IVF/FET May and June

[BronteForever]

Thanks so much for the help about supplements ladies. My doctor gave me a blanket list with hardly any info. I'm glad you mentioned what to stop taking during stims Mdc because that reminded me I need to figure all that out too.

I made my first acu appointment. She recommended 6 months minimum to improve egg quality (weekly appointments). Needles don't bother me usually. I am really curious how this will go though. It's not going to be cheap and there's no guarantees, but if it works then it's worth it. If it helps me relax more too, I think that will be a huge bonus.

 

[Fern81]

Bronte do you have a time in mind for your next ivf?

 

[BronteForever]

I'm trying to improve my egg quality, lose more weight, and I want to avoid the holiday times since this time my doctor was gone and being shuffled among other doctors was not helpful. So probably not until January.

 

[Hiker1]

Ive done acupuncture straight and very regularly since March. This last cycle I would have hoped to see some signs of improvement, but havent. I've decided I gave it a fair shot, but due to the cost, and obviously, lack of success, I'm going to stop. It was $70/visit and so I figure I've probably spent at least $1500 on it.

I'm hanging out until my beta on Wednesday, or otherwise just waiting for my period. I know this cycle didn't work and I find myself continually fretting over donor eggs and adoption. I know we still have options before then but I'm starting to let those thoughts happen just in case I am doomed.

 

[BronteForever]

Yeah. It's definetly not cheap, neither are all the supplements. Especially for something that has no scientifically proven record to help with egg quality. But I'm going to feel worse if I don't do anything. This stuff sucks.

Hiker - I'm still holding out hope for you. I'm sorry you are having to go through this.

 

[star_e]

ellie cain, rebecca882, mdc, thanks for sharing your thoughts about acupuncture.

i am def going to try it. if it is helpful in anyway, it will be worth it. hopefully i’ll find a place with after work hours. gonna see if my insurance helps with payment.

mdc - enjoy your time out of town and hope af stays away so you can do your scan on day2. good luck.

bronte - hope you enjoy the acu appointment.
hiker - my fx.

afm - i had an appointment friday, still no growth. but my e2 level did go up from 81 to 200 and my lining got thicker - its now at 10. so it looks like we should see some growth soon. i’m no longer focusing on the number of follies i have b/c every time i go in they tell me a different number depending on who i see. they kept me on the same dose. I’m doing 150iu gonal-f. I started to feel cramps today. almost like AF cramps and some lower back pain.

 

[elliecain]

To all of you considering acupuncture... The one or two you can do around retrieval and transfer would be the most beneficial, as they have been shown to improve blood flow to the uterus. My clinic even encouraged me with those (I did it somewhere else, not with them, but they do have their own acupuncturist too). It is also time to relax and feel like you have some control over the process. I was awfully bloated by the end of stims and I found the acupuncture helped with that too. Good luck!

 

[BronteForever]

To all of you considering acupuncture... The one or two you can do around retrieval and transfer would be the most beneficial, as they have been shown to improve blood flow to the uterus. My clinic even encouraged me with those (I did it somewhere else, not with them, but they do have their own acupuncturist too). It is also time to relax and feel like you have some control over the process. I was awfully bloated by the end of stims and I found the acupuncture helped with that too. Good luck!

I've heard this as well but it won't make a difference helping with implantation if you have bad eggs (which cause poor embryos) to begin with which several of us are dealing with. In that case you have to go much longer to see any benefit. Personally I'm not sure it will cause much difference in my case either, I think changing my protocol up is going to help the most and probably losing more weight. But I don't think it will hurt and it might help with stress relief and other chronic pains I have. It's a tough call though.

 

[star_e]

had another appointment today. finally seeing some growth. i have about 8 follies ranging from 12-14mm. so big improvement. my e2 is at about 1000. lining still 10. i started taking ganrilex today (to prevent ovulation) and am being kept on the same fsh dose (150 iu) until my next appointment (wednesday). i tried to get some estimate as to when ER wil be and they said probably monday. i'm going to be taking ganrilex for the next five days. that injection really stings. very thankful they have grown and i hope that i do indeed make it to ER. i feel a little nervous about it b/c i've never done it before.

how many days off work did you all need? just the day of ER? i know the pain can vary from person to person, so its ultimately something i'll have to figure out depending on how im feeling.

 

[elliecain]

Great news about the growth, Star.

Around retrieval and transfer, I ended up taking a week off work. I was lucky that my headteacher was really understanding, but I'd have taken it anyway. I was upfront with her from the start (she came to our wedding and she cried with me after my miscarriage last year) and she told me I should take the time I needed. I didn't take time off during stims, despite being very swollen and sore, because I wanted to be able to do this bit properly.

My retrieval was done on a Tuesday under general anaesthetic so I had to take 3 days off work because you can't drive for 48 hours after the GA. As they then did the transfer on the Thursday, I took another day (Friday) off work for the day after that. Then it was the weekend.

I then took the Monday off too, as that was likely to be implantation day and I'm a teacher in a tough school. I decided to remove stress as a potential factor. My school had enrichment week from the Tuesday (fun stuff), so it worked out well for me.

Take as much time as you need. This is more important than work. If you have to get a doctor's note and take a week or 2, do it. If you look back and wonder if you rushed back too quickly, you'll regret that.

Just my opinion...

 

[ES89]

I've done exactly the same Ellie, I've had a week after my scare with the bleed and I've been given another 2 weeks. This is so much more important than work and I definitely don't want to go back too soon again x

 

[elliecain]

You've done the right thing, ES. Don't rush back, work can wait.

Inn my previous post, I was actually talking about my time off during retrieval and transfer, in answer to Star's question, but I'm lucky that I'm off work now anyway for the next month, as we get 6 weeks for the summer holidays and mine happen to be weeks 6-12 of my pregnancy!

 

[ES89]

I'm going to see my manager today to discuss a few things with work. I travel 2 hours a day getting to n from work on top of atleast a 9 hour day on my feet. I'm gonna ask for a drop in hours and if i could work around the train so I'm not driving every day, also the possibility of working locally 1 or 2 days a week. Wish me luck haha x

 

[Rq120]

Good luck ES.

I personally only took off the day of retrieval and transfer. However, I never felt very bloated for sore from the stims and I have an office job. I recovered from retrieval with no problems, but that isn't always the case. As far as the transfer, I will back on my feet doing my normal activity within a few hours.

 

[rebecca822]

I took off the day of retrieval which was a Friday so I had the whole weekend off which was nice.
Transfer was Monday and I went back to work after.
My FET cycle I took off the day of transfer.

 

[Mdc]

Interesting how everyone is different. I work from home so I am a bit different and can understand at the end of stims it would be uncomfortable being in anything except yoga pants. ER was easy for me and only 1 day off work and I was not uncomfortable. I have yet to transfer (sigh) but my clinic says 2 days bed rest (day two they just say to stick around the house and not stress). That is very conservative according to what I read.

 

[Rq120]

MDC - yes that is somewhat conservative. My doc just had instructions to "take it easy" the day of and after transfer. I had listened to a podcast from another doc and she said due to studies she encouraged her patients to resume normal activity but not strenuous workouts.

 

[star_e]

thank you all for the feedback on time off after ER! I really appreciate it.

i don't have a lot of flexibility at work, but at the same time, this is way more important to me than work for sure. its just not easy to get the time off. i'll have to prioritize. what is more important time off after transfer or after retrieval?

im assuming after transfer is more important, but just want to make sure. if i am in moderate to severe pain after retrieval then i'll take the day after off too. but if i can at all power through that then i will to make it easier for me to take more time after transfer if that's the more important time to rest.

also, were you all in a lot of pain after ER?

 

[star_e]

Oh looking back on the posts it seems like some of you were not too ucomfortable after ER. That's good. Hope I have the same experience.

Rq120 - so far I don't feel uncomfortable w the stims either. I was expecting to feel super bloated. Maybe I will in a few days. Tomorrow I have another scan so hopefully everything is still progressing.

ES- good luck with setting up your work schedule so it's more convenient. I hope it works out!!!

 

[elliecain]

I felt fine after retrieval and would have gone straight back to work if I'd been allowed. However, my car insurance would have been invalidated if I'd driven within 48 hours of having a general anaesthetic. I only took so long after transfer because my job is very stressful and stress hormones are not good during the implantation stage. I didn't do bed rest though, I went for short walks and went about things as normal, just without work!