Here We Go Again It has been a while since I last wrote. It is partly because I decided to take our forced break in the PGD process as an opportunity to take a long overdue trip home to Canada to see my family and friends. I had been putting off traveling because of my hysteroscopy last November that marked the end one pregnancy, then trying to conceive again, then another pregnancy, then another miscarriage and finally our decision to move forward with IVF and PGD. It just didn’t seem like a good time to travel or even think about being away in another country. So when Dr J told me we would need to wait a cycle and go another round, I didn’t even hesitate. I booked the flight a few days later and flew out the week after. I thought going home would rejuvenate me, and certainly seeing my family and friends did help boost my spirit, but I came back feeling depressed and lonely. I spend the week with my nieces and nephew, held my best friend’s new baby girl, played with her other daughter and other friends’ children. It was amazing, I missed them so much…Continue reading IVF with PGD: Egg Retrieval Part 2
Category: IVF and PGD
Update 2: IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
A Little Set Back But a Move in the Right Direction Yesterday I had my first milestone appointment in the IVF/PGD process, the egg retrieval. I was put under for the procedure and 20 minutes later I woke up with some cramping, but otherwise, I felt OK. So all in all, I would say the procedure was a success. However, it looks like we will be doing this step again, so it’s Phase 1: Egg Retrieval Part 1 of 2. The reason for doing this in 2 parts is we were a little short on the amount of embryos that Dr. J would like to have before proceeding with the next step. We retrieved 7 eggs, but only 6 were mature and of those 6 mature eggs, 5 fertilized. So we now have 5 embryos that are ready to go, but Dr. J has recommended freezing these, taking one cycle off and doing another cycle of fertility drugs and another egg retrieval to get a few more so we can have at least 8 embryos to start the next phase in this process. The Rationale for Doing Another Egg Retrieval Prior to PDG and Transfer Dr. J wants to give…Continue reading Update 2: IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
Update: IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
We are getting ready for the first big appointment in the IVF process! Egg retrieval! Our egg retrieval is planned for Friday, September 20th! A little recap… I have now been doing hormone injections for 10 days. I began with only Follistim injections in the evenings between 6-8 pm, but after the first 3 days, I also began Menapur injections. For those who are reading this and have had repeated IVF procedures, forgive my exclamation, as I’m sure this is old news to you, but 2 needles in my belly every night is not fun! Then on Sunday, I also began Ganirelix injections in the morning to prevent me from ovulating too soon. So that’s 3 injections per day! This is not enjoyable, but so far things are going smoothly. Well almost. The doctor had me a little worried last week because early in the process after the first few days of injections, there were only 6 follicles showing growth. The other 4 follicles that we saw at my baseline ultrasound were not growing at all. Dr. J said he wanted at least 9 or 10 follicles in order to have enough embryos to send for genetic testing. He said it’s…Continue reading Update: IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
The Journey to Having a Family Continues After the loss of our son, Holdon, my biggest concern moving forward with trying to become pregnant again was being at high risk for a reoccurrence of preeclampsia. This is still a huge risk that lurks in the back of my mind, but after my 3 miscarriages since then, this fear has been overshadowed by other fears… fear of having another miscarriage, fear of not being able to have another baby, fear of moving forward with expensive fertility treatments that don’t have a guarantee, and could result in further heartache and disappointment. However, after giving it a lot of thought, we have decided to proceed with IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). After 3 ½ years, four pregnancies, one baby in heaven and 3 miscarriages later, our journey with trying to have a baby has taken this surprising turn. It’s surprising because I always thought of IVF as a solution for infertility, and it didn’t initially occur to me that this was a solution for us because we get pregnant quickly and easily. However, the word infertility comes with different definitions and for us it means recurrent pregnancy loss. Why do IVF for…Continue reading IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)