First time IVF and first time posting on here and first time everything

[wishmeluck16]

Hi everyone. Not even sure if anyone will reply as I am not really bringing anything new to the topic here, but I am starting my first IVF cycle in January on a short course thing. Any tips etc for me? I would be starting December, only they cant do anything over Christmas (how annoying).

I am infertile due to blocked tubes caused my a burst appendix 3 years ago due to misdiagnosis.

Looking for moral support and also curious to know if you actually GET a period after the short course if you are not pregnant? or do the injections you give block your period for the entire cycle?

[welshweasel]

Good luck! I did short protocol last year and now have 8 month old DS. Yes you will get a bleed if you aren't pregnant, but the drugs can mess up your next cycle. I was advised to treat the first cycle as a trial run, as they have no idea how you will react to the drugs, exactly what dose you'll need etc. We were lucky that the first cycle worked but I think I'd have coped ok if it hadn't as that's what I'd been telling myself. Have a think about who you're going to tell. We told most of our family and friends which was great support but also meant that they all knew when I was less than 4 weeks pregnant and it made it seem like a long pregnancy for them!! Physically I found it fine, just carried on with life as usual so didn't have too much impact on everyday life.

[lotsoffreckles]

Good luck wish, I did short protocol back in June and Im currently 15 weeks pregnant, also had blocked tubes which I had removed prior to IVF.

I ditto what welsh has said, this cycle was my 2nd fresh cycle with a FET in between. On the 1st cycle I has OHS and was hospitalised 1/2 way through so never got to do my fresh transfer, I was only 27 and was very naive about what to expect.

My biggest bit of advice is to have people around you who you can talk too, yes if you become pregnant they will obviously know very early but having the support and understanding was valuable. I also fully involved my work place who were incredibly understanding, took some pressure off, although I know this is not possible for everyone

Apart from a different protocol this time around due to OHS the only thing I did different this time around was I had regular acupuncture in the 10 weeks leading up to egg transfer.

I was physically fine through treatment although did take holiday between Egg Collection and transfer to chill out away from everything.

Im pretty sure you will get you're AF as normal if you don't become pregnant xx

[wishmeluck16]

oh guys thank you so much for your replies. cannot believe it took me so long to post on here. I already feel less alone reading your posts!

Lotsoffreckels may I ask why your tubes were removed? did it help you in some way? I am 28 so young I suppose for IVF and also at risk of OHS gulp

so positive to hear you were both successful! Welsh, I like your mental thought of using the first run as a trial run. I might try and do the same..

[lotsoffreckles]

Hi Wish. So I have had gynocology issues since I was 19 and I guess have lived with discomfort for years after.

When me and DH decided to try for a bub (I was 27 at the time) I decided to go back to the gyne to check things. Luckily I had private health care so this was easy, he scanned me at the 1st appointment and my right tube was blocked and slightly twisted and left was not as bad but not great, he was amazed that the pain hadn't stopped me in my tracks. We took advice and for my health and because the chance of eptopic pregnancy was high we decided to remove the tubes, separate ops we tried with just one for 9 months but by the end of it I was in constant pain. Again luckily this was all done on my private health care so it took a year from 1st appointment to 2nd op. After the ops I was amazed at the pain and discomfort I had just got used too/fobbed off by GP's as bad UTI's etc!!

My consultant did say to us that if we decided to go down the IVF route that removing my blocked tubes could help the IVF however this didn't play a part in the decision at all and every case is different and I was lucky that the twisted and blocked tubes had not effected my ovaries at all.

Hope this helps, sorry for the ramble 😜

[Serena1987]

Hi Wish

I was wondering whether I could ask you something by any chance? I'm looking to start in January but not actually done anything yet. We haven't yet been to a clinic or been referred by the gp or anything. How did you go about arranging IVF and how long did it take? I'm not necessarily going to wait for NHS funding as we are pretty set on starting in January. I just started thinking recently that we probably need to get the ball rolling! Thanks

[wishmeluck16]

Hi Serena

of course you can :)

Well... our process took 6 months BUT it was complicated due to the fact that we are in a same sex relationship and there was the sperm to "source".

However, I can tell you what the general process requires you to do and how this will affect your timescale.

First you will need to get INTO your initial appointment. This I would think will be fairly quick especially if you are looking to go private. My gp referral was for the gyneocologist. The gyneocologist had to then run tests to confirm I was suitable for IVF and indeed infertile.

that took 3 months.

Then the gynaecologist referred me for IVF and the referral takes 6 weeks.

Once at the IVF clinic, there was the appointment, then the blood test (done on the same day) and an internal scan (done the following week).

at this point I was confirmed as viable for the treatment and given my "S number". This meant I was now in the system.

Then me and my partner needed therapy (we are waiting to go to that now) because we are using donor sperm. you can skip this if you are using your partner.

You also need to come for a 1 hour appointment to sign all the paperwork. you will BOTH need to attend this appointment and sign loads of stuff about what to do with your eggs if you die mid-treatment (I know ...) and loads of moral questions etc. They will briefly ask about your relationship, marriage if applicable and some small personal questions.

you are now ready to start. Depending how soon you can get all that sorted will depend when you can start.

to start now, you will need to know what protocol they are going to put you on. there are two I believe. Short and long. Short takes 5 weeks from the moment you start to the point when you test for pg. Others will be able to tell you more about the long protocol. The doctors will decide which one is for you depending on why you need ivf.

So you wait for your next period and call them on day one. they will then start what they call the "test month". you will be called in to a group session to learn to inject and find out everything you need to know about the drugs. you will NOT be trying to conceive this month (which means you are unlikely to start the real IVF until March from the sounds of it).

after the test month, you wait for your period again and then start the treatment. On short protocol you will hopefully be pregnant 5 weeks later! (there are appointments during this period and various tests).

I am sure other members can fill in the gaps and add their experience to the above time line. I am using the Manchester clinic and I am sure things vary according to location and if it is NHS or private! feel free to message me whenever you want with anything you like :)

[Serena1987]

Wow thank you Wish! That detail is absolutely amazing!

So I'm thinking we need to get onto it sooner rather than later. We would qualify for NHS treatment from January but I'm being impatient! I think we should wait for then as it will be the magical 2 years of trying. My husband has had a test that shows a lot of issues so not sure whether we could get referred earlier.

Thank you again and good luck with your treatment. I really hope you are successful straight away :)

[welshweasel]

If you are eligible for NHS treatment then I'd definitely wait. Or at least look at the rules carefully as some areas will refuse NHS funding once you've tried private. Costs mount up very quickly...we thought our cycle would cost around 5k (ICSI with surgical sperm retrieval) but ended up double that for a number of reasons we hadn't considered (extra drugs, embryoscope, freezing embryos etc). My friend is in the middle of her first NHS cycle. It's been not much slower getting started than our private one and she's getting it all for free!!

[Serena1987]

Oh wow - thank you for the advice. We have some money put away for it so think I was getting a bit impatient/wasteful just wanting to get started and thinking the NHS route will be really slow. I will have a chat with the drs and see when we can be referred. Thanks for all your advice. I have a feeling I will be relying on this board a lot as my husband isn't up for telling anyone :(

[Frettchen]

Not really relevant to your OP, but in case it helps you/anyone else; I had IVF last year - single woman with PCOS using donor sperm.

I had a thread to document my progress, here if anyone's interested in reading through. Long story short, it took me 22 months to get from initial referral to giving birth.

[Serena1987]

Thank you Frettchen and congratulations :) I have read through your whole thread (whilst not doing much work) - it's so helpful and interesting to hear how everything happened.

I think I need to get onto this IVF thing very soon! I thought we would just start in January and it will just happen...I think I have been a tad naive!

Thanks again!