Thursday, November 20, 2008

Failed IVF Consult

Okay, back from my appointment, which I think, went fairly well.

First thing is that I will be getting an Endometrial Biopsy completed on Tuesday at 9:30 (When a woman is having a hard time becoming pregnant, an endometrial biopsy may be done to see whether the lining of her uterus can support a pregnancy) at which time I will also give blood to have a Karyotype test done for DH and I. (Karyotype is a test to identify and evaluate the size, shape, and number of chromosomes in a sample of body cells. Extra, missing, or abnormal positions of chromosome pieces can cause problems with a person's growth, development, and body functions. Karyotype can be done to determine whether a chromosome defect is preventing a woman from becoming pregnant or causing miscarriages. Determine whether a chromosome defect is present in a fetus. Karyotyping also may be done to determine whether chromosomal problems may have caused a fetus to be stillborn.) If this comes back and shows either of us have an unbalanced chromosome which causes frequent miscarriages then we would need to get PGD done to make sure we are only transferring embryos that prove to be normal.

I will also start Depot Lupron for 2 months on day 3 of my upcoming period. She don't want to start the cycle on that first period after being on Lupron because she wants my body's hormone level to get back right and allow my endometrium to get back right so that my lining is nice and plump for the next IVF. But I will be out of town at the time that period should be starting so she is going to start me on Provera Feb. 23 - March 2, once I stop that AF should start on March 5th and we're going to try Micro-Flare again.

She stuck to her guns about no Bravelle. She said they initially started with it because they got a butt load of it for free, but she had such horrible responses from it that she stopped using it even when she had a lot of the free meds left over. I expressed to her how I dislike Follistim and the response it gives me and she just said that she wanted to start me out on the max dose of meds on day 1 of stims instead of bumping me after 4 days of stims like they have done in the past. She said with this she is still trying to get the Flare effect from the lupron but by maxing out my meds in the begging she is hoping to get them growing quicker and faster in the beginning than at the end. She said last cycle I really didn't start getting a response till around the 8th day. So she hopes by maxing me out at the beginning that we can have a lot start to come up and then gradually reduce the meds and allow them to continue to grow. I asked why my E2 was so high last time and I only got 3 mature and she said the word for the day is PUSH. She said that's why I want to change it up and push you hard in the beginning so we can get a good response going instead of pushing you at the end. She said last time they triggered me when my largest was around 18 which normally works great for someone my age, and I was like yeah, but we've learn I don't respond like women my age and she said yes we have. The she said she really couldn't push me anymore at the end because my E2 was so high and she was afraid I would get sick. So she said next time she want my largest to be around 21 or 22. She then reiterated the push idea because she want big and fat follies when its time to trigger. Last day day 1-6 of my cycle I was on 225iu Follistim in the a.m. and 225iu Follistim in the p.m. So this time I will be on 300iu in the a.m. and 300iu in the p.m from the very beginning. So I lost the battle on the Bravelle thing. But we're going to try Gonal-F instead of Follistim. My nurse said they are basically the same exact things, but made by different people, so we can try that. Gotta do my research on that too.

Next thing is that I will be going on Heparin instead of baby aspirin. Gotta do more research on this to figure out why and why this would be beneficial to me.

That's about it for now...sorry so long.

5 comments:

Ms. J said...

I had the endo biopsy . . . take a couple of asprin ahead of time. It's not bad, like a bad pinch inside you, but only for a few seconds.

I am very curious about the heparin . . . have you been diagnosed with MTHFR Gene or something? I have that (actually quite common in early, recurrent m/c) and my protocol is high dose of folic acid and aspirin, though I know some people who have it more severe and are placed on heparin instead of aspirin). Just a thought.

I am very glad you've got a tweaked plan in place and a road map :o)

MRS. ERIN SMITH said...

Hey Tashida!

I'm not sure if you will remember me, but I knew you from FF.com. I had to get the hell off that site! Too many women starting waaaaay after me, getting pg immediately, leaving me behind. It was miserable.

So I'm here in the blogosphere. I've thought of you often, and I'm thrilled to have found you here. Like you, I've had several failed IVFs... so sad. I'm trying IVF#5 this month, but I don't expect much anymore.

I'm quite depressed over the whole thing, but I've found some wonderful women on these blogs. They help me to feel less alone.

So happy to find you again.

Erin
(Dreamer2007) I think! I can barely remember what my screen name was!! :0

Sharee said...

Praying for you ...

Rae said...

Hey Tashida! I am so glad you updated. I'm glad you got some good news, and I hope this new protocol works great for you. A lady I teach with was on heparin for her last two pregnancies and now has two wonderful daughters. She had had 3 miscarriages and a chemical before that. I think the heparin did the trick for her, and I hope it's the difference for you!

Michele said...

There's a great book called "To Full Term". The mother has lost several babies, due to incompetent cervix and blood clotting issues. She discussed heparin use in pregnancy at length. I had to order it at our local bookstore, but it is worth the read.