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

Hi ya all
Sorry not to name check-wanted to pop in quickly and say hi-just in bed as didn't sleep too well last night-bloody rioters just a mile away-knew the calm of the relaxation room wouldn't last!

Picked up buserilin tonight! I just wanna get going now-please let this be the cycle! xx
Big ((())) to everyone-night night xx

Pumpkin, sorry sweets, knew I forgot someone . Nightmare about the riots, it's hideous isn't it, hope you're all safe. Excellent that you're in possession of drugs - mahoosive waggles for you this cycle

Hi All
Wow - not checked in for a couple of days and so much going on with everyone... sending you all hugs!

I too am off to bed - helicopters over our house all last night too and guess what - off to manchester for work for 2 days tomorrow (yes I like to follow the looters!!)

Nothing further on QI yet garden but i will let you know. jumping I was getting excited for you starting the spray soon - that will be me in a few weeks time!

night night
zb

Hi Skitoo don't worry-I just happened to msg just after you-I can never remember all either prob cos there's so many of us doing the waggle-yes is good about the drugs that now I realise time has flown really since last time. Good luck with stims-When is EC due? FWIW my friend who was successful with ICSI and now has 3 month old used a hot water bottle regularly during her treatment, but I also know there s contraindication for it as advised not to get abdomen hot-all very esp as I love hot water bottles!

Zeebee-I am awake again despite turning in early-probably as had LBC radio on but just turned it off and getting some shut eye before day starts again at 0540-yuk! Am sure these idiot rioters will be elsewhere by the time you go to Manchester-hope so-its horrid isn't it? Very scary times for the majority of us due to mindless few.

Love to all
xx

Good luck with the scans today ellan and nocake, hope they're nice and fat!

Waves to everyone else
(I think my ovaries are constipated, garden, they're feeling a bit blocked and uncomfortable :( I just want them out now, but I have to wait until Saturday. Is this what pregnancy is going to feel like?)

Hi all sorry for a quick me me me post but am just sneaking on quickly while pretending to work! AF showed up yesterday pm so I am going to start stims tonight ... Eeeeek!

Skitoo does that make us stim buddies?

Bodeccia sorry about your constipated ovaries! They will get better!

Hello to everyone else and sorry not to be able to say hi properly. I am going to be working until late tonight but will check in tomorrow xxxx

Wow, so much has been going on since I was last here!

Louise and luck good luck with you embie and blasts. I found I was quite calm the first 5 days after it was put back in and then became increasingly anxious/mental towards the end. Try and keep distracted.

Ellangirl & bodeccia I'm willing your follicules to hurry up and grow.

womanlytales - not long to wait now. Fingers crossed for you.

gardenpixie - so pleased you can start your stimms. Hurrrah!

Does caramel have a scan coming up - good luck if so!

Good luck ellan and bodeccia with your scans; I hope our waggle dancing has encouraged some big fat follies!

garden hurrah for starting your stims!! How are you feeling (apart from rotten AF)?

louise how are you doing, POAS buddy? I'm staying fairly calm, sometimes I forget and then I catch myself thinking 'blimey, there's a potential baby in there!' which is very odd. But it makes me .

pumkin, skitoo, jumping, danny, teds and everyone else I've missed, hope you're all well and not being looted (oo-er!). All this rioting makes me and I'm sorry you London peeps are getting caught up in it; it must be a strange place to be right now. Do we have any ladies on here from Birmingham, Nottingham etc? Can't believe there was a riot in Gloucester last night! Although when I was growing up near Evesham Gloucester was the Bright Lights. Well, I lived in a tiny village...

On with my busy day of surfing the internet, meeting a friend for lunch (in Waitrose coffee shop, COMEDY) and trying a new Jamie recipe tonight, some sort of pasta/wild mushroom/spicy sausagey thing. I love this being on holiday but not actually going anywhere, it's like school holidays.

Can't remember if I've asked this before, but has anyone read Caitlin Moran's book, How To Be A Woman? Do - it's so funny I was laughing out loud on the train like a NUTTER.

xxx

Hello all, had rank headache and sickness all last night coupled with sore tummy. I then realised that period was early this month so got hopes up again in case what I was actually experiencing was implantation pains and showing etc. Did a test this morning and it was negative which I was sort of expecting but would have been nice to have been wrong. Hey ho. Have hopefully posted three photos of our terrible terrier Tess who has insane moments and then very sweet moments. Currently attempting to stop her play biting which HURTS. But she does make us laugh! Good training I guess for a baby :) Happy Wednesday all.

Hello all, sorry to have disappeared off for a few days - has been manic. Am going to update from me and then will try to catch-up with all the action later.

Just back from my stims scan and I have three lovely follicles. One is a nice juicy 16mm and two are about 12mm. So hopefully with some follicle-fattening waggle dancing from you ladies all three will keep growing . Am going for another scan on Friday and EC will probably be Monday or Tuesday.

Obviously we're not going to get many eggs but it's a relief that it looks like we might get two or three rather than a big fat zero... And of course it only takes one...

Waves to all xxx.

Hi all, waggling def working- thanks for the waggle dances everyone! I have 10 follies around 12-17mm now, they're just very slow growing, but other than that everything looks fine. EC on Monday. so relieved it can go ahead! teds we're buddies now then :) claire sorry it was a bfn again- there's always a bit of hope isn't there. luck shall add 'how to be a nutter woman' to my reading list!

Woot woot ellan! Glad all that staring waggle dancing worked :o

Hello again teds, lovely to see you back and having you as part of this cycle of stims :)

good news ellan :) best of luck for Monday. Wave to everyone :)

I'll keep waggling for your scan tomorrow bodeccia, and yours on Friday teds, am getting to know that scanner rather too well and . So glam this whole business eh! Is your EC def Saturday then bodeccia? I think I prob would have been ready for Sunday but they don't want to do it on a Sunday!
Waves to everyone else, and fingers crossed for the next ones to test. If any of the pregnant lovelies are lurking please keep posting :)

Great news Ellanteds
clairebear so sorry about rank headache etc and BFN, would not be positive anyway would it yet? hope you are feeling better
luck must put that book on my holiday list
gardenpixie good luck with starting the stims
womanlytales I do hope you are able to keep calm and occupied sending you ((( hugs)))) and feel good vibes

I know someone said they were starting at Nottingham Care cannot remember who is it jumpin? thats where we are.
I am thinking as all you lovely ladies get so much out of acupuncture I should give it a go, anyone know of anyone reputable in Stoke/ Stafford?

Waggle dancing for all.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Really trying to motivate myself to restart healthy living had to much of a feast recently on the old . thought as we keep having to put back a few months may as well have a bit of fun. Even tried 30 day shred dvd good fun not too long.

I am very hope less I know at posting hoo humm

(((( hugs))))) to all

Bodeccia - I think cake rather than nocake is far more apt for me at the moment! I promised myself I would lose weight before this cycle and have I? Have I buggery.... I'm so annoyed with myself. Anyway I wanted to wish you lots of luck for your scans today. There could be quite a few of us having EC on the same day! What clinic are you at btw?

Clairebear - sorry that your naughty puppy cut short the holiday! Sorry too that you didn't get your last minute miricle - I think we all hope for one deep down. Good luck for your scan next week anyway and I hope the puppy behaves in the meantime!

jumpingjack - lucky you with two holidays lined up - definately the way to do it, I'm very jealous!

Sktitto - thank you for the lovely welcome. Hope the stimms go okay. I haven't tried a hot water bottle but I know a lot of ladies do. (I'm in awe of your massive post - I normally get half way through and then lose everything... grrrr).

pumkin joy - will keep everything crossed that this is your cycle. Hope the d/r goes okay

Garden Pixie - good luck with the stims. I'm gathering your last cycle was cancelled because you overstimulated? I'm sure they will be monitoring you very closely this time to make sure it doesn't happen again. Hope it all goes well anyway.

Hello to zeebee, owl, luckbealady, womenly and everyone else I have missed.

I had my 2nd progress scan this morning and all okay so far I think - I have about 17/18 follies, ranging from 10-18 and lining was 10 something. Because there I have a quite a few follicles, they did a blood test and depending on the result were considering bring the EC forward to Friday. Got a phonecall this afternnon though and we're still on for Monday, but they have reduced the menopur to 75iu for the next couple of days. Starting to feel very bloated now although I'm not sure if that's the folliicles or the water!

Actually I would welcome your advice/thoughts ladies regarding how many embryos to transfer. We have always said we want two put back as like everyone we want to maximise the chance of the cycle working - although if I'm completely honest, I know it would be very hard work but deep down I would love twins especially as I know DP wont go through any more treatment if this cycle is sucessful. But the clinic are pushing us to consider a blast SET (assuming we get enough embies of couse) and keep going on about all the risks with twins..... now I'm worrying that I would never be able to forgive myself if I insisted on two and then something went wrong...

Sorry ellan and teds I missed your posts - fantastic news about your scans :). There are going to be quite a few of us testing at the same time. We can try and stop each other going mad on the 2ww!

Hi all

Can I join? I'm on the TTC 6+ months thread and we've just found out ICSI is our only hope.

We've been put on the NHS waiting list but we're looking at either a private cycle or an egg sharing cycle while we wait.

Has anyone any experience of egg sharing to lower the cost?

Just a quickie nocake we are having blast SET if possible. I already have a child, so one at a time is sensible choice for me. I had SPD during pregnancy so I should think I would really struggle in a twin pregnancy, plus I want to minimise chance of C section and premature birth, also because I have caring for my DS to think of too. If I had no children, it might well sway my decision to put 2 back. I know 2 IVF twins, one born at 38 weeks all fine, the others were born at 32 weeks after weeks of bleeding and it was seriously hard work for them all. If you really want 2, it's your decision, and make sure they listen to your wishes.

Hey Garden, my little stim buddy, yep just had first jab!

Teds, great news on the follies, remember it only takes one .

Woo hoo, Ellan, waggling is working . Hope you get lots of lovely eggies on Monday but as above for Teds, it only takes one. (Please can someone remind me of that next week when I am metalling)

Luck think I might invest in that book, I love a good laugh out loud read.

Bodeccia, lots of luck for tomorrow, hope the waggle dancing has done it's magic for you too.

And more fat follie news from Nocake, good going lovely. I haven't really thought about one or two yet but agree with your thoughts, it's a tough one.

ClaireBear, am going to check out pics tomorrow when on proper pc, sounds cute. We've been wanting a dog for ages but not fair just yet with our working hours but you never know if we get lucky and I spend more time at home .

Right need to get to bed now, night night all xx

We are at Care Nottingham. Saw Maha on Monday. I thought she was lovely. We are starting short protocol in October for an array cgh pgs cycle.
Very nervous.
She seemed very worried I'd overstimulate as I had a high antral follicle count and AMH 29.4.
Anyone else done short protocol?
What can I do to prevent ohss?
Thanks xx

Hello all!

Bodeccia, hope the scan today (?) goes well, same for you tomorrow Teds - keeping it all crossed for you!

Bugsy, I'm at Guys in London, not Nottingham but I'm sure I've seen someone on here from around Notts.

Nocake hope the EC and ET goes well! What's your likelihood of having twins? If they run in your family will they transfer 2 (at Guys they won't)? Would your DH be up for transferring one and freezing any others? That way another cycle to extend your family would be far less intensive/invasive? I think that's what we'll probably do if we're lucky enough to have enough viable embryos.

I'm off to the hospital again this afternoon for yet another blood test, I hope think I can just walk in for it! Am also waiting for a call to put a scheduling appointment in the diary for me to start sniffing on day 21. I was shaking slightly when I called to leave a message letting them know my cycle had started the other day, a mixture of nerves and excitement... 'this is very real now'!

Just wondering what I can tell the people at work when I'm popping off for appointments and scans every other day (don't want to tell them about the ICSI)! Thankfully hospital is on my way to work (kind of) but it won't go unnoticed by my team... they already think I'm interviewing for another job with my mysterious 'appointments' .

What witty excuses are you all using? [sneaky emoticon]

Hi ladies

I'm back from my work travels - hurrah!

Caramel I think it's your scan today - I hope that everything is going well and that little bite shows up marvellously on the scan

Womanly how are you doing? I chuckled at your post re constipated ovaries being a PCOS thing, I think you're right! So the Drs have been getting it wrong all along, it's actually Pretty Constipated Ovary Syndrome

Carebear1 are you about at all? I'm not sure when you're starting your next cycle but a big wave to you if you're lurking xxx

Jumping well done on the holiday count! Booking two hols over your treatment will definitely win you a BFP! Glad all went went with your appt. Btw, is a little example of waggle dancing bees. I did a waggle dance for Carebear1 ages ago and it caught on ... but basically it involves invoking the powers of nature to get us all updiffed by shaking our arses vigourously

Skitoostimbuddy I am on Gonal-F which requires fridging the whole time as it's premixed. The hot water bottle thing is an odd one ... I found it was really nice last time round as it took the edge off the puffy feeling. I guess just do whatever makes you feel most comfortable Hope you're doing OK after your jab

Pumpkin hope things have settled down for you and that the rioting hasn't had too much of an impact where you live. Some idiots near us broke into a BlockBuster because they were too stupid to realise all the actual cassettes and DVDs are kept in a secure bit at the back so all they got away with were empty video cartons and some popcorn. IDIOTS

Bodeccia how are your ovaries today? I hope your scan went well too - keep us posted!

Luck I am sooooo impressed at your fabulous luckwholunches 2WW style. Brilliant! I too will add Caitlin Moran's book to my reading list - I read a review by Germaine Greer and it had me in stitches! How are things with you and Luckling ?

Clairebear oh I am sorry your puppy is being a bit of a tear away! Sounds sooo cute though! How are you doing today? Hope the incidence of canine rampaging have gone down! They do have sharp little needle teeth though don't they?

Teds hurray for your three follicles! That's great news! How are you feeling? Hope your scan goes well tomorrow

Teds Ellan and Nocake I look forward to a group waggle dance for Monday / Tues. How exciting!

Nocake the single vs double thing is tricky isn't it. I know loads of people who have twins (well, 5 couples with twins) and they were all absolutely fine; but I guess the Drs have the stats to back them up. If you were considering a SET, it sounds like you have enough eggs to get a few blastos in the freezer so you could always have a frozen transfer in the VERY UNLIKELY event that you need another cycle. However, you know all the potential ups and downs of twins so if you and your partner are happy with that, then it's your choice, not the clinic's [strident emoticon]
Oh and yes, my last cycle was cancelled because of overstimulation but I am all ready for another crack now and I have had stern words with my ovaries about behaving themselves this time round!

Bugsy lovely to see you! how are you doing?

Fatima hello! Lovely to have you with us I've not had any experience of egg sharing as I have PCOS and there's diabetes in my family so I couldn't be considered for it. I think it's definitely worth a go though and you'd be helping someone else out too so it sounds like a great idea

Blackcat I am doing short protocol now - just started the jabs yesterday. Anything I can tell you? Do shout if there is.

Wow, sorry for mammoth post! I am shattered but pleased to be home after wandering around the country for work the last few days. I am so pleased that my body managed to get the timing right so I started injecting the night I got back rather than having to take the bloody needly thing with me.

Anyway, hope everyone is well - I'm off to crash on the sofa and catch up on eastenders xxxxx

Sorry Jumping x-posts. I used the following excuses:

• Have to wait in for emergency plumber
• Taking a very early morning conf call so I'll come into work after that
• Recovering from hideous allergic reaction (partly true) so have to have my blood taken to check it's all OK (almost all true)
• Overslept (had been true in the past)

Hello again all

I'm back from the scan, and EC is going ahead on Saturday morning. My follies have grown, some are probably going to be too big (!) at 22mm, but most are going to be around 17mm. The best thing is that I only have one more injection to do, hurrah! Just the big one, dun dun daaa!

I had a blood test too. I didn't know this, but if you're going for a blood test, make sure you drink plenty of water beforehand. It makes it a lot easier for them to collect the blood and you get less bruising. Needless to say I barely drank anything today (apart from 2 cups of tea, which I thought would be enough...) and the nurse was digging away for a while and then said it was like going into "leather" because I was so dehydrated. Usually it is like "butter". So there you go, tip of the day: drink plenty of water if you're having a blood test.

Delighted for you garden that you're back in the "swing of stims". Its always good to be home IMO :) Hope your and skitoo's injections are going well and your follies are growing nicely, and clamly ms.garden'sfollies I'm waggling in a non-too vigorous way for you both.

Fatima I've got no experience in egg sharing, sorry. Do ask plenty of questions (I might even be able to answer one!), you've found a very supportive thread, we've all had all kinds of experiences on this IVF journey.

Ellan, Teds and Cake: EC is not too far away. I'll be thinking of you all. I don't know about you, but I just want to be out for the count for my EC. Just give me the drugs. I don't need to experience any of it.

I'm a total woss, I know.

(((hugs all)))