IVF or FET November/December 2015 - chat thread

[klik]

Scooby: your cycle sounds like it's going fabulously! Your protocol is almost exactly like my "favorite" one, which I'm back on this time around--the only difference was the added antagonist in the luteal phase. I mean, even the dosage is the same. I'm a big fan of this protocol but of course it works differently for different people! I hope it works wonders for you! Really, it's looking so far so good... FWIW it takes me on average some 13 days of stims before trigger... Oh, and lovely that you got to see the fruits of your labor in the Bronx--I hope you get to see the fruits of another sort of your labor in some 9 months or so, too!

Wish: makes sense that you told your friend... everyone else can just draw their own conclusions. Shame about the work situation. My first job out of college was with a startup, and I really and truly believed that our interests were aligned. It was a shocking disappointment when I realized they were not. A painful life lesson. It was actually because our sales guy died in the Sept 11th attacks, and the bosses didn't want to pay his widow the commissions he'd earned so far in the year because commissions are paid only once a year on a full-year basis and he didn't complete his work year. I mean, they gave her another compensation for his death but still--it was the most shocking example of "every dollar that goes to the employee is one less dollar the employer gets to keep." I still haven't gotten over it, and this is almost 16 years later... They ended up paying, and, yeah, times were tight, but that was just... not on. Ugh. On the plus side, one of my friends just quit her job at a startup to work with a big company on a really exciting job--I'm hoping something similar happens for you soon! I hope for you 2017 is the year of the good new pregnancy and the good new job!

Boopin: June is really right around the corner! I can't wait to cheer you on!!!

AFM: AF arrived yesterday. Baseline scan went fine today... AFC=6 but really if I get 3 eggs it will be a minor miracle. Waiting for blood results, but I already have a pretty decent idea of where we'll be staying and which flights I want... We have dinner and theater tonight with some friends, though, so I hope the AirBnbs and flights don't get snatched before I have a chance to book them later on tonight (I'm waiting for the blood results and the go-ahead from Cornell)...

 

[Wish2BMom]

wahoo! another cycle starts!! man - whomever is listening, please let this be IT for klik and scoobs!!

klik - ugh, YES, that's the lesson I'm learning now. I basically worked for that big company first where everyone was a cog, and then I got this 5 yrs ago and am TOO visible now! I am figuring out my exit strategy right now and it doesn't even come down to telling them I'm "considering" leaving as a ploy to maybe get more money. More money won't help my work schedule and lack of w/l balance. And yes, i've seen too many things happen along the same lines as your company did.

scoob - I love numbers too! you are not alone, I drank it up when I got the numbers from my sonographer. Even the lining #. Doesn't matter. "Am I getting an A?" is sadly my thought process throughout this.

weekend - had a great time at dinner last night, dinner out again tonight to network a little and just have fun (this couple is out of their minds crazy), and then just home stuff this weekend. Will attempt to stay off of my laptop all weekend.

 

[scoobybeans]

klik- I'm glad that your baseline went well and you're going back on your favorite protocol! Did Cornell give you the ok to begin? That's really shocking about your old company. That would have turned me off completely! If they can't show some compassion after a tragedy of that scale, they're basically inhuman.

wish- You have a scan today, right? Good luck! How was dinner out with your crazy friends? I think you're making the right call leaving your current job. Life is short, and no amount of money can give you back your time. Before he started working with me, DH was commuting 3 hours a day and working about 50 hours a week at a job that he HATED. Yes, he made more money, but it was 100% not worth it. Things are a little tight now but we actually get to see each other and he's so much happier. You won't regret getting your life back

AFM, unfortunately things are not going as well as I'd hoped. My follicles are being old and cranky and want to grow slowly. At this morning's scan I had two 14's, two 10's & two 9's. Today is Day 10 of stims, so my ovaries are not exactly being rock stars. They think I'll go 2-3 more days in hopes of allowing the 10's to catch up, but don't think the 9's will get there in time. So I'm looking at 2, maybe 4 if we're lucky. Only plus side is my lining is already 12.5mm.

If we're lucky enough to have 2 fertilize and grow to 3 days, we're going to put both of them back and hope for the best.

 

[klik]

Hey, whoever is listening: please let this be IT for Wish, too!!!

Wish: right on, take your life back! My friend who moved from the startup to the bigger company did it in part to clear the way for a possible future family--better benefits, in her case, but in yours it seems that the work-life balance is way off... good luck! Oooh, and good luck at your scan tomorrow--it is tomorrow, right? Glad you had a good dinner--I hope the weekend was good, too!

Scooby: Yeah, I've begun--today will be, what, day... 5 of stims. I have bloodwork tomorrow, but no scan--and then off to NY on Wednesday. I'm sorry your follicles are growing slowly... Sometimes the bigger ones slow down and the little ones grow faster--I hope that happens for you! But no matter how many you get, I hope among them is the golden one!

AFM: Yeah, bloods tomorrow. I have CM and feel frisky so I assume I'm making estrogen. Today was a bank holiday here in the UK and I spent half the day delivering leaflets for my chosen political party. Snap elections here happen so fast: < 2 months after they're announced--you just have to scramble and go all out. The parties have just a couple of weeks to write their election manifestos. In the meantime, I'm having Airbnb problems and freaking out a little bit about where I'm staying in NY from Wednesday--but not too much. I have plans B-G lined up in case plan A doesn't work...

 

[scoobybeans]

klik- I can't believe you're already 5 days into stims! (Well, 6 now.) How did your bloodwork go this morning? Wow, back in NY already tomorrow! It's absolutely gorgeous here today, but will be cool and cloudyish the next couple of days. Did your Airbnb situation get sorted?

wish- How are you doing?

Scan today shocked the hell out of me. There are now 7 follicles! The 9's & 10's grew into 12's & 13's and the 14's are now 15 and 16 And my doctor thinks we're going to get all of them! They raised my dose to 450 last night but I'm amazed it had this much effect on me. I've heard with EPP things start to pop on day 10-12 but after yesterday I wasn't holding my breath.

So here I am on Day 11 now, finally happy and hopeful for the first time during these last 2 cycles. It just goes to show how quickly things can change. I smiled for the first time during my scan today. Now I just need my estrogen to climb a bit and for these little follies to keep growing nice and even. Hoping we can trigger tomorrow or Thursday!

Let's do this!

 

[Wish2BMom]

scoob - seriously, I'm in love love LOVE with the surprise your little follies gave you!!! Keep going, little ones!!!

klik - YEAH get on back here and get yerself all PUPO please! travel safely! Did you get your airBnB thing figured out?

no scans yet, just bloods on Monday and again this Fri. They tested my thyroid too and saw that it's a little elevated. It was before too but we didn't do anything about it. So it's 3.3 and for non-TTC'ers, that's fine. If it's under 5, you're 'normal'. But if you're TTC'ing, they don't want over 2.5. So we're going to test again with this Friday's bloods and if it's still elevated, then I'll go on a low dose med for that. It does attribute to miscarriages so hopefully that's the magic bullet.

I'm in CA right now, so tired. East coast time, east coast wake-up time and then working a complete full day with the client, and then after, makes for a friggin long ass week.

 

[scoobybeans]

wish- Thank you! Wow, I wonder if your thyroid has been the issue this whole time? I read someone's blog recently that was so heartbreaking. She had RPL and had suffered through 5 miscarriages. They finally realized that her thyroid was the issue. She went on medication and went on to have 2 healthy children (and one was natural!) FX this is a game changer for you! I'm sorry for the jet lag this week I've had scans every morning so I've been up at 5:30 all week. Add in no coffee and I'm dunzo.

klik- are you back in NY? The weatherpeople got it wrong and it's actually been beautiful the last couple of days. Chilly this morning though! Hope everything is progressing well with your cycle!

Amanda, Disney, boopin- How are you guys?

So trigger is tonight! The doctor this morning said I have 4 for sure and maybe 5, but I'm going to be optimistic and believe I have 5 and maybe 6 Either way, I'm so excited to be moving to the next step. Retrieval is Saturday!

 

[klik]

Scooby: you've had some excellent news! Wow, it seems like this is a good protocol for you! Your AFC always indicated you should have done better than you did last time... Yay, you'll finally have a retrieval--woohoo! Good luck with trigger tonight, and with retrieval on Saturday!

Wish: good luck with the bloods tomorrow! Yeah, I'm on thyroxine for a very similar reason--subclinical hypothyroidism... Wish, one heads up on that--when (!!!) you get pregnant again, make sure to check your TSH and Free T4 again soon after you find out--even with the thyroxine I'm taking, my TSH shot up last time I was pregnant, really in the first couple weeks of pregnancy... I was terrified! My clinic wants me testing every 4 weeks even when I'm not pregnant, but once you're pregnant it becomes absolutely vital... Exciting that you're getting one more factor lined up--I'm looking forward to your transfer! Ooh, sorry you're working your butt off again...

AFM: yeah, in NYC... staying at an Airbnb for a few days and then I have to find another... Scan/bloods tomorrow--I can't wait! I've had the most bipolar couple of days--I've wavered between being ridiculously optimistic and utterly depressed. DP arrives tomorrow... yeah, really, I just want to know if I've got anything growing. Ho, hum. Time to sleep, methinks...

 

[Wish2BMom]

scoob - my fingers are crossed for 5 or 6 eggs too!! AHH! So happy for you this cycle!!!

klik - welcome back, again! what a pain to have to change locations after a few days. Good luck on your scans today! can't wait to hear what those and the blood work reveal. Thank you for the note on the TSH (that's the thyroid thing, right?) - is this something I can test myself or I need to request it? This is all SUPER new to me, but spiking doesn't sound like a good thing. What does that mean - full-on hypothyroidism??

boopin - you're getting closer! have you started looking for donors yet?

disney - how's baby Sarah doing? have you landed on that name?

Amanda - how are you doing??

yeah, so...right?? if this elevated thyroid thing was what the issue has been...my doc mentioned it awhile back but we didn't do anything about it. I won't really care, though, as long as we get our baby!

in other news, the job hunt is going fairly well - in that I have had a few discussions with folks from my 'old' company, the part that divested off of us in Oct '15, and they want me over there so badly that they are going to try to create a job for me. They have a need for someone in a particular group, they just didn't actually have the req. So the VP is going to see what she can do to make this happen. It's not my dream job but I'm so burnt out that I'm willing to do this one, be with my old 'family' again, have work/life balance, and even a small 401k match and bonus opportunity (neither of which I have now). If I can do this with my eyes closed, that might be what's best right now. Especially if I get preggo.

edited to add: oh yeah, my lining is at 9.something already! WOO! had a scan today and didn't even post about it

 

[klik]

Wish: Excellent news about your lining!!! Oh, re. thyroid function, my "spike" was still subclinical but it properly freaked me out--we'd stabilized TSH at <1 (around 0.8) and then when I tested it at 10DPO (I hadn't even done a pregnancy test yet!) it went up to 3.23--quite close to yours now. I thought maybe I'd forgotten to take it that morning or something, but a doctor told me it takes a couple weeks for it to have an effect, so missing a dose shouldn't have caused it. Still, I guess I can't be 100% sure that it was because of the pregnancy, but outside of that experience TSH has been remarkably stable for me, and I test it a lot (especially now that the spike made me paranoid!) Maybe they've already told you this, but all it takes to control it is taking thyroxine (or "synthroid", as they call it in the US) in the morning--it's a tiny little pill (or two) that you have to take on an empty stomach (so, at least 30min before breakfast, though some wait a whole hour...) It's an upper, so I think it makes me sleep a little less than I would if I wasn't on it. They started me on a tiny dose of 25mcg and they increased it til they liked my numbers. I'm now alternating 75mcg and 100mcg, which is kind of control-freakish, but does seem to put me on a sweetspot, ready for a pregnancy, should one ever materialize... I hope they get this right for you ASAP! Oh, and good news about your potential job! It sucks that it's not your dream job but it sounds like it puts you in a really good position for pregnancy and being a new mom, which I really, really hope is in the cards for you soon! The dream job can come after the dream baby is here!

Amanda: I have you particularly in mind--are you a mommy yet?!

Disneyfan, Boopin: hope you are well...

Scooby: FX'ed for tomorrow!!!

AFM: scan this morning freaked me out a little but I've managed to calm myself down. Only two follicles are growing--one is 15.9 and one is 12. I have a feeling one of them is good, though, so I'll just pretend there's some basis for my feeling (well, there is--my oestrogen levels 3 days ago were not bad). Disappointed with the number but my lining is at a cushy 8.3, which is fab! I don't know if the 12 will manage to catch up. My main concern at the mo is that they didn't ask me to start the cetrotide until this morning (and this is after I prompted--though perhaps they would have anyway) and I'm afraid my LH has already risen out of control... I really don't want another IUI. I don't think those work for me... I'm just hoping really hard for a retrieval and a transfer... Especially with this lining!

 

[Disneyfan88]

Hi ladies. Quickly checking in from Disneyland. We decided on a relatively last minute trip down here to focus on DD1 and make some memories for her before little Sarah arrives and changes everything in a few months. I don't have time to do a proper reply to everything, but I wanted to say:

Scooby - I've been following your progress on my phone. I'm so excited that your smaller follicles were able to catch up a bit and that you are looking at collecting more eggs than you previously thought!! Good luck with your retrieval!!

Klik - Best of luck with your latest cycle! I hope that smaller follicle is able to catch up for you and that all of the timing works out in your favor!

Wish - I've been on low dose Synthroid for my thyroid since we started prepping for our first FET for baby #2 in 2015. Like you, my level was within normal range, but it was not optimal for fertility or pregnancy. We got my level under control before our first transfer, but we didn't closely monitor my TSH level leading up to or after the transfer. My level jumped from something in the level 2 range (before I started my medication and got it to below where it should be) to over 4, and while my doctor told me it's not, I'm convinced that it had at least something to do with my failed FET that time. I think she was trying to make me feel better about the cycle not working. We were better about checking my levels before and after all subsequent transfers, and my levels have been fine since then. Your doctor will need to order the TSH blood tests, but they can be done at any lab if they don't offer it in your doctors office. The thyroid pill is easy enough to take first thing in the morning -- assuming you don't also have to juggle it with the timing of any iron or calcium supplements lol.

I hope that the other ladies are doing well. Amanda must be getting super close to delivery by now, and I hope that Boopin is getting along well.

to everyone!

 

[amanda1235]

Hey girls! I'm so sorry I've been so quiet! Back and forth to dr's appointments and such, I've been following though!

Wish, smart decision on the job change! About the thyroid, I REALLY hope that's all it is that's been the problem. I know a few people who's thyroid function was the sole reason they weren't getting pregnant, so I feel really good about the fact that maybe that's the magic variable that needs to change and that this next one is it for you!

Klik, welcome back to this side of the pond once again! I think I read that your AFC is 6? That's good! Here's hoping you get some nice good eggs, that turn into a nice healthy baby. Your time has to be coming, to whoever is in charge: PLEASE let this work!!

Scooby, that's great news about the follicles catching up! My last IVF I had some very slow growers which worried me, then they caught up at the end. Hoping your dr is right and you'll get them all!

Boopin' June is coming! Can't wait for you to get started again and cheer you on. You must be getting excited?

Disney, how fun to be in disney and spend some time with DD before she's a big sister. How's the pregnancy going?

AFM, baby girl is still comfy cozy inside, no signs she'll emerge yet. She has continued growing big, and at my last u/s she was already 9lb1oz at 38w. Not dilated at all though, so Dr won't induce me until my due date, although at that time it may have to be a c section due to her size. At least we're healthy though, so I can't complain. Anxiously awaiting her arrival though!

 

[Wish2BMom]

wonderful news all around!!! amanda, 2 more weeks! CRAZY!!

thanks for all the info on the thyroid - on Monday, it was over 3 and yesterday it was over 4, so I'm on thyroxine (funny they call it that if that's an overseas thing, usually). Took my first one this morning. I hope it's the magic bullet too. Fingers crossed!!

klik - awesome lining!! I hope you get to retrieval too but even so, with an IUI that lining will be attractive to a little traveling fertilized egg, hopefully!!!

scooby - can't wait to hear results from your retrieval today!!

 

[Disneyfan88]

Amanda - DD ended up being 9 lbs 5 oz. I never progressed passed 3 cm (and was only maybe .5-1 cm when I got to the hospital, so she needed to come out via c-section. I'm only 5'4" and usually close to or just under 115 lbs. lol

Those last minute scans are notoriously inaccurate - my doctor estimated DD1 to be about 1 lb lighter than she ended up being just a day before my water broke. I know of a ton more people who were expecting much larger babies than they ended up having. Regardless, I'm wishing you a smooth and easy delivery.

I've been feeling a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions (I think) since getting here. It must be all of the extra walking and standing, so we try to be good about sitting down whenever I feel the tightening sensation in my belly. I'm not entirely positive that it's BHs as the feeling certainly lasts a while - not just a couple of minutes at a time.

 

[Wish2BMom]

oh dear, disney - Sarah, we're not ready for you just yet, baby girl!!!
how are you feeling now?

scoob - going to your thread but how did the retrieval go?

 

[scoobybeans]

I'm so behind, I need to do a proper read and respond. But just wanted to update on our progress. They retrieved 4 out of 5 (one was empty). Of those 4, 3 were mature and 2 fertilized. We won't get another update until the morning, which is so nerve wracking. But we're tentatively set for a 3 day transfer of both embryos tomorrow. Gah!

 

[Wish2BMom]

you're 3 days ahead of me with I hope the same number of embies to transfer!! YAYYYYYY!!!!

klik - how's it going in NYC? updates!

 

[Disneyfan88]

Great news, ladies! I'm soooo excited for you guys! Good luck!!!

We're on our way home from Disneyland now. We've got a loooong car ride ahead of us, but we'll stop several times for stretch breaks. I'm so not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. DD had a great time, which is awesome.

 

[scoobybeans]

Disney- I'm so glad you decided on an impromptu trip to Disney & I hope you had a wonderful time! Take it easy now, especially with those Braxton Hicks. Sarah's got to keep cooking for a bit longer

Amanda- Ahhh, so close now! I think it's great you've got a nice big, healthy baby on board. (Although I've also heard those scans can be pretty far off.) Do you have any last minute prep to do or are you all set now?

wish- I can't wait until we're PUPO together!!! I hope your thyroid situation improves quickly. I really think this has been a major factor for you!

klik- Thinking of you hun, and looking forward to an update! I hope they can get both of those follies and you get to do a transfer this week!

Well, I can scarcely believe it but we transferred 2 embryos this afternoon! So for the first time ever, I'm officially PUPO. We've got an 8-cell and 9-cell on board with 5-15% fragmentation. Lining was perfect. And now, we just sit back and wait!

 

[amanda1235]

That's amazing scooby!!!!! Sending all sorts of positive vibes your way!!!

To answer your question, we're all ready here, just waiting for her