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1st IVF-update
Hi ladies,
Any feedback would be totally great! I got my AF today and my doctor's want an answer tomorrow if I will be doing another IUI or IVF..I am thinking about starting an IVF cycle for the first time and am so overwhelmed and don't understand the whole process yet, very overwhelming. Can someone please give me an insight to how the process works, how long, painful..etc. Also does LI IVF freeze eggs? I am Catholic and want to know if this is an option. Can I just use two fertilized embryos and freeze the rest of the eggs instead of freezing fertilized eggs?
Like I said, this website is great and you ladies on her are some wonderful and have gave me support with all my failed IUI's, so I am seeking advice\support as I am thinking about moving forward with IVF.
TIA!
*Update- So I have decided that I will try one more cycle of an IUI before heading to IVF. But I wanted to thank everyone who gave me support and comfort. It feels good knowing that there are people who I can relate to and share my feelings/concerns with. Thank you all so much for your kind words and sharing your stories 
Message edited 1/14/2016 1:23:19 PM.
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Posted 1/13/16 10:05 PM  |
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Long Island Weddings
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource |
AngnShaun
Sisters
Member since 1/10 21015 total posts
Name:
Ang
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1st IVF
because you are looking at it as a whole cylce with everything involved. I think we all probably felt that way till we actually started it. But the great thing about IVF is how everything is broken down for you on your calendar. Take every day, every pill, shot, etc at a time and (Its still a shit ton of stuff) but its not as overwhelming when you take each calendar day at a time.
It depends on your issues. My cycle started on April 11th or 12 with Birth Control and other supressions, then went to stims and my ER & ET were Memorial weekend (This was 2012 so i dont remember a lot)... But most Drs will tell you its about 4-6.
I dont know if any Drs freeze before fertilization. I cant imagine they would waste an entire cycle that way. What if the 2 they chose didnt fertilize? theyd have to thaw more and fertilize them. Im sure it wouldnt be cost effective for either of you to do that.
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| Posted 1/14/16 7:56 AM |
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Peainapod
Peanuts are here!
Member since 1/09 13591 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: 1st IVF
I was terrified of going down this road. tests, drugs, etc. once you start, its really ok. emotionally its rough.
for me, inititally they put me on the antagonist protocol (2 weeks BCP, menopur 150 am, follistim 300 evening) for about 11 days. Trigger, then egg retrieval and transfer. I had 8 eggs, 5 viable, and 2 fertilized. there was an 11th hour decision to NOT use ICSI. the embryologist called me the day before and said they did not think we needed it b/c there was no male factor and Dh has gotten me pregnant. turns out, I could have used it. So this go around ICSI all the way.
this time im on microdose lupron b/c I apparently didnt respond as well as they thought I would have. it seems to have worked better for me. controlled the growth better so there are more even sized follicles. I think i have more than last time too.
its about 6 weeks from start of BCP to transfer.
you get used to the injections and its only for a short time. it is overwhelming at first..nursing consult, ordering meds (and caremark is a clusterf**k so I had to call like 8 times). but hopefully in the end we get what we came in for.
Message edited 1/14/2016 9:58:05 AM.
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| Posted 1/14/16 9:56 AM |
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JellyBear
LIF Infant
Member since 6/10 260 total posts
Name:
Thinking positive thoughts!
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Re: 1st IVF
I just wanted to say hello. I'm also on CD 1 and deciding to move on to IVF after three failed IUIs. I'm overwhelmed and sad about starting this process, but am just taking it one step at a time instead of thinking of the whole big picture.
I don't understand the whole process in detail yet, so I've just been asking questions about whatever the next step is. Right now I'm scheduling my water sono and biopsy and then will start Estrace on CD 18. I have no idea what comes after that. I figure as long as I understand what I'm doing next and why, the bigger picture will come together.
Good luck to you.
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| Posted 1/14/16 10:28 AM |
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IVFmiracle
Complete
Member since 12/12 4088 total posts
Name:
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Re: 1st IVF
Going from an IUI to IVF really feels like a huge step! You should talk to your doctor about your concerns about freezing embryos. I do know that it is common to freeze unfertilized eggs due to medical conditions, so I think they would be open to it. I have found my medical provider in MA to be open to pretty much everything. You might also want to talk to your doctor about doing a micro IVF cycle which might yield a lower number of follicles if freezing eggs isn't an option.
With LI IVF, I didn't have anything to freeze. Only 4 fertilized and DD was the only one that made it to day 3.
This time around with a new protocol, I had 18 fertilized embryos, and all but 4 arrested before day 3. Another one arrested between day 3 and day 5 so I was left with 3. I transferred one and froze 2.
Not sure if you have done a medicated IUI, but if you haven't done injections at all, the first night of stims can be stressful.
I felt like I was going to make a mistake. It took me a half hour start to finish the first night. I had to watch the videos, make sure I was following the instructions correctly, and then do the injections. From there it only got easier. By night 3 I had shots done in 5 minutes. Some of the shots burn slightly while injecting. I found the night of the trigger to be a little stressful too. My suggestion is to watch the trigger video ahead of time. I had the trigger shot prepared 15 minutes before my trigger time just to make sure I was prepared.
Good Luck!
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| Posted 1/14/16 11:54 AM |
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Wishes1111
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/10 853 total posts
Name:
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1st IVF
It's been a little while since I've done a fresh cycle but I can tell you your odds are highly improved going into ivf vs IUI. I was excited to move on but there is a lot of monitoring, the meds make me feel kind of sick towards the end of the cycle & I was super bloated but nothing unmanageable & of course totally worth it!
In regards to your question about only using 2 embryos & freezing your eggs I don't think it's feasible. In my case I produced over 20 eggs which is a lot and we ended up with 7 embryos that they deemed a good quality, we've transferred 5 over 4 different cycles & had success with only 2 of them to have our DD & 1 on the way. Point being just because it fertilized doesn't mean it will be of a good enough quality to transfer &/or result in a healthy or viable pregnancy
Message edited 1/14/2016 12:06:08 PM.
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| Posted 1/14/16 12:01 PM |
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Joann
LIF Infant
Member since 9/12 360 total posts
Name:
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by Wishes1111
In regards to your question about only using 2 embryos & freezing your eggs I don't think it's feasible. In my case I produced over 20 eggs which is a lot and we ended up with 7 embryos that they deemed a good quality, we've transferred 5 over 4 different cycles & had success with only 2 of them to have our DD & 1 on the way. Point being just because it fertilized doesn't mean it will be of a good enough quality to transfer &/or result in a healthy or viable pregnancy
This. IVF is very time consuming. I stimmed for 10 days and went to my RE 9 of those 10 days. Those 9 visits don't include my preop class or the egg retrieval. I can't imagine doing ivf while hoping for no more than x number of embryos. I feel like that's counterproductive. You never know how many embryos you'll have to use over time to get one baby.
Plus, do frozen eggs fertilize as easily as fresh ones?
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| Posted 1/14/16 12:31 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by AngnShaun
because you are looking at it as a whole cylce with everything involved. I think we all probably felt that way till we actually started it. But the great thing about IVF is how everything is broken down for you on your calendar. Take every day, every pill, shot, etc at a time and (Its still a shit ton of stuff) but its not as overwhelming when you take each calendar day at a time.
It depends on your issues. My cycle started on April 11th or 12 with Birth Control and other supressions, then went to stims and my ER & ET were Memorial weekend (This was 2012 so i dont remember a lot)... But most Drs will tell you its about 4-6.
I dont know if any Drs freeze before fertilization. I cant imagine they would waste an entire cycle that way. What if the 2 they chose didnt fertilize? theyd have to thaw more and fertilize them. Im sure it wouldnt be cost effective for either of you to do that.
Thank you for sharing!
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:14 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by Peainapod
I was terrified of going down this road. tests, drugs, etc. once you start, its really ok. emotionally its rough.
for me, inititally they put me on the antagonist protocol (2 weeks BCP, menopur 150 am, follistim 300 evening) for about 11 days. Trigger, then egg retrieval and transfer. I had 8 eggs, 5 viable, and 2 fertilized. there was an 11th hour decision to NOT use ICSI. the embryologist called me the day before and said they did not think we needed it b/c there was no male factor and Dh has gotten me pregnant. turns out, I could have used it. So this go around ICSI all the way.
this time im on microdose lupron b/c I apparently didnt respond as well as they thought I would have. it seems to have worked better for me. controlled the growth better so there are more even sized follicles. I think i have more than last time too.
its about 6 weeks from start of BCP to transfer.
you get used to the injections and its only for a short time. it is overwhelming at first..nursing consult, ordering meds (and caremark is a clusterf**k so I had to call like 8 times). but hopefully in the end we get what we came in for.
I appreciate you sharing. I am feeling very overwhelmed and nervous.
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:15 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by JellyBear
I just wanted to say hello. I'm also on CD 1 and deciding to move on to IVF after three failed IUIs. I'm overwhelmed and sad about starting this process, but am just taking it one step at a time instead of thinking of the whole big picture.
I don't understand the whole process in detail yet, so I've just been asking questions about whatever the next step is. Right now I'm scheduling my water sono and biopsy and then will start Estrace on CD 18. I have no idea what comes after that. I figure as long as I understand what I'm doing next and why, the bigger picture will come together.
Good luck to you.
Thank you! I will try to remember to take it one day at a time. I have decided to try one more IUI this month and then move to IVF if it still doesn't work. Good luck to you too!
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:16 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by IVFmiracle
Going from an IUI to IVF really feels like a huge step! You should talk to your doctor about your concerns about freezing embryos. I do know that it is common to freeze unfertilized eggs due to medical conditions, so I think they would be open to it. I have found my medical provider in MA to be open to pretty much everything. You might also want to talk to your doctor about doing a micro IVF cycle which might yield a lower number of follicles if freezing eggs isn't an option.
With LI IVF, I didn't have anything to freeze. Only 4 fertilized and DD was the only one that made it to day 3.
This time around with a new protocol, I had 18 fertilized embryos, and all but 4 arrested before day 3. Another one arrested between day 3 and day 5 so I was left with 3. I transferred one and froze 2.
Not sure if you have done a medicated IUI, but if you haven't done injections at all, the first night of stims can be stressful.
I felt like I was going to make a mistake. It took me a half hour start to finish the first night. I had to watch the videos, make sure I was following the instructions correctly, and then do the injections. From there it only got easier. By night 3 I had shots done in 5 minutes. Some of the shots burn slightly while injecting. I found the night of the trigger to be a little stressful too. My suggestion is to watch the trigger video ahead of time. I had the trigger shot prepared 15 minutes before my trigger time just to make sure I was prepared.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much for sharing. You gave me some great suggestions to speak to my doctor about. Also Thanks for suggesting to watch the trigger videos. 
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:18 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by Wishes1111
It's been a little while since I've done a fresh cycle but I can tell you your odds are highly improved going into ivf vs IUI. I was excited to move on but there is a lot of monitoring, the meds make me feel kind of sick towards the end of the cycle & I was super bloated but nothing unmanageable & of course totally worth it!
In regards to your question about only using 2 embryos & freezing your eggs I don't think it's feasible. In my case I produced over 20 eggs which is a lot and we ended up with 7 embryos that they deemed a good quality, we've transferred 5 over 4 different cycles & had success with only 2 of them to have our DD & 1 on the way. Point being just because it fertilized doesn't mean it will be of a good enough quality to transfer &/or result in a healthy or viable pregnancy
Thank you for sharing! And congrats on your pregnancies
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:20 PM |
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Re: 1st IVF
Posted by Joann
Posted by Wishes1111
In regards to your question about only using 2 embryos & freezing your eggs I don't think it's feasible. In my case I produced over 20 eggs which is a lot and we ended up with 7 embryos that they deemed a good quality, we've transferred 5 over 4 different cycles & had success with only 2 of them to have our DD & 1 on the way. Point being just because it fertilized doesn't mean it will be of a good enough quality to transfer &/or result in a healthy or viable pregnancy
This. IVF is very time consuming. I stimmed for 10 days and went to my RE 9 of those 10 days. Those 9 visits don't include my preop class or the egg retrieval. I can't imagine doing ivf while hoping for no more than x number of embryos. I feel like that's counterproductive. You never know how many embryos you'll have to use over time to get one baby.
Plus, do frozen eggs fertilize as easily as fresh ones?
Thank you as well. This whole process is mind blowing and a lot to take in.
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| Posted 1/14/16 1:21 PM |
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