Assisted Conception (and all the bits that go with it) volume 9

[Scrummybumb]

A new snug for us AC ladies

Mini wow, eight that is fab, well done.

Sunnyg hugs to you and wishing you a Happy Easter.

Scrummy thanks for asking, it is Thursday 12th although I get the joy of waiting another 2 days if it is negative and retesting so it could be Saturday 14th! Let?s call it Friday 13th for ?luck! Luckily I am not at all superstitious.

I had the most fabulous time at Spring Harvest. www.springharvest.org/ For those who do not know what it is, Spring Harvest is a Christian festival held every Easter at Butlins, in a couple of locations, but we normally go to Minehead. It combines a wonderful, inspiration, fun-filled Christian activity of teaching, worship, workshops etc with tons of food (and it really is nice food now), chalets that are very modern and actually warm, free stuff like a pool with flumes etc, fun fair, Bob land etc, the beach on the doorstep and a few other things you need to pay for like bowling, cycle-cars and table tennis. We managed to do just about everything you could imagine while there. Our DD had a blast and loved her children?s morning group, where they were all learning to be ?space cadets?. She was in tears as we left because she loved it so much. One of the biggest things for me was that there was a session on fostering and adoption and I went along. I met all kinds of people who were looking into fostering and adoption and I just felt a real sense of rightness about the timing. Of course I do still hope our treatment has worked. If it has maybe in the future we will end up fostering or adopting as well. If it has not worked, I feel I am finally ready to lay to rest the desire to have another baby in my belly and I am ready to look into adoption. We would have to wait six months but I would have my to do list ready ? get fit! I can?t explain it, because just under two years ago when our first donor egg IVF failed I just was not ready to look at adoption seriously, I had too many issues and frankly I was way too needy in myself! God has totally built me up and he used even these few days away to prepare me. I am not saying I am assuming our treatment has not worked, I?m just saying if it has not worked I do think I am finally ready to move on. Whereas before I would have said I was still not sure if adoption would be our next step, I now feel really sure it would be something to explore, and DH and DD are both in favour. Whatever happens, I know that Care for the Family www.careforthefamily.org.uk/adopt/ are looking at supporting adopters and I am keen that if this is something God is calling me into I will be keen to look into it, once I have dealt with whatever is going on (or not going on) in my belly! Anyway, that?s just for me, I know that having a baby/adopting etc are totally different and I know a while ago I was not ready so we all do things in different ways but I guess it has given me some peace as I go into the second week of our two week wait!

Hugs to Josie, Maplecake, Mojangles, Bugsylugs, Lexie, weller, Pocket, BadgerFace, Keziah, Lissy, weller, BadgerFace, Lucy, Pumpkinjoy, vallinnapod and all. Baby dust, healthy pregnancies and chocolate boobs to all ? Did I forget anyone?? Hugs all.

Happy Easter

Hope everyone is surrounded by baby dust and chocolate eggs!

Saw consultant yesterday. I've decided not to have any immunes testing and instead to stick with prednisolone and aspirin for my next round. I've had my thyroid function checked (that was normal) and am waiting for blood clotting results (which may mean we swap aspirin for clexane). And I'm having acupuncture too. Please God that's the right decision and this works. I'm booked on for down reg Monday week, FET will be mid May - we've decided to pop two in (praying they survive the defrost).

Hugs to everyone. Will name check tomorrow

X

Maple how are you feeling luv? I hope you've had a rest and are feeling okay. I totally agree with the others in giving yourself some time to digest it all, but I also think that it's good to start formulating a plan. That's what keep's you going isn't it. That sense that you've got a plan and there's light at the end of your tunnel. So why wouldn't you fit the criteria of ARGC? I've never been there but from the other ladies here I've heard wonderful things and that they definitely are not a 'one size' clinic. It's really hard for me to advise on the DE route except that I'm currently egg-sharing as a donor and although I know it's from a totally different perspective, I totally understand that if my recipient (hopefully) gets pregnant that that child will be totally hers, even if not 100% biologically. I also understand that lengths she must have gone to get to this point, so I just hope, hope so much she has success. That we both have success. But personally if it was me, I'd probably try the private clinic that specialised in your situation or could help you individually first, then look at DE. But that's just my way of thinking.

Italian wow Spring Festival sounds like it was both empowering and calming for you at the same time. Perfect for your 2ww. There's an article this week in Red Magazine about Lisa Faulkner, some celebrity masterchef person who moved from IVF to adoption and it's quite interesting and inspiring. I know it's a celebrity thing, but her story was really no different from all of ours. But let's see what later this week brings for you!!

Lucy 24 weeks already! I hope you are buying up lots of cute outfits!

Josie How's the bench going darl? I hope Easter has treated you well and you've still got that fighting spirit.

Mini 8 for EC is fantastic. I hope those embies are processing well. Keep us updated.

Srummy your schedule is pretty busy. Why may I ask do you have twice-daily visits to the clinic?

Good news from me. I am officially in treatment! Egg-sharing has started! With the whole matching of cycles business it's quite long, about 7-8 weeks from start to finish, but actually it already feels like things are kicking along already. Went to clinic last week and got provisional schedule. Nice to have the dates. So up to clinic next wed for Pipelle scrapey thing. Then should start down-regging that day. Provisionally scheduled for EC May 8 and then ET maybe May 13 depending on how those embies go. So perhaps Pocket we will be cycle buddies? Not sure if anyone else will be with us?

Hugs and Happy Easter to Mojangles, Bugsylugs, Lexie, weller, BadgerFace, Keziah, Lissy, Pumpkinjoy and all. Sorry if I've missed anyone and sorry for long post!

I am currently writing my dissertation on how society views In Vitro Fertilisation and I need to complete some interviews to enhance my thesis.

If you are willing to help please contact me at [email protected] and I will send you the questions. It will only take about 5 minutes I promise! And all responses will be confidential.

Thank you so much,

Lucy

Sunnyg great you are in treatment [busmile]

MiniH 8 eggs is great, hope you get lots of good embryos from them.

Italian - I loved SH the year we went... hope to go when DS a few years older. Good to hear DD enjoyed it so much. And very pleased to hear that you had that useful session on adoption or fostering. Though hope treatment works for you, so that session useful for after child number 2!!

[busmile] Happy Easter, one and all. May the joy of this day be with each one of us. [bugrin]

Pocket well done, honey, on making a decision you are happy with. I know the anxiety about embies surviving the thaw, but I did get one good one out of three and they were all lower grade than normal. How many do you have?

Sunng well done on egg sharing, what a suitable perfect activity for Easter.

*Keziah, thanks for your kind words. Hope you and your family make it to Spring Harvest, do tell me if you go one year, it would be so nice.

Josie how are you holding up, honey?

Maplecake thinking of you and sending huge hugs to you my dear.

Lissy any news on noisy neighbours?

Hugs to Scrummy, BadgerFace, Mojangles, Bugsylugs, Lexie, Weller, Mini, BadgerFace, Lucy, Pumpkinjoy, vallinnapod and all. Baby dust, healthy pregnancies and chocolate EASTER EGG boobs to all [bubiscuit] [bubiscuit].

Hey lovelies - how are we all doing? Hope there aren't too many choccy induced comas and that everyone's having a lovely BH Monday.

I must admit, I have spent the whole morning trying to read back through all your posts to get a proper sense of where everyone is at in their TX cycle / conceiving / pregnancy cycle - you might need to bear with me while I catch up though!

I just wanted to say a massive thanks to Italian, Sunny, Keziah, Minny, Josie, Lucy and Scrummy for taking the time to post such wise advice and thoughtful advice. You've each given me some really interesting things to think about - I'd be here for ever and you wouldn't thank me for the mega post if I responded individually to all your points but you have really helped to clarify my thinking.

We had a lovely anniversary w/e with lots of walks in fields... and falling off the wagon in a major way - rare steak, bearnaise sauce, oysters, mussels, red wine, whisky, real coffee, stinky runny cheese, if it was on the banned list we ate it! After 4 months of utter healthiness with no alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, all organic, 8 portions of fruit and veg etc etc, I think t did me good, although I'm totally back on the healthy wagon now :)

Atm I'm pretty sure we will go down the donor egg route but I'm going to give myself a couple of weeks to process it all. I'm fed up of feeling sad and grief already - dammit, I just want the baby I've been dreaming of for the last 15 odd years!!!! I normally make heart /emotion based decisions but this time I actually feel like I'm using my head...it feels good...I think. I've also been reading some really interesting stuff on epigenetics - basically that DNA is not the be all and end all with genetics and the womb environment etc in which the embryo develops has a lot of bearing on the baby's development etc

I really need to feel success is on the horizon and I'm just not strong enough to exhaust all the options with conceiving with my own eggs - I'd rather quit while I'm psychologically ahead - does that sound nuts?

So we're looking at Serum in Athens, Reprofit (Czech republic - there's Czech blood in the family on my maternal side although you wouldn't know if from looking at me) and hospital Quiron in Barcelona.... DH is plugging for Barca but I think he's getting a little confused and thinks we'll be spending all our time in Cava bars :).

We're also going to invest in immunes testing. My mum has Lupus and a multitude of AI disorders such as arthritis and Raynaud's disease and I've also read that redheads can be more susceptible to autoimmune disorders...at any rate if we're going to borrow / scrimp / save X thousands on achieving our dream it seems sensible to invest a couple more to make sure it actually WORKS! Would love to hear more from you ladies that have had success with this - I think there are a few of you out there?

Of course we will also be very much SWI as I've heard miracles do happen...

Italian Great to hear you sounding so positive and at peace. It sounds as though Spring Harvest came at a perfect time for you and it sounds like you have a very real sense of what the future holds for you. What a fantastic attitude to go in to the 2nd w of the 2ww with I say. I shall keep everything crossed for you.

Sunny - As a potential egg recipient think your egg sharing is truly amazing. Great news that you've got your schedule and that you're officially in treatment - such exciting times. BTW I read the Lisa Faulkner article - I had no idea - had always assumed her child was biological and didn't realise she had faced the same challenges as the rest of us...there's a lesson in there somewhere...not least that our natural instinctive maternal love for our babies / children transcends the mechanics of how they happen to enter our families...

Mini What's the latest on your embies hon, have you got a date for ET yet? Keeping everything crossed for you. Are you feeling very sore still? I remember how sore my ovaries were after just the 1 follie!

Scrummy - How's the stimmying going? It sounds very intense at ARGC but great that you are in the very best possible hands - 7 good sized follies is fantastic!

Badgerface Good luck with the scan tomorrow - let us know how you get on. We'll be there holding your hand in lieu of DH :)

Josie - I hope Fred and Ginger are growing beautifully and that you're continuing to have lots of lovely dance related conversations - let's hope they're tripping the light fantastic and implanting as we speak

Will do more personals later - sorry to anyone I've forgotten - I'll gradually remember where everyone is at and I've gone on for way too long already. Love and hugs to one and all. xxx

Happy Easter Monday to you all.

Just a quick one to get anyone's views on the Zita West Pre and Post ET CD? I've read some mixed reviews, so just wondering if anyone has it and if they think it's helpful? Or perhaps any other podcasts etc?

oxox

Sunny, I used the CD every day throughout my TX and found it deeply relaxing. It also helped me to stay positive. I'd definitely recommend. xx

Happy Easter Monday.

Italian it sounds like you had a very peaceful and inspiring trip. I really hope that this cycle is your one, but it sounds like you have a clear sense of the path ahead, no matter what the outcome, and I am so pleased that you've found that.

Pocket congrats on your decision - it sounds like a really good plan, and it must be so nice to have dates to work towards now. my clinic has also put me on blood thining injections which is supposed to be better than aspirin so might be worth asking your dr about that as well.

Maple that sounds like a brillian first anniversary, and am very jealous of all the yummy food and drink you had - making me hungry just thinking of it! Sounds like you've already done quite a bit of research on egg donor route but I totally get you wanting to digest it all before you launch in. Are there cost advantages to looking abroad and are the waiting lists shorter?

sunnyg yay for starting treatment and having dates!

Update from me is that we got the call yesterday and seven of our eight eggs fertilised. We are provisionally booked in for transfer tomorrow but they will call to let us know status tomorrow morning of how many have survived and whether we should go to blastocyst instead. If we go to blastocyst will be Thursday, which is our third anniversary. Have a feeling it might go till then but let's wait and see. We do however have to decide how many to put back as looks like we may have a choice (everything crossed and trying not to get ahead of ourselves). just keep changing my mind as one minute I think just one as understand risk of multiples but then I think about risk of one failing and doing this all again, and just can't face that right now. Am still quite sore from egg collection, which surprised me, as expected it to be gone by now, but that isn't helping. Does anyone have any thoughts on how many to out back? Am a bit confused.

7 eggs is fantastic miniH

maple - I am a real advocate of immune testing, especially if autoimmune issues in the family (my baby, born with help of immune medicaiton is a redhead!!) so hope it helps you lots. We had great success... I went straight to immune testing after first failed IVF ICSI, though after 7 years of ttc

Mini 7 out of 8 is fabulous. Yay.

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Maple so glad you have made a decision you are happy with and certainly 100% agree on immunes, worth getting tested especially if there are family factors.

Sunng I am not sure the Zita West CD will 'work' in that it will make 'it' happen or not happen but it is relaxing and for a few quid why not invest.

Darling Keziah I had no idea your journey was 7 years! How very wonderful your miracle baby is now here!

Wowee Mini - 7 out of 8 is fantastic! Good luck for tomorrow and fingers crossed re blasts. Btw April anniversaries rock! It's a tricky one about how many to have put back - only you can make that decision and I don't know enough about your history... With just the one we didn't have the option but we'd discussed it in advance and decided on having 2 put back if we got to that stage... I think overseas clinics give the option of 3 and because of my circumstances I'd be tempted to take the risk if we ever find ourselves in that situation. But my circumstances are not your circumstances - I don't think there's a right or wrong answer as it's so individual - sorry, not very helpful!

There are cost advantages to going abroad - I understand it's about half the price - approx £4-£5k and the waiting lists are much shorter. For example at Quiron there's no waiting list, Serum is a couple of months and Reprofit is 7-8 months. But all much better than the UK waiting lists from what I understand.

Keziah - yay for redheaded babies! I'm so pleased immune testing helped you - do you mind me asking who you went to see and how much it cost? Apols if there's a post with all this info already. I've been told Dr Gorgy is good and also that Lister do immunes even if you're not having tx with them....

I seem to have paid for all the w/e indulgence with a nasty cold. My DH said he heard somewhere that sudden colds are tears of the soul :( certainly seems apt for me at the moment - just longing for everything to get back to normal and to stop feeling sad.

Hi there just de-lurking to ask Keziah a couple of questions - which immune tests and treatment did you have done, and did you have it alongside a further ivf cycle? (if you don't mind me asking). I've been ttc 4.5 yrs, just failed a 2nd ivf attempt and waiting to get tested for immunes so just interested in your story. x

Hope everyone is having a lovely Easter.

Wow Mini 7 embies that?s fantastic! How many to put back is a big question - have you decided yet? We had DE and ended up with 4 blastocysts - first time round I was strongly recommended (by my consultant and the embriologist) just to put one in. Which we did and we did get the BFP but then mc at 6/7 weeks. I am definitely going for two next time (consultant has recommended two too). Sometimes i regret not putting two in first time, then at other times i'm relieved i didn't as i still have a few on ice... but i have no doubts about putting two in next time. i guess you need to weigh up the benefits and worries, could you carry two? would you like twins? if you put in one, and it doesnt work, will you regret not doing two? I am sure i've just stated the obvious and not helped at all - its just such a difficult decision. Sending you positive sticky vibes, for whatever you go for

Badger sounds like you're doing well on the downreg - I am dreading mine next week (I have just one jab) as it gave me such awful headaches last time. Hope you're scan goes okay tomorrow

Maple you seem in good spirits which is great! And you've done so much research already. My AMH was super low at 0.07 and two specialists said DE was the only option. We were very pragmatic, didn't spend long deliberating but jumped straight in. So I know what you mean about wanting to get on with it all. Maybe you can plan a bit of a holiday around your clinic visits too

Scrummy crikey you're fully busy on this already. Exciting! Have you managed to get much rest/sleep over Easter?

Italian yes, I love a good soup and often top up with lentils or beans! DP is currently making chicken casserole! Btw, we have three frosties, I really hope two survive, we'll pop them both in. I would feel hugely comforted knowing there's another as back up though...

Sunny great news that you're off and running, its all happened quickly which is wonderful. Have they matched you yet? You're lucky donor will be over the moon . I would love to be your cycle buddy but I think I might be a week or two later than you. I dont know anything about the CDs but let me know if you find a good one as i am interested in using one too.

Josie how are you doing?

Big hello to everyone I've missed

minih - 7 fertilised eggs is amazing! well done. I know that i will choose to put in two if we have an option. I feel i'm just too old to take the risk of having to go through this again, and despite the warnings, there are plenty perfectly healthy twin pregnancies with normal births - more than not. In fact, when i had my IVIG i sat next to a midwife and we chatted about all sorts of stuff through the 3 hours we were there and she wasn't at all concerned about multiples at our age. Very personal choice of course. Hope you're coping ok with the waiting.

italian your holiday at Spring Harvest sounds idyllic. I'll be looking out for your update

sunnyg - yay for starting treatment. I've not been asked to go for second visit yet, but the closer i get to EC the more likely it gets. I got the Zita CD, but i actually find her voice really annoying, so couldn't continue with it. I'm instead listening to Maggie Howell from Natal Hypnotherapy. I find that her style relaxes me more.

pocket so glad you've got a plan in place now. You must be starting soon then?

badger best of luck with your scan tomorrow. We'll be cheering you along

maple more like your body going into a bit of shock, i'd say. Good for you for having relaxed a bit and spending some quality time with your DH. We must remember to look after our relationships through all this - after all - that's why we are where we are, right?

josie hope you're had a nice relaxing Easter.

I'm on day 10 of stimms and had a bit of a scare today. I came home from the clinic feeling a bit run down. I took 2 paracetamol and went to bed. After couple of hours of sleep i woke up feeling really quite sick. I didn't vomit, but i wasn't far off. I called the clinic and they said not to worry and to increase my water intake to 4 litres a day and to up my protein intake even further. i've been drinking nearly 3 litres of water so far every day and been really good with my eating, but i guess my body just needs a bit more support. Otherwise all ok here and I'm feeling pretty normal again now.

They said yesterday that they may trigger me tomorrow (Tue) but after having felt the way i did today, they did say they may want to just monitor me for a few days more. Will keep you posted.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!

Maple and Carebear - I had tests with George Nduwke, who was then Medical Director at one of the larger Care hospitals, but has set up himself Sept 2011 under Zita West banner, in London (central). We chose him due to : (i) He was one of nearest Immune Specialists to us; (ii) He had a good reputation and results; (iii) We were already using a Care hospital before going down the immune route.

We did all immune testing - the level 1's and level 2's. George (he was always called by first name) suggested we got out Gp/the NHS to do and pay for as many Level 1's as possible (liked his approach) so we did all but the ones the Gp couldn't get the lab to do of level 1's at Care then the most expensive Level 2 option (including all possible tests). So in total £1,600 in costs. However, that cost included an hour long consultation with George to go through the results and several emails/phonecalls to do with them (know Dr Gorgy charges per phonecall or prescription - not sure what George does now, but you can ring his office and ask!)

George took a full medical history of me and said that he was certain Immune issues were why we couldn't conceive (I have asthma, hayfever, coeliac plus a specific antibody disorder). He was right. However, the previous consultant we saw (elsewhere) tried to persuade us to have 3 failed IVF cycles before doing Immune testing. We disagreed - were 36, had few eggs on first failed cycle and had ttc for more than 6 years naturally at this point. Had also male infertility diagnosed (motility and antibodies). For us paying privately for 2 more cycles would have been at least £12,000 compared to about £2,000 for Immune testing.

The karyotpying was ok thankfully, so issues were purely with me: blood clotting issues (factor v leiden, protein c was reduced level and PAI was wrong), so needed aspirin and clexane injections. Also had raised natural killer cells, cd 56 too high, cd 19+5 high (all level 2 issues) - so needed prednisilone and 3 intralipid infusions. My TH1:2 ratio was wrong (TH1 too high) - pred and intralipids treated this also. My thyroid was above 2, so levothyroxine was needed at a low dose.

My treatment was: levothyroxine for 3 months before next cycle. Also 5mg folic acid at this time and 75mg aspirin. Dh took high dose vit C (1,000) and Menevit supplements for motility, numbers during this time. During treatment I needed: intralipids, prednisilone (20mg) and clexane (40mg). I also chose to buy Zita West vitamins and Vital DHA, having previously used a supermarket own make (did this 3 months before had results of immunes).

However, having started treatment was planning a 2nd ICSI cycle in August - but tested positive in July 2011. I have NEVER had a bfp in 7 years of ttc. George immediately prescribed an intralipid, prednisilone and utrogestron pessaries (2 inserted twice a day). Despite spotting treatment began at 5 weeks helped and we had a DS this Spring. I know I was at high risk of losing bfp and got treatments just in time.

Keziah thanks so much for posting all that, thats so helpful and very inspirational. I've never had a bfp either so lovely to hear your story.

Keziah you are amazing, my dear, your story is inspirational. I am on a few of the drugs you were on and my tummy looks like a pin cushion!

Hugs to all.

Keizah can I ask which online chemist did you get menevit from? They are now quoting 1800 for level 2 alone, odd how same clinic so diff Mr Lowe was a bit non plussed at me wanting to get some tests on nhs? Does not want us todo level 2 unless level 1 normal. No medical history. Oh the minefields

Italian how inspirational. SH sounds amazing. I know what you mean about ?feeling ready?. I too feel like this treatment hasn?t worked so I have been trying to get my head around the possibility of donor eggs. Can I ask, did you have yours done in the UK? And what was the waiting time?

SunnyG I have lost my fighting spirit unfortunately. I feel no different to any other 2ww when I?ve not been pg. I know it might not mean anything, but I?m not looking forward to Friday all the same.

Maple I too am considering egg donation. I don?t know if you?re part of fertilityfriends.co.uk but on one of the donor egg threads there?s a really interesting study on how much of a difference it makes using donor eggs. They talk about how the baby grows using your own tissues and so even though it?s not your DNA, you are still physically connected through your uterine tissues, and you are feeding the baby, so essentially, it is your baby. From what you said, it might be the same study as you?ve already read. I found it really really comforting, I?ll try and find it and post a link this afternoon just in case it?s a different one.

MiniH fantastic news, best of luck for ET

Not a lot of news from me. I don?t feel any different and am preparing myself for bad news on Friday. DH is being very optimistic and I?m worried he?s going to be really upset. I?ve tried to prepare him but he doesn?t want to listen. So now I?m considering trying with donor eggs. I know I?ve only had one IVF cycle, but I just don?t think I can do it again. Psychologically, not physically. I think that makes me sound weak, but I just can?t face it. But then, if the donor egg list is really long, should I try another round of IVF while I?m on the waiting list? And will the clinic do another round considering the last one didn?t go too well? Ah, I?m all over the place at the moment. I did a lot of baking over the weekend, which helped me relax, but DH and I also did a lot of very aggressive arguing, so that wasn?t so relaxing. I know it was my fault, my mood hasn?t been good as I?m preparing for bad news on Friday and I?ve been feeling quite down about it so that really hasn?t helped. Anyway, I?m going to wait until Friday, then have a discussion with the clinic if it?s negative, before I make any decisions

josie sorry to hear you're having a hard time. Friday is not far away now and there is still as much a chance of it being good news as not good news so try and hang in there.

Scan this morning showed that my lining is now ready but follicles need maybe another couple of days to grow. I'm no longer at work - have two weeks of annual leave - so just enjoying some time off in between tests and injections.

Bugsylugs - will ask dh which chemist he used online (they were very good, quick and cheap!) and post later. Gosh 1800 is expensive for just level 2's. I think the clinic has changed quite a lot since George left ... I am not sure I would use them again, as finance and money seemed to be the priority of quite a few of the staff rather than bfp's - whereas George was thrilled with our natural bfp and willing to support it with the immune meds I needed. Again now he is on his own doubt he would do that, as needs the ££. But we are going to naturally ttc a sibling at some point and if it was successful I would need immune meds and not sure how to reach them (but am not confidient of a 2nd miracle !!). Will definitely do the ZW vitamins for me again and menevit and vit C for DH, plus aspirin and folic acid all for a few months before ttc naturally. At Care there were 2 level 2 packages, we did the top one but the extra tests were all chromosome type things. I needed level 2 tests as they actually picked up issues for me - the NK cells issues and TH1 treatment. Immunes are a minefield - as know Dr Gorgy would have prescribed me IVIG for my issues, whereas Nduwke used Intralipids.

Italian thanks for kind words. hope all going well for you.

Josie all the best for Fri. If it is not a bfp - yes other clinics would treat you, as not every person gets a bfp first time round. If you have NHS funding you can transfer it if the other clinic will accept you - the receptionists can tell you that information, or your own PCT can say where they will fund to. They always suggest a few cycles break between cycles, which helps psychologically as well as physically.

Josie so sorry to hear you are feeling despondent. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for Friday for you. Having never had a bfp I have no idea if you are meant to feel any different, but I understand preparing for it not working is maybe easier in the long run. As others have said, different clinics will have different protocols/results and it may be you respond far better on a short protocol. Sending you a hug.

Scrummy good luck with the next few days. It is really good to know you are almost there. Such a good idea to have time off as well. Because I fell over Easter it was fine, but in hindsight I was optimistic about how long I'd feel poorly after egg collection, as only really felt better today, so three days after. Not wanting to worry you or anything, just mean it's good to be prepared with magazines and movies!

Update from me is that my little embryos are back with me. Of the seven that fertilised, five were grade three and two were better, seven and eight cells respectively. After much debate we decided to put them both back, I am nervous about them both taking, which seems a ridiculous worry to have given what we've been through to get here, but strangely that helps me not worry about neither implanting. They really left it up to us to decide and in the end we just felt the odds were better this way, and like Josie I coudnt get my head around doing this all again so soon if we put one back and it fails. At least this way we know we've tried everything. They will see if the remaining five progress any better to blastocyst in which case they will freeze, but if the same then they will be destroyed.

Hugs to everyone xx

Wow Mini great news. Make yourself comfy on the 2ww bench . Hope you manage to stay relatively peaceful.

Dear Josie it is certainly not over yet, hang on in there my love. I know how awful the wait is but until you test you just don't know. There is every chance you'll get that BFP.

Italian honey hope youre hanging in there too.

Hi to everyone

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