OCT / NOV / DEC 2008 Buddies

[karenvancouverisland]

welcome johnson- please join us on our journey together; we're happy to have you. sorry to hear about the problems with your suppression phase, not sure what to say as i haven't experienced that...good thing you have an appt soon to discuss it. i'll add you to our update board when i fix it up later.

NY, nice to hear you're closer to stims- i assumed ganiralex was an FSH stim med- but i'm getting that it's not, what is it?

[sloan88]

Hi all - I've been reading all your posts with great interest ! mayan massage... etc etc... very interesting! Hopefully soon I'll have helpful comments to contribute but being a newbie here - i'm feeling pretty clueless...

SO

I am supposed to start my stims today - got the meds (slight overwhelm)... this morning I went in for my u/s etc. and the dr. said that my follicle from last month hasn't yet reabsorbed into my body and may still be producing estrogen so they are going to check my blood work and may cancel me a MONTH! argh... fingers crossed. a month seems forever --- has this happened to anyone else? the irony is that it's a sign of a healthy follicle with staying power... but here I am doing IVF and it's in the way.... ha.

anyway - also wanted to ask if anyone has explored being tested for bacterial infections (other than Chlamydia) apparently there are some that could interfere with conception. My acupuncturist recommended I look into this as she says my hormones are good... and she's seen before someone getting cured with antibiotics who was like me -good hormones -competely unexplained (After 3 failed ivfs) . I asked the nurses today and they said ... nah... their studies say it doesn't make a difference... anyone know?? of course i feel like i'm just hunting for reasons....but worth a try...

anyway fingers crossed that I get to stick a needle in myself tonight -

hope all is well with everyone... and i get out of the gate here...
!

[NY4thtry]

ganarelix also a suppresant to keep you from ovulating..

I was tested for all sorts of bacteria and went through a ten day program of intravenous antibiotics and uterine washed to clean myself out. go to www.thefertilitysolution.com. Dr Toth has a whole program that deals with this

My Drs poo pooed it also but after four failures i decided to leave no stone unturned...

[sloan88]

NY4thtry


Thanks- that's interesting ... did you JUST do this?? good luck - hope that does the trick !

[sloan88]

I can already see what a drama ivf can be (or feel like)
I just got the call from the nurse. - they ARE starting me on stims today but then she told me that my FSH went up to 11.6... (it was 9.8 only 4 months ago). ugh - little punch in the stomach.... it's still within the 14 i need but I'm sitting here wondering how that happened so fast and if it's going to continue. I'm doubly surprised b/c the RE has said I have a lot of follicles and he expected my FSH to be lower the next time... - first little bump in the rollar coaster...


anyway the good news is I'm starting today yah! here goes.

[Much Hope]

HI ladies:

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday afternoon. As you all know I am doing a donor cycle since I am a poor responder and am not getting any younger.
My donor started Lupron this morning and starts Gonal on the 23rd. I am so excited and cannot wait for her 1st US and E2 after starting Stims to see how many follies she has growing.
NY I am praying that this cycle is great for you. I know being at Sher in NY you are in wonderful hands, from the nurse coordinators to the Drs everyone really cares.
My calendar says my possible ET is either 11/2 or 11/3. which means I will have my first beta the day before my husbands 50th BD. What an amazing gift for him to find out that he is going to be a daddy for his birthday

I know everyone on this thread is going to have a wonderful cycle. There is so much support on these boards it sometimes amazes me.
I look forward to taking this journey with each and every one of you amazing ladies. You are all in my thoughts and prayers for success.

Much baby dust
Elida

[NY4thtry]

sloan

yes i just did it finished intravenour a week ago still on orals

[gina1234]

karenvancouverisland---i start 200iu of follistim in about 2wks, which will be oct 25th... & by day 3 or 4 which will be either oct 28 or 29th i will go on ganarelix...the last cycle on was on follistim for about 8 days and the ganarelix for about 5 days so if my calculation is correct i will have ER on or around nov 2 & we will be doing a 5 day transfer which would bring us to nov 7 & bw will be done on nov 18 i think...anyway to answer your other question if i am not a low responder, if anything the doctors have to carefully watch me because i produce very quickly even on a low dose of follistim....the last cycle i had 28 follices 17 mature 15 fert 10 frozen 3 left in culture & 2 transferred which were both 8 celled and a very good grade i can't remember the grade but it was great...so will see...the doctor thinks this will be a good cycle( i am praying & hoping)

chris, ajdec ,wonder, babyhope, robin,rosario & anyone else i may have forgotten i just wanted to say hello hope u are having a wonderful weekend & also i am sending u all hugs & alot of baby dust

[Melo_P]

Hi All

I hope everyone is feeling well.

Just wondered how those of you on the down regs were feeling? I was really hoping this cycle wasn't going to suck up so much energy - but lately I feel really quite low and depressed and distracted the whole time. Was wondering if it had anything to do with the down regulation drugs. Just kind of want to curl up not see anyone for ages and then have this all over and done with. Have been taking them for just over a week - so maybe this is one of the side effects - just feeling very low all of a sudden. Time seems to have seriously slowed down too!

Sorry to be bit of a sad sack. Hope your all well

Best

Mel

[karenvancouverisland]

well melo, maybe it's the med's..but from my experience it's the underground (or not so underground) stress and anxiety of IF..i think we get used of IF in a sick kind of way, and don't realize the sadness and fear we have going at a constant, low-grade level. for me, the closer i get to cycling, the more scared i get of a BFN.

maybe this is different for you, but for me, this is what it is even though i have days when i convince myself it isn't. i hope you find some peace and comfort. my dr. recommends doing cardio at least 3 xweek as it releases brain chemicals that naturally help depression. i know from experience that this does work (i have to force myself to go sometimes ).. talking with girlfriends about my fears is also invaluable. i so wish i could sit in a circle face to face with you all and talk and cry together, and have a cup of tea. but in the meantime, i'll gladly take this forum.

all the best to you melo and to everyone else out there tonight. karen

[NY4thtry]

sloan who are youcycling with?

[sloan88]

NY4thTry - I'm at NYUIVF -- I didn't really shop around - just ended up here and it seemed good - if you have thoughts I'd love to hear them.

I looked at fertility solution - very interesting- maybe i will investigate if this ivf doesn't work - the sound of intravenous antibiotics sounds hard though - can you do this while working?

Also - curious if anyone had allergic reactions to meds. I started Follistim last night. I broke out in a few itchy hives (only like 3 on the insides of my arms) but otherwise okay besides a little insomnia. I thought I'd try again this morning and if it happens again call the nurses... I would hope they would just switch my meds but I do like the Follistim pen - it's easy - and I really don't want to be cancelled ....

any thoughts would be helpful. thanks!

[NY4thtry]

sloan,

dont know NYU .. i cycled at NY fertility institute 2x then CRMI 2x now SIRM>>

I carried the iv arund in a little fanyy pack yup went to work and evertyhing.. but you cant do it when you are in tne middle of a cylcle

[ajdec]

Hey...do any of you know why I have to have a full bladder for ET tomorrow? I'm still having a bit of pain from the ER and having a full bladder definitely is more uncomfortable than normal. Do they let you go after the transfer??

[bell-02]

Hello,
It looks like I'm going to be joining you ladies. I'm all caught up on all of your postings so I feel like I can finally post one of my own. I recognize a lot of names, and it's nice to be back on this forum, I've really missed it.

About myself, DH and I have been ttc for almost 2 years. DH has low count and low motility. We did our first IVF cycle this past June and got 11 lovely frosties. We transferred 2 but got a BFN.

I did acupuncture in anticicpation of our next try, and we did an FET in August, transferring 2 again, and got another BFN.

DH and I had planned to take a break after BFN #2 and just recover, but I just can't stand it. Every one around me seems to be getting pregnant and I just feel so hopeless knowing that it's really not going to happen naturally and the only way to even hope for a chance is to do IVF. Plus, after BFN #2 DH finally started acting like he wanted this just as much as I do.

So I put in a call during my last AF to ask about a timeline and it worked out really well with my vacation so we're going to do it. We have 5 frosties left and will transfer 2 again. I will start Lupron on October 25, followed by Estrace and Progesterone Oil, and we will do our FET on November 28, the day after Thanksgiving.

The only other differences in our protocol this time around is that I'm not taking BCP at all, I didn't really need to before, I just took it to ensure we were retrieving/transferring on the dates I wanted, this time I don't really care. Also, I'm taking baby aspirin every day which I guess helps with implantation.

We also decided not to tell anyone about IVF#3. We told family and friends about our first two and I have to say it added to my stress. It was hard to answer questions etc. and terribly hard telling everyone when it didn't work. I felt like I was disappointing them. Plus, we're now veterans at doing IVF so it's really not that special to us anymore, just part of our routine. Finally, it would be the most fantastic thing in the world to tell everyone at Christmas that we are pregnant. It would just be the ultimate Christmas surprise. The only people we're telling are you guys and a friend and her husband, they did IVF and were successful and aside from this form, she has been my best support through all of this.

ajdec: the reason you have to have a full bladder is that it pushes your uterus into a better position for your doctor to see during the transfer. My best advice is to not start drinking your liquid too early. And, if you are in a lot of discomfort with your full bladder, tell your dr. right away, that's what I did, and my dr. cathetered some of it out of me before he even did the transfer. The ultrasound shows them how full your bladder is so they know how much they can take out. After the transfer, both times my dr. actually put a catheter in to drain my bladder before he sent me back to my hospital room. At the very least they should offer you a bedpan. Each clinic is different, but I think it's universal that sitting around with a full bladder sucks, so they should help you get as comfortable as you can be. Good luck!

Take care all, it's nice to be back on this forum.