Anyone doing IVF in February???

[seeking]

Hi girls, I was just wandering if anyone is doing IVF in February that I can join so we can support each other through the rollercoaster ride? I started synarel on the 1/25 and am now awaiting af to join me so I can start puregon injections. I think ER will be around the 2/12 and we are having god willing one five day blast transferred. I am very excited and looking forward to the next step, we are getting close to the last attempt so I hope someones on our side. I look forward to hearing from anyone who is trying anything in February not just IVF. Thanks Michelle. :) ;) :p

[Daisy28]

Hello,

Why did the other IVF not work? How many did they put in?

[seeking]

Hi Daisy,

Not sure why but it was about a year and a half ago, they put two in that time but my first round of IVF we used three day embryos. I had two FET's after that the second one worked but the joy was short lived. We lost her at 11 weeks due to a severe form of downsyndrome. I had another FET in December, unsuccessful again but it had tried to but failed to implant:( as there was small amounts of HCG in my blood. We have one three day embryo left but I have decided to do IVF again. Hopefully the five day embryos will make a difference. Fingers crossed anyway.

How about you, what are you doing???If you don't mind me asking. Here's hoping February is our month, Michelle.;)

[wendylou]

Hi gals, I too am doing IVF in Feb. I start Lupron on the 3rd, and then ER and ET will the the last week of feb/beginning of March.

Michelle, you have one heck of a story, I hope someday, when you hold your baby in your arms, you will know it was worth it. Good luck to you, and you are in my prayers. I failed my first IVF, the doc thinks I have an implantation problem, so I will be using vaginal viagra, which has been shown in many studies to increase implantation....wish me sticky baby dust!! By the way, one of my favorite people on the earth is a doctor in Sydney at the womens hospital...do you live near there?

Daisy, what is your story?

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Wendy, thanks for your words. We are nearly done it has been quite a rollercoaster I think it is DH who is struggling with the journey more then me, I have a good feeling about this month though. I have never heard about viagra being used in IVF before could you please give me some imformation on it so I could ask my RE about it. I also only seem to have problems with implantation. My RE will put me on asprin as soon as I have the transfer done.

I live on the other side of Austarlia, in Perth but DH is from Sydney though but hasn't been back in a while. Where are you from?

I have been taking a nasal spray since wednesday and all I seem to want to do is sleep. I think I stop it just before I take the trigger shot, I can't wait for this month to get rolling. We arn't far behind each other in our cycle. I wish us all well. I look forward to talking to you soon, Michelle;) :) ;)

[fish142]

I'll join you. I was supposed to be doing my meds already, but I had a rather large follie (16) at my baseline, so they're having me do another round of bcp. I start meds on 2/19, with retrieval sometime in the week of the 26th.

This will be my 2nd IVF cycle. The first was in October, and then with figuring out what to do next, and the holidays, and then this follie, it'll be almost 5 months from the last time! It seems like forever since I've had to shoot myself, so I'm kinda anxious but still looking forward to it. (But not looking forward to the PIO. Yuck!)

Glad to have buddies! :)

[charlotte98]

Michelle, I have been lurking on this thread as I am about to start my first IVF cycle in March. I actually spent 6 months in Perth studying at Murdoch University for a study abroad program in '97, and LOVED it. I love that we can meet people half-way across the world (literally!) and offer our prayers and support in this. I am definitely thinking of you and hoping that this will be your BFP!

baby dust,
Char

[seeking]

I'm glad I've got some buddies as well, there's nothing worse then going through this alone although I've just had word that DH will probably be home the week of my Er and maybe even for the ET. It was a major setback for his company but great to have him home for once.

Fish, Without the risk of sounding dumb what does it mean by you having a big follie:confused: , does that mean you didn't O this month??? Sorry I understand alot but sometimes the simple things confuse me. It's great to have you here, I think you will be doing your ER at the same time as Wendy. The wait seems to take forever sometimes doesn't it, sighhhhh.


Charlotte, thankyou so much for your words it's always nice to know there's so many people who care out there. Please stay with us and we can continue on into March as Wendy's and Fish's tww will be then and I'd love to give you the support you have already given me.Oh and Perth is great very slow compared to most other cities I've visited but I like it like that. What was your favourite place over here??

Thanks, girls I'll talk to you soon, Michelle:)

[wendylou]

Hey Michelle, I could post stuff here about viagra use in infertility, but it would take up a lot of space. Use the internet and do a search on "viagra and infertility" and many articles will pop up. It is used for implantation, and it is a vaginal suppository. (YUCK) but whatever works, you know???

[Daisy28]

Hello,

I did IUI and it didnt work. I am doing IVF at the end of Feb and the transfer will be in March. I am not sure what medication I will be taking until thursday 02/02/06 when I have my doctors appointment. I know I will be on Birth Control pills and injections but not sure when until 02/02/06. This will be my first IVF and last. It is over 18,000.00 for one try. How much is IVF for you guys?

[fish142]

Daisy, I saw you started a thread in the general forum, so I'm glad to see you found us here too. And while we can all share the pain of shots and "what's going on with me" and the tww, unfortunately (or fortunately) I can't share in your financial pain. I know I am very lucky to have great insurance that will cover most of the cost. I can't imagine the added stress in having to take out a huge loan for this. If we didn't have insurance, I don't think we would be trying this. So more power to you - you deserve extra baby dust!:D

Wendy, viagara suppositories, eh? Hey, whatever works! And yeah, there's the yuck factor, but I'd do that any day over extra shots!:eek:

Michelle, my follie was a problem because I was on bcp for 3 weeks in order to quiet my ovaries before stimming. But one follie grew anyway, and they didn't want to start stimming me with one that was already 16mm! So I get to be on another 3 weeks of bcp, and then they'll do a baseline again to see if my ovaries really are quiet now. I hope they are because I don't want to keep putting this off!

Oh, and you've got company down under (or you had). I was also in Australia, back in '83 (oops, showing my age). Traveled all around and got to stay with some cousins in Perth. In fact, I was there when they had the parade through the town with the America's Cup after you guys beat us for it! That was fun to see, although I did get ribbed during that time for being a Yank. My favorite thing in Australia though was a trip to Coober Pedy, because it is just soooo different from any place else.

Anyway, glad to have you "here" even though, as Charlotte said, "here" is actually all around the world!

Fish

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Just testing I wrote a long post this morning and it wouldn't go up said I had logged in although I had. So here's hoping:)

[seeking]

Now that the last post worked I will try and remember what I posted this morning.

Thanks wendy, I will look it up and talk to my RE about it. I had to have pessaries for five weeks last cycle so I'm with you anything that works:o . W.A. seems to be a little slower in most things after all it does stand for WAIT AWHILE, lol. I only just qualify for all the procedures I'm having now. We are doing five day blasts with assisted hatching, embryo glue, HSA and using a growth hormone. How about you guys??

Fish I hope your ovaries quieten down it may just take awhile to kick in. It seems to take so long sometimes, sighhhh. You brought back great memories when you talked of America's cup I remember my mum waking me at some ungodly hour to watch us crossing the finish line and all the celebrations that followed after. I was a teenager then and can imagine how much people would of carried on about you being a yank us aussies are good like that;) . I live about 30 minutes away from where they held the cup race when it was over here, in Fremantle. I live in Rockingham or The swinging pig as most people like to call it.

Daisy, that's unbelievable how much they can charge and I can't imagine how many people have to give up their dream of being parents because of the cost. Extra boulders of baby dust are coming your way, good luck. This time will be our most expencive and it's still only going to be a little under $4,000 then our helth care system takes half of the cost and then most of the rest is covered by my insurance. Our out of pocket expence is only a couple of hundred dollars. This will work for you, I will be praying for you.

O.K. I hope this posts this time, take care girls, Michelle:)

[Jennnifer]

Daisy28, I am going through IVF around the same time you are. The clinic told me the note in my file said to call me Februar 2nd. I am guessing that is when they will tell me to come pick-up my meds.

[ashby]

Hope yall don't mind if I jump in here....I'm doing 1st IVF (ER and ET prob. 3rd week of Feb.). Did 2nd Lupron shot this a.m., then start other shots after AF arrives around Feb. 10. Looking forward to hearing how it goes for everybody this month!
Charlotte - I'm in Western NC -- are you going to a clinic in Charlotte?

[wendylou]

hello gals....
I just got caught up in reading since I last posted. I live in Philly, and you can go through IVF cash pay for around 7000-10000 dollars around here. I have help from insurance right now, Thank God. It will not last long, though, and then it is a home equity loan for us!!!

I have a question....WHAT IS EMBRYO GLUE??? Never heard of it, but would love to know what it is!!!!

Ashby, you and I are going to be neck and neck. I start lupron on the 3rd of Feb...ER and ET tentatively scheduled for the last week of Feb.

Feels like it will never get here!!

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I hope everyones well, I've been busy trying to get the boys ready for their first day of school. Today is the day, so I will make this quick as they are going to a new school and feeling a little nervous right now:)

I just wanted to drop in and let Wendy know what embryo glue is. Bear with me as I don't have my paperwprk in front of me. It is a glue that is made with the same properties that our own embryo's will have to make before it implants into the lining of the uterus. It gives the embryo a head start so to speak. Although it is a relatively new procedure in Australia my clinics data says that it adds a 10% increased chance of falling pg.

Have a great day girls, Michelle.:) :) :)

[charlotte98]

Hey ladies, I tried to post yesterday and had the same problem Michelle had. I'll try to remember what I wrote!

Ashby- Yes, I am here in Charlotte, NC, and I moved here in 1998. It's not a very clever login name, I know! I am going to the Woman's Institute at Carolina's Medical Center. Where in Western NC are you located?

Daisy- We are definitely going to be on the same cycle! I am on BCPs now, starting Lupron on Feb. 17th with an estimated retrieval for March 13th. Let me know what schedule your doc sets up! I think that I told you on another thread that I am paying $14,000 for IVF with a possible extra $1,000 if we do assisted hatching. Also, I got the meds list last week and those will be $3,500. I certainly hope this works, because we can't afford to try again!

fish- When is your next baseline? I can't imagine how frustrated you must have been to have to wait another 3 weeks. I swear, once you start gearing up for this it's like, 'let's get this show on the road already!'

Michelle- I have never heard of embryo glue, and it sounds very cool. I'd take anything for an increased 10%! Will your doc be using that?


heaps of baby dust!
Char

[Denalda]

Hello,
This is my 3rd ivf cycle.

The 2nd cycle was canceled after retrieval due to internal bleeding that sent me to the hopital for 2 days and emergency surgury to get the blood out. I lost 3 liters of blood out of 4.5 in my body. I was in sad shape. I can't believe i'm doing this again. I'm a fragile x carrier with what seems like low reserve (poor responder).

Had my first US today 2 follicles on left and 4 on the right (thats so bad!!!!!).
Sigh well if I can't grow any I guess I get my money back. :(

I start Gonal F 300 am+pm tonight. dh and I are both taking doxycycline. No baby asprin or anything else at this time.

[fish142]

Denalda, glad you made it over from Fertilitext. You have a pretty scary story there. I hope this time all goes well. And even if you only have 6 follicles, well, you actually only need one good one! So get working on that one, and be sure it's one of the cute ones! :)

Charlotte, thanks for the support. Yes, it IS frustrating. Especially because I had to cancel some plans based on projected ER and ET dates, and now I can't change back. I go back on 2/15 for a baseline, and hopefully all will be quiet on the western front (well, on the leftern side, but who's counting), so that I can start meds on 2/19, with a projected ER & ET the following week. The goofy thing at my clinic is that there are 2 doctors doing IVF and they trade off months. So I have Dr. A for the pre-ER monitoring, and if my ER is 2/28, Dr. A does it, but if I have to wait until 3/1, it's Dr. B. They're both good, so it's not a problem, it's just a little goofy.

Everybody hang in there - with extra embryo glue all around!:p

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I will keep this really short as DH flew in from India yesturday. He is in the shower so thought I'd jump on quickly and let you know that I am thinking of you guys and havn't disappeared if you don't hear from me, I'm am catching up with the man of my dreams;) ;) .

Char, i will be using anything the RE can throw my way to increase the chances of me falling og this time:D .

Den, Your story is very, very scarey. I wish you well and I'm glad you joined us as I am with everybody. It makes the whole cycle go alot quicker knowing there is you guys to share it all with, thankyou.

I better go, talk to you's later. Baby dust for all of us, Michelle:)

[Mom to Angels]

Hi ladies,

I found my way from the Fertilitext board. I am doing my 2nd IVF this Feb. My first one is a long story - I got pregnant on the 1st IVF cycle with triplets, lost the third on in the first trimester and then lost the remaining two at 20 weeks. It was so painful but DH and I are still hopeful. I actually start my Lupron shots tomorrow and am quite excited and scared. DH got was in a minor accident and now has his good hand in a cast. That means I have to inject myself in the tummy! Wish me luck tomorrow morning. I will certainly let you know how it went. ER is anticipated to be around 2/15 and ET to follow shortly after.

I'm glad that I can share this experience with others going through something similar. Sorry I can't do personals right now but I've gotta get out of here! I will touch base with you all tomorrow.

Baby dust to us all!

[seeking]

OMG, Mom 2 angels your story is so sad I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you find peace and this coming transfer brings a life time of joy that you and DH deserve. I think we will be doing our ER and ET around the same time. Are they going to transfer less embryo's this time to reduce the risk to you and baby? Good luck tomorrow and I am thinking of you. I am due for AF tomorrow so will probably have b/w done on Saturday and start injections on Sunday. I'm not looking forward to them:eek: . I've always done them by myself as DH is very seldom home:( . I better go and take care girls, I hope you have a great day, Michelle:) :)

[Mom to Angels]

Michelle, thanks for your kind words. We have found peace but there are days when I really miss my babies. DH and I discussed how many embryos to transfer and I really only feel comfortable transferring 2. Of course, it depends on how many embryos we get and their quality. Last time we had grades 1, 2 and 3. RE thinks it was a fluke that all three imlplanted... we'll find out very shortly. Hope you got AF today and good luck on your shots!

Denalda, I'm so sorry for what happened to you. How scary! But what resolve, determination and strength you have to go through it again! It will be well worth it once you hold your baby in your arms, won't it? And don't worry about the number of eggs. My RE only saw 4 follies (I also have a low egg reserve) in the first IVF and 4 follies going into this second IVF. I got pregnant in the first IVF and would be carrying my babies had I not caught an infection. The point is, it's the quality of your eggs and not so much the quantity. Try to stay positive - we'll all help you get through this!

Fish, I'm sorry to hear that your cycle was delayed but time flies! Next thing you know, you'll be injecting shots into your tummy (whoever would have thought any of us would be doing this?)

As for myself, I started my Lupron shots this morning! I injected it in myself and it was such a piece of cake! DH (with his broken thumb) got up early with me for moral support. He's such a sweet guy - I hope I can give him a baby because I know he'd make the best dad! Anyway, off to stimming-land I go. How exciting and scary. All my worrying thoughts of "Is this going to work?" are all coming back to me. Whoa is me!

I'm sending positive prayers and baby dust to us all!

[Denalda]

Hi mom to angels,
Well I need a large amount of quantity. (The three frozen are darker in color than doc likes.) See I'm a fragile X carrier so half of the eggs carry the gene. This is the leading cause of mental retardation in america. 1 of 250 women are carriers. Male carriers later in life develop shaking, falling down, meanness. Male's that are affected are mental retarded. Female carriers function normally as the male carriers do (until the men get to 60 years of age). Females that are affected (retarded) may function normally or be slower than most but will most likly have a better life than an affected male.

So I need lots of eggs to send to detroit to be tested. Being a Fragile X carrier it is automatically harder to get eggs out and run the risk of premenapause thus also my worry about low follicle count. And it looks like the quality may not be great. Plus now doing this may not be optional my hd and I was worried that with the quality/quanity I may not even be able to get preggy natually.

My sisters never knew before they had kids. They are jeleous of me (at least 10 years older) and don't want to see me succeed. You know what I say to that? I say I wish I didn't know, I wish I didn't have this worry, I wish all I thought was that i'm normal. I'm the one that had to tell her boyfriend about this. I'm the one that one guy basically left because of this prospect. (of course obviously my hubby didn't leave) I'm the one the surgeon told "I brought you back" after my emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. They even told me they would give blood (to develop a test to test a cell taken from a ooctye for FX) for their children but would not give blood to help me stop this a generation sooner than they could. How mean.

I'm rambling. But, its good to get things out. I'm going to the clinic tomorrow and will see if I actually pass what they want my E2 level to be on the 3rd day of shots. Previous 2 cycle I did not meet the count. (I think it was 200?).

[Denalda]

I am glad that we have each other to talk to. No one I know understands. I a find myself trying to explain follicles and med's to no avail to friends. Or friend that have 3 kids (1 planned and 2 surprises). It does me no good to talk to that "fertile" friend.

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Again this will be quick but I wanted to drop in and see how you's are all going. Den your having such a hard time at the moment, I'm so sorry for that and I hope all this seems a world away in about nine months time when you hold your little angel in your arms for the very first time. How was your E2?? I hope it was better this time. I am day one I started af yesturday afternoon so I have b/w on Monday and should start injections the same day....YAY. It's always good to get started. O.K. I better go, I am thinking of you, take care, Michelle.:) ;) :)

[Jennnifer]

Denalda, when you say fragile X are you speaking of missing a portion of the X chromosome? My husband was just tested for deletions in his Y and X chromosomes. We were worried because one means your sons will carry the deletion and the other means your daughters will pass it on to your grandsons. Thankfully his test just came back fine. We still have no explanation for his problem though... :confused:

[Denalda]

Hello all,

Seeking - my E2 today (treatment day 4) was 58. :( Its supposed to be between 100 and 200 on this day. So tonight and tomorrow morning I will do 375 gonal-f and bad to doctors in morning. I will say though I kept a diary for my 2nd cycle and on this day then it was 32! So It is slightly better. I was so glad I kept that diary I was so upset this morning hearing about 58 and being so tired due to gonal-f. But, now I am feel slightly better. Its better than last time. I can't wait to hear everone else's stats.

Man friday morning I'm helping to take care of my gma whom just got back home after 8 weeks of rehab for a broken hip that I was in such a hurry that I didn't get the pen dialed to 300. when I noticed it that night getting ready for the pm shot the dial was on the line between 225 and 300. I don't know if that was 250 or 275 but I told the nurse so that my doctor knew I messed up again.

Airmanswife - Fragle X is where your X chromosome has more repeats than normal. If your husband is a carrier your sons will be totally fine. It is the X chromosome that makes females (Y makes males) that men give to females that will be passed to each and every daughter (no way around it except to only have sons).

Basically it goes like this Men pass onto the daughters and the repeats count stays basically the same. However, when females pass it on to daughters and sons the count increases. Anything from repeats count of 55 - 200 you are a fragile x carrier. Over 200 you are affected (retarded).

However, when females receive the gene from their mothers they tend to be carriers or affected mildly due to the body relying on the "good" X. (females have 2 X's, Men have 1 X and 1 Y). But, when a mother gives it to her son and the count increases dramatically that son is affected and will never function in society. That son doesn't have another X to rely on that is why man get hurt from this much more than women. Most women that are affected can still function in society. Most of the time an affected male will eventually be institionalized. When men get into their 60's they get something called FXTAS. They develop tremors and fall down, get mean, their minds start to go - all their lives they may have rages and depression, do things that seem very illogical and have anxiety. Carrier women can have depression, anxiety, forget things, be bad in math (which I am not) rages but so can the majority of the population.

My repeat is 82. (not too bad). We have a 27% chance of passing it onto a son (carrier and affected) and a 23% chance of passing in onto a daughter (carrier and affected). Carrier women are harder to get to produce eggs with medicaion and run the risk of premenopause. So the thing I am trying to get rid of is the thing that stands in my way. (I'm obviously very angry about this.)

Any affected kids in my family were kept a secret until my sister had 3. 1 carrier girl and 2 badly affected boys. This gene was passed to my dad from my gma whom never believed she was the cause of the problem. GMA had 6 kids (3 girls/3boys) and passed it to 5 kids(carriers). Each of her daughter had 1 affected child. I believe my dad is the only male that passed it onto daughters. His 1 brother had sons and the other has greatgrandchildren already and no one has any symptoms. So start digging into your husbands families background if the test comes back that he is a carrier. You may be surprised at what you find and the FIGHT those in the older generation create.

BTW I am 26 years old. :(

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Wow Den, there are so many things we just don't know about. I would be angry to. Life just isn't fair and you are definately having a hard time of it. The diary thing is a great idea, I have not done it with any of my cycles just tried doing it by memory but i am going to start as of today. I did however keep a diary of how I was feeling with my transfer that i fell pg mainly in my tww to try and sort through my feelings and anxiety. Maybe there was something in it as that was the only one that ever worked for me. I am day two on my cycle so really am just behind you. I will let you know how I go with b/w tomorrow. I hope your E2 is where it should be. I also have problems with me E2 but generally respond very well so fingers crossed for both of us.

Have a great day girls, Michelle.

[Jennnifer]

Denalda, wow... My husband just turned 24. He is the third person on his mom's side with infertility issues in two generations. His aunt and cousin (not mother daughter) both had difficulties conceiving. His aunt's was unexplained so she tried to adopt. The adoption fell through so she put having children on the back burner. I believe she had one mc at one point, but finally did have a son after 10-15 years of trying. I'm not sure what the deal is with my hubby's cousin. I know she finally had to take clomid to get pregnant with her twins. It makes his mom mad if I ask anything about her family's infertility. I want to know if it is down the family line. I think we have the right to know, but she just feels like we are trying to stick this on her. She doesn't say that, it's just how she acts. I’m glad his chromosome test came back fine, but to a point if something was wrong I was hoping it was X deletion so I could say, “See it was your family line.” I know that is bad. I am just tired of dealing with her. Wherever it comes from my husband has a sperm count of 2-5 million.

[fish142]

Wow, family medical stuff sometimes sucks! Airman's, I totally understand you wanting more info from your dh's family, but I can also sorta understand your MIL thinking you're blaming her. Maybe your dh can ask her so it's coming from him ("what's in MY family that could affect ME?") as opposed to from you ("how is YOUR family history affecting MY fertility?"). At least his chromosome test came back fine. That's one good thing.

Denalda, your story is so much more involved than I first thought! It's hard enough to deal with IF, but then to also have to worry about a hereditary chromosomal issue, and on top of it to have absolutely NO support from your family (what's the opposite of support???), well, I'm glad you have us, and I'm glad that we can at least be there for you to vent at. And to have to deal with all this at 26 (well, a lot before as well, I'm sure)! Good luck and extra baby dust to you. Hope those E2 numbers start climbing steady and strong.

Not that this compares AT ALL with your stories, but my family also has a genetic syndrome, which causes scoliosis and other bone and development problems. There is some history of it on my mom's side, and my niece wore a back brace for probably 5 years, then finally had surgery on her back at 13. Fortunately I'm not a carrier, and fortunately, this is neither fatal nor seriously debilitating, but I can (at least a little) empathize with you and appreciate what you're going through. And being 44, I worry about chromosomal problems that just come with older eggs.

As for others....Michelle, I'm glad you're finally getting started! Keep us posted. And Mom-to-Angels, congrats on doing your own shots! Sometimes I think it's easier to do them yourself, because you have a little more control over them. I can't wait for my chance to start "shooting up" again! :)

Baby dust to all. Enjoy the Super Bowl. Or the commercials. Or the peace that comes from your dh/dp going elsewhere to watch it. :D

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Just thought I'd drop in and let you know my results. My E2 was 70 so I am good to go. I have just taken my first injection and it is looking like the 14th will be ER. You know how that goes though it all depends. It feels so good to be off and running again. How is everyone else going??? Take care, Michelle:D :D :D

[Denalda]

Airmanswife - 2 - 5 millions should be a good count. My hubby has 6 million and the doc said 3 millions was normal (if I remember right).

Thanks for the kind words Fish.

Well day 5 was yesturday (Sunday) - E2 reached 110 (a day late but MUCH better than last cycle.) Up from 58 on Saturday. So the doctor started me a Repronex! I hate that stuff.
The first cycle it gave me huge red painfull welts and I felt like i had the flu (with 3-4 powers). 2nd cycle we moved to Luveris. Doctor must not like Luveris because the nurse was like I am donating these to you BC the doc may start you on these to boost you up. I had 5 while boxes left after cycle 1 and had donated them to the clinic so that was "nice" of them (if you call being put on something thats painfull nice).

I did 2 powders of rep last night and have a small red welt, this morning was one powder (and boy did it burn baby burn going in). Red welts came fast this cycle.

Have you ladies ever had one sono tech say something different than another?

2 cycles now these 2 ladies always are off at least 1 follicule. Today they were off 3. Lady A said yesturday I had 13 folli's and stripe of 5.4. Lady B today said that I have 10 folli's and stipe of 3.7. I had a folli at 13 and 1 at 12 the rest are less than 10. I hope that doesn't mean my E2 didn't go down today. I guess I will find out later when nurse calls. I always have to ask specifically. Does anyone else have to ask or do they tell you automatically?

Seeking - I'm glad we are close together with the cycle. They usually push me out to 12 - 13 days of drugs. I figure my retrieval will be the 14th or 15th.

I've had some sharp pains from my overies over the last 2 days. The nurse said "Good". I'm like ok. She said that means they are working. That was a load off my mind I thought something was horrible wrong when at 5am Sunday morning 2 sharp pains from the right ovary woke me right up.

I'll write again later when I get todays E2.

[Denalda]

Seeking - Your E2 was 70 at baseline? Or were you taking some med's before you even start ivf to get the E2 up a little higher? I'm curious as on day 4 my E2 was 58. Cycle #2 after 3 days my E2 = -20. (that was bad bad)

Hi girls,

Just thought I'd drop in and let you know my results. My E2 was 70 so I am good to go. I have just taken my first injection and it is looking like the 14th will be ER. You know how that goes though it all depends. It feels so good to be off and running again. How is everyone else going??? Take care, Michelle:D :D :D

[Mom to Angels]

Hey seeking, it sounds like we're pretty much on the same schedule. I started my Gonal-F shots this Sat. and am also scheduled for ER the week of the 14th. I'm taking three shots per day now and it's not bad at all - definitely prefer to give myself the shots. I'm excited and a little anxious - praying that we're blessed with another pregnancy. I have my first u/s and b/w this Thurs. and we'll find out how many follies are growing. I know that I won't have a lot, but I'm praying that it's enough! How's everyone else doing?

[Denalda]

Hello -

Well today is treatment day 6 E2 = 130 today was 110 yesturday. Such a slow climb. And now I get 3 powders of repronex pm/ 2powders am tomorrow. Still 300 gonal-f am/pm.

[Babs33]

Hi Everyone!

I hope you don't mind me joining your thread. I am a newbie to these types of support sites. I am hoping this forum is helpful as I struggle with the quesitons of why and how this happens to people like us.

I am 29 years old. My husband and I have been trying to concieve for 14 months now. We tried three rounds of IUI w/ Clomid but were unsuccessful so we went straight to IVF.

I am in the midst of my second IVF cycle. I've been diagosed with DIMINISHED OVARIAN RESERVE. Anyone heard of or suffer from the same condition? First cycle went smoothly with the Lupron (10 units). 150 Follistm and 1 powder of Menopur. Yielded 6 eggs that were retrieved (although my doctor said at my age I should have had around 12 - 15 eggs) and 4 eggs were usable. 3 of them fertilized and they tranferred all 3 but was not successful.

Second cycle I was put on the maximum dose of Follistm (350) and 3 powders of menopur. I just had my retrieval on Saturday and they retrieved 12 eggs but only 8 of them were good enough to use and out of the 8, only 3 fertilized. My transfers are scheduled for tomorrow.

Anyone heard of diminished ovarian reserve? My doctor said if this cycle does not work then he would consider a flare cycle. Anybody tried that before or heard of it?

Also, since I am new at this would anyone be kind enough to list what the various acronyms mean? I need a quick lesson so I understand what everyone is writing!

Thanks.

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Babs, welcome to the board your more then welcome to the board sticky vibes for you tomorrow heres hoping your tww goes quickly. I don't know if anyone told you that the abbreviation list is up the top to help you with what we are all saying;) .

Everyone else, I am using syrenal since the 25th but that's to stop me o'ing so I don't know if that's why my levals are like that but I was told anything between 25 to 75 was normal as a baseline. So I am still in normal range. I always start with good estrogen levals but they seem to slow over the time leading to O unless of coarse I'm being stimmed.

I better go I'll be back later to see how everyone is going, Michelle.:)

[fish142]

Denalda - it's climbing slow, but it's climbing. I have never gotten my E2 numbers from my doc. They just tell me "it looks good." Oh, wait, I did get my numbers once when they cancelled an IUI cycle because it was too high and they were worried about OHHS. But I'm sure if I ask, they'd give me the E2 numbers, so I think I might do that this time around. Also, I've never had to do Repronex, but they might add it to the mix this time. I haven't had any problems with the other meds (except PIO!), but I'll look out for the Repronex. Does everyone else have a problem with it?

Babs, welcome. I haven't heard of Diminished Ovarian Reserve, but I assume it means you don't have tons of (good) eggs left. Well, I haven't been so diagnosed, but I'm 44, so I assume I have the same type of thing. Although the doctors say that I respond to the meds more like a 20yo than a 40yo, but I still only had 8 eggs retrieved at my first IVF. They did put me on a microdose flare for a few cycles. It was .2cc of Lupron 2x a day for 2 days alone and then continuing while I added the stimming meds. This time I'll be doing Follistim alone (no Lupron!) and then they'll add Cetrotide after a while. (And, Denalda, maybe Repronex!) Anyway, good luck with your ET and your tww! (have you found the abbreviations list yet?:))

Mom to Angels & Michelle - Happy shooting! I guess I'm behind all of you, so I need lots of BFPs to encourage me along! :p

[Mom to Angels]

Babs, welcome! I have a high FSH level which means that I have low ovarian reserve (I guess that means the same thing as diminshed?). I'm on the flare protocol now: 20cc lupron am/pm and 450iu Gonal-F pen. I don't have any side effects other than my ovaries are sore, but I guess that's a good thing. Good luck on your ET today!!! I'm sending you sticky sticky vibes right now.

Fish, I think it's fantastic that you had 8 follies. My first IVF only retrieved 5 and I'm not expecting much this go around either. I am "happily" shooting away. My poor DH still has his hand in a cast but I will need him to do the PIO shots because no way am I shooting myself in the leg. There's much more "cushion" in my tushy area, if you know what I mean!

Michelle, how are your shots going? Are your ovaries starting to get sore?

Denalda, I'm glad that your E2 levels are going up. They're headed in the right direction so that's definitely something to be thankful about!

As for myself, trying to patiently wait for u/s and b/w this thurs. I'm a little worried because RE's saw a cyst on my right ovary and tested to make sure that it wasn't active (which is wasn't) so gave me the go ahead to start stimming. I'm just praying that it's not interfering with my maturing follies.

Okay, gotta go back to work! I hope everyone's doing well and I'm sending positive prayers everyones' way!

[Denalda]

Hello,
Day 7 Estrodial = 274 and should double in 48 hours. It was 130 yesturday. They say for every 200 points there is 1 mature follicle. What else is exciting news is this: My last cycle didn't even hit 274 on day 8! So i'm doing much better.

Today was a different u/s person. She said I had 8 follies, different lady day before said I had 10 and the different lady before that said 13. These ladies are making me look like i'm going in the wrong directions but I think its their eyes. I wonder how often they have to have an eye exam as a mandatory part of their job. ;)

On same dosage of med's as yesturday so doctor must think things are going good, gotta go back in tomorrow. Its a 40 minute drive. Sigh this is tiring and its not just the med's. ;)

mom 2 angels - My nurse says pain from the ovaries is a sign that they are working.

[fish142]

Denalda, great numbers! Keep 'em going up and up! :) I know how tiring it can be to hassle with all of this (the shots, the driving, the new instructions each day, the new u/s nurses who tell you different things!), but the numbers have to be encouraging for you! Maybe your follies are just playful - playing hide and seek. (OK, that's silly, but hey, we could use a little silliness now and then :p .)

Mom to Angels, I hope your cyst stays inactive and lets your follies do their thing. How long does your dh need to keep the cast on? Will it definitely be before the PIO? It seems like some people are able to do those shots themselves, but I'd rather not have to try, and I know you'd rather not as well.

Babs, how was the ET? I'm sure you're resting now, so we probably won't hear from you for another day or two?

Good going goils!

[Jennnifer]

Airmanswife - 2 - 5 millions should be a good count. My hubby has 6 million and the doc said 3 millions was normal (if I remember right).
Actually 20 million is the boarder line of men being infertile. When the doctor first told me my husband had 2 million, he said our only hope was IVF or the long chance one possibly making it. At that point we knew are chances were less than 1% each month to get pregnant on our own. The norm is supposed to be 60-150 million. We are having to do IVF with ICSI.

[Denalda]

Hello All!!

Today is treatment day 8 - blood was 425 up from 274 yesturday. Still only have around 9 follicles but they are all good in size so hopfully they all have eggs in them. I start Antagon today and 4 powers of repro at night, let the huge red painful welts begin (as if the ones I have now arn't bad - not too red).

[babyschwarte]

Hi, girls,
how are you all doing? would you mind I join in your group?
I am also a feb. IVFer, I just went in for the u/s earlier this morning, but no blood test though. I am on cd7 and stim day5, I have total 12 follies, 8 on the right, 4 on the left (because of endo, this ovary does not response well), out of 12: 5 *12.5mm-13mm; 4*9mm-11mm; and 3 smaller ones at 6mm-7mm. my lining is 7.5mm. I was really worried about the lining, cause I was spoting quite a lot on the BCP. anyway, I am on the Ganirelix shots starting today till friday, then going in for another u/s, will have the ER around next monday or tuesday.

Wish you all the best luck on this TTC journey!

baby

me: 31, DH: 37
dx: endo
BFP: 1998
TTC: since Nov. 2003
2 failed iui with repronex
1st IVF: Feb. 06

[seeking]

Hi girls,

it's great to see we are all getting moving in one way or the other,Welcome aboard baby the more the merrier.

I'm doing well with the shots but oh so tired today, lol. I wish there was a yawning icon, I could definately use that one. I looking forward to Saturday to see how everythings going. My ovaries arn't what I'd call really painful but I can feel it all happening. I have bad cramps for about an hour after the shot and then it eases so nothing really to complain about. Dh laft today:( won't be home for about six to eight weeks so I hope he comes home to a glowing pg wife;) . I have a close friend coming with me for the ER and my mum coming with me for the ET. She is so excited she missed my last one so she is determined this time to be there. You's are so lucky having b/w done everyday. I have one on day 2 and then day8 with the u/s and that is it I usually have my trigger and then ER. I can't believe I just said that:rolleyes: me wanting more b/w. I think I need to go have a sleep I'll BBL I hope everyone is doing really well.

Quick question, last time I had ten follies on the right and seven on the left but because my left tube(i think that's what they said) is twisted they can only collect from the right side. Is ten a bad number?? All ten fertilized last time and were really good quailty I know I won't get that many this time as we are having 5 day blast's. Any imput would be greatly appreciated. Cheers girls, Michelle:D

[Mom to Angels]

Welcome baby! It sounds like several of us are on a similar schedule for ER/ET! I hear you about worrying about spotting while on bcp. I also spotted pretty much the entire time while on bcp. I asked my nurse about it and she said that it's normal for some women to respond like that. She basically said the bodies' trying to build up your lining but is getting mixed signals from the bcp's, so your bodies' building it up and but the bcp's breaking it down. She said that they do want you to have a period before you start stimming so that all the old lining is sloughed off. It sounds like your lining is fine!

Michelle, I think ten follies is fantastic! Since all fertilized last time with good quality, I think you're well on your way to having a baby in your arms!

As for myself, got my u/s and b/w. I'm still waiting for the b/w results but they saw 8 follies during u/s. I'm ecstatic about that because during my antral follicle count, they only saw 4. The biggest one was 10mm so they need more time to grow. I'm scheduled to go in for another u/s and b/w this Sunday. Please pray for me that the 8 follies continue to grow.

I'm thinking of everyone and hoping that all you ladies are doing great!

[Babs33]

Hi Goils!

Wow, it's so nice to get responses from all you. I had no idea how supportive these groups were and I'm glad I found you all.

Well, they transfered two embryos on Tuesday. a 7 cell and an 8 cell. The third embryo did not make it because it stopped developing after 2 cells :(

Am going through bouts of nausea (is it from the progesterone)? I remember feeling this way from my first cycle too.

I see everyone knows their estrogen levels (do you ask the nurses for this number?). I never have - maybe I should!

I've also read that some people do pregnancy tests themselves before going to the doctor for bloodwork see if the IVF worked. I hadn't thought to do this my first cycle but will certainly try it this cycle. Any advice on when I should do the test?

Thanks all! :)

[Denalda]

Hello All,

Sure enough b/w doubled from day 7 to day 9 (today!) E2 = 552. Total of 10 follies, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 15, 16.

Question: Nurse said that the retrieval will be Sun, Mon or Tuesday. Stated today would be a good day to have intercourse because I have a 16mm folli. What is the reason she told this to me? (We are doing ISCI).

Yes I have to ask for my blood level otherwise they don't tell me. 1st cycle I didn't. 2nd and 3rd cycle I have. Its been reassuring this 3rd cycle as I looked back at the 2nd cycle numbers and I am higher than those numbers.

Lucky that I get b/w everyday? Its reassuring and allows them to play with the medicine dosage. But I don't know if i'm lucky or not. I have to drive 40 minutes one way getting there between 715 and 815. A girl I met 2 days ago has to drive 2.5 hours 1 way (she is PGD also and there are not a lot of clinics that do this.).

I heard that HCG stays in the blood for up to two weeks and thats why clinics tell you not to do a HPT. HCG is the pregnancy hormone and could give you a false positive.

[fish142]

Denalda, your numbers are looking great! My clinic tells me to have intercourse on the day of the HCG shot (36 hrs before ER), but this is mostly just to get rid of any older sperm and so we're sure that there are fresher, newer ones on the day of the ER. The size of the follicle probably only tells them you're almost ready (my clinic wants them to be about 18 before they give the go-ahead).

Michelle, bw only on day 2 and 8??? Wow! While my arm would certainly be happy with that schedule :p, I'm very glad I get tested more often. They do it when they feel it is necessary, but more often as the cycle goes on. The last time I did IVF, I started Lupron on Friday, meds on Sunday, and then bw on Tuesday, with bw EVERY DAY after that, including the day AFTER my HCG. I like that they monitor me so closely, and I fortunately don't live too far, but it's still a pain in the butt, er, arm. And I agree with Mom to Angels about your numbers. If they are all good, I think any number is teriffic.

... and Mom - yay for follies! 8 is great!

Babs, I didn't do a HPT last time, but I read where lots of people do. I think it's all part of the obsessing during the tww and wanting to know ANYTHING. But I figure my body has been so screwed up with so many drugs, that I'll wait until the beta. (Now, let's see if I wait this time...!)

Good luck all! Keep on stimmin' :)

[seeking]

:D Hi girls,

I have all the results for my day eight b/w and u/s and so far everything is looking good. My E2 was 360, P4 was 1.9 and LH was 2.2. I have ten follies on the left and five on the right but my right wasn't clearly visible so if it is the same on Monday I will go to our main u/s tech to have one done. his equipment is alot more up to date. With the follies are your's measure by mm"s??? My chart said they were 1.2's gathering that means 12mm's does that sound right. This is only my second IVF the first last October and I really didn't ask alot of questions. This morning they said depending on b/w and u/s I should have trigger on Monday. This was going by the way I stimmed last time. O.K. I'm rambling now. How is everyone else going? We are all getting close now. Hope you's have a great weekend, Michelle:) :) :)

[Denalda]

Seeking, I think your on day 8 right? a 12mm folli is a normal size for that day. Mine are messured by mm's.

Fish thanks for the information regarding my prior question.

I couldn't post yesturday but it was treatment day 10 E2= 929 it nearly doubled from day 9 so that is good.
I had a total of 10 follies (one too small to measure): L(11,11,15,16, 16) R(13,14,17,18)

Today treatment day 10 E2=1047. It didn't go up very much probably because that size 23 folli is old. I have 12 follies: L(11, 11, 13, 17, 17, 18) R(11,13,18,23). I can't believe the 18 from yesturday grew to a 23 today!! No wonder I've been in pain with that right ovary. But that means it probably way too old by the time they retrieve it. Retrieval will be Mon at 8:45am. Oh boy I'm scared to death.

Man had a horrible storm here yesturday. I got to the clinic an hour late. Thank goodness they waited for me. Black ice from my house there on the freeway. The side roads were great. I wish I knew the back way there. I'm glad they don't check blood pressure mine would have been through the roof.

[babyschwarte]

Thanks, Mom to Angels! yep, you are right, just went in again for the 2nd u/s yersterday, my lining now is 11.5mm :)
it looks like a few of us are very close to each other's schedule, i am going for ER next monday too.

By yersterday's U/S (CD9, stim day 7), my follies are: 1*18mm; 3*15mm; 2*14.5mm; 4*11-13mm and two smaller ones at 9mm. RE decided to hcg tonight (CD10), and ER Monday (CD12). I am very afraid that the follies won't be big enough then...
Baby dust to all!
baby

[Denalda]

Hi Baby,

The follies keep growing up until ER. I actually had to do my normal dose of med's and the HCG tonight, that was 4 shots in a row!! I'm awefully tired. Got to drive to clinic to get final instructions in the morning. Doing ER around 945am monday the 13th. Glad its not a friday.

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Wanted to drop in very quickly as I have to go to my dr's this morning but wanted say good luck to Den, Baby and anyone else having their collection today. My thoughts are with you's. Here's to lots of bouncing baby eggs;) :) ;) :)

[Denalda]

Hello,
We I made it through retrieval this time!! Had slight bleeding on both ovaries when they did u/s on me. Doc perscribed vit K. She said if she hadn't know my history she wouldn't have worried about it. Apparently i'm on the low side of normal of factor 8 hemoglobin.

Oh i talked to dh about the sperm count. his is 60 mill not 6 I was confused.

Find out tomorrow how many made it. I get them back Satuday day 5. my doc only says i need 24 hours of bed rest but since its the weekend... ;) I think I may chill out for a bit longer.

[babyschwarte]

Hi, girls,Hi, Denalda,
I went to ER today and out of 12 follies, I only got 6 eggs, pretty sad.
talk to you girls soon and wish you best luck
baby

[fish142]

Baby, 6 isn't a lot as these things go, but they could still potentially turn into six babies, and that WOULD be a lot! So keep those positive thoughts and we'll send babydust your way.

Denalda, I'm so glad the ER went well this time. After your first experience, you must have been pretty worried. But the upshot to the first bad experience is that they monitored you even better this time. Now let's hope for some good eggs and some good embryos!

Michelle - trigger today? How's it look?

Good vibes to all!

[babyschwarte]

Thanks a lot! fish142:)
you made me finally smile :)
I will keep you girls update tomorrow!
wish you all the best luck too!
baby

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I'm glad you girls are doing well and look forward to hearing how your little ones are going. There is a girl on one of the other threads i post on that had IVF last month and I'm not sure whether it was only one egg retrieved or only one that fertilized but she is now pg. It only takes one, good luck girls my thoughts are with you's. Oh and Den after everything you have been through it was a relief to hear all went smoothely. Congratulations;)

As for me there is no trigger yet my follies arn't quite ready so I go back in tomorrow for another u/s and more b/w. I am so tired and very sore at the moment so I am so looking forward to everything being right to go tomorrow. I have 16 follies now and she feels there are still more they can't see on the right side. Either way I feel like I'm going to pop.

Baby,are you doing a five day transfer as well??

Talk to you girls tomorrow, I'm looking forward to hearing your good news...a truck load of baby dust coming your way, Michelle:D :) :D

[Denalda]

Baby - you will probably end up with more eggs than I!! Doctor called already today:

I forgot to say I had 12 follies, 10 were growing, they got 8 eggs, 3 not mature, 3 almost mature but by midnight didn't mature, 3 mature - of these 3 - 2 fertilized. How very sad expecially considering half my eggs have FX. They are thawing the 3 frozen ones so I will have 5 to send to detroit for testing. Very sad indeed.

Its like do I freeze these 2 and do another $4900 cycle? ........ I am so done with this.

Hi, girls,Hi, Denalda,
I went to ER today and out of 12 follies, I only got 6 eggs, pretty sad.
talk to you girls soon and wish you best luck
baby

[Denalda]

Seeking I was telling someone today its so nice to have energy again. I was so very tired on all that med's. Its almost over hang in there.

So the PIO shot do you heat the area up for 15 minutes, do the shot and then put the heat back on for 15 minutes? They forgot to tell me that this time.

[seeking]

Den, I am praying so hard for you right now, here's to them all being good. Your in my thoughts. Is the PIO shot the HCG shots, am wandering if you do it differently from us Aussies;) .

Baby, how did your eggs go?? I hope they all fertilized.

As for me I am here still in pain and praying trigger is tonight. I had a meltdown at my RE's office and they checked me for OHSS but I think I am just full. I have sixteen and they are all btw 1.8 and 1.4, they won't leave me any longer ...do you think:rolleyes: . I am so over this pain and not sleeping. I'm really trying not to winge. They seem to think there may be more then the 16 visible because it was so hard to get them measured today. Fingers crossed and hopefully they are all on the right side so we can get 10 at least again.

I really hope everyone is doing well and I promise I won't winge next time I post. Baby dust to us all:)

[Asha]

:) Hello ladies, forgive me for typing in the dark, but DH has to work in the morning.

This month I started my first IVF cycle after unsuccessful IUI's. Monday was my transfer, so I've been on bedrest for the past 72 hours. I havd 2 embros implanted, both were 8A-, whatever that means. My RE called them superstars. I'm not too sure how they rate egs but I figured they were good.

Currently I'm on vaginal supp, antibiotics, and estridol pills 3 times a day.

I hope this can be a successful story that I can share with everyone who has gone through infertility. The bright side is that were have each other because we have the need for a wonderful baby.

[seeking]

Hi Asha,

Sounds like your well on your way to getting that BFP, congratulations. I think the 8 means 8 cells and the A means the quailty. In Australia they grade them from 1 to 4 one being best 4 being the worst so I gather in your country they do it from A to D. I'm so excited for you here's to good news. Rest up and I look forward to talking to you soon, Michelle:D

[ashby]

Hope it's OK to pop back in here...been awhile since I posted. Reading all of your posts is really helpful as I'm in the middle of my first IVF cycle, still learning what all the #s mean. I'm on day 8 of my cycle (day 5 of stimms) and starting to feel lots of activity;) in ovaries all of a sudden. Have had some bad headaches but feeling alright otherwise. I'm doing IM repronex and subq lupron. I'm getting kind of worried about ER as my clinic doesn't put you under for it. RE said he only gives Valium. Now if I understand it right, doesn't the needle have to go through the uterine wall?? I'm afraid I'm going to have to eat a Valium sandwich to not jump off the table! Anybody else's clinic not do gen. anesthesia??

[fish142]

Den, sorry you only ended up with two. Hopefully they'll test well and you won't HAVE to do this again! But a question - why would you freeze these two and do another cycle instead of just trying with these two and then starting over if it doesn't take?

As for PIO (Michelle - Progesterone in Oil), my clinic told me to ice it first to numb the tissue for the shot, then apply heat afterwards if I want in order to help disperse the oil and promote healing (and just feel better). I've also heard that some people warm the PIO first (hold it under your arm). This thins it up a little so it's easier to draw up, easier to inject, and may disperse faster. I'll certainly be trying that this time, as I had an AWFUL time with the PIO last cycle. Also, you should massage the site after the injection. This applies pressure to stop any bleeding, but it also helps to disperse the PIO.

Michelle - do you do shots or something else for progesterone after the ER? I hope they trigger you soon so you can empty those ovaries and feel more comfortable! (Actually, I think the reason they have us do ALL this uncomfortable stuff - shots, blood draws, early morning appts - is just to get us ready for pregnancy and childbirth!:D )

Welcome Asha. Good luck on your tww. Keep us posted! (I'm jealous of you doing suppositories instead of PIO. I know it's still a pain in the butt, but at least not literally!)

Can anyone tell that I don't like PIO? :p

Ashby, good luck on your stimming. My Dr puts you under for ER, so I don't know what it would be like with only Valium. Maybe ask to talk to another patient at your clinic who has gone through this to see what her experience was. (Doctors always say "it won't hurt a bit" but you can't trust them. Especially when they're men and haven't had to do this!) Enjoy the sandwich! ;)

As for me, I went for my baseline this morning, and all looks good! (No cysts this time!) So I get to start stimming on Sunday! (Oh goody, shots! I can't wait!:))

Baby dust to all! Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!

[seeking]

Hi girls,

PIO shots, yuck they sound terrible. I had two when I did HRt for my last FET cycle but I've never given them to myself. I couldn't imagine. I think you might be right about the doc's you sure gave me a good laugh. Roll on Sunday.

Ashby, good to see you back wow I couldn't imagine not being knocked out for ER I get put under what they call a twilight sleep. That works fine with me. I think fish's suggestion is great ask to speak to someone who has done it. I've only heard of doc's using valum for ET. Good luck I'm praying it's easy for you.

Baby, hows your little ones going, when will ET be for you. I hope all's well in your part of the world.

As for me still no trigger:( but have been told I have to go in tomorrow if the pain doesn't ease. Well I actually got some sleep last night and the pain has eased so maybe I'll be able to get to Monday after all;) . I just hope they aren't putting it on hold because they are so busy. I hope the eggs won't be to old by the time they do it. I am going to ring to discuss it with them today, I was way to emotional yesturday.

O.k. girls, I hope everything is going well for everyone. Den how long does it take for you to get results and move on to ET? Sorry I forgot to ask earlier. Still sending a blizzard of baby dust your way. Take care girls, Michelle:D

[Denalda]

Seeking - PIO is progesterone in sesame oil (at least for me) the HCG is the trigger. Both were given to me by my dh. The PIO shots will continue until I get a BFN or 10 - 13 weeks into pregnancy I forget which. What is 1.8 and 1.4 they must meassure you in something other than MM.

On day 3 after retrieval (which will be thursday) they send them to Detroit. Then on day 5 (saturday) I go to the office for ET. Sometimes we wait for hours for Detroit to tell us which ones to give back to me. I just hope they can tell us SOMETHING. I would have to get the news that all have FX. :(

Asha - Is the vag supp your progesterone? If so why do they have you use that? I would much rather do that and not get dh home early from work. My RE only wants 24 hours of bed rest. The majority of women I see on the boards do 48 hours. Rarly I see no bed rest.

Ashby - Why are you doing IM repronex? Does your dh do them? Where? I did subq - ended up with red welts but NOT as bad as during cycle 1 when I really ended up with cellulitis. I wonder why your clinic doesn't put you under. I would much rather be put under. They clean you up first and who knows what goes on in that compromising position. Just put me to sleep please! Cost me $300 though the guy they use doesn't take insurance. I always wake up shaking uncontrolably though. They said it was the IV I don't know. Maybe its the knock out medicine.

Fish - Half my eggs have FX. The genetic testing clinic in detroit charges $2500 no matter how many eggs you send at a time. So if I have no FX free eggs then I have to start all the way over with the money. I would rather send them more than less.

My rear hurts a little from the PIO does that mean we did it right? I iced the area (to which my husband said "Dee there is a red spot on there, I think I should aim for the other cheeck." I said, "oh no you don't, you need to AIM for that red spot I just iced it and made it red." He saw me icing it too - he must have forgotten. He said, "oh I thought it was red from the HCG"!!!!

We did the shot, I hardly felt it(minimal bleeding at injection site must be because of the ice - he did pull out to check for blood) unlike the HCG shot when I felt the needle go through all the layers of fat.

I got a warm cloth to messaged the area but my dh said I didn't tell him ahead of time so when I said message he was using the cloth and basically wiping my butt. I said, "my butts not dirty message me" at least 3 times. Then he finally almost got the idea, I gave up on him and started doing it myself. He was acting like applying pressure would break me like a porcelain doll. Then used a heating pad on low - med for 25 minutes, and DH RAN away to band practice!! LOL

[Asha]

Michelle: Thank you for the explanation on the cell grades, this whole process confuses me a little. I want you all to know that I have progestrone shots too, in addition to suppositories 3 times a day. The shots are every other day.

The estridol is ummmmmmmm, I believe twice. My doc had me on so many meds that I forget. I also have a condition with the pituitary gland, I was producing too much of something...... so I also take a drug for that too. Good thing I take my last antibiotic tomorrow, that's one bottle down.

I want you to know that any questions you may have please feel free to ask me. I think I'm a little ahead a bit, but that good. I can help you with the unexpected.

The shoots hurt. Someone suggested using a heating pad afterward, and it feel better after DH rubs the oil into my muscle.

Denalda: The progestrone is in the suppositories. This helps to strenghten the linning of the uterus. It's like double protection, because I have the shots of oil too every other day. I hope this helps.

Fish: I have the shots too. My doctor is pulling all the strings to make this happen because we have no idea why I miscarried with the last IUI.



FYI:

Ladies, I have been through everything! 6 IUI's with one miscarriage to show for. This cycle I had to get my uterus scrapped out because of a polup. That was supposed to be good I guess. One day 1 of retreival my doc, nicked a vessel causing internal bleeding. They had to press my ovary against my uterus with a probe to get the vessel to clot. Finally it clotted. The next day, Saturday I was approved to go forward for Monday's IVF. Monday, was great, like I said 2 8A- eggs, with 14 in the freezer. I took vallium 30 minutes b/f arrival, drinked a lot of water, and felt like I was going to pee the table. You'll see. Anyway I watched the doctor as she inserted my 2 babies into my uterus, and I hope to GOD they stick. The vallium worked for 15 minutes but my excitement wore it off fast.

Hope this makes you feel a little better

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I hope everyone is well, Asha I hope these ones stick to at least your on your way now.

Den I think I have the PIO shot every third day for some reason I thought it was a HCG injection also. I never do them myself I always take them to my local GP and he does them free of charge. He says he just likes me, lol...Lucky because everything else to do with IVF costs an arm and a leg.:rolleyes: They measure them in cm's here.

Baby how are you going, I'm looking forward to you popping in and letting us know how you are.

Take care girls, baby dust to us all:) ;) :)

[Denalda]

I'm getting lumps from the PIO!!! What do I do?????????? Message longer? heat pad longer (25 minutes currently)? Not ice the area but warm it up first?????

Doc just called: Of the 5 eggs:

2 fresh, - 1 fresh one is 8 cell A rating (which is good) other fresh
- 1 is 4 cell B Rating,,,,, needs to divide again to get to 6 to be useful to me.

3 frozen - 1 might make the thaw its 5 cells A rating but needs to divide again.
1 is a 3 cell may divide by later tonight but may arest.
1 is not dividing

Doc said the Fragile X is affecting my ovarian reserve so no matter how many time we do IVF we won't get very many eggs even though I have tried to do this being young.

Detroit won't give me back $2750 for the genetic testing so i told the doctor to go ahead and biopsy the 8 cell and pray we can biopsy the other 2 later today. Detroit needs to earn their money. She talked about giving me back the 8 cell with no test, i said that really doesn't do me much good. I'm so done with throwing money down the tube. I want a house, I live in a condo - can't get a house paying for IVF that doesn't work. Blah :(

[ashby]

Seeking - wow - that's great you can get injs. for free at the GP! I'm sure that's a welcomed break - we just had to up the limit on our credit card :rolleyes: Sounds like you have lots of follies!
Denalda - are you having your retrieval today? Thinking about you and hoping for good results. All this waiting is just torture! It's really been a lesson in major patience for both dh and me who are instant gratification fiends, have to get everything done quickly -- not IVF protocols! My clinic presc. IM repronex. Dh gives them to me in hip. The first 3 were awful (really sore about 12 hrs. after) and I sobbed after he gave them to me out of relief he didn't hit a vein and I didn't instantly die;) Your story about your dh wiping you instead of massaging was hilarious -- sounds exactly like something my dh would do! I had to remind him not to touch the needle before he inj. it!
Asha - did your clinic tell you to be on bedrest for 72 hrs.? How are you feeling after ER?
I did ask someone who'd done IVF at my clinic about ER w/ no anesth. -- long story, but dh had to get rabies shots last night at emerg. room and we were joking about him getting payback for fert. shots, and nurse giving him his shots said she'd had IVF at my clinic. First question I asked was how was ER -- she said "it hurt like hell, but that's why they're so inexpensive". She said they gave her lots of meds and they ret. 13 eggs. I think I'll only have 6 so maybe it won't take as long! Her 1st IVF was succ., she has 3yr.old girl twins, so that was encouraging! I'm considering begging for gen. anesthesia! I'm wondering how much more $$ it could possibly be...

[Denalda]

Ashby I had to pay $300 to be knocked out. Well worth it.
ER was Monday. ET if I have any embyos left is Saurday.

[wendylou]

Hi girls, it looks like everyone is on their merry way!! I am still on Lupron, will start the stims tomorrow. Go for the first follie check on Monday. Wish me luck!!
Hope all of you are feeling ok. Denalda, glad you did not have a repeat of last time...thank God youa re ok. Your butt wiping story cracked me up.

Seeking, hope you popped out a bunch of follies...I only have one working ovary so I usually only make around 8-10 follies. It only takes one, though!!

I'll check back in on you guys later, I am still playing catch up from being on vacation all last week! Wendy

[Mom to Angels]

Hi girls,

I've had a very eventful week. I did my trigger shot on Mon. and had the ER yesterday. They originally saw 8 follies growing but only retrieved 6 (apparently one had already ovulated - does anyone know what could have happened to the other one?). I just got the call for my fertilization report and unfortunately it's not as good as DH and I hoped. Out of the 6, only 4 were mature, but only 2 fertililized. I'm really disappointed - I was really hoping we had more. Since there's only 2, they plan on doing a day 2 transfer so ET for me will be tomorrow. We find out tomorrow before transfer what the grades are. I'm so nervous about tomorrow and the 2ww will be torturous. I really need all of your positive thoughts and prayers to get me through this. I know I'm going to be a nervous wreck.

Sorry for not doing personals. I'm feeling a bit down right now.

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I have to make this quick as I have to get to my clinic but i had to drop in and say mom2 angels I am thinking of you and I know all this really gets you down but it really only does take one. My thoughts are with you and any time you need support we are never far away.

Wendy, good to see you back eight to ten is great for one ovary, that's usually all I get so lucky I have 16 because I only have one that they can collect from as the other is twisted. Speaking of which does anyone else have to take fleet to clear the bowels before ER. I didn't have it last time and this time they said they are going to use it so they might have more chance at getting to the left side. And that it also makes collection easier, gees I'm going to have fun on Sunday, lol.

Den, as always your in my thoughts and I'm hoping for good news for you. Baby dust coming your way.

Ashby, I'm with Den I'd be paying the extra to be knocked out. No way I'd be letting anyone near me otherwise. This protocal is stressful enough without going through that:eek:.

Baby, thinking of you, you must be resting up. Take care.

Better go, thinking of you's all, Michelle:D

[Asha]

Denlada: I went under for retrivial but it hurt like heck when I woke up due to the pressing on the uterus and all the eggs.

Let me know if you all have any more questions.

[fish142]

Asha, good luck on your tww. This is the easy part. Or, uh, the hard part. Well, good luck anyway. :)

Denalda, sorry, I have no tips for PIO. If you find a good way to get rid of the lumps, let us know! Great story, though, about your dh wiping your butt. Now you've GOT to get pg so we can see what he does with diapering!!! :D I hope you get good news from Detroit, and that you'll have some good embryos to transfer on Saturday.

Good vibes to you Mom to Angels! We're all pulling for you!

Seeking, I love that - "any time you need support we are never far away." It's true, even though you're in Australia, and most of the rest of us seem to be in the US. Isn't technology amazing!? (Not to mention the technology that lets us go through shots, u/s, ER and ET!)

Take care everyone!

[babyschwarte]

hi, you all,
sorry, I am MIA, bedrest now, hold a laptop, try to type:) , i'll be short: out of 6 eggs, 3 fertilized nicely: one 8 cell, two 10 cell, transfered two today. in 2ww now. wish you girls best best best luck, and will talk more to you once am out of bed:)

[Mom to Angels]

Hi again,

I'm temporarily out of my pity party and am in a better mood to do personals. Thanks to Fish142 for reminding me that two beautiful babies can result from it - it really made me put everything into perspective.

Wendylou, you start stimming tomorrow! That's fantastic! I'm wishing that your follies grow grow grow!!

Seeking, thanks for your words of encouragement. I truly appreciate it. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we about on the same schedule? If so, your ER/ET should happen any day now. Good luck to you! I'm send you all my best thoughts!

Denalda, I'm so glad that you made it through this retrieval with no major complications. I'm praying that your embies are of good quality. I'm sure your clinic is doing their best to ensure that you end up with a healthy baby. I'm praying for you.

Ashby, I'd ask your clinic if they could give you anesthesia during ER. The way my clinic does it is they stick a needle through your uterus and aspirate the follicles in your ovaries. That sounds pretty uncomfortable. I agree that any extra money you could pay them would be worth not feeling that.

Asha, wow you had 14 embryos to freeze. That's just fantastic! And they transferred good quality eggs? It sounds like you're going to be our first BFP!

Okay gals, since my ET will be tomorrow I will be on bedrest for the next 3 days. I won't be writing but I'll catch up to you all as soon as I can.

I'm sending everyone sticky vibes!

[Denalda]

I have hope again!!

So the doctor called today. Transfer is 8am saturday. We have 2 embryo's!!!

1 fresh one = my good X - A rating NORMAL

1 frozen one = my bad X - FX carrier but it a FEMALE (which makes a huge difference whether to implant or not) - B rating.

So we will implant 2 tomorrow. Then just have to wait 10 days for the preggy test.

So instead of icing the area for the PIO I put heat on it last night. OUCH did that needle hurt MORE than the HCG shot and we used the same (clean one!) 22 gauge needle. There is something to be said about numbing the area first. However today with regard to that shot my hip hurts less than when I numbed the others. I guess its a give and take. Want no needle pain numb it, want no hip hurting for 2 day don't numb it. Thats my opinion at the moment.

[Asha]

Ladies:

I have found so much comfort with you all. We will al BFP. I just know it. Remember it only takes one! Hopefully I can give you some good news on Feb 27.

Denalda: You baby is perfect for you! It will stick! It's going to happen. Most people who have children have no idea about their egg quality. We do. LOL.
We will all get prgo and start a tread, called first trimester.


Mom to Angels! You will have the twins! I know your fear, I really don't feel symptoms yet. I have simi-sore boobs, and I'm bloated. That's it! I wish I had something else.

[fish142]

Everybody's doing so great! Baby has two, Denalda has two (which for you now must feel like 100- I'm so happy for you!), Asha has two, Mom has two (are you sensing a pattern???). Hopefully we'll hear similar good news from Seeking and Ashby soon. Wendy and I are starting up our meds this weekend, so we look forward to joining all of you with your bfps!!!

Tons of baby dust all around! :) :D :) :D

[seeking]

Hi girls,

I'm so happy for you Den I knew if we all hoped and prayed hard enough you would get your embryo's, congratulations. That must be a huge weight off your mind.

Fish and Wendy...YAY it's always so nice to get going I can't wait for the good things to come your way.

Mom, I think we were on the same schedule but i got lost along the way somewhere, lol. I have my trigger tonight and collection at 10 am. I am excited as they could see 18 follies yesturday and my E2 is a whopping 5500 but I am so nervous. I hate going under but I am not that brave to do it without being knocked out. I am so glad you are feeling better it's hard to remain positive if your feeling down. We are all here pulling for you.

Asha, I'm glad your doing well. The 27th isn't far away now.

Ashby, how are you doing now????

I'm going to go as I am in alot of pain. As of last night I was put on bedrest and am only allowed clear soup until collection. I'm going to go jump back in bed I just wanted to see how everyone was doing. Forgive me if I missed anyone not thinking straight at the moment. Happy resting girls, Michelle:D :D :D

[wendylou]

Hi gang!

Babyschwartz, so good to see you again!! Congrats on the two embies...this is going to be it for you!!! We went through this together the last time, remember??!! I hope we all have a better 2006 than 2005. The BFN was not a good way to end my year....but a BFP would be a great way to start it!!!

Den, I am so happy for you....it is just wonderful that they have made it to another city and back, and are now in your uterus! I hope they are sticking!!

Fish, can you believe what i did? I started my meds a day late. My brain is so fried from this lupron....they said it did not matter, but I just cannot believe I did such a dumb thing!! How embarrassing. They are probably thinking, yeah, let's get this one pregnant, she'll forget to feed her kid!! :p I hope things are going well for you!!

Seeking, you are full of potential embies!!! I hope dh is as potent as you!! You must feel full up to the brim!! Good luck with the retrieval, enjoy the anesthesia! As soon as they put you to sleep, you feel like they wake you right back up. It's so weird. I have my fingers crossed for you!!

Asha, I think you are the first to test, so know we are all rooting for you!!!

Mom to angels...they are with you right now, they will send you a hand picked gift from the spirit world!! TAlk about special delivery!! I am jpraying for you. Just sent a shout up to God right as I typed that!!

Ok, girlies, we are on a mission. I hope the stickiest baby dust finds this thread, and thanks, all of you, for your being in this group. When I am feeling blue, and I come here, my spirits lift from the honesty and love that flows from everyone. {{{Baby vibes}}} (borrowed that from Lizzy B!!)
Love, Wendy

[Denalda]

wow seeking your going to have a lot of eggs to choose from!!

Well the valuim isn't quite what I expected oh well.

Good and bad news: They sent TWO to be tested. 1 fresh, and 1 previously frozen (thats the one we hoped would grow) that finally became 6 cells.

The news yesturday was the fresh one is normal and the previously frozen one is a female carrier. We had a desion to make and desided to transfer both hoping medical technology would improve in the next 20 years. If it were a male carrier we would have said no. They said she would have around my repeats. That was yesturday.

Today we get there and are told the female has slowed down growing to the point that its going to arest soon. Then we were told that they couldn't garentee me that it wouldn't become affected as it was just one cell that was tested. So nature took care of the desion for us.

So today they transfered a 10 cell MALE A- quality rating. Its growth too has slowed and didn't get to the blastasyst stage yet that they would have liked. But this can be contributed to having a cell taken from it so I still have lots of hope. I have bed rest for 2 days. They did the procedure with a full bladder- the guy doing the ultrasound said that was the first time he didn't have to press down hard on the bladder to do what they wanted to see, then tipped me upside down for 20 minutes. That was the longest 20 minutes of my life! I had to go pee so bad!!

I was watching the olympics but the game was boring. So i'm watching some movies i have here. Joe's going to the store later so i'm going to look up some movies i'd like him to pick up for me that i havn't seen.

I was so happy about the girl- i bought some cool girl cloths at garage sales this past summer. They were twin cloths. Theres a girl - daughter of moms co-worker that just had twin girls they are 4 months. I may offer them to her but they are cool cloths and hate the thought of parting with them cause I wouldn't buy stuff like that from a store.

Well they changed the date that i find out to 3/2 for the preggy blood test before it was 2/28. I think i may cheat though and do my own test on the 28th. the hcg drug should be out of my system by then i think. it could give me a false positive though.

1 in 80 chance that this guy doubles, i'm hoping he does!

[Asha]

Ladies. I received my HCG shot almost a week ago on a Wednesday. Which means I ovulated on Thursday or Friday after the trigger, right? I was had the retrival on Friday, and transfer on Monday. WHen is the earliest you have seen a positive test, what day?

I did my first response just to see and of course it's been less than a week since my transfer but I was hoping to see a faint line.

What are your thoughts?

[babyschwarte]

Hi, girls
I just got out of bed today, very happy to see you all hang around! Asha, I heard from another site that a woman tested 6dp3dt and got a faint line, and some got on 7dp3dt, but there is also a woman did not get a + before she went for the beta on the same day, but she is preg! wish you best luck!
Seeking, Denalda, Mom to Angle, Fish and Wendy, I will catch up with your posts soon, and wish you all best luck on this ttc journey!
yep Wendy, I rember you, I did the last IUI with injectable cycle with you guys! and hope this time we will all get BFPs!
best
baby

[ashby]

sounds like I'm just a little behind most of yall -- I'm going in for ER tomorrow morning. RE saw 4 follies over 18, there are a couple more he thinks will be ready for retrieval tomorrow. No-go on gen. anasth., I am armed and ready with the valium and demerol clinic rx to me!
Did your clinics tell you to stay on bedrest?
So glad to read all your posts, it helps so much to know you're out there doing this too!!
Knowing we're going to have BFPs really soon:) :)

[fish142]

Ashby - good luck on your ER!!! I wish you good drugs and little pain. And lots of follies! My clinic tells me to take it easy the day of the ER, but a lot of that's due to the anesthesia. For you, I'd take it easy because of NO anesthesia! (Make that dh wait on you!!!) Let us know the results soon!

Seeking - how was your ER? how many eggs did they get? I know you were nervous, but I'm sure you did fine. And I'm sure you're feeling better now, now that they got all those eggs out of you! When's the ET? (phone home....)

Denalda - It sounds like you've got one good solid one transferred. Let's hope he is persistent and sticks around for, oh, the next nine months or so! I'm sorry about your girl. It's hard to dream about something and then see it slip away. I think it would be nice to give the clothes to your friend as opposed to just selling them, because you like them so much and this way you'll know where they went and that someone really liked them too. So why is there a 1 in 80 chance of your guy doubling?

Wendy - I can totally understand forgetting your shots! I keep a spreadsheet, but I was obsessing so much about starting today, that it wouldn't have surprised me if I just kept obsessing! But no, I got up early today and did my first shot (I almost forgot how, it's been so long!). I did my evening one in a public restroom at my concert, but at least it was during a piece I wasn't playing in, so I could have privacy without all the audience members barging on in! So we're on our way! woo hoo :D! And, I'm sure you'll remember to feed your kid - the baby will start crying as a reminder. I'm sure your belly, on the other hand, was perfectly happy NOT to get poked!

Asha, Baby and Mom, keep it up so you don't go nuts during your tww!

Sending lots of good sticky vibes!

[seeking]

Well girls,

Forgive me for being quick but I am in quite abit of pain. Not that I'm complaining...glad to have it all over. They got 15 very good quaility eggs, YAY. I am so happy, it's a good starting point and ET will be on the 25th god willing some get to 5 day blasts.
Please forgive me for not doing personals I'll drop back in tomorrow once I'm feeling better and I know how many eggs fertilized. Happy baby making everyone. Thanks for all being here, Michelle:D :D :D

[Denalda]

Seeking 15 eggs! Wow! That is so great.

There is a 1 in 80 chance of it doubling - they don't know why except that when they go back on in day 5 instead of day 3 those are the odds.

I asked further wondering how often my re had seen it. There was a lady in the last year that was recommended she have 3 transfered. She was adimant that only 2 transfered she fought and fought this. So they did 2.
Well one of them doubled and she ended up with 3 anyways!! That was on a day 3 transfer though.

My guy hadn't gotten to the blast stage on day 5 yet, growth had slowed down but we are hoping thats only because one of its cells was stolen for the genetic testing - which the doctor stated as much. Its interesting none of my 3 frozen guys made it. Thats gotta be extra hard on them.

Ashby - bedrest for 2 day, sat and sun it was great no missed work. They said I could get up go to bathroom take a dish to the kitchen, no lifting, no stair climbing.

[ashby]

RE got 8 eggs this morning! Had a breakdown before ER b/c we had problem collecting dh sample at hotel room. I don't know exactly how it happened but it pretty much missed the cup!! I freaked out, the embryologist said it wasn't enough to work with so dh had to do it again after my procedure. I'm praying that it will be enough to get some fertilization. It's one of those situations that I know we'll look back on and laugh at but now I'm so frustrated! Trying to be hopeful about good report tomorrow morning!
Seeking - so glad for your great #s!!! Aren't you glad it's over?! I slept all the way home and just woke up a little while ago. Hope you're feeling better soon....

[seeking]

Thanks girls,

I'm definately feeling better now that I got a call saying 14 out of the 15 fertilized normally.I am glad it's over and the last two weeks have been worth it.

Ashby, I'm so sorry dear but what a story to tell DS/DD in years to come. You'll be just fine.

Den, when is your transfer again? Sorry but still not really with it.

O.K. girls I'll bbl when I feel completely like myself;) take care, Michelle:D :D

[DreamMom]

Hi everyone, Hope you dont mind me just jumping in here.

I just found this thread and wow its great to see so manyof us on the same schedule. I wish I would of found this when I first started my shots.

I just had my ER on Sunday and YIKES was that painful. Going in they said there were 11 follies ( because of Fridays US) when I woke up they said there were 22. Wont know anything about them till Wednesday morning., That is when they will call me and say ok be here at 11 for 3 dt or be here on Friday for 5 day.,
DH and I have done 3 IUI's with no success and no reason why. Just unexplained infertility. We are really hoping that this one works.
Is anyone doing the PIO shots? I have ben trying to find out what the common side effects are. Not just what they write in the pamplet. I was very scared of them at first but they arent that bad. I just ice my butt for about 10-15 minutes until it starts stinging and then have DH go for it. I think the first time he was more scared than me. LOL Now he is fine with it. I have noticed that a few hours after I feel so bloated like I just ate a 10 course meal
I hope that all of you get BFPs this time around.
sticky baby dust to all

[Denalda]

My ET was saturday. find out 3/2 if bfp or bfn.

[wendylou]

seeking---way to go with the super fertilization!! That is wonderful news!!! W

[fish142]

Seeking, you have great news! I'm sure you'll get some good ones out of this round, and you'll have lots to freeze.

Denalda, I was wondering about the doubling because my mil is an identical twin, and I hear it runs in families, and some say it is carried by the male line and skips a generation, in which case I'm in trouble! :p I asked my dr about this to see if there's any truth to it or if it's just an old wives tale, and he just kind of dismissed it but didn't answer directly. (I guess he doesn't want to reassure me one way or the other, because they probably don't really know what causes it or why or when.)

Ashby, I'm so glad you're ER is over and that you came through it fine! The phlebotomist at my clinic said that she went through IVF without anesthesia. She said that drs usually prefer the anesthesia just so that you lie still and don't move during the procedure, and that the pain management stuff is just a by-product. Good numbers for you! Sorry about the problem with the cup. I know how frustrating it can be. I almost missed an IUI appt once because we were having trouble getting a sample. I was mad at dh, but that certainly doesn't help things, so what can you do? I hope you've got enough of a sample for fertilization. As with eggs, all it takes is one!

DreamMom, welcome! So, what's your secret to doubling your eggs in 2 days? There are lots of us here who'd like to know!:D A lot of us are doing PIO, and a lot of us (read: me) don't really like them all that much. I probably said this earlier in the thread, but with my first IVF, I had to quit the PIO after a week and go to suppositories because I could barely sit or walk, my butt was so sore. Can't really say about other side effects, though. Hope yours are easy and relatively painless.

I went for bloodwork today, and go back again on Thursday. (Yay, my arm gets a rest on Wednesday!) Just plugging along so far. Speaking of which, I better go get my drugs from the fridge for my next shot!

Good baby vibes to all!

[fishdoc]

Just wanted to join in on this thread as well - the short version is my wife (Mrs Fish) just did retrieval Sunday, after an antagonist protocol (last std protocol only yielded 3 eggs for IVF, and none made it to ET). She is 39, I am 43.

This retrieval was 14 good follicles, plus 6 small ones - of those, we ended up with 10 eggs, only 6 of which were mature, 5 of those fertilized, and one of the 5 was 3pn (extra nucleus), so we have 4 embryos of unknown quality sitting in an incubator waiting for a day 3 xfer.

This forum is a great help - wishing everyone good luck!

Fish

[Denalda]

So we are doing PIO shots for 8 days now. The first 2 days we were learning and I had slight l lumps. Then it got way better. So last night I don't know what happened. We numb the area and we never have any blood until we start messaging with warm wash cloth. Well last night he like push and prododed and I'm like OUCH!! So I had to wait extra long for the blood to stop before I could use the heating pad. This morning it was lumpy. So I got out the heating pad again but I think its too late to get rid of any lasting side effects.

8 days to preggy test but my other paper work says 6 days. Got a call in bc my prenatal vitamin arn't being manufactured anymore (???) so when they call about that I will ask if I can can come in on the 28th the date printed on my preretrieval paper work instead of 3/2 date printed on my post transfer paper work. My retrieval was way back on the 13th!!!:eek:

[Denalda]

You peeps with lots of eggs are sooooo lucky!!

The preggy test is the 28th!! The last post transfer lady was wrong and they caught it and CALLED me!! woo hooo

6 days til test!!

[Mom to Angels]

Hi ladies! Whew, back to the land of the walking! I was basically a couch potato for 3 full days! Only time I got up was to go to the bathroom! It feels so good to be moving around but I'm also worried that if I move too much, they might fall out or something! So as you all know, I had ET on 2/17 (Fri). I was so nervous about egg quality going in but RE said that the two embies that fertilized were of good quality, Grade 1 and Grade 2. My clinic rates them as 1 being the best and 5 the worst. So it was a relief that I had some good ones. Now the 2ww, this will be just as rough as everything else. What are all you gals doing to keep you from going insane?

Wendy, you made me cry (in a good way!). I was really touched when you said that my babies are with me now - that is incredibly true. Going through this 2nd IVF was difficult because it brought back painful memories of losing my little ones. It's comforting to have people like you who understands that. How are your shots going? I'm sure once you realized you missed your shots, you never made that mistake again! And I can't say I blame you, there's so many things that we have to remember to take!

Asha, your test is on the 27th!!! You are going to be our first BFP, I just know it! I can't say that I feel drastically different. Every so often I think I feel some pinching in my uterus but I don't know if that's just cramping caused by the PIO. I'm not TRYING to read into every twinge I feel, but as you know, it's hard not to! I'm sending sticky vibes to you, girl!

Fish142, I'm having a brain fart right now. You've had ET, right? If so, when's the pregnancy test? Set me straight if I've got your schedule totally mixed up with someone else. I've read through everyone's post since I was away and may have gotten things mixed up. Crazy me!

Seeking, OMG! You must be so elated - 14 embryos! I wish I could give you a hug, I'm so happy for you! How many do they plan transferring?

Ashby, I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through that extra stress of DH having to produce more. But I'm sure that you were able to get some pretty cute looking embryos from them! When's ET? I'm sending you some seriously sticky glue vibes!

Baby, did you have ET on 2/17? If so, me too! I find out on 3/3. When do you find out? I'm sending us both some extra sticky glue vibes.

Asha, I'm sending you some sticky vibes to you too, girl. And that goes to Denalda and DreamMom. It seems a lot of us are on our 2ww. Next week is going to be on busy week for this thread!

Hi Fishdoc! I'm praying for you and the mrs. I think 4 embryos is great and I don't doubt that the quality is all numbero one!

I'm sending all my positive thoughts and prayers to you all! Stick stick stick!!!

[babyschwarte]

hi, girls,
so much going on here, i am a slow reader, hard to catch up :) , but i wish us all best luck!!!
Mom to Angles: i transfered 2 *3day embies on 2/16, and my beta will be 2/27!

best!
baby

[babyschwarte]

hi, girls, how are you all doing?
i am 7dp3dt, and did a test today, negative, losing hope here, this ttc journey is that hard, i cann't deal any more :(

best
baby

[DreamMom]

WAHOOOO

Im going in the morning for my 5 day transfer!!!!!!
Im so excited and scared and nervous lol
I cant wait to hear how many actualy made it and if there are going to be any left for freezing, If not that is ok too.
I have my laptop all ready to go for my couch potato days ahead. RE said that I should make the couch and blockbuster my best friend for the next 5 days heheheh NO PROBLEM I just love having my maid wait on me. Nice to have the shoe on the other foot. Poor DH he just doesnt know how much fun Im going to have the next few days. Im going to really like waiting till he just sits and gets comfy to say OOOOhoney.... hehehehe
Actually he was awesome the day of ER. he was right by me all day and never once complained about getting me this or that,
I will let ya know what happens tomorrow.
BETA will be on the 10th:)

Oh I have NO idea how my eggs doubled like that. I was very shocked when they said they had 22. freaked me out. Ovearies are still a bit tender. Will that go away and will they shrink back or do they stay huge?

[Denalda]

Dream mom - yes that will go away in time and they will shrink back. Congrat's.

[fish142]

Hi fishdoc, how was the ET?

Denalda, I hope your shots get easier and less lumpy. And I'm glad you get to test on the 28th. Those two extra days would have been a killer!

baby, STOP TESTING!! It'll only drive you crazy! Then again, so will not testing and not knowing. :eek: Well, I guess if you'll drive yourself crazy either way, then do whatever seems right at the time. And always feel free to vent to us. Hopefully your early result is neg only because it's early. We're still pulling for you!

DreamMom, good luck with the ET and the "west and wewaxation" (as Elmer Fudd would say). Milk it for all it's worth. After all, you've got to get that dh primed for when you get your bfp and "ooh, my back hurts" and "ooh, could you rub my feet?" and "oh, the smells are too much, you'll have to cook"!!! :D

Mom, glad to see you up and around. Hope you keep good-busy during the tww, and that it goes fast for you. And nope, I haven't had an ET, in fact I only just started stimming on Sunday. I had bloodwork on Tues and today, and I go in for more blood and an ultrasound tomorrow AM. So far so good, but it's still early.

So it seems like everyone's in their tww (or almost there) except Wendy and me. You HAVE to get bfps in order to inspire us!

Baby dust to all!

[Mom to Angels]

Hey baby, I agree with Fish142. It's too early to test - give them some time to really burrow in there. I ready somewhere in another thread where a gal took a hpt the day before her beta and it was negative. Guess what? Beta's showed that she had something brewing in there - she's pregnant! The beta tests are a lot more sensitive than hpt. There is much hope for you still!

[babyschwarte]

Thanks a lot, Mom to Angles and fish142! wish you best of luck!

baby

[ashby]

oh this waiting!!! So glad to have yall to talk with:)
did ET yesterday, 6 out of 8 fertilized and 2 of those made it! one 7cell, one 8 cell. Embyrologist & RE were optimistic. Getting kooky on bedrest (I'm a runner and that's very therapeutic mentally for me...maybe I'm just addicted to it and going through withdrawals;) ). Before ET I had to complete an anonymous questionnaire about pain of ER w/o anesthesia/sedatives. I rated pain on scale of 1 to 10 as a 10 and said it hurt worse than my kidney stones and hsg. Also said I would be more than willing to pay the $500 for anasth.! I mean, if we have to do ivf again I will still go to their clinic b/c I really like RE and I would just deal w/ it. It's all over for now, though!

fish142 - how did b/w and u/s go this week? How's stimming? Have they decided on ER date yet?

seeking -- is tomorrow your blast. ET?!

fishdoc - great # of eggs/embies....how did ET go??

denalda - I had a bad PIO last night too -- dh went too slow inj. it and I could imagine the blob of oil sitting there in my muscle.:eek: The heating pad really helps afterwards, though! What prenatal vitamins are you taking? You're so close to preg. test:) how are you feeling?

asha -- I'm one week behind you, hope your 2 embies are growing well!
babyschwarte -- I just had ET yest. and I was already thinking about doing hpt sometime next week -- can't say I blame you b/c I'll prob. be doing the same! I am not patient!
Dreammom - thinking of you and hoping your 5day T goes awesome today!
momtoangels - great embie quality! I am 3 days behind you w/ 2 embies too!
Wishing us lots of stickies and happy growing embies!!!!

[fish142]

Well, I'm stimming and I'm on my way. Today was my first u/s since I started shooting up. I had 4 on one side and 5 on the other, and all were around 10mm. There were a bunch of other little ones, but who knows if they'll turn into anything. The good thing (so far) is there are a bunch that are all the same size, so hopefully things will stay that way and we'll get a whole mess o' eggs. I've already had three blood draws and I go back tomorrow for more. I hate that part.

Ashby, 2 good ones! You're in good company - most of the ETs here were with 2. And it's great that they gave you the questionnaire. It sounded before like they don't do anesthesia, and that's that. But now it sounds like they may be open to it, which can only be a good thing! Maybe you asked enough questions about it (including "all my other friends get drugs, why can't *I* have drugs?!?!?") that they decided they should look into it. Squeaky wheel....!!!

Good luck to everyone else. Keep those fingers (and legs!) crossed! :)

[DreamMom]

wahoooooo

just got back from ET one was a blast and two were smaller i was so nervous i didnt write it down but have the pictures of them
now i start the dreaded 2ww
there are 4 good ones that if they grow a bit more to blasts they will be frozen
take care all

[bmc]

Hello Ladies...
I'm new to this site, but just went through my 1st IVF...I had ER on 2/15 and transferred 2 back in on 2/20. I feel very anxious and nervous...we got 30 eggs, 28 fertilized and after PGD we found only 2 were "normal or balanced"...the rest were not able to be used ("unbalanced") due to the chromosomal 8-13 balanced translocation that I was born with, which is also the case for many of my eggs. Anyway...we had none to freeze, so we're hoping one or two (wishful thinking, I know...) takes. My preg test is on 3/2. I;'m taking daily progesterone shots....anyone have any thoughts for me on these things? THey are going fine...my husband is giving them to me. In the past when I've been pregnant (natural but ended in miscarriage), in the beginning I had weird feelings of being off balance at times and my brain just felt like it wasn't thinking all that clearly....i've been feeling that way for about 2 days, wondering if it's just the progesterone shot or what?

I hope I'm not dissapointed on 3/2, but trying not to get myself too excited..I'm sure someone can relate??
BMC

[bmc]

Dreammom...
Best wishes to you!!! I hope all works well for you. Are you taking progesterone shots too? I started mine 2 days after ET.
BMC

[DreamMom]

BMC
yes Im on the progesterone shots too. So far so good with them. Would make it so much easier if i could do it myself but I cant.
they had me start them the day of ER. my butt is starting to get a bit sore if I lay on my side but I have a bit of cushion so Im sure it could be worse LOL
Did they give you a picture of the embies before they put them in. I got one and it is the coolest thing. It will definatly go into the baby book if I get the BFP.
now to try and find something to keep me busy for the next few days. Im already board and wanna clean or somethng. ( usually when Im stressed or anxious I want to clean.
WOW I thought I had a lot of eggs. They took 22 from me. 11 they did ICSI and 10 were regular. 6 of the 10 took and 8 of the 11
out of the 6 is where the 3 came from. go figure. They didnt go the testing on mine. I read about it a bit but they didnt suggest it so i left it be.
What day do you get to do beta? I believe mine is on the 10th Im going to have to call them in the morning to make sure
HOpe all goes well with you talk to ya soon

[wendylou]

Congrats to all of your girls who have made it to 2ww!! Fish and I will be joining you soon!!

BABYSCHWARTZ step away from the HPT. Give them to your DH and have him give them back to you in 4 days!! It's not worth it honey, to make yourself sick with all the testing. And like Mom to Angels said, there is a gal on another thread who tested several times and was so upset she was not even goingto go in for her beta, and her RE convinced her to, and low and behold, she is pregnant and is doing well so far. You cannot lose hope yet. Send your body some really positive messages, talk to your little embies, really meditate on this one....do not allow the negativity to creep in. It's hard not to, so when it does, ask it to leave!! Hang in there baby!! We are all rooting for you!

Seeking, I hope you are feeling better, I am worried that you are not back on the boards....

You girls are all in my prayers. BMC, welcome to our little group! Wendylou

[fish142]

Blood work is looking good, so dr's happy with that. I go back for more blood (ugh) and another u/s tomorrow AM. I'm a little nervous though, because up until now I've only done Follistim subq for stimming. It's very easy, with a tiny needle, I just barely feel it, and I do it myself. But Dr switched me now to Repronex, which I knew might happen, I just wasn't mentally ready for it. (Neither was dh!:eek:) We've done the PIO shots (which I hate!), and I'm nervous that the Repronex is going to be the same. I wasn't ready to have a sore butt yet!!!! :( Any tips on IM Repronex? Should I still ice before? heat afterwards? I assume massaging isn't necessary because it's not as thick as PIO? Why can't the gods give infertility problems to people who AREN'T wimps!?!?!

DreamMom, yay on your transfers! Hey, if it'll help you bide the time, you can come and clean MY house for the next two weeks. :p

BMC, welcome to our thread. Wow, that was a lot of eggs, but I guess it's good if it can yield two good ones! Good luck with the tww and the PIO.

Wendy, how're your stimms going?

Ashby, Seeking, when are your betas?

[DreamMom]

fish lolololololol I would love to come and clean for you!!!!1 problem.....I'm not allowed to do anything.SO SSSSUCKS. IM GOING STIR CRAZY.
We are getting ready to remodel and I cant even help move everything outta our back room. GRRRRR
Im not sure what or how the repronex works but it sounds like it hurts. I will be praying for you to have an easy time with it. I HATE the PIO shots too
My butt is finally feeling the pain of them. But What ever it takes is fine for me> I can already tell that HPT would be in danger if they were in my house, Im really going to try and be good and not test LOL ( dont hold me to it I know I will probably weaken )
take care all and tons of baby dust

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Sorry for the time in between posting. I was in a bad way after my ER but they did tell me I would be like that. So I really rested up and feel alot better now, thankyou so much for being so caring. You's girls are the best.

I had my transfer yesturday. We had one blast transferred. My wishes. I really don't think I'd be able to carry twins or more but if it spilts I will be happy. There is a high rate of idenical twins with assisted hatching. My transfer wasn't the smoothest but we did see a big flash so here's hoping. The RE who did it, I don't know what it is I just don't feel right with him. He did my first ER and my D&C when we lost last year and he's always done a great job but still .....I don't know. He did seem to thumble through it though which makes me nervous.

Sorry for rambling on about me so much. I really hope everyone is doing well. We have some finals over the next few days, how exciting. Sorry I have been away for so long I'm not sure who it is...Ashby, Asha:o ??? Either way you's are going to be the first of many BFP's to come.

Wendy and Fish, Wahooooo your time is nearing. Things are going to work just great for you gals. I just now. Feburary is going to be a great month for all of us.

Take care girls, Michelle:D :D :D

[Mom to Angels]

Seeking, welcome back! A 5-day blast is very good news! When is your beta test? Don't worry about RE "fumbling" around - I'm sure he was just trying to get your blast in a good spot so it can stick. I'm sending you some sticky glue vibes!

BMC, welcome! I think that you feeling "unbalanced" is a very good sign, expecially if that's how you felt the last time you were pregnant. I'm sorry to hear that you miscarried but perhaps this will be the one that is meant to be with you! I know what you feel about trying not to get too excited. I'm really quite nervous. My moods go up and down. Sometime I think it worked and other times I don't. My beta test is on 3/3, a day after yours. Hopefully we'll be crying happy tears by the end of this week!

DreamMom, you cracked me up about having DH as your "maid". I think it's a good way to get him used to serving... I mean "helping" you around the house when you're pregnant! It sounds like your DH is being just a doll about everything and taking good care of you (as he should!).

Fish142, I've never taken repronex so I can't help you on that one. I just want to let you know that I'm excited for you! 9 follies growing is great. When do they think ER/ET will occur?

FishDoc, so how was ET? How many did they transfer into Mrs. Fish? I'm dyin' here! And most importantly, how are her PIO shots going? Make sure she warms up the progesterone while icing her tush. I microwave some water in a little ramekin for about 20 secs so that the water is warm and put the progesterone bottle in there so it'll warm it up. I don't feel it go in as much when it's warmed up.

I've been so busy at work that I really have no problems about keeping my whole mind off of whether this has worked or not. The nighttime and weekends are a different story. I'm still over-analyzing every little thing that I feel or that's happening to my body. Is anyone else doing this, or am I the only insane one?

Anyway, I'm wishing us all sticky sticky vibes. This week is the week for most of us. Here's praying for all BFP's!

[Denalda]

Ashby - well my boobs were sore for 2 days last week and i was tired. not any more though. beta is the 28th so i figured 3 days before would be fine to do hpt's. The hcg shot should be out of the system they say in 10 to 14 days. I've past the 10 day mark. Have done to tests both state very negative. I just hope that its the same thing mom to angel reported that the other girl had a neg hpt the day before the beta and then her beta was positive.

I'm afraid I am loosing my dream of riding my genes of fragile X. Some said I would fail. Perhaps they were right. I have given it my all, more than that, nearly my life.

I'll have to try naturally I guess. Though I think time is running out. Been getting really sweaty in the middle of the night. I know I have low ovarian reserve thanks to being a fragile x carrier - how cruel. But I didn't get to have a choise through this whole IVF thing. The eggs died off before I ever even had a chance to decide how many to transfer and which ones.

One was transfered fate made it FX free. Has it stopped fighting to live? I guess I'll know for sure Tuesday.

oh this waiting!!! So glad to have yall to talk with:)
did ET yesterday, 6 out of 8 fertilized and 2 of those made it! one 7cell, one 8 cell. Embyrologist & RE were optimistic. Getting kooky on bedrest (I'm a runner and that's very therapeutic mentally for me...maybe I'm just addicted to it and going through withdrawals;) ). Before ET I had to complete an anonymous questionnaire about pain of ER w/o anesthesia/sedatives. I rated pain on scale of 1 to 10 as a 10 and said it hurt worse than my kidney stones and hsg. Also said I would be more than willing to pay the $500 for anasth.! I mean, if we have to do ivf again I will still go to their clinic b/c I really like RE and I would just deal w/ it. It's all over for now, though!

fish142 - how did b/w and u/s go this week? How's stimming? Have they decided on ER date yet?

seeking -- is tomorrow your blast. ET?!

fishdoc - great # of eggs/embies....how did ET go??

denalda - I had a bad PIO last night too -- dh went too slow inj. it and I could imagine the blob of oil sitting there in my muscle.:eek: The heating pad really helps afterwards, though! What prenatal vitamins are you taking? You're so close to preg. test:) how are you feeling?

asha -- I'm one week behind you, hope your 2 embies are growing well!
babyschwarte -- I just had ET yest. and I was already thinking about doing hpt sometime next week -- can't say I blame you b/c I'll prob. be doing the same! I am not patient!
Dreammom - thinking of you and hoping your 5day T goes awesome today!
momtoangels - great embie quality! I am 3 days behind you w/ 2 embies too!
Wishing us lots of stickies and happy growing embies!!!!

[ashby]

hey everybody -
fish142 - sounds like you're off to a good start! I did 2ml IM Repronex (4powders) I bawled after the 1st inj. dh gave me -- I think it was just sheer relief that it wasn't as bad as I'd thought. The faster the needle goes in the less pain. DH did it really slowly the first time and that was the worst one. I think IM HcG was worst of all IMs b/c it stings. I'm still doing PIO 1/2 ml every night. I put a heating pad on the area right before I go to sleep and I think it's helping with soreness.
seeking - glad to hear about the blast. and also that you're rested up!
dreammom - My bil and sil were here last night visiting and I told them that cooking and cleaning are the only activities I feel safe doing during this 2ww! It's keeping me busy which is perfect (I'm not quite the domestic goddess so this is good training for me). My usual stress-relievers are off-limits at this point -- running, hiking, and wine :p I am even worried that I might affect implantation by going on a walk. This 2ww has made me realize how hyper I usually am -- I always have to be doing something. At least I don't feel bad about digging into the ice cream....
bmc - it's torture trying to stay positive but bracing for the worst simultaneously! I have 2 yrs. of tww experience but this the first IVF tww. I am actually more hopeful than usual this time.
momtoangels - I'm going back to work tomorrow one week after ER (I went in 1/2 day last Wed.) and am looking forward to catching up and hoping that will make the time go faster!
The day I can do beta is a week from today (3/5) so we'd have to drive to main clinic 1 hr. away if we want results that day. Otherwise I can do beta here the next day -- I'm saying now that I can wait but we'll see if I'm chomping at the bit next weekend;)
looking forward to hearing about some bfp's coming soon!

[Denalda]

Dreammom it will be interesting to see how many you get pregnant with. When you get pregnant will they be able to tell you if the baby is/was the blast or the smaller ones?

BMC - your a PGDer too!! Half my eggs have Fragile X. It sounds like perhaps all you eggs could have your problem? Whats your issues name? If you start at the beginning of this msg board you can see my huge problem with eggs. Glad to meet you. In short 2nd IVF they got 5 eggs and 3 were frozen. 3rd IVF they got 8, 2 fertilized of those 2 - 1 lived for pgd testing- normal male, - They thawed the 3 finally 1 of those lived for pgd testing - though it was a carrier female. Day of ET female was dying and the boy had slowed down and hadn't made it to the blast stage like it/he should have by day 5. I hope if the boy makes it he doubles. 1 in 80 chance cause of the day 5 transfer!

fish142 why do they have you doing im repronex instead of subq? I hate the stuff. 1st cycle they made me have cellulitis - felt like i had the flu, could hardly walk. 3rd cycle RE switched to am/pm so i didn't get the full dose all at once and they helped a lot. The red welts were smaller and less painful that before.

[ashby]

hey Denalda - you must have posted right before I started writing b/c I didn't see your message till just now. Just remember that you won't know anything definitely until Tuesday......I'm sure you're feeling low and Tuesday seems far away, but know that there are lots of us out here thinking about you!!!!

[fish142]

Asha and babyschwarte, betas tomorrow!!! We'd love to hear all about your bfps!!!

Seeking, good to hear from you again! I hope the one you transferred takes (and is the cutest of the bunch - did your RE say anything about that?). Did you freeze the others?

Mom to Angels, I really don't think you're the only one overthinking everything. Have you READ any other posts? Have you SEEN how many members there are in Fertilichat? :p The great thing about this board is this is where we CAN obsess and nitpick and everyone won't say "oh, geez, here she goes again." Of course, it's good that you have work so that you don't have to go insane a full 24 hours a day.

Denalda, I'm hoping that your hpt is wrong, as they so often are (did you hear that DreamMom???). This has got to be so hard for you. Not only do you have just the usual problems we all share, but you also have to face the problems of low ovarian reserve and fragile X. But you have a lot of strength, and you can take more strength from all of us, knowing that we're behind you all the way.

My bloodwork still goes up (practically doubling each day - today was 928), and the follies are still growing, slowly but not enough to cause concern. Today they were 12s and 13s. I continue with the repronex tonight and go back for another check tomorrow. Dr said I could do subQ repronex, but that it usually stings more. So I guess I'll stay with the IM. And Denalda, I AM taking an am & a pm dose to split it up, but it's good to know that this way hurts less. The needle going in doesn't hurt so much (I still tighten up, probably not good), but the injection itself stings a little. I am a little sore, but not too bad. Hopefully this'll only be for a few days so my butt will heal by the time I have to start PIO. Dr's guessing ER will be around Saturday or so.

Lots of baby dust all around!

[bmc]

HI Ladies...

Like Babs, I am new to this site also. I just had my first transfer on 2/20...very nervous. I am 27 and was referred to this site by a gal who I met in my drs. office while waiting to get our blood drawn. My husband and I have been trying since Nov. 04...we got pregnant twice, but ended in miscarriage. It was found that I was born with a balanced translocation-this is where part of one chromosome is stuck to another. Carriers, like myself, are normal looking people who appear to be healthy, until they try to have a family. These people are at a high risk (87%) for miscarriage because of this chromosomal abnormality. I had my ER 2/15 then we drove our embryos to Chicago for PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) out of 28 embryos, only 2 were considered normal, the other 26 were "unbalanced" which causes miscarriage after about 6 weeks or so.

Sooo......the 2 normals were transferred in...they were blastocycts and were just starting the hatching phase as they transferred them, so my Dr. was ver optimistic. It is on my mind 24/7, as I'm sure most of you can relate. I have my pg test on 3/2...fingers are crossed.

How long were any of you sore after ER?

I took Repronex also....OUCH!! Also Follistim. Now on Progesterone shots....speaking of..I gotta go-it's time for my husband to stick me again!

Best wishes to all...

bmc

[bmc]

So sorry I didn't see you post before I posted earlier tonight...bear with me it is taking me a bit to get used to how the threads etc. work. I also need to figure out how to post my info at the bottom so I don't keep repeating myself! :)

Yes, I am a PGDer and just posted about my problem if you want to look at my previous posting.

I am so thankful for this chat board...it is nice to have people to talk to who are going through similar situations and can relate to the feelings you have.

Where did you have your PGD? It sounds as though you are having it done as you unfreeze? I hope you are having a better day today...it sounds as though you've been through a ton with all of this. I hope you have wonderful news on tuesday...

Thanks for the reply!

[bmc]

I started reading this thread from the very beginning to find out more about all of you...I just came to the conclusion that Denalda is the gal who refferred me to this site....I am the person who drives 2.5 hours to the Dr....I see Den is from MI also. Denalda, do you see Dr. P? We didn't get that far in our office conversation.

It's amazing to think that we have all been doing our shots and hoping at U/S and bloodwork appts at the same time..not to mention ER and ETs. Still catching up on all of you, but had to make this post when I saw an old post from Denalda. I was glad to meet her, becaues I just felt like I was the only person around who needed PGD with the IVF/ICSI. I sort of got the feeling when first speaking with my Dr. that they didn't deal with much PGDers. What was your feeling Denalda?

Massively Sticky Baby Dust to Everyone...
bmc

[Asha]

Girls, I'm scared to death! I have my Beta's today. My boobs went from being sore to just sensitive, I totally have faith that it has happened for me and DH. I'm just so mervous because I feel great with a few cramps here and there. Everytie I feel a cramp, I take something. Girls. I have did everything right! On schedule with everything, 2 Grade a blasts, the best DR. in my area. It's all in God's hands now.

Please say a prayer for me. I'm having the office call my husband for the results. He's much stronger than I am.

[bmc]

Asha- Good Luck to you and your dh! I think it's great that you have a good attitude and you're absolutely right, it's in God's hands now. Sometimes that is the only thing that makes me stop thinking crazy thoughts about all of this. I understand your anxiety...my test is on Thursday-Happy Thoughts!
bmc

[Denalda]

Hello BMC -

Yes its me. I kept wondering if you would find your way here. I told my aunt that I met someone my age also doing pgd and she was like well did you get her number. I'm like no but I gave her a link!

I was a little sore from ER. Still if I do too much I start having slight pains. Your probably more sore with 28 eggs taken out. Every once in a while I have cramps. Like Thursday I went to the gym to use the treadmill only. I went 2.4 miles an hour that is extremely slow - walking speed. Went 1 mile in about 30 minutes. Went home and had slight cramps. I just had to do some sort of excercise. Then I'm like oh I hope the cramps don't mean I'm loosing the baby. But, it couldn't have been they cleave within the first 2 days if they are going to.

Yes I also think they don't see too many pdg people even though they seem to be the only ones in the immediate area that do this. Its still considered experimental science. Two different doctors in Lansing told me the only place to go was SF. Yes I see Dr. P. What I find really weird is the extra $1000 charge for PGD. They told me a story of having to fly doctors in and paying for a hotel room and so forth. Well a currier service took my lil guys to detroit ($250). No doctors had to be flown in. They also told me that they did all the PDG people together. Well I've done this 3 times. The last two times they didn't make me wait for other pgders. I just called them up and away I went. When ever I talked to a nurse about it, it sounded like they had 4 couples I think that was for my first cycle.

If you click on the private messages link above you can set up your signature. I think thats what you were talking about doing.

All - Oh I talked to my friend about $$ store HPTs. She said they arn't as sensitive as for example first response. But after your 4 weeks or so I guess they are dependable. Its too bad there isn't a great way to cheat and find out. I bet thats why that one girl in the other boards were negative and she was really pg. I'm anxiously waiting for pg test tomorrow! I told my DH that I wasn't going to waste money on the first response with the test being tomorrow.

[bmc]

Hi Denalda!

I agree, the "management fee" is rediculous, we were charged $1500...I did find some inconsistencies prior to all of this when trying to pinpoint cost etc. from the financial lady. I know that medical costs add up fast and this is high tech stuff we're all doing, but It's really too bad that we have to go through all of this financial burden in order to do what people have been doing for centuries. A friend of mine thinks that IVF drs in general charge that much because they have that power over patients...we all want babies bad enough and they know we will come up with the $$ somehow. HOwever, I have been VERY satisfied with the care I've received from Dr. and her office...I am an RN and am always watching every move of people who take care of me and my loved ones !:D

Currier fee of $250 probably covers the rental cost of the incubator. DH and I drove ours to Chicago (they were in an incubator) and the rental fee was $250-but that was for the way there and back-an entire weekend. Our fee was paid to the Chicago PGD office. We decided to just stay in Chicago and wait for them. My Brother-in-law, who travels all the time had a bunch of points built up, he graciously called a hotel in Chicago and used his points to book us a room for that weekend...that helped with cost ALOT!

I am sore sometimes when I do bending-for ex. I will snap the leash on my little dog and stand up , I will get a weird crampy type sensation on both sides. I have never been so aware of my ovaries and uterus in my entire life as I am now!! I bet your cramps after the treadmill walking were just normal, but just be VERY careful....you have a healthy embryo in there that is a potential babelet! (That's what DH and I call babies...babelets:p ) Other times I'll just be sitting and get a weird twinge and I think Oh no....what's happening.

I have rally sore boobs....does anyone get sore boobs from the progesterone shot? Just wondering what's going on.

TO ALL-I agree about the $$ store PG test-I wouldn't trust it. There's a reason it's only $1-probably close to expiration or something? Maybe I'm way off.

Baby Dust...
bmc

[sjkolle]

Hi Ladies,

I have been reading your posts, and hoping the best for all of you. I wanted to let you know about the $ store hpt's. I did a 5-day transfer on Feb 7th, and I tested on the 13th (6dpt) with a First Response (I heard you can test a little earlier with a 5-day). I had purchased 5 $ store hpt's because I'm obsessive, and I didn't want to waste a million dollars. Two days (8dpt) after the first BFP, I tested with the cheaper tests, and it still showed up BFP. I checked out the sensitivity on the web, and it has half as much as First response.

I hope this helps you!

I can't wait to read about your BFP's!!!

Joana

[bmc]

This is a test to see if my signature changes are working..

bmc

[Denalda]

BMC - Yes I think sore boobs are progesterone or/and pregnancy, although mine only had the problem for 2 days. Progesterone supposing helps keep depression away to, and helps us feel a little tired. I did a little research on it last week.

Speaking about care at the clinic I am very satisfied with them as well. In fact last week I called the IVF nurses and started to leave a message I said "My name and 51." and had to hang up cause I started crying. I recomposed myself and called again. Jenna called back right away and said I was fine. I was freaking out. (3 or 4 days after the retrieval I had started spotting all the sudden.)

Another time – that great ice storm when I was an hour late to the clinic I was so upset. I had repronex and it was 10pm but I didn’t have my gonal-f. I hadn’t done my morning drugs yet. I knew it would take forever to get home. I went out to my car, went back in and asked for Jenna. I started crying trying to explain my situation. She was like oh no problem that’s what we are here for! Some people don’t have a problem asking for help but I do. I was so glad it all worked out that day.

I call Shanda my savior. I have a reputation there as a fainter and the bleeder. I have gotten quite faint twice during blood pulls in the morning. Its always when an inexperience tech pokes me 2 or 3 times (I couldn't believe I made it to 3 times sitting in the chair.) The first time the tech walked me to the room with a bed, I nearly started crying and the tech went and got Shanda. The next time I saw this tech she seems nervous and i'm like oh boy. I said something and she was like yes i remember you.

The 2nd time Shanda was walking by after the blood pull (was poked three times but she finally got the blood) and my head was on my knees. I looked up and in my head I said oh my savior. I couldn't tell her at that time what i would thinking though. She walked me to the room with a bed. Now I drink lots of water before hand and think of all the mean traffic driving to detroit that I have to compete with to get there. That seems to have worked this 3rd cycle I didn't get faint at all. However, a tech that need to pull twice I told her I needed a break. So she did my DH and another lady. Got back to me and I was fine. And I totally survived 2 pokes from a different tech days later.

I remember when we had shot class and dh had to give me a shot. I gave myself 1 shot first – Trina was in there. Then I stood up leaning against the bed. He was like I'm sorry little Dee Dee. Then he said I don't want to hurt you. I'm waiting and waiting. The anticipation is getting worse I tell him to let me know when he's gonna do it. He says no. So by the time he finally poked me I was getting faint. I could barley keep standing for him to put a bandage on me. Then I had to lay on the bed for a while. He asked Trina if it was all in my head. I guess unfortunately it is. So he teased me.

I just wish I could go to a local clinic and just have to travel to this one for the last part of ivf for the PGD. We are pioneers – years in the future people won’t have to go through all this driving. I bet years ago people had to do a lot of driving just for IVF clinics.

[Mom to Angels]

Asha,

What's the verdict? Can't wait to hear your news - sounds so positive! I'm thinking about you right now!

[babyschwarte]

hi, girls,
Thanks for your good wishes, unfortunately, beta is negative. the hospital asks me to go back to do another u/s on wed., since my number is not zero. oh, well...
i really do not know what are your experiences with your RE, my RE is very busy, during the whole process, basically I only had one talk with him, which is the initial consulting, and i paid extra fee for that (not included in the ivf cycle). and now, i ask for a follow up appointment, (to know more about next plan, and what failed me this time and so on) it's going to be one month later and another $331.
wish you girls best luck!
baby

[Mom to Angels]

Baby, I'm so sorry to hear your news. My thoughts are with you right now. What does it mean that your beta's were not zero and why do they want you to test again on Wednesday? Are they hoping that maybe you're just having late implantation? I'm sending sending your way right now.

[babyschwarte]

Thanks a lot for your replying, Mom to Angles. yes, my munber is less then 5 but not zero, so they ask me back to do another test on wed. but i have already accepted the truth that i am not preg.
i see that you are from SF area, am living in san jose, so mom to angles, which clinic are you going to? how is your RE there? maybe i should change a RE...

wish the rest of you best luck!
baby

[Mom to Angels]

Hi again baby, I go to the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health. My RE is Dr. Marcelle Cedars. She is the director for RE and Infertility . I like her a lot - she's very personable, tells it how it is, and has a very good bedside manner. Only thing is that she is really busy so I make it a point to have all my questions ready before my appts. so that I know I have them all answered. There are about 5 drs. that rotate, so most likely you will see most, if not all. It's an excellent facility, one that I highly recommend. Check out their website: www.ucsfivf.org

[Denalda]

I'm sorry to hear that baby. Good luck to you in the future.

[Mom to Angels]

Denalda, how are you holding up? Don't you have your beta test tomorrow? You must be on pins and needles. I'm wishing the best of luck to you!!!

[bmc]

Baby-

Sorry to hear about your news...you are in thought and prayer. Best wishes to you....

Brooke

[Denalda]

Yes I have beta tomorrow and I'm quite upset. My DH feels the need to drive 25 minutes to a town with his local friend to meet a guy that lives 1 hour away to study for microsoft cert's. I did not know this until I was fixing tacos for dinner. This is a big deal because I don't like to cook.

While I'm ranting. You know what while I was on bed rest that sat and sun 2 weeks ago he invited friends over each night! Now how am I supposed to entertain laying on the couch? Plus he left me sunday for like 3 hours to go to his band concert. While I was alone I was supposed to order pizza for everyone. Arg.

His friend that saturday "sexist mike foxy" said it was "BLESSED" that we had no eggs left. Boy did I lay into him 3 days later in email. I was laying there saturday still high on valuim wasn't much I could say. Well sexist mike foxey replied saying it was good that we didn't have any MORAL decisions to make. Well bullony its about time HE MAKE a moral decision. He's dated a girl for 12 years now that has 2 kids with 4 different dads that is on section 8. And I told him So! I said its easy for you to judge Donna can have kids any time she wants with anybody she wants NOT being married. He is or wants to be a "holy roller" so what he is doing with her I don't know. OK - the 4 dads thing - 1st kid = 1 dad. The last kid (youngest) the guy who thinks he is the father isn't. The "real" father lives in another state and she is afraid he would try to get custody. BUT just this week Mike thinks the kid is his because "she has the same taste in food as I do" he said. OMG!! However, its the older kid, the first kid he talks about and does things with. Doesn't do a thing with the younger kid. He don't marry her cause then she looses her free housing. Can't stand her and she was in my house when Mike made that 'blessed' comment. Thank goodness she kept her loud mouth shut. Can't go to a restaurant with her without the F word coming out every other word. I got out of going to restaurants with her for 5 years! Then I was tricked. I was already at a restaurant and Mike brought her. Yuck!

Last month we ran into them in Cosco (very cold, snow) and she was wearing a denim mini skirt with bobby socks! She all the sudden had their engagement ring on again. (They have been engaged twice, broken up.) I said "WOW ARE YOU ENGAGED." Not because I was excited but because I wanted to know what was going on when you get engaged its supposed to be a big deal. She ignored me and got in the truck. I said it 2 more times to Mike and he muffles no no. Next time I saw her she didn't have it on, then this valuim saturday she did. I give up trying to figure it out. Oh I forgot to mention in January she got $22k in back child support. Mike put her on a $1k a day limit and she still spent it all in one month.

Yes I need lots of luck. It will take a miracle to have a BFP tomorrow. I'm scared of the phone call. I'm thinking about letting the answering machine get the call cause they will call while I'm working. But, then I'll die of curiosity. I would hate to be the nurse that calls regarding the BFN. Imagine how many people she single handly makes cry!

[bmc]

Denalda-
That Mike guy sounds like a real A**HOLE! I'm glad that you let him have it! Jerk. AND, what's up with his skanky girl..people make me sick-mini skirt and bobby socks and in January?? Good grief. There are good people out there like all of us, wanting and trying desperately to have children and then there are absolute morons who pop them out like nothing, then get child support $$ and blow it like water!!! Meanwhile, we are all going into debt, charging, cashing in our retirement plans etc. in order to go through all of this IVF/PGD. GRRRR. I am very irritated right now.

I hope and pray that you get a HUGE BFP tomorrow. What time will you get out of work? I hope they give you wonderful news....

You mentioned a band concert...it your DH in a band or a band teacher? Mine is a band teacher, so my ears perked up when you mentioned band concert.

Yes, all the nurses have been soooo nice-I always have a ton of questions (I'm a cardiac nurse-and know nothing about OB) and they are so nice and take the time to fully answer everything. Jenna was there when DH learned to give me my IM shots...he was so nervous, but she helped him through it. Trina was in the room for my ER...I was talking to her a little bit, but got knocked out shortly. Shanda was with me for my ET, I was practically hyperventillating, (I was so nervous about Dr. P putting the catheter in through my cervix-the trial transfer was terribly painful) But, Shanda helped me through it with some breathing exercise thing and it helped tremendously! She had her head right down over my forehead and was very calming. They are all awesome-I hope they understand how important they are in that office!! It seems like they do everything and can pretty well predict what Dr. P. will have us do next.

Are you bruises going away from the blood draws? I have a few faint ones left, but not bad looking at all. I got so I really hated that!! The one tech with the spiky blonde hair would always go in the vein towards my elbow and ALWAYS leave a huge bruise...I cringed when I saw her in that room. All the others were pretty good.

Asha-Hope all went well with your news today-we are anxious to hear from you!

Gotta go ladies, time for the booty shot!
:o

[ashby]

getting caught up with reading all the posts....
babyschwarte - sorry to hear your news, thinking about you.
Asha - looking forward to hearing how it went today!
bmc - how's it going? Just did my booty shot too, tonight's was the first that I've had that bled. It scared dh. I'm worried some of the progesterone came out. Is that possible?
denalda - your dh sounds as social as mine. My dh invited his twin brother up this weekend and while he and his wife are great, it wasn't exactly restful. One good thing about it was that it was a great 2ww diversion! I love my sil but she just turned 30 and just started ttc #1 3 mos. ago -- she is freaking out she's not pg yet. I reminded her that we've been ttc 2 yrs and I'm 36 and have gone through lots ttc! It's tough b/c I don't want her to feel like she can't talk to me about it, but I also really have zero sympathy for her right now! I wonder if I'll be a good sport about it if she gets pg before me.....
I work with many women (who are clients) who sound like the one you described. I see so many people who fall on hard times and need programs like Sec. 8, but there are also lots who seem to take having babies for granted and seem to take advantage of the system. It can be frustrating to be around women who seem to be so unmotivated and so careless about becoming/being moms like that woman you talked about. I see it every day at work and it's much harder to deal with now that dh and I are spending so much time and $$$ on IVF (not to mention all these dang shots!!). Hey, one thing you can say about all of us who are having probs. ttc/doing IVF is that we are quite a motivated bunch! Good luck with your b/w tomorrow......

[bmc]

Ashby-I wouldn't worry about it-the needle probably just went through a small capillary bed-which is where the bleeding came from. I've had a few bleed too-yes my dh was scared also! I just have him hold pressure on it with a gauze 4x4....if some med leaked out, I don't think it would be a considerable enough amount to hurt anything, but you may want to ask you doc about it, just in case. :)
I have my beta on Thursday...How's it going with you?

DreamMom-How is the tww going? Yes, I did get pictures of my embies before transfer...that was very cool!! They were starting to hatch so you could see that-pretty neat! Earlier I wrote that I started my PIO shots after ET...I meant ER, sorry about the confusion! Hope all is well!

Mom to Angels-How are things? 3/3 will be here soon..hang in there!
Wendylou-hope all is well with you also!

[babyschwarte]

Thanks, girls, you are wonderful and very supportive!
Mom to Angles, thanks for your information and wish you best of luck!
Wendylou, my dear cycle buddy, i wish you all the best!

tons of baby dust to ya!
baby

[Denalda]

BMC - Regarding Mike. Thats exactly what me and dh say regarding popping the kids out and the extreme cost we are paying to do what they do for free without thinking.

I get out of work at 3:30pm so I know they will call before then.

DH just joined the local Livingston County Band. They played that Sunday in Hartland High School I think. Then 3 days later they played in a retirement center. I play the Viola so I do not appreciate his horn going off at 11pm - we live in a condo and I keep telling him he is waking up the neighbor that gets up at 5am.

The first cycle in July I had less blood draws than this time but I looked like a Herroine addict. I went to the office 3 days, then 2, then 2, then everyday.

Third cycle I went in 3 days and then every single day. My arms didn't look anything like the July arms. I read on the internet to apply pressure for 5 minutes to help prevent bruising. I did get two huge bruises with the iv for ER. Shanda my savior had a hard time getting it in my vien having been told not to drink water after midnight. She was like i'm sorry but i'm fine, I'm laying down. She was like I am glad you are. :)

Was your dh in there for the ET?

Yeah the spikey blonde seemed new to the job.

Ashby - And those women never think of adoption. Its a shame, those kids would have a much better life and I bet adoption would become less money if there were more babies (supply and demand?).

Well I'm just waiting for my beta results now. The phone rang once already and I jumped. It was a reminder for a dentist appointment.

[bmc]

Denalda-How are you holding up this AM? I'm sure you are very nervous feeling-I know I am-for all of us! You were the first thing I thought of when dh alarm went off @ 7AM...I was thinking you were probably en route to the office. Keep positive-it's all out of our hands now (that's what Shanda told me after ET)! You know you've done everything right and possible to help this happen. Hopefully we will hear from you sometime today. I have said many prayers for you and your dh. Best wishes!
:)

[bmc]

Denalda-I just read you posting for today...we must have been typing at the same time.

My husband is in a 40's jazz/swing band-it's alot of fun to go listen to!! He plays the trumpet-I play the flute and piano...I am really excited because I just bought a used flute from one of his students who graduated last year. The flute is about 4 years old-professional style with open tone hole-it's lovely ...my dream flute and we got it really cheap (only $250-like I really needed to spend that $$ right now-but I knew I would never find that quality for that price!) The one I had and learned to play on was a hand me down from my cousin-it was probably made in the 60s or 70s.

yes, my DH was in for the ET-was your able to be with you??

Talk to you later!

[Denalda]

Beta = negative. :mad:

At least I was expecting it. HPT's were right. (the $ store one tests at the same sensitivy as first response. Looked it up on the net.)

Its hard and knowing it was a boy...and not just a "it".

I can't help but think perhaps if i hadn't walked that 1 mile going 2.4mph on the treadmile (but thats soooo slow) maybe the result would be different cause I had cramps afterwards.

I don't know. Fate never let me choose through this whole IVF thing. The point was to be able to choose. Maybe naturally fate will be kind to me. It would just break my heart to have a mentally retarded boy though (17% chance). Its a 50% to pass on my good X though. 50% to pass on my bad X. Of that 50%, 17% would be affected boys, 13% affected girls and the rest just carriers like me. And low ovarian reserve. So if I don't hurry up... I bet some hate seeing people like me. But truly I don't know if I can succeed naturally - never tried. I'm 10 years younger than my half-sister whom found the problem with her 2 boys. Which allowed me the "opportunity" to try to get rid of it. She's jeleous of me... she shouldn't be, she said I wouldn't succeed, it would be easier if I didn't know. I want a healthy baby. And i'm not telling her that I failed! I'm rambling. I continue to work. Hopefully I don't get a nasty caller or I'll tear off his/her mouth... since I wrote that sentence i've gotten 2 agitated callers..... sigh.

How unlucky could I get? Right?

[Mom to Angels]

Debalda, I'm so sorry hear your news. I know it's difficult but I guess this one was not meant to be. It's hard to understand but the man upstairs has a plan for you. And please don't blame yourself. I don't think walking that slowly on the treadmill affected anything - it's not your fault. I'm sending you a prayer right now.

[bmc]

denalda-I'm so sorry to hear your results. Mom to Angels is right-there is a plan for you and your dh, for some reason this wasn't meant to be at this time. Don't blame yourself-I don't think a slow walk like that would have anything to do with it-you walk around in your house and in/out of work-it's part of the activities of daily living....DO NOT blame yourself. It's hard, I know what you mean about knowing the sex of the embie-when I found out my last miscarriage was a baby girl, it just seemed to hurt a little more. I'm so very sorry....you and dh will get through.

[fish142]

Denalda and babyschwarte, I'm sorry to hear about your bfns. I know how much you were hoping this would work, especially you, Denalda, after all the testing and trying to even get this far.

Unfortunately, I'll be joining your club this month. My follies just weren't growing like they should have, so the dr knew it wouldn't be a successful cycle, so I've just been cancelled. For my first IVF cycle, I was on a microdose Lupron flare protocol. My follicles responded fabulously, but my estrogen went up a little higher than they would have liked. So they decided to try a different protocol this time, using Follistim only, then switching to Repronex and Cetrotide. Well, first of all, yesterday I felt like crap and had a fever of 101. Dr said that it's probably a reaction to the Repronex (so I guess the good news is I don't have to use it again!), especially since he instantly switched me off it and put me back on Follistim, and today I'm feeling better, thanks. So we'll try again back with the Lupron protocol, and he'll do whatever he needs to keep the E2 down.

I'm bummed because I waited so long to be able to start this cycle, and I'm not getting any younger, and at some point he'll say "you're too old to keep trying this." But I didn't get far enough to get embies to get attached to (physically or emotionally), and he did say we'll start over (get AF, do a pack of bcp, then start meds), so it's not putting it off too far. I'm not incredibly sad because he did warn me yesterday that it wasn't looking good, and I was feeling too lousy to care. But it woulda been nice....:(

I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone else. We've used up the quota on bad news, so everyone else has to be bfps.

[Mom to Angels]

Fish142, I wish I could give you a big hug right now. As disappointing as this is, do not let this get the best of you. There's still a chance, right? It just wasn't this cycle. I'm glad that you're feeling much better after RE took you off Repronex - don't let him do that again! RE just hasn't figured out quite yet what's the right "cocktail" your follies need to grow but I'm sure he/she will get there. In the meantime, be patient. Your time will come.

Asha, please tell us you have good news. Whether it be a BFP (yes!) or "the other one", we'll be here to support you.

I forget who's next for their beta's. Mine is on Fri. - who will be the first to give us a BFP?!

[wendylou]

Well, I would love to be the good news on a thread for a change!!! God willing.....

Denalda, I am sorry to hear about the bfn, you have been through a lot.
Babyschwartz, I am bummed beyond words for you. The good thing, is that when you go through one and it fails, they can look over the cycle and see what you need to do differently for the next cycle. The changed a few things for me this cycle, and I am doing well so far. Hang in there, muffin, it will happen. We all just have to keep on keeping on...
Fishy, I am sorry they canceled your cycle. In a way, though, better now than go through it anyway with bfn results, you know? How about this? I will bfp this time, and you bfp next time, ok? I like my plan!!
Asha and Ashby, what is up with you two?

Well, the verdict is in...my ER will be friday at 645 am, and the ET will be Monday most likely. God please let this be it for me!!!! PLEASE!!!! I will keep you gals posted....

Where is seeking? I miss her...and I am worried about her.
Wendylou

[seeking]

WOW girls, I am so sorry for you girls, this really blows with all the praying we have been doing for each other each and everyone of us should get a BFP. Den, I'd take every bit of your frustration out on that rotten so called friend of DH's. I tell you if I was close to you I'd go up and snot both him and his girlfriend fair in the nose and you know I would, lol. Sorry can you tell the hormones are getting to me??? I hope you guys stay focussed and don't let this get on top of you.Have a great big cry I always find it helps:o .

Wendy, you are so sweet. I have missed you's so much but we are having our house painted at the moment(I know a really stupid time) and getting to the computer has been difficult to say the least. I will try and pop in more often. You's are never far from my thoughts. Good luck on Friday you will in my prayers.

Fish, I am so sorry it is so close but so far. I have always tried to look at it like there is a plan for myself and my baby and set backs are to set us on the right path for when we get to hold he/she in our arms and all this will be so worth it. I know this won't help you now but hopefully soon it will.

Asha, ashby, how are you's two please drop in and give us some good news.

Everyone else, I am sorry I have to go as the painters have turned up again so I better go but I want you guys to know that I am thinking of you's and good things are coming all of our way. Take care, Michelle;)

[ashby]

Shoot, Denalda, I'm sorry to hear it wasn't a go this time. I'm sure that walking on the treadmill didn't cause any problems, I wouldn't worry about that.

Fish, you have an awesome attitude and I'm sure that's going to help you move forward. Sorry to hear the Repronex did you so wrong, too. Are you feeling better? I can't remember the last time I had a fever that high.

wendylou - you're on the way!

momtoangels - how's the waiting going;)

Just waiting here, feeling pretty bloated from PIO and a little crampy too. I am useless at work (and at home for that matter!) - I can't concentrate on anything. Our beagle Jimbo is really hurting (spine problem) and I feel terrible for him. We took him to a specialist and he's on meds but we're thinking he might need surgery. He feels awful, will only walk when needs to go to the bathroom. Dogs/cats just don't understand when they're in so much pain.

[bmc]

Fish-Sorry to hear about that your cycle is postponed....dissapointing, but there's a reason. That Repronex is nasty stuff-I was on that and Follistim..OUCH! The repronex really burned badly.

Ashby-I'm feeling bloaty too and my back is really annoyingly sore...I didn't realize that the PIO could do that. I hope poor Jimbo gets some relief...I have a little poodle, Oliver, he is my sweet little boy-I love him to pieces! I also have a horse who is getting older-this year the poor gal is starting to battle arthritis-Lali has been such a good girl...we have shown and trail ridden for many years together. It's heartbreaking to see a beloved pet in pain or discomfort-they're family!!!!


Wendylou-hang in there! Are you excited about your ER and ET? It's exciting, but a little nerve racking at the same time....best of luck to you:)


My beta is tomorrow-I am going crazy-everytime I think about it, my heart sort of drops...I'm very nervous. This is going to be it for my husband and I-either way-we had no embryos that were healthy to freeze and I don't think we can afford to go through all this again, especially adding on the costs of PGD that we need....and there's no way that I can go through anymore miscarriages...without the IVF with PGD, my miscarriage rate is 87%. Wish me luck.

[Denalda]

Bmc I'm pulling for you. 87% is a hard thing to deal with. I can't even imagine the pain. I know the night before I was really nervous too. Jenna called around 11:38am with the results. She started out: "Unfortunately I have bad news." Usually she starts out "How are you."

As for me: I finished working yesturday after my bfn but today I called in sick - went grocery shopping. I just couldn't even think about dealing with nasty callers. I didn't get a lot of sleep either. I need sleep or i'm a big ole grump.

I went to http://www.givf.com/ to look into selecting the sex for a girl. A girl has 9% chance of being affected with FX. Its about $3600 but their pregnancy rate is 16%! Thats crazy low.

Yeah IVF is so expensive. I have done it 3 times. I never completed the whole process until this time. 1st it only ended up costing $600 cause I was canceled. 2nd time was $5500 cause I was canceled later. And this time it was the full price $13k or so. You know those silly charge card mailings well just before I put my name on the do not mail me list I got 2 offers for 0% for 1 year and 1.5 years, so I used up saving and put the remaining on those cards. I figured if they harrass me I can use them.

What time are you getting up in the morning?
I bet your preggy with the loosing your head feeling - i forget how you worded it, i'd have to look - that you have felt in the past when you were pregnany.

Oh I remembered something about the dr that ticked me off if you want to know I can private message you.

[bmc]

Denalda-I'm glad you took the day off....It was probably good for you to just chill and not be bothered by your callers and other staff members. I am suppossed to work Friday...I was thinking I may call in if I get a negative. We'll see...time will tell....sigh.

Yes...16% is LOW. How much did your PGD cost if you don't mind me asking? Ours was $5,250. We went for the place we did because they said it specialized in my problem and that's where the Dr. and our geneticist at Wayne St. recommended.

yes-private message me about the Dr.....Can I get private messages?? I'll check my settings.

Thanks so much for your words of support-I really really appreciate it!:)

[Denalda]

YIKES! Your PGD was expensive. Mine was $2500 plus $250 (gotta find out if I get the $250 back detroit was confusing on that it was for transportation.) No matter how many eggs at one time I had to send them it was $2500. They like to have at least 12 eggs to test I sent them 2. Doc recommended Detroit - Genesis Genetics for me. OK sent you a private message. See top right private messages link.

[bmc]

Denalda-Yes...PGD definitely adds cost. Chicago charged us $3500 for the initial set up of the probes. Then charged us $1500 "management fee"-like they aren't getting enough for this stuff and also charged us $250 for the portable incubator (it was the size of a video camera case...I had it sitting nice and comfy on a big fluffy pillow all the way to Chicago:p ) Then, the Dr.s office here in MI charged us a "management fee" for the PGD as well, they said they they were in contact all the time with Chicago and charge it because the staff and laboratory people are always talking. So in managment fees alone, overall, we paid I think 2500. Grrrr.

My private message thing is on. Ready to receive!!!!

[wendylou]

BMC--I am rooting for you!! Sending you lots of baby dust, hugs, and support. I hope you change the luck of this thread!! Hang in there!! This is the REAL hard part!! Wendylou

[bmc]

:) BFP!!! BFP!!!
HI girls-I can't believe it! I feel so overwhelmed with excitement and shock...wow. I find out on Sat. when my U/S will be....is there one or two little guys in there??? What do you guys think?? Both transferred were blasts and hatching...same grade as well. Yay!!!:o

[Mom to Angels]

BMC, wow!!! Congratulations!!!! You must be so elated and I'm so elated for you! Did they tell you how high your hcg levels are? Usually if it's pretty high, they tell you to expect more than one... Yay!!! I gotta ask you, did you feel anything different throughout this week to lead to you believe that you're pregnant?

I test tomorrow. Very nervous and don't know if it worked. I'm just praying that this be the one.

[Denalda]

BMC - Congratulations!! And on your first try!! Your kids with be beautiful. Do you know the sexes?

Do you know if they biopsied them by taking a cell? What was their rating?

[bmc]

Mom to Angels-thanks for the kind words of crongrats! I have been feeling different the past 6 days or so. I've noticed I feel off balance at times and also my head just feels cloudy...like I can't think straight. This is how I felt with my other two preg. I did have cramping at times-maybe due to implantation? Not sure. I was grocery shopiing about 2 days ago and went by the cereal aisle...I NEVER buy cereal, I'm not that crazy about it. BUT, I had this sense of urgency for Capt'n Crunch with really ice cold fresh milk...neddless to say I grabbed the biggest box and made my way to the checkout counter-got home and cracked 'er open. I was so worked up today waiting for my office to call...I was sitting on the couch and my heart was just pounding like crazy-I just about jumped out of my skin when my cell phone rang. Good luck tomorrow...we'll all be thinking about you and saying prayers. I found that prayer was the only thing that really relieves my anxiety/fears etc-it's all in His hands. Baby Dust to you!!

Beta was 497-my office said it was really good and that I was "very" pregnant. I have another drawn in 2 days.

Denalda-Thanks for the congrats! It's so nice to have support from you girls. Yes, they did do a one cell biopsy. They were rated/graded at 4AA on the day of transfer-Dr. P said that there are a few different grading systems, but that in the one they used for ours, 4AA was the highest grade. When Chicago did the biposy I believe these two were at like 8.1 or something like that for cell count. Then Dr. P's lab did the grading and took pictures of the embryos prior to ET.

[ashby]

bmc - congratulations!!!!! So glad to hear the happy news!!!!! I'm sure you are absolutely elated!!!!

[fish142]

BMC, Congrats!! It's about time we had some good news on this thread! While any bfp is amazing and special, it's especially nice for someone with additional issues such as yourself. And it should be encouraging to all of us too - you started with 30 eggs, but only two were good, and at least one took! We all complain about only having one or two good ones, but it's nice to be reminded that sometimes that's all it takes.

Denalda, I hope you're holding up OK. Even though your story is over for this cycle, know that we're still thinking of you and hoping you have peace.

Mom to Angels, good luck on the beta tomorrow. I hope you can join BMC's club!

Thanks to everyone for their nice thoughts and support. I hope you all get bfps so you don't have to join me on this thread for future cycles!

[bmc]

Denalda-I just noticed that your post asked me about sexes? No-they didn't tell me anything about them, but I;m sure they have it recorded somewhere. I was so worked up about the transfer at that time I didn't think to ask....I guess it was all that Valium!!;)

[seeking]

OMG, OMG, OMG, Congrats BMC. I hung out all day yesturday waiting for your BFP and I missed it while I was a sleep. Yay we finally have the first of hopefully many BFP's. Just BTW us I think there's two in there with fab numbers like that. Either way rest up and take it easy. Thinking of you.

Who's next??? Sorry so excited I don't know who has their next beta done. Take care girls, thinking of you's all, Michelle.:D :D :D

[Denalda]

BMC - Looking forward to hearing if its twins. I'm on my way to Toledo to play my Viola through Sunday. weeeeee

[wendylou]

BMC!!! OMG!!! WooooHOoo!!! I am so happy for you!!! I hope you have two at a time so you don't have to go through all of this again!! Congratulations, lady!! Enjoy this wonderful time!! (And thanks for putting some luck in this thread!!)

MomtoAngels, when do you test??? I am waiting on you!!! Today, right?

Seeking, have you tested yet? Cycle day 30---what are they waiting for? How many did they put back for you? I cannot remember.

My ER went great today, they got 12 eggs....not bad for one little ovary!! So, tomorrow am they will let me know what fertilized, and on Monday, some will go back in!! BMC, let some of that dust rub off on me!!!!

Bye for now, I iwll keep you guys posted...Love Wendylou

[Mom to Angels]

Well ladies, it looks like I'll be joing BMC - I got a BFP! Clinic took forever to call back - my God I was a nervous wreck when the phone rang! I have caller ID on my phone so I knew before I picked up the phone that it was them. I had to take a couple of deep breaths before answering! I have to say, though that I am "cautiously" excited. My beta numbers are 54 which is slightly on the low side so they want me to do another b/w on Mon. to make sure the #'s double. Please send a little prayer my way this weekend. I honestly did not know if it worked - I pretty much felt nothing these past two weeks (MAYBE a slight pinching, but it would have just been my jeans!), however yesterday I felt some cramping and my hip muscles feel like they're stretching. I can feel them stretching right now as a matter of fact!

Wendy, yay, 12 eggs! I'll be thinking about you this weekend and hoping that you get some good-looking embies out of them!

This thread is looking good. Who's next?

[wendylou]

See, mom, Those girls were watching out for you!! You are going to be fine, of course your Beta is low, you are like a few hours pregnant!! hahaha. I am SO HAPPY FOR YOU I could dance, but I won't because they said no strenuous activity!! %$#^&^%$*&^% There, a little cyber dance!! Woo HOO!! This thread is getting luckier by the day, and I hope I get to join you!! Drink lots of water and take your vitamins, and enjoy the next nine months!! Yay!!

[ashby]

wendylou -- 12 ?!?!?! That's one hearty ovary!!! How are you feeling?! Enjoy resting!!!

[DreamMom]

BMC & MOM TO ANGELS WAHOOOOOO CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!! doing the baby dance over here for both of you!!! I go in for my beta on Wednesday maybe I will be joining ya also. Im so excited for both of you!!!!!!!!!

[seeking]

YAYYYYYY. I'm so happy for you girls, we really needed some good news on this thread. Who's next??? Dream mom, I'm Thursday so let's hope we both get a nice present this week.

Wahoooo, Wendy that's great just imagine what they would of gotten with two ovaries. Your a breeding machion. Best of luck for monday. I know what you mean about testing but it just isn't bothering me this time. I wish they would but since it's only been a week since ET it's still too early, sighhhh. I also have a HCG injection every three days at the moment so no good testing until Thursday as I might get a false positive.

I really hope everyone is doing well. Does anyone know where Asha went, either she's got a BFP and is to busy celebrating to drop by or is to sad at the moment to say hello. Either way Asha, I'm thinking of you and everyone else for that matter. Take care girls and congrats to you's two I'm so so happy for you. Cheers Michelle:D :D :D

[wendylou]

We had twelve eggs. 11 were mature. One was not. Out of the 11, 9 fertilized right away. One got fertilized by 2 sperms, so it's gone. One is still surrounded by sperm, but as of this am, had not let one in!! so we have nine, maybe 10, depending. We'll see what happens!! They told me to bank on Monday for the transfer. I am so excited!!! I feel great, would not even know I had anything done if it were not for the big bloat I feel in my belly!! I have gained 7 pounds since starting the LUpron injections!! I am not happy about the way that I look, but I will do anything to be a mama!!

Michelle, how many did they transfer, and why the booster shot every three days? Just curious.

Well, I'll post tomorrow! Grow little embies grow!!

[ashby]

Wendylou - that's great fert. news!! Monday will be here before you know it!

[fish142]

Great job Wendy! Even though I dropped out, you carried the ball well this cycle! 9 of 12 fertilizing is amazing! And do you really want #10 to fertilize? If it's this stubborn now, what do you think it'll be like when you tell him/her to clean his/her bedroom? :p Good luck on the ET!

[seeking]

Fish I just picked myself off the floor from laughing about he/she cleaning their room. Thanks for the laugh I've been forgetting to do that lately:p .

Wendy, they transferred one at our request for health reasons. I have a difficult time carrying one little one I don't really want the added risk of having two little ones but don't get me wrong if I ended up being pg with twins I would give it my all. We had assisted hatching which increases the chance of the embryo spliting. The hcg shot is to support the embryo and also raises you progestrogen, so helps strengthen your lining.

Ashby, how are you going. I'm really confused as to where everyone is in their cycles, find it hard enough to keep up on my own, lol:) . I have my last hcg injection tonight so I'm neariny the finishing gate but it still seems so far away. Gees I wish I could sleep till Thursday:rolleyes: .

I hope you girls enjoy your weekend, How are our two inspirations going. I hope morning sickness hasn't settled in as yet. Have a great weekend girls, Michelle:D

[bmc]

Ladies-sorry I've been missing-I started back to work and have been really busy and also exhausted-plus yesterday was gone all day to my husbands 6th-8th grade student band festival-he was directing there....it was FUN to catch up on all of you!

Mom to Angels-Congtrats on your BFP!!! That is so awesome! I bet you've been walking on air ever since!! How wonderful!! I've been busy working and haven't been able to check this...I was wondering! Yahooooooooo! I'm so happy for you:) Were you shocked when the office told you? I was...I felt like I didn't even know what to say!! Make sure you take it easy-let everyone baby you! how are you feeling?

Wendylou-Congrats on your ER and Fert news! How exciting...I bet you can't wait for ET! Are you sore at all? Best wishes and lots of baby dust to you! Has your doc said how many they will transfer?

Denalda-Hope you have a fun weekend playing! Is your dh going with you??

Dream mom-Are you getting excited for Wed? Have you been feeling any differently? Keep us posted!


Today my husbands school that he teaches at is having a "donkey basketball" fundraiser-he is announcing at it-I can't wait to watch. Everyone says it's hilarious! I hope I don't feel sorry for the donkeys....but I guess it's better than being out in the cold! It's been in the single digits here.

I had my second beta on saturday and it has more than doubled-it went from 497 on thursday to 1336.6-my U/S is on the 8th-I'm very excited but nervous as well. I'll get to find out how many are in there. I hope there's two-but of course I'll be more than happy with one!! It was nice to catch up on all of you! Have a good day!

[wendylou]

Hi gals! You guys crack me up....stubborn embies and donkey ball!! BMC, so glad you are feeling great.
I only have a second, and then I may not be on for a bit due to the bed rest...I officially have nine, and they all look really good. They plan to transfer four b/c this is round two for me. I am scheduled for 830am on Monday so please pray for me!! I'll check back in a few days. I feel really good, no pain at all, just bloated, but that is better today than yesterday. Hugs and baby dust to all!! Love, Wendy

[seeking]

Wendy, all my prayers are heading your way. Rest up and this is your time, relax and enjoy it. Take care, Michelle:) :) :) :)

[Mom to Angels]

Well ladies, I am officially pregnant!! My beta's more than doubled. It's at 201 today! I'm so excited, so scared, and feeling oh so bloated! I welcome all these feelings (and I'm sure much more will come soon enough!) I just want to thank everyone for your kind words of encouragement. It really helped me to get through this rollercoaster. I know you all will be getting your BFP's when the time is right!

BMC, how are you doing? Feeling any m/s yet? Your numbers are really high - I think it's a sure thing that you're carrying two. You know what? You're more likely to deliver in October since you've got twins so your little gifts will most likely be coming earlier than you expected. Does that make you even more excited!? Rest up and eat up!!! You'll need all the energy you can get!

Wendy, 9 embryos! Woo hoo!!! I am sending you a TON of sticky glue vibes! Good luck on ET today. Let DH pamper you for the next several days - after all, you have his future kids inside of you. Let us know how many they transfers, grade, and all that good stuff when you have a chance!! I have a good feeling about you...

DreamMom, good luck on your beta's on Wed. I so want you (and eveyrone else for that matter) to join me!! I'll be thinking about you and sending you positive, sticky vibes!

Seeking, good luck on your beta's too! You test on Thursday, right? Have you felt anything? Are you going to do an hpt beforehand? BTW, your cyber-dancing cracked me up! Hope you didn't strain your fingers on that one! And no, I haven't had any morning sickness yet. I seem more hungrier than usual so I'm "trying" to snack on healthy stuff but it's kind of hard to do what with all these girl scout cookies here!

Hope everyone else is doing well! Who's our next BFP?

[bmc]

Mom to Angles-I'm so excited to hear about your beta increase!! Yay!!! I know what you mean about feeling excited but scared as well. No m/s yet for me-thank God. But, I'll take whatever comes my way. I am really hoping that there are two in there....it would be a real blessing, esp. since we had no embryos to freeze. I've been feeling like I don't want to eat anything that's healthy-it all sounds gross to me. I just want pizza, taco bell, junk, junk, junk. I'm forcing myself to drink milk and eat veggies.


Wendylou-I've thought about you alot today! You;re in my prayers...lots of sticky baby dust is being sprinkled your way! Yes, like mom to angels said, let DH baby you...take it VERY easy. :)

Dreammom-Wed will be here soon...we're all anxious to hear your results! Best of luck to you!!

Seeking-Good luck to you on your beta also!! Thursday's your big day? yipee!

Bye for now ladies-Hope we get some more BFPs!!! Hugs to all of you!
Brooke

[ashby]

:( so bummed, got bfn today.....meet w/ dr. next Wed. to talk about it, if/when we can try again.....:(

[seeking]

Ashby, I am so sorry, nothing I say is going to help as there is nothing that will stop your hurt but please know I am thinking of you. Have some wine and chocolate;) it always helps drown my sorrows even if it's short lived.

Mom2angels, I am soooo happy for you. Your numbers are doing exactly what they are supposed to. BMC, it sounds like there's definately more then one in there. Please keep us updated.

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts at the moment I need all I can get. I'm sort of having an emotional breakdown at the moment I think it's like Thursday is so close, yet so far, sighhh. I know it will be here soon enough but I just want to know now. Thanks heaps girls, Michelle:D :D :D

[fish142]

Ashby, I'm so sorry about your bfn. :( It's hard to get that news, especially with the bfps running around on this thread. We were hoping for better vibes! Go run and drink and do all the things you couldn't do these past two weeks. And enjoy them. Even if you don't really feel like it now.

Seeking, it's only a couple more days. Hang in there. Post every 10 minutes if you need to. At least you don't have the hcg shots anymore.

bmc, When a friend of mine was pg, all she could eat was popsicles. So even though pizza and taco bell aren't the healthiest things in the world, at least there's SOME nutrition in there. How was donkey basketball? I've heard of it, but I've never seen it. It sounds hilarious. Good luck with your u/s on the 8th!

Wendy, I hope the ET went well and that you're resting and getting waited on, and not going crazy! If you're transferring 4, odds are good that at least one will take. Here's hoping!

Mom to Angels (and another on the way) - It must feel great to get the confirmation of your numbers! Extra-sticky baby dust to you, to make sure this one sticks with it for nine good months! When's your u/s?

[wendylou]

Oh, Ashby, I am so bummed for you. I actually welled up with tears. Enough heart break!! Pamper yourself, and your DH, and really be good to each other right now. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, but it sure sucks. You hang in there, and vent all you need to on these boards, that is what we are all here for.

The ET went well. Thank you ladies so much for all the sticky baby vibes. I have been taking it easy, and it's back to the couch for me!! God willing, the 2ww won't be so brutal.....love and hugs for everyone. Seeking hang in there, just a few more days. You can do it!! Love, Wendy

[Mom to Angels]

Ashby, I wish I could give you a big hug. So sorry to hear about your news, I was so sure you would get a positive. I know it's tough, esp. having to be around younger preggers but your time will come. Talk to your RE and ask him/her if there's a new protocol in order for you. A lot of times it just takes a different mix of drugs to get you there. I'll be thinking about you and praying that the next cycle will be the one.

DreamMom and Seeking, how are you two holding up? I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that we get more BFP's. Did I tell you that girl scout cookies worked wonders for my stress? Try to find something to pre-occupy your mind - your days will be here before you know it! And Seeking, I had several emotional breakdowns the week of my beta. I'd be driving in my car and all of a sudden be crying. Next minute, I'm happy again. This is some really crazy stuff we're all going through right now. But don't worry, you'll get through it all! And we'll all be here to help you get through it! So if you ever feel the need to vent... vent away!

BMC, that's funny about the taco bell/pizza cravings. I haven't had much cravings but it does seem like I'm hungry ALL THE TIME! I'm reading "What to EAT when You're Expecting". It's a great book - it's really keeping me motivated to eat healthy. And I'm 100% sure you have two in there. I got those crazy high numbers my first pregnancy and it was multiples.

Wendy, sticky embryos, stick! I'm sending you sticky sticky glue vibes right now!

Fish142, how are you doing? Have you talked to RE to find out when to start your next cycle? I'm thinkin' about you and praying that the next cycle will be the one for you, as well!

[Mom to Angels]

Fish142, I forgot to answer your question. My u/s is on 3/21. It hasn't really sunk in that there's a baby growing there. Maybe the u/s will make it seem more real? I'm just trying to take everything one day at a time and pray that everything will work out fine.

[seeking]

You's girls are just the best, thankyou so much for your words they always make me feel better.

I really just wanted to drop in and say a big GOOD LUCK;) to dreamMom, I am thinking of you. Look forward to hearing the BFP very soon. Take care girls, Michelle:D :D :D

[bmc]

Ashby-I'm so sorry to hear your news...we were all pulling for you. Make sure you take time for yourself, do what you need to do to help you through this difficult time. I know how hard it is when you want a baby in the worst way and then it seems like there are people all around you who are preg-it doesn't help matters and you sort of want to go off on everyone....at least that's how I was feeling for a long time after my miscarraiges. There is a plan for you that's already set in motion, for all of us for that matter. We just don't know what it is yet. Hang in there.

Dreammom-How are you holding up? Baby dust vibes to you!!!! I'll be thinking about you tomorrow!! Best wishes to you!!

Mom To Angles-I think I better hit barnes & noble and find that book. I did force myself to eat a bunch of carrots today at work. I feel so exhausted. And I'll be getting up early tomorrow AM for our 2.5 hr treck to the Dr.s for my u/s. I'm excited about it, but very nervous at the same time. I think I'll be on pins and needles this entire pregnancy. Glad to hear you're feeling so well-hunger's not so bad is it! When my sister was preg. with her first son, she craved fries from burger king all the time. Well, one night in her sleep she was hoggin the bed and her dh said "Can you roll over?" she replied in a sleepy stupor "Lg. Fry"-she thought he asked, Can I take your order, when really he said, roll over. we laughed about that for a long time....still do and Jack is now 6 1/2!

Wendylou-I'm glad to hear that things went well for you-make sure you are resting girlie! Eat up, drink lots of fluids and don't lift a finger-Get those embies to stick!!!:p

Fish142-donkey b-ball was absolutely hilarious-if any of you get a chance to ever watch a game, I highly recommend it! The donkeys were so cute and very tolerant, but by the end of the game, I think some of them had had it....a couple were even starting to buck-there were people flying off left and right! It was great!

Seeking-Hang in there! It won't be long now and you'll have the answer! I know what you mean about the emotional breakdown....it seemed that my heart was pounding so hard for about 2 days prior and I just felt like I could cry at any moment, but I was excited too. We're all sending you sticky gooey baby vibes!

I'll let you all know what I find out at the u/s tomorrow.....;)
Brooke

[Denalda]

Bmc - i'm waiting on pins and needles to hear how many!! :)

[seeking]

Me, to.....

DreanMom, how did you go, I have been thinking of you hope it was a great BFP. Let us know.

Well today is the day, I am so scared. Actually I think that's an understatement. I'm crapping myself, sorry girls if I had it together before I definately don't today. I'm a mess:rolleyes: .

Wish me luck, have a great day, Michelle:D :D :D

[bmc]

Well, I had the u/s and when I walked in they nurse and tech said that today we were only looking to make sure there were no implantations outside of the uterus and there was definitely a sac found in the uterus...I asked if that meant only one, she said not necessarily. I had a hard time seeing the "sac" but in that position you really don't get to see much. My husband saw more than I did-he thought it looked like there was maybe another one too-but the u/s tech was pretty quick. Since I'm not very far they want me back again in 2 weeks, but said that everything looks great and is progressing normally and that at the next u/s we will be able to see alot more, because the next two weeks things really get rolling, inclusing the yolk and then baby formation. I didn't get to see the Dr. today-just RN and u/s tech. Now that I;m home, I have a bunch more questions, so I may give them a call tomorrow. I was a little worried that they didn't see more, but I guess I am only about 3-4 weeks....I'm anxious for the next one. Sorry not much to update you gals on-but there is one in there for sure anyway!!;)

[seeking]

Hi girls,

Well it was another BFN for me. I'm going to take some to think about if and when we will do anything from here. Take care, Michelle

[bmc]

Seeking-I just read your news and I'm so sorry....I was sure you would be pos. You've always got such a great outlook on everything and give advice and suppport to all. You are in thought and prayer.

Dreammom-How are things? Hoping to hear from you soon....

Denalda-Sorry not much news-maybe I'll have more in a few weeks! Hope you are doing well! I miss you!

Mom to Angels-I went and bought that book yesterday after my u/s-it's really good!

[wendylou]

OH, Michelle, I am so sorry. My heart just broke for you. Take as much time as you need to recoup....this is so hard. ugh, I am so sad. I wish I could extend a big hug to you from US to Australia. Hang in there, and have a big huge cocktail and a hot bubble bath, and a cathartic cry. You have been such a huge source of support for all of us here...please let us return all the love you have given us. Love, Wendy

[wendylou]

BMC--dontcha hate it when they don't let you see? "Get out of the way!!" Hopefully you got both of them in there so you wont have to go through this again any time soon!!

Dream Mom, waiting on pins and needles....

Denalda, how are you doing?

Mom to angels, glad you are feeling well!

Where's Fish and Ashby?? I hope you two are hanging in there!

I feel fine. Most of the bloat is gone and I just have to pee all the time b/c my ovary is still very much making me aware that it is there. It's big and sitting on my bladder. No complaints, though. I am on the progesterone, baby aspirin, and prenates and just hoping for the best!! Bye for now, Love, Wendy

[wendylou]

I am cutting and pasting to get some opinions....

Not to be TMI but I just went to the restroom and had some bright pink spotting. If this were from the retrieval or transfer, it would be brownish by now. Could this be implantation spotting? The applicator this am (my crinone) did not have anything on it......any thoughts on this? Wendy

[Mom to Angels]

Seeking, I'm so sorry sweetie. There's probably nothing that I can say to ease the disappointment but I just know that the man upstairs has a plan for you - you just have to believe. Once the disappointment of this cycle subsides, you and DH will figure out what you want to do next. In the meantime, vent! Get all those feelings out so they don't drag you down, and and move on when you're ready. Treat yourself and DH to something nice (dinner, shopping, massage, etc.) You both deserve it. I'll be thinkin' about you and hoping that you come and visit us.

Wendy, I think that's a good sign. Sounds like something's going on in there! I remember with my first IVF, I spotted a little 2-3 days after ET and I got a BFP (with multiples). How many did they transfer into you again?

BMC, great news!!! You must be so excited, definitely one you say? I still say you have two, but I guess we'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. My u/s isn't until 3/21 - I should be around 7 weeks by then? (Aren't we about the same number of weeks?!). They didn't want to schedule me until they could make sure that they saw the h/b, sac and all. We're both at about 5 weeks, right? I think the growing embryos are small at this point. When's your next u/s?

Hope everyone is doing well and taking the time you need to re-group. My thoughts are with you all and praying that you get your BFP next cycle!

[bmc]

wendylou-Yes, I've read about implantation spotting. I didn't experience any, but maybe your little one(s) are burrowing their way in for safe keeping! I am peeing alot too-I wonder if that's because my ovaries are really big right now too?

Mom to angels-I thought I was about 5 weeks (you know because they add that extra 2 weeks), but the nurse told me I was 4. This stuff is confusing! I had my ER on 2/15 and ET on 2/20. I think we are pretty well around the same time. They said that since my beta increased so rapidly that they wanted to make sure everybody was in the right spot since so much growth was taking place.

Michelle-Hope you're hanging in there-pamper yourself and take your time.

[fish142]

Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear your news. I have a soft spot in my heart for Australia, so I was hoping you'd be our bfp from oz. Take your time and do what you need to get through this. As for future plans, you have others that are frozen, yes? I wish you lots of peace.

DreamMom - how was your beta?

Wendy - if your ET was only 3/6 and you have spotting now, might it be a little early for implantation spotting? But it's definitely too early for AF. I guess it could be from implantation. Just don't read toooooo much into it, because you'll drive yourself crazy. Not that we don't go crazy with every pinch, pull and pain during the tww anyway...

Mom to Angels+1 - at least we think it's just one...! I hope you don't mind that I changed your name. Glad to know you're feeling good so far. Have you told family and friends yet, or are you waiting for the u/s or just for more time to pass?

bmc - One is good. Inside the uterus is good. So far so good! Same question for you - have you told the world yet?

As for me, I'm waiting for AF, then another pack of bcp, then I can start up again. So assuming all goes well, I'll probably start stimming again 1st or 2nd week of April. In the meantime, I've decided to stock up on my unhealthy stuff now. I just went yesterday and bought a small bottle of Cognac. I haven't had it in years, but somehow got a taste for it again. Mmmm, smooth.

Everyone take care.

[wendylou]

Interestingly enough, the embryologist just called me out of the blue to say the ones in the incubator are not worth freezing. We knew that, though, b/c they put the two best ones in me, along with two not so best but better than the rest, also. I asked her about implantation, and she said with the level that mine were, implantation would occur about 72 hours after transfer, and 72 hours was this morning! I hope God, mother nature, and the universe are not playing a terrible trick on me!! I am going to be extremely hopeful that this is what it is!! How ironic is it that she called immediately after I posted that question? W

[Denalda]

Fish142 - Does your insurance pay for a lot of the IVF? I notice you are going at it right away. Just wondering...

Seeking - i'm sorry to hear your news :/

I've tried to find it on the net. My eggs were A, A- and B. I can't find the scale to tell me how much higher a 4AA is? Does anyone know?

What am I doing? Well since they really can't get enough eggs to live through the biopsy AND be FX free we are trying well... um... naturally. Ehm.
DH won't talk to me about what to do if we do CVS and get a positive FX. He is much more sensitive than I am on that stuff. The other night he cried again for the girl that didn't survive to be implanted, and for the boy that went away and for my almost death in September. I'm afraid that the FX diagnosis would destroy us. I know he doesn't want to have to have a FX child just as much as I don't. Someone suggested going to a councelor. I suggested it to dh and for the first time ever he said nothing. Usually he tells me I need to see a councelor for anger or yelling - whatever - when we argue regarding something not to do with fertility. I suggested if its FX to let the child be adopted he didn't like that idea.

For the second time in 2 weeks he started a stupid fight with me regarding what i'm watching on tv. We have 3 tv's all hooked to an antenna. He went into the bedroom, played his trumpet and had his tv on. Came out to the living room and wanted me to change my channel to the one he was watching. Last week he realized he was in the wrong. This week it took me forever to get him to understand what he was doing. Finally I yelled at him to tell me what the real reason is he is picking a fight with me. He said there is nothing else. I went on saying there has to be something else. Finally I stormed off saying fine don't tell me whats going on. Shortly he came into my bedroom and said if there was something else it was subconcently. We talked for a bit. The next day he brought me home tulips. The next day I bought us pizza. It ended up being round instead of square from Jets. Oh man did my body not like it. But, he was very happy. Yucky, greasy stuff.

His brothers baby was born 3/6 and he went up to see it. I stayed home as I thought I was getting sick. In toledo for my music weekend a lot of people showed up sick. He brought home pictures on my camera and a short 10 second video. He hopped on the couch and informed me that it was his duty in life to knock me up! We tried once for 3 weeks in '04 but nothing happened. I guess we will see this time. Man I hope it gets my good X and we don't have to worry about anything else!

I am also worried that after all those drugs AF was 2 days and very light. I expected it to be very heavy. Maybe I had risidual progesterone in my body? I still have little lumps. How are the P shots going for those that have been doing them for weeks now? I know after 2 weeks my rear was getting sore.

BMC - glad your doing good. I am soooo jeleous!! :)

[bmc]

Fish142-Yes, I'm very happy that they did see at least one in there. I've told most of my family-they all know the anguish my dh and I have been going through the last year, so they have been calling, curious to find out what the newest thing is...we're pretty close knit. I haven;t told too many people at work, just because I'm still being cautious. For about 2 months after my last miscarriage, I still had people coming up and congratulating me on pregnancy-I wanted to scream. Some work people know for the simple fact that I need extra help to lift and get patients up out of bed. Hope you're feeling ok....Enjoy that Congnac;) and get geared up with positive thoughts and vibes for your next round. We're all here for you whenever you need to vent or blow off steam.

Wendy-I was excited for you when I read that your implantation may be taking place!!! Yay! However, I'm sure you were a little shocked when the embryologist called about not freezing-I know we were dissappointed to find that we had nothing to freeze. Try to keep into perspective the reason they don't think they should freeze and focus on the possible little one inside you. Through all this we've tried to get through one step/brick wall at a time-eventhough it seems like there are a million things to always be worrying or thinking about - Have faith and stay strong! I bet you were relieved that you were able to speak with the embryologist re: implantation time and the spotting. I hope your mind is more at ease...We're all rooting for you! You never know....you may be getting a BFP! Just take care of yourself and be sure to take it easy. When is your beta by the way?

DreamMom-anxious to hear from you!

[Mom to Angels]

Wendy, it sounds very promising!!! Sorry that the others didn't make it but the two they transferred back are the best so that's encouraging. Just try to take it one day at a time and try to keep your mind pre-occupied (if you can!). I am sending you a ton of sticky vibes!

Fish142, I absolutely do not mind you re-naming me. It actually put a smile on my face - thanks! I really appreciate your sense of humor, it's really helped me to remember to smile and laugh throughout this whole ride so thanks again! I'm glad that you're going to start right away. Have you met with RE to figure out what your new protocol will be?

BMC, we both had ER on 2/15 so I believe that makes us both about 5 weeks preggers. The clinic says my EDD is Nov. 7, so I'm assuming yours would be about the same. How exciting to have seen the sac!!! You must be so elated!

[bmc]

denalda-it's so great to hear from you!! I'm so sorry to hear about all the upset this entire issue has caused for you. There are so many things to think about-I think that counceling would be a great idea. This stuff is so hard to deal with and you don't want it to drive you and dh apart, you need eachother most at these times. I was married before and I went to counceling on my own-it really helped me with things. I got it free through my work, I know alot of employers have programs like that which are free of charge to their employees. Maybe check with your benefits person. I feel for you guys, esp. having the new niece/nephew born.....it just pulls at all those heart strings-I know how you feel. My sister found out she was preg about a week after my first miscarriage...it just hurt. Your time will come, in the mean time treat yourself well and take good care. Did Dr. P want to see you at all re: additional options or treatment?

My booty is getting a little sore now from the progest. shots.

Mom to Angels-Yes, I was excited to know there is a sac. However, the tech only let me look at the screen for a few seconds and she was really zoomed in, so I had a hard time telling-it looked like alot of snow. But dh got to see a clearer picture!

Fish142-Like Denalda, I was also wondering if your insurance covers alot of the IVF costs?

[Denalda]

BMC - yeah had to make a follow up with dr p. Takes forever to see her. Scheduled it the 29th but couldn't get in until the 20th. Got lots of questions regarding sperm sorting and why does it take 3 weeks to get the results of cvs back. Do they do CVS there (i'm sure they do) and do they deal with the aftermath of the results. I need to start writing them down and she better take the time to listen to my questions this time. Or I'll just start crying and she won't have a choise. ;)

So in counceling... you go in and tell them your problems and they listen? Or ask questions to get you to talk further? Or they give you suggestions? Speaking of counceling one of the Violists just retired. She was a neuro psychologist. I'm always afraid she is using her shrinking powers on me when I have to play next to her. I don't know if its her job or what but she is about 400 pounds and 5 foot3 I think. Her health is going to the dogs. I thought she would start getting healthier after she retired but she isn't. I wondered if it was the job stress that contributed to her being so unhealthy.

I think hubby would want to see a "Christian" psychologist or councelor whatever the difference is. I say that cause one time he opened the phone book and left it on that page years ago or a year ago for me. I had trouble adjusting to being married. But, I don't think I'd want to go to a "Christian" one because I don't think they could deal with the CVS stuff.

I just called him and told him to bring me home some medicine. That greasy pizza is still kicking my rear 24 hours later! :)

[seeking]

Thankyou so much girls, your words helped me so much. I am doing a little better today. I had my stiff drink and felt so drunk off a few sips I gave it away it was starting to make me teary:rolleyes: . A good friend and her husband just came and sat with me last night to make sure I was o.k. DH is still away so they worry all the time. It was lovely and they really cheered me up. I knew that they knew and were there to say "Hey we are here if you need us". I thought that was very sweet.

I just wanted to say that I'm not going anywhere this thread still has more BFP's to be had and we are in this together I'm not disappearing when I don't get the result I wanted, just like the other girls that are still here.

Wendy, that's excellant news that sounds like what I had when I had an implantation bleed on our third try.

Thanks again girls, thinking of you's all, Michelle:)

[bmc]

Seeking-Glad to hear that your friends came to be with you. That must be hard that dh is away right now....I'm glad to hear that your not leaving this thread! You're a strong woman!:)

Denalda-You crack me up...a 400# neuro psych. violist!! When I went to the councelor I pretty much spilled my guts, telling my story and what went wrong, how I felt about it, how it was affecting my life etc. I was surpirsed how at ease I was with her and how I opened up. I did like her right form the start. My ex and I went to couples counceling twice and it was a male shrink...he was a total jerk. I felt like he was attacking me the whole time...needless to say I never went back to him again. I really liked the lady that I saw. They ask you questions about your feelings etc. I think to help you think things through-my councelor did give me advice as well and alot of good words of wisdom that I have passed along to divorcing friends as well. A christian based councelor will council based on chritian practices/principals, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, then just go to a regular one. I don't think a christian councelor would have a problem with testing ie. CVS, however, they would probably discourage any termination, I'm not sure, but they may really help you guys as well. My husband talked to our pastor for awhile about the IVF and PGD before we even did it-dh just had some different feelings about it and wasn't sure what to think.

I would start out by telling Dr.P that you have alot of questions and then whip out the giant list!! :D Be pushy and make sure you get your answers! She gets paid enough-she should take the time to listen and talk. I'm not sure if she does CVS, but I would imagine that she would-if not would probably refer you to someone just for the test.

So, they can sort sperm? Would that be to tell if it would produce xx or xy? Do they slow the sperm down somehow with a certain media so they can "catch" them for testing? I've never heard of this...aren't sperm pretty fast? Wow-there's so much technology out there....I wish it wasn't so dang expensive!
I hope your stomach is feeling better...Jets sounds good-I haven't had that since I lived in Sterling Heights! What color were the tulips? Just curious...:rolleyes:

Night!:)

[Denalda]

BMC - Yes you would think that a neuro pshyc would know how to take care of themselves. I feel so bad for her. She will admit though when talking to people on the phone for one thing or another she DOES use her shrinking powers to get her way. :)

Yes they can sort sperm for x-linked problems like mine. Or for parents that have for example 6 girls and want a boy (Thats where the big moral debate on tv lies.). They developed this for Bulls the animal not men hehe. If I did this I would have to go to Virgina. But, they are doing a study for x-linked things so the fee could be reduced to taken away altogether its about $3600. But then you still have to pay for IUI.

"The MicroSort technology is based on the fact that the X chromosome is substantially larger than the Y chromosome (view X&Y chromosome). FISH uses DNA probes that specifically attach to either the X or Y chromosome in sperm and emit a red/pink color for X-bearing sperm and green for Y-bearing sperm. The X- and Y-bearing sperm can be identified and counted under a microscope to determine the purity (view FISH analysis). "

It is 88% correct when you are trying to find the X sperm. 73% to find the Y. This is generally used with an IUI cycle. The thing I do not like is that it only results in 16.6% pregnancy rate. The only thing it would do would be to almost ensure no males born. Females have another X to rely on and have a less chance to be affected than men. Needless to say I am leaning against this. I not only have a better chance to get pg naturally not to mention my 50% for normal child, 23% for carrier. (27% chance for affected). Dr. P. is one of the doctors that participates or is involved with this clinic. She and 2 or 3 doctors in grand rapids. I bet they do pgd in GR too.

It still bugs me though that I would spend that money and end up with a carrier. They are finally admitting in studies that FXTAS (its where male carriers in their 50's and older develop tremors, falling down, dementia) DOES in fact happen to women. I knew it would only be a matter of time before they found what I knew was already true. They have found 5 women so far that this has happened to usually its just the men - some of them.

Oh I was reading yesturday FX carrier have a higher chance of natural twins. However, affected women do not have a fertility problem at all. They don't have the POF or early menopause. Which is just illogical to me.

Oh the tulips are my favorite color - purple.

Sexist Mike Foxy just got over here tonight. First time since he pissed me off with the "blessed" comment. Got here just in time to tell me I didn't look very well and to watch me run to my bathroom and hear me vomit. HEHE serves him right. ;)

DH then made me jello. He messed it up a little. Once he made me pudding and forgot the second cup of milk. He couldn't figure out why no one could eat more than 1 spoonful. I'm like your a good cook but honey you can't make pudding. His mom wouldn't even eat it.

So your from the Detroitish area? On your trips have to stopped to see family or friends? Did you meet your DH on the internet and then move to where you are now? I did mine (its a long story).

Sorry to hear about your divorse you sound like a person who tried to keep it together. Unlike many others that get married young and just throw down the towell at the slight bit of a problem. My first boyfriend left me when I was on vacation in Texas for 2 week. I came back he had her kids car seats in his car and had moved in with her. He said he hooked up while I was in Texas but to this day I don't believe him. Anyways, they planned to get married, he knocked her up before they were married, and less than 2 years later they were divorsed like I predicted!! (I got a big joy out of that.) Now he is hooked up with another ugly chic, living with her and has another kid. I can't wait to see his mom and say I didn't know he got MARRIED again. HEHE she was a busibody in our church. He always wanted me to move in but I wouldn't. Once at his brothers wedding his cousin asked me while he was standing there when we were getting married, I blurted we arn't. He said that hurt him. He kept asking me to marry him but he never had a ring to show me so he couldn't have been very serious.

Well its nice talking to you. Night ;)

[bmc]

Denalda-I just have a few minutes because I picked up a partial shift at work today and need to get ready...I had a hard time dragging my butt out of bed. I lived in the Detroit area with the EX. I am originally from up here. I met dh after I moved back home-a fellow nursey friend introduced us-he is good friends with her dh. We hit it off right away and the rest is history! he's the best...I feel very fortunate to have him. Esp compared to the ex-husb., who was verbally/psych. abusive and also was turning physical. He was a real prick..thank God I got out of that. My life has completely changed in that respect.

Maybe you can somehow get in that study? A 16.6% really isn't that great to have to go through all that, but maybe worth a try? How much is IUI? Is it cheaper than IVF?

Well, gotta hop in the shower. Take Care....

[fish142]

Wendy - Your embryologist has good timing! I hope they and you are right about implantation spotting. That would be awesome! Sorry that none of the other embies were freezable, but hopefully these will give you a bfp (or two?)!

Denalda - I think counseling would not be a bad idea. Having babies is a big issue for any couple. Medical problems and infertility are also major issues. You guys have so much to think about and to plan for (or to plan around), that having an impartial person to smooth things over can really help. As with bmc's experience, some counselors are good and some are not. Some let you do all the talking and some give you tons of advice. If you do try to find someone, I hope they are helpful to you, but if not, don't rule out switching to someone else who may be able to provide more what you need. I hope the strength of your relationship helps you through these tough times. (You met your dh on the internet? So did I!) And I hope your violist friend can get herself in shape! :eek: (Or as some comedian once said, "I'm in shape - round's a shape, isn't it?") Funny about sexist Mike, but you should have stayed and barfed on his shoes! :D Oh, and tell dh not to feel bad - my sister is a good cook but can't make jello. Don't know why, it's not that difficult. Oh well.

Mom to Angels+1 - my RE will be going back to my old protocol. It worked well before (except for the E2 rising too high), so he'll just monitor that carefully and tweak whatever needs tweaking.

bmc - sorry about your tush. How long do you have to continue the PIO?

Michelle - I'm so glad you had friends to be there for you. I forgot that you had to go through all this while your dh is away! That's gotta make it so hard! I'm just glad you have someone to turn to (including us!). What does dh do that sends him out of town so much?

As for questions about my insurance, yes I have fabulous insurance. It covers everything for IF except for copays for blood draws and meds. There is a $50,000 lifetime maximum for IVF, but only the actual ER and ET count towards that limit - the drugs, b/w and u/s are covered as usual. I know I am very fortunate to have this insurance. In fact I don't know if we would be doing IVF if the insurance didn't cover it. By you asking this, I realized that, while we all are upset when we get a bfn, I don't have the added pain of having taken out a mortgage or maxing out my credit cards only to end up with that result. It makes me admire the strength of those without insurance that much more and wish that much harder for bfps for you guys!

[Denalda]

BMC - I think iui is around $4k - cheaper that IVF no egg retrieval or PGD.

Fish142 Maybe i'll look into counceling. It is hard to find happiness. We actually have to get rid of my 01 malibu and get another car my transmission is acting up at 78K miles. Like I need to buy a car when this one is almost paid off.

Wow with only the er and et counting towards that limit you could do many many rounds. I looked at the shared risk programs. I should have looked when I began this... at 26 years old I don't qualify for any of the programs out there because I've had 3 "canceled" IVF cycles. I guess now that I think financially it would be a great idea to those programs people like me are a high risk of causing them lots of money!

Well wish me luck. Gotta to go see my dh's new 5 day old neice tonight. Oh the joy. Dh's brother told him "I feel bad that Dee didn't get to see her" cause I thought I was sick. uh huh.

[fish142]

OK, this is weird. I got AF today. It's only been three weeks since my last AF, and only 11 days since my last stim when my cycle was cancelled. I figured that after the cancellation, I'd ovulate on my own then have a usual 12 day luteal phase then get AF next week! I've always had a fairly regular 26-day cycle, but I know that all the drugs I've been pumping into my body may screw things up. Does this mean I didn't ovulate and my body just reacted to the sudden cessation of meds by throwing itself into the luteal phase? But it can't really do that without a corpus luteum. I guess I won't really know what it means, but it makes me wonder if the right "stuff" happened that will allow my ovaries to be quiet after this AF and 3 weeks of bcp. So, either I can get started stimming earlier than I had thought, or I can't. (Why can't we have little indicator lights in our belly buttons telling us exactly what's going on?!?!?)

[wendylou]

Fish, who knows what happened, it is probably just withdrawal bleeding from the hormones. Just means you can hopefully get rolling sooner than you thought!!! I go tomorrow for an US.....why do they do an us 1 week after transfer??? Makes no sense to me. I feel fine. A little bitchy. My sleep is weird, I fall asleep for three hours or so, wake up and cannot fall back to sleep for a couple hours, then wake up feeling tired. Ugh. Talk about sensors on our navels....I wish I had one that said "It worked"!!

Michelle, you have become a cheap drunk!! That is what IF does to us...you cannot drink for weeks at a time, so when you do it only takes one or two!! I know you are hurting, I am glad you have such wonderful friends to share this stuff with.
Happy Sunday everyone, I'll let you know what RE says tomorrow. W

[seeking]

Hi girls,

How is everyone??? I disappeared for a while sorry, I had a rough weekend and very busy so that didn't make things any easier. I'm exhausted now, I seem to have had a headache for four days now. I think it might be stress, hmmm....what do you guys think. I thought it was because I had a couple of wines at a friend house on Friday night (your right about being a cheap drunk, lol) but I havn't had one since then and i still have a headache. Along with the very, very heavy period and other horrible stuff that I don't feel like putting your ears through. I am good now but so tired I think I might take a few iron tablets and head off to bed once I've done all i need to do.

Wendy, when do you test. I've been so busy complaining I nearly forgot what I came on to ask. Who else is there to test. We havn't been to successful this month have we. I think we have only had two BFP's so Wendy you know it is your turn to give us all some excitement. I think we've all earnt that much oh and you do to of coarse;) . Sorry rambling now, I better go. I hope everyone is doing very well. How are our pg women going, thinking of you girls, Michelle:D :D :D

[Mom to Angels]

Hey Fish, I don't think it's weird at all that your period came early. They've got us all drugged up that our bodies are really confused. When I first started this IVF cycle and stopped bcp, AF showed 3 weeks after the previous one. The nurse said not to worry about it b/c when you go through IVF, the drugs pretty much take over your cycle and overrides your bodies' natural cycle. I was concerned when I had AF after 3 weeks but the nurse said that they want to make sure you get AF before you start stims so that all your old lining is sloughed off and you start off with a nice fresh lining (ready for the embies!). All the drugs that they have you on will control the rest of your cycle (follie maturity, egg release, lining build-up, etc.) I think it means that you get to start stimming sooner and that's very exciting! Glad that RE has you on the same protocol since it was able to mature so many follies. I'm sure he'll monitor you closely to ensure they continue to grow. Just think, there's a good possibility you could be pregnant with this cycle!!!

Wendy, how are you holding up? Hopefully you're not driving yourself too crazy thinking about what's going on in there (I know that's easier than done!) When do you test? I'm sending you some serious sticky vibes!

Seeking, I'm so glad you had a chance to relax with some wine and good company! What a crazy and busy life we all lead! Headache may be caused by cessation of drugs? Did you call RE's office and ask if that was normal? I hope those iron supplements you're taking give you back some of your energy. Have you and DH decided what your next step will be?

BMC, how are you doing? So funny about SIL and ordering the large fries in her sleep. That just cracked me up! How do you like the book? It basically tells you to eat healthy (as we all should on a daily basis, yeah right!) but when a pregnant lady has a craving for burgers and fries, who can resist that?! The weekdays I eat healthy but on the weekends, I pretty much lose it! DH and I like going to restaurants on the weekends - it's really hard ordering broiled fish when there's also baby back ribs on the menu. Ugh!!! I get tired easily and have been sleeping for like 10 hrs straight sometimes and am having a really hard time concentrating. DH has been doing a lot more around the house - I absolutely love it! SOMETIMES I feel guilty but others times I feel like a queen ;).

Uh oh, just got a call from DH. He's had his hand in a splint b/c he dislocated his thumb over a month ago. He thought he was in the clear b/c x-rays showed that it looked great. Looks like this thumb decided to pop out again. He's scheduled for hand surgery this Thurs. (yikes!). Poor thing! Now I feel really guilty about all the extra housework he's been doing. It looks like my "queen" status has been de-throned for awhile! Both DH and I are in a "fragile" state at the moment - looks like we'll be ordering out and depending on our housekeeper a lot more!

[wendylou]

Hello dolls. I went to the RE today. US showed my ovary is 5-6 cm, no fluid in the pelvis, and I did not get a phone call yet, so my E and P levels must be ok. It's so frustrating b/c I don't feel a thing and I just want to know!! My best friend is coming into town this weekend, and I thought I would be testing Friday, and if it were negative, I would drink myself into a stupor!! Haha, maybe not a stupor, just slightly numb!! But, they gave me a lab slip and said I cannot test until Monday the 20th...so the wait continues. No drinking for me!! She is bringing her baby with her, and her DH and we had it all planned out...the DH's were watching the baby and we were drinking champagne!! oh well, I may never get my damn champagne....I hope I don't get any for nine months!!! Trying to stay sane.....Michelle, glad you are doing all right, hope your head feels better, and Mom, glad you are ok too! Poor DH, though!! W

[fish142]

I called my RE today, and they're starting me on the bcp today (actually yesterday, so I double up today), with my baseline on 4/3, and if all looks good, then I start Lupron on 4/6, Follistim on 4/8, and ER probably sometime the week of 4/17. The nurse said a 3-week cycle is no cause for concern, so I'm no longer concerned. (Um, yeah.)

Mom to Angels+1, sorry about dh's hand. I thought he was in the clear! And now to go from almost done to surgery! After surgery is he still going to be able to do PIO? Or are you going to add to your housekeeper's list of duties? :p

Wendy, hang in there. Glad everything looks good so far. Keep checking your belly button for the green flashing light! :D Sorry no champagne yet, but it's all for a good cause.

Michelle, hope your headache goes away soon! When does dh come back?

[Denalda]

Well I saw the baby just fine. I held her for a while. Boy newborns are boring. They don't do anything but sleep, eat and boop!! hehe ;)

[wendylou]

Hi girls. Did a POAS this am and it was negative. tomorrow is the Beta, I will let you know. I am getting very bummed out. Love, Wendy

[fish142]

Wendy, hope the stick was wrong! You should know better than to go anywhere near a stick! :( Let us know.

Denalda, "Boy newborns are boring" - and yet they keep us so busy! Glad you held her and were OK. How's it going with you and dh?

[Mom to Angels]

Wendy, I agree with Fish. Those sticks can be wrong! I'm thinkin' about you and praying that you get a positive beta today!!!!

[wendylou]

This is a cut and paste from Friday....
Well girls, today has been the day from hell. I woke up, got out of the shower, went to put the progesterone suppository in and the applicator came out covered in blood. Aunt FLo arrive early. Three days before she should. The Bee-otch....so I called and said I was too upset, that I could not come in for Beta. They said I HAD to, incase of ectopic. So I went in and had the blood test. Talked to RE who was so bummed for me, and so baffled, how can a nearly perfect transfer fail again? He doesn't get it. my numbers on Monday were great...blah blah blah. I went in to see patients, and my first patient tells me she had an abortion since the last time I have seen her. I almost threw up. So I was bleeding pretty steady for about three hours and it just stopped. Like someone turned the faucet off. Done. RE called and said I actually had a BFP, but the level was only 7. He's thrilled, because at least it means I can implant, which if I couldn't, then I would be screwed, and that is what he was fearing. So, he does not want me to get my hopes up, but I am testing 3 days earlier than he would normally test anyone, so he wants me to continue the progesterone, and test again on Monday. I know he is really worried about an ectopic now....and so am I. I do this for a living, too, and I am just beside myself right now. Please pray for me, girls, if you are that way inclined.
Update on Sunday:
I have continued to have some shoddy bleeding off and on all weekend. THis could be late implantation spotting, but who knows...I have continued the progesterone and tried to stay positive all weekend, but it's hard. I go for another Beta in the am so time will tell...I'll keep you guys posted. Love, Wendy

[Denalda]

Wendy I'm pulling for you!!!

[fish142]

Wendy, what a rollercoaster! Hopefully you'll keep getting good news from here on out.

I've got conflicted emotions now. I have two friends going through IF stuff at my clinic. One had a baby last summer (from her 5th IVF cycle), and the other has been sort of taking a break from trying but signed up for adoption. Well, Friday they got a call, and Saturday they picked up their new little son. I'm so happy for her that she finally has a child (although they'll still try for a biological child, but probably without any assistance for a while), but I'm kinda feeling left out, that everyone's moving on except me. Now I know that's not true, and we've all had to be happy for someone else's baby shower, and all of us are pulling for each other and wishing each other only the best. I guess it's because it is so sudden, and I didn't have nine months to prepare myself for her "leaving the club." Then again, if it was sudden for me, how must it be for her!! Anyway, that's enough blabbing for now. It's nice to have a place to share these feelings with people who understand.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and you're all sobered up now from St. Pat's!

[Mom to Angels]

Wendy, I'm praying that you are pregnant and it's not ectopic. I'm sending a prayer your way and hoping that it all works out. Try to stay strong - you know we all have your back!

Fish, I can empathize with how you feel. Clearly, you care for your friends and wish them the best but also want the best for yourself. Life just sends us so many curveballs - it's a wonder how we all manage to keep sane. But you know, you are moving on. You and DH are doing what you need to do to have a baby. For me, I really didn't know if IVF would help give DH and I the baby we always wanted but I knew that we had to at least try. I think we're all fortunate in that we all have the means ($$) to even do this, whether it be out of pocket or through insurance. The point is is that you're living your life and at this moment, this happens to be part of your life. However this journey ends, one thing you won't ever second guess is the fact that you did everything you could possibly do.

As for myself, u/s is tomorrow. I'm so excited and so nervous. I'm just praying that the little bean is growing healthy and strong. I'll be sending a lot of prayers to the people upstairs to keep this baby safe inside me.

I hope everyone's doing well.

[Denalda]

Well I had my followup finally. She actually took her TIME to talk to us after we waited 1.5 hours for her!!

No explaination about the BFN except that it arrested. Even the people in the lab rating it very well for a successful implantation. Oh well. Lots to things to think about. DH pissed me off though. So we are trying naturally but when she offers fertility med's he says no. I'm like what the heck. He is like its one thing to try, its another to turn you into a baby factory. I'm like whatever.

The thing is I may end up needing the med's cause my eggs tend to not be mature. She says even if we got 4 follicles and did the natural thing I probably wouldn't end up with multiples. She said if she wasn't around the person watching my care needs to NOT flip out at 4 follicles cause with me that means I may have 1 good one. She says I can't think forever about it cause she thinks my reserve is low as i've said before.

Oh and I get there and am informed that I owe $1500 more!! I'm so upset. Robbing me blind and my car went back into the shop today. Gonna find out at 78k miles if it needs a major trans repair. I need to spend money on buying another car like I need a shot in the rear! But... I won't spend $2 - $3k on a trans so I would have no choice but to buy a car.

[wendylou]

The beta went from 7 to 12. I'm pregnant, it's not viable, and it's very suspicious for ectopic. the best I can hope for is that it goes away on it's own, and does not require me to go through methotrexate shots. I am sad beyond words. Why is this happening?

[Irishannie]

Hi Wendy,

I am so sorry for what you are going through, I know it is hard and it is emotionally the most draining thing to go through. I hope you do not have to take the shots because I had them twice and they totally drained me. I have gone through quiet a bit so if you ever want to ask me anything please feel free, why it is happening who knows I have had tons of these and no one can tell me why so I switched to Eastern medicne.

Take care,

Annie

[Denalda]

Interesting article I found:

"Other doctors at the hospital are pioneering a technique that could mean an end to hormone treatments and the painful retrieval of eggs from infertile women.

The technique involves collecting thousands of immature eggs from the ovary and developing them in the laboratory.

It works by removing a bit of the skin of the ovary which masks the place where immature eggs develop.

It takes five months to grow there properly and lots of nourishment.

The eggs can be frozen so that they can be used whenever the woman wants.

Again, the technique is controversial because it means a woman could store the eggs and use them at any age.

It is likely to be available in the next 10 years, say doctors at the hospital.

Dr Ian Findlay is also developing a test that can check for 10 genetic abnormalities in one go before a fertilised egg is placed in the womb. He said: "This could lead to a dramatic reduction in miscarriages as the vast majority of miscarriages are due to abnormalities." "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/308662.stm

[wendylou]

Irishannie---last I heard from you, I thought you were pregnant with multiples....I am sorry to hear it was not a good outcome. thanks for your sweet words, I really appreciate it. What are you doing with regards to Eastern Medicine?

[Mom to Angels]

Wendy, I'm sorry this is happening to you. It just does not seem fair. Please be good to yourself and DH. Who knows why this all has to happen but just know that you've got a place here to vent and find people who will support you. I'll be praying that everything resolves itself on its own and that you're able to try again as soon as possible. I'm sending you much hugs.

[Irishannie]

hey Wendy, I was pregnant with multiples years ago but they died after 2.5 hours at approx 24 weeks. I have had many miscarriges, with my HCG levels starting out low they do funky things and then it turns out not viable, my RE and all that came before him just like to say I am old but it has happened since I was 26. I went to the ACP and he is doing both herbs and acupuncture he seems to think that there is a weakness in my uterus. I have also started taking DHEA 75mg a day to see if I have to do another IVF maybe the DHEA will give me younger looking eggs and more of them and then maybe the acupuncture and herbs will allow me to retain the pregnancy. You know you get to a point that I would probably try vadoo...ha! but I am putting a lot of faith in Eastern medicne to help me along with the infertility. I hope you are doing OK!

Annie

[wendylou]

Annie, I wish you luck, with no voodoo required. God, you are strong. All of us going through this stuff are, but folks like you and Mom to Angels blow my mind. I hope your ACP works, it has done wonders for so many!!

thank you everyone for your sweet words. I don't know what I would do without you guys. W

[bmc]

Wendylou-I'm so sorry to hear this is happening to you. How are you feeling? Hang in there and take good care of yourself. It's such a terrible thing to go through....I'm so sorry and sending hugs and prayers your way.

Irishannie-Best wishes to you on your new efforts. I truly hope things work out for you!

Fish142-Hope you're feeling a little better. I understand what you're encountering. It's hard to be at one point in your life when those around you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, which is where you want to be.


Denalda-Glad you got to talk to her this time. 1.5 hr wait sucks though and what's with the $1500!!!?? That's a bummer. How are you guys doing? Have you done anymore thinking about the meds?

I started bleeding on Sunday afternoon-Called the on-call Dr. at my clinic, he wasn't too concerned, then it became darker and a little heavier so I called my regular OB Dr. up here (he said if I ever ran into any problems before I came back in his care to call his answering service). I went in for an u/s in the ER and they found I have a hematoma in my uterus-they said this is pretty common and will resolve on it's own. Meanwhile I'm on bedrest until I see my IVF Dr. on Wed. BUT the good news was that they saw TWINS! Both hearts beating away and everything looked really good with them. I'm so nervous-I hope this bleeding takes care of itself and that I get good news on Wed. They told me bleeding occurs with about 20% of pregnancies. My cervix is closed as well-thank God.

[fish142]

Mom, thanks for your kind words. They did actually help me. I'll get to go see the new baby either this week or next week. I'm sure once I see him, I'll be fine and even happier for her.

Denalda, even with no good explanation, it's nice to have as much time as you want to talk with your RE about what happened and what may come next. Sorry about the bill and the car. Car trouble is never fun. Hopefully it can last another 20k miles or so! Interesting article, btw! Before I even got to the end, I figured it wouldn't be available any time soon, certainly not soon enough for me. It also doesn't say if they would do that procedure only on young women with lots of eggs or on older ones too. Would young unattached women do this just in case? Or would they only do this for those who already have experienced fertility problems? And I'm sure this would also open up all kinds of new legal issues too. If they're already talking about the wrong woman getting the wrong embryo, think of the mixup possibilities if a 23-year old had thousands of eggs stored away for 20 years! Very interesting, though. Thanks for sharing that!

Wendy, I'm so sorry you have to go through this. It must be so hard to say those words "I'm pregnant" knowing that it's not to be. I wish you peace in getting through this.

bmc, twins!!! Fantastic! You must have been so scared when the bleeding started. But it's nice to know it's "normal." Good luck at your dr's appt!!!

[Denalda]

BCM - DH is supposed to have an answer for me tonight. Part of me just wants to forget the med's and probably the $600 - $800 I would have to pay the clinic and just try by myself for a few months. The other part of me says do the med's cause then they know the exact conception date. So I don't know... hey in a few months maybe we won't have a choise but do the med's cause of my immature eggs.

Well apparently there was a $800 and $500 charge one was for thawing the eggs I don't know what the other was for I didn't get a detailed bill on it yet. What they gave me had codes that mean nothing to me.

I'm so glad you are having twins!! You could have a 'little you' and a 'little dh'! :) You got exactly what you wanted on your first try! You are very lucky!! Are you going to find out if they are boys/girls? How long did you have to wait for doc?

fish142 - You may have heard but they are also taking out ovaries and freezing them of women in their twenties so that when they want kids later on they give the whole ovary back and away they go making babies.

[Denalda]

DH forgot to think about it. When I asked he was like what answer. :(

[wendylou]

Bmc--I am so happy for you. with everything you have gone through and you are getting both your babies!! God, I feel such a relief that there is some good in the universe right now!!! Yay!!! I hope you have a fabulous pregnancy, please don't leave the thread!! You will need to keep us posted!

As for me, I had the beta done again, and it was a 28 on Wednesday. So it doubled. I got excited for a bit, but then the RE called today at lunch and said that no matter what, it will not be viable b/c at this stage of the game the numbers should be much higher. He thinks it is a blighted ovum or an ectopic. I will have more bloodwork done friday, and if it goes up again, I will have a baseline ultrasound next week for the hunt for the ectopic. I still cannot friggin believe this. I finally get pregnant for the first time in my life, and we are just waiting for it to go away or explode. I am doing ok emotionally, though. I was a WRECK on Monday, stayed home Tuesday by myself and cried and boo hooed and yelled at God, mother nature, and the universe--oh man, they all got a piece of me--and for some reason, I just cannot emote anymore. i just wish it were over, so that I can go on and try again. That's out of my hands, though, so I am just sorta hanging out, looking forward to going out of town this weekend to my other house to see how the rehab work is going. It is so weird, I just never thought I would be this calm in a situation like this, but somehow, somewhere, I have been given the grace to get through this like a lady. Since wednesday anyway!! Thanks for all of your support, I have definitely received strength from you girlies.

[bmc]

Hi Ladies-
I can't talk too long as I'm still on bedrest. Had lots of bleeding and cramping on Tuesday night-was sure that Wed. appt would result in D&C. Boy, was I wrong. They turned on the U/S and saw 3 babies-TRIPLETS!!! One of the embryos split into identical twins. We are very excited, scared and extremely shocked. I about fell off the table when they told me. The Dr. said that they've only had this happen 2 other times in the last 15 years...whoa. Haven't had much bleeding at all now-I'm on Vitamin K, the baby ASA has been dc'd and I'm on bedrest till 3/29-when I go back to the office. They will measure the hematoma...hopefully it will be smaller. They said if it broke loose through the lining that it could take out all 3 babies. I am praying very hard..... Hopefully it will just reabsorb or the babies will grow bigger and just push it out of the way-that's what they think will happen. All 3 babies are exactly the same size. It's like God is giving me back the 3 that I lost...not sure if I told you or not, but my first m/c was twins. The Dr. did tell me that there is a chance that one may vanish before 10 weeks, but that if they are all still strong past then, our m/c rate will only be 5%.

Wendy-Hang in there-You are a stong woman!
Hope you are all doing ok and hanging in there-gotta get back to the couch and lay down. Everyone take care...I will try to check back tomorrow and hopefully be able to respond to some of you...sorry I just wanted to quick fill you all in. bye!