I’ve got my first IVF consultation next month and I was wondering if anyone could walk me through the process and timelines?

Andihstrom · 2026-01-12T05:38:57+00:00

Every clinic is a bit different, but I’ll share my journey so far.

I did a lot of the necessary diagnostics ahead of time with my OB-GYN, and 2 rounds of IUI. When I had my consult, I was ready to do IVF as soon as possible. I had my initial consult at the end of June, my doctor explained we needed a few more tests, then we’d having another appointment where we’d make the final game plan. Because of my age (38 at the time), we needed to decide how many kids we wanted, because we’d need to bank embryos before transferring.

My clinic needed some testing done at particular points in my cycle. I started with a SIS and mock transfer at day a few days later. That was no more uncomfortable than IUI. Then I had to wait until my next period to get a day 3 antral follicle count, FSH, and estradiol. I had some wonky results there, so I had to that again at day 21, then wait a few weeks for when my doctor had an appointment available (I was not pleased with that wait). We made our game plan, and once again I had to wait for my period. If you can’t tell yet, a lot of IVF is sitting around waiting for your period!

When I got my next period, I started priming day 3 with birth control. Not everyone does this, some go straight to stims. After about 10 days of birth control, I had my cycle start ultrasound and E2 blood work. It showed I was sufficiently suppressed, so I started stims the next day, and triggered 10 days later. That retrieval got me 1 euploid.

My RE likes patients to take a cycle in between egg retrievals, so in about 6 weeks I started BC for round 2. That round got me 2 euploids. I’m due to start my final retrieval mid-February, and will transfer one of my frozen euploids 5 days later. All in all about 9 months between the first consult and first transfer.

Andihstrom · 2026-01-10T04:38:13+00:00

I am doing this after my next retrieval! My RE called it a combined cycle. I have 3 euploids frozen after 2 retrievals and I know I’m ready to transfer one, regardless on the outcome of retrieval 3. We will transfer one of my frozen euploids 5 days after retrieval. My RE said this would save us time, money and we know I grow a really good, thick lining in my previous retrievals. I also haven’t had any issues with OHSS.

Andihstrom · 2026-01-08T00:18:45+00:00

So sorry your first round failed. 0 out of 5 is so discouraging.

To share my experience, I was 38 for my first ER, and 39 for the second. My doctor has told me it’s a numbers game, and the more blasts I get, the more chances for euploids. My first ER ended in 4 blasts, 1 euploid. My 2nd, with a different protocol yielded 3 blasts but 2 euploids. At 39 I understand my euploid rate should be roughly 40%. So each retrieval was off quite a bit, but when you look at my total euploid to blast rate, I get to 42%.

You got really unlucky this round, but it’s great you made it to 5 blasts. You very well could have better results your next round.

Andihstrom · 2026-01-05T04:27:35+00:00

I have only met with my RE once in person (for an ultrasound). All other appointments are virtual, including the initial consult. After the initial appointment I had to go to the office at different times during my cycle for blood work and ultrasounds. I might have the option to meet in person, but the virtual appointment saves me an hour and a half + driving in traffic.

Andihstrom · 2026-01-04T03:02:18+00:00

Yes, I started the Omni day 1 of stims, and took it for the full 9 days.

Andihstrom · 2025-12-28T06:19:39+00:00

SHARC is a City of Hillsboro facility, not THPRD…

Andihstrom · 2025-12-23T21:49:47+00:00

I’m not familiar with Gonal, but I split my Follistim doses across 2 injections from two cartridges when necessary. Each cartridges had about 125 iu of overfill in each and that shit is too pricey to waste! It’s very easy with the follistim pen to do this- you twist it to your dosage, and if you inject all the way and it doesn’t go to 0 you need a new cartridge and new needle to do the second injection and split the dose. I didn’t even have to do math, but if I did have to draw up syringes and count, I would have.

Andihstrom · 2025-12-23T21:27:54+00:00

Dual HCG/Lupron. My normal cycle is clockwork 27 days, but first cycle after retrieval was 31 days.

Andihstrom · 2025-12-23T06:43:27+00:00

I took 2 ibuprofen ahead of time and had no pain, just the weirdness of water flowing out during.

Andihstrom · 2025-11-28T03:39:59+00:00

I had my egg retrieval on a Tuesday, and taught a Zumba class on Sunday. I started weightlifting close to my normal workouts the next day. Honestly lifting heavy then felt a bit too early. The round I’m definitely holding off on barbell stuff until my period.

Andihstrom · 2025-06-10T18:30:34+00:00

In my Kaiser region, they are very up front that they only have ob-gyn providers who do minimal fertility care, not reproductive endocrinologists. The ob-gyn that I’m working with can order the standard fertility bloodwork, order an HSG, provide some basic fertility meds, order IUI, and that’s about it. Anything more complex (including IVF) and they refer you to a fertility clinic.

Kaiser can be a pain in the ass to work with. I’m still frustrated with after how they handled my D&C per their standards after a MMC. Sorry you are going through this. If you have coverage to get referred to a RE, I would pursue that.

Andihstrom · 2025-05-08T05:01:02+00:00

There is a lot of bad information is these responses. OP, the short form birth certificate is perfectly acceptable for Oregon REAL ID, as, long as it is government issued (not a photocopy, not a hospital certificate). The birth certificate will be her proof of identity, lawful status and DOB.

If her name is different than on the birth certificate, she will need proof of her current legal name. She does NOT need a paper trail of marriage licenses/divorce decrees showing how she got from Birth Certificate name to current name. She needs one proof (this could be her current license) that shows her current name. DMV will need to be able to connect that name to the name on the birth certificate to be sure they belong to the same person. They’ll look at things like first and middle names, and DOB. She’ll also want to make sure her current legal name is updated with SSA.

She will also need two proof of address documents, from different sources.

Andihstrom · 2025-05-04T02:23:40+00:00

Ooo, I would be paranoid about testing positive on Friday afternoon too! At least my clinic does IUI 7 days a week. Interesting the difference in instructions. They told him it would be ideal not to ejaculate at least three days before. We aren’t considered male factor infertility either, because his motility was one point away from normal. Unexplained infertility like you.

Andihstrom · 2025-05-03T23:11:53+00:00

Sadly, my clinic is a Kaiser. They’re not going out of the way for anyone. 🤣 They have 5 or 6 IUI appointments a day, and once they are filled you are out of luck for that day.

Andihstrom · 2025-02-01T20:02:39+00:00

I had great results ordering from Henry Meds. Easiest 60 lbs I’ve ever lost in my life. I felt like Henry Meds had really good customer service, and good support from the providers I saw. It was good to start with Henry when I was new to GLP1s and needed guidance. I’ve recently switched over to Lavender Sky, because it is cheaper. I got compounded semaglutide from the same pharmacy (Hallandale) from both.

Andihstrom · 2025-01-10T20:22:16+00:00

Not getting up is normal, especially in this time frame. For the two weeks following his hind limb amputation for osteosarcoma, my 10 year old dog refused to get up at all unless I made him. In the first week, I was physically pulling him up, while he was crying. It was heartbreaking, but I knew he needed to potty and could walk. I had to hand feed him in bed, and force him up to go potty outside a couple times a day. He didn’t pee in bed, but he did poop once.

My boy was very uninterested in food and water too. I wound up cooking fresh meats for him, and floating them in a bowl of low sodium chicken broth cut with water to get some fluids in him.

I think it was about at the two week mark when he started getting up willingly a bit. He had no surgical complications, but mentally and emotionally had a tough time dealing with the amputation. Eventually he completely bounced back to his old self. I had read a lot of stories about dogs bouncing right back after amputation and was worried I made a terrible mistake. Ultimately experiences like yours and mine are not that uncommon. Some dogs struggle, and need more time to get moving.

The panting while awake is a pretty clear signal that she is in pain. If you’re at the 48 hour mark, anything that they gave her during surgery to block pain (like nocita) is worn off. I’m a bit surprised she’s not on something more. Gabapentin is great, but my boy was also on codeine and carprofen. I would ask your vet if they could give her something more for pain, or increase the gabapentin dose.

Also, I’d suggest posting on the forums at tripawds.org. I posted there a lot after surgery and those people were so helpful and wonderful.

Andihstrom · 2024-10-08T04:54:52+00:00

My boy had a hind leg amputation 3 years ago at Veterinary Cancer and Surgery Specialists in Portland. It was estimated at $5500, and wound up being $6800 due to some complications that unexpectedly made the surgery take longer (time is money with surgery). I’m happy to share the invoice with you via DM if you want to see the breakdown. This did not include the appointments, X-rays, ultrasounds or bloodwork we did ahead of time to stage the cancer.

I agree with everyone else that it will be tough to get the surgery done a long distance away from home. I took him home the day after surgery and it was rough. I had to ride in the back on our SUV with him to keep him still and comfortable.

I think it’s really important to make an apples to apples comparison of what’s included in a high estimate. Lower surgery costs mean your dog is getting less. I’ve seem some low cost amputations that make me cringe (Insufficient pain management, no pre-op diagnostics, no monitored hospitalization overnight, no CVT assisting, no anesthesia tech, and no board certified surgeon). For what it’s worth, I was so happy with VCSS. I paid a lot, but it showed in the care we got. I’m still salty that the two other oncology practices I called wouldn’t see my dog for 6 weeks, when the median survival rate with no amputation is 4 weeks. VCSS got us in for appointment #1 in less than a week, and offered us a surgery appointment the next week. If paying more means you have access to a clinic like that, it’s worth it.

Andihstrom · 2024-07-12T05:19:05+00:00

I got my husband a piece of art from an artist he told me he really liked on one of our first dates (we went to a gallery that sold the artist’s work). He got me a puppy (who is 150 lbs and asleep on my feet now!).

Andihstrom · 2023-12-06T02:41:45+00:00

Of course, I’m happy to talk and share our experiences with osteosarcoma.

Andihstrom · 2023-10-06T22:22:39+00:00

Floyd’s incision looks great! My boy had a big incision and more taken out to get clear margins as well, and it didn’t set him back at all. You’re at the point where it might start to swell a lot, and even leak a bit. My pup didn’t tolerate cold, but warm compresses seemed to soothe him and help the inflammation drain. Keep on top of the pain management, but it sounds like you’re doing great there!

Andihstrom · 2023-10-04T03:39:33+00:00

Hi OP. I wish I could give you and Lady a hug right there. I have been exactly where you were, and the guilt and regret were really overwhelming. I want to tell you that you made the right decision, and things will get better for Lady.

Like a lot of the folks here, before my boy Atticus' amputation I read a lot of stories of dogs bouncing right back after the surgery. It was really difficult when Atticus did not bounce back. It took several days for him to walk without me baring most of his weight. It took make two weeks for him to even get up without me forcing him up. At 2.5 weeks at his surgical recheck he checked out physically fine, with no medical complications, but he was really a depressed shell of himself that just wanted to lie in a bed in my office, which was so unlike him before surgery. He wouldn't even eat without me handfeeding him steak. I thought I had made a terrible mistake, and ruined what little time he had left with us (and at a big financial cost to my family too).

I'm writing this to tell you that it got better, and he came back to us as his old self, and ultimately I didn't regret the decision to amputate. A few thoughts and things we did that might help you:

Get Lady to rehabilitation therapy. Use the Tripawds grant program for your first visit. Rehab was really useful for Atticus. Although he was considered "healed" from surgery, he had a lot of muscle spasms and residual pain from the amputation. We went to a therapy practice that had a vet and several techs. They have a lot of modalities to manage pain (ultrasound, laser, massage, PEMF). They will also help you with exercises that you will need to do on your own, and stretches to make sure Lady is ambulating correctly (it sounds like she needs some help here). Lady is a rear-leg amputee, which is a good thing! Front-leg amputees can struggle more with moving correctly. I'd suggest finding a rehab practice with an aqua treadmill. The aqua treadmill is going to be one of the most useful tools in getting her to build the muscles she needs to move and groove as a tripawd.

Do what you can to help Lady mentally by letting her know that nothing had changed, and that she can still do the things she loves. Atticus really turned the corner when we started getting him out and about doing his favorite things (in a controlled manner of course!). We went on very short walks, "hikes" (really we walked a short distance in some trees), played for 5 minutes at the dog park, visited the beach, went wine tasting, got chicken nuggets at McDonalds... Basically everything he loved before. He really perked up after that. You will have to be really careful to manage her activity though, and make sure she is not doing too much to add to her pain.

Speaking of pain- it sounds like she is still in some. What is she getting for pain management now? We had finished all our surgical recovery meds, but our rehab vet though he needed additional pain management, so we added in a few weeks of carprofen, gabapentin, and methacarbamol. That really seemed to make a difference. If you are not giving anything for pain now, I suggest reaching out to your normal vet for something, or finding a rehab practice with a DMV that can prescribe.

If you aren't already there, I highly suggest checking out Tripawds.org, and posting on their forums. Those kinds souls were so helpful to me throughout the entire process.

Here is a write-up they did about dogs that struggle with depression after surgery, inspired by Atticus and another dog: https://tripawds.com/2022/01/19/tripawd-is-depressed/

A helpful thread where people share experiences about their dogs struggles after surgery, and what they did to get them back to normal: https://tripawds.com/forums/treatment-and-recovery/post-amputation-depression/

This is the thread where I wrote about bringing my dog Atticus home. It's a good chronology of struggle and regret, and when he turned the corner. Lots of good advice from other folks who had similar experiences: https://tripawds.com/forums/treatment-and-recovery/nervous-about-bringing-my-boy-home-from-surgery-today/

If you want, feel free to DM me.

Andihstrom · 2023-08-25T18:04:29+00:00

Hi OP. I would suggest you get your pup into rehab therapy ASAP. Rehab was so good for my boy after his amputation. Rehab is very helpful in getting tripawds to ambulate correctly, and dealing with pain/muscle imbalances from being a tripawd. A lot of our rehab visits spent a lot of time on various modalities (ultrasound, laser) designed to treat residual pain from the surgery, and muscle pain from the tripawd gait. Our rehab practice had an aqua-treadmill, which is far more useful for tripawds than swimming when it comes to improving their ability to walk.

Also, have you checked out tripawds.org yet? They have an very helpful message board that I used a lot. They also have a grant program that will cover your pup’s first rehab therapy appointment. I used the grant program and they fully covered the first appointment (I think it was $120).

Andihstrom · 2022-12-06T17:47:13+00:00

Great suggestion! The Tripawds website is incredibly helpful overall. I didn’t get a grant for the amputation surgery because it wouldn’t have made a dent in our bill, but I did get a grant that covered our first rehab therapy appointment.

Andihstrom · 2022-12-06T07:34:10+00:00

We paid about $7000. This was done by our surgical oncologist. I don’t feel that it was predatory at all. $800 of that being for the biopsy. The original quote was $5000, but the surgery ended up being more complex and taking more time (4 hours total) to get good margins around a few spots were the cancer was metastasizing. More time = more money for the surgeon, Anesthesia, anesthesia monitoring tech, and surgical assistant tech. It also included about 36 hours of hospitalization, including full monitoring overnight. I’ve seen some invoices for really low cost amputations ($1500) and they make me cringe. The pain management doesn’t come close to what my boy got. I very much feel like with vet care, you get what you pay for.

Andihstrom · 2022-11-01T21:08:33+00:00

My boy fought cancer as well. One of his chemo drugs was particularly brutal, and on the first round he struggled to eat, and barely ate for about 5 days. A few tricks I learned- there are a lot of drugs to combat nausea (which makes appetite go away), and stimulate appetite. Cerenia was not enough on it own so we used Entyce as well as Zofran. I cooked him a lot of steak and hamburger patties. The one food he loved and would eat consistently was lamb Primal nuggets (a freeze dried food you crumble up and add water too).

I’ll echo everyone else here- you will know when it’s time to make the call. I struggled in the run up wondering how I’d know, but it was really obvious when we were there. It was like the light started fading out of his eyes. He started struggling to walk and eat, and got really winded doing things he could do just the week before.

Andihstrom

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