IVF with PGD #7

Hi There,

I am new to the forum and am in the middle of my third IVF/PGD cycle. I am hoping this might give me an outlet to talk as we have not really been telling anyone about what is happening so they don't join our emnotional roller coaster.

I have started puregon injections and am having a scan this Friday. Have been a little more controlled with emotions this time but I am starting to get a little nerbous about egg numbers. I see that some of you ladies get large numbers of eggs, that is fantastic. I am crossing my fingers and hope to have fabulous news like that some time next week.

Any advice for headaches and nausea? Had a little over the weekend. Have had headaches before but never the nausea. Although we have uped my dose quite a bit this time around.

I hope you are having good results.

Any advice on learning all the abreviations?

Jess :o)

Hi Jess,

Welcome! Your third cycle huh, you have been on the rollercoaster for a while?

We haven't told anyone we know either about doing PGD and I have really relied on this and one other board for an outlet, I get it completely.

How did you go on your other cycles? How were your egg numbers? I didn't get much nausea on the puregon but I did get some killer headaches. I just drank heaps of water (about 4 L per day) and went to bed early. Get lots of rest - your body is working hard. On the abbreviations - ummm not sure if there is a sticky somewhere that lists them, but please just feel free to ask. Best of luck to you, let me know how you go!!

AFM, thanks for the good luck and sorry I have been absent for so long! I ended up with a chem pregnancy and have really taken a while to get over it. Going back for an FET following my July period which should be arriving around 22 July, so eary August I'll be back on the TWW!! I am feeling very hopeful that this transfer will work, trying to stay as positive as possible and do everything I can to prepare my body for that!!

JBear how are you travelling? Have your tests started yet?

Hi bright*future,

Roller coaster is an understatement. We had our first appointment with our FS in May last year and didn't do our first round until November/December, then again in January/February and of course now.

I am trying to drink as much water as I can. Having troubles remembering when I am at work. Although I have a feeling the nausea was me pushing myself too hard. I forget how much work my body is trying to do.

Our numbers have been heart breaking. 4 the first go, only 3 fertilised and only one unaffected. It was transferred and didn't take. That was hard but it was even harder when we went round two and only got one 3 eggs, only one of which fertilised and then didn't grow enough to be tested.

I have not been nervous until the last few days and now I am starting to unravel a little. Hoping for good numbers given the high dosage and trying to stay positive but had a best friend tell me she is pregnant on the weekend (naturally) and just cried. I felt terrible because I love her and am so happy for her but wow it's hard.

Where are you up to? So nice just in the last 24 hours to talk to someone who is going through the same thing. What is a chem pregnancy? FET? TWW?

Jess :p

Just sneaking in - FET = Frozen Embryo Transfer
TWW - Two week wait (after ovulation, before doing pregnancy test ;))
chem pregnancy - or chemical pregnancy - pregnancy that fails at about 4 weeks, so you might have a BFP (Big fat Positive) when you POAS (Pee on a stick) on the first day of missed period, but then the next day or pretty soon after you'll have a BFN (Big fat negative) as the pregnancy has failed to hold.
Good luck Jess!

And sneaking out...

HI

Welcome Jess.... im sorry that you have had such a hard time......ive been where you are and its sooo heart breaking.......

please feel free to share, vent ask questions etc etc etc

I too was getting low egg numbers.... one cycle i had nothing to even test.....
my last cycle we tried something different well a few things so i dont know wheich one helped more

* I begged my doc to perscribe the DHEA (which he did not think would work)
* i ate pure royal jelly (not to be taken if you are allergic to bees etc) absolutley vulgar!
* I have acupuncture fortnightly / weekly for 8 weeks before the cycle and before and after my transfere
* and lastly... my doc swiched me from the long cycle that im usually on that starts with the lucrin then with the peuragon ect and goes for ever to the quik cycle that starts with the puragon and no lucrin.......
i dont know what it was that got me from 6 eggs, 3 ggs etc to 19 eggs but something worked :)
my doc really doesnt believe in the natural stuff etc i could tell by the look on his face and he aslo said he has never had a positive result either with the dhea.....

can i ask the clinic your with?

ill stop blabbing now and go :)


Bright future: im sooo very sorry about your chem pregnancy....i hope goes well with the FET (frozen embryo transfer) my fingers are crossed for you :)

where is everyone else

wee mans mummy????

Jbear????

Sorry for all the jargon Jess!!! You will be fluent in no time though!! Chat away to us anytime!!

I'm just waiting for my next frozen transfer, trying to look after myself as best as possible which is hard while I am still grieving the last cycle, to be honest.

Thanks Lu, I'll take all the fingers and toes crossed I can get!!

Hi there,

Bright future - I'm crossing my fingers for you also and sending positive vibes your way. I know what you mean about grieving, I was only two weeks in, not even a positive blood test and I am still a little broken from it.

Me forever - thank you for the shortcuts. TTC?

Luisella - I am getting the accupuncture and considering the royal jelly. I am with Genea. Who are you with?

I would be interested if anyone knows of any other clinics that do the PGD in Sydney As my research only bought up Genea. I found other places that do IVF but not the PGD. Also my FS came recommended.

Feeling very bloated and tired tonight. Time to try and sleep - which I think the accupuncture has definitely helped. The insomnia from last week is gone.

I hope you all have a good warm nights sleep.

Jess

Sneaking in -

TTC - Trying to conceive

(I used to be really bad at them, but in one of the books I read about TTC :) they had a whole list. If I don't know one now I'll just google it ;) But happy to help!)

Sneaking out

Morning all.

Jess, I think most people doing PGD are with the big clinic starting with G!

Hope you got a good sleep Jess and you're feeling less bloated today. I know it sounds strange but heaps of water helps you feel less bloated, as it flushes through some of the hormones rather than them sitting there bloating you up.

I think IVFA do PGD as well. Are you thinking about the cost? Last cycle we ended up about $12K out of pocket - thank God it is nearly tax time. I really wanted to try and squeeze in the FET before 30 June but it wasn't possible. With the new change to the medical rebate stuff on tax we wont be able to get as much back next year if we need to stim again.

Good Morning,

me4ever - thank you. Google will become my new best friend although I think I am starting to get the hang of the abreviations.

bright*future - Our FS is Dr Dezarnaulds. Can I ask why you are choosing PGD? I am a haemophillia carrier.

Our FS is great and to be honest it is probably a little too late for us to change clinics, I was just curious because I guess without competition they can charge what they like on the PGD side of things. I am quite angry at the government for changing the rebates. It is hard enough to do the IVF but going through PGD for us will save the government money in the long run. Sufferers of what we carry cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in treatment and yet they wont support the PGD (at this stage) which could save them money.

Slept better last night. Bloating worse this morning. I really am struggling with the water. 2 litres a day is hard and I really do want to drink more. I get distracted at work and of course when its cold the last thing I want is water. But I will keep working on it.

Must be having a bad day - just struggling to be positive today. I feel bad because most posts on here sound so happy and positive.

What do you do to make the waiting between rounds easier? I did a fitness program between my last two just to distract me from the fact we could not stim again straight away.

Trying to smile,

Jess

Hey Jess,

I agree with you completely on the medical rebates. It made me so angry, we get next to nothing back as it is, and now we will get even less. I can't believe how short sited it is by the Government, like you say us doing PGD is going to save the system a whole lot more money in the long run!!

We are doing PGD because my husband has a genetic disease of the nervous system. He isn't too bad but his family are much worse, and there is no way to tell whether it will be more or less sever from generation to generation. We really didn't think twice about it once we knew what we could do, but we had to wait to find the gene and then all the work ups etc, we started conversations with the clinic about 2 years ago. Sorry to hear you are a haemophilia carrier, has anyone in your family been a sufferer? I knew a couple of kids with haemophilia when I was younger and it was a tough life for them.

I am glad you are so happy with your FS, that makes a huge huge difference to how comfortable you feel through the whole process I think.

Between rounds, similar to you in terms of fitness and planning for my own health. I have a goal to lose a couple of kilos before we go for the FET which I think I can reach. We have had a couple of little holidays too and we're doing some stuff around the house, trying to get it into as low maintenance a state as possible. We will probably go back-to-back with the frozen transfers until we get one that sticks, so we wont have time for much else.

Hang in there today, think about the fact that one of those little eggies you are growing is going to be your child soon!!!

B*F

Hey bright*future,

Was it just me or did the work up like it took forever?

I am sorry to hear about your condition also. My father is a heamophilliac. Have watched him for the last 28 years makes me determined not to pass it on. I am the only carrier so if we can have a healthy baby this way the illness ends with me. My Dad has had to have knee and elbow replacements, contracted Hep C from blood tranfussions in the 80's and has never been able to live a "normal" life. I know medicine has come forward but no matter what anyone says I cannot bear the thought of putting a child through that.

We have the option of using carier eggs and even that pulls at my heart strings. I am thankful that PGD exists, just wish it was easier. But hey what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

To be honest it is not just my FS that is great. All the nurses at G are great. They may be expensive but you certainly get what you pay for in terms of being able to talk to someone at any hour of the day and getting smiles at every blood test and every visit. And I have had to visit different sites due to work locations and they are always very flexible with that too.

I am so glad to hear someone else didn't think twice once they found this was an option. And thank you so much - it really is unbelieveable the difference it makes to be talking about this. My Mum is the only one outside of me and my Husband that knows and she is amazing but no one really understands what it is like without going through it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now if the sun would just come out my day would get even better.

Jess :angelic:

Our workup took about 14 weeks, it was all the testing prior that took SOOOOOO long and there were a few tense moments along the way. We weren't sure if we would find the gene and I honestly don't know what we would have done if we couldn't.

I'm so sorry about your dad's tough life, and I can totally relate to not wanting to put a child through the same thing.

When my husband came to terms with having the problem, it was heartbreaking. Also with ours you don't know when it will start to affect you so every time our child tripped or stumbled I would be stressing they had it.

I agree all the nurses are lovely. It can't be the easiest nursing job! When I imagine what it must be like for the nurses and the FS's to be dealing with women psyched up on huge amounts of hormones all day every day, I can't help but wonder how they do it!!!

Please chat away, no one else knows for us either (which is why sometimes I'll go back and delete some of my posts in case it could identify me) and I have only just been able to come to terms with that. I have used a counsellor from time to time when it all gets too much. We had our mandatory counselling session with G but I haven't been back to her - I would be too scared that what I talk about would go on the file and the Dr would end up thinking I'm irrational!! hahah!!!

Hi ladies, sorry it's been a while. The months r just rolling by so fast!!

BF- I'm so sorry to hear about ur chem pregnancy. That must have been really hard to deal with *hugs* I'm with u at ATM & trying to get healthy mind body & soul!! Hope all goes well & ur next one is it.

Welcome Jess - It sounds like u've had quiet a journey. How long have u been doing acupuncture? I have heard it can really help with different stages of ivf, so I'm booked in next month. I know with PGD especially that the number of eggs is stressful, I got high numbers but in my two cycles I've only ever had one good one to put back. So I hope u get good numbers & lots of good ones to put back.

AFM I had my tests today & get the results back in a few weeks. Fingers crossed this, my healthy habits & the acupuncture is what is needed to get us preggaz!! Everything else in my life seems to be going wrong so I'm hoping this is the one thing that goes right.

Take care ladies will pop in more regularly do

Hey Jbear, good to hear from you. Glad you've got your tests underway and hoping for good news! Not good though that other stuff in life seems to be crap at the moment - I hear you there. It all seems to happen at once right? You don't have to keep your venting to the topic, feel free to let it out!!!

Thanks BF ur a great support - yup certainly does all happen at once! I'm just feeling a bit defeated at the moment & at the same time trying to be optimistic which is very hard as u can appreciate. I'm always thinking geez what next? Anyways I think ur right we need to get it all out & this forum is the only place people really understand.

HI everyone ...
I hope you are all doing well

Jess: im also with "G" under the care of doc M L (i chose "g" as they were recommended and they were the only clinic doing the pgd and had been doing it for a while
As for the royal jelly it is soooo grosss but i was willing to do anything for more egg numbers :)


BF: what's involved with a frozen transfer? how are you going ?

J bear: glad that the ball is rolling for you good luck with all of your tests!

As for the tax rebate don't start me.....my dh told me that it was changing and i cursed and swore !

as for the emotions and rollercoaster......sometimes its just so hard to cope ,,,, between the injections, scans bloods etc the hormones......i was a mess.....thats why i love this forum ....so m any helpful ladies :)

bye for now :)

lu