IVF/ICSI Hand holding

Hi blacktreacle, thanks for the reassurance, I will be 8 weeks tomorrow so will prob have my 12 week at the very start of Jan. Did you pay for your extra scan privately? I would quite like another scan in a week or two but DH doesn't want to bother as he says there is nothing we can actually do at this stage even in there is something wrong.
I don't know much about the nuchal fold scan, what does this do? Was that also after an ICSI cycle?

Fishfinger I'm really sorry to hear about your cancelled treatment, but won't you get another go on the NhS because it was cancelled before EC? We were told that we would.

Hope everyone else is ok x

Fishfinger- I'm sorry your cycle has been cancelled, that must be so upsetting. Could the "thing" be a cyst? Stims drugs can often cause cysts I think. If you are unhappy with your clinic and you are paying you are free to go elsewhere. The hfea website is good for success rates. Fertility friends is good as well.
Cloclo- great news on your scan- seeing the heartbeat is such a relief and your risk of mc drops loads once you've seen it. Good luck for your nuchal scan.
Mrsmiggins- fingers crossed for a stress free 2ww and a positive outcome
Bugsy- hope your cycle is going well
Hi to all
9+2 now, had another scan on Thursday, all ok. Getting nervous about the nuchal on 22/12, that is where it all went wrong last time as with an 11mm nuchal the baby was too poorly...

Morning all, fingers crossed for those of you getting to the exciting/scary stages! I hope you all get the results you're hoping for!

Just to warn you that this will be a long post as I've had some bad news and need to get a few things off my chest and hoefully draw some positives from those of you that may have been in a similar position...

Our ICSI cycle was cancelled yesterday due to my lack of response to the Menopur. On my right ovary I only had one follicle at 16mm, the rest were 10mm or less. Yet again, my left ovary went into hiding so I have no idea how many follicles there could have been, but they said that even if they went for EC, it would be too risky to try and poke about to find it.
They also found 'something' on my right ovary and they couldn't determine what 'it' is, even after asking a few other doctors. They guess that this 'something' is about 5cm big but they weren't able to see it properly.
Off I went for a couple of blood tests (one for renal function and one to check certain proteins in my blood, ie, to check if this thing is something bad) and I'm also waiting for an appointment for an abdominal MRI scan.
They also passed comment that I seemed to have slightly less eggs than I should have for someone my age (32) - why did they not mention this sooner??!!

So......to say we're gutted is an understatement. The reason we were having ICSI was due to DH's sperm results so I (selfishly, naively) assumed that I was absolutely fine and now we know that I'm not.

They have said that this is not the end of the road and that should we decide to try again that they will have me on a higher dose of Menopur from the start. However, I was on the high dose (4 ampules) for a week on this cycle and only got one follicle so what difference will it make having the high dose for another few days on the next?
Should we be thinking about going elsewhere for treatment as we just went with where our GP referred us to, but as we are paying for it all then we have the freedom to choose where we go, right?
What if we have to go down the donor egg route? I don't know how I'd feel about that......although I'd give anything to experience being pregnant and give us the child that we want to complete our family (DH already has 3 kids)....but then would it be in the back of my head that part of the child isn't mine? Would that matter?

As you can see, I have a lot of questions but I just want to get over the hurdle of this growth they've found and take it from there.
If any of you can offer any words of wisdom they would be much appreciated as at the moment I just can't stop crying.....

Congratulations CloClo, great news, and am really pleased for you. May the next few weeks go along easily for you.

Bugsy, I was on 300 for Gonal-F, and 150 buserelin. Felt like a lot of liquid to be squirting in each night, but otherwise fine. I also had mininal side effects too, which was good.

Feeling tired today and bit achy. Went for a very gentle but long stroll today (rather by accident as it was lovely in the park nd got sidetracked by the beautiful deer) but hope I've not overdone it by walking too far. Eeek. Off to bedfordshire now, night all!

cloclo that is great news so very pleased for you. Hope the next 7-8 months go swimmingly
mrsmiggins how much gonal-f were you on? I am on 150 and 225 of menopur repeat scan tomorrow. Feels well hope ovaries are doing their job

Hi everyone, sorry been absent for a while. Thought I would let you know I had 7 and a half week scan this week and one little embie with good heartbeat seen. Was freaking out before hand and cried but was all ok in the end. Have midwives appt in two weeks and hopefully 12 week scan at start of Jan so fingers firmly crossed. We had SET too so I suppose that is evidence it can work for those considering it.

I wasn't very clear, but also meant to add that AMH (Anti Mullerian Hormone) is a very good indication of your ovarian reserve (but is by no means a final definite answer). IE, my chap knew that mine was 7 and adjusted my Gonal F stimming drug accordingly (quite high as it turns out). But as I've said, it only takes one good eggy, as it's quality not quantity! Good luck! And thanks for the sticky vibes x

mrsmiggins thats great news 2 littleuns keeping warm. Happy impalnting and sticky vibes. Glad you are getting a relax. hope you have got things to keep you distracted fingers crossed.

witherhills not sure re AMH have heard others say they have done things and got an increase. I decided as it was over 6 months since last one and an oldie to do it again incase they wanted to change my protocol was surprised that it went up. But they have not changed my protocol!! And I did nothing except eat a few brazil nuts I like them and dropped cafeine. Cons at open evening according to friend who went said they use amh to tell them how much to stimulate a person and follicle count to indicate how likely there will be a response. So I would expect you to be on high doses but count is good. Another friend who had ivf folicle count was 3 and they did not want to continue but she had had a DD with poor follicle count so did now has another dd. Agree ask all the questions you want write them down you may forget.

Hello Witherhills, 15 sounds like a good number, but you're right, it is size that matters! He shouldn't have been irritated though, as it's only natural that you should ask about your own body. I also didn't think AMH level changed. Mine was 7, but my wonderful surgeon told me he's got people preggers with a level of 0.1, so as ever, it age that counts most of all, as that affects the egg quality. After all, it only takes one good one! I guess see what the new person says but take no prisoners and ask as many things as you like!

Fishfinger, hope you're doing ok today. I was on stims (Gonal F) for about 10 days at a high dose and did ok, but it wasn't till the final boost plus the Ovitrelle trigger that things really sprouted enough to do a collection (Last Fri). So I guess keep taking the drugs and they'll advise what the next stage should be . They might need to tweak things a bit to give your ovaries a bit of a boost. Fingers crossed for you!

My news is that I had my transfer yesterday. Out of the five that were fertilised, three were left yesterday. Of those, one wasn't good enough to freeze which was a shame, but the other two were "text book perfect grade one" blastos which was amazing. And which my embryologist advised I had put back in for the best possible chance. So that's what I did. Yikes! I cried all the way through the procedure, was so emotional and overcome, but it was all very quick and gentle really (apart from the full bladder and horrible speculum bit). Lots of confirming and re-confirming which I liked, then it was all over. They even gave me a print out to keep. Amazing really. Went home, had (mint) tea with my friend and mother in law, and generally had a chilled night. Am also taking it easy today and pottering. So fingers crossed...eekk! Will keep you posted but very excited and can't believe after everything, I made it this far. Am wishing you all lots of luck in your respective journeys too! Sorry for long post . xx

Thanks Bugsy, the first consultant seemed irritated by questions, can't see new one for 3 weeks, and I'm just trying to make sense of it all.
Amh was .48 which is non existent so very surprised about follicles, but obviously it's the quality. I thought amh didn't change?
I think all my results are conflicting, but I have no expert to explain anything.

I think that is a good number at my base line scan I had 8 in rt they could not see left so sim to yours and they were really pleased. What was your AMH mine was 8.5 now 11.2. in a natural cycle you start off with several follicles but only one gets to mature in an assissted cylce of ivf they want lots to mature but you need a good number at baseline for this to happen. hope that makes a bit of sense if not will try tomorrow. long day

Hi ladies
I was hoping you could help with a few questions
I went for a hycosy yesterday, tubes looked clear, but while they were there they mentioned the follicles they could see, approx 15, is this a good sign? I know the size of them matters, but if I start off with that many without any drugs, is it promising? Or am I way off mark?
My amh level was bad, but fsh ok, and I'm sure I am ovulating every month.
If anyone could help I'd really appreciate it, as I know nothing, which might be obvious!
Next consultant appt is not for 3 weeks

fishfinger welcome sorry to hear your stims are not going to plan am unable to answer your questions, good news about the lining maybe that will be the stimulus to get the follicles going.

mrsmiggins hope all is going well
my scan was good lining good, 4 rt side 3 or 4 lt 8.5-12mm they seemed really pleased hope it continues the same

Hello all - do you mind if I join in? You all sound lovely and I'm hoping you can help me?

I had my second follicle scan yesterday - not a lot has changed since Friday (6 follies on one side, 4 or 5 on the other, most of them less than 10mm) despite doubling the dose of Menopur. My ovaries are being stubborn!!!!! My womb lining had increased from 6mm to 9mm, still the same number of follies and no real growth (maybe 1mm since Friday) so I came out of the scan and had a wobble. More Menopur and Buserelin on order (more money spent!!) and just wondering what the heck is going on with my follies?!! I'm now on day 12 of stimms and still no sniff of when EC will be. I have another scan on Friday so that'll be day 15 of stimms.
Is there a limit on how many days they will let you stim for?
I'm worried sick that there will not be enough growth by the time I go back on Friday.....could there be a chance that this cycle will be abandoned? Or if there is a little bit of growth will they just keep me on the stimms until they get the growth they're after?

Help!! Has anyone been in the same boat?

Ooh, good luck! I didn't really have any symptoms either, so fear not. Am excited and nervous all at the same time and stupidly paranoid that they're going to fall out! Also desperately trying to find an acupuncturist who can see me afterwards for a session (but am not stressing too much as that would be counter-productive!).

excellent news mrsmiggins so pleased for you come on Wed.
I have day 6 stim scan tomorrow no symptoms so hope it is going ok

Hello all,

Wee update: after nervously waiting for the phone call this morning from the lab, they've confirmed that the five embryos are still merrily dividing away, so going for blasto on Wed. Am v pleased. And also quite nervous but excited now too!

How are you doing Bugsy?

Mrsmiggins great news congratulations on gettting past this hurdle. Hope they continue to grow well. Here's to Wed

Thanks Blacktreaclecat! It's a tricky decision and one we're still thinking about. Out of the 7 eggs collected, 5 have fertilised normally, so insh'allah, aiming for blasto on Wed. V excited this morning, so one more hurdle out of the way. x

Mrsmiggins glad EC went well.
I'm 8 weeks after SET blastocyst so it does work! I'm glad we had SET twins would be very stressful.
Good luck for fertilisation xxx

Evening all, thanks for nice wishes. Self indulgent post, be warned

Well, they got 7 eggies, of which 5 look good and mature (they couldn't tell at this stage about the other two). But my surgeon was v pleased, so I am too. Must say, procedure wasn't lovely. I found it quite sore and uncomfortable, even with extra sedative, but thankfully, it didn't last too long, perhaps 25 mins. Had a sleep afterwards, then tea, biccies and water. Bit of hanging about waiting to speak to the lab and get (both) my canulas taken out (the first one didn't work so they had to go into my other arm, and they hurt!). Slept a lot all afternoon, then DH made supper of Pizza Express pizzas and is currently now out getting ice cream. Hurrah. Will have an early night, as still v tired and achy, but not too bad considering.

Also pleased because sperm was better than last time, so straight IVF not ICSI and am hoping that they're doing a little dance together tonight. All being well, aiming for blasto on Wed.

They also told me something interesting today: super-new research over the past couple of months (ie since my assessment in Sept when I last asked about this) says that the success rate of putting back in one blasto isn't as great as they'd like, so despite the higher risk of a multiple birth, they ARE now telling people if they'd like to put back two embryos, even if under 35 to increase the chances of a live birth. Thought I'd let you know in case you'd like to bring it up at an appointment.

Anyhoo, off for pudding and a cuddle on the sofa with puppy and DH! Waves to all and have a nice weekend

mrsmiggins best of luck for hopefully tomorrow, you will be in my toughts. Hope you find it as 'relaxing' as the others.
Set off in good time this am then remembered I had forgotten to take injection with me so had to trot back home hence a dash to get to appointment. Call this pm confirmed I can start stims. Started this pm. had a funny 'turn'. gave myself gonal-f then mixed menopur really aware of very strong smell had to leave the room and felt lightheaded, then all settled!! was the drug that I could smell but how odd.

Have been so thirsty on suprecur and notice that says if you get with stims to stop !!! will not know will I.

Had a lovely day hope everyone else did to.

Karbea hello! Exciting news for you both and I wish you luck on your journey. My prep involved taking a preconception vitamin (includes folic acid), a strong probiotic, extra strength fish oil/omega 3 and I pumped DH full of zinc and multibionta! Other than that, cut out caffeine, alcohol and don't smoke! Try and be as healthy as you can, but there is a limit when only chocolate will do! We've manged to cut out alcohol as we're not big drinkers anyway, and don't drink more than 3 cups of tea a day, so not disastrous. It is hard, but I found I've done more than DH...! THe other biggie for me is not to do too uch when going through it all. Try to be nice and relaxed if possible and I've found that acupuncture regularly in the run up has been fantastic.

I share your feelings about starting it all in a busy year, as we also got married this year, I left my job in London to move up to Scotland, am still not working as wanted to get into shape for IVF and are now going through it all, with my egg collection tomorrow! Am v excited about it all, but also anxious too. I had a terrible sleep last night because of it all. I've known for a couple of years (even before I met DH and we got married) that I'd need IVF after a horrendous pelvic infection and subsequent reparative surgeries has left my bits in a mess. But even with two years of getting to grips with it, it's still a huge thing to deal with and emotional support from your DH and family as much as anything is super-important. As many others will also say, Zita West's IVF book is lovely, as is Brigid Moss' emotional guidance book on it too. Well worth a look (and cheapo on Amazon). There are also some good IVF relaxation CDs about (Zita West's again is very good) and I am also using the Andrew Johnson app for iphone on deep relaxation. If nothing else, he has a lovely voice that always sends me to sleep!

This is getting long, and is by no means definitive, just my things I've done so far. I'll report back tomorrow/Sat on how my egg collection goes, but hope that you all are doing well and am sending waves and good wishes.

Wish me luck too!

x

karbea welcome. Will try and post later bu prob not today or someone else will but cut out caffeine DH says decaff tea is the same! ditto alcoholo or cut down. Selenium as mentioned vit c 100g, zinc and a preconception vit for him. Others do loads more also healthy eating.

Just a quick hello. Off for scan to check I have DR. Need to be there at 8. yipee. but boohoo as DS 3rd bday and I will not be home for him waking up. Feel an awful mum but was oncall yesterday so could not get out of it.

Morning, I was hoping you wouldn't mind a newbie joining?

We had our first appointment at the ARGC yesterday and we saw Dr. Shrieve/Shrief (sp?). The appointment was fine and he explained everything to us, and said that I should have 3 iui a HSG and would start monitoring as soon as I got my period which is due around tHursday, DH had a SA.
DH and I went off to lunch happy we had a plan.
Then Dr. S called to say that DA S results were back and that they weren't anywhere nera good enough for IUI so we would need to start IVF straight away, no need for HSG.

So the new plan is DH has 6/8 weeks to improve his sperm, Dr S said to take Selenium. The as soon as I get my first period after Christmas I should call then and we start the IVF journey.

I'm in shock, yes we've been trying for a year but everyone said it was just stress, getting married, moving house (living with inlaws for 4 months etc), DH was really sceptical about going initially, and I'd just assumed I had a small blockage in a tube and when that was fixed we'd get pregnant straight away.... and now we are having IVF.

So does anyone have any top tips for getting us both in shape for IVF?

Thanks x