hope everything would lead to a transfer
@italianmommy8 How did your u/s and labs go?
Happy New Year everyone! I hope we all have 2019 babies!
@SwtAnana good luck on your transfer today! Will you text prior to your beta on 1/9?
@firstivfoct2018 we had 10 embryos, used 1 last month. How did your transfer go? How are you feeling?
@leilee101 thanks for the spreadsheet but I am not listed. How do I fix that?
@praying4bump sorry to hear about your chemical. Hoping this month works for you
@dukie001 interesting different recommendations for rest or not after a transfer. My clinic RMA advises against bed rest and advises to go on to normal activity right after transfer, go back to work etc. I don’t know the best option as last cycle didn’t happen for me.
@rmmgr and @ittybittybug-2 you both seem to have tentative transfer dates around me. Mine is tent 1/13. How many are you transferring? How many times have you done a transfer? What meds are you on?
ETA: I’m also with RMA! Are you with the NJ group or Philadelphia group?
Together since 2010, Married August 2014
TTC: Off and on since April 2015
Diagnosis: Severe MFI
1/15/2017: FET #1, successful. Baby boy delivered via c-section 9/30/17
1/2/2018: FET #2: BFN
@SwtAnana Congrats on being PUPO. Now just try to keep a positive thought and no stress.
@italianmommy8 All these post transfer activities should be in moderation probably. But I agree with you, the information is very confusing. Last time after transfer I stayed home for two days, but all I could do was think and stress about how the transfer went. But at work I was thinking about work, it actually helped me to cope with stress.
@firstivfoct2018 I usually stay couch potato for the day off transfer (I'll walk up and down stairs to keep blood flowing but nothing crazy), and then the next day it's back to normal. I don't usually do any heavy lifting for my job tho, I would avoid that if at all possible.
@SwtAnana congrats on the transfer!!! Good luck in your TWW!!
@italianmommy8 you should be able to edit the spreadsheet and add your info, I see your name on there so you're doing it right!
I go in tomorrow for my first monitoring appointment since starting my meds. I am so hopeful that things are off to a good start! I just added menopur last night, so I imagine that I will continue stimming well into next week based on how my IVF cycle with the same meds went ...
@SwtAnana The PIO has been ok so far, definitely better than I expected. A girl in my support group had issues with the needle length, but I’ve got enough cushion it’s not an issue for me, lol. My doctor had me do vaginal estrace to get my lining up after monitoring appointment and it worked well for me. I’m back to just oral estrace, plus PIO and Endometrin. My estrace side effects have been much better lately, not sure if my body adjusted or if its progesterone causing new side effects.
@leilee101 it’s interesting that you’re trying to get your body to produce the estrogen. I asked my RE if I could do letrozole but she strongly recommended estrace. Maybe because I have irregular cycles she didn’t want to run the risk of a poor response.
@ittybittybug-2 good luck with the lining! Someone from the December 2018 FET forum said pomegranate juice worked well for her lining. I don’t know if it really works or if it’s more superstitious, but it’s worth a try.
All - best of luck to you this cycle. It’s been 2 days since my transfer and already I want to test, lol. I know it’s best to wait for the blood draw - we will see if I can keep patient until then. Trying to stay distracted and hoping for the best.
@LauraJon2015 When is your first beta? As for me, I don't have the willpower not to test before the blood draw lol.
beta. I also didn’t test before beta, last time at least.
i did end up going to work today. The reason I was on the fence is that im a PT and my job is pretty physical. Last cycle I took the whole week off so I kinda felt bad doing that again. I go to RMA nj and they also don’t recommend bed rest at all, but online it seems like many people swear by it. Oh well, positive thoughts.
good luck everyone just starting their cycle!
about my symptoms. I’ve been having a lot of cramping which seems like a good sign! But how do you all relax your minds during this wait?
I went in today for my first monitoring scan since beginning meds, 9 follicles with the largest still only at 10, and my lining only at 3.5. It's still pretty early (CD7), and comparable to my IVF cycle in terms of growth rate so I am trying to remain hopeful and calm. Waiting to get my E2 levels back, usually my lining does not get anywhere close to where it should be until E2 is like 2000 so still time but still ... ugghhh this process
i read a bunch about thickening lining and people mentioned beef stews and pomegranate juice. @leilee101 you could try that too. Good luck with monitoring everyone!
Had baseline US 12/31 and started meds - just hoping now it's thick enough with no funky fluid at my next check 1/12! Anxious about the thickness since I've always been a slow responder. I'm also frustrated because they're refusing to transfer the 2 embryos we have. The 7 day embro is a backup but I wish they'd just do both to improve chances considering 7 day embryos have a less than 13% chance of implantation. Seems like a waste.
A few of you have mentioned migraines - I found that when I used Menopur for the 2nd IVF cycle that destroyed me - I couldn't move for days and they didn't want me taking my rescue Imitrex but I had to in order to function and stop throwing up and going blind. I didn't have issues with Gonal-F and HCG. The estrace is also triggering my migraines and visual auras but not as bad, and at least without eggs waiting for retrieval I'm allowed to take migraine meds. As if we don't have enough to deal with ugh.
Happy New Year and good luck to all of you!
*TW* since summer of 2017 we have had 2 miscarriages and 2 CP. Sperm is fine, I have old eggs. So here we go!!
I only have one PGS normal frostie and then 1 mosaic (which the doc didn't really address except to say we will keep it just in case and discuss later)
me 40 DH 43
TTC 1 year
suspected ectopic 10/17 - methotrexate
suspected ectopic 2/18 - methotrextate
DX - unexplained/old eggs
ER June 2017 - 13 retr, 10 fert, 5 to PGS, 1 normal, 1 mosaic
FET week of 8/13 - cancelled
@ittybittybug-2 thanks for the advice. I read so much about what you “should” do it’s nice to be reminded it’s ok to do things differently if it’s working for you.