Bus 9 - Donkey Cart departing soon, all aboard with ivf, pcos, endo, sub/unexplained fertility jump on

I’m really sorry to hear your update @Marvellouslymadmum, of course it’s concerning so you will you have to wait a week to talk this all through with the doctor? So frustrating!😟

Oh best of luck for your blood test tomorrow @thislittlebird. Definitely the next hurdle. Please let me know how it goes (if you want to share). The fact you feel different is encouraging.

I started brown spotting at 9 weeks and the EPU scan at 9.5 weeks confirmed it was lost. That scan, and waiting for the foetus to come out, was the worst I’ve felt throughout all of this. Rock bottom grief.

But must focus on the here and now, really didn’t think I’d get another opportunity.

@Misty84 yeah that’s it, just cautious optimism that it will continue/go well. What date is your due date? I get it, I haven’t told family. We didn’t last time but they knew we were doing a cycle so asked how it went. I don’t want them to ask how it went this time.

Did you know ahead of the 10.5 weeks?

I’ve just been booked in for bloods tomorrow, I’m now suddenly nervous. The last time I did this my HCG wasn’t good and falling.

@Lauralozzle honestly such a slog, it feels earned lmao.

You never know, you might get lucky third time. It’s good you’ve got two blasts on ice and you’re aware of the potential uphill struggle. We used IMSI last time too, actually, which could have helped. I understand now why they say it needs 3 rounds on average. Are you doing medicated or natural modified FET?

@thislittlebird I’m so happy for you. I know it was a slog to get to this point!

So, first round we only had one day 5 blast which was crap.

This second round we used double trigger, different meds and I ended up on stims for 12 days rather than 9 days. We used ICSI again, but this time with AOA and zymot chip. We haven’t done PGA testing but out of the four eggs that fertilised we have 3 blasts. Fresh didn’t work but I’ve got a full blast and an expanded blast in the freezer. Don’t know grades, but told they’re good quality. I’m on my second round but only had two transfers so far. They won’t do further tests (blood clotting/immunes/ERA, Alice, Emma) until 3 failed transfers. So I’m preparing myself for that, which I reckon we’ll inevitably need.

@thislittlebird I know, over 4 years here too and nothing but shit luck (or luck that didn’t last). Also not excited this time, just quietly hopeful with each passing day/week. Yes 10 weeks now, last time I physically miscarried at 10.5 weeks (although the baby had died earlier). It is like checking tick boxes just hoping to get to the next stage and feeling powerless.
IF this continues I’ll be due a week before our wedding!- so we will have to cancel our wedding, not that we’ll be doing that until AT LEAST 12+ weeks! I don’t know when we’ll finally feel confident🥴 Haven’t even told my mum this time…waiting and waiting…x

@Misty84 thanks, it's all very strange and abstract though iykwim. You spend all this time UNpregnant and then when you are it's hard to believe it'll work/continue. Last time I started spotting at about 6dp5dt, and it carried on most days until it was a confirmed loss at about 5w 2 days. No spotting so far, I do suspect my progesterone was always a bit low in the past cycles. We haven't got excited or anything, trying to be pragmatic and get past the next hurdle, then the next one.

I just had to exit various online places for a while because you go into it having done this 5 times previously with 6 embryos and can't imagine another outcome. I know my/our age counts against at this stage, so it's nice to know we've achieved the first obstacle. A lot of hurdles to go.

I hope the changes make the difference. It's hard to believe you're like everyone else who gets pregnant when you've done ivf and it's taken 4 whole years!

Are you 10 weeks or more now?

Ah @Lauralozzle best of luck for your transfer in October, not long to go now, how are you feeling?

Oh my gosh @thislittlebird CONGRATULATIONS, that is amazing news!!! I’m so pleased for you.
That’s ok about not replying to me- I know it’s incredibly difficult to face positive announcements and I always feel guilty about it even though we’re all aiming for the same thing.
I feel very similarly to you in regards to having been here before, so I don’t have confidence and it’s very hard to imagine this going all the way even though there’s no bloody reason why it shouldn’t. Lots of people have years of failure followed by success and I really hope that’s us and it’s our turn now.
I’ve got everything crossed for you! All the changes you made sound like they could make all the difference!🙏 xx

@Lauralozzle I hope so too! My body is doing a lot more stuff compared to the chemical cycle and I'm not spotting so far, so I guess that's good. The next set of worries are about whether it's ectopic etc etc.

Yeah, we did a few things different. In our egg collection in March we used a double trigger, prepped the sperm more quickly/washed it for the antisperm antibodies issue, and because I'm now (or nearly was) 40, we decided to do PGT-A testing. We tested 3/5 embryos, only this current 4AA was euploid. We transferred a 5AA fresh which failed, and we have a 5CC frozen but it's not good odds for that one.

Then when we got round to this cycle I pushed for low dose (10mg) prednisolone because I felt I'd had an immune response to the fresh 5AA, and the only time I had implantation was on the chemical a year ago. We also tested my progesterone on transfer day and it was low, so they increased my Lubion injections to daily, so I'm on 2 x 400mg Cyclogest and 1 x Lubion daily and I got it tested last week and it had gone up. Also on Arovi/Clexane blood thinners.

I don't know which thing or maybe all the things made the difference so far, but I guess we could have been putting abnormal embryos back in, and this was was euploid.

How many have you done now and with what meds?

@thislittlebird tentative congratulations for you! I really hope it sticks! Did you do anything different this time?

Our last fresh transfer was another negative. We still have two in the freezer so we’re looking at a FET in October.

@Misty84 congrats! Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been going through a cycle and it was too hard to see announcements so unfollowed various threads. Hope all is ok.

My periods got very light and short in y late 30s too and acupuncture got them to go back to normal, or seemed to.

@Marvellouslymadmum @Lauralozzle hope you're both ok!

I've had a positive test with this cycle but after my last chemical I'm very nervous tbh and there was a whole year between our two positives, so I'm pretty twitchy. Waiting for bloods this week to confirm what's going on.

Thanks so much @Marvellouslymadmum, it is ok so far I’m nearly at 8 weeks. Not far to go until I get to the point I reached last time🙏 Very surreal, cannot believe that this dream is within grasping distance. Hoping for a better outcome this time because I’m on progesterone and medication for my elevated NK cells. And my partner has been seeing Jonathan Ramsay for a while now, his repeated defrag test was much better. Still has the anti sperm antibodies of course but somehow one has made it again!

Argh that’s such a long wait for you- CD53! Hang on in there. My periods had become very irregular and lasted only one day- barely even needed one pad, was convinced I was in perimenopause! Don’t give up 🤍

Thank you @Lauralozzle and I’m so sorry to read about your latest result. I really really hope this works out for you eventually, certainly continue with what you have left in this package before making any big decisions about DE x

@Misty84 Congrats and good luck!

Thinking of you all and praying for positive outcomes in the future for everyone xx

I became a crazy dog lady after my MC 1.5 years ago! Actually he has brought me so much love and happiness so I’d definitely recommend it!

We have been focusing on our wedding next year and therefore just tried to get on with life after the shitty 4 years TTC. Was at the stage of PERHAPS considering donor eggs after that. I think we’d ruled out adoption as to be frank, did not want to end up with a nightmare child and therefore in an even worse position than without a child.
A week ago I got a positive pregnancy test which was a massive surprise- even though I’ve never given up monitoring ovulation and making sure we dtd at the right time. I was still taking Naturelo prenatal and Omega 3, but had long stopped the other million other supplements, and I was also drinking whenever I liked. 5 weeks along and last time I lost the baby at 10 weeks so not exactly celebrating but I am absolutely delighted to be in this fortunate position again and just praying that this horrendous journey is finally over for us.

@thislittlebird Artificial oocyte activation uses a substance called a calcium ionophore which aims to help to activate the egg and improve fertilisation. How is AOA carried out? Immediately after your oocytes have been injected using conventional ICSI they are placed in a ready- to-use calcium ionophore solution for 15 minutes (stolen from google). Meant to help with fertilisation and some evidence that it may help with blast quality.

Our fertilisation rate went from 33% to 50% - might just be that there were more mature eggs this time. Blast rate improved though, have a luxury of frozen ones this time!

I don’t know the grades is the frozen ones, but my understanding is CARE are picky about eggs being good enough to freeze. I just know I have 1 full blast and 1 expanded day 6 blast - they said that one was a good quality.

I’m beginning to think I might have an egg issue, and that’s the problem, rather than DH’s stressed sperm.

@Lauralozzle sorry it hasn't worked again. I know the feeling well. I also have a short-ish luteal phase (13 days) and seem to start bleeding around 7/8dpo.

What is AOA? All the antioxidants should help with DNA frag. Dual trigger worked well enough for me too, I'd have it again. What grades are your frozen ones? I have a mixture of lublin and cyclogest, as well as Clexane, and this time I'll be on steroids too.

I think for us it's our own eggs and sperm or nothing really. Neither of us are interested in adoption and everything that comes with it, and we're not interested in donor either tbh. It's this or we're done. Crazy dog lady it might be for me, too!

@kerrym87 I’m going to push for lubion at our WTF appointment. Both times now spotting has started at 7dp5dt and progressed into a period. If I had pessaries and lubion I’d be more confident, I think, that it’s not a progesterone issue.

I’m also going to ask about immunes and ALICE/EMMA/ERA. I suspect they’ll say they’re not needed yet because we haven’t had three transfers so can’t say it’s an implantation issue. I suspect it is though, 4 years, never had a BFP. There must be a reason.

I hate this stage

I totally get not knowing whether to do another round or go for donor. It’s such a hard decision. I have one more egg collection in this package, but I’m not sure how long I can keep doing this emotionally and financially. I just might turn into a crazy dog lady instead!

I think I’d be up for trying donor eggs, as a last shot. We would like a family, I don’t think it not being my egg would be the end of the world if we could use DHs sperm. But it’s a difficult decision to have to make.

Adoption isn’t for me. Don’t think I could cope with it. So I think IVF, in whatever form, will be our last shot.

@Lauralozzle so sorry. We have had extra tests done now private care, used to NHS being that were told what's going to happen, now have to figure it all out. Not sure if we go for one more round of stims with different clinic, slower gentler stims with hgh and double trigger or just go for all donor. My eggs aren't great quality and oh sperms not good at all. Not sure I can physically go through all the procedures, awful side effects and hormone hangover when it all fails as out of 30 odd eggs we've only ever had 2 to transfer. Fingers crossed for frostie, maybe they can increase your luteal support with lubion as well?

@Marvellouslymadmum I get nature's best ubiquinol as its better absorbed than coq10 and they do offers sometimes is mire expensive than coq10. I take 400mg a day. I also have NAC, Alpha lipoic acid, omega 3, vit e, vit d spray, infolic alpha (for pcos). Not made a huge difference so far but not going to stop anything now!