Carolyn
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Member since 5/07 5351 total posts
Name:
Twin mommy
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IVF Diary - update 4/15 w/beta #2
Hi everyone, borrowing from Melijane I thought I would start a thread on my IVF journey, hopefully it will be helpful for others (and for me)!
A little background - I am 31, DH just turned 38. We have been TTC for just under 2 years. I was diagnosed with PCOS and was not ovulating on my own, DH has no issues. We started treating at RMANY (Dr. Flisser) in June of 2007, after I went off BCP. We did two Clomid cycles (no response), followed by four injectible/IUI cycles, all BFN. We decided to take a break and I started to ovulate on my own, although my cycles were averaging 45 days. We tried on our own for about 8 months, still all BFNs. So now, we are starting our first IVF cycle.
Last week we took the IVF class at RMA and both got tons of bloodwork. DH had an updated SA on Friday. AF arrived this morning, so today is CD1 for me. I need to go in on CD3 (Wednesday) for blood and sono, and then I will start BCPs. I also need to get a water sono at some point this month along with a pap (which I am getting at my regular gyno on Friday).
My protocol will be BCP, overlapping with Lupron, then Gonal-F for stimming. We are self-pay for everything unfortunately, but thanks to the wonderful, generous ladies on this board I have gotten nearly all of the meds donated to me  .
I will keep this thread updated as often as I can and wish all of you much  !
Update 2/17: We got our bloodwork results back from last week, everything is normal. DHs SA came back fine, 96 million/86% motility/6% morphology. I'm picking up my BCPs tonight and I am going in tomorrow for a sono and bloodwork.
The nurse faxed an order to my gyno so I'll get all the cultures taken care of at my annual on Friday - and it will be covered by insurance 
Update 2/18: I saw Dr. Flisser this morning, he was so nice and everyone in the office welcomed me back. I got the call this afternoon that I am ready to start BCPs tonight, and I have to go back in on 3/6 which is when I will start Lupron. I'll take the BCPs until 3/12 and then wait for my Lupron AF.
My levels today were E2 - 49.8, FSH - 5.5, LH 5.2. My FSH is almost 3 points higher than it was this time last year, I hope that doesn't mean anything bad...
So I guess I am officially starting tonight! I am excited and nervous at the same time.
Update 3/6/09:
This morning I went for bloodwork to get cleared to start Lupron and I just got the call that I can go ahead. My E2 level was 24, it's funny I already feel the effects of lower estrogen than normal from the BCP and I'm dreading starting Lupron...I had a horrible horrible reaction on Clomid and I'm petrified of the Lupron side effects :(
I will stay on BCP until 3/12. They have given me a tentative retrieval date of 3/28 which is crazy!!! It seems so soon.
Update 3/8/09:
Ok, two Lupron shots down and surprisingly, I feel ok. I definitely feel kind of like I took cold medicine and I'm really tired but other than that I feel pretty good! Yay!
Update 3/18/09:
So, my Lupron AF finally showed yesterday, I went in for sono and bloodwork this morning. I am so ready to start stims, Lupron has been tough on me but not nearly as bad as Clomid.
Anyway, no cysts!!! I am so happy. But, I am not scheduled to start stims until Friday, which is so annoying. So I'm supposed to decrease my Lupron to 5 units tonight and tomorrow, and then I can finally start Gonal F Friday night 
Update 3/22/09:
I did 187.5 units of Gonal F Friday and Saturday nights along with 5 units of Lupron. I'm feeling pretty good, still very hopeful so I hope that keeps up. I emailed with my doctor because I was a little concerned that the 187.5 was high for me - I have a tendency to hyperstim and the highest dose I've ever started on was 112.5. He told me that this is already a really low dosage for IVF but wanted me to come in this morning instead of waiting until tomorrow just in case my dosage needs adjustment.
This morning he told me that everything looks good, he counted follies numbering "in the teens" on both ovaries which is what he wanted to see at this point. I'm doing 187.5 tonight again, then decreasing to 150 tomorrow night and going back in on Tuesday morning. My estrogen on Friday was 38 and today was 196.
I'm just trying to stay focused and positive for now  so far it's working.
Update 3/24/09 - Day 5 of stims:
Went in for bloodwork and sono this morning, Dr. Flisser was in the city office so I saw Dr. Ruman, she is really nice and actually did one of my IUIs a while back.
My estrogen was 572, so it's going up pretty nicely so far. She saw one follie at 14mm, four follies at 12-13mm and about 15-20 more at 10-11mm. So I've got five good ones working and hopefully some of the smaller ones will catch up soon. I'm staying on 150iu of Gonal-F tonight. I emailed Dr. Flisser and he thinks we'll be triggering Saturday or Sunday for a Mon/Tues retrieval already! I can't believe how fast this is going now...
I'm going back in tomorrow and then again on Friday, they are so accomodating for me - they know it's so much easier for me to go to Garden City instead of NYC so they try to schedule me around Thursdays when GC is closed. So I should have another follie report tomorrow!
I think I have jury duty tomorrow  so I asked for a note so I could get out of it LOL - he's going to give it to me tomorrow morning.
Update 3/25/09 - Day 6 of stims:
Ugh, this is annoying. How can two doctors see two different things?  Dr. Flisser did my sono this morning and saw 20 follies on each ovary, about 30 measuring between 12-14mm and 10 or so smaller ones. My estrogen went up to 820 from 572 yesterday so they are cutting my dosage back to 75iu.
He said he didn't know where Ruman got that 14 from yesterday and told me that I definitely will not be having the retrieval Monday - that day was based on what Ruman saw yesterday and he disagrees with it.  Whatever! He is being super cautious though which I am glad for - I'm very afraid of hyperstimming and being cancelled. So, he is lowering my dose and wants me in tomorrow and Friday for monitoring. I am feeling lots of activity in my ovaries and the bloating has started a little bit. Hopefully we are still on track.
On another note, I was excused from jury duty at 12:30 and didn't need to use my doctor's note...so at least I'm done with that for six years!
Update 3/26/09 - Day 7 of stims:
Saw Dr. Flisser in the city office this morning. He saw 7-8 follies between 14-15mm and about 20 more between 12-13. So we are moving along nicely and still looking at a Sunday trigger for Tuesday retrieval.
My estrogen level went up from 820 to 1,179. The nurse said that was good and that it didn't go up too much so they'll keep me at this low dose (75iu) tonight and go back in tomorrow. Heading into the home stretch.
Update 3/27/09 - Day 8 of stims:
This morning we saw 4 follies measuring perfectly even at 16.5mm and about 20 more just shy of that. My lining is nice and thick at 12mm. Unfortunately my estrogen level went up to 1706 - over 500 points from yesterday - so I think we're going to trigger a day early for a Monday retrieval. I guess I'll know for sure tomorrow. I'm staying on the same dosage tonight and going back into the City office tomorrow.
It kind of sux that it looks like those little ones aren't going to have time to catch up. He said that with PCOS I will have a lot of immature eggs even with all these follies so I'm a little concerned that I'm not going to have as many as we originally thought 
The good news is that Dr. Flisser will at least be able to do my transfer if we have a Monday retrieval, he'll be there Thursday and if we go to 5 days he'll come in on Saturday to do it for me 
Update 3/28/09 - last day of stims:
I saw Dr. Klein in the city this morning, he kind of rushed me in and out but my lead follies (about 7-8?) are 17.5-18 and I lost count of the rest but there were alot!...he said my lining looks great. My estrogen went up to 2695 but they really want to push me an extra day to give the smaller follies a better chance that they'll be mature...I'm cutting back my dose to 37.5 tonight and triggering tomorrow night for a definite Tuesday retrieval. That means Dr. Flisser will be able to do my retrieval which I'm happy about, and if we go 5 days he'll do the transfer on Sunday.
My ovaries are starting to get pretty sore. Only two more days so hopefully it won't get too much worse and I'm still hopeful that I won't hyperstim. Thanks for all the replies and everyone!
Update again - ok, now I've sufficiently freaked myself out. Googling OHSS was a bad idea. I'm scared.
Update 3/29/09:
I did my last stim shots last night and saw Dr. Klein again this morning. The largest follie is measuring 21mm so that one and a couple others are probably too mature, but I have a lot (15-20?)that are measuring exactly right around 18mm. I didn't see any small ones on the sono this morning, although they could have been hiding considering each ovary took up practically the whole screen since there are so many big follies I did read that you're less likely to get OHSS if there aren't many small ones.
Anyway, of course my estrogen jumped to 3951 but we are still triggering tonight at 11 pm for an 11 am retrieval on Tuesday. Dr. F (I emailed with him today) is confident that we will still transfer this week depending, of course, on how I feel. He said keep drinking Gatorade (he said drink it straight, not cut with water). I'm feeling slightly uncomfortable now, it kind of hurts to pee and I'm a little bloated but other than that I'm ok. I have to go back in tomorrow for final bw/sono before the retrieval.
So right now I am  for no OHSS!
Update 3/30/09:
Triggered last night at 11pm (it was hard to stay up that late LOL)...went in for final b/w and sono in Garden City this morning. We saw about 30 follies measuring perfectly between 18-20mm!!! While my estrogen is high, it's not too high and he thinks everything will be fine. Afterwards his nurse said she can't believe how perfectly he stimmed me - she used to work somewhere else on LI and said she's seen PCOS patients with estrogen levels in the 10K range and way too many small follies - she said he did a great job with me and she was very impressed.
I'm drinking my Gatorade and feeling really excited for tomorrow. I'm so happy that he will be doing my retrieval. Wish us luck and I'll post tomorrow afternoon after we're home!!
I also just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words and thoughts, FMs, and support - and particularly the wonderful ladies on this board who selflessly and generously donated their extra meds to me. I would not have been able to do this without all of you. 
Update 3/31/09:
So I'm home from my retrieval - everything went really well, anesthesia was a breeze and everyone there was so nice! We were all joking around in the recovery room.
Dr. Flisser was able to get 18 eggs so I'm feeling pretty good about that. I don't know what happened to the 30 follies but I'm not complaining with 18 eggs!
I am really really sore right now...gonna drink another 32 oz of Gatorade and head to bed. Will post fertilization report tomorrow!
Update 4/1/09:
So, the office just called, of the 18 eggs they got.............
15 fertilized!!!!
This definitely makes the amount of pain I am in right now worth it. I am thrilled!
Update 4/3/09:
Just got a great birthday present - they are pushing me to blast! So my transfer will be Sunday. As of yesterday, all 15 embies were still alive and growing  . I should hopefully get an updated growth report this afternoon.
And, I am finally starting to feel better! Still bloated and sore but not nearly as bad as it was.
Update 4/5/09:
We are back from my transfer, we put back two perfect, beautiful Stage 4 Grade AA blasts  .
I was totally crying like a loser during the transfer, I was just so emotional  . Dr. Flisser was great, he came in on his day off to do the transfer for us and explained everything about the embies to us. On day 3 we had seven 8-cell and two 7-cell embies and the other 6 were 4-6 cell which is why they pushed us to blast. As of today, we have one more Stage 4 Grade AA blast and two Stage 1 blasts, and a bunch more still in the morula stage. I should get a call tomorrow to see if they were able to freeze any.
So now onto the 1.5ww...I have a progesterone check on Tuesday and beta Tuesday the 14th! I am feeling really hopeful and optimistic so far. The amount of support and love I have gotten from family, friends and the ladies on this board brings tears to my eyes.
Update 4/7/09:
Went for progesterone and estrogen check this morning, progesterone was 28 and estrogen was 520 - no idea what this means but the nurse said it was good and they are not changing my PIO dosage.
I'm feeling great - all bloating is gone and even the weight I gained during stimming (about 4 pounds) is gone now - so it looks like no OHSS for me thank goodness!
I'm 2dp5dt today. I feel nothing except some very mild cramping on and off yesterday afternoon and today, but I'm pretty sure I'm just super sensitive to every little twinge right now LOL. Trying to hold out until Easter Sunday to test.
Update 4/12/09 - 7dp5dt:
So everything has been status quo, I haven't had any symptoms at all, although the progesterone has been making me break out since I started taking it. I did have a few little cramps yesterday, but nothing really out of the ordinary. I've also been having crazy dreams for the past 3 nights. Last night I dreamed I POAS like 50 times - every time it was positive!
We got a letter from the embryologist yesterday saying they were able to freeze two blasts!
And although many people gave me great advice and tried to tell me not to test early, I was only able to hold out until today...
I can't believe it - it really worked!!!!
I am so excited - I started bawling when that second line came up this morning. I emailed with Dr. Flisser and he said I could come in for an early beta tomorrow. We are cautiously optimistic at this point and hoping and praying for the best. Please keep your prayers coming that the bean(s?) stick and keep growing! Thank you so much everyone for your support and prayers!
PS - Missrock if you are reading this...PLEASE don't tell anyone! I am waiting until we know everything is ok. Thanks!
Small Update 4/13/09 - 8pd5dt
Went for bloodwork this morning and should have my beta results this afternoon...but in the meantime I POAS again this morning and it's getting darker, don't you think? (Sorry for bad picture quality - I took it on my cellphone this morning)
Beta is in....
194!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm only 13dpo! Progesterone is holding steady above 40. This is crazy and it finally feels real!!!! Holy sht! LOL...going back for second beta on Wednesday. Praying for doubling
Thank you so much everyone!
Update 4/15/09 - 10dp5dt:
Second beta is in, it was 385 and progesterone is still over 40! So, everything looks good so far and I go back for my first sono on Wednesday the 22nd.
I guess I should stop updating now? It feels weird to be "done." I'm scared to leave! I just want to tell each and every one of you that I could not have done this without your support and prayers. I've been posting on this board for two years now and the knowledge, care, generosity and support that is present here is totally amazing - and completely overwhelming. I have made what I hope to be lifelong friends with some of you and although it stems from a "sad" sisterhood, I am so happy to have gotten to know so many of you.
Frankly, I would not wish IF on my worst enemy, the ups and downs are absolutely devastating and the road is long and painful. However, I know that I am a stronger person for what I have gone through.
I wish each of you the happiness you deserve. This will always be the first board that I check when I log on to LIF and I hope to see all of you graduate soon. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.  Image Attachment(s):
Message edited 4/15/2009 3:07:51 PM.
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