Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Getting our FET ducks in a row


We are in preparations for an FET at the end of August to transfer our three remaining embryos. Full steam ahead, trying to get everything lined up.

My plan is to do everything we did that brought us Magpie. We don't know which pieces of our previous plan were causal, and these are our last three embryos, so we want to do all we can. Likely a lot of it is unnecessary but this way we can know we did all there was to do if the FET fails.

So what are the pieces so far?

Consults and more consults. We went in to see our old local RE, who will be monitoring me here before I travel to Denver. We have an appointment to see the miscarriage wizard again mid-July for all of his reproductive immunology advice and plans.

What are our ingredients for hopeful success?

Depot lupron to decrease endometriosis/improve implantation potential: I took the first of two depot lupron shots on 6/12 and feel nothing yet, although I have begun bleeding the past several days. But no hot flashes, night sweats, no depressive mood. Hopefully that will remain the case. I truly HATE depot lupron, but stage 3 endo is a real thing. And so....I can do this shot x 2 one last time.

Endometrial biopsy: Our old RE has agreed to do an endometrial scratching/biopsy about one month prior to the transfer. There is some data that the growth factors released in the healing process increase implantation rates, with some studies saying success improves by up to 50%. We did it last time, before Magpie's transfer...

Prednisone: I was on prednisone starting about two weeks prior to Magpie's transfer and through most of first trimester (I think it was that long). I'll do whatever the reproductive immunologist says on that count.

Lovenox: I was on this after transfer and throughout my pregnancy. Will see again what is recommended, but I'm sure I'll be on it. The reason was just in case of coagulation issues, since i've had so many losses. Probably unnecessary. but not harmful. and we did it last time...

Diet changes: Last time with Magpie's transfer, I cut out gluten and dairy and eggs and tomatoes. OMG. In a bid to reduce inflammation, and because some testing I had a while ago showed that I supposedly have some sensitivity to these things. So, sigh, I guess I'll do that again, at least for a while... with her I stayed on track with the restrictions through most of the first trimester. Can't imagine doing it again that long, but we'll see.

IVIG: This is the one that causes the most marital conflict (Will doesn't want to do it again). So expensive! And makes me so sick! But then again Magpie is here...so I will be doing this again, at least until (if we are lucky) we can get a solid implantation and heart beat going.

Folic Acid: I took a lot of this last time. Something like 3000 micrograms a day. I'll do whatever the reproductive immunologist says. For now am just on my regular multi, which has 800 mcg.

Multi + Vitamin D + Fish Oil: Yes, I'm taking taking them all, just like last time.

Caffeine: Will be cutting this out. Decaf products too. Sigh. Until later in first trimester. This one's a bit tough, but will do it.

Acupuncture: I did this last time because of uterine blood flow issues, but was going to skip it this time because I passed the uterine doppler test the Denver clinic does. Also because I don't know how I could possibly fit it in to my schedule. Will likely do it immediately before and after transfer though, just not the 6 weeks 2x/week insanity I did last time.

Baby Aspirin: I'll be adding this in but can't remember when.

Alcohol: Will be cutting this out too. Sigh. Last time I did so about 6 weeks in advance. Will find out if that is truly necessary or if I can wait until closer to the transfer.

I think that's about it (Thank God).

Anything else anyone's aware of that can help with implantation? Let me know!

Mo

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18 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've got it all covered!

    The only other vaguely superstitious thing I've heard about implanation is pineapple.

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  2. Ha, I am no help on "additional things you might do" except to note that you seem to have your bases, shall we say, covered, also, to have plentiful medical advice.

    I forewent (?) gluten in the cycle (IVF) and pregnancy that brought me DS and have wondered if, had I done it again for the cycles (N=1 that was fresh and got to transfer) that didn't, he'd have a younger sibling. But OTOH I was also 3 years older, so ... who knows?

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  3. ha ha. i was told NO pineapple by accupuncturist.

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  4. So many things to think about-- so much to prepare! I'm rooting for you to have all the success you did with Magpie! And wow, what a list. It's almost no consolation to think that the irritation is time limited-- that's a LOT of restrictions/invasive procedures! Abiding with you!

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  5. Do they know why IVIG makes you so sick? I had weekly IVIG for about 3 months and never had any side effects. My dose was pretty big too-took about 3-5 hours each time.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm...Don't know. It hasn't been every treatment, but some of them caused severe headaches and others fever and chills. A few were no big deal. I don't know what the side effects are caused by - I guess I supposed it was my body's immune response but I really don't know.

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  6. I have never commented on your blog but have read it over the past year. I wanted to just see if you had already tried intralipid infusions. I used them in place of IVIG for immune issues during and after IVF. Dr Sher in Las Vegas has found intralipids to be as successful as IVIG for immune issues and the best part is that they are relatively cheap- $40 plus the cost of the IV infusion so usually less than $400. I used them every other week until 24 weeks. Check them out if you haven't already. Sounds like you have all of your bases covered. I did almost exactly the same things you are doing for my 2 successful pregnancies. I also added royal jelly for good measure! Best of luck on your upcoming FET! Your Magpie is adorable, btw!

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  7. I just looked back and saw that you already knew about the intralipids- you can ignore my previous post! Interesting that you and your husband had a 50% dq alpha match- we had the same. Anyway, I hope your FET goes very well!

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    Replies
    1. yes - we did try those and still had a miscarriage, unfortunately (it was so much cheaper and easier!). so glad it worked for you!

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  8. I am not really any help in adding anything additional, but my friends swears embies like warm things... who knows!?! I'll be sending lots of P&PT your way!

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  9. That's a whole lot but if it brings Magpie a sibling it will be fabulous! I'm keeping those embies in my prayers and you too. Are these the same batch that Magpie is from?

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    1. the three remaining embryos are a mix from IVF #6 and #7, done a few months apart. Magpie is from one of those too (not sure which one).

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  10. Best of luck - been following your blog for years. Can I ask (as I'm in Australia and the health care system is very different here) how much do you think each attempt costs when you factor everything in? In Australia even with private hospital cover there are a LOT of extra expenses :( all the best!

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    Replies
    1. for us with the IVIG a lot more, unfortunately, since it's about $3000 a treatment. for the cycle itself, i think it's about $25k, but we have some insurance coverage. an FET is about $5k I believe.

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  11. Best of luck with your FET! Thinking of you.

    (formerly: oninfertileground)

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  12. Best of luck with your prep for FET!! Thinking of you

    (formerly oninfertileground)

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  13. Wishing you the best of luck with all the changes and with the FET itself. Keeping you in my thoughts.

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  14. I have never commented on your blog but have followed you for quite some time. I went through several IUI & IVF cycles that resulted in negative pregnancy tests, until my Dr. decided to try something called G-CSF (also called Neupogen, I believe), which he'd only tried with 3 other patients before me (and all got positive pregnancy tests). It's actually a cancer drug but apparently some Drs have started using it to help thicken the endometrial lining. I had stage IV endometriosis and polycystic ovaries. In addition to the G-CSF, we did an endometrial biopsy and I took prednisone. The first cycle that we tried the G-CSF, a fresh cycle, I got my first ever positive pregnancy test but miscarried at 8 weeks. The second cycle with the G-CSF was a frozen cycle and I now have a healthy 2 1/2 year old daughter. Something to consider. Best wishes on your cycle.

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