IVF Cycle #1 - Anyone else?

[Mrs B.]

Got all my drugs through today... ack needles!!!! Got to go for training tomorrow on how to inject myself

How's everyone doing?

 

[pbl_ge]

My meds just came, too. Pretty amazing, right? FWIW, my OH injects me. It helps for him to be "involved."

 

[pbl_ge]

Buny, any news for you?

 

[Mrs B.]

Ha! Not sure I'd trust my OH to inject me. He'd get cold feet and worry about hurting me There's a scary amount of different drugs though :0

Buny, I hope you got good news this week

 

[bunyhuny]

Hey ladies. Sorry for not checking in. I've just been so, so tired. I will try to catch up with everyone tomorrow. I am still having spotting and cramping. it went away for a couple days and then came back heavier. No idea why. Good news though- on Monday we had an u/s and saw the heartbeat. That was amazing and I totally had no belief that it would happen- then it did. I am still trying to process it and just hoping baby decided to stay put. DH and I are in the process of heading home. Flew to the UK a couple days ago, flying to Copenhagen on Monday, and then getting on a boat Sunday. I'm not comfortable with doing much flying this early so we are trying to space things out and take it slow- especially now that the spotting is back and heavier.

 

[pbl_ge]

Hey ladies. Sorry for not checking in. I've just been so, so tired. I will try to catch up with everyone tomorrow. I am still having spotting and cramping. it went away for a couple days and then came back heavier. No idea why. Good news though- on Monday we had an u/s and saw the heartbeat. That was amazing and I totally had no belief that it would happen- then it did. I am still trying to process it and just hoping baby decided to stay put. DH and I are in the process of heading home. Flew to the UK a couple days ago, flying to Copenhagen on Monday, and then getting on a boat Sunday. I'm not comfortable with doing much flying this early so we are trying to space things out and take it slow- especially now that the spotting is back and heavier.

Hang in there! Lots of women bleed for some or all of the first trimester, but it still works out okay. Will be sending your little bean lots of sticky thoughts!

 

[Mrs B.]

Hi Buny, that's wonderful news that you saw the heartbeat! Looks like you've got a little fighter in there Keep resting as much as you can, and as pbl says, try not to worry, lots of women bleed and it does work out ok. Good idea to take things slow with the travelling too. Sending sticky thoughts to little bean!

 

[pbl_ge]

Hey Ladies!

A woman on another thread was asking about stress management during IVF. I was wondering if we could share a list of ideas? Here's what I came up with:

-Stay somewhat busy, so I've got other things to think about.
-Make special efforts with my marriage, so that the stress doesn't have negative effects.
-Utilize all my best self care: eating well, getting good low-key exercise, indulging in hot baths and high quality products, etc.
-Therapeutic application of Netflix.
-Acupuncture
-Breathing. (There are actually studies about the importance of breathing deeply during stress. Some theories suggest that shallow breathing during stressful times may be one of the most important mechanisms of physiological stress damage.)
-Hanging out with the dog a lot.

Anyone else have good ideas?

Hope you're doing okay, Buny.

 

[bunyhuny]

pbl_ge- I guess my biggest stress relievers during IVF were having little projects to work on and books to read. (And of course, Netflix.) I worked on a cross stitch during my meds and tww and reread a few of my favorite novels on my kindle.

*Update*

Doing better here. Had a trip to the ER in Cardiff the other day with lots of heavy spotting and clots. Doctor did a full exam and determined that my progesterone dose is unnecessary and severely irritating my cervix. So yesterday I started weaning off. I'm doing 3 tabs a day now instead of 6, then going down to 1 a day when I hit 9 weeks. Estrogen is down to 2 a day, and then 1 a day at 9 weeks. In her opinion I should have only been on 400mg a day max and then only needed a week of weaning off once they saw a heartbeat. I totally agree and wish my doctors in Prague had decided to do some progesterone testing. Now that I'm down to 3 a day, the spotting has gone from red/pink to brown, no more clots, and very light. I'm so glad I talked to that doctor. Can't wait until I'm off these meds all the way!

 

[Mrs B.]

That's the first injection over and done with. Feeling a bit strange but think that's all in my head. Looking forward to getting this all over and done with. How are you all?

Edit: Oh no, I'm so so so sorry buny. I've just seen your signature. :'( That's a beautiful poem dedicated to your little angel. I hope you're doing as ok as you can be

 

[pbl_ge]

MrsB, yay for starting! This is stims, right? Will be joining you on Friday.

Buny, I'm so very sorry. You must be devastated. Hope you're taking very good care of yourself.

 

[Mrs B.]

Hi pbl, yes I think so - Menopur is what I am on. Then on Sat I start Cetrotide too. I'm getting headaches that could just be because I'm tired, but I have a horrible feeling they might be because of the drugs :/ Woohoo, not long till you start too! I've got my first ultrasound on Monday, and I guess I'll probably be going in Wed and Fri for u/s too.

 

[pbl_ge]

Ugh, hope the headaches go away. I'm not having side effects from the Lupron, and I didn't have any from the Gonal-F last month. The full combo, though... it's a lot of chemicals!!

I don't have an u/s scheduled yet--jealous! Bloodwork only on Sunday.

Excited to go through this with an old religion-free buddy.

 

[Mrs B.]

Me too... they've settled down today but I'm dreading this evening. At least I take them in the evening so I can sleep most of it off. Good to hear you're not having any side effects yet. FX it stays that way!!

I think I got an u/s scheduled already because I'm on the short protocol? I don't really understand the difference (except I assume one is short and one is long!!), but most people seem to do the long protocol I think. I'm ok with not knowing too much - I'd freak out if I did, so I'm just doing what I'm told and when I'm told to do it!!

Me too I'm sad that we've had to get to the point of ivf, but it is nice to be starting at the same time!

 

[pbl_ge]

Started stims last night! I woke up feeling like I'd been out partying all night, but I'm not sure what that's about. I have a lot of housekeeping/life maintenance tasks on my to-do list this weekend, so I don't want to be too dragged down.

Three shots right in a row feels like a lot of jabs. I also have some leftover, smaller Gonal-F pens that I'd like to use up, but it would mean four shots some evenings. Not sure I can handle that! Well, I guess I could, but I really don't want to.

How are you doing? Symptoms better?

 

[Mrs B.]

Woohoo! Oh wow... one jab feels enough for me!! I've got to start my second one today, so it's 2 jabs a day until the final day.

Same here... housekeeping jobs this weekend I think my body is getting used to the jabs though, because the headaches seem to have mostly gone. I feel pretty rough after the jabs though, so I tend to just lie down on the sofa. Luckily I tend to feel better in the morning so at least I can enjoy the day! Time seems to be flying at the moment... and I'm looking forward to getting this all done so we can find out if it has worked!

 

[Mrs B.]

Okayyy, B&B is looking a little different today! It's very... white.

Anyway, how you all doing? I had my day 8 u/s today, back in on Wednesday for u/s and I'll probably be having EC Friday or Saturday. Eeek! How the injections going pbl?

 

[pbl_ge]

Yeah, the new look is freaking me out.

Also I think I'm on my way to a cancelled cycle. My E2 levels are now at 896 after three days of stims. Dose reduced to 75 units of Gonal-F, which is low even for non-IVF cycles. Hard to see how I make it to ER at the right time without getting OHSS or having an estradiol crash, which happened last month.

I'm doing three shots a day and two days of blood draws in a row. Tired of needles.

How did your u/s go?

 

[Mrs B.]

Oh no, I hope not pbl! To be honest those numbers mean nothing to me... what are E2 levels? I've not had any bloods taken - just u/s. FX things get better and you can finish the cycle ok. And FX you don't get OHSS!! That worries the hell outta me tbh.

Eugh, that is way too many needles. I'm already bruised all over my stomach... I really feel for you

u/s went ok thanks... 10 follicles that need to get a bit bigger, but my lining is the right thickness already. Going for another u/s tomorrow and they are expecting to do EC either Friday or Saturday depending on how tomorrow goes.

 

[pbl_ge]

How'd your u/s go today? Sorry for the bruising. I haven't had that, just lots of pin prick marks everywhere.

I had a scan today, and doc seemed confident all will be well. Just hoping that my estradiol levels behave themselves and don't crash like last time.