Starting first IVF January 2015 - need an ivf cycle buddy!!!

[JeanJean]

Hi Ladies:

I will be doing my first cycle of IVF starting mid January 2015. I am totally new to the IVF world and would love some cycle buddy's!

I have pcos and have been unable to conceive. I am 28 and hubby is 27 and in good health otherwise.

My doctor has me starting the Birth Control Pill for 21 days at the end of December prior to my ivf cycle.

I am so excited at the prospect of actually being pregnant! My clinic has a 60-65% success rate when one embryo is transferred and 70-75% rate when two embryos are transferred. We will be doing two so our chances are good

 

[02penguin]

Hi

 

[02penguin]

Hi, I'm also new to ivf and also starting late January. No known fertility issues except a fibroid but it's situated well out the way of any implantation areas so hopefully won't cause any issues. Only other issue I had that may have caused an issue was high prolaactin but that has been resolved.

When I had a scan I was told my ovaries looked mildly polycystic so they have put me on short protocol, no birth control pills or down regging, just straight to stims.

I'm nervous about it all but excited too! No idea how my.body will react! And I feel sorry for my partner already, I can be a hormtonal wreck on a normal cycle!
X

 

[JeanJean]

Hi 02Penguin!

Thanks your your reply! Yes this is a very nervous thing to go though. Some days I am so excited thinking of the possibility of getting pregnant from it..then other days I feel so depressed that we are even having to go through this and the looming possibility it may not work.

Do you know yet if you will be transferring 1 or 2 embryos?

 

[02penguin]

Our clinic is pretty pro only one embryo I believe, I think it will only be one unless they are rubbish quality in which case I think we are gonna push for 2. Guess it all depends.

I'm just gonna focus on one step at a time! As I am a natural worrier and trying to lower stress levels.

Continuing Healthy eating and weaning off caffeine is my next priority

 

[JeanJean]

Yes I agree! I have started yoga, accupunture and healthy eating. I should start weaning off caffeine also.

 

[diliapickle]

Mind if I join in? I am doing my FET in January! I am not a newbie (did IVF/FET in 2012) but looking for buddies during cycle!

 

[JeanJean]

Yes Welcome Dillapickle!! You can probably help us along since you have been down this path before. Did you have success in getting pregnancy on your prier IFV/Fet cycle?

 

[diliapickle]

Yes, my first FET was successful! I had to do a freeze all after my IVF due to OHSS so I wasnt able to go straight to ET after and had to wait to do an FET, but it worked I put two back in and got one beautiful baby girl!

 

[JeanJean]

Oh awesome! Congrats and hope you have the same success the second time around. Will you be putting two embryos in again?

 

[diliapickle]

Yes, we will be doing two again!

 

[JeanJean]

Oh Awesome! Just got my tentative dates yesterday. Looks like the monitoring will begin January 15th! So excited/scared lol.

 

[diliapickle]

So exciting! Do you know what your protocol will be yet?

 

[3chords]

Hi guys, I'm a bit behind (will do FET likely early February) but wouldn't mind some buddies.

I just finished my second IVF but we froze all.

 

[diliapickle]

Hi 3chords! I had to a do freeze all and it was so frustrating to wait! Hope the time goes by quickly for you!

 

[Evan]

Hi ladies! Would love to join your group. I had a successful IVF last year and now have a 6 month old. We're doing a fresh IVF in January and begin stims on the 16th. Nervous to start this journey again but feel hopeful in the process at the same time. I love that the holidays will create a distraction and make January come sooner!

JeanJean - looks like we've got a pretty similar IVF start!

 

[JeanJean]

Welcome 3chords and Evan!!

Yes the holidays are a good distraction to start time lol.

Sorry dillapickle what do you mean by protocol? I know I will be taking the BCP Dec 27th for around 15 days then have my first ultrasounds/blood work January 15th..then prob ever second day from then on. If everything goest as planned egg retrieval will be around Jan 67-29 then put in the embryos Feb 1-3.

Just leaving now for some fertility acupuncture. Have to say - the first time I ever did acupuncture was the most relaxing thing I have done in a while. Really looking forward to it again!

Anything that you girls are cutting out ie: coffee/drinking? - I have switched from coffee to tea and will let myself have drinks (hard not to around the christmas time) till end of year then starting January will not drink.

Evan so happy for you that your previous IVF was a success. If you don't mind me asking. Anything about the whole process that you think would be helpful for some of us first timers?

 

[Evan]

I'm not cutting anything out until I start stims in January. I asked my dr (and every dr is different) and she said if you're going to have some wine now's the time to do it!

JeanJean- What helped me most was trying to make the process "fun." My husband administered all of my shots and we would play the same song before to get us excited and pumped up. Its easy to think why me and be scared of the shots but its way less stressful to think that this process is going to bring me closer to my dream. There is nothing in this process that you can control other than your outlook.

Staying active and eating healthy can only help your chances. I am lucky that my profession keeps me active but for me exercise is a huge stress reliever. Staying hydrated once you start your stims is also important to help avoid over stimulation.

The most difficult part of it all for me was the two week wait. There are no more appointments, no more labs, .... life got quiet and my mind got loud. This time around we're thinking of planning a small weekend getaway or some event to serve as a distraction as the wait was totally consuming for us.

I kept a journal the first time around so that I can look back and remember what my worries were or whether or not I felt symptoms, etc. I think it helped me through the initial process and it will help me once more this round.

Hope my reply wasn't too long, I'm just eager to share anything I can. I'm definitely nervous going into this process again, but I'm trying to be as hopeful as I can be.

 

[diliapickle]

JeanJean - I just meant timeline and which meds they had you on. Sounds like you have your timeline already which is really exciting!

 

[JeanJean]

Thank for the reply Evan! Love the suggestions have wrote them down in my little 'ivf' notebook. Going to be adopting the song before the shots idea - love it!