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Post by akcheryl on Mar 24, 2007 16:51:56 GMT -5
We'll probably find out what grade each of the embryos is at our next update tomorrow. Monday we go back to the hospital for the transfer, and before that time we'll speak with my doctor again about how many to put in. Since I'm young, and therefore presumably have high-quality embryos, we'll probably do 2. If the embryos aren't of good quality, then we'll discuss whether to put in 3 or 4.
My husband will be present at the transfer, which is good because I'm REALLY nervous about it (since it's kind of like a sonohysterogram, and that was the MOST painful thing EVER). I'll be on valium for the transfer, and I have to have a full bladder (because a full bladder pushes the uterus into the correct alignment and makes the transfer easier to perform). Then I have to lay at the hospital for at least an hour. I was also told that on the way home I have to lay in the back seat of the car, and I'll be on a couple days of bedrest with only bathroom priviledges.
It's recommended that I carry 1 or 2 babies, and 3 would be really pushing it. That's part of the reason behind only placing 2 embryos. (Although since we're transferring at embryo instead of blastocyst stage, in the event of pregnancy there is something like a 5% chance that one of the embryos could split, causing identical twins.)
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Post by denna on Mar 26, 2007 23:04:06 GMT -5
hi akcheryl,
keep us posted.i'm excited knowing somebody is actually doing it..if all my IUI fail, will sure do ivf end of the year..but meanwhile i'm still hoping.
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Post by akcheryl on Mar 28, 2007 9:54:47 GMT -5
Monday I had 2 embryos transferred. I was in the same operating room as the egg retrieval, but this time my husband was allowed in the room (he had to wear scrubs).
First they cleaned my cervix, which was painful, and then they inserted what looked like a hard plastic straw through my cervix into my uterus. At the same time, there was another doctor performing an ultrasound on my lower abdomen just above my pelvic bone (to visualize my uterus and see where the catheter was going). The insertion of the straw-like catheter was incredibly painful despite the fact that I was on Valium. The catheter actually got stuck for a while before it kind of "popped" into place.
After the first catheter was inserted, they brought the inner catheter (with the embryos already inside) in from an adjoining room (where they had been kept warm in an incubator). This catheter was threaded through the outter catheter into the top of my uterus, where the embryos were placed.
After the catheters were taken out, a metal frame was lowered over me (it encompassed the outter edge of the operating table). There were already canvas straps underneath me (under the sheets I was laying on that were on the operating table), which were hooked into the metal frame. The straps were tightened, and the frame became something like a cot that I was wheeled into the birthing room on (so I didn't have to get up and walk).
I laid on the bed in the birthing room for about an hour and a half, before I was moved to a stretcher and taken out to our car. I had to lay in the back of the car on the way home, and go immediately to bed. I was on bed rest for two days and was only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom.
So far I don't really feel any different. There is something like a 40% chance that this cycle will work and I'll get pregnant, but even then there is about a 20% chance that I could have a miscarriage. We're still hopeful though. And we also have 2 embryos in storage that we will either use if this cycle doesn't work, or we'll use them sometime in the future to try to have more babies.
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Post by scarlett on Mar 28, 2007 16:05:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the update akcheryl! Glad to hear things went as expected with the embyro transfer. Sorry to hear it was painful though. Take it really easy and try to visualize everything going into place and sticking!! Good luck my fingers are all crossed for you!!!
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monira
Full Member
Life is always exploring something new.
Posts: 117
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Post by monira on Mar 28, 2007 16:48:36 GMT -5
I am wishing the best for u akcheryl. So far, everything looks fine and u also took all the pain with smile. After all these, I really wish your dream come true. Keep us posted...
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Post by denna on Mar 28, 2007 23:58:11 GMT -5
yes..we all wish that you will have your baby..then whatever pain that you went through will disappear...you shall know in 2 weeks time right...
is there's a chance you'll get twins?
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Post by akcheryl on Mar 29, 2007 8:22:14 GMT -5
There's something like a 30-40% chance that this cycle will result in live birth. If I get pregnant, there's about a 25-30% chance it'll be twins, and a 5% chance it'll be triplets (since at least one embryo could split into identical twins)!
Thank you so much everyone for the well wishes! I also hope that each of you who are trying for a baby will be successful. I hope that by posting my story I can help some of you get some answers.
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Post by denna on Mar 30, 2007 0:19:17 GMT -5
sure it will for those who is considering ivf like me.i didn't know ivf can be so painful..i can survive without morfin when the doctor want to inject me after my laparotomy but funny, i just don't like needle...last night hubby got a cream-it numb my skin so the shot is less painful.
and yes,that is i'm afraid of as ivf don't not guarantee that we will get pregnant..if it is i have done it long time ago..for now, IUI is the least expensive and i will still try for it.
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Post by akcheryl on Mar 30, 2007 11:40:25 GMT -5
You might want to be careful with numbing creams - I have heard of cases where people have gotten very sick using them (and when I lived in Boston a girl died using it). What really works for me is just putting an ice pack on the injection site for a few minutes prior to getting the shot, and then having my husband pinch the area first. (He read a study where they showed that people reported significantly less pain with injections when they had the area quickly pinched then released before getting a shot.) ___________________________________________________ IVF isn't a guaranteed to work, but neither is IUI (especially for women with endo); AND IVF has a higher chance of working per cycle than natural conception in women with no fertility problems (about 30% per IVF cycle compared to 25% with natural conception). I'd say that nothing in life is ever really guaranteed. Obviously every woman is different and we all have different complications, but at least for me, I was told that IUI wouldn't work. (So if I tried IUI, I'd be paying for cycles of IUI AND cycles of IVF, whereas I skipped IUI and thus only have to pay for IVF and am saving money in the long run.) And getting my husband's sperm into my uterus wasn't the problem - the problems are that: - The endo has caused my fallopian tubes to be stuck to my uterus. Therefore they aren't able to move and "pick up" the eggs that are released from my ovaries (and the fallopian tubes are where the sperm fertilizes the eggs);
- There's no guarantee that my ovaries are even releasing eggs successfully since the endo has so adversely affected them;
- Dye testing during my lap has shown that my fallopian tubes are open, but even "open" tubes can be scarred causing them to be congested, therefore possibly causing the sperm to not be able to travel into the fallopian tubes;
- Even if my eggs are being released, the toxic endo is most definitely killing them before they can reach my fallopian tubes (this would be a problem even if my fallopian tubes were able to move and pick up the eggs).
IVF combats all these problems because in IVF, my eggs are never exposed to the toxic endo. It also surpasses my fallopian tubes and them being stuck/immobile/possibly congested is not a concern. I originally wanted to do IUI since it seemed so much cheaper and less invasive, but now I'm glad that I didn't waste my time and money on it. I really hope that it works for you though, Denna. If it does come to you trying IVF, I guess I'd just like to let you know that it's really not THAT bad (other than the placement of the embryos, but that pain only lasts for a little while). Maybe IUI is the best option for you - I certainly wish it had been for me.
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Post by ouchy on Mar 30, 2007 16:16:32 GMT -5
When do you get to take your first pregnancy test? Are you going to wait until a missed period and have it done at the doctor's office, or have you stocked up on home tests to test right away? You've probably already posted this, but I can't remember (and no time to look, as I'm off to the doc. as well). Also, could the hCG shots affect the outcome of the hCG tests (like a false +)?
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Post by denna on Mar 31, 2007 7:04:42 GMT -5
thanks akcheryl, will try to use ice cubes instead..that is scary to know that people die because of the cream
yes, i thin our condition is different. everything looks fine on me so doctor suggest we try IUI, i agree as it's the cheapest procedure available and meanwhile i also go for massage. it's not that i don't want to do IVF,im just afraid of the failure when we have paid so much for it. anyway, just wait and see how my IUI goes.
yesterday i visited another doctor friend of mine,he's already in his 40 s and also the wife.they just did IVF and it failed, what i don't understand, he said they managed to get 6 embrios and fertilized 5 of it, all are inserted in. i ask him why he didn't freeze some for 2nd round and he seems to have no knowledge about freezing the embryo.is it an option or what?i feel so sad for him as he is giving up..
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Post by akcheryl on Mar 31, 2007 18:11:49 GMT -5
Ouchy - In IVF, we do blood pregnancy tests, because they're more accurate. We're actually told NOT to use HPTs. The pregnancy test is given about 10 - 14 days after the embryo transfer, and by then the HCG shot has been metabolized. __________________________________________________
Denna - We actually have 2 embryos frozen. They usually place 2-4 embryos (although some countries only allow 1, and some have a limit of 2 at a time). The embryos are graded 1-4 and a-d, and lower grade embryos are proven to not thaw well, so freezing them is pointless. If a couple has high-grade (1 or 2) embryos, then they'll only have 1 or 2 placed, but they will have more transferred if the embryos are low-grade.
Even though a couple might have a lot of eggs fertilize, not all of them have normal structure or go on to divide and become viable embryos. We had 5 eggs fertilize, but only 4 went on to split and look normal.
Maternal age plays a big factor in the grade of the embyros and their ability to implant as well. I'm 25, and therefore (as expected), we ended up with high-grade embryos that have higher chance of implanting than most other peoples'.
When a couple is in their 40s, they most often have to use donor eggs or embryos because the mother's eggs are often so low-quality that they are difficult to fertilize, and even if they do fertilize, they are often very low-grade (and unlikely to implant and not able to be frozen). Donor embryos allow older couples to have high-quality embryos (although their baby obviously wouldn't be biologically related to the parents). So it's kind of surprising that your friends were even able to try using the mother's own eggs - and they had to expect that IVF wouldn't work because they chose to use her eggs.
Also, IVF has approximately a 30% chance of resulting in live birth per cycle. It often takes couples a few cycles to achieve pregnancy. And, age plays a HUGE factor in how successful IVF is (the younger the parents, especially the mother, the better the chances), which is probably a big reason why your friends were unsuccessful.
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Post by denna on Apr 2, 2007 23:32:06 GMT -5
oh i see..thanks for the information. my friend admits he has low sperm count. i'm not very sure about the quality of the wife's eggs.
well, i think i will need more information.please don't get tired of posting. other people will need it one day. i was at my gynae's room yesterday..my goodness, more and more people are seeing her because of infertility. i was there just to do my tvs scan and there are about 10 people in line. she was explaining ivf procedure for one patient when i was there.she was so busy...i really pity our generation...what is to blame? food or what?
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Post by denna on Apr 5, 2007 1:41:20 GMT -5
akcheryl,
while waiting for my doctor to come i took chance to talk to the nurse asking her about the ivf chances.
according to her all ivf done was successful (may be she meanth fertilization took placed) however due to some problem some of it failed. most due to uterus prorlem and some resulted in etopic pregnancy.if you have no problem with your uterus, it should be fine,just that we can't control it being an etopic.
however she did say that there have been a success at the clinic so i am quite glad to hear it..really thinking hard about it.
how are you? do you feel anything?
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Post by ouchy on Apr 7, 2007 15:15:32 GMT -5
akcheryl, when do you find out if you're preg?
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