November 2019 IVF

31magnolia · October 2019

I didn't see a post for November IVF, so I decided to start one. Not sure how many ppl will doing an egg retrieval cycle in November with the holidays, though.

I have DOR and a very low AMH. And after a failed IVF/FET cycle in August (only 1 mature egg and BFN) my doctor agreed to a mini stim protocol this time around with Letrozole and Follistim, which will hopefully give me better egg quality. I should hopefully be starting next week some time.

late_bloomer · October 2019

@31magnolia - good luck with your mini stim protocol. I’m currently on Day 6 of my stim meds so I should have my retrieval early next week. This is my 3rd cycle and I just turned 44, so I’m really hoping this is my month. Baby dust for both of us!

faith_hope_love3 · October 2019

Hello! I was too late to join the October forum so I hope I can jump in here. I’m 37 and did my 2nd consecutive IVF cycle this month. Retrieval was 3 days ago. Had 9 eggs, 5 mature, 3 fertilized with ICSI. Rescue in vitro maturation allowed 4 out of 5 immature eggs to mature within 24 hours but found out yesterday that only one of them fertilized. Fresh transfer is scheduled for this Friday, Nov 1st. Good luck everyone!

31magnolia · October 2019

@late_bloomer thanks! And FX and baby dust to you! I'll be turning 44 in two months, so we're in the same boat. What stim meds and dosages are you on? Are you ding PGS testing?

@faith_hope_love3 - you can definitely join here! What is rescue in vitro maturation? Good luck on your transfer!

faith_hope_love3 · November 2019

@31magnolia Thanks! It’s the first time I’ve heard of it too and it was not discussed with me prior to the retrieval. It’s when they are able to let your immature eggs mature over 24-48 hours in the lab. Pregnancy rates are not as good. I read one study, however, that it allowed on average 1.5 more embryos available for transfer. For me, that is a big deal because my last retrieval, I had no blasts out of 9 retrieved eggs. My first Ivf cycle that resulted in my son, was only 1 day 6 blast so I need all the blasts I can get! I find out tomorrow how they are doing and hopefully will be able to transfer one. Good luck with your cycle coming up!!

31magnolia · November 2019

@faith_hope_love3 Thanks! How'd today go? That's so neat that your clinic offers that as an option. I'll have to ask mine about it. I've only done IVF once before and I had 2 really immature eggs and 1 mature. It would be nice if the clinic could mature them in the lab. I'm sure they probably need to be at certain immature level to do so but having that option would be great. And that gives me so much hope that you 1 day 6 blast resulted in your son. I haven't decided 100% yet if I'm freezing on day 3 or at blast.

faith_hope_love3 · November 2019

@31magnolia Yeah, it sounds like it could give at least some help for people who are DOR or slower responders. I’ve heard of a lot of success stories with day 6 blasts!

Today, I had my transfer, which I’m really thankful for but... the best embryos were morulas

. So 2 morulas were transferred and I will see what happens. I haven’t read much success about morula transfers so, although im hopeful, it’s not looking so good for me.

late_bloomer · November 2019

@31magnolia I’m on Follistim 150, Menopur 150, and omnitrope 33 units. (I’m also doing acupuncture because why not try anything that might help?). Yes, we’ve done PGS testing every time. We have one normal embryo “in the bank” and we’re hoping for at least one more this time. It’s surprising how many abnormals we’ve had. The first IVF round, we extracted 7 eggs, 6 were mature and fertilized but only 1 was normal. The second IVF round, we extracted 14 eggs, 13 were mature and fertilized and 0 were normal. This time it looks like I will have ~10 eggs but we will know for sure after the extraction on Monday. Again, good luck to you with this cycle! This isn’t easy but we are strong!

@faith_hope_love3 - good luck with your transfer!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

Hi Ladies! Good to see some familiar faces! I am starting my stims tonight. I was hoping for an October cycle, but I went on vacation and of course, the witch started while I was gone and didn't get back in time to start the cycle.

My appointment today (day 3) showed:
8 follicles (2 left, 6 right) all between 5.8 - 8.7 so seems on track.
Progesterone was .868 = normal
FSH was 11.28 = normal
E2 was 89.16 = a little high
LH was 7.42 = a little high

But they felt I was ok to go. At 44, the E2 and LH wasn't a big surprise.

I am on 150 Menopur, 150 Gonal-F and starting tonight also .25 of Omnitrope starting tomorrow morning. Hoping to avoid a Lupron trigger (I don't want the extra LH surge).

Hopefully, I will more than double my antral follicles in the end like I did last round. I am using a lower dose of meds this time to avoid a higher LH level (to try to ensure more quality in the eggs - which is also why we are trying the Omnitrope). I had been on nearly 4 months of vitamins too in hopes to improve those babies! We shall see. It is our last shot, so I am giving it my best positive mental thoughts.

I plan to do a fresh transfer with hopefully 2 blasts (IF my progesterone cooperates) and then any other blasts that make it, will be tested and frozen. Last round I went from 24 eggs to 20 fertilized to 15 day 3 and then 7 day 6. Of the 7, none tested normal. It was a sad day. We tried one of the abnormals and an indeterminate blast with no success.

I look forward to talking with everyone over the next couple weeks!! Good luck!!

31magnolia · November 2019

@ladyp0tter hey. Good to see your post. Looks like we’re both doing lower dosages. Good luck this cycle!!

I’m 7.5 mg letrozole for CD3-7, 225iu follistim cd7 - ? And omnitrope CD 3 - trigger. The letrozole and follistim is following more of my IUI dosage. But we’re overlapping the letrozole and the follistim and a little higher dose on the follistim but not like it was on the failed IVF cycle. Also added in omnitrope. I asked for a low dose of the omnitrope and my doctor is prescribing 1/2 vial daily. I was hoping for lower.

@late_bloomer thanks for the info. It looks like both yours and ladp0tter omnitrope is lower than what my RE prescribed. how did the extraction go?

@faith_hope_love3 my fingers are crossed for you and sending lots of positive thoughts your way!

faith_hope_love3 · November 2019

Thanks @late_bloomer and @31magnolia magnolia for your well wishes. I’m 3 days post transfer today (10 days since hcg trigger) and have almost tested my trigger out. I just see a vvfl that has gotten lighter since I tested 2 days ago. Hope you guys are doing well. @LadyPotter All the best with this stim cycle! I followed your posts from the beginning and found them really helpful and detailed.

late_bloomer · November 2019

@31magnolia The kept me on stims for another day so my extraction was pushed to tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes. When is your extraction?

@faith_hope_love3 and @ladyp0tter - fingers crossed for both of you! Keep us posted.

31magnolia · November 2019

@late_bloomer Ah, ok. Good luck!

My cycle should start by the end of the week, hopefully on Friday so that way I can do my baseline at the location close to me and start stimming on Sunday.

jsull1020 · November 2019

HI everyone.

Just started my Stims for the first time ever last night.

I've never done an IUI or anything, we jumped right into IVF. I wasn't getting my period after coming off birth control, so GYN sent me to RE. Turns out one of my tubes is compromised from previous surgeries for endometriosis so she said my chances for ectopic are super high so here we are. I took birth control for a couple of weeks, went for blood u/s yesterday and started 225 gonal last night. I do that for 3 nights, then add in menopur. First check in for blood u/s is Saturday. Is that a little weird? Everyone else I know is getting a blood u/s check on their 3rd day of Stims. This is all so new to me so no idea what's "normal"

31magnolia · November 2019

@jsull1020 welcome! I wished I'd jumped straight to IVF instead of doing 2 IUIs. I had to check my last protocol (first IVF) and my doctor did check me on day 3 and then again on day 8 and then it was every other day. I would think they'd want to check you earlier since this is the first time you've taken stim drugs and they don't know how your body is going to react. Plus they are adding in a second drug before even seeing how your body works with the first one. Do you think you tell your clinic that you're concerned about it? Maybe they'll move up the monitoring appt.

jsull1020 · November 2019

31magnolia said:

@jsull1020 welcome! I wished I'd jumped straight to IVF instead of doing 2 IUIs. I had to check my last protocol (first IVF) and my doctor did check me on day 3 and then again on day 8 and then it was every other day. I would think they'd want to check you earlier since this is the first time you've taken stim drugs and they don't know how your body is going to react. Plus they are adding in a second drug before even seeing how your body works with the first one. Do you think you tell your clinic that you're concerned about it? Maybe they'll move up the monitoring appt.

thanks. I asked them via portal and she said it was correct and often times people do five days of stims before checking e2 level. I guess I’ll just go with it.

late_bloomer · November 2019

Hi Everyone. I did my egg retrieval this morning and got 11 eggs. The RE thinks there were probably 9 mature but we will find out tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted. Good luck to you all!

31magnolia · November 2019

@late_bloomer that’s a a great number! Keep us updated on the progress.

@jsull1020 interesting. hopefully you won’t have any issues. I kind of feel that some clinics use the first cycle as your test cycle. This is the cycle where they learn what will and won’t work for your body and then they start to customize if things don’t work. FX for you.

AFM, I’m trying to get decent pricing for the HGH. I thought I had a place, but then they sent me an email saying I had to get the all IVF prescriptions filled with them and not just omnitrope. I was getting the rest of my prescriptions filled at Walgreens.

My clinic recommended Integrity pharmacy but they had such horrible reviews. Actually most of the mail order pharmacies had bad reviews with the exception of the one that requires all the meds be filled with them.

Where did you all get your HGH?

late_bloomer · November 2019

Good morning, All! My RE called this morning and he said 9 eggs fertilized naturally and 1 is in transition (i.e., it may or may not fertilize). Fingers crossed that they continue to grow!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

Great news @late_bloomer! Can't wait to hear the progress!!

@31magnolia, we did the same to shop for the omnitrope. We ended up calling 12 places and the best deal we got believe it or not was a grocery store pharmacy (HEB). We only got 2 of the 3 vials I needed though and they are supposed to have more come this week. I will need it next week for the last 4 days of my stims. I hope I don't stim as long as last cycle (12 days), but am preparing for it just in case especially since we lowered my meds this time.

AFM, Todays appointment went well:

11 follicles (7 Left, 4 Right) - and the other nurse Monday counted 6 on the right last time and only 2 on the left, so hopefully they are accurate (which is why I like the same person doing my ultrasounds every other day).
Progesterone = .621 (good)
LH = 3.3 (good)
E2 = 255.2 (good)
Didn't get a FSH level this time.
Endometrium Lining = 5.97

I am just hopeful that my endometrium gets nice and thick and my progesterone stays low enough for me to do the fresh transfer!! Hopeful to do ER on the 16th (next Saturday).

Good luck ladies!! BABY TIME!!!!

31magnolia · November 2019

@late_bloomer Woohoo!!!

@ladyp0tter I would have never even thought to call HEB. I'll try them, I prefer to go local. I need 4 vials. I did find one local place that carries it, and the pricing is not too bad if I use the coupon they have. But I definitely will call HEB. Thanks! I also stimmed for 12 days last cycle. But I don't think my RE is going to let my eggs get as big this time around. We'll see. What made you decide to do the fresh cycle? And I also agree with having the same person do the ultrasound each time. It's amazing how different the numbers and sizes can be depending on the tech.

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@31magnolia, Basically, I get two shots out of one cycle if I have enough eggs. If the fresh works, then great...no frozen needed and if I have any good eggs left, then we will decide what to do with them then. If the fresh doesn't work, then I will hopefully have 1-2 good eggs to use for an FET.

Since this is my last chance to do this, and last time none of my eggs were good, we may as well give the fresh a try. I had 15 eggs at day 3 last time, so likely we can take two of whatever we get this time and use them fresh.

Whatever is left, we will freeze and test. The idea is that the eggs may potentially do better inside than in the lab, so why not try. Risk is at my age, the eggs may be bad even though they look good, but we put in a bad and indeterminate last time, so the risk is less than that this time (or at least the same - completely unknown).

So apparently my husband used a place called Blink (some savings program) who fills at HEB? He researched it to death! ha...as with everything else.

31magnolia · November 2019

@ladyp0tter I called HEB and they were around the same price ($50 more) than the small pharmacy down the street from me, who already had it in stock, so I'm just going to go to the small pharmacy. Thanks for the info though.
I'm debating on whether to freeze on day 3 or try and let the embryos go to blast. I did a fresh transfer last time with the only embryo we had, but I don't think i was fully recovered from the ER. So this time I'm going to wait a month. Just not sure about day 3 or day 5 freeze. Like you I'm also reading that the older we get the embryo may do better in the body than in the lab and I worry about trying to have them go to blast.

@late_bloomer any update?

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@31magnolia - I hear ya. I don't think there is an easy decision. My fresh may not even work depending on the progesterone level. He said based on my numbers the day of my egg retrieval last time, that I was borderline too high (I think he said 20-21 or something like that and I think mine was like 21.5 or somewhere around that), but likely would have allowed a fresh if my numbers were at that level, so I just have to hope my body responds enough to give me a good batch this time, but not too much that makes my progesterone level skyrocket and kill my chance for the fresh. I will do 2 embryos if I have enough.

My bigger concern this time is trying to get triggered without Lupron. I feel like that added to my age made my eggs bad quality. If I can avoid Lupron and hopefully get my RE to ER one day earlier, I feel I have a better shot at 1-2 good quality eggs. That's my thought process though...they are the dr's and I have to trust them. It is what it is at this point.

late_bloomer · November 2019

@ladyp0tter - I’m curious about why your doc chooses Lupron. My clinic uses cetrotide or ganarelix, which are newer medications and have fewer negative side effects than Lupron. It may be worth asking about other options. Good luck!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@late_bloomer - I will take cetrotide to keep me from ovulating, but last time he triggered me with Lupron rather than the HCG (Ovidrel) which causes higher LH since it was used as a two-stage trigger. I had 1/2 at night and 1/2 the next morning before ER. This time, I want to use the Ovidrel alone as a single trigger. Apparently it can help reduce the LH surge and allow the quality of the eggs to be better. With as many eggs as I had last time, I was very upset that not 1 was good. I know my age doesn't help, but I am going to try anything I can this time to make the scenario the best it possibly can be.

late_bloomer · November 2019

@ladyp0tter oh, I see. I’m still learning all the meds. I used Ovidrel but haven’t tried Lupron.

I’m still waiting for my doctor to call with an update. The wait is agony...

31magnolia · November 2019

@jsull1020 - how did your monitoring appointment go?

@late_bloomer - your clinic doesn’t give daily updates on how the embryos are doing? If not that would be agonizing!

31magnolia · November 2019

@ladyp0tter - how often do you take the .25 of omnitrope?

late_bloomer · November 2019

I FINALLY got some news from my clinic! Out of the 10 that fertilized, 3 made it to blastocyst stage. Next step is PGS testing. To be honest, I’m a little on the fence about the testing. It makes sense when you have a lot of eggs but I’m not sure about testing when you only have 3. I’ve decided to go ahead with the testing anyway but I might regret that later. I should get the results in ~ 1 week. I will keep you all posted.

@31magnolia have you started your stims?
@ladyp0tter are you still planning for a transfer on Saturday?

I’m sending good thoughts for everyone to have a successful cycle. November is our month!

31magnolia · November 2019

@late_bloomer - Wow. They wait until the end to give you results. That would drive me crazy! Lol. YAY on the 3 blasts! I get what you're saying about the PGS testing. I didn't do it on my first IVF because I only had one embryo. And I'm leaning very heavily on not doing it this cycle, but it will depend on how many embryos I have. I'm also leaning towards freezing on day 3, so we'll see. I keep going back and forth on a lot of things.

Nooooo. I haven't started stimming yet. I am still waiting on AF. I'm cramping this morning, so I'm pretty sure it will start some time today. This is messing up my schedule and pushing me close to Thanksgiving!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@31magnolia, I take .25 of Omnitrope every morning since day 4.

AFM: I just had my day 7 ultrasound and looks like I am still at 9 or so with 4 being 15+ in size (others are all-around 10 in size) for a total of around 9 listed. I am sure there must be more they are not putting down because I had more show up in earlier ultrasounds. Last round (with higher meds) I had more like 15, but they were listing some under 10 in size then, so likely around the same quantity. Obviously I am shooting for quality this time, but numbers hopefully won't hurt.

However, my progesterone jumped to 1.08 today which worries me. If I end up going over 1.5 by next week, I likely won't be able to have my fresh transfer. UGH!

My E2 was 2276 which I think is pretty good still and my LH is at 3.65 which I guess is also ok. I replied to the clinic asking a couple questions so hopefully they will respond before the end of the day.

@late_bloomer, I am hoping my retrieval is Saturday (if I stim for 12 days). Hopefully having several blasts, I can transfer fresh next week likely Thursday or Friday with a couple leftover to freeze/pgs test.

late_bloomer · November 2019

@31magnolia My RE is supposed to call with updates the day after ER (and he did) and then on Day 3 (but he didn’t) and Day 6. It’s hard enough to wait for news between Day 3 and 6 but it becomes much harder when he forgets to call in Day 3! I kept thinking something went terribly wrong and he was afraid to update me. It turns out, he just got busy on Friday and forgot to call. Needless to say, it was not a fun weekend.
I know how frustrating it is to be waiting on AF. I hope it starts tonight. And good luck navigating all the decisions this cycle. It’s definitely not straightforward.

@ladyp0tter Congratulations on the follicle numbers! That’s more than I had on Day 7. It sounds like you are making great progress for this ER!
Is there anything you can do to try keep your progesterone levels in check? I haven’t had a transfer (fresh or frozen) yet, so I don’t know how it works. I’ve been seeing my acupuncturist a couple times per week the last ~ 6 weeks and I’m sure she would try to get me to take some supplements or eat bee larvae or something crazy like that 🤣. In all seriousness, I have no idea if those things work but it makes me feel like at least I’m giving it my best shot. For that reason, I’m glad I’ve tried some herbal remedies and other types of Eastern medicine this cycle. It might be worth checking alternative ways to try to control progesterone for your fresh transfer.
Either way, you’re in a good place with your follicle count. Keep us updated.

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@late_bloomer - LOL on the Bee Larvae!! For sure. I am taking a bunch of supplements, but everything I try to Dr. Google, is about making progesterone HIGHER because you want it high in early pregnancy...nothing that I can find to help with keeping it lower in this phase. sigh.... I would also go nuts not knowing the progress of my embabies for 6 days!! It was torture just waiting the 2 days in between check ins!!

this time, I think my torture is coming from that dang progesterone. I was so sad to see it jump over 1 yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow it is still the same and has not risen.

AFM: The nurse did respond last night and told me that she thinks I will need 3 more nights of stim, which means a Saturday retrieval as expected. I am hoping not to go one more night as then I will need to order MORE menopur! UGH! Good luck ladies!!

@31magnolia - I am hoping your period shows up VERY soon!!!

jsull1020 · November 2019

Haven't logged in for a few days. Glad to see some of you ladies progressing nicely!

Since this is my first ever cycle, I feel so dumb for how much I DON'T KNOW. Googling things will just drive you crazy because I'm finding there's really just no clear cut answer for anything IVF related. It is all dependent on the person.

I'm not sure if I should be happy or concerned or what. I had another Ultrasound/Blood today. Last night was day 8 of Stims. My estradiol is only 513. I have 12 follicles over 10mm and the largest is 21.5 Being that I'm this far along, shouldn't my estradiol be much higher by now? I messaged my office via portal and am awaiting a response. I have been on 225 gonal, 75 menopur and cetrocide. Tonight they want me to up gonal to 300 and go back again tomorrow morning for another US and more blood. Any thoughts?

31magnolia · November 2019

@ladyp0tter - ugh! things can't ever go they way we want. So what actually makes your progesterone increase? Is it just a side effect of the stims or that's just how your body works? FX that it doesn't go over 1.5!

@late_bloomer you comment cracked me up! Yes, my acupuncturist had me taking weird herbs at first, and I told her I couldn't do it. So now she sticks to the somewhat normal stuff. And I would have driven myself crazy if my doctor forgot to call me with an update. I got calls everyday (except day 4) and like ladyp0tter said, that filled me with anxiety!

@jsull1020 - It's hard! Like you said each person is different, each clinic and doctor is different and there are contradicting studies everywhere! What are the sizes of the follicles closest to the largest?

AFM, I finally started my period (several days later than normal). I have my baseline on Thursday morning. If all is well I will start stims that night! Finally!!!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@jsull1020 - I agree, that googling is a rabbit hole. I can find nearly as many counterproductive articles/posts about any IVF subject as I can helpful ones. I am NO expert, but I HEARD that the e2 should be 100-400 per mature follicle (mature is roughly a minimum of 15-18+), so for you to have 12 over 10 and one at 21.5, I can't imagine that number to be right. My doctor says it is hard to compare though because what he measures at 20 another dr. could measure at 15...just depends.

@31magnolia - YAY for your period starting!! Good luck on your Stim Cycle!!

AFM: I am waiting for the text from my clinic, but looks like I may trigger tonight (stim day 10) for an ER on Friday!! Looks like I will end up with 9-10 follicles before going in. Last time they found 6 more than what was shown, so hopefully, I end up with 10-12 mature eggs. I would love to be able to do my fresh transfer next week with 1 or 2 blasts and hopefully, still have 2-3 to send for testing. We shall see!!

ladyp0tter · November 2019

TRIGGER TONIGHT!! AND....my progesterone was only 1.2 so she said I can do the fresh transfer next week! yay!!! I am so excited!! Just waiting for the email with the time to trigger with my HCG shot.

cashewchicken · November 2019

@ladyp0tter I also had a failed cycle with lupron trigger (I was on a modified antagonist protocol called luteal stimulation protocol) and had success with the long agonist protocol which used HCG trigger. Like you, my egg count was good, but my problem was that many of the eggs were not mature. In vitro maturation increased the number of available eggs for fertilization and I ended up with 5 blasts that cycle but all 5 were abnormal. The HCG trigger cycle resulted in 7 blasts and 4 were normal! So hoping this is the case for you, too.

31magnolia · November 2019

@ladyp0tter - Woohoo!!! FX for some super high quality eggs on Friday! And glad you're doing the HCG trigger this time.

ladyp0tter · November 2019

@cashewchicken - WOW! Great news. I am so hoping I get some normals this time!!

Thanks @31magnolia, yes HCG trigger completed last night at 9:15pm. My ER appointment is at 7:45AM tomorrow morning! Last U/S showed about 11 follicles (2 looked smaller than 10 so not sure if they will plump up enough).

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