OMG!!!!! The doc called us a little while ago and said today we have 19 Grade 1 embryos which she said were all A+ She said we have a 60-65% success rate if we transfer one and a 60-65% success rate if we transfer "2" but also a 50% chance of twins.... Finch and I talked and have decided to transfer 2 blastocysts.
We have not come this far after this long to risk only transferring one...that's our thoughts. Doc said we would have several left to freeze so who knows what the future will bring with more babies :)
Transfer date has been set for Sunday, April 17th.
Acupuncture is scheduled at 11:15am prior to Transfer.
Transfer at 12:30pm.
Then Acupuncture again immediately after Transfer.
Bed rest for the next 24 hours.
This all feels surreal - we are so close to our dream. Come on Sunday!
We just watched this couple from North Carolina that implanted 2 and have 2 sets of identical twins!!!! Um ....I don't know if we are prepared for all of that - one or two would be just perfect!
I have listened to the doc very well and don't have any symptoms of OHSS, thank you God.
We are waiting on a friend to come till our little flower and herb garden out back so we can work on redesigning it this spring....then we are off to dinner. I haven't felt like leaving the house since Tuesday so will be happy for a change of scenery. Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
*Day 5 Transfer*
Our nurse just called and the report is in.... Day 5 Transfer it is!
She said all 23 are continuing to grow...
We have 15 that are 4-cell, 3 that are 5-cell, 3 that are 3-cell and 2 that are 2-cell. She said we will have our 5-day transfer on Sunday!!!!! Wow!!!
She said that the ones they would be watching are the 15, 4-cell ones for transfer.
I am feeling much better today - just a little cramping thank goodness.
One of the medicines is making me dizzy and nauseous though.
Finch is home with me all day today so I am very happy. She made me a blueberry waffle this morning with scrambled eggs which was really nice.... I
am going to try and get some work done since I will be off on Monday with bed rest again after the transfer.
Here's hoping for lots of "sticky vibes" on Sunday. We will have acupuncture immediately before and after the transfer which is supposed to help with implantation. Fingers and toes crossed we will be joining the "mommies-to-be" club very soon!
She said all 23 are continuing to grow...
We have 15 that are 4-cell, 3 that are 5-cell, 3 that are 3-cell and 2 that are 2-cell. She said we will have our 5-day transfer on Sunday!!!!! Wow!!!
She said that the ones they would be watching are the 15, 4-cell ones for transfer.
I am feeling much better today - just a little cramping thank goodness.
One of the medicines is making me dizzy and nauseous though.
Finch is home with me all day today so I am very happy. She made me a blueberry waffle this morning with scrambled eggs which was really nice.... I
am going to try and get some work done since I will be off on Monday with bed rest again after the transfer.
Here's hoping for lots of "sticky vibes" on Sunday. We will have acupuncture immediately before and after the transfer which is supposed to help with implantation. Fingers and toes crossed we will be joining the "mommies-to-be" club very soon!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
23 fertilized - hooray!
First of all, thank you so much for all the positive comments everyone has left on our blog! :)
I called to talk to my nurse today to make sure that everything would be ok with my right ovary and she
reassured me that the antibiotics would take care of it - I'm not on any meds for OHSS...I have been drinking tons of Gatorade and eating protein with every meal though. Have been in bed most of today too with a heating pad. Our nurse said that 23 of the eggs fertilized!!!! We had the ICSI procedure done to fertilize them. She said she would call tomorrow with the fertilization report and determine if we will be a 3-day of 5-day transfer. She said she was 99% sure it would be a 5 day transfer so we will see....that would be Sunday! Our dogs are absolutely loving having me home all day and have napped with me the past two days....they are too cute. We will keep you posted and hope to have at least 2 great ones to transfer and to freeze the rest for later...that's our plan for now. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
I called to talk to my nurse today to make sure that everything would be ok with my right ovary and she
reassured me that the antibiotics would take care of it - I'm not on any meds for OHSS...I have been drinking tons of Gatorade and eating protein with every meal though. Have been in bed most of today too with a heating pad. Our nurse said that 23 of the eggs fertilized!!!! We had the ICSI procedure done to fertilize them. She said she would call tomorrow with the fertilization report and determine if we will be a 3-day of 5-day transfer. She said she was 99% sure it would be a 5 day transfer so we will see....that would be Sunday! Our dogs are absolutely loving having me home all day and have napped with me the past two days....they are too cute. We will keep you posted and hope to have at least 2 great ones to transfer and to freeze the rest for later...that's our plan for now. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
32 eggs
The doc retrieved 32 eggs today - we will know tomorrow how many actually fertilized though....
The doc accidentally poked my right ovary with the needle during the procedure though so he put me on antibiotics for the next 5 days to prevent infection. Hopefully it didn't damage it or cause any long term consequences. I started the Estradiol tonight and will start the Endometrium (Progesterone) tomorrow 3 x a day. Have been in bed the rest of the day with a heat pack and taking some pain medicine.....drinking Gatorade and eating protein....will report more tomorrow - thanks for all the wishes!!!! :)
The doc accidentally poked my right ovary with the needle during the procedure though so he put me on antibiotics for the next 5 days to prevent infection. Hopefully it didn't damage it or cause any long term consequences. I started the Estradiol tonight and will start the Endometrium (Progesterone) tomorrow 3 x a day. Have been in bed the rest of the day with a heat pack and taking some pain medicine.....drinking Gatorade and eating protein....will report more tomorrow - thanks for all the wishes!!!! :)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Retrieval Day
We triggered tonight with Lupron at 10:15pm and the Retrieval is scheduled for 10:15am on Tuesday morning!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!! I numbed my hip with a big steak from the freezer and Finch came home from work at 10pm to give me the shot - I didn't even feel it - Thank you God. We were both a little nervous with the trigger shot. My estrogen level is at 4046 today so definitely high risk for OHSS but keeping our fingers crossed that the Gatorade and high protein diet will do the trick!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Estrogen....New Blinds and a theme for our nursery!
So here is our update...we were coasting along quite nicely and the doc seemed to have reduced my dose and I did great for 2-3 days then "today" my bloodwork showed my Estrogen almost doubled overnight from 1808 to 3317 !!! I have 33 follicles and she measured 13 of them that ranged from 12-15mm in size (they need to be at 18 to be mature).... I have read everything I can get my hands on about IVF and realize that anytime your Estrogen is over 3000 you are at high risk for OHSS - the doc called me personally this afternoon (which is never a good sign) and said that she is switching my trigger shot from HCG to Lupron so the chance of OHSS will be much less. I asked her what I could do to lessen my change of OHSS and she said not to drink water...to drink Gatorade or V-8 juice only and to have protein with every meal. The nurse just called me to go over the med instructions for tonight and they have decreased the Gonal F and Menopur to 75u and I return at 9am to the main office for ultrasound and bloodwork. She said I will likely trigger tomorrow night with retrieval set for Tuesday. I am more than a little anxious now - I asked the doc if she would cancel my cycle and she said no chance that we just needed to keep the E at the level it is at and change the trigger. Obviously my body responded like crazy to all the meds but hoping and praying it is not too much and will put it over the top for implantation to occur..... did any of you guys use a Lupron trigger?
Below is my #'s just for my recordkeeping and historical data...
4/6 - Gonal F 112u, Menopur 225u - E=1169, added Ganirelix
4/7 - Ganirelix in the am, then Gonal F 112 u and Menopur 225u.... E=1534
4/8 - Ganirelix in am, Gonal F 112u and Menopur 225u E=1808....27 follicles
4/9 - Ganirelix in am - Estrogren shot up to 3317 overnight - holy crap! the ultrasound showed 17 follicles on one side and 16 on the other for a total of 33! They are ranging in size from 13-16 today
Moving on to more exciting news - we have picked a theme for our nursery....Woodland creatures!
I painted the white enamel trim and Finch painted the room green this week..... we picked out a set of bamboo blinds we like and brought one home to try out today - in the process of taking it out of the packaging with a set of scissors - I CUT the string on the blind!!! ugh! yikes! we put the blinds up and realized they don't have a backing to them and let in way too much light. We are going back tomorrow to pick out the other set that is dark wood but has a backing which will keep out the light and ensure privacy.
We are also searching for modern curtains with a leaf or fern print on them - if you have any ideas of where to find them - let us know :)
The doc said I will trigger tomorrow night likely with a retrieval on Tuesday - will keep you posted!
Happy Saturday!
Below is my #'s just for my recordkeeping and historical data...
4/6 - Gonal F 112u, Menopur 225u - E=1169, added Ganirelix
4/7 - Ganirelix in the am, then Gonal F 112 u and Menopur 225u.... E=1534
4/8 - Ganirelix in am, Gonal F 112u and Menopur 225u E=1808....27 follicles
4/9 - Ganirelix in am - Estrogren shot up to 3317 overnight - holy crap! the ultrasound showed 17 follicles on one side and 16 on the other for a total of 33! They are ranging in size from 13-16 today
Moving on to more exciting news - we have picked a theme for our nursery....Woodland creatures!
I painted the white enamel trim and Finch painted the room green this week..... we picked out a set of bamboo blinds we like and brought one home to try out today - in the process of taking it out of the packaging with a set of scissors - I CUT the string on the blind!!! ugh! yikes! we put the blinds up and realized they don't have a backing to them and let in way too much light. We are going back tomorrow to pick out the other set that is dark wood but has a backing which will keep out the light and ensure privacy.
We are also searching for modern curtains with a leaf or fern print on them - if you have any ideas of where to find them - let us know :)
The doc said I will trigger tomorrow night likely with a retrieval on Tuesday - will keep you posted!
Happy Saturday!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 6 of Stim for IVF
It has been a long week and it is only Wednesday...I thought I would be going every other day for monitoring but my Estrogen shot up quickly so I have had to leave the house at 6am the past 3 days to drive to MD for monitoring. Here is an update on my numbers so far...
On 3/28 I went for blood work and u/s and my baseline Estrogen was = 53
4/1 - started Gonal F 225u and Menopur 150u, continued same dose on 4/2 and 4/3
4/4 Monday - returned for blood work and us - E=451 (this was quite and unexpected jump and my body responded very quickly to the med...doc decreased Gonal F to 150u and Menopur stayed at 150u.)
4/5 Tues - returned for blood work and u/s E = 662 med levels remained the same...ultrasound showed approximately 26 follicles!!! hooray!
4/6 Wed - returned for blood work and u/s E = 1169 Gonal F decreased to 112u, Menopur increased to 225u and Ganirelix shot added tonight. The 9 follies she measured today were all 11, 12 and 13mm. looking good little follies! I take another Ganirelix shot in the am and return to the doc at 7:15am for more blood work and u/s
Does anyone have any feedback on these numbers or know how they compared to your IVF cycle(s)??
Retrieval day should be on Sunday/Monday depending on how the rest of the week goes - I have been really, really tired the past few days. I wonder if it is from the increased hormone levels? I come home and I am spent. On a different note, I called the massage/acupuncture clinic in my doctors office and I will be able to get acupuncture immediately prior to our transfer and immediately after it is completed. All of the data I have read says it increased your success rates by at least 42% so we figure it is a good investment to have it done while we are there. I have been going for acupuncture in VA over the past 2-3 months so hopefully this will also make a difference and bring us the success we have been patiently been waiting for... I didn't want to go to drive to MD for the transfer and then have to drive to VA for the acupuncture treatment so it should all work out very well. Fingers crossed.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and send positive thoughts/energy our way!
Hugs, Wren
On 3/28 I went for blood work and u/s and my baseline Estrogen was = 53
4/1 - started Gonal F 225u and Menopur 150u, continued same dose on 4/2 and 4/3
4/4 Monday - returned for blood work and us - E=451 (this was quite and unexpected jump and my body responded very quickly to the med...doc decreased Gonal F to 150u and Menopur stayed at 150u.)
4/5 Tues - returned for blood work and u/s E = 662 med levels remained the same...ultrasound showed approximately 26 follicles!!! hooray!
4/6 Wed - returned for blood work and u/s E = 1169 Gonal F decreased to 112u, Menopur increased to 225u and Ganirelix shot added tonight. The 9 follies she measured today were all 11, 12 and 13mm. looking good little follies! I take another Ganirelix shot in the am and return to the doc at 7:15am for more blood work and u/s
Does anyone have any feedback on these numbers or know how they compared to your IVF cycle(s)??
Retrieval day should be on Sunday/Monday depending on how the rest of the week goes - I have been really, really tired the past few days. I wonder if it is from the increased hormone levels? I come home and I am spent. On a different note, I called the massage/acupuncture clinic in my doctors office and I will be able to get acupuncture immediately prior to our transfer and immediately after it is completed. All of the data I have read says it increased your success rates by at least 42% so we figure it is a good investment to have it done while we are there. I have been going for acupuncture in VA over the past 2-3 months so hopefully this will also make a difference and bring us the success we have been patiently been waiting for... I didn't want to go to drive to MD for the transfer and then have to drive to VA for the acupuncture treatment so it should all work out very well. Fingers crossed.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and send positive thoughts/energy our way!
Hugs, Wren
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