Hellobee Boards

@Mrs. Pajamas: Yes! I've been on BCP since July 31st. I started AF on July 29th and I'm STILL spotting!! It's awful! My body hates BCP! I'll start Lupron on the 20th and I take that through the 15th of Sept. My FET is on the 22nd! What about you?

Good morning girls! Tiny update for me...got my period Sunday! No mistaking this one. Man, it was nice not having a proper period for so long. She is back with a vengeance.
Anyway, I'm walking to my RE office for Day 3 blood test now. They were supposed to call me yesterday to schedule everything and tell me when to start BCP but they didn't. And I didn't realize it till 11pm since my young nephew is visiting me solo so I had my hands full. Really unlike them to drop the ball like that.

Anyhow, now that I realize that for sure I'll be starting stims in 3-4 weeks I'm kind of panicking. I don't know why I have such a negative association with all of this. I only did one round last time and have my perfect son from it. I don't hate needles. I didn't have OHSS or anything.
All I can think of is that it just reminds me of WHY I'm doing this - the losses before and the diagnosis of the translocation and that I will NEVER be able to do this unassisted. I can't even try on my own if I want to. But why is THIS the thing that triggers all of those emotions. The one thing that gave me some good and could actually help again.
I don't know, I'm rambling. Don't really have anyone else to talk to about this.

Ok, actually, I have another question while I wait for my coordinator to get in.
Did anyone travel while on stims? I'll be on stims for most of September it looks like, which is around my birthday, anniversary and close to DHs birthday. I really wanted to take at least a long weekend just the two of us, but I'm not sure how that works with monitoring and everything. Did anyone do this? Do I HAVE to find a lab? Or could going an extra day or two without labs be ok? Should I just let go of this idea and plan for a trip after retrieval in October?

@yellowbeach: Thanks for the words of encouragement

@Mrs. Pajamas: Thank you ️ I don't know how I'd get by without this support system.
We've all said it before but even DH doesn't fully get it. Today after my CD3 monitoring I was telling him next steps and I just broke down crying. And he thought I was kinda psychotic. He doesn't understand the emotional toll and the associations I make with this process. It feels like 2012/2013 all over again.

Other small update: I go for the rest of my tests on Monday at 3:30 and I start stims on 9/9...DS's 2nd birthday! So hopefully that's even more luck for us.

@PointeShoesTutus: Hi! Welcome! Sorry you have to be here but glad to have you join us.

I'm an IVF graduate who is getting ready to start a freeze-all PGD cycle to have a 2nd LO. Will you be doing PGD as well?
I got AF on Sunday morning and just took my first BCP yesterday and am scheduled to start stims on 9/9. I go in on Monday for all the usual tests (more bloodwork, saline sonogram, etc). So we could be really close with our dates
If everything goes as anticipated I think I'll have my retrieval the last week of September and so probably will do a transfer the last week of October. If I have anything to transfer!

Wishing you luck!

@PointeShoesTutus: We are also doing IVF solely because we need the PGD. I have a balanced translocation between two chromosomes so we experienced some losses before being diagnosed. Our chances of conceiving a healthy pregnancy on our own are slim to none, so here we are.
Last time we had 13 eggs retrieved and only 1 was normal. I'm now 35 and that was 3 years ago so my RE is less optimistic this time (he said I was lucky I had 1 the first shot last time). I am only doing 1 retrieval, at least that's what I say now. I don't know that I have it in me to do round after round.

Oh, separate update - Meds are ordered for 8/31 delivery. So weird! Makes it seem even more real.

ugh having a bit of a bummer of a day. I went in for monitoring to kick off my FET cycle and they found a small cyst on my right ovary and it looks to be giving off estrogen. So I'll go back in for monitoring tomorrow and if my E2 levels have dropped I can continue with my cycle as planned. If not, I'll go back on BCP for 10 days and more monitoring.
Also DH found out he did not get a job he was really excited about today. Bummer.
Think good thoughts for my monitoring tomorrow. Hope everyone's doing well. Any fun plans for the weekend?

@SweetiePie thanks yeah big time bummer since I was feeling so good about taking a month off and deciding to do PGS, acupuncture, etc. This was supposed to be it! So I went in for monitoring on Saturday and my E2 levels went up! So now I have to wait for AF to show up naturally and we'll go from there--pushing my transfer back 2 or 3 weeks. On top of all this craziness right after DH got rejected from the job he was really excited about, he got another offer....in San Francisco. We live in DC currently. He is leaning towards taking it. So I"m excited (my family is in the SF bay area) but feeling really overwhelmed by all that comes with moving. And the timing is really bad. My mom suggested we hold off on the transfer but that means finding a new clinic and again pushing off our family plans. Gah. This is so hard!

Does anyone live in the SF Bay Area or know of IVF clinics there? Obviously I will ask my clinic here to recommend but still.....

@SweetiePie thanks for your support. It is super frustrating to have things moved but there's nothing that can be done.

We did get amazing news today: our PGD results came back and all 5 of our frozen embryos are normal!!!! Can't even believe how lucky we are.

Because of my cyst my RE is recommending that I do an Ovidrel trigger shot to get the show on the road instead of letting AF come naturally. Regardless the earliest we can do the transfer is 10/05 because my clinic is so busy. So a month later than expected but I guess I'll take it as one more month of raw oysters and drinks to enjoy?

@Mrs. Pajamas: oh my gosh, 5/5 normal is incredible!!!! Congrats!!!! And yeah, look at the positives of one more month with no restrictions

Hey guys, wondering if anyone has any experience with elevated prolactin? Or elevated prolactin combined with elevated TSH?

Everything for me was normal last time around (3 years ago) so this is kind of a shock to me. We are doing IVF because of my translocation, not because I have issues getting pregnant. So I'm just so surprised. I have no symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Of course the nurse that called told me not to Google, so I did that as soon as we hung up.

Slightly longer explanation - the nurse called me today to ask if I was aware of elevated TSH (i.e. am i already being treated for hypothyroidism) and I"m like "ummm no, I've never heard this". So she says no big deal, its common, we'll send a prescription for synthroid to your pharmacy. I asked her why its coming up now vs 3 years ago, she says it can happen with age. So I was thinking "ok, one more med to take, but she doesn't seem worried so I'm not worried".
I asked about my AMH from my CD3 labs a week ago and she said it was weird but they forgot to order that. So I go in tomorrow AM for a blood draw to check AMH.
So then like 3 mins later she calls again and says "Ok another lab just came in for prolactin. Its elevated, we want to do another blood test so we'll also test for that tomorrow morning when you come in. Make sure you don't eat or drink prior to coming in." She didn't say much about it so I'm like "wait, hold on, is this also because of age?" And she says "no, this isn't because of age. Um, lets just worry about it if the results are elevated again tomorrow". She was being weird and vague. That's when I was like "you're scaring me" and she said just promise me you won't Google, lets not worry until tomorrows results.". She did then reluctantly say that I will see results come up for tumors.

So I'm not TOTALLY freaking out (because 1. it might be nothing and 2. what I did read about tumors didn't seem too scary), but I am just really really curious and a touch worried about how this will impact our upcoming cycle. I'm also wondering if the TSH and Prolactin are related since they were both normal last time, and if that means something worse.

Any experience? Of course I plan to talk to my RE tomorrow or when the results come in. But its hard to wait and do/ask/say nothing.

Hi ladies......I posted awhile back when we thought we were going to start IVF. It's been a bit of a rocky couple of months (including have the clinic misplace some of our records and delaying sending in the stuff to insurance which caused us to miss July and have to start August late) The clinic was sure that we would have time to retrieve and transfer before a cross-country trip we have planned in a few days, but that doesn't seem to be the case either. So now it will have to be a freeze all cycle (hopefully not out of pocket since it was their error) Feeling bummed about this but trying hard to be strong for my wife since she is the one that is actually going through all of the injections and monitoring.

Had a couple of questions for some of you who have been through the retrieval process before...

-how long were you on meds for? this will be over a week for her before transfer, is that normal?

-when did you trigger? (what mm?) they had thought we'd trigger last weekend and retrieve earlier this week and then transfer this weekend. but it is now looking like a retrieval for Saturday or Sunday depending on tomorrow's results (how could they have been so off on timing?) She only has 3 that have reached 18mm and more that are less.

-how tough was the retrieval? what should i plan to do to help her? this is the first time she will ever be under anesthesia and I am nervous. (also, if it ends up being on Saturday, we have a wedding that evening - will she be okay by then?)

I am so sorry for all the questions - I just feel so helpless to assist with anything in this process for her and am trying to figure out what we should be doing. I really appreciate all of the insight.

@MissKabers: I'm so sorry that you have had such a rough start! I am currently pregnant on our third try at IVF (2 retrievals and fresh transfers and then 1 FET that worked!). In the end, although it completely sucks, maybe do some research on FETs. I know of SO many women that finally had success with a FET since the body has time to reset, get the meds out of its system, etc. I truly believe that made a difference in me finally getting pregnant (along with some dietary changes I made).

As for your questions - these are based upon my 2 retrievals:

*How long on meds: I stimmed for 10 or 11 days both times, which is completely normal. You don't want it to go too fast as it could compromise egg quality. Slow and steady is the name of the game.

*For triggering, I did it the night of the 11th (if I did 11 days of stim) and then did the retrieval 36 hours later. A majority of places work this way. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to plan and it just depends upon how the eggs stimulate and when they are ready. I totally get your frustration.

*I had no issues with the retrieval and came out of anesthesia pretty quickly. I was super tired driving home (I didn't drive, but my husband drove us the 2 hours home), but was moving around pretty good. Usually the person feels best with the less amount of eggs retrieved. Obviously, you want more eggs, but not too many. Have her drink lots of water or gateraid. I was actually able to go back to work the next day with no issue at all. I did not have any pain, but every person is different.

I wish you two the best of luck! The process is SO hard, but it will be SO worth it. Just take one day at a time..that's all you can really do since you don't know what the next day will bring.

@Mrs. Pajamas: thanks I'm much more calm about this today.
Yeah definitely not still nursing/pumping and haven't for almost two years. I weaned very early (like 4/5 weeks).
I'm thinking it'll just be a fluke thing. Random things can sometimes impact prolactin so I'll chalk it up to that until they tell me otherwise.
And even what I did read about pituitary tumors, they seem to be pretty harmless (for the most part), so again I'll just keep positive until they tell me otherwise.
The only thing that does occasionally pop into my brain (no pun intended, HA!) is that every other test I've had I was told "oh it's such a small likelihood, I'm sure it won't be THAT." And it did end up being exactly that. My translocation being one, and Cholestasis when I was pregnant. So that just makes me wonder if I have bad luck!

But man, you're right about the curve ball. Was not expecting anything like this. My eggs being shit? Low AMH? Sure! Hypothyroidism and possible tumor? Nope!

@MissKabers: I was on meds for 12-13 days each time. It is possible if she has just 3 at 18mm and a bunch of smaller once that the are letting those grow get a bit bigger to let the smaller group catch up if there are a lot of them. I had one at 25 when I triggered, but my RE sometimes "sacrifices" the largest one and just focuses on the biggest cluster. Recovery was super easy for me every time. After my last retrieval I walked 4 miles back to where we were staying in NYC to hunt pokemon lol. The first few times I just needed a good nap and then was back to normal. Hopefully your wifes recovery is as easy! good luck!
@Mrs. Pajamas: Congrats on your PGS results~ That's freaking amazing!

Sorry I keep posting so much about my stuff yesterday and today, but no one knows about IVF IRL so I really have no one to talk to about this.
And this prolactin business isn't really specifically IVF related, but it was found because of my monitoring, so of course I don't want to talk to anyone about that either (questions about why I was getting a blood draw and tested for prolactin in the first place)!

Prolactin levels from today after a fast still came back elevated and even a little higher than Monday. So my research became even more intense and now I'm finding that I have some of the symptoms of a pituitary tumor after all. For months I've been having almost daily headaches and also have been bumping into things every day. My legs are covered in bruises. I've even been to the eye doc twice because of it (earlier this year). And this was all well before I knew ANYTHING about this prolactin stuff, so I know I'm not imagining or exaggerating it. It could still just be a coincidence but of course now I'm really really curious. I'm asking if I can get an MRI soon. My nurse initially said "we'll write a prescription and check your levels again in a month" but that was before I took this very seriously and told them about the other symptoms I do have. A month is just too long to wait and find out. No, its not deadly, but...seriously, how do you just wait and see for a month for something like that?

I still don't truly think that it is a tumor, because what are the f'ing chances? But now I'm like "well shit, its still something I want to know for sure".

Anyway, not even looking for replies, just needed to type this somewhere to get it off my chest/mind.

@SweetiePie: @PurplePumps: thank you both so much for answering! hearing what other people have experienced is really helping me to understand how much of this is a "figure it as we go" type of thing as well as how best I can support her.

it's looking like we might wait until tomorrow to trigger so retrieval on Sunday, which would mean she'll just be super "full and uncomfortable" feeling at the wedding. the one thing i am dreading is all of the "when's the baby coming?" questions, especially since no one knows about this. This journey is almost 2 years in the making so I'm pretty over those comments (as I am sure lots of you are too)

@SweetiePie: wow! what a roller coaster is right! i am glad that you pushed to have more testing done now that you've been able to recognize a few other things that have been happening. still hoping it is nothing, but glad you won't be waiting a month to take next steps

@Mrs. Pajamas: how exciting about a new adventure! i don't know where you are located now, but is SF a huge move for you? We have family outside of the area and are actually headed there next week to visit. It is such a beautiful area! Fingers crossed that all the timing works out!

@MissKabers: Happy Trigger Night! That sucks so hard that your wife will have to be so fully stimmed at the wedding. I do not envy her! And the questions from family and friends are the worst. I can't believe that in 2016 people still don't realize how inappropriate that is. Good luck tonight, and the entire weekend (wedding and retrieval).

@PointeShoesTutus: I never got nauseous, so no advice, just wanted to say sorry you feel so crappy

@Mrs. Pajamas: That's wonderful news about all 5 embryos!! So happy to hear that! Thinking of you! I know you've had a lot to process over the last few days! Congrats to your DH on the job offer!! Hoping you can do your FET before the move!

@SweetiePie: I'm sorry you're going through all this! I'm thinking of you and praying for you friend! Hoping it's not a tumor and it's nothing major!

@MissKabers: That's so exciting! Hoping ER goes well and your wife has a smooth recovery! Hope the wedding was nice and you didn't have too many questions!

AFM, I've been feeling pretty good on Lupron so far! Very thankful for that! I have my baseline on Tuesday. Praying no cysts are found! Sept. 22nd will be here before I know it! Today is my birthday and DH is taking to my favorite, The Cheesecake Factory! Next weekend we are going to Universal and getting all my roller coasting riding out of my system!!
Thinking of you all!