IVF Pregnancy Information

1. shrishti
   
   

   Tracy - RE's office called me back saying spotting is totally normal....in regards to DH's feeling, I am lucky and mine is totally supportive.
   I include him in everything, he's very understandable, I ask my RE tons of questions all the time, I also talked a lot to his urologist with questions and then I discuss all my concerns with my DH, all the time, whatever bugs me. I think that makes him feel involved and maybe less \"that it's his fault\". at the beginning of our testing etc., like a year ago, he wasn't that much into it until he realised after one year of testing and trying everything else, that it is serious and that it is only on his side.
   sex wise, he does not pressure me and there are other ways to \"satisfy\" the DH, without having intercourse, don't forget that!

   Does your DH know that once you're pregnant from IVF, starting after ER, there won't be sex for a while anyway?

   last saturday we were invited to a b-day party, pretty much everybody was smoking and drinking and getting loopy, I only drank san pellegrino, so did my DH, I told him he could have a drink, it's his best buddy's party, he said no, he is supporting me 100%, and when people next to us asked why we're not drinking (weird for them because we used to have drinks all the time..) DH said out loud: \"we're doing IVF...etc.\", I was so proud of him!

   Donna - about your stimming results, after how many days is there suppose to be a change?

   to all the stimming ladies, let us know if there is any good advices, shot wise! I go in this friday with DH for our class and I have to bring all my med's too.

   I heard the EMLA cream is great, for numbing, I'll ask my RE if I can get it, I am not a fan of icing my body!

   xoxo
   alexa

3. mAROUFIABDELGHN
   
   

   Heck I wish I knew how many days on stims till you see a result typically.

   I didn't think to ask I called to get my results and the nurse told me there were no changes and that she was waiting on the RE to tell her if he wanted me to change my meds at all.

   When she called me back she said that the RE said everything was fine and to keep doing what I was doing. But as I type this Im thinking Im going to call the RE and get some piece of mind. Heck I called him saturday for basicly a stupid question so why not.

   Does anyone else have any stim experience??

4. mAROUFIABDELGHN
   
   

   Tracy,

   sorry I almost forgot to answer your question. No the shots don't really hurt. They sting a little but thats all. I had a little more trouble with them then I did the ones in the thigh but I think it was mostly in my head just thinking about taking a shot in the stomach.

   I'm using the follistim pen which I think is the same as what you will be using. This is very easy to use. Mine came with a dvd which I watched and found usefull ( even though my clinic showed me how to use it ) .

   Donna

5. mAROUFIABDELGHN
   
   

   Well I just heard back from my Docs office and they said that my levels are not that off and that there is nothing to worry about at this point, we will see what they are tomorrow.

   My Docs nurses grandbaby who is 3 mo. old comes to my in home daycare so at least I will get a little slack on the phone calls I hope

6. shrishti
   
   

   ladies -

   can anybody help me that got lupron already? I received all my med's today, so I open the boxes to see what's in each single one. the lupron my RE ordered for me is a 2 week kit, the box is big but there is this tiny little bottle in it, which is only 1/3 filled! I suppose to take 10U for 10 days and then 2.5U for another 8 days. the little bottle says: 1mg/0.2ml, I dont' see how that little should last?

   I\'ll call pharmacy tomorrow to ask...thank god I checked the bottles...any idea?

   alexa

7. rosemdavid
   
   

   Alexa, can't help you there, I didn't get the same type of Lupron.

   I went in for ultrasound and bloodwork since I'm scheduled to start stims today, but doctor said that there's still a bit of endometrial lining left (period is not 100% over) and he wants to wait until tomorrow. Otherwise he says everything looks good, no cysts or anything in the way, and a bunch of little follicles on both ovaries ready to get started. I guess I'll find out my E2 level tomorrow. Impatient to get going and join the ladies who're already stimming!

8. mAROUFIABDELGHN
   
   

   I have that same bottle of lupron and believe me it is enough. The only thing is it only comes with 14 needles not enough you will need more needles.

   my nurse just gave me the extras I needed.

   Donna

9. kaitifra
   
   

   i started my stims on saturday (so i've taken 8 shots so far). they are going fine. most don't hurt at all! a few have pinched a bit. and like i said before, i'm doing them in my thigh. no side effect so far!

   i went in yesterday morning and this morning for my first two monitoring appointments. got blood taken, and did an ultrasound. my RE called me yesterday afternoon to tell me to keep everything the same last night and this morning. she said my E2 levels were at 210. ??? i really don't know what this mean. i asked her today but she kind of gave a vague answer.

   tracy: as for DH behavior... he's mostly fine. slight bickering at times when i feel he's not being as sweet and sensitive as i need. usually he's great, but he has his moments AND i'm probably over critical while going through all this. i told him a few days ago that i needed him to be more sensitive and he's been amazing ever since. i guess the talk helped.

   alexa: my lupron bottle was just like that and it's been plenty! but donna's right - we got extra needles as well.

   erin: glad to hear everything looks good. you'll start stims soon!

   have a great day, everyone!
   rebecca

10. shrishti
    
    

    Donna, Rebecca, thanks for the Lupron info, and pharmacy and RE's office called me back today saying it will be enough...still can't believe it! oh well...

    Got one more question, one of the drugs (forgot which one) says: use vaginally? What the heck is that? Apparently ¾ of my drugs I got will be for after transfer and when I’m pregnant….

    here a link with my drug pix:

    pics.livejournal.com

    I am doing my IVF journal and I also have a gallery where I post the pictures.

    anybody has tips for DH's giving shots, to make it easier form them? (and us?) we’re having our class this Friday.

    I talked to my sis in law, and she actually said if I would be the one with the fertility problem, she would, give eggs, do anything, even carry my child if necessary! She’s so wonderful and very close to her brother, she will come and help us for the week when we have retrieval and transfer, because my DH is having TESE and probably “down” too!

    Yesterday we received the financial package of our clinic, to sign all the contracts, by Friday we’ll have to decide to go with option 2 or 3 (2 or 3 attempts)
    Initially we wanted to go with 2 attempts, our RE also said that usually in our age and situation, 2 attempts should be just fine.
    Well I was just re-thinking and I’m glad he thinks so, but if worst case, 2 fail, and then we have to re-pay from scratch. So I talked to DH last night and we discussed how many attempts total we want to do anyway. I said I won’t be ready to “give-up” after 2 and go to adoption, not yet. That’s why I suggested going with 3 attempts, just in case.

    He got a little irritated because I keep saying ‘what if’, he said why don’t I just believe it will work? Well I do, or at least I try, but I want to stay realistic too, I know sometimes the first cycle helps to find out how body reacts to drugs, etc., also not to forget we got the complicated TESE…..I just want to be prepared. It’s true that DH always says that our 1st try will work, oh well, I really hope so.
    Well this morning he apologized, he said he was a bit insensitive and that he understands that I just feel different, and he can’t change that, so we’ll go with 3 attempts, I just feel better. He just wanted to make sure I won’t regret the extra $3500 we pay in case if 1st one works, I said now way! Once I’m pregnant, I won’t care anymore!
    And anyway, we’re saving at least $3000 with our pharmacy deal, so that will pay for it!
    The 3 attempt option usually gives a 80% refund if not pregnant by then, not for us, because we’re doing TESE and might have to use donor sperm (back-up).

    so we're all good and ready now!

    alexa

11. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Well todays levels were alot better 296 but still a little low so my meds are going to stay the same and the u/s showed 7 small follicles. But Im sure by friday there will be more follicles.

    Hope everyone else is doing great

    Donna

12. rosemdavid
    
    

    Starting stims today. My E2 level was 22 so the down regulation worked fine. Am doing 225 IE of FSH and LH each, one IM shot per day. I go back for b/w and u/s on Tuesday the 12th.

13. sherine
    
    

    Wow, that's a lot of drugs! I feel so left behind, everyone starting their stims except Debbie and I. Oh, well, in 7 days I will be in Ottawa, and in 9 I will be starting my stims. Guess this is an opportunity to see how everyone else does with it.
    Tracy

14. stavros
    
    

    I hear you Tracy. I am anxious to start my stims too. I get happier everyday when I see one less BCP in my pack. That means I am that much closer!

    I have to stop taking the aspirin today. I have bruises all over my body. Well, all over is making it sound bad...I guess I have about 5 bruises. One of them has a little bump in it. My acupuncturist told me I should stop taking the aspirin, because my blood is too thin. I called my RE and they confirmed to stop taking it too. I guess my blood is thin enough.

    Hope all you 'stimmers' are doing well!
    Best,
    Debbie

15. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Hope everyone is doing well. I have bruises on my stomach now has anyone else had this problem???

16. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Went to the doctor this morning for blood draw and u/s. I have 6 follicles on the left side that are around 12 and I have 4 on the right side that are 11.

    They think that my er will be more like wed. or thurs. instead of tues.

    Rebecca and Erin how are you doing with the stims?

    hope everyone is doing great

    Donna

17. sherine
    
    

    Debbie, why were you taking asprin? My RE has me on the BCP and prenatal vitamins only. For now.

    Donna, 3 more follicles then 2 days ago, so that's good. How are you feeling on the meds?

    Counting down STILL LOL! 4 more days of bcp, then off to Ottawa in 6. *sigh* Time moves soooooo sllooowwwlllly.

    Tracy

18. shrishti
    
    

    Hi ladies, hope all are doing fine, BCP, stimming, etc.!

    AAM: DH and I had our shotclass this am, well it was just about the Lupron in the belly, real easy, which I will start on Monday. RE also gave my FSH which will be Follistim (in addition to my HMG Menopour) FOR FREE! It’s worth about $2000, but because we take 3 attempt plan and don’t get refund (because of DH’s TESE and donor sperm back-up), RE decided to pitch it in for us! I couldn’t believe it….so that $1300 I paid to pharmacy is really all I will be ending up paying.
    Well we also had to pay the whole IVF today, $16,000 for the 3 attempts, not too bad.

    So I start Lupron Monday 6/11 and go in on 6/19 or 6/20 for U/S and E2, that’s when we learn how to give all the other shots, RE said all of them in belly, until after ER….so that’s easier….

    RE also said that most likely our protocol will not change at all date wise, as I am young, healthy and have no fertility issues, so my ER will be my B-day!

    Ladies, are you already thinking about if you’re going to POAS? I probably won’t….but heck, that’s what I say now! I definitely won’t be that freaked out because we’re going with 3 attempts now, that makes me much more relaxed!

    Hope everybody is doing fine, great weekend, it’s wonderful here in Southern California!

    alexa

19. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Well so far the meds are o.k. But the lupron hot flashes are still here and now I have the wonderfull lupron headache just about all the time. Its not blinding but it is usually constant.

    And I can usually feel my ovaries. It doesn't really hurt but does ache.

    Donna

    p.s. I just got my blood work back it is now 955 was 296

20. stavros
    
    

    Donna, That sounds like pretty good numbers. Well, less it will be less than a week and you will be on your way. This is exciting!!

    Tracy, At my RE's office, they put everyone on baby aspirin at the start of their cycle. They say it has been shown to improve blood flow the the ovaries and uterus which can improve your chances of your response and implantation. I have heard other doctors doing it after your transfer. Anyway, I guess my blood flows just fine.

    Alexa, That's great that you got your follistim for free! Every 1000 counts! I got mine for free too. I'll take it. And I have thought about the POAS thing. I think I will probably do it. How can I resist!?

    Talk to you all soon,
    Debbie

21. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Well at the risk of sounding stupid what is poas???

    P.S. congrats to everyone who got their follistim for free?? I paid 2000.00 for mine but did not think I would have enough and did get 900 iu free. Every little bit does help

22. stavros
    
    

    POAS - Pee on a stick.

23. mAROUFIABDELGHN
    
    

    Ahh, should have known makes perfect sense

    thanks

24. jvivancos
    
    

    Hello Ladies,
    I have just spent the last hour reading everyone's posts from start to finish to catch up and I was hoping you wouldn't mind a latecomer. This seems to be a very active thread and I am on the same time frame as many of you so I was hoping I could join in

    I have been taking the BCP since May 27th and I spoke with the nurse on Friday and she said she would call on Monday to let me know all of my estimated dates but I should be starting the stims in less than two weeks and do the ER the first week of July. To be honest, I don't have a clue what is happening with my protocol. You all seem so informed and knowledgeable but I can't even get an appointment with my RE so that he can explain this stuff. His secretary said if I wanted an appointment to ask my questions I would have to wait until July 30th and put off everything until after then. I am a teacher so I was hoping to do the IVF in the summer when I was relaxed. So frustrating that I can't see the RE

    To give a bit of history, the entire thing has been a whirlwind. I'm 30 and my DH is 32. We had planned to start TTC last summer but I was having trouble with my thyroid so we had to wait until Sept. Little did we know the thyroid issue was only the beginning:

    -Nov. 06: DH went in for a SA and had a count of under 1 million mostly irreg
    sperm. This was a total shock!
    -Feb. 07: 2nd SA with 5 million sperm, 25% motility, 65% abnormal morph.
    -March 07: 1st appoint. with Fetlity Centre; ordered DNA testing of DH sperm; RE gives us 60% with ICSI; even though I have irregular periods, RE not concerned with me
    -May 07: DH urologist gives results of DNA; 51% fragmentation sperm count up to 8 million; irregular cell development in right testicle - have to keep an eye it doesn't turn into cancer Terrified!!!
    May 07 - back to RE who changes our chances of ICSI from 60% to 15% based on DH fragmentation . Also, very bad results for me Haven't had period in 3 months and not responding to provera. He says I may have diminished ovarian reserve which means my body won't respond to the meds as well.
    Last week: Visited Family Dr. so she could explain my diagnosis. She says after three tests, it is looked like diminished ovarian reserve which means even though I'm 30 I could go into menopause very early. Her advice is to get moving with ICSI b/c we don't know how long I have but the process has more than likely already started.

    So, here we are less than a year later feeling terrified and confused. I am a total organized, control freak who plan evrything so this has been so difficult. I feel like I need answers but we don't have time so I am just jumping on board with IVF. We have the drugs covered but nothing else so it is going to cost us about $7000. We're not sure if this will be our only IVF opportunity so we are terrified!

    It was so amazing to find this thread of women who are young and all going through IVF for the first time together. I apologize for the lengthy post but I just feel like I need to get everything out! Thank you! Hope you don't mind me barging in like this
    Shannon

25. sherine
    
    

    Shannon, you are more than welcome to join us! First, let me say that this site is awesome, and you can get some great information from the women here. A Dx of infertility is frightening at the best of times, and I'm sorry that it sounds like your RE is not being very supportive of you. It sounds like because of the possiblility of diminished ovarian reserve, they want to get you started ASAP, so that could explain the rush and lack of communication. I would venture a guess, only a guess, if they are saying that you are starting stims in 2 weeks with an ER first week of June, you are probably on a short protcol like Debbie(hanabh) and myself. In my case, they are not giving me suppression drugs, because I only have 1 ovary and they don't want to shut it down. They go from the BCP to stims for 8-14 days then ER then ET. It's good that you are having ICSI with DH problems, as that gives you the best chances of a BFP, I would think.

    Now, as easy as it is to say and as hard to do, it's important to try and relax. I could hear the anxiety coming through your post loud and clear, but one of the most difficult things to do is try and stay calm and relaxed. The whole process of IVF is stressful and a Dx of IF is so hard emotionally to accept that we tend to get so wound up about it. I too am a control freak and this has been SO hard to accept that I HAVE TO calm myself down. Stress can reduce the postive chances of a pg, and it's so hard to let yourself go to the process. I know that I have little to no control over my DH morphology, my lack of ovary, or how my body will respond to stims. I know that I DO have control over my stress levels, my diet, my emotional outlook. Being calm and happy to be starting this process is one of the hardest, yet, I feel, most important things I can do right now.

    Have you tried any accupncture? They believe that it helps the blood flow to the ovaries and can increase they amount and quality of the eggs you produce. Also, there is an herbal supplement called Fertility Blend that I have heard rave reviews about. I think you can get it at GNC stores and they make it for men and women. Might be something that would be beneficial to DH in improving sperm quality. If you surf this site, you will get some awesome ideas to help you and see that you are not alone. You are pretty much on track with Debbie and I for treatment, and I can only speak for myslef, but feel free to ask questions, vent, and lean on me. I've been practicing a Zen way of life for the last while and have positive thoughts to spare.

    Take a deep breath and welcome
    Tracy

26. kaitifra
    
    

    HI EVERYONE!!! and welcome shannon!

    i've been off the site for a few days because i had family in town staying with me (including my 3-year-old niece and 1-year-old nephew) so it has been quite chaotic.

    and LOTS have been going on within my ovaries, too! here's the update:
    i've been going in every morning for my monitoring (B/W & U/S). my follicles have gone from 2 on each ovary, to 6 and 3, to 12 and 7, to 12 and 12, to 19 and 12 today! needless to say i am VERY BLOATED and achey. my normal pants / shorts are not really fitting. oh well. and my E2 started at 210 on my first visit and was 2,173 today! they keep saying i'm progressing well, and last i heard my ER should probably be either wednesday or thursday. if it's wednesday, that means i'd be taking my trigger shot tomorrow night. yikes. very nervous about that one. we'll see what they say at tomorrow's monitoring. as long as it seemed like i waited to get this stuff started, it is FLYING by right now! i can't believe it's almost ER & ET time.

    sounds like everyone else is coming along well.

    erin: how are the stims going??

    donna: i haven't been doing the shots in my stomache (just in my thighs) but i do have bruises there. not always, but some shots do that. my lupron hot flashes have pretty much disappeared now - phew! - they were pretty bad for a while. but i do still get headaches now and then. but my main pain is the stim aching and bloating. (and thanks for asking what POAS was, i didn't know either! )

    debbie and tracy: trust me, it'll fly once you start. (thank goodness.) in my opinion, the stims haven't been very comfortable. it was fine the first few days, than BAM! the bloating started. but that meant the follicles were growing, so that's good.

    alexa: good luck with the lupron! and i don't think i'll do the POAS before the beta testing... i've heard of people getting false results and i don't think i could handle that either way. but we'll see!

    shannon: good luck with everything! i'm glad you joined our message board. i've learned so much from everyone! it makes things much less scary and lonely to talk with people going through it at the same time.

    so my DH had to go out of town for the day (from early morning until late tonight). my family was still in town, so i had my mother give me my morning lupron and follistem ! she did great although the lupron shot hurt more than normal. but i didn't say anything. however, i am SO PROUD of myself because this evening i gave myself the follistem shot!!! i was so scared all day - i have never stuck a needle into me. but i just counted to three and jammed it in. aaaah! but it was fine! it didn't hurt!

    i'm just vegging right now in front of the TV nursing my swolen ovaries.

    good luck to everyone - can't wait to hear how you all are progressing!

    best,
    rebecca

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