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@Sunshine1810: I just saw above about your thyroid. I missed that before. Sorry to hear about that. I hope the medicine is helping with that! You are just about there. So exciting!! I'll be right behind you it looks like.
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@Jenn23: I'm glad we are going through it almost at the same time!
Yeah in all honesty, my thyroid issue should have been caught earlier than it was but I am trying not to focus on that. I have been doing well on the Synthroid (no side effects). I really hope it's working!!!
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@Sunshine1810: Your retrieval and transfer date will be here so soon!
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@thisisme: AHH I know!!!! I can't even believe it! So many emotions, nervous, excited, etc. It feels like it took so long to get here and now it's flying!
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@Sunshine1810: I know what you mean about all the different emotions. IVF is certainly an emotional experience!!! Just try to take care of yourself each day as best as possible, be good to yourself and think positive.
Before you know it, you will be at retrieval, then transfer!!! I bet the synthroid is working. That's what my mom has taken for her hypothyroidism for many years and it has really helped.
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@Sunshine1810: @Jenn23: One step at a time, for sure!
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Just wanted to check in and catch up!
@Sunshine1810: @Jenn23: So much luck to you ladies!!! Yeah, it is crazy how fast the process goes. (which is good!!!)
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@Jenn23: Thanks! I am definitely trying to stay positive. I am actually much more positive than I was going through my IUIs which is a great thing!
@thisisme: Definitely!
@ShayNanigans: Thank you!!
My meds are being delivered tomorrow! I have my appointment on Monday for my mock transfer, and to sign the consents, and then injections class on Wednesday. Friday is the day I start!!
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@Sunshine1810: How exciting!!! Much luck to you - I also felt some relief after we moved on after IUIs. It took us a long time to get to a place where we were ready to do IVF. I wish we would have done it earlier..... it was so much easier than I ever thought!
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@ShayNanigans: That is so great to hear! It has taken us a long time to get to this place as well (almost 3 years). I am nervous but I am excited too!
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@thisisme: @ShayNanigans: Thanks!!
@Sunshine1810: So exciting! You have quite a busy week coming up. If you are like me and many other ladies, you'll take all the meds out and line them up, sort them, etc. It is all so fascinating and exciting!
Which meds are you taking?
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@Jenn23: Oh I definitely will! Here's the list:
(DESOGEN) 0.15-30 MG-MCG PER TABLET
(ENDOMETRIN) 100 MG
(NOVAREL) 10,000 UNIT INJECTION
LEUPROLIDE 1 MG/0.2 ML KIT SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION
(MENOPUR) 75 UNIT SOLR
(PROGESTERONE IN OIL) 50 MG/ML INJECTION
They switched, she originally was going to go with Gonal-F, but I am not sure why that changed. My appointment is on Monday so I will ask.
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@Sunshine1810: So which one here is the main "egg grower" med? I don't see any besides Menopur. I took most of these for my IVF cycles, so I remember the names. Don't look at the Progesterone needles. Just put them away right away!
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@Jenn23: originally I was going to be on Gonal and Menopur. I'm not sure why she changed it up. I'll ask more questions on Monday. We hadn't really talked about them yet.
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@Sunshine1810: Oh, so you'll just take Menopur then? In my 2nd cycle after the 1st was cancelled, my RE prescribed Bravelle and menopur. I ended up just taking Bravelle and no Menopur. I forget why he said not to add that one in, but I didn't and it worked. It's so funny how all the meds are different for all of us.
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@Jenn23: I think so. I am going to ask when I am there Monday. I know there is some concern around over stimulation because of the PCOS so maybe she's being cautious because we don't know how I will respond to the injections?
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@Sunshine1810: Yep, I just looked it up and see that Menopur alone is to help with less stimulation so that must be why your RE prescribed that. I never knew you could do IVF with only Menopur. From what I just read, there is great success with that protocol.
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Forgot to post that my hysteroscopy is Monday and I'm dreading it. Just had one last summer, but have to have it repeated again due to the IVF study guidelines. (must be within 6 months of IVF) I hate them and just want it done with already! So I'm looking forward to that being over and done with...then we should be ready to start in a few weeks. Yay!
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@Jenn23: Mine is Monday too. I am dreading it as well!
Good luck to you!!!! A few weeks will be here before you know it! Thanks for the info on the Menopur protocol!! I always like to hear encouragement!My mom just called to let me know my meds just arrived at her house (they needed a signature so I had them sent there while I was working). So exciting!!!
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So my meds came! It looks like I will be taking the Gonal-F and Menopur. I'm not sure why it wasn't in my online med list. Wow it looks overwhelming!
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@Jenn23: @Sunshine1810: good luck on Monday!
I'm on the edge of PCOS and I took Follistim and Menopur during my IVF cycle.
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@Sunshine1810: Gonal-F (or the newer drug Afolia which is just like it) is the one I'll be taking, too!
I know, it totally seems overwhelming. I knew you'd sort it out. I did the same! It really does seem like a lot, but it'll be spread out so it won't be so bad. Good luck with your hysteroscopy on Monday, too! Mine is at 2pm EST. When is yours? I'll think good thoughts for you! @swedishfish: Thanks!! Your FET is almost here.
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@Jenn23: I've decided that going through a FET is anticlimactic after the chaos that is IVF. I'm used to more monitoring appointments! I have my second (and hopefully last one before transfer) on Friday.
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@Sunshine1810: @Jenn23: Good luck tomorrow! You're getting one step closer to a baby!
@Sunshine1810: I did gonal-f and menopur, too. I also had to add in ganirelix after 4 days or so of stims to prevent early ovulation. If you keep the gonal-f in the fridge, take it out half an hour or so before you do the shots. It helps! And don't forget ice for the menopur!
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@swedishfish: Did you have to redo all of your testing before doing an FET?
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@thisisme: I had to redo some, but not all, of my blood work. I also had to have a new saline sono done because it had been so long since my last one...plus I'd given birth since my last one as well.
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@Jenn23: Mine is at 11:00 (only another couple hours). I'll be thinking of you today too!
@swedishfish: Thank you!
@thisisme: Thank you for the suggestions!!!!
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Well I just got back from the RE where I had the mock transfer and all that. It was fine. I was dying with the full bladder and she was running behind though! She said everything looked good.
We had a LONG talk about how many embryos to transfer. DH and I want to transfer 2, but she wants us to at least consider transferring one, if the embryos fertilize really well. She said things would have to go pretty much perfectly for that to happen, but she wants us to be open to the possibility because I am young and I would be a good candidate for it.
My friend is 2 weeks ahead of me in the IVF process with the same RE and she said she really pushed that on her too. It's still ultimately our decision when the time comes, but I just want the most chance of success. Did anyone here have the RE really push for 1?
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@Sunshine1810: Our RE totally left it open to us. All along, I'd been saying that I wanted the best shot at a "normal" pregnancy experience after going through all of the IF stuff. I absolutely would have carried twins if that's how it had played out, but I'm glad my RE didn't push transferring two. On transfer day, we had 5 embryos: 2 grade A and 3 grade B, I think. RE said the Grade A ones looked excellent, so we decided without much discussion to only transfer one. I second guessed that decision all through the TWW and was mentally prepping for doing a FET if it hadn't worked. Now, though, I'm really glad we only transferred one. It feels so good to be back in the "normal" population at my regular OB's office.
I think there are so many variables that can change right up to the transfer itself that it's best to keep an open mind. Leading up to the transfer, DH and I had discussed several possible scenarios of how many/what quality embryos we might have and tried to decide what we wanted to do in each case so that when we arrived for the transfer, there wasn't too much angst in deciding. We would have transferred two if we hadn't had an "excellent" embryo.
We're also 28 and only dealing with MFI, so we felt that increased our odds of success with one embryo.
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Well, the hysteroscopy went well, but was much more painful than the one last year and my first one a few years ago. Ouch! I almost started crying when the cramping got really bad and squeezed the heck out of my husband's hand!! haha
So all is clear, so now my husband will do his thing next week, hopefully that will be good as in the past, and then I'll start the BCP two weeks from today most likely on Day 1 of my next cycle. I'm getting really excited now!!
@Sunshine1810: I'm so glad yours went well today, too! As far as transferring one or two, I totally can see why transferring one grade A is a good idea since you are young. However, for me and my husband, we knew we'd definitely transfer two on Day 5 (and would have transferred three on Day 3) only because we were fine with twins. But it really is your call. We didn't have any left to freeze so if we had transferred only the one that didn't take, we wouldn't have my son. So I'm glad we transferred two because I have no idea which embryo was my son, but the other great quality one didn't take. But of course many do get twins, so you have to ultimately decide which is the best decision for you.
It's definitely the hardest decision to make with IVF. This time, we are not hoping for twins, so I have a feeling if it works we'll get twins. -
@Sunshine1810: deciding how many embryos to transfer was left up to us. My RE discussed it with us but didn't push us in either direction. You should do what you feel comfortable doing. I'm glad we transferred two because I originally was pregnant with twins. But I lost a baby to vanishing twin syndrome. What if the baby I lost had been the "better" embryo? It would've haunted me.
ETA - we are transferring two embryos for our FET as well.
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@Sunshine1810: my re may have recommended one but said hospitals are better equipped at handling twin pregnancies so ultimately it was up to us. We would have rather had two babies than none, so for us, it was a no brainer. Honestly, I don't know that I expected to get pregnant at all. Good luck!
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@Sunshine1810: We were dead set on only transferring one, but then the doctor and embryologist strongly urged us to consider two. We had one A, and one B, with two that were not ready for transfer, and still on the bubble as far as freezing (we got the word the next day that they WERE able to freeze the two slow-growers!) Because I am 35, and they didn't know if they'd have more than one to freeze, plus insurance considerations - they strongly urged us to consider two. My husband and I rolled over in 5 minutes because we were so afraid of the procedure failing!!! Aaaaaaaand now we're having twins. We are super excited, but I can be honest and say we decided to transfer two out of fear. It all worked out, we are super happy - but definitely be super sure you are ok with twins!! They happen in 50% of successful IVF protocols, so it's a real possibility.
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Thank you all! We would much much rather have two than none. That's why we made the decision to transfer two originally. This all came up during the consent signing yesterday. I just don't want to get pushed into a decision that I might end up regretting. It's so hard!
Plus I feel like that while I am on the younger side, I am not that young. I am 32, so I understand that right now I am under 35 which works in my favor, but I would like this to happen sooner rather than later.
@thisisme: That makes complete sense. I think that if our issues were MFI, I might be more comfortable transferring 1, however the issues are all on my side which I think makes me even more wary.
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@Sunshine1810: I haven't been on the IVF boards in awhile but just jumping in here re: two versus one since I am starting to think about this again myself. On our first cycle, we only transferred one beautiful embryo, which did not take. The next two cycles, we transferred two each time, and I eventually had a beautiful baby boy. BUT I had a very, very high risk pregnancy, which was just terrible. I had a 50% chance of losing him by 28 weeks. Being pregnant but not knowing whether or not I'd have a take home baby at the end of the day was way worse than infertility. Next time, I will absolutely only transfer one since the thought of another high risk pregnancy makes me quiver--I'll do everything I can to minimize the chances of prematurity, etc. Just something to think about. I would have loved healthy twins, but there are a lot of risks with a twin pregnancy. My advice would be to go into it with your eyes wide open. Good luck!
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@raintreebee: That is a very good point, and definitely gives me something to think about. I am sorry you had such a difficult pregnancy. I am so glad your son is alright now! I completely understand after your experience, only wanting to transfer one in the future!
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@raintreebee: if u don't mind sharing, why was it high risk? And how is it related to transferring two? Was it high risk because there were two?
Per me personally, I was only considered high risk because I had twins. But I had an uneventful pregnancy. This current one feels so much harder, but I guess it has to do with having twin toddlers.
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@Sunshine1810: I have had two fresh IVF cycles, and have transferred both one and two embryos (neither took, unfortunately). My RE gave me a 50% chance of a positive with one embryo transferred, and a 60% chance with two embryos transferred, but with a 30% chance of twins. For me, the first time, that wasn't worth the extra 10%, mainly because of the added complications of a twin pregnancy (I was worried that I'd end up with twins and then lose them both before viability). The second time around I transferred two because I was getting desperate, but then I got Shingles 2 days after my transfer, which may or may not have hindered my chances of them sticking. I think next time around I'll go with one at a time again (of course going with my RE's recommendation in mind as well). I read a study (I'll see if I can find it) that said you have just as much chance of success by transferring one fresh and one frozen in two subsequent cycles as you do with transferring two fresh at once, but with nearly no risk of multiples (non-identical, that is
)ETA the study I mentioned... it's a few years old: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2010/12/22/single-embryo-beat-double-embryo-transfer-in-ivf-study
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@Shutterbug: Thanks so much! My RE also said there had been studies showing that those who did eSET had the same odds of achieving pregnancy as those who transferred two, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around it. It goes against what I had been reading before. Best of luck to you for your next cycle!!
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@Sunshine1810: It's tough to make a decision that could so drastically affect the rest of your life, believe me! I think you should go with your gut, and ask the RE and the embryologist for advice based on your specific embryos once you get to that point. Good luck!
Good luck to you!!!! A few weeks will be here before you know it! Thanks for the info on the Menopur protocol!! I always like to hear encouragement!
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