Assisted Conception (and all the bits in between) volume 7

[Italiangreyhound]

Hi ladies Pumplinjoy, Shirley, Lissy, Keziah, Womanly,Val, Late, monkeybumsmum, tametortie and Rowing* - hugs to you all.

woowa of course you can join us.

Choco and Horton and londonlottie do you still look in on us?

Can you all find us?

Thanks for your condolences everyone.

Lucy I'm off to see my GP on Saturday to see if I can get a referral from him, whilst we wait to hear from the hospital (no, nothing yet). I hope you get some sleep tonight....I'm sure it will go well tomorrow and then you can relax with the knowledge that they have taken such good care of others here that you will be in good, safe hands.

Welcome questiontime I'm hoping to get a referral from my GP so I can get on ARGC waiting list. And yes, they confirmed not so long ago that they have a 11-12 week waiting list.

Italian TOM WON I suggested to DH that Sugar should have given the money to Tom with the condition that he makes Helen his business partner and MD. That would have been the best outcome.

rowing that's great news! (was that you just whizzing past....?)

lissy really glad to hear all is ok. That must have been really scary

Hi all,

Scrummy I hope it all goes well on Saturday and you get your referral.

I have been given a follow-up appointment with the a doctor (one that I know already from ages ago) tomorrow morning. I think he wants to talk about what to do as a follow up to the ectopic, so it's all a bit perfunctory. Can anyone suggest useful questions for me to ask?

Have been on my exercise bike for the past two nights and haven't eaten a whole cake recently either, so feeling very quietly pleased. Also started the nutritional supplements, so hope to be bouncing around like a lamb soon, with nice normal NK cells.

Hi Rowing, I'm afraid I don't really know what you can ask your doctor, apart from whether there is anything you can do to help stop it happening again. I'm sure they'll say there isn't, but that's certainly what I'd ask.

Scrummy good luck with your appt on Saturday and I hope your Dr refers you without any problem. Mine did. In fact I think I just called them and she wrote a letter for me, so hopefully it won't be a big deal for you either. After all you're paying!

Lissy I hope your bladder infection has gone and that you have only morning sickness to contend with now

I had my appt at ARGC this morning. It went as well as it could have. They certainly seem very thorough and inspire confidence. The doctor I saw said I didn't have 'unexplained infertility', I'm not getting pregnant because of my low ovarian reserve and age. He recommended the immunes testing (I think I knew the testing cost £800, but our jaws fell open when they said the immunes treatment costs between £4 - £6k on top of the IVF costs ) Luckily, being on day 4, and having had day 3 bloods done yesterday at my Dr this can be my monitoring cycle. If the immunes come back OK, and if my bloods (i.e. FSH) behave themselves, I might even be able to start next cycle, so I feel much better now that things are moving again and that I'm not waiting anymore. He did say I probably wouldn't produce too many eggs (3, 4 or 5) but that we could just hope that they'd be good enough quality. Beginnings if you're still about, he said no to DHEA, as they haven't found it very helpful there, and even no to wheatgrass. So, I'm feeling knackered because I did get myself into such a pickle before the appt, but certainly calmer than I have done over the last few days.

Oh and Lissy, if I wasn't feeling broody already ALL of those pictures of cute babies EVERYWHERE at ARGC would certainly have got me going!

Hugs to everyone else x

Hello lovely ladies Hugs to those and know, and those I don't.

So glad I stumbled through here again as what fab news Lissy and Keziah - so happy for you both

Am 33+4 here so not long now! I have a very wriggly little boy - but to be honest he could keep me awake 24/7 it's so reassuring! I can't believe it was this time last year I was beginning to be poked and prodded - just wanting to give you all a positive story.

Hi all, can I join your thread?

We have been TTC 8 months but last week got the rather bad news that DH's sperm means our only chance of conceiving will be ICSI - 5.8million, 12% motility, 2% morphology. I had been worried that I might have LPD due to a dodgy blood test, but it turns out I'm quite healthy and scan shows I produce a good number of follicles on my own, which was at least something positive!

I'm 29 and DH is 31 (he has Type 1 Diabetes, not sure if this has contributed to problem or not). He has another SA on Friday, and assuming results are similar we will be doing our only round of NHS funded ICSI at CRM Coventry in Sept or Oct. Definitely intend to continue if it doesnt work though. The consultant was pretty positive and said we should have a 40% chance of success, but I admit to feeling a little more negative about our chances after reading too much on Google about the effects of diabetes on sperm DNA - damn the information overloaded Internet!

Really looking for some success stories from people who may have had a similar problem, and a bit of support too - it helps to know other people understand how it feels

Lucy reLly glad to hear you had a good appointMent with ARGC. How did they come up with their analysis? Was that simply a different interpretation of same results? I hope your immunes do come back ok. That would mean treatment so quick. You must feel really releaved now. Ps. Did you ask about the spotting?

Welcome cloclo I'm only at the beginning of my journey so can't offer advice, but I hope you have a smooth ride with the treatment and it gives positive outcome!

rowing can't offer advice but I hope your Appt goes ok

Waves to all!

Hello vanillapod, thanks for dropping in, it's always great to hear a success story, and wish you and your wriggly little boy all the best!

Cloclo welcome to the thread. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon, but from what I understand about ICSI, all they need is one good sperm to fertilise an egg, so even with a sperm count of 5.8 million and 2% morphology, that's still 11600 sperm to choose from (if my shaky o'level maths is right!) so try to be optimistic about it, I'd say it sounds like your chances are pretty good (oh, and is your DH taking supplements? My DH's morphology was also 2%, but 3 months after taking fertility plus for men and fatty acid supplements, it went up to 14%).

Scrummy it was a different interpretation of the same results. I'm so sorry, I didn't really ask too much about the spotting. I told him and he wrote it down but then we moved onto something else straight away and tbh my head was buzzing with information and questions and I kind of forgot. When my progesterone levels come back I'll ask a dr about the connection between it and spotting and let you know.

Lucy do keep me posted on what happens and your appointment. Yes, Lucy I watched it and also thought Helen and Tom would be a pretty unstoppable team! But I was also rooting for Susan too!

rowing I think it is too late for us to go to Spain we have waited on the list for a year so to go to Spain now would seem a waste! Part of me wishes we had adopted from China and started the process 5 years ago when we were first told game over. Part of me wishes we had gone to Spain a year ago but we did d not! So now we are where we are. I really feel fostering and/or adoption will be our next move. I do feel quite calm on one front and confused and pissed off on the other!

Keziah how are you?

Lissy how are you, honey?

Lissy and all, I am afraid I have not kept up with the thread so hope I have not missed anything important!

Sorry it had been so long since I last popped on, I have been working away and I am off for a long week weekend tomorrow.

Keziah I am thinking of you. Hoping all is well. I am sorry I have not read back everything, if everything OK with you and beanie?

lucy- Glad your appointment went well. We were told to budget between £8-£10,000 for our treatment, and it has turned out closer to the £10,000 side. The upside is that at the end of stimulation they will take back the drugs that you didn't use, which is a total bonus. They are very honest, and they won't tell you anything that isn't true. Were you bothered by all the pics of babies? I thought it was great, a testament to how successful they are...

val- Yay you! Almost to the end! It takes a long time to cook a baby, doesn't it? Glad to hear you're doing well, and the little fella is playing football in there...

cloclo- My DH and I needed to have ICSI because DH is paraplegic, and the only way to get sperm was from the testicles. Have no fear...as long as there's some good ones in there, the embryologist will find it and use it.

rowing- I'm glad for your negative, but I understand totally what mixed emotions you must be feeling. But at least the waiting is over and you can get back on the horse.

Hi Italian and scrummy!

keziah- How are you feeling?

AFM, the blooming cystitis is finally on its way out, after a second round of antibiotics that I started Monday. Boy did that suck. Meanwhile, morning sickness abounds, and I think it's exacerbated by the antibiotics. Tomorrow will be my last day of it, and hopefully I'll start to feel a little less nauseous. But I've got B6, lemon drops, ginger biscuits, and other things on standby. Had a scan today, and the little bean is now 11 mm, which is right where it should be. Heartbeat is strong with this one (said in Yoda voice)! Progesterone over 400, and HCG over 125,000! There's only one in there, btw, as second sac turned out to be empty.

Hugs, baby dust, and chocolate boobs to everyone!

Hello all

Sorry I've been AWOL for a while. I have been thinking of you all I promise!

Lucy sounds like you had a great appointment. Good luck with it all. Very interesting about their response to the DHEA too. Sounds like they take the same view as the Lister.

Lissy it's so exciting - it really feels like its moving so fast! Great news.

Keziah I hope all is well with you too.

Italian keep on going...fingers crossed that you'll get good news soon.

Good baby vibe thoughts to everyone.

Well, AF has arrived, a couple of days early. So, it's the first shot of Suprecur this evening and then a scan tomorrow to see when we can get going on stimming. With a bit of luck in the next couple of days we'll be off and running. I confess I want to curl up in a corner and not come up for the next few weeks. I hate the anticipation of whether or not this will actually work......pragmatism appears to have fallen away this evening. And I'm craving carbs and chocolate.....

Hi all,

Just noticed Vallin had been on, lovely to hear from you sweetie, and I'm glad it is all going well. [hug]

On the run, but backson

sorry - it's been awhile since I came to this thread - but just wanted to cheer Lissy and keziah - great news.
Italian it is quite insensitive...have experienced it too - I was angry at the time but then I accepted that these are just weird people with weird selfish viewpoints.

and i am starting my 3rd cycle of IUI - began injections yesterday.

Hi womanly, lots of luck for your third cycle (third time lucky and all that!) How are you feeling about it?

Beginnings best of luck with this cycle. I'm not overly familiar with protocols and drugs (yet!) Are you on long or short? What does Suprecur do? The anticipation is an absolute killer isn't it, there's such a fine balance between managing expectations and being hopefully optimistic, and being pessimistic to avoid disappointment if it doesn't work. I hope it doesn't drive you too potty. Distraction is definitely the best policy for me. Will be thinking of you anyway and keeping my fingers crossed.

Lissy the little bean is going from strength to strength, that's brilliant. And as horrid as morning sickness is, at least it's a good strong symptom that the pregnancy is taking over your body. And I'm sure once you come off the antibiotics you'll feel better, as they do normally really wipe you out. And no, the baby pictures didn't bother me, they were super cute and funny, and testament to just how many babies Mr T has helped be born.

Italian have you talked to your clinic recently? Do they know how much longer it might take? Hang in there, it can't be too much longer.

AFM, well, my bloods haven't behaved particularly well. FSH went from 5.5 in April to 12 this month. Now I know stress can make it worse, and so I probably brought it on myself by stressing they were going to be high (vicious circle anyone? I do exactly the same thing when I have my blood pressure taken) but ladies, apart from trying to relax more, does anyone have any hints/tips on how to reduce it? I already do acupuncture 2 x a month, exercise, pilates, eat a 'fertility' diet. Gah! What more can I do? Also, I'm probably clutching at straws but I had about a week's worth of spotting, and then had the test done on day 3. Do you think the FSH reading would be lower if I had it done on day 1 or 2 next time?

Hi Lucy. I'm on a short cycle. A very short cycle! The suprecur is the down regulator. I started that last night on the first full day of AF. I had a scan today and all was good so I started the stimulatory drugs this evening. The last time I was also on the pill for ten days but I can't do that now that we know about my thrombophilia issues. I'll start the prednisolone on Sunday and then the clexane and aspirin the day after egg collection.

Don't worry too much about the FSH. Then maybe I won't go up!! Mine was 14.4 when I barely knew what it was and then was 8.8 when I was stressed to the eyeballs so there's no reasoning with it as far as I can see. As a matter of interest, what does your fertility diet consist of?

Best of luck womanly hope it all goes well for you.

Happy Friday to everyone else.

Hi Beginnings, I went to see a nutritionist and she gave me some advice on eating right for fertility/pregnancy. In all honesty I think it's basically eating healthily, and cutting out the rubbish, but things like including zinc (lamb, nuts, egg yolks, rye and oats), B6 (cauliflower, watercress, bananas, broccoli), essential fatty acids (oily fish and unsalted seeds), antioxidants (a rainbow selection of fruit and veg, like beetroot, apricots, yellow peppers, pink grapefruit, green leafy veg), betacarotene (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, watercress), Vit C (green veg, peppers, kiwi, tomatoes, citrus fruit, berries), Vit E (nuts, seeds, oily fish, avocados, beans), Selenium (brazil nuts, sesame seeds, tuna, cabbage, whole grains). No (or as little as I can manage!) refined sugar, alcohol, tobacco, coffee etc, etc. You get the picture. I didn't eat unhealthily before, but fertility aside, I do feel better for taking a bit more care about what I eat.

Hope you're feeling OK with the drugs.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Hi Lucy. I saw a nutritionist at Zita West last year and she said basically the same, encouraging me in particular to boost my protein intake. I confess that I'm relatively good but probably a bit bad at the refined sugar. Comfort food.... I do try though.

Very proud of myself for managing the menopur all on my own last night. DH did the mixing for me last time but he's going away for work tomorrow so I'll have to do it myself and I'm on the highest dose so I have to mix four vials of it with saline.

rowing how was your appointment?

Keziahopes how are you doing? It feels like it's a while since you posted.....

Hi all. Back from GP and fresh with a referral to ARGC. He was well aware of Mr T's work and reiterated how it will be intense! He was really stunned by the way the hospital has refused to send copies of my results to me or him, so I'll be following that up with added confidence that I have the right to have them. So, that will most likely mean that we would start treatment in Dec/Jan I guess, what with waiting time, monitoring cycles etc.

beginnings well done for self-admin. I hope you will cope ok with them.

womanly I hope third time I lucky for you.

lissy how are you?

Lucy sending lots of 'don't stress' and 'down, FSH, down' vibes your way

Italian hope you're managing to relax too....

Hi to everyone else

Hi all,

Lucy FSH can fluctuate and you say and stress levels are supposed to cause it to rise. What day did they take your blood? When I have had mine it has always been day 3 after AF begins and progesterone on day 21. I can't remember, but I think they take estradiol the same day.
Your AMH levels are important as well, did they check yours yet?
I have read about women lowering their fsh with a diet change, definitely have seen wheatgrass mentioned a few times. Google lowering fsh, there are stacks of posts.
Also acupuncture has been linked with lowering fsh.
I have seen quite a bit about liver and possibley kidney health affecting fsh, but not sure how, so perhaps the old milk thistle?

This forum is great for the diet side, there's so much on it

Beginning, there might be something on there for you, if you fancy a bit of quackery
I missed the appointment because DS had a very dodgy tummy and I didn't want to take him to a hospital. I phoned the main reception and was put through to a voice mail to explain. The nurse phone that afternoon, wondering why I hadn't turned-up. I have no idea where I left the voice mail message, perhaps you could check your answer machines?!
We haven't rescheduled, but I am feeling disinclined to go now, as I know it isn't going to make a lot of difference to me.

Hi to all, Sorry no time to catch up, back from one mini break and off on our hols a.s.a.p. Feeling stressed. DD exhibiting some VERY challenging behaviour and no donor in site yet. Only plus point is my TSH is not effecting when we get a donor so at least nothing is being unnecessarily held up!

Love to all and baby dust to all.

Rowing a lady called Lol on the other fabulous and forty thread was asking about donor eggs, I REALLY hope you do not mind but I mentioned your name and said you may know something so she may come here and ask. Just to prepare you, this is what i said, if you are not happy with me bandying your name about, please tell me!

I said ...

Lol I am not on any egg donor threads but Fertility Friends does have one specifically for egg donors.

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=64.0

Or

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=15.0

If you need to know what egg sharing is, you can ask me or Google around, basically it is when the person donating half their eggs is also trying to get pregnant with the other half and your treatment costs also include some money that goes towards their costs ? altruistic donors are not having treatment so have no real costs other than the drugs and getting the eggs but our clinic (Care) rolls all the costs so whether you have an altruistic donor or an egg sharer you pay the same. I have not tried these Fertility Friends treads but have red on them a bit.

I think actually finding a donor on line is probably impossible but finding info etc is just a matter of Googling around. Actually finding the donor is about the clinic; in this country so you choose where you want to go (UK, USA, Spain, Greece, and Eastern Europe) and then you see what is on offer. There is also an assisted conception thread here and you could ask Rowing about her experiences.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1193042-Assisted-Conception-and-all-the-bits-in-between-volume-7

Also try www.donor-conception-network.org/

Hi all,
Have a lovely holiday Italian. I hope dd's challenging behaviour calms down soon.
Thanks for the advice rowing, I'll google milk thistle and see what that's about. I seem to be doing everything else that is meant to bring fsh down. God knows what it would be otherwise, in the 100s probably. I had been taking wheatgrass but then read on an argc forum that it can increase your cytokines. I have no idea what they are, but it sounds like I wouldn't want that to happen, so stopped taking it. My amh is not great, around 4 last time it was measured. I'm just going to have to see what happens I think. There's only so much nature fighting you can do! Hope your ds is better now.
scrummy yay that you got your referral. Hope your waiting time goes quickly (or even better that you get a bfp before your appt).
beginnings well done with getting to grips with the menopur. Do you have any side effects from them or are you feeling ok?
Back in argc tomorrow for mid cycle scan and immunes testing.

hi all.. me again.i tend to flit around and lurk a bit..,

Italian- my DD will be 3 in November. Sorry its taking so long to get a donor... fingers crossed you get to the top of the list soon..

Scrummy- i referred myself to argc around this time last year. we had one cycle and are now 28 weeks pregnant with twins.

Question- am happy to answer qs about argc too... but i have selective amnesia on some of the detail!! the whole process i did find very intense. Our wait was just shy of 2 weeks for a first appointment- which i thought was pretty good. we also looked at the lister- but the chaotic reception at argc actually convinced me it was a goer... to me it said they care more about results than appearances.. i was just more comfy there. Am i pleased we went there? yes. Although i would say, they do have a great success rate but also a high number of multiples...

Lucy- someone i cycled with used DHEA and is now pregnant with a little boy. i think the feedback she got was that it made the eggs sticky... personally i havent used it, but she had had many cycles and few eggs and is younger than us... and had her best cycle when using it. if you go onto fertility friends you will get a wealth of info!

Rowing, kesziah, lissy... big waves!!

Hi all,

Lucy how did your appt go yesterday? The injections are going fine. No side effects really. I've a teeny bit of bruising but that's it. That didn't happen the last time but it's not bothering me so I'm not worried. Maybe there's still some clexane floating around inside me or something.

Thanks for the link rowing. DH is away for work at the minute and oddly that makes the food thing a bit easier as I just concentrate on what I want to eat. I love beetroot and he hates it so I had a salad for dinner last night that involved lettuce from the garden, beetroot, an egg and avocado. If that's not superfood, I don't know what is!!

Have a great holiday Italian

scummy fingers crossed for a quick appointment.

I'm back in for a scan tomorrow morning. Here's hoping for some nice growing follicles!!