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grapefruit / 4045 posts
@endymion4: and @Amorini: Hi! Yes, my doctor ordered three days' bed rest, and two days very light activity. I chose to use the fourth day for couch rest. My embryos that were transferred were pre-blast so I figured they needed a little extra easy comfy time. I'm at work today, but I'm sitting still in my office. Brought my lunch into my office already so I just have minimal moving around. And I'm already thinking I will leave really early because why not if I can? I felt great on bed rest except that I got bored, antsy, sweaty. However, I managed to lose weight even though I ate a normal diet! Go figure.
@NorthStar: I'm so sorry you are going to have to travel so far to get to your ultrasound appointments. You truly are a warrior. What are you going to tell your work about missing time in the mornings?
@Amorini: That's crazy that your RE doesn't have earlier ultrasound appointment times to accommodate working women. I was able to get appointments as early at 6 am (not that I ever did).
How is everyone doing today??
pear / 1881 posts
@agold: I'm a CPA and can easily make up hours, if needed (we are swamped with work right now). For the days that I am supposed to be at a client doing an audit, I'll just let them know that I'll be late and then work after DD goes to sleep at night. It shouldn't "interfere" too much. The partner that I work with the most knows what is going on, but I should probably clue in one or two others who might be affected (or are looking for me and wondering why I'm not around)..this is the biggest reasons I haven't changed jobs yet because I need the flexibility to come and go as needed for appointments. Well, that and the fully paid 3 months of maternity leave that they have! lol
pear / 1881 posts
The bed rest sounds like of amazing, though! Not sure how I'll swing that with a 3 year old and no TV in our bedroom. Might have to camp out on the couch? My RE said just rest the day of the transfer and light activity after. I might be inclined to 'self prescribe' bed rest for the day after to be safe.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@endymion4: That's cool that the embryologist is taking a special interest in your embryos. That's exactly the help you need at this point! It's a bummer (and confusing) that the genetics counselor didn't have the same perspective so that the diagnosis can be crystal clear. Anyway, hoping so much for a good ending after everything you've been through.
AFM, my day 8 scan was pretty good today. 21 follies were counted, about half in the 10 - 14 mm range and the other half still under 10 mm ... I wonder if the smaller ones will get big enough in time.
In lighter news, I learned that I have a hotdog-shaped ovary that is hard to scan and see everything in.
At least all is trending in the right direction! Slow and steady as she goes, I guess. My E2 is 925. They decided to not mix the Pregnyl since I won't be triggering over the weekend. My meds will stay exactly the same until my next scan and labs on Monday (which will be stim day 11, folks!). I asked if there was any concern that this is moving too slowly, but the RE said everything is moving along as planned. Trying to keep the faith.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@agold: About no earlier appointments than 9 am, I know, right?! Like IF ladies just have so much time on their hands and are sitting around the house eating bon-bons all day.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: oh, a CPA! Fancy smarty pants! Three months paid maternity would keep me anywhere! That's amazing. I'm at a small place and I'm actually not even sure about my maternity leave policy. I haven't told anyone at my work anything specific about what I've been doing. I'm just feeling uber private about it. I don't want many people looking at me expecting me to tell them if I'm pregnant or not. Anyhow, its so great you have great flexibility to be able to manage all these monitoring appointments.
@NorthStar: The bed rest actually was amazing. I slept a ridiculous amount of hours each day. But to not have to worry about doing anything was truly amazing. I made photo books! That's productive enough! And couch is just as good. I think as long as you aren't making any quick movements, walking hard on your heels, or up or down too much, you should be okay. Can you put your baby in a play pen with some toys? That's what my sister did following one of of her frozen embryo transfers when no one was able to be watch her toddler for half the day. I'm so sorry you don't have anyone around to help you out with this!
@Amorini: That sounds like a great report from your monitoring appointment today! It doesn't seem like you are moving along slowly. Did the doctor tell you that? At least you aren't yet at every day monitoring appointments. And for sure some of your smaller ones will get bigger. That's awesome your doctor is counting the smaller ones for you. My RE always used to say "... and then there are several smaller ones.." and never say anything more about them!
pear / 1881 posts
@agold: I got called for jury duty in July and told my boss about it and then proceeded to burst into tears because it was going to interfere with an IUI cycle (I luckily got the jury duty pushed until December). So, I kind of just let it out and told her. Not planned at all.
umm, she is 3! lol. no playpen for her! She will be in daycare during the day, but is a momma's girl, so that might be the issue. She won't understand that I cannot lift her or carry her for awhile.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@agold: No, the doctor didn't say that -- said all was going according to plan! I guess it just seems like I am going full blast with meds and things are just creeping along. Everyone says that it's the best way for the follies to grow...so I am going to try to get some work done and get my mind off of it! Glad you had such a productive bedrest with the sleep and photo albums! I kind of wish I was required to do that much bed rest!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: Oh I'm so sorry you told in a way that you didn't plan to. Its crazy how our emotions can get the best of us at the most random of times. I never cried or got too upset when my doctor called me while I was at work to tell me that my two IUI pregnancy tests were negative. But I've major cried twice this week alone just thinking about embryos so I'm really at a loss as to how I will handle a call re: negative IVF pregnancy test.
And yikes! A 3 year old! Hahaha. Is she old three, or young three? Hopefully she will understand that you can't pick her up. But poor girl. Its tough being 3! Hahaha. Best of luck to you. At least you have day car for a bit! Phew!
@Amorini: I get how you are feeling. I assumed I was a great responder to meds based on previous experience. Then, when I needed to order like the most expensive lot of meds ever, I majorly panicked. I thought I would just need a little bit of meds. Just try to relax and not over think. Work is a great distraction. And seriously, take as much bed rest as you need. You don't want to have regrets later. As a side funny note: my husband thinks for some reason that I shouldn't be bending over or bending down in any way. Its great.
pear / 1881 posts
@agold: lol - she turned 3 in early June, so she will be almost 3.5 when the time the transfer comes around. Surprisingly, I haven't been very emotional the past month or two about it, but I'm sure that will change once I have a ton of hormones flowing through my veins. Hang in there. You are getting so close and don't think about negative tests! When is your beta?
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: Ahhhh... she's a young 3! I bet she's adorable. My blood test is October 2nd, at 7 am. I don't know why I made it for so early. The office is only about 3 miles away from my work. I will sit and stew all day long!
kiwi / 538 posts
@NorthStar: I know my dr doesn't recommend bedrest the day of transfer so you may be ok. I wasn't really even planning to take the day off since I have an office job. The only concern I have is that they said I have to take a Valium before the procedure (not for me, for my vagina :)- no idea why) so I feel like I might be a little too loopy to work after that.
@waiting4you: My estrogen got as high as 3,500- the nurses told me they only get concerned about OHSS when it's around 5,000 so you should be fine. Hope everything goes well tomorrow!
@amorini: You're in the home stretch! How are you feeling? I hope everything keeps growing well :).
We got our PGS results yesterday- 4 normal embryos! I feel very relieved :). We have 1 5AA, 1 5AB and 2 5BBs- the ones that didn't make it were all trisomies or monosomies which the nurse said would have resulted in MCs if they were implanted. So considering 4 out of 14 were good I feel like every dollar we spent for PGS was worth it!
Only bad news is that when I called my dr to let them know the results of the PGS they told me I'd missed "the window" for October transfer and would need to be moved to November. At my office they coordinate transfers with other patients- not sure when in November yet but I'm supposed to call again once I get my period. So I guess that means back on BC again at some point and then eventually the Lupron. I really bummed but I guess the more time my body has to reset and get ready to transfer the better.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@dookie32: Super news on your four normal embies! Super grades, too! Yay for advanced science that you can avoid all those potential m/cs... I'm sorry you're missing the coordinated window for October FETs. My clinic doesn't do coordinated treatment, but I know some do. It sounds like you can just ride all of the excitement and relief of your great PGS outcomes right into November! And yeah, letting your body come down from a stim cycle can only help matters... Hope your period comes soon and you can move right along as planned!
I assume my ovaries are still cooking away over here. I'm feeling increasingly tired, achey and emotional as the days go on, so I guess I'm right on track. The soonest my ER could be is Wed, I think. I'll know more Monday. Thanks for sharing your E2 info, btw!
I'm also supposed to take 2 Valium before my ET...and hold in many liters of water without a pee break. I've seen what 2 Valium do to DH when he gets dental work...so I'm pretty confused how this is going to just relax me. More likely, I'll be zonked out and peeing my pants! Yeah, I'm not going back to work, partly for the Valium and partly because it's a 4-hour roundtrip so the day will mostly be over anyway.
apricot / 365 posts
@Amorini: that's a great number of follicles! I am sure some of the smaller ones will be mature by the time of retrieval!
@Northstar: Mine turned 3 a couple weeks ago--and she NEVER liked the playpen, even as a little baby. I just found a bunch of Melissa & Doug stuff on clearance at target the other day and picked up a few other things from Barnes & Noble and Amazon. All tucked away until I need them to keep her busy
@Dookie32: Now we really are IVF twins w/ 4 "normals" Sorry things were delayed on the transfer front--happened to us, and I was so bummed, too! I'm on BC for another week (can't wait to get off of it--I am NOT NICE on it!!!) and then start the other meds. Hopefully it will be on the early side of November for you!
persimmon / 1132 posts
@endymion4: @dookie32: @agold: Four good embies seems to be a theme around here!
pear / 1881 posts
@dookie32: I'm so sorry that you missed the window for an October transfer But, try to trust the doctors know what is best for your body and giving it a bit more time to rest might be just what your embie needs!
@agold: I hope you had a relaxing weekend! How are you feeling? Are you going to test early or wait for your beta?
@Amorini: Good luck today and hope you find out when your ER is!! Whoa, that's a lot of valium! I have been prescribed one and need to check how much water I need to drink, but I have a tiny bladder, so it will be an interesting adventure!
AF decided to show up a few days early (CD27) last night, so it should be full blown today. I'll call the nurses in a bit to see when I'm supposed to start birth control. I haven't been on BC for over 5 years, so I'm a bit nervous with how it will affect me.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@dookie32: Four great embryos is amazing! They are graded excellent, too. Good for you, lady! And look on the bright side about timing of the FET - your body will have a good amount of time to rest, it will still be completed before the end of the year, still before Christmas, etc. Its all great!
@Amorini: Any update today? As for Valium, I took one an hour before my procedure. Doctor said it was to relax my body so that I wouldn't clench up or anything during the procedure. Funny thing about the Valium is that it super relaxed me. We had to wait in the procedure room for about 15 minutes before the doctor came in. When he did, both me and my husband were asleep!! (My husband works night so he was running on fumes when we made it to the appointment.) Anyhow, take the valium and enjoy it!
@NorthStar: hi! thanks for checking in. I'm feeling great! I've been very relaxed and doing hardly any activity. But on Saturday morning (5dp5dt), I spent about an hour and a half cleaning the house before a little party that we had. I was in the sun wiping down a patio table and all of a sudden started to worry that I was doing too much actvity! I really hope I didn't expel my growing embryos from my body by using the swiffer on the floor and windexing some tables. I went in the pool for a bit and sipped my incognito lemonade and sprite. And I sat out of the jacuzzi and only put my feet in. That was lame to explain. And no, I'm not planning to test early at all. I'm nervous though and not sure what to do in general. But it will all be over (or just starting!) by Friday.
As for you, I'm so sorry AF came at all. What a bummer. On the bright side, early AF means moving on to the next step quickly, which is what I think you wanted. I hope the BC doesn't negatively affect you. Did it bother you before when you were on it?
persimmon / 1132 posts
Whoa, ladies. 31 follicles and they want me to stim at 450 IU through Wednesday with possible retrieval Friday. That will be 13 years ... er days ... of stims. My E2 is 2,932. Gulp.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@jaguar: Hi lady. How are you doing? Sorry this is such a long road for #2.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@GreenThumb: Hi! How are you doing? Any update on insurance or anything else?
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@MrsKRB: Hi there. I'm just checking in with you. How are you doing in this TWW? Are you doing PIO shots?
pear / 1986 posts
@agold: I'm so excited for the end of this week for you!! FX Thanks so much for checking in on me! Nothing much new… I have an appointment this week with the hematologist that will hopefully get to the bottom of whether I - a.) have an autoimmune disorder and b.) if I do, how it will impact a fresh cycle. More answers (hopefully!) on Wednesday. And we are supposed to hear the outcome on the insurance today. Anthem (our ins company) apparently asked the HR coordinator last week about our prior treatments to gauge their liability (WTF?)… it felt a little sketchy to me, but at this point, we'll take any coverage!! We may have to wait until Jan 1 (I really hope not) but if so, I am going to get my RE to queue me up with BCPs in December so we can hit full speed asap in 2016. Still really hoping for before the end of this year though.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@GreenThumb: At least you will start getting some answers on Wednesday! That's great! I hope its no autoimmune issues, or nothing serious if so. As for insurance, that's great you get coverage. I have Anthem and have no infertility coverage. Although, I switched to an RE who is in my medical group and random things do actually get covered - HSG, HSS, oral meds, blood work and other weird things. If I do get pregnant, then I will stay with my RE until the end of my first trimester and that will be covered too. It is a little disconcerting that the insurance called your RE. What can you do about it, though? I hope you don't have to wait until January, but if you do, start your BC early! Great plan!
apricot / 365 posts
@Amorini: whoa!! hope you're not feeling too uncomfortable! not too much longer to go!
apricot / 365 posts
@GreenThumb: hope everything comes back well (on the dr front AND insurance front). hope you get some good answers and can get a plan in place for moving ahead!
pear / 1881 posts
@agold: lol - I'm sure those embies are hanging tight in there and a little swiffering won't expel them. Sounds like you had a perfect and mostly relaxing weekend! I don't remember any effects of birth control, but it's been so long...
@Amorini: Holy follicles! At what point do they get concerned about OHSS? Hang in there - it's getting close!!
@GreenThumb: I hope you get the answers you want this week so that a plan can be made! Did they call your HR coordinator at your work?! If so, is that even legal? I hope it all works out as having insurance coverage is amazing! I have zero coverage, but am wondering about my meds. I looked through the pharmacy tool linked to my insurance and the costs that it is giving me is significantly less than anywhere else (like Freedom or Winfertility). I may have to have Walgreens run them to see if they are truly covered as much as it's showing. So confusing..
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: All of the pharmacies I called to price out the meds took my insurance information and included whatever insurance covered in the quote they gave me. Except Winfertility, which doesn't use insurance.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@NorthStar: That's so awesome and amazing that you might get insurance to cover meds. Hope it works out that way. I'm sorry, however, to hear that AF arrived. It's good that you have made the big steps to move on to IVF. This IF thing is a dance between hopeful optimism and stark reality, right?! You mentioned BCPs. I was on Seasonale and felt the dreaded bloat and blah effects immediately. I hope it's a more gentle ride for you.
@GreenThumb: GL for Wednesday's appointment! That is very strange about your insurance. Isn't it a group plan through your DH's job or am I making that up? Waiting until January would be hard but so worth it for insurance! I really hope it all works out for you. Stay strong!
@agold: I agree that your swiffering was not high impact, though I'm sure I would be equally paranoid. Have you felt anything that could be implantation?? You are so strong to not test!!!! Maybe your beta and my ER will be on the some day.... It's looking like that!
@waiting4you: Hey, cycle buddy! How's it going for you? I think you were about ready to trigger last we heard, right? GL wherever you're at in this!
Thanks @agold: @NorthStar: @endymion4: for the encouragement. Surprisingly, I have been feeling pretty good despite all of the activity going on down there. In the late afternoons, I start to get tired and feel more achey....and then I crash hard after dinner. Just today, I started fantasizing about bed rest and Valium and heating pads and nonstop Netflix. I hope I won't be too uncomfortable to enjoy it. In the meantime, work is super busy and I have a big deadline to complete before the ER!
@NorthStar: I think @dookie32 said the OHSS danger zone starts at 5000. Things can change fast in a couple days so I'm hoping my E2 doesn't go too much higher, but it will some as these follies mature. I've already started to do OHSS prevention strategies because I've been worried about it from the start.
If anyone has any super good resources to share on avoiding OHSS, thanks for letting me know!
cherry / 120 posts
Jumping on in but on my phone, I'll do a more thorough intro later today! AF came early this morning (yay!) as progesterone usually delays it for about a week but I'm not complaining
Called my nurse for directions and will update you all when I hear from her today!
Thanks for letting me join!
apricot / 365 posts
@Amorini: good luck with the deadline! the rest will feel that much better once you're done!
apricot / 365 posts
@Mrs. Pinky: always exciting to move to the next step!! i have my last bc pill on the 1st (and it makes me so irritable/mean, so I am all the more eager to get off of it!!)
pear / 1986 posts
@Amorini: Yes, DH does have regular group insurance, but the Human Resources is headquartered in CO, even though we are in MA. We asked HR to look into the MA IF coverage mandate and see if we could get IF coverage and it looked really promising at first. But, now I'm not so sure. Not only did the HR rep say that Anthem is asking about our prior treatments, now, she is mis-interpreting the MA law saying that there are age restrictions to the coverage, when in fact, there are no age restrictions (I'm 37, BTW). The only time age is even mentioned in the law is in the definition of IF (trying 12 months if under 35, 6 month if over 35). So, I am incredibly frustrated and stressed about the whole thing. I mean, if they want to say no, just say no already! I wish I had a lawyer friend who could look into this all for me.
apricot / 344 posts
@Amorini: hey! Thanks for thinking of me. Yup, had ER this morning. Went in with 9 lead follicles and came back with 9 eggs. Was hopeful for over 10, but still 100% had eggs now for the wait to see how many move forward from here.
How are you doing? Where are you at at this point?
Question for everyone...actually 3...
Did you do acupuncture leading up to your IVF. Thoughts on it?
What was your lining measuring just before the ER?
Also...at what point between ER and transfer did you/do you expect the largest attrition to occur? (Is it usually between ER and fertilization? Between fertilization and day 3?or is there really no rhyme or reason?)
Hope everyone is doing well!!! I'll definitely be more active on here this next week with all the waiting coming up
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@Amorini: Thanks. Its just that I started to bend down and over quite a bit and then I started sweating while windexing the patio tables outside. That is when I worried I was overdoing it. Nonetheless, I'm here. AF has stayed away. PIO shots aren't too bad. Plugging along a few more days.
As for OHSS, when I went through the egg retrieval process years ago, I'm pretty sure I had something like OHSS although the doctor didn't use that term. I was told to drink Muscle Milk to address the fact that my ovaries were leaking protein. I thought it was such a weird thing that I remember it all so specifically. Oh yea, that and the fact that I felt like I was dying. I hope it doesn't happen to you.
@Mrs. Pinky: Welcome here, lady! Isn't it funny to be so happy when AF comes early? I always was happy for a new fresh start. Can't wait to hear about your next steps!
@endymion4: The 1st is coming up quick! I'm glad you will be off that horrible BC!
@GreenThumb: bummer about the intrusive insurance. I remember talking to my OB about coding a couple of the tests differently, but she told me the insurance would look at the entire file to see what i was really being treated for. Bummer since I was trying my best to work the system.
@waiting4you: Congratulations on your 9 eggs! That's such a great number. Are you doing a fresh transfer or a freeze all? Do you want to transfer one or two? As for your questions: (1) I did not acupuncture because it was prohibitively expensive and all around inconvenient; (2) I only had my lining measured two days before my egg retrieval and it was at 9; and (3) my attrition happened this way - ER day 11 eggs but only 10 were good - 7 eggs were fertilized on day 1 - no call day 2 - 7 eggs still doing strong day 3 - no call day 4 - 2 transferred day 5 - day 6 I learned only 2 were frozen. So something starting to happen between days 4 and 6. Bummer. I was devastated because I expected 5 to be frozen. But I'm trying to be so happy and grateful for the 2 that are frozen now. Will you please answer questions 1 and 2 for yourself?!?
pear / 1986 posts
@Amorini: I also wanted to mention a few things about OHSS - I had a mild/moderate case with my fresh cycle in 2012. My RE prescribed carbergoline prior to ER to try and minimize OHSS (my worst side effect from this med was really bad constipation). Also, you are usually told to drink a large amount of something like gatorade and eat a lot salty things to keep you from retaining so much fluid. I found that I got really grossed about by that much gatorade, so DH got me salt/electrolyte pills that I tolerated much better while drinking a ton of water. Your RE/nurses should be able to instruct you really well on how to handle this. Watch your weight because a rapid rise indicates fluid retention. I also don't want to be a downer, but I'm pretty sure the OHSS was a cause of my fresh cycle failure. I really hope you don't get OHSS, but if you do, you might want to talk to your RE about doing a freeze all cycle to give you better odds of success! FX!
apricot / 344 posts
@agold: we're doing fresh, with the hopes of something to freeze for the future. As for answers to my questions. I did, indeed, do Accupuncture. I did this starting before my last IUI in July/August. I only had 3 sessions before my IUI and was pleased with how relaxed it made me. As for results. Before the IUI I had a lining of 9. This time for IVF August/September I had gone for a while (at least once a week, then twice a week during my 8 days of stims). My lining on day 8 was 15. Can't 100% attribute that to acupuncture, but I know that's one of the things she focuses on. Also, I work from home for a medical practice. So my schedule is super flexible to be able to go to appointments anytime.
***side note, I go to someone who only does acupuncture for IVF/IUI pt's. She works very closely with a lot of the Re's in the area. In some cases she will even go to the facility to do acupuncture immediately after transfer. Unfortunately my RE is about 90 mins away from her so we won't be doing this. It has cost me a small fortune (about $70 per treatment for maybe 10-12 treatments), but hubby was up for it since this was our "one shot" at IVF. Said that $700 more dollars now was worth it vs. another $18k in the future (potentially). She even text me this morning at 6:30 to wish me luck and came in yesterday to see me even though she's closed on Mondays.*
Also, thanks for answering re: the attrition. I keep trying to tell myself that as log as we have 2 to transfer (to answer your question, yes we plan to transfer 2 unless something goes awry), then I'll be happy. Anything beyond that left to freeze would be a bonus. I'm not soooo worried about fertilization since we were told we had to do ICSI on all, but worried how many will continue thru day 5.
clementine / 849 posts
@waiting4you: Hi Popping in to answer your questions... I didn't have my lining measured, but:
Acupuncture - I did this for about 6 months before going to treatment. At first it made AF come really early, but I was told that was common and it was my cycle "resetting" itself. As wonderfully relaxing as it was, I'm honestly not sure how it helped my fertility...my LP didn't really increase like I wanted... BUT... the day before my retrieval, she gave the needle over my left ovary a little more love to get it to produce more follicles, and I swear it worked! I felt a maaajor tingling in that area and I ended up getting 13 eggs after only seeing about 7-8 follicles on the ultrasounds.
Attrition - 13 eggs at retrieval, 7 fertilized. Didn't get an update on them until 5 days after the retrieval when I went in for the transfer, but there was one "beautiful" blast and a few they were waiting on. Transferred one (it worked!) and only one made it to freeze.
Good luck!!
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