Going through IVF in February?

[TwinklingLight]

If so, please join the club. Let's keep each other going!

In our case, we're going abroad for ours - Norway. What about you?

[waitingimpatient]

I'm having a FET cycle in February
AF due end this week/early next (irregular due to pcos) o have secondary infertility and had a mild IVF cycle and FET last year but both failed (had a freeze all with mild IVF)

Hoping February will be our month !

[Everhopeful76]

All set to start in mid Feb, don't think it will be before because I ve ovulated late so therefore I expect my next cycle also to be.
Having treatment privately in Bristol
Be good to keep in touch to keep going

[NotSpartacus]

Me, I think. Supposed to be starting 10 days or so of progesterone from the middle of my next cycle which will be next month, with stims starting at the end of Feb/early March. We're trying for our third child, and I know going for IVF for a third is a bit odd, but we've been trying for 6 years and if I don't throw everything at it just once more I'll wake up in 5 years and regret it.
I'm at a clinic in London. Not sure yet whether we'll be going for a fresh transfer (I hope so) or freezing them all.
I've been lurking on IVF threads on various sites and feel like I don't speak the language, which is a bit stressful...

[TwinklingLight]

I'll start down-regulating next week. A little nervous, but hope it will all be fine.

NotSpartacus I understand what you mean!

[Lintilla]

Hi! I start injections sometime next week. I have an (almost) 6 year old who was conceived naturally and have been trying for a second since she was 6 months old. We had two rounds of IUI last year which didn't work and this is my final attempt. Like NotSpartacus I don't want to wake up in 5 years and have regrets!

[NewRedShoes]

I hope you don't mind if I join although I'm a bit behind you all. We are only at the initial consultation stage which isn't until 28th February but I've been lurking on the infertility board for ages and feeling like I don't fit in anywhere. We're also using IVF to try for our third. I feel really ungrateful when I try to explain why we feel the need to do this as we have two already but I lost both my tubes due to ectopic pregnancies after my dc and have spent years trying to accept that it just wasnt meant to be. However we've recently decided that actually it does matter and we like you NotSpartacus can't bear the thought of thinking we didn't try everything when we look back.

Good luck to everyone getting going over the next month.

[Viewofhedges]

I was supposed to be - but have chickened out. You may as well have handed me a saw and told me to cut off my arm. Cried snottily at the nurse while trying to make the appointment and then pulled out. So scared. Just can't see me / us coping. I'd really appreciate being able to linger and follow what it's like for you all as I try and make this terrifying decision.

I wish you all the best of outcomes.

Everhopeful I'm also Bristol ish and am a 77 vintage!

[NewRedShoes]

Hi viewofhedges I think that's completely undertandable, I'm wondering the same thing. The thought of spending so much money and going through all the treatment and then at the end it may not even work. I keep trying to.convince myself that if it doesn't I'll just accept that its not meant to be but inside I know it just won't be as simple as that. I can't help but hold onto the hope that this will work but I'm quite a logical person and my brain knows that its just as likely not to.

Sorry I hope that doesn't sound too down about it all. I'm still planning on giving it everything I've got but we're not really telling people in RL and its nice to talk to people going through it.

[Goingcrazy53]

Could I join you.

We have had 2 failed rounds and this will be our final attempt. 3yrs ttc, unexplained secondary infertility.

Struggling to talk about it in RL...the one friend I have confided in just keeps pressing me for info which quite frankly is bordering on just plain nosiness which has put me off being more open. I'm all over the place!

If I'm honest I'm terrified of it not working (most likely outcome), but also scared if it does (we didn't cope very well with the baby stage first time around).

Completely related to the 'no regrets' comments. I feel this is a process I have to go through to move on without asking 'what if' later in life (albeit a very expensive and emotionally draining one!)

Good luck to everyone x

[Badleg]

Hi all. I have an appointment next weds with my consultant. I have had most tests done and had a fibroid and endo removed last summer. Then when my cycle settled after this I went on clomid. No success on this although my day 21 bloods are good (50 and anything over 30 is good). My DH is going tomorrow to do another sperm analysis.

I have spent this month on clomid again. Currently on day 7 so next weds is a good day to have a catch up with my consultant as its day 14 and he can scan me. We will then discuss next steps and hope to get IVF started in February!

I am 38 in feb and trying for 4 years. My BMI is slightly high so desperately trying to loose some weight.

We are self funding (DH has a child from previous relationship) and the costs do concern me. We are in Kent so using a clinic nearby. The cost we have been given is £2800 for IVF but the. If they need to ICSI that's additional then culture to blastocyst is more. The drugs are phenomenal cost but have researched and you can get them from Asda (amongst others) at cost if you have a prescription.

How is everyone doing that's currently doing their IVF drugs are you all coping OK?

[NewRedShoes]

goingcrazy I totally understand not wanting to talk to people in RL. How have you found the process so far? Do you know when you will start your next cycle?

badleg the costs concern me too. We will definitely need ICSI as DH had a vasectomy after my 2nd ectopic due to general panic about the situation. Stupid decision now looking back but at the time my head was all over the place!

[NotSpartacus]

Am thrilled to find someone else who is doing this for a third child, newredshoes, I thought I must be the only one. I had two ectopics as well, but mine were between my two children. Although I have one tube which functions from time to time (I've miscarried twice in the 6 years since DC2), I'm 40 now and I just don't get pregnant easily enough to hang about.

viewofhedges i totally understand how you feel. Making the first phone call took me weeks, and I have wobbled over every decision to date. I'm literally scared of the jabs, the effect of the drugs (ohss, me turning into a loon, possible long term effects), the length of time the process takes (12+ weeks with my current treatment plan), it not working (how will I deal with it? How will I not try again?), it working (living in the babyzone, i am not a natural), my mother finding out (the judgment!), the investment (time, money, emotional).

I've also become the patient every doctor loves... Less than a week since I saw the doc and I've taken to emailing in my further questions. I suspect the loss of control in all this may be difficult for me to cope with.

[MehMehM3h]

Hi All, marking my place! I started down regging a week ago...so far it's not too bad...except the spray has a manky after taste! But the crazy hasn't come out yet which is good!

[Goingcrazy53]

Newredshoes I was lucky and didn't get too many side effects from the drugs...mainly bloating. I was pretty uncomfortable after egg collection the first time, but found it much easier the second time around for some strange reason.

Viewofheadges I completely understand how daunting it all seems. From my experience the actual physical process of it all is easy compared to the emotional. The waiting for appointments and living life in limbo I found far harder to deal with.

[goinggrey1978]

i have my next appointment on the 30th, so will find out more then, i've been matched with donor eggs and i'm sure will match with donor sperm at my appointment, nearly a year to the day that i got my nhs funding!!

[NewRedShoes]

notspartacus yes I felt the same! I've felt so much like a fraud for poking my nose around here but so desperately needed to talk about this. I'm sorry to hear about your losses but its a comfort to feel less alone if that makes sense in a massively selfish way!

goingcrazy that's interesting to hear and makes sense. It already feels forever away waiting for the first appointment I dread to think how I'm going to cope with all the endless waiting between each stage.

Blimey goinggrey a whole year?! That's a lot of waiting. Fingers crossed things get going on the 30th!

I still feel so clueless about it all despite the endless research...how long will you be down regging meh?

[goinggrey1978]

Yes unfortunately I had to fight to get nhs funded ivf with a solicitor, but then some very unhelpful people have delayed everything by sending my paperwork to the incorrect places and people, things only got moving again because of my persistent phone calls and emails and also threatening to contact my solicitor again, but finally everything is moving now andi m hoping it'll be easier as this will be my 2nd go, so I know what will happen! Good luck everyone else!

[TwinklingLight]

We've grown! How great to find people doing the same thing. Apart from obviously my OH and then our families (parents and siblings), nobody really knows either. We can't really talk about it to anyone, so I'm grateful for this group.

I'm beginning to down reg next week. Hope I won't feel too many of the side effects.

We are going for regular IVF which in Norway costs slightly less than £2k. Is ICSI really that more expensive in the UK? If we needed it, it would have cost us less than £200 extra in Norway...

[NewRedShoes]

Fingers crossed for a side effect free down reg twinkling.

The ICSI at our clinic is around £1500. And that's without sperm storage etc. I can't believe how cheap it is in Norway! Between the ivf, icsi and everything else one cycle will cost around £7.5k. How does it work going abroad? Are you staying over there for a few weeks?

[NotSpartacus]

Seems like everything is expensive in the Uk. For example, they want me to have a hysteroscopy before transfer and that is £1800 and is done under general. I had one in 2014 on the NHS with no anaesthetic (was fine), performed by a specialist nurse and the doc popped in at the end to confirm the findings. Probably cost the NHS a couple of hundred pounds. One of the things I dislike most about this process is that it has the whiff of rip off about it...

We are not telling anyone about the IVF (well, my SIL knows but she won't tell) so going overseas would be tricky for us, otherwise I would be sorely tempted!

[NotSpartacus]

How long will you down reg for, Twinkling?

[TwinklingLight]

NewRedShoes

We never considered Norway before as it's normally a very expensive country. I've been there previously and my OH went on business trips there quite a few times, and a pizza + beer could easily end up being £50. But then, we went to the London Fertility Show a couple of years ago, and passed by the Klinikk Hausken stand. The lady there was really nice, and when she told us the difference in price we were really confused!

So we got the brochure and checked everything out. They had a deal where you got a free Skype consultation. The doctor wanted to see us though, so he offered to see us in person. We flew in for like 30+ hours, and I got a scan done, while my OH had a sperm test. We also got blood tests done. We were told what should expect, then had a consultation with the nurse re. the medicine I'd need to take (how to inject, etc.). We flew back to the UK, have ordered the meds and will be back in Norway next month. We're doing other things there for a few days - we've got friends there - but we'll be staying slightly less than 2 weeks (they recommend a week).

We will be paying roughly £1900 for the IVF. This includes Embryoscope and embryo glue which should increase the chances somewhat. If ICSI is needed, this costs roughly £170 extra. The meds came to about £800 altogether, but this is different depending on what you are prescribed and for how long, so can be a bit higher.

Flights this time of the year have been less than £100pp return. We rented a flat for our stay there next month which was only around £600.

I think it is fantastic value for having IVF in what is very much a first world country, and it's a holiday, too. Plus, Norway looks gorgeous this time of the year. Sort of like FROZEN (the movie)...


NotSpartacus
I'm doing 2 weeks down reg and 2 weeks stims.

Hope you are all well!

[TwinklingLight]

Oh... and the reason we're renting a flat is because we can cook to keep costs down (also, the 'no alcohol' rule helps a lot in keeping costs down ). However, the clinic has an agreement with Radisson Blu at one of their locations (they have three) where a room with half board for two would only be £70 or so.

[MehMehM3h]

I think it works out just over 2 weeks of down regging NewRedShoes so far I think I've been ok with the meds...had a bout of grumpiness yesterday but it's a busy period at work so could be that too. I can taste the spray/drug which isn't great but I tend to make sure I've eaten something soon after to take the taste away.

Good luck to everyone!

[NewRedShoes]

Norway sounds really interesting actually, I'm going to investigate it further. As it stands we could get two rounds for the same price as one over here and let's face it we're more than likely going to need as many goes as we can afford!