Well we had another appointment at the clinic yesterday and wow we're they busy!!! About thirty mins behind, at one point it was standing room only in the waiting area, and wow EVERY single staff person apologized and thanked us for being so patient.
Ran into Dr. G in the hallway and he greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek - frick I LOVE this clinic, this is how everyone is!!!! it just makes you feel so welcomed, remembered and comfortable. He knew he was behind and apologized and said he would see me in a bit.
Next we were up! (finally!!) lol
Got changed, hopped (not literally, I'm waaayyyy too tender) onto my chair and in came in Dr. G - well I'm a follicle factory - he figures we have at least thirty- all ranging from 14.0-20.8mm - not quite large enough - so the delay comes. Our retrieval is now bumped to Wednesday, and the plan is to do a five day transfer so that will be on Dec 10, I was kind of expecting this because of the low dose that we have been on. We are ok with this because it's nice that Dr. G was really cautious of not over simulating us, a welcomed changed from our last cycle. He also changed our medication - no more menopur - just the 150IUI of Gonal-f and now we also have added Orgalutron to the mix - so the Gonal-f in the evenings and I take the Orgalutron at noon each day (this medication prevents from the follicles being released) so back for another follow-up on Monday and hopefully our follicles are all of size that we need them to be.
I am hoping they are (our follicles growing that is) - walking and getting up and sitting/laying down is getting pretty painful. My walk has slowed down - DH is a pretty quick walker so I'm definitely slowing him down lol.
We golfed today - I did ok - but I think it's my last time on the course at least until the retrieval is done, so beach days are ahead of me till Wednesday, which we are ok with - maximize our relaxation time before our "big" days coming ahead of us!!!
Until next time! Xo
Showing posts with label Injections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Injections. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Our "history"
As promised I will give a history of what we have done to try to have a family.
We began trying just before our October 2009 wedding. I always had the slightest feeling that it would not be easy for me to get pregnant - but definitely I did not think it would take this long!
AF would always show up on time while on BC but it was another story while off of it. I stayed "regular" for about three months when I stopped taking it - and we got to take our first HPT in February of 2010 but it was a BFN - first heartbreak. Then took another one in March and again April both BFN and all three times AF stayed away. Another no show in July 2010 and another heartbreak of a BFN, again another BFN in Sept 2010 (man by now we should invest in clear blue or buy some stocks haha)
September 2010 we finally got to meet with our fertility at the RAFC in Edmonton, more than a year after being referred (I had a very pro-active family dr who put in the referral before we actually tried for a year due to my PCOS and thyroid issues) and after all this time what does he do? Put me back on BC - excuse me? Well his reasoning - I was waiting for a surgery and he wanted me to have it done before getting pregnant as it would have put me and baby at a higher risk pregnancy if I had gotten pregnant prior to have the surgery done. Also when you have a irregular cycle the best chance of getting pregnant is the first three months you are off BC and he wanted to be able to give us the best chance possible - my surgery was scheduled for January of 2010 and then 6 weeks of recovery - so back on the BC train we went, from Oct 2010 to April 2011.
Next was the Clomid train - we began taking it in May 2011 -we had a positive OPK on June 15, 2011 and had an IUI on the 16th and then AF showed up on the 30th - didn't take and yet another heartbreak for us.
Clomid attempt #2 - July 2011, positive OPK July 23, IUI July 24 and AF showed up Aug 7 - another heartbreak again.
Clomid attempt #3 - August 2011, positive OPK August 24, IUI August 25 and then AF showed up Sept 08 - another BIG heartbreak, we were convinced this time it was going to work.
Oct-Dec 2011 we had a prometrium induced cycle in October. When the clinic called they confirmed we were not pregnant (as we needed to do a pregnancy test before we could take our prometrium) so of course my next question was as soon as I was done the pills and AF appeared if we could start my injectable hormone cycle - the nurse told me no and that I needed to receive my cycle naturally in order to start the treatment, I found this a bit odd, but who was I to question? I didn't have another appointment with the doctor till February of 2012 and my only contact at the clinic was a nurse so I had no one else to turn to. So after the October induced cycle we had two months of no cycles and I figured what was the point to take prometrium if I couldn't start my treatment.
We also took some time to ourselves and had a holiday in Mexico. Upon returning in Dec of 2011 we thought maybe if we were pregnant as I had some very obvious signs of ovulation, I did a pregnancy test when we returned and of course had another BFN, when the clinic called they confirmed we were not pregnant. The nurse told me she would give me a prescription for prometrium and I proceeded to ask her what the point was as I couldn't start treatment if I took it. She asked me what I was talking about and I told her what the nurse back in October had told me. She proceeded to tell me I was given the wrong information and that some women never ovulate and why else would I be at the clinic, that they were there to help us. Well of course I was completely devastated and all I could think was that we were set back another three months, especially with the Christmas season approaching, the clinic was closing for ten days so even if I was to take the prometrium - I would receive AF while they were closed, so can't start till the new year.
We decided to enjoy the Christmas season and take a running start right at the new year.
January 2012 - took the prometrium, AF appeared and we began the Puregon - Jan 14-18 we took 100 IUI, 19-21 125 IUI and 22-29 150 IUI - we had four ultrasounds during those dates to monitor follicle growth, on Jan 30 we took our HCG shot and had an IUI On Jan 31, and then another BFN on February 20 when AF appeared and another heartbreak.
At this point we decided to start all the pre-tests for IVF just in case we got to that point.
February 22, 2012 - first baseline ultrasound and antral follicle count (AFC)
We took March off - again no AF
April 2012 - we stuck to 100 IUI of Puregon from the 05-13, during this time we had three ultrasounds to monitor growth. Our HCG shot was on the 14th and an IUI on the 16th - two week waiting period and on May 03 - AF showed up so another heartbreak.
At this point we decided we were done with this method of trying and our appointment with our doctor we told him that after all these years and attempts we were done and wanted to move onto IVF and he agreed and said that we "earned" our IVF.
June 2012 we had to finish our "pre-IVF" testing - we redid our AFC and also completed our SIS.
Took July off to get ready for our August attempt.
August 2012 - we had our baseline ultrasound on the 2nd and everything looked quiet and ready to start. We started our injections on the 2nd with 375 IUI of menopur and took that dose for 7 days, then dropped it to 275 IUI for three days, we added Orgalutron at 250IUI to prevent ovulation. Between the 2nd and 12th we went for four ultrasounds to monitor everything. On the evening of 12th I took Lupron to get my follicles ready to be "released" we had our egg retrieval on Aug 14 and we had 45 follicles retrieved. A "clinic record" we thought great - awesome number! We did traditional IVF from the 45 retrieved we had 30 mature eggs - which is a great number a lot of women struggle to get four or five with this method. Well our embryologist called the next morning and we had NOTHING fertilize - another huge heartbreak. He proceeded to tell me that they would attempt rescue ICSI - which is a method where they inject the strongest sperm into the egg. Now of course I had to question the success rate of this - he proceeded to tell me 95% which I thought - awesome odds - we should still have some success. The next day he called to let me know we had 16 fertilize - alright awesome that's good!! Well over the next five days - they all began to seize and stop developing - by August 20 we had no embryos - everything had stopped developing. When he called to tell me we had nothing left - I asked what could have caused this and he told me that more than likely it was the rescue ICSI - um what? Last week you told me it was a 95% success rate. Well of course I was beyond heartbroken, I had contacted my IVF coordinator and demanded an appointment with my doctor as when I phoned I couldn't get an appointment till Decemeber - she had gotten me one for the next day.
Basically I had asked what happened and I was told they were sorry, at my pre-IVF meeting i asked "what if this doesn't work?" and I was looked straight in my eye and told I would be pregnant, I didn't take it too seriously as IVF is not guaranteed. But we were given a 60% success rate and 30-40% chance of having twins. They said they were just as surprised as us that we had no embryos that survived. I also asked about the ICSI - one day I'm told it's a 95% success rate and the next week I'm told it didn't work because of it.... Can you see why i was confused? Well little did the embryologist forget to tell me is that success rate he gave me was when they perform ICSI immediately and not 16 hours post retrieval, um thanks for the false hope.
They told me they are compassionate - but didn't want to be held liable or set any precedents - at this point I said well I feel like a ten thousand dollar science experiment and my thought when they said they don't want to be held liable is that a mistake was made and how would I ever know? I don't think they would actually admit, really nothing else was said, they said they would try to find some more answers and that they would be in touch via email and phone calls, well today is December 01 and I haven't heard a word.
We had decided we would wait till the New year to try IVF again. I started researching other clinics in Canada, we had made the decision to proceed with one in Vancouver. We had our appointments set and ready for our consultations. I also joined some online support groups and then started reading about IVF abroad and came across IVF in Mexico - read all about it - filled out an inquiry form and within three days cancelled my appointment in Vancouver and had everything arranged to come and do IVF in Nov/Dec at FCC and well the rest is history!!!
I'm glad I've finally written all this out - it was something I've talked about and am glad I have this now to look back on!!!!
We began trying just before our October 2009 wedding. I always had the slightest feeling that it would not be easy for me to get pregnant - but definitely I did not think it would take this long!
AF would always show up on time while on BC but it was another story while off of it. I stayed "regular" for about three months when I stopped taking it - and we got to take our first HPT in February of 2010 but it was a BFN - first heartbreak. Then took another one in March and again April both BFN and all three times AF stayed away. Another no show in July 2010 and another heartbreak of a BFN, again another BFN in Sept 2010 (man by now we should invest in clear blue or buy some stocks haha)
September 2010 we finally got to meet with our fertility at the RAFC in Edmonton, more than a year after being referred (I had a very pro-active family dr who put in the referral before we actually tried for a year due to my PCOS and thyroid issues) and after all this time what does he do? Put me back on BC - excuse me? Well his reasoning - I was waiting for a surgery and he wanted me to have it done before getting pregnant as it would have put me and baby at a higher risk pregnancy if I had gotten pregnant prior to have the surgery done. Also when you have a irregular cycle the best chance of getting pregnant is the first three months you are off BC and he wanted to be able to give us the best chance possible - my surgery was scheduled for January of 2010 and then 6 weeks of recovery - so back on the BC train we went, from Oct 2010 to April 2011.
Next was the Clomid train - we began taking it in May 2011 -we had a positive OPK on June 15, 2011 and had an IUI on the 16th and then AF showed up on the 30th - didn't take and yet another heartbreak for us.
Clomid attempt #2 - July 2011, positive OPK July 23, IUI July 24 and AF showed up Aug 7 - another heartbreak again.
Clomid attempt #3 - August 2011, positive OPK August 24, IUI August 25 and then AF showed up Sept 08 - another BIG heartbreak, we were convinced this time it was going to work.
Oct-Dec 2011 we had a prometrium induced cycle in October. When the clinic called they confirmed we were not pregnant (as we needed to do a pregnancy test before we could take our prometrium) so of course my next question was as soon as I was done the pills and AF appeared if we could start my injectable hormone cycle - the nurse told me no and that I needed to receive my cycle naturally in order to start the treatment, I found this a bit odd, but who was I to question? I didn't have another appointment with the doctor till February of 2012 and my only contact at the clinic was a nurse so I had no one else to turn to. So after the October induced cycle we had two months of no cycles and I figured what was the point to take prometrium if I couldn't start my treatment.
We also took some time to ourselves and had a holiday in Mexico. Upon returning in Dec of 2011 we thought maybe if we were pregnant as I had some very obvious signs of ovulation, I did a pregnancy test when we returned and of course had another BFN, when the clinic called they confirmed we were not pregnant. The nurse told me she would give me a prescription for prometrium and I proceeded to ask her what the point was as I couldn't start treatment if I took it. She asked me what I was talking about and I told her what the nurse back in October had told me. She proceeded to tell me I was given the wrong information and that some women never ovulate and why else would I be at the clinic, that they were there to help us. Well of course I was completely devastated and all I could think was that we were set back another three months, especially with the Christmas season approaching, the clinic was closing for ten days so even if I was to take the prometrium - I would receive AF while they were closed, so can't start till the new year.
We decided to enjoy the Christmas season and take a running start right at the new year.
January 2012 - took the prometrium, AF appeared and we began the Puregon - Jan 14-18 we took 100 IUI, 19-21 125 IUI and 22-29 150 IUI - we had four ultrasounds during those dates to monitor follicle growth, on Jan 30 we took our HCG shot and had an IUI On Jan 31, and then another BFN on February 20 when AF appeared and another heartbreak.
At this point we decided to start all the pre-tests for IVF just in case we got to that point.
February 22, 2012 - first baseline ultrasound and antral follicle count (AFC)
We took March off - again no AF
April 2012 - we stuck to 100 IUI of Puregon from the 05-13, during this time we had three ultrasounds to monitor growth. Our HCG shot was on the 14th and an IUI on the 16th - two week waiting period and on May 03 - AF showed up so another heartbreak.
At this point we decided we were done with this method of trying and our appointment with our doctor we told him that after all these years and attempts we were done and wanted to move onto IVF and he agreed and said that we "earned" our IVF.
June 2012 we had to finish our "pre-IVF" testing - we redid our AFC and also completed our SIS.
Took July off to get ready for our August attempt.
August 2012 - we had our baseline ultrasound on the 2nd and everything looked quiet and ready to start. We started our injections on the 2nd with 375 IUI of menopur and took that dose for 7 days, then dropped it to 275 IUI for three days, we added Orgalutron at 250IUI to prevent ovulation. Between the 2nd and 12th we went for four ultrasounds to monitor everything. On the evening of 12th I took Lupron to get my follicles ready to be "released" we had our egg retrieval on Aug 14 and we had 45 follicles retrieved. A "clinic record" we thought great - awesome number! We did traditional IVF from the 45 retrieved we had 30 mature eggs - which is a great number a lot of women struggle to get four or five with this method. Well our embryologist called the next morning and we had NOTHING fertilize - another huge heartbreak. He proceeded to tell me that they would attempt rescue ICSI - which is a method where they inject the strongest sperm into the egg. Now of course I had to question the success rate of this - he proceeded to tell me 95% which I thought - awesome odds - we should still have some success. The next day he called to let me know we had 16 fertilize - alright awesome that's good!! Well over the next five days - they all began to seize and stop developing - by August 20 we had no embryos - everything had stopped developing. When he called to tell me we had nothing left - I asked what could have caused this and he told me that more than likely it was the rescue ICSI - um what? Last week you told me it was a 95% success rate. Well of course I was beyond heartbroken, I had contacted my IVF coordinator and demanded an appointment with my doctor as when I phoned I couldn't get an appointment till Decemeber - she had gotten me one for the next day.
Basically I had asked what happened and I was told they were sorry, at my pre-IVF meeting i asked "what if this doesn't work?" and I was looked straight in my eye and told I would be pregnant, I didn't take it too seriously as IVF is not guaranteed. But we were given a 60% success rate and 30-40% chance of having twins. They said they were just as surprised as us that we had no embryos that survived. I also asked about the ICSI - one day I'm told it's a 95% success rate and the next week I'm told it didn't work because of it.... Can you see why i was confused? Well little did the embryologist forget to tell me is that success rate he gave me was when they perform ICSI immediately and not 16 hours post retrieval, um thanks for the false hope.
They told me they are compassionate - but didn't want to be held liable or set any precedents - at this point I said well I feel like a ten thousand dollar science experiment and my thought when they said they don't want to be held liable is that a mistake was made and how would I ever know? I don't think they would actually admit, really nothing else was said, they said they would try to find some more answers and that they would be in touch via email and phone calls, well today is December 01 and I haven't heard a word.
We had decided we would wait till the New year to try IVF again. I started researching other clinics in Canada, we had made the decision to proceed with one in Vancouver. We had our appointments set and ready for our consultations. I also joined some online support groups and then started reading about IVF abroad and came across IVF in Mexico - read all about it - filled out an inquiry form and within three days cancelled my appointment in Vancouver and had everything arranged to come and do IVF in Nov/Dec at FCC and well the rest is history!!!
I'm glad I've finally written all this out - it was something I've talked about and am glad I have this now to look back on!!!!
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Fourth appointment, Day Seven of stims
Well we had another ultrasound today and all looks well!! Dr. G is very happy with the way things are progressing - we have many follicles anything from 7.8-14.3 mm - so we are slowly getting there!!
Next ultrasound is Saturday, and our tentative retrieval date is still Monday, December 03 - which is going to be here before we know it! It is very exciting!
We are lowering my medication tomorrow night just to ensure that we don't suffer from OHSS, we thought we would have lowered it tonight but my estridol rose to 772 and Dr. G thought it would be higher, so Dr. G wanted one more day at the higher dose, which is "A" ok with us.
DH asked Dr. G if everything is on track and he said he couldn't be happier - so that is a good sign right?!
One thing that has my mind spinning now - is during my U/S today - Dr. G asked me if I ever considered being a egg donor (because I have sooo many follicles) wow something to think about - I mean with our first IVF attempt - we had 45 oocytes retrieved and I thought that was a lot and it was a "record" for my clinic at that time and from that we had 30 mature eggs - now if things went right and we had even 20 of those fertilize (oh if only) I would NEVER use them all - now I am wondering how many we will get here - Dr. G went on to tell me he has a patient who has no interest in having children but she does egg donation - and she is a regular at giving 85 oocytes!! yes you read that right 85 oocytes at a retrieval and NEVER suffers from OHSS - this boggles my mind - and obviously after hearing something like that it was a hot topic for my DH and I this afternoon.
I don't think that I would right away donate (and right away I mean this cycle), but obviously freeze any extras (here's to hoping) and then using them and maybe when we think we are done expanding our family then maybe at that point consider donation -but that is so, so far away - can't really make a decision at this point - but still 85 - WOW
Oh the hormones are definitely doing their thing - I can feel my tummy becoming tender I guess - that's the best way to describe it -
And I had a crying spell again - oh my poor DH - the tears just started flowing last night in the lounge of our hotel - no reason - we were just sitting there and the waterworks started - poor guy - damn hormones - but it only lasted a couple minutes and then they were over, he never knows what to do - and if he looks or tries to ask why - I just cry harder - but he did his job - he got me my tissue and that made it all better - oh the simple things to make it stop - lol - but it's all part of our journey and something I hope he has come to accept!!!!
Now we have a couple days to ourselves, we will golf tomorrow and maybe do a tour on Friday - maybe the lagoon boating tour - where you drive these mini boats yourself (I do not do well on boats, especially if we head into the ocean) so I hope I do ok - it's only two hours - so I am hoping I can last - I should do ok in the lagoon area since basically it's like a lake - and I can do lakes back home - but if we head into the ocean to snorkel - we may have a completely different experience - hoping the sun re-appears soon - these overcast days are not so much fun!!
I will probably post again on Saturday or Sunday after our next appointment - and hopefully soon sit down to give you all the down low on our "history"
Till next time!!
Thanks for reading :-)
Next ultrasound is Saturday, and our tentative retrieval date is still Monday, December 03 - which is going to be here before we know it! It is very exciting!
We are lowering my medication tomorrow night just to ensure that we don't suffer from OHSS, we thought we would have lowered it tonight but my estridol rose to 772 and Dr. G thought it would be higher, so Dr. G wanted one more day at the higher dose, which is "A" ok with us.
DH asked Dr. G if everything is on track and he said he couldn't be happier - so that is a good sign right?!
One thing that has my mind spinning now - is during my U/S today - Dr. G asked me if I ever considered being a egg donor (because I have sooo many follicles) wow something to think about - I mean with our first IVF attempt - we had 45 oocytes retrieved and I thought that was a lot and it was a "record" for my clinic at that time and from that we had 30 mature eggs - now if things went right and we had even 20 of those fertilize (oh if only) I would NEVER use them all - now I am wondering how many we will get here - Dr. G went on to tell me he has a patient who has no interest in having children but she does egg donation - and she is a regular at giving 85 oocytes!! yes you read that right 85 oocytes at a retrieval and NEVER suffers from OHSS - this boggles my mind - and obviously after hearing something like that it was a hot topic for my DH and I this afternoon.
I don't think that I would right away donate (and right away I mean this cycle), but obviously freeze any extras (here's to hoping) and then using them and maybe when we think we are done expanding our family then maybe at that point consider donation -but that is so, so far away - can't really make a decision at this point - but still 85 - WOW
Oh the hormones are definitely doing their thing - I can feel my tummy becoming tender I guess - that's the best way to describe it -
And I had a crying spell again - oh my poor DH - the tears just started flowing last night in the lounge of our hotel - no reason - we were just sitting there and the waterworks started - poor guy - damn hormones - but it only lasted a couple minutes and then they were over, he never knows what to do - and if he looks or tries to ask why - I just cry harder - but he did his job - he got me my tissue and that made it all better - oh the simple things to make it stop - lol - but it's all part of our journey and something I hope he has come to accept!!!!
Now we have a couple days to ourselves, we will golf tomorrow and maybe do a tour on Friday - maybe the lagoon boating tour - where you drive these mini boats yourself (I do not do well on boats, especially if we head into the ocean) so I hope I do ok - it's only two hours - so I am hoping I can last - I should do ok in the lagoon area since basically it's like a lake - and I can do lakes back home - but if we head into the ocean to snorkel - we may have a completely different experience - hoping the sun re-appears soon - these overcast days are not so much fun!!
I will probably post again on Saturday or Sunday after our next appointment - and hopefully soon sit down to give you all the down low on our "history"
Till next time!!
Thanks for reading :-)
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Second appointment
Well we had appointment #2 today! It was just to check my estridol levels and I am guessing everything is going well as my dosage has not changed.
Back to the clinic Monday for my first ultrasound - hopefully we have some good growing going on!!!
We met a couple at the clinic today from Philadelphia - they are nearing the end of their journey they have their Egg retrieval(ER) on Monday, we wished them much luck, they were sweet, they also had nothing but good things to say about FCC.
Day 3 of stims and I am feeling good - i just need to remember to drink lots of water and start on the Gatorade train to try to prevent OHSS.
Finally Mr. Sunshine made a good appearance today, we hung out at the sister hotel of our resort as my cousin and her bf and some of their friends are also down here so it was nice to spend the afternoon with them!
Had a little cry at dinner my poor DH but I couldn't hold them back!!!! It was nothing bad, we were just discussing how happy we are with our decision and how right everything feels and talked about how great everyone is here and the tears just came - not a full on bawl just happy tears I guess - darn hormones lol!!!!
Well we have tomorrow to ourselves so we are off to golf in the morning, hopefully beach time in the afternoon and then we are off to a steak/lobster house tomorrow night that Dr. Gaytan recommended with my cousin and her entourage of people that are also here so it should be a good day!!!!
Till next time xo
Back to the clinic Monday for my first ultrasound - hopefully we have some good growing going on!!!
We met a couple at the clinic today from Philadelphia - they are nearing the end of their journey they have their Egg retrieval(ER) on Monday, we wished them much luck, they were sweet, they also had nothing but good things to say about FCC.
Day 3 of stims and I am feeling good - i just need to remember to drink lots of water and start on the Gatorade train to try to prevent OHSS.
Finally Mr. Sunshine made a good appearance today, we hung out at the sister hotel of our resort as my cousin and her bf and some of their friends are also down here so it was nice to spend the afternoon with them!
Had a little cry at dinner my poor DH but I couldn't hold them back!!!! It was nothing bad, we were just discussing how happy we are with our decision and how right everything feels and talked about how great everyone is here and the tears just came - not a full on bawl just happy tears I guess - darn hormones lol!!!!
Well we have tomorrow to ourselves so we are off to golf in the morning, hopefully beach time in the afternoon and then we are off to a steak/lobster house tomorrow night that Dr. Gaytan recommended with my cousin and her entourage of people that are also here so it should be a good day!!!!
Till next time xo
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