Hello everyone! I am new to this website and ivf. I need some advice on what all the abbreviations are people attach to their signature.
Now... a little bit about my husband (39) and myself (33). We married in June of 2004. We started trying to have a baby in February of 2005. I had already been diagnosed with endometriosis {at 18} and PCOS (in my mid 20's). I had been on metformin for the PCOS for several years. Because of my history, the doctor said if I was not pregnant in 6 months, we would start fertility testing. Six months later -- no baby. Testing showed my husband had low sperm count. My husband was told he had a varicocele and would have to have surgery to remove. The night before his surgery 12-20-05, I miscarried. I had no idea I was pregnant. I knew I had not had a period, but we had been under alot of stress due to the "infertility" issues and his father had just passed away. The doctor estimated I was six weeks when I lost the baby.
He went ahead and had the surgery. After his surgery we had no success. We were in denial for about a year with the infertility. We stopped going to the doctor. We were so depressed.
Finally we decided to give it another try. In the fall of 2007, we began IUI treatment. We tired in Aug, Sept, Dec, and Feb with no luck.
We have found a fertility clinic 5 hours away from our home that we hope will help us. We go Friday to pick up our meds and get training on how to use them. I'm not sure how this works or when we go back for the actual IVF. I thought you got your medicine and went back 10 days later for harvesting, but apparently that's not how it works.
If anyone can give me information on what to expect, the time frame involved in IVF, or anything that could help, please pass it along to me. Thanks!
Needing Information
Welcome! Jiferlea
the way it all works in a nutshell....you and dh(dear husband) have had all of your prelim tests etc
the Doctors start you off with their best idea of what has worked for their clinic/hosp in the past, and with what they know about you based upon all of your stats.
they use certain meds at each clinic- from what i can tell, no protocol is any better than any other- you may be on lupron, repromex, menopur, folistim or any # of different meds- all are various types of hormones that trick your body into producing more than 1 viable follicle ( hopefully many -each with an egg)!
once you get started,
you'll need to get BW (blood work)and US (ultrasounds) with the wand so that your RE (reproductive endocrinologist) can assess how well you are doing on the meds. these tests may be as frequent as daily, or may be up to 3 or 4 days apart while you are stimming. each BW, they will check levels of hormones, and in each US they will measure how big, and how many follicles you are producing in your ovaries. this can take any # of days -10 is about average- It took me 13 as i was a slow starter
since you are 5 hrs away, you will probably be able to see your OBGYN and have her/him do the BW and US locally and transfer the info to the RE clinic- from there, they will assess your progress and may adjust the dosages of your meds and will let you know when you need to trigger (this is your HCG shot telling your body to ovulate and it is done about 30 some hours before ER- egg retrieval- ) for now- that's plenty of info, and you will undoubtedly get a packet of info when you go to the clinic that will tell you more.
this is a wild ride- one i never thought i'd be on- but am so grateful for science and technology and the care of some amazing folks who have made our miracle possible.
good luck and stay positive- IVF is a window where the door was closed-
take care- keep us posted- and join a buddies thread- it's a great way to feel connected to others going through what you are at the same time
best!
loopie
the way it all works in a nutshell....you and dh(dear husband) have had all of your prelim tests etc
the Doctors start you off with their best idea of what has worked for their clinic/hosp in the past, and with what they know about you based upon all of your stats.
they use certain meds at each clinic- from what i can tell, no protocol is any better than any other- you may be on lupron, repromex, menopur, folistim or any # of different meds- all are various types of hormones that trick your body into producing more than 1 viable follicle ( hopefully many -each with an egg)!
once you get started,
you'll need to get BW (blood work)and US (ultrasounds) with the wand so that your RE (reproductive endocrinologist) can assess how well you are doing on the meds. these tests may be as frequent as daily, or may be up to 3 or 4 days apart while you are stimming. each BW, they will check levels of hormones, and in each US they will measure how big, and how many follicles you are producing in your ovaries. this can take any # of days -10 is about average- It took me 13 as i was a slow starter
since you are 5 hrs away, you will probably be able to see your OBGYN and have her/him do the BW and US locally and transfer the info to the RE clinic- from there, they will assess your progress and may adjust the dosages of your meds and will let you know when you need to trigger (this is your HCG shot telling your body to ovulate and it is done about 30 some hours before ER- egg retrieval- ) for now- that's plenty of info, and you will undoubtedly get a packet of info when you go to the clinic that will tell you more.
this is a wild ride- one i never thought i'd be on- but am so grateful for science and technology and the care of some amazing folks who have made our miracle possible.
good luck and stay positive- IVF is a window where the door was closed-
take care- keep us posted- and join a buddies thread- it's a great way to feel connected to others going through what you are at the same time
best!
loopie
Me 41 Dh 41
1st IVF BFP!!! Jan 2008
[img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10722;442/st/20081025/n/Pulman+Percival/k/3cf8/age.png[/img]
1st IVF BFP!!! Jan 2008
[img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10722;442/st/20081025/n/Pulman+Percival/k/3cf8/age.png[/img]
Hi there - well I can let you know that this site is great. I joined only a few weeks ago and find that I check it everyday. I have meet some wonderful new friends here. I to could not figure out the abbrivations but I went to HealthBoards.com and click on the FAQ tab they had a site with all the abbreviations so I printed it out. It helped!!!!
Good Luck with your IVF it is a long processes but I just did my 1st and got a BFP (Big Fat Positive).
Good Luck with your IVF it is a long processes but I just did my 1st and got a BFP (Big Fat Positive).
-
wishfull27
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not hopeless yet
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Hi Jiferlea-
How's it going? I noticed you posted over a month ago... I hope you've gotten some answers and started the meds. I was wondering what meds you're on? are you going for IVF or still IUI? I was on Clomid + IUI for 6 mths, then did Gonal-F injections + IUI for 2 mths. My insurance requires one more month of Gonal-F before we try IVF.
Too bad your fertility clinic is 5 hrs away because I'm pretty sure you'll need blood/ultrasound every 2 days so they can monitor your follicles and up or lower your meds accordingly. But maybe a gyno/radiology office closer to your home can share the results with the fertility office via fax/phone. As for the meds, if there's not a fertility pharmacy near you, you might be able to have them Fed-ex'd. And if you need a refresher on how to administer the meds you can find videos online.
Best of luck. Let us know how its going.
How's it going? I noticed you posted over a month ago... I hope you've gotten some answers and started the meds. I was wondering what meds you're on? are you going for IVF or still IUI? I was on Clomid + IUI for 6 mths, then did Gonal-F injections + IUI for 2 mths. My insurance requires one more month of Gonal-F before we try IVF.
Too bad your fertility clinic is 5 hrs away because I'm pretty sure you'll need blood/ultrasound every 2 days so they can monitor your follicles and up or lower your meds accordingly. But maybe a gyno/radiology office closer to your home can share the results with the fertility office via fax/phone. As for the meds, if there's not a fertility pharmacy near you, you might be able to have them Fed-ex'd. And if you need a refresher on how to administer the meds you can find videos online.
Best of luck. Let us know how its going.