IVF 2020 Chatter

[LadyVictoria]

Hi everyone! I figured it was time to start a 2020 thread as 2019 comes to a close. I am excited to start birth control this month in anticipating of my first IVF cycle in January. There's a lot of hurry up and wait with infertility, from booking that initial consultation (sometimes months out!) to waiting for your period and all of the things in between the start of your treatment until you can finally test to see if it worked! Feel free to role call or just chit chat - I think it helps to be in good company!

Your age/partner’s age:

Baby #:

Cycles TTC:

Current CD/DPO:

Usual cycle length:

Ovulation date or procedure (and what kind):

POAS/Beta day:

Known fertility issues:

Trying anything new this month?:

 

[LadyVictoria]

I'll start:
Your age/partner’s age: 28/48

Baby #: 1

Cycles TTC: It was 5 when I knew something was wrong. We got my husband's diagnosis in the 6th cycle, so trying went out the window once we learned there was no sperm.

Current CD/DPO: CD2

Usual cycle length: 28 days

IVF Timeline/Protocol: I start birth control this Saturday! I remember going off of it a month before we started trying. Who would have thought I'd use it again to actually help us conceive? Anyways, I'll be on the pill for 4 weeks. My saline sonogram, mock transfer, and teaching appointment are on 12/18. I will start stims 1/10 and our retrieval is tentatively scheduled for 1/20. We will hopefully do a 5 day fresh transfer.

POAS/Beta day: TBD

Known fertility issues: Male factor - we are using donor sperm.

Trying anything new this month?: Our RE suggested adding 600mg of CoQ10 so I added that to my vitamin cocktail of prenatals and D3. I'm also really focusing on eating more leafy greens, fruits, and lean proteins. Always working on eating less sweets, but it's that much harder with the holidays here.

 

[Fern81]

Hi Lady

It's exciting isn't it? And (at least for me) terrifying at the same time!
I have an ivf baby; he was born in Jan 2017 when I was 35. I've never been able to conceive on my own except for the odd possible cp now and then.
We're going to see a doctor at a different clinic on 8 Jan 2020 to discuss possible ivf for baby #2. Going to a new clinic because at the previous clinic I had a horrible experience in losing my only frozen embryo.
Anyway, my AMH, FSH and LH have all been tested but I'll only get the results at my appointment so I have no idea what to expect.
I'm quite nervous as I'm 38 so everything is higher risk. And I don't want to risk my health at the expense of my (almost) 3yr old ds; I'm already overthinking everything! Good luck with your journey, I will post my stats when I know more.
Would be nice to have some other 2020 ivf ladies to chat to, it's not an easy journey xx

 

[LadyVictoria]

Hi Lady

It's exciting isn't it? And (at least for me) terrifying at the same time!
I have an ivf baby; he was born in Jan 2017 when I was 35. I've never been able to conceive on my own except for the odd possible cp now and then.
We're going to see a doctor at a different clinic on 8 Jan 2020 to discuss possible ivf for baby #2. Going to a new clinic because at the previous clinic I had a horrible experience in losing my only frozen embryo.
Anyway, my AMH, FSH and LH have all been tested but I'll only get the results at my appointment so I have no idea what to expect.
I'm quite nervous as I'm 38 so everything is higher risk. And I don't want to risk my health at the expense of my (almost) 3yr old ds; I'm already overthinking everything! Good luck with your journey, I will post my stats when I know more.
Would be nice to have some other 2020 ivf ladies to chat to, it's not an easy journey xx

Thanks so much for stopping in and sharing your story! I'm glad to hear that you had success in the past, despite that awful mishap at your first clinic. Wishing you the best at your consultation!

And yes, I'm a ball of mixed emotions these days, but I think my excitement far outweighs the nerves and fears. We're doing a long agonist protocol so I'm in my final week of birth control and started lupron injections last night.

 

[Fern81]

Ooohhh how are you finding the injections? That’s so exciting that you’ve officially started the agonists!
Today in a week I will see the new dr for the first time, have an ultrasound and find out the results of my bloodwork. In other words find out if ivf will be worth a try and also what the protocol will be. I’m getting a bit stressed already

 

[LadyVictoria]

Ooohhh how are you finding the injections? That’s so exciting that you’ve officially started the agonists!
Today in a week I will see the new dr for the first time, have an ultrasound and find out the results of my bloodwork. In other words find out if ivf will be worth a try and also what the protocol will be. I’m getting a bit stressed already

Yes, it's all feeling very real now. The lupron injection isn't bad at all. The needle is so small. I've always been a big baby when it comes to injections so I get nervous leading up to it, but my husband has been doing a great job with administering them.

I hope that your appointment goes well! It'll be excited to really get the ball rolling. Try not to stress, it'll be okay!

 

[Bevziibubble]

Wishing you lots of luck!

 

[LadyVictoria]

Wishing you lots of luck!

Thank you so much

 

[Fern81]

So my appointment is in 24 hours and I’m out of my mind with anxiety. A part of me wishes that the dr will say I can’t have ivf (for whatever reason) and then all the stress will be over and I’ll have closure.
Reading that makes me sound like a terrible person but these forums are the one place I can truly say what I need to get off my chest.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Good luck for your appointment

 

[LadyVictoria]

So my appointment is in 24 hours and I’m out of my mind with anxiety. A part of me wishes that the dr will say I can’t have ivf (for whatever reason) and then all the stress will be over and I’ll have closure.
Reading that makes me sound like a terrible person but these forums are the one place I can truly say what I need to get off my chest.

I'm so sorry you feel that way I think it's okay to not want to do it again, but is this something that you feel comfortable saying to your partner (assuming there is one)?. Would you be content with keeping your family as it is? I hope that you will find peace about the situation and the best way forward!

 

[LadyVictoria]

As for me, I had my baseline ultrasound with my RE and blood work yesterday, and everything looked great! I have 18 antral follicles and we got the green light to start stims on Friday. I am nervous about tripling the number of shots but I've shockingly gotten used to the lupron injections so I'm sure it won't be too bad. In fact, getting my blood drawn yesterday hurt more than my lupron injection! I don't know what she did but there was quite a bit of blood and it was sore all day. I hope she's not there next Monday! lol

 

[Fern81]

Hi thanks for the kindness.
No I want to do it, I’m just so anxious about it that in moments of cowardice I wish I could avoid the whole process! I’m anxious about my health and age-related matters, my DS and how he will handle things, and of course the ivf process. And I suffer from depression & anxiety so these huge life-changing events & decisions are especially hard for me. Soooo being as things are so tough for me, I definitely wouldn’t even have CONSIDERED it if I didn’t want to at least try for another baby hope all that rambling makes sense.

In the meantime Lady I get to live vicariously through you! What a nice antral follie count! Before you know it, it will be on to egg retrieval. Have you guys thought about whether to place one or multiple embryos when the time comes?

 

[Fern81]

So I’m back from the doctor, all bloodwork is fine, antral follie count is good, so I’m starting stims on day 1 of my next cycle which should be 27 January.
Now that a lot of the unknowns have been answered and we are on the next step,I’m less anxious. At least for now...!

 

[LadyVictoria]

Hi thanks for the kindness.
No I want to do it, I’m just so anxious about it that in moments of cowardice I wish I could avoid the whole process! I’m anxious about my health and age-related matters, my DS and how he will handle things, and of course the ivf process. And I suffer from depression & anxiety so these huge life-changing events & decisions are especially hard for me. Soooo being as things are so tough for me, I definitely wouldn’t even have CONSIDERED it if I didn’t want to at least try for another baby hope all that rambling makes sense.

In the meantime Lady I get to live vicariously through you! What a nice antral follie count! Before you know it, it will be on to egg retrieval. Have you guys thought about whether to place one or multiple embryos when the time comes?

I understand having mixed feelings about such a big decision. Have you tried counseling? It really helped me when my husband and I were struggling to agree on how to move forward after his diagnosis. I struggled with depression and I'm still working on my anxiety, which I've always had, I just never knew that excessive worrying wasn't normal until our journey got difficult. So you're not alone at all. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can't pour from an empty cup," so be sure to take care of yourself so that you can be a good mom to your DS and future baby. I'm so glad to hear that your appointment went well!

And yes, the time is really moving now. I knew this week would fly by since I'm nervous about tripling the number of daily injections we're doing lol As for embryos, we plan to put back one. Our RE highly encouraged it as he feels we have high chances of a successful transfer. I know we can afford one baby, but two would be pushing it! LOL

 

[Fern81]

Hi Lady any updates? How are you feeling?

 

[LadyVictoria]

Hi Lady any updates? How are you feeling?

Hi! None other than I start stims tonight. Feels like a big step now that we're moving on to the egg plumping stage! I'm feeling less nervous about going from 1 to 3 injections, thankfully. I know I have monitoring blood work next Monday and then I'll have more blood work and a scan later in the week. I'll keep you updated!

 

[Fern81]

Ooooh yes what a big step! And it’s a short stage! Well after your great antral follie count I think you will have a good number of mature follies very soon.

To answer your earlier question- yes I’ve been for counseling for anxiety and am definitely considering it for ivf, pregnancy and after baby’s birth OR if ivf failure. My medical aid plan in fact includes a psychologist/counselor visit during or after pregnancy. Now that we’ve made the decision to definitely go ahead with it, and I have a timeline, I’m feeling calmer and more excited than nervous. We’ve also put some plans into place regarding our work situation and what I will do IF I indeed have a baby in the next 9 months or so. I’ve been anxious about the financial and my job implications as well so to have better plans in place for the eventually of a baby AND plans for if there is no new baby, makes me feel like I have a little more control & helps lessen the anxiety.

Phew what a novel!

 

[LadyVictoria]

Ooooh yes what a big step! And it’s a short stage! Well after your great antral follie count I think you will have a good number of mature follies very soon.

To answer your earlier question- yes I’ve been for counseling for anxiety and am definitely considering it for ivf, pregnancy and after baby’s birth OR if ivf failure. My medical aid plan in fact includes a psychologist/counselor visit during or after pregnancy. Now that we’ve made the decision to definitely go ahead with it, and I have a timeline, I’m feeling calmer and more excited than nervous. We’ve also put some plans into place regarding our work situation and what I will do IF I indeed have a baby in the next 9 months or so. I’ve been anxious about the financial and my job implications as well so to have better plans in place for the eventually of a baby AND plans for if there is no new baby, makes me feel like I have a little more control & helps lessen the anxiety.

Phew what a novel!

Thank you, I certainly hope that I will. Night 2 of stims went smoothly despite being on my "bad side" lol

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better about things. Having a good plan really does help with anxiety. Best of luck to you!

 

[Fern81]

Glad to hear your plans are coming along!
Ivf is most probably off for me due to my husband withdrawing all support.