ET Day - Attempt 2

This really is it! Arrived in plenty of time for my appointment and a full bladder, and was taken straight down to the ward. Back in the same bay as my third Egg Collection, changed into the attractive gown and waited, fighting the urge to run to the toilet ;)

A nurse called me for a quick scan, just to check my bladder was full. The reason they want a full bladder is because it presses down on the uterus and flattens it, making the direction much easier for inserting the tube.

Soon after we were visited by the chief embryologist, the same guy we saw yesterday. He said that waiting was definitely the right thing to do, because 3 embryos have stopped developing. My heart sank, rapidly. I wasn't prepared for that news.

So ... this is our only shot. The remaining two will be transferred, and all our hopes are pinned on them. As our chances are quite low, the risk of twins is extremely low, so using two is not an issue and will give us the best chances. The two being transferred are both frozen ones from our first cycle.

Having had the dummy transfer already, everything was as I expected, just a little slower as they were dealing with the embryos this time, so were extremely careful. We got to watch on the screen as the tube entered my uterus. Although the embryos are too small to see, they put an air bubble in the tube behind them so they can see where they are.

In the attached scan you can see the air bubbles.

And then it was all over, I got a bit emotional, and was wheeled back to the ward and told to lay down for a further 20 mins. I then made a dash to the toilet once the 20 minutes were up and had a cup of tea before getting ready to take 'Squirt' and 'Squidge' home.

One of the embryologist showed us the sticks that the embryos were frozen on. they are literally placed on the end of the green sticks in this picture:

Now I enter the dreaded 2ww (Two week wait) I need to do a home pregnancy test on Sunday October 14th and go to the clinic for a blood test Monday 15th if it is positive. This will test the hCG levels (Human chorionic gonadotropin).

Apart from a blood test (8 days after Egg Collection) on Tuesday, there's nothing left for me to do apart from take drugs and wait!

PGD Workup completed!!

An important phonecall today!

Found out our PGD TEST is now completed ! This is a major milestone. Total time from our blood being taken (Tuesday 12th Dec 2011) and this news is 7 1/2 months. Am pleased with that :)

The next step is to have my dummy embryo transfer and 3D SIS. this needs to be between day 6-14 of my next cycle. (Next cycle is due 15th August)

All being well I would then start Primolut again on CD14, and injections on the following cycle. We need to get another three embryos! This would be done as a fresh cycle, not freezing like the last two. Our 7 frosties will be thawed and tested along with any that we get in cycle three.

We still have a long way to go, but I now feel like we are at least at the startline....

Third set of Blood Samples

Took more blood samples in today. This is the third lot. Hubby went last time. It was nice for me to go to the lab and personally say thank you :)

IVF Consultation Day

We had our appointment with Dr Paul Serhal today at 12. I deliberately made our blood test for the PGD workup earlier so we could get it out of the way. We arrived at 11am and had our blood taken at the same time by two nurses - 3 vials each by Nathalie and a name I didn't quite catch (Tahlia)? I was sitting up for the blood test and was fine.

We went over to the Alexandra Wing and sat in the waiting room filling out lots of forms and signing every page. I was so pleased that Karen Fordham popped in for a chat while we were there. I asked her the question that has been bugging me for a couple of days... Will I have 3 IVF cycles whilst waiting for the PGD workup to be completed (which can take 1 year) and have 3 lots of embryos (if we get any!) frozen. Usually I guess you would only go for another cycle if the first has failed. Karen understood where I was coming from completely and she had also be considering this. She suggested I mention to to Dr Serhal, but advised us to see how the first cycle goes. We'll have a better idea of chances and progress once the egg collection and fertilization is done.

Dr Serhal was friendly and reassuring, and I loved the fact that he had a montage of baby pictures 'successes' on his wall. I said it must be so rewarding when he can help couples fulfil their desire to become parents, he agreed strongly and added that it was equally frustrating when things didn't succeed.

He asked me a few medical history questions and when my next cycle was due to start. He then talked us through the medication I needed to take:

Next cycle:

Day 14: (should be about 4th Jan) - start taking Primolut tables twice a day morning and night up to and including day 25 (prevents ovarian cysts and regulates hormone levels)

New cycle:

Day 1-7: Cetrotide injections (Block ovaries, prevents egg release)
Day 1-3 Visit CRGH for a scan, to confirm ok to start stimulation drugs
Day 3: Injection to produce eggs (didn't say the name of these) for about 10-11 days
During this time I need to go in for regular scans and blood tests to check hormone levels and follicle development.
Day 14: (ish) Once scan determines all is ready I need to take 1 final (different) injection
40 hours precisely after the final injection, Eggs collection occurs. This piece therefore has to be carefully timed and coordinated.

We agreed the dummy embryo transfer which would normally occur before treatment would wait until we are just before the real transfer stage. No point in doing it now to determine everything is ok, because things may change in a years time.

We then saw Marion who talked us through the drugs in a little more detail, but she was not sure what stimulating drug I would be on. It could be a combination of two (this would mean 3 injections in total on some days!) We can go in for a lesson on the injections nearer the time. One of them would be a 'pen' style, the others would be syringes. (I wonder why the difference?!)

Our drugs would be delivered to our home address, we will get a phonecall soon.

They then took more blood!! This was for a health screen which must be done before any of the treatment.

I left feeling more excited than scared. Everyone was very nice and helpful, so I feel like we will be in safe hands :)

We now have lots of information to read and many more forms to fill in!