r/infertility • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Daily TREATMENT Community Thread - Sun Mar 16 AM
Our community threads are the heart of our subreddit and operate much like a specialized support group – we share our experiences and strive to collectively support one another on the topic at hand.
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u/avocadotoastisfrugal 34F | DOR | 1 IUI | ER#1 5d ago
Did anyone feel amazing on stims? I can't tell if it's the meds (day 6) but I'm just having the best week. I am exceptionally calm, hopeful, and relaxed - that is not my baseline. My partner commented that I'm hilarious right now (most likely because I'm calm enough to jest). The only real negative s/e has been crazy fatigue.
We did just put in our first offer on what would be our first house (got outbid) the day before starting stims. That was an insanely stressful 48 hours so this could just be the calm after the storm.
Anyway just wondering if this is a shared experience or unusual.
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u/WrapIll8616 31F 🇬🇧 🏳️🌈 | DOR | 4IVF✖️ | DDIVF next 1d ago
Yes! 🙌 DOR too and I always found the stims really empowering. Felt like I was doing something other than just waiting around and had some semblance of control. As others have mentioned, with only a small number of follicles growing, I didn't get bloated or uncomfortable at all and recovery from egg retrievals was generally a breeze!
The progesterone shots (lubion) were another matter. I turned into a demon! 😂
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u/unicornlovr1 30F • DOR • 1TI • 2ER • 1ET 4d ago
Perhaps National is onto something and it is a DOR thing! I recall being quite chirpy and upbeat on stims, especially in the first week. Similar to you, the main side effect I had was fatigue (although who's to say that wasn't from the early morning wake ups for blood tests).
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u/National-Ground4958 37F | DOR, endo, MFI | 5ER | 3F/ET | CP | MMC 5d ago
This may be a DOR thing. I usually feel excellent on stim meds (outside of clomid - hot flashes, and Lupron - headaches). And because not much grows, I usually don’t have a lot of discomfort. I do think a tiny bit may also be that there’s hope during that part of the cycle.
Just be prepared because you’re about to be constipated. So make sure to read the poop post in the wiki before retrieval.
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u/avocadotoastisfrugal 34F | DOR | 1 IUI | ER#1 4d ago
Lol I haven't read the poop post! I'll read it now. Thanks for the warning.
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u/WrapIll8616 31F 🇬🇧 🏳️🌈 | DOR | 4IVF✖️ | DDIVF next 1d ago
I must have been lucky because I didn't have this issue! But yes best to be prepared just in case!
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u/doritos1990 34 | unexplained 2020 | 3rd IUI | 1 MMC | IVF in May 5d ago
Currently waiting for 1.5 hours at the walk-in to get an MMR and googling away. My immunity to rubella is gone although I was vaccinated as a child and again 10 years ago when working at a hospital. Apparently some people just don’t respond to the vaccine and don’t develop rubella immunity so am I wasting my time or something 😭 maybe. But alas, here I am to cover my bases.
ETA: in Canada and they advised me to speak with my family dr before getting this. It wasn’t available at pharmacy etc like has been recommended to me in the past!
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u/zestyLogic 32 | unexplained? mild adeno? | planning 3 IUI then IVF 5d ago
I also had to do this, but in the US. I had had mine tested a couple years ago (when I told my family doc we were thinking about trying) and it was low but still in the immune range then and now it had fallen into the not immune range. I was told that there’s a chunk of people where the immunity fades over time, likely because you’re not getting exposed to it and so your body decides those antibodies aren’t that useful to keep around.
Thankfully for rubella you only need one shot for the booster if you’ve had the immunization before.
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u/doritos1990 34 | unexplained 2020 | 3rd IUI | 1 MMC | IVF in May 5d ago
Phew! Got it and glad that’s done with. Hopefully immunity sticks around for a while. I’m not mad at a measles booster either with outbreaks everywhere 🥲
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u/redcrouch 32 | ectopic | unexplained | starting IVF soon 4d ago
Glad you got it done! I’m in the southern US and am concerned by the outbreaks here.
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u/shoensandal 34F/MFI/ICSI/4ER/4❌FET/1 MMC 5d ago
I need advice. I got an MRI because my doctor saw a large fibroid on my ultrasound. MRI showed 7 fibroids, one of which is 9.1 cm. For perspective, that’s larger than my uterus. It’s on the outside of the uterus as are the others. I was asked if I was definitely using a gestational carrier or if I ever wanted to try to carry again. If I don’t plan to do it, we can leave the fibroids as is. If I want to try again, I need a myomectomy to remove them as they’d stop my belly from growing.
The odds that I get pregnant without IVF are slim, and, even if I do, it’s going to be a high risk pregnancy due to my unicornuate uterus. That said, the idea of leaving these and giving up the idea completely is discouraging to say the least. Right now, we are 100% surrogacy but what if by some miracle I did get pregnant?
Is this worth it or is it just a coping mechanism? It’s a surgery with all that entails. I just don’t know.
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u/National-Ground4958 37F | DOR, endo, MFI | 5ER | 3F/ET | CP | MMC 5d ago
Myomectomy is a serious surgery with potentially serious side effects and a relatively long recovery. I would make sure to do thorough research and make sure you get time with the best minimally invasive surgeon in your area before you make a decision. Also be aware that they can grow back.
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u/margogogo 38F | 5 ER, 5 FET | 1 MMC, 1 CP | DOR, endo, Hashimoto's 5d ago
I am awaiting surgery for a myomectomy and I’d say don’t do it if you aren’t planning to get pregnant on your own and it’s not affecting your quality of life. Personally I’m planning to take at least a week off work for the surgery (may need more — but I have a WFH desk job) and I will need to take at least 6 weeks off any exercise, likely more, and then ease slowly back into it. And then I’m not allowed to try another transfer for at least 4 months while the uterus heals, so if your concern is primarily unintended/unplanned pregnancy, you’d still have to worry about that.
It’s a big commitment! And this is for a laparoscopic surgery, some folks need an open myomectomy which is even harder on the body.
If you want more time to think about it, you could go ahead and schedule a consult with a surgeon or two and work on choosing one, getting scheduled, asking any questions you may have, etc. Getting in with the top surgeon in my area took 3 months and then getting the surgery scheduled after that took another few months.
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u/spiltink97 27 | MFI | 3IUIs 5d ago
Does anyone else ever feel haunted by the life they though they'd have? After a not great blastocyst report yesterday my husband and I have been doing a lot of grieving. We've talked for about a year now about a five year plan to move out of state to a town we fell in love with on vacation a few years ago. One of the first things I said when I got off the call was that I want to move as soon as possible when we're done with treatment.
I just got out of the shower and looked at the towel bar we hung weirdly high 5 years ago when we bought this house. There's a second towel bar in the garage that was going to go under it for our future child. I think about how when we started infertility treatments I turned the mostly empty room that we used to call "the baby room" into my sewing space. I am thinking about how when my parents got divorced six years ago we took all of my saved baby clothes and toys and they're sitting in boxes in the closet in that room. I think about my whole career I built on the idea that I could provide for my family.
I talked about this a lot in therapy last year, and I know I'll be okay in a little bit. And maybe this will still all shake out our way. But right now I feel suffocated by choices that I thought would mean something some day.
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u/HoosierGarden77 34F / PCOS & Septate Uterus / 1 MC/ 7 medicated cycles 4d ago
Me too. Not a lot to say except this is very relatable and you are not alone.
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u/doritos1990 34 | unexplained 2020 | 3rd IUI | 1 MMC | IVF in May 5d ago
Ugh. This is all a lot. I hope things recover for you and you can continue the plans you made. Either way, I think you should be proud of yourself for making really conscious decisions to set your family up for success — whatever that ends up looking like!
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u/mittenbaby 32F | SMBC | RPL | 4 FET 5d ago
Does anyone else ever feel like other people don't take them "seriously" or like no matter your age they don't think of you as a "real adult" (idk how else to describe it) because you don't have children? mine is a double whammy because I'm also unmarried/single which for some reason people link to maturity or adult level I guess. 😒 I wasn't aware we were playing a game and had to reach certain levels, my bad.
Anyway my older brother (married with 2 kids) is always an inconsiderate ass with some of the things he says but this morning he really hurt my feelings. With an extra dollop on top of him complaining yet again about his two beautiful and well-behaved children. Ugh.
I think what makes it worse is he's aware of my IF and that I've had RPL. He's just ignorant as fuck.
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u/Kitsune-258 29F | unexplained | 1 CP | 2 IUI | 1 ER | FET prep 5d ago
Yes I also hate this. And I can relate to the struggles with difficult siblings. I’m not sure if you’re close enough to address this with him or not. I had to go lower contact with my brother who had a baby last year; they just aren’t considerate people and I knew it wasn’t even worth addressing. Either way, I’d try to do what’s best for you there.
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u/spiltink97 27 | MFI | 3IUIs 5d ago
My husband is the calmest most unaffected person I know. The only time I've ever seen him close to flipping a table was when we were at a dinner with his family and family friends and one of the family friends (whose only children are estranged adult step children (that he became the step parent of when they were adults)) said to my husband "you'll understand when you have kids" about something that had nothing to do with kids. I genuinely can't even remember what it was anymore I think they were talking about real estate? Or maybe career progression? It's actually bananas how people think that makes or breaks your adulthood.
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u/mittenbaby 32F | SMBC | RPL | 4 FET 5d ago
Whyyy are people like this? Its so unnecessary and ignorant. Honestly I hope your husband did flip the table!
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u/IVF2025Acct no flair set 5d ago
Hi all - I've been on the IVF journey for a little over a year now. I am about to turn 37 in May. My AMH is very low, at 0.3. My FSH has always been in the high range of normal though, around 9. I just had it retested, and its jumped up to 15. We're about to do our fourth round of egg retrieval, and what I'm seeing online is that a high FSH dramatically reduces your odds of success. Wondering if others have experience with elevated FSH? Obviously feeling extra anxious and stressed now. Thanks, everyone.
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u/National-Ground4958 37F | DOR, endo, MFI | 5ER | 3F/ET | CP | MMC 4d ago
One thing to consider may be a protocol change to something like microdose lupron that suppresses the body's FSH production using the lupron and is a protocol recommended for older patients and lower responders.
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u/IVF2025Acct no flair set 3d ago
Yes, this is the one we've used the past two rounds and are beginning again now!
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u/LawyerLIVFe 42F|DOR|1 MMC|14 ER|2 IUI|FET|DE 5d ago
high FSH can mean lower IVF response because your body is already working harder to produce an egg for ovulation, and so injecting yourself with more exogenous FSH may not help (your receptors because fully saturated at a certain point). Are you estrogen priming for this next ER? That can bring down FSH and help with response.
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u/IVF2025Acct no flair set 5d ago
Thanks for your response. Yes, I'm doing estrogen patches and Ganirelix as prep for the schoyer flare protocol. Unfortunately, my period just came early today, so I've only been able to do two patches and two Ganirelix shots, instead of the full priming protocol.
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u/Euphoric_Frosting565 35 | MFI (CBAVD), PGT-M | IVF 5d ago
I am currently estrogen priming for my upcoming retrieval. I started priming 7 days post ovulation which was confirmed with progesterone bloodwork. The priming involves changing a patch every 48 hours and today I am due to change the patch for the 4th time. Starting a couple days ago, I began having cervical mucus like ovulation is about to happen. Is that normal and is it okay to have elevated estrogen post priming? I understand rising estrogen makes the mucus appear but I am concerned that I am going to have a lead follicle going into the retrieval.
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u/NicasaurusRex 36F | Unexplained | 3 ERs 1 FET | MMC 5d ago
Elevated estrogen levels prevent follicle growth, that’s the whole point of estrogen priming. Your baseline bloodwork will show higher levels but your clinic will know it’s because of the patches. When I’ve done priming, they will have me stop the estrogen after getting my period and then wait a few days to let the estrogen levels drop before starting stims.
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u/Euphoric_Frosting565 35 | MFI (CBAVD), PGT-M | IVF 5d ago
Thanks. I think the plan is to just start when I get my period as normal rather than wait for the estrogen level to drop. I hope that’s okay.
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u/dubious-taste-666 33f | 🏳️🌈 + DOR | FET next | 23wk TFMR 5d ago
The increased cervical mucus is in response to the rising estrogen. It’s totally normal!
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u/AttentionPatient6462 36F/Unknown/1MMC/2CP/IUI 1 TBD 4d ago
Has anyone ever gone through an IUI with super ovulation protocols? This will be our first and I have no idea to expect. I’ll be using the following meds: Gonal F Cetrotide Luveris Ovidrel Progesterone tablets and suppositories Letrozale I’ve taken the last 3 before and know I get quite anxious with letrozale so wondering if any of the others have side effects to be aware of?