I think I will keep it short today
and with some good news. I got an email from my Biotexcom manager who
supervises our surrogacy program. Our doctor considered my last ultrasound and
confirmed on stimulation. Everything within the protocol they signed back then when we traveled there for the first time in summer. We start with Dipherelin. If I’m
not mistaken, this means that we’re in long protocol (they also have a short
protocol). I don’t know how they determine what type of protocol is best but I hope
they know what they are doing. As I’ve told you already, our doctor there is
Elene Mozgovaya MD. They ensured me that she is very skilled and have been
working in this clinic for already many years and that her type of treatment
usually shows good result. It’s very inspiring. Moreover, I’m happy she’s a
woman. I don’t know why, but I don’t like male gynecologists. I know they say
that a doctor is a human being without gender, but still. Everyone knows it not
true. Moreover, it’s easier for a woman to understand another woman. I think
so. And yes, it’s my, very very personal, point of view. Maybe I’m wrong. In any
case, I think they don’t even have other male gynecologists there. At least we saw
only women.
So my trigger shot of Dipherelin was
yesterday. 3.75 one shot doze. Hopefully, my mother-in-law is a nurse and she
agreed to do all those injections for me. It saves a lot of time and she is
really very good at it. I almost felt nothing.
I was feeling well after injection but
for headache. I think it’s due to the weather so I don’t associate it with
injection itself. It’s impact on my body is quite profound so I was afraid of
profound side effects. It’s the second day after injection and I’m feeling
well. I hope this sets a good beginning to this big deal.
Have to close by now. My biscuit-tea
break is coming to an end. My son is still sleeping but I want to have a fresh
banana-cream dessert cooked for him when he wakes up. He likes banana. Ok, have
to go.
I wish you a very warm weekend with
your nearest and dearest. xxx
This is how ER stage went for me. Our sweet dr scheduled the date of the pick up. They informed us about it 5 days before.
ReplyDeleteWe wished to use previously frozen sperm sample for fertilisation. So we notified the program coordinator about that by email two days before the procedure. Also it was more than 2.5 months has passed since our last blood test in the clinic. So we had our blood test repeated. That meant fasting in the morning. I was underoging hormonal stimulation and was being prepared for the ER, so it was up to 10 days we spent at Biotexcom. So it was surrogacy using own eggs for us. That's why dr didn't recommended us to leave the same day. She said flying the following day was fine.
The rules for sperm donation are similar as for the initial consultation. Dh needed to abstain from ejaculation from 3 to 5 days before. We also made the second payment on that day. Things were going right. Of course was worrying a bit but excited. Wanted to see some positive outcomes after the ER. I did well, afterall, I suppose. Produced 5 healthy eggs. 3 of them fertilized which was superb for my very case.
Here are some tips after ER.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you don't exercise for at least two weeks after retrieval. Your ovaries are still quite large and extended. So make sure you take it easy for the next few weeks. (Not to get them twisted which can be extremelly dangerous.) Try to take it easy. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. I was told no high impact activity. I only walked more to help keep the bloating and gas moving. Usually miralax or metamucil is recommended right away after retrieval. You can eat pretty much what you enjoy. But no food after midnight before retrieval. And do drink a ton of water and have Gatorade at hand. I got the G2, lower in calorie and sodium. But you need this to stay hydrated and to try and avoid ohhs as much as possible. Also, the retrieval if rather a simple & short procedure, you may have a tiny bit of cramps for a day but that's a bout it. So don't stress about anything.
I believe IVF medications are often complicated. Very soon I'll be self-administering a combination of injections, patches, and pills. I know that under the stress of IVF, it’s very easy to forget what medications to take at what times. So I guess I'll need some sort of a calendar. Anyway, If even this happens to me I'm not going to be alarmed. I'll seek help and advice from our kind staff at bio texcom. I wasexplained earlier that once I'm taking medications to stimulate my ovaries, I'll need regular blood tests to measure the levels of hormones in the body. Because every woman responds to IVF medications differently, hormones must be adjusted day-to-day to ensure enough follicles are stimulated. And to reduce the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. I was said our physician will require an ultrasound to monitor the growth of follicles within my ovaries. This all sounds very complicated. But I do feel I'm in good hands finally. So looking forward for the treatments start. May god have some good plans for us.
ReplyDeleteThis is the general guideline. The initial consultation is to be scheduled at least 1 week ahead and contains the following activities:
ReplyDeleteA set of tests depending on the program (fasting is mandatory)
Consultation with a fertility specialist who will be in charge of your program (in case of stimulation you will need to have the transvaginal ultrasound check done)
Consultation with a manager who will guide you through the program step by step
Signing of contracts
First payment (please note, if you are taking medications for stimulation from the clinic, the medications are to be paid in cash on the day of consultation).
Before any initial consultation you will receive the Guidelines for the Initial Consultation – failure to follow these recommendations may affect the initial consultation in a negative way.
After you sign contracts and make the first payment, the medical team starts the selection process that includes:
Initial pre-selection by the local coordinator
Consultation of the fertility specialist in Bio texcom in Kiev
Consultation of a psychologist
Legal consultation and verification of documents
screening for possible addictions (urine and blood tests)
This check-up process, including all necessary tests and exams, takes about 1 month.
The cycle of egg donor or the biological mother is synchronised with the cycle of a surrogate mother. According to your contract you have to follow all doctors instruction. In case of self-treatment or violation of the treatment protocol, the clinic may cancel the cycle and terminate the contract.
The date of the pick up is scheduled by the doctor in charge of the program
The Intended Parents are informed about it beforehand (at least 5 days before)
If the Intended Parents wish to use previously frozen sperm sample for fertilisation they shall notify the program coordinator about that by email no later than 24 hours before the procedure
If it is the second/further attempt and more than 2.5 months has passed since your last blood test in the clinic, please be ready to have your blood test repeated, and that means fasting in the morning
In case the biological mother undergoes hormonal stimulation and is being prepared for egg retrieval, the second visit may take up to 10 days
If we are talking about surrogacy using own eggs it is not recommended to leave the same day. Flying the following day is fine.
The cycle begins with a single injection of Depot Lupron. It induces a period approximately seven days later. On the second day of your menstrual cycle, you'll come in for another ultrasound examination. You then will start medications called Gonal/F, Pergonal or Metrodin. Injected into the hip, these medications stimulate the ovary directly to produce multiple eggs. These medications can cause swelling of the abdomen and cysts on the ovaries. Such side effects are temporary and go away when medication use ends. After four to five days of such injections, you will return for an ultrasound and blood testing. This allows medication dosage to be altered to ensure proper ovary stimulation. Medication will be continued for two additional days. You'll again undergo an ultrasound and blood test. Following this, you'll return daily for a period of two to three more days. When the ultrasound and blood tests indicate that eggs have matured on the ovaries, an injection called HCG will be administered and, about 36 hours later, retrieval of the eggs will be performed. You'll undergo an outpatient procedure in which eggs are removed from your ovaries. The microscopic eggs are sucked through a long needle into a test tube and inseminated with sperm from the recipient's husband in preparation for implantation. You'll remain in the hospital for several hours. Recovery from the procedure is at most one to two days.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps to get some insight.
So egg retrieval: This is a day procedure performed in the clinic under sedation. There is minimal risk. but you will want to take the day off work and arrange for someone to pick you up. If you are going through IVF with a partner who will be providing a semen specimen, it will be collected on the same day as your egg retrieval. or the sperm could be frozen before. Hope it goes well for everyone.
ReplyDeleteHi, I think I'll never forget my first ER. I would like to preface this the fact that everybody is different and everybody's body reacts differently to medication. However, I still want to be able to tell you how the egg retrieval worked with my body so you might be able to get some insight into what it could be like for you. I'm going to discuss just about the retrieval day because this was today. I am currently lying in bed at 4 o'clock p.m. and I was just able to eat something and keep it down so I am doing better and can lie still and share this story with you. This morning I woke up I was not able to eat or drink anything and I went into the doctors to do the egg retrieval at 8:50.
DeleteI've been feeling very full recently because I've had to eat a lot of protein and bloated because my ovaries are quite large so I was happy that I respond so well to the shots that the retrival day was moved up 3 days. I've developed a way to walk where I kind of tippy toe around because every time I place my foot down it sends pain in my ovaries. I will be glad to get back to normal. That's not to say I SAT there or laid around and did nothing. When I started my shots I was still able to go for runs, towards the end of it however I wished I didnt have to walk. This was not unbearable and last night I went to a concert and I actually did some light dancing. This morning I went to the doctors and they had me change into a gown and sign tons of concent forms. Then my husband went into the other room to give his contribution and came back in time to hold my hand for the start of the IV. The nurse said my veins were rolling away and had to poke me twice in my left arm. I had a panic attack and went too happpy. My husband played some music and acted goofy and I felt better in time for the next try. The anesthesiologist came in and did it in seconds. The next stop to have me use the restroom. Then I entered the procedure room which was similar to the one I went to for my procedure where they scoped to see if my fallopian tubes are open..
Am actually going on..
DeleteAlthough it looks a little bit alien, I was comfortable with blankets on me and I had smiling nurses next to me. I had a heart monitor, pulse monitor and oxygen on me and then the anesthesiologist started we me with a small amount of the medicine which made me feel comfortable and a little bit tired. He said that when the doctor was coming he would give me more he didn't tell me when this was so I pretty much just woke up when it was all over just 20 mins later! I was laying there with a nurse next to me she asked me how I was feeling. I told her I had bad pain in both of my ovaries I was feeling nauseous as well so she gave me an injection to make me less nauseous. We slowly walked back better to the recovery room and my husband was there he had pain medicine for me which was a hydrocodone 5 milligrams. I sat with him and the stuffed animal he brought me and drank some juice and ate some crackers to see if my stomach would be settled enough to take the medicine. Once I was feeling confident that I could walk, my husband helped me dress and walk to the car. The ride home was hard because all the bumps really bothered me. The worst though was when I became nauseous and I threw up on the way home. This probably wouldn't have happened if I took the anti nausea medicine like was prescribed but I didn't have it on me so I took it afterwards. Not that throwing up or pain are horrible in of themselves, but together it made me want my bed badly.
I got home my husband helped me upstairs and into some looser clothes. I was very sore and when I was lying in bed I threw up another two times. The pain meds didn't sink in, however I was able to fall asleep. When I woke up I was able to eat part of a protein shake and take my pain medicine I am gettin better. My pain scale went from an 8 or 9 to maybe 6 or 7 I still will have hard times with stairs but my nausea is going away and I can deal with this pain. Right after the procedure the doctors let my husband know that we had 20 eggs and counting. Tomorrow they will call me to let me know how many embryos they're able to grow. I'm staying home from work tomorrow and I won't be going for a run this week. Although it's painful, it doesn't really feel like that huge of a deal because I know what just happened and I know what its going towards so I'm still very optimistic and happy everything went well. One thing I would recommend is if you don't know how your body reacts to anistigiology meds, then take medicine to make sure you're not nauseous afterwards.
We are just at the beginning of our de ivf journey. After failed IUIs and a round IVF with oe we were told my oe weren't going to work. This path is emotionally and financially draining. Sometimes it's really hard to find strength and hope and move on. But we have no choice except using another woman's eggs. We've got no more time to think it over. Just act..
ReplyDeleteMost insensitive comments aren’t meant to be hurtful. They are made out of ignorance or out of a strong desire to say something that will defuse a tense moment. We want to solve our friend’s problem, heal their pain, or make light of the situation in a joking manner. Instead, we unintentionally make things worse. If you have a friend or family member with infertility, you’ll want to avoid saying these 12 things.
ReplyDeleteCan’t get pregnant? Just do IVF! Except it’s not so simple.
‘Just adopt!’Adoption can be a wonderful option for some couple, but it’s not a decision that should be made lightly. Suggesting adoption in a flippant way ignores the financial and emotional costs of adoption. Also, it is not always possible.
‘Trust me, you’re lucky you don’t have kids!’
‘You need to relax. All that stressing is causing your infertility.’
‘Maybe you’re not meant to be parents.’
‘But you’re so young! You have plenty of time to get pregnant.’
‘Put your career in front of having a family? Tsk, tsk.’
‘What’s the big deal, you already have a child.’
‘So, whose fault is it? His or hers?’
‘If you really wanted a baby, you’d have one already. Your mind is probably preventing you from conceiving.’
‘It could be worse. It could be cancer.’
‘Whatever you do, don’t give up. It’ll happen!’
Any other thoughts to add??
We're about to start ivf with mitochondria donation in Biotexcom. Here's my background.
ReplyDeleteI'm37 yo. TTC with ex-partner since Feb'2014. (Adding low spermmotility). Am diagnosed on severe endo. Dh is 48 yo, absolutely ok. IUI#1BFN adding cysts. IUI#2cancelled spontaneously.
IUI#3Nov'2017 BFN. IVF#1ER (15 follies, 14 eggs, only 6 mature, only 3 fertilized ). ET- 2 blasts, BFN (beta 0,1). LapMar'2018. CA levels came higher.
Our IVF#2 is scheduled for Sep. This time we're moving on with a new clinic & with a new plan. Hoping for luck this time.