This was our 6th FET cycle and have been TTC for 3.5 yrs. We’ve had 3 BFN, an ectopic, and a chemical. This was going to be our last shot before we tried surrogacy or adoption. For this last cycle we went to a new clinic and did an ERA test before the transfer. Some additional medication (medrol, baby aspirin) and higher doses of prog and estrogen. But that’s it
Im 8 weeks right now and have had 2 good ultrasounds so far. We graduated from the fertility clinic and are seeing an OB this week. We told parents at 6 wks after we saw the heartbeat but no one else until the 1st trimester.
Im terrified every appointment that this is the one where it will end. IF absolutely robs us of that joy. This is my 1st (and likely only) pregnancy - I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible but so scared about miscarriage.
Glad to know I’m not alone!
and yes, I’m so annoyed at ladies who come on birth month board because they are just trying now!
I have another ultrasound tomorrow (7 weeks) and the nerves are kicking in hard now... Everything has been great so far as far as baby is concerned (aside from the subchorionic hemorrhage last week that appears to have resolved). Fertility issues have robbed me of my excitement and made me an anxious wreck...ugh...
@natehk this is our first FET after an ERA and it worked. We had 2 failed transfers before we did the ERA and I can't help but feel guilty for not having done it sooner.
@alwayseloquent good luck with your ultrasound. My first one is still 2 weeks away so I’m jealous. We didn’t do an ERA this cycle but I did do a scratch. Makes me wonder if there is something to it!
@alwayseloquent I'll thinking of you tomorrow! I hope it goes well. I also have another u/s tomorrow with my RE I'll be 6w6d and I cant wait for a little more reassurance everything is still ok.
Thanks @megmac2010 and @gumby22c all went well 😊 baby had a heartbeat of 133 and everything looked great. My next ultrasound is in a week when I'm 8 weeks along. Hope all of your tests go well.
We did assisted hatching and ICSI for all of our transfers @megmac2010, mostly because the specialist said it helped with frozen embryos. I was really skeptical about the ERA because it was going to be $800 out of pocket just to confirm that I might be 1/3 of women who needs extra progesterone exposure. It turned out that I need about 12 hours more exposure to progesterone in order to have a "sticky" endometrial lining, so the transfers were being done too early to catch. I feel like I know way more than I ever wanted to know about my body and the reproductive processes because of all of this hahaha
Hi everyone! Nice to see some of you grin the February FET group!
1. What protocol finally worked? First round of IVF Oct 2016 resulted in 8 eggs, successfully sperminating 5 embryos via ICSI, did a fresh transfer 5 days later that resulted in my now 21 month old son. Out of the 3 remaining frozen embryos, we did the frozen transfer Feb 2019, currently pregnant with 1, still taking daily Estrace and daily PIO injections until 10 weeks.
2. How much did you share with people? Who is in the loop on your cycle/success?
We actually only told 1 friend prior to the transfer who is actually going through the process right now for an April IVF. We told our 2 married best friends after the 2nd HCG went up. I told my sister and another close friend, both who live in other countries so not much concern for then telling anyone lol. The only other people we told are 2 other married friends who thought they were pregnant too but we think it's her coming off of the depo shot causing irregular periods. We are renewing our vows in Vegas around 13 weeks and we're planning on announcing at the ceremony our families are going to freak out! Lol, we want to wait to tell family because them knowing this early will cause us more stress for sure
3. When is your first ultrasound? Had first one last week at 7 weeks, measured between 6w2d and 6w5d, HR 115bpm, 2nd one tomorrow at 8 weeks
4. Do you have a nickname for your embryo?
Just calling it, "it" for now, we're not that creative lol
Very excited today. Had my final monitoring and ultrasound at 7w6d. I've officially been discharged from the fertility clinic and transferred to the care of our OBGYN. HCG was over 94,000 and FHR was measured at 159bpm.
This was also a big moment for us to reach. During my last pregnancy, the baby stopped growing at 6wks though I didn't MC until 10 wks. So we're now in new territory with this pregnancy. Allowing ourselves to feel a little more hope and happiness - though always cautious.
I had my first ultrasound this morning and it was soooo good! We have never gotten this far before and it was so overwhelming to see that little flickering heartbeat!
I also bought some maternity pants because we don’t have a maternity store in the town where I live and they are so comfy! I can’t wait to start wearing them!!
@megmac2010 that's wonderful!! I've been in maternity pants for a couple weeks. They are just much more comfortable than my typical ones with all the bloating.
I graduated from the RE this week and made my first OB appt for 4/18!
The PIO is getting really really old. Anyone else still with me? I’m supposed to keep going until 11 weeks and it’s getting so hard to keep going. I just want to be a regular pregnant lady!
Still doing PIO too @megmac2010! I'm on my last vial and should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday next week (9.5 weeks)! I cant wait to be done. I'm getting knots and soreness after every shot now, no matter what I do to try and combat it. Its awful.
@megmac2010 and @gumby22c I am still doing POI too! I cannot wait to be done! I haven't even begun weaning yet and I'll be 10 weeks on Wednesday. I currently do 1ml in the morning and 1ml at night. On 4/18 I'll finally wean to 1.75ml in the evenings (yay no more waking up extra early for shots!), then down to 1.5ml a few days later, then 1ml, then .5ml until I do my final shot on 4/27 (I will be about 11.5 weeks by then). Best wishes ladies! Hang in there!
Hi ladies. Question for you all. I saw my OB yesterday and he said because I did Ivf with icsi, plus my age (I was 39 when embryos were made) he recommends an amniocentesis. Has anyone had a similar reco? Thanks!
@natehk have you had a nuchal translucency test and a maternal serum screening? I have heard that sometimes age and family history might prompt a doctor to order an amniocentesis, but I think most doctors do nuchal translucency and serum screening instead.
@natehk I did IVF with ICSI the first time around with my son and no one recommended that. I was 28 at the time, so not AMA. But I know amniocentesis carries certain risks, and I'm not sure I'd do it just for the simple fact that I did IVF/ICSI unless there was other reasons. What exactly were his reasons, like what are the concerns that causes him to think one is necessary?
@natehk I did IVF and ICSI along with assisted hatching this time around and no one has mentioned any invasive tests yet. Granted, I am only 28, so I wonder if the difference in age may be the reason? Did he do less invasive tests first that led him to believe the amniocentesis was necessary? NIPT bloodwork, an NT?
It's so nice to hear everyone's stories. I'm glad I'm not the only one having a hard time just enjoying the experience of being in the early weeks ... I feel like I am living ultrasound to ultrasound, and every little twinge or bit of pain makes me super nervous. It doesn't help that I had some bleeding episodes in weeks 5-7. It turned out to be a sensitivity to the Endometrin suppositories, but it was more than scary.
So ... here was my journey! It took 5 rounds of freeze-all IVF at two different fertility clinics to get 2 genetically normal embryos, one day 5 and one day 7. There was some fluid apparent in my uterus the day before the FET of the first embryo was scheduled for, so we decided to transfer the day 7 one — sadly, this resulted in a chemical pregnancy. It was the second FET with our day 5 that (so far, fingers crossed and prayers in progress) is sticking.
1. What protocol finally worked?
I had 11 days of stims, comprising 300 IU Gonal-f and 2 vials Menopur. I also took dexamethasone 1 mg and Omnitrope 25 mg, and Coenzyme Q-10, as well as weekly fertility acupuncture. Triggered with 10,000 IU HCG. This resulted in 11 eggs retrieved, 10 mature, 7 fertilized, 3 biopsied (1 D5, 1 D6, 1 D7), of which the D5 and D7 were genetically normal. (By the way, the first genetically normal ones we ever had! The previous four cycles had resulted in 4 that were biopsied but none normal.)
2. How much did you share with people? Who is in the loop on your cycle/success?
Immediate family all knew; I had shared with one person at work who I also consider a friend and a few other close friends. When I had the bleeding a few weeks ago I had to go on bed rest and missed a good bit of work, so I ended up telling a few more people at work so that they didn't think I was dying or something ...
3. When is your first ultrasound?
I had the first ultrasound on 3/22 which showed a beautiful "diamond ring," a huge relief after the bleeding.
4. Do you have a nickname for your embryo?
No nickname, no. Especially not after the first FET. But the picture is dear to us!
That's it for now ... still doing Estrace, Endometrin, and PIO. Weaning off these slowly, and have two more appointments with the fertility clinic before graduating.
1. What protocol finally worked? Gonal F and trigger shots with IUI
2. How much did you share with people? Who is in the loop on your cycle/success? Mostly just my husband and a few close coworkers (because I had to go the doctor almost daily, so I had to fill a few people in). My mother and SIL knew but I didn't give them a blow by blow as it got so complicated.
3. When is your first ultrasound? My first was in February, two weeks after my IUI.
4. Do you have a nickname for your embryo? We call the baby Poppy.
@mimigarden I admire your stamina! 5 rounds!! It took me two round to get here (plus 2 rounds of IUI) and I don’t think I could have kept going. I’m so glad you finally made it!
I also had a bunch of bleeding at 6 weeks and it turned out to be nothing. Apparently it’s super common in all pregnancies, but even more normal in IVF pregnancies. You’d think they’d prepare us for that!!
@megmac2010 no kidding about preparing us for the possibility of bleeding! When it happened to me I really freaked out. But here we are! Congratulations to you too !!
Thanks everyone. I did the NIPT bloodwork last week and have my nuchal scan on Tuesday. Doc said amnio would happen around week 16 if I wanted it (I’m at 12 wks tomorrow). Primarily because of my age, but he did say ivf/icsi leads to a bit higher risk.
Hi everyone! I finished my final Progesterone in Oil injection on 4/27 and, since then, I've just felt off. I threw up for the first time this entire pregnancy the other day (I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow) and now for the past several days I have been feeling horrible heartburn and acid reflux I have never experienced before. I just feel yucky. Has anyone else experienced this after stopping their fertility meds? I've weaned off of everything except for my metformin, synthroid for my thyroid, prenatal (obviously), and a Vitamin D3.
@alwayseloquent I had the opposite effect. About a week after stopping PIO and estrogen, my vomiting stopped and nausea had backed way off. That's sucks you are feeling crummier, but it may just be bad luck!😔 I hope you start feeling better soon!
@alwayseloquent sorry to hear that! I've been weaning off for the past few weeks (daily PIO and three times a day Endometrin) and am now off PIO and down to one Endometrin per day. I haven't noticed any effects except possibly some headaches, but I'm not really sure that these were related. I hope you feel better soon!
@alwayseloquent sorry to hear you are feeling crummy! I’m three days behind you and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I start to feel better, not worse!
@alwayseloquent update: I’m now on my 3rd day with no injection and I feel awful today. I haven’t had any nausea for over a week but I’m feeling real bad right now.
Hi, @megmac2010 sorry to hear you're not feeling well! I've had more nausea and aversions than I ever did before stopping my fertility meds. I also have a lot of acid reflux/heartburn....it's not fun! I dont know what to blame on my body trying to regulate itself without the meds and what is just normal for 12 weeks of pregnancy. Hope you feel better!
@alwayseloquent okay, same! I thought I would feel better after stopping the meds, not worse! I’m just wishing and hoping for this magical second trimester promised land to come along soon!
Hope everyone is feeling better now after weaning off of the fertility meds!
Am I the only one going through pretty bad ultrasound withdrawal right now? After getting used to seeing baby's progress weekly, my next scan isn't until July 1 . I might cave and go to a local imaging center but that seems silly...
@megmac2010 I've been feeling great! Only (slight) issue is the weird dreams and I still really need an afternoon nap ...
I think some of the anxiety actually comes from having ramped up my activities *because* I'm feeling better. I've been running (not too hard) with my doctor's OK, and just moving around a lot more, after having been on a good bit of bed rest during the early weeks. And, my changed habits coincided with the ultrasounds going away. So even though I've been told that what I'm doing is fine, I can't help but worry.
@mimigarden oh, I’m so jealous you started running again! I am also a runner, and I miss it so much, but I have absolutely nothing in the tank, energy-wise.
I’m so glad your feeling good! Hope it’s smooth sailing through your second trimester!
Re: Expecting after Fertility Treatments
Im 8 weeks right now and have had 2 good ultrasounds so far. We graduated from the fertility clinic and are seeing an OB this week. We told parents at 6 wks after we saw the heartbeat but no one else until the 1st trimester.
Im terrified every appointment that this is the one where it will end. IF absolutely robs us of that joy. This is my 1st (and likely only) pregnancy - I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible but so scared about miscarriage.
Glad to know I’m not alone!
and yes, I’m so annoyed at ladies who come on birth month board because they are just trying now!
@natehk this is our first FET after an ERA and it worked. We had 2 failed transfers before we did the ERA and I can't help but feel guilty for not having done it sooner.
We did assisted hatching and ICSI for all of our transfers @megmac2010, mostly because the specialist said it helped with frozen embryos. I was really skeptical about the ERA because it was going to be $800 out of pocket just to confirm that I might be 1/3 of women who needs extra progesterone exposure. It turned out that I need about 12 hours more exposure to progesterone in order to have a "sticky" endometrial lining, so the transfers were being done too early to catch. I feel like I know way more than I ever wanted to know about my body and the reproductive processes because of all of this hahaha
1. What protocol finally worked?
First round of IVF Oct 2016 resulted in 8 eggs, successfully sperminating 5 embryos via ICSI, did a fresh transfer 5 days later that resulted in my now 21 month old son. Out of the 3 remaining frozen embryos, we did the frozen transfer Feb 2019, currently pregnant with 1, still taking daily Estrace and daily PIO injections until 10 weeks.
2. How much did you share with people? Who is in the loop on your cycle/success?
We actually only told 1 friend prior to the transfer who is actually going through the process right now for an April IVF. We told our 2 married best friends after the 2nd HCG went up. I told my sister and another close friend, both who live in other countries so not much concern for then telling anyone lol. The only other people we told are 2 other married friends who thought they were pregnant too but we think it's her coming off of the depo shot causing irregular periods. We are renewing our vows in Vegas around 13 weeks and we're planning on announcing at the ceremony
3. When is your first ultrasound?
Had first one last week at 7 weeks, measured between 6w2d and 6w5d, HR 115bpm, 2nd one tomorrow at 8 weeks
4. Do you have a nickname for your embryo?
Just calling it, "it" for now, we're not that creative lol
Thanks for starting this @megmac2010 !
Happy pregnancies to all!
This was also a big moment for us to reach. During my last pregnancy, the baby stopped growing at 6wks though I didn't MC until 10 wks. So we're now in new territory with this pregnancy. Allowing ourselves to feel a little more hope and happiness - though always cautious.
I also bought some maternity pants because we don’t have a maternity store in the town where I live and they are so comfy! I can’t wait to start wearing them!!
I graduated from the RE this week and made my first OB appt for 4/18!
My clinic is keeping me on it until 11 weeks, so my last injection is April 30, which feels like years away!
So ... here was my journey! It took 5 rounds of freeze-all IVF at two different fertility clinics to get 2 genetically normal embryos, one day 5 and one day 7. There was some fluid apparent in my uterus the day before the FET of the first embryo was scheduled for, so we decided to transfer the day 7 one — sadly, this resulted in a chemical pregnancy. It was the second FET with our day 5 that (so far, fingers crossed and prayers in progress) is sticking.
1. What protocol finally worked?
I had 11 days of stims, comprising 300 IU Gonal-f and 2 vials Menopur. I also took dexamethasone 1 mg and Omnitrope 25 mg, and Coenzyme Q-10, as well as weekly fertility acupuncture. Triggered with 10,000 IU HCG. This resulted in 11 eggs retrieved, 10 mature, 7 fertilized, 3 biopsied (1 D5, 1 D6, 1 D7), of which the D5 and D7 were genetically normal. (By the way, the first genetically normal ones we ever had! The previous four cycles had resulted in 4 that were biopsied but none normal.)
Immediate family all knew; I had shared with one person at work who I also consider a friend and a few other close friends. When I had the bleeding a few weeks ago I had to go on bed rest and missed a good bit of work, so I ended up telling a few more people at work so that they didn't think I was dying or something ...
I had the first ultrasound on 3/22 which showed a beautiful "diamond ring," a huge relief after the bleeding.
No nickname, no. Especially not after the first FET. But the picture is dear to us!
That's it for now ... still doing Estrace, Endometrin, and PIO. Weaning off these slowly, and have two more appointments with the fertility clinic before graduating.
1. What protocol finally worked? Gonal F and trigger shots with IUI
2. How much did you share with people? Who is in the loop on your cycle/success? Mostly just my husband and a few close coworkers (because I had to go the doctor almost daily, so I had to fill a few people in). My mother and SIL knew but I didn't give them a blow by blow as it got so complicated.
3. When is your first ultrasound? My first was in February, two weeks after my IUI.
4. Do you have a nickname for your embryo? We call the baby Poppy.
I also had a bunch of bleeding at 6 weeks and it turned out to be nothing. Apparently it’s super common in all pregnancies, but even more normal in IVF pregnancies. You’d think they’d prepare us for that!!
How are you feeling now?
Am I the only one going through pretty bad ultrasound withdrawal right now? After getting used to seeing baby's progress weekly, my next scan isn't until July 1
And yes! Same! I had my nuchal u/s two weeks ago and I don’t go back until July 2nd for my 20 week scan. I’m going crazy with the at home doppler.
The early ultrasounds are one of the only benefits of fertility treatments! I miss them!
I think some of the anxiety actually comes from having ramped up my activities *because* I'm feeling better. I've been running (not too hard) with my doctor's OK, and just moving around a lot more, after having been on a good bit of bed rest during the early weeks. And, my changed habits coincided with the ultrasounds going away. So even though I've been told that what I'm doing is fine, I can't help but worry.
I’m so glad your feeling good! Hope it’s smooth sailing through your second trimester!