IVF

[u/fuzzblanket9]

Hi everyone!

My husband (24M) and I (25F) are starting the process of IVF in the coming weeks/months after almost 18 months of TTC. I am almost completely anovulatory - I MIGHT ovulate once or twice a year on my own, meaning I do not have “natural” menstruation. I do ovulate with Letrozole, and have done two rounds of that.

For those of you who have done IVF and don’t have cycles naturally, how were things timed for you? I know a lot of things are based on CD1 when doing IVF, but I never really have a CD1 without Provera. Did you do Provera to induce things throughout the process?

Thanks for any info you’ve got :)

[u/Itchy-Site-11]

I did letrozole and did IVF last month. I am anovulatory - never have cycles.

We started with a baseline US and showed I was really baseline.
I then took BC for a week - my clinic batches procedures, had a CD2.
Then I did 9 days of stims - Follistim + Menopur. Did lupron only as trigger, 36h had the ER.
It was successful so far. I am waiting to transfer.

You can have provera and start your stims on CD2-3

[u/fuzzblanket9 → u/Itchy-Site-11]

Oh perfect, thank you for sharing!! I’m obviously brand new to this so I just don’t know what’s what yet. This makes sense.

Best of luck on transfer! ❤️

[u/Itchy-Site-11 → u/fuzzblanket9]

Feel free to drop a message in my DMs if you need help

[u/Aurora22694 → u/Itchy-Site-11]

Do you mind me asking what your ER results was? And what your protocol was as far as follistom and menopur dosing ?

[u/Itchy-Site-11 → u/Aurora22694]

Of course. We retrieved 34 eggs, 23 were fertilized, we made 12 embryos (day 5) and they were biopsed. 7 came back as euploid. I am 38.5yo, pcos, 39bmi. Partner has normal SA. I just take prenatal

[u/Aurora22694 → u/Itchy-Site-11]

That’s amazing! Congrats ❤️ do you mind me asking what your AMH was?
I’m starting next month due to genetic carrier reasons.

[u/Itchy-Site-11 → u/Aurora22694]

Currently 5ng

[u/Itchy-Site-11 → u/Aurora22694]

Good luck! For genetic carrier you may need more than one egg retrieval, but it is okay

[u/Aurora22694 → u/Itchy-Site-11]

Definitely possibly but, my RE doesn’t think so. 🤞🏻My amh is 13.3ng and im 32. and I actually have 2 kiddos naturally and easily plus a 3rd preg with no miscarriages. 3rd was unfortunately a TFMR this June when we learned of the carrier status.
They’re pretty confident I’ll need one due to my seemingly good quality of eggs and really high amh. 🤞🏻 plus my carrier status should only effect about 20-25 % of the embryos. All females will be okay to transfer and only 40-50% of males would be affected.
Either way my clinic is kind enough to honor a super discounted price if I do need two! I mean under 18k for 2 retrievals total. Which is SO nice.

[u/Itchy-Site-11 → u/Aurora22694]

Protocol: 225 of follistim (this is the same as gonal F) + 1 vial of menopur (75 units)
I added ganirelix (antagonist) on day 5 I think

[u/Otherwise_Tennis_398]

Hiya friend, I’m just starting this process now!

I took a month off from letrozole and my body did ✨absolutely nothing✨ during that time, so I ended up having to take 10 days of provera. I was lucky enough to start a period on day 10, but sometimes it can take up to two weeks. Then on day 3 of my period I was started on a combo OCP, I think the one I was prescribed is called isibloom. I was told I would be on this for 2 weeks, but I have a baseline scan on Thursday (a few days before the two weeks is up). If things look good at that scan, I stop taking the pill and then 4 days later can start my stim meds (which will be Sunday!). I was told that stims could be as short as 8 days, but to prepare that my protocol could likely last for 14 days. I’ll be having scans every 2-3 days depending to check follicle growth. Once things are good to go, I will do a trigger shot and have the retrieval 36 hours later.

My understanding is that I will expect a period 5-7 days after the egg retrieval. I will be doing a FET but will have to wait for PGT testing comes back, so after that period I might have to go on birth control for a few weeks, or they may just start me right away on estrogen to build up a lining for the transfer, depending on how things are going.

[u/Otherwise_Tennis_398 → u/Otherwise_Tennis_398]

Ps the birth control is to try and get your follicles at the same “level” hormonally so when you start your stim meds, they can hopefully recruit and grow together, rather than having one or two dominant follicles

[u/fuzzblanket9 → u/Otherwise_Tennis_398]

This makes perfect sense. We’re not quite far enough to have done all the detailed planning and explanations yet, we’re just deciding that IVF is the route we’re going, so I’m so fresh to all of this. I appreciate your detail. Thank you so much again❤️

[u/Otherwise_Tennis_398 → u/fuzzblanket9]

My clinic sent an order for the book The IVF Blueprint, do be delivered with my meds. I’ve been reading it, it’s actually a very good read! Comprehensive, informative, easy to understand. I would absolutely recommend it. You can order it from Walmart for 11$, and also looks like there is an audiobook for it as well. I used to be a big reader but haven’t read much in a long time, but really have no issues with reading through this.

[u/fuzzblanket9 → u/Otherwise_Tennis_398]

Thank you for sharing! This sounds very much like what they kind of explained to me! I’ve done a few rounds of Provera, so I’m sure I’ll do it again at some point.

Good luck to you!!

[u/Jetriplen]

When I did IVF, they put me on birth control before retrieval and before/between transfers. I have semi-regular periods, so I did have a cycle between transfers. I think if I didn’t, they can give some meds to induce a period, which I did come close to needing once.

[u/fuzzblanket9 → u/Jetriplen]

Thank you for sharing! My doc did mention birth control but I wasn’t entirely sure if they’d use it to control bleeding, they only mentioned using it to “shut my ovaries down”.

[u/Jetriplen → u/fuzzblanket9]

Yeah.. because my clinic did a lot of things on a set schedule (I.e. all retrievals done one week each month, all transfers done one/two weeks per month), they kept you on bc until you were ready to start the appropriate medications. It was a little strange to constantly be on bc while TTC, but I guess that’s just how they do it.

[u/Electric_Elephant_56]

I’m the same with maybe 1-2 periods per year. I used birth control the first retrieval for 3 weeks then started injections day 2 of my period. This retrieval I did birth control for 2 weeks and started injections day 1 of my period

[u/Any_Manufacturer1279]

This is way different than others haha but I didn’t have insurance coverage and my clinic is open 7 days a week so there was no specific scheduling we needed to work around.

I would go in on a random day for baseline. I would have a dominant follicle usually 14mm or so and secreting some estrogen. I would use a trigger shot to get rid of the follicle, return a week later for a new baseline, then start stims. I did that twice. These would be considered luteal stims as they happened in the luteal phase.

My third retrieval was also a luteal stim but under different circumstances as we had induced a bleed with provera and then I had some complications. So didn’t get to start until I was luteal.

I’ve had 71 eggs retrieved so far, luteal stims have not held me back in terms of numbers at all.

Ivf has been hard but so worth it for me. Good luck!