No Frosties and Avoidance Issues

Having finally given up on the clinic ringing me, I rang them to find out that none of the remaining embryos were suitable for freezing. This doesn't bother me too much as I have very little faith in FET cycles, and the HRT medication I was on last time was awful. Yet another thing about menopause to not look forward to.

Speaking of, I am reading the book 'The other Bo.leyn Sister', and feel for poor Queen Catherine who cannot produce Henry _VIII a living heir. Last night I read as the Court reveled in the news that Catherine's "courses" had apparently stopped and she was officially "too old" to conceive, and so the King's open affair with Mary Boleyn was accepted as his right. Its a tragedy that some cultures still consider infertility with such blunt insensitivity. The International Consumer Support for Infertility group (iCSi) report that in countries such as Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya infertile women are often forced to take subordinate roles in their homes while their husbands take new brides, or are forced out of their communities altogether.

Sorry, I will pack my soapbox away for now... I have been researching World Infertility Month for another project.

Providing they are still kicking along, little SD and TA should have hatched and be thinking about implanting soon, if they haven't already. Depending on your source, implantation should happen between 6-7 and 10-14 days old. They are at 9 days old today. I wish I knew what was going on! DH gave my the last Preg.nyl injection last night so I hope this helps. The use of hCG during luteal phase has been shown to increase ART pregnancy rates but also increases the risk of OHSS. It's most certainly the reason my breasts are heavy and sore, but I have no signs of OHSS which is great. Although certain movements can still cause pain which feels like an ovary is twisted or caught on something (very painful and very weird - does anyone else get this?) so there is obviously still swelling but not too much fluid.

Its funny, because of the additional hCG I can't trust by body this 2ww or even pee sticks, but this post has been a very scientific look at my physical state 4dp5dt! I'm obviously avoiding the emotional, which is my usual blogging fodder at this stage. If so, this avoidance will continue over the weekend as we have the kids with us, and an absolute pile of paperwork to do.

Transfer #8

After so many transfers you'd think I would have it down pat, but no I need to wear the stupid badge too. I think my mistake was having a cup of tea in the morning. Tea, being a diuretic, make me wee - a lot. In between admission to the hospital and being seated in the 'holding' area,about half an hour, I had emptied my bladder twice already. You'd think then, since I was already on urine overdrive, that I wouldn't bother drinking the suggested 2 glasses of water, but no, I drank it! Half an hour over my scheduled procedure time I had to go and relive 'half' my bladder. One hour after my scheduled time I was about to do it again, but I was finally called in. I was incredibly uncomfortable and terribly worried that something awful would happen and I would have to change clinics, possibly even countries.

I'm surprised my husband doesn't have bruises on his hand I was squeezing it so tightly through the whole thing. We were shown pictures of 2 blastys that were 'doing everything we expect them to do at this stage'. [My clinic doesn't grade eggs or embryos and it can be very hard to interpret the scientific speak to know if they are any good or not (take yesterday's use of the word 'dodgy' for example)]. DH thought they looked like pies. They are watching another 2 to see if they can be frozen, but I doubt they will.

The procedure took ages, or so it seemed in my agitated state, and then we had to do it all again because the embyro's were stuck in the catheter! Being a superstitious infertile, I have taken this to be a good sign, that they are extra sticky little buggers and are looking to implant straight away! Thus, they are now christened "Sticky Date Pudding" and "Toffee Apple Pie".

I have hung up my Tibet.an prayer flags, and am appealing to G_d, Budd_ha, the Dalai_Lama and anyone else who might be listening to please let me keep these little ones.

Its hard to find good help...

I rang the clinic this morning to check on how my babies are going. Is it so hard for people to understand that I do consider these tiny groups of primitive still-forming cells as my babies, they are very important to me and I have a whole lot riding on their well being. I have been lying awake since 4am worrying about them but have generously waited until 9am to call you, I am not ringing just to annoy you or to shoot the breeze with you.

My normal nurse is away (as always). This is the response I received:
"Six are still alive, one is looking dodgy".


Transfer is at 12.30pm.... hopefully not the dodgy one.

Transfer set for Monday

At Day 2 (Friday) all 7 embyros were still growing. One was at 5-cells, two at 4-cells and the rest dragging their heels a little at 2-cells. Come on fella's keep up now, we've still got a long way to go!

I start progesterone gel tonight, and have a puregon injection tomorrow and again Thursday. Transfer is Monday afternoon. Bring on the insanity....

Fertilisation results are in

Yesterday's egg retrieval went amazingly well. I was quite nervous because my last experience was so unusual, when I woke up mid-procedure and then had lots of blood afterwards. I told the anesthetist before we went into theatre so he treated me with kid-gloves and said he would pump the juice up a little. Whether or not he did, I certainly appreciated him saying it. I remembered one of the nurses in recovery from last time, she wasn't looking after me but told my nurse that I had a big bleed last time and so I had to sit up for a while before being allowed to stand. I couldn't believe the nurse remembered me from November last year, and cared enough to intervene in my treatment.

The increased meds worked. They retrieved 12 eggs! The clinic called this morning to say that 8 were mature and 7 have fertilised. I am so excited! We always lose a few on the way to blastocycst, so starting off with 7 should definitely net us at least 2 for transfer.

At this stage transfer will be Monday 28th. I am using Preg.nyl for luteal phase support this time so the injections continue, but I feel much better knowing we are trying different things. Does anyone know any old wives tales (heck I'll even try scientifically-proven methods if anyone knows any) for thickening the uterine lining?

My Pal Trigger

Trigger tonight at 8pm!

My ultrasound this morning revealed 30-odd follicles with 4-5 each side between 15 and 20mm. The right ovary has been working much harder than the lazy left which I think was the case last time as well. The original point of this blog was to record things like this but I never seem to keep track of the little, probably really important things like this that I might want to know later. They warn that Synarel can bring on feelings of worthlessness, so its a good thing that my last dose was this morning, because I certainly don't need any assistance in that area thank you very much.

My lining was only 6.3mm which I was disappointed with but the sonographer (is that what they're called?) said that it didn't matter in a stimulated cycle. Why would that be? The juicier the lining the better the odds of implantation - Frozen or stim - right?

Anyway, trigger injection tonight. No meds Tuesday - yippee! Then the big trek into Day Surgery for 8.30am admission on Wednesday. All going well we will have at least 2 blastocysts for Monday. Despite my hesitancy about a multiple pregnancy, because of all the sad stories I have read lately, we have decided that we will transfer 2 embryos if we can. Unfortunately this usually means we won't have any left to freeze, but in the hope of increasing our odds we'll take that risk.

Good luck to everyone else doing egg retrieval this week. May we all get 100% fertilisation rates and picture perfect embryo's.

the Old & the Fertile

When my mother first retired, many years ago now, she became addicted to an American soap-opera that screens here in the late afternoon. It got so bad that she would have to be home by 4.30 everyday, or she'd make my dad watch it for her and tell her what happened. I'm pleased to say she finally regained her sanity, but ever since we both like to check in every now and again then ring eachother and laugh over the latest outrageous plot. Well.....! Yesterday I was laid up with a chemical-induced headache and caught up with arguably the most ridiculous plot to date. Boy that's a big call, maybe not the most, but certainly up there in the Top 10.

A woman [lets call her Taylor] has recently given birth to a son using IVF with donor eggs, when she discovers that there was a mix-up at the lab and the wrong donor was used. If that was not bad enough - she learns that the donor, 'the biological mother of her son', is none other than her worst enemy [lets call her Brooke, or That Slut for short] and her husbands ex-wife!!!! But the most annoyingly ridiculous part of this whole storyline is that both women must be in their late 40s. Both of them have multiple adult children - the Doctor who made the mistake in the lab is the donor's daughter for heaven's sake!

Then...! This morning while I was waiting in the supermarket queue I noticed a TV magazine in the stand next to me with a headline that read something like "Brooke forces Taylor to give up baby". I don't think I can even raise a giggle over this one.

All the IVF clinics throughout the world should band together in a class action against all unrealistic portrayals of IVF and infertility on TV. I mean, seriously, as if there isn't enough drama involved in the real thing anyway. Give us a break!