Three Days In

Three days of stims so far & I just started f.low today. Not heavy or anything, but I had cramps all night & most of the day. Also lots of ovary tenderness. Not sure if that's the meds or cycle starting. But, if it's the meds... it's huge! Last time, I didn't feel anything until nearly a week into stimming.

Tomorrow we have an u/s. Super early in the morning, but much better than driving to the clinic. It may take a bit of time to get the stuff set up with the hospital's lab, but I guess it'll be okay. It'll be odd to bring little E with me to the u/s + b/w, but it's just gonna be how it'll have to be.

I am trying not to overthink, but I am so anxious to find out how my ov.aries are doing. I'm sure no one else remembers, but we do not want to have any embryos cryo'ed. I know, I know, that completely limits any future success. Last time, we didn't produce enough eggs to even have that option, but it may be a possibility this cycle. Our clinic is actually a forerunner in the oocyte/egg freezing area, but am not sure how much extra it'll cost over the traditional cycle & if they will even freeze only 3 or 4 eggs. Before (2.5yrs ago), she said it takes, on average, 10 eggs to produce a live birth. But, I'd rather pursue that than just toss the "extra" eggs out. Depending on how tomorrow's appt goes & how many follicles we have then, we will see what we potentially will be working with. After that, I plan to call the oocyte cyro nurse to chat.

I'm sure there is something going on in there... it hurts to sit up or lean over, I have to recline most of the time! I say that & we'll only have 4 follies tomorrow! ;) Oh, well, we can only do what we can do!

I assume I will start the Ganirelix Saturday or Sunday. Has been nice to not have the Lupron so far. Better get going, little E has dragged his Fisher Price lawnmower on the bed...

Good Evening, All!

Photos

IVF Start Date!

So, we officially started IVF #2 today! And I am officially excited!

As far as antral follicles, I am starting with 4 on the right side and 5 on the left side. Am actually pleased with that. In May, there was only 7 for that cycle. I am scheduled for the next u/s on Friday taking 4 Bravelle plus 2 Menopur. The injection hurt the whole time! Like stung for about 20m following. That didn't happen with the first time around, but I assume the increased concentration of the injection.

Not too much more to report! Hope you all had a wonderful day!!

So Close

Tomorrow morning, I head three plus hours away for our IVF start appt. Just the initial bloodwork & ultrasound + nurse consult to sign paperwork & review meds. I am guessing our next u/s will be here in town on Friday, but I wi know for sure tomorrow by the end of the appt.

We got the meds in last Thursday & I am still amazed at the copay. Since we have a coverage cap for the IVF, I am wondering if they will still allow med coverage if we need to cycle again (even though we will pay most of the clinic's fees out of pocket) as our authorization is valid for a year from today.

But, I really hope we don't have to worry about another cycle!! :)

I will update, at least, for my own records how many antral follicles we are starting with.

Getting very excited, nervous, & emotional already! Hard to fall asleep when I am thinking so much about it!!

Quick Update: IVF #2

We finish BCPs Friday in anticipation of a start date of next Tuesday.

Got the call from the pharmacy today... I am still in shock at what the copay is... much less than I even anticipated! The meds are being delivered tomorrow. And, get this, 40 vials of Bravelle & 20 vials of Menopur are in the box. WHOA! And, hopefully that will be enough for the stims. I am guessing we will stim the same number of days this time as last time... 10 days. Wonder if it'll be less or more?

I go for my first u/s of the cycle Tuesday & then start stims that night. Hoping I will have more than the 7 antral follicles I started with in May when they found the polyp. Hoping for three eggs at retrieval!

Will update with more later. Just wanted to put it all done there!

Poo-Poo-Polyp

So, went for the mock transfer yesterday & the doctor "discovered" a polyp. Thankfully, so far it doesn't seem to interfere with our schedule. I will have a hysteroscopy next Tuesday, stop BCPs next Friday, then have my IVF start date the next Tuesday. So, two weeks from now. It appears we may be able to schedule an appointment or two here locally for monitoring, but I will still be heading to our clinic (approx 3 hrs away) most of the time.

I read up a bit on my phone about polyps... apparently they can also be a cause of infertility. Which means the last year we really didn't have a chance of getting pregnant anyhow.

I will admit... I am pretty upset. We do have IVF coverage, but it appears to be only enough for one cycle. Which, I am completely grateful. Knowing this in advance gives us some time to plan on another cycle if need be & saving up for it. At yesterday's appt, there were only 6 antral follicles. Ouch. Maybe we can still get 2 or 3 eggs from this cycle.

Anyone else been through this? A bit of advice would be awesome. If not, that's cool, too. Plan is still on, but I am just trying to take it day-by-day. Should hear from the insurance company's specialty pharmacy soon about making a payment & having it sent. Our protocol will be 4 bravelle and 2 menopur starting day 1. Starting off hard & fast right from the get-go. And apparently, Lupron is outta production, but we were planning on Antagon anyhow. Less shots is nice, too! ;)

Been A While

It has been a while... not sure I have anyone that even keeps up, but I am definitely checking in on many other IF blogs out there. I thought I'd update since my first time around the fertility clinic.

And, guess what?

I am hoping to get back in the st.irrups again.

Seems like it is pregnancy-central-station around here. Even though I have been hoping to become pregnant since my cycle returned about a year ago, it (obviously & expectantly) hasn't happened.

I have mentioned before that our new insurance has fertility coverage. No charge once the deductible is met. So, that & enjoying our first little guy so much hasn't made me feel rushed to hop back in.

I guess I feel like we're reading. DH has already mentioned adoption several times & he's also open to cycling. I scheduled the initial/physician consult today. It's going to be in just over two weeks from now.

I'm excited, nervous, & worried already that it won't work. Yikes.

I am guessing the earliest we could cycle would be April/May if I walk away with a BCP prescription. I have been looking through past blog posts & my old yearly calender to determine how the sequence went last time. The initial appointment will be with a different FS at the practice. I would like to go with the same as first time around, but he no longer travels to my town & I just don't feel like going to Jax already. I know we will be over there many times in the next couple of months, so I'd like to do as much as possible here in my area.

The clinic, too, has lowered much of their prices. Even with our coverage, this seems like a huge blessing. ICSI cost is almost half of what it was when we cycled. They even offer a mini-stim cycle... sounds like our first go-around... not intended to be a mini-stim, though! :) If you can recall, I produced only 4 eggs with 1 being immature & unable to be fertilized.

So, anyone else out there gone through the same clinic for your second cycle? I guess I am considered almost like a brand-new patient. How did it work out for you? Did they follow the same protocol for your next cycle? Did it take a long time to actively cycle or did they letcha hop right in?

Any advice or answers you can offer would be greatly appreciated!!

Oh, since last update, E has turned ONE... almost ONE.HALF now! I am working full time at the local hospitals in the labor & delivery unit (ironic, right?) nights & we purchased a new home. Lots of changes, but good changes. I hope the appointment scheduling does not interfere with my work schedule, but hopefully it won't be an issue. My bosses seem very open, so I plan to just talk to them once I get through this initial consult.

Have a wonderful evening!