IVF/FET May and June

[star_e]

So our embryo slowed just like last time. It was only a 10 cell and we transferred it. So I am stunned and just going to wait for AF to come so we can just get this over with.

Hiker, i am really sorry the embryo slowed, but it is still possible that this bean will stick. i have everything crossed for you. sending you lots of warm wishes. how are you feeling today?

 

[star_e]

Star, that sounds just like my experience. It's really hard not to compare with people who are retrieving by now, but look how my slow growth has worked out.
These are my scan results:

Stim day 8 (alternating 75iu and 150iu gonal-f)
Lining: "perfect" (forgot to ask for numbers).
Left and right ovaries each have 3 measuring 8-9mm and another ten on each measuring around 6mm.
No dose increase.

Stim day 11
Lining: 8.4
Left ovary: 10, 10, 10, 9, 8x6mm
Right ovary: 10, 10, 9, 7, 15x6mm
Dose increased to 150iu daily.

Stim day 14 (150iu)
Lining: 11mm.
Follies - 1x15mm, 7ishx10-13mm and 20+ x6mm
Dose upped to 225iu and next scan on Sunday.

Stim day 17 (225iu)
Lining 13.3mm
Left ovary: 10.9, 11.2, 11.2, 15.2, 17.6.
Right ovary: 9.1, 11.2, 12.5, 13.1, 14.9, 17.7, 18.9.
Trigger tonight!

ellicaine thank you so much for sharing this. i'll prob be looking back at it in the coming days too when i start to get my numbers. from stim day 2-8 were you on the 75iu? also, when you triggered on day 17, did you go in the next day for the retrieval? how many eggs did you end up retrieving? all the ones that you had on stim day 17?

 

[star_e]

Hiker I'm sorry it slowed but I really hope it rallies inside you and you get a much deserved surprise bfp! Thinking of you.

Star I'm sure they will just adjust your dose and they will start growing - perhaps call them and explain your worry...

Thanks for the suggestion nimbec. I called them and they said that we should see some growth by tomorrow. here's to hoping that's true.

 

[star_e]

time to try - I can sympathize with the feelings you expressed. ttc is really emotionally and physically taxing. maybe when you speak with your doctor to discuss next steps the decision will become more clear in terms of whether or not to take time for yourself or get started at an earlier date. fx for you.

 

[elliecain]

ellicaine thank you so much for sharing this. i'll prob be looking back at it in the coming days too when i start to get my numbers. from stim day 2-8 were you on the 75iu? also, when you triggered on day 17, did you go in the next day for the retrieval? how many eggs did you end up retrieving? all the ones that you had on stim day 17?

~ Stim days 1-11 I was on alternating dose of 75iu one day and 150iu the next. This is because my AMH was 78.9 so they were terrified of overstimulating me. I know you started even lower, but your response was very similar to mine, so don't compare dose, your egg supply is likely even higher!

~ I triggered on the Sunday at 9.15pm and retrieval was on the Tuesday early morning (8am?).

~ They got 7 eggs but only 6 were suitable for ICSI (maybe one was immature) and 5 fertilised.

~ They rang me on the Thursday morning to say that only 3 had started dividing and one of those was too fragmented, meaning we had 2 B grade embies (one was 2 cells and one was 4 cells).

~ Since I was going to have 2 transferred, they decided to do it that day, on the Thursday afternoon. By then, the 2 cell had become 4 cells. Both went back in perfectly.
As you can see, one of those stuck!

Things I learnt from this:
* Slow follie growth is OK.
* Having only a few eggs/embies is OK.
* Don't assume you will get frosties. Focus on this attempt and plan siblings later!
* Just because they don't transfer morulas/blastocysts doesn't mean you won't conceive - embryos like being inside their mummy.

Extra things we did:
I did have assisted hatching because my embies' zona pellucida was thicker, due to my age. This is the outer edge of the embie and they may find it harder to hatch out independently without some help.

I also had embryo glue, which helps the embie implant. Might be worth asking if your clinic do it. Mine wasn't expensive and I'm glad I threw everything at this try!

Hope all that helps to reassure you.

Now drink some water, eat an avocado and smile!

 

[Mdc]

Hiker, I am so sorry the embie slowed, but there is still plenty of hope. The one that grew to a blast (a day late for me) is my pgs normal. Hang in there.

Estar, sorry about the slow stimming. I would say slow growth is so much better than too quick. I bet you are anxious to get the show on the road. 20 is an amazing number.

1more, congrats on being PUPO! I would totally do twins also

Time, sorry about the birth announcement those are rough. We went to my nieces 2nd bday party and it was babies everywhere. One couple got married and poof they are due in December. DH even turned to me and said 'see honey it is just that easy'. I am trying to be positive for people who are preggo but it can be hard. Except all the ladies here on bnb because I know their struggle and it is easy to be happy for them It is easy to get jaded and I have been there and done that. I have to work hard and trying to be positive.

My doc called and we are set for IVF this month! We are skipping the bcp and jumping right in to Gonal F/Menopur, Cetrotide, Lupron trigger, and adding hgh to boost quality. So excited we are not messing around with bcp (seriously that stuff is the ), but was not expecting it so soon. The goal is to harvest put back the frozen and test the rest. Really hoping this is it! Btw, the word harvest is so funny to me. My dad was a farmer and I just think of him cutting wheat.

 

[Rq120]

Oh MDC, best of luck!!

 

[BronteForever]

Mdc, I'm curious what your doctor said to you about doing HGH for quality. Were they concerned about doing it?

Good luck on this cycle. Hope it's the one!

 

[1morechance]

That's awesome mdc!! Good luck on this cycle. Fingers crossed that this is the one! Keep us posted.

 

[star_e]

i had my appointment today and i was a bit surprised with the news. i saw the nurse today b/c doc was not in the office. apparently still no significant growth. there was one at 12mm, but all the others were under 10. my estrogen level is crawling up. its at 81 now. so still very low. nurse said she only sees five that look like they might grow. she said all the others are too small. all of them are on the right ovary, nothing seems to be taking off on the left at all. so i went from one appointment thinking i had 20 (granted thats the total, they were very small at that time too) to thinking i have five. hopefully we get something this cycle. i hope i make it to transfer stage. i was also told that i have brittle pcos and that they did not want to give me a very high dose to start off with b/c they were afriad my estrogen level would get too high too quickly and that that would impact the quality of the eggs. nurse also said that if too many grow at once it does not give the other eggs the space to continue to grow and that impacts the cycle as well. i'm not sure what to think though. when we were trying for iui and they overstimmed me, i had like 20. then when they did long and slow for another iui, i had 1. so it seems like they know how to control it a bit more than they think. they upped my dose to 150 and my next appointment is friday.

elliecaine - the things you learned through your experience are very helpful to hear. thank you so much for sharing. i was very hopeful that we would get frosties this cycle but i now know, especially after my appointment today, that that might not be the case; its helpful to have perspective and to focus on the cycle at hand. so you transferred on day 2, correct? they had not reached blastocyst stage - does that mean that they reached that stage inside your body? i'm still learning about this process so im not really sure how that works. i see your little bean is the size of a blueberry. how cute!

mdc - i am def anxious to get things rolling. i am so hoping that by friday i have some news of growth to report. glad you get to start ivf soon! and that you don't have to take bcps. so you will harvest, get frosties and then send off any others for pgs testing? i've read a bit about that. the testing takes a few weeks, right? when you get the results, they will then do a frozen transfer?

 

[BronteForever]

For those of you that have been on supplements for egg quality, do you have any good brands to recommend?

Preferably that I can order from the U.S.!

 

[Hiker1]

This is my DHEA ( you want micronized) Pure Encapsulations - DHEA (Micronized) 25 mg. - Hypoallergenic Dehydroepiandrosterone Supplement - 180 Capsules https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016QTR10/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_FG2OxbGVCHBZH

This is my ubiquinol Jarrow Formulas QH-Absorb, High Absorption/Enhanced Stability, 200 mg, 60 Softgels https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VCOOWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OH2Oxb2F9QEJP (you want the Kanekaqh qh variety)

I also take Rainbow prenatal, Nature made calcium, Doctors best vitamin D, Nordic Naturals DHA, aND bayer baby aspirin.

 

[Timetotry]

Bronte- have you read It Starts with the egg? Great info about supplements for egg quality.
Sorry I don't recall, are you PCOS?

I take inositol, coq10+pqq, omega, melatonin (extended rrlease), metformin and prenatal. I might be adding in l-arginine at the suggestion of my naturopath, but I'm waffling about it and might skip it. I don't remember the brands off the top of my head, but my naturopath had said I could get any of them at any local health store

 

[star_e]

i'm thinking of trying acupuncture. it might not actually help me with this cycle, but i've always been curious about it b/c i've never tried it before. do you all get a specific type of acupuncture and what does it feel like afterwards? is it similar to feeling relieved of tension like after a massage?

 

[Timetotry]

I've done acupuncture multiple times.
My naturopath has done it, specifically for fertility, but I also go to a community clinic that does it in a group setting. It's also done by a naturopath and she focuses on fertility for me as well. They do different needles locations for different parts of the cycle.

I find it very calming. I sometimes don't love when they put the needles in, some spots I don't feel at all, others I might get a tingling sensation until they adjust the position.
My sessions are usually about 45 mins. It's kinda like a meditative calm during and when it's done.

 

[BronteForever]

Time - you and Hiker have both recommended that book I have it coming from my library. I'm trying to wait until I read it all.

I don't have PCOS and responded fairly well to my stims. I just had really poor quality eggs.

That's one of the reasons I probably should wait since some of the supplements seem to be geared for those with PCOS. I'm afraid to pay a bunch for supplements and make it worse. But at the same time I need to do something.

I'm starting acupuncture soon as well.

 

[star_e]

Thanks time for the feedback on acupuncture. I think I'll try it. A calming feeling sounds good.

 

[elliecain]

I did acupuncture and found it very relaxing but it's not for everyone so don't be disappointed if you don't like it. It's not too late for this cycle... During my IVF, the one I definitely wanted and did was between retrieval and transfer to prepare my womb for the embies. I did one towards the end of stims too, to help my follies grow.

 

[rebecca822]

I did Accupuncture 3 times during my FET cycle. Twice before the transfer and right after the transfer.
They say it increases blood flow to the uterus and all of that. I don't think it's what made the cycle successful but I think it didn't hurt so why the heck not

 

[Mdc]

Bronte those are all good supplements that were mentioned. I do also take l arginine 1000 twice daily but will likely stop with AF. Guess at high doses can be detrimental to egg quality during stimming. I am pretty sure I posted but during stims I am also doing hgh for a couple days (day6-ER).

Estar, I have been doing acu for a while and I love it. First session I was very antsy (I hate needles) and sitting there for 30 +min with them in me was a bit intense. My key is to breath out as they go in for sensitive spots...really does help.

How are the post transfer ladies doing?

I am hoping that AF stays away until Sunday bc I am out of town and need to do a baseline on cd2. Luckily I have progesterone to hopefully help and might up the dose if I see spotting. I know...bad patient.