Week of September 10th

[scm1011]

It's transfer day for seeyalater52!! Thinking of you today! Snuggle in, little embie!

latte, how did your ultrasound go yesterday?

My transfer is scheduled for Friday, so I'm looking forward to a short work week. I started Progesterone shots last night; I had forgotten how big that needle was! 

What else is happening this week? 

[megstoo]

I go for beta on Friday morning (bright and early at 7am). I already know I'm going to be disappointed. I made the mistake of testing yesterday to a BFN (10dpiui) and oddly I'm ok with that for now. We agree'd to try 2 rounds of IUI before going IVF after tax time because of the huge cost associated to IVF (and insurance covers nothing so we'll use tax refund).  I'm still doing the estridol and progesterone inserts which I HATE.

Good Luck seeyalater52  and scm1011,

[scm1011]

hugs, megstoo. I wouldn't lose all hope at 10dpiui. Its still early. Fingers crossed for you.

[msmerymac]

I'm supposed to be setting up appointments with a new RE just to get another opinion, and maybe looking into donor eggs. Anyone have experience with donors?

H said he'd start looking into the adoption process. We just want to have all our bases covered and a sense of cost.

I did start my cycle just before I left for Boston for a week, so I'm taking this month off, which is fine with me.

[latte]

scm1011 they saw 9 follicles that were ready, so less than I was hoping for, but definitely better than it could be! I did my trigger shot last night and we will be doing the egg retrieval tomorrow, with transfer expected on Saturday. So our timing is really close!

Good luck today seeyalater52!

[icedcoffee]

scm1011, YAY for transfer Friday!

megstoo, I hope it's just too early. Hugs!

msmerymac, I don't have experience with DE, but we were down the path of looking into DS (we ended up not needing it). They required we meet with a social worker beforehand. I found it very helpful and I highly recommend you and your H meet with one. They will help you get all your thoughts in a row before proceeding. They had a lot of good thoughts to consider.

latte, so exciting! Good luck!

As for me, I'm just waiting on AF to start cycling. My meds arrive Wed. Should get AF late next week unless it drags out like it did last month. I need to talk to my boss this week about skipping a work trip in Oct so I can cycle. UGH.

[thoseareradishes]

msmerymac, we used donor eggs to conceive E. What questions do you have? You can PM me if you rather talk privately.

[compassrose]

Good luck with your transfer today seeyalater52! I have everything crossed for you!

Good luck with your retrieval latte! I hope they get all 9 and they all fertilize!

10dpiui is definitely too early megstoo. You're not out yet.

msmerymac, I have a friend from another group using donor eggs and the retrieval is going on right now. Let me know if you want me to ask her about putting you in touch.

[msmerymac]

Sept 10, 2018 9:34:14 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

msmerymac , we used donor eggs to conceive E. What questions do you have? You can PM me if you rather talk privately.

I've done nothing but google so far, so I don't really know the process! Did you set everything up through your RE? Did you use an RE who was more well-known for specializing in donor gametes or would all REs have that knowledge? Did you use a donor who was local? And do you mind me asking if you used a donor who was a stranger and/or how you found her? (I know people who have sisters or cousins who have donated eggs to them, but that's not an option for me.) You can also PM me if any of that is too personal. Thanks!

[thoseareradishes]

Sept 10, 2018 9:49:09 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Sept 10, 2018 9:34:14 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

msmerymac , we used donor eggs to conceive E. What questions do you have? You can PM me if you rather talk privately.

I've done nothing but google so far, so I don't really know the process! Did you set everything up through your RE? Did you use an RE who was more well-known for specializing in donor gametes or would all REs have that knowledge? Did you use a donor who was local? And do you mind me asking if you used a donor who was a stranger and/or how you found her? (I know people who have sisters or cousins who have donated eggs to them, but that's not an option for me.) You can also PM me if any of that is too personal. Thanks!

We went through the 3rd party reproduction (TPR) program at my RE.  They pre-screen all the donors before they are accepted into the program, which is nice because then we didn't have to do it and wait on results then be potentially disappointed if there was an issue.  We met with our new nurse (who worked specifically in the TPR group) to go over everything, then met with a financial person, then with a counselor.  The counselor went over all the emotional stuff, how to tell the child, etc.  We had to fill out a form with our wants and wishes for a donor.  I don't know if they still do it this way, but then we were added to the waiting list.  Each month the team met and matched donors with recipients.  It took about 4 months before we were at the top of the list and matched.    We could accept the match, or ask to be rematched.  We actually asked to be rematched because the donor was a carrier for cystic fibrosis.  We were rematched the next month and accepted.  We got to see pictures of our donor and got an extensive medical history and info about her.   She lives in northern NJ (we are in SJ).  

Most places will just give you a password to a database and set you loose, and you pick.  I liked how my clinic did it, it took a lot of the pressure off and was less of a free for all with donors being snagged quickly and having to check the database constantly.  I also liked that we didn't have to pre-screen donors.  We still paid for screening, but it was wrapped into a global TPR fee that we paid; it didn't need to be paid for each match.

Are you in the Philadelphia area?  I can PM you my clinic if you are.  I think most clinics have some sort of donor program, but it may be small or you may have to find your own donor (like going through an egg bank).   I liked that my clinic managed everything so it was an "easy" process to go through; I don't know if all clinics are like that.  I would also want to do a FET, not try to sync with the donor and do a fresh transfer (too stressful for me).  Some clinics do a share program, like Shady Grove; one donor to 2 or 3 recipients, which is a nice option because it's cheaper, but you obviously get fewer eggs.    

[seeyalater52]

Thanks, everyone! Embryo on board is a pretty 4BA. Hoping for the best.

[msmerymac]

thoseareradishes, Yes, I'm outside Philly. I'd love to know which clinic you used.

I'm on the PA side, and I'm considering going with a clinic my friend used for a second opinion just to see if there are other medical things we could try. Who knows? Her doctor is older and has seen and experimented with a lot. But I'm getting close to saying I'm kind of done with stim cycles after going through it 4 times.

[woowoo]

seeyalater52, that is very pretty! Good luck!
megstoo, please don't lose hope. I understand having a backup in your mind for next steps though!

I had my first monitoring apt this morning for my FET tentatively scheduled for next Friday. So nervous to hear what my lining is doing, I realllllly don't want to have to change our transfer date. We built in a few extra days.

The results came in last week from my uterine biopsy, and everything looked good. It did indicate to us that I need to be on the progesterone one more day than normal protocol (7 days pre FET vs. just 6). I'm glad we did it (we paid OOP) and I'm glad it gave us some guidance considering we only have one embryo.

[pinkpeony08]

Sending good wishes to scm1011, seeyalater52, latte, megstoo and anyone else with big days this week.

After nothing helpful regarding cause for my RPL from RE, hematology, my own ob, my RE offered MFM. I go tomorrow. Hoping I can get something helpful out of it. Any suggestions of specific questions to ask?

RE thought I may benefit from lovenox and baby asa during pregnancy. Then a potential protein c deficiency came up on last ditch labs ordered by RE. Hematology didn’t think it was a deficient and told me even if it was, they don’t recommend lovenox. So now lovenox is off the table. I can’t help but be anxious another pregnancy would end in loss, but still feel like we aren’t ready to give up.

[shoeless]

Sept 10, 2018 8:45:54 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I'm supposed to be setting up appointments with a new RE just to get another opinion, and maybe looking into donor eggs. Anyone have experience with donors?

H said he'd start looking into the adoption process. We just want to have all our bases covered and a sense of cost.

I did start my cycle just before I left for Boston for a week, so I'm taking this month off, which is fine with me.

Yes.  My DD is DE and I am hoping for a second DE child.  If you end up going that route feel free to reach out.  We used frozen donor eggs and I am familiar with a few of the clinics with frozen egg banks. 

[shoeless]

Good luck seeyalater52!!!!!

[seeyalater52]

Thank you all!

megstoo I’m sorry about the negative, I hope it was too early.

latte good luck with retrieval tomorrow! Fingers crossed it’s super successful!

pinkpeony08 I’m sorry you haven’t gotten answers yet but I hope the MFM will be more helpful. Thinking of you.

woowoo glad the biopsy gave you more info! Did you do the ERA? If so, I may end up with questions for you later on down the line.

[woowoo]

Sept 10, 2018 13:35:23 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

woowoo glad the biopsy gave you more info! Did you do the ERA? If so, I may end up with questions for you later on down the line.

YES!  It told us I needed 136 hours on the progesterone. 


Just got the call - my ultrasound and bloodwork this morning came back perfect, no more monitoring needed.  Transfer is on for 9/21.  Ugh....it's so real.  And we only have one embryo, so this is it.  I'm so nervous. 

[seeyalater52]

Sept 10, 2018 15:39:21 GMT -5 woowoo said:

Sept 10, 2018 13:35:23 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

woowoo glad the biopsy gave you more info! Did you do the ERA? If so, I may end up with questions for you later on down the line.

YES!  It told us I needed 136 hours on the progesterone. 


Just got the call - my ultrasound and bloodwork this morning came back perfect, no more monitoring needed.  Transfer is on for 9/21.  Ugh....it's so real.  And we only have one embryo, so this is it.  I'm so nervous. 

I can’t imagine how nervous you must be. You and Jalapeñomel are both transferring your one and only precious embryos that day. I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you.

[woowoo]

Sept 10, 2018 15:46:02 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Sept 10, 2018 15:39:21 GMT -5 woowoo said:

YES!  It told us I needed 136 hours on the progesterone. 


Just got the call - my ultrasound and bloodwork this morning came back perfect, no more monitoring needed.  Transfer is on for 9/21.  Ugh....it's so real.  And we only have one embryo, so this is it.  I'm so nervous. 

I can’t imagine how nervous you must be. You and Jalapeñomel are both transferring your one and only precious embryos that day. I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you.

Thank you.  And I just looked at my plan and my beta test will be on October 1, which was the due date of the baby we lost in February.  That is giving me all kinds of feels.......

[stellelinds25]

Good luck to those of you with transfers and other big stuff happening this week!!

I'm still chugging along on the Lupron...it's definitely making me moody, poor DH. I start the rest of my drugs on Thursday (Menopur & Follistim)...I got the shipment of them this morning and holy cannoli, I can't believe ALL of that will be put into my body in a 10 day time period. It's a little (ok, a lot) overwhelming. I have my baseline BW/US on Thursday and then start monitoring next week (Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri...yikes).

[seeyalater52]

Sept 11, 2018 10:12:14 GMT -5 stellelinds25 said:

Good luck to those of you with transfers and other big stuff happening this week!!

I'm still chugging along on the Lupron...it's definitely making me moody, poor DH. I start the rest of my drugs on Thursday (Menopur & Follistim)...I got the shipment of them this morning and holy cannoli, I can't believe ALL of that will be put into my body in a 10 day time period. It's a little (ok, a lot) overwhelming. I have my baseline BW/US on Thursday and then start monitoring next week (Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri...yikes).

Just take it one day at a time! It’s a lot easier to wrap your mind around 1 or 2 shots a day than it is to look at 10+ days worth all in one place. You will be great! Fingers crossed for a great baseline appointment.

[pinkpeony08]

Update! I saw mfm this am- first the fellow and then the attending. It was so good. The fellow was great. He really grasped that we want to try changing something. We talked through options- would be adding vaginal progesterone suppositories, baby aspirin and potential lovenox if covered by insurance. I feel better about the appointment than pretty much any of the other rpl appointments and actually feel heard!

[seeyalater52]

Sept 11, 2018 11:29:36 GMT -5 pinkpeony08 said:

Update! I saw mfm this am- first the fellow and then the attending. It was so good. The fellow was great. He really grasped that we want to try changing something. We talked through options- would be adding vaginal progesterone suppositories, baby aspirin and potential lovenox if covered by insurance. I feel better about the appointment than pretty much any of the other rpl appointments and actually feel heard!

Bus is such a great update! I’m glad you met with a doctor who heard your concerns and had some ideas to try. FWIW my clinic likes to use baby aspirin and progesterone suppositories (in addition to PIO) for all frozen transfer cycles so those seem like great things to try.

[icedcoffee]

Told my boss I can't do a trip in October so we can cycle.

I'm sad, but relieved I guess to have that over. I've never been to Vegas and I really love work travel.

If my period comes late and messes this up I will smother someone with a pillow.

[icedcoffee]

Oh yeah...and fuck infertility.

[megstoo]

Sept 11, 2018 11:29:36 GMT -5 pinkpeony08 said:

Update! I saw mfm this am- first the fellow and then the attending. It was so good. The fellow was great. He really grasped that we want to try changing something. We talked through options- would be adding vaginal progesterone suppositories, baby aspirin and potential lovenox if covered by insurance. I feel better about the appointment than pretty much any of the other rpl appointments and actually feel heard!

Make sure to stock up on panty lines, I'm on progesterone and estradol vaginal suppositories and made sure to grab a couple boxes when I started.  

[latte]

We got our call from the embryologist this morning. We had 8 eggs retrieved yesterday and of those, 6 were mature. This morning 5 had fertilized and she would be able to judge quality better tomorrow. So for now, that’s where we sit!

[icedcoffee]

That's great news latte! Fingers crossed!

[icedcoffee]

My meds were delivered! I won't be home until 5. They shipped yesterday around 9 am. They should be good until I get home, right? I think the cetrotide and lupron trigger need to go in the fridge. Follistim and menopur should be fine without.

My H did bring the box inside so the house is only about 70 degrees.......

I'm assuming they shipped with ice packs.

Tell me it will be ok.

IVF brings out my anxiety, obviously.

ETA:  Maybe follistim does need to go in the fridge....