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@justdarling: I did feel like we were buying a house! I start Lupron on the 12th. They are estimating that my retrieval will be between the 27th and 29th.

@twodoghouse: I start Lupron on the 12th. I would be starting Monday, but my RE is going on vacation. So I have to wait an extra week!

How exciting is it that you are both starting your injections today! You have to let me know how it goes.

@twodoghouse: My first injection went well. I had 20 units of Lupron this morning and will have another 20 tonight. My skin got a little red after the injection but it is gone now. I'm glad your first shot went well.

I started the prescription prenatal last week - that thing is HUGE! and will start an antibiotic on Friday. Friday is also when I start the stims. I want it to be retrieval day already! It is odd to think that after all this time trying and planning this, it is actually happening.

@Leialou: You'll be starting injections soon! That is so exciting. There are a lot of August IVFers!

@twodoghouse: Sounds like you are on the long lupron protocol. I am doing the micro dose lupron. I start stimming on Friday (the 3rd) and then have a monitoring appointment on the 8th. They will tell me on the 8th how much longer I need to stim for and set up more monitoring appointments. They estimate that my retrieval will be between the 12th and the 15th. It's funny how different doctors do things differently. You are on lupron for a long time!

My doctor also only does frozen transfers. He sees better results with the FETs. So after the retrieval he lets the embryos grow for either 3 or 5 days and then freezes them (using vitrification). I won't actually have the egg transfer until probably late September or early October. Do you have an estimate ET?

@twodoghouse: I'm going to have to mix my menopur and bravelle. That's what I am most nervous about too! My protocol sounds very similar to yours. I'll be on 10 units of Lupron for a long time! The IVF nurse made it sound like I'll continue to take it along with the bravelle and menopur.

@Leialou: @twodoghouse: @justdarling: I'm so excited for all of you! Just thought I'd pop in and tell you that I'm sending lots of positive thoughts your way.

I also wanted to share what I learned about mixing the Bravelle. I did an IUI cycle with Bravelle injections. There were no classes, I used the online videos and honestly it was @spaniellove who really helped me understand how to handle injections. But in the end, the best thing I found when mixing the liquid with the Bravelle powder was to make sure I pulled back the empty syringe to the exact amount that I needed prior to inserting it into the liquid vial. That way just enough air went in, and then the right amount of liquid came out.

I got better over time, and for me I found it easier to use the needle alone instead of the q-cap. But to be honest, my very first time I was a wreck and my husband helped and we spilled half of the Bravelle vial all over the kitchen counter! Luckily I was starting with half doses, but STILL! I felt like dollar bills were just spilling on the counter!

Lots of luck and hugs to you guys

@sweetooth: Thank you! I can't believe you spilled Bravelle! I would have died. We have the q-caps with the Bravelle and they confuse me. I think we are just going to stick to using the needle to reconstitute it.

@justdarling: I think @sweetooth gave great advice! Maybe it was just me, but I found that even after pulling back the exact amount of air, the first time I drew up I'd often get a large air bubble kind of stuck to the plunger and would have to draw up again after pushing the plunger to the point that there couldn't be any air bubbles left.

And yes, I've also screwed up with getting all the air out at the end - either forgetting to, or doing it too quickly and squirting my solution on the counter.

Mixing the Menopur and Bravelle though is basically the same as using multiple vials of one thing...you can mix up to 6 vials at a time I think and once you get to 7 you have to split them.

Hi Ladies! I am officially joining you on this IVF journey! We have an appointment tomorrow with my new RE. They call it "Education Day" and I am supposed to get my treatment plan, injections training, DH gets a new semen analysis, etc. My next cycle should begin in late August and that is when I should start injections with egg retrieval in mid-September. I'll obviously know more tomorrow afternoon, but that's my story for now.

I asked this RE a lot of questions when I went for my consultation back in July. I feel like I should have more questions when I go tomorrow but can't think of anything. Is there anything that you asked about or wish you had asked when you were in the prep stages or when you got your treatment plan?

I'm excited, hopeful, scared and a little numb all at the same time.

@justdarling: Thanks! Those are great questions to ask! It's kind of crazy the number of emotions that you can have at once! How is your cycle and the shots going?

@Leialou: Wow!! You are really lucky!!! I've had to pay out of pocket for everything, so the meds were expensive! You are on the same meds that I am on. When do you start taking them?

@kentuckygirl: so far so good. I started the stims on Friday so now I do 4 shots a day! You can play connect the dots on my stomach! I am starting to feel achy ovaries and bloated. Hopefully this is a good sign.

Hi ladies. Looks like I'm joining the club. We had a failed fresh cycle back in March, and were planning on going ahead with a FET cycle in May, when my pre-existing back problems got severe. I ended up canceling the FET and had back surgery in May. I'm recovering well and we've started back on the FET cycle. Had my baseline appointment on the 3rd, and my FET is scheduled for the 20th! Wishing all of us luck!!

@msmug: Welcome! Good luck with the FET. There is a lot going on here for the month of August!

@msmug: I want to transfer two if we have two good ones. I don't know if my RE will be against that because of my age though (I'm 24).

@justdarling: We are going to transfer back 2 but I'm a little torn. My RE recommends 1 bc I'm still fairly young (33yo) and bc of my back problems. However, we've been trying for over 3 years and the entire process has been so frustrating and heartbreaking.

@justdarling: If your follies are 8-12mm now, there could definitely be some smaller ones too! So much can change between the beginning and end of your monitoring. FX for your next appt!

My meds arrived this afternoon. I can't believe how much there is! I cleared everything off my bathroom counter and turned it into an injection station. I'm as ready as I can be for Monday!

@Leialou: Yay, so excited for you to start on Monday!

I had another monitoring appointment yesterday. I now have 10 follicles with 3 of them over 18mm. I took my trigger shot last night and will have my retrieval tomorrow! I am so happy to be done with the shots!

@Leialou: Good luck on your first day of meds!!!

@kentuckygirl: The next two weeks are going to be very slow, but they will be here soon enough!

This thread is getting super exciting! Good luck to all. Let's hope for lots of May babies, right?

@Mrs. Jacks: thank you!

@twodoghouse: that's so exciting!!