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

Afternoon Ladies, am absolutely knackered - this IVF thing can be a bit tiring!

Update from my scan this morning is that I'm ready for EC and it's going to be on Monday or Tuesday - they are ringing this afternoon to confirm. My three wonderful, determined follicles are now 20mm, 16mm and 14mm which is great. Also, I've been sent home with a pot for DH's sample - did anyone else get this? He has to do it as we leave home, then second sample at hospital and if that doesn't work then it's surgical retrieval... frankly it seems like a good job I'll probably only produce a few eggs

Bodeccia loads of luck for tomorrow. I missed the biscuit thing with the injections too - doh - but I think I've got off lightly compared to others... though the 450ml injections do keep going and going...

ellan good to hear you'd ready to go too and nocake are you still on for Monday too? I think number of embryos at ET will totally depend on what happens with EC and fertilisation for us. We may not get any and even if we do, statistically there is less chance we'll have high quality ones, so combined with the fact we are likely to be day three transfer I think we'll go for two if that is an option. If a five day blasto was an option we'd probably go for SET. I think, as you say, it's a case of seeing what happens and making the best judgement when you know how many embryos you have and what quality they are etc.

skitoo sorry to hear that the injections are a little painful. I think in quickly and at 90 degrees helps as kool says. Also, those nearer to the centre of the tummy are less painful (more cushioning??)

womanly I'm joining the group of slightly deranged looking waggle-dancing ladies that appear to be growing in number and determination as Sunday approaches. Really hope it's your month xx.

HPK fantastic news on your wedding! As the others said, you have got a lot on! I was definitely more cranky on the down regs and also got a fair few headaches. Much better now though definitely a bit tired. Make sure you take it as easy as you can for the next couple of weeks.

Welcome fatima we looked into egg sharing before it became clear that I'd need all my eggs for myself! (Though some clinics will allow you to give away all your eggs in one cycle and then you get a fresh cycle free which might be just about viable in my situation). In addition to what nocake says you'll need FSH under 10. Also you'll probably have to pay the HFEA fee (£100) and also for the 'ICSI' part of your treatment (i.e. the extra cost above IVF possibly £500 - £750) and you may also have to pay for the embryo transfer and if you get a blasto, rather than day three embryo, you may have to pay a little for those two extra days. However, this would still be cheaper than a private cycle and obviously it will be quicker. Both the Lister Clinic in London and the London Women's Clinic do sharing.

caramel hoping that the scan went well and all is well with bite. kool lots of snuggly love to kitten too x.

GP hoping the injections are going okay and your ovaries are behaving themselves

Louise - your symptoms sound vey promising. Not long now, although I know it feels like a lifetime.

Womanly hope you are hanging in there mate, this bit is the hardest isn't it

skitoo - I tend to inject (both the burserlin and menopur) very slowly otherwise I find they do sting a bit.

ellan - glad the scan went well. Do you know what time your in yet?

bodeccia - are you all set for tomorrow? What time do you have EC? I take it all went okay with the trigger shot (I have a terrible fear I'll forget it or drop and break the syringe!)

Teds - were you in for a scan today too? Hope it went well if so.

Hello to garden, luck, kool and everyone else

Had final scan this morning and all seemed to be okay to all set for Monday. Just waiting for a call now to see what time I have to taje trigger and whether I should start taking the carbergolin (sp?) tomorrow or not.

Hi all,

Thank you all so much for your comments and well wishes. It's such a relief to know that how I'm feeling is 'normal'!

bodeccia - the original date for my egg collection was in November, but a cancellation came through which the fertility clinic offered me. I'm 40 at the end of November so immediately jumped at the chance to get in earlier. Or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment ;-)

Short update this time - I'm in first thing Monday! Eek

nocake I'm doing my trigger at 10.00pm tomorrow. Hand holding for hideous whale harpoon needle appreciated.

HKP that makes sense to me. Plus perfect excuse for any bridezilla behaviour over the next few weeks .

Teds, ellan, nocake and bodeccia good luck with your ECs!!! I'll be thinking of you all. This really is it, the final furlong!

xxx

Teds I know it hurts but I LOVE it when cats do that, they're trying to get milk from their mummy!!!

Awww thanks everyone for your helpful comments. I'm on menopur and it's already mixed and at room temperature, I think it's probably just a thicker consistency that is making it feel so different. I have taken on board all your tips, especially the , thanks Kool .

Ellan, great news on the follies, all the best for Monday.

Now I've read down and it's a huge big well wishing for Bodeccia tomorrow and Teds, Nocake and Ellan for Monday.

Hope everyone has lovely weekends xx

Hi everybody,

I think I introduced myself on the last thread, bur haven't been on mumsnet for a while, so to reintroduce I'm 29, DH 31, had been trying for number one since December but discovered after 8 months we had male factor infertility. We just got DHs second set of results this week and as a result are def going ahead with ICSI. We have our Pre-treatment appt with the nurses next week to sign all the forms etc, and plan the treatment. I suppose we could be having our first treatment by September, which is a little surreal but quite exciting too. It's really encouraging to see so many BFPs here too.

Really good to know other people will be going through all this at the same time we are - it can all feel a bit lonely at times.

Hi everyone,

Back from hols and ready for bed, I'm shattered tonight as it took us 5 hrs to get home.

luck it is too early for our symptoms, I'm pretty sure mine are linked to the progesterone tablets I'm on 4x daily. When do you officially test? I'm totally confused by the testing lark, thinking I might just book a drs app for Friday.

skitoo sorry that your jabs left you feeling strange, I had a similar issue with the ceterazine (ooops spelling) where my leg was hot and swollen for an hour or two- how long does the reaction last?

Good luck womanly for Sunday!!!

garden when do you start the jabs?

Who is next for EC? Is it bodeccia cake teds and ellan? Good luck ladies!

Hope all the BFP mummy's to be are well?

Big wave, sorry I can't post fully still on mobile internet. Lovely to see the thread constantly at the top of the page!! Whoop!

Louise xxxxx

Thanks for all the lovely well wishes. Was meant to be working from home this afternoon but have spent most of the afternoon asleep. Did anyone else get this tired just before EC?

Louise haven't kept up with all the posts but have you been somewhere nice?

Welcome again Clo lovely to hear that things are moving promptly.

Thanks kool I do like it really . I, err, have a special blanket that I hide under so that I'm protected from the claws... and when Mr Teds catches us having cuddles the conversation usually goes -
Mr T: "That cat is weird"
Mrs T: "He's not, he just think I might be his mum"
Mr T: "No, that cat actually believes you are his mum..."

Awww, so cute and funny! Is there any dribbling (from your cat, not Mr.T....) when he does it? I love it when they go into a sort of trance. And you ARE his mummy . It's Friday night, I should be blaming for my witterings but it's pear & elderflower cordial all the way now! I do mix it with fizzy water to make things more exciting though. Wild

Yes there are dribbles (not from Mr Teds...) and the weird trance thing! Mr T is just jealous cos his cat shows his affection by stalking him (literally has to be sat with him/stood near him at the same time) and obviously the dribbly, clawy cuddles are best

Are there cats in the kool household too? Pear and Elderflower sounds nice... am longing for a though!

Morning all
bodeccia i hope everything goes really well today and that you get that warm muzzy feeling the others all seem to ahve enjoyed.
womanly keep in there thinking of you and have cramp from keeping everything crossed*
nocake,ellan and Teds so exciting for next week heres wishing it all goes well.
cloclo welcome back it will fly by.
louiseteacher hope the hols were great and hope you can hold out for the testing. Lots of good wishes.
nocake Will be thinking of you with your harpoon and my hand is also there.tried to say this the other day but went into internet bin. We have been told to transfeer 2 if we can could transfer 3 due to age but they do not recommend it went into this always assuming I would transfer 2. 4 rl friends have had IVF. 1 only had 1 embryo implanted (only had 1) day 3 i think now has 16 week identical twins. 2nd 4 cycles all had 2 embies transfered final cycle singleton ds, (she would have gone on until 40 and had 3 transferred) now DD non IVF!, both long protocol. 3rd not sure how many transfered but has dd, and 4th 2 dd (2 1/2 and 5 weeks) 2 cycles IVF short protocol, 1st with 2 embies and second with only one as that is all she had. Go with what feels right and comfortable to you do not get pushed into something you would regret.
hpk71 hope you are feeling better now you know these feelings are normal and you have the added hormonal marathon of a wedding but a good distraction and so exciting
blacktreacle we are at Care with Maha agreed she is lovely. Friend above with 2 dd was at care on short protocol both times. Infact on her 2nd cycle her eggs etc were worse and they had told her if she was coming to them for the first time they probably would have advised against IVF.
Have a naughty secret but a miracle which I tried to share the other day before it got lost. Am BFP am worried speaking about it will jinx it how mad is that? previous biochem preg 18 months ago. Have low progesterone need pessaries they feel really odd gloopy and all but you all know that right? so claire it can happen so all have some hope. Cannot really believe it as DH being poorly and having to delay treatment. So am off the again

Hope everyone as a great weekend,

Hugs

Bugsylugs- congratulations on your bfp! I think if I were you I would ring Care and ask to speak to Maha. I think she might well give you sone cyclogest to help maintain your natural miracle. When I saw her I told her about my premenstrual spotting and she said I had a luteal phase defect which my old cons (Mr R Leeds) doesn't believe in! She was quite happy to give me cyclogest post ov for non ivf cycles.
I'm glad to hear so many positive stories about Care. My worry really is getting enough eggs, so enough fertilise and grow to do embryo biopsy and day 5 transfer. She seemed quite confident they would be able to do this but seemed worried I'd get ohss. Is this because my antral follicle count was 30 and AMH 29.4?
Anything I can do to prevent ohss?
Xx

congrats bugsy on your bfp - big hug :) Thrilled for you.

Well thats some fab Saturday morning news, CONGRATS Bugsy, AMAZING!!

Welcome back Cloclo, glad you found us again, its a great place to be for support on the ivf journey. Sorry you have to find yourself here but great that you've got your appointment to get started.

Hey Louise, hope you had a nice break, but ooh 5 hours journey home, yuk. So what date were you given as official test date? Have everything crossed for you xx.

Blacktreacle, sorry I don't have any ideas to prevent ohss, only thing I have read/been told is to just drinks plenty of water. I was told I may be prone to ohss as pcos but not so sure myself as I never had a great response to clomid . Sorry if I've missed it,when do you start stims? They have started me on low dose to try and prevent.

Nearly there Womanly, sending you all the positive vibes possible for what you truly deserve xx.

I've been a bit of a weepy mess since yesterday, as today would have been my due date . Flicking the positivity switch back on, jab was a lot better last night and it's the start of the footie season again, whoop whoop!

Big (((((((hugs))))))) for everyone.

Bugsylugs, what happy news . I can completely relate to not wanting to jinx it, I daren't even really think too much about mine so I'm with you on that! Take it easy and well done you X

Teds we were a happy little family of me and 2 cats but then I met and fell in love with Mr Kool....who is completely allergic (we're talking asthma, hives, the lots) so eventually I had to rehome my boys . Luckily one of them lives really near to my parents and I'm allowed to visit him so it's not all bad (he's incredibly spoilt and very happy) and plus I got Mr Kool so I guess it was a win win (altho very sad at the time).

blacktreaclecat no more to add other than drinking lots of water and I'm sure they'll monitor you closely if you're at risk? Wishing you all the best.

Aw skitoo I'm sad for you too. It's a normal, healthy reaction to be sad on your due date. I felt sad on mine too but tried to feel better that I was actively doing something positive which will get you there again, with a much happier outcome. (((hugs))) and enjoy the footie

Good luck Bodecciaxxx

Hi All

Wow tons going on after a few days of absence from me.

Bugsy congratulations, fantastic news on your BFP.
Louise I was told to test 14 days after EC and test was negative but I tested 2 days later and it was positive so I guess 16 days after EC is safest.
Luck can't believe the fuck up at the hospital but keeping everything crossed Luckette is settling in nicely.
Ellan, Bodeccia, No Cake and Teds good luck with EC, you'll be fine, enjoy the GA, it was such a great feeling, I'd never had one before and asked afterwards if i could take some home!!! Its a good excuse to relax and do nothing all day too.
Womanly good luck with your test tomorrow, fingers and toes crossed.
Garden great news about AF showing up and starting on the stims finally, you're so nearly there now, sending good follicle vibes your way.
Skitoo great news that you have started stims too.
Jumping I was just straight with boss at work - I told her what was going on and she was very supportive. Might be easier than thinking up loads of excuses?
HKP welcome and soo exciting about your wedding coming up. Menopur gave me no side effects so don't worry and Im sure you'll be so caught up in the emotions of tour wedding that you won't even think about any symptoms.

As for me, I had my first can on Thursday and all looks good so far, we even saw the heart beat which was amazing as its only 5.4mm! I have another scan in 3 weeks. We told our GP yesterday so we're now registered with our local hospital for antenatal appointments. Still keeping it all very low key and still very early days and trying not to get too excited.

Hope I've remembered everyone. Speak soon xxxx

caramel and bugsy what fantastic news!!

Am losing track of where everyone is, it all seems to move so fast!

So, waiting to start: cloclo blacktreacle? fatima

Down regging/stimming we have garden, HKP, jumping, skitoo

Ready for EC we have me, bodeccia, nocake and teds

Waiting to test womanly, luck and Louise

Anyone else?

I am triggering at 10.30 tonight- ooh er!

ellan fabulous summary, very helpful.caramel fab news on the heart beat.. as a friend once said here in Mumsnet, its the se milestones that help us move forward, one at a time. wave to eone

How lovely to see the heartbeat when it is so small caramel, that's so exciting! I can't wait to get to that stage eventually.

To all ladies who have gone through ICSI, how long after your form signing appt with the nurses did you actually start downregging? I have the appt this Weds and a day 21 coming up on the 29th of this month - do you think that would be too soon to begin? Will it likely be the next cycle now?

Hi ladies

Sorry for being a bit awol recently, work shmork. I will be manic until Monday night and then intend to relax for the rest of the week so I'll be more attentive, I promise!

womanly how are you lovely? I am keeping everything tightly crossed for you tomorrow. While waggling. Which looks a bit odd but I'm persevering! FWIW my GP said that random spotting is normal with PCOS (I had freaked out and convinced myself I had something sinister going on with mid cycle spotting etc) as our skewiff hormones can make the cervix quite sensitive and prone to bleeding a bit, as well as making our ovaries constipated obviously

Kool I am loving how rock 'n' roll you are with your fizzy water in the pear and elderflower. Go easy though, no need to overdo it! Glad you can still see at least one of you pusscats regularly, I'd be heartbroken if I had to rehome my puss - DH threatens to every time she proudly brings us in a mostly alive mouse Hope all is well with kitten

Caramel what excellent news about bite thanks for updating us! And seeing the heartbeat must have been amazing!

Skitoo I am sorry to hear it was meant to be your due date today I don't know if this helps but now that you're stimming, I am sure that you are already growing the start of your new LO ... just a few needles and a bit of mixing and you'll have a skit2 in no time. Sorry the stims were a bit burny and pleased to hear they are getting better. When is your first scan? Mine's tomorrow eeeeek!

Bodeccia hope all goes well today - keep us posted! I am waggling in your direction!

Ellan and Teds jolly good work on the follicle growing front ladies! Top marks all round. I will be thinking of you at 10 and 10:30 tonight and waggling like a crazed bee on Monday for you

Teds your cat sounds awesome! Mine is a real mummy's girl and isn't keen on DH unless he has butter for her. So I get all the dribbly kneading but also the dead / semi-dead mice

Blackcat my consultant told me that the best way of warding off OHSS is drinking loads of water and doing as much gentle exercise as you can.

Louise 5 hrs to get home...? I'm not surprised you're shattered! Your symptoms sound very promising though!

My stims are going well and I have only had one overly emotional incident but fortunately it involved dissolving into tears watching and episode of the West Wing so the only people to witness it were my cat and dog (OK, I know they're not people but they think they are so we're going along with it )

After having grown over 50 follicles last time, my ovaries are surprisingly un-hurty so I think that's because of you all giving them stern looks ... keep them coming! I was slightly to read that the drugs I have to take next week, in addition to the stims, to stop my follicles ovulating on their own involve mixing everything up each time, putting the needle in at 45 degrees, pulling the plunger back to check there's no blood, and then injecting the drugs. I am sure I'll be fine once I've started but I do think I might need someone medically trained to help me.

Maybe one of the hunky drs from ER?

Right, I'd best get back to work ... will definitely be checking in with everyone's news over the next few days but I might not get a chance to post a I'll pretty much be in meetings or on trains with clients who apparently want me to focus on their business rather than my MN friends how rude!

Lots of love and happy weekends all round

xxxxxx GP

Love the summary ellan! Xx

Well bit of an update from me...strange water infection feeling and electric shock boobs continued all yesterday and this morning, bought myself a home test as I am about two weeks post EC and it was a BFP! Of course whispering thisas its very early and it was quite faint. I have a funny feeling that after having 2X 5 day blasts transferred and the fact I have very very very early symptoms it might be twins. Going to retest on Monday and take a trip to my drs.

Luck what date do you test? Xx

womanly I know you are testing tomorrow, how many days are you post EC and ET? Xx

Going for a lie down in a bit of shock, lovely shock though!

Louise xxxxx

Cloclo sorry, x-post

You will probably start down regs on the first CD21 after all your tests have been done and you've had your first appt. So it sounds like it might be this month! How are you feeling about it all? xx

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Louise that is excellent! Congratulations! xxx