[Beth Dokovic]

Hello,

I am new to this website and my mom just recommended that I talk to someone. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 2 years and my gynocologist recommended my husband get a test to determine his sperm count. It came back very low and we were referred to a fertility specialist. Through all of our testing it was determined that my husband has a very low sperm count and that I have PCOS. We are scheduled to have IVF in May and we are beginning all of our fertility medication and testing right now. I am not 100% sure what to expect through all of this and I am getting very nervous. This has already been really hard since we found out because all of my friends are pregnant and no one in my family or his has every had any fertility issues.

Any advice will help.

Thanks, Beth

[KMH]

Welcome, Beth! I'm Melissa, and my DH and I have one daughter, Claire, who was conceived through IVF w/ ICSI.

I'm sorry you have had to find us...we're definitely not a group anyone wants to join. We'll try to help, though, and give you support along the way.

Reading through any of the IVF threads will help give you an idea of the process, and in this thread, it is explained really well http://www.justmommies.com/forums/f7...questions.html (A bunch of questions).

In the months leading up to IVF, you'll likely have lots of bloodwork, and your RE might put you on birth control to suppress your ovaries until it is time for IVF. You might also have a mock embryo transfer, which is where the RE "practices" the transfer and takes measurements of your uterus so he puts the embryos in the right place. You may also take an injections class so you know the proper way to inject yourself with the meds when it is time.

Throughout all of this, you'll get lots of information. I found that it was nice to have a notebook that fit inside my purse so I could write down new info, medication dosages, questions that I wanted to ask the RE, etc. I didn't want to get confused and do the wrong thing!

I also read in a book about an "IVF Care Package" and made one for myself. IVF is such a stressful process, and the book suggested putting together a basket of things that will help you relax...bath salts, good books, magazines, movies, snacks, etc. so that when you are feeling really tense, you can go to your basket and find something to take the edge off. I thought it was a great idea, and found it to be really helpful.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. We have lots of girls here who have been through IVF and will be happy to help!

[Beth Dokovic]

Hello Melissa,

Thank you so much for replying to my post. Today I got a lot of blood drawn as well as had an ultrasound. I am starting metformin, zithromax, and aygestin tomorrow. My doctor is doing a trial transfer in April too.

How did you respond to the medication? Also, did you need several attempts at IVF before it worked? I think that is what I am most concerned about, there have already been so many highs and lows.

Regards, Beth

[brynnkelley04]

Hi Beth and to JM

I'm Brynn and I'm on my 2nd IVF. My 1st IVF I hyper-stimulated and we never did Egg Retrieval(ER). I'm scheduled for ER tomorrow(2nd IVF) but probably wont transfer due to needing to clean up some Endo.

Everyone responds differently to the meds. My body seems to over react to the meds creating way to many eggs and making my E2 go sky high. It is definitely possible to get prego the 1st IVF. There are tons of success stories on here with 1 IVF.

You have come to the right place for questions, answers and support. I will keep you in my prayers

[KMH]

I'm so excited that you are getting started, Beth! IVF is scary, but it is also really exciting. When I started my cycle, I felt like I was finally getting a REAL chance at pregnancy!

I responded very well to the meds. I had nice steady rises in my hormone levels, and my RE was very happy with how everything worked out.

Here's the best news...we had success with IVF on the very first try! We had 15 eggs, 13 were mature, and 11 fertilized. Of those 11, 7 developed and made it to day 5. We transferred 2 (one of which is now our 8 month old), and froze 5. There are lots of success stories from first time IVFs, and I hope that you are one of them, too.

Have you ever been on Aygestin before? If not, just a warning...it is not nice I was really moody and felt very hormonal on it. The purpose of it is to shut down your ovaries in preparation for IVF, and prevent or shrink any cysts that may be there. It works, but you might want to warn DH that the hormonal crazy-train is starting

[The Wife]

Hi Beth and welcome!

JustMommies has been my support system through all my infertility struggles and IVF. I went through almost 8 months with a specialist doing IUI's before moving on to IVF. (wish I did IVF first).
I also have PCOS and DH has 1% morphology

The metformin has done wonders for me, in helping to regulate my cycles and also helped me to lose 36lbs. I was 198 when I started and am now 162.
My ovaries are still polycystic and once I got pregnant (through IVF) they had me stop taking the Metformin.

Metformin has a lot of side effects that hopefully go away after time. In the beginning it was very hard for me (first month or so), my stomach hurt and I was running to the bathroom in pain. It helps to change your diet up when starting it to reduce the side effects (see Zone Diet).

I never thought I'd have to go through IVF b/c I always thought it was super invasive, and it is. However, it's worth it. And the success rate is high! With an IUI the success rate is about 20% and that is mostly inclusive of PCOS patients (b/c of the ovarian reserve)... But that is if the husband doesn't have issues on his end too. With IVF it's around 62%. :-)

We implanted 2 and are 8w1d pregnant with twins.

Good luck with everything!!

[Beth Dokovic]

Hello,

Thank you all for replying. You have made me feel so much better. I have never been on aygestin or any of this medication before, which is what scares me.

I love to read about the success stories and it gives me so much hope that I will get through this. There was a reporter on the Today's Show that said that your chances of IVF being successful greatly improves when you seek support.

I started my medication today so I am prepared for my hormones to go crazy!

Beth