This thread has been closed by the original poster.
pear / 1986 posts
@waiting4you: I looked back at my info and had the following:
39 eggs retrieved
29 were mature and fertilized with ICSI
12 made it to Day 5, we transferred 1 and froze 11
I also did acupuncture weekly for about 6 months before that first cycle and on and off for my FETs. I think the stress relief alone was worth it, and I really liked going in for an appointment right before and after on transfer day.
kiwi / 538 posts
@endymion4: Ha that is a crazy coincidence! So do you know what your protocol is going to be to prep for the FET after BC? Just curious because I haven't heard much about mine yet. I believe Lupron shots because that was listed on my post-ER sheet but not sure for how long.
@amorini: 31- awesome! Glad you aren't feeling crappy yet- hopefully these next couple of days go by fast. The nurses advised me to stock up on Gatorade, Pedialyte (anything with electrolytes) and salty snacks like pretzels and chips after ER. I'm not sure if any of that helped or not but I didn't even have anything I would have considered mild OHSS symptoms. I think the small dose of HCG and larger dose of Lupron was what probably helped the most.
@northstar: I was worried about being on BC again too. I always had issues with hormones before having kids, especially on the generic kind. I will say though that I didn't really have any side effects- I think it was the type of pill it was (I think it's added Estrogen or something).
@agold: only a few more days :)!!! Are you having anything that seems like symptoms yet? The only one I ever had early on when I was pregnant was the sheer exhaustion (falling asleep on the couch at 8pm). I feel like any kind of progesterone supplement is going to mimic the symptoms so it would be hard to tell. I was only on those suppositories for like a week and OMG holy sore boobs
@waiting4you: 9 eggs- that’s great! I’ve never done acupuncture- I could barely find time for monitoring with my job and family schedule so it wasn’t really something I looked into. For us I think the fertilization part was the biggest drop (26 eggs and 16 fertilized) probably because a lot of the eggs they pulled weren’t mature. We had 14 on Day 3 then 11 on Day 5.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@dookie32: Hi! No symptoms yet at all. But I'm really not the kind of person to feel symptoms of any kind ever from anything. EXCEPT sore boobs! Ha! Ditto on holy sore boobs! And sensitive nipples.I know that's just the progesterone or whatever. I'm so relieved that the PIO shots haven't been painful. I'm not kidding that I I didn't even feel the needles last night. I don't really bleed to the point of ever needing a band-aid either. Just little bruises and mega sore hips. But pregnancy symptoms... no. None.
kiwi / 538 posts
@agold: Ha well I would be but it's actually only 4 total after the PGS testing ruled out 7 of them :). But 11 making it to Day 5 was pretty good.
apricot / 344 posts
@dookie32: that's an awesome number!!!! I'm just hoping we have 2 to transfer!!! So glad to hear that 4 made it thru testing. What a relief!!!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@dookie32: Oh gees. That's right. So many of us have 4. Were you devastated to go from 11 to 4? I went from 5 to 2 on day 6 and was so upset. I don't know why, it was like I was personally offended or something. like, why didn't those other 3 make it? Its so tough at times.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@waiting4you: Are you doing any genetic testing? I'm hoping and praying you get your two plus a couple to freeze!
apricot / 344 posts
@agold: nope, no testing. No reasons to at this point. Had a super thorough genetic screening leading up to IVF and no history on either side of family. Also, no previous pregnancy or miscarriage.
Starting to think the 5 day wait from ER to transfer might be worse than the TWW!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@waiting4you: I'm in the same boat re: genetic testing.
[Edited response - I read your comment wrong.] When is your pregnancy test following transfer? Mine is 11 days after my transfer! And yes... the wait between egg retrieval and transfer is excruciating because you are dying to know how many embryos you end up with. You want them all to be good and strong! I think any amount of time following an IVF is like the ultimate wait ever. (Maybe we are biased having gone through it! ) But seriously.. all the money we've spent, the shots, the surgery, etc. Its crazy!
apricot / 344 posts
@agold: transfer is scheduled for Sunday and blood test scheduled for the 13th. Agree, this whole waiting game is torture. We were incredibly fortunate that insurance covered about 85% of this, but that being said, this is our one shot. If we had something to freeze we could come up with more money for a frozen cycle in a few months (maybe Santa could help that along ) but we couldn't do a full fresh cycle again unless we won the lottery (which happens to be 301 million this week!! And I sent hubby to buy tickets while I was in ER today).
You never know right?!
apricot / 344 posts
Here's something else that I figured I'd share, though probably kinda silly. Regardless, it made me smile. So as I'm sure all of you have experienced...with IVF shots come bruises. My first time giving myself one was definitely rough, but the bruise wasn't huge. That was 8 days or so ago. Last night, the night before ER, I was looking in the mirror at the bruises and noticed that this bruise had slowly morphed into a perfect heart. On the right side. The only side that had follicles with eggs. Definitely a sweet little "stamp" on the tummy going into ER. Bottom picture was night of shot, top pic is last night.
cherry / 120 posts
Well, I have some answers about protocol! Antagonist protocol, but before that 19 days of BCP starting 10/1. Trying not to get too excited as "egg transfer" is scheduled for 5 days after retrieval but I know A LOT of things can happen even before retrieval. But, at least we have a plan
persimmon / 1132 posts
@waiting4you: Your heart and that story is so cool! You should put it on the IF Inspiration thread.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@endymion4: Thanks! It will feel good to be done and done ... the finish line is ahead on both accounts!
@GreenThumb: So sorry again that the insurance issue is now a source of frustration. At first, I thought it was the insurance company who was waffling, but now I understand it's the HR Coordinator at your DH's work. Where is HIPAA privacy in all of this? S/he should get zero access to information by enquiring about your past treatments. Then spewing wrong info (about age cutoff) and toeing the line (okay, stepping over it!) with what could amount to thwarting your legal rights to coverage. I would be getting a more senior person in the company to apply pressure to the HR Coordinator and/or ask to have the issue handled by a more senior person who can at least be more delicate while getting to the bottom of it. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I'm angry for you over this!!!
PS. My finger accidentally submitted this and then I added more. Typing on my phone!
And more... I re read your entries again just to be sure I understood where the issue stems from. I do think a more seasoned HR professional should be between enquiring insurance companies, state law and you/the employee (or spouse). I worked at a nat'l company with one HR office that had to handle insurance and employee welfare across many state where laws are different. Good HR folks know how these differences and issues are resolved without bringing the employee in on it. I wonder if RESOLVE has any resources that might help! Hope this is just a bump in the road!
persimmon / 1132 posts
@waiting4you: Congrats on your 9 eggs retrieved! Awesome that each follie had an egg. Best wishes that all are high quality and fertilize beautifully!
I can't answer two of your three q's yet, but I can answer about acupuncture. Actually I was going to ask the same question the other day so I'm glad you did. I've been going 2x / week for about a month. Plus I'll have extra treatments right before (in the clinic!) and after ET, too. I'm paying OOP for this, too, and it's $70/visit. Not cheap and definitely an extra complication to have another appointment on top of monitoring. In terms of what I think of it, I'm kind of mixed and yet I knew I'd do acupuncture if I ever ended up doing IVF. It does do something extremely positive and nurturing for me and I've done it before for other reasons. We'll see what effect it has!
persimmon / 1132 posts
@GreenThumb: @agold: and @dookie32: Thanks for sharing your OHSS experiences (or how you avoided it.
@GreenThumb: Now I see why you had OHSS with 39 eggs retrieved. Do you remember how high your E2 got and when within the 5 days between transfer that you noted symptoms? I would definitely be bummed to have a failed attempt because of getting sick! GL in your appointments tomorrow!
persimmon / 1132 posts
@agold: I have the sorest bbs and nips now! How much worse can it get?! Yikes!
Anyone else have major sore bbs in the late stim part of their IVF cycle?
@waiting for you: I'm on stim day 12 and I have a (hopefully last) monitoring and labs appt tomorrow.
@Mrs. Pinky: Welcome! Yay for having a protocol and schedule! 10/1 is so soon!
apricot / 365 posts
@dookie32: a few days after stopping BC, I'll have an ultrasound/blood work. if all looks well, I start Estrace suppositories. another ultrasound/blood work after several days. A few days before transfer, I start endometrin suppositories, medrol, and doxycycline.
apricot / 344 posts
Got the call from the embryologist: of our 9 eggs, only 5 of them were mature. Luckily, of those 5, all 5 fertilized. My husband was very excited about this news. For me...I'm just nervous. Trying to focus on the positive and that we got over the fertilization hurdle...but in my head I know that there will still be "drop off" between now and day 5. Hoping we can hang on to at least 2. Sunday can't come soon enough!!!
persimmon / 1132 posts
@waiting4you: Congrats on 5 fertilized embies! Thinking really good thoughts for you! Sounds like you got some really good quality eggs to work with. I know, the waiting is SO freaking hard. Stay strong!
pear / 1881 posts
@Amorini: How did your monitoring appointment go or have you had it yet? I hope that it's your last day and that you can trigger soon!
@waiting4you: 5 out of 5 fertilizing is great! Try to remain hopeful and we are pulling for those 5 embies to grow into beautiful blasts!
Oh and I've been doing acupuncture since November and go about every week (depends upon my schedule). I haven't been successful yet, but the biggest thing for me is giving me some time to relax. That part is worth it!
@agold: How are you feeling? I'm having a very hard time keeping up with this board! lol.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@Mrs. Pinky: That's great to have a protocol!
@waiting4you: 5 mature and fertilized eggs is a great number! That's awesome your husband is excited. Lean on him to get some excitement. But I do feel your pain about the "drop off". It was devastating to lose each and every egg/embryo. But focus on the five you have now and be happy because that is a great number!!
@Amorini: You gave great input on the HR/Insurance situation. You are a smart cookie! And trust me... sore boobies get worse with PIO shots. Mine in general just feel and look HUGE. My husband isn't complaining, except they are often too sore for him to touch!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: Hi! Thanks for asking. I'm feeling extremely anxious. I keep looking at pictures of my embryos and don't think they look good. I didn't want to test early, but I'm fearing this will end up negative. So I'm thinking of testing at home Friday morning before my beta so that I can react to the bad news at home and not at work or while I'm driving home.
ETA: I'm not trying to be a debbie downer! Just realistic!
pear / 1881 posts
@agold: I totally get it! Just do what feels right for you and will make it easier for you to handle. Only 2 more days until Friday, which will come SO fast! Hopefully, you will have a wonderful result on Friday morning!
persimmon / 1132 posts
Hey, ladies. I can trigger tonight. Retrieval is Friday. I have 35 follicles and my E2 is 4,847. My progesterone is also elevated at 3.3 so ... we're doing a freeze all.
I am not crying alligator tears just yet because I was really worried about OHSS and, while that still might happen, my body won't be struggling from that and potentially implantation, etc.
I think elevated progesterone happened to you, too @jaguar. I forgot to ask the RE, but do you know why that happens to some of us?
All in all, FX that there are some quality eggs among those 35.
persimmon / 1132 posts
@agold: Hang on, lady. Almost there. Testing before the beta sounds like a good plan for managing the outcome either way it goes ...
Looks like I get to hold off on progesterone and sorer boobies with this freeze-all. Trying to look on the bright side...
pear / 1881 posts
@Amorini: oh no regarding the freeze all! Did they give you an idea of when they would be able to do the frozen transfer? I'm so sorry
But, holy lady on the number of follies! That in itself is great, so hopefully, there are plenty of mature ones in there. Good luck with the trigger tonight and keep us updated on how Friday goes for you..
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorthStar: and @Amorini: Thanks for the encouragement! So I will probably test on Friday morning instead of Thursday. If its going to be bad news, then I'd like it all to be mushed together on one day.
@Amorini: Hey! Here is the bright side of a freeze all - my RE actually says freeze all is the ultimate best way to proceed!! You wouldn't want to put delicate little embryos back into your body when its fighting so hard to reset itself to normal. So now your body can rest, resest, and get those beautiful frozen embryos thawed and put back into you before the end of the year!! And wow! You have so many! You are really starting off great!
kiwi / 538 posts
@agold: Oh no not at all but I definitely understand how you feel. I'm actually amazed there we had as many "normal" ones as we did considering my age and egg quality. It makes me curious though what the grades were for the other ones before they did the PGS. It's been my understanding (and if anyone else knows otherwise correct me) that you can have an embryo with a good grade that ends up being chromosomally abnormal. If that's true, imagine how many times we could have done FETs with "good" embryos that would have ended up being bad. So- I'm very thankful for PGS and our 4 freezies. Only doing 1 at a time that means we have 4 chances- and if for some reason all of those fail then obviously we would know it's not meant to be and to pursue something else. I don't think I would go through ER again.
Totally understand why you want to test- I feel like I'll be that way too. I don't think I could stand to wait around all day for a bad news phone call.
@amorini: Ugh sorry about those E2 levels but good news about your # of follicles! Hope everything goes well with the trigger. I know the freeze is disappointing but if you feel like anything like I did after the ER I think you will appreciate the recovery time.
@waiting4you: great news! Fingers crossed they continue to do well over the next few days.
My period started yesterday so I'll be calling my office today to find out what's next for my FET prep. I'm not sure if it's a result of being on the progesterone for a week or what but holy crap this is some heavy bleeding! Ugggh. Did this happen to anyone else post ER?
pear / 1881 posts
@dookie32: I took progesterone during my injectable IUI cycle and man, I had really heavy bleeding when AF showed. Like, more bleeding than I ever really have. At least you know the progesterone was doing its job and creating a nice thick lining!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@dookie32: I'm not looking forward to a heavy period after taking the PIO shots for so long. And yea, I've fully decided to test on Friday morning. If its negative, I'll cry to my husband. If its positive, I'm not telling my husband I tested and I will plan to put together a little something to "surprise" him with at the end of the day. He normally golfs on Friday and doesn't get home until around 6 or so. He said he wouldn't golf so he can be with me when I get home from work. That's sweet of him but just feels so weird. Like its such an odd day to plan for. Either extreme happiness or extreme, umm, sadness and disappointment? What do we plan to do? Dinner out? BBQ at home? I just don't know.
clementine / 849 posts
@agold: Thinking of you this week. Per the suggestion of our RE, we scheduled a dinner out for the night of our beta. If it was bad news, we'd have time to process and grieve just the two of us (and share a bottle of wine for sure), and if it was good news, we'd have a nice celebratory dinner. Sending good thoughts your way!
pomegranate / 3764 posts
@Amorini: Yes, 2 of my 3 freeze all cycles were due to elevated progesterone pre-retrieval. If your progesterone spikes before it's meant to, it can put your lining and uterus out of sync with the rest of the cycle, so essentially you would be wasting embryos putting them back. It's bittersweet, isn't it? You want progesterone to be nice and high - ours just peaks too soon.
Our old doctor just called it bad luck, just over-responding to certain medications, but our current one called it premature lutenization. It does tend to correspond with larger follicle numbers, though.
Here if you need to chat. x
CD1 for me today. Really hoping that means we can get started on a medicated FET soon.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@YogiRunner: Thank you for your response. I suppose a dinner out will be best. If I'm going to be crying, being in public will force me to stop.
@jaguar: I'm glad you've made it to CD1. I hope you can get started on your FET right away. Can you please tell me how long it took to get to CD1 following your IVF cycle? I'm already thinking about doing my FET if my test is negative on Friday.
pomegranate / 3764 posts
@agold: So I got a bleed two full weeks after egg retrieval. Then had to go on the pill, and stopped - so this is my withdrawal bleed. All in all, another full month after the stim cycle. We aren't allowed to do a FET back to back straight after (have to let your body recover post-stims) so yeah..
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@jaguar: Thanks so much for responding. I hope you are doing okay and feeling as good as you can! So a month or so after your IVF cycle, you started up the FET... A month isn't so bad. I figured it would be a wait. If I need to do a frozen embryo transfer, then I probably want to do it right away if I can and I was hoping to squeeze it in this year. I was looking up the costs of it all and I saw that I will get a $2K discount on a second IVF if I do it within six months of this one I just did if it all fails. That's a sad little silver lining!
pomegranate / 3809 posts
@agold: @YogiRunner: wow, I've never thought to plan for a dinner out. I cant even remember how the day went when it was confirmed. I was always at work since the office calls back with results and then I just tell my husband over messenger. And then go home and crack open a bottle of wine and drown my misery.
I've only been popping in and out of here so I'm a little lost, but I've been thinking of you all!
I went in for a u/s and blood to see where I am today, CD35, and they did see a 17mm follicle and E2 at about 225, so I'm sloooooooow, but ovulation is finally nearing and bloods levels look normal. No high hopes, but I'll be doing my due diligence and still trying naturally...
This thread has been closed by the original poster.
Today | Monthly Record | |
---|---|---|
Topics | 0 | 1 |
Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies