Practice Makes Perfect July 23, 2006
Dan and I have shared the shooting up responsibilities throughout our cycles, but he’s ended up doing the majority of them. That shot giving expertise came into play nicely when Dan gave Muffy her fluid treatment yesterday. I was impressed.
The largest needle I’ve ever had plunged into my flesh is a 22g for the PIOs. Muffy gets an 18g. Ouch. Plus, it’s not like a shot where it’s in for just a second or two. Poor kitty has to sit there for multiple minutes while the fluids drip in. Both she and Dan did a great job, though. I’ve been overwhelmed at the thought of giving her these treatments, but I think we’ll be able to do it. I just hope they help.
On a completely unrelated note, I’m starting to get nervous about our ultra-screen test results. After making 49 embryos, 21 of which made it to transfer, with only 4 of those implanting, with only 1 of those sticking around for more than a few weeks I’d be crazy not to suspect that some kind of chromosomal issue might have been at play.
Oh, and I have a little vent to add, too. The doctor/genetic counselor I saw after my nuchal translucency ultrasound told me that I should think of myself as only having had one loss, because if I was a normal person that’s all I would have known about. What? As far as I know, chemical pregnancies are thought to be caused be chromosomal issues a good amount of the time. Isn’t that relevant? Plus, having gone through seven IVF/FET cycles pretty much knocks me out of the “normal” ballpark, don’t ya think? I won’t even get into the emotional aspects of just trying to erase those from my history. Ugh.
So, yeah. I think I have at least one or two reasons to worry. My age is something I’ve got going for me, but there are several other issues at play here. While the nuchal measurement was in the normal range, I happen to know that it was on the high side of normal. That info doesn’t help.
I know that whatever the results are that they won’t be definitive. They’ll give us our odds, and we’ll go from there. I just hope that things are ok in there. I can’t stand the thought of the alternative.
- Posted in : Post cycle #7: Trying to stay knocked up, my furry children
- Author : amanda
Comments»
How could you be anything other than stressed? I hope things are ok in there too. So far so good, may they stay that way!
Amanda,
I just have to pipe in to say that the “counselor” you saw is uninformed in my book. A chemical pregnancy after IVF/FET is a pregnancy loss. Yes, I think it’s a different kind of loss than a miscarriage of an embryo/fetus, but it’s still a loss.And as you DO know about it and so much is put into it–it’s not at all like someone who just happened to not conceive but who never knew about it. Egads. These people need so much education!
Sorry about your kitty, but glad IVF has some dividends for you (as in Dan being able to give the shots), and most important of all, I’m sending you good thoughts from Boston. You’ve got a big fan base here: me!
good luck sweetie.
I’m wishing you good luck and a peaceful mind. Testing is so scary. Though I can understand why you would worry, I think the scan results are promising. Hang in there.
I have friends who had abnormal screening tests and had babies who were chromosomally normal and one who had normal screening and a baby with Down Syndrome. Your odds can easily fall either way, but since more babies are born every year without chromsome issues than with, might as well assume they fall in your favor until you have reason to think otherwise.
I’ll be rooting for you and hoping the odds are in your favor.
I’m glad he has such strong feelings on how you should view your OWN losses. Damn…
Hang in there. I’m sending a lot of good energy your way.
It’s great that Dan’s such a shots veteran that he can handle giving your kitty’s treatment. That must be very, very hard to watch. I hope it keeps her feeling well.
What in the world was that counselor thinking? It’s absolutely insane to say that the chemical pregnancies don’t count as losses. OK, so you knew about them early on. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t really exist. I can completely understand why you’re worried about genetic problems, but you’re doing everything that you can to monitor this baby. I hope that everything continues to look normal.
What a jackass thing for them to say. EVERY loss counts. I was a wreck waiting for our results. One of boys NT measurement was much higher than the other one (both were normal, but they didn’t tell me that at first). Plus I have a history of Down’s in my family. Everything turned out fine though. Good luck.
One loss.
That is so. so. dumb.
Stay well, amanda. x
That doctor comment doesn’t sit well with me. They’re saying either your losses didn’t matter or you’re not normal. You need to find their car and give them flat tires. Everything sounds great so far, Amanda. There will always be something to worry about — we know too much. I’m hoping you get peace of mind soon.
Amanda, I hate that you still have to feel worried and unsure but the reasons why make sense. You’ve been through so very much. There’s absolutely no way you could feel like a normal person after all of that. I can’t believe (okay, I can, due to md stupidity) that they said that to you about how it should count as “only” one loss. That’s ridiculous. The mere fact that you have that extra information about the chemicals should show how important having that data is. How stupid of the doctor.
I will be on edge until you get those results. It goes without saying that I wish the very best for you.
Ugh, I would’ve slapped that counselor. I count my 3 chemicals as losses. I saw 2 lines all 3 times and for 2 of them I tested when I was late so I would’ve known, stupid counselor what the f*** does he know?
I worry about the chromosome issues all the time. Because high fsh is an indicator of lower egg quality I am terrified something isn’t normal. But I didn’t do any of the chromosomal testing. Because it can’t give you a definite answer I chose ignorance is bliss. For once the control freak in me has been locked up and it’s kinda nice.
I have everything crossed that you get good news.
My stats are so similar to yours, it is scary! I’m going into IVF # 10 soon, (never had a frozen embryo, we have severe male factor, my husband needs surgery every time, and our attrition rate is terrible) and out of a total of 21 embryos transferred, I have one live healthy son (IVF #6), I had one trisomy 18 that we had to “reduce” (it was the same pregnancy as my son) one miscarriage at 8 weeks normal chromosomes (IVF #1) and one chemical pregnancy (IVF #9). The numbers can drive us crazy! I do want to reassure you that there was that one perfect child in all of that failure. I know how you are feeling, but it is a great sign that you’ve made it this far.
Hope that you get some really good results from your testing, thinking of you. Your counselor is an ASS!
The whole thing is very stressful, true. I faced something at my 20 wk ultrasound – a white mark on the baby’s heart which could maybe be a sign of possible chromosomal abnormaility. Even though our non invasive screens gave us great odds. We decided to try not to stress and get thru it – and we have a healthy baby. They will tell you anything to make you worry.
I think the fact that this one embryo did stick around means chances are extremely high that it is 100 percent perfectly normal. In cases similar to yours that I’ve read about, there has never been a problem. I’d say that at this point (and given your age!) the odds are way in your favor for everything to be ok. I know you already know that and that you are going to worry anyway, of course :)!
I’m glad to hear Dan was able to give Muffy the fluid treatment. I’m really sorry that she (and the two of you) have to deal with it in the first place. It will be a lot less stressful on her than going back and forth to the vets though (especially if she hates the vets as much as my 2 do). I’m hoping it will make her feel better.
Sometimes dr’s just don’t have a clue what to say.
Glad to hear that Muffy is getting her treatments!
Good luck and wishing you the very best
Wow congrats on your second trimester. Just fancy that! I hope that the move went ok and that you’re now in posession of a house and results that confirm that everything is just fine.