June/July IVF/FET buddies! :)

[lanet]

Redbean I'm also very sensitive to hormones and medicine in general. The emotional side effects were minimal, but I was very prepared and ready to do this. The worst part was the birth control pills! But the injections weren't bad. I felt kind of weak/bloated near the end of stims but other than that I was fine until retrieval....
Island any news?

 

[islandnyc]

Everything went well. They retrieved 15 and 11 have fertilized. I'm scheduled for a 3 day transfer on Friday at 9:30 am. I asked to do 3 embryo's. I did my first progesterone shot yesterday. Not so bad at all. I expected worse.

Redbean - I've never done IUI. I went straight to IVF from clomid. I triggered on Sunday at 9:00pm and had my retrieval on Tuesday at 7:30 am. My issues are also unexplained.

Flannelsheets - Great advice for Redbean. FET on Monday ! Best of luck! I conceived my 2 year old via FET. It can and will happen. Positive vibes coming your way!

Thank you everyone for the support it means the world to me.

 

[jsquared]

Island--great news!! Glad to hear the progesterone shot wasn't terrible. Your transfer will be here in a blink!

Redbean--today is day 6 for me of injections, and it hasn't been bad. I also worried about side effects, but so far I've only had headaches which could have been worse. I am more emotional but nothing crazy, and I'm not sure it's because of the meds; the whole process is delicate and stressful at times. But all in all, it's gone pretty well.

Flannel--yay for your FET! How exciting/what a relief to know when it's happening. Wishing you all kinds of luck!!

Everyone else--hope you are well and that things are moving forward as you want them to.

 

[lanet]

Great news island! Did you choose a day 3 transfer or is it just standard?
Flannel yay for getting the go ahead for fet! What do they want your lining to be at?
Hi to everyone else

 

[islandnyc]

lanet- I asked today why they are insisting on a 3 day transfer and was told that in very rare cases does this center do 5 day. She assured me that he has a very good track record with his three day transfers. I'm going to trust them but I would have preferred a blast transfer to see which embies made it that far.

 

[River54]

Redbean - we are unexplained as well, and it is very frustrating to never get a bfp while ttc.

Island - GL on your transfer! Sounds great the number that fertilized

Flannel - awesome that you a go for the FET

Hi to EOE!!

Tonight will be day 8 of injections, and I am just really tired. We slept in this morning, and I was still groggy for awhile. Things are tighter. I am guessing the follies are growing and my body is trying to make room. Grow follies grow!!

I go in tomorrow morning for another follie check.

 

[Flannelsheets]

Thanks for all your positive vibes! We've done this process as quickly and smoothly as we could -- going from one thing directly into the next (IUI > IVF > FET), and it still takes FOREVER!! Or it feels like it does... We are definitely ready for June 9!

They want the lining to be at least 8 (mm?) and mine is 13.2.

Very exciting, Island! Everything's moving quickly now!

 

[haleiwamama]

lanet- I asked today why they are insisting on a 3 day transfer and was told that in very rare cases does this center do 5 day. She assured me that he has a very good track record with his three day transfers. I'm going to trust them but I would have preferred a blast transfer to see which embies made it that far.

If you prefer to do a 5 day transfer, you should ask for it. I'm no expert but the likelihood is higher with blastocysts.. Of course you have to trust your doctor, but he also needs to take into consideration your wishes...

 

[haleiwamama]

Hi ladies, I was wondering if any of you were on a Ganirelix protocol... initially my doc said I would be on Lupron and now I just received an email saying I'll be on Ganirelix... Im just trying to make sense of it,... I read this online that raised a red flag:

"Use of Ganirelix results in less total number of shots being taken during the stimulation cycle than with the use of Lupron. However, there is some evidence in published literature that there are slightly fewer eggs retrieved (on average), slightly less embryos available on the day of transfer (on average), and slightly lower pregnancy rates than with the use of Lupron."

But it also said this:
"However, this is when all patients are given the same protocol (Lupron vs. Ganirelix). Pregnancy rates are excellent with Ganirelix when used properly in selected patients. We use it for almost all of our egg donation cases and see excellent pregnancy and live birth rates with it in the egg donors. More studies are needed to further clarify this important issue."

What do you guys think?

 

[lanet]

Haleiwa, I used ganirelix and had 22 eggs so it worked for me!
Island I'm sure your day 3 transfer will be great as they are using the best embryos which would've most likely been the ones to make it blast anyway. Some labs aren't equipped properly for successful day 5.

 

[islandnyc]

If you prefer to do a 5 day transfer, you should ask for it. I'm no expert but the likelihood is higher with blastocysts.. Of course you have to trust your doctor, but he also needs to take into consideration your wishes...[/QUOTE]

I feel the same way. I don't know, I'm torn. I'm going to talk it over with my Fiance tonight and see how he feels. I am happy that they are not giving me a hard time about putting three back though. I miss my old Doctors in NY that I knew and trusted with every decision. Truth be told this Doctor puts me at ease and I am building a repor with him. We will see how this plays out.

 

[lanet]

Can you at least ask the dr why they rarely do a blast transfer? I do know a lot changed between day 3 and day 5 for me.

 

[Flannelsheets]

I agree with lanet that it probably has something to do with their lab. I know that blasts need a very different kind of culture than 3-day embryos, so maybe their lab doesn't have that kind of culture? It would have been helpful for them to give you more info. But it's good that you trust your doc, and plenty of people have success with earlier embryos. (I'm sure you've looked at the IVF success thread!)

Awesome to hear of your success w/FET, btw!

 

[jsquared]

Haleiwa, I am on Cetrotide, which is the same as Ganirelix. I remember reading somewhere that it's newer than Lupron and very effective. Sorry I have no citation--can't remember where I read that, but I remember wondering why I wasn't on Lupron and then finding the info on Cetrotide that made me feel better

I went in this morning for Day 6 u/s/bloods. (I've had 5 days of stims so far.) At this point, she saw 13 follies (7 on left side, 6 on right) without hunting for others, most measuring 13-15, a few 11-12, and one at 16mm. The nurse doing the ultrasound said this was 'excellent' and that she expects they'll do the retrieval earlier than projected. I want to be happy with this, but I worry about egg quality since things are happening a little faster than expected. My RE is keeping me at the same dose through my next check on Friday, so I guess he's happy with what he sees.

 

[Redbean]

Thanks for all the comments. It's good to know I'm not alone. The Clomid symptoms were horrible, and I never did well going on or off birth control in the past, so I'm a bit worried about that.

I had my consult today and am feeling more hopeful. I went to the Cleveland Clinic, where they invented IVF, so they are doing all the best stuff. They only do a 5 day transfer, bc by then they have a better idea if the blastocyst is developing on schedule and will go to term. I guess it matters in terms of 1) choosing how many eggs they transfer and 2) choosing the best quality ones. And, yes, I agree that it has either to do w the lab or w the PhD running it. Is it a hospital or clinic? BUT, she also said I could choose 3 day, which is cheaper, and probably have good chances still of choosing great eggs.

 

[lanet]

Redbean that's interesting about day 3 being cheaper, mine was the same price either way. And the clomid side effects for me were worse than injection side effects.
Jsquared that is wonderful news!!!! Great number of follies. I know we always find the next thing to worry about but try not to. How many days of stims are the expecting? Have you start the cetrotide yet? That may slow it down a bit so don't worry.

 

[jsquared]

Hi Lanet! Well, they had me order 11 days worth of meds, and today the nurse said I may trigger as early as Friday and have ER Sunday. That would be 3-4 days earlier than anticipated, so I'm like, is that good?? Will the eggs be mature? (Of course I didn't think to actually ask this until after I was out of there.) They did have me start the cetrotide last night, and might I say OUCH. Not the shot so much as after--itchy lump developed but I guess that's not unusual. It's gone today. Nurse said I could take Benadryl but I really don't want to take anything I don't have to. I am so paranoid. I've been trying to eat organic, etc. and today I had drive-thru chicken nuggets and I'm all, oh no!! That wasn't hormone/antibiotic free chicken! What was I thinking!**

**I'm crazy.

 

[lanet]

The ganirelix did the same thing! It felt like a bee sting.
I will say that throughout stims I was told a few different possible retrieval dates and it ended up being exactly 10 days. I had 27 total follicles on day 5 (they didn't tell me size) and started ganirelix on day 6. and then 20 big follicles on day 7 and 28 on day 9, triggered after my regular stim dose on day 10. I thought I was going fast too but it all worked out perfectly. They never even changed my dose

 

[Flannelsheets]

I had the same exact experience as lanet. 10 days of stims and loads of eggs (24) on Ganirelix. 23 were mature. Just keep breathing, jsquared. And I say eat whatever you want. My vice was/is dark chocolate. As long as you're drinking enough water and getting a good amount of protein in some form, you'll be fine.

Also remember it only takes one good egg and one good sperm, no matter how many or few you end up producing! We're still looking for our one, obviously.. Hoping we find it next week!

 

[jsquared]

Thanks you guys! Tonight's injection of Cetrotide only itched for a few minutes, and so far, no lump. So that's good. I'll be anxious to see what the scan shows on Friday. If they have me trigger then, I'll only have stimmed for 7 days, which seems really short and kind of concerns me. Lanet, I'm glad to know the Cetrotide will slow things down a little. That makes me feel better.

I just have to remember these people know what they're doing. Deep breaths...