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

[terripeachy]

Oh yeah, beaglemom-I couldn't watch the videos. Can I find them on youtube? I tried clicking on the link at work and at home and they are just not playing for me.

 

[beaglemom]

Oh yeah, beaglemom-I couldn't watch the videos. Can I find them on youtube? I tried clicking on the link at work and at home and they are just not playing for me.

They are not public on youtube. I will send you a link in PM...maybe that will work.

 

[terripeachy]

Yes it worked! Thanks. I love your hubs' tshirt. hee hee.

 

[moni77]

JKB - great results!! Can't wait until January.

FXed on todays retrievals!!

Beagle - don't forget here you are PUPO - no other way to think about it!!

I had over 200 likes and about 100 comments. My mother's post (I think she is more excited then me ) got about the same number. It came out at a good time - I really popped this week!

 

[booger76]

Good morning, ladies!

Good luck to knitgirl and brighteyez! I hope your retrievals go easy peasy today.

Terri - Good luck at your appointment today. Fun, fun. Actually, I wonder if our annual exams will now seem like nothing that we have all been through IVF? I hope your find out soon whether or not you need the CD3 bloodwork. How annoying. I completely understand. I've been on BCP for 30 days now - I could have had natural cycle in that time. Oh well!

Beagle - I think it's great to positive. Your comments have never offended me but I also don't feel like I have really had a struggle. We only tried for 7 cycles and then jumped straight into IVF so I feel like I didn't go through a lot of the emotional turmoil that others have gone through. Since I haven't had a transfer yet, I don't know what it's like to succeed or fail so I can't relate to that part of it at all.

kfs - I'll have to see if that rings a bell with DH. I know he partied quite a bit so who know what he actually remembers. Good luck with your ultrasound today! I think you're right when you say that people probably just don't know what to say. Hopefully, you'll be pregnant soon and how you got there will be a distant memory to them.

Leens08 - Congrats on doing your first shot. They get much easier as you move along.

Amy - Haha! I hear you on the weather front. While I am glad that we have more sun than rain here in Montana, there are times when I just really wish a for a few good days of pouring rain (mainly in the summer when it's so dry). I love winter so 80 degrees on Christmas would be hard for me. I want it snowy and cold!

jkb - Congrats on your 4 normal boys and 4 normal girls! That's amazing!!!

LadySosa - Sorry, I'm not much help on the insurance front. We paid for most everything out of pocket!! I hope you can get it figured out soon so you know how you'll be able to proceed.

Jen - Sorry you've been so sick!! That's awful. I hope you're feeling much better soon. Maybe after you get your turn to let it all out at your counseling session you'll feel better. Don't hold back!

babywhisperer - We missed the snow in Vermont - unfortunately. I'll take snow over rain anyday. Denver would be great! Just sayin..... We love to ski too so if we were ever to move back East, it would have to be to Vermont or New Hampshire.

Erin - So glad you came to your decision. It sounds like a good one to me. It's nice you had time to think about it and weigh all the different scenarios. I'd hate to have had to make that decision in a short amount of time. Temp drop today - I'm hoping that mean AF is on her way so you can get moving along again!

Hello to Moni! I think it's cute that your Mom is so excited!!

I just started Gone Girl too (thanks to you ladies) so no spoiling anything, okay! I can't put it down. I finished another book on Sunday and bought Gone Girl for my Kindle right away. Nothing like instant gratification. I'm about 1/3 of the way through. I had heard where it's hard to read because of the way it's written but I'm not seeing that. I wish I hadn't seen any of the movie previews or knew who the actors were because that's how I see them in my mind now. I like to conjure up my own images of characters. Oh well.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day - get out and vote!!!

 

[Babywhisperer]

Hi girls! I got my PGS results....
1 embie came back inconclusive. She said that doesn't mean bad just that there was no result, but all the other 8 came back genetically normal! I'm so relieved. But now my dr is really puzzled because she was expecting it to be genetic problems causing all my miscarriages. So my expected transfer date is January 8th, pending my labs and ultrasound results.

So excited for you girls with retrievals tomorrow. Keep us updated once you feel up to it.
Erin- sounds like you have a great plan and I agree if you know they are normal and you mc then you know the problem is else where.

Moni- so happy you were able to share with everyone via fb! Enjoy everyday of you pregnancy!
Jen- I so hope the puking passes for you!! Kinda great your where you started weight wise tho!

Leens- Welcome! I agree with everyone else, take it a day at a time! And the stimming isn't too bad, for me it was more stressful from an emotional standpoint.

Oh I forgot- even though in NC you can't gender select, my nurse told me I had 4 boys and 4girls and 1 unknown! And my hubby is really wanting to put 2 in! Which I would too normally but since I have had trouble carrying just 1 I am saying no. But glad he's open to having 3

So awesome!! Congrats on so many great embies!!! I keep thinking of how many to transfer and SET is becoming more common. I don't want to risk a complicated pregnancy with multiples but Dr said to do 2 good ones on day 3 or if we get th day 5 and we have a great blastocyst to do 1....he basically said if we want to focus on getting prego to do more than 1 but if we really don't want twins to do just 1. I'm torn. How will we know if they will go to day 5, do we risk losing them all?

 

[LadySosa]

knitgirl - thank you so much! That helps a lot. That's kind of what I was thinking, even if any approval comes in late we could submit the claim for reimbursement. I just found out that its a $20k lifetime max, so enough for a little more than 1 cycle. Not bad!

kfs1 - Ugh! Not the response you were probably hoping for from your MIL! I think you're right, I've noticed when I tell people, I don't feel uncomfortable, but I think it makes them uncomfortable, and they don't really know what to say. I also have gotten that response where people say "Oh I had the opposite problem, my husband looked at me funny and I'd get pregnant!" It's like, is that supposed to make me feel better?? But, I think it goes into the same camp of, 'I don't know what to say,' so they blurt something out like that. Probably later they regret saying it.
My boss was like, "your coworker, Jane, was having similar infertility issues and she was never able to get pregnant. So please be sensitive when discussing around her." I was like....umm...Ok...

On a side note, have you guys seen "What to Expect When You're Expecting"? I saw the movie a few years back but I think now I will appreciate it more! I remember it being really funny. Didn't get very good reviews, but I enjoyed it!

Good luck today brighteyez and knitgirl!

Moni - how exciting to make the big announcement! It's always a little more real once its "FB official!" Congrats!

 

[terripeachy]

booger-I hope this appointment is a breeze. In years past, my doctor was always like 'can you relax?' hee hee. Now i'll be ready to jump on the table and get it overwith. I think the people that were confused reading Gone Girl don't read very much. There have been a lot of books lately with various perspectives, so they are just clueless. It's a super easy read. enjoy!

babyw-Your doctors will know what's best. Just let them do their job.

LadySosa-No, I never saw that movie, and that's funny what your boss said. People have no idea how all this stuff works. We are in a secret society. hee hee. Sucks about your coworker. Did she adopt or did she remain childless?

hello Leens-welcome!

brighteyez/knitgirl-OK..you girls should be about to ride home now..check in soon! We're eager to hear the reports.

 

[ERosePW]

brighteyes and knitgirl.... GL today! Can't wait to hear your reports. Just post whenever you're feeling up to it... rest up first if you need to!

jkb, that is seriously AMAZING! I think that's the 1st time I've heard of 100% embies being chromosomally normal! Congrats on that, because that is REALLY amazing news! And now that you've gotten the results, your RE knows that your past m/c's may have been from something else, and she can determine other testing...has she mentioned what she might want to check? I had my RE test me for that blood clotting issue and whatever that other test is where our immune system rejects the embies...? Can't remember what it was called. Both tests came back normal, but it gave me some peace of mind to rule it out.

LadySosa, that $20k max will probably go further than you think. All insurance works different, but if I had to guess, as long as you're using an in-network RE, your insurance should have negotiated rates w/ them, so the money stretches further than you'd imagine. I think I've given an example before, but basically, if I do a $10k procedure (just using round numbers), my insurance co's negotiated rate might be around $6500. So IF yours is similar, rather than having $10,000 left, you'd still have $13,500 left. Not sure if yours will work the same, but I'd think they'd have negotiated rates. My lifetime max is a little less than yours, and so far it has paid for one full IVF cycle (fresh transfer), my FET (FET is significantly cheaper also), and will pay for my next FET as well! So a lot more than I expected. Now, I do have a separate lifetime max for injectables though, and that is a huge portion of the cost, so I'm sure that has helped. But just thought I'd give you an example.

BabyW, remind me.... are you planning on doing PGS? Seems like that's when SET is the most common. If someone prefers not to have twins and they've done PGS to assure they are transferring a viable embie, then SET is a great option. But even if you aren't doing PGS, if you really do worry a lot about twins, SET is still a good option. Heck, Moni only transferred one without PGS, and she's prego as ever, hehe!
For me, even though I've decided to do PGS on my last 4 embies, I'll still transfer 2, as long as we have 2 good ones. Mostly because PGS still isn't a 100% guarantee that they'd stick, so I still want to have 2 in there, just in case. And also DH and I don't mind twins since I'm getting older and we have no children. So while it would be tough, we'd be ok with it.

kfs, My mom was kinda like your mom... not much of a reaction. But mostly because I think she feels bad for me. She loves me and it breaks her heart to see me struggling, and none of my siblings, cousins, etc. have had any fertility issues. I'm literally the only one in my very, very large family (at least, that i know of). But after a few weeks of knowing, she started acting excited about it. If it wasn't gonna happen the natural way for me, then the thought of IVF working (eventually) did make her very happy for me. Sorry about your MIL's reaction... I know you said she's a great person, so obviously she didnt mean anything by it. But what a thing to say.... "For me it was the total opposite problem." I'm sure you are right... she just didnt know what else to say. She probably hasn't known anyone else to go through IVF and was clueless how to respond. But sometimes stuff like that just kinda stings because you want people to understand so badly.

Hi to everyone else! Terri, you asked if I'd read Gone Girl yet too, and I forgot to respond! No, I haven't read it just yet... I still need to buy it and get started, but I'm trying to finish up another book first. I wish I'd already read it so that we could chat about it, hehe! Hope everyone is having a great day. I probably missed a few people that I meant to respond to, but I have a con call in ten minutes, so I need to focus on work, ha! But I did read EVERYONE's updates!

 

[Babywhisperer]

brighteyez/knit - Todddddday's the day. Good luck ladies.

Erin - I think PGS is the perfect choice for you. Like you said, if it happens that the FT is unsuccessful, at least you can rule one thing out. Yay! I can't wait for your next transfer.

Terri - I think the time change messed with me, too! So annoying, right? Any word from the nurse?!?!?!?!? Come on already!

Booger - I bet you anything they know each other! My husband lived in an apartment off-campus that was attached to a post office with 3 other people. I know they used to have a lot of parties back in the day. Ask your husband if that rings any bells.

JCM - Wow. I'm sorry that you've been so sick. I'm sure you've tried all of the common remedies already, right? Anyway, hope you start to feel somewhat normal again soon. Are the counseling sessions helping at all?

LadySosa - At my company, we have a 15K max for fertility coverage. That includes any fertility-related surgeries, tests, IUIs, IVFs, etc. My husband's insurance is different. There is no $ amount max but they cover up to a certain # of IUIs and up to 3 IVFs in a row (but will cover further IVFs if one is successful, like for example, if you're trying to have a second child.) So, basically, every plan is different. Like knit said, try to get as much information up front and try to get your REs office involved so they can get everything in place on time. Yay! Good news either way.

Moni - Yay for the FB announcement. I bet everyone's so excited for you!!

JKB - Congrats on your results.

Amy - That would be awesome if we're on the same day.

Leens - Totally agree. No matter how supportive our friends & family are, they can really just never understand what we're all going through. Also, sometimes I just don't want to flood people with details but I know I can dump everything on the ladies here.

Working from home this morning and then headed back in for yet another ultrasound at 9:30. So, I told my mom over the weekend. She was fine. No real reaction, other than being worried about the surgery aspect of it. And I told my MIL as well. For whatever reason, I thought it would be good to share with her since we haven't really shared much with my DHs family. I can't really explain it but I feel like she was almost "embarrassed" for me or something. Like, she said, "Oh, I wouldn't tell anyone else about that." or something like that. And then she preceded to talk about how she had the OPPOSITE problem when she was younger. It was just TOO easy for her so she had to be really careful. Needless to say, I immediately regretted telling her and will not be telling anyone else for sure. That said, I'm putting it out of my head because in all honestly, I feel like she really just didn't know what to say and she's such a great person so I know she wasn't intentionally trying to hurt my feelings or anything. People will never understand this process unless they're going through it. Of course this isn't our ideal method for having a baby but we're strong women and we're doing what we have to do!

OK sorry - rant over.

I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE!!! I regret telling my Mom stuff as soon as I'm done saying it. Instead of being supportive and positive it is criticism or judgement. I wish that would change. What she thinks doesn't matter and neither does what anyone else has to say or think. This is so common that there is standing room only at my Dr every morning. Whatever stigma is left will be gone the more people realize that if companies like FB and Google are paying for their employees to freeze their eggs this is not a rare problem. I made the mistake of telling a friend what I am doing and she got prego for #1 the first time trying and is prego with #2 after trying twice, the 1st mo she had a cp. She said she could never do what I'm doing. I said this, you don't know what you would do or how strong you are until you have no other option. This will make us stronger and more appreciative.

 

[Babywhisperer]

brighteyes and knitgirl.... GL today! Can't wait to hear your reports. Just post whenever you're feeling up to it... rest up first if you need to!

jkb, that is seriously AMAZING! I think that's the 1st time I've heard of 100% embies being chromosomally normal! Congrats on that, because that is REALLY amazing news! And now that you've gotten the results, your RE knows that your past m/c's may have been from something else, and she can determine other testing...has she mentioned what she might want to check? I had my RE test me for that blood clotting issue and whatever that other test is where our immune system rejects the embies...? Can't remember what it was called. Both tests came back normal, but it gave me some peace of mind to rule it out.

LadySosa, that $20k max will probably go further than you think. All insurance works different, but if I had to guess, as long as you're using an in-network RE, your insurance should have negotiated rates w/ them, so the money stretches further than you'd imagine. I think I've given an example before, but basically, if I do a $10k procedure (just using round numbers), my insurance co's negotiated rate might be around $6500. So IF yours is similar, rather than having $10,000 left, you'd still have $13,500 left. Not sure if yours will work the same, but I'd think they'd have negotiated rates. My lifetime max is a little less than yours, and so far it has paid for one full IVF cycle (fresh transfer), my FET (FET is significantly cheaper also), and will pay for my next FET as well! So a lot more than I expected. Now, I do have a separate lifetime max for injectables though, and that is a huge portion of the cost, so I'm sure that has helped. But just thought I'd give you an example.

BabyW, remind me.... are you planning on doing PGS? Seems like that's when SET is the most common. If someone prefers not to have twins and they've done PGS to assure they are transferring a viable embie, then SET is a great option. But even if you aren't doing PGS, if you really do worry a lot about twins, SET is still a good option. Heck, Moni only transferred one without PGS, and she's prego as ever, hehe!
For me, even though I've decided to do PGS on my last 4 embies, I'll still transfer 2, as long as we have 2 good ones. Mostly because PGS still isn't a 100% guarantee that they'd stick, so I still want to have 2 in there, just in case. And also DH and I don't mind twins since I'm getting older and we have no children. So while it would be tough, we'd be ok with it.

kfs, My mom was kinda like your mom... not much of a reaction. But mostly because I think she feels bad for me. She loves me and it breaks her heart to see me struggling, and none of my siblings, cousins, etc. have had any fertility issues. I'm literally the only one in my very, very large family (at least, that i know of). But after a few weeks of knowing, she started acting excited about it. If it wasn't gonna happen the natural way for me, then the thought of IVF working (eventually) did make her very happy for me. Sorry about your MIL's reaction... I know you said she's a great person, so obviously she didnt mean anything by it. But what a thing to say.... "For me it was the total opposite problem." I'm sure you are right... she just didnt know what else to say. She probably hasn't known anyone else to go through IVF and was clueless how to respond. But sometimes stuff like that just kinda stings because you want people to understand so badly.

Hi to everyone else! Terri, you asked if I'd read Gone Girl yet too, and I forgot to respond! No, I haven't read it just yet... I still need to buy it and get started, but I'm trying to finish up another book first. I wish I'd already read it so that we could chat about it, hehe! Hope everyone is having a great day. I probably missed a few people that I meant to respond to, but I have a con call in ten minutes, so I need to focus on work, ha! But I did read EVERYONE's updates!

Not doing PGS. My Dr said they only encourage it after multiple losses and since I had a healthy baby less than a yr ago he felt I should skip it. I hope I don't regret that. Dh also wasn't a fan of doing it either. I was out voted.

If I didn't have a 10.5mo old I'd be fine with twins, but 3 under 2 would be a challenge and I don't know how we could manage with daycare. I have no choice but to work and I can't imagine how 1 person could handle a toddler and twin newborns. It would take a village. If I didn't have to work I would be fine with twins. Then again, twins is better than the other option.

Beagle I love your positive mindset. It's like you are willing it to happen. I believe that positive visualization works.

Thinking of you Knit & Brighteyez!!! Let us know the awesome results when you can.

Terri, I hope the appt is a breeze too. I hate going to the obgyn, but after all of the appts and procedures I could probably sleep thru a pap. But it's still unpleasant.

Moni, it's a wonderful time, embrace it. My parents friends were so happy for me but more happy for my Mom who was dying to be a Grandma. She's the last of her friends to experience it. Get ready for TONS of attention!

Afm, had another appt this morning and this Dr sees 4 good follies on the right and left, but said I might trigger tonight but definitely no later than tomorrow. Acupuncture last night was great. She hooks me up to mini jumper cables to get a deeper treatment, even with the little pulses I get super relaxed. But my abdomen looks like a dart board.

I think I need to buy Gone Girl now and read it. My nanny loved it and she is trying to get me to read Outlander series. I watched the show this season and all I can say is, I love Jamie. I will watch ever season just for him. Yum.

 

[kfs1]

Trigger tonight ladies. Ahhhhhhhhh.

 

[jkb11]

Thanks ladies!! I'm still excited ��

Babywisperer- I had the same concern. In my situation the embryologist called and updated me on day 3/5/6. They based their next step on how the embies were doing. On day 3 all 21 were still going strong so they didn't interupt them on day 4, they checked on day 5 and still had like 10 mAking it but a few were slowing so they did my Pgs biopsy on 7 and immediately froze them but let the other 3 go one more night and I ended up with 2 more to biopsy and freeze. From what I have read and experienced they proceed based on the quality of the embryos when they check them.
Crazy questions , what is SET?

Erin-it honestly makes me really nervous not knowing the cause. I keep reminding myself that sometimes no news is good news. My dr mentioned that it could be my body rejecting the fetus as in an immune response. If I remember right there wasn't a certain test to be able to test for that. Do you know of one??? My dr. Said it can develop over time as well. Is there a treatment for that??

 

[jkb11]

Kfs-!!!!! Yay!!!! We must have been posting at same time. Enjoy not stimming tomorrow!!! Goodluck��

 

[Leens08]

Beaglemom Thanks for the advise on the massage, I will ask my RE when I see him, never thought it may be a problem, I am thinking of reflexology as an alternative

Thanks for all the welcoming girls, you all rock!

I've been reading posts on insurance, wow you guys are lucky! I'm from Cape Town, SA, there aren't many IVF boards in SA that's why I've joined this one because IVF is too expensive, we don't have insurance, we have medical aid which is 100% private unless you work for the government, also unless you have the executive option, they don't cover fertility treatment. Which means I pay for my meds, my IVF, RE fees, everything 100% out of my pocket, which is about R30 000 in SA for one fresh egg transfer cycle, R30 000 is a lot of money so most people opt not to go the IVF route. Said that, we do have some excellent fertility clinics, one 10 mins drive from my house. If this IVF cycle does not work, I'm going to them for my next cycle, currently I am seeing a Nigerian (thought that may interest you) RE at the University of Cape Town private academic hospital (awesome doctor). I decided to share my story so you may feel more positive about your financial options, sometimes things may look bleak but they can always be bleaker

I have a scan scheduled on Saturday morning, my RE will then let us know when the egg transfer will be done, next week sometime, so nervous!

 

[Leens08]

Trigger tonight ladies. Ahhhhhhhhh.

Good luck

 

[beaglemom]

Glitch in the plan ladies...my prescription coverage has run out! But Freedom Fertility gave me what their best prices were. The follistim is killing me. So I am going to look in to the site Jen used & another site I heard of to see if I can get it cheaper. I feel like my coverage may have been lifetime, but not sure. Either way, I am not waiting until January. So I guess that is the downside to doing the medicated IUIs...run out of coverage. But I have some time, so I will be researching tonight.

 

[kfs1]

Girls - I have syringes with needles all the same size. Am I supposed to have a larger needle for reconstitution or does it not matter? I had q-caps for my other meds.

Edit: never mind. All is good. Talked to my doc.

 

[Amy1976]

beaglemom - I am 100% with you on a positive attitude! Because I am for sure getting pregnant next week! Also, check to see if you can switch back to Bravelle. The manufacturer of Bravelle and Menopur is having a rebate right now. 50% back on the Bravelle and 15% on the Menopur. So after the rebate your prices are pretty close to the ones on the out of country websites. It saved me a lot of money (or it will when I get the rebate check back lol).

booger76 - You are so right, I used to dread the annual exam. Now it seems like a piece of cake compared to everything we've been through.

Babywhisperer - You have to read Outlander. It was such a great series. I love historical fiction. If you love Jamie in the show, you'll LOVE him in the book.

kfs1 - Whoo hoo for triggering tonight!!

 

[moni77]

yay for triggering kfs!!

beagle - Im sure the med situation will work itself out. Glad you found out now with time to work with them...

This is not my mom's first grandchild - one of my sisters and my brother both have 2 - the youngest is 9 though...so its been awhile. She just loves babies and throwing baby showers. I already told her I will fly out to Cali Presidents weekend in Feb so she can throw a shower for me. I specifically said NO to bridal showers - but bring on the baby showers!!