Fertility Clinic Appointments and Beyond..

@thislittlebird I'm doing ok and remaining positive about it all. I've stopped looking up things online and unfollowed fb groups on it as well as I just found it made me more anxious.

I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry about things too much. You are having those dreams because you are subconsciously worrying about it.

I find it watching some pregnancy manifestation videos help on YouTube. Go for walks etc.

I think we might be in similar positions? I started trying last year and an 40 now! I too worry but try not to think about what ifs too much.

@dogmam thanks for the info. Sounds like you are on track for an FET soon! I guess they will check the lining of your womb at that scan?

Oh and I forgot to add, I sprained my ankle last week, I don’t think this is helping my mood and anxiety

@Zibidee two is definitely better than none! I’d be happy with two at this stage. Someone on my Guys thread had 17 and I think 3 fertilised. It’s such a frustrating process and the rates of attrition are all over the place, a rollercoaster.

I’ve never heard of that. Is it private? I think I might try that. Thanks for the recommendation!

@thislittlebird they collected 7, I was expecting more as there one 10 in the left on the scan and the right was hidden so was hoping for 12-15. But I guess 2 is better than 0 and would mean a second go as frozen transfer if the first didn't work. But gotta get them developing well first, one day at a time.
I joined the south east london fertility network on Facebook, they do monthly zoom meetings, one is tonight, that's where I found my friend at the same clinic and same stage as me. It's been a god send to have her to chat to. Maybe give them a try?

@paintfairy it really does. It’s all consuming and I’m so tired of it. Two years lost to this and no progress made as of yet in terms of actually getting egg to meet sperm. I have no friends or family to talk to either. My closest friend just didn’t even reply when I tried to talk about some of these anxieties the other day. It’s such a horrible, lonely experience.

I had all these goals (post-infertility issues) like wanting to have my first before I turned 39. It’s all gone to shit now, with my egg quality probably declining each day. 😑

@Zibidee was the sperm frozen? I wanted to get started in august too because my job is quiet then, but it was not to be. Good news on the fertilisation! How many did you collect?

@dogmam exciting things are happening.
@thislittlebird I know what you mean. It takes over your brain.

@thislittlebird yes private at kings. But my friend is NHS at kings and seems to have had the same timing as me, no delays.
My only delay was the time for the sperm to arrive, a full month I hadn't accounted for, and when they booked my baseline it was supposed to be day 21 and admin cocked up and booked on the wrong day, so lost a whole month due to that. But it turned out better as I've had all the hard stuff during school holidays so didn't have to worry about impacting on work.
Just found out we have two fertilised eggs, keeping everything crossed they develop ok!

@dogmam exciting, is the scan to check your lining?

I’m not in the best way tbh. A lot of anxiety over everything right now. A podcast triggered me in a big way and now I’m worried about the ivf repeatedly failing. I’ve been dreaming about not being able to look after babies (I hung a very flat baby on a washing line and left it there 😔), and I’m scared of my appointment on August 31. Did I come back to say they approved the funding? I don’t know what to expect of this appointment but I don’t want them to tell me there’s a 4/5/6 month wait to start. The letter says within3 months, but the thread I’m on for my clinic said they’ve thrown that three month rule in the bin because of covid. So I’m anxious. We lost seven months to cockups and I will be pointing that out.

My appointment with Guys is a week away. I’m really worried they’ll tell me there’s a long wait for treatment. I can’t deal with more knockbacks.

No, not started, started looking into. I wish I’d started 🤨

@PurpleUnicorn01 I see congratulations are in order! Amazing news.

@Tillybabs hope you’re doing ok and it sounds like they have a plan in place now

@dogmam I hear you on that test anxiety. I’m actually scared of taking them and I’m dreading ivf making me take them. How long now until the FET?

@BritInNZ welcome! Sorry to hear the lockdown is delaying everything.

Hi @TheDaydreamBelievers, I agree with what pp said, the private fertility tests are worthwhile.

@Zibidee are you a private Kings patient? I was looking at them at one point, but I now have a Guys nhs referral and had started some treatment with the Lister.

[quote Tillybabs]@Juno231 oh lovely so we can share experiences with the same ccg. Im hoping I can go to Kings, their facilities are brilliant. [/quote]
There is a thread about kings fertility on here and I know another person having IVF there at the same time as me. All have said the admin organisation is rubbish but once your treatment starts it's good. They are keen to get your money quite quickly if private but no special treatment for being private Vs NHS.
Just recovering from egg collection there today. Yes facilities are good but staff are very hit and miss. Anaesthetist had me in tears today and was sent home in a lot of pain with just a "oh you'll feel better soon, take care".
So pretty buildings can be misleading.

@TheDaydreamBelievers as annoying as it is having to pay yourself, I think it's 100% worth it. There's no better investment than in your own health and happiness, so I really hope you get some answers ASAP. We have an equally long waiting list here - I have to have a pelvic ultrasound as I've been having a few issues and that's a few weeks wait and if they find anything, operation waiting lists at 18 months! Unfortunately I'm not quite well off enough to pay privately for that 😂 so will probably just have to wait it out.

Hope you get some answers soon! It's horrible waiting isn't it?!

@thedaydreambelievers despite the cost I highly recommend the private testing. I certainly feel more in control of my fertility health.

@thedaydreambelievers welcome xx

@dogmam sounds like testing tomorrow morning is a good idea to rule in or out either way, can your OH be there for support? Is it normal for AF to be so late after the IVF meds?

I up my Metformin to 3 x 500mg a day tomorrow. I'm not really sure the Metformin is doing much more to help than the Conceive Plus Ovulation Support supplements did (as my cycles have been quite regular the last few months) so I expect it will be another unsuccessful cycle. I'm trying not to pin all my hopes on my first Clomid cycle (next cycle... eek!) 🥴

@BritInNZ sadly, despite there clearly being an issue, its a year wait. To add insult to injury, our miscarriage restarts the clock. That's why I'm not eligible for referral until Dec 2021 even though we have already been trying over 1.5 yrs. In terms of 'tests for PCOS' my GP would only offer bloods and a referral for a scan. Post covid19 the scan waitlist on the NHS is about a year I think. Given all that, we have decided to get private testing (about £500 for testing for both of us).

@TheDaydreamBelievers ah that's tough - such long cycles!! Have you had any tests for PCOS? Not sure how referrals for assistance work over there but in NZ it's a year but sooner if you have a known issue. So if I was identified as having endo, I would be able to access fertility treatment sooner.

I'm paying privately for some initial tests ($300 over here, so £150) so I can rule anything out.

Hello, Im hoping to join here if that's okay?

Brief story: 32 years old, BMI28, started trying to conceive March 2020. Very long irregular cycles (49-141 days long). Conceived once in Sept 2020 but miscarried at 12 weeks.

Thus far have had bloods done twice - nothing showing off apart from progesterone saying I hadnt ovulated yet that cycle (duh). Do not completely trust that the GP hasn't missed something related to fertility on these. Was tested for antiphospholipid syndrome after miscarriage, which was negative.

Not eligible for NHS fertility referral until December 2021. Have just started the assessment process with a private clinic (GCRM in Glasgow)

@Juno231 no I don't get my AMH until my appointment on 28 September. Meant to get my 21 day bloods tomorrow but we're still in lockdown so they're not doing non-urgent bloods. It's all quite frustrating at the moment!

@Juno231 yes definitely. Or might even try and do it before if we can.

@Tillybabs yes and actually you might feel crap on all the drugs anyway? Sounds like it could be a great thing to do just 2 weeks later perhaps?

@Juno231 I have the teach next week so I hope to find out more then. Tbh its best to just cancel the hike as I don't want to be stressing etc

@tillybabs sounds like you'd be CD9 or so? You'd be mid scans at that point from all the sample schedules I've seen online so the hike sounds off the cards to me. When will you next speak to the clinic to confirm the protocol?

@dogmam yep that's the plan to freeze them and then do the FET later. How did you find the process?

How do you feel about the FET coming up?

I hear why you don't want to test, I've come to that point as well.

So I will be starting the first injection on my next cycle in September. I'm having my teach next week.

Once I start injecting, what's the timeline before they start scanning etc?

Reason I'm asking is because I had planned to do a hike with some friends at the beginning of October. Nothing strenuous but it would mean being away for 3 days. I don't know if I should now or not. I will most likely start my period around this time next month