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

x-posts kool 'mainstream' and 'normal' sound so wonderfully lovely after all the 'assistance' etc. And very glad to hear that Mr kool is doing okay.

Hoho pooor you, ouch! I don't know if this is anything you've considered but FWIW, I used some hypnotherapy to block out any pain after egg collection and embryo transfer as they thought I'd have tons of pain given my ovaries over reacted to the stims and I had tons of follicles. It was nice and calming too which was lurverly

skitoo that sounds just like what I have - especially the tight bit. It's a little less tight today but I still have the pulled muscle feeling. In a non-medicated cycle, my luteal phase is usually 12 days wiht spotting starting 10 DPO and cramping around 11DPO so I am just hoping that our twingy cramps are B&E and D&B moving the furniture around to make themselves comfortable!

Kool so nice to see you! and to hear that Mr Kool is not feeling too horrid. Enjoy the seaside and i hope that kitten is dong well. Please hang around on the thread for as long as you like!

Teds Lister sounds good - I think if it doesn't work for us this time round, it would be good psychologically to try somewhere new anyway.

In an effort to distract myself, I am watching Eclispse from the Twilight stories... I have to say, not nearly as good as True Blood! At least the vamps in True Blood are more my age and properly bitey rather than the oddly bouffon Eclipse vamps

xxxx

Thanks skitoo, teds and garden, I feel like we're old friends now - I guess we do go back quite a long way already!

Teds obvs I've been happy with Guys but I was just sitting in the garden eating an ice lolly, thinking of pros of you staying there vs moving to the lister. I guess the pros of staying are that they fully know your history, but then it wouldn't take long for the lister to get that anyway. Guys might be able to investigate why it wasn't successful this time and have some changes in mind for next time. However, expecting you to wait until November for the follow up is highly unreasonable, especially as to to through this experience is emotional enough and to keep you on tenterhooks, even worse. I second what garden said re emailing the Mr Khalaf. If you go to their website and the contact us section, the email for him comes up. I also got a quick response after a moan about waiting ages for an appointment. I'm obviously pro guys as things went smoothly for me but it sounds like if things aren't textbook, it might not be the same story (I'm mainly going by garden's first experience). We also know how bad they are at answering the phone/returning phone calls, which can be frustrating. I wonder then, on balance if it would be better for you to change. Just the thought of being excited about a new place will put you in a better mindset and if their experience is especially with people who have struggled, it sounds like it could be the place. I know you said guys was more convenient and that is important, but I guess only a part of it. If you do change, it'd still be good to have the guys follow up, as you can always take any info from there to the lister.

Phew, all that over an ice lolly

kool love the idea of an inbetweeners thread or as someone else said of a graduates thread... so please do start one, I would LOVE it. :)

Thanks kool I have swung back and forth a bit as up until ET our Guys experience was good. Just felt they were so very negative at ET that I was left feeling confused about why we even bothered going through with it. Then the appointment delay was maybe a final tipping point!

One of the ladies on the other Assisted thread was very positive about the Lister (on top of loads of other stuff I've read) and she suggested that I go back to Guys and also go to the Lister and do a compare-and-contrast. I have a feeling that Guys will suggest that we just do the same again - massive doses of drugs (which I do respond to so fair enough) and I'll get 3-4 eggs and we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed that one of them will be a good one. This will be repeated ad infinitum until we eventually get a bfp... I'd just like to get a second opinion that this is the best option for us.

We've ordered our notes from Guys so we'll have them to look at I suppose and I will send that email to Mr Khalaf!

Anyway, I'll bore-off now as I have posted a lot today

Just written a long post and then clicked backspace, grrrrrrrrr, here goes again......

Hi ladies,

I have just half written another long post and clicked back again and lost the whole lot again grrrrrrr

Sorry its a short update!

Hope everyone is well? Ive been in to work today, ordered lovely things for the children (always makes me happy), looked at the SATs papers from the summer and went for a couple of vinos with a good friend (not the reason I lost two posts!!!!)

It was so lovely to say to my friends today that we are booked in NEXT MONTH, hoping the time passes...looking at my 'to do' list I think it may well do!!

Hi lovely teds I would love to be cycle buddies with you!! Hope we are!
Did I read you are thinking of going to the Lister? We are classed as 'overseas' patients and they do a service for us so that I dont have to fly to Czech for monitoring scans (costs a bloody fortune though!!)it means I wont have to take time off work for the scans which will be much better.
Are you based down south?

Caramel how did the scan go? Sorry if I missed your post, darent flick between screens!!

Skitoo and GP sending you warm snuggly vibes! Someone sent me a day by day visualising thing based on Zita West, it explains what the embryos are doing each day post transfer....Ill try and dig it out

Hi Kool enjoy yourself at the seaside with little Kitten

Welcome HoHo hats off to you for being on the injections for 4 weeks, bet you can do it with your eyes closed! Sorry to hear about your pain with the catheter.

Pumpkin how lovely to be off for three weeks (says she who has just had 6 weeks away from work!) Enjoy the seaside.

Hi ellan hope you are well xxx

Zeebee congrats on starting next week, bet you are counting the days

Danny how did you get on today?

Milly the time will pass, I know the waiting is one of the hardest things but being busy really does help, I have found I am much happier too as I am not clockwatching or counting the days till the next appointment. xxx

A big hello to the lovely ladies I may have missed, I just know if I keep scrolling up and down Im going to lose the post again!!

A big favour to ask- could someone post me a reminder to take my pill at 9pm on an evening, DH forgets and I tried to program myself a reminder on my blackberry and it posted to our schools online diary....cant risk doing that again!! Need to take it so that we can start our next round on time :-)

Lou xxxxx

Hi Louise if you get a PM, does it ping up on your email? If so, we could take it in turns to stalk remind you as it might be more noticeable than a post?

Please have a large for me!

Night night ladies xxx

PS can I just take a poll: DH wants me to POAS tomorrow as it's his birthday but I think it's waaaaaay to early (10 days past EC). It's a lot of pressure on Dandelion & Burdock and the risk is we will start his birthday on a downer as I think this early on, even if I am pg, the chances are the test will be a bfn. What do you reckon? I will prob test before the hospital told me but I was thinking 14 days past EC (NB I have no patience so can't pretend I am going to make it to the full 16 dpec)!

Garden don't poas tomorrow!!! I did it on day 16 and it was still a faint line then, so please don't! And remember caramel tested on day 14 and got a bfn, then a bfp on day 16. You're nearly there, don't do it!!! X

Garden yes it pings up on my blackberry, gr8 idea! I may only need reminding for a week- Im useless, even put the packet on my bed last night and nearly missed it!!

I would say leave POAS, I got a BFP on day 12 or 13 I think but it was a faint ish one, you're almost there! xxx

Garden, not sure if it's too late already but I second the others, don't POAS yet! Happy Birthday to Mr GP, think you should have a lovely day together and then he can have an extra special present later this week xx

Morning all, managed to avoid the danger by "accidentally" getting up around 5 this morning and "forgetting" to do the test because I was " so sleepy I just totally forgot" Hopefully that's bought me another few days!

Bless DH, he doesn't understand much about hpts ... And in fact though I was pregnant immediately after ET. I had to explaining hatching and implantation to him and he was totally despite me having explained on a number of occasions before.

How the man managed to get any GCSE's let alone a degree and two masters is beyond me. Mind you, none of his quals are in biology!

Louise I will volunteer to PM you tomorrow, I am out tonight though for DH's b'day, can anyone else fit in a PM at 9 this evening?

Hope you are all well ladies

Xxxx

Phewy GP but this way you'll make his birthday last even longer

louise I'll try to remember tonight but I am massively forgetful... the Guys nurses were terrified I would neither DR or stim properly because of my scanty manner of taking the drugs....

Morning y'all!
louiseteacher teds77 I'm another one who struggles to remember to take my meds! I have set an alarm on my phone that goes off at 7pm every evening to remind me to do mine, and DH has one on his too, just in case. We did this after completely forgetting one evening, I remembered at 1am when I woke up with a jolt and leapt out of bed squealing and scaring the shit out of DH asleep next to me

It's not in my calender though I've just used my alarm function, but I've never had a blackberry so I'm not sure you can do this on yours louise. I'm not sure I'll be on here this evening but if I am I'll give you a shout at 9pm.

garden I'm glad you managed to resist POAS for one more day, I agree with others try to leave it as long as possible. There's nothing so dishearting than a negative test, and if it's a false negative because it's too early to show you'll only put yourself through all those emotions for nothing. I understand the wait must be excrutiating though. Hope your DH has a lovely birthday :)

Ahhh we have worked out how to set a reminder on the Blackberry and not update it on the work diary :-) Thanks for the offers of a pm ladies xxx

Well, Im hitting the back to work blues a bit, I need to do lots of work and time is running out :-( Decided to have x factor, pizza and feet up tonight then paperwork and washing/ ironing tomorrw boooo.

Feeling more or less back to normal in myself, did a pg test this am and it was negative which actually made me feel much better, at least I know we are ok ish for next month.

Well done Garden for stepping away from the stick!

Have a lovely evening everyone xxx

thanks Kool we had both forgotten, doh! And it appears I didnt set up alarm properly

xx

Just logged in to remind you! Only 40 mins late.. doh.

hoho love the story

Thanks Teds I think I took it at 10 last night and 9 the night before, I'm new to the pill, does it have to be exactly the same time?

Hope you are ok? Been a bit miserable today, my hormones are all over the place, I'm hoping they will settle in next week or so. Back to school on Monday, eeek! Xxx

Ladies, after much pestering from DH, I poas last night when we got in from DH's birthday treat and there was what looked like an evap line so I poas again this morning with a FRER and there is a light but definite second line!!! I am not getting hopes up much as I know the dangers of having an early positive but do you think it's ok to get a little excited...?

Xx

Fingers crossed Garden, it sounds very promising! A whispered congrats to you and DH :)

Whoa, that was a risky strategy you brave pixie!! But yes, it would indeed suggest that you have a LOT to smile about!!!! Huge (((()))). How many poas do you think you'll do over the next few days? Should I take out shares?!! xxxx

Plus, it can't be the trigger shot can it, as you so cleverly did a test a few days after to check it had gone and it had, so that's another good sign!

Garden Lovely lovely news and so well deserved!!!!

What a lovely birthday surprise!!!! xxxxx

Loving the fact that you just 'happen' to have a FRER in the house...

Whispering lovely birthday congrats to you and DH xxx

Whispering Congrats pixie