*Ellie's IVF Journal - Part 1* (BFN 12/27/11)

So after realizing how informative its been for me to read other IVF Journals on here i decided to start my own!

Me and DH: 31
DH: SA was pretty much normal except for some slight morphology issues
Me: Endo diagnosed about 4 years ago, had a lap to remove a huge cyst on my left ovary and alot of scar tissue was also removed. This year found 2 new cysts on right ovary and eventhough HSG showed no tubal blockages the dye didnt flow out of the tubes the way it should...which indicates that scar tissue is back and surrounding the ovaries preventing my eggs from ever reaching the fallopian tubes.

Oct 2010: TTC on our own
Feb-Aug 2011: went to OB/GYN because i started to have crazy long cycles! (65 + days) moved on to Clomid w/ timed BD for 3 cycles.

Sept-Oct 2011: Went to see Dr. Brenner at LI IVF. With my known history of endo, Dr Brenner came up with a protocol very quickly. He suggested IVF right away but it wasnt an easy decision to make so we opted to try one IUI.
Because of the timing of my cycle we started the IUI cycle ASAP. I took Clomid 50mg CD5-9, no trigger shot needed, had 2 B2B IUIs that resulted in BFN.

Nov 2011: Moved on to our first IVF cycle

10/31/11 - 11/22/11:
BCPs
11/25/11 - 11/29/11:
Gonal F 150IU
Repronex 75IU
Dexamethasone Pill 4mg
11/29/11: Monitoring Day - about 8-10 follies between 4mm-8mm on left side and about 5 follies 4mm and under on right side. Dr said everything seemed to be going good. Surprised my right ovary produced any follies at all!
11/30/11 - 12/2/11:
Gonal F 150IU
Repronex 75IU
Ganirelix 250ug
Dex Pill 4mg
12/2/11: Monitoring Day -
didnt get official count or sizes but Dr told me the follies are growing and moving along just fine! I got a call this afternoon saying they want me to go back tomorrow morning for more bloodwork and sono so i will remember to write down the follie sizes.
12/3/11:
Gonal F 150IU
Repronex 75IU
Ganirelix 250ug
Dex Pill 4mg

Monitoring Day -
Follie check: 8 on rt side (13mm, 4 @ 11mm & 3 @ 9mm) plus a few smaller ones. 9 on lft side (14mm, 13mm, 12.5mm, 12mm, 11.5mm & 3 @ 10mm)
Waiting now for my call back regarding bloodwork....i only have 2 more shots of Ganirelix left so hopefully by Mon morning i will find out if i'll be doing my trigger shot. The office said they would give me what they have in the office if i need any extra Ganirelix for an extra day or 2.

so far no bad side effects from the meds. i have been getting some night sweats and then having to wake up around 3am with a full bladder! No mood swings or bruising from the injections....so far
12/4/11:
Gonal F 75IU
Repronex 75IU
Ganirelix 250ug
Dex Pill 4mg

Monitoring Day - (i heard that Dr. Brenner loves to monitor you but wowzers! these copays are gonna add up!)
Follies: Rt side (14mm, 13.5mm, 2 @ 12mm, 11.5mm, 3 @ 11mm, 9.5mm & 2 @ 9mm) Lft side (14mm, 2 @ 13.5mm, 2 @ 13mm, 12mm, 3 @ 11.5mm, 2 @ 11mm, 8.5mm & 7mm)
Lining 8.5
and yes .....you know it.....i got a call today to come back in tomorrow morning for blood and sono!
12/5/11-12/6/11:
Gonal F 75IU
Repronex 75IU
Ganirelix 250ug
Dex Pill 4mg
12/6/11: Monitoring Day -
I had about 25 follicles on the right side (only a few 17-17.5mm, most of them 14-16mm range) and I also had about 15 follicles on the left side (all under 17mm)
So surprised my right ovary with 2 endometriomas is producing sooooo many follies!!!! feels like i've been stimming forever......
12/7/411: Monitoring Day -
Had in total about 10 follies 18mm and bigger and many others between 14mm-17mm.
Trigger shot tonight @ 10:45pm w/ HCG shot (2cc water mixed with powder) and then ER is scheduled for Friday morning!!!!!!!!!
so excited!!!
12/9/11: ER Day
Everything went very smoothly @ LI IVF, i truly am having a great experience with them. DH & I got there at 8am, they called us both back right away to change and DH to provide his sample. By 8:45am we met with Dr. Brenner to go over everything. I havent seen Dr. Brenner that many times during my cycle but was so relieved to see him today. His presence and smile put me at ease and i knew i was in good hands. I went in at 9am and was out in recovery by 9:45am. From the 40 follicles i had they were able to retrieve 17 eggs!!! We also spoke with the embryologist and he said DH's #s were great.
Now just waiting to hear the fert report tomorrow. We are planning for a day 5 transfer next Wed!
Meds i have to take starting 12/9/11:
Medrol 4x a day until script is finished
Doxycycline 100mg 2x a day until script is finished
Baby Aspirin once daily until told to stop
Carbergoline once daily for 8 days (for possible OHSS)
Starting 12/10/11 -
PIO shots until day of transfer
12/10/11: Fert report
11 eggs fertilized!!! still waiting to confirm if my transfer will be Mon or Wed that those 11 continue to grow
12/14/11: Transfer Day
Everything went well! Our appt was for 9:15am and by 10:15am we were done. The transfer was very quick, about 10 mins and not much discomfort. We transferred 2 perfect embryos As soon as Dr. Brenner said we're all done I got a sudden rush of emotions - happiness, excitement, scared and relief. Other than some cramping and a lower back pain i didnt have any other symptoms. I took one tylenol when i got home and was fine! I stayed home for the rest of the day just watching tv and having DH cater to me. Back to work tomorrow
Now on to the 2ww hope it goes by fast and i'm not too tempted to test early! DH wants us to wait until beta day (12/27) to find out the news.
Meds:
Tonight is my last shot of PIO
Tomorrow i start Endometrin 3x a day
In 2 days i start Estraderm patches - 2 patches every other day
Baby asprin every day
Still taking the Carbergoline once a day

Send me lots of and i hope at least one of these embies stick
They are observing the other 9 embies, by tomorrow we will know how many will we can freeze.

2WW: This has been a tough 2 weeks We got the bad news that none of our embies made it to freeze. We were very disappointed but tried to stay positive. The only symptoms I had were mild cramping off and on and feeling exhausted all the time! I tested @ 7dp5dt (12DPO) & 10dp5dt (15DPO) and got BFNs so i'm feeling very discouraged.
This morning (12/27/11) I went for my blood test and I was not excited at all....now just waiting for the call to confirm my BFN. I am not looking forward to telling DH the bad news tonight

12/27/11: Beta day Dr. Brenner called with the sad news that our first IVF cycle did not work. He was very kind over the phone and said we should meet in person so he can go over this cycle and we can talk about our next steps. He told me to stop all meds and that AF should arrive within a few days. Telling DH was worse than hearing Dr. Brenner saying he was not calling with good news We both cried and hugged and talked about what was next for us. We both agreed to continue with another cycle. I might take Jan off to just work on me and have a mental break from all the appts and meds. I gained alot of weight since I started seeing my RE, i think its time to start hitting the gym. Cant hurt to be in better shape before starting another cycle right?

Its just not fair....okay, so I have accepted that I have to deal with not being able to conceive naturally but even after IVF I cant conceive??? I wonder if I will ever see a BFP on a HPT. The guilt that I feel for having DH go thru this with me when it is all my issues causing our IF, it is very difficult to deal with. He has never blamed me and has been nothing but great but i cant help feel this way. I know in time it will get better.....thanks ladies for taking the time to read my journal and always being so kind. This process would have definitely been alot harder without all of you

Message edited 12/28/2011 10:01:49 PM.

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal*

I love reading journals! Good luck!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal*

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal*

best of luck to you!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

thanks ladies!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

best of luck to you! Hope this is it for you

P.S I love reading these journals also

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

good luck with everything! We are beginning IVF very soon as well. Looking forward to following your journal.

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Good luck!!!!!!!!!

I always found journals so helpful.. I didn't do one for this cycle, but I have journals from 2 IVFs and an FET if you ever want the links!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Best of luck to you on this cycle!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Thanks so much for posting your journal. Keep us posted/updated. I'm personally learning a lot!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

good luck!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

GOOD LUCK ELLIE!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Best of luck to you!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Good luck!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

Good luck!!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/3/11)

best of luck to you!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/6/11)

***Bump for update***

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/6/11)

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/6/11)

Great update!!!!! GL!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (Update 12/6/11)

Wow lots of follies!!! Good luck!!!!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (ER Update 12/9/11)

bump for ER update.

its such a wondeful feeling when i came on LIF and saw how many of you ladies were asking about my ER. I appreciate every one of you so much

Message edited 12/9/2011 8:07:15 PM.

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (ER Update 12/9/11)

This was a great update!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (ER Update 12/9/11)

Best of luck to you!

Re: *Ellie's IVF Journal* (ER Update 12/9/11)

yay!!!!!!!!!!!