anyone going for retrieval around july 22 or close???

[kim14]

Well we are scheduled for ivf with icsi due to male infertility around july 22. This is our 2nd try. I am doing accupuncture this time. Would love to hear from some of you ladies on a similar schedule. I started meds this weekend and we are hoping this will be our BFP month! I am 34. Anyone with similar story?

[mkdig]

Hi Kim. I should be going for my er around the same time as you. I have been on Lupron for a few days and start my stims this thurs. if all the bloodwork is ok. When do you start stims? We are also doing ivf/icsi. Oddly enough, I live in Va. too, small world huh? We are in Williamsburg but our clinic is in Norfolk. Where in va are you? Good luck with your cycle. Looks like we'll be around the same time.

[kim14]

Great to hear from you. Sounds like we will be on the same schedule. I met a great friend last you via our mutual schedules. Unfortunately we both got BFN. I took a few months off and she is taking the summer. We had 2 perfect blasts put in during april. BFN. I was very sick after retrieval from my hormone levels. 23 eggs! Took a couple of weeks to get out of my system before my stomach was normal hence the accupunture. Its really expensive so well see if it helps this cycle. What meds are you on? 6 iui cycles! Youll see a better result with icsi. I have been on lupron since the 4th start meds toward the end of the week depending on when i get my period. Doc is significantly reducing my meds this time to get less eggs and less stomach bloating. We had no frozen ones so maybe this time. We live in reston va and i work full time. I am hoping to be able to work more at home this time. I had to take like a week off in april. Finally had to tell my boss too cause of the no traveling during monitoring. Do you work?

[mkdig]

Im going to be on folistim and luveris. How about you? Are you trying different drugs this time or just smaller dose. Wow, 23 eggs, I bet you did feel bad! Too bad none left to freeze, did you do a five day transfer? I did accupuncture with my iui's and loved it! I dont know how much it helped but I know it reduced my anxiety about the whole process. But I am in a clinical trial now for the duramed progesterone ring and they wont let you do accupuncture while you are in it... bummer!
yes I work full time, Im a dental hygienist. Taking time off with work has not been easy. I took the week of the 22nd off because I was able to find someone to cover for me and I took most of the mornings off the week before so I wont be too stressed out about going in for monitoring, its a lot to juggle, huh? Did your re give you any ideas about what may have gone wrong last cycle? I guess sometimes its just like rolling the dice and waiting for your turn (except with a lot at stake).

[RBJean]

Hello,
I just took my last BCP and start microlupron on Wednesday, and stims on Friday. If I stim the same number of days as my previous cycle, my ER should be on July 23, so pretty close to you two. We are doing ICSI with TESE this time round. Really hoping it works this time! MK - is this your 1st cyle?

[mkdig]

Yes this is my first cycle. Im really anxious and nervous, I guess we all are though. Im feeling so down about the whole thing the past few days. Maybe just the lupron or the lull in treatment, it seems like it is taking forever!! So any ideas on how to stay positive through all of this?

[kim14]

Great - there are 3 of us. I am sure my date will slip a day of so it did last time.

MK - how did you do iui if your husband has azospermia? My husband has a blockage so we have to do a needle extraction the day of my retrieval.

You were smart to take the week off. You may feel fine after retrieval many people do but i was miserable. I also have a sensitive stomach. Then we did day 5 transfers so I was implanted on day 6 and then bed rest for day 7. I always wanted to know how those trials work. Do you get a free ivf cycle? Will you start the progesterone around retrieval or before??? I think that may have been what made me sick and those owwy butt shots!!! The doc said evertying went great with my cycle - great eggs and sperms - it jsut didnt implant. I swear its 50 - 50. I really think we will get it this time or next. Some frozen ones would be nice. My clinic really only likes to implant and freeze day 5 or 6 blasts. We had 12 perfect blasts but then 2 were implanted and by day 6 none were good to freeze. No clue why. We had a day 7 freeze which doc said doesnt have much of a chance of making it so im not sure why we are paying for it. I would love frozen ones this time!

[kim14]

RB

May I ask what happened in your first cycle? Where do you live. Do you work? We are all in our 30s so i am feeling good about our chances!!

[mkdig]

We did iui's with donor sperm, so that has been one of the great things about moving on to ivf, now we can use dh's sperm. So dh will have tese the day before er. The ivf is defenitly not free. We get $5,000 off the cost of ivf, which is awesome, but once you add the tese & icsi its still sooo expensive (like you guys dont already know that ) The study is for a new progesterone ring (kinda like the birth control ring). So the good part is I wont have to do the progesterone shots, I'll either use the ring or the supposotories. I have heard the shots are not fun.
Well I hope this is it for all of us!!

[kim14]

My best advice for staying positive is to stay busy! Its the numbers game - it has to work in 3 times Im convinced of it!! The meds are already making me grumpy. My poor husband is glad hes going out of town this week poor guy! Make plans with your friends and work! I have a hectic week which is probably a good thing this week. Dog has been sick and I sent him to my parents so that will make this week a bit less stressful. Im just going to try to keep busy till the 22! I find it harder to stay pos after the bfn but i dont have to tell u that. Hang in there. Sounds like we will all start our stims later this week. Not sure what date yet for me

[RBJean]

Kim: Actually our 1st cycle was in November and I was oversuppressed and understimulated so they cancelled me. Then for our Jan cycle they switched me to the microlupron protocol which worked much better for me. I had 16 eggs, 13 were mature. After 1 day, only 1 had fertilized (I was shocked) By day 3 , 3 embies fertilized, but 2 were slow growers. We had all 3 transferred - and BFN. They did more tests on DH after our failed cycle and discovered he has high DNA fragmentation, so they want to do TESE to try and find less fragmented (younger) sperm. Hopefully it helps with fertilization. It'd be nice to make it to a 5-day transfer.

We are near Minneapolis and I do work full time (and usually more than full time). I think it's actually a life saver that I work during all this because I could (and almost do) drive myself nuts. I think I'm a little OCD about getting pregnant - but it's hard not to obsess over ever little step in IVF, in fact the process lends itself to obsession. My goal this cycle is to obsess less because I learned it's out of my hands (which is hard for a control freak to accept)!

MK: I hear you on the money stuff. After our failed cycle we decided shared risk would be a good idea, so we're doing that now. At least it takes some pressure off this cycle. BTW, the progesterone shots aren't that bad. I freaked a little when I saw the size of the needle, but as long as I stand on the opposite leg and relax, I hardly felt it.

I'm looking forward to getting started. I feel so much better when I'm "doing" something about having a baby!

Where are you both from? Are you working or taking time off work?

[mkdig]

Hi guys! I am going a little crazy waiting for thurs. to get here, thats when I go in for baseline and hopefully start stims. It just seems like its taking FOREVER!! Hopefully once the stims start itll go faster.
Rbjean-Hopefully adding the tese will do the trick for you guys! I am like you Im a little ocd and cant stand not being in control of this whole baby making proccess. I am working, but I am taking off the week of er &et. Im not to crazy about my job but it has helped keep my mind somewhat occupied. Id probably go crazy if I didnt have to keep it together for at least eight hours a day.
So whats going on with you guys this week?

[Krysta]

I'm a few weeks behind you all so anything you can share with me will help! This is our first IVF cycle and I'm nervous about the medication side effects. Did you all experience any crazy side effects? I'll start Follistem on the 18th.

[kim14]

krysta - welcome - the side effects really arent bad - i was just grumpy - ask my husband - moody moody Lurpon mades my memory not so great! I did lupron, repronex and gonal and then progesterone. I was very sick after er because my hormone levels were so high. I ended up being off from work for like a week. I have lower doses of meds this time and am doing accupuncture. My cycle went well - they jsut didnt implant

[kim14]

Hey ladies - sounds like we have the same personalities with life and pregnancy as well! I do work 40 -50 hours a week and it is a godsend for ivf - the distraction that is! I live in reston, va and work at an engineering firm. What do you do RB? I will be taking a week off between er and et but am hoping to work at home most of that time just not the day of the procedures. The lupron makes my memory mush and makes me grumpy so i m just trying not to freak out my clients or coworkers this week!! I have alot of night meetings which should keep me busy and out of trouble My boss knows this time which makes it easier. Did you guys tell people. Jsut my parents know right now.