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Conception

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Assisted Conception (and the bits in between) Volume 6

1000 replies

rowingboat · 14/09/2010 11:00

Hi all,
I just went to post on the old thread and noticed it had been locked, so here is a new one!
Come on in!

OP posts:
Iscreaminchocolate · 20/10/2010 22:15

BagofHolly - You go girl!! (continuing the American gangsta theme started by Lissy)

I was thinking, and I know I shouldn't have been wasting my time, but Threetimespink's name suggests to me that she/he has 3 daughters - I wonder if it's comfy up there in that ivory tower? Right - no more time to be wasted on that person.

Italian - thank you for your good wishes for my mum. I've been to see her this evening and she is quite poorly but getting better.

Lissy - I hear ya, sister (that American gansta talk is hard to shake!). We'll all be getting Mothercare loyalty cards before we know it!

rowingboat · 21/10/2010 10:09

Hi all,

Lissy, I know a couple of people who go to curves and they have done really well. My boss lowered her blood pressure significantly and lost around 7lbs (she wasn't overweight, just had middle age spread)
From what other people have said it is nice and simple, just half an hour, two or three times a week and then you go home and don't eat cakes. Smile

Italian how are you getting on with the herbs?
I must dig out that old thread, we had a big convo about herbs and some of the other supplements recommended by Zita.

Lottie nice to 'see' you on here! Smile What was the supplement you took before 'da goils' (sorry it's the gangster vibe on here)? Was it HPT, that's probably completely wrong - having a senior moment! Shock

Iscream can I add my best wishes for you mum!

Bag of Holly how did you choose your name? Last year I had a bag of holly for making Christmas wreaths, it was quite dangerous. Grin

OP posts:
BagofHolly · 21/10/2010 15:57

Lissy and Iscreaminchoc, Standi' up for me beatches, innt! Grin

Lissy, my take on ARGC? What do you mean specifically? They're sort of viewed often as Last Chance Saloon as they're so expensive and can be rather intensive - they expect you to be there every single day including Sundays right through stims, and then also fight like mad for you if there's any problems once you've got a BFP. My view in summary is that they get women pregnant and keep them that way.
Almost all of the women I met there had had treatment somewhere else first, or had had several mcs and most of the histories were worse than mine. But their success rates are extraordinarily high, even with the patient group they're treating.
They don't pull any punches. I remember calling when we discovered my progesterone levels were poor, and asked about progesterone supplements. I got a call back that said "Doctor says to ask you if you want your progesterone raising, or want a baby." Shock I started IVF that week and 9 months later delivered my son. Without a swift kick up the bum like that, I might have soldiered on 'trying'.

They are also very paternal - they don't overload you with information - they just expect you to do as you're told and they do the rest. They took calls from me at all hours, never made me feel anything but cared for, and monitored me to within an inch of my life.

A lovely friend of mine has recently had embryo transfer there, of 2 good embryos. It's looking like one of them might have ended up ectopic and she's bled and been in pain. Most other clinics would have sent her home for 'nature to take its course.' ARGC have had her in for further monitoring, put her on steroids, measured her progesterone and decided it was a bit low and pumped her full of it, and put her on clexane and aspirin. They've fought so hard for her, and yesterday she saw a heartbeat at 7+1. I have no doubt that wouldn't have happened anywhere else.

Does that help? x

Horton · 21/10/2010 16:23

How expensive are they? I think if we try IVF again, it will be the last time.

BagofHolly · 21/10/2010 16:50

You're looking at beween £8-£10k a cycle. This includes all the drugs and daily bloods, and bloods and scans after a positive. FET is cheaper.

There's more info on fertilityfriends at this link, and you can ask anything you like and get a straight answer from people who are already being treated there.
You may need to register to see this, by the way.

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=210.0

Horton · 21/10/2010 18:18

Thanks, BoH, I will take a look.

Iscreaminchocolate · 21/10/2010 19:56

Thank you rowing - I called the ward this morning and apparently she's doing okay :)

BagofHolly - ARGC a clinic? If so - where is it? They sound fab! Rowing beat me to asking about your name - are you a big Christmas fan? If so, are you responsible for decorating the thread this festive season?

vallinnapod · 21/10/2010 20:35

Lissy - I am at the Bridge. They have just closed their IVF Plus programme Sad I am being discussed at a meeting tomorrow to see if I can be one of the last people on it. So...be quick!! Stupidly said we'd start IVF with them in any case so there is no real incentive for them to accept me Smile

BagsofHolly - patience of a saint...what a Biscuit

Rowing is it wrong I want to get some horny goat weed and take it to the countryside, in the name of science

Still popping my pill, rolling my eyes at it everyday! Just have to rememer it isn't defeating the point but providing me with a period and 3 weeks of down reg at the same time.

According to my clinic there is a nationwide shortage of nasal spray so I will be on double jabs - ekk!

Iscreaminchocolate · 21/10/2010 21:10

Vallinapod - are you on a short flare protocol? I was when I did my cycle earlier in the year and I had to go back on the pill - so I understand how weird/annoying/strange it is to take it everyday. Completely counter-intuitive!!!

vallinnapod · 21/10/2010 21:12

I am yes. I also don't ovulate thanks to my PCOS so it kills 2 birds with one stone!

Iscreaminchocolate · 21/10/2010 21:25

Snap - I have PCOS too! PCOS sucks!

Italiangreyhound · 21/10/2010 23:26

Lissy yay knocked-up-land I want to go there - it's that or get a dog! Or a rabbit!

Circuit training, sounds great. We did it at Rosemary Conley, we had three groups, about 10 activities for each and we ran from one group to another doing all the activities for a minute! For the first time in my life I am enjoying exercise. Took a friend's dog for a walk tonight and my legs felt like lead but I still managed to run for short bursts of time!

Horton good to hear you.

I had a doctor?s appointment and talked about my bloating. I am drinking Pukka tea like mad, it is so yummy, the best is with fennel it is called Detox and comes in a blue box, the box looks like a tampax box the individual sachets look like panty liners! But the tea is fab.

My results came back from the tests and no problems at all with immunology etc! So hooray.

Love to Iscream, Lissy, Vanilla and all.

BagofHolly · 21/10/2010 23:49

Iscreaminchocolate, yes ARGC stands for Associated reproduction and gynaecology centre and they're in wimpole st, in central London. Their stats are very good and are included on the HFEA website. They don't advertise, it's all word if mouth and they're within the top 3 clinics in the country year after year. The link I posted for Lissy is worth a look too. X

BagofHolly · 21/10/2010 23:51

Italian, what tests did you have done? [nosy!] it's always good when problematic tests come back as normal but then of course you're left wondering "what IS the problem then?" Sad

Italiangreyhound · 22/10/2010 00:21

Bagofholly thanks for asking. We know what the problem is, I don't have any eggs left/or enough/ or good enough quality. We know this because my body did not respond to the drugs five years ago when we tried after DD was 1 year old and when my body has responded it still has not got me pregnant.

BUT questions lurked in my mind because when the treatment was with donor eggs and still failed, could there be something in my body that as killing off the embryo/s? These tests checked my thyroid, some concerns about stiffness and pain in my hands and a whole bunch of other stuff that I can't quite remember. Basically, any factors that could influence the embryos not sticking. I think we all wrote a lot about it on here a while back. Rowing knew tons. On the previous one, Rowing was it on Assisted Conception 5???

The only test that my doc would not do was called the Chicago test, which we would have to pay for.

Picknmix are you still around?

Gingerwine and Isegrin are you still looking in on us at all?

BagofHolly · 22/10/2010 00:38

Italian, sorry, I'm guessing i was asking you to repeat yourself. The Chicago is in fact a huge list of 17 different assays checking mainly cytokines and NK cells. Up to the point I'd had mine, I'd tested normal for everything. The 5 of the 17 came back as abnormal and once we sorted that out, it was relatively plain sailing and I finally got proper implantation. But you're right, the NHS rarely covers this.
We paid £780 for it and without getting this sorted (I have very raised NK cells at CD56) our ivf would have been doomed.
Sorry I know I've posted about this before, but my mind is addled tonight - I ate 3 pork pies and now have indigestion so bad it'd kill a pig. Feeling v ugh!

Italiangreyhound · 22/10/2010 00:48

Holly pork pies that would kill a pig, does that mean the pig is getting its revenge!

So have you had successful IVF now, do you have a child or do you mean you had the tests and now know what to do. Does this mean IVF with steroids. My problem is DH is very VERY careful with money and if I am asking him/us to shell out another £700 he will probably flip out. Our treatment is costing us about 6K as it is. Is there any way of getting the Chicago test cheaper or on the NHS? Do you think? Please??????

BagofHolly · 22/10/2010 01:45

I'm STILL awake with Revenge-Of-The-Ginsters! Bleurgh! Am considering veganism after this!

Yes, I've had 2 cycles of icsi, both successful. Before the first one, I had suspicions we had an implantation problem - all our other tests were fine. I was 36 at the time and we were looking at ivf clinics but kept reading about how the immune system can affect implantation. We have private health cover through work and it covered fertility investigations but not treatment, so on the basis that I wanted to make sure we'd done all we could to make the ivf work, I had the Chicagos done via ARGC and as I say, they came back as wrongity wrong! Sorting it was straightforward, I had steroids and blood thinners etc, the ivf worked, I had the tests repeated a couple of times to ensure my imbibes were in check and that was that!

BagofHolly · 22/10/2010 01:50

Immunes, not imbibes! I'm in bed on my iPhone and I can't see what I'm typing when I get to the bottom of the text box!

It's pricey but for us, we would have wasted thousands, plus precious time and heartache if we hadn't sorted this bit out first. There are I think, 2 NHS docs who offer it but I'm pretty sure that's only for repeated mc with no other children. (shehata via his nhs list at Epsom and Siobhan Quenby at Liverpool Womens' Hospital.)

You can get the tests done by themselves, without ivf/icsi and try naturally but we didn't feel we had time for this.

Italiangreyhound · 22/10/2010 02:11

Holly we've had one MC, one failed IVF with donor eggs and several failed IUIs. How many times must I fail before they get me a test!

It would be easier for me to get to Surrey, still not at all close but possible. Any idea how I can contact Shehata via his NHS list at Epsom? Please?

You can email me if that is easier. It is my name on here, plus my pretend age 39(Don't get confused I am really 45 but my number email is 39 !!!) and that is at yahoo dot co dot uk

Thanks, (off to bed now - stay off the pork!)

BagofHolly · 22/10/2010 02:55

Will drop you a line tomorrow when I can fire up my laptop and do proper email.
Here's some info on shehata and his contact details are at the bottom.

www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/news/news-archive/2010/february-2010/miracle-baby-arrives-after-18-miscarriages/

As I say, you fall squarely outside NHS funding guidelines for either investigations or treatment but it'd be worth considering seeing him or Dr Amin Gorgy as a private patient before proceeding further, I reckon. I've undoubtedly asked you this before but have you read Alan Beer's "is my body baby friendly?" There's a bit in there about secondary infertility. Dr shehata defo has egg/embryo donor patients by the way, and handles them v well by all accounts. Off to find some gaviscon. Pigs are evil. Fact.

lateatwork · 22/10/2010 07:02

hi... i have just started my argc journey...and will be beginning with a monitoring cycle any day now....

re prices.. when i spoke to the nurse she said £5-£7k best case- ie count on this or more.

re chicago tests... i am going to try and get on insurance as i think they count as 'investigations for multiple mc' which i believe is covered by my health insurance... well will give it a bash anyway..!! will let you know if i am successful

we havent ruled out the lister yet either... working both at same time...and will make a decision post monitoring cycle..

time is not on my side. i can borrow money but not time. i dont want any regrets. i also have frozen eggs which argc say they can use- but they have no experience of them so wont be risking that... would go to MFC (who have had live births from frozen eggs) or check with lister...

still have jetlag... so awake at 0400... argh!

vallinnapod · 22/10/2010 10:20

Iscream - PCOS is a bitch! Especially as I had been blissfully unaware of it for the 11 years I was on the pill (all was normal before then). It's like nature's revenge for not getting pregnant at 16 like the rest of my school year Grin

Interesting to hear private health cover covering fertility investigations. May give mine a call. I was under the impression the second the F word was mentioned they closed their wallets! It's all retrospective now but worth a try!

babybarrister · 22/10/2010 10:48

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babybarrister · 22/10/2010 10:48

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