Long Term Assisted Conception - 2010

Hi everyone,

Mumoncemore how did your blood test go? It seems very quiet in here with nonone having posted for a couple of weeks.

Anyway I had a forced break from IVF (my FS insisted I wait for my next natural period, then take the pill for another month so now finally I am about to start injections - have my appointment this afternoon to pick up the drugs). This will be my 2nd IVF cycle (started the process in Feb but it took months due to a couple of clinic stuff ups before I got to my first egg pickup). I was doing donor insemination for a year before that with no luck.
For my IVF cycle I only had 3 eggs fertlize (out of 12) and only 1 developed enough to be transfered. It resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

I'm doing an antagonist cycle this time (I think thats what it is called). They believe this normally produces less eggs but they are better quality (here's hoping). I had said I would only try twice but now I'm thinking that if this doesn't work I might try a third time but that will definately be it. I have already wasted far too much money on this process and I don't want to be too far in debt before the baby even arrives. I saw statistics from a sydney clinic that of the 60% of patients who got pregnant through them 98% fell within the first 3 cycles so I figure that if I'm not in that 98% then I'll give up as it's too hard after that to draw the line on where to stop and I don't know how you women do it who keep going back and back again. After my chemical pregnancy I was ready to give up completely and even today, with my appointment this afternoon, I wonder if I am doing the right thing.

One of my friends got pregnant on her first try of IVF but her bub was then born 13 weeks early and it has been such an emotional touch and go journey for her. He will need to stay in hospital for 100 days (assuming he makes it). After everything we go through to get pregnant I couldn't imagine then having to face that. I don't think I'm strong enough.

I was wondering about the comment about chromosonally normal embryos... how do they test this? What are the extra costs? I know with my last attempt they told me that they could see 2 of my embryos were developing abnormally so they destroyed them but I assumed that meant the rest must be normal?

Baby dust to everyone
Lori
DD - 13
Started Donor search Dec 06, Started Donor insemination Jan 09, Started IVF Feb 10 - 1st cycle 12 eggs, 1 embryo - chemical pregnancy

Hi Dreamrise.. I was over in the 2ww thread..so had not updated here.. Great news. I got BFP on Monday.. still too nervous to join pregnancy thread so just loitering at the minute.. ;)

My cycle was an antagonist. I only retrieved 4 eggs and two fertilised..And well I got my positive from the lowest yield of eggs I have had. Also just wanted to say the first IVF cycle for many is kind of test/experiment to check response and levels to work out best protocol. My first cycle they retrieved 14 eggs and only one fertilsed and was low quality..that's when they changed my protocol to Antagonist and I have had 4 pregnancies ( 3 m/c')s fingers crossed this one works out.. Just wanted to share this if it can help at all?? Good Luck and hope you are not waiting too long for your BFP..xx By the way I miscarry because I have Factor 5 Leiden (thick blood)

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Hi Dreamrise.. I was over in the 2ww thread..so had not updated here.. Great news. I got BFP on Monday.. still too nervous to join pregnancy thread so just loitering at the minute.. ;)

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COngratulations - that is fabulous news.

I'm still around ladies, apologies for not being around lately, we were on holiday for a few weeks, and I have been trying to get a handle on my depression after our last IVF cycle. We are seeing our FS at concept on Thursday and I know he is going to push for ovarian drilling. I am still against it at this stage - i dont think the benefits are good enough, and the risk of scar tissue and adhesions is too strong for me to have it done.
I am considering however to try an IUI using clomid to get me to ovulate and then use the donor sperm. Either that or another IVF attempt but monitoring me more carefully. TO be honest the ideal situation would be that I went back my old clinic and did iVM and had donor sperm sent there but the clinic isnt willing to share the sperm with another clinic so that option is out :(

I have also booked in with another FS for November with a lady who was recommended to me Dr Linda WOng (Same clinic). A long wait so we will continue with treatment while we go, but I dont feel 100% comfortable with my FS so I guess thats what we have to do.

Hope everyone else is going well xxx

Hi Mumoncemoreplease, That is fantastic news about your pregnancy... congratulations... fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong now and you will have your bundle of joy in less than 9 months.

Lori

it's so good to see someone get a BFP in here. nothing is hapening for me. still waiting. have had colds and flu etc etc. praying we'll be all set for next full stim cycle for me in OCT. yeah i know, what happened to April.

well sometimes things don't happen when you want them too.

Hi everyone,

Very quiet thread now... where is the monthly one?

Anyway I had egg pick up yesterday and felt sick as a dog afterwards (vommitted twice). I have mild hyperstimulation sydrome but feel alot better today so hopefully I will be okay for a blastocyst transfer on Monday.

I got 18 eggs from an antagonist cycle (I had been told they normally produce less eggs but better quality but last cycle I only got 12 eggs - only 3 fertilized and only 1 grew... so I hope my high number of eggs this time doesn't mean poorer quality).

I can phone later today to see how many fertilized. Fingers crossed. This cycle has been much worse than my first (reactions to the drugs, minor meltdown last friday and now the hyperstimulation... I don't think I could do it again).

Lori
Started donor search Dec 06, Started donor insemination Jan 09, Started IVF Feb 10. Chemical pregnancy on first IVF cycle May 10.

reamrise, yeah nothing has been happening in here much
wow 18 eggs. no wonder over stimulating. ouch

i hope you got some good news.

fingers crossed for some good qual embies to be transferred. x

AFM: nothing new. still waiting. waiting

wow!!! 18 eggs way to go hun :)

fingers crossed for a good fert result!! please let us know how you go!

Its been over a year and a half since we done our last IVF cycle but because money is tight, we are thinking about doing a few IUI's until we have the money to do another round of IVF. If its ok with you guys i might just stick to this thread when i do go back to do the IUI's. it feels like home here :) We will be going to the gp this week to get a referral to see a FS. It feels strange going to see a new FS :( with moving towns it didnt hit me until the other day that we will need to find a new FS and things like that!! not to worry fingers crossed with a new house, new town, new FS it might bring us a new out look and hopefully will bring us a BFP!!!

Hi JBM and mummy2Chloe,

Well the news isn't great. 16 out of the 18 eggs were mature but only 7 fertilized and apparently they aren't looking great. I'm now having the transfer this afternoon as they are worried none will make it to blastocyst stage.

My parents have paid for me and my 13 year old daughter to join them in Qld tomorrow for almost a week as I was feeling really depressed after speaking to the lab. I asked my clinic how soon I could fly afterwards and they said there were no restrictions so I hope thats right and it won't effect the outcome... though I'm feeling very negative about it all now.

Luckily the OHS has settled a bit (I've lost 500 grams each day for the past 2 days so the clinic said that is a good sign). I'm feeling alot better - no nausea and only a bit sore.

They have agreed to transfer 2 embryos this time (normally they only do 1 but I think they have agreed to 2 since they aren't great anyway).

Feeling very down... trying to stay positive but it's hard. I think this will be my last attempt (I had planned on one more after this but I just don't think I can do it again... this cycle was so much worse than the first one).

The only thing is I don't know what to do if I don't try again. For the past 4 years trying to get pregnant has been pretty much a factor in every decision I have made - including buying my farm... and I don't know where it leaves me if I give up...

:-(

Lori

Well I had the transfer and the news is much better. The embryos have improved so they said the two which were transfered were of reasonable quality and they have also frozen two others of reasonable quality. The other 3 are poor quality but they said they will leave them to develop in the lab and see if they improve.

Fingers crossed.

Lori

oh hun, thats wonderful news!!!! i am so happy for you :)
a big woohoo on getting some frostie bubs too!
sending you lots and lots of sticky vibes, fingers crossed they both sticky and your blessed with twins!!
please keep us posted on how your going in your tww!! will be thinking of you and enjoy your break away xxxx

dreamrise. woohoo for the embies. good luck for the TWW.

Hi everyone,

Mummy2chloe and JBM thanks for your support.

Only 4 more sleeps now till my blood test, though my period is actually due in 2 days. The bloating continued to subside (I lost 500grams each day for 4 days in a row but then didn't have access to a scale to check after that). By last Wednesday I felt more normal but then I also felt kinda empty and that made me feel a bit depressed (like I know the embryos are gone)... I'm hoping it was just that the bloating had subsided and I am pregnant.

It was nice to enjoy warmer weather in Qld but then more stress when I returned home and found lots of problems - like a friend who had kindly fed my horses while I was away has caused problems between me and a neighbour as she climbed through their fence and wrecked it and they now want me to move my horses out (they had let me borrow their paddock as my place has no grass to speak of at the moment). I'm very upset about it (as are my neighbours as they only had the new fence built 6 months ago at a cost of $2000). I just hope I can atleast repair the friendship with my neighbours because living in the country you really do need to stay on your neighours good side.

I also had a run in with my immediate boss yesterday and I am so over working there... my contract expires at the end of the year and I'm hoping I'm pregnant because then I will just take some time out until the bub is born rather than try to find a new job for just a few months. If I'm not pregnant and have to wait to try again with the frozen embryos then it will be more difficult to justify to myself not working for a while next year. I currently teach at TAFE (0.5 position so 2 and a half days a week) and the course I teach is supposedly under review as possibly closing down as it doesn't generate enough profit. I have been fighting hard on behalf of my students to ensure they are all given every chance to finish their studies (as most study part-time they aren't due to finish until 2013 and I don't think it's fair if the course closes and they can't finish what they started - no other TAFE in Victoria offers the course in the flexible delievery style that we do so my students would be unable to successfully complete it with any of the 3 other institutes.) My students are the most amazing group of people - mostly mature aged women who juggle jobs and families and study and are so very supportive of each other and I have really enjoyed being their teacher for the past 2 and a bit years.

One of my students knows I'm going through IVF (she had her daughter through it) and she has been a great support to me as well.

But my managers have no comprehension of the human side of it... or the lengths so many of these women have gone to in order to study (many travel between 4 and 7 hours return to attend our weekend workshops), some have health issues, many have struggled against amazing odds to get to where they are (including 1 losing her husband in an acccident when her sons were only 2 and 4 years old) and yet they want to complete their qualifications and realise their dreams. I find them inspiring but the managers are just crushing me and I know I need to get out soon before I have nothing left to give my students.

So crashing back to earth on Saturday wasn't so nice. I'm back off to Brisbane today for a conference which work have reluctantly agreed to because it is part of our accreditation that a teacher of our course (I am the only one) must attend this conference or the course will lose it's accreditation. Not that I want to go as it is always so boring... but atleast it will be nice to get out of the cold and also to talk to others in my field who can relate to my concerns for my students. I get back late Tuesday night and then my period is due Wednesday... so fingers crossed I don't get it!

How is everyone else doing?

Lori

Dreamrise - I'm hoping that you got a positive result from your test.

I'm back to treatment this month, day 6 today and had a strange scan - had a bunch of 5mm follicles which is normal for me, and then a 14mm follicle just sitting there. SO frustrating. So I have to go back for another blood test tomorrow to track what is happening a lot closer than normal. Gah

How is everyone else going?

becD: good luck with your BT tomorrow.

nothing is happening for me atm
still waiting.

so frustrating.

why is this so hard?

chat soon

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so frustrating.

why is this so hard?

chat soon

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I know, it is so painful at times.
BT today was at 1300 again, no idea what is going on with my body. In for another blood test and ultrasound tomorrow morning

And estrogen level now down to 1200 - what the hell is going on!
follicles are slowly getting bigger, wish i knew what was happening

Hey Ladies...

Thought I might poke my head in here and say hi...

Hubby and I are finally in a headspace where we feel like we can deal with ICSI #2 after months and months in a complete rut.

Picked up my little green cooler bag full of meds last night, which is making it feel that much more real... now waiting, waiting for the usually dreaded AF...

Good luck to all the waiters, sniffers, jabbers and scanners

L x