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

[moni77]

Terri - glad you are doing better and can have a nice relaxing week at home!

Erin - IF hubby came back positive for the gene (tay sachs disease) then we were going to do the extensive testing - his tests finally came back negative (after 2 inconclusive) plus it turns out that although I am positive for the enzyme, they were unable to locate a common form of the mutation - so it is possible that I was a false positive - which makes more sense since no one in my family has suffered from this disease - and I have a HUGE family. So we have opted against the genetic testing. The chromosomal testing was never discussed with us - not sure if they do it on their own, or if because the plan was always 2 they just didn't mention it.

No headache today (yet - don't want to jinx it!) But, I did have a crazy amount of CM earlier when I went to the bathroom... REs office just called and the labs are progressing nicely - so I am to continue with the same doses and go back Wednesday.

Beagle - feel better!! and wait for hubby's bday!

Erin - FET sounds so much easier - and now you wont be doing the progesterone shots either right? I am definitely scared about those. At the REs office this morning I heard 2 women speaking about them - one was getting numbness in her leg an hour AFTER the shot...they finally switched her to the suppositories.

 

[terripeachy]

ERose-Right before I went in for retrieval, the doctor came in (a different doctor that I had never seen), and started out with 'do you have any questions?' I was taken aback and I said 'You know what you're doing right?' He said 'yes.' Then he quickly said something about 4 Day 3, 3 Day 5. and then he left. I told hubs that he was SO fast about the day 3, day 5 stuff. So now I'm thinking that they may put 4 in tomorrow. I'll ask again before I go in, but for my age and my "favorable" category (age, 1st time IVF, no other issues), it's common practice. Check the SART.org website for more info. They also say that at my age I'm at low risk for multiples. Whatevs....if I have two, so be it. I don't really want three, but I have a feeling my embies aren't THAT great. hee hee. I'll know in a few weeks.

My beta is on 8/27. I'll be testing on 8/25 though. That's my test day in the other thread so why not? I'd rather know ahead of time. Waiting and getting a depressing call is for the birds. My bestie's birthday party is the 23rd and I won't be drinking.

 

[ERosePW]

terri, that makes sense on the SART website. In fact, I think I even read that when I was doing the research for mine. And btw, I totally agree about testing at home. I have all the faith in the world that this is gonna be it for you and you're gonna have a BFP. But in my situation, I honestly can't imagine having waited around for the blood test and gotten that phone call. I feel like I had mentally prepared myself for it for a few days leading up to it, so I handled it a lot better. I will do the same w/ my FET.

Moni, I really hated the P shots. My ass was so sore, and sometimes my leg would even ache when I got up to walk around after. I ended up switching to the gel three days after transfer! My DH hated giving them too. He's not a needle guy, and while he did a great job and stayed calm for me, he finally admitted he hated every second of it. Honestly though, I doubt they're really as bad as all that (terri didn't have an issue with her IM trigger).... It was probably mostly mental for me. I've always been a total wuss when it comes to needles. I got used to all the subcutaneous injections easily, but for me, intramuscular was too much. I mean, for a day or two, sure. But for two weeks until test date....? Not so much. When I went in for my transfer, I asked my Dr if I could switch to supps or gel. I told her I'd do whatever it took to make this happen, so if she thought the injections were best, then I'd keep doing them. But she really didn't seem like it was a big deal... she walked out and came back with a big bag of Crinone samples! She said to do the shots for three more days, and then I could move on to the Crinone. I was super relieved. But again, I doubt you're as much of a wuss as I am!

 

[ERosePW]

Oh, btw Moni, congrats on the turnaround with that Tay Sachs!! I'm so glad to hear that!! I know they had a workaround if it had come back positive, but I'm sure you were still pretty relieved. Btw, your follies seem to be doing really good!

 

[ERosePW]

Hi miss Terri! Not sure if you'll check in before your ET tomorrow, but wanted to wish you GL tomorrow, and letcha know I'll be thinking about you! My heart is telling me very strongly you've got some sticky babes going in there tomorrow! I just know it!!! Let us know how it goes, Lovely.

Love to love ya'.

-E

 

[terripeachy]

Of course I'm checking in. HA!!HA!! My appointment isn't until 1pm, so I came in to work to get my computer and turn in some paperwork and such (yesterday I couldn't carry a lot of stuff, so I took what I could home, and figured I'd come back today for the rest of it).

We went to the library and got some movies, a book on nutrition when expecting (hee hee), and then we went grocery shopping where I stocked up on cereal, granola, almond milk, fruits and veggies. We also had frozen pizza for dinner. I don't know if you remember, but I LOVE pizza, so I figured I really need to cut it out of my diet, so I had one last hurrah. Hubs almost didn't eat his second piece. I told him to please eat it or I'd gorge myself and I don't want to be tempted. I'm ready to go! I taped some shows and such over the weekend so I have a lot of TV to watch if I'm not sleeping/reading my book. I'm so ready to be a couch potato.

Big update girls-the doctor called me AT WORK (I came in temporarily) and said that everything looks GREAT so they are going to do the transfer on Thursday. Can we say 'emotional rollercoaster?' *sigh* I'm still only working half a day today though. hee hee.

 

[terripeachy]

double post

 

[ERosePW]

Woohoo, Terri!! That means your embies are doing great!! And YES, we can say "emotional roller coaster" all you want, because indeed that's exactly what it is! I hope you're feeling good about everything!

 

[booger76]

Terri - That's awesome!!! Emotional rollercoaster for sure but it's good news. It sounds like you are prepared now for your rest afterwards. I guess you won't have to take as much time off work now either. Are you still going to telework or will you adjust your schedule now? So excited for you though.

Moni - That is great news about your husband. I'm sure it's a relief and now you don't have to worry about the genetic testing and the added expense. Glad to see your follies are coming along. How exciting! Fingers crossed that maybe your retrieval will get bumped back to Friday as I think you said Saturday was supposed to be a busy day for you to schedule around. I guess if it has to be Saturday though, so be it if that is what it takes! I'm not even into any of this yet and I'm already scared of the P shots. They sound horrendous. Hopefully, you can go the way of the suppositories too. Which sounds kind of weird to say......

ERose - I'm interested to see how the karyotyping test goes. Hope all is good for you guys. It's good that all of your other tests have come back great. I honestly don't know if we would do the PGD if we (I) weren't so dead set on transferring only one embryo. We don't have any other risk factors that we know of that would lead us to it right away. Of course, I have been researching it like crazy trying to make sure we are making a good choice for us, and the more I read, the more comfortable I have become with our choice. I just hope we get lots of eggs and Day 5 embryos. To be honest, the literature the clinic gave me isn't clear whether we are just testing for the correct amount of chromosomes or if they will be testing the biopsy for other genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-sachs, etc. The information they gave us kind of says both but it isn't really clear, so I have that written down as a question to get some clarification on.... My guess is that it is just the chromosomal piece but it it's the whole shebang, then I guess that's okay too!

Beagle - How are you feeling today? Is your back doing any better? Only 2 days until test day!! I'm getting excited for you.

JCM - How are you doing?

Today is CD3 for me. I guess I never really updated that AF showed on Sunday. I was fine with it as I was expecting her anyway. Her appearance made me feel better in a strange sort of way about our decision to move forward with IVF. Anyway, I have to go get my CD3 and some other bloodwork done this afternoon. I start BCP tomorrow -which I am not looking forward to but oh well! I went to pick up the BCP at the pharmacy yesterday and was surprised to find that there was no copay for me. Funny how when I used to take it to prevent pregnancy I had to pay for it but now that I'm using it to help us get pregnant, it's "free".

 

[terripeachy]

booger-I totally hear you on the BCP. I used to use Nuvaring which was named brand, and I think that's why I paid for it. My BCP for my IVF cycle was just some generic so it was free. I'm all about saving where I can. So now I'm going to be "sick" tomorrow and Thursday and then I'll work from home on Friday. I have plenty of work, I don't even know if I can finish it all, BUT I have tomorrow to try. I always have tons of paperwork to hand sign/date, and I don't really get a chance to do that when I'm sitting here, so it'll be nice to take a break from work work and do manual labor (literally). One note on the BCP...at least when you're taking BCP you can have unprotected sex. Once you start stimming and getting into all the other stuff, it's condoms, so pick your poison. hee hee. They were both pretty terrible options as far as I was concerned. I enjoyed my sexual freedom this past year. hee hee.

Moni-You just have to be flexible with this stuff. I'm learning that now. So many things can change at the drop of a hat, that you should try to keep an open calendar in case you do have to make changes. I kind of hope that your retrieval is Friday now too so you don't have to rearrange your Saturday plans.

ERose-I do feel good and I am really excited about staying home tomorrow. I know my hubs will be happy because he pretends like he hates work, but he really loves going in and then pouting when he comes home. Such drama. So he can go in again tomorrow, take off Thurs, and then go back Friday if he wants to. I was planning a lunch out on Saturday (one I rescheduled when I found out my retrieval was last Sat.), but now I think I may reschedule it again. I want to have at least two down days before getting back into the regular swing of things.

beaglemom-How are you feeling today? I hope loads better!

 

[beaglemom]

Terri - that is exciting news although I am sure your brain is getting exhausted by everything. I wish I was able to work from home every once in a while. Good luck on Thursday. From what my husband says, you will do great because the 14th will be a good day

My back is still hurting today...not as much, but it is still early. I forgot my dumb heating pad at home I my just go buy another one. I have a feeling when I am pregnant I will need one for work anyways instead of carrying one back & forth. My husband keeps asking how I feel about testing Thurs. I just don't know. I hope the back thing is a good sign...just hard to know. Oh & he reminded me I moved a desk last Thursday. I really hope that is not where the pain is coming from. I would think not since that was Thursday & the pain started Sunday morning & still going on. I am trying to be positive, but I am sure you ladies know it is hard to expect a positive after seeing so many negatives.

If it is negative, I do think we are waiting until January for IVF. There is a grant program I found & I plan to apply. The next decision is in early October. But I don't know if I would get anything. When you start listing your assets on a piece of paper, you start feeling guilty for asking for money. My husband contributes to his emplyer's stock program every pay day & we both have 401Ks. But I don't really think those should be considered since that is our retirement. But if we get nothing, it's not a huge deal. I would like some help, but we could manage on our own.

The other thing is we really need to get healthier. I made an awful mistake & got on a scale this morning. Gross. I don't want to look pregnant before I am actually supposed to have a bump. So if a negative comes this month, we are going on a diet & excercise routine! If I had my way, I would lose about 25 lbs. I am a thin framed person, but I am getting too much of that gut, thigh, & ass weight! I want to be able to wear pants again!

So overall I will be upset by a negative, but happy I have a good plan in place. And who knows, I may end up starting earlier than January depending on how work goes.

 

[terripeachy]

double post

 

[terripeachy]

I got the scoop from the nurse just now.

If you're under 35, they like to confidently transfer 1 blast on Day 5 or 2 pre-blasts on day 3. If you're over 35, they like to somewhat confidently transfer 4 on Day 3 and 3 on Day 5. So...I guess the embryologist was worried that something might happen so they wanted to just do 4 today. Then my doctor got involved and said "Hey, we have 6, so let's grow them out and see how they do.' If it turns out that I only get two (I asked just so I know), there is no turning back and they will transfer two, but at this point, the goal is 3-5 day blasts. If I had used 4 today, I would have frozen the other two for next time, although that's weird because I would wonder (forever!), if my frozen embies didn't work or the new ones that I made didn't work, so I'm fine with using 3 and freezing 3 should all six make the cut!

 

[ERosePW]

terri, its interesting how different clinics do things differently. Mine seems to go by that chart on SART that you mentioned. For the age of 38-40, if they are 5-day blasts, they will only do 2. I was 37, and literally just about to turn 38 a couple weeks later. I remember her telling me that if she did 3, she'd have to write up some big report with her reasoning for it, and she didn't have any reasoning. I considered asking for 3 for the FET since I thought I might qualify after a failed fresh cycle. I could still ask for that, but while I'm okay with twins, I don't think I could ever carry triplets! I'm 105 lbs and 5'3". Your story does have me curious about asking though... if my RE claims that only 1 out of 3 embies probably have the right # of chromosomes, then hey, why not do 3, and assume one will stick? Hmm...

booger, I agree, if they want to do the whole shebang with the PGD, then go for it! The closer my FET gets, the more I think THIS NEEDS TO WORK THIS TIME. I talked to DH last night, and he said he'd like to do the PGD no matter what. But he always leaves big decisions up to me. So I guess I'll wait for the karyotyping results first, and then see how I'm feeling at that time. I'm excited that you've started your BCP! First step, wuhu!! You guys are moving quickly, and I dont blame you one bit! I felt the same, although I did go through 2 IUIs since we had gotten PG once on our own (turned out to be a chemical), we thought it was worth a shot. I lost patience after two though.

beagle, there's nothing wrong with checking on the grants. You're two responsible people with responsible jobs, and responsible people just happen to contribute to their retirement, so it shouldn't keep you from at least trying for the grants. Just because you put money into retirement, doesn't necessarily mean you have $15-20k sitting around to dish out for IVF. If you don't qualify, then you don't qualify. I'm sure they'll give it to the ones that seem to need it most (or at least, I'm assuming). But nothing wrong with at least trying, right?

 

[beaglemom]

Yeh that was pretty much what I was thinking...doesn't hurt to apply. I never did before because I always seemed to miss the deadline & it was either once a year or once a quarter. Then they went through a whole restructure on their board. So now that is over & deadline is end of September...with a decision within a few days if their website is correct. I felt like the timing was about right now. Besides before we really were not thinking we would need it...or hoping we wouldn't need it.

My husband is getting more & more convinced my back is a pregnancy sign. I probably could have convinced him to let me test today...I think I could have wore him down. But it is better we are waiting. The time seems to drag. Another slow day at work is not helping.

 

[moni77]

Terri - wow quite the roller coaster! Glad things are going smoothly and now you will have 3 to freeze instead of 2.

Booger - yay for starting. I believe BCP is now free across the board due to obamacare...

Beagle - can't wait for Thursday - the 14th will definitely be a good day for this group! Hope you don't need it, but good luck with the grant app!

AFM - We are flexible with the dates, its just hubby's family does a pig roast the 3rd sat of August every year (which is this Saturday) about 3 hrs away from where we live and where the clinic is. (If any of you are near western Massachusetts - feel free to stop by). He has already told his brothers that they may have to cook the pig without him. I am actually hoping for Sunday more than Friday - because even though it would suck to have to come back early - I would rather the eggs be nice and mature. Plus that would put the transfer on Friday and I could have the whole weekend to relax. I also cancelled a work appointment I had for Monday just in case I need an extra sick day.

Oh, my RE never mentioned using condoms during the stim phase - so that is another thing that clinics differ on.

 

[terripeachy]

Moni-Oh ok on the Saturday plans. My ex boyfriend was from Lenox, MA. I think that's the town. It was right near Norman Rockwell's home/museum, and also some great orchestra summer location (the name has slipped my mind). It's a beautiful area. Great motorcycle roads too!

Then let's cheer for Sunday retrieval. HA!!HA!! My clinic said that once you're finally going to IVF, they don't want to risk any random sperm TRYING (in my case) to do the job when I've paid people to do it for me. It's up to me though, and I could listen or I could not. I chose to listen because that's true. It would suck if one drunk sperm half fertilized an egg before it was ready.

ERose-Maybe when they say 38/39, they use the age of the baby. You know how they do for deciding whether you are of advanced age or not. Who knows? Of course, on the other hand, I guess some clinics try to vary things a little so they can have better results and differentiate themselves from others. It's all a toss up.

beaglemom-I agree with the others that you might as well go for the assistance. What if they have a pile of money to give every year and they only get 3 applicants. Well, perhaps they will give to all 3 just because they took the time to apply. You never know what they use to determine who gets help or not. And yeah....MOST people don't have 20k sitting around. I know we don't.

 

[beaglemom]

Thanks...I am def going to apply after testing this month. Like I said, it is manageable for us...but our plan was to do a 401K loan. We also have credit cards with no balance. But my plan is to put everything towards that loan before the baby came so it isn't lingering over our heads along with the new expenses a baby brings.

So I pretty much have a lady in another thread convinced I am pregnant. It is just hard to even think it, you know? I am almost to the point of dreading testing because it will feel so devastating for me. This month is so different for us...basically the end of the rope...& then on to the final option. But I am trying to stay hopeful & even if it is negative, I am sure I will have great success with IVF just like you ladies are about to But you all know how hard it is to go month after month with nothing...sometimes it is just hard to hold on to hope. But I am TRYING!

 

[moni77]

That's all we can do Beagle...just try! It will be what it will be and we always hope for the best!! Thursday Thursday Thursday!!!

 

[ERosePW]

I know it's hard beagle. Even with the faint BFP I had with my cp, I still have the hardest time imagining two nice dark pink lines. But we're all being so proactive, that there's no reason for us to think we won't be seeing our precious lines really, really soon. You have a great chance that yours is gonna be the first on this thread in a couple days!!! I have SO much hope for you and can't wait!!

Then I predict terri and moni.... Then Jen is next I think. Hopefully I'll follow shortly behind with my FET, and then booger's FET.

But wait, where's Kelly? Anyone heard from her??