Trying to Conceive Forum

by **LynneFas** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:16 pm

Can't wait!!

To anyone new to IVF that's curious about what the process is like, I started a blog on tumblr just to have a place to air my feelings and document everything.

Babyhopeful412.tumblr.com

Hope this sheds some light!

by **JLG80** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:25 pm

Adventurer, how frequently did you do acupuncture? And how long before IVF did u do it? I am looking into it.

Thanks

by **Adventurer** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:41 pm

JLG, I started acupuncture two weeks before my 2nd IVF, once a week. But I went crazy during stims going almost everyday. I realized later that was not necessary. For my 4th cycle, I went 2-3 times a week leading up to and through stims. My acupuncturist used points to treat infertility but also for anxiety and improving my circulation. It helped tremendously.

by **babydreams2** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:08 pm

Adventurer wrote:Babydreams, sorry I missed your post. Stim meds can absolutely increase egg numbers beyond your AFC. I credit acupuncture with my increased AFC and increased AMH. It also depends on the protocol. My 1st 3 IVFs I was on the antagonist or short protocol. Even with my first IVF, even though only my right ovary responded, it gave me 7 eggs and I had started with 5 antrals in that ovary. For my 2nd and 3rd IVFs, my antrals were 16 and 12. For my 4th and final IVF, I used Dr. Sher's agonist-antagonist protocol which is a long protocol and for the first time I used BCP. After Lupron, my AFC was only 8. BUT after stims, I got 33 eggs at ER. I was blown away.

So, you can absolutely exceed your AFC as long as you respond well to the meds and you're on the right protocol and doses of meds. HTH!

Thank you so much for the info Adventurer!!! I hope my RE picked the right protocol for me. I feel like he doesn't monitor me much (I only had ultrasound and bloodwork on cycle day 3, 7, 10 and 13 (after day 13, Thurs, with lead follicle 15mm, he didn't do any more monitoring and won't see me until the ER Monday). I'm having a 13 day stim cycle of Follistim (125), Menopur (4 vials), Omnitrope, and Ganirelex with HCG trigger today (Sat.) for a Mon ER. I did BCP for 11 days before this cycle. We're doing 2 stim cycles before an ET to try to gather more eggs. He said in the next one he'd skip the BCPs to suppress me less and maybe get one more follicle. But only 4 follicles - YIKES! Any suggestions for me?

by **babydreams2** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:13 pm

LynneFas wrote:Welp... Had my ER today! Brace yourselves..

30 eggs!! RE said that was a little more than he wanted and that I am a little hyper stimulated so my recovery will be a little more than usual. Overall, procedure went great. No issues. DH was right there with me when I woke up. Right now I am snuggling on my couch with my pups just trying to ward off this pain. I am bloated and definitely feeling some bad cramping. He said that's normal for everyone but will be a little more for me. He's been super happy with my response and my progress so far.

I only did stim for 8 nights... Trigger on night 9 and ER 36 hours later.

Happy this part is over!! Can't wait to find out what we're working with.

Good luck babydreams!!! Just stay positive, stay calm.. All will be okay.

Congrats LynnFas!! I'm so happy for you! You'll get pregnant for sure!! I have my trigger tonight and ER on Monday. Hoping another follicle or two miraculously appears

by **LynneFas** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:53 pm

Babydreams... Good luck to you!!! Stay positive :-)

I counted 18-19 follicles when I went for my last ultrasound. Apparently there were way more than that !!

Praying for you.. Let us know how it goes!

by **LynneFas** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:20 pm

Just spoke to my RE because I have been really uncomfortable since the ER. He said I am definitely a little hyper stimulated since there were so many eggs. I am dealing with some mild OHSS

Trying to ride this out but I am SO uncomfortable. I didn't really gain weight and I am not short of breath, just super bloated and FULL all the time. He said to call him tomorrow to let him know how I feel. If I get worse I will go in and there are things he can do but he said it's probably at its worst right now but once it starts to resolve, it will be gone in a couple days tops.

What can I do on my own?! :help:

by **LynneFas** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:22 pm

babydreams2 wrote:
LynneFas wrote:Welp... Had my ER today! Brace yourselves..

30 eggs!! RE said that was a little more than he wanted and that I am a little hyper stimulated so my recovery will be a little more than usual. Overall, procedure went great. No issues. DH was right there with me when I woke up. Right now I am snuggling on my couch with my pups just trying to ward off this pain. I am bloated and definitely feeling some bad cramping. He said that's normal for everyone but will be a little more for me. He's been super happy with my response and my progress so far.

I only did stim for 8 nights... Trigger on night 9 and ER 36 hours later.

Happy this part is over!! Can't wait to find out what we're working with.

Good luck babydreams!!! Just stay positive, stay calm.. All will be okay.

Congrats LynnFas!! I'm so happy for you! You'll get pregnant for sure!! I have my trigger tonight and ER on Monday. Hoping another follicle or two miraculously appears

Thinking of you - - good luck tomorrow!!! You've got this :hugs:

by **Adventurer** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:07 pm

Sorry you're feeling really uncomfortable. I was super bloated and uncomfortable after ER as well. Eating protein and pushing fluids should improve things. After that, it's just time. I was better after 4 days. Hope you feel better soon.

by **Lillyanne555** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:25 pm

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by **LynneFas** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 5:27 pm

I am finally feeling better! Today was the first day I actually felt pretty good. Went to my RE today for an ultrasound so that he can check everything and make sure that everything is as "okay" as he says it was :wink:

Turns out I definitely do have mild OHSS. Still have some fluid in each ovary... ovaries are still enlarged. 6-7cm. Left is larger than the right. He said it should all go back to normal - I should continue to feel better and better every day. Since we are doing genetic testing, we are doing a FET after my next cycle, SO this won't be an issue then - nor will it happen again because it does not happen with FET. He did say that if by the time I get my period, my ovaries are not back to normal, he will put me on birth control pills just to shrink them down a little and then start the FET process.

UPDATE on the embies!!!! We have 15 that have been biopsied and sent for testing. We will have results in 1 week. The other 7 had some fragmentation - some got worse/seized since Sunday's update so they are not viable at this point. They will watch them through until tomorrow and if there are any changes they will send those out as well but likely not. They did tell me that all 15 are grades 1-2 :fertilization:

I know that does not really have anything to do with genetic testing but hopefully we end up with a good amount after all is said and done! I can't help but think thank goodness they got so many. OHSS or not, it was worth every moment. Even if this total gets cut in half again, we are still left with 7 beautiful embryos!!

It's amazing - we are SO close.

by **ExpectMiracles** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:13 pm

I'm always torn about reading posts on IVF. I see so many different stories both negative and positive and I can't help to compare to my journey (which has just begun).

Husband is 30, I'm 32. Ttc for 1+year. I was diagnosed with PCOS and am obese, so I'm having a bit more road blocks than most. We are also using a donor. We didn't do IUI and went straight to IVF.

1st IVF I was in meds for 14 days, follicles growing very slowly and I only had 8 total. Which makes me so nervous when I read people have 20+ follicles.

Did my shots for 14 days (Gonal, Menopur, Ganirelix. Then Estrace, and OTC: DHEA, Prenatals, baby aspirin, Coq10). I started the shots in my stomach but there was too much padding so doc said to switch to the thigh. I Was in his office every 3 days to keep track of the growth. The night if the trigger shot my husband gave me the shot in the butt. 2 days later I'm at the doc for retrieval and apparently the trigger shot didn't take (too much fat and it didn't reach muscle). So our first cycle was a bust. Left the doc office in tears and we were super bummed.

Today (2 week as after our bust cycle), went back to the doc and starting over. Doubling Gonal so far and next appointment Friday to see the progress. I'm so afraid I'm not producing enough follicles. I'm not one to give up but this is hard! And I know I can't complain too much because we literally are just starting with everything (never did IUI).

My doc encourages me to lose weight and I lost 10lbs since the beginning but not sure what else to do to improve my chances of producing more.

Any advice is welcome. And I hope this forum will give me some moral support since only a couple of people really knows we are doing IVF but don't know the issues we are having.

LynneFas I see you are in NYC- who is you RE if you don't mind sharing? (You can also emaile me privately if you prefer). Thank you and good luck to all!

by **Adventurer** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:35 pm

LynneFas: Omg, your entire family is in there!! Congrats!!! Can't wait to hear the results of the PGS!

Expectmiracles: Hi! I'm sorry your first cycle didn't work out but this is not uncommon as they can't always predict your response to stims. Even though you have PCOS, it doesn't sound like you're responding as such so an increase in dose of meds is warranted. Do you know your day 3 FSH, LH and E2? Your AMH? I've been through 4 cycles of IVF and have learned a lot. What were your doses of Gonal and Menopur? Also, what trigger did you use? It should never be Lupron and should either be 10,000 Units HCG OR 500 of Ovidrel. Both are subcutaneous or intramuscular. Unless you have very poor circulation, your trigger should have worked as HCG is a subcutaneous injection, ie. into fat. I did subcu with my first three cycles and IM with my 4th (all with HCG) every time the trigger worked and I got eggs from all my follicles.

The protocol used for stims and an RE who knows when and how to trigger are vital to IVF success. I've learned from my own experience, from reading and from the experiences of ladies on this forum. I know of people who had multiple failed cycles at one clinic (some not even making it to blast) who have success with another clinic on a different but more proper protocol for their diagnosis.

My RE (who got me pregnant and I'm 40) is Dr. Sher in Las Vegas and even if you don't go to him, he has an awesome website www.haveababy.com where he has articles on EVERY aspect of IVF. The other excellent clinic in the States is CCRM in Denver.

Good luck.

by **ExpectMiracles** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:24 pm

I have no idea what my numbers are. I just go in there and do all the testing. I mean the doc says I have good numbers so I don't ask specific but will ask Friday. As for dosage I started Gonal at 175 then down to 150 then 75 and 75 for Menopur. I had ovidrel intramuscular 5,000. And because I have junk in the trunk I think it didn't go to the muscle. I mean I didn't feel the shot at all. Not even the pinch. My husband felt so bad because he thought it was his fault but I honestly think that the layer of fat was too thick to reach muscle.

Today I started Gonal at 300 bc the doc said I wasn't responding as well as expected.

by **Adventurer** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 10:42 am

Good luck with this cycle! By the way, I took my trigger shot in my deltoid which worked fine. I would do this next time. Maybe ask to trigger with 10000 HCG this time?