[Betsyusa]

Thank you so much for your support, all of you. And hello! I will support you back!

My name is Betsy and I live in Brooklyn, NYC. 38 years old. Been trying for a long time and recently found out my husband and I are fertility challenged.

IVF is my only option now. I have an amazing OB/GYN and Reproductive Endochronologist (spelling, ugh!) I adore them both. If you life in NYC and need to see some amazing doctors, let me know and I will furnish their numbers.

Anyway. I was scared about IVF when I first heard about it because I had not thought about it prior to my many test results. But now? I am looking at it as an adventure. One big adventure...



My Repro Endo is going on vacay for the next two weeks and my husband and I are meeting him on Friday, July 17th. He will talk to both of us about what to expect and how to get started.

So I am truly a beginner at this.

My next few questions are two-fold. Would anyone like to go through this process with me? Someone also new and nervous and excited and well...feeling blessed that this opportunity could work?

And my other question is to the more experienced ladies. What must someone like I expect? Does IVF work in a few months? Should I eat certain foods?

I have a wonderful chiropractor in NYC and I am going to continue to go to him during this process. If anyone wants him numbers. Whatever can help, you know?

Hope all well with all of you. And from the bottom of my Brooklyn heart, I wish you ALL the love and luck in the world. It's been an emotional ride for me so I imagine it's the same for you, too.

xo Betsy

[Jessie0505]

Girl!! i dont live in nyc..but i found out the very same thing..that ivf with icsi is my only hope!! I just met with my ivf coordinator because im soo clueless about it all..and i was the same way..when i found out i cried and i was in denial..i thought my re was crazy..well now im soo excited about it all and i have high hopes for it all..so im right there with ya..im excited yet nervous! But i guess after 2 years of ttc..im just willing to try anything..but i do have to say since i joined this board these girls have been soo wonderful..i look forward to this journey with you!
Oh ya...when are you going to start your bc pills? or actually when are you going to start it all??? we will be in mid aug i cant wait!! well sorry this is soo long..good luck!!

[Betsyusa]

Aw, Jessie , great to hear from you!

I have been on birth control for two months now. I had to go on them because I had an ovarian cyst that was out of control and the bc pills helped to shrink it and induce a period cycle of 28 days. I am told I have endometriosis and slight Pcos. Which may be why I was a cyst magnet for many months. One would go away and another would show up. I had no idea and would have continued to live with the cramping, had I not been interested in conceiving. Thank god for the invasive exams and months of tests. I am now cyst free and aware of my body's insides.

I was sad when I heard about IVF. Or, really....just emotional. And I am a rational and calm woman by nature. I'd like to think so, heh! But I guess I was emotional because I knew so little about it. When I was told there were fertility problems after the last and final test result came in, I wasn't surprised. But hearing the word, "IVF" was shocking because I just didn't do enough research. It's like running a year long race, reaching the finish line, and being told, "Although you are done? You actually have to line up over here for a bit longer to get the medal. You can't sit and you can have a little sip of water only" All the while you are watching the others cross the finish line and get the medal right away and some gatorade. You go from thinking, "These tests are a pain in the *** but I am doing them so I can have a baby..." to thinking, "The tests are done and no baby?"

Truth is? It took me about an hour to realize it's a blessing. IVF is a gift and an honor we are so lucky to have as a resource. Sure, it seems to involve a lot more work but the emotions are the same. Whether or not I am trying for more and more months during what I would thing was ovulation - or going the process of IVF...my hope will still be there. I will have hope no matter what means necessary to get there.

So, yes...it's nice to hear from you. Sounds like your reaction was similar to mine. I think it's going to be exciting. I am going to say to myself, every time I go in to my doctor, "I am making my child today..." Instead of, "Why me?!"

I am so excited you are doing this, too. I am excited for all of us. I really, really am.

xo Betsy

[Banned-Aria]

Hi, I've been there, done that, more than once! How long it takes depends on your protocol. I was on the long protocol, and it took a little over a month from starting the pills to the retrieval. The flare protocol is faster.

There will be some foods you will need to avoid when you get closer to the trigger shot. Your RE or a nurse will go over that with you. It's important to avoid those things to but the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation. If that happens, the cycle is ended immediately to lessen the risk to your health. Then you will have to start all over again.

Probably the one thing to know that you'll feel is overwhelmed the first cycle. It's all new, but if you have to go through more than one (as I did), then it does get easier. If possible, have your husband give the shots. It helps you both feel involved and in control. Also some of them do burn. I couldn't have done it on my own!

[*CAMM*]

Hi and Welcome!!!

This is my 3rd ivf cycle. Most likely I will be on the long lupron and I would think since you have pcos you will be on something very similar. they like to take pcos patients very slowly through ivf to avoid hyperstimming.

It takes about 2 months start to finish for me. Right now I will go on BC in August, stims end of Sept with a transfer 1st week of october.

Extra things Im doing for my IVF are taking extra Antioxidants like C0q10,Maca and Royal Jelly with Bee Pollen. All of these are natural ways to improve egg quality. Lots of REs will tell you not to take anything while stimming so to each their own..I know lots of women who have taken this and came out with great embryos. Im also seeing an acupuncturist again.

The best advice i can give is try not to get caught up in numbers. Everyone responds differently and comparing yourself to another person will only drive you nuts and add stress during a time your body is already stressed to the max with the stim drugs.

IVF is a wild ride and very emotional. Good luck and welcome to the group, there are great ladies on this board!

[Jessie0505]

Well we are all in this together and it will be an exciting adventure and i cant wait till we are all i mean all in the ddc together!! Its very nice to meet you!!

[Banned-Aria]

It's overwhelming, girls, but don't give up.

[Betsyusa]

Hmmm. How does one know if they are hyper stimming? Do you feel it or is it only something a doctor can tell you? Just curious.

And, um...embarrassed, but what is hyperstimming? Is that when you create more eggs than one should?

Thanks! B

[Banned-Aria]

http://www.ivf.com/ohss.html

That is some good info. Mild hyperstimming is pretty normal. It's actually the point, coaxing our bodies with drugs to mature and prepare to release more eggs than usual. But if TOO many are matured, then it can be very painful, cause torsion (ovaries basically twisting on the fallopian tubes), and other problems. The transvaginal ultrasounds are performed so often at the end so the doctor can watch for too many follicles growing too quickly. To help cut the chance during the final days, especially of torsion, exercise will be cut (you don't want too much movement that makes them twist), as well as a list of foods to avoid that can cause it (like no tomatoes, limit the milk, basically the good stuff in life), as well as no sex.

No one said IVF was easy or is without risks, and this is just one of the many risks you often don't know about until going through it. But if you listen to your doctor and take it easy, the risks will be lessened.

Don't be embarrassed by not knowing what certain things are. It's complicated, and these things are things people only usually start learning when actually going through it. I've had the "benefit" of knowing since I was 19 that IVF would be needed, so I have eight years to learn all I could ahead of time, though some of the earlier learning ended up being obsolete, such as transferring half a dozen eggs no longer being done (unless you're Nadya Suleman's doctor), and still there were things I had to learn about by going through it. The first time is the hardest, not knowing what to expect, needing someone to hold your hand through it, worrying about if the retrieval and other procedures will hurt (nope, they put you in a twilight and you don't know what's going on and wake up feeling crampy, but the bloated pressure is gone, so the times after the first you'll probably look forward to the retrieval, like I did!).

If you've got questions, you should only be embarrassed about NOT asking them. No one who knows anything was born knowing. We learned by asking questions too. So ask away. Nothing is too personal or too minor.