Spring Check-In

[🍍 🍊 Fineapple 🍍 🍊]

Hey////

What’s going on with y’all? Been since March since I saw anyone posting?

Any plans? Treatment in progress? Became a grad?

Let me know

[Cher]

Hey, Po.

Can I come in here? I’m in the middle of another cycle. And I’m generally a mess. I don’t know if it’s the meds or just feeling down about it.

But I’d love to hear what other people are going through because I feel kind of alone.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Not me joining GBCN because their TTTC board is more poppin' than ours...

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

I've been called up for my first visit to the RI. I'll be seeing Dr. Derbala in Detroit. This is truly the last shot before looking at surrogacy for the remaining embryos we have. I hope he has answers for my repeated losses.

Going on vacation in June and then I'll time my period accordingly to go there soon after we get back.

[Cher]

I know how hard your journey has been, broccoli. I really hope he has answers for you too.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

You stimming, Cher? When is your ER?

[Cher]

Jun 1, 2021 12:55:30 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

You stimming, Cher? When is your ER?

I already did another ER last month. Luckily we got some blasts this time. Transfer this month. I don’t know anything, I feel like a mess and the birth control I’m on makes me feel not ok.

If you have any tips or advice for FET, I’m all ears.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 1, 2021 14:36:26 GMT -6 Cher said:

Jun 1, 2021 12:55:30 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

You stimming, Cher ? When is your ER?

I already did another ER last month. Luckily we got some blasts this time. Transfer this month. I don’t know anything, I feel like a mess and the birth control I’m on makes me feel not ok.

If you have any tips or advice for FET, I’m all ears.

Yay for getting some embryos!

I don't know how much longer you will be on BC, but I JUST got told in a local group chat that a girl switched from pills to the Nuva ring for FET prep. I had no idea you could do that! Anyway, she switched because the pills were making her sick. Ugh.

At this point, you just have to ease into feeling like a mess. It sucks, but for me, it's even worse to deny it. Haha.

Tips - Take extra Vit D (to eliminate m/c due to lack of it) and Vit E (for lining). Find distractions during that wait for betas. New shows, books, hyper focusing on a task at home. I'm a HPT-taking whore, so I start testing right away (my protocol includes taking hCG boosters, so I basically test them out, and test back in a real positive). I'm not saying to do this, but I'm saying do whatever the fuck you want to do if it makes you feel better. Take Valium for your transfer to help you relax (I take a double dose).

If you have any questions, lemme know.

[lemondrop]

Hey y'all.

I'm on month.. 15? now. Starting a new gym/ diet regimen to see if anything helps. Frustrated AF. I'm supposed to schedule another HSG, but everything is OOP and $$$$$. I'm so tired.

[Carmichael]

I just had my ER on Monday. My cycle sucked, I felt so sick the whole time and my ovaries took forever to respond, so I was on stims far longer than ever before. I have always done ER on day 10, and had naively planned this the same. We ended up booking a second hotel and cancelling our flights home until I was finally told to trigger, so it also cost more than planned. Anyway, on day 1 we had 8 embryos and will find out on Sunday if we have any left to send for testing. It’s going to be a long week. Next step is an ERA and my clinic is trying to arrange one with a clinic closer to me.

♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ How is Derbala? Has he got a treatment plan in place? Do you do an Hcg shot before transfer?

Cher I have also heard Vit D and E, I know some people drink pomegranate juice and eat a couple Brazil nuts each day for 2 weeks before and after transfer. My acupuncturist just told me to eat only warm foods before. Try and relax, which is basically impossible, but do anything that helps you in any way.

lemondrop I’m sorry. Do they think they will see anything new in the HSG?

[lemondrop]

Carmichael, fingers crossed for testing <3

We're trying a new doc, so we have to do new testing.

[Carmichael]

Jun 3, 2021 5:50:02 GMT -6 lemondrop said:

Carmichael, fingers crossed for testing <3

We're trying a new doc, so we have to do new testing.

Oh! That makes sense, it just sucks it’s OOP.

[Cher]

Thank you so much, broccoli. Usually I avoid tests like the plague but this is different circumstances and I see myself being the same way. I’m just burnt out. I’ve been at this since September and mentally, it sucks. I know you know this much better than me. And this BC is making me actually crazy. I wish I knew about the NuvaRing but I just finished with the BC. But I can’t stop bleeding from it (TMI) but according to my Clinic, no big deal. This whole thing is so glam.

[Cher]

Carmichael I went to the grocery store today to hunt for Brazil nuts but they didn’t have them. I’m going to hit Whole Foods tomorrow.

I’m hoping for good news for you on Sunday. That wait sucks.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 2, 2021 19:58:44 GMT -6 Carmichael said:

♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ How is Derbala? Has he got a treatment plan in place? Do you do an Hcg shot before transfer?

I have heard really good things! This will be my first visit, so no treatment plan yet. It's a shit-ton of bloodwork, a hysteroscopy, and an endometrial biopsy first, and then he will come up with the plan.

Yes, per my RE, I do one bigger IM shot of hCG a week prior to transfer, and then three smaller SQ shots of it up to 4 days post FET.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Hang in there, Cher. And give yourself some grace. This shit sucks. Keep us posted on how the transfer goes! Or at least me. My PMs are always open.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 3, 2021 5:50:02 GMT -6 lemondrop said:

Carmichael , fingers crossed for testing <3

We're trying a new doc, so we have to do new testing.

Ugh, having to kind of start all over is such a bummer. I hope your new doc helps you out. And I feel you on the being tired. It's all so draining (both monetarily and mentally).

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 2, 2021 19:58:44 GMT -6 Carmichael said:

I just had my ER on Monday. My cycle sucked, I felt so sick the whole time and my ovaries took forever to respond, so I was on stims far longer than ever before. I have always done ER on day 10, and had naively planned this the same. We ended up booking a second hotel and cancelling our flights home until I was finally told to trigger, so it also cost more than planned. Anyway, on day 1 we had 8 embryos and will find out on Sunday if we have any left to send for testing. It’s going to be a long week. Next step is an ERA and my clinic is trying to arrange one with a clinic closer to me.

Fingers crossed for good results. And that sucks so bad that it affected your itinerary so badly. Add THAT stress on to the stress you were already feeling. Ugh.

I hope the ERA gives you some good info. There people out there that just need a little shift to help!

[Carmichael]

Jun 4, 2021 8:41:20 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

I have heard really good things! This will be my first visit, so no treatment plan yet. It's a shit-ton of bloodwork, a hysteroscopy, and an endometrial biopsy first, and then he will come up with the plan.

That’s good! Let me know how it goes! We are still on a waitlist with AEB, but my doctor is going to add in Intralipids to my previous protocol, so we will see where we end up.

[Carmichael]

Cher I am glad you are done the birth control and hope the bleeding stops soon. In the world of Infertility, I don’t think there is such a thing as TMI, so that’s ok. Like Broccoli said, this shit sucks.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 4, 2021 10:13:32 GMT -6 Carmichael said:

Jun 4, 2021 8:41:20 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

I have heard really good things! This will be my first visit, so no treatment plan yet. It's a shit-ton of bloodwork, a hysteroscopy, and an endometrial biopsy first, and then he will come up with the plan.

That’s good! Let me know how it goes! We are still on a waitlist with AEB, but my doctor is going to add in Intralipids to my previous protocol, so we will see where we end up.

Will do. Currently trying to figure out how to save money for IVIg treatments (assuming they will be recommended). Oof.

[Carmichael]

♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ Yes! They are so expensive and I hear AEB basically recommends them for everyone and also heard that it’s hard to get in Canada, so we will see what happens if we get off the waiting list.

[Cher]

Jun 4, 2021 8:46:03 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Hang in there, Cher. And give yourself some grace. This shit sucks. Keep us posted on how the transfer goes! Or at least me. My PMs are always open.

Thank you! I may take you up on that. Like you joining GBCN, I’ve been bouncing around corners of the internet trying to figure out what the hell im doing. It would be nice to talk to someone about it. 💙

[Carmichael]

The clinic didn’t call tonight until 6p so all day I was agitated. I had managed to not think about it all week, then I dreamt about it last night and woke up in a total sweat. Anyway, we had all 8 make it to blast, we’re biopsied and frozen. This has never happened before and I was totally shocked. So now we wait for the PGS results.

Cher same with me - my PMs are open. I’ve been doing this a long time and sometimes it feels lonely when you don’t have anyone to talk to.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Carmichael, that is a fantastic update!! How long did they tell you for the PGS results? 2 weeks?

[Carmichael]

Jun 7, 2021 12:04:29 GMT -6 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Carmichael, that is a fantastic update!! How long did they tell you for the PGS results? 2 weeks?

yes, she said anywhere from 1-2 weeks.

[Cher]

Carmichael holy shit, 8 blasts! Congrats! I’ll keep everything crossed you get good news.

And I really appreciate that. I will probably take you up on that. I went into this blind and when my cycle failed, I realized I had no clue what I was doing. So I’m trying to learn as much as I can this round. Which means my morning is spent doing Accupuncture, eating avocado and taking vitamins and Chinese herbs. I’m over it.

[sunshinedaisies]

Hi all! I'm tiptoeing in here because we are starting to think about baby # 4. I'm not exactly sure this is the right place for me anymore, so please tell me if I don't quite fit here.

Background: I've done 3 rounds of IVF, with a rainbow baby from each round (baby # 1 was IVF #1/FET # 1 after a loss, baby # 2 was IVF #2/FET # 5 after a loss). After babies 1 & 2, we had zero embryos left. Given our history, we were surprised when baby # 3 stuck on the first transfer (IVF # 3/fresh transfer after a loss). We still have 3 frozen embryos, and decided we were not ready to walk away from them.

However, I had some major health issues with my last pregnancy, and to get/stay pregnant requires me to be on a very high dose of prednisone (which likely was causing the health issues). We've decided it's probably not the safest for me to do another pregnancy, so we are looking at surrogates. Given it won't be me going through the process this time, I understand if this isn't the right place for me.

But I'm happy to cheer you all on and give any experiences I have while I navigate some unfamiliar ground.

Carmichael, 8 blasts is amazing! The PGS testing has been soooo worth it for us - the results were very surprising both times we did it (IVF # 2 and # 3).

♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ and @ carmichael, I've done intralipids (but not IVIg) with all of my pregnancies and have opinions about it!

Cher, I echo others, I know I just popped in here, but I am happy to answer questions. I'm "unexplained" and have never had a diagnosis, and it was a lot of trial and error (and unfortunately failed cycles and losses).

[Carmichael]

sunshinedaisies what are your intralipid thoughts? I am curious! I have RA, so I was on an immune protocol for both previous IVFs and my FET. My first IVF was the only successful one, but I was off and on prednisone my whole pregnancy, because I was flaring almost the whole time. I have had 4 miscarriages since my DD was born 2 years ago, so we are basically trying everything in our power (I have also thought about surrogacy because I don’t really trust my body anymore). Have you gotten very far in the surrogacy process?

[sunshinedaisies]

Carmichael, I am in no way an expert on this, but I'm happy to share my experience. I personally don't put much stock in them (for me, they didn't seem to do much), although a few years ago I was all in. Although since you have RA, I actually could see it being more beneficial to you, since ILs are supposed to be anti-inflammatory/calm the immune system. Do you mind if I ask what your immune protocol was/is? Also do you just work with an RE or also an RI?

When I started with my RE in 2014, ILs were not being used by a ton of doctors, and my RE was actually one of the few REs in the country to use them frequently. I was unexplained (still am) and I don't have a diagnosed autoimmune disease, but based on what has worked for me, my inkling is that it is some type of autoimmune issue. My initial protocol for IVF # 1 included ILs every other week through 24 weeks, and 10 mg of prednisone. I had a loss that first cycle, so my RE upped me to 20 mg of prednisone, but kept the ILs the same. Success.

For DS#2, shame on me, I did not compare my meds from DS1, and relied on my nurse (still bitter about this), and I had two failed FETs (from IVF # 1), IVF#2/fresh transfer/loss, and another failed FET. I then started doing my own research, joined an immune-specific group on FB, read SO many studies, researched leading RIs in the country, did a ton of additional tests that are not SOP, and had an appointment with Dr. K.K. (which I thankfully did not end up needing, it took months to get in to her). I also compared my meds to my first pregnancy and noticed that my nurse had my prednisone at 10 mg for all of my cycles. I mentioned this to my RE (along with a laundry list of other stuff I had researched), and she agreed on a more aggressive prednisone protocol (30 mg), and double ILs every other week through week 24 (so same frequency as with my first successful pregnancy, but a double dose). The next FET finally worked.

Fast forward to IVF # 3, in 2019, my RE mentioned that her clinic had primarily moved away from ILs. She noted that they started seeing no statistical difference between people who used ILs and those who did not who were unexplained like me, and they dropped ILs to only right before transfer and once right after a positive beta - so 2 doses only - and again they saw no statistical difference in success rates. I was super nervous about dropping ILs because I'd always done them, but she again agreed to 30 mg of prednisone, and everything was successful (first time I'd ever had a successful fresh transfer).

For me, the only thing that ever changed was the prednisone dosage, and that seemed to control whether my outcome was positive or negative. That was the key for me. I am lucky that I found out through trial and error the protocol that worked for me with DS2 and was able to replicate it for #3.

I am not saying ILs do NOT work at all. I think for some people they are more beneficial than for others, but I view them as a "can't hurt" rather than a necessity. I was also on a ton of other stuff that I'm not sure helped, but were pretty common in the immune circles and made me feel better to take - baby aspirin, lovenox, coq-10, omega 3s, and extra progesterone being the primary ones.