Lisamarie - I only had 4 eggs on my first IVF cycle. We did a three day transfer, which I know they prefer when you have less embies to work with. It worked out - we became pregnant with one baby, so don't stress too much over four. It's QUALITY! Good luck.

Counting down - good luck on the 2ww. I hope it goes quickly. Stay busy if you can.

Hi everyone!! hope all is going well for each of you.

Today I started my first cycle of IVF. I had an ultrasound which showed I had 6 follicles... which I was pretty bummed about as last time he checked a few months ago I had 10, which now looking back seems great compared to 6! (I have low reserve)..

I had been unsure about when to start because the last 6 weeks I have had the flu, with a persistent cough, but I am finally just starting to feel on the mend... when I asked him if being sick can effect ivf, he said most definitely, but that since its been 6 weeks it should be ok... but now I am thinking.. maybe thats what made my follicle count drop?! maybe i should wait?!... argghh!!

Anyway.. I did my first injection this morning, I had been worried about being brave enough to do it, but I did it and it wasn't bad at all! :-)

Good luck everyone xx

GC- I have been taking DHEA since NOV(so only for about a month prior to our first cycle). Did it seem to make a difference for you? I'll pray that your little follies catch up. Sorry to hear that DH may not be able to there for the transfer but yay for Mom!

LisaMarie-I'm praying you get good news during your call today! and RE is right- it only takes one good one.

Counting-Hang in there during your TWW. Those two weeks sure do have a way of seeming like 2 months.

Laurie-I'm sory to hear about that pain. It still amazes me that you can have the same procedure and one time it is almost painless and the next it's excrusiating.Hopefully your little follies with play catch up! Egg quality is an issue we discovered during out first IVF cycle. Otherwise, I also have PCOS and simply just do not ovulate. Dh also has low count and low morphology. yes, finaly only two more weeks of bcp. We are more than ready for the next step.

Kelly-Working with all of the appts is really though. I too had to go to a lot of my US appts alone so DH could go to work but was bleesed to be be able to call him after to give him and update and have him give me a little encouragement. Hang in there and remember you are strong!

Babysteps- I'm glad your are finally kicking the bug and glad it showed up prior to your cycle instead of during. The shots get easier with everyone. Was this the first of your stims?

Good luck to everyone and have a great weekend!

Update... well of the 4 eggs that they retrieved 3 were mature but only 2 fertilized. We are praying that they are super charged and ready to grow. They will be going back into the nest on Sunday and then the 2ww begins. Excited but yet so nervous.

Hi all,
Its been a very long time since I posted. I've been on BCP for 6 weeks waiting for my insurance to approve IVF. I finally have a stop date next week for them and the meds should arrive tomorrow. This will be my 2nd IVF with PGD. (No luck 1st round.) The waiting has been awful and I'm not sleeping well.

I see that some of you are in the 2WW. Stay busy and best wishes to you all!

Karen, I too am eager to hear what prenatals were recommended to you.

erin - I meet with her on Tuesday, once I am done I will post the name of the prenatal and also the advice she gave me. Thinking of all you today and what we are going through.. So glad to have this forum to talk through things.

Hi ladies! well my baseline u/s went well i guess. No one told me how many follicles i had...was it to early to tell, or did they forget? I go back monday for the next u/s and will ask then.

So I survived my first night of injections! I was so mad at myself though. For some reason I have been putting off watching the instructional DVD for like a month. I planned to definitely watch it last night and then got too busy and forgot. then today the same thing happen. we are moving this week and i feel so scattered in every way. So i lost track of time and before I knew it it was 11:00 and we were not going to be home for another 30 minutes and I still had not watched the DVD or prepared for meds in any way. My RE said the timing didn't matter too much but it should be between 6pm and midnight. So i started feeling a little panicked that i was so close to midnight and had no clue what i was doing. I rushed in a pulled out the DVD and tried to do a good but quick job. Everything was in about 12:30am. Im just trying not to get down on myself but i keep thinking how stupid to start off like this...this is super important and super expensive and i have been treating it like no big deal. I have a habit of treating important things like no big deal and i hate that bc it causes stress later. ugh! hopefully things will improve as we settle in to our new place and i gain some organization! Question for you guys: Does doing the injection in the leg hurt?? I was scared to try it tonight, I'm more comfortable with my stomach, but know its suggested to switch it up. Oh, another question: At first my RE instructed follistim and menopur, then called later to add ganirelex. When I was at the office he said there was something on my right ovary, but hopefully my bloodwork would should it was non-hormonal and we could proceed with everything. He never said anything more about it, but added the ganirelex- do you think that was related?

Lisamarie- ill be praying they are super-charged too! Sunday will be here so soon, how exciting!!

I was prescribed ganirelex for the chance that inwould ovulate too soon. That could be the reason for you too. If you are unsure I would ask. I know the way my Drs office works is I get an u/s and blood work done in the AM and call a monitoring line in the PM for results. They make us fill out a worksheet each time. I like it that way, then I have all of my info in one place...although I probably would have done it even if they hadn't made me, I need all the information I can get. I know I drive my IVF coordinator crazy with all of my questions, but I feel that since we are paying them, they need to know that I am involved and not just going to sit back and trust them 100% with my dreams. I want to know why for everything! Hope you get some
Good news on monday (if not before)!

Just got back from the RE....I'm happy with how things are progressing. My folli's all seem to be growing at a nice pace. I had a 13, 11, two under 10, 15, 13, 12 and bunch of smaller ones. RE has lowered my dosage, and I go back on Monday. I'm really hoping to have 5 at trigger, which I'm guessing will be Monday.

I'm feeling pretty good about this month...everyone seems to be doing well, I'm with Lisa, I think July is going to be a good month!

Babysteps - You brave lady taking the first shot! Its really not so bad...nothing compared to child birth I'm sure, lol

Lisa - Congrats on the retrieval! It really is quality, not quantity. I know women on here who have gotten BFP's from one embryo and some that had BFN's from four. Don't focus on the numbers.

Kelly - I pay 100% out of pocket too...I feel your pain.

Road - How are you handling the long cycle? Three weeks on the BCP drove me a bit nuts....but if it works its all worth it. I take DHEA too....I've never been told I have a quality issue, its more for age. I've crossed the barrier into the dreaded 40.

Erin - Welcome Back

JA - It may have been too soon for folli info. Just ask at your next u/s. I've never taken an injection in the leg, but I've heard its more painful. I do stomach only and switch sides each night. The RE probably say a cyst on the ovary. I wouldn't worry about it. At your next ultrasound, ask if its still there. The Ganirelix holds off natural ovulation and gives the smaller folli's time to catch up to the larger ones. So happy things are progessing well for you!

Heading to my mother's birthday party today...not sure if I feel like going. My delinquent cousin will be there with her baby (born at the same time my first would have been due if not for the miscarriage)... Seeing the baby just brings back a bit of sadness. Especially seeing my mother and family fawn over him. Really want to skip out today, but don't think I can. Sigh. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?? lol

Ja - congrats on surviving your first night on injectables - the first time is the worst; you'll see it's not too bad. You're follicles won't start to grow until you start taking the injections, so they'll probably start giving you follicle info after you've stimmed for a few days.

Laurie - 5 follies at trigger? Wow - that would be great but also a bit risky in terms of multiples. Have you done a cycle with so many follies (not IVF where they can control how many they put back in) before?? Sounds like your follies are growing nice and steady, which is awesome. Good luck for the next u/s on Monday.

Lisamarie - crossing my fingers for you. Everyone is right - it's quality not quantity, so hopefully those embies continue to grow.

Babysteps - congrats on the first shot! The injections are scary at first but at least it means the process is moving onwards!

Kelly - don't worry at all about driving your coordinator crazy with your questions. You have the right to ask questions and ask as many as you need to. I also think I drive everyone crazy with my questions but I really don't care. The most important thing is to stay on top of it and advocate for yourself, because we are our own best advocates and no one wants a baby more than us.

Well for me, I'm only 2 days into the 2ww now. I don't feel anything at all but I also know it's too early. Trying to keep distracted and doing ok for now.

The day before my IUI, I bumped into a colleague in the clinic and it was a bit awkward at first, but we decided to grab a coffee today and I think that will be nice.

For my previous IUI's I've had 3 maybe 4 folli's at trigger.... Sounds like a lot but with donor sperm and my age the risk for multiples lessens. Now that I'm using "fresh" sperm, I am a bit more nervous, but the again the chances for more the twins at my age is so low I'm not to concerned. Truthfully, I'd love to have twins. Not sure I can do all if this again!

Thanks for the into on the ganirelix. That makes sense bc i ovulated too early for my first attempt at IUI and generally seem to ovulate earlier than the norm so I am glad he picked up on that then.

countingdown- how was coffee with your colleague today? I think I would like to run into someone I know at the clinic!

Tried one in my thigh tonight and it got itchy almost immediately, and minutes later was swollen and bumpy....yeah....sticking with the belly from now on! Last night that one went in fine!

Coffee with my colleague was really nice. She actually isn't someone that I know very well - she works in the same branch but another division, so really I'd just see her around, life in the kitchen etc..

We shared our stories and it was really nice since we both understand exactly what the other is going through. I'm actually off on holiday from work at the moment (for another week) but I'm sure when I go back, we'll talk more. It'll be really nice to have some support at work too. She also said that it's on her mind constantly, so it'll be good to have someone to talk to. :)

Her IUI is tomorrow, so if it works for both of us, we'd be 3 days apart. It's neither of our first cycle though, so I think we're both hopeful but don't want to get too optimistic. It would be nice though.

Thats great! I would definitely feel more support at work with someone there who understood as well. I'm glad you guys were able to connect. I wish all of my DS sisters were not so far away, it would be awesome to be able to get together in person!