IVF / ICSI - everyone welcome for questions, hand holding, and waggle dancing

[Gardenpixie]

Ladies, we ran out of space on the old thread so here is a sparkly new one with dedicated areas for waggle dancing, hormonal outbreaks of bonkersness, sniffing, injecting and progesterone pessary related fartiness.

For anyone thinking about starting IVF / ICSI or going through it at the moment, do come and say hello. These wonderful ladies have kept me sane through the last few months and are a source of all knowledge concerning tests, down-regging, ov stimulating, DIY injections and much more so if you need any info or just some company, do join us.

So here's a welcome for everyone and an enormous waggle dance for many many more BFPs to come

Hello, welcome to newroad. Later transfers have a higher success rate, but only because waiting for a day 5 transfer just allows the clinic to see which are the best embryos to transfer. How many can you have put back?

garden hope EC went well, and you can get some rest this afternoon.
skitoo any news? Are you having transfer today?
louise hope you feel better today, how fab to see one little sac on the scan though- just think by next week it'll be a heartbeat! Will you get other early scans as you had treatment outside of the UK?
teds and bodeccia and nocake how are you all feeling? Hope you're all feeling a bit more positive than me at this stage! My testing date is Tues 30th and it's a blood test.
Waves and waggles to everyone else! xx

ellangirl, I'm just looking into that now - we're from the uk but read really good things about this clinic and it sort of felt right - a forum beddy on FF said law is 2 but I can't find anything to back that up. Uk over 40 is 3 i believe? Good luck for the 30th! x

garden & skitoo - any news?

Fairydust to all xx

Hi all,

Thanks for all your good wishes!

I am back home now and a bit and

After dismissing my concerns that coasting would undermine the quality of the eggs, the Dr told me that, while I had 35 mature eggs two days ago (when EC was meant to happen) 30 had died so they only got 5.

On top of that, when DH went to give his, ahem, contribution, nobody let him back into the proceedures bit so I woke up and he wasn't there and then they said they spent 30 mins looking for him despite the fact he had been in the waiting room the whole time and was desperate to come in and see me.

I am really feeling very let down that they clearly got my doses wrong again and now we only have 5 eggs. I know that it only takes one but i am really worried that if they've left it so long that 30 have died, the 5 they have won't be in great shape. So I've basically wasted 9 months getting to this point and I'm not holding out much hope for the dreaded phone call tomorrow.

DH is furious too and I think we'll be booking our appt with the Create Clinic first thing tomorrow!

Sorry to be on such a downer but it's horrid to go from being told I was being silly to worry to seeing that I was, after all, right - in a bad way.

Ergh.

Right, I'm off to do some housework and walk the hound!

Promise I'll be less huffy on my next post!

Love to everyone

xxxxx GP

Hey there all, not been able to get onto the thread for a little while so I've just skimmed the last few pages for updates.

Garden, hope the EC goes well today - you never know we may have been sitting in the waiting room at the same time today!

flyfox welcome! Don't worry about your DH stressing, mine's exactly the same but infuriatingly tries to be very blase about the whole thing, I think it's his typical 'if I don't talk about it it's not happening' approach.

Zeebee, sorry you have to wait but hey, your appointment is less than a couple of weeks away, so it will be here quicker than you think! When we left our first appointment we were full of beans, you'll really feel that things will take off and move forwards quite quickly! You'll be on de-reggers before you can say 'sniff'!

Bodeccea - POAS yet? Wow, you have will power!

Teds, thinking of you, keep positive!

Newroad, hey there!

So, I had my scheduling appointment this afternoon, all very exciting now but all very real! Just had a (pretty expensive!) conversation with the drug company and they're arriving on Saturday morning so I can start sniffing on Monday, so then it will all seem so real! The nurse showed me the injection 'pens' I'll be using in a couple of weeks - quite frankly I'm terrified of using them. Please someone, tell me I'm being a wimp and it's easy peasy and you can't feel a thing?! [wimp emoticon]

OMG Garden, just x-posted!

So and for you!

Did they have any explanation for not spotting that you had 35 mature eggs then?

I feel obliged by the 'code of the bees' to say that five eggs are still hanging in there for you!

Garden very for you too, but let's flip this on it's head and see that the 5 remaining eggs are great ones as they're still going strong. I agree with walking your pooch but house work can wait today ((())).

jumping the pen injections are what I used too, they're nice and easy as they're premixed which makes life far easier, all you do each day is change the needle on the end. The first one is always nerve wracking but after that, as long as you just do it and don't spend time thinking about it, it's fine. I always went for the tummy. The needle is so short and thin, it really is ok.

Going to mostly lurk now lovely ladies, as I don't feel brave enough yet to join the pregnancy threads but know how lucky I am to have got this far. I really think you're the acest group of ladies who all deserve their dream. Big hugs to you all (((()))) xxx

Oh Garden my love I'm so sorry that you've had yet another blody awful time . This whole process is tough enough without the dr's making it harder. Poor MrGP* being left out when desperately wanting to be with his DW. Am very on your behalf.

But, you do have 5 eggs and now I've come out the other side, I know how important it is to channel all your energy in to them. You've got 5! Which is a good number and as I was told yesterday there's no reason that your little golden one isn't in there. So please try and think positively my sweet, it only takes one, it only takes one xx.

I am in return for your deliciously good dead the other night, sending over a crate of the finest bubbles, a michelin starred selection of canapes, some soft mood lighting, the obligatory disco ball and a smooth mix of tunes for luurrvvvee.

Ladies, can we please all join together, line dance stylee, for the big waggle shake down . Have got everything crossed for you Garden.

And Louise what an awful time you've had since your BFP, how scary . OHSS at that late stage must be pretty rare and frightening. I hope you're starting to feel better now. Good that your local college hospital has a great service and you got some reassurance from the scan. i think dates can vary quite a lot so early on as things can change so much within days. When is your next scan?

Nice to hear from you Ellan, hang in there for testing next week, hope the days pass quickly .

Hi Jumping, fab news on scheduling appointment, that was when it got very real for us too. Once you get to that stage the time really does fly. Don't worry about the injections, the first os the hardest and by the 3rd or 4th its just part of your daily routine.

Welcome NewRoad. From my experience later transfers are done where the clinic has a greater choice of embies so they take their time in choosing the absolute best quality ones to put back in. I've spent the last 48 hours mentalling over the success of 2 day transfers as that was the only option I had this morning and concluded better in than out!

So I had ET this morning and now have Bert & Ernie on board . Our 2 embies had both split to 4 cells and were A and B grade, so they popped them both back in. Following huge dissappointment on Monday, I now feel really lucky to have these 2 and am focusing on their success - it only takes 1. Had acupuncture pre and post transfer which helped chill me out and am determined to try and remain positive - I might need some hand holding ladies .

Waves to all xx

garden it is not over yet - let's wait for the call. They have five - I really pray that these come through and tomorrow you're on your way to ET.
As for the treatment, it is really shoddy all around - big hug - I feel upset and a bit shocked at how things played out - - given that this is one of the best places out there... BUT BUT BUT like my consultant says - the goal is a healthy baby - so let's focus on the five - - and hope for the best. This is not over yet. Big hug honey - I hope you have a good walk with your hound and it helps remove some of the bad taste such experiences can leave behind...

skitoo - great news with your ET - Hope the next two weeks fly by for you.

GP am so sorry that it was such a terrible experience. Hope that the hound helps you walk out some of the frustration. But as womanly says so well - the end goal is a healthy baby and we're all rooting for those five eggs. After all the canapes and champagne you served up for us over the past few months we're going to repay in abundance tonight. The lab won't know what's hit it.. I'm expecting at least three dress changes - this will be essential it we are to secure the OK! exclusive

skitoo whoop for 4-cell embryos on day 2 - that is awesome and believe me I have become an expert on good cell-division since our awful ET!

Louise sorry to hear that you've had such a bad time of it - will you get another scan soon?

And welcome newroad

jumpin just spotted your post - I regularly faint at the sight of blood and am generally not great with medical stuff but you do get through it! I'm not saying I'd choose to inject myself for fun but it's no way as bad as you think it's going to be and after a few days you can figure out which bits of the tummy are best to use.

garden argh - what a terrible experience you've both had, how frustrating - I was when i read your post...I am in the line dance waggling for you - my fingers are hugely crossed as well for your phone call tomorrow and I hope it's good news...

jumping how exciting you had your first "show me how to do it" appointment.... funnily enough Guys called us yesterday and brought our baseline appt forward to today - so we went to the 11th floor this morning and met a lovely doctor who talked us through the procedures and also said we would be having ICSI. She scanned my ovaries which she thought looked good for a 38 year old (phew) altho she said there might be a possibility of OHSS so my dosage won't be that high when I get going... we left feeling pretty high, and now, as you said - we can't wait to get going. It will be 8th Sept my first sniff.

DH was very impressed with me knowing ALLL the right questions to ask the doctor - and I have to say it's thanks to all of you on here - without you I would still be woolly and afriad about what I should be asking - so thank you ladies!

I am very lucky to be going away for a few days to stay with my mum in France, leaving at 5am tomorrow - can't wait...
Have good week all of you and big hugs to those going through a tricky time right now - some and 's for all of you.
ZB x

Happy ET day skitoo! Got my fingers crossed for Bert and Ernie. Sounds like they're good'uns

gp sending your eggs loads of positive vibes, I can't remember if you're doing ivf or icsi, not that it matters but I'm trying to visualise how they're getting together.

Welcome newroad

I had a scan today, saw a little heartbeat which was a relief. Still not quite believing this is all going to work out and taking every day at a time.

God luck to all

Can't believe your news GP hope you have received a phone call this morning with brighter outcome. It really makes me very cross to think you can go through all this heartache and then clinics basically don't do their best to give you the best possible chance. We are not the experts-THEY ARE SUPPOSEDLY-When you only have a certain amount of goes on the NHS this is serious business and makes me think we're just processed-it does make my blood boil really.

Skitoo all the very best of luck and all with bertie and ernie-cute. Hope they are snuggling in and doing the waggle with us all already. What are your plans for the 2ww?

Lots of love to all-will post more when not at work! xx

Hi ladies, thank you all for your kind words and wiggling. You lot are the best

Can you believe that I still haven't heard back from the hospital yet? They said they'd call me in the morning, probably before 11. I am pretty sure that they are in the same time zone as me so they are now not only significantly later than 11 but also no longer, technically, in the morning

Anyway, sorry for the rant lovelies. I will go and growl in the corner by myself and come back when and if I hear from them (I'm suspecting they have lost my eggs or DH's swimmer or the phone or my number or something but whatever the reason, I'm now assuming it's not good news...)

grrrrrr

Hope you are all having a good Thursday xxx

Doesn't make it any less annoying GP but my call from Guys came at 12.30pm and I was also told something like "We'll call you in the morning... well it will probably be morning... we always like to do this in the morning."

I think communication skills (or the lack of) is like endemic amongst the medical community -- hang in there garden - like Teds said it's probably just them being careless with words and expecting everybody else to be ready when they are... All things crossed for your little pixies.

owl great news on the heart beat - what a feeling that must be like :)

So I just got my call - they were only able to use three of the five eggs because two were too old because of the of the coasting (which I was assured wouldn't undermine the quality of the eggs even though my viable egg numbers went from 35 to 3 because of it ) and all three fertilised.

We are booked in for ET on Saturday to see if they can pick the one or two best ones and if they are all looking good on Saturday, they'll postpone to Monday for blasto.

I am a bit because I got grumpy with the embryologist - first because he started the conversation with "good morning" to which i followed up with "is it? my clock says 1 o'clock in the afternoon but maybe I've set it wrong" and second because he said they were "very confident" that if we transfered one rather than two on Saturday that the others could be frozen and (I am cringing recounting this) I said "well the clinic was also confident that my first cycle wouldn't be cancelled and that coasting wouldn't undermine the quality of the eggs in my second cycle"

Part of me is still fuming about how everything was handled with the coasting and with shutting DH out yesterday but I guess I'm just going to have to get a grip and be thankful that three pixies are growing away busily.

So sorry ladies as I'm away I've been a self-obsessed monster over the past few days. I am going to have a stern talk with myself and come back later to be cheerier and more sociable.

In the meantime may I do a quick waggle for everyone and pass around a freshly brewed xxx

PS on the bright side, I hypnotised myself yesterday to shut out any pain after the proceedure (I was told because there were so many follicles, I'd be really ouchy aferwards) and it's worked brilliantly - I've taken no painkillers and haven't even had so much as a twinge.

Must remember this for the massive offchance I ever become less unpregnant when I get pg!

GP self-obsessed and grumpy seems perfectly reasonable in the circumstances but I am really pleased that you have three pixies growing away and that you are pain-free after the EC - as you say with so many follicles you might have ended up very ouchy!

My experience at Guys was largely positive but there have been two or three things that have played on my mind and certain inconsistences. Obviously if I get a miracle that compares to Mary's immaculate conception bfp next week none of this will matter.

Hope that you have something nice planned for this afternoon - rather than the stern talking to yourself which sounds pretty unnecessary in my opinion

GP - good news at least, I know it could be better but you have growing embies so smile xx

afm went to clinic this morning, 2 grade A and 2 grade B embies - ET 2 grade As but said Bs don't thaw well so not to bother??

Does anyone have any idea of success rates by grade?

skitto what is your test date, i have 7th sep - seems so far way!

to all EC / ET & 2ww buddies to everyone else! :o

Garden, you've got 3 little pixies, whoop whoop .

All the issues you've had with your clinic suck and would make anyone so don't be with your response but for your own benefit sweets try and put it on the back burner for now - they can wait! Its time to focus on you, MrGP and your 3 little pixies.

You've got 3 little embies, which is great - it only takes one. I know how you feel, its a great big kick in the teeth when we don't get what we hope for at each stage in this awful process. I was absolutely devastated on Monday when we only got 3 eggs but realised yesterday that we are where we are and I've just got to focus on the 2 embies I've now got on board.

I will be doing muchos waggles in the next couple of days for ET on either Saturday or maybe even to blast on Monday! Hang in there .

Owl fab news on the scan, it must be so cute to see.

Pumpkin - I'm off work until next Tuesday which is nice so don't have to stress about that and will be mainly just pootling around. Have just popped out and purchased the book that Luck recommended, as I love a good laugh out loud one, so will be indulging in a bit of that this afternoon. We also have tickets to see Richard III with Kevin Spacey on Saturday, so looking forward to a nice afternoon/evening up town with some posh nosh.

NewRoad, snap with the 7th, so we're POAS buddies .

How you doing Teds, any signs of mentalling? Whe is your OTD?

And Bodeccia and Ellan, how you doing peeps?

Waves to everyone else xx

three little pixies - that is precious -- Wonderful news garden - now go and bask in it :)

Wave to everyone :)

Hello all

Look into my eyes garden, you are feeling very sleepy, you are feeling all the tension from incompetent people sliding away...

In all seriousness Garden, that is great news! I'm sure all the ridiculousness of the way they have treated you is going to slip away when you've got your wee pixies aboard. I'm delighted that you've even managed to get to EC, it was a bit touch and go there for a while. Seriously, you've done amazingly! Good luck for ET on Saturday :)

jumping, the first one is always the worst. You have so many of the damn things to do by the end, it will be like second nature.

Delighted for Ernie and Bert, skitoo :o I'm getting seriously jealous of all these high quality embryos out there. I hope they're snuggling in nicely (in the same bed, JUST like Sesame Street!)

Welcome to newroad. I have no idea about quality of embryos and freezing in terms of success rates, but my little runts were grade 3/3 (4/4 being the highest) and they were deemed too weedy to freeze. So I just used 'em up! All two of them (see, garden? Three is great!) Good luck with ET :)

Bon voyage, zeebee, amuses-toi bien :o

OMG owl, seeing a heartbeat must have been amazing! How brilliant, makes me feel all warm inside :)

Still not a lot going on with me. Nothing's fallen out yet, so that's good. I'm just waiting for Monday for the test. I keep having moments of paranoia, I fear the worse if I have a stomach cramp. I just wish I could know either way if this has worked. My work is winding up again (we had great GCSE results today :o) so that will help take my mind off it. Still haven't POAS, but the temptation to do so before Monday is getting stronger. Eek!

Hi Garden after the rollercoaster of the last day or two I agree with the others that 3 pixies is great news-I know its hard to stay calm but yes, do just that! And Boddecia waggling for you for monday-how you havnt POAS is beyond me-hope I will be as strong...
I have tomorrow off and am so excited to have a long bank holiday off! Having hair cut tomorrow-short?? Don't think I should be making any rash decisions though. Also booked in for first accupuncture-think I have left it a bit late-half way through DR?? Feeling much better on the meds this time round-hope they re still working! Clinic thinks I can DR in 10 days-sounds as if there are so many rules of thought out there.
Anyway, love and happy thoughts to all-sure is quiet in the hut tonight?
xx

Hi all how's everyone doing?

Teds yes you're absolutely right, when we get our BFPs, I will feel much more positively towards Guys! I hope you're OK and not going too nuts on the 2WW. Were you told to test 16 days after EC?

NewRoad I'm afraid i don't really know much about freezing or embryo grading. What's your feeling re freezing?

Skitoo how are Bert&Ernie doing? Snuggling in nicely i trust? You are right about the real bugger being not meeting expectations ... it's such a tricky business and no real certainties at this stage. I think I'm just very bad at going with the flow but I am working on it! I am much more relaxed about things today and just holding out to see how the three little ball of cells are doing.

Owl that is AMAZING about the scan, I am so happy for you and owlet !

Bodeccia you are an inspiration not POAS-ing yet! I hope your little embies are doing well and flourishing in their new home!

Pumpkin oooooh, a hair cut?? How did it go? I am thinking need to tidy my birds nest up soon but not sure how brave I'll be. I once went from waist length hair to about 1 inch at the back and about 4 inches on the top / at the front and I was totally freaked out by how few people recognised me afterwards! 10 days until DR sounds really soon, how exciting! How are you feeling about it all? It sounds like your clinic are really on top of things so I hope you are feeling in good hands.

womanly how are you doing lovely? I hope you and your little womanly are doing well

Big waves to everyone else

Thanks all for your kind words over the last few days. I am feeling much calmer about things now and just hoping that our little embies are doing their thing. DH and I have already christened them Dandelion, Burdock and Soda ! I guess we just need to gear up for ET tomorrow and then see how the little guys are doing when the embryologists get them out of the incubator tomorrow morning. If we have two viable ones tomorrow, we've decided to go for both because we think we have too few to be able to freeze and thaw them reliably. Of course who knows what will have happened between yesterday morning and tomorrow! Obviously it might be a different story if we get to blasto stage but for now we're definitely up for a twosome. Personally I'd be happy to have all three as I don't want one of them to feel unwanted but I guess that's why they have guidelines and don't leave the decision to bonkers hormonal crazy women like me!

Hope you are all well and getting set for the bank holiday - lots of love, waggles and hugs xxxxx