IVF Drama Unscripted: follistem

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Make that 37 follicles!!!!

Okay, I thought I was feeling even bigger each day. Today's sono showed 37 (nope, I am not lying), 37 follicles. Imagine shoving those into two almonds. Crazy!
Anyone who has gone through this knows what I mean when I say it is "heavy". Even walking from one side of the house to the other causes this awkward feeling of movement inside me...like I have some weights attached to my intestines or something. Hmmm...wonder if this counts as exercise??!! Again, thank God for loose fitting tops.
So, now I am waiting for the call from my nurse manager to see when they will be taken out. Not sure if I will continue my Follistem and Repronex tonight or not. My guess is one more day. My largest was at 18mm and the smallest around 10mm. Lining was at 9mm+
The fingers are still crossed....

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Let the injections begin!

Friday morning we starting our injections. I am on 175 of Follistem in the morning, 250 of Follistem mixed with 150 of Menipur in the evening. Adding Dexomethosone and keeping with the Metformin. Of course we throw in some baby aspirin and prenatal vitamins to the mix.
Poor DH has a horrible time giving me the shots. I wish there was a way to keep him out of this part...but I just can't bear to do it myself. I can't even rip off a band-aid!

My belly is already sore and it has only been 36 hours. I'm hoping I continue to feel good like I did the last cycle. But then again, I didn't see a BFP, so maybe feeling bad is better? My mind does crazy things about now. Alas....

Two hours until the next shot. Good times!

IVF #4 (fresh)

Meds = Antagonist Cycle. Follistem (adjusted dosages) both AM and PM; Menipur 150 in PM; Ganerelix; Metformin; Dexomethosome; Estrogen; Doxycycline; Medrol; Lovinox and progesterone injections

Retrieval = Everything went great! They got 31 eggs. I did get a moderate case of OHSS due to my egg count and estrogen levels. I received a Hespan infusion and had to continue being monitored while on a salty diet. They were concerned about the transfer and warned that I may have to have surgery to remove the excess water behind my uterus.

Fertilization Reports - 22 eggs fertilized. 18 made it to day 3. 10 made it to blast. 8 frozen on day 6.

Transfer (day 5 - blast) = I get to have the transfer! We decided to transfer two of our best embryos. One was at 100 cells and the other at 60-80, which the doctor said was great. It took many tries to get the catheter in, as I have a curved uterus and my bladder was too full. After relieving myself a bit, we had success and in they went.

2WW = Feeling super bloated from OHSS. Cramping until about day 11. Continued with progesterone, estrogen, and Lovinox (ouch!!). Scared and nervous, but feeling positive and optimistic.

Blood Test = Survey saiys: BFN, which was a bit of a shock. Next plan of attack is to use the frozen embryos.

IVF #2 (fresh)

We have the new doctor, so everything should be perfect now! The new place is super fancy and well organized. We even have our own nurse! The little things get us excited at this point. Having my own "nurse" to call seems to luxurious. I continued my healthy ways and added hypnosis to the list. This really helped with the injections and to keep me calm.

Meds = We started with Lupron and continued to retrieval; a ton of Menipur mixed with Follistem and Follistem by itself; vitamins; baby aspirin; oil based progesterone injection (and I thought the suppository was bad!); a slew of antibiotics and immunity boosting drugs. Even DH had to take something.

Retrieval = I was a wreck in the morning. I tried my hypnosis and nothing worked. My stomach was in knots.Hmmm...not as luxurious as it was in the beginning. First the lady giving me my IV line slipped and nearly ripped my vein out. The room was crowded, though we were hidden by a privacy curtain. A curtain as thin as the sheets at Motel 6. I had to WALK...yes, not kidding here....WALK into the OR before I was sedated. Pleasant, let me tell you. I ended up with hyperstimulation and was put on bed rest with a diet of salt and NO water. They said to call if I got really bloated. Let me think about that. I am not allowed to drink water and I have to eat salty foods. Not bloat - I don't think so. Weird thing....I didn't! Sadly we only got 7 embryos from 18 follicles. The doctor is baffled. Three fertilize and make it to day 3.

Transfer (day 3) = The doctor called to say the embryos looked so good, they are only putting in 2. We did Assisted Hatching this time. I had to go in with a full bladder. Has anyone even enjoying having to be spread eagle with a doctor between her legs while holding in about 2 liters of water. I don't recommend it. We transferred 2 little guys that received near perfect ratings. Watching through the sono made me cry. Ahhhhhh. I saw the little guys burst into their nesting place. The third guy made it to blast and was frozen.

TTW = Awful and sweet! The doctor had such high hopes for us this time and gave me a 50%+ chance of becoming pregnant. We were feeling so good. About 2 days before testing, I had a feeling I was getting my AF. I completely broke down and prepared for the inevitable.

Blood Test = BFN, as expected. We went in two weeks later for a follow up. Brand new protocol and trying again.

FET #1 (frozen)

Yippee - we get to use frozen embryos, which means no shots! Umm...WRONG!

Meds = 2-4 vials of Repronex; prenatal vitamins; baby aspirin; pill suppository progesterone (so not fun!)

Transfer = Why are they so painful! Only 2 of the 4 frozen embryos made it through the thaw. Bed rest for 3 days - strict!

TTW = This time I had to go back to work. Not too stressful, but with the holidays and report cards due...what can I say. Then we find out my brother and sister-in-law are 2 months along with their first. Sure, I was happy for them...but really that devil inside me was furious!

Blood test = After the morning we took the test I was a wreck. I have never felt so nervous and anxious in my life. Taking the SATs, making it through graduate school, and a root canal felt like meditation compared to this feeling. Later that afternoon, before hearing the results, I got my AF. We have another winner!

Next steps = FIRE DOCTOR!

IVF #1 (fresh)

We started the process in June 2007. I now know that this doctor was not as diligent as my current one. I did not know as much as I do now...but maybe that was a good thing!

I did everything right. I stopped drinking alcohol, ate SUPER health, got regular exercise, meditated, got acupuncture, and practiced positive thinking.

Meds = Repronex (2-4 vials/day); mid-cycle lupron type medication (name escapes me...something with a "C"); baby aspirin; prenatal vitamin; progesterone cream

Retrieval = 12 eggs; 10 look good; 8 fertilized

Transfer = 4 embryos; one at blast; bed rest 3 days

TWW = as pleasant as can be expected. Some stress.

Blood test = We got the results of our BFN just after leaving a birthday party for a friend's one-year-old daughter.

IVF Drama Unscripted