Skip to main content

IVF #2

Frozen Embryo Transfer take 2.

After the ERA test results came, we decided to go ahead with round two of an FET with the second (and only) remaining embryo I had. This is a CB embryo (compared to the last one which was BB), so I was a little concerned, but everyone at the clinic told me not to worry about the grading of the embryos. 

With my RE Dr. Rehman in the
recovery room after the transfer
Anyway, so with the second cycle, I decided to go under anesthesia because there was a lot of poking and prodding going on, including two water ultrasound tests I went through. I know the embryo transfer is a very non-invasive process, but I hate the feeling of the speculum inside me. I need to stop being too hard on myself, I thought.

On Saturday, September 15, I had the embryo transfer in the afternoon. The day before, I was at work till a little after 5. In a software company, the entire office is almost gone by 4 on Fridays, so I was practically alone on my side of the floor. From the 17th floor, I could see almost the entire Eastside of Lake Washington. A warm afternoon Sun was shining, I was ready to send the stuff I was working on for a code review and I just felt so happy. I don't know why, there was no reason for that happiness, but I felt that. And very hopeful. 

After the transfer, I tried to stay as normal as possible. Two things I did not do (that I did before) are - 1. symptoms hunting and 2. searching the Internet. Whatever symptoms I got, I told myself, they are from the hormone shots (which most of them are anyway), and for the Internet search, I just stopped myself.

Also, I told Arnab that this is like adding a new feature to an existing software. If the feature works, very good, if it doesn't, then also that doesn't take anything away from the working software. Yesterday night, right before going off to sleep, I had trouble convincing myself to not be hopeful, or rather to stop obsessing about the result. Then I came down firmly on myself. I told myself that this is something I am trying to do as an experiment. If it doesn't work, that doesn't change me, my health, my quality of life, or basically anything. I would still be the same person that I am today and the world (the Universe) would stay just the same. Then I fell asleep.

Today I found out that the embryo has stuck. 

I have not rejoiced. A person who has undergone a miscarriage and a failed IVF does not rejoice at pregnancy news (neither her own and definitely not of others). I am happy, I am positive, and I am cautiously optimistic. We have a whole set of tests lined up now, and I am going to stay cautiously optimistic for a long time now.

Final verdict is, you can't bypass science. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My life is not governed by IVF

Yes, IVF is a big deal demanding a lot of physical and mental strength, and also significant chunks of finances, but I refuse to make it the central part of my (and Arnab's) life. There are lots of other stuff happening to us and they are good things. I should be enjoying those, which I am happy to report, that I am. For the first part, Arnab got a new job and we decided to buy a new house. This is our second house, we moved and are settling in now. For me, deciding on paint and organizing the house is a big deal. I am doing that with full vigor. Choosing furniture, window treatments, and all the normal stuff a couple with a new house need to do, we are doing those. We got a new cat too. This happened after our beloved May passed away. I promised May that we would keep her legacy alive by providing forever homes to many more cats during our lifetime. Gemini, or now renamed, Alpha Gemini, is the soft furball who we found sleeping in a small cubby at the Seattle Humane Soci...
Post a Comment
Read more

Preparing for the embryo transfer

Now we are approaching the most physically painful part of the process - the progesterone shots. On March 3, I went through a baseline check ultrasound to see how thick the uterine lining was. At this time, as I was on Nuvaring, my lining measured 4 mm which is pretty thin. From March 7, my Delestrogen shots started. They are basically the hormone estrogen that thickens our uterine lining in preparation for a cozy spot for the embryo to snuggle up to. For an embryo transfer, they expect the lining to be around 8-13 mm thick. The way to do that is by the estrogen shots. These intramuscular shots go in the butt and if you were one of those people who was taking the subcutaneous ones by yourself, now you would need someone to give you these ones. These are water soluble injections, so they are not that heavy. Also, I had to give them twice a week.  On March 23, I had another ultrasound to check how my uterine lining has thickened up. In the mean time, I ate normal healthy food...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Forgotten Hero

I don't know where to start this article from, because every time I think about this issue I get very angry at the unfair treatment that this doctor, rather scientist received. Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay has been the father of IVF in India, delivering a "test tube" baby 67 days after Louise Brown was born in Manchester, UK.  Somewhere around the late 90s, I first came to know of 'Durga', this girl conceived through IVF and a result of a successful experiment by Dr. Mukhopadhyay. I don't remember why this news was reported in the 90s, or in what context, but I remember my family discussing this at the breakfast table. They were upset that the recognition came after so many years and they were also angry at the Government and also at the family for not having the guts to come speak the truth. Especially at it caused the death of the scientist.  Fast forward many more years, I got in the IVF world after being diagnosed with PCOS and my husband having some...
Post a Comment
Read more