Fertility Appointments and Beyond.... the journey continues

@Kay00 here you go, it’s not a HUGE amount of room in there but maybe you have a mini fridge right now lol

@Kay00 yeah, but it's only the larger boxes, and I think you'd be similar because of your high AMH?

The 15th will be here in a blink of an eye!

Yeah, kinda real @Gracie2021, but better somehow than the waiting without progress??? Like I know this is a thing we need to do now and here's the proof.

@magnoliasinbloom glad it went well, Letrozole was great for lack of symptoms for me!

@thislittlebird how exciting

Ooh - exciting! Do you need to keep some of it in the fridge? Due to house renovation work (and a current kitchen that is basically some slate on top of some wooden stilts... it really is crap) we only have small fridge, and no freezer. So fridge storage is a bit of a problem for me.

I had my appointment letter come through today for my next conversation with the consultant about our next steps. Its on 15th Feb (romantic!), which will also be around the time my next period starts and I start my final Clomid cycle.

@Kay00 that’s exactly what my husband said 😭😂. He had a big night out!

Look what arrived today

@magnoliasinbloom thanks it seems most people have good experience with Kings so I hope we will have a choice to go there too. Does seem the largest in the London area. I couldn't imagine putting this experience on telly! As if it isn't emotional or stressful as it is!

Good thing the baseline scan came back ok. Hospital pharmacy is a nightmare, at ours you basically need to hand in your slip before lunch otherwise you won't get the meds within the same day.

@thislittlebird haha! Your poor hoover, sounds like he had a bit of a night of it, before stumbling back on to its charger and pretending like nothing had happened

@magnoliasinbloom Ooh, your dad is an Obgyn, how interesting! It must be really nice to have the support you have from your friends and family I'm certainly inching towards telling some people, but only when I'm a little further towards IVF/any other serious treatments.

*on my own, not on my phone!

@pinkginpls I'm with Kings for NHS treatment (I too was basically just asked on the phone whether I wanted to be referred to Guys or Kings and I chose Kings as the wait time was shorter and it's within walking distance of my house haha). I'm doing IUI but I was told the referral process is the same for IUI and IVF. I got an initial consultation 3 weeks after the referral was made and everyone I have dealt with there has been incredibly helpful and kind, from the doctors to nurses to receptionists. They also offer free fertility meditation and counselling - not sure if this is normal but I was pleased about it. Interestingly I've also noticed lots of flyers around the clinic asking for couples to take part in a reality TV show about the fertility treatment journey they are filming at Kings. Might be great for some people but I personally couldn't imagine anything worse!

@thislittlebird I'm so sorry that is awful. I feel like there is a way she could have broken the news to you empathetically rather than having to find out like this.

My approach is maybe a little different in that 6 months into the TTC process we basically became really honest with friends and family about what was going on - I found it helpful as it means now no one asks me about it unless I volunteer information. It also meant that I could have discussions with friends trying to conceive ('if you get pregnant, please tell me via text rather than in person, I'll be thrilled for you but will need to process the news on my phone'). All my friends did this and most were incredibly empathetic and sensitive in how they broke the news. One or two were 'yay I'm pregnant!' but what can you do!! I've also been very open with my parents - my dad is actually an OBGYN (although based in NZ and I'm in the UK) so not very helpful in terms of treatment but he's been really supportive and great to get a second opinion on everything - although a bit weird to have one's dad so involved!

@Gracie2021 did you trigger?

I went to have my baseline scan yesterday and all looked good. I appear to have ovulated for the second month in a row (shocking after a year of not ovulating) so just have to wait for my period and then can start the letrazole. I picked up all my drugs for the cycle and was not prepared for the hour+ wait at the hospital pharmacy!!

@beckyCarlos I didn’t realise it could be done either but I somehow managed to set one accidentally before, and it kept starting up at 12am and I assume it did the same last night lol.

The remote in the charging dock (pictured!) has all the functions, I don’t use them often but apparently do use them when not trying.

Your dog might love one, you never know 🤔🤔🤔. I love it because I can just set it to run and get on with not hoovering. Probably quite useful if you have a pet though! It picks up plenty of my hair :/

Wtf has happened there 🤣 they have timers?! Thats amazing! I would get one but I'm not sure it would agree with my dog x

@beckyCarlos you’ve got plenty of time then! 🙃

I came downstairs today to find this scene. I was very confused as to how the robot had lost some parts on the floor. Text my husband and he said he came down to chaos in the living room 😂, blinds all messed up, exercise mat moved, slippers all over the place, air purifier unplugged and the bot in its cradle a bit wonky on charge. Somehow it went rogue in the night and must have got trapped in the purifier wire and lost its brush??? Husband claims I’ve accidentally set a timer on it 🤨

Sorry if this posts twice, mn seems to be having a moment.

@thislittlebird oooh tell us about the robot vacuum! Yeah noones talked through the timescales with me yet, I'm guessing they either will next week, or I'll make them (/in reality I'll ask politely haha) do it'll either be downreg in half a month, or a month and a half I think. Either way my drugs are in date till 2023 so as long as its before then 🤣

@Kay00 lucky cleaners

Definitely nervous energy, I'm always yapping away and bouncing around but probably some of what @Juno231said too. Plenty of trauma to cause it, that's for sure.

I don't feel embarrassed mentioning it as such, more for sharing too much in a very unnecessary situation. But I am probably an introvert who does embarrass more easily!

@Juno231 that's the thing, when people ask I'm kinda tired of saying "yeah maybe, at some point". Now we have this actual thing that gives us a chance it feels like a solid something I can say, even if I'm saying it too much lmao

@beckyCarlos I'm legit glad I'm not the only one who does this dumb shit. I'm just out here sharing my life with strangers! I haven't told him, which is impressive, because I tell him everything, including the minutiae of my tedious at home work day. Luckily I had the pregnant friend to tell him about, and our robot vacuum that ran rampage in the night!

So about 1.5 months until down reg? Is that right?

@Juno231 that's really quick actually! I literally came out of the laparoscopy which they found out I don't have the left fallopian tube last friday and the gynae will start applying for the funding. So I am waiting for a post op call and hopefully to tell me the application is sent.

Thanks all for sharing whether to tell people or not! That's really interesting! I am preparing myself to tell my manager and HR so they know what I am going through. I have been having the odd sick days and people just thought I had covid! I think I want work to know so they are more sympathetic...

Lol @thislittlebird I'm howling! This is the sort of thing I do! Just dont tell your DH, I'm sure the window cleaner will never mention it 🤣

I'm not sure about my clinics policy on cycles after hysteroscopy/polypectomy, but from what I've read online its ok to go on the next cycle...as I'm on long protocol I dont know if they'll let me down reg from this cycle (currently on day 4) becuase its 21 days, then 21 days after that is stim, or whether I'll wait for next cycle (so another...20 ish days, then down reg on day 21 from there...)

@thislittlebird oversharing can be a sign of past trauma as well! I wouldn't worry though, I told over 20 people! Honestly I got to the stage where if someone at work made a joke about me not having kids or asked me when I'd have them I'd snappily respond that perhaps it's not that easy for everyone.

@pinkginpls remind me what stage you're at? I sent my funding request through early August and got it approved early Sep with my first appointment booked in the following week. I postponed it to end of Oct but if I hadn't I reckon I'd have had my first cycle in late Oct/early Nov already? So not long at all!

@thislittlebird haha, if it helps my cleaners know all about the bowel issues was having last year .

I think my over-sharing comes from a nervous energy, but also I just don't give fuck what people think (other than my OH, hence why I'm trying very hard to keep quiet), and I don't embarrass easily (extrovert here!). I actually don't think we should feel embarrassed to talk about infertility or about TTC generally, as the silence makes us feel like we are going through this on our own, when I think a large number of people struggle. But here I am, keeping quiet about it anyway x Thank god I have you lot. I think I'd explode if I had no one to talk to!

@PurpleUnicorn01 that’s not too long at least.

@Kay00 yeah we’re shared too and he’s DEFINITELY more sensitive than me and I am a massive oversharer. It’s like a nervous energy thing?! Mine has come round to me being open because it’s hard to combat my nonsense but I’m not sure I’ll tell him I told the window cleaners 😭😭😭

You will definitely need that support so you should totally do that. Everyone who knows is leaving us alone really, which is nice, not being harassed for updates.

@PurpleUnicorn01 Oh no I'm sorry your cycle was cancelled. I know its only a few weeks in the grand scheme of things but I imagine you had worked yourself up and prepared for a cycle happening now. Hugs xx

@thislittlebird I'm surprised your friend didn't tell you personally too, but I suppose its possible she has been having a hard time of things and maybe she was worried about upsetting you/her further (playing devils advocate here), either way, it would have upset me too xx

If it helps @thislittlebird I have also been desperate to tell people, especially my mum, and closest friends (bar one who I accidently told). And it has been hard not to, because I am usually an over-sharer too . But my OH is a very private person and our TTC difficulties are shared difficulties, and he has sworn me to secrecy lol.

He has, however, agreed that I can tell my mum/friends when I start IVF as I will likely need additional support and it would be easier than making up excuses for random absences etc. My mum and friends will be really surprised when I tell them!

@thislittlebird @Gracie2021 well they said i should have a bleed within 2 weeks roughly. So 21 days from then would put my day 21 around 16th Feb to start down regs again. Nice valentines present lol id prefer flowers but still lol

No, more than 10 if I include colleagues. Probably similar, 14 or 15.

@Gracie2021 it’s weird because I feel like the “right” thing to do is keep schtum to protect myself. But ultimately most of the randos I’ve told aren’t going to be checking in on me for updates. The most weird ones are the nurse at the vaccine clinic and the window cleaners, but other than that maybe about 10? If I include a few colleagues, family and friends. Part of me doesn’t want to be embarrassed about saying it either, I need to care less. But most people, bar family and one friend only know we’re going to start ivf, they don’t know details.

My EC is likely around the 7th and transfer tbc. Might have a freeze all.