IVF / ICSI June/July 2019

[ChatWithMe]

Hello to the ladies reading this.

My husband and I had a successful pregnancy with a fresh cycle of IVF in 2017 and so we have a 13 month old son.

We had a frozen embryo transfer last month. Because we had success the first time round we kind of expected the FET to work. So getting a bfn last week was soul destroying.

Due to husband's preferences and clinic availability we won't be starting a second round of IVF until mid June 2019 (which means egg collection mid July). This means I have to wait until end of July for the first sign it's been successful or not.

Feeling sad and anxious. I'm turning 38 in July so not sure if any chance of having a second child if this next cycle doesn't work. I'm so desperate for our son to have a sibling and I've always wanted to have two children.

I wonder if anyone in a similar situation? It can be a very lonely time getting through each day during this long wait.

Thanks for your replies x

[Clueless21]

Hi @chatwithme

Thanks for starting this thread - I'll be your friend :) My situation's a wee bit different as I don't have any kids and this is my first round of IVF, but the timing is right! I start my downregging on Weds so probably getting my eggs collected mid / late July.

I can imagine you're really keen to get going whereas I'm dreading it all a bit - really nervous about the side effects of all the jabs, and that's before you get to the roller coaster of whether or not it will actually work!

Never ever been on a forum like this before but I haven't really talked to anyone about it in real life (friends / family don't know). Not sure why, I think it's because I don't want to tempt fate, and also cos if it doesn't work I don't want to have to go round explaining to everyone. Anyway a bit of solidarity on here would be fab!

I hope you are doing OK x

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21. Thanks for your message. I posted a while back so glad someone got in touch. Yes I understand your nerves. At least I can say that the injections aren't that bad. It's not much different to people living with insulin dependent diabetes. They have to inject themselves the same way (in the skin) but they don't get to stop after two weeks like us (guessing you're not diabetic). Sometimes you find a spot on your belly that doesn't hurt at all. If you start to out the (tiny) needle in the skin and it hurts a lot just take it out a try a bit further away. It's dependent on where your nerve endings are. Oh and yes we are keeping it a secret to most people we know also. We told our parents but that's it really. I'm already down regulating now (been on microgynon last 2 weeks). To be honest I hate the pill (microgynon) more than the injections because it makes me feel like I'm pms-ing all the time. I have my first scan tomorrow to check if I'm ready for starting follicle stimulation (injections). For me, I just want to get it over and done with to find out the outcome. I hope you feel about more at ease about starting soon cause it's always better to be doing something than nothing I feel. Gives you the feeling you're taking charge of your destiny (or at least doing everything possible to reach your goals). Do you know what is causing your fertility issues? My husband's sperm count and motility is poor but it's still classed as unknown infertility. Could be one of my tubes is blocked but they aren't sure about that either. Anyhow, good luck! :-)

[Clueless21]

@chatwithme thanks for coming back so quickly!

i have to inject buserelin (not sure of spelling) to down-regulate so i will be a total pin cushion by the time i'm through! thanks so much for the tips on doing the actual injecting though - i hadn't actually thought about it hurting, i was more worried about the depression / bloating / exhaustion people seem to have suffered! eek - there's so much to think and worry about isn't there.

we've got unexplained infertility too - both fit and well and all our tests have been totally normal, although we're both 39. we were trying for a couple of years, although not that scientifically i admit, and i only went to the doctor at the beginning of the year to see if there was any issue. because of my great age (!) they have fast tracked me straight into IVF as the NHS will only fund me until I'm 40.

i actually put off the appointment by a couple of months - all the tests being ok i just hoped it would happen naturally, but it hasn't, so here we are! you are so right though, i should look at this as being something proactive i can do rather than just crossing my fingers every month, and try to be more positive!

good luck tomorrow. hopefully all will be good and you can motor on to the next stage! let me know how you go :)

[ChatWithMe]

Hi again :-) Yes I can see why you might worry about the side effects. Stimming does make you bloated and it's uncomfortable in the ovarian regions. All worth it though. No pain, no gain eh? I had to wear loose clothing after the last time - we had friends round and if I wore form fitting clothing I looked 5 months pregnant :-/ It's funny how we worry so much about the physical and emotional side effects of the IVF but our aim is to get pregnant, and being pregnant will put us in a similar position! (eg bloated, tired, moody). Keep your eye on the prize though cause once you hold your baby you'll be on cloud 9 :-D

So I had my clinic appointment. They scanned me, said I'm good to go. No more pill. Gotta wait 5 days, have a bleed then I start stimming injections on Saturday.

How long do you have to do down regulating injections before you can start stimming injections? And how many cycles will NHS pay for? Our NHS CCG paid for one only so we were lucky to have it work first time with our son.

Let me know how your Wednesday appointment goes :-)

[Clueless21]

oh good news!

I think you will be 2-3 weeks ahead of me, as my scan appointment is already booked in for 16th july, and all being well i guess i'll start the stims then or shortly after. no need for an appointment on weds to start the buserelin as i already have all the drugs, including all the stims and the all the progesterone stuff they give you to take after transfer - plus a link to a load of tutorial videos :) the hospital organised for them to be couriered to me just after my appointment a couple of weeks ago and i got them sent to work, thinking i was getting a parcel about the size of a normal pharmacy prescription bag (clueless by name...) of course they turned up in a huge box that looked like it had a stereo in it or something, which i then had to manhandle home on the train!

so - downreg starting on 26th june, scan scheduled for 16th july = 21 days. i'm not sure if that's usual or whether it's a little longer than normal as i'm travelling with work the week of 8th july (which reminds me i need to get a doctors letter or something to let me take the syringes on the plane! oh god and i'm going to have to find an excuse to go through security without my colleagues so i don't have to explain anything)

our trust will pay for 1 fresh and up to 2 frozen transfers but only before i'm 40 i think (although it's a bit unclear, the nurse seemed to suggest that so long as i'm in the programme before my birthday it's all good. obviously i hope it works first time but i should follow up on that). are you using the same clinic now you are having to pay or a different one?

i'm glad you are asking these questions by the way as it forces me to make sure i have everything straight in my head! i'm also grateful for your reassurance, i'm lucky to be chatting with someone experienced, i appreciate it :) (although where are the rest of the june / july cohort? there must be tons of us!)

fingers crossed for us both and happy injecting :)

[SujathaRam]

Hi Ladies, i am on my 3rd week of buserelin, starting menopur from today and my embryo transfer is in 2nd week of july.

this is my first ivf cycle, me and my husband got unspecified reasons for infertility too.
i dont have much side effects so far just few headaches which are bearable. i had my first scan yesterday and they found a cyst inside my right ovary , said i may have to stop treatment if its producing estrogen luckily upon blood test they said its very less count so i can continue my treatment. i panicked alot as i dont want to stop in the middle.
my close friends and family knows about the treatment but i am not sharing each and everything with them. its good to join this group so i can share my concerns with you. my next scan is next monday , i cant stop worrying for each scan as i dont know what they will find .
All the best for us :)

[ChatWithMe]

To Clueless21 - yes we're using the same clinic that we used for NHS funded treatment. They seem good. The staff seem competent and friendly. It's actually the same place I went in pregnancy to do extra scans (our son was growth restricted and they referred me to hospital around 38 weeks cause he had stopped growing).

Wowsers! What a time you're having managing IVF in secret while working! Glad that big old box didn't have IVF meds written on the outside in big bold letters. I'm not sure how you're gonna travel with colleagues without them knowing you're doing injections. If it were me I'd tell them before the trip that you're having treatment for a medical issue but that it's not something you feel comfortable talking about. Yes, you'll definitely need a letter and will have to out them in your checked bag if you can avoid needing an injection during the flight. Hope it's prefilled syringes and no mixing required! Good luck.

And I hope you get at least 3 high quality embryos on this IVF cycle so that if the fresh embryo doesn't take you get two frozen embryo transfers to reassure you.

What's your AMH? My AMH was 16 two years ago for the first IVF cycle but now it has gone down to 6 :-(

[ChatWithMe]

To SujathaRam - thanks for joining our group. That sounds stressful hearing about an ovarian cyst and that it could have cancelled your treatment :-( Glad it's not producing oestrogen. I just had a scan yesterday and all ok but I was nervous beforehand thinking maybe they'd tell me to stay on the pill 2 weeks more. Anything that increases the duration of the IVF process is stressful as I just want to find out if I'll get pregnant or not.

What day do you start stimming injections (fostimon is mine, probably yours too)? Last time I did 12 days of injections so Im hoping it will happen the same way this time. My AMH has gone down a lot in two years since first IVF so they had to increase my stimming dose.

Good luck for your next scan! :-)

[SujathaRam]

Hi ChatWithMe, i am starting Menopur today (Not sure if thats Stimming injections, not sure of medical terms ) are you on your 2nd injection now ? if yes how many days its been ?

[facevalue]

hi ladies, i hope everything is working it for you all. i am now considering going to another clinic , not sure if that helps but friends who had multiple cycles suggested change of scene for some reason. anyone agrees? any other opinions

[Clueless21]

oh welcome new ladies and thanks for all your good wishes.

@SujathaRam - totally understand why you would be worried about each scan when you have had things show up - but i suppose if they can spot it early on a scan that's for the best right? tbh i am blown away by the level of detail they can detect. pretty amazing science all round!

@facevalue i don't know if i am going to be any help as i just went to the hospital down the road where my gp sent me! have you had any success so far or is that why you are thinking of trying somewhere else?

@ChatWithMe you are really testing my knowledge now - i had to look up what AMH was! I don't actually don't know if they tested me for it, i can't seem to find it in my notes. they did test me for LH and Serum FSH tho and that was normal, and the scan was also normal - normal normal normal, very boring!

[ChatWithMe]

To all,

Hard to keep track as so many of us now :-)

To SujathaRam - yes looks like Menopur is a stimming med (stimulates follicle maturation in the ovaries) Mine is Fostimon but not sure how they choose which to give. I haven't started injections. I start in Saturday.

To facevalue - I had a detailed opinion about why I stick with one clinic but my message got lost before posting when I accidentally refreshed the page grrr. Anyhow I like mine cause I know the travel route well, I'm familiar with the staff and routines, they seem professional and competent. They also have relatively good live birth rates compared to other clinics in UK.

To Clueless21 - yes this process teaches you all kinds of things you never thought about before trying to make a baby lol

[Clueless21]

How is everyone getting on? Started my injections last week, I'm pretty good at it if I say so myself - doesn't hurt at all. No side effects yet - bit sleepless but I don't sleep brilliantly at the best of times and its been so hot!

Hope everyone else is keeping well. @ChatWithMe I found my AMH score - 15 - guess what - normal. Doing a bit of digging though I found an NHS report that says AMH isn't not a particularly useful indicator of success which makes sense - doesn't matter how many eggs you have in reserve as long as the ones you do have are healthy. Don't know if that makes you feel any better!

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21. Well done on both counts. Great AMH and good work with the injection bravery lol Even though AMH isn't the main indicator for success it's still good to have a lot of eggs on reserve! I started stimming injections Saturday. I'm in day three of FSH now. Wednesday I start Fyremadel injections to prevent premature ovulation. I can't wait to get to egg collection day which I'm guessing will be the 12th or 15th. I have a headache which could be a side effect of the Fostimon. Hoping it subsides. How is it balancing work demands on IVF brain (with me, it's on the brain most of the time!). It's hard to have exciting news like IVF treatment and not tell my friends.

[Clueless21]

@chatwithme - to be honest, work is so busy atm i don't have much time to think about the IVF and i actually forgot to do my injection last night - woke up and remembered, had to fumble around half asleep and ruined my record of seamless jabbing (have given myself a big bruise). if i'm honest it doesn't really seem real - i just can't imagine it working (especially since I can't remember to do the most basic things) so really i'm just going through the motions a bit so i don't feel too disappointed. that is probably not the right attitude and i'm sure it will be very different for you since it has worked before :) the 12th july will come round very quickly and I am excited for you even if you can't tell your friends! is your parter good to talk to?

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21. Well I guess it's hard to stick to a new habit. I have my instruction sheet and sharps box at my bedside so it's a useful reminder if I was to ever forget. As a full time mum my son keeps me busy but at the same time I don't have a boss putting demands on me. So it's easier to keep IVF in mind in my case I'm guessing. How many hours late was your injection? Maybe it would be good to ring the clinic and ask the nurse how if any the medication delay might affect things. At least it's just the down reg injections and not the stimming ones. To cheer you up I thought I'd mention that the medication they give you to sedate you for egg collection is actually sure relaxing :-) I had propofol for mine last time. They give just enough to put you in a happy trance but not completely out of it. Tbh I'm actually looking forward to having that stuff again hehe. My husband doesn't much like talking about IVF except for practical stuff like appointment booking or arranging his mum to babysit on egg collection day. Emotionally he doesn't get invested until the scan where you can actually see what the baby looks like and see it moving around. Then I can tell he's excited :-) Although that might never happen, in the flip side it just might! We have to muster up a bit of hope cause it's all we've got x

[Clueless21]

You are right, I need to be more positive and at least I have getting high on egg collection day to look forward to!! Thank you x

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21 - so just touching base. I have another scan booked for tomorrow morning to measure my follicles. On Friday they said I have 11 of them but several won't mature enough to use. I've so far completed 9 days of stimming injections. Hoping I have my egg collection Friday. Will find out more tomorrow hopefully. I think you said you're not stating stimming meds until after July 16th right? How are you doing?

Hi SujathaRam - Do you get your eggs collected this week? Hope the cyst didn't cause any problems. I got headaches from the stimming meds too. At the moment I don't have a headache but I bet I'll wake up with one tomorrow. Like I said above, I've done 9 days of stimming injections. I can't wait for the injections to stop. My belly has marks all over!

Hope everyone else is doing well too if you're reading this! x

[Clueless21]

Hi there @chatwithme - thanks for getting in touch, all good here. No side effects from the buserelin I don't think, so sounds like I've been lucky there. And yep I have a scan booked for morning of 16th July so we'll see what's going on then - I guess all being good I'll start my stimming injections then, will be nice to have some space back in the fridge! I'm away travelling this week but let me know how you go with your scan tomorrow. Fingers crossed for collection on Friday, I know you are keen to motor on!

Hope everyone else is getting on well xxx

[navyaUK]

Hi,

Its day one of my short protocol. First time IVF at age of 42. Blaming it on Mr right being too slow to appear. We have a miscarriage in April, now going down IVF/ ICSI route due to our age and low morphology and doctor wants to do PGS.
I will be doing injections alone as hubby is travelling for most days, super nervous but do have a very understanding doctor.
Fingers crossed

[Clueless21]

@navyaUK hey, welcome. i do all my own injections too as travelling myself quite a bit and it's honestly been fine so far. fingers crossed for you mate x

[hgdg2018]

Hi all, had my downreg scan this morning and all ok. Start my Gonal F on thursday and 2 scans next week to check progress so sounds like i'm on the same timeline as a few of you! It's our first go at IVF we've had to fund it ourselves as not eligible on NHS as my husband as a 12 yo daughter from a previous relationship. No underlying issues and everything very "normal" and boring too! No issues reported with either of us!! TTC for 5 years an no pregnancies. Hope everyone is ok xx

[ChatWithMe]

Group message:

So many of us now :-)

Clueless21 - the only injection I had to put in the fridge was the final IVF injection I do 36 hours before egg collection. One week to go then - it's the final countdown :-)

navyaUK - welcome! When do you start stimming injections? I've already done 10 days of em so I'm getting a bloated feeling in the lower pelvis area. Not bad though atm. Yes my Mr Right took ages too ;-) I'm turning 38 this month so I'm no spring chicken either lol Sorry to hear about the miscarriage. Common but must be so sad :-(

hgdg2018 - Welcome :-) Gosh 5 years sounds like ages. Must have been emotionally challenging. We did our first IVF after 2 years and it felt like forever! So many different medication brands. I've not heard of Gonal F. If it's the stimming medication then you're 2 weeks behind me.

I'm having another scan tomorrow morning to find out if enough follies are nice 18mm to book egg collection. Last scan makes me think they won't be. So instead of this Friday I'm pretty sure egg collection will be Monday next week. My hubby is finding it embarrassing he needs to keep taking mornings off work and another full day off next week.

[hgdg2018]

@ChatWithMe yes 5 years is long but we had so much going on and just kept thinking it would happen. We brought our first house and then had our dream wedding so we've done things the right way for us! , PLus we've had to save our asses off because we can't get anything on the NHS!!

Yes Gonal F are the stimming medication - to go alongside the Buserelin. The Buserelin has made me go into like a depression but i know it's just the drugs even though I can't snap myself out of it! It's a weird feeling but just got to get through it!!

I have told work what is going. We're a small company and I've been here nearly 11 years so I felt i could tell them and so far nothing has been said! We will see over the next few weeks when i have EC and see how i am! Fingers crossed!

[ChatWithMe]

Hi hgdg2018 - I accidentally deleted my reply to you shucks!

Anyhow, I had the same low moods with down reg meds (the combined pill). Anxiety and depression, rows with my hubby. It all goes. Stimming meds don't do that for me just headaches. So stay hopeful. Seems unfair you don't get NHS funding as you never had a babe yourself but oh well. I hope you get a sweet little baby to take home at the end of it all x