October-November Cycle Buddy 2008?

[Kaimi1993]

Originally Posted by julieanne323

Hey girls. Glad to hear I'll have some company with the meds. I started the injections of Menepuir (sp?) intramuscular and Follistim in the stomach (subcutaneous shot wasn't as bad as the other) last Saturday Oct. 18th. Been back for blood and ultrasound and another ultrasound Thursday and Saturday of this week. 10 days of these meds...today is day 5, halfway through! I can do this! I have quite a needle phobia, so this is a little hard for me. My egg retrieval is set for somewhere during the first few days of November, so glad I get sedated for that. I'll know on that day whether they'll do the embryo transfer in November or December as I'm part of that drug study I mentioned in my first post..(see first post for explanation). Hope you girls are coming along okay with everything. Best of luck!

Julie

Hi Julie,

Good luck w/ everything and have you put some ice or heat pack on the IM site? Do right cheek first, do left cheek next seems too help.

Great talking to you and wish you the best!!

[julieanne323]

thanks! I tried the ice and it does help. I think each day that goes by I'm getting more sensitive to the shots. These darn headaches won't go away either. I have today (Sunday) and tomorrow left and then my 10 days of shots are done! Yippee! I've had some ultrasounds and bloodwork and they say the bloodwork is fine, and I have 8 follicles that are currently growing around 13 cm (or maybe it's millimeters?), so I guess they have to grow up to 16 or 17 the doctor said before they do the egg retrieval. So it looks like it may be sometime in the next week or two when that happens. I sure hope some, if not all, of those eggs turn out to be good ones. Anyone have any stories to share on how their follicles/egg quality turned out with IVF? I just worry that maybe there won't be any good ones, or very few good ones to make embryos out of...Thanks

[Kaimi1993]

Originally Posted by julieanne323

thanks! I tried the ice and it does help. I think each day that goes by I'm getting more sensitive to the shots. These darn headaches won't go away either. I have today (Sunday) and tomorrow left and then my 10 days of shots are done! Yippee! I've had some ultrasounds and bloodwork and they say the bloodwork is fine, and I have 8 follicles that are currently growing around 13 cm (or maybe it's millimeters?), so I guess they have to grow up to 16 or 17 the doctor said before they do the egg retrieval. So it looks like it may be sometime in the next week or two when that happens. I sure hope some, if not all, of those eggs turn out to be good ones. Anyone have any stories to share on how their follicles/egg quality turned out with IVF? I just worry that maybe there won't be any good ones, or very few good ones to make embryos out of...Thanks

Oh, you are almost there!! Congratulations,

I picked up my medications today. Now, I have too find some needles before I can begin next month. LOL
There is no way too explain my last IVF (2 years ago) other than disappointed. The doctors r/t 31 & out of those 31 -- 29 were mature and that left 24 fertilized. Unfortunately, I received this call the day before my transfer. Yippee! We were on cloud 9 -- NOT! The next morning the doctor had me come in for my t/f and guess what? Even though they put me in room #1 in order of taking the patients back for t/f I was the last to go! Why? because they told us bad news that our embryos didn't divide properly. It was with every breath that I hold back the tears. Why? They t/f 3 poor quality embryos and resulted in a negative. The doctor who did the t/f didn't know why it didn't work. My husband grilled him over the phone and he started too stutter when my husband asked if the culture media was the problem. He didn't come out and say it (of course, he's not going to admit something wrong, eh?) but he said well, that could have been the problem & the next time you cycle we can change it for ya! WTF? He said everything was perfect and if it was egg quality, then I wouldn't of had any fertilzized like they did. Oh, well, I'm kicking some butt this time with a different RE.

[julieanne323]

So sorry to hear about the failed IVF. That's my biggest worry, that we spend all this money and go through all of this physical pain and emotional strain for nothing. I guess that's when we have to just step back and acknowledge that when it comes down to it, it's really out of our hands. We can try all of the medical intervention and assistance that we can, but what will be will be, or won't be in our case. It's hard to realize that some things are just out of our control. But, let's keep on trying, maybe things will turn out better this time around. Don't lose hope....that's really all we have right now. Think positive! You have a better doctor now right? That makes a big difference I think. I'm worried because I only have 9 eggs maturing right now and the average is 10-12 they said....but I just have to hope for the best and maybe I'll get enough good quality ones to work with. I can't believe your doc office or pharmacy didn't supply the syringes! I would definitely ask them about that. That's ridiculous. Good luck girl! Where do you live? I live in Las Vegas.

[Kaimi1993]

Originally Posted by julieanne323

So sorry to hear about the failed IVF. That's my biggest worry, that we spend all this money and go through all of this physical pain and emotional strain for nothing. I guess that's when we have to just step back and acknowledge that when it comes down to it, it's really out of our hands. We can try all of the medical intervention and assistance that we can, but what will be will be, or won't be in our case. It's hard to realize that some things are just out of our control. But, let's keep on trying, maybe things will turn out better this time around. Don't lose hope....that's really all we have right now. Think positive! You have a better doctor now right? That makes a big difference I think. I'm worried because I only have 9 eggs maturing right now and the average is 10-12 they said....but I just have to hope for the best and maybe I'll get enough good quality ones to work with. I can't believe your doc office or pharmacy didn't supply the syringes! I would definitely ask them about that. That's ridiculous. Good luck girl! Where do you live? I live in Las Vegas.

I live in Europe and will be here for 3 years. I did find a stash of needles from our cycle 2 years ago and the expiration date is still good. A + You have to remember that it only takes "one" beautiful little embryo to make a baby. I told my husband that maybe I should become a crack head - junkie and maybe I'll become pg. LOL NOT! IVF is the only way for me to conceive.

Well, I'm having to lose a couple of pounds before I actually start my cycle in 3 weeks. Right now, I have been taking the antibiotics the doctor prescribed (ended on Monday) so that's good and will have to call him day 1 of my next cycle in which it should be around mid-November.

Sending you +++++++++++ thoughts! Update when you can!

[julieanne323]

Just a quick update. My retrieval is tomorrow morning about 11am. I have 9 follicles, but the doc explained that sometimes they aren't able to retrieve them all or they aren't all viable. So that kind of bummed me out. They way he talked, the percentages he gave, discouraged me. By the time he was done talking, it sounded like if we're lucky we'll get 1-2 good embryos or 'blastocysts' as he called them. I just can't help but worry that it won't turn out well. I think these shots are making me more negative each day, lol. I just have this awful feeling it's not going to work. I guess 10 years of never getting pregnant will make one feel this way...like it's never going to happen for me no matter what I do, even IVF. I am told I will be sedated for the retrieval, I hope it's not too painful afterwards. Does anyone know how many embryos I can realistically expect to get out of this? Or is it just completely different for everyone?

Julie

[Kaimi1993]

Originally Posted by julieanne323

Just a quick update. My retrieval is tomorrow morning about 11am. I have 9 follicles, but the doc explained that sometimes they aren't able to retrieve them all or they aren't all viable. So that kind of bummed me out. They way he talked, the percentages he gave, discouraged me. By the time he was done talking, it sounded like if we're lucky we'll get 1-2 good embryos or 'blastocysts' as he called them. I just can't help but worry that it won't turn out well. I think these shots are making me more negative each day, lol. I just have this awful feeling it's not going to work. I guess 10 years of never getting pregnant will make one feel this way...like it's never going to happen for me no matter what I do, even IVF. I am told I will be sedated for the retrieval, I hope it's not too painful afterwards. Does anyone know how many embryos I can realistically expect to get out of this? Or is it just completely different for everyone?

Julie

Hi Julie,

Congratulations, on your r/t tomorrow. How exciting. As far as the #'s go I'm not sure. Everyone is different. I've never heard of the "average" eggs that are extracted through IVF. Hang in there and wait for your fertilization report. ((hugs)) How many are you going to transfer? Sorry, to hear that it's been a long 10 years of trying. Sadly, it's been 8 years for us! It WILL happen!!!

[julieanne323]

Hey there! Well, had my retrieval Friday and here I am on Sunday evening still having pain. My ovaries hurt really bad and I had to start the progesterone oil injections this evening. Those suckers really hurt! They were able to retreive 7 eggs and 6 of them fertilized. I guess I find out tomorrow evening how many are dividing cells and turning into embryos. They only implant 2 at a time, so I hope I have at least 4 so that I get 2 tries if the first time fails. I'm trying to stay positive, but there is a fine line between being positive and getting my hopes up too high. The transfer will be done either Wednesday or Thursday this week. So just a few more days! Can you tell me if I really have to be on bed-rest for 3 days after the transfer? I really can't afford to take off any days except the day of the transfer. I just sit at a desk at a computer all day anyways. And how many days after the transfer will I know if it worked or not? Thanks! Hope your meds are going well.

[Kaimi1993]

Originally Posted by julieanne323

Hey there! Well, had my retrieval Friday and here I am on Sunday evening still having pain. My ovaries hurt really bad and I had to start the progesterone oil injections this evening. Those suckers really hurt! They were able to retreive 7 eggs and 6 of them fertilized. I guess I find out tomorrow evening how many are dividing cells and turning into embryos. They only implant 2 at a time, so I hope I have at least 4 so that I get 2 tries if the first time fails. I'm trying to stay positive, but there is a fine line between being positive and getting my hopes up too high. The transfer will be done either Wednesday or Thursday this week. So just a few more days! Can you tell me if I really have to be on bed-rest for 3 days after the transfer? I really can't afford to take off any days except the day of the transfer. I just sit at a desk at a computer all day anyways. And how many days after the transfer will I know if it worked or not? Thanks! Hope your meds are going well.

Hi,
I don't work so I was already on bedrest. You can expect too see a positive *so some say* around day 9, 10, 11 and so on.
I haven't started my medications yet. I will start mid-November when my cycle comes approx. around the 13th. I'm praying that you will get 2 tries with 1 IVF cycle. Why do they only transfer 2 at a time? Are you young? i know that I have had 3-4 t/f at a time because of my age and I know that all doctors are different.
I whink you will be fine with sitting at a desk and not lifting anything heavy. i mean taking it easy if you can.
day 14 you will go in for a beta blood tests and that will tell you if you're actually pregnant.
if you're ovaries are hurting did the doctor mention hyperstimulations? it could be a possibility. OHSS is the term if you want to do a search.
All the best for your developing embryos and a + HPT!

[julieanne323]

Thank for the info Kaimi. I work at home, remotely auditing/accounting for a local hospital. So I can take it easy while working at the same time. But, I will definitely be as still as possible. My doctor is conservative and only implants 2 embryos at a time. I think they said that the success rate wasn't much different by implanting more and they do want to avoid multiples. I am 35 and have Endometriosis, but I don't think my age is a factor. I think he only does 2 at a time for all patients. But I could be wrong, who knows.....
He called today and said all 6 fertilized and cells are dividing properly, but that it's not likely they will all make it to Wednesday when they do the transfer...but I can hope! My ovaries are still sore, but the left one hurts more because I had 6 on that side and 3 on the right side. But I do feel much better than yesterday. Good luck with you meds. Mid-November is almost here so you will be on your way soon too.