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

[Scrummybumb]

A new snug for us AC ladies

Sunnyg amazing, good news. Really hope and pray all goes well for you this time.

Sunny really great news an all sounding so positive. Fx for Friday go follies go. Your donor is a very lucky lady getting eggs from such a good spirit.

Wow Scrummy that's a big saving - and a very good tip. I wasn't sure gp would give prescriptions for all of the AC type meds. But that's good to know. And something I hope to do myself before long

Sunny glad to hear that you've hit that upward trajectory, long may it continue!! Good luck for Friday.

I managed to leave my keys in the door when I got home last night which is VERY unlike me. I wonder if my emby is giving me pregnancy brain already... :o

badger sounds good
maple I know CARE told a friend not to fly. Recommendations are that no one should fly in first trimester without first excluding an ectopic much safer to fly in second trimester. Do not forget that Oxygen levels in cabin are much lower than on the ground. Difficult one for you though.

Sunny that is really encouraging news... shame they scanned so early, hence the doom and glood, as things really improving and there is still plenty of time for things to continue growing - yay!!

Scrummy wow you got all on nhs prescription, that is great! I didn't get the pessaries on prescription, but did the clexane and prednisilone which helped lots. Always worth an ask!

We chose not to fly in first trimester, but didn't need to - might have had a holiday but chose the UK instead. Its not a long flight to Ireland, if you have to. Tricky as can see you wouldn't want to let work know you were pregnant before probationary time if you wish to keep job, depends how good an employer they are. Could you train/boat it without them knowing, or ask not to go without telling them? Or just be honest? Hope whatever you do goes ok.

Maple thinking of you today hoping it is all good news

Maple how did you get on at today's scan?

Feeling ready for EC tomorrow. Had acupuncture tomorrow and got one at 8am tomorrow before we head to clinic. Feeling quite calm, it's out of my hands now anyway.

Thanks again for all of your support! oxo

Sunny that is such good news about your follies and your lining. Am feeling so positive for you about tomorrow. Best of luck with EC and can't wait to hear how it goes - will continue to keep everything crossed!

Bugsy I've decided not to fly - the risk might be tiny, less than tiny, but nevertheless, I couldn't square it with myself if something did happen. The bummer is that I instigated the meeting so it does look a little bad! Keziah I think I'm going to go down the honest is the best policy route. I work for a children's charity so they should in theory be fairly sympathetic...

Thanks very much for the good wishes re the scan. Boy was I nervous but thankfully all is fine. The pregnancy is in the right place - so no more worries about it being ectopic which is a huge relief. They estimate I'm 5 weeks which ties in with dates as my otd for the ICSI was 4th April and AF came the same day. It was too early for them to see a heartbeat but the sac was definitely there! I'm going back in 2 weeks time to see how thing are moving along and should get my blood results back from the Lupus and one other immune test I can't recall the name of, next week. I saw George who specialises in Immunes so if there are any issues, he's pretty confident that if we address it with the right drugs all should be ok.

So starting to feel a million times more positive and as though this might actually be happening - for real! xx

Woo hoo great news Maple

Sunny thinking of you tmw. go follies go.

sunnyg best of luck for tomorrow.

maple i agree with your policy. I too told my boss the reason why I couldn't fly and he's been incredibly supportive. Great news about the scan too. One less worry to think about.

Sunny good luck with EC tomorrow, I hope those follies have done their thing.

maple good to hear about your scan - so exciting! Imagine next time when there's a heartbeat!

Can I ask, is flying a general no-no in early pregnancy? I'm supposed to be going to France mid-June when (if I am lucky) I will be about 6 weeks but now wondering if I should go, I didn't know there was a risk. I can easily cancel as it's a holiday with DH's family so they'll understand. Then again, probably not worrying about until after next week when I know if it's potentially an issue or not!

Up until today I had managed to so far avoid any 2ww madness and then ended up spending a while googling such topics as "how long after failed IVF does AF arrive". Veering between assuming it's my first go at IVF so bound not to work and thinking wow, I'm starving all the time and feel a bit sick, maybe it has worked. But then I am always hungry anyway! Hmmmm.

DH is out tonight so will have to avoid accidentally getting sucked in to googling things again. Don't want to end up with my sanity sidling down the corridor...

Badger there's nothing conclusive to say flying in early pregnancy causes miscarriage and the advice in the main is that it's fine to fly. Most pregnancy websites such as babycentre will say you're ok to fly and my, now well thumbed copy, of The Pregnancy Bible says it's fine.

Zita West on the other hand...recommends not to fly in the first 3 months after IVF and that's the advice the clinic gave me. They are ultra ultra cautious though and will admit there is no scientific evidence to back up their advice on flying.

Here's hoping you will have this dilemma! Enjoy your evening and stay away from Dr Google! Right, I'm off to make Shepherds Pie as that's what you do in Winter, ahem sorry May, and settle in for an evening with The Good Wife :)

Maple great news with scan. We were with George too and he helped me with immune tests, results and prescriptions after our bfp! He told us our baby was robust after our 8 week scan and many times my dh reminded me not to worry as George said our baby was robust so all would be ok. He at 10 weeks is definitely robust

Several IVF providers don't recommend flying in first 12 weeks, due to pressure in air cabin/oxygen levels. Some NHS consultants avoid against it too - mine did. Nice dilemma though usually - holiday when pregnant and flights!!

Maple good news hope I get good news next week.
Sunnyg good luck tomorrow you will do well
Badger travel medicine advice suggest first trimester is the riskiest for travel but it is also the riskiest trimester anyway. Advice is not to fly in first trimester and if you do best practice is an early scan to rule out an ectopic. I flew to Portugal at 5 weeks with ds never even crossed my mind not to. I was in significant pain so advised dh if became unwell to get them to rule it out. Would not fly now but have lost too many

Sunny any news? Been thinking about you today.

Sunny hope today was good was and am thinking of you

Morning all

Thank you so much for all your good wishes. I'm so happy to say that we got 12 eggs! Stunned would be the right word. As you know was just praying for 6 to be able to share so when they said 12 I literally nearly fell over. So that's 6 each. Couldn't hope for a better result.

So have just gotten the call re fertilisation. Of the 6, 5 were mature and 4 have fertilised. Again so surprised. Assisted conception hey, expect the unexpected! And poo to that annoying doctor who only 10 days was talking about cancelling my cycle! I know it's all about managing expectations but don't' they realise we are hard enough on ourselves.

No idea if we'll get to blasto, but just taking it one day at a time. So very surprised and happy we even got this far.

Sorry I didn't post earlier. Have been feeling very poorly after EC. Wow it really feels like you've been kicked in the stomach again and again hey. Feeling better today but still very sore. More time on the couch I think!

Maple such wonderful news about your scan. I feel so relieved for you so I can just imagine how much better you must feel. Thanks for your positive vibes. I hope you continue to have positive vibes for me! It's weird isn't it when you have a feeling about someone. I had this really positive feeling about Scrummy all through her last (and of course successful) cycle.

badger you are doing really well on the bench. It's so hard not to get google happy isn't it. When is test day again?

Big hugs and big choccy boobs to all! oxox

Woop woop Sunny!!! That's fantastic news! To have 4 fertilised is amazing - so so happy for you. You bet I'll be sending you lots of positive vibes. I remember feeling very poorly after EC too - just make sure you rest up and take it easy. The couch sounds like a good place to be. So great that you'll be going in to the next couple of weeks with such a positive mindset - exciting times!!

I am feeling much much better now I know it's not ectopic and the pains have lessened which is a relief. Still feeling very nauseous - waking up every hour in the night to be sick but as DH keep saying, feeling so wretched is a good sign :) A good friend (who bizarrely found out she was pregnant at the same time) has just been hospitalised for severe morning sickness and dehydration so I'm thanking my lucky stars that it's not worse. That said, my mum suffered from Hyperemisis Gravidarum with both my sister and I and weighed less at the end of her pregnancies than she did at the beginning.

But for now, I'm determined not to replace one worry with another. Such a sunny, beautiful day here right now and just want to carry on feeling this happy for as long as possible...

Badger how are you coping? Hope you're managing to stay away from Dr Google :)

And Scrummy & Bugsy how are you two feeling?

Mini how are you doing my dear?

Pocket, Italian, Keziah Hope you are all really well - What's new?

Ho to Josie too if you're lurking - hope you're ok and hi to anyone else I've missed. xxx

Hello Ladies

Just to warn in advance this is a self indulgent and panickey post, I hope to get to know your stories properly soon.

I'm new to this thread but do post on the TTC 10 month + thread.

I am going out of my mind with worry - feeling so very scared.

I am going through my first IVF cycle. My background is ttc for 2 years with one early miscarriage back in the first month of trying. Haven't had a lap but hsg showed 1 nearly blocked and swollen tube and one open but poor tube which didn't allow the dye to transport smoothly. They also saw evidence of adhesions / endo as the fluid pooled in pockets of scar tissue after it had come out of the end of the tube.

I have been disgnosed with right sided hydrosalpinx (toxic fluid in fallopian tube). Was advisd this can hinder implantation but they usually suggest trying IVF without removing the tube/s first and seeing how that goes. The thought of removing my tubes makes me feel awful.

They had me on birth control for a few days so that they could get clinic availability (as period expected to start before then). Then I had prostap injection as down regging. Went ok. They then started me on 225 IL of menopur.

Had a bad experience yesterday morning at the scan. I have been stimming for 7-8 days. But the ovaries are not doing anything and only 2 tiny follicles were seen. In addition to this, there is far more toxic fluid than ever and possibly new hydrosaplinges in the left fallopian tube to cause problems.

The Dr said they want to try me with very high doses of stimming drug over the weekend to see if that helps. They have increased menopur to 375 IL. I will be scanned again on Monday to see if there has been any improvement. But the Dr did indicate that the poor ovarian response could be due to the hydrosalpinges that are causing the ovaries not to respond properly (had never heard that before). Or I may have premature ovarian failiure.

I asked how all of the above can happen when my blood tests showed good results and baseline scan in January had 9 follicles - he said that I may have had sudden ovarian decline.

Frightened and shocked doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.

If the increased stimming drugs don't work the cycle will be abandened (hopefully NHS funding can be saved). I then may have to consider having my tubes removed.

Even if they do proceed with egg collection this cycle (which is unlikely) the toxic fluid may prevent implantation.

I always new I was up against it with the tubal issues - but now it seems my ovaries are shutting down.

I didn't go in to work yesterday - DH came home.

Sorry for such a self indulgent post. I don't even know anyone else like me who can offer hope. I don't see how I will ever become a mum. Sorry to be so down.

I am in pieces - what would you do?

Sarlat My heart goes out to you, it really does.

I'm afraid I can't comment on your tubal issues as I don't have the personal experience. The one thing I have found after years of incessant research on the various forms of infertility is that even for the most extreme cases, there are always some positive stories and I know how hard it is, but too try to hang on to hope, however far away it might seem at the moment.

Have you had a second opinion outside of the ACU you're having treatment? If not, might it be worth seeking one? IVF and infertility care and expertise varies hugely and whilst I know cost can be an issue, it could be worth doing some research to find a consultant who specialises in tubal problems?

Re the issues with your ovaries. Firstly, I'd say 9 follies is really, really promising (I only had 1)! I think it's a little irresponsible of your Dr to say you may have sudden ovarian decline. You won't know that for sure without an AMH test, which will give you a good idea of your ovarian reserve. Secondly, ovaries are sensitive things and every woman's are different. During my IVF in March, I was on 450 of Menopaur - the absolute maximum dose - and I still had just the 1 follie after 14 days of stimmying. For me, my ovaries obviously hated being told what to do! There are clinics that get a much better response from women who have previously been classed as poor responders, by using a more gentle stimulation protocol. So I would say that issues around ovarian decline and treatment for poor responders is not a black and white area. There is definitely hope on that score.

Finally, regarding becoming a mum, there are so many different routes to becoming a mother. All of us on here want passionately to be mummies, some have their own miracle stories and are already mothers. Here you will find others that are coming to motherhood from all different ways. I found that quite helpful to have in the back of my mind when going through IVF as although I invested everything in it working, (and fell very very hard when it didn't) I knew that I would be open minded about egg donation and adoption - although I'm not suggesting you go there just yet!!

Just last month DH and I were spending morning, noon and night looking in to egg donation. In March I was classed as a poor responder with premature ovarian failure. Now we're pregnant naturally. Don't loose hope just yet. xx

wow sunny such wonderful news! I knew that you would hit that rollercoaster high, perfect timing!

maple good to hear you are feeling better and feeling the sunshine.

sarlat welcome to the thread, you will find lots of support here. I'm afraid that I don't have anything to add on your particular issues but would echo maple in getting a second opinion if needed. And things can change so quickly from one moment to the next in the IVF journey so don't lose faith.

AFM, I'm managing to stay away from dr google for the most part. Test day is Wednesday but I am thinking that we might delay until Thursday (if we can bear the wait) because I have a very big pitch to do for work on Thursday morning and I'm worried about doing it if Wed gave us bad news and being upset/not sleeping etc. That's the plan for now anyway. I'm sure I'll probably crack next week!

I hope that you're all enjoying the sunshine. Off out for a long walk to offset the good food I fancy eating later. An unfortunate side effect of not drinking seems to be that I have suddenly got into chocolate! :o

Sarlat welcome sorry you are having such a rough time of it. No info sorry there was someone on one of these threads with hydrosalpinx cannot remember who sorry. One day and one step
At a time
Sunny well done brilliant news go embies go
Maple glad the discomfort has settled somewhat hope the nausea and vomiting settle to a lower but reassuring level
Am doing ok I think caved and Bhcg levels 3732 on Wed and 6141 yesterday so increasing but not doubled

Anyone know much about low protein s levels. Just had letter from GP saying it is low do not know how low did test at least 6 weeks after miscarriage and was not pregnant at time. Have googled guess I will have to wait until mon till I can find out more

SUNNYG WOW so very, very pleased for you.

sunnyg that's amazing news. So very pleased for you. Dont worry about whether you will go to blast or not, there are plenty babies born from day 2/3 transfers. I look forward to your news.

bugsy once you get to 6000 the levels rise slower, so try not to worry.

We saw a beautiful hb on the scan on Friday :) now I'm down to weekly scans and bloods which is a relief.