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Post by akcheryl on May 8, 2007 23:39:42 GMT -5
I haven't heard of using progesterone cream in IVF. Rather, IVF patients often use progesterone in oil (intramuscular shots), which is the most effective way to administer progesterone (more of it stays in the body). Sometimes IUI (intrauterine insemination) patients use progesterone suppositories (vaginal), although they aren't really used for IVF because they aren't as helpful as the progesterone in oil.
Progesterone shots are usually started the day after egg retrieval.
Also, my husband is a med student and has been told that women should NOT take herbs. I've also been told by my OBGYNS (several), GP, and reproductive endocrinologist NOT to use herbs, as ANYTHING you put in your body can affect your body and/or pregnancy.
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Post by denna on May 9, 2007 0:01:58 GMT -5
i think you SHOULD NOT take CERTAIN herbs when you are pregnant but before that it's ok. but do your research before taking anything.it's your own body so you are responsible for it.my hubby is a doctor and he has no objection of me taking herbs.he also told my gynae that since my 4 IUI s failed, i'm taking herbs now and she said ok.
i'm taking red rasberry,vitex,false unicorn root and red clover,alfafa..other than that i also took lecithin,vit E,Vit B6
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Post by gemini on Jun 1, 2007 10:16:05 GMT -5
I am so scared about starting IVF ...really scared. My gyno has told me that she will put me on the list after i have my operation and follow up appointment. So by the end of this year..If God wills i will be on the list.
The thing that scares me the most is the injections that i will need to have..i cry everytime i have a blood test on on earth am i going to inject myself. Everything is vague at the moment, i have been told that i will need to attend counselling sessions with other couples trying IVF .
Do these injections hurt ? and how do they retrieve the eggs ?
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Post by Hillary on Jul 2, 2007 22:34:57 GMT -5
I have just finished round 2 of the IVF cycle and was not sucessful. Very sad when it doesn't work out.
In response to Gemini I also was scared about the injections but after the first one i am sure it won't be nearly as bad as you think it is going to be. At least thats the way it was for me. The egg retrieval isn't really nice, the second time I had them put me under, which was easy, in Canada it isn't normal, but my Dr. said in the states they do it all the time.
OHIP will help me pay for the procedure one more time but I don't think that I can do it again, I think because of the hormones it has made my endo worse and my stomach hurts all the time now. After the first time my stomach didn't feel like this.
Because I had Ovarian Cancer/Endometriosis, my Dr. that specializes in gynecological cancer wants me to go through all the tests again, MRI, CT scan and blood work. I really don't want to go through all that again but I really don't have any choice.
I think I am finished trying, I am thinking that I want a complete hysterectomy that way I won't have to be scared of the cancer coming back and hopefully it will stop this pain I am having all the time. I am just sick of this disease taking over my life. I just want to be back to the person I used to be.
I know they say a hysterectomy doesn't always cure the problem but there are lots of woman that it has worked for and I want to try.
My Aunt had endo when she was my age and her liver was stuck to something that she had to have surgically separated and after she had a hysterectomy and she hasn't had any pain since. So I feel I have to believe that it will work.
The fact that I can't have kids I don't believe hasn't set in but I keep thinking to myself that I can adopt and in 8-10 years when my husband and I are ready we will adopt.
No one said that life is easy and we just have to deal with the hand we are dealt with.
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Post by denna on Jul 2, 2007 22:50:32 GMT -5
sorry to hear your story hillary. may i know why the ivf failed? what is the reasons? i heard from the nurse at the hospital said that all ivf done here was successful but the problem are,some ended up being etopic and some mc because their uterus is too weak..i'm not very sure how that happened.
for me adoption is ok but wait till both o fyou are ready.when i was in alpharetta atlanta early this month i saw many women with adoptive children, some are black,some look asian..so, i guess it's quite common to adopt in the u.states or only in atlanta?
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Post by sequin on Nov 1, 2007 21:29:48 GMT -5
Here's my IVF story:
In late June I had a lap and learned that my tubes were completely blocked. So, in mid-July, we found ourselves sitting in a posh, dark-wood-filled office talking to a reproductive specialist. I was very surprised to be there - I never thought I'd do anything as extreme as IVF. But, when it turned out that our insurance covered up to $15,000 of fertility treatments (!!!), it made more financial sense to try a few times before looking into adoption.
With photographic evidence of my blocked tubes, we were able to skip the fertility tests (although my husband did have to give a sperm sample.) I was also able to skip most, but not all, of the blood work since I'd had that done before my lap.
I had to go in for a sonohysterogram and mock transfer. I found this uncomfortable, but not painful. I'd taken Advil right before the appt., so maybe that helped. For the rest of the day, every time I laughed, I leaked saline solution.
With this reproductive clinic, you have a doctor, and two coordinators. So I always knew who I was talking to, and they always knew my story. The personal attention was nice. I called in on day 1 of my period, and they set up an appt. for me to come in for an estradiol and FSH test on day 3. They also sent me a very helpful calendar with the entire IVF cycle sketched out.
On day 3, I went in for the blood test, they called back in the evening with the results, and said I should start taking the pill. I took the pill for 12 days. On day 13, I went in for an ultrasound and we turned in our consent forms. There were about 15 of them. (One was to determine custody of any frozen embryos in case of divorce!) They called back that evening and said we should start Lupron injections.
I was nervous about Lupron, but I didn't react to it at all. I'm not sure if it was just because it was only a daily dose, or only 10 units, or what. My husband was awesome at giving the injection; I was kind of a freak about receiving them. We alternated abdomen and thighs.
For 8 days, I took both the pill and Lupron. Then, I stopped the pill and had a "period." A week later, I went in for an ultrasound and blood test, and then things really got hectic. Every day, I had 3 injections plus baby aspirin. Up until that point, I had felt fine, luckily. Neither the pill nor the Lupron had affected me physically or emotionally. And I'd say that I had a relatively easy time with the new injections too - it was just plain HARD.
The two new injections used a larger needle than the Lupron, so they were more painful. With Follistim, you had to leave the needle in for 5 seconds after injecting it. With Menopur, you had to inject 1 mL of liquid, which is a lot, and I found it very uncomfortable. And even with rotating injection sites, there were 3 injections and only 4 spots (L abdomen, R abdomen, L thigh, R thigh) and my body started to be tender and bloated. I felt kind of tired and stupid most of the time. I lost my appetite. Toward the end, I would just cry randomly. I also couldn't exercise because my ovaries were so big, and that didn't help either.
That took 10 days, with an ultrasound every 2 or 3 days to keep an eye on my ovaries. I was desperately hoping mine would grow more quickly so I didn't have to do it for the full 10 days, but no luck. They wanted them to be at least a size "20" and on the first day, mine were 8.5. They're supposed to grow about 2 sizes a day.
So, after day 10, they gave us instructions for the HCG injection (had to be done at midnight on the dot) and I had to start taking an antibiotic. But I could stop the injections, which was a relief. They said that they saw 9 follicles developing.
The morning of the retrieval, I was crazy nervous since I'd had such a bad reaction to the anesthesia for my lap. But I think being able to tell the anesthesiologist about it helped, because this time was a piece of cake. I fell asleep, and then gently started to wake up. Before we left, they told us that they'd retrieved 11 eggs. I got excited thinking that maybe we would have extra embryos to freeze.
I immediately started to feel better after stopping the injections. I now had to take estradiol and progesterone every day, but the change was noticeable. Two days later, we went in for the embryo transfer. The technician came in with a picture of our embryos - we only had 4. Even with ICSI to compensate for my husband's sperm's low motility - only 4 eggs fertilized. And, of those 4, only one was considered high-quality (6 cells.) One was 4 cells, which was considered okay, and two were only 2 cells, which our doctor advised had probably stopped developing. We decided to transfer all 4 in since the 2-celled ones weren't worth freezing.
Even though the doctor had warned me that with endometriosis, I'd produce fewer eggs and they'd be of lower quality, I still wasn't prepared for only one high quality embryo. I found that very upsetting. All that work for only one good embryo?!? Very frustrating.
For me, the transfer was much like a gyne visit. Uncomfortable at times, but not painful. We could watch the transfer on the ultrasound screen - it was pretty interesting. Afterwards, I had to lie down for about 15 minutes, and then they sent me home with very strict instructions to lie down for 48 hours. I was allowed up to use the bathroom, I could sit up to eat, and I could go up stairs once a day. Luckily, the transfer was on a Saturday morning, so my husband was around to take care of me. Lying around was really boring for me, since I'd gotten my energy and appetite back and felt like myself again.
I just had to continue taking the estradiol and progesterone, and take it easy. I went for a few walks, but no heavy exercise. About two weeks after the transfer, I had to go in for a blood test to see if I was pregnant. For me, this was the worst day of all. I knew that the results wouldn't get back from the lab until after 4, so I had to wait all day. It was in the back of my mind all day long. I was a wreck. Even when the coordinator called with the good news that I was pregnant, I was still in shock.
About a week later, I went in for another blood test and ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that there was only one embryo (phew) and it had implanted in a good place (double phew.) Since then, I've gone in for a blood test and ultrasound about every 10 days. Luckily, everything is progressing as it should.
Today was our last appt. at the reproductive clinic - we "graduated" and now I'll go back to my OB/GYN. Even so, I still have to take the estradiol and progesterone for 10 more days. I counted, and I'll have been taking the hormone supplements for 60 days total. I take estradiol tablets and progesterone lozenges 3 times a day, plus a progesterone suppository every night, and an estradiol patch every 3 days.
I'm looking forward to stopping the supplements - I think they've made me feel sluggish and stupid. I asked the dr. about them, and he said that they're perfectly safe to take because they're the same hormones in my system - they just want to make sure that my body can support the early pregnancy until the placenta starts to make hormones.
Overall, I'm glad we did it, but I'm sure that's colored by the fact that it worked on the first try. It was very, very difficult, physically and emotionally. It's hard to describe why exactly, but it's exhausting and stressful.
That's my book on the subject! My best wishes to anyone who decides to try it.
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Post by mwilmot on Nov 2, 2007 14:41:12 GMT -5
Sequin - thanks so much for posting your story. These detailed stories really help us that are considering IVF!
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Post by sequin on Nov 2, 2007 19:36:55 GMT -5
It took me forever to type that story up - I would have written sooner but I didn't want to jinx anything. (Still don't, actually...)
I think the trickiest thing about IVF is that everyone responds so very differently to it. One friend of mine actually enjoyed being on Lupron. Another friend had no problems at all except for being "a little tired sometimes." But I have a friend who just started her IVF cycle, and just being on the pill is making her sick and emotional.
I think that might be what makes it so hard: every step is filled with total uncertainty. It's expensive, invasive, and time-consuming, and it could be all for nothing. To be honest, if something happened to this pregnancy, I would have to think long and hard before deciding to do another cycle. And I don't even have a job right now, so I was able to nap or eat whenever I felt like it, and mostly just hung out with my cats all day.
Something else I forgot to mention - all of this has absolutely killed my sex drive. It is gone, gone, gone. Shots in the belly? Not sexy. When we went in for an ultrasound last week, my husband joked (truthfully) that the doctor's spent more time "down there" than he has. That's been crazy frustrating. It's not even the kind where you don't feel like it, but then you fool around a bit and then you do feel like it. There is nothing happening down there for me. I think now it might be from all the progesterone I'm taking.
I hope all of this doesn't sound too terribly negative. But my friends with IVF experience told me stories like this and we decided to do it anyway. And it really does seem that everyone's experience is different.
Some good things out of all of this: I have learned that my husband is a bottomless pit of awesome. He has been supportive in ways I never imagined. Although there is something disturbing to have him sitting nearby while the doctor performs a transvaginal ultrasound...
I was also very pleased with our doctor and our coordinators. The coordinators especially, since I talked to them more frequently. I was very impressed that they took the time to remember little details about us.
And, in a strangely good way, I've learned which of my friends and family I can truly count on for support. One of my sisters simply doesn't get it, and this really clarified that for me. My mom, on the other hand, has been wonderful, and I didn't expect that from her (she's not the best with emotions.)
So, from the start of the cycle to graduation, it took exactly three months - Aug, Sep, and Oct.
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monira
Full Member
Life is always exploring something new.
Posts: 117
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Post by monira on Jul 3, 2008 23:53:19 GMT -5
Thanks for all the detail good experience. I have diagnosed with endo Oct 2006. After that I am trying natural path to recover my health. We r trying after my lap to get pregnant. But, no luck… I have done sonogram (which was very painful for me) early 2007 and learned that my left tube is swelling but the right one is in good condition. So I wanted to try naturally first. I am thinking about IVF may be my last chance. But, when think about the painful procedure…I get scared a bit…but still, if that’s my only chance, I might try it at the end….I felt better reading your experience.
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Post by gemini on Sept 22, 2008 8:45:53 GMT -5
Sequin thanks so much for writing about your experience, i know it's diff for everyone, but just to know that we're not alone really helps...! Thanks so much for that mate
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Post by Susanne on Sept 22, 2009 14:59:29 GMT -5
Hi, I see that this thread hasn't been active for quite a while but I wondered if anyone has experience of worsening endo due to IVF. I had a colleague at my last job who had terrible endo and she told me that it became much worse due to the hormones given for the IVF. She thought that her gyno did not treat her well because he advised her to try to get pregnant normally first for a year and then started the IVF. She was known to pretty severe endo already and he knew this too. So in this year of trying to conceive normally her endo grew and grew and she went from ok to not being able to walk. Then they started IVF (unsuccessfully btw) and it became even worse. When I spoke to her she had had many surgeries and was on strong meds to try to control the pain, which works well enough for her but she was suffering from side effects.
My endo is not that bad meaning I don't have so much pain anymore (due to the diet! They diagnosed stage 1-2 endo a year ago when I had a laparoscopy) but now after 2.5 years of trying to conceive we are considering our options. I am realy afraid after the story of my colleague to ruin my life forever with these hormones. Should I get back on birth control or perhaps even try progestin for a few months first to shrink the endo and then start IVF? I don't know I don't know. So many doubts!
Thanks, Susanne
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Post by alisonsdream on Jan 22, 2010 9:03:35 GMT -5
I have stage 4 endo, and I'm about to start IVF next month. I'm very hopeful that this will work for us. I'll keep you posted, and best wishes for your success with IVF.
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Post by alisonsdream on Jan 22, 2010 9:12:05 GMT -5
sequin, thank you so much for sharing your detailed IVF story. I'm about to start the process next month, so I found your story to be very helpful. Congrats to you!
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Post by Karen on Jan 22, 2010 18:09:56 GMT -5
Please let us know how it goes!
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monira
Full Member
Life is always exploring something new.
Posts: 117
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Post by monira on Feb 20, 2010 17:00:03 GMT -5
Same here...thx Sequin for a positive story. I've upcomming an app with my IVF specialist April 14th. Most of the tests are done and I had a laproctomy as advised by my specialist and obgyn. Had to remove my left ovary and tube due to disfunctionaly sever Endo last week. After recovary, I am going for the IVF too as we already tried 3 + year to get pregnant. II've so many concerns in my mind.... For sure IVF response is different for each person. I pray every day for all who are suffering as like me....
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