After another unsuccessful transmyometrial transfer (under anesthetic, via needle through the uterine wall), i made an appointment to talk to the Fertility Doctor about my options.
I was reassured that he doesn't believe there is any other reason for me not falling pregnant as yet (apart from my obvious cervical problem) and we decided to grow my embryo's on to blastocyst stage as we still had 10 day 2 frozen embryo's.
He advised that we would likely lose a lot of embryo's in the process (possibly all of them), but if we could get one or more to this stage then it would certainly increase our chances of a successful pregnancy.
I had to go for a blood test to confirm that ovulation had occurred, my results weren't quite what they wanted (low progesterone level of 8 on the day of testing), so ordered another test a couple of days later - thinking that this was going to be a huge let down and another missed cycle, i wasn't holding my breath waiting for the result - it was actually a great result and my progesterone level was within the range that they need to support a growing embryo & hopefully a pregnancy.
Transfer was scheduled for the morning of 4th June at 6.30am. Travelling to my appointment that morning, i did not even know if there would be an embryo to transfer and even after arriving and getting in my hospital gown, it was still another half hour before the scientist came in to let me know how things were going - good news & bad news!! We did infact have one great blastocyst for transfer on that morning, although that's where the good news ended. Out of all 10 of my embryo's, we had the one blastocyst for transfer, 7 had not made it, and we had two that were slow growers that they were going to grow on for another day to see if they would "catch up" (wasn't feeling very hopeful).
The transfer went to plan and we started the long trek home. It just so happened that we were heading to Melbourne that evening for a week of R&R, so after the long trip home i finished packing my bags and then did the trip to the airport.
I got a call from the clinic the next morning regarding my two "iffy" embryo's - it turned out that one infact did make it to blastocyst stage, so has now been re-frozen!
All went well with everything whilst i was on holidays - my boobs began to feel more tender than usual about 3 days after the transfer which i took as a positive sign, even started to get my hopes up that this would be "the one". Once again i decided to do a pregnancy test a couple of days before my period was due, but only one line appeared :(
I couldn't believe that this was happening again :( :(
My fertility specialist is going away on holiday shortly, so we get a month off from this whole horrible process before we try our lucky last transfer. I just can't believe that out of our original 20 day 2 embryo's that we have still not been lucky enough to fall pregnant - especially given that we fell pregnant naturally with our daughter on my second month off the pill (prior to my cancer surgery).
My turn has to be coming soon, surely!!
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Monday, 7 April 2014
Emotions
I had my embryo transfer on 25th March under anesthetic and all went perfectly to plan.
The two week wait surprisingly went quite well for once - obviously had plenty of other things happening to keep my mind off it. I even took a week off work - first real time off work in 3 years!!
I let myself get excited and believe that this transfer would be "the one" and when i tested on 4th April, i just hoped that i would finally get my positive i have been hoping and praying for, unfortunately the test was negative.
I went on thinking that there may still be a "very small chance" i still could be pregnant, so when my period did not show up on 6th April as it should have, i did another test on 7th April which was once again negative.
Finally today, my stupid period has decided to turn up - 2 days late!!! Grrr.
So many emotions going on right now. Wondering what this universe has planned for me - wondering why, after all i have already been through, why this one part can't be easy??? I certainly know that when i do get pregnant that pregnancy is certainly not going to be easy, with the likelihood of extended bed rest.
On the other hand i was extremely excited to find out that someone i had met on facebook that has gone through Cervical Cancer and had the same procedure as me, has given birth to a gorgeous little boy today after defying all odds and making it to 37 weeks in her pregnancy.
Miracles really do happen. I'm just hoping and praying that a second miracle will come my way - look at my little girl (my first miracle) every day and she gives me the strength to pick myself up and go on.
The two week wait surprisingly went quite well for once - obviously had plenty of other things happening to keep my mind off it. I even took a week off work - first real time off work in 3 years!!
I let myself get excited and believe that this transfer would be "the one" and when i tested on 4th April, i just hoped that i would finally get my positive i have been hoping and praying for, unfortunately the test was negative.
I went on thinking that there may still be a "very small chance" i still could be pregnant, so when my period did not show up on 6th April as it should have, i did another test on 7th April which was once again negative.
Finally today, my stupid period has decided to turn up - 2 days late!!! Grrr.
So many emotions going on right now. Wondering what this universe has planned for me - wondering why, after all i have already been through, why this one part can't be easy??? I certainly know that when i do get pregnant that pregnancy is certainly not going to be easy, with the likelihood of extended bed rest.
On the other hand i was extremely excited to find out that someone i had met on facebook that has gone through Cervical Cancer and had the same procedure as me, has given birth to a gorgeous little boy today after defying all odds and making it to 37 weeks in her pregnancy.
Miracles really do happen. I'm just hoping and praying that a second miracle will come my way - look at my little girl (my first miracle) every day and she gives me the strength to pick myself up and go on.
Monday, 17 March 2014
If at first you don't succeed...
Well, a long time since i have posted on here about my journey!
In a nut shell, i am still not pregnant!
I had a 3 day embryo transfer in October 2013 and a 2 day embryo transfer in November 2013. I was going to have another 3 day transfer in December 2013 although i got a call on the way to the clinic advising that the transfer would have to be cancelled as the embryo did not survive!
Had a lovely break for Christmas with friends and family and then tried another 3 day transfer in January 2014 - once again, unsuccessful.
I planned to try for another transfer in February, although the place i go for my scans mucked up and missed my follicle, so by the time we realised what had happened (thought i wasn't actually going to ovulate), it was too late to do a transfer as i had ovulated days and days before hand! Absolutely heartbreaking.
I have just had another scan today, with my largest follicle at around 12mm, so having another scan in 3 days time which will hopefully show that the follicle is over 16mm. We are trying things a different way this time and instead of waiting for my body to ovulate by itself, i will give myself an ovidrel injection once the clinic says, they are also going to do my transfer under anesthetic this time as it is kinder to the embryo (due to all my scar tissue where my cervix is supposed to be) and they can place the embryo directly into the endometrial lining.
Guess i've just gotta trust that they know what they're talking about, and that maybe, just maybe i still have a chance at having another baby.
In a nut shell, i am still not pregnant!
I had a 3 day embryo transfer in October 2013 and a 2 day embryo transfer in November 2013. I was going to have another 3 day transfer in December 2013 although i got a call on the way to the clinic advising that the transfer would have to be cancelled as the embryo did not survive!
Had a lovely break for Christmas with friends and family and then tried another 3 day transfer in January 2014 - once again, unsuccessful.
I planned to try for another transfer in February, although the place i go for my scans mucked up and missed my follicle, so by the time we realised what had happened (thought i wasn't actually going to ovulate), it was too late to do a transfer as i had ovulated days and days before hand! Absolutely heartbreaking.
I have just had another scan today, with my largest follicle at around 12mm, so having another scan in 3 days time which will hopefully show that the follicle is over 16mm. We are trying things a different way this time and instead of waiting for my body to ovulate by itself, i will give myself an ovidrel injection once the clinic says, they are also going to do my transfer under anesthetic this time as it is kinder to the embryo (due to all my scar tissue where my cervix is supposed to be) and they can place the embryo directly into the endometrial lining.
Guess i've just gotta trust that they know what they're talking about, and that maybe, just maybe i still have a chance at having another baby.
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Fertilisation
I phoned first thing on Tuesday 3rd September to see how things were going.
I had originally been told to expect that quite a few of my 28 eggs would not be mature enough for fertilisation, so i was very shocked when i was advised that the scientists had liked all 28 of my eggs and tried to fertilise the lot of them!
20 of them had successfully fertilised! Wow!! I was told to phone again the next day to check how they were going again and that i would likely lose a few that wouldn't survive until the freezing process.
I phoned first thing on Wednesday 4th September again to see how things were going. All 20 of my fertilised embryo's had survived to day 2 and had been frozen!!
Wow, i have 20 chances to become a mother again.
Something is finally going my way again!!
I had originally been told to expect that quite a few of my 28 eggs would not be mature enough for fertilisation, so i was very shocked when i was advised that the scientists had liked all 28 of my eggs and tried to fertilise the lot of them!
20 of them had successfully fertilised! Wow!! I was told to phone again the next day to check how they were going again and that i would likely lose a few that wouldn't survive until the freezing process.
I phoned first thing on Wednesday 4th September again to see how things were going. All 20 of my fertilised embryo's had survived to day 2 and had been frozen!!
Wow, i have 20 chances to become a mother again.
Something is finally going my way again!!
Monday, 2 September 2013
EPU procedure
Monday 2nd September rolled around, we were up bright and early as we had to be at the Hospital by 6am.
We were put into a room and went through all of my details and filled out some paperwork.
The time finally came around for my procedure - i was so so nervous. We were taken to a little waiting room to the side of the Theatre where i was measured & weighed and then had to sit and wait!!
When we were finally taken in, it all happened so quickly - i was asked to lay on the bed and had a needle popped into my hand and then given some oxygen and then i can't remember anything until i woke up.
My husband said i snored throughout the procedure lol - i guess it was because i still wasn't completely over my head cold yet!!
I woke up comfortable and happy - they advise me that they got 28 eggs. WHAT..... 28 eggs, how did that happen!! We were only expecting 22 at best and that was only if the really little ones from my scan had decided to do something special!
As i was so happy and comfortable i was wheeled back around to my room to recover. As i had gotten so many eggs, they were worried about OHSS so we would not be doing an embryo transfer over the coming days. I was a little heartbroken, although i knew it was for the best.
I came through the procedure easily with no medications at all (not even pain relief) and was so hungry they bought some breakfast around for me which i gobbled down quickly also. Within not much time i was up and out of bed and dressed and ready to go!! Apparently this is not normal for someone getting 28 eggs!!
I was told to phone the next morning to find out more about how my eggs were going..
We were put into a room and went through all of my details and filled out some paperwork.
The time finally came around for my procedure - i was so so nervous. We were taken to a little waiting room to the side of the Theatre where i was measured & weighed and then had to sit and wait!!
When we were finally taken in, it all happened so quickly - i was asked to lay on the bed and had a needle popped into my hand and then given some oxygen and then i can't remember anything until i woke up.
My husband said i snored throughout the procedure lol - i guess it was because i still wasn't completely over my head cold yet!!
I woke up comfortable and happy - they advise me that they got 28 eggs. WHAT..... 28 eggs, how did that happen!! We were only expecting 22 at best and that was only if the really little ones from my scan had decided to do something special!
As i was so happy and comfortable i was wheeled back around to my room to recover. As i had gotten so many eggs, they were worried about OHSS so we would not be doing an embryo transfer over the coming days. I was a little heartbroken, although i knew it was for the best.
I came through the procedure easily with no medications at all (not even pain relief) and was so hungry they bought some breakfast around for me which i gobbled down quickly also. Within not much time i was up and out of bed and dressed and ready to go!! Apparently this is not normal for someone getting 28 eggs!!
I was told to phone the next morning to find out more about how my eggs were going..
Nasal sprays and self injecting
In August 2013 i started my synarel nasal spray - one spray in the morning and one spray at night. I tried to make sure i didn't plan anything so that no one needed to see what i was doing and run the risk of having to answer questions!!
I was scheduled for a blood test on 19th August to see if the synarel was doing it's job. I got a call early the next morning to advise that all was great and that i need to start daily injections of Puregon at a dose of 150iu - a small dose as i generally didn't appear to have problems with my eggs and ovulating etc.
I was scheduled for a follow up scan on 29th August to see how things were going.
I hadn't had too many side effects from the medications, apart from some nasty headaches early on - i found that drinking lots of water helped with these and they soon eased though. Didn't help that i had been sick with a nasty head cold for the past 4 weeks also!!!
When my FS did the scan he was extremely happy - looked like i had 12 follicles that were getting close to required size, plus another 10 very small ones (not likely to come to much).
I was scheduled for my EPU procedure for Monday 2nd September!
I took the last of my puregon on Friday night and nasal spray on Saturday morning and then had to have a shot of Ovidrel on Saturday night.
By Sunday night i was feeling very bloated and uncomfortable & extremely nervous for my procedure the next day..
I was scheduled for a blood test on 19th August to see if the synarel was doing it's job. I got a call early the next morning to advise that all was great and that i need to start daily injections of Puregon at a dose of 150iu - a small dose as i generally didn't appear to have problems with my eggs and ovulating etc.
I was scheduled for a follow up scan on 29th August to see how things were going.
I hadn't had too many side effects from the medications, apart from some nasty headaches early on - i found that drinking lots of water helped with these and they soon eased though. Didn't help that i had been sick with a nasty head cold for the past 4 weeks also!!!
When my FS did the scan he was extremely happy - looked like i had 12 follicles that were getting close to required size, plus another 10 very small ones (not likely to come to much).
I was scheduled for my EPU procedure for Monday 2nd September!
I took the last of my puregon on Friday night and nasal spray on Saturday morning and then had to have a shot of Ovidrel on Saturday night.
By Sunday night i was feeling very bloated and uncomfortable & extremely nervous for my procedure the next day..
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Talking IVF
We were scheduled to visit the FS in March 2013 to discuss IVF, although i postponed until May as i had managed to secure full time work for the majority of March & April (as compared to my regular 2 days per week work) and figured that we really needed the work to be able to save up for IVF.
So i worked my butt off and paid off the credit card and really got us into a position to be able to slightly afford it.
We had taken private hospital cover out in January, so had a 12 month waiting period on fertility treatment - not that the private cover saves you much in Australia anyhow.
So all was going to plan and we had our appointment with the FS and also one of the nurses at the end of May. We decided that we were going to be going ahead with treatment and that the nurses would contact me in early July (my FS was going to be on holiday in Paris in June - lucky man!!) and arrange for my medications to be sent to me. During the second week of July when i hadn't heard from them, i decided to phone. I knew that i was supposed to start my medication when my period started and it was only a few days away.
They were a little confused when i rang and said they would talk to my FS and phone me back.
Well, apparently the nurse that i had seen had completely mucked up the process that they were going to use on me!! I thought it was going to be a Flare Cycle although now i was being told it was going to be a Down Regulation Cycle.
Before that phone call I had my hopes up that things were finally going to be happening and we were much closer to having another baby, although this change made me feel like things were being taken out of our reach again!! I was told that my FS preferred this process and that he had far better results from it, so i took that as some comfort.
Then the process began...
So i worked my butt off and paid off the credit card and really got us into a position to be able to slightly afford it.
We had taken private hospital cover out in January, so had a 12 month waiting period on fertility treatment - not that the private cover saves you much in Australia anyhow.
So all was going to plan and we had our appointment with the FS and also one of the nurses at the end of May. We decided that we were going to be going ahead with treatment and that the nurses would contact me in early July (my FS was going to be on holiday in Paris in June - lucky man!!) and arrange for my medications to be sent to me. During the second week of July when i hadn't heard from them, i decided to phone. I knew that i was supposed to start my medication when my period started and it was only a few days away.
They were a little confused when i rang and said they would talk to my FS and phone me back.
Well, apparently the nurse that i had seen had completely mucked up the process that they were going to use on me!! I thought it was going to be a Flare Cycle although now i was being told it was going to be a Down Regulation Cycle.
Before that phone call I had my hopes up that things were finally going to be happening and we were much closer to having another baby, although this change made me feel like things were being taken out of our reach again!! I was told that my FS preferred this process and that he had far better results from it, so i took that as some comfort.
Then the process began...
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