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Babybump- that is awesome. I found it so helpful to have someone know what is going on at work as well. I too am the youngest amongst the faculty (like the only one not yet going through or have gone through menopause), but one co-worker it really easy to talk to and likes to check in, so it makes life so much easier!

Sarah - keep us posted on what your results are! The big panels are tough- you literally feel like you are donating.

As for me, I ovulated a little late, so I am expecting it to be a longer cycle. I am 9 dpo today and tought I felt some odd cramps this morning and my boobs are def sore (that is very typical for me pre AF). So I am not holding my breath, but will know next weekend for sure.

A good friend of mine just went through her 4th retrival this past week (2nd one in a row) and they just found out they have 2 blasts going for genetic testing (the one blast from their last cycle was not normal). If they get a health one, they are doing a surrogate transfer in the new year - all players are welcome for at least one normal one for them!

I'll keep you posted!

twwtoolong any update!? You should be about 11dpo now right?

Got our first "official" IVF appointment tomorrow, super excited! Lots of questions going in which I'm hoping tomorrow will just be all of the answers and explanations. Hubs has lost most of his hair to chemo now, so he's a little self conscious about going somewhere (He's been on Christmas break for a week already, so he hasn't had to leave the house) so we're dealing with that. I've mentioned our doctor is about an hour away, it's in the capital city so it will be very very busy anywhere we go. We're planning on doing some Christmas shopping around town afterwards and doing lunch and everything since i took the whole day off.

Will let y'all know what all they say! Can't believe its been a month and a half since my last appointment with them - CRAZY!

Good luck tomorrow babybump! Praying everything goes well and you get all your questions answered.

Well that was a day! I'll try to remember all the details lol

They gave me my little folder that I'm basically living out of until the process is over. It has all my appointments and medicine information and everything. Today was basically a consultation type thing with the doctor where he went over ALL the details with us, I mean he talked for 45 minutes non-stop about everything. Went over all the risks, possible outcomes, how they do it, what each step involves medicine and emotional wise, etc. Then he went over every possible birth defect and looked at out specific chances for them, theyre all pretty low, I think one had a 1/2000 chance which was the biggest chance, but still pretty rare. Said we will be doing..I forget the name..but where they feed only 1 sperm into the egg for us instead of covering it. We also had to do all of the legal paperwork for the embryos and what would happen in case of death/divorce - luckykap, I'm sure you had to do those too!

I'm taking a 4 day break from my BC pills the 19th-22nd then it's right back on, and on Jan 6 I start giving myself the Lupron shots. It's supposed to be Lupron/Follistim/Menopur which doesn't mean anything to me, but maybe one of you will understand! All I know is I'll be sticking myself with needles for a few weeks in January!

They also said we'll be doing the 5 day transfer most likely, unless there's just something absolutely wrong with the qualty and we HAVE to do 3 day, but to plan on 5. We also talked about the number of blastocytes going in, said if we did 2 it would be a 40% chance (with a 60-80% chance of twins or multiples) but if we split it and just did 1 but did it 2 times, it was an 80% chance..I guess that makes sense? It was better how he explained it lol But it looks like if they are good quality and everything goes as planned, we'll only be putting 1 blastocyte in.

So we're officially rocking and rolling! Next appointment is Jan 19th which will be 7 days after no BC pills and 2 weeks of Lupron shots to see where we're sitting. Outcomes look good for us!

Babybump I'm excited for you! Its such a whirlwind once you get started. We will be pretty close in cycles as I am starting my microdose Lupron Jan 2 and then start my stim meds on Jan 4. I hope you get lots of eggs and are able to do a 5 day transfer. My last one was a 3 day due to egg quality but I'm praying the supplements are helping that and this next time I can do a 5 day and even have blasts to freeze :-)

Luckykap that's so exciting! Is the follistim the stim shots you mean? It's got me down as starting those on Jan 20 with a possible egg retrieval on the 30th. So I guess I'm doing JUST lupron until then? I'm supposed to call the medical place tomorrow to get them to go ahead and ship the medicines, she only mentioned the lupron but said when I come back on the 19th I need to bring all of them except the ______ (another medical name) which will need to stay at home in the refridgerator. The meds are shipping from NJ and she said to get them early because with holidays they may be slow to get all the way down here to MS!

Yeah Follistim and menopur are the stim shots and the follistim is the one that needs to be in the refrigerator. It sounds like you are doing the long Lupron so you will just do those before the stim meds. I do microdose Lupron (its diluted) so I start that 2 days before the stim meds and do it twice a day and then will add the other 2 shots as well. I do 4 shots a day and sometimes 5 when one of the cartridges empty and I have to switch pens. The follistim pen is super easy to use and read and lets you know if you get the full dose or not, and the menopur stings :-/ Which pharmacy are you using? My nurse orders my meds the day I go in for the start cycle and they come overnight, and last time I stimmed longer so had to order throughout cycle and they got here next day each time. I can't remember if your paying out of pocket, but if you are be ready for the price. I about fell over with the first IVF. I'm pretty lucky this time and a friend just went through a cycle and is giving me all her extras so I don't have to buy as much, thank goodness ;-) Also, if possible see if your clinic has any samples that will help the cost a bit. Anyway, if you have anymore questions I'm here for you. Its really an amazing process but by the time you get half way through the stims you will be ready to quit sticking yourself, being stuck, and prodded with the ultrasound lol. It will all be worth it when you have the little one in your arms by this time next year ;-)

Well they had to draw my blood today and for the first time in my life they couldn't find the vein, so they just kept stabbing and wiggling and it stung and hurt so bad, so when she was showing me how to do the injections I was just wincing thinking about it. And hubs just cannot deal with needles, so he's not willing to "stab" me lol So I'll be doing it on my own.

I am paying out of pocket for it, I'm estimating 3-5k for the meds, thats about what they estimated. Originally they said I would be getting the meds through the clinic's pharmacy, but now they're talking about it being some place in New Jersey called "Alexander's". She was calling it in today, so I will call tomorrow to have them go ahead and ship it. It looks like towards the 20th of Jan when I'm starting the stim shots is when I'll be doing 3-4 shots a day. She wrote 1:50am and 3:00pm for the follistim and menopur, what time do you do your shots?

Also damn about the stinging. Where are you sticking yourself? They told me stomach after I clean with alcohol and everything. It's such a crazy process to me.

I now see on my sheet where it says in big bold letters "DO NOT BEGIN STIMULATION MEDICATIONS UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO DO SO" so that answers that question, definitely not starting those right away! lol

Lol, definitely wait for them to tell you to begin the stim meds. Your appt on the 19th is probably a start cycle appt and they will do an ultrasound to make sure everything's quiet and then you will prob start the meds. I take 2 shots at 530 AM before leaving for work and then 2 shots at 530 pm. The Follistim (this time I'm using Gonal f but it's the same) and micro dose AM and menopur and micro dose PM. My dose is 300 of each stim med. I stick myself in my stomach 2 on each side lol. The needles are short, but after retrieval if you do the progesterone injections you will probably need help with that one bc its an intramuscular shot, so needle is longer :-/.

Is it the internal ultrasounds with the wand? I guess it has to be if they're looking for the eggs, going by belly wouldnt show that would it? Guess I'll need to make sure my gal is prepped for an audience that whole week! lol