IVF/FET May and June

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Hi all I just had the day off on the day of collection, I was very sick after the drugs but still went to work the following day. With retrieval I also went straight back to work although I think the first day I may have done a half day, I felt rough but now I know why...I had ohss brewing 🙄 I still managed to work - again a office job but a very stressful sales environment and I was worried my embie would feel the stress but all was ok...plus they are made of strong stuff if you think what mine went through with all my hospital treatment I tho k just do what you feel comfortable with. Good luck!!!
 
I have to say, I'm feeling very judged for having taken a week off during retrieval and transfer. After reading a post on the topic by an embryologist (quoted below), I need to type this out in the hope that others don't feel bad about taking time off too.

When I say my school is a stressful place to work, I don't mean the odd niggle or stressful phone call. We lost half our teaching staff at the end of term. The kids are rude and challenging and management is poor. I can't leave yet because I'm relying on the excellent maternity pay I get for having worked there for years. There have been staff breakdowns this year and I've had high blood pressure and panic attacks.

Last summer, I had a natural pregnancy. I miscarried the day after going back to work in September. I don't know why it happened, but I know the stress levels did not help.

For all these reasons, I took a few days off work so that I could give this baby the best possible chance. I know that embryos are strong and can cope with a lot, but I also know that very high levels of cortisol are not conducive to successful implantation.


(My bold and underlining added.)

We have noticed that couples have lots of questions after the embryo transfer, mostly non medical ones but nevertheless very important for their peace of mind. Below you can find the results in Q&A form
Is bed rest after embryo transfer improving my chances of conception? We could not find any study to verify that conclusion, and our own experience so far says that it does not improve success rates. There are 2 studies that even suggest it reduces the chance of implantation.
Can I exercise after embryo transfer? only 1 study exists on this topic, which failed to reach a conclusion. You will feel bloated and tired after a fresh IVF cycle, so even your normal activities will be uncomfortable. You should not push yourself to go out of your comfort zone, there is no evidence it will help.
I have spotting/pink discharge/red discharge few days before the date of the pregnancy test. Does this mean the cycle has failed and the pregnancy test will be negative? By NO MEANS do the above symptoms mean a failed attempt, so stay on your meds and inform your clinic. Empirically we call this "implantation bleeding", which again is an inaccurate and confusing term. Scientists are suspecting that bleeding could be a sign of your body needing more progesterone support, so some clinics will ask you to increase your progesterone, while others will keep you on the same dose. They will advise you if you need to stop the blood thinners.
My clinic asked me to come for a pregnancy test 10 days after a blastocyst transfer or 12 days after a day 3 transfer. Isn't it too early to test before 2 weeks are complete? The pregnancy test should be correct if 14-15 days have passed from the day the egg and the sperm were introduced. This would be the day of your egg collection. This is why the date of the test varies.
Why some clinics ask for BHCG, while others rely on a simple Urine Pregnancy Test (UPT)? BHCG is more accurate, and allows follow up in 48hours to see if the levels are almost doubling as they should. UPT is slightly less accurate and does not allow follow up, but it is very cheap and convenient, especially for couples that do not have easy access to a medical lab.
Is there anything i should not be eating after the ET?
You can follow your normal diet. Increased protein intake can help if you have had a fresh cycle and a high number of eggs collected, or you are at a risk of OHSS. Avoid uncooked or very spicy food that can upset your stomach or cause vomitting or diarrhea. Food temperature ie v hot or v cold should not affect your chances of implantation.
Does stress affect my success rates?
There is evidence now that psychological stress levels affect the success rates so try to alleviate that factor as much as possible. Read books, go to the cinema or walks, go back to work to keep your mind occupied as long as you dont have a stressful job! And try to remain positive.
Stay off the internet which can be filled with alot of irrelevant and incorrect info. Ask your clinic questions rather than self inform. This will help not to stress you anymore than you might be.
Remain positive. The hard work is done.
Click to expand...
 
Don't feel bad at all Ellie, everyone is different and we have to do what we think is best for ourselves. I had a week after retrieval n transfer because my job is very active and stressful at times. I wanted to give my body the best possible chance.
Looks like I'm going to drop a day at work and see how I go. HR have given me an 8 week window of where they will base my hours on what I get when I'm on maternity x
 
Hi all,
Just popping in to update. I haven't gotten the official call yet, but I can see my beta results on my portal, and it's like .85, which I know is negative. I knew it. I'm not even sad. I think I've reached the point of being totally non-emotional about it after all the letdowns.

I'm hoping my doc will meet with us in person and we can come up with a different plan. I'm afraid they will say Donor Egg or nothing. I'm just not there yet. I won't be there until I know we've tried and exhausted every option out there. Which I know we haven't.
 
Hi all, Ellie don't feel bad AT ALL if I could have taken the time off I would!! I run a business with my husband and had new staff starting in my sales office so I had to be in - that was one of those times I wished I could just call in sick ...silly thing is it's only myself I have to answer too! Lol!

Hiker I'm so sorry, absolutely nothing I can say is going to help...hopefully it is 85 not .85?? Is it really clear on the portal? Hugs!!
 
Hiker - I'm so sorry to see this. Huge hugs coming your way. I really hope they have more suggestions for you to try.

Ellie - oh don't feel bad for taking off at all and I actually think you bring up an excellent point that much of this is psychological recovery as well as physical. And you honestly have to do what works best for you and your individual situation.

Physically I didn't feel too bad after retrieval but mentally I wasn't ready to do anything. I would have been useless at work anyway so I got people to cover some classes for me so I could take off and not have to worry about work stuff at all. I even took off before retrieval too because it worked out timing wise.

If your job isn't as flexible though you have to do what works with your life. Because trying to work around it could end up causing more stress.

Some people do end up having more issues post retrieval but it's often those that overstim or have a difficult retrieval (I've heard those that don't get anesthesia are worse probably from tensing up).

If you have to pick time I'd probably say after transfer is important especially to help alleviate stress. But don't worry if you can't do either because of your job you should be fine, Star.
 
Hiker, I'm so sorry. You did everything right and this is not your fault at all. It must feel so disappointing, but I'm glad you are not prepared to give up and will keep going. You have a great attitude and I'm thinking of you and praying for your next try.
 
Hiker I'm so sorry :(
I do hope you can meet the doctor and make a good plan for next cycle.
 
elliecaine - im super thankful for all your replies my questions. it means so much! learning about your journey is very very helpful. thanks for your accu recommendation. i think i am going to do a session before retrieval and before transfer. is it true that i should do it 24 hours before retrieval or transfer? or is anytime before it okay? also i am going to try to keep my stress down too. the biggest con with my job is that its not flexible. going to all these appointments during my lunch hour has been very stressful for me as i am sure it is for everyone. every single time i go its the same drama, getting there, getting back and basically going a bit nuts in the waiting room because they are always always running behind schedule. thank goodness i can get the blood draws done before work, but the scans i have to do during the lunch hour. and it is always such a pain. i am going to try my best to prioritize me and this process. im going to see what i can manage. its going to depend on how i feel after retrieval. if im okay, then i'll make more space for an excuse to take extra time after transfer. going to play it by hear and see how its going. how are things going with you?

bronte - thanks for your feedback. im going to try not to get too stressed about all this. wish work wasn't so annoying with the flexibility. im going to monitor my body and see how it goes. how are you doing? the exercises going well?

hiker - i cannot tell you how sorry i am to hear the news. you have so many people here on bnb that are just pulling for you. im going to continue to send you the most positive energy so that you get that little bean soon. you have long ago deserved a bfp. im glad you are not being swayed to do donor egg. i believe you will get it. kmfx for you!

afm - had my appointment today. so i had 6 on the right ranging from 14-18mm. and 14 on the left ranging from 14-17mm. doc said that if estraidol level stays at an apporpriate range then we will trigger sometime this weekend with ovidrel, but she said if my e2 spikes then we have to trigger with lupron to avoid OHSS. she said b/c of my pcos and other things that i meet all the markers that put me at a higher risk for OHSS. if we end up triggering with lupron, she advised me to do a FET a month later b/c lupron lowers the chances for pregnancy. she said if we get many good eggs, DH and I can decide to roll the dice b/c we would have some to do a FET later if the fresh resulted in a bfn, but if the eggs are bad quality and we don't get that many, she advises to just wait it out and do FET a month later. have any of you heard this about lupron? with lowering the chances?

my next appointment is friday. hope the e2 stays in a good range. today it was at 1253. lining has been at 10mm for like a week.
 
Hmmm Star I triggered with Lupron and I got a BFP. I think that if you don't supplement properly then Lupron can lead to poorer results. I read a study where if you supplement properly with estrogen and progesterone post trigger than pregnancy rates are comparable.
 
Here is a webpage that addresses the problems with Lupron trigger and hormone support.

https://www.advancedfertility.com/lupron-trigger-prevent-hyperstimulation.htm
 
Hiker - so sorry about the beta. :hugs:

Ellie - sorry you felt judged. I didn't see anything that would have implied judgment. I only took the day of retrieval and transfer off but I think it's great that you took off as much time as you needed.
In this journey it's important to recognize what you need physically and mentally and make sure those needs are met (i.e. Extra time off, counseling, support systems).
 
Rq - thanks for sharing. I just talked to my doctor today about possibly doing a Lupron protocol next time so I'm going to read up as well. I did trigger with it this last time since my E2 was also high. And even though we didn't make it to transfer, they never mentioned holding off.

I've been curious to read more about using in through the stim process after discussions with my doctor today.
 
Hi everyone, I am just starting my ivf journey and just did my 1st diagnostic bloodwork and day 3 US yesterday, HSG scheduled for Monday. Been following this thread for insight on what's to come, and thought I could add some hopefully useful info for anyone looking to reduce the cost of acupuncture. I've been doing acupuncture for a few years (on and off this past year), and am fortunate enough to have two community acupuncture locations within 20-30 minutes of my house/work. Basically, it's acupuncture in a group setting - you just lay in a recliner and pull up your pant legs to your knees and roll up your sleeves to your elbows and hang out for as long as you want (usually, 1 hour - the effects of acupuncture are cumulative, the more sessions you have the better you feel). I didn't notice any difference between the community setting vs. private setting, and actually prefer to keep my clothes on :). The best part is - after your initial visit where you meet with the acupuncturist to discuss why you are being treated, sessions are on a sliding scale and they don't verify income. You pay what you can afford. My first session at each of the two places I go to was $30 and I pay the lowest fee per session - $15, no questions asked. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed to constantly just pay $15 - but they are not judgy - there's a ton of people in and out of there and I know they are making money. Here's a link that can help you find a center near you - https://www.pocacoop.com/clinics/search/usa/3800/

If there's not one near you, the other thing you can look for is schools that teach acupuncture. I did that for a while, it's always last year students that perform the acupuncture, and they do the first few sessions with an instructor watching. GL everyone!
 
Cookie - thanks so much for sharing and best wishes as your start your IVF journey. I don't have a clinic near me, but really hope that some do. Sounds like a great option!
 
Rq120 said:
Here is a webpage that addresses the problems with Lupron trigger and hormone support.

https://www.advancedfertility.com/lupron-trigger-prevent-hyperstimulation.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback! Did you do progesterone injections or were you taking progesterone suppositories? Can you tell me what support you did after your lupron trigger?
 
BronteForever said:
Rq - thanks for sharing. I just talked to my doctor today about possibly doing a Lupron protocol next time so I'm going to read up as well. I did trigger with it this last time since my E2 was also high. And even though we didn't make it to transfer, they never mentioned holding off.

I've been curious to read more about using in through the stim process after discussions with my doctor today.
Click to expand...

Bronte, how high was your e2?
 
Star - my E2 was 3,265 on the day I triggered so they triggered me with both Lupron and still a low dose of Pregnyl just as a precaution to help prevent OHSS.
 
BronteForever said:
Star - my E2 was 3,265 on the day I triggered so they triggered me with both Lupron and Pregnal just as a precaution to help prevent OHSS.
Click to expand...



Bronte did they say what the cutoff limit is? Had you been at 3,000 would they still have worried about ohss? My doc is pretty conservative so I'm pretty sure she will make a good decision on which trigger to do. Just curious bc Ive heard of people getting ohss even w doses around 2600. So I don't know how they determine this.

Also did you do retrieval the day after trigger? I'm curious how this will work because if I'm doing the retrieval on Monday then presumably I would do the trigger on Sunday so they wouldn't really know what my blood level would be if I still do injections on Friday and Saturday night. I guess this is something to clarify w doc at my appointment tomorrow.
 
Yes you will need to clarify with your doctor. To be honest I don't think it's an exact science so not sure there's an official cutoff. But since you have PCOS I do think you are at risk to begin with so they might continue to proceed with caution in your case.

I had retrieval two days after trigger (or more exactly 36 hours). You stop all other meds when you trigger. I actually asked about this at my appointment yesterday but your follicles and e2 can continue to rise after trigger but it mostly tapers off.

I'd hope they actually check your follicles and blood levels on the day you actually trigger, otherwise they don't have a good way of knowing.
 
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