I want to finish writing about my cycle now that I have started my dreaded 2ww. I hope that anyone who reads this post will be motivated to try new protocol(s) because as you will see, a new protocol (and little tweaks) made a HUGE difference in this cycle. Not even considering the result of this cycle, I am a lot more hopeful than I was after finishing my last 2 cycles.
This will be a long post, so here's the short version:
- Stimmed for 10 days with trigger on CD11 with 8 expected eggs to be retrieved
- 8 eggs collected, 6 mature, 4 fertilized. (I was worried at this point but wait it gets better...)
- Day 3: A wonderful 9 cell embryo, 3 wonderful 7-8 cell embryos, all graded 1-2 (with 1 being the best)
- Decided to take them to day 5
- Day 5: (Yes I was a nervous wreck that day) transferred 2 wonderful looking blasts!
- Day 6: Froze 1 blast! (WHAT? A snow baby... me?)
What a difference this protocol has made. I am eternally grateful to my doctor and the nursing team that took care of me. I started this cycle thinking I had CRAP eggs (even though I am 28) because of my 2 failed cycles. They weren't just failed cycles, out of 16 eggs retrieved in 2 cycles, I only had ONE, ONE tiny little day 3 embryo to put back in total that ended in miscarrage. You see why I was concerned. If you read my cycle#2 posts, you also know that I had ZERO fertilization that time. I feel so blessed even though the ultimate goal is to have a BFP, but this is just looking so much better. I hope that everyone who are having difficulty with egg quality can read this and know that protocol DOES make a difference!
The details:
In short, my CD8-11 numbers looked better by the day, with new follicles joining the group and steady E2 rising. This time around, I stimulated for a total of 10 days with trigger shot on day 11. On CD10, it was a tough call to give me another night of stims. I was concerned as I had the biggest follicle at 23mm, 4 in the range of 17-20mm, and 4 that were between 14-16mm. My RE was wonderful and even gave me call to ease my fear of over-mature eggs and told me that it was not an easy decision but he looked at my previous cycles and he feels an extra day would give me the best chance.
Anyway, on CD11, I had one large follicle at 24mm, 6 between 17-22mm and 4 that were either 15 or 16mm. The nurse said to expect to get around 8 eggs, as the biggest one would probably be too large, and ones that are between 15-16mm have a 50% chance of containing an egg.
Well, ER day came around and SHE WAS RIGHT ON! I had 8 eggs collected, and I was happy about that. The procedure was very pain-free UNTIL the doctor got to my left side... my god... But I would do it again in a heartbeat! (I hope I won't have to though)
We waited and waited for the calls the days after ER. With each day, good news came. I was initially concerned about only have 4 eggs fertilized. But knowing they were of good quality eased my mind a little. (What am I talking about, it didn't ease my mind at all. I was a WRECK!) Day 5 came around and I went into the clinic without knowing if I had any embryos to transfer. I had waited 45 mins in the waiting room for the nurse to give me a progesterone injection. The waiting had me thinking that something was wrong, but as soon as I saw the nurse, she told me that nothing has been cancelled for me as of yet, what a relief! Still, I was prepared for the worst. I was prepared to transfer one horrible looking embryo and the news that all other 3 had arrested. (And the PIO injections... YYEEEEOCH!! I'm still hurting)
The transfer was smooth (although I was BURSTING with my extremely full bladder) and my RE was so great.
So you all are probably wondering... What did we do differently this cycle? Well, here's a list:
Things done differently before my cycle:
1. Took TCM herbal teas (or they are more like mud soups if you ask me...)
2. Ate an avocado a day
3. Increased the amount of fruits I ate, especially blueberries
4. Increased my fibre intake
Things done differently during my cycle:
1. Took low dose birth control pills (Aleese) for a month.
2. Decreased the dosage of my stims(FSH) from 400iu to 200iu
3. Used GonalF instead of Puregon and Luveris instead of Repronex. Also Cetrotide instead of Orgalutran.
4. Started injections 7 days after I stopped my BCP, which was about day 3-4 of my period, instead of starting them on day 2.
5. Took a low dose thyroid medication staring with injections.
6. Delayed the start of the antagonist (Cetrotide). Started on day 6 instead of day 5, and started with 1/4 dose on day 6 and continued with 1/2 dose until trigger. (I was on full dose the previous 2 times)
7. Had an extra dose (300iu) of GonalF with my trigger shot.
8. Took a double dose of trigger instead of full dose the first cycle, and half a dose on the total failure that is cycle#2.
9. Had a progesterone in oil injection the day of transfer, right before transfer.
That pretty much sums it all. Pretty drastic differences if you ask me.
Today is 1dp5dt and I'm already itching to POAS... I've been nauseous, crampy, and super tired... all wonderful side effects of progesterone. It's hard not to be positive this cycle since it has been the best cycle for me yet. I know it could still turn out to be a BFN, but in the mean time, I'm going to celebrate and think I am pregnant.
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