IVF/IUI - Winter 2012 & Beyond! (updates 1st page - 25 BFPs, 7 - twins!)

[Springy]

DH has mentioned being a civilian contractor but I don't think he is seriously considering it. I don't know what would be worse, having them gone the year or having to constantly be sending them over like you are. Either way it isn't fun Sorry he has to leave right after your anniversary and right before the holidays. Are you freezing any sperm so you can still try on the cycles while he is away? We froze some so I could try this year and I still like having them so if DH has a problem day of or if he can't get away from work there is a backup.

It was the same for us when DH brother was in Afghanistan. We always had a general idea when he was coming home like a 2 week time frame, and then when it was right before he would call tell us where he was going on his way home, not sure if it is the same for US troops but they send ours to a destination for a few days before sending them all the way home. His brother was there during some of the hardest heaviest fighting a few years back and we would just pray that the phone wouldn't ring and be a 613 or a 000 area code!!!

 

[Springy]

Hello ladies! I have been checking in on folks but haven't posted in a while. My attention span leaves a bit to be desired so I feel bad not responding to everyone. Know that it isn't intentional.

Princess - Welcome to the roller coaster.
Mrs. Bear - Any update as to when hubby will be home?

For those with scans today - Sending you lots of follicle dust

We are still in a holding pattern. I expect CD1 to be early next week so I will start BCP then. I did the disease testing last week and no news is good news. 5 Vials of blood. I'm not sure I have any left! We are expecting to start stims early in January. It is starting to feel real. I can't wait to start the injections. (it is a sick world we live in w/infertility)

The injections aren't that bad It is amazing what you can get used to when dealing with infertility. Long gone for me are the days where I would pass out at the sight of a needle! NOW I look forward to sticking myself!!!!!

 

[Mrs. Bear]

Will you start another cycle as soon as he gets home?

We are actually planning to start the IVF cycle just after the first of the year for my new work insurance coverage to kick in, so DH should be home by then. I will stop BCP 1/2 and should start stims 1/7. I'm hoping ER/ET will line up with his two weeks of leave in January.

It was the same for us when DH brother was in Afghanistan. We always had a general idea when he was coming home like a 2 week time frame, and then when it was right before he would call tell us where he was going on his way home, not sure if it is the same for US troops but they send ours to a destination for a few days before sending them all the way home.

I know what you mean about the worry. On days I don't hear from DH I have a mini heart attack just turning onto our street and hoping I don't see an 'official vehicle' there....

At one of the family meetings they said they were flying home through Kuwait but that isn't where they went through on the way there so who knows . They know more than they are telling but I guess they don't want to disappoint people by giving them a date and then having a delay. I have a good idea based on 'clues' of when other things are happening (mail cut-off, etc) but no definites. The average return time is 10 days when they are all traveling together but it can take more or less time depending on weather, etc.

 

[Mrs. Bear]

The injections aren't that bad It is amazing what you can get used to when dealing with infertility. Long gone for me are the days where I would pass out at the sight of a needle! NOW I look forward to sticking myself!!!!!

That is sooo true, after a while it is no more stressful than brushing your teeth and the most exciting part of your day is when you get to be a human pincushion

 

[wanting2010]

The injections aren't that bad It is amazing what you can get used to when dealing with infertility. Long gone for me are the days where I would pass out at the sight of a needle! NOW I look forward to sticking myself!!!!!

That is sooo true, after a while it is no more stressful than brushing your teeth and the most exciting part of your day is when you get to be a human pincushion

That is too funny!! And soooo true. I've been doing my injections each night at 7:30 because on the days I work I get off at 7. During work the last two days I've been looking forward to going home and giving myself my shot! Crazy. LOL

 

[SquirrelGirl]

31, I did just fine on Lupron until about day 7. Then I got a headache that lasted for a good few days. One of those days, it was pretty bad. BUT all the symptoms went away, and now I'm doing just fine. I "thought" I was feeling my ovaries ache yesterday, but nothing again today. It may be rough for a couple days, but once you get through it you'll wonder why you thought it was quite so bad...

Springy... um. I self-prescribed the CoQ10. I'd read some really good things about it. Same with the Omega 3-6-9. My OBGYN had put me on the Vitamin D and prenatal. Maybe I should look into it a bit more and stop taking it. I've been taking it for a while, so it hadn't occurred to me to stop. Too bad I just ordered more and it's really expensive!

So................ had my scan today.

I thought the results were perfectly fine while they were doing the ultrasound, but afterward the doctor guy made it sound like it wasn't that great. I have 10 follies around 11 mm. They are doubling my meds and I go back on Monday for another ultrasound. He made it sound like if they don't grow a ton by Monday, I'll get cancelled.

 

[princess_1991]

Have to agree, I had a complete phobia of needles, now not so much, our first needle took forever to do cuz I'd be like 'ok I'm ready!..... No wait wait wait!!'

Been on the phone to the clinic, they sent my pill and dr injection today so should get that soon
She said I may be able to dr over Xmas and be ready to start stims when they open depending on when my period starts and when my recipients period starts, oh nd I forgot to mention when I introduced myself, I'm an egg sharer

Hope everyone is well!

 

[SquirrelGirl]

ok... dumb question. I've been seeing from a lot of UK ladies that they are doing egg sharing. What exactly is that? Is this something that's done in the US as well/ Why is it so popular in the UK?

 

[princess_1991]

Basically we have egg collection and share half the eggs with another lady and get a reduced priced cycle, it's mainly for people who can't afford private ivf

 

[Springy]

31, I did just fine on Lupron until about day 7. Then I got a headache that lasted for a good few days. One of those days, it was pretty bad. BUT all the symptoms went away, and now I'm doing just fine. I "thought" I was feeling my ovaries ache yesterday, but nothing again today. It may be rough for a couple days, but once you get through it you'll wonder why you thought it was quite so bad...

Springy... um. I self-prescribed the CoQ10. I'd read some really good things about it. Same with the Omega 3-6-9. My OBGYN had put me on the Vitamin D and prenatal. Maybe I should look into it a bit more and stop taking it. I've been taking it for a while, so it hadn't occurred to me to stop. Too bad I just ordered more and it's really expensive!

So................ had my scan today.

I thought the results were perfectly fine while they were doing the ultrasound, but afterward the doctor guy made it sound like it wasn't that great. I have 10 follies around 11 mm. They are doubling my meds and I go back on Monday for another ultrasound. He made it sound like if they don't grow a ton by Monday, I'll get cancelled.

I went to the health food store yesterday and the guy was only going to suggest a bottle of 30 mg tablets for me ... I wondered what dose I should be taking! Maybe I'll go with 100mg

10 follicles is a GREAT number! How long have you been on the drugs? And remind me of the dosage? Our clinic wants only 10 to 12 eggs at retrieval they feel that beyond that they risk quality of some of the eggs. With upping your dose tonight you should give those follicles a kicks start and should see some good growth over the weekend! Remember to drinks LOTS of water - for some reason that helps them grow. I was drinking 3 to 4L a day when stimulating for my IUIs with injectables.

 

[Springy]

ok... dumb question. I've been seeing from a lot of UK ladies that they are doing egg sharing. What exactly is that? Is this something that's done in the US as well/ Why is it so popular in the UK?

I don't think it is done in the US or Canada. I tried to look into it and from everything I have read in Canada it says that if you wish to use donor eggs they have to come from a known donor. Which leads me to believe we don't do egg sharing the way it is done in the UK.

And as an aside - I just read a Canadian IVF forum that some women were taking 800mg or even 1600 mg of CoQ10 daily!

 

[SquirrelGirl]

Basically we have egg collection and share half the eggs with another lady and get a reduced priced cycle, it's mainly for people who can't afford private ivf

Hey, there's no shame in that! The cost of IVF is flipping ridiculous! It's really sad that most insurance doesn't consider infertility to be a "real" disease or disorder.

 

[HuskyMomWI]

They do the egg sharing at our clinic in Wisconsin also. We checked into it because we didn't qualify for the shared risk program due to my amh results. Well..we don't qualify for the egg sharing either. Apparantly they figure nobody wants my rotten eggs. lol

Squirrel - sorry you didn't hear what you wanted today. I'm with Springy. Drink lots of water and you may be amazed at the results on Monday.

 

[Pink Lolly]

Well ladies unfortunately my scan didn't go too well today. When I got up this morning I was bleeding quite heavily (like AF) and knew something was wrong

When I got to the hospital they scanned me and said that my follies had not grown since Monday, and as my ovaries were not working hard enough my body wasn't producing oestrogen so my womb lining had started to come away

The nurse asked if I had missed any injections which I haven't - I've done them every day like clockwork. I'm sure she didn't believe me! She then said that she would need to speak to our consultant who was in surgery at the time to find out whether he wanted to start again from now counting today as Day 1 again, or whether we would need to abandon this cycle. I was so upset - I cried all the way home in the car which is an hour and a half drive!

Fortunately she called me this afternoon and said that we can carry on - they have increased my dosage from 50 iu Puregon to 75 iu and I have another scan on Wednesday to check how things are going. I really hope and pray that my ovaries work this time! I was so shocked and I think the hospital were too as I have an AMH of 21 and they had said I should respond well to the drugs - they were keeping it low to avoid over stimulating me. I feel a little as though my body has let me down today, although so glad that the cycle didn't get cancelled!

Hope everyone else is OK x

 

[HuskyMomWI]

Basically we have egg collection and share half the eggs with another lady and get a reduced priced cycle, it's mainly for people who can't afford private ivf

Hey, there's no shame in that! The cost of IVF is flipping ridiculous! It's really sad that most insurance doesn't consider infertility to be a "real" disease or disorder.

But they cover the cost of viagra for men. Girl....don't get me started!

 

[SquirrelGirl]

10 follicles is a GREAT number! How long have you been on the drugs? And remind me of the dosage? Our clinic wants only 10 to 12 eggs at retrieval they feel that beyond that they risk quality of some of the eggs. With upping your dose tonight you should give those follicles a kicks start and should see some good growth over the weekend! Remember to drinks LOTS of water - for some reason that helps them grow. I was drinking 3 to 4L a day when stimulating for my IUIs with injectables.

I started stimming on Sunday, so... 5.5 days. I was taking 150 in the morning and 100 units in the evening of Follistim. 10 units of Lupron (been doing that for 15 days now). Now they are increasing it to 200 units of Follistim both morning and night.

I called my clinic back and left a long-winded voicemail. I'm sure they just love the crazy messages they get. I asked why the doctor seemed to think today's scan was so bad. Well, they called me back and said that he just likes to explain why the dosage is being increased and that he wanted me to know the follicles had to get bigger. Oh really?? Seriously, who wouldn't already understand that??? So anyway, apparently his style is to over-communicate about the possible outcomes and I took that to mean he wasn't confident that things would go well.

Thanks for reassuring me that 10 is good. I had it in my head that I wanted 15, but like I keep trying to tell myself, it's quality not quantity that really matters. ......and it only takes 1... or so I've heard

I've been drinking lots and lots of water, but haven't been keeping track of exactly how much. Both you and PCOSMomto1 told me to drink water, so maybe I'll try to really knock it back.

 

[HuskyMomWI]

Well ladies unfortunately my scan didn't go too well today. When I got up this morning I was bleeding quite heavily (like AF) and knew something was wrong

When I got to the hospital they scanned me and said that my follies had not grown since Monday, and as my ovaries were not working hard enough my body wasn't producing oestrogen so my womb lining had started to come away

The nurse asked if I had missed any injections which I haven't - I've done them every day like clockwork. I'm sure she didn't believe me! She then said that she would need to speak to our consultant who was in surgery at the time to find out whether he wanted to start again from now counting today as Day 1 again, or whether we would need to abandon this cycle. I was so upset - I cried all the way home in the car which is an hour and a half drive!

Fortunately she called me this afternoon and said that we can carry on - they have increased my dosage from 50 iu Puregon to 75 iu and I have another scan on Wednesday to check how things are going. I really hope and pray that my ovaries work this time! I was so shocked and I think the hospital were too as I have an AMH of 21 and they had said I should respond well to the drugs - they were keeping it low to avoid over stimulating me. I feel a little as though my body has let me down today, although so glad that the cycle didn't get cancelled!

Hope everyone else is OK x

Will be praying for you over the weekend.

 

[berki]

You girls are making me feel less terrified about jabbing myselves with needles!! haha!!

SQuirrel- Good luck will be stalking and hoping the doc sees what he or she is looking for
Pink- Good luck!!

It also infuriates me that IVF isn't covered under insurance here when some of the other things that are.. ugh.. infertility is a MEDICAL diagnosis just like anything else.

 

[SquirrelGirl]

Basically we have egg collection and share half the eggs with another lady and get a reduced priced cycle, it's mainly for people who can't afford private ivf

Hey, there's no shame in that! The cost of IVF is flipping ridiculous! It's really sad that most insurance doesn't consider infertility to be a "real" disease or disorder.

But they cover the cost of viagra for men. Girl....don't get me started!

I had actually written that out, then thought I'd best not get into all how they cover stuff for men but not for women because the people making the decisions are men....

 

[SquirrelGirl]

Well ladies unfortunately my scan didn't go too well today. When I got up this morning I was bleeding quite heavily (like AF) and knew something was wrong

When I got to the hospital they scanned me and said that my follies had not grown since Monday, and as my ovaries were not working hard enough my body wasn't producing oestrogen so my womb lining had started to come away

The nurse asked if I had missed any injections which I haven't - I've done them every day like clockwork. I'm sure she didn't believe me! She then said that she would need to speak to our consultant who was in surgery at the time to find out whether he wanted to start again from now counting today as Day 1 again, or whether we would need to abandon this cycle. I was so upset - I cried all the way home in the car which is an hour and a half drive!

Fortunately she called me this afternoon and said that we can carry on - they have increased my dosage from 50 iu Puregon to 75 iu and I have another scan on Wednesday to check how things are going. I really hope and pray that my ovaries work this time! I was so shocked and I think the hospital were too as I have an AMH of 21 and they had said I should respond well to the drugs - they were keeping it low to avoid over stimulating me. I feel a little as though my body has let me down today, although so glad that the cycle didn't get cancelled!

Hope everyone else is OK x

Oh, what an awful day. I'm so sorry!!!! I hope the increased dose does the trick for you!!!