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@mama2em: Hi! You've come to the right place! 1) It seems that most of our REs will attempt a fresh transfer unless there are conditions that would make it risky (such as severe OHSS, which is rare). Having said that, there are a few REs that prefer frozen only...maybe because the woman's body is more hospitable, not just having done stims (just my guess)?
2) From my understanding PGD is expensive and there is some risk involved, especially if it's not available on-site. If it's something that appeals to you AND it's either affordable or covered by insurance, AND your RE supports it, I don't see any reason why not.
3) In general, the meds weren't bad. I felt pretty normal up to the point where there was quite a bit of "fullness" due to my massive grapefruit-sized ovary (singular, strangely)...and I may have been a little touchy and "hormonal" at the very end, just prior to egg retrieval.

Come join us on the IVF Thread! Congrats on getting started!

Hi! I had a successful IVF last year and had the very same questions you are asking.
1. My RE only does frozen transfers. With the new technology in freezing he is seeing better results with frozen transfers and no longer does fresh transfers. I did a frozen transfer and actually liked it. There was one cycle between the egg retrieval and the transfer. It was nice to have that month off.
2. I did pgd even though we had no real reason to do it. We did it because we wanted to make sure that our embryos were genetically normal. We wanted to have the best odds possible so that we wouldn't have to go through the retrieval again. Since we did the pgd we only transferred one embryo and now have a beautiful baby girl. We still have 2 more embryos frozen.
3. The stims weren't that bad. When you get close to the retrieval you feel huge and really full but other than that I didn't have any side effects.

Good luck on your cycle.

1. Starting with a fresh transfer seems to be more common around here, but your RE is your RE, and if my RE said to go straight to frozen, I might ask why, and if his answer satisfies me, then I'd do whatever he said.

2. I wasn't offered it, and I don't think I would've wanted it unless there was a family history/higher risk. For me personally, IVF on its own is science-fiction enough. I would be uncomfortable having that much control over the kind of baby I had if we'd done genetic testing without any specific reason to.

3. The last couple days of stims were uncomfortable because of the bumps from the needle and the bloating. I had 20 eggs and it showed. No OHSS, but it was pretty uncomfortable. The hormones/emotions were totally fine for me - No crazy mood swings or anything like I was expecting.

Good luck!

@mama2em: In the short-term, I felt pretty awesome after my ER. It was my first time going under general anesthesia, and I don't drink alcohol, so it felt like a really beautiful buzz. But it was a little ruined on the drive back home when I started feeling nauseous and threw up. But after that, I felt awesome again.

In the longer term, it still took a couple weeks for my ovaries to shrink back down. They were so huge that they were literally touching. I have to say, sex and the transvaginal ultrasounds were pretty uncomfortable. I was also really frustrated that my doctor told me to take a break from exercising so as not to "jostle the ovaries."

It sounds like every RE times the beta (pregnancy test) differently. I had my beta 15 days after my egg retrieval (12 days after 3-day transfer). At my previous clinic, I think they waited 16 days.

Let us know how your appointment goes tomorrow!

@mama2em: I had a pretty bad reaction to the anesthesia so I felt terrible for one day, mostly fine the next. My first IVF was successful and my son is almost 2.

If you look through the IVF/Infertility Boards, you will see a lot of good info as well as a thread of all the babies born from IUI or IVF which is encouraging : ).

@mama2em: Good luck with the stimming! What dose are you on? I always peed on sticks from 5 days past my 5-day transfer. My daughter is 18 months, from our second full IVF cycle.

@mama2em: I was way lower! 150 the first time, 175/200 the second. Just drink lots of fluids and if you're feeling funny, especially after EPU, keep in touch with your specialists. xx

@mama2em: You'll know more as they scan you and check your follicles. If there are too many, hopefully they'll scale it back a bit. The first cycle is really a big learning curve.

Just like @justdarling: my clinic also suggested that my first IVF cycle be a FET and not a fresh cycle. My RE said that an FET gives the embryos a better chance at getting us pregnant. He said fresh cycles can be done but with all the meds you are on for the ET, it doesn't give the embryos the best atmosphere. I guess he wants to make sure I have the best chance at getting pregnant. My RE said this is based off of literature that was publish in the last year or so. I did ask about the risk of having low embryo quality and having none to freeze. They said in that case, they would change the protocol into a fresh cycle if they had to.

Since I wanted to get pregnant yesterday (we are TTC our first), I was a bit disappointed that I have to wait 2-3 months to complete a full cycle, but I guess I keep telling myself that getting my body back to normal after the ER would be best for successful cycle. I just have to remain patient.

Oh, my clinic is known to have one of the best success rates for people who were unsuccessful at other clinics. I'm hoping that I can be a part of that statistics soon.

Oh, I'm 30 (ugh, I'll be 31 next week) and have done 6 IUIs with femera and have been diagnosed with mild PCOS and DOR.

Today is CD1 for me and I'll start (my first) stims around the 17th and I think my ER will be end of Oct or early Nov. Then I think my FET will be Nov/Dec.

The day of the retrieval I was a little crampy and tired. I used a heating pad the entire day and stayed on the couch. I went to work the next day and was still a little tired, but it wasn't bad. I did not have OHSS and was 35 during all of this.

@bluestriped bee: I know the wait between the retrieval and transfer are long for a frozen cycle, but for me it wasn't bad at all. One of the positives is that the RE can focus on one thing at a time and it is easier on your body that way (at least that is my opinion). During the stims/retrieval, they are concentrating on getting the stims right so that you can get the right amount of good eggs. They do look at the lining, but they aren't worried about it at that point. After the retrieval, your body gets to rest for a cycle. For the cycle of the transfer, they only look at the lining and have you prep that for success. It does seem like IVF is being prolonged but it made me feel like they were really concentrating on one piece at a time. If I had to go through IVF again (which hopefully I never will), I would do it this way again.

@mama2em: I'm so sorry! Did they tell you how many follicles you had at your previous monitoring appointments? What meds are you on? What is your diagnosis? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to think of a couple of reasons for the low response. How big were the follicles?

@mama2em: My first cycle I had 16 but unfortunately I think I had a major quality issue. It didn't work out for me. Out of 16, 9 fertilized with ICSI and out of those 9 I transferred 2 on day 3, and all the rest arrested on day 4 so I had none to freeze. I was devastated.

I felt the same way you do about not knowing if I could go through trying again. I was very optimistic for my first IVF and heading into my 2nd cycle, I wasn't...AT ALL. I wasn't nearly as obsessive about my cycle and panicked I wasn't doing the right things, I just kind of went with it and hoped for the best, but expected the worst. I know that sounds awful, but I think it was better, honestly. My 2nd cycle was like night and day. I had more eggs retrieved, but this cycle they were better quality. I actually made it to a day 5 transfer and had some to freeze afterwards. I just got my first BFP in over 3 years of trying with my DH, last weekend!

I think my cycles are a good example about what happens when your doctor finally gets your meds right for you! My two cycles were really like night and day.

I honestly hate telling you that it took a 2nd cycle for it to work for me, but I'm hoping you can at least take from my story that there is hope for you to respond!

Also, more eggs does not always = better, as you can see from my story. There are so many people that get A LOT less than what I did, but they got pregnant that cycle because their eggs were good quality!

@mama2em: There's supposed to be a correlation between estrogen level and number of mature follicles...about 200 units (mg?) per follicle, if I remember correctly. Your repeat level should help... Hang in there! I hope your doc has good counsel and next steps for you!