[ladyjayne]

I didn't see a thread for this timing already, so here it is!

My wife and I will start all the meds/etc around the beginning of July, I guess for a transfer around mid-August.

I found out that my immunity to rubella had waned, so I got that vax last night. I am having a polyp removed in a week or two (a bit worried about that - I've never really had any surgery before other than dental). And they found on my blood test that I may be clinically hypothyroid, so may have to start meds for that soon too. I'm currently patiently waiting for my doctor to call me with the results of the second test...fingers crossed that I'm not hypothyroid - the doctor said clinical hypothyroid is really easy to control with meds during pregnancy, but of course it would be much more lovely to not have to do any of that.

[smc]

Best of luck with your surgery and cycle!

[Yvonne]

I posted in the August/September thread but really the timing for us fits better here. I'm starting bcps with my next cycle, the stims in late July and the ER and ET in August. Hoping all goes well with you!!

[Starbuck]

Hi ladies, I am starting the bcp in July and stims beginning of August so ER and ET should be late August...very excited to get it going for the second time. Good luck to all of you as well! Hope and a positive attitude!!!

[ladyjayne]

Yay to all of us!

So I just found out that I'm 'clinically hypothyroid', so will be starting on a very low dose of those meds now. Kind of a bummer but it seems like the meds control things well.

I should be getting my period in the next week, and will have that polyp removed on day 6 or 7.

My wife and I (we're using her eggs and my womb) will be starting BCP with our end of June periods (luckily, we already cycle very close together, so we don't have to wait months for us to regulate to each other). Then I guess she'll be starting Lupron around the same time, and I think the doctor said towards the end of July she starts Gonal-F and I start some hormones to prepare my uterus. The doctor said we'd be going for ER/ET around the beginning of August, although I guess if our periods are closer to the beginning of July then it would be more like the middle of August. It would actually work out well for beginning to middle of August, since that's when my boss usually takes vacation too, so it would be easy for me to get that time off. Well, we'll see what happens!

Not to get too far ahead, but I'm supposed to fly to the middle east in November (work) so if the timing is this way, and it all goes well, it would be alright I think because I'd be in my second trimester then. Well, that's a bit too far ahead to think of at this point. One step at a time, right? But I'm trying to think positive!

What's everyone doing to prepare right now? So far we've both started prenatal vitamins (though we still need to find a good vegetarian omega-3 supplement....blerg), and are trying to eat healthy and all that, and I'm (slowly!) cutting down on my coffee and hope to quit by the end of June. Neither of us are big drinkers, though I have a stag party to go to this weekend so I'm not sure whether to drink then or not....

I'm still riding my bike every day and cleaning out the litter box (and eating goat cheese!)......it's hard to find information on what to stop when...

[smc]

Sorry to hear about the Thyroid issues. I also have hypothyroidism. The pills aren't bad, they are super small. I wouldn't worry too much about riding the bike, cat litter etc until you are pregnant. I cheated a little here and there when I was pregnant (I love Feta cheese) and everything was okay with my son.

[mich32]

Hello,

I'd like to join.

I was suppose to start BCP's this cycle but just got a call today from the nurse saying that my RE is away all of July and so I will have to wait to start BCP's next cycle. I am kind of bummed about having to wait longer.

It looks like I will start BCP's at the end of June for three/four weeks and ER and ET should be at the beginning to the middle of August.

I'm glad I have some ladies to wait with.

Ladyjayne, I am hypothyroid as well and am on a low dose of meds for it.

[ladyjayne]

Mich32 - what dose are you on? I think mine is going to be 50 mg (I'm picking it up later today). Have you noticed any side effects? I know I have to take it separate from my prenatals - which I take one in the morning and one at night (I'm taking Sisu multi-expecting), so I guess I'll take the thyroid one at mid-day.....

[Chica13]

Hey Ladies,

I might be in the group. I have a follow up with RE June 8th, so i will find out then when my next cycle will be... For now I will join here an answer any questions you all have hehehe

Chica

[smc]

ladyjayne, on 28 May 2010 - 02:17 PM, said:

Mich32 - what dose are you on? I think mine is going to be 50 mg (I'm picking it up later today). Have you noticed any side effects? I know I have to take it separate from my prenatals - which I take one in the morning and one at night (I'm taking Sisu multi-expecting), so I guess I'll take the thyroid one at mid-day.....

I am not sure if this would go for everyone but I was told by my RE to take the synthroid first thing in the morning before eating (on an empty stomach) with lots of water. 50mg seems like a lot. My dose is only .50mg. Good luck with the pills. I didn't have any side effects. Hopefully you won't either!

[ladyjayne]

Ha, I'm sure mine is .50, not 50....I haven't picked up the prescription yet (they were supposed to fax it to my pharmacy but they got the number wrong or something, so I have had to wait until today, will hopefully get it tonight) so I'm just going by what she said on the phone.

In the morning...hmm. I wonder if I should take my prenatals in the afternoon and night then. I'll see what the pharmacist says maybe to compare it to what my RE said....

As of today, we're both off alcohol/etc and I'm quitting coffee in the next few weeks, and we'll be focusing on eating healthy/etc! It will be a bit tough (especially with a few events that we have in the next while - a wedding, and then Pride, not to mention hot summer days that are just perfect for relaxing with a cold beer!), but it'll be worth it to not play the 'what if' game.

[smc]

Best of luck with the quitting coffee. I don't drink it but I hear that it is tough to kick. LOL I am sure you will do fine after all you are doing it for a good reason! I quit smoking just before we decided to TTC. I thought it would be a lot harder but if you have a goal in mind that is worth quitting for it makes it so much easier!!!

[mich32]

Hello,

I've been away for the past couple of days. Hope everyone is doing well.

I'm on synthroid and my dosage is .88mg.

I'm getting tired of waiting. I just want AF to get here already (I'm only on cycle day 8) so that I can start BCP's and get on with it.

I'm really trying to eat better and excercise. I'm a little on the heavy side and want to be in the best shape I can be in for IVF.

Is anyone else taking or doing anything to prepare for IVF?

[Chica13]

I too have a thyroid problem. I think they said my TSH lvls are elevated. I started off with .5, that was too much was down to .25.. now I am at .75.. LOL it has been at this lvl for I think about a year now.. so it had leveled out.. which is good. The Pharm or my mum told me to take it in the morning 1st thing, 1 hr after I take my am vits then with dinner I take my pm vits. The AM vits need to be taken on a empty stomach too... go figure.

Chica

[ladyjayne]

Just wanted to update - my wife and I spent a few hours last night looking at the sperm bank sites to narrow down our choice of donor! We really want an open ID donor (wherein the child, when they reach 18, can get identifying information about the donor if they want) because my wife is adopted, and it's important to her that our child be able to decide for themselves if they want to know more about their donor. So, our choices in donors are limited by that.

It was fun to look at all the profiles! I made a spreadsheet to keep track. On one site, you can download childhood photos and audio clips for free. Of course, you have to pay (a lot!) for more complete profiles. It's hard to decide what to pay for...obviously you want to make an informed choice, but it's like $70 for the complete profile. Eep!

[Rookie37]

*peeks in shyly*

Hi ladies, I think this is where I belong! We have just decided to do our 1st (and hopefully last) IVF cycle in August. I will be on a short protocol, so BCP in July and ER/ET mid-late August.

Also wanted to say that I am hypothyroid as well - seems to be a common theme here!

I look forward to chatting with you gals and have my fingers crossed for a bunch of summer BFPs!

[laura02]

Hi ladies,

I just had a consult with my RE and now DH and I are definitely doing IVF/ICSI this summer. I have to take this cycle off so I will start BCP with my July cycle... I'll probably have my ER and ET mid-Aug. My RE is putting me on the Long Protocol. I have my orientation and hysteroscopy in 2 weeks. I'm anxious, excited, and scared all at once!

I am seriously thinking of ordering my meds from ivfmeds.com . Is anyone else? After I know exactly what I'll need, I'm going to look more carefully into it.

BTW, I also take Synthroid.

Nice to meet all of you!

[smc]

Hi again ladies, I hope everyone is doing well!

Ladyjayne~ I think that is great that you are giving your child the option to be able to find information on their bio-father. I am sure the child will really appreciate that you thought of their wants when they are older. I know I would. Wow $70/profile is kind of steep! Why does everything IF have to be so expensive?

Rookie37~ Best of luck with your first cycle! How very exciting! I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!! (I know it can work on the first shot, my little man is proof!)

Laura~ My RE recommended getting our meds online too, we were lucky enough that my insurance covered 2 rounds of injections so we didn't need to but if for some reason none of our FETs work we may try a fresh cycle and will probably try online. (Doctor was willing to recommend a site if we were going that route but because we didn't he never did give us the website. I wonder if it is that one???)

I hope no one minds that I am also in the Aug/Sept thread. Originally I had planned to do my FET in Aug/Sept but have bumped it up to Aug. I really like both groups of ladies so I am participating in both threads.

[crazylady]

After getting stuff sorted out, I start my meds and of June for transfer end of July, maybe into Aug.... ugh the wait SUCKS!! LOL as we all know.... have to call in my day one today though so YAY!! not looking forward to starting my syneral... yucky stuff..this will my our first IVF cycle, first FET... I dont exactly understand yet the difference in transfers between fresh and frozen and all that stuff, but guess I will find out soon enough!!

[vckj]

Hi everyone...
Transferring over from the April/May thread because our IVF cycle didn't work.
We took this month off to regroup and get over the disapointment. Still feels so fresh. It was our first try and I didn't think it not working would be so hard to deal with. At least we can give it one more try... something to look forward to!

laura02 - what is ivfmeds? You can order this stuff online? I am fairly new to all this, however if we can save money on meds I am all for it!
I hope your testing goes well! I think it's the unknown that makes us so anxious.. and the waiting. Waiting for tests, results etc. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

ladyjayne, that is crazy you have to pay to look at a complete profile! I hope you find a donor soon!

crazylady - fresh cycle is using the eggs retreived 3 or 5 days after retreival. Frozen is when they thaw the remaining eggs and transfer them (this usually takes place if the fresh cycle doesn't work)


mich32 - the only thing I am trying to do is stay relaxed and not worry to much. I've given up diet coke (wasn't a coffee drinker) and started drinking more milk (chocolate mostly lol) I used to go to the gym but that stopped with our first cycle.

[laura02]

vckj, on 05 June 2010 - 05:09 PM, said:

Hi everyone...
Transferring over from the April/May thread because our IVF cycle didn't work.
We took this month off to regroup and get over the disapointment. Still feels so fresh. It was our first try and I didn't think it not working would be so hard to deal with. At least we can give it one more try... something to look forward to!

laura02 - what is ivfmeds? You can order this stuff online? I am fairly new to all this, however if we can save money on meds I am all for it!
I hope your testing goes well! I think it's the unknown that makes us so anxious.. and the waiting. Waiting for tests, results etc. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

ladyjayne, that is crazy you have to pay to look at a complete profile! I hope you find a donor soon!

crazylady - fresh cycle is using the eggs retreived 3 or 5 days after retreival. Frozen is when they thaw the remaining eggs and transfer them (this usually takes place if the fresh cycle doesn't work)


mich32 - the only thing I am trying to do is stay relaxed and not worry to much. I've given up diet coke (wasn't a coffee drinker) and started drinking more milk (chocolate mostly lol) I used to go to the gym but that stopped with our first cycle.

vckj, I'm sorry that your ivf cycle didn't work. I am trying to prepare myself for that possibility.

www.ivfmeds.com is an online pharmacy based in the UK. They sell generic versions of ivf medications. They are significantly cheaper than Canada because they are selling generic equivalents (here in Canada, we have to buy brand name ivf meds). Anyway, from everything I've read, they are legitimate and I do plan on ordering some medication from them. I researched all the meds at work yesterday (I am a pharmacist) so I have a complete list of Canada cost (not including upcharge and dispensing fees) and ivfmeds.com cost. One concern that people have raised is storage - some medications need to be refrigerated. From what I can tell, most of the meds sold online are vials with powder that need to be reconstituted, not pre-filled ready to go syringes like you can buy here (and need to be refrigerated from the get-go)... I do have a list of storage considerations for them all if anyone needs to know.

So, the main down-side is shipping. Will everything get here on time? I'm going to do a "practice" order worth just a few hundred dollars and I'll see how it goes. If anyone has experience with ivfmeds.com, I'd love to hear about it!

[Starbuck]

Hi Laura, we are also doing ICSI for the second time this summer. My DH also has 0% morphology - the count and motility are not the problem. Maybe we will be cycling together. Good luck to you.

laura02, on 03 June 2010 - 03:52 PM, said:

Hi ladies,

I just had a consult with my RE and now DH and I are definitely doing IVF/ICSI this summer. I have to take this cycle off so I will start BCP with my July cycle... I'll probably have my ER and ET mid-Aug. My RE is putting me on the Long Protocol. I have my orientation and hysteroscopy in 2 weeks. I'm anxious, excited, and scared all at once!

I am seriously thinking of ordering my meds from ivfmeds.com . Is anyone else? After I know exactly what I'll need, I'm going to look more carefully into it.

BTW, I also take Synthroid.

Nice to meet all of you!

[vckj]

Laura02 - thanks for the information, I will have to check the website out. Let me know how it works for you. (shipping etc)
I was on the gonel f pen, but have experience with the powder for gonel f. Definatly interested in saving some money.
I don't know how the clinic I go to would feel about using meds they don't dispense, however I will talk to my IVF co-ordinator the next time I am in for my Day 2 bloodwork and ultrasound! Thanks so much!

[Rookie37]

vckj - I noticed you are in Mississauga, and there is another pharmacy not too far from you that sells IVF meds at a much lower cost than the FC. As an example, my FC charges $468 for a 300iu cartridge of Puregon, and this pharmacy (Glen Shields in Concord, ON) charges $297! They also ship via courier as well. Just thought I'd throw another option out there for you! I talked to my RE about it and she said she'd be happy to just give me the prescriptions so that I could maximize my benefits by getting them cheaper elsewhere. Here is the website: www.glenshieldspharmacy.com

Hello to everyone else! I am trying to stay sane while I wait for July/Aug....

[smc]

Rookie~ Wow that is a big difference in price! I wish I had of known about them when I was doing my fresh cycle! Thanks for posting the website.