IVF Stats

I've been a nut who reads alllll the blogs, boards and threads all over the internet learning everything I can about infertility/IVF, etc. I forced myself to take a break from doing this for the past few months, as I realized it was making me crazy! And it actually felt great to not be so worried about every single detail in my fertility journey. BUT, when I got the call from my RE's nurse stating that my day 2 stim Estrogen was "a little low" my default setting kicked in. So I went back to the boards...uhg. Poor, poor choice. So I promise not to do it again. But in dipping back into my previous existence like I did tonight, I realized that I need to keep track of all of my IVF 'stats'! DUH, Kristen!

So here they are:

I'm 111 pounds starting this cycle


Side Effects: HEADACHES!! Poor appetite, no sexual interest what so ever, sporadic outburts, a little wheepy and emotional but not too bad, very thirsty, bloated, nauseated, acne, feeling "under the weather", painful abdomen, back pain, soooore breasts and nipples starting around day 8 of stims and through egg retrieval. Oh my goodness they hurt soo badly. I think this no sex things for like WEEKS AND WEEKS AND WEEKS is NO BUENO! 

About the drugs:  Menupur BURNS!! I think I'm having a slight allergic reaction to the Menopur. Not only does it burn like crazy, but it turns a 2 inch diameter around the injection site bright red, swollen, and sometimes little bumps pop up immediately after the injection, and the injection sites always bruise. All goes away within an hour.  Lupron has made me soo forgetful and confused--badly! Very akward as I started a new partime job. I'm wondering if I should be on baby aspirin? Yes, RE put me on baby aspirin after the egg retrieval.  Get very dizzy after taking oral progesterone. Cystic pimples after getting the postive pregnancy test. I'm suspecting this is from the HCG. Spotting while on Crinone. The Dr. days this is normal, as it irritates the cervix causing some light bleeding. You also have to "clean out" the Crinone regulary. The Dr. said that if you don't clean it out regularly it can build-up in there and inhibit new doses being absorbed properly. Ick!


6/12/11: Baseline Sonogram before initiating IVF cycle #1: 15 antral follicles between both ovaries--Average
AMH: 3.9 ( Good ovarian reserve)

IVF Protocol: Long Lupron (11 days of Lupron before starting stims and will continue thru stimulation)/BCP Suppression---Cycle is a total of 7 weeks from start to finish

Day1- 6/5/11:Started  BCP (Beyaz--The worst!)

6/14/11: Started Lupron 10 IU in PM--No more intercourse from here on out, per RE

6/22/11: Sonogram and Estrogen--No cysts found on ovaries, all is quiet and Estrogen was 6. Lining was 5.5mm, so got clearance to to start stimming over the weekend; Last day of BCP

6/24/11: Period started

Day 1 of Stims: 6/25/11: Start Stims and drop Lupron dose--Menopur 75UI PM and Follistim 225IU PM and Lupron 5IU PM

Day 3 of Stims: 6/27/11: Estrogen Bloodwork--Estrogen 56 after 1.5 days of stimming. RE says this is a little low and my ovaries are a little slow to wake-up. Increased Follistim to 300 IU in PM, keeping Menopur at 75 IU and Lupron at 5IU. FEELING WORRIED!  Also had a job interview today!

Day 6 of Stims: 6/30/11: Sono and estrogen bloodwork: 14 follies equally dispersed between both ovaries, but the ones on my right ovary, which has always been my dominant ovary, are more developed. Estrogen 369. Uterine lining: 6.5. Progesterone: 0.5   So we are going to stay at the same dose of meds until I go back in Saturday for enother sono and bloodwork.

Day 7 of Stims: 7/1/11: ( Kevin's 30th Birthday!) Buying more Follistim and Menopur so we don't run out over the long 4th of July weekend. Saying goodbye to another $1,000 today. ...(sigh)...I think the headaches are finally letting up a smidge since I'm now getting some estrogen back in the body from all the follicle development. Thank goodness. My RE will only let me take Tylenol, which I don't think works well...so it's been a rough ride with the insane migraines. Started to feel very "full" in the abdomen, uncomfortable, and nauseated. Noooo appetite at all. Just feeling all around not well. Crying and feeling very sad over nothing in particular. Awesome.

Day 8 of Stims: 7/2/11: Sono and Bloodwork-- Still showing  14 follies growing. I have to confess, I sure was hoping for more eggies to have popped up today. Uterine lining: 8.1--perfect. Estrogen: 684. It increased 85% in 48 hours. Progesterone: 0.8

Day 11 of Stims: 7/5/11: Sono and Bloodwork: 16 very large and ripe follicles. Largest one 28x26mm. This is way big, Dr. says we may have to sacrifice this one for the greater good of the bunch.  Dr. says I'm ready! Lining: 10.5. I will take 5IU Lupron, 150 IU of Follistim and 75 IU Menopur at 10pm and my Ovidrel trigger injection at exactly 11:30 pm tonight. Start Doxy for the next 7 days. Waiting to hear back on my estrogen results.....estrogen 1600, Progesterone 2.2--it's on the rise.  Hmm...The elevated progesterone lends itself to the possibility of Premature Luteinization. This can be caused from initiating LH ( Menopur) into the stim cycle too early. ( I was on it from day 1) This can  adversely affect the uterine lining and egg quality. Great, one more thing to worry about...although my lining is good. I guess we shall see once we get the info. back from the embryologist.

 This will be my last night of injections!! WHOO HOO! But then on to five other kinds of medications to begin. But so glad none of them require needles! Feeling  very sick, queesy, and just pure "ick". Soo ready for this to be over. On a bad note, my RE thinks my dog bite is not doing too hot. He doesn't want a nasty infection to ensue and push back my transfer. So he wants me to go get it lanced and drained tomorrow. Nice.  Another job interview today also! I was told in the interview I was 1 of 20 that have been selected for an interview...seems pretty competitive. Won't get my hopes up.   Feeling I have too much going on!

7/6/11: Headed to PCP to have dog bite lanced , drained, and to start pregnancy-safe antibiotics. Really? Right in the middle of my already stressful IVF cycle?!  I get to do another lovely enema today before my egg retrieval also. Nice. So PCP said the dog bite is infected, but what I was told may be a puss pocket underneath the skin is really a large organized hematoma, so he did not want to lance it. My RE has me on Doxy to prevent any infections from the egg retrieval, and my PCP thinks this is a good drug fo the dog bite also. So the plan is for me to stay on the Doxy through the weekend, then call my doc back to give an update on the swelling and redness around the wound. He is really hoping the Doxy takes care of it, as he says there is not much as far as antibiotics go that can be given to pregnant woman. ( My RE only wants me on "pregnancy-safe" antibiotics). So we shall see.

 Very nervous about tomorrow! Very nervous about what to expect, how many eggs will be retrieved, if they will be "fertilizable"/healthy...worried about the pain afterwards, worried about OHSS, as I got to experience this from an IUI cycle, so they say I'm more at risk.

7/7/11: Egg retrieval 1030am. Pay $500.00 to the anesthesiologist. Kevin must give his sample and I get to start Prometrium.  We had 14 eggs retrieved, and  Kevin gave a rockstar sample. We won't know until tomorrow how many of those eggs are good quality and/or fertilized. So we wait for a call from the embryologist tomorrow. They will also determine if we need to do a 3-day or a 5-day transfer based on our quality and egg development. Hoping for a 5-day transfer, which would be next Tuesday.
Just got home from the clinic, at this point, I'm feeling like I'm having a really painful period.
7/8/11: We will learn how many eggs fertilized and initial cell division progress. Call from the embryologist: Start Crinone, Medrol, and baby aspirin today. Starting to eat lots of avocado, almonds, and pineapple! Lets get the uterus ready for implanting embryos! Kevin stayed home with me all day!

7/8/11: Feeling great so far this morning. Kevin stayed home with me all day again! I have only had to take Advil once. Last night I began my Prometrium vaginally, but I will switch to using Crinone (progesterone) vaginally and take Prometrium orally twice a day. I also started Medrol ( steroid) twice a day and baby aspirin once a day.  So, currently I'm taking:

Doxycycline (1) twice a day
Medrol (1) twice a day
Prometrium ( 1) twice a day
Crinone suppository (1) at night only
Baby Aspirin (1) once a day
Prescription Prenatal (1) once a day

I am also taking a few others on my own:

Probiotic (1) once a day
AZO Yeast Pill (1) once a day ( to keep me from getting a yeast infection from the antibiotics I'm taking)
Zinc (1/2) once a day
Synthroid (Thyroid) (1) 50 mcg once per day

CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM THE EMBRYOLOGIST!! I'm so nervous!! He or she should be calling within the hour.  This is it, this is what we have worked sooo hard for over the last year and a half. ....well, half of the battle. First we need quality embryos to be able to transfer, then we need those quality embryos to stick and become a beautiful baby in 9 months! Lord, I know you have heard my bazillions and bazillions of prayers...maybe you could just give in just this one time..and I promise to shut up! ...just kidding...just kidding...I know God's plan for my life is the very best plan. But it's soo difficult to understand and my patience is in the red.

Embryologist's Report:  14 eggs retrieved and 12 fertilized. This means that 85% fertilized!! Yea! I guess having rockstar Kevin sperm paid off! :O  Embryoligist said they can't really tell anything about quality quite yet, this is usally something they can tell after day 3 when they look for proper cell division. Praying, praying, praying for awesome quality embryos that persist! She said they will leave the embryos in an incubator for the next day and a half without much interaction, as it stresses them out to move them too much. So they will reassess them on Sunday.  We want freezable embryos to use next time around, for sure. The embryoligist said that usually most of whatever is fertilized end up being transferrable. Lets hope she's right!

7/9/11: The waiting is killing me!

7/10/11: Embryoligist's Report: How are our sweet babies hangin' in:

Out of the 12 that fertilized 10 of our embryos are doing well and 2 are not doing so hot.

The 2 that are not doing so hot: 1 is only a 3 cell today and it is supposed to be an 8 cell by now. The other is a 10 cell, which is a little too advanced indicating that it may poop out in the end. But they will continue to watch them and see what happens.

The 10 that are doing well: Most are all 8 cells, which is right on track. We have 2 that are graded at an A ( which is perfect and the highest grade they can receive) and 7 are graded at B's ( which is good. This grade is given due to some minor asymmetry in the cells and some slight fragmentation around the edges) and we also have 1 grade C.

The embryologist believes that about 60% of the 10 will make it to blastocyts on day 5 and hopefully this will put us in a position to have freezable embryos. Yea! They will not check the embryos tomorrow, as moving them from the incubator is too stressful. They will check them again on the morning of transfer, in two days.

When we go in the morning of transfer, in two days, we will get to sit down with Dr. Le and decide which ones we want to transfer and which one we would like to freeze.

7/12/11: 5 day embryo transfer at 2pm: Acupuncture at 11:30 right before transfer.  Transferred two embryos. (1) 4BA and (1) 4BC. Embryologist told us that one embryo has stopped developing.  Bed rest for the night.

7/13/1 1dpt: This evening had stabbing pains in the uterus, although I'm fairly certain I've felt these same pains a few times before and I've obviously never been pregnant. I think maybe it's from the progesterone stimulation on the uterus. Let all the phantom "pregnancy" pains begin! This is when I really get loony!

Acupuncture at 3:30pm. Embryologist called to say that 7 embryos have been frozen and there are still two more they are watching for the next 24 hours. They will call tomorrow with their status. Yea! 7 frosties!!

7/14/11 2dpt: Feelin nada other than bloated and "full". In a great mood.  Took HPT this am to see if the trigger is out of my system so I can know when I start taking HPT's this weekend and after, should I get a positive, if they are accurate. Results: Negative.

 Status on two remaining embryos: 1 has stopped dividing and the other is still alive..although not great quality. I am having a  VERY difficult time with the lab, as they are NOT wanting to freeze this last embryo for us. Because it is still alive and dividing normally we do not feel it is our right to just "dispose" of it as the are requesting. We would like to freeze it for now despite being told it will never result in a viable pregnancy.  Total number of embryos frozen to-date: 7

Will they freeze the last one for us to make it "8": Yes, this did. But only per our overt requests and pleas. So this means we have 7 "good" embryos and 1 that they are saying will not yield a viable pregnancy. But this is okay for us. We are soo blessed with what we do have ! So blessed!

Out of 14 eggs aspirated on retrieval, 12 fertilized, 11 made it to blasts, but only 9 of the 11 were good quality. 2 transferred and 7 frosties.

7/15/11 3dpt: Nada. Feel totally normal other than really ravenous from the Progesterone. Hit the good ol' dollar store and stocked up on HPTs today. Feeling a little worried as I worked at the doggie daycare today and the AC was out on top of it being 105 degrees outside. So I was miserably hot, dripping with sweat, unhappy, and irritated. On top of that, I was also in the sun and heat outdoors, was totally stressed out by dog fights, and also doing some rigorous cleaning. Hoping this 6 hours was not too much for my body and our little beans.  :(  BOO!

7/16/11 4dpt: Negative HPT with FMU at 3.5 days past transfer  ( I realize this is insanely early to test, but in my defense, it's a sicknes. I can't help myself.) Tested again in the evening---I'm ridiculous, I know. It was, of course, negative. Why must I torture myself?! Stabbing pains down through vagina and a few stabbing pains in uterine/ovary area throughout day. Nothing major. I don't think I would have even noticed these "symptoms" if I wasn't a freak.

7/17/11 5dpt: HPT Negative with FMU 4.5 days past transfer. Feeling a little worried! Or this is too early?!  Feeling nada other than my continued insane appetite from the progesterone, REALLY weepy today, and bad mouth ulcers.  This is what Kevin said to me at lunch today, " Man, you're putting away the food today like a champ (in his defense, he only offered this sweet comment after I reached across the table for his fries after I fnished mine.)"

7/18/11 6dpt: Very, Very faint line on HPT with FMU at 5.5 days past transfer. So faint I had to test twice. Still not  sure if it's an evap line or not. But on the second test I THINK I see some pink in it.  But the second line( If you want to call it a line)  did come up on the second test right away. Headed out to buy some First Response tests today to see if I can confirm a line or a no-line. Please, Lord, I need no more tricks played on the mind. I play enough of those on my own! Third test, a Clear Blue Digital that says "Pregnant" or " Not Pregnant"...said...PREGNANT!! Okay, still cautiously optimistic. Not sure if this is all in my mind, but now I'm totally noticing a lot of "pinching" in my uterus all day today. But feeling normal otherwise. Lord, please let this baby(s) stick!

7/19/11 7dpt:  Postive on HPT ( dollar store--still faint) Wondering if it should be getting darker?? More pinching in my uterus and lower back pain. Feeling really irritable today also.

7/20/11 8dpt HPT's are still postiive and getting darker on the "good" First Response test. But the dollar store tests are not, they are staying about the same.  I think they are able to sell them so cheaply because they put hardly any dye in those things. Arg!

Update: Started bleeding while I was working at the doggie daycare this afternoon. I FREAKED OUT! It was mostly a lot of brown bleeding, but it was more than just spotting. I also had some red spotting and cramping through the entire night. I called my IVF nurse that afternoon right after I noticed it and she said there is no way to know for sure what is happening and we just need to wait on my beta---three days away! She said to just monitor the blood, but even if it turns into a regular period there is nothing we can do. Umm..this doesn't seem right. We know I'm pregnant. I don't want to lose the pregnancy within the next three days as we're waiting on my first beta through all of my bleeding when I know they can move me to a stronger medication to help keep my uterine lining in place.

I paged the doctor later after I sat on the info. the nurse gave me and decided I wasn't okay with the plan. He moved up my beta by one day, which means I will go in tomorrow for my beta. He also said to take more of the progesterone I have at home and to be on bed rest for the weekend. He told me that there could be several things causing the bleeding, but he won't be able to tell for sure until he gets back serial betas---Friday and Monday. He said it could be a chemical pregnancy, a miscarriage, not enough progesterone support, a hematoma in the uterus, twins may have implanted which causes more implantation bleeding, or I could have been pregnant with twins and I'm losing one. So there are a lot of things it could be. Bad news: we won't know for 4 or 5 more days. uhg! More waiting!

7/21/11 9dpt: HPT is still positive.  I am on bed rest and so far so good with the bleeding. I'm afraid to even pee! Lord, please let my bleeding and cramping stop! I pray for God's protection over our baby beans.  There has only been a very small amount of brown spotting today with no further cramping.

7/22/11 10dpt: First Beta Results:  POSITIVE!!!!!!! POSITIVE!!!!! POSITIVE!!!!!! Beta: 222 9.5dp5dt. Nurse said it look like a very strong single baby, although she said there is certainly a possibility of twins. The next blood test on Monday will give us more indication of twins.   No further bleeding or cramping. whoo hoo!!!!! GOD IS SOO GOOD! Lord, let these babies hang on tight and grow perfectly healthy!

7/25/11 13dpt: Second Beta Results: 1050. This is a very strong result!  So it went from 222 to 1050 in three days. It went up 5x's! Doubling time of 32 hours.   The nurse said she would not be surprised if it's twins, but it could also be a single baby.  Feeling so blessed!

I'm a nut, so I've still been doing home pregnancy tests at home after my beta. I think I just want to see the line get darker. ..And it is! Hope this means our beans are snuggling in for the long hual. I've had no further bleeding or cramping. Keeping my fingers crossed and praying like a maniac.

Embryoligist's Grading Summary for all frozen embryos with slow freeze and vitrification methods:

Transferred on Day 5: 4AB and a 4BC ( these were the two that were ready by my transfer)

Frozen on day 5: 4CC
Frozen on day 6: 5BB, 4CC, 4BB, 6CB, 4BC, and 5AB
Frozen on day 7: 6DD ( This is the embryo that they wanted us to discard despite it growing normally. Even though it is very poor quality and it will never result in a baby, we couldn't have it discarded---so they FINALLY agreed to freeze it for us after I put up a fight)

So this means that we have four that are really good and have great chances of turning into a full-term baby, and three ( the C's) that are fair. They told me they freeze these guys because they have seen a lot of succes with C's. But I guess we will see.  I am happy with this report.

8/11/11: First sonogram to look for heart beat(s):