IVF questions/support/help!

[slamjet]

Oh, the injections. . . I still have some knots in my hips. No kidding.

Remember prepping the needles and lining them up? prepping with 18 gauge needles then switching to 23 guage to inject the thick stuff with. Then to try to remember which cheek is todays turn then to try to find a spot that's not red and raw from weeks of abuse. Once I just toughed her tush with a needle and she broke down crying from the pain. Matter of fact, she still does, from the pain her children still give her

[Guest]

Do I ever. More than that I remember my sweet husband choking up a couple of times because he just really didn't want to do it.

[slamjet]

My wife is diabetic so I got used to needling her. For some masochistic reason I thought it was fun to inject her. But man, I felt so bad with those firehose of needles we had to use. Now it's all suppositories and patches. Women really do lose all their dignity when it comes to pregnancy. Just for kicks, I saved some needles and the petri dishes they were conceived in so when my kids asked where they came from, I just tossed the dish in front of them and said "there."

Ah, yes, the memories.

[INfertileMyrtil0315]

Slamjet-rhank you for your experience! I'm so glad i wont have to go thru nearly as many injections as your poor wife! I agree so far with destroying the remaining embryos. It will definitely be the last one for us!

How long did she have to do the injections before the procedure? I'm most nervous for the retrieval and transfer procedures. I had a horrible experience several years ago with an IUD insert, it was one of those "very rare, won't happen to you" things...and it happened to me. Seriously more painful than childbirth....so ever since then Ive been so weary of lady procedures. Any tips on what to expect?

[slamjet]

According to my then-wife, she felt the pressure, but no pain. Unless they changed anything, they go through the vaginal wall to get to the eggs. It was actually pretty cool to watch. They had the ultrasound to guide them. Wherever there was a bubble in the ovary, they sucked out the egg. For retrievals, they don't mess with the cervix or uterus. But if I remember correctly, they timed the beginning of the injections from the past period. I think it was two to three weeks of hormones to get the ovaries to get a whole batch of eggs ready and then another month of hormones to get the uterus ready to receive them then another month or so to make sure it takes. But be aware that my last twins were born in 2001 so my info is quite dated.

I suggest you also pre-think if you get multiples. It's not as common as it was before, but still a chance. On our first pregnancy, three took. We reduced down to two because my wife is diabetic and it was a real concern for her health (more so the second time, it came close to killing her). Our doctor wanted us to reduce to one, but we chose otherwise. You see, the reduction comes just before the first tri is over to see if one is less viable than the others. Happened to be they were all strong so the closest and easiest to get to was the one chosen.

We got some comfort from her OB when he told us that the difference between one and two is not much, but between two and three is a whole new world of problems. So we chose wisely. Our second time, two took so we thankfully didn't have that issue.

But I can assure you that if it takes, it will be worth all the aggravation.

But be ready to be constantly tested, and better yet, be hormonal for a good while

[Guest]

I think every clinic's protocol is a little different, but I'll share some of my experience.

The stimulation shots were tough, and expensive, but didn't make me as crazy as Clomid did. I ended up getting Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, which was awful and involved draining my abdomen of over a gallon of fluid that wasn't supposed to be there and took me 6 months to recover from. That's what led to us converting from IUI to IVF.

When I had the egg retrieval done, I was under conscious sedation. Pretty much they just put you under via IV, you take a nice little nap, and you wake up when it's over. So I wasn't awake for that. But I reacted to whatever they used to make me sleep and apparently embarrassed my husband because of how belligerent I was to the doctor and staff afterward (not at all in my character IRL, however snarky I might get here at times). My doctor is about the nicest guy in the world and whatever I said/did made him throw his instruments on the tray and leave. I just sat there wondering what the heck his problem was.

We never had a fresh transfer, all were frozen. (That sounded way too culinary). That involved taking something for a week to start my period since they're totally irregular, waiting through that lovely week, then doing shots and progesterone supps for about a month to get everything ready. Blood tests every week, at least.

The transfer itself is easy and actually a pretty reverent experience. They would give me a valium when I got in, and take me back after it had a chance to kick in. They always keep the room dim and are very hushed and respectful during the whole thing. The doctor comes in and lets us know how the embryos are faring, gives us a picture, confirms that we're transferring x amount, and then the transfer itself is pretty quick. I found it more comfortable that a yearly exam as far as pain levels go. It's a tiny catheter that they put the embryo through. We get to watch on ultrasound as they insert it into the uterus. I really appreciate how my doctor's office handles it. It's a beautiful experience, really, compared to how clinical the rest of it tends to be. Then I lie on my back for an hour, go home, and keep my feet up for a couple of days.

Then starts the 10 day wait, which is the worst part, if you ask me. Waiting, waiting, waiting til time to test. . . It's rough. Try not to pee on a stick if you can help it. At least wait for as long as you can prolong it. I did get a positive with the 2 I couldn't wait for, but that was the day before I tested. Depending on the clinic, they'll do one test at 8-10 days and another 2 days later. They won't tell you any results until the second test, because what they're looking for more than the quantity of hcg is the rate at which it's doubling, if it is. That two days is killer.

As far as number of embryos transferred, hopefully your doctor will discuss it with you. Reduction is outside of what we were ever comfortable with, and our doctor knew that, so we only ever transferred as many as we were willing to have. Of course the embryos can still split and give you identicals, so again, too many variables to judge anyone else's choices or experience, and of course had my health or the babies' been in danger, we'd re-evaluate.

Based on my chances, the doctor transferred 3 the first couple of times. The first pregnancy was a singleton, and the second was twins, though I lost one of them. The third IVF, he considered that I'd carried 3 babies to term (3rd was a fluke/miracle surprise pregnancy) and elected on the day of transfer to only do 2 that time. I know that it was an inspired decision on his part. Both of them stuck, and it was a really difficult pregnancy. If there were 3 babies I most certainly would have lost them all. I think he prays about it every time, but I don't know that for a fact, that's just an inference I made after working with him and getting to know him for 10 years.

We have been incredibly blessed through the whole process. The timing of it was such that we could afford to do it to begin with, and we had all of our children (except the one "natural" pregnancy) from one cycle. I could cite a lot of other things that happened to make it possible for us to have our family, but this post is a wall-o-text as it is. :) Just know that if you pray and act in faith, you have the Lord on your side and whatever happens, He will be with you.

[INfertileMyrtil0315]

Wow, THANK YOU for sharing hat with me!! I feel like I have a better idea of what to expect, even if there has been some time inbetween. The RE who I am seeing will only transfer one embryo per transfer. He is very conservative in his approach to pregnancy, especilly since I am only 30. He said if I were in late 30's he would consider transferring 2-3 but being that I'm younger he will just transfer the one. We'll freeze whatever we have left and take from that stash for as long as it takes until we are successful!

[INfertileMyrtil0315]

E- thank you thank you for taking the time to write that all out for me! I so appreciate you for it!

I'm most nervous for the two procedures. My dr office has an anesthesiologist who monitors the retrieval so I won't be awake for it (thankful!) but I'm not sure how the transfer procedure goes. As long as my cervix isn't involved, I'll be ok. I'm still trying to recover psychologically from the horrible IUD procedure that went awry several years ago!!

So far my extraction is set for a wednesday in sept...then the transfer will be the following monday. so it's all done within that 5 days. i'll definitely keep you posted as i come up on those dates! Thank you everyone for you replies and your help with easing my nerves!!

[Guest]

The tiny catheter does go through your cervix, but I promise it's smaller than the one used for an IUD (which I have). Please let your doctor know you're nervous about it. He might give you more than a valium to help you relax. Good luck!

[INfertileMyrtil0315]

What about the ultrasound they use for trasfer? Is it the wand or just the one they use for pregnancy? I'll definitely let the Dr know how nervous i am! I've heard other women have been put oit for it, i hope I'm not too much of a baby about it but i wouldn't put it past myself:/ My IUD was so bad bc my uterus was fully tilted which made mu cervix "twisted" so he had to dialate my cervix wih a clamp to insert the IUD. It was torture. After the procedure, my OB told me he knee ot would be painful bc of the position of my cervix snd uterus, so it was considered a difficult maneuver! Ugh. I still cringe when i think about it! And the worst part is i had so many unpleasant side ffects that i only had it in for 8 months. Oy.