IVF with intralipids, steroids, aspirin and heparin...?!?! Anyone else?

[GillAwaiting]

Well folks, Im back again. Thank you all for your support. It really helps so much. After some of the most nerve wrecking days ever, the scan went well!! They had to call in the head cons especially to do it and we told the nurse that was a good idea as we were expecting bad news. We were so sure. Sooo sure. We had to wait hours and at that stage we couldn't even talk with nerves. So hematoma hadn't gotten bigger or smaller , embryo measured exactly right at 8 w + 2 days and the heartbeat at 172 bpm. I just went into shock and shook violently for about a half hour after the news. It was so bad my dh made me put my coat on because he thought I was shaking with the cold. The cons was lovely and we sat down in his office with him after scan and he was like - what else can we throw at this. So I do another round of intralipids next week providing the scan is ok next Friday with our own cons. We also discussed going off the pregnyl shots as they make me so sick but tbh, we kinda think if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So Im gonna stick them out for another while. Im sick as a dog anyway so sod it.

So there you have it. I was grand and calm yesterday evening and now Im getting back to a nervous state again.

How are you guys getting on? Anyone doing anything exciting for the new year? Wouldn't it be great if everyones dreams could come through in 2012. If this pregnancy ends I will be so sorry and sad for my dh. He seems so joyous just now he wants this baby so bad. I will feel bad for our cons and the clinic too. They have all done their best. Please god 2012 will be kind to all of us.

 

[_Nell]

Gill, such a brilliant update - I am so happy for you
Have a lovely new year, just think this time next year you'll have your baby in your arms

 

[Reb S]

Gill, that's such great news! Hooray! So pleased for you. I'm sure it's goig to be really hard to relax and enjoy the pregnancy, but I hope you can! xx
Nell - good luck with the down-reg x

 

[GillAwaiting]

Thanks Nell and Reb S. Im freaking over every little twinge and symptom. All sickness vanished there for 24 hours and I freaked. My poor DH is living with a nutjob. Whether it be right or wrong, the hcg shot has kicked in now again and Im feeling rough. Even though it's fake sickness in a way, I still find it comforting to feel horrendous.

Nell I will be very interested to hear how your downregging goes. I only did that once before the first month of meds (to get rid of endo), after that we just went straight from one treatment to the next. It was a very strange few weeks though. My bbs completely disappeared, cm dried up, hot flushes in the middle of the night. I tell ye, it gave me an insight into menopause and after that I would be an advocate for hrt! It's grand for the few weeks of down regging though. In a way I love the experiment of these things. Good to know what the future might hold! Medical science just blows me away. Do tell us how it's going, if it effects you too.

Reb, you've been a great support to me and to my shame I don't know where you are in this turbulent journey. Are you still trying to decide on what path to take? I hope 2012 is your year. I hope it's everyone's here year.

Cheers to all of you. May your new year's wishes come through and soon!!! Happy New Year.

 

[Reb S]

Thanks Gill! Happy New Year to you and that stubborn little sticky bean!
We're still out at the moment, but I'm planning to go for it if I can persuade OH. Trying to talk to him about adoption too, but that's not going very far...huh!
Anyway, here's to BFP's and babies in 2012 x

 

[Amber3]

Hi there
I just noticed that you wrote that you are constantly spotting from 4 dpo. I start spotting at ovulation and don't stop again unless I start taking progesterone. But my doctor seems completely confused about my spotting and do not seem to have any ideas about how to help me with that. Can you tell me what may cause this and what can be done about it?
Best wishes for the new year,
Amber

 

[_Nell]

Hi Amber, you might want to join us in this little group?
https://www.babyandbump.com/ttc-gro...ek-before-af-every-month-anyone-else-130.html

There are lots of possible causes for lengthy pre-menstrual spotting (beyond the normal 1 or 2 days pre AF)....

a tender cervix from BDing
polyps
cervical erosion
fibroids
endometriosis
hormone imbalance (aka low progesterone/ weak ovulation)
anovulatory cycles
low ovarian reserve / peri menopause

and last but not least it really can be 'normal' for some women and not affect ttc for them at all.

In terms of 'fixing it' progesterone supplementation usually stops the bleeding (or even estrogen as i've just discovered) but it rarely tackles the root cause and fixes the problem IYSWIM.

 

[GillAwaiting]

Hi everyone,
Are you all recovered from the chaos of Christmas and New Year? We're just glad it's over and the doctors and hospitals and admins are all back working again!
We had another scan today. I was convinced, I really mean convinced it was curtains for us. I sobbed for 3 hours the other night, couldnt even speak to my DH as I was so sure it was over. And it wasn't. Held my breath, closed my eyes and waited for cons to tell if there was a heartbeat. There was! Gone to 178bpm. Crl 2 days behind again but cons not worried, so Im going to try really hard not to worry too much about it either. Little bean was swimming around merrily. DH and cons were so happy and excited (I just concentrated on breathing). It's DH's birthday tomorrow and Im so glad it didn't ruin it for him. Cons is going to shoot me if I don't make a decision about maternity hospitals but tbh Im just too scared to sign the forms. Signing those forms in the past has not ended well. I have a bag permanently packed for emergency if miscarriage comes up and I take it every time we go for a scan in case they say go straight to the hospital. So staying on the meds for another while. She gave me the option of going off the pregnyl shots and even though they are killing me Im going to stay on them. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Did a round of intralipids today too. Oh and the SCH has almost vanished. Weird or what? Maybe the meds helped it on its merry way? Wonder if it will come back again.

I don't know if this pregnancy is going to go any further but what I do know is that we didn't get this far before and maybe, just maybe, all these meds are doing something good. It would be really great to think so.

So, who's set for Valentines Day then?? People in my work are talking about Paddy's Day already!!

 

[_Nell]

Gill, I'm so pleased you've had another good scan Stay strong little bean

 

[Lou32]

Gill, wow! I can't believe what you've gone throuh so far. It sounds like you have a real fighter there and sounds like your clinic have been supportive. Nell - I'm really interested in what you said about estrogen. My immune tests suggested i'd need estrogen in my next cycle. Don't kno why. I wonder if that might stop my early spotting and v short luteal phase in my next cycle (and would mean i wouldn't need prog shots!) Think my new protocol mentions estradiol...Really don't want to do prog shots but I thought it was only solution. Unfortunately I'm stuck between 2 docs, one who's against immune tests and other who's impossible to get hold of.

 

[_Nell]

Hi Lou, will you have estrogen while stimming too or just in your LP? I had patches for IVF 2 and 3, I still spotted pre AF tbh (though not as early as usual). However my down-reg shot caused an initial estrogen surge for a week in my LP that stopped my spotting completely, so i suppose with the right dose it can work for me.

I think you do the estrogen on top of the progesterone though not instead of, I'm nervous about those shots too.....I won't be too disappointed if they are out of stock and I have to have the pessaries

 

[Lou32]

Hi, I think I start the estradiol while stimming and take for the whole 2ww too.Yup, I take it on top of the progesterone. I had an appointment today and my doc didn't want to prescribe the prog shots in the end. He doubled my pessaries. I used natural bioidentical progesterone cream last time when I started spotting early as I was desperate and it worked. So I told my doc today I did that last time and I expected him to be mad at me but he said I could supplement with that again this time if I want. I feel a bit better about that as it worked last time. Also, I read a research paper that suggested the natural cream was as good as the shots. Anyway, not much choice if my doc wouldn't prescribe the shots! When do you do your FET?

 

[_Nell]

Lou - You're right the pessaries are as good as the shots. TBH I really like the crinone, so easy and the cyclogest was ok too. I'm really nervous about the PIO, I think DH is going to have to do them as I might not be able to reach well enough, so far I've done all my own shots for everything else.
I started the clexane yesterday and you'll be pleased to here it was 'no biggie', I was so worried but it didn't sting at all. Both jabs so far have each left a tiny bruise, but literally just 4 or 5mm and I feel fine.

Gill - Sorry I didn't really answer you about my down-regging when you asked. I'd found a lump at the time I read your post and was deep in the land of worry and not really thinking FET too much. Turns out it's just a haematoma from injecting last cycle or maybe the down-reg shpt, a 3cm lump on one side of my belly under the surface. It should go on it's own but until then I have only my right side to inject on, a bit of a pain as i've now started the clexane. Down-regging was ok, I wouldn't want to repeat it tbh with the prostap, it gave me an estrogen surge first and i'm sure aggravated my endo....and it seems it gave me this haematoma too.

I'm nervous to admit, but I think more than any of my fresh cycles I really really want this FET to work. It's not just the emotional and financial stress, I'm starting to worry what i'm doing to my body. When I started out I didn't even know I had endo, now I have endo cysts and get cramps from all the meds and lumps and bumps from injections and things.

 

[GillAwaiting]

Lou - You're right the pessaries are as good as the shots. TBH I really like the crinone, so easy and the cyclogest was ok too. I'm really nervous about the PIO, I think DH is going to have to do them as I might not be able to reach well enough, so far I've done all my own shots for everything else.
I started the clexane yesterday and you'll be pleased to here it was 'no biggie', I was so worried but it didn't sting at all. Both jabs so far have each left a tiny bruise, but literally just 4 or 5mm and I feel fine.

Gill - Sorry I didn't really answer you about my down-regging when you asked. I'd found a lump at the time I read your post and was deep in the land of worry and not really thinking FET too much. Turns out it's just a haematoma from injecting last cycle or maybe the down-reg shpt, a 3cm lump on one side of my belly under the surface. It should go on it's own but until then I have only my right side to inject on, a bit of a pain as i've now started the clexane. Down-regging was ok, I wouldn't want to repeat it tbh with the prostap, it gave me an estrogen surge first and i'm sure aggravated my endo....and it seems it gave me this haematoma too.

I'm nervous to admit, but I think more than any of my fresh cycles I really really want this FET to work. It's not just the emotional and financial stress, I'm starting to worry what i'm doing to my body. When I started out I didn't even know I had endo, now I have endo cysts and get cramps from all the meds and lumps and bumps from injections and things.

Hi Nell, you really hit home with me there when you were talking about what this stuff does to your body. It's mad. I don't even feel human these days. Im on everything going plus these pregnyl shots and so sick, bloated, all those lumps and bumps you are talking about, my tummy area where the steroid fat is, is covered in them from all the shots. Sometimes it feels like I have to go through a really tough layer of stuff to get another injection in. Im one hormonal cow these days. I even look like a different person from the head and body bloating and what should now be called 'fur' growing on my skin! However, to give you hope, I've never gotten an embryo this far before so maybe the torture is worth it. You are doing all you can and will never regret it. You're so doing the right thing. When is the FET?

 

[_Nell]

Sometimes it feels like I have to go through a really tough layer of stuff to get another injection in

Me too and that's what worries me really (on top of everything else i'll worry about if get a BFP!) I already have that just from my 3 cycles of stimming, just this morning I started to inject and it just wasn't going in easy so i moved to a different spot.....i'm so worried i'll run out of spots if i have to do this through pg!

You are doing all you can and will never regret it

I know, I feel just like you, it's the 'no regrets' attitude that keeps me going tbh.

My next lining check is on friday. I know from having my haematoma checked at on monday it's 7mm. 7mm is the most i've ever achieved, it gets there and just stops. FX it's managed even a mm more for me on friday.

Will you be able to stop your extra meds at the 12 week mark Gill? If so, not too long left for you

 

[GillAwaiting]

Good luck tomorrow Nell with the lining check. Fingers crossed.

I've got another scan in the morn. Usual terrors kicking in. In a way it's fortunate that I am so unbelievably sick because Im too sick to worry myself into a stupor tonight.

It's weird, we want this to work so much but Im terrified to get to 12 weeks and come off some of the meds and leave the security and hand holding the fertility clinic has provided. If I could shack up in their lovely waiting room for the other 30 weeks it would be great!

How's everyone else doing these days? Any news?

 

[Amber3]

Lou
Can you tell me more about the antioxidant diet?
Amber

 

[Missy01]

Hi Gill,

I hope your last scan went well and that you are starting to feel better.

I was wondering at what points in your cycle you started taking each of the following drugs: aspirin, clexane, intralipids, and steroids? Ie. which did you take from cd1, first stimming day, EC and ET?

Thanks.

Missy

 

[GillAwaiting]

Hi Gill,

I hope your last scan went well and that you are starting to feel better.

I was wondering at what points in your cycle you started taking each of the following drugs: aspirin, clexane, intralipids, and steroids? Ie. which did you take from cd1, first stimming day, EC and ET?

Thanks.

Missy

Hi Missy,
I had a look back on my charts on fertility friend to see. I went straight from a TSI cycle into an IUI cycle and then straight into ICSI. I started the steroids, aspirin, and clexane when I started stimming for the TSI and haven't been off them since. The first intralipid infusion was a few days before the TSI. I had one again a few days before IUI and the same for ICSI. I had further intralipid infusion when I got BFP and I had another one in week 9 of pregnancy. I hope that is some use to you!

The last scan went extremely well. Crl was perfect at 10+3. Another one next week. Not sure if that will be the last one with the clinic. Im hoping that if it goes ok, there will be one more after that. Im really afraid of leaving them.

Cons said I could go off the pregnyl too. I would have been due another shot a few days ago and still sick as parrott 24/7 so I know my own hcg levels must be peaking. Interestingly I've never gotten sick, just permanently on the brink of it. I've read that steroids are sometimes prescribed for vomiting in morning sickness so perhaps they are stopping me actually throwing up. Cons said she will wean me off the steroids soon and I will feel more human again. and perhaps look less like a monkey. My face is so furry!

 

[_Nell]

Gill - yay for another great scan. I'm sure if you want to stay and have an extra one at your clinic they'll let you? great news about starting to wean off the meds soon too.......so long to your furry face eh?!