First time IVF - Started Lupron last Thurs - Would Love some Buddies

[ERosePW]

Actually terri, the girl beagle is referring to is already 13dpo, I think. So she did the trigger 15 days ago. Over the past 15 days, her tests got lighter as the shot left her system, and it just started darkening back up yesterday, and is very dark today. So at 13dpo, and the test being so dark today, I believe its a true bfp! She's def one of the lucky ones.

 

[ERosePW]

I picked up two skirts at Goodwill yesterday. One was a brand new maternity skirt that's too big for me. It sits low on my hips and it was brand new, but it will be comfy. It's that cottony/knit material and it's in a denim blue color. I also got a beige strapless dress/skirt thing that I can wear around the house and doesn't touch my stomach at all. It's short, like the girls are wearing now, but I'm too old to be wearing that stuff in public, so it'll be a cute house dress in case someone wants to visit me during my bloat. HA!!HA!! I spent $10, and honestly, I can see getting more prego clothes from there. They don't have a maternity section from what I can tell, but there are plenty of large items for cheap, and maybe they just mix them in with the other clothes, so I can take my time looking to save a few pennies. I don't need to buy expensive maternity clothes. I don't care that much.

Ugh..I'm going on and on. I had my ultrasound today and the doctor said 3 small on right and 3 small on left. Not sure where the others went, but maybe they were feeling shy. Hopefully by Sunday they will come back out of hiding and I'll have a few more. Of course, I'm going to google "disappearing follies" and see what comes up. I'll also ask the nurse when she calls tonight.

I have to go back on Sunday for another progress report. Again, I hope my meds stay the same, but if they have to increase them to get more follies/eggs, I'm all for it.

I'm sorry to hear about your darn disappearing follies! No worries, a LOT can change in five days. I bet a couple of them will pop back up. On my last scan (the day I was told to trigger that night), they counted 17 or so that looked mature enough. As you already know, by the day of ER, there were 20 containing eggs. So anything is possible my dear! If I had to guess, they might raise your meds to get those buggers to show themselves again. Since they were there before, they surely didn't just vanish. Good for you on the good score at Goodwill! I love when I find cute little items that are super cheap like that (and perfect for the occasion of course, hehe!)

 

[ERosePW]

I def agree that if you are older, skipping IUI or only doing one is a good plan. I am younger, so IUI is a good option for me. But I am stopping after this one. 6 total, 3 fully medicated & monitored...enough. Plus the amount I have spent so far. A girl on another thread is getting darker pregnancy tests after the trigger. Never really got a negative. I am hoping this is it for her & I think it is. The tests are really dark. She got lucky on IUI #1!!! I wish I was so lucky. But I know soon enough it will be me.

If no positive this times, looks like I will be on bcp though the 1st week of August. So I will need to get on the ball with everything. I am not in town that first week...so need all my meds & classes before then. I may be cutting it close. But who am I kidding...this is my month anyways, right? No need to worry about IVF

I opened my pregnancy tests last night so I could explain them to my husband. I think it is funny he will do the test for me. Hoping for some good luck.

Still feeling crampy today...but not bad. Yesterday I tried not to leave the couch because it was uncomfortable to walk around.

Age is definitely a factor, but it's not the only factor. There's a reason why age plays a role... it isn't age alone. The age-related issues are the contributing factors, like low egg reserve or hormonal changes, etc. which are more common over the age of 35. BUT not everyone who is older has the issues. And some girls who are in their 20s do have those issues. For me, the age thing played a role in my decision to only do two IUIs, but not because I didn't think I could get pregnant eventually... mostly because I didn't want to waste more months trying.

Glad you're feeling somewhat better today! I can't wait until your DH does the HPT! Fxd!!

So wow, I didn't realize you guys were def going straight to IVF if this doesn't work! I mean, I knew this would be your last IUI for sure, but you had mentioned potentially waiting a year or so to save up money, but now I'm recalling that you came up with another option for the finances. So you guys will get started right away then, huh? How exciting! But like you said, this last IUI is gonna work, so no IVF for you! When you said first week of Aug, did you mean Sept?

 

[ERosePW]

Oh, also, I didn't get a temp rise this morning. My OPK was only positive the one morning (Wed), and then no longer positive that evening. I expected I would've O'd by Thurs, but no temp rise today, so I must not have. I mean, I know it can happen up to 48 hours AFTER the pos OPK, so I suppose it could be happening this morning, but that's odd for me. DH left town this morning, so oh well... if I do O today, maybe his spermies from last night and the night before will just be in there waiting. If I don't get a temp rise tomorrow, then I wonder if I will even O this cycle. I wonder if it's possible to not O right after a heavily medicated IVF cycle. If not, I'm not sure what they do about the FET. I'm supposed to go in on Aug 7 for a P check to make sure I O'd, because that's when they start me on the Lupron to down-regulate for the frozen cycle. If I don't O, I have no clue what they do.

 

[beaglemom]

Yes I meant first week of September...I will be in the mountains Labor Day week. Very excited for the trip...would be more excited to know we can celebrate a pregnancy.

Yes what I meant mostly with the age factor was the timing. Yes older women tend to have the low reserve & other factors, but not always. But mainly it is the time thing & the biological clock thing. We are all anxious, but it is not the same for someone who is 39 & someone who is 32. Also whatever your issue is has a lot to do with it. Mine is count...something that is really just not going to change that much. So IUIs over & over is just not smart.

My plan to pay for IVF (if needed) is to borrow against my 401K. There is no penalty...just $100 fee & a low rate...something like 5% I think. And then throughout my pregnancy I would put everything extra towards paying it back. Along with my husband's bonus & our tax return...& if he is promoted soon, any extra income he makes from the pay raise until it is paid off. I do not want it hanging over me forever. I have considered waiting a few months...but probably won't. I have just enough PTO to do one cycle of IVF. If it fails, I will not be able to do FET until January when my PTO starts over.

I love going to goodwill to get home items. It is really great for crafting. Like my husband bought plates to make windchimes & I have bought vases & plates to make jewelry stands. I went with my mom & she just whipped out a dress out of nowhere that fit me...ridiculous. I never have that luck.

 

[beaglemom]

Oh I meant to add...Erin your body may be off because of the meds...obviously already different with the later O date. Hopefully you will get a temp rise tomorrow. If no O this month, off to the freezer you go

 

[terripeachy]

I'm sure if you don't O, the doctors will do something, but I have a feeling it is probably just delayed because of all the meds. What a nightmare coming off these meds can be. I hope I only have to come off of them once!

What a busy workday I've had. I still have to come back tomorrow too, which isn't cool. I may try to sleep in tomorrow as I'm feeling a little run down. My stomach is starting to be more sore, and I'm just getting tired. I almost cancelled dinner out, but I know that after next week I won't be feeling like going out AT ALL, so I'm going to suck it up and go. It'll be fun once I go, but this morning I just wasn't feeling it.

 

[ERosePW]

Yea, terri, near the end of it, I started to feel worn out too. Just beaten up and exhausted. My tummy started to get little bruises and I was running out of places to do the shots. Its definitely a process that wears a woman out. All for such a great purpose though! And it will be the last time you'll ever have to do this again!

 

[JCM]

Hi! Have any of you IVFers done any acupuncture? I did some infertility acupuncture this morning and LOVED it! He's also a nutritionist so win win! He's setting me up with a great preconception plan. I'm getting so upset about the extra weight I am putting on during all of this. I only want healthy weight! So we are taking my controlling ways and throwing it all into diet and exercise. He laughed at me when I told him I wanted to lose some weight and said you're crazy. Then I told him what I eat on a day to day basis and he looked shocked and said oooook let's gets you eating foods that make you feel better. I really like him. Super nice and really smart. He works with most fertility clinics in the valley and actually comes into the office to do acupuncture before and after transfers and retrievals. Hopefully he can put my mind at ease. I just feel like my body is so tensed up all of the time. Even more when I'm on these drugs so I don't feel like it's a good environment to make something "stick in there" ya know? I told him I want to trust everyone that is helping me on this journey but Mary didn't use progesterone gel applicators when she was pregnant with Jesus and neither did my mother! He is quite amused with me. He says most people just come into his office and go "yeah everything is great, ivf is great and no problems, I feel fine...blah blah blah" I went in there and said "listen, this shit is crazy and it's not ok!" Definitely no holding back on my end. Haha my poor poor husband...

Terri, I feel the same as you. After one iui I just knew ok I'm moving on. Not to mention my iui ended up being 5k with all of the additional injections I ended up having to do. Plus, I'm young! I just turned 30. So I figured I'd bite the bullet and just do it! Plus I just hate keeping my body on drugs for a longer period of time. I got clomid, clomid thinned my lining so we had to fix that with another drug. Then that drug did something so I add something else. Then that has an effect and something else....etc etc until I lose my mind. I've never been a big "take a pill" kind of person and it seems all I do these days is take drugs...and not even the fun kind! I need a bottle of wine. Rant over. Lol!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Erin, did you have to do progesterone after your transfer? I have a feeling they will want me to do it before a transfer to thicken my lining. I hated it.

 

[terripeachy]

The nurse called and left a message. She said that my estrogen is now at 382, and she said she likes to see that rise, so they have me taking my Ganirelix shot in the morning and I will continue doing that until they say to stop. I will continue with my 225 Gonal F and 150 Menopur tonight and then tomorrow night, stick with 225 Gonal F and 225 Menopur. Three vials of Menopur. Holy mackerel. HA!!HA!! She didn't say 3 and 3 on the message, and I didn't get to google as I was away from my desk all day, but I'm doing that now. Maybe things are still ok. I don't understand. I'll update regarding the Ganirelix shot tomorrow. She specifically said 'Now take the entire syringe.' I wonder if it hurts and people stop. hee hee. Oh well. I'm all in! Hubs can get back to gulping and taking deep breaths.

JCM-No, I haven't done acupuncture, and don't really want to do it. I've heard from many that it is helpful. That's great that you like your doctor, and even better that he likes you and is going to help you get on the proper eating train and all that good stuff. Yay!! I say go straight for IVF too. I don't want to be on good drugs either. If you can't give me morphine, no thank you. hee hee. I had a small ganglion cyst (Bible Bump) on my wrist and they gave me morphine. I think the doctor just wanted me to pay a lot of money or something. That was totally unnecessary, but I sure did love that morphine. Maybe i'll have that before my egg transfer. I'd be all about it!

Im going out tonight with my bestie, so I think I will have a glass of wine. I've been SO good, and I might as well drink now because after the retrieval/transfer, I'm not even going to consider it. I hope it doesn't affect my shots this evening.

 

[booger76]

Hi ladies!

Terri - What a mystery about the disappearing follicles. Our bodies are such strange things. I would think they'll adjust your meds and hopefully the rest will come back out of hiding. Glad you found a couple of skirts. I love thrift store shopping if I have the time. I'm sorry you have to work tomorrow - what a bummer. I am so tired by the end of the week normally - I can't imagine how tired you must be during all of this. Hopefully, you can rest up on Sunday. I think the fact that we are fortunate enough to be able to afford IVF is also making moving straight to it more palatable. I'm all about saving money where I can but I'm not into throwing it into something that isn't going to work for me. Have fun if you do go out tonight!

ERose - Sorry your temp hasn't gone up yet. I would think the meds could affect O the cycle after and IVF but I really don't know. I would also think they should have a process in place that will allow you to still move forward with the FET if you don't O this cycle. I'm interested to see what happens - but hopefully you just O'd on your own and maybe your temps are being uncooperative.

beaglemom - Glad you are feeling a bit better today. And I'm really hoping that this time is the one for you guys! I have read where IUIs can be successful for those dealing only with MFI, so I don't blame you for starting there. I borrowed against my 401K when we bought our first house. I know it's not really the best option but I was able to pay it back quickly and my job is very secure so I didn't worry about it too much. I know there are other IVF financing options out there, but I'm not sure if they would be able to beat a 5% interest rate. It's so sucky that insurance doesn't cover this everywhere. Ugh.

JCM - Glad the acupuncture went well. Sounds interesting. I only took BCP for a very short time a long time ago (you know, back when I was younger and didn't want a baby) but they made me so moody and depressed that I couldn't stay on them - so I feel for you having to be on them right now! Hopefully, your cyst goes away quickly and you can just move along to the next step.

 

[beaglemom]

I did acupuncture as well. I did not feel super relaxed from it, but it also didn't hurt. I only stopped because I drive so much to get to my dr, I felt adding extra days where I waste my lunch on another doctor nearby would cause me more stress than was actually being relieved. But I try relaxation methods at home & usually burn an incense before bed to help me relax.

 

[JCM]

Haha Terri! I hear ya on the morphine! I have had lots of kidney stones and the second they give me that, I'm alllll good! So, if they offered it for egg retrieval I'd say sign me up!!
Booger, that's exactly me! I'm so moody and depressed on this stuff. DH jokes about birth control just making women cranky and not wanting to be touched to keep from having a baby instead of preventing ovulation/sperm meeting egg. So funny but maybe true in my case...
Beagle, the dr said I'm not gonna tell you to relax because if I do, you'll just lie here thinking "I need to relax...I need to relax...and that's not relaxing!" My thoughts exactly doc. I feel like there's not a lot of time to relax in my life anyway! I'm always going going going! I love candles though. I started putting lavender oil in my bath. Not sure if it relaxes me but it smells wonderful!!

 

[terripeachy]

I did a search on disappearing follies and it's a real thing! Sometimes they get reabsorbed. Crazy, huh? I'm not excited about that, but one person had that and she ended up getting 23 eggs from whatever was still around. So, I'm feeling much better about my follies disappearing. As long as my estrogen is still going up, I think I'm ok. I also start ganirelix, which is an LH surge blocker, so even though those eggs are trying to break free, my shots won't let them.

I also read about drinking and stimming and many people have multiple glasses of wine, so I feel good about having one or two (now it's two. HA!!HA!!) tonight. Yeah! I you google! hee hee.

 

[ERosePW]

Well hi chatty girls! I've been away for a few hours and I come back to lots of chit chat! Love it. Speaking of wine... that's where I was. A little happy hour with a girlfriend of mine. And Terri, I believe there was a night or two during stimming that I had a couple glasses of wine too. I saw no reason why it would affect anything negatively. Enjoy!

I haven't done acupuncture for fertility yet, but I'm thinking about doing it before my FET. I did it a few years ago for relaxation, and I found it extremely relaxing! However, I went in once with a sinus infection and she did a special one for that, and it did NOT relax me at all (nor did it get rid of my sinus infection). But the one that was meant for relaxation did the trick for me. So I'm thinking about going to a guy that does fertility acupuncture a couple of times before my FET in early Sept.

And girls, I hear ya on the drugs... I actually forgot to mention, that was another reason I only did 2 IUIs. I was tired of putting my body through the drugs. I had done a few months of Clomid before moving onto Femara/IUI, and I was really over it. I figured, just in case I end up at IVF anyway, instead of doing a bunch more of these, I might as well do the IVF now and get the embies so I never have to do this again. Of course, I do have to do Lupron to down-regulate for FET, but that's SO different from having to do any kind of stim drugs. Those are exhausting, and the O was getting rough (my last IUI, I got a terrible headache, horrible abdominal pain and bloating, and felt seriously nauseated). Speaking of GOOD drugs though...the best part of the IVF was when they gave me the Vicodin for one day, ha!

terri, so glad you found info on the disappearing follies!! I just know you're going to get plenty of eggs, I can just feel it.... Those docs know what they're doing, and they're going to maximize your chances however they need to. It sounds like you're in good hands, and everything is gonna go great!!!

One last note...I believe I did O this morning. I checked my temp a few times throughout the day today, and it is now in post-O range. I know it's not my "resting" temp and all, so it's not supposed to matter, but in my experience with temping for many, many months, I've experimented a little and temped during the day at times, and although the temps do vary, my body always stays somewhere above 98.17 after O, and always below 98.0 prior to O, even when I temp later in the day. After my last post, I temped a few times, and its been 98.45 or higher all day. So I'm sure I O'd this morning AFTER my first temp, and I know tomorrow morning's temp will go up. So no longer worried about that, thank goodness. DH and I got lots of BDing in the last 3-4 days even though he left town this morning, so there should've been plenty of spermies in there waiting for the egg this a.m. And regardless, I dont have to stress, because my frosty babes are waiting for me.

 

[ERosePW]

Oh Jen, I forgot to answer you about P yesterday. Yep, even though I never had to take P after IUI (my RE tested 7 days after O and didn't supplement unless it was needed), it was a requirement for IVF because you aren't O'ing on your own with IVF. Since they go in and get the eggs before you can O, I think there's a possibility that the cells on the follies can be damaged from the retrieval, and may not produce P on their own. And w/ such an expensive and cumbersome procedure, they don't take any risks w/ P. But let me tell ya... at first, it was P intramuscular injections. I hated those so much. My RE was willing to switch me to the Crinone gel after a week of injections, and DH and I were SO relieved, that the gel never bothered me once! Everyone is different though, so if you prefer IM injections over the other, you could always mention to your Dr. For my FET, they are allowing me to go straight to the gel, so I was SUPER happy about that.

At it turns out, my experiement from other cycles didnt work out the same this cycle... even though my temps were up the rest of the day yesterday, I woke up to a lower temp this morning, so I'm assuming even with the pos OPK, I didn't O. I'll keep using the OPKs though, because I was surprised by a ton of EWCM this morning. So I may get another LH surge and actually O.

Speaking of P and O and all that... I didn't know that there is actually something they call a "natural FET". They allow your body to go through it's natural cycle, they let you O on your own (abstain from BD of course), and 5 days after you O, they put the 5-day old embies in when the uterus would be expecting them and the P has already risen on its own (as long as you don't have low P in general). I had wondered if this was an option, but assumed it wasn't since my RE didn't mention it to me. She just automatically put me on a medicated protocol. I'll take Lupron to suppress O, then start estrogen patches cd1, then start the P a few days before transfer. This process mimics the body's natural cycle, minus O. But I'm wondering why they wouldn't have mentioned the option to me, unless they just prefer to control the cycle the whole way. I may ask the nurse about it.

 

[terripeachy]

ERose-That positive OPK is really bizarre. Hopefully it'll come positive again, and boo on your experiment. I was hoping it would turn out properly. Our bodies are so random.

I bet the doctor didn't mention natural IVF to you because their goal is to get everyone pregnant, and the chances of it working vs. a controlled cycle are probably much less. It seems that everything has to be timed perfectly for that to work, anyway. And..if you're going to be going in for scans every day or every other day to figure out exactly when you O, you might as well be on a controlled cycle. Does that make sense?

My ganirelix shot wasn't too bad this morning. It stung once I was finished. Of course, my alarm clock didn't go off at 6 like I planned, but I still woke up in time to be able to take the shot at the same time every morning (6:20). Hubs stayed up late last night, so I said 'wake up! It's time to take the shot.' He was a grumpy pants, but he got up. hee hee. I said 'This is our life for the next 9 months and the next 18 years, so get used to it.' He pouted back to bed and I laughed on the inside.

 

[terripeachy]

I went for an ultrasound/bloodwork today and my estrogen is steadily rising. I think it was 777. I had five follicles on the left and five on the right. They are medium sized right now, so between 10-12mm. They need to be 18 or greater for me to trigger, so I'm going back on Tuesday for another scan. I'm hoping that on Tuesday they are big enough. If not, maybe I'll go back again on Wednesday for ER on Friday. The sucky thing is that I have to order more medicine because I'm running out. I thought I wouldn't need anymore, so that's a tad disappointing, but what can I do? The delay puts me a day off of my timeline, but that's ok...I only have one thing planned in the month of August, so I'm not worried about the timing, necessarily. I would also rather recover over the weekend so I don't have to take too many recovery days off.

How are you guys doing?? What's new?

 

[beaglemom]

Terri - glad your follies seem to be growing & developing well. Sorry about the meds...but not the worst thing in the world.

Nothing new with me. I need to remember to test in the am. I have not even tested out the trigger this time. It usually takes 6 days, so tomorrow will be a week since I took it so I should have a negative. I seemed to have had cm & cramping longer this time than last IUI. Now I am on the progesterone suppository & so I can't tell anything. I am super thirsty tonight but I am probably just dehydrated. I fell asleep sometime in the afternoon after IUI, then the next time I fell asleep at 7...husband woke me up from the couch to move to the bed...I fell right back asleep & woke up at 7 am. Then today I was really tired in the afternoon, but got active...now I am tired again. I also woke up with a sore throat this morning...but 3 dpo is sort of early to symptom spot.

We have gotten a lot done around the house. But now my kitchen & living room is a disaster after clearing some things from the garage. I am hoping I can keep up the momentum, but I am usually so tired when I get home from work. Good thing is husband is off for 2 days & has lots of motivation & direction.

 

[beaglemom]

Oh & I made a birthday gift for my husband. It isn't much. Basically I love eating ramen noodles (something I will have to give up once pregnant...so unhealthy). I have a bowl that I use that says ramen on the side. We just recently bought new dishes...dishes my husband agreed on. We got rid of all the old. Anyways he hates the bowls when it comes to cereal. He asked if he could use my ramen bowl. I said umm does it say cereal on the side or ramen? So I bought him a larger bowl. I wrote on it "Bruce's Cereal" in a sharpie. You put it in the oven for 30 min on 350 & it makes the marker set. It is a really cool idea. Here is the link I found to do it.

https://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2012/07/diy-sharpie-dinnerware/