OCT / NOV / DEC 2008 Buddies

[ajdec]

Eh...well...I'm glad the ER is done. I haven't not had a great afternoon. I was in really bad pain...lots of cramping...after the ER. No bleeding, thank goodness. But two darvacet's really didn't help. It's only now that I'm feeling a little better...but still not great. But...I'm trying to have a PMA! DH did really well with his sperm aspiration...so that was good. He's been taking excellent care of me this afternoon. They got 17 eggs...and will hear from them tomorrow on the fertilization results and when the ET will be (either Saturday or Monday). I'm on endometrin now...no more shots for me thank goodness and a patch, plus an antibiotic and my prenatal vitamin. So...now I get to just wait and hear from them tomorrow! I am really wishing I had just taken this entire rest of the week off from work...I did a stupid thing and checked my work email and now I"m dreading trying to work tomorrow. Am debating about working at home (we have that option)...but even that isn't very appealing. Blah...

Thanks all for following up! It was so nice to get on and see that you all were wondering how it went! Such a great support. And frankly, after today, those of you who have been through this more than once...you are my heros. It's so much to deal with...I can't imagine your emotions going through all this and then getting a BFN. You are all so amazingly strong! I am keeping you all in my prayers for your BFP!

[NY4thtry]

17 thats amazing!! good luck with the fert report.. sorry you dont feel great i didnt have that problem. its may just be left over anethesia.. you may feel much better in the am..

Nomore shots thats amazing,, the progesterone shots are the worst so you are very lucky you dont have to do them!!!


Kas i also read that book thought it was very interesting,, some clinics dont believe in the immunological stuff but it is important.. we have been tested for everything and may need to do IVIG.. we have one more test to come back before we will know for sure but i do have mildly elevated killer cells.. worth looking into..

[mrscutter]

My stims start on Oct 31st. ER set for nov 11. Since I have never had ivf i dont know much about it. I have read something about exercise and ivf. should i not exercise? and if not why? I exercise 4 to 5 days a week. I do strength training and treadmill or bike a couple times a week. Why is exercise not advised. is it just during transfer or before and after? Also what is the main reasons for ivf failure. Seems so simple egg and sperm go toghether and placed back in. What causes failures. Im just concerned my RE tells me what I want to hear and not what i may need to hear. With only a 20 percent chance for a bfp im just want her to tell me yes i would do it if i were you, but she wont. She just says you need to make the decision. She says what is a percentage anyway. Each person is different. some say i am being a "half empty kind of person" but i say i am just a realist. I want to be possitive, but i know 20 percent is like winning the lottery. Lastely, I just want to know what to expect from all of this. How does your body feel with taking all the meds. What is ER like and ET like. Sorry this is so long.

Thanks.
Rhonda

[mrscutter]

oh I also wanted to ask you ladies. How soon after ivf will you know if you get a bfn or bfp? What is a beta test? and when is it done?

Rhonda

[Kas101]

ajdec 17 is a great number!!!! Sorry you dont feel great - everyon reacts differently but i'm sure if you take it super easy tonight you will feel MUCH better tomorrow

NY4th I'm so into the book - the woman in the intro had extensive tests following a failed cycle and found out she had immune issues, gene issues & sparse blood flow to uterus (cold hands and feet can be an indicator of this - its a circulatory issue) and all she took in addition to the usual was 500mg calcium twice a day, heprin injections, prednisone steroid and Folgard. SHe then went on to get a BFP next round. I am taking notes and will talk to my RE when i'm done (my poor RE i think he dreads me). I dont get why we dont get all these tests done as well - we are supposed to try try try and then after we have spend thousands and wasted time and become an emotional wreck they then think-'Hmmm lets investigate.....'

I'm a firm believer in the old adage 'knowledge is power' (and i intend to use it)

[to_have_fun08]

ajdec - Congrats on the 17 eggs. I wish i could get that many. Sorry you aren't feeling so well. I didn't have any issue with ER. I actually wanted to drive to the store and do some shopping a couple of hours after ER but then was reminded I wasn't supposed to drive for the day. Keep us posted on your Fert Report.

mrscutter - I know 20% chance isn't a lot but it is better then not doing it and never having a child of my own. I guess I am luckier since insurance pays for most so I can risk it to get a BFN.
- Excercise - I had this question too for my first cycle. I actually had a personal trainer and really enjoyed working out at the time. Most people said that it was all right to excercise just take it easy. During stims you really want to watch it because your ovaries get bigger and could twist. So just be careful. In the 2ww, my RE said that I could excercise but don't get HR over 140.
-After your ET usually the RE waits for 2 weeks and then you have a blood test called a beta test. The beta test is a pregnancy test that measures the HCG in you blood. Beta test are a lot more acurate and sensitive then the home pregnancy tests. Usually they say a Beta between 50 and 100 is good but this will all depend on what day you test.
-For my ER I went to the RE's office, did some paperwork, they put and IV in, I went into the surgery room, they put your feet in this kind of boot thing, I was then knocked out and woke up about 30 minutes later in the recovery room. I had some cramps afterwards but other then that it was a breeze. I hear that the more follies you have the more chance you have to be in pain afterwards.
-ET is like a pap smear you spread your legs they put a little catheder up there and put your embies back in. They made me lay there for about 30 minutes and sent me home. All RE's are differnt I have heard of some women having to lay there for 2 hours. Also some RE's will tell you to go home and do bedrest for a few days.
-The meds affect everybody in differnt ways. I was just really bloated. i also had to take doxyciclin (sp) and that made me feel like crap.

Hope this answers you questions, it all sounds scary but you will be fine.


Kas - i was also wondering about vitamins. Of course I am taking the prenatal vitamin then for this cycle I have added an Omega3-DHA vitamin and a b12 vitamin. Don't know if they will help but I guess they couldn't hurt.

Chris

[NY4thtry]

Kas

some REs dont believe in the immunological stuff at ALL. My last 2 cycles were at CRMI and they wont even discuss it.. so i hope your re will listen to you.. or go to someone that will at least do the testing so you know

I am doing mayan uterine massage for the bloodflow issues.. i find it helpful..

I am also on dexamethosone a steroid already even though stims arent for 2 more weeks

[karenvancouverisland]

Cycling:

October Stims:

sloan- stims Oct 10 (follistim)
wonderce- stims Oct 11?
robin- stims Oct 18 (bravelle, menopur, ganiralex)
NY4thtry -Lupron 10/3 - stims 10/20
karenvanc.island - stims Oct 20, (gonalF), on DHEA
Melo_P -down reg Oct 6, stims around Oct 22th
chenry- stims Oct 24
mrs.cutter- stims Oct 31
keesha2008 - end of Oct
mally - end of Oct
Much Hope-Donor Egg. ER around 10/27[/color]

November Stims:
sol2009 - Nov cycle
cocosmomma - FET Nov
Foreverlove - Begin BCP's soon, planning ER/ET week of Thanksgiving
to_have_fun08- BCP's Oct 8th.
gina- unsure- possibly cycle in nov
jnitschke- nov?
not hopless yet - Waiting for AF around Oct 20th to begin BCP's

December stims:
babyhope1 - surgery to remove polyp - cycle Nov/Dec
Kas101 - currenlty taking DHEA - bcps early Nov, stims early Dec
JenLB25 - Tube removal Oct 8 - cycle Nov/Dec
JDC- cycle late nov/dec

2WW --- PUPO
ajdec- ER Oct 8, ET for Oct 11 or 13

Beta Results[/quote][/quote]

[karenvancouverisland]

hi all, boy i had a rough day.. i think i was full of anticipatory grief of a BFN cycle that hasn't even happened yet.. i'm a little f'd up lately.

i got to work and immediately cried a little bit. then later, i cried a TON and basically melted down in front of several coworkers. thank god they are wonderful and not nosy (some of them know about IVF). eventually i had a good afternoon after i got it all cried out i guess. i have an appt with my dr tomorow and then a counselor on friday. i need some HELP.

i'm worn out by IF and so scared. i'm anxious and depressed. i didn't want to get out of bed this am. i wanted to find a hole somewhere to crawl into and disappear. everything feels so stressful and on hold in my life. it sucks. on the good side of it now, i'm so tired i think i'll have a good sleep tonight.

congrats to you adjec on your retrieval. keep us posted, i'm sure you'll get good results with all those eggs. you're in a good position to be successful. welcome jnitschke, i added you to our board. this is a great place for support. wonderce, i hope you start stims on friday, let us know where you're at so we can send you PMA (i'll scrounge some up for you ). kas- i'd love tohear a synopsis of the book you're reading. and mrs cutter- i'd echo everything chris said to you about exercise- be careful not to twist those ovaries thru twisting exercises (you could destroy all), and i was told no heartrate above 140 until 2 positive beta tests and then i could return to what was previous 'normal' activity for me (i often get my heartrate up to 160 when i exercise).

and hi to chris, robin, NY, kas and everyone else i've missed.

[sloan88]

AF is arriving like clockwork so IVF here I come!!
I'm picking up my meds tomorrow.... and I'll start on Friday I think.

It's great to read about all of your experiences... 17 follicles wow!! didn't know that's possible.

I didn't think I would be but now I'm incredibly nervous!! Not about the injections so much or the physical effects but just the not knowing.... and both hoping/dreading I will find out more about what's going on. and just hoping it will WORK (i'm not the most optimistic person out there) yikes...!

anyway - as I said it's been great reading about it all... someone mentioned blood to the uterus issue - I think that can really be dealt with with acupuncture. I've been seeing someone for the last 3 months and she's helped "warm up" my uterus area a lot. The treatments were kind of intense - they got better over time as I got less "blocked".... but it's not a spa treatment if you know what I mean.... I've also taken chinese herbs and that's been really helpful but again I understand not everyone feels comfortable taking those and I am now going to stop during ivf.

Also someone mentioned intubation - I'm really surprised at that. I had a polyp removed and they didn't intubate and it was a really mild experince and I was under the impression it's going to be just like that (I think it is)... i would question intubating for this short of a surgery (but i'm the newbie here...)

fingers crossed for a decent FSH...

[karenvancouverisland]

yea i was never intubated for ER or ET. i was awake but sedated for ER, and i was dozy the rest of the day. after i had ET, i walked around downtown and went shopping! went back to work the next days after both. i would have loved to have had more rest after both but needed the income...so i think if you can take the time off- go for it.

that's great that you're starting sloan. all the best

[sloan88]

Thanks Karen - I really hope you feel better. the IF blues.... ugh.

I too will not really be able to take time off... i'm hoping the ER falls close to the weekend. that would be a gift... (frankly at this point I hope i make it to the ER!)...

[to_have_fun08]

jnitschke - Welcome to the board. Hope your stay here is well worth the trip. Let us know more about you, what protocol will you be on?


sloan88 - Most people make it to ER so don't stress over that. i think every one is nervous at first, this is a whole new experience. Last cycle was the first time I made it to ER and ET, I was nervous but seeing that all these other ladies had been through the same procedure and survived helped me out a lot. I had never been under any sedation before so that was also freaking me out. In the end it wasn't bad at all. So you start stims tomorrow? Wishing you the best of luck.


Chris

[foreverlove]

Kas101 – I would love to hear about the book you are reading. I love to read and anything that would give insight would be great. I give you a ton of credit for taking all those pills. I started taking the prenatal vitamins, but I hate even taking those. I know this is TMI but I have problems going to the bathroom so I have to drink Herbal Laxative Tea three times a week to make myself go and the vitamins seem to not let the tea work, but I will try and deal with it for the sake of having a baby. Again sorry about the TMI.

Ajdec – Congrats on getting 17 eggs – I am new to this, but that sounds like a great number. Good luck on transfer!!!

Chris - you are lucky that your insurance pays for IVF. I wish the states would require the insurance companies to pay for this - we are only going to do one fresh and if we have frozen ones we will try that too, but besides that we are done. My DH is all about no bills, saving, etc. so he doesnt want to go into debt to pay for this. We waited this far in the year so we could save and pay cash for this instead of throwing it on a credit card. This costs alot of money. Luckily I just found out that our clinic has a program that will help pay for a second round of IVF if it doesnt work the first time, so maybe I can convince him for a second round if this doesnt work.

Did anyone watch Private Practice last night with the married couple that found out they were brother and sister? The parents both did IVF and here they had the same sperm donor. Scary!

[to_have_fun08]

foreverlove - I missed Private Practice last night, watch the Biggest Loser instead. That is kind of scary the brother and sister thing but what are the odds of that happening. I did hear of a story that is really strange. A lady donated her eggs to her sister. So the eggs were fertilized with the BIL sperm and the siter got PG, they froze all the remaining eggs. Well then turns out a few years down the road that the lady that donated the eggs, now has issues getting PG. Her next cycle she will be using the frozen embies that are her eggs, but BIL sperm. In the end the kids with technically be cousins but biologically they will be brother/sister. I know it seems strange but I believe I would do the same thing I this was my only shot to have a child of my own.


Chris