IVF Treatment Archives - Page 3 of 4

IVF Cycle Ten

February 28, 2010 By Carol 4 Comments

This month I really thought that there was a possibility I could be pregnant even though I had been negative about it happening this time. My negativity stemmed from the fact that this month I ovulated later than normal and then somehow my hormones surged for 3 whole days before I actually ovulated. As my body was behaving differently to normal, I decided to change the number of embryos transferred from two to one. The logic being not to waste the embryos I had. I really felt that my body was conspiring against me for this cycle to get pregnant.

However, some positive things occurred which lead me to think this time could be different. My period was 3 days late – a pretty rare event. I didn’t develop acne. I didn’t feel bloated. I’ve been making some positive changes to my lifestyle – getting more sleep, having regular acupuncture and taking Chinese herbal medicines twice daily. It also seemed quite plausible and after 10 IVF attempts, surely it was my turn to fall pregnant. I also made a big personal decision and decided not to put my life and career on hold until I got pregnant.

Unfortunately, Aunt Flo decided to arrive yesterday. So its now back to the drawing board again! As much as I was filled with anticipation, I have learned not to get excited or upset about the possibility of getting or not getting pregnant. Its funny but my initial failures have been quite disappointing. Each subsequent failure seems to have gotten harder and harder to bear. But now it is less difficult. Whilst I would still dearly love to have a little baby and am upset at the thought of never having a baby of my own, I can’t let it control me. IVF has almost become this thing that just happens to me. I have no control over it. Maybe it is just surrendering to life as it happens moment by moment.

Change in Antagonist IVF Treatment Procedure

November 9, 2009 By Carol 2 Comments

One major change from the treatment protocol I had last time is the fact that instead of injecting the antagonist in the evening an hour after the follicle stimulating hormone, I now need to inject the antagonist in the morning. I asked my new nurse why the treatment protocols had changed. She replied that an expert visited the clinic in April and advised that these cycles tended to have better success when the antagonist was given the next morning.

I was mildly annoyed as I had treatment in July and I had been told to inject in the evening. I asked my nurse about this. The reply, “it takes time to do a proper literature search so it was not adopted as a procedure until June or July this year.” Of course, indicated that my treatment was in July so why was I not told of this. She suggested that maybe the treatment was adopted after I commenced. Maybe! Maybe! Wouldn’t you kind of think it might actually be a good thing to know – especially after spending countless dollars on the treatment and having what is starting to become countless failures.

IVF Antagonist Cycle #9

November 7, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

Yesterday was first day of cycle number 9. Due to the forthcoming Christmas period, I will be doing another antagonist IVF Treatment cycle – the second antagonist cycle in my total treatment. The benefit of doing this is that my cycle will last 28 days instead of the usual 2 months and won’t cut into the Christmas / New Year period when the clinic is closed for egg collection and embryo transfers.

At least I won’t be inconveniencing the doctors and staff who take annual leave. Ironically, it will probably be the best time for me to conceive given I also take holidays over this period so will therefore be in a relaxed and less stressed state.

Forgive me for wanting to have the best possible IVF outcome. I am sure I have become a money tree for my doctor and the staff. To add insult to the wound, is that my doctors comment was that I had a better result on my normal cycle but thought I should go on the antagonist cycle due to the fact that the clinic would be closed over Christmas.

In normal circumstances, I would have been annoyed by this, but the fact remains that financially we are better taking a chance on becoming pregnant now rather than next year. Why you ask? Because the amount I get reimbursed from the Government for the IVF treatment will be higher this year rather than next year when IVF limits become capped. So despite the potential lower odds of conception, it actually makes sense from a financial perspective to give it another go. Ironically, the governments policy to cap IVF has backfired on them – at least in the short term.

Role of the IVF Nurse

November 1, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

One of the more positive aspects of IVF is actually having regular contact with your IVF nurse. Your nurse will fill in all the gaps that your Doctor hasn’t told you about or that you have forgotten to ask. Your nurse who take you through the whole IVF treatment process step by step. She will get you to repeat everything that she has told to make sure that you understand everything that is going on.

The nurse is the person who will make all your blood test and ultrasound appointments for you – at times that they know are convenient for you! They will be your first port of call if anything goes wrong while you are undergoing treatment – like breaking a vial of medicine, like having unusual pain when you shouldn’t. They offer solace and advice when unusual things happen during the treatment process.

They will be the one who will be the one who rings you with your pregnancy test results – positive or negative. They will lead their ear in times of distress. They will recognise when you are close to breaking point and get you in touch with a counseller of need be. They may offer you some impartial advice and answer all your questions even though they have probably heard the same ones millions of time before. They usually will also recommend those questions that you have that you should discuss with your doctor.

The nurses play an important role are the unsung heroes of the whole process. In Friday, I discovered my nurse had moved on to look after another Doctors patients. I was shocked – my trusted advisor was gone. I now had to deal with a new nurse who knows nothing of my history, does not understand me or how I react to things. This is a big change and one that I probably didn’t want to deal with now that I know I will soon be starting yet another IVF cycle.

A Positive Thing About IVF

August 31, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

One delicious thing I like about IVF, is that it actually gives me a break from trying to work out when I am ovulating. Seriously! I mean the good thing is that the clinic does all checking and I don’t have to monitor anything. I just have to turn up and follow instructions. Given I am a naturally lazy person, this suits me down to the ground.

It also suits me because I work in a job where I am always monitoring everything – from managing and tracking how a project is running to reviewing and analysing sales data. For me, not monitoring anything is like a dream come true! Hand holding at work is not something I enjoy.

Unfortunately when I am not doing IVF, I am back to monitoring and tracking my menstrual cycle. For some reason, I still have some glimmer of hope that I will conceive naturally even though I know that in our case it is highly unlikely. So with this in mind, I now find myself painstakingly recording the results of urine tests and fertility microscopes. The problem is that I’ve been monitoring my cycle for a number of days and it is now day 19 and I still haven’t ovulated. Although this is not uncommon following IVF treatment, I am impatient for my cycle to get back on track.

In any case, my plan of attack has been to ambush my husband and coerce him into having sex with me more frequently. Such a task I know!! He hasn’t complained yet but I suspect that he has not really appreciated the fact that he has had less sleep. Such is the joy of trying to conceive.