Assisted Conception (and all the bits in between) volume 7

lucy- Glad your appointment went well. We were told to budget between £8-£10,000 for our treatment, and it has turned out closer to the £10,000 side. The upside is that at the end of stimulation they will take back the drugs that you didn't use, which is a total bonus. They are very honest, and they won't tell you anything that isn't true. Were you bothered by all the pics of babies? I thought it was great, a testament to how successful they are...

val- Yay you! Almost to the end! It takes a long time to cook a baby, doesn't it? Glad to hear you're doing well, and the little fella is playing football in there...

cloclo- My DH and I needed to have ICSI because DH is paraplegic, and the only way to get sperm was from the testicles. Have no fear...as long as there's some good ones in there, the embryologist will find it and use it.

rowing- I'm glad for your negative, but I understand totally what mixed emotions you must be feeling. But at least the waiting is over and you can get back on the horse.

Hi Italian and scrummy!

keziah- How are you feeling?

AFM, the blooming cystitis is finally on its way out, after a second round of antibiotics that I started Monday. Boy did that suck. Meanwhile, morning sickness abounds, and I think it's exacerbated by the antibiotics. Tomorrow will be my last day of it, and hopefully I'll start to feel a little less nauseous. But I've got B6, lemon drops, ginger biscuits, and other things on standby. Had a scan today, and the little bean is now 11 mm, which is right where it should be. Heartbeat is strong with this one (said in Yoda voice)! Progesterone over 400, and HCG over 125,000! There's only one in there, btw, as second sac turned out to be empty.

Hugs, baby dust, and chocolate boobs to everyone!

Hello vanillapod, thanks for dropping in, it's always great to hear a success story, and wish you and your wriggly little boy all the best!

Cloclo welcome to the thread. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon, but from what I understand about ICSI, all they need is one good sperm to fertilise an egg, so even with a sperm count of 5.8 million and 2% morphology, that's still 11600 sperm to choose from (if my shaky o'level maths is right!) so try to be optimistic about it, I'd say it sounds like your chances are pretty good (oh, and is your DH taking supplements? My DH's morphology was also 2%, but 3 months after taking fertility plus for men and fatty acid supplements, it went up to 14%).

Scrummy it was a different interpretation of the same results. I'm so sorry, I didn't really ask too much about the spotting. I told him and he wrote it down but then we moved onto something else straight away and tbh my head was buzzing with information and questions and I kind of forgot. When my progesterone levels come back I'll ask a dr about the connection between it and spotting and let you know.

Lucy reLly glad to hear you had a good appointMent with ARGC. How did they come up with their analysis? Was that simply a different interpretation of same results? I hope your immunes do come back ok. That would mean treatment so quick. You must feel really releaved now. Ps. Did you ask about the spotting?

Welcome cloclo I'm only at the beginning of my journey so can't offer advice, but I hope you have a smooth ride with the treatment and it gives positive outcome!

rowing can't offer advice but I hope your Appt goes ok

Waves to all!

Hi all, can I join your thread?

We have been TTC 8 months but last week got the rather bad news that DH's sperm means our only chance of conceiving will be ICSI - 5.8million, 12% motility, 2% morphology. I had been worried that I might have LPD due to a dodgy blood test, but it turns out I'm quite healthy and scan shows I produce a good number of follicles on my own, which was at least something positive!

I'm 29 and DH is 31 (he has Type 1 Diabetes, not sure if this has contributed to problem or not). He has another SA on Friday, and assuming results are similar we will be doing our only round of NHS funded ICSI at CRM Coventry in Sept or Oct. Definitely intend to continue if it doesnt work though. The consultant was pretty positive and said we should have a 40% chance of success, but I admit to feeling a little more negative about our chances after reading too much on Google about the effects of diabetes on sperm DNA - damn the information overloaded Internet!

Really looking for some success stories from people who may have had a similar problem, and a bit of support too - it helps to know other people understand how it feels

Hello lovely ladies Hugs to those and know, and those I don't.

So glad I stumbled through here again as what fab news Lissy and Keziah - so happy for you both

Am 33+4 here so not long now! I have a very wriggly little boy - but to be honest he could keep me awake 24/7 it's so reassuring! I can't believe it was this time last year I was beginning to be poked and prodded - just wanting to give you all a positive story.

Hi Rowing, I'm afraid I don't really know what you can ask your doctor, apart from whether there is anything you can do to help stop it happening again. I'm sure they'll say there isn't, but that's certainly what I'd ask.

Scrummy good luck with your appt on Saturday and I hope your Dr refers you without any problem. Mine did. In fact I think I just called them and she wrote a letter for me, so hopefully it won't be a big deal for you either. After all you're paying!

Lissy I hope your bladder infection has gone and that you have only morning sickness to contend with now

I had my appt at ARGC this morning. It went as well as it could have. They certainly seem very thorough and inspire confidence. The doctor I saw said I didn't have 'unexplained infertility', I'm not getting pregnant because of my low ovarian reserve and age. He recommended the immunes testing (I think I knew the testing cost £800, but our jaws fell open when they said the immunes treatment costs between £4 - £6k on top of the IVF costs ) Luckily, being on day 4, and having had day 3 bloods done yesterday at my Dr this can be my monitoring cycle. If the immunes come back OK, and if my bloods (i.e. FSH) behave themselves, I might even be able to start next cycle, so I feel much better now that things are moving again and that I'm not waiting anymore. He did say I probably wouldn't produce too many eggs (3, 4 or 5) but that we could just hope that they'd be good enough quality. Beginnings if you're still about, he said no to DHEA, as they haven't found it very helpful there, and even no to wheatgrass. So, I'm feeling knackered because I did get myself into such a pickle before the appt, but certainly calmer than I have done over the last few days.

Oh and Lissy, if I wasn't feeling broody already ALL of those pictures of cute babies EVERYWHERE at ARGC would certainly have got me going!

Hugs to everyone else x

Hi all,

Scrummy I hope it all goes well on Saturday and you get your referral.

I have been given a follow-up appointment with the a doctor (one that I know already from ages ago) tomorrow morning. I think he wants to talk about what to do as a follow up to the ectopic, so it's all a bit perfunctory. Can anyone suggest useful questions for me to ask?

Have been on my exercise bike for the past two nights and haven't eaten a whole cake recently either, so feeling very quietly pleased. Also started the nutritional supplements, so hope to be bouncing around like a lamb soon, with nice normal NK cells.

Thanks for your condolences everyone.

Lucy I'm off to see my GP on Saturday to see if I can get a referral from him, whilst we wait to hear from the hospital (no, nothing yet). I hope you get some sleep tonight....I'm sure it will go well tomorrow and then you can relax with the knowledge that they have taken such good care of others here that you will be in good, safe hands.

Welcome questiontime I'm hoping to get a referral from my GP so I can get on ARGC waiting list. And yes, they confirmed not so long ago that they have a 11-12 week waiting list.

Italian TOM WON I suggested to DH that Sugar should have given the money to Tom with the condition that he makes Helen his business partner and MD. That would have been the best outcome.

rowing that's great news! (was that you just whizzing past....?)

lissy really glad to hear all is ok. That must have been really scary

Hi all,

welcome Questiontime, sorry I can't help about ARGC, but good luck whatever you choose. YOu will get lots of great advice on here!

Italian time is dragging for you. Have you been given any other information about when things might start moving along? Would you still consider Spain as an option, there are some great clinics over there? I don't know what the donor situation is in Greece, but Serum, in Athens is very good and great for immunes and so on.

Scrummy sorry to hear about the bfn!

Lucy and to hear about AF turning up for you. Do you think one of the smarties hit the embryo on the head?

Keziah great to hear that you have seen the little fellow/ette. Must be so lovely for you.

Beginnings and Care Bear how are you getting on?

My news is I am now below 5, which is a negative result - finally! Sad though, that it was probably positive up until a week ago. Oh well! So I can now start taking supplements and folic acid and all the witch-doctory that I have been buying from Zipvit. Hops on exercise bike...

questiontime- Lucy is right, I did only wait six weeks. Depending on your test results and where you are in your cycle, you should be able to dive right in. Monitoring cycles consist of Day 1-3 bloods as well as Hepatitis B and HIV screening, and an ultrasound at mid-cycle. Depending on your history, they'll want you to do a full immunes panel during your monitoring cycle as well, which you can refuse, of course. I suggest having your day 1-3 bloods, Hep B and HIV done by your GP. ARGC will happily accept the copy of the results, and it'll save you a couple hundred pounds. In my honest opinion, ARGC has great results for a reason, so I just decided to go with the flow and do whatever they wanted me to do.

Questiontime - from what I have heard about ARGC I would go there if distance not an issue. I went to a Care clinic and waited 8-12 weeks privately to see a consultant, same as NHS. The difference going privately is that once you see a consultant they act, start doing things - in NHS is felt like one test at a time and go back in 12 weeks etc. However am thankful for NHS tests as they did save us a lot of money etc.

Questiontime treatment by Christmas is probably realistic. The waiting time for my appt at ARGC was 12 weeks, but I think I must have made it at a busy time for them. Lissy only waited 6 weeks. Then you need to factor in a monitored cycle and hopefully you can be treated very soon after that.

Italian I did! The two right people were in the final two. I do feel sorry for Helen because in every other respect she should have won it, and I do think you could leave it to her and she'd work like a maniac and make a success of anything. Tom is very sweet and creative, and I'm quite happy he won, although I can imagine he'll need a fair bit more managing than Helen. What did you make of it all.

Hope everyone else is alright. I'm steadily tying myself up in knots with anxiety about everything (mainly the change in my cycles suggesting that I am moving towards an early menopause, like my Mum and Grandmother, who both had menopause in their early 40s). Barely slept a wink last night, wondering what ARGC would tell me, thinking about donor eggs being my next option, wondering how DH might take to that idea blah, blah blah. Just wish I could turn my head off sometimes.

Thanks for the welcome. I was just wondering how long it all takes? Decided to go private as have been told will take two years on the nhs and the success rates are much better. So if I book my appointment on mon, am I being unrealistic to hope that I will have had treatment by Christmas? Sounds like there are some success stories around with ARGC- those that have used them would you recommend them in hindsight? Thanks so much!

Sorry for BFN Scrummy but pleased you and dh being positive.

Lissy - so glad you had the reassurance scan and all is ok. Are you still on the amoxycillin? I am on it every day for my lack of IgA, 1500mg a day. Sorry you having morning sickness as well - apart from a touch of nausea last week I have remained ok, but bizarrely longing for such symptoms (yes am mad!!) . Thanks for info on when see heartbeat, that is encouraging. Long wait now till 8weeks 3 days till see our little lentil again!

Hi ladies! Thanks for all the birthday wishes...

scrummy and lucy- Sorry to hear about the arrival of AF. Don't give up! Lucy, you should be able to jump right into your monitoring cycle at ARGC. At least AF's timing was right!

Italian- I think you handled your insensitive friend really well. I agree that you should point out to your friend that she should have handled things differently.

keziah- Yay heartbeat! I think you can't see a heartbeat before six weeks, so if you saw one, you must be at least that far along. I had a scan at 6w1d and my little lentil was 3mm, so you're not that far behind.

Question- I am currently almost seven weeks pregnant from ARGC. Ask me anything...

rowing- Well done for exercising! What else is kickin', chicken?

AFM, a bit of a scare yesterday. I've been suffering from a bladder infection for a few days now, and got antibiotics from GP on Wednesday. Terrible pain in my lower abdomen, and had some light spotting yesterday, so I immediately called the clinic and they brought me in for a reassurance scan. Little lentil is doing just fine, heart beating away, and doubled in size since Wednesday. Phew! There was some blood and bits (ick, sorry!) on the ultrasound wand, but the doctor said that it was absolutely nothing to worry about. Clinic took a urine sample, and no bacterial infection showed up (I've been taking amoxicillin, so no wonder), so it's assumed that I have cystitis. It's terribly uncomfortable, and on top of the morning sickness I've been feeling super lousy. But all worth it!

Hi Questiontime, and welcome to the thread. Two ladies on this thread got pregnant with ARGC's help recently and I'm sure that at least one of them will be along soon if there are questions you want to ask. My first appt is with them on Wednesday, so I can let you know after that a little more of what you can expect from them. Re your situation, I'm no expert at all, but they can do amazing things nowadays. Even with PCOS you have age very firmly on your side, so I'm sure there are plenty of good eggs in there waiting for a bit of help, and as for your DH, again all they need is one good sperm, and they have the people there trained to seek that one good one out, so I think you've got good reason to be very hopeful.

Hi ladies. Would you mind me joining you? I am just starting off down this whole road and feeling somewhat apprehensive. Can anyone give me some advice on what to expect? I am 26, hubs 40. No children for either of us. I have pcos and pretty much no periods, and hubs has between 5 and 10 % motility. Do we stand a chance of getting pregnant with help? Beginning to loose hope now as been trying for so long! Booking at an appointment at ARGC on mon - anyone used them here? Thanks so much- and good luck to you all on your journeys

Keziah that's wonderful that you saw a heart beat. Hopefully you can start to relax a little now that you know there's a little bean in there and you're taking all the right drugs to keep it there.

Scrummy sorry AF got you too and what a heartbreakingly sweet thing of your DH to say. Mine arrived this morning. My progesterone came back as 'normal' too (42 I think but that was baout 6 months ago and it's got worse since then) and in one of my fertility assessment scans I was told my corpus luteum after ovulation was 'perfect' [teacher's pet emoticon] but still month after month I spot. I'll let you know ARGC's opinion on it. Appt is on Wednesday. Having day 3 blood tests on Tuesday with my Dr. I so hope I can go straight into my monitored cycle at ARGC. I'm bouncing off the walls with all this waiting. Especially when I can see my cycles getting shorter, periods getting lighter, I feel like my natural chances are slipping away . Where are you with your tests and appointments now?

Hi to everyone else x

Lucy did test yesterday, but as I guessed it was BFN and AF turned up in full force last night - was out partying.....I'm going to be really interested to hear what ARGC say about this spotting thing. My progesterone levels have come back 'normal' although I havent seen the exact value, so not sure if mine would be at a lower end of the scale. Maybe our bodies just realise quickly that nothing implanted? I honestly can't remember if I had this amount of spotting before I went on the pill, but it seems to be getting worse now after 11 cycles off the pill.

keziah how exciting. That must have put your mind at rest.

Italian that was awful and you are not being over-sensitive. I would tell them how that made you feel and it could be that they hadn't realised just how insensitive they were. We all do and say silly things at times and then think afterwards how wrong we were. I'm glad to hear you were ok holding the baby though. We had a couple of babies at the party we went to and DH was holding one and came to me and said - 'I hope we can make one of these' Just a couple of months ago that would have sent me home in floods of tears, but yesterday it just made me feel all warm and loving

lissy hope you're enjoying time off from the clinic visits

rowing Have you exhausted yourself with the exercise?

Lucy - no real symptoms, but a tiny little embryo seen today, 2.8mm, and a little heartbeat at about 6 weeks (sonographer said I couldn't be 6 weeks as measuring too small).

Italian - sorry for lack of sensitivity. It can be hard - I seem to have spent years around friends, holding babies, listening to "baby talk". Hope you have good news soon with DE.

Italian sorry that your friend was insensitive towards you but I'm pleased that it didn't upset you too much. Some people just don't think.

Scrummy did you test today? AF is arriving imminently round here. Really hoped I could hold out until at least Monday (day 24) but I think she'll be here in full force by tomorrow, an all time record for the shortest cycle for me, 23 days. Bit depressing as they just seem to be getting shorter month by month at the moment.

Rowing been doing well with my 'keep fit this week' but then this afternoon DS and I went to the shops to buy some smarties to (ahem ) decorate some gingerbread men we made. While he was busy doing something else I surreptitiously opened the packet and poured most of them into my mouth, leaving just enough for his biscuit. Woops. Must try harder.

Keziah, Lissy how's things. I hope you're both feeling rotten in a truly pregnant way!

Hope everyone managed to stay dry on such a wet, wet day!