Scared- first IVF cycle

Hi Danyelle,

Just wanted to offer hugs as I am pretty sure that I had a chemical pregnancy way back when we began the whole TTC roller coaster. I got the faintest positive HPT one day late on a very regular 28 day cycle, then got a really heavy and painful period the next day, like nothing I've had before or since.

It's very disappointing. I don't want to diminish your grief in any way, but my personal opinion is that it's for the best. Obviously there were some issues with the embryo which meant it wasn't viable. Hopefully your next round will be the one you've been waiting for - a perfect BFP and completely uneventful pregnancy and healthy birth. Good luck.




Just a quick update on me - I'm not progressing with the Puregon as required :wall: so I'm no longer feeling left out dosage wise as my FS doubled my dose to 200 units from tonight, with another scan scheduled for Friday. There are about 12 follicles that are around 9-12mm, so hopefully this will ramp up their progress and EPU will be next week.

Cadence, just saw your post - we could be belly buddies! Here's hoping it goes well for you on Friday as well. Funny how you're seeing this as a good thing and I'm looking at it from a frustrating perspective though :doh:

ETA some personals!
K1, how did you go on Sunday?
Esperan, thanks for the luck - it's a good pick me up. I will be positive, at least it looks like I'm heading for EPU.
Loops12 - how you doing?

Hi Meo,
I hope you are doing okay! Don't worry I am sure that the increased dose will do the trick and you never know we could end up being belly buddies!
I am seeing it as a positive because I am so used to going for scans and seeing nothing happening at all so it is quite unusual for me to have so many follicles after only a few short days and at least I know that I only have either 3 or 4 more doses of puregon before epu so the end is in sight so to speak, hang in there and keep us posted- believe me I know how frustrating it is to keep having to go back for scans when the puregon is not doing the trick!
To everyone else take care and hang in there, looking forward to some positive news from everyone really soon.

Please tell me this means we are all getting good news on Friday as my first stim scan is then as well....

Meo - Bummer about the double up. Hope you are okay with the injections still, I am sure they will be fine though.

Cadence - sounds like you are tracking along nicely, with lots of potentials eggies on the go. Hopefully with all those follies you are still feeling great.

Danyelle - I too am pretty sure I've had a couple of CP's, but like Meo, its just sometimes not meant to be. I hope the next round will bring you the everlasting joy of a bub.

Loops, esperan, K1 hoping you are all feeling okay atm.

I'm fine, just waiting waiting waiting nervously until Friday. It can't get here fast enough for me this week :)

Hey all
Cadence: Sounds like things are going well with you. All the best for the EPU next week - let us know how you go.

Meo: Wishing you all the best for Friday

Danyelle: Sorry to hear about your biochemical pregnancy. I had a biochemical pregnancy (non IVF) some years ago and it was very disappointing and painful. Thinking of you.

We discovered on Sunday that our most of our fertilised eggs were lagging in cell division, there was however one "shinning light" which was selected to be transfered and is now 'brewing naturally'! Over the next few days the lab watched the remaining eggs (or the lill'ens in the lab as I like to call them!) and all but one didn't progress. (They kinda of hinted at this on the transfer day so we half expected that news). But one litt'en did make it and its been put on ice - yay!

Now we are just siting and waiting and hoping. BT booked for 7 May.

K1, that's awesome news! One in the oven and one on ice is a fantastic result. Sending you heaps of sticky vibes and got everything crossed for the 7th!

Good luck for your scan today, S'rose. Hope you get the results you're looking for.

Good luck to you as well Cadence, hope they set you a nice early egg pick up so that you can relax for the rest of the day when it happens!

Danyelle, hope you're taking it easy and being kind to yourself. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's gonna happen for all of us.

Possums and esperan, hope the synarel headaches aren't getting to you too badly! I had a doosy yesterday, but wore off by hometime (funny how that works, eh? :D)

AFM, had my scan this morning. Double dose is working, but SOOOOOO SLOOOOOOWLY! I have ANOTHER bloody scan on Monday. This is starting to get frustrating and I'm wondering if I'll ever get to EPU! :wall: But on the plus side, I knew things weren't ready to go yet as I've only today started to get the sore ovaries from the swelling. Had fluid retention for two weeks (since starting the injections) and not been able to fit in any pants except my jeans since (!), but today I feel like things will be ready. I suspect that EPU will be Wednesday next week and if it's not I think I'll scream! :lol:

Another plus is that I'm going away this weekend for my permaculture course, so get to hang out with Mum and learn lots, so will be well distracted! Wishing everyone all the best and I'll be back with more scintilating updates on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone.

Quick me update - will bbl for personals...

EPU scheduled for Thurs, trigger will be tues and estimated transfer Sat. Approx guess at 10 eggs so here's hoping.

Hi all,
Sounds good S'Rose will be thinking of you as you get closer to your epu!
Hi Meo, sorry that things are going so slowly for you, believe me I have been there and understand how annoying it is but I am sure you will get there soon :hug:
Loops, Esperan and Possums, how are you all going? Hope things are well with you.
K1, :crossfingers: am hoping to hear some fantastic news from you soon.
Danyelle, hope you are hanging in there and are feeling okay.
AFM I am scheduled for my epu on Monday, will be having my trigger tomorrow night, am feeling excited to get to this part but am also nervous as it is unknown territory. It is great to have all your support though!

Hi everyone,

I'm still alive, I was a little depressed but hey life goes on.

I went to FS yesterday and picked up everything to start my FET cycle. Started injection last night of Puregon 50 units, which was a lot better than the IVF cycle which was 450 units per night.
I had about 20 questions for them, we spoke about embryos and also about my age. Things seem a little clearer now for me : )

I was reading that a lot of you use Synarel spray. My sister has been doing IVF for four years now (with no success) and the Synarel gave her terrible headaches and sinus problems that her FS put her on Lucrin. Seeing that we both use the same FS - I actually requested the use of Lucrin for my IVF Cycle. (Once daily injection exact same time each day). I had no side effects at all.

I would also like to mention another thing that might help someone. After receiving the result for DH, Tunel Assay and Sperm Analysis:
DNA fragmentation was just above 20%,
Shape was 4% they prefer it above 15%,
Motility 12% only half moving and they prefer it above 25%
Please note that the above is common over a certain age group.

FS asked us to buy the following tablets and said they have to be taken daily by DH until I am pregnant. So here?s the list.
Centrum A -Z, 1 Tablet Daily
Co-enzyme Q10 - 100mg 1 tablet a day
Vitamin E 1000 units 1 Tablet a day
Vitamin C 1000 units 1 Tablet a day
FS said that taking all of this has been tested to improve sperm quality.


Wow looks like everyone is doing the same thing at once.

Meo and K1 good luck with the blood test for the 7th May, sending you both lots of sticky vibes. The two weeks waiting is the longest. Thinking of you both.

Cadence, best of luck with your EPU on Monday.

S?Rose, wishing you the best of luck for your EPU on the 7th May.
_________________________________________________

Me 39 (Pcos) DH 40

IUI Dec 2003 1st Try - DD Born Sept 2004
IUI May 2006 3rd Try - DS Born Feb 2007
IVF March 2009 Fresh Cycle - No Good - Bio-Chemical Pregnancy
FET May 2009 ?????

Hi Ladies
Sorry I have been MIA for a little while - ive been moving into my new house.

Danyelle - sorry about your chemical pregnancy - ive got no idea what that is like but I feel for you. GL with your transfer

Meo - Your follies sound good. Good luck for your EPU - thanks for asking about me.

K1 - GL on the 7th

S'rose, Cadence and everyone - goodluck with the waiting, jabbing, EPU and ET's.

AFM - Just waiting to get on the IVF journey still - which will be happening June/July hopefully. Ive been reading some of the other threads and comments about IVF procedures and it all doesnt sound good so I really hope that we just have a miracle happen naturally.

Take care everyone x

Morning ladies, just a quicky today.

Cadence, good luck for your EPU today, hope you get plenty of them and they're all mature.

S'Rose, you're triggering, picking up the day before me. I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with this cycle. One follicle on my left ovary is disproportionately large to all the others (already 19mm, others are 15-16mm), but right ovary has 8 follicles all around 16mm, so my trigger is Wednesday night and EPU on Friday, transfer Monday. Kind of glad about the timing actually as I'm going away for the weekend and that means one less thing I have to pack! Although the pessaries will be starting on Thursday which will be interesting as I've not got to that stage before!

Loops, hope your move went well and you're settling in ok. Don't focus too much on the negative stories of IVF if you can help it, it starts to get a little freaky if you do! Try and stay positive and think of it as getting closer to the ultimate goal - your baby. Every IVF round that may not work is one step closer to getting the drug dosage right and the techniques down pat. We are on round 2 and see last round as a bit of a "practice run", as even though we only got one dodgy embryo, now we know that fertilisation naturally will be an issue, so we have decided to go with ICSI. Does that make sense? Good luck in your preparation for June/July.

K1, I too have :crossfingers: for you. Hope it's the best possible result for your BT this week.

Danyelle, thanks for the pill info. My DH is a bit older than your's and was on Q10, zinc, Vit C etc that our naturopath prescribed and his results doubled in a month. We couldn't believe it! His morphology was ~15%, motility much the same (certainly below "normal" but can't remember exact numbers off the top of my head) and after one month was back to "normal" parameters for all categories, so the pills (while expensive!) are definitely worth it. Good luck planning/preparing for your next round.

Esperan and Possums, thinking of you both. Hope you are well.

Sorry for the essay! Summary for me is: Scan this morning shows one bigger follicle on right and 5-6 medium ones, left is showing 8-10 medium so I'm conituing the injections until Wed, trigger is Wed night and EPU scheduled for Friday at the Avenue hospital with transfer on Monday next week. I think I worked out that BT will then be 25th of May. WHOOT!

Meo - thanks for your advice and encouragement! I am trying to stay positive and think like that - it will be getting closer to our ultimate goal so I am happy to be getting on this journey. It may be painful but Im sure it will be worth it in the long run. I suppose a little but of pain wont kill me.
Thanks for your support.
All the best for your EPU on Friday!

Our house move whilst very tiring is finally over and now its just settling in and getting the place in order - very exciting.

Goodluck everyone :pray:

good luck everyone, just popped in and read all your updates...

I hope you get lots of good eggs, which become strong embryos...which can become a baby :)

as for me- i hope to start injecting on thurs...hopefully egg collection in a bit over 2 weeks...

Hi lovely ladies,
I hope you are all well!
An update from me, had my opu this morning and they collected 9 eggs (I don't know whether that is a good result or not?)
Am a bit sore and tired but otherwise went well.
Sorry no personals today as I am going to get some more rest but am thinking of you all.

Sounds good to me Cadence!! Goodluck with it all and have a nice rest.

:

---

Hi lovely ladies,
they collected 9 eggs (I don't know whether that is a good result or not?)

---

This is a fabulous result, go you lil' egg cooker! :dance: Last round I got 6 eggs but only four mature and only one dodgy embryo, so you're looking good Cadence. Take care of yourself and remember to keep your fluid up.

Cadence- good result with the eggs. Last time I got 10, 7 mature, 3 fertilised and I ended up with two blastocysts....good luck!

That's good news Cadence. My clinic thinks I'll get about the same so I think its a good number. Not too many and not too few I guess. Does your clinic also have the if you get more than 10 you don't have to have the HCG injections protocol? Just curious if its my clinic or others as well. I hope you are feeling better today.

Hi Girls!
I've been a bit busy with work but all is well... it's actually good to have something to keep me busy while waiting for my cycle to start... Thanks for all kind words!!

Cadence I'm so happy for you! Now it's just few days until you have your transfer! I will be thinking of you! Take care and lots of rest!
For everyone waiting for the EPU, Good luck!!!! I hope you have plenty of healthy eggs and all of them fertilize beautifully!!!

quick update: I'm on Synarel, start injections next Thursday...:D

Hi all,
Thanks for your supportive messages.
I am booked in to have my transfer tomorrow morning and will find out more then I guess about the quality of embryos etc.
I am still a bit sore from the opu, am feeling it a bit more than I thought I would but under control with panadeine.
Wishing you all well on your journeys whatever stage you are at- keep me updated.
Srose I am not sure about the hcg injections- haven't been told anything about that?

Cadence - I'm sure if its necessary they would have told you by now. I have to admit I'm glad you have shared that you are still sore day 2 post OPU, I have been really wondering how much tenderness/pain there would be given I want to travel to see my parents on the weekend post opu/transfer. That part has been making me very anxious so I'm very glad to have a first hand experience to go by.
:goodluck: for tomorrow morning, I deeply hope there is great news ahead for you.

Meo - How are you travelling? Any news on the opu front yet?

Esperan - Congrats on being on the Synarel and starting the new cycle. I hope work stays busy and the distraction lasts for you.

Well my trigger shot is done... now we wait for Thurs and see what eggies come from this additional wait time. I have to admit the anxiety has increased a little once the trigger was done. Almost like now its more real than ever before.

Good luck for opu SRose will be thinking of you! I hope that you are not too sore. I felt okay initially and they gave me some panadeine forte when I was in recovery and then bought some panadeine and rested when I got home yesterday.
I also thought that I would be fine to return to work today but they gave me a certificate for 3 days, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I ended up going into work anyway but had a quiet day
:crossfingers: for your opu, let us know how it goes!

Well done Cadence and all the best for the transfer tomorrow morning. Will be thinking of you.

Srose- good luck, here's hoping for plenty of mature eggs for you

cadence- good luck with the transfer

Hello all,
I hope you are all doing well! Thanks again for your kind thoughts it really has made this whole process so much easier knowing that there are supportive people out there sending me positive vibes.
I am struggling to keep up with everyone in here. Esperean and Possums you are both up to synarel right? I hope that it is not giving you too many headaches or other side effects. Srose your egg pick up is tomorrow?? Good luck will be thinking of you.
Meo, have you had your egg pick up yet? Am hoping to hear some good news from you soon.
To anyone else I have missed wishing you well and keep me posted about what stage you are at.
AFM Well, I had my embryo transfer this morning and Dr Stern said that it is a beautiful looking embryo and she is pleased with how things went. At this stage it looks as though I will have 4 or 5 embryos to freeze which she said was a very good result. So now comes the excruciating waiting part, I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, don't want to get my hopes up but am trying to stay positive.

Ann - hope you're resting up nicely. I have everything crossed for you (except my legs 'coz then EPU would be tricky ;))and hope you get the BFP this round.

I can't believe how excited I get reading this thread! lol S'rose, good luck for tomorrow.

Possums, esperan, Loops12, K! and everyone I've missed, thinking of you all and hoping you're travelling well.

AFM, I have my final injection (trigger) tonight and got a call from my clinic earlier to say I have to be admitted at 7AM on Friday :doh: There's nothing quite like stupidly early appointments to make you feel good. I hope that everything goes well, have to say I've been feeling like my ovaries are going to pop for the last day or so, really tempted to call in sick to work as am not doing anything and can't focus and having trouble sitting due to discomfort. I keep getting twinges from them as well, hoping that I haven't jumped the gun and there's still something IN there on Friday to collect. Never too much to worry about with IVF I suppose.

Still, lunchtime now, so that will distract me for an hour lol

Ann - Thank you for that info, it seriously helps as I head into that phase now. Congrats on the beautiful emby and I hope there are some lovely snowbubs for you as well. That would be an excellent outcome, especially given you hopefully won't need them just yet. I can't imagine how hard this tww will be, but I won't be too far behind you for hand holding.

Meo - FANTASTIC news hun... watch out for the post trigger tenderness btw. I have to say I found today to be the most uncomfy of all with my pot belly. I sympathise about the early start, I have admittance at 7.15 tomorrow morning. How I will get my DH up is a mystery at this point lol. I am sure you will have a lovely number of eggies to collect, and not far to go now either. Count down to trigger will be on for sure.

Me: Nervously fluttering away waiting for tomorrow. Sore belly today so found sitting a challenge, but buried my head in work and found the day slipped away nicely. I just can't wait for it to be done now, and I can get on with being normal again for a short while. Week 2 of tww is the one that will get me worked up. So close and yet so far from the outcome is such a killer.

Hope everyone else is doing well - Possums, Esperan, K1 and Loops.

Hi Ladies
Happy to report a BFP confirmed by the BT today. Nurse says all the levels are looking good. Its early days but I am over the moon about the result. I really had not let myself think that it could actually happen. WOW.

I'm sending extra vibes and prayers to you all so we can hopefully meet up in the preggies after LTTTC rooms.

Thanks for the support - you are all wonderful.

Congratulations K1, am very happy for you! Hope this is the beginning of a long list of BFP's.

Oh my god How exciting!!!! :goodone:

K1 great news!! CONGRATS! :dance::bluedust:

Cadence so happy for you! Now might be the longest 2 weeks... but hang in there... you will be fine! Please keep us updated! Do you have any special care after the transfer? or just normal life? I think we would feel so protective of our tummy isn't it?? :bellyrubs:

S'rose How was your EPU today? How are you feeling?

Meo Good luck tomorrow on your EPU... I will be thinking of you!

Possums have you started injections?

Loops all settled now? Exciting and good to take your mind away while cycle doesnt start...

Sorry if I forgot anyone?...

Me: Synarel is not giving me headaches... (Which is very good because I suffer of migranes normally...) But I feel so far from my cycle, can not wait to start FSH... At the moment just trying to avoid cold and flu...

Have a good day tomorrow everyone!

Great news K1!!

all the best to everyone else with the next step...sorry for not more personals just now, in a bit of a rush at work

and as for me, bit bummed today, as once again I am not baseline on the synarel...so therefore today's planned start of injections has been put on hold for another week...if I am still not baseline then, the cycle will be cancelled :wall: very frustrated and a bit upset...this happened last time too though, and after the extra week I was set to go, so I hope the same happens this time. Silly body is not cooperating...cmon body!

I am going to be away for a week, so will check on you all when i get back

Hi girls,
Sorry for short reply but am absolutely drained tonight.
Just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you all.
Possums :hug: for you, I really hope that the synarel starts working for you and you are able to start stims very soon, I hope that you are okay and your time away helps you feel a bit better.
Esperan, I am still actually feeling a bit sore from the egg pick up so have been a bit more cautious anyway but yes I am feeling very protective of my tummy, finding myself being very aware of it and thinking that I have a little embie in there, it is a strange feeling am trying to keep busy and keep my mind off it but today just dragged!
Anyway thinking of you all, keep us posted everyone

cadence- hope that embie is getting nice and comfy in there

Possums, hope things get better for you next week... :D

Girls, just came back from the gym and needed to say something for you all: THANK YOU!!
Because I haven't told anyone about what's going on with the IVF (actually the only person who knows is my mum and she's not in Australia) you have been my friends to share with... and I'm so GLAD to tell you my little thoughts and to hear your experiences...

:grouphug: Big group hug for us all!!

Possums - why haven't they considered using Lucrin? I swapped to that when the Synarel wasn't working for me and everything was smooth sailing after that. I know its way more expensive, but it does work.

K1 - brilliant brilliant brilliant news. I am so glad all things are coming back good and I hope that you have a smooth full term pg ahead.

Meo - Sorry I didn't get to wish you good luck with epu before you went. Hope the results are positive.

Esperan - The support is pretty comforting, so glad we can all help each other out.

Cadence - Hope you are resting as much as you can, my nurse did say it could take a few days to settle the tummy down. Esp once ET happens and more hormones want to run around.

Me: EPU was pretty okay, got 10 eggies which is exactly what I was hoping for. No hcg shots this tww woot. Start the crinone tonight for transfer tomorrow. Have to ring to get fert rates shortly. I feel pretty positive atm, even though I also came down with a cold last night. Belly is tender, but resting really helps and I had heaps of water as instructed.

Sorry if I missed someone, just rushing to go lie down again, been sitting up too long this morning.

K1 - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm so excited for you and hoping that you've set the trend for everyone in this thread to get the best possible results this round.

S'rose, thanks for your thoughts and congratulations on your egg pick up as well. Hope there are plenty of them fertilised so that you can have a few snowbubs as well (but we all know they won't be necesswary this round, right? :D)

Sorry no more personals atm as am still quite mentally dull from sedation, but we have FANTASTIC news. 19 eggs!!!!! OMG, I was so happy that I cried in the recovery room when my FS told me. Looks like the odds might be in our favour this time around. Last round we got 6, four mature, so even if a few of them aren't mature, we're still looking good. I've just rung my mum, dad and two of my siblings to tell them, I'm so excited! lol Don't know how many are mature, the scientist is going to ring me tomorrow with that and fertilisation rates. I knew I had a good feeling about this cycle for a reason :dance: Also, apart form straight after the procedure, NO cramping . . . this is also excellent, although I'm now off to take my hot water bottle to bed and sleep some more. Helps to process the sedation and because we were up at 5.45am to get to hospital at 7 for admission, but arrived at 6.30 due to no traffic! :doh: Still, worth it for the outcome!

Take care, ladies. I'm going away for the weekend too, so I'll check back on Monday after transfer :crossfingers: and update again. Have an awesome weekend, I know I will :lol:

10 eggs went to the lab, 7 matured and were injected, 6 are still viable. I think its good when the lab man is sounding very positive about your results, so I take it this is all going really well so far.
12.45pm tomorrow I am going to be PUPO with a potentially nice strong embie.

Meo - Fantastic news hun, what a relief after all that waiting. Rest up, lots of fluids and by next week there will be a few in the tww.

Meo Fantastic news!!! Hope all goes well with fertilization!!!!
S'rose fantastic new as well! Good luck tomorrow!

:dance:

Hi ladies,
Wow this thread is getting exciting lots of positive news around.
Srose and Meo congratulations on your egg pick up, what a fantastic result for you both, just a quick question for you Srose, why did you start the crinone before your transfer? I didn't start mine until the day of the transfer (but at night), was just wondering?
Possums, hope you are hanging in there and that things look up soon.
K1 hope all is going well for you and that you are enjoying the early stages of your pregnancy.
Esperan, I know what you mean it is so nice having people who understand and support you through this without judging! I hope you are doing well.
AFM, I am okay, feeling a little less sore today but very bloated tummy and still very tired, I am considering booking an appointment with one of the IVF counsellors for next wed which will be half way through my tww, I figure I might be going stir crazy by then, what do you girls think?
Take care everyone and keep the positive news coming!!
Sorry forget that I wanted some advice. I am currently using the crinone gel and was told by nurse to take it around the same time each night (I have been using it at 8:30) anyway tomorrow night I am going to a 21st and won't be home until late will it matter if I use the gel a few hours later than normal?
Thanks

Hi Cadence,
I don't have much experience after EPU... But I remember nurse asked me to start crinone 2 days before scheduled ET and also to use at night before bed. I just read in the leaflet that "if you forget a dose of Crinone, use it as soon as you remember, and then continue on the same schedule as before" so I don't think couple of hours would be a problem. Good luck! and good fun at the party!

Cadence, its just what I was instructed to do. It actually makes me feel more comfy this way though, knowing the environment is already being prepared for my embie, but I don't know what the reasoning for it is. I too was told to take it at night, and don't forget the side effects of crinone can include the fatigue etc. How are you finding the gel atm?

Esperan is right there too... my instruction leaflet said that from the pack, so like anything, its going to happen that you can't always take it at the same time. In fact, my nurses didn't say anything except at night, so no timing instructions for which I am grateful.

My tummy is feeling pretty good this arvo, head cold far worse. And given how much I am sneezing, I am pleased it no longer hurts :) I seem to have recovered pretty well so far.