cycle buddy late Oct/Nov

[Grace35]

Wow, I'm moving to Australia!! It seems really cruel that IVF is so incredibly expensive and insurance is so uncooperative. If we were all in terrible health due to smoking, being overweight, terrible diet etc. we would have health insurance coverage for our heart attacks (I'm a nurse, can you tell?). I had job issues too - I postponed my start date at a new job and took a part time job so I can make it to all of the ultrasounds, etc. without calling in sick too much and getting fired. Somehow when a baby is at stake, we don't mind watching our savings go to medical bills (!).

Lady B - I sure hope you get better news soon. Please keep us posted!

[alittlegrace]

Bre,
Yes, I have a wonderful 14 year old son, and he is our Miracle. Dh and I were high school sweethearts, we got married in 1991, and six months later got pregnant naturally with no problems. Since then the road to having a second child has been paved with heartache. However, We have a deep faith in God, and I am convinced that is what has gotten us through the hard times and gives us faith for the road ahead. I have had several m/c's and a stillborn daughter in 1996 due to a cord accident. I think that because of all the trauma, my body has freaked out. I am now going 3-5 years between natural pregnancy's and am hearing the ticking of my biological clock! Hence the IVF treatment. I do feel so blessed to already be a mom, and I hope to experience it at least one more time.

Botheration,
I go to see my RE tomorrow. I will let you know what they say.

to everyone else, Welcome !! I hope we can all celebrate soon with a BFP!!!

Talk soon,
alittlegrace

[wannabeamomma]

I hear you on the costs My insurance doesn't cover a dime either and it is about $15k for me too. Throw in the 6 months of accupunture and we are $20k in the hole. But COMPLETELY worth it! Anyway, so glad to be part of this thread and help each other through.

ladyb-I hope things start to look up, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Does time feel like it is going at snail speed or is it just me? I keep hoping I wake up and it's the end of the 2ww wait.....one could wish right?

[brejerwes]

alittlegrace- it breaks my heart to hear about all of your struggles and heart aches. i am so sorry! i am glad to hear you have God helping you thru this. i try everyday to give this all up to God but it hasn't been easy for me. all my church friends keep telling me to but i guess i am not a strong enough christian b/c i haven't been able to just yet. some of them have also told me that maybe it just isn't God's plan for me to have more kids but that doesn't help! it just makes me sad and angry!
my dh and i were also high school sweethearts! we seem to have a lot in common. i wish you nothing but luck! keep me in your prayers and i will do the same!

botheration- i am moving to australia too! i wish!! i have always wanted to visit there but now i want to move there! i'm not sure about the presidential hopefuls and what they have planned. all i know is that i am pretty much stuck w/ the medical coverage my dh's company offers. and there is NO fertility coverage! we had to take a loan out on our house to do this first ivf. needless to say i am scared beyond belief that it doesn't work b/c i will have a VERY tough time convincing my dh to spend another 15 grand. i hate that i have the added pressure of knowing that this may be our only try! it puts so much more stress on me that i don't need!! did you give yourself the injections? were they sub-cutaneous? i am really worried about that b/c my dh has a needle phobia. and i am just scared i will do it wrong.

ladyb- i am sorry about the news of the no-go but at least the cyst is going down! we always have to focus on any positives in order to get thru all of this, right?

L-you are so right about the money! i just told my dh that i would sell my car (that i love and waited 12 yrs to get my first new car). but none of the material things in my life matter to me as much as being pg again! unfortunately, he is being logical while i am being emotional!! i don't know what protocol i will be on just yet. i am waiting for my calender from them and i will let you know. sorry to hear about your medical problems. i keep trying to stay positive and tell myself how lucky i am to live in this day and age where we have the medical advances we have today. too bad it wasn't cheaper!! i was watching a show on discovery health channel called "the baby lab" and it was about the man who invented the icsi procedure a little over 10 years ago. w/out that ivf probably wouldn't work for us. it was quite interesting to watch the procedure done and it actually made me cry. i hope and pray it works for us!

best of luck to everyone!!

[brejerwes]

alittlegrace- it breaks my heart to hear about all of your struggles and heart aches. i am so sorry! i am glad to hear you have God helping you thru this. i try everyday to give this all up to God but it hasn't been easy for me. all my church friends keep telling me to but i guess i am not a strong enough christian b/c i haven't been able to just yet. some of them have also told me that maybe it just isn't God's plan for me to have more kids but that doesn't help! it just makes me sad and angry!
my dh and i were also high school sweethearts! we seem to have a lot in common. i wish you nothing but luck! keep me in your prayers and i will do the same!

botheration- i am moving to australia too! i wish!! i have always wanted to visit there but now i want to move there! i'm not sure about the presidential hopefuls and what they have planned. all i know is that i am pretty much stuck w/ the medical coverage my dh's company offers. and there is NO fertility coverage! we had to take a loan out on our house to do this first ivf. needless to say i am scared beyond belief that it doesn't work b/c i will have a VERY tough time convincing my dh to spend another 15 grand. i hate that i have the added pressure of knowing that this may be our only try! it puts so much more stress on me that i don't need!! did you give yourself the injections? were they sub-cutaneous? i am really worried about that b/c my dh has a needle phobia. and i am just scared i will do it wrong.

ladyb- i am sorry about the news of the no-go but at least the cyst is going down! we always have to focus on any positives in order to get thru all of this, right?

L-you are so right about the money! i just told my dh that i would sell my car (that i love and waited 12 yrs to get my first new car). but none of the material things in my life matter to me as much as being pg again! unfortunately, he is being logical while i am being emotional!! i don't know what protocol i will be on just yet. i am waiting for my calender from them and i will let you know. sorry to hear about your medical problems. i keep trying to stay positive and tell myself how lucky i am to live in this day and age where we have the medical advances we have today. too bad it wasn't cheaper!! i was watching a show on discovery health channel called "the baby lab" and it was about the man who invented the icsi procedure a little over 10 years ago. w/out that ivf probably wouldn't work for us. it was quite interesting to watch the procedure done and it actually made me cry. i hope and pray it works for us!

best of luck to everyone!!

[brejerwes]

sorry about the double post!!! and of course it was a super long one! it told me it didn't go thru the first time

[alittlegrace]

Hello Everyone, I just got back from an apt. with my RE. As some of you know, my first IVF cycle was cancelled as a result of poor stimulation. We converted to an IUI but got a bfn.
Today My RE had a new plan for us. I start the B/C pill on the 14th, but I only need to take it for two weeks this time instead of three. I start a micro dose of Lupron this time (instead of the full dose) two days after finishing the pill (this is also different, because last time the pill and lupron overlapped). When the base line U/S comes back ok, I will start stimming with the same dose of Gonal F (150) as last time, and we will up my dose of menopur from 75 to 150.
Hopefully, this will make all the difference for me. She also said that if my body responds similar to last time, that we will go thru with IVF anyway and not cancel. She thinks it is our best shot, and so do I. However, I am praying for lots of follicles.

How is everyone else doing? Any news?

Alittlegrace

[LadyB]

Thanks for the kind wishes! I wish I could have started on the original timeline, but we'll get there. It's just going to take a little longer. My next visit will be on the 16th. *fingers crossed*

I'd say $15K USD looks to be about the norm from what you guys have said. We were lucky that the insurance paid for some of the meds; however, they don't pay anything for the procedure(s).

ALittleGrace: I hope your new IVF plan works beautifully!

Bre: I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets upset when people say that maybe God's plan doesn't include children for my DH and me! I've always been amazed at how cruel some people can unintentionally be. And while it hurts terribly, I have to keep reminding myself that they don't really mean anything by it; they truly are trying to be helpful and consoling.

BFP wishes for EVERYONE! *hugs*

[hopealways]

Hi Alittlegrace,

You responded to my another post, but I thought to share with you on my non/slow-response to stims.

My clinic did only the scan but not the blood test to determine my E3. So I have no idea where it stands. Today went to the clinic again (after day 8 stims) and they see the same number of follies, only growing a little bigger to 12mm. Will continue stims for another 3 days before the next scan on 10/16.

My RE said that he will proceed with the 3 follies that I have. Any idea what my chances are?

Crystal

[alittlegrace]

Crystal,
Hi. I am quite new to this myself, but I can pass on to you what my Re told me, or at least my understanding of it.
I had four follicles, the sizes were, 12,14,18,20. MY estrogen level was only 351. According to my RE you need a minimum of 150-200 in estrogen per mature follicle. She feels that in her experience any follicle under the size of 16 will probably not fetilize(although it is not impossible, just not probable). She did not want to go through the retreval process for only two mature eggs. She thinks anything less than three is a waste of money for the patient, because it ends up that the chances of success with ivf with a retreval of two eggs is similar to just having the IUI. Also when the follicles are small, and you do not have the estrogen to support them, you run the chance of having a follicle that contains no egg in it at all.
If you read my earlier post on this thread, I explain the changes in Med's for my next cycle (I am not sure if you are on a similar type now or not).
However, If I have a similar situation on the new med's, she will go through with retrieval anyway, because thank God, I am one of the few that has 100 percent insurance coverage, and obviously an IUI is not enough for me to concieve.
You should ask about a blood test to test your estrogen. Don't give up hope! I have heard several success stories from people in these same situations. I hope this helps.

alittlegrace

[hopealways]

Hi alittlegrace,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Went for an u/s scan today and they found 4 follies. They are at average 19mm. My E3 today is 1786 pg/mL, which means each one is at 446.5. Will take a HCG jab tonight and the ER is on Oct 18. Hopefully everything turns out well. <fingers crossed>

Will update you after the ER. Good luck and lots of baby dusts!

Crystal

[Grace35]

Alittlegrace -

I saw that you are on the BC now for a shorter time, and I'm so glad to hear that you are moving along on your new cycle! I noticed that your RE is increasing your menopur to 150. I did not take menopur on my first IVF round, just Follistim at 300/day. I am a little nervous about mixing the menopur - do you just use one cc of the saline for both vials of the powder? Also, I didn't have very bad mood swings on the Follistim, but I am worried with the new drug I might have more side effects. Did you notice anything when you were on the 75 dose?

I have my baseline ultrasound and estriodol test in 2 days... time is crawling...

Grace (love your name by the way! )

[alittlegrace]

Crystal,
I will be praying for you to have much success! I am glad things turned around for you. Let us know your progress.

Grace,
My DH does all the mixing and shot giving for me. I asked him, and he said that you should check with your nurse. We used one cc, but we were only on 150 of the gonal f and 75 of menopur.
This next time I will have to have seperate shots; we can't mix them together with 150 of gonal f and 150 of menopur. It is too much medication to fit in one vial. Believe it or not, I am more comfortable with two small shots. One large one burns (i am also a big baby).
As far the mood swings go, I was ok. I cried a lot, but that could also be a contribution from the whole process. You will be fine!
Let me know how your scan goes.
Talk soon,
alittlegrace

[LadyB]

Hi, everyone!

Today was the day. I went in and the cyst was down from 22 to 8!!! Yay! I started Lupron tonight. I stop taking BC on the 20th, and I have a sonogram on October 25. If that sonogram is ok, I will start the Gonal F that night. The expectations are to retrieve the first week of November with a transfer around November 6.

EDIT: I got my dates wrong. That should be an ER on November 6 with the ET being 3 or 5 days later.

*crosses fingers*

Happy thoughts and wishes for everyone,
LadyB

[alittlegrace]

LadyB,
Congrats on starting your new cycle! If things go well with me, I will have my retrieval and transfer the week of Nov. 11th. It Looks like we could be in the 2ww together! (at least half of it)

alittlegrace