Transfer Complete!

I am back from our transfer and it couldn't have went better.  If you remember from my previous post my clinic grades embryos on a scale of 1-3 with 1 being the best and 3 being the worst.  They found no difference in pregnancy rates between grade 1 and grade 2 blasts.

 We transferred one grade 1 expanded blast and one grade 2 early blast.  I am officially PUPO!  The downside is that it looks like once again we will have nothing to freeze, but I am not going to worry about that right now.

The great part of a day 5 transfer is that you are almost halfway through the 2WW by the time you transfer.  Beta is in 8 days, but I imagine I will test before that.  That is if I can remember to test out my trigger.  I keep forgetting until after I have already peed in the morning.


Here is a pic of our little blasts.  A friend of mine thought the top blast looks like it might be hatching, which is a great sign.

Day 28 of IVF #3

Tomorrow is transfer day.  I am scheduled for transfer at 12:30pm, which means  I have to empty my bladder at 11:30 and then start drinking a liter of water.  A full bladder is definitely the worst part of the transfer.

I won't get anymore updates on my embryos until we make it to the clinic.  They only call on day 5 if the transfer is canceled or if they have to push you back to day 6 to give your embryos an extra day.  So for the next 16.5 hours I will be willing my phone not to ring!

Day 3 Report is in

Well I got the call with our Day 3 report and while it wasn't as great as our fert report, it wasn't terrible either.

My clinic gives embryos a grade of 1-3 based on the amount of fragmentation.  Grade 1=no fragmentation, Grade2= minimal fragmentation, and Grade 3= significant fragmentation.  Fragmentation is when pieces of the cell break off as the cells divide which can be a sign of a poor quality embryo, but not always.  There is no difference in success rates from a grade 1 or a grade 2 embryo.  They also look at the number of cells an embryo has on day 3.  A normally growing embryo has 6-10 cells on day 3.  More or less cells is a sign that the embryo isn't growing correctly and is likely aneuploid, or has a chromosomal issue.

My 8 embryos were graded as follows:

3 Grade 2- two 7 cell and one 8 cell
5 Grade 3- one 4 cell, two 7 cell, and two 8 cell

It's a little disappointing to have so many grade 3 embryos, but I know from experience that an embryo's grade can improve from day 3 to day 5.  Last cycle we only had grade 2 and grade 3 embryos, but ended up with a grade 1 early blast to transfer on day 5.

Fert Report is in...

We had 8 retrieved, 8 mature, and 8 fertilized normally!  That's a 100% fert rate!

This is such amazing news for us.  Our fert rates have never been stellar, especially considering we used ICSI on all of our cycles.  Our first IVF we had a 60% fert rate (6R 5M 3F) and it was slightly better for IVF #2 at 71% (8R 7M 5F).  Having 8 embryos to work with is such a blessing.

Now the long wait begins for our Day 3 embryo report on Monday.

Day 25 of IVF #3 Retrieval and Waiting for Fert Report

Yesterday was my ER and in my anesthesial and Valium induced fog, I forgot to post how it went.  The procedure went smoothly and we got 8 eggs, the same number we got last cycle.  I won't lie there were a few tears of disappointment.  I had really hoped that the increased stims and more follicles at my monitoring appointments meant that we would get a few more eggs.  The good news is that my RE thought that they all looked great.  Also I keep reminding myself that we had 8 retrieved last time and made it to transfer, so we can do it again this time.

Right now I am waiting for my clinic to call with out fert report.  They will be able to tell us how many were mature and how many fertilized.  Last cycle we had 8R/7M/5F and ended up with one early blast on day 5.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we end up with more mature and more fertilized this cycle.

Day 22 of IVF #3 Trigger Day

I am triggering tonight at 10:30 pm for retrieval at 10:00 am on Friday.  I also start clindomycin suppositories tonight, loads of fun.

Day 21 of IVF #3 Monitoring Appointment #2

I had my second monitoring appointment today and my follies seem to be growing nicely.  The majority of my follicles are between 15 and 17mm, but I did have a few that are still at 13mm.  My lead follie on the right was up to 19mm today and the big surprise was that my largest follie on my lazy left ovary grew from 16mm to 20mm in 24 hours!  I have 3 decent size follies on the left and maybe 8-10 on the right (I lost count, so this is an estimate).  Hopefully this means that we will be able to retrieve a good number of eggs at retrieval.

I was given instructions to stim tonight and I will trigger tomorrow for retrieval on Friday.  They will call tomorrow with my time to trigger and my time for my ER on Friday.  I officially took my last (hopefully forever!) injection of follistim and menopur just minutes ago.  It's really bittersweet.  I've spent so much of the last 15 months doing infertility treatments or planning for treatment cycles.  I haven't put much thought into what it will be like to be done with treatments to be on the it her side of infertility.

This cycle feels different though, I can't explain it, but it feels good, it feels right.  I spent so much of the last two cycles nervous and terrified of the cycle failing.  This cycle, for some reason, I'm not nervous or scared (or at least not right now).  I am also nowhere near as stressed as I was the last two cycles, despite both DH and I being really busy at work.  Maybe it's just because this is our third round of IVF and I am an old hat at this stuff, but I would like to think that this is a sign that this is our cycle.

Day 20 of IVF #3 First Monitoring Appointment

Today was my first monitoring appointment and I think it went well.  I had 16 measurable follicles, 12 on the right and 4 on the left (apparently my left ovary is mostly for decoration).  About 4-6 of the follies are still pretty small (10-11 mm), but hopefully at least some of them have time to catch up.  Right now the cycle looks better than last cycle, I think I had 10-12 follies (including the small ones) at this point last cycle.

According to the RE, I am about a half a day ahead of last cycle since my lead follicle is at 17 mm and last cycle it was 16 mm at this point.  I go in for more monitoring tomorrow morning, but I think I am still on track for trigger on Wednesday and retrieval on Friday.

Day 19 of IVF #3

Not much to update, still stimming away.  I did realize today how much meds I've wasted the last 2 cycles.  My clinic has always told me to save my extra follistim (overfill in the vials) and if I end up stimming longer than average, I can use the overfill for my last dose.  In both of my last 2 cycles, I never needed the extra and it expires 28 days after opening it.  This time I pulled the overfill into an insulin syringe and then injected it back into the vial I have been injecting out of the last two days.  I probably got around 300 IU out of the overfill of two 900 IU vials.  If I stim the same number of days as last time, I might end up with an extra 300 IU cartridge that I won't even need to open!

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day (or the first big day in a series of big days).  It's my first monitoring appointment.  I'll get to finally see what's going on with my ovaries.  The bad part about this being IVF #3 is that in my head I keep comparing this cycle to my previous two.  Am I feeling more in my ovaries this cycle?  Am I more bloated?  I think I feel my left ovary more than I did last cycle, maybe that's a sign that I am actually going to have some follies on it this cycle.  I can drive myself crazy if I don't make myself stop.

The other elephant in the room is that my RE had told us we could cancel the cycle if we aren't seeing the response we want.  I just don't know if I could make the decision to cancel.  I feel like I am all in at this point, it's now or never.  Since I think we have pretty much decided that this is the last cycle we are doing with my eggs, I think we will see this cycle through.  I really hope that we get more eggs this cycle.  My goal in my head is 10 eggs.  This probably means I am going to need 12-15 decent sized follies, so I really need my left ovary to play this cycle!

Day 18 of IVF #3

Day 18 and more stims.  I forgot to post yesterday, but my Intralipid infusion went well.  It only took two sticks to get the IV in.  However my hand is still bruised and a bit swollen today.

I actually did something I normally don't do, I chatted with another patient.  The girl that was getting her infusion the same time as me was also getting Intralipids.  It turns out that she was pregnant with twins from her first her first round of IVF that she did in Barbados.  She was completely shocked to find out they were having twins because her betas indicated only a small chance of her pregnancy being viable, her beta doubling times were much longer than the 72 hour minimum that doctors like to see.  I'm taking her story as a sign that miracles do happen.

Also the nurse that was doing my Intralipid infusion was pregnant.  She was acting as a gestational carrier for her niece and nephew.  It took them two rounds of IVF to get pregnant.

Infertility can be so isolating, that I often forget that there are other people out there whose lives are touched by infertility.  I'm taking both of these stories as signs of hope for our cycle.

Day 16 of IVF #3

I forgot to post yesterday, but I am chugging along on stims.  Yesterday I dropped my follistim down to 375 IU and added 37.5 units (half a vial) of menopur.

Tomorrow is my Intralipid infusion.  The infusion center I am using is about 45 minutes away and they are calling for possible snow tonight.  I have no idea how long it is going to take me to get there if I have to deal with snow on top of rush hour traffic.  Good news is that it looks like I don't have the same idiot nurse as last time, so hopefully all goes smoothly.

Current Meds:

Supplements
Ubiquinol (advanced active CoQ10) 300mg
L-Arginine 2000mg
DHA 200mg
Vitamin C 500mg
Myo Inositol 3g (directions say 2 3g doses daily, but I usually forget the 2nd dose)
Prenatal Vitamin w/DHA
Melatonin 3g

IVF Meds
Ganirelix 125mcg (1/2 syringe)
Dexamethasone .75mg

Folic Acid 1mg

375 IU Follistim
37.5 units of Menopur

Day 14 of IVF #3 and WTH Husband?!

Day 2 of stims, nothing new to report.

So I am pretty sure that DH must really like giving me a shot in the butt.  This is the second day in a row that he has asked if he needs to give me a shot today.  Again today I had to explain that Progesterone injections don't start until after egg retrieval.  I am pretty sure I remembering him asking the same thing with IVF #2.  I wonder if I should start to worry...

Day 13 of IVF #3

Today I started stims.  I didn't realize it, but I am on a high enough dose of follistim that I had to do two injections because the pen doesn't go that high.

I also had someone ask if I was pregnant today,  I told her no that I was just fat.  I had been hoping that my weight gain wasn't that noticeable, but I guess it is.  On top of this I am still dealing with hot flashes, night sweats, heart burn, and headaches.   Fertility drugs are so much fun.

Current Meds:

Supplements
Ubiquinol (advanced active CoQ10) 300mg
L-Arginine 2000mg
DHA 200mg
Vitamin C 500mg
Myo Inositol 3g (directions say 2 3g doses daily, but I usually forget the 2nd dose)
Prenatal Vitamin w/DHA
Melatonin 3g

IVF Meds
Ganirelix 125mcg (1/2 syringe)

Dexamethasone .75mg

Folic Acid 1mg

525 IU Follistim

Ugh!

I am pretty sure that I must have the stomach virus that my nephew had a couple of days ago or I ate something bad yesterday.  I am afraid to get too far away from the bathroom.  Not exactly the best time for this crap (Pun intended, let's just say I haven't thrown up).

This is putting a dent in the productive Saturday I had planned.  I have managed to get the dishwasher loaded, bed made, fold a load of laundry, and put another load on to wash.  I might be able to get the floors swept and mopped, but I think I am going to have to skip my trip to Walmart and the grocery store.  Maybe I can talk DH into running my errands for me...

Day 9 of IVF #3 Baseline U/S and Blood Work

Well, today was my baseline u/s and blood work and it went ok. I didn't have any cysts, so that's good, but I am still waiting to start my period. The RE thinks it should be soon based on my u/s. I hope she is right because I don't want any delays. I am scheduled to start stims on Monday.

 I also had to get my blood drawn for E2 (estradiol) levels. My clinic recently switched labs that they used so this was the first time I had ever been to this lab. The lady that drew my blood was terrible. I am pretty sure that she hit a nerve while digging around for my vein. I thought I was going to pass out and I never feel sick getting my blood drawn.

 It probably didn't help that today was my first day of ganirelix and I feel completely lousy. I have had hot flashes all morning and just feel terrible. I just want to go home and go to bed.

Current Meds:

Supplements
Ubiquinol (advanced active CoQ10) 300mg
L-Arginine 2000mg
DHA 200mg
Vitamin C 500mg
Myo Inositol 3g (directions say 2 3g doses daily, but I usually forget the 2nd dose)
Prenatal Vitamin w/DHA
Melatonin 3g

IVF Meds
Ganirelix 125mcg (1/2 syringe)
Dexamethasone .75mg

Day 8 of IVF #3 and random musings

Today is day 8 of IVF #3 and my last day of Lupron!  Tomorrow is my baseline u/s and E2 blood work.  i woke up this morning with some light spotting, so I thought "great my period is just in time for my baseline."  Nope, 14 hours later spotting has pretty much stopped.  Unless my period shows up overnight, I doubt my lining is going to be thin tomorrow.

So far my side effects haven't been too bad.  I haven't had the headaches and hot flashes that I have had during the last two cycles and my insomnia hasn't been nearly as bad.  My worst side effects have been heartburn and acid reflux.  I also have had some night sweats.  My big concern is starting ganirelix tomorrow.  Last cycle I had terrible heartburn when I was on ganirelix and since I have already been dealing within heartburn, I worry about how I am going to feel tomorrow.

I was thinking about what the hardest part of infertility is.  When I tell people about our IVF cycles and exactly what it entails, I usually hear, "Wow, I could never give myself all of those shots."  If I mention the side effects from the meds, I hear about how crazy the meds are.  But it's not the injections or side effects that are hard.  Injections are easy and the side effects are temporary.  It's the not knowing if we will be successful.  I could do IVF 10 or 20 times if I knew that we would eventually get pregnant (and I had the money to pay for it).  It's also the coming to terms with the fact that we have to pay tens of thousands of dollars, for what most people get for free.  It's watching my friends from high school who got married over the summer announce their pregnancies and realizing that I have been doing infertility treatments longer than they tried to get pregnant.  It's realizing that a friend from college has gotten pregnant, had a baby and gotten pregnant again in the time we have been trying to conceive.  It's realizing just how far I've pulled away from my friends over the last 2+ years.

It's not that I am mad that they got pregnant quickly.  I am honestly happy for them.  I hate infertility and I would never wish it on anyone.  It's just that I am sad for me and getting impatient.  I feel like I have waited long enough.  I need this cycle to work.

Day 6 of IVF #3

Not much to update, except I stopped BCPs.  My period should be here in a few days and my baseline u/s and E2 blood work is Thursday.

Current Meds:

Supplements
Ubiquinol (advanced active CoQ10) 300mg
L-Arginine 2000mg
DHA 200mg
Vitamin C 500mg
Myo Inositol 3g (directions say 2 3g doses daily, but I usually forget the 2nd dose)
Prenatal Vitamin w/DHA
Melatonin 3g

IVF Meds
Lupron 5 units
Dexamethasone .75mg

Day 4 of IVF #3

Today is Day 4 of Lupron and tomorrow is my last BCP! Yay!  Then it's just waiting for my period and baseline u/s and blood work on Thursday.

So DH and I had discussed that we needed to get our house cleaned up and organized since we both are going to be so busy the next few weeks (me - IVF, project deadline at work, and a full schedule of meetings with our UK office and DH just found out his boss needs Quadruple bypass surgery so he'll be extra busy at work as well).  I spent the entire day cleaning our kitchen, organizing our pantry and cabinets, doing dishes, sweeping, mopping, putting away laundry, and organizing our linen closet (which now can actually hold linens!).  Tomorrow's list is taking down the Christmas tree, straightening up the living room, and cleaning the bathroom.

In addition to my cleaning tirade, I also had to make a winter storm preparation shopping trip this morning, to prepare for the 8-12 inches of snow that is supposed to come tonight and tomorrow.  It's a good thing I went early, people were posting pics on Facebook of the stores later in the day and they were crazy!  The lines looked like the day after thanksgiving.  I picked up a few groceries and some gloves and a thermal shirt for DH and a stocking hat for me.  I think we are prepared, bring on the snow.

Day 3 of IVF #3

Today is day 3 of IVF #3 and the rest of my meds arrived today.  Here's a picture of my current med/supplement stash:

I can't believe how quickly this cycle is going.  I feel like I just started BCPs and now I am already doing injections and getting ready for my baseline u/s and blood work on Thursday.  So far things are going smoothly this cycle.  I haven't had any bruising from the injections.  My first cycle my stomach was a bruised mess and last cycle I just had a few bruises.  I wonder if it might be because I have a little more padding for the subQ injections?  

The side effects haven't been too bad yet this cycle.  So far the insomnia has stayed away (Thank Goodness!), but I have been having night sweats something fierce.  it was so bad last night that I had to change the sheets this morning, because I felt so gross.  I also have been super hungry (Thank you steroids) and have had a little heartburn.  The real test will be starting ganirelix next week.  I felt horrible when I started it last cycle.

One shot down...

Hopefully a lot more to go!

I did my first Lupron injection for IVF #3 this morning and took my first dose of dexamethasone (steroid).  Lupron is probably my favorite injectable med because it is so easy.  The doses are super small and you use a tiny insulin syringe/needle.  Dexamethasone is my least favorite med (I even like PIO better than dex!).  I blame dex for my insomnia and weight gain.

For those that wonder what my daily med routine looks like, here is what I am currently taking:

Supplements
Ubiquinol (advanced active CoQ10) 300mg
L-Arginine 2000mg
DHA 200mg
Vitamin C 500mg
Myo Inositol 3g (directions say 2 3g doses daily, but I usually forget the 2nd dose)
Prenatal Vitamin w/DHA
Melatonin 3g

IVF Meds
Lupron 10 units
Dexamethasone .75mg
Birth Control Pill