IVF Monitoring Appointment #3

So we had a crazy surprise today!!! My lining grew from 4mm to 9mm in just 2 days!! I have no idea how it happened but we are super happy. I'm back on for a fresh transfer now. Last night was my last night of stim shots. I took my ganirelix this morning and I'll be triggering tonight with Lupron. 32 measurable follicles today. I'm so ready and excited for my retrieval on Friday. We are flying out tomorrow at 6:50pm. Wish us luck!

Update: My Estradiol is really high now (4,856), so we are doing a fresh 3 day transfer and growing the rest to 5 days before freezing. Triggering tonight at 9:30pm!

Poke Count:

Arm: 5  Stomach: 24  Ultrasound: 5

IVF Monitoring Appointment #2

Today sucks. I had my second monitoring appointment and it went ok. I had 34 measurable follicles between 9-18mm. But my lining is a measly 4mm. No where near thick enough for a fresh transfer. So my transfer has been cancelled and I'm only doing my retrieval on Friday and then flying back home on Saturday. I still have to wait another few weeks to do my transfer. I feel like nothing in this process can go smoothly for me.

Poke Count:

Arm: 4  Stomach: 19  Ultrasound: 4

IVF Monitoring Appointment #1

Today was my first IVF Monitoring appointment and it went great! I had 20 measurable follicles around 10-12mm and 4-5 more smaller one that may catch up. My estrogen was 867 which is great. My lining is still thin but they said it should thicken up by next week. I start Ganirelix tomorrow morning so now I do shots in the morning and evenings. Today was halfway done with stim shots. A week from today we should be doing my retrieval.

Poke Count:

Arm: 3  Stomach: 10  Ultrasound: 3

Last night was the first night I had to "shoot up" somewhere other than home. I had to take my meds to church (1 hour away) in a small ice chest and do my shots in one of the side buildings during service. It went ok though and I didn't have any issues. My husband is working out of state right now so I'm doing the shots by myself now. I actually like it more than when someone does it for me because I can control it better.

Today is the first day I've woken up feeling just awful. I started another medicine last night - Low Dose Naltrexone. It gave me crazy dreams all night and this awful headache this morning. Also, when I ben over my stomach now hurts. I'm not sure if it's from the shots or my ovaries. Stim night 4 is tonight at my in-law's house since I'm staying there so my MIL can ride with me to my appointment tomorrow morning.

Poke Count:

Arm: 2  Stomach: 6  Ultrasound: 2

Baselines and Starting Stims - Stim Day 1

So today I had my second baseline appointment. It went great! I had roughly 35-40 resting follicles total and they expect me to have a very high response to the meds. It looks like we are all set to start stimming medications (150iu Follistim and 75iu Menopur) tonight at 8pm. I'm starting to get so nervous but also very excited. I'll put an update on this post after we do the shots. Hopefully in 11 days we'll be doing our egg retrieval!!

*Update - first night of shots went great. The needles didn’t hurt much but the medicine burned some. 1 day down, 9 to go.

 

 

Poke Count:

 

Arm: 2   Stomach: 2  Ultrasound:  2

Is this a bad sign of things to come?

We are now 4 days away from starting my stimulation injections for IVF. I ordered the donor sperm and had it shipped on Monday to arrive on Wednesday. My RE's office called me this morning to say that the vial arrived completely thawed and useless. Apparently, the current ice storm in Louisiana where my cryobank is at affected the delivery. Thankfully, the cryobank is sending a replacement vial free of charge for us. They are shipping it next Monday since I didn't actually need it until retrieval in 2 weeks. I'm just very glad that my RE advised me to order my vial early in case something like this happened.

Also, today we found out the results of DH's fifth semen analysis, and as expected, he still does not have any sperm. Even though we expect this result, it still really sucks. Just 2 more birth control pills, tonight and tomorrow. I'm starting to get so excited.

Saline Ultrasound Experience

I went to my local RE today for a saline ultrasound since he wanted to check and make sure all of the septum was removed. I really was dreading this appointment because I had heard that it hurt pretty bad, so I took some Ibuprofen before I left for my appointment. It actually wasn't that bad at all. I only had minor cramping when they inserted the speculum and catheter through my cervix. The saline part didn't hurt at all. The good news is my uterus looks great!! No more septum. This definitely helps with my pervious fear of miscarriage. So now just 8 more days of birth control after today and 11 days until I start stims!!

IVF Cycle 1 - First Baseline Appointment

My first ever IVF baseline appointment went well. The tech said I have "beautiful" ovaries which had over 10 follicles on each. She said she thinks I'll get a bunch of eggs at retrieval. I also had blood work done. They think this will all be covered on my insurance, so I only had to pay $55 today. Here's to hoping it stays that way!!

Now I'll be starting birth control tomorrow, and ending around the 17th. I still plan on starting stims on the 22nd unless something changes. My meds also arrived today so I'm just ready to get started.

 

 

 

Poke Count:

 

Arm: 1  Ultrasound: 1

Waiting on AF to arrive.. Starting my first IVF cycle soon!

I know our plans have changed a few times due to test results and other factors, but as of now we are planning to start our first IVF cycle this month!! I'm waiting on AF to arrive sometime this weekend so I can begin birth control. I'll go to my local RE sometime between CD 6-10 to get a follow up ultrasound to make sure the septum is gone. My husband's SA is a week from today on January 11. We should receive his results on January 18. I plan on starting stims on January 22 if all goes well which is only EIGHTEEN days away!!!

My meds will be arriving tomorrow and Saturday. I actually ended up buying my Follistim, Menopur and Ganirelix from a previous patient at my clinic. I know it's super risky and it's the first time I've ever done this, but I saved so much money I had to give it a try. I ordered 2 900iu boxes of Follistim, a Follistim pen, 10 vials of Menopur, and 5 Ganirelix boxes for $850 including shipping!! Those medicines will arrive tomorrow. I also ordered my 2 Lupron triggers from Cornerstone Fertility Pharmacy for $118. It will be arriving Saturday. I previously bought my PIO from my local CVS for $12 for 2 vials. Everything else was covered 100% by my insurance. I will have only spent $980 for all of my IVF meds which is amazing!!!

Our expected IVF costs have changed. Here they are as it stands today:

Cycle Cost: $3,900.00 (includes 1 retrieval and FETs for $250 each for up to one year after your retrieval)
Donor Sperm: $600.00
Pre-Cycle Tests: $150.00 (they let me waive almost all of the testing)
Monitoring: $1,000 (doing this at my local RE)
Medications: $980.00 (they let me order from overseas which saved a ton of money!)
Travel: $1,400.00 (this includes flights, hotel room, food, car rental, etc.)
Total: $8,030.00

As of right now my protocol is 150ius of Follistim and 75ius of Menopur per day and I'm expected to stim for 10 days. We'll see if my body decides to go with the program. I've never been so excited and impatient for AF to arrive in my life!

EDIT - AF arrived around 4pm today!! Going for baselines either tomorrow or Monday and then I’ll start birth control!