IVF Cycle #2 2013

We started a fresh cycle #2 in the middle of the June. The medication I have been using were: Ganirelix, Menopur, Gonal-F, HCG (Novarel), Endometrin, and Doxycycline.

For cycle #2, the Dr's office called and added Dexamethasone to the list of medicine. The reason for Dexamethasone was to suppress the endometriosis while we were administering the injectables. 

• June 14th, Baseline ultrasound to check for cysts. Everything is good

• June 21st, Day 1 of cycle.

• June 22nd, Start the stimulation. Start Dexamethsone in the evening as well.

• June 26th, Day 5 ultrasound.  
• R Side: 7.5mm, 5.5, 4.5, 6.5, 4.5 
• L Side: 7.5, 7, 6, 4 
• It was really hot during the week, the Dr reminded me to stay well hydrated.

• June 29th, Day 8 ultrasound. 
• R Side: 12mm, 12.5, 9.5, 10.5 oblong, 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 7, 7 
• L Side: 12.5, 11.5, 10.5, 8, 4.5 
• The Dr reminded me to stay well hydrated as well as eat lean protein (chicken breast and egg whites). We were told to start on Ganirelix the next morning in the AM.

• July 2nd, Day 11 ultrasound. 
• R Side: 15mm, 16.5, 14, 14, 12, 11, 12.5, 12, 12 
• L Side:15.5, 16, 13.5, 12.5 
• Last day of Menopur, Gonal-F, Aspirin,

• July 3rd, Last dose of Ganirelix in the AM.  
• DH to take antibiotics before the retrieval. 
• HCG injection at 10:30P (exactly 35 hours before the retrieval).

• July 4th, Nothing to eat or drink after midnight & until retrieval is complete. Last dose of antibiotic for DH.

• July 5th, Oocyte retrieval. Retrieved: 9 

• July 6th, Contacted the Dr's office. Fertilized: 9

• July 8th, Day 3 results. Dr's office called and told us to do a Day 5 Transfer.
• 5 x 8Cell Grade 1 
• 1 x 7Cell Grade 2 
• 1 x 6Cell Grade 2 
• 1 x 2Cell Grade 1 
• 1x 2Cell Grade 2

• July 10th, Day 5 Transfer. 
• 1 x 4AA  
• 1 x 3AA 
• 1 x 3BA 
• 1 x stage 1 - Dr's office will be monitoring it. 
• 1 x stage 2 - Dr's office will be monitoring it.

Our Dr recommends transfer 1 x 4AA. He also mentioned if this doesn't work, patients of my descent respond very well to frozen cycle embryo transfer. Transfering more than 1 will not increase changes of pregnancy. Transfering the blastocyst at 4AA gives us a 50% change of implantation. 

• July 11th, We have frozen 6 embryos from this cycle.

• July 18th, The Dr's office called. BFN. :(

Our Dr suggest doing a frozen embryo transfer (FET) as soon as next month. We opted to do a FET for the next cycle.

IVF Cycle #1 2013

IVF Cycle #1 2013:

Here's how it went, we (DH and I) met with an IVF specialist toward the end February for a consultation. We knew I had severe endometriosis. There were a lot of scaring due to  endometriosis.

• The IVF specialist started me on birth control: Emoquette for 21 days, which ended April 27th. 

• We scheduled a hysteroscopy and the baseline ultrasound (US) on April 23rd. The procedure is more painful than the laparoscopy (lower ab pain). This precedure uses endoscope to look through the uterine cavity to shave off scar tissues to eliminate fibroids.

• By April 26th, we went in for an orientation on administering injections. The first time in the injection class, the nurse (who I assume has been giving these orientation classes for years had gone a little fast. We were not able to keep up with her instructions the first time around because everyone had different amount of doses they need to pay attention to.)

• May 2nd, we started the injections. Injections took a little longer to prep the first few times. But then we got the hang of it. Gonal-F, Menopur, Ganirelix, HCG - these are all injectables. *To make matters worse, I was going through a transition and I was not covered under my DH's insurance yet. We had to pay out of pocket for half the medication. (Needless to say, that was a hard month.)

• May 6th, day 5 of injections, we went in for an ultrasound to see how the follicles are progressing.
• R Side: 8mm, 7.5, 7, 7, 6.5
• L Side: 10.5, 10, 3.5, 3.5

• May 8th, Day 7 of injections, we went in for another ultrasound.
• R Side: 11.5mm, 11, 10, 9, 9, 9.5, 5
• L Side: 13,11, 5.5

• May 9th, Start Ganirelix in the AM for 3 days

• May 11th, Day 10 of injections, we went in for another ultrasound.
• R Side: 14.5mm, 14, 13, 13, 13, 11,9
• L Side: 15.5, 15.5, 8

• May 12th, Day 11 of injections, 
• R Side: 17mm, 16, 15, 15, 15, 13, 10.5
• L Side: 18.5, 17.5, 11.5

• May 13th, they scheduled me for an egg retrieval (ET)

• May 18th, Day 3 transfer
• From the embryo report: We had 5
• Grade 1: 8Cell, 4Cell
• Grade 2: 10Cell, 4Cell, 3Cell
• We transfer 1 Grade 1 - 8Cell embryo. After our 2 week wait (2WW), we found out our embryo didn't take. BFN. Only 1 other embryo survived until day 5. We were heart-broken but wanted to try again.

Introduction

Hi, welcome to my blog about our IVF journey. My husband and I live in sunny California. We have been married since 2011. We knew immediately that we wanted to start a family. After seeing our doctor and various "Specialist" doctors, it was determined that I had severe endometriosis. Having this will hinder our ability to start a family. I was sad and disappointed, but we were determined to get through this.

2011: We started seeing an OBGYN who "specialized" in infertility. That resulted in 10+ of ultrasounds with no actions. :(

2012: We changed our OBGYN. I had a laparoscopy to remove the endometriosis. Our OBGYN had me on Lupron for 9 months. Lupron was suppose to suppress the endometriosis from coming back.

2013: We went to an IVF specialist and are still seeing our IVF specialist.

When I first started on this journey, I was not prepared for where the journey would take us. But now I'm in the thick of it. I have to admit, at times it is hard and am too emotionally invested. Like other IF ladies, I'm surrounded by friends and family who do not have the same battles as us. So it leads to comments from others who do not understand what we are going through.

I hope that sharing my experience, you'll find this blog useful.