FEB / MARCH 2011 Cycle Buddies!! can't wait!

[blairwh58]

Penny- Welcome. I think success varies from person to person. With our 1st IVF we had a chemical pregnancy but I know a lot of people who also got pregnant so it just depends on the person. Good luck. What protocol are you on and when is your estimated retrieval?

[MamaBoo]

Finally, things are getting started! We meet w/RE next Thursday about starting FET. I originally had an appt for Tuesday after next, but realized AF due that day. I want that day open to get started. That would have put everything off another 28 days. I am ready to get going.

On my first IVF, I got BFP but MC at around 6 weeks. On our first FET from that cycle, BFP w/twins. However one twin "vanished". I had a successful pregnancy and we have a 13 month old son. I really want to bring home his remaining siblings. We have two frosties left.

[rubine]

Hey Ladies!

I had my WTF appointment today with My RE & It looks like I am officially in the game for transfer in February. The protocol my nurse gave me said February 8th to be exact. The RE also gave me the grades of the embryos that made it to the freeze & it looks like I have 2 6AA & 2 5AA. He said that was perfect & I couldn't ask for better quality!! This really made me feel a lot better because I was so down in the dumps about the chemical.This morning my husband told me that during my last cycle my attitude was really negative so... this time around I want to take a new approach with LOTS of PMA!!

[to_have_fun08]

I hate waiting, I am so ready to get on with this cycle. Tired of being in limbo. now I am regretting not doing the January cycle.... time needs to go by faster.

How's everyone else doing?

Welcome to all the newbies. Hoping you all have beginner luck!!

[JenMink55]

Blair-
The Genetic testing is running about $5700.00 (In California). Not sure if that compares across the US. The Dr. told me that doing that would rule out embryo's that would produce a miscarriage/chemical pregnancy. They can tell by the Chromosomes which embies are good, and which ones have abnormalties. Also, a bonus on doing the testing is they can tell you the sex of the embryo's. Sounds a little science fiction but I think it's cool. Might take the fun out of the 20 week ultrasound though if you already know what your having

This is our last try at IVF since it's all been out of pocket. That is why we opted for our best chance of getting pregnant and spending the extra money.

SD-- I am SO JEALOUS about Hawaii!!! I just got back from Maui in August and had a great time! I think this cycle is going to work for you and you will be sitting on the beaches of Hawaii with morning sickness! LOL I hope you have a great time!

Be back later, gotta work on work.. blah!

Love Jen xoxoxo

[to_have_fun08]

Jen - i will be doing CGh testing on my embryo's. Well that is if I have several to choose from. My reasoning for doing testing is to help them figure out that one golden egg. If they have several to choose from, they might not be able to choose the one chomorsonally normal. i am trying to eliminate having to do a FEt later on if i do get some frosties. With CGH testing they test all 23 chromosomes and with that they also can tell the sex of the baby. Testing is about the same price of doing a FEt so I figured it would be worth it just so I don't have to go through the heartache of another BFN. Hoping it all works out in the end.

[rubine]

I hate waiting, I am so ready to get on with this cycle. Tired of being in limbo. now I am regretting not doing the January cycle.... time needs to go by faster.

How's everyone else doing?

Welcome to all the newbies. Hoping you all have beginner luck!!

I agree the waiting is the worse... But, the 2WW is even more pure utter torture. I am probably going to try to refrain from POAS after the transfer this time around but, we shall see! Usually, I cave in...

[MamaBoo]

rubine - the wait just to see the RE is driving me nuts and it's less than a week away. All of the waiting is so hard and it feels like all you do with IVF. One little step, wait a week or two. Next step, wait a week or two.....

[blairwh58]

I agree- I feel like I am always waiting for one step of the process or another. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this appointment with the new RE. Only 2 more sleeps now!! Even though I'm not sure we need genetic testing I want to ask RE what his suggestions are. If its not too expensive I think itd be worth it for this cycle and future fet cycles and would end up saving money and time in the long run if we don't keep getting negatives and having miscarriages. I don't know that I would want to know the sex of the embryos if we did the testing, but who knows. Just hoping for a good appt on monday. Hope everyones having a good weekend.

[blairwh58]

Well I finally met with the new RE and he seemed like a great guy. The officw is not as "family-like" which is sad, but they were nice people- just more about baby making. Anyway, talked with new RE and said he woudl follow a similar protocol as last cycle. Did mention that I would be doing Viagra suppositories as opposed to large amts of estorgen so who knows. I am waiting for my period then will start lupron. Go back next wed 1/19 for educational session (which is funny since this will be ivf #4...but oh well) and to get actual schedule. Have to call on cycle day 1 if for some reason I start before next wed- unlikely since he did the trial transfer and said lining looked like period was a few wks out. Depressing knowing next retrieval and transfer may not be until march, but exciting moving to the next step. Hope everyone is doing ok.

[nicnad1]

Hi all, just chipping in. I'm scheduled for FET in late Feb after my Feb period. We have 2 frozen embryos but will only transfer one this time... I know I should be positive, but it's just so hard to hope.. Seems easier to not expect it to work than I won't be so disapointed. I know that this is a lousy attitude, but I just can't think otherwise. We had our first IVF in August and had a BFP. Couldn't believe that it worked the first time. First I had awful OHSS, then miscarried at 10 weeks (the fetus stopped growing around 7 weeks, but my body didn't realize it...). It was so so disapointing to go from the elation of being pregnant, to a m/c and d & c. My DH seems frustrated that I feel more neutral about it. I really admire all you women who go thru multiple IVF cycles... I don't think I could go thru the emotions of it again (not to mention the drugs and OHSS). Given that we pay out of pocket, a 2nd cycle isn't possible... It only cost $800 per FET so it's our last hope. I'm turning 40 this year so this is our last ditch effort to give our son (age 5) a sibling. (He was conceived naturally and we have secondary unexplained infertility). Anyway, I look forward to hearing how things go with all of you. I know the joy of having our son and would wish it on absolutely everybody. Your stories touch me and I truly hope that you all get the chance to feel this joy... I'll touch base as things get closer, but first we are off to Mexico at the end of the month. Gotta get away from our canadian winter. Who knows, maybe some mexican sunshine will work some magic... take care

[mcfarland2213]

Hi Everyone - I'm back for IVF try #4 - it will be a fresh cycle this time...we are applying for Attain IVF today & waiting to hear if we're accepted. The RE wants me to try one more time, and if this doesn't work - we have a friend that is willing to be a surrogate! It's all very surreal this time around, but I'm taking a few months off work to try and relax/make the most of this final attempt.

I wish you all a ton of baby dust - hopefully we'll have a lot of success stories for the Feb/March group!! Looking forward to catching up on all the posts (I have been MIA on here over the last few months as we've planned when to try again) - I'm on BCP now, and just going back to the RE in 2 weeks since I have a large cyst on my left ovary. Has anyone ever had experience with always having cysts on your ovaries (I asked my RE yesterday and he said "It's just how your body responds, there's no reason for it" - but it seems strange - sometimes it's on my left/sometimes my right..) He just said this one was abnormally large so we're going to keep an eye on it!

Looking forward to sharing our experiences over the next couple of months!!

[cwehrs]

Hi everyone! Well, AF finally showed her face, so I can get going (kind of)! I started BC today and just got my calendar from my REs office. Looks like ER on or around Feb 23rd so ET (if there is one to transfer this time) will be around Feb 28th. So if I manage to get preggers this time I'll find out just before my birthday. That would be a GREAT birthday present!

Nic- I understand completely being afraid to hope. My first IVF cycle I was soooooo excited. I had dreams that it would work the first time out and I'd FINALLY get to be pregnant like everyone around me. The ultrasounds showed that I had 16 good looking follies and I started imagining that we would even have some embryos left over to freeze. Then egg retrieval day came and we got just 5 eggs, only 1 of which even fertilized. It didn't make it to transfer. I was so devastated to not even get to the PUPO stage. It seemed like a big waste of time and money, and I really didn't know if I could do it all again. But I'm not ready to give up on being pregnant either, so here I am. But I know that I will also be very subdued about the whole thing until after the retrieval when I find out how many embryos we get. Seeing the numbers of follies won't really mean anything to me after last time, 'cause I will have no idea if any of them actually have an egg until the retrieval. So it's just a big waiting game for me. Not that I'm not trying to stay positive, but I'm just not allowing myself to get too excited yet. That will wait until an ET actually happens and I actually have a possibility of a BFP!

SDtrying- I'm sooooo jealous! I loved Hawaii and would be so excited to go back. Hopefully it will be a celebration trip for you!

[BlissfulCS]

Welcome Rebecca, Nic, and McFarland!

JenMink- thanks for the detail on genetic testing. It does make a lot of sense. Going to talk to my RE.

McFarland- I had a cyst for my last FET. I haven't had an ultrasound but I can tell it is still there. I'm worried it won't go away by the end of Feb. Will your RE still let you do a fresh cycle with a cyst? I haven't asked mine yet, I'm trying to send positive vibes to my bod to make it go away.

Blair- congrats on your new RE! it sounds a bit like mine...a little cold. I would almost feel like a number if it wasn't for everyone's terrific bedside manner.

Cwerhs- we are in this together if you have to wait until March. Nearly every day I am tempted to move it up to February but I am sticking with my plan to give it time and create the healthiest embies ever!

AFM- I figured out what my schedule is if I have normal cycles (28 days). I will go in for retrieval around the 3rd of March. Assuming we have good egg production again this time around we will transfer blasts on the 8th. DH will be in Vegas for work on the day of my Beta so I will really be leaning on you ladies! Ran the dates by my acupuncturist and she is going to be able to make it. Most of you have heard me whine about the fact that I live in a cute little northern Michigan resort area that is 3 and a half hours from my RE... I am so glad my acupuncturist is willing to travel with me. She is 12 weeks pregnant with her first and has become heavily invested in "Project Little Winslow" (our last name). It will be interesting to stroll in there with her, but my clinic says women bring their own acupuncturist all the time.

I received and tried the new fertility meditations. Pretty cool. There is one for each stage of IVF and it's more centered on physical rather than emotional imagery. Tried the fertility yoga DVD too and loved it... But not quite as much as I loved going to my first Zumba class with my sister this week. If any of you are trying to take off a pound or two in a super fun way...try Zumba!

[blairwh58]

nicnad1- What made you all decide to only tranfer one of your remaining embryos? You need to stay positive and keep telling yourself that this is your time and it will all work out! Im sure your trip to Mexico at the end of the month will help make you a little more relaxed, which will hopefully encourage positive thoughts.

McFarland- I have had a long history with cysts. When I was in college I ended up in the ER because of abdominal pain (the nurse at the student health office said there was nothing wrong with me and I was probably havign stomach spasms). They figured out I had a large cyst on one of my ovaries that was causing all the pain and discomfort. Didnt do anything for it but give me pain meds. Then since then Ive had a couple more- the most recent of which was baseball sized and extremely uncomfortable. They watched it for a couple weeks to make sure it resolved itself but didnt do much. GYN upped my birth control since I was originally on low dose (way back before we started trying to get pregnant) because she said that higher levels of hormones should help. She said that some bodies are just more sensitive to small things which is why the cause so much pain for me. Good luck with it and I hope it resolves itself very soon! We are both on cycle #4 which is hopefully our lucky number.

cwehrs- Exciting that you have a tentative date set now. When is your birthday? I am sure it will work and you will get the best present yet!!

blissful- Funny that you mention "normal cycles"...when we met with RE he asked what my cycles were like, and it made me laugh. I said well a few years back they were "normal" but Ive been on so many drugs the past year that I dont know. You are very lucky that your accupunturist is able to travel with you to the transfer. We are currently trying to figure out whether we should just go to the one in town the night before transfer and drive back after transfer to see her (1 1/2 away from RE office)...or if we try the acupuncturist that the RE said was not far from the office. Who knows. Luckily we have tons of time to think about it.

AFM- Still waiting on AF to come. I have no idea how long it will take since I had the D & C after I started to miscarry. Anyone have any idea how long after D & C it usually takes? I just want AF to come so we can get started. Work has been crazy and I am beyond ready for the weekend to be here so I can get some sleep and relax a little. RE mentioned to us monday that he recommended assisted hatching with a 3DT. Im ok with paying extra if he thinks we should but DH keeps arguing that we should just let all of the embryos (wishful thinking that we will have a bunch during retrieval) go to 5 days so that we can tell which ones are the strongest. I guess we will have to wait to decide on that too until we see where we are.