I saw Dr. Tran's phone number on my caller ID this afternoon and knew that we were not going to go with the tentative plan I had discussed with the Nurse at my monitoring appointment this morning.
My estradiol level is 4830 and I have more than 30 follicles, both of which put me in the high risk for OHSS category. I knew this, but I didn't know what that meant for us.
Thank goodness, the trigger and retrieval are still in the plan. I think I would have lost my zen completely if it had been cancelled, and no amount of Circle and Bloom could have brought it back!
The new plan:
Trigger tonight at 9:30pm with a reduced dose of HCG.
Retrieval on Wednesday at 9:30am.
Evaluate at 3 days based on embryo quality if we are going to grow to 5 day blastocysts or transfer 2 day 3 embryos at that point.
If good quality at day 3, wait until day 5 and freeze all embryos.
Wait (more waiting?!?), get my period, go through one full cycle, then FET the cycle after that.
I know that this is the right thing to do. I know that it is the most safe thing and the option that gives us the best chance of conceiving, but damn it! I am so disappointed! I thought that in 7 days I would have an embryo or two in my chronically empty uterus! I thought that in two weeks I might get my first positive pregnancy test. And now we will wait again.
This is also throwing a big kink in my IVF vacation! Woe is me :)
Now I'm not sure if I should indulge myself with the full two weeks if next week I will not be doing anything at all. Although, the RE did say that even without transferring, I will probably end up with some form of OHSS. So maybe I'll take the week and let my bloated self recoup. Ugh.
If nothing else, infertility has taught me that despite how hard I try to be in control, I can not plan everything. I thought I had earned this already, but the schedule seemed so lovely and laid out to perfection...I thought I could safely count on it.
I'm trying to not wallow in my disappointment and to consider myself lucky that we have gotten this far and that the cycle was not cancelled. We still have lots to look forward to, but right now I'm so bummed. :(
I'm sorry you have to wait but you do not want ohss!! Hang in there babe!
ReplyDeleteWhy are they willing to transfer them at day 3 but not at day 5? Just curious.. Your e2 isn't so high that it's bad to transfer in 5 days, BUT getting pregnant will definitely cause you more pain from OHSS.. Damn... I hate that you have to wait! With that many follies, I am pretty sure you are going to day 5!
ReplyDeleteHis thoughts are that if the quality are not good enough to grow to day 5, there's a chance they won't survive freeze/thaw either, so putting them in would be the best bet. I hope I go to day 5! Thanks!
Deleteughhhh…. I'm so sorry. I would be super bummed too. So much waiting! Hope retrieval goes well!
ReplyDeleteHello from ICLW. Sorry you are at risk for OHSS. Hope everything goes well!
ReplyDeleteMy Blog's title is Mine to Command! Oh the irony! It sucks to wait, but some clinics get better results with a frozen transfer. Hopefully will be worth the extra wait!
ReplyDeleteHang in there, OHSS sucks royally! Fingers crossed for a great outcome! ICLW #30 :)
ReplyDeleteI know this sucks, to go through most of a cycle only to find out you have to wait for the transfer and a chance at pregnancy. BUT I firmly believe this is for the best, not only because you eliminate the risk of OHSS, but because studies have shown that when the hormones are so out of whack after a fresh cycle, the embryo/s has less of a chance of implanting. More REs are doing this fresh to get the embryos then freeze all and transfer later strategy. I still think my fresh cycle didn't work but frozen cycle did for this very reason.
ReplyDeleteHi Shelley, I found a great article on just that yesterday that has put my mind at ease...FETs sometimes have better success rates than fresh transfers. I want whatever gives me the best outcome! Thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteThis seems to make sense to me. Sorry though, I know it must be do frustrating to get this far and be told there is still more waiting.
DeleteEmily - can you post the link to this article? I'd like to share it with a friend of mine who's about to start her first IVF cycle. Thanks!
DeleteHey! Trying to send you an email about chicken keeping. I have lots of tips and advice from 3 years of hands-on experience. Email me at readyformyturn@gmail.com. Steph
ReplyDeleteHi from ICLW! Sorry you have to add more waiting to your journey...really hope you are able to avoid OHSS!! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteUgh! More waiting!! How frustrating! It's kind of ironic that if you have to wait even longer (because the embryos will make it to day 5 and the freeze) that you have better chances of it working than if they transfer on day 3. My head hurts. I would definitely take the week off to recover from the retrieval, but save your 2nd week if you will do the FET. Hang in there, love! You're so close!
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the comment party here: I was also a high producer during my IVF, I think something like 24 or 27 eggs. I had had OHSS previously from a stim/IUI cycle too so we knew my risk was pretty high. Let me tell you - OHSS SUCKS a lot. I ended up in the hospital overnight and then going back a few days later to have my belly drained of two liters of gross bloody fluid. OHSS when pregnant is even more risky. Anyways, so for my IVF cycle we harvested my zillion eggs, grew to day 5 and 6 and ended up freezing 6 high quality blastocysts. I did HEAPS AND PILES of research about an FET vs. fresh and came to the decision that FET with the entire lot of embryos brings a higher success rate. FET with the leftover "sort of good" embryos following a failed fresh is less likely to work simply because they were not the top choice embryos. Does that make sense? I found the FET protocol to be much easier to handle both mentally and physically too, which I believe helped me achieve pregnancy. FWIW, I got pregnant on my first single embryo FET but lost the baby due to trisomy 15. Second single embryo FET was a BFN. Third double embryo FET resulted in one seemingly healthy baby (I'm 22 weeks now). So all of that to say, trust your doctor and if he advises to freeze all, go with it! Your body and poor swollen ovaries will thank you :) I'm sending you lots of good thoughts for a bountiful retrieval and a killer good fert report!
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the game, but I wanted to say - I've found myself caught up in a month of waiting for a FET after not getting a fresh transfer, too, although for different reasons. It is definitely frustrating, no doubt - but honestly? I've also found that this has been a time when I can force myself to try and heal a little and work on my mental health. For me, it's been beneficial, although of course the wait's driving me crazy too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.