[BottleBrunette]

Hiya Kristen

Yes, I'm with the same clinic. Wow, there are a lot of women from here in these studies!

[Passionscientist]

First Appts Scheduled:
Mrsbyrd03 - Cynthia (Houston, TX): 3/10 appt at CORM
girlymech - Pris (FL): 3/11 appt in FL
Sparky704 - Jennifer (TX): 3/17 appt at CORM
babywishes13 - Appt on 3/20 at CORM
babydust*** - Mandi (Spring, TX): 3/13 appt at CORM

Waiting on to start BCPs!
Babybearjmd - Janice (Lubbock, TX)
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT)
Chinadoll08 - Stacey (TX)
Webb - Kari (KS)
Rhart - Rose (TX)
jhlucas - (TX)
bottlebrunette - Heather (FL)

BCPs
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 2/29


Lupron start!
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/14


Stims Start!!!: (Yippee!!)
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/14
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/15
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/28


ER
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/25
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/26?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/3


ET
Passionscientist - Kristen (Houston, TX): 3/30
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 4/1?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/8

[Melanee2255]

Okay Ladies~
I just wanted to let you know the latest about where we are at. I started my period on Thursday morning last week so we got on a plane and flew to Houston that afternoon. We had our appointment at CORM Friday morning at 7:30 am. We did bloodwork for my DH and I (yay he got to come with me this time) and another trans-vaginal ultrasound to check my ovaries with Dr. Schnell. It went really well and she said my ovaries looked really great. We asked her alot of questions inluding how many embryos she thinks we should transfer and she said she would recommend doing 2! We were really suprised because we thought since we are quite young that they would only do one, but she said its ultimately up to us. What do you guys think? Its really scary because twins would be crazy for us but we could do it! I know that if we had twins we would never do anymore infertility procedures again. We probably wouldn't prevent in the future but we wouldn't spend any more money or time worrying if we did get blessed with twins. Its a tough decison and DH says he thinks we should do 2, but I am still trying to make up my mind about doing 1 or 2.

Anyways on with our appointment....we also were able to get the mock transfer done and it was so easy! I didn't feel a thing....accept of course the speculum which is always uncomfortable....When we did our 3 IUI's before, it was uncomfortable when they put the catheter through my cervix but not this time...Dr. Schnell was great!

They then arranged for a private injection training for us. We were so grateful that they allowed us to get all of this done on this visit because my DH won't be able to come back down with me until the ER and ET. So they were great to help us get the most out of our trip. We did all of the consents, and they gave me the BCP's, I started them on Friday and they also gave me all of my prescriptions for the ER and ET. We then got on a plane friday afternoon, and we were back in Utah by 5:00 pm! It was another whirlwind trip but it was great to get alot done and spend as little as possible on hotels and food, cause we will need to save up for the 2+ weeks we will be down there for the stims/ER/ET.

Once again we had such a great experience with the staff at CORM. Everyone is so nice and made us feel so welcome and valued as patients. I was again, so impressed!

So here is my schedule for my IVF procedure:
(of course this is tentative on how everything goes)

03/07~Start BCP's
03/21~Start Lupron
04/04~Start Stims
04/15~ER
04/20~ET

Yay!! Its such a relief to have a time frame of when everything is going to take place!

[Passionscientist]

Originally Posted by Melanee2255

Okay Ladies~
I just wanted to let you know the latest about where we are at. I started my period on Thursday morning last week so we got on a plane and flew to Houston that afternoon. We had our appointment at CORM Friday morning at 7:30 am. We did bloodwork for my DH and I (yay he got to come with me this time) and another trans-vaginal ultrasound to check my ovaries with Dr. Schnell. It went really well and she said my ovaries looked really great. We asked her alot of questions inluding how many embryos she thinks we should transfer and she said she would recommend doing 2! We were really suprised because we thought since we are quite young that they would only do one, but she said its ultimately up to us. What do you guys think? Its really scary because twins would be crazy for us but we could do it! I know that if we had twins we would never do anymore infertility procedures again. We probably wouldn't prevent in the future but we wouldn't spend any more money or time worrying if we did get blessed with twins. Its a tough decison and DH says he thinks we should do 2, but I am still trying to make up my mind about doing 1 or 2.

Anyways on with our appointment....we also were able to get the mock transfer done and it was so easy! I didn't feel a thing....accept of course the speculum which is always uncomfortable....When we did our 3 IUI's before, it was uncomfortable when they put the catheter through my cervix but not this time...Dr. Schnell was great!

They then arranged for a private injection training for us. We were so grateful that they allowed us to get all of this done on this visit because my DH won't be able to come back down with me until the ER and ET. So they were great to help us get the most out of our trip. We did all of the consents, and they gave me the BCP's, I started them on Friday and they also gave me all of my prescriptions for the ER and ET. We then got on a plane friday afternoon, and we were back in Utah by 5:00 pm! It was another whirlwind trip but it was great to get alot done and spend as little as possible on hotels and food, cause we will need to save up for the 2+ weeks we will be down there for the stims/ER/ET.

Once again we had such a great experience with the staff at CORM. Everyone is so nice and made us feel so welcome and valued as patients. I was again, so impressed!

So here is my schedule for my IVF procedure:
(of course this is tentative on how everything goes)

03/07~Start BCP's
03/21~Start Lupron
04/04~Start Stims
04/15~ER
04/20~ET

Yay!! Its such a relief to have a time frame of when everything is going to take place!

Melanee that is GREAT!! You are on your way!! When you guys are down for the two weeks you'll have to come over for dinner! LOL!

As for how many embryos to transfer, I'd wait and see how many eggs you get fertilized. If you have a lot that you can freeze than I would do one because you guys are young and may want to spread them out. If you only have a couple left and maybe don't have many to freeze than you might want to do two. That's just my two cents. LOL. Or you could be like a lot of us and want the best chance we can get! Remember sometimes those one embryos can split too! Did you see in the news where one woman put in one embryo and ended up with IDENTICAL TRIPLETS!!! Yikes!!! LOL!

I'm so excited for you!!! You are on your way to a !!!!

[Passionscientist]

First Appts Scheduled:
Mrsbyrd03 - Cynthia (Houston, TX): 3/10 appt at CORM
girlymech - Pris (FL): 3/11 appt in FL
Sparky704 - Jennifer (TX): 3/17 appt at CORM
babywishes13 - Appt on 3/20 at CORM
babydust*** - Mandi (Spring, TX): 3/13 appt at CORM

Waiting on to start BCPs!
Babybearjmd - Janice (Lubbock, TX)
Chinadoll08 - Stacey (TX)
Webb - Kari (KS)
Rhart - Rose (TX)
jhlucas - (TX)
bottlebrunette - Heather (FL)

BCPs
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 2/29
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 3/7

Lupron start!
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/14
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 3/21

Stims Start!!!: (Yippee!!)
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/14
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/15
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/28
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/4

ER
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/25
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/26?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/3
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/15

ET
Passionscientist - Kristen (Houston, TX): 3/30
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 4/1?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/8
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/20

[girlymech]

Well tomorrow is my first appt. Af hasn't gotten here yet but very close. Hopefully AF will hold out till after my consult. I'm just feeling a little nervous that I won't be qualified for some reason. Can't wait for tomorrow to get it over with. Now I'm thinking if I'm this nervous for a consult I don't know how I'm going to handle IVF.

[babybearjmd]

Pris, you can do it!!! They are very friendly at CORM. It is a daunting thing at first, but it gets easier. Once you've started all of the testing, it gets a little easier to process. I think we all get a little stressed over each step as we go, but there are so many people on this site to turn to for advice and support. Good luck tomorrow at your consult!

[girlymech]

Originally Posted by Passionscientist

First Appts Scheduled:
Mrsbyrd03 - Cynthia (Houston, TX): 3/10 appt at CORM
girlymech - Pris (FL): 3/11 appt in FL
Sparky704 - Jennifer (TX): 3/17 appt at CORM
babywishes13 - Appt on 3/20 at CORM
babydust*** - Mandi (Spring, TX): 3/13 appt at CORM

Waiting on to start BCPs!
Babybearjmd - Janice (Lubbock, TX)
Chinadoll08 - Stacey (TX)
Webb - Kari (KS)
Rhart - Rose (TX)
jhlucas - (TX)
bottlebrunette - Heather (FL)

BCPs
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 2/29
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 3/7

Lupron start!
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/14
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 3/21

Stims Start!!!: (Yippee!!)
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/14
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/15
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 3/28
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/4

ER
Passionscientist - Kristen (League City, TX): 3/25
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 3/26?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/3
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/15

ET
Passionscientist - Kristen (Houston, TX): 3/30
Nursamp - Tomeka (SC): 4/1?
Marcia9043 - Marcia (Dallas, TX): 4/8
Melanee2255 - Mel (UT): 4/20

Kristen,
I was thinking that maybe we can start a clinical trial study thread. Just because now there are people participating in this study from all different locations. Just a thought

[BottleBrunette]

all you have to do is change the thread title

[Passionscientist]

Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to do that. Can I just change the title of this thread or do you all want to start a new one? I'm ok with either! It would be easier to just change the title, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that...anybody know how??

[mrsbyrd03]

Well, last night before bed I started spotting. I was hoping against hope that wasn't rearing her ugly head, but by this morning I knew that she was. I was so distressed this morning that I really didn't want to go to my first appointment because I really don't know if I could handle going through all of the IVF treatments, and KNOWING that there was an embryo there, and not having it implant. Especially since we KNOW that I had at least 5 eggs drop in this last IUI cycle. However, it was too late to call and cancel, and I knew I might regret it if I decided not to at least talk to them, I decided to go ahead and go.

I got there at 8am for my 9am appointment as directed. Of course, it only took about 15 minutes to fill out the paperwork, so the rest of the time I got to sit and wait. Needless to say it was a struggle not to cry the entire time because I just don't know what to do anymore. Well, 9:30 came and went, and still I wasn't seen. (while couples that came in after me were coming and going freely) I asked how much longer it was going to be and was assured that "it wouldn't be much longer." 10am came and went and we were still sitting there. By 10:15 I was ready to just say forget it and leave. After all, if you can't depend on them to see you on a first visit on time, what happens if you really need to get ahold of someone? Would I keep being told "just a little longer?"

So I got up again and told the lady at the front that I was leaving, but she convinced me to wait while she went to see what was going on. She came back and assured me that "I was next in line." So we decided to give them a few more minutes. Someone FINALLY came to talk to me about 10:45. (an hour and 45 minutes after my appointment time)

We talked with Serena, and she was extremely nice. We discussed the procedure, the study, etc. Of course she couldn't offer any answers to the question I'm struggling with.....(what if I do this and I STILL don't get a )....but she said that we should think of it as a diagnostic tool. That did help somewhat, but my husband is struggling with the idea of it not feeling "natural" to him. Even though he knows it's not the case, he feels like the idea that everything is being done in a lab/clinical area, takes the love and romance out of us "conceiving a baby in love." Does that make any sense?

I've told him that no matter what, we're a team, and all he has to do is say no, and we won't do it, but I feel like he's just doing it for me, and not because he really wants to. He wants to have a baby, but I don't think he's fully ready to accept that this may be the only way it happens for us.

I signed the initial consent forms and will go back on Thursday with my medical records from my other doctors. I know that this doesn't mean that I'll be accepted into the study......so I guess we're just leaving it up to God. If this is what we're supposed to do then I'll be accepted, if not, we won't.

I'm so confused though. We really thought this cycle would be the one, and I just don't know what to do. This entire IVF trial looks like it will take 3 cycles to complete. I've already set the end of this year as my limit. If we don't get pregnant by then, that will be the end of trying. My husband is 50 this year, and he told me long ago that he was worried about having another baby at 45. Asking him to keep trying just isn't fair to him. I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up 3 cycles for 1 attempt, when I could have 3 more attempts if I stuck with IUIs. *sigh* I just don't know what to do.

[Passionscientist]

Cynthia -

I'm sorry you had such a tough wait there. I think right now that sometimes they may be longer waits because they are trying to squeeze so many people in for the trial. So I wouldn't get too frustrated with a long wait (although I've had them too and I know it's hard). I have a friend whos been trying to get in see Dr. Schnell for a regular appointment (not part of the study) and has to wait two months to get in...so when they are squeezing people in at the last minute I would try to be patient some. I don't know if that helps or not.

I'm so sorry that AF started for you and I can certainly understand being confused. I guess, here are my thoughts. We decided to completely skip IUI because our DX was MF infertility. We had done our research and found that my DH's counts were low and IUI "may work" but it "may take a long time" versus IVF being the most "efficient" way to get pregnant. I don't know what your and DH's IF DX is, but in some cases IUI may not always be your best bet (it's definitely more cost efficient) and if you have the time and patience to keep at it, then great! My DH has a son already from a previous marriage so we know he's not completely IF, but we were given only about 5% odds with IUI vs about 40-50% with IVF. And since we were getting such a discount on the IVF, we just went with that process.

Everyone is different though and I'm certainly not trying to tell you to do something that you wouldn't feel comfortable in doing. Infertility sucks, there is no doubt about it. You have to do what is right for both of you and it may take time to come to that point. for both you and DH.

[AskSeekKnock]

I just went to sign consents and have bloodwork done today. Now I'm waiting for day three. It's exciting and comforting to find a group of women going through the same thing I am. I'm for all of us!

[Passionscientist]

Originally Posted by AskSeekKnock

I just went to sign consents and have bloodwork done today. Now I'm waiting for day three. It's exciting and comforting to find a group of women going through the same thing I am. I'm for all of us!

That's great!! . Will they be doing all your testing in Beaumont and the ER/ET at the Webster office? Let us know when you get your schedule!! Good luck!

[girlymech]

Well we had our appt. today at 11:00 am in the Clearwater office. Once we got there we waited about 10 minutes then were shown into a back room where we met Bonnie. She gave us a bunch of required forms that needed to be signed. I was then asked some more questions all my answers seemed to be what she wanted to hear. I was then taken to the back and where I met Dr. Sanchez.

He performed a pap, a saline sono, and a mock transfer.Dr. said my lining look good as did my uterus and ovary was fine. I was then reunited with my husband and given my Study Subject Reminder Notebook with my Subject Number on it. I was told to call on day 1 of which should be any day now so that I can come back for FSH level test which I took in Jan 07 and was 5.40 so I'm not too worried about that. Both my Dh and I got our blood work done. Then she will start me on the BCP's so we can get the ball rolling. I'm to start take prenatal vitamins as of today. All in all it was a productive day we definitely got a lot accomplished.