Watch 'Em(bryos) Grow!

Day 1 after retrieval- 28 eggs retrieved yesterday, 22 were mature, 18 fertilized normally, 1 fertilized abnormally
"Awesome" as described by our nurse, very promising news, hopeful to be able to make it to a day 5 transfer!

Day 2 after retrieval- "Fantastic"-from my RE who called me personally this morning

Looks like any ivf from the get-go, 18 embryos still developing! Very hopeful for a Monday transfer of one embryo and more to freeze :)

Day 3 after retrieval- Still have 18!! Remarkable.

Day 4 after retrieval- They do not look at the embryos this day.

 Day 5 after retrieval-Implantation of one day 5 embryo, freezing at least six viable embryos (we will know exact count later) I'm pregnant! Hoping and praying that our embaby will implant and grow!

Quick Prep for IVF

Since we were not planning to do IVF this cycle, I had to do some quick mental preparations for all that it entails and I thought it'd be helpful to others to share what I found most useful.

First of all, the hcg shot is hard to actually follow all of the steps. You have to administer it at the exact time they direct you to take it. My nurse said to make sure I hit the target time within five minutes. My husband was walking in the door moments before he had to give it to me, so I was glad I already did the research about how to combine the medication and draw it up or we would have been late. (It's different than the preloaded needles.)

How to draw up/mix the medicine (hcg trigger shot): (We watched it all the way through and then my husband watched while preparing my meds the second time.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii7kLJTvGs4

How/where to give the shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-EY_4P67Hs

(We tried this and it was not too painful. I iced the spot before and after the injection for about 10 minutes which I think helped a ton. Just think carefully about what side you want to do the shot on because it does hurt badly the next day or so like a bad bruise. I thought about which side I like to sleep on and how I would want to lay on the couch to make my decision.)

More about IVF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J6C_9umMTg

What does the procedure actually look like? Thank you to this woman who allowed it to be filmed! It really eased my mind and helped me to understand the process so much better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xugCKraWzRM

Oh and from all that I read, I drastically tried to up my water intake!! No eating after midnight!

Our Fertility Journey

It's been a long one so far with a lot of highs and lows. We are still hoping and wishing for our own little one.

A little about myself: I am now 29 years old, happy and healthy but after about 100 days of amenorrhea (lack of period) following birth control last year, I was diagnosed with PCOS via ultrasound and was put on progesterone to start my period. I switched from my general women's health doctor to a specialized ob/gyn who also confirmed the PCOS through another transvaginal ultrasound. My husband's sperm was tested and he has no diagnosed issues. She started me on progesterone again after a long cycle and I tried one round of Clomid 50mg on which I did not ovulate. I began another round of progesterone and got my period after 50 days. I completed a second round of Clomid at 100mg but again, failed to respond and ovulate. Following the second round's failure, my doctor broke up with me and referred me to a fertility clinic.
 


Feb/March 2013- Preconception Meeting with women's health doctor, given the green light. Began taking prenatal vitamins

May 21, 2013- Take out last NuvaRing

May 24, 2013- NuvaRing induced period

July 29, 2013- Start officially tracking CM on fertility friend

August 17, 2013- CD 86, Start officially temping

August 26, 2013- CD 95 Start Metformin 1000mg, t/v Ultrasound. Blood work (PCOS diagnosis)

August 29, 2013- Metformin 1500mg

August 30, 2013- Bloodwork done

Sept 4, 2013 Horribly sick, stomach pains

Sept 5, 2013 Back down to 1000mg Met for a week, then back to 1500mg

Sept 26, 2013 Switched Drs to specialist, t/v ultrasound confirms pcos, prescribed Provera for 10 days to induce a period.

Oct 5, 2013 Last Provera pill CD 136

Oct 7, 2013 Provera Period #1! (Light, no major cramps or symptoms)

Oct 9- blood test, fsh, progesterone, wbc- not ovulating

Nov 2- Hubby SA- all clear! (rushed to get done because we thought I'd start provera/clomid but dr said to wait two more weeks to see if my period would come first...)

Nov 19- No luck, Provera round 2 (cd 44)

Dec 2- Provera Period #2! (after 56 days, more substantial and longer flow than p#1)

Dec 6- Begin Clomid Round 1 (cd 5-9)
Dec/Jan Test with OPKs and temping, did not detect ovulation. Blood work confirmed this.

Jan 21- Provera Period #3 began after 10 days of Provera round 3. (50 Days...)

Jan 25-29 Clomid increased to 100mg Round 2 (Taken days 5-9)

Feb 4- Begin Acupunture! :)

Feb- More bloodwork confirms that I did not respond to Clomid

March 7- Ob/Gyn breaks up with me, telling me I'm infertile and she can't help me any more, refers me to fertility center and asks if I have considered adoption... obviously devastated

March 17- Was scheduled for a 4/21 appt, but got a new patient appointment at fertility center because of a snow day cancellation and a lot of Irish luck! Dr. Hope says he feels confident he can help us get pregnant! Start Provera round 4!

March 26- Genetic testing is in- I'm a carrier for SMA.:(  DH needs to be tested to see if he's a carrier too. If so, it will reset our plan again. 2ww for results.

March/April ??-Provera Period #4
April 26- Start Clomid (days 3-7), plan to take trigger shot and progesterone if all goes well
May 4th- Day 11 ultrasound and blood work, one follicle at 7.4mm (too small), others tiny, no trigger shot necessary
May 8th- Another u/s and more blood work... failed again
May 13- Day 20, Another u/s and more blood work... failed again, no Clomid response, begin Femara 2.5mg
May 26- Femara failed, began Follistim at 50iu and continue Metformin/Acupunture (estrogen dropped to 25, yikes!)
June 6- Estrogen jumped  to 102 -6 larger follicles, largest at 14.5mm
June/July- Failed injection cycles
August- Successful with follistim and ovidril but ended in chemical pregnancy
September- Again successful, but same result 
October 2014- Started with follistim and converted to IVF
Oct 8- Egg Retrieval- 28 eggs, 22 mature, 18 fertilized!