2171 replies to this topic

[Spot]

Hello!

I'm new to this forum and also this is my first attempt at IVF.

I didn't see a topic for September cycle buddies, so I thought I'd start one!

Today was my CD1, I'm starting the bcp in a few days!

This is all very exciting and I'm very nervous! I am trying to just go with the flow, but I can't stop reading about everything!

Well, I hope to meet a few people out there who are also planning on doing their ivf in September!

Good luck to all.

Spot.

[mrsfinxy]

Hi spot,

 

I believe I will be doing my second IVF in Sept.  We are just waiting to hear when we can have a TESE done for DH, then we will know when we can proceed with IVF.  It should be sometime in Sept.  I just took my first BCP today, and hope that I do not have to take them for more than six weeks (that's what I did last time).  I find that they don't make me feel all that well.  But just trying to keep my eye on the end goal

 

Good luck on your cycle

[Spot]

Great to meet you, mrsfinxy!

I haven't taken the bcp in about 15 years! It's going to be quite the experience!

I'm feeling a little anxious about everything because I'm presently living in Honduras, and I just recently found a gynecologist on the island. I was in Canada for a few months prior to coming back here to do all the preliminary testing for ivf treatment. I started my treatment in Toronto, But as we already live and work in the Caribbean, we've decided in the end to do the ivf in Barbados.

The one stresser at the moment will be getting all my meds on time. Since I start the stimming here just before I leave to go to Barbados! The mailing system can be very unreliable...even fed ex and dhl!! Crossing fingers!

Good luck to you too!!

[mrsfinxy]

Wow, those sound like some unique challenges being in the Caribbean.  I hope everything works out for you!   I believe there is a thread on this page for people doing IVF abroad.  There may be other people who have done IVF in Barbados, who have written about it.

 

My DH and I are going for a review appointment with our RE this week.  I hope after that we will have some more concrete dates as to when we can start treatment.  It feels like we have been waiting forever to try again (8 months since our first cycle failed)...and I am anxious to know how things will turn out.  I hope that we have better luck this time around.  I am excited, but more cautiously so. 

[Spot]

Yes, things here can get a bit tricky!! something like a regular day to day postal delivery service, which is so easily taken for granted...would be a luxury here! There are no such things as personal addresses...well, you can buy something similar to a box office ...but, even a letter can take up to a month or more to arrive!

I have looked through the forum and other forums, but I've not discovered much chat about the clinic in Barbados. I know there was a girl here who cycled through them, but that was a while ago!

How come you've had to wait so long in between? Is there a long waiting list?

I hope you receive some good news about dates this week!

[mrsfinxy]

Our clinic just has a long waiting list.  There are only two doctors working there, and one has just returned from a mat leave, as well, the clinic recently moved, and I think they took a few months off of doing treatments when they moved.  So, our last cycle ended in November and by the time we get to cycle again it will likely be September, so almost going on a year.  It is frustrating, but the clinic is in our city, so it makes it so much easier than having to travel, and less expensive too.

 

Yes, we certainly do take simple things like postal service for granted.  I know we sure have grumbled about Canada Post in the past, haha. 

[Desperado]

I've been waiting to see a forum start up for September! AF is supposed to arrive tomorrow which means I can call in day 1 for our very first IVF cycle! My protocol will be start suprefact on day 21 of cycle, then down reg check 15 days later and then start menopur injections! Anticipation of when AF is going To arrive is driving me crazy haha!

[Spot]

Nice to meet you Desperado!

My AF started a couple days ago, but I'm waiting for the "full flow" before i start the bcp. Probably tomorrow!

Great to see there is another one of us out there!

[Spot]

Started the birth control pill today. I'm a bit concerned about my September dates now though as I'm still waiting to hear about my Pap results. The result, if abnormal, could mean putting off ivf for up to six months. I've had abnormal paps in the past, and two LEEP procedures, so it's not unusual for me. However, I'm going to be optimistic and continue on as though I'm going through with ivf in September!

[mrsfinxy]

Welcome Desperado!

 

Spot, I hope your results come back normal.  It's so tough having to wait and wait and wait.

 

I started bcp on Sunday and already it is causing some spotting.  I dislike being on bcp, and the stuff they prescribe for IVF seems especially harsh.

 

My husband and I are feeling annoyed with our clinic's apparent lack of organizational skills.  We did a cycle with them last fall, and we have some unique circumstances (my husband has a spinal cord injury), and yet they wait until the last minute to make arrangements.  *sigh*  It's just frustrating.  Especially since we have been waiting since last November for this cycle....we could have had the TESE done months ago....oh well, I think it will work out.  Just lots of phone calls and arrangements to be made.

 

It sounds like our cycle will start at the end of August with ER and ET being sometime around the first week in September.  It's good to have some sort of time frame, I just hope everything works out, and we get our BFP this time around.

[Desperado]

So....AF has yet to arrive!!! Not even one tiny spot!! Cramping yes but nothing else!! What a tease!! If I don't get it by tomorrow it will through off my timing that I already put vacation in for thinking this is the HSG's fault that I had on the 9th

[mrsfinxy]

Desperado...sorry AF is not showing up.  Argh!  The one time you want it to show up....it doesn't.  Hopefully it will show up soon and you can get the next steps underway.

[Spot]

Mrsfinxy, so sorry to hear about what's happening at your clinic. I couldn't imagine dealing with that extra frustration on top of what you're already going through. The positive side is that it's all starting to come together and things are starting to move!

Desperado, sorry AF hasn't showed up yet!

My cycle looks like I'm on the bcp until first week of September, Buserelin injections last week August. Start stimming around second week September... Then fly to barbados on the 15th September and then ER around the 20th. I am considering flying there earlier due to not feeling comfortable with the gynecologist I have here in Honduras. I just met here last week so she could do my pap. She was trying to talk me out of ivf, and to continue trying naturally (yeah right!!) .. I think she is very much against the idea. It's the first time I've encountered someone who has such strong feelings against it... And well, she'll be doing my first ultra sound after the down regulation... So, feeling a bit unsure about that! She even prescribed some sort of testosterone for my DH, she said it would increase his sperm count and morphology etc. but after talking to Barbados, they highly recommended not to take it, and then I researched it on google, and it can actually be detrimental to a sperm count!! Craziness I tell ya. So, anyway... She's all I got, so I will have to grin and bare it for now!!

[lisserb]

Hi ladies! I'll be doing my first and only IVF in September too. We've been trying for our second child for just about 7 years now, and have had two years of treatments with IUI so far. I got pg three times last year, but lost all of them, one ectopic where I also lost my right tube and then two chemicals. I did RPL testing after the second chemical and was diagnosed with two clotting disorders, so I'll be on Lovenox injections throughout my IVF and pregnancy. We also have MF issues, so we will be doing ICSI.

I won't be suppressing at all, and will be on low dose meds for a minimally stimulated IVF. I've got one more cycle to go and then I'll start my stims with the following AF, which should land right around Sept 1st.

I hope everyone finds success here!

[Spot]

Hi Lisserb! Great to meet you! It sounds like you've been through so much already. My DH and I have just been trying naturally for the last six years, probably because we had the attitude that if it happens...it happens... But, now we must go straight or ivf due to MF and our age...time sorta slipped away from us!

I am hoping the best of luck for you on this next cycle, why are you choosing not to suppress? That's interesting. I was also thinking about that, but wasn't sure exactly how it all worked.

[mrsfinxy]

Hi lisserb!  Good luck on your upcoming cycle!  Sorry for the rough year you have had, and your losses, but I hope that the treatment they are using will help you to get and stay pregnant

 

I had an appointment at our clinic this morning (first time at their brand new clinic!  It is so nice!).  We still have some uncertainty about when we will be cycling.  It all comes down to when/where they can do the TESE procedure for my husband.  Since he can't just hop up on the exam tables at the clinic, due to his disability, it may need to be done at the hospital, and if that is the case it likely won't be able to be done until at least September some time, which would push us back to the next IVF start date in Oct/Nov.  It sucks to have to be pushed back, but I do know that it is for the best.  We are doing our best to get the best sperm, and it sounds like the RE will be adjusting my protocol a bit to hopefully get the best eggs as well.  I really like my doctor, and she was encouraging, it's just disappointing to have to possibly wait another few months, since our last cycle was in oct/nov last year!   

[ElleM]

Hello Everyone,

 

I will be doing our second IVF in September.  We just finished our 1st IVF last week, which ended disastrously with none of the eggs fertilizing.  We've been trying to have a second child for the last couple of years, and did a couple of natural IUI's last year.  Since nothing fertilized on our first IVF which surprised the RE, we will be doing ICSI on our next round.  I was really shocked that we didn't even get to transfer anything, since I had always looked at IVF as our last resort but felt fairly confident that we would be successful, so this time I am so much more nervous. 

 

I was on bcp in June, and this time was told I don't need to take it but we have to wait a month in between cycles to let the drugs clear from my body from the last IVF.  On our next cycle they will be increasing my meds hoping that I produce more eggs, so I am nervous about the even worse bloating and discomfort that I will undoubtedly have again, and am terrified that nothing will fertilize again. 

 

Good luck to everyone!

[mrsfinxy]

Welcome ElleM!  I am so sorry you had a cycle with no embryos.  That must have been so disheartening!  Do they have any idea of why there was no fertilization?  I can't imagine the same thing happening with ICSI.  

 

How many eggs did you get last time?  It has been almost a year since our first cycle, and it felt like it took a few months before I lost all the bloating that I seemed to pick up during my first IVF cycle.  I just try to keep my eyes on the end goal.  If I have a baby in my arms someday, it will be worth all the discomfort/bloating/weight gain/etc

[lisserb]

Thanks for the welcome ladies. I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing in our successes to come!

[Desperado]

Day 1 called in yesterday!! After TTC for 3 long years lets get this ball rolling

[lisserb]

To answer the suppression question, when we were doing our IUI treatments, after the first two failed, I had asked my RE about doing a natural cycle IVF. I initially didn't want any supression or stimulation. We have one naturally conceived daughter, and will be doing ivf once only, and I wanted as little medication as possible and no embryos to freeze. Long story short, it was my choice to not suppress first.

My RE strongly advised against a natural cycle IVF, as he felt it would be to much of a risk to try to catch just one egg and to have it fertilize and then make it to transfer, so we decided to do a clomid challenge with my next (would have been last) two IUI's. I was making 3-4 follicles on clomid. The second clomid, ultrasound monitored and hcg triggered IUI gave me my first bfp in 5.5 years. At the 6 week ultrasound, we found out it was ectopic and I lost it that same night along with my right tube. We decided to try the same protocol before moving to IVF, and did 6 more times with me still making up to 4 follicles, and managed to get the two chemicals. Then I was tested for RPL and found out about my clotting disorders.

When I had my consult about finally moving forward to IVF, I still wanted as little medication as was possible. We agreed that the best protocol for me was a natural start antagonist, with low dose injectables. I'll begin stims with my period that start around the first of September. We are aiming for about 6 follicles.

I wish you guys all luck!

[Desperado]

We got our dates!! Starting suprefact on Aug 15 & down reg Aug 29! If all good with down reg ill start injections the same night

[Crazy]

Hi everyone,

I have been lurking on the forums for a while and figured it was time to post.

I just got a call from my clinic today and I will be starting Suprafact next week. We did three attempts at IUI and have been on the waiting list for IVF for 4 months. Funny how my nerves have been good through everything and as soon as I saw the call display today the anxiety started.

[lisserb]

If everyone is okay with it, I borrowed a watch list from another thread. We can use it to keep track of everyone as we navigate our cycles. Feel free to quote it to move names around as we move phases.


Waiting 
Mrsfinxy
Desperado
lisserb
ElleM
Crazy

Suppression 
Spot

Stimulation 


Retrieved 


PUPO 


BFP 


Thinking of you 

[Spot]

Hi Crazy! Welcome!

Lisserb, I love the idea of less drugs, I'm a little bit nervous about all the injectables that are necessary...I've never been one for needles. Great idea about the chart above!

Desperado, great news about the dates! Mrsfinxy, any news yet on your dates?

ElleM, so sorry to read about your first attempt last month.... I can't imagine how that must have felt.

Well, it looks like this month is starting to roll on! Best of luck to all of us. Big hugs.