Assisted Conception (and the bits in between) Volume 10

[MoJangled]

Our new home, hope you all find me soon...

Cat I can back up what Hoop says. When I had my DD, the GP didn't do or want to do any additional tests, said the POAS tests were reliable and sent off a letter to the hospital to get me a midwife appointment at 12 weeks. Nothing else. I must confess, I was a little disappointed. I expected something - a fanfare, at least! You just have to wait and assume the pregnancy is progressing as it should. I did end up having a scan at 10 weeks but only because I had a bit of spotting and they wanted to check it out.

My wonderful donor produced 14 eggs so we have 7 of those. We find out tomorrow how many have fertilised.

Cat I had heard that IVF ladies feel a bit left after a BFP as there is basically nothing until the 12 week scan! My clinic offers an early 8 week scan but otherwise just need to enjoy your 'normal pregnancy'!
So I have my bum firmly planted on the bench, I got all emotional at the clinic this afternoon! Just all hit home! Might have one embryo to freeze and they are going to double check the rest in the morning but fingers crossed this one will do the job. Any top tips as to things I should or shouldn't be doing? Next hurdle is testing on sat 3rd nov! X

Beginning congrats, it's an exciting time! just keep your feet up, stay positive (zita west is very helpful to many ladies incl myself) and keep your fingers crossed. So hard to say relax but try! And treat yourself, you have been through a lot.

Frosty 7 eggs - fantastic! good luck with the results tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you relieving my fears about symptoms. I am eating literally everything in my sight which i spose could mean something..
I am coming round to the fact I will just have to wait and see - have a scan booked for 6 weeks in November. I'm sure the time will fly by

Beginning - good luck with having one/some to put in the freezer! Avoid caffeine - including chocolate - eat a healthy diet, think positive thoughts and relax (!). I think that's it.

Cat - hmm, it's a long six weeks. Take it easy and enjoy still being able to wear your favourite clothes!

Of the 7 eggs collected yesterday, 5 were injected, 4 of those have fertilised and are looking good. I'll find out tomorrow when ET will be. Gosh!

No chocolate! Wow that will b tough! :-)
Good luck with your little embryos frosticle!
Any have any thoughts on dying your hair? Clearly don't want to tell hairdresser yet but don't know if the dye actually causes any risk however having hair done is a great treat for me plus I have way too much grey after the past few weeks!
Just had a call to say I have 1 possibly 2 embryos to freeze!

Hi,

This is my first post so please be gentle!

I just wondered if there are any ladies out there at the same stage as I am? I have had one week on Gonal F and I'm due for a scan to check my follies this Friday. All being well we could be good to go for EC next week.

xx

Hello Sashabella!! I'm using donor eggs so no experience of stimulation. I'm only about a week ahead of you as my donor's EC was yesterday. Good luck for the scan!!

Thanks for your good wishes, Beginning. The no chocolate thing is indeed toughie but it's what I've read - no caffeine. As if it's not bad enough to do without alcohol!!

I ate chocolate all the way through when I was pregnant with my (very healthy) DD, I also drank weak tea and after consulting my hairdresser, I dyed my hair. (My DD was naturally and very easily conceived so I was probably a lot more blase about it all). My thinking on the hair dying is that it would cause me so much stress to reveal the grey that it was healthier to dye my hair and stay happy and relaxed. Personally I think the risk re hair-dye is negligible/non-existent. If I'm lucky enough to conceive this time around, I will however be minimising, if not cutting out, chocolate along with all caffeinated drinks as there is firm evidence that caffeine has a very negative effect on conception/maintaining pregnancy. For example, Marilyn Glenville bangs on about it a lot. I cut out caffeinated drinks a long time ago but the chocolate, hmmm, I still have the occasional piece.

Beginning - forgot to say, congrats on the freezer embies!!

Hi pocket thanks for asking. It's all good here. Have suffered from some pelvic pain at nights and periodic but quite acute back pain this week, but nothing more serious than that. Just had the confirmation that I haven't developed gestational diabetes (despite my almost daily dose of chocolate and ice cream - little bit of what you fancy clearly doesn't hurt) and my full blood count remains normal. Getting more tired now (and bigger) and have to keep reminding myself to keep drinking loads of water as I notice dehydration affects me greatly now. Had my flu jab and whooping cough jab this morning - after having consulted clinic and my GP it was ok to do so because of all the IVIG I've been having. Getting excited and can't wait to stop work - have 6 more weeks to go before I start my leave. I'll be 30 weeks on Friday! Looking back its all gone so quickly.

I hope you are coping ok on the bench. I am lurking here looking out for your news!

Hi sunny great that you have some options. WHen the time is right you will know what to do

Waves to mo, mini, badger and everyone else.

cat I'm sorry to say I had the same feeling and same problem with my gp when I had my BFP. Feels really like you are no-mans land eh. And my gp also wouldn't do any blood tests etc. If you are prepared to pay I know there are private clinics that do blood tests,and some walk in clinics that do these as well. I have also heard that at the other end of the spectrum, the constant checking of hcg levels with some clinics, like mini said can actually make you more worried. It's hard to know what's best isn't it. I found it a terribly long 6 weeks as well.

beginning hope you are getting comfy on the bench and we have more good news stories here soon. I would also avoid caffeine as much as possible, but mostly just relax and I do am a fan of zita's CD. Congras on having some on ice as well!

pocket not long now till OTD right? I hope you are doing well.

Frostickle wow great news! Onwards and upwarts to ET for you!

I have been on decaf tea and trying herbal teas for the past few month, and found it surprisingly easy to cut out alcohol however I'm gonna have to work hard on the chocolate, hopefully worth the sacrifice when I get a BFP!
Good news on the hair front might have to book an appointment! I'm on leave from work now no work stress just hard not to constantly think about it without work to distract me! Spending the weekend with friends so should be lots of laughs and distraction :-)

Thanks for the good luck Frosticle. I'll keep you informed. Fingers and toes crossed for you too. X

scrummy wow you are 30 weeks! Where has that time gone! That is fantastic to hear, although I hope the aches and pains don't get any worse. Are you all planned for the arrival?

welcome sashabella and good luck for you cycle.

Sunny to your bank, that?s pitiful! With ours, it?s hard to get out of any meeting in under an hour and they want 6 monthly reviews. We?ve just had to remortgage too ? worth it if this all amounts to something (something giggly, cuddly and cute, preferably). Yes I?ve got the Zita pregnanc CD and am listening religiously?

Cat Vanishing Symptom Syndrome isn?t limited to the 2WW and is guaranteed to drive you loopy until you can feel the baby moving! But it?s all fine! If in doubt the digital tests that tell you how far along you are can be great until you?re 5 weeks pregnant and you can see the time go up each week which is reassuring!

Pocket you might not want to do this but in your situation I would POAS and not tell DH if he wanted to wait till the official results. I?ve done this most cycles, wanting to get news on my own terms and also because DH is a quiet sort and is just as likely to not say anything so I need to process things before telling him either way. He never minded! I quite see if you want to have a shared ?reveal? but I would say it?s your body and your sanity so do what works for you!

Thanks for reassurances about the scan too Badger and Hoops .

Mini great that you?ve seen off the OHSS and that your hormone levels look good. Now you can settle down and enjoy your well-deserved pregnancy!

Frosticle great news about your 4 little embies! How brilliant! Are you going for a day 3 or blastocyst transfer?

Beginnings congratulations and welcome to the bench! I?ve always gone ahead with things like nail varnish (occasionally!) and hair dye ? but if it?s something that would make you worry in the slightest best to stay clear on a no regrets policy. I?d second Sunny on the zita west 2WW CDs ? a great guided visualisation if you?re into that stuff. Great news on your frosties!

Scrummy I can?t believe the finishing line is only 10 weeks away! That seems to have flown by! Great that you?ve ducked all the pregnancy health bullets so far.

Sachabella welcome! I think you?re in the middle of various cycles but new people are always coming along so you may well get a cycle buddy, and if not we?re all here to hold your hand. Very best of luck!

I had a bit more bleeding last night and have been feeling very tired and grumpy today. Called the EPU and they said go to A&E if it starts again, but since I?m not bleeding now and the prospect of 3 hours on a plastic chair and then a rushed scan by a non-specialist who will tell me that there?s nothing they can do to stop miscarriages anyway doesn?t appeal greatly, so I haven?t gone in. I?ve just noticed my pumping pulse thing has vanished for the first time since the BFP, so wondering whether that means anything and reminding myself of my note to Cat above re symptoms?

Oh Mo that's not nice for you but as you say remind yourself about VSS. Hope it's all OK, i'm sure it will be.

NOT ALLOWED CHOCOLATE???? Well bugger me I did bloody well on giving up alcohol, dairy, tea/coffee, sugar and pretty much everything else that's any fun or tastes nice but I've carried on eating a LOT of chocolate (dark only). I completely missed that there is caffeine is chocolate too. But I got BFP! I know it's early days but still....It would have caused me so much unhappiness and stress to give it up, such an addict!

quick drop in to say according to nhs website hairdye fine (had mine done during 2ww and wanted to check). But do watch herbal teas - moderation is probably fine but information I found last week said to be careful with them in high doses. Sorry! Some caffeine is fine though so no need to cut it all out. I have two cups of tea max a day or one cup and a hot chocolate. Chocolate has quite low caffeine overall.

Will do proper messages tommorow but need my bed!

Xx

scrummy - if the previous 30 weeks have gone quickly, the last 10 will absolutely fly by. It could of course come early and only be 8 weeks ......

Mo - I'm really sorry about the bleeding and I understand how you feel. I do however think it's quite common in healthy pregnancies. I had some bleeding at 10 weeks with my DD and I remember fearing the worst. I went to A&E and they simply checked that the cervix was still closed. This really put my mind at rest and stopped me worrying. They then made an appointment for me to come in for an early scan - it was reassuring and wonderful to see DD bouncing around in there! Personally, I would go to A&E because if all is well, it stops the worrying. Symptoms vanishing doesn't mean anything except perhaps you're about to get a whole set of new ones!

Our 4 embryos were doing well this morning so ET is scheduled for Sunday.

Scrummy I hope you enjoy your final 8-10 weeks!!
Mo - I had bleeding in early pregnancy and again at 23 weeks, 24 weeks and 25 weeks - the sum total of my investigations were a rather painful internal examination, which then caused more bleeding and told me cervix closed, placenta still there and it is not abnormal to bleed lightly with no reason. I didn't stop worrying until ds was here.

Frosticle - hope ET goes well.

Mo my love how are you? So sorry about the bleeding, must be scary for you. But as the other girls have said, many women bleed during pregnancy and don?t have any issues. Hope you have a chilled weekend ahead of your scan on Monday.

Cat how are you doing my dear?

Beginning hope you?re doing okay on the bench and not going too crazy? And great news about having some for the freezer.

Ginger I know its hard that AF has come along but I agree with Mini that its good your cycle seems to be getting back to normal ? after my BFN in summer, it took 3 months for AF to reappear and it drove me crazy that we could not move forward. Be kind to yourself and have some fun while you can.

Mini really glad you?re feeling better and being well looked after.

Frosticle great news about your embies, bring on Sunday and some gorgeous blastos for you.

Wow Scrummy that all seems to have come round fast. Sorry you?ve had back/pelvic pains but otherwise it seems that you?re doing well which is great. And only a few weeks left, hope they pass quickly and smoothly ? do pop back and let us know how you get on wont you.

Welcome Sasha, I?m afraid I can?t help as I?ve used donor eggs but fx for your scan tomorrow. Hope those follows are growing lots of lovely eggs for you.

Waves to Sunny, Bugsy and Badger and anyone I?ve missed.

AFM, well I decided not to test ahead of my official otd blood test ? partly could not face the stress, also wanted to hang on as long as possible for a positive outcome and also because we?ve been away and I didn?t have a chance to get a test anyway. Well its tomorrow girls, otd is finally here ? I?m not feeling massively positive but you just don?t know do you. Will update asap but keep praying, sending positive vibes and humming Don?t stop believing [hbiscuit][hbiscuit]

mo sorry about your bleeding. Sending you loads of positive vibes for Monday's scan. C'mon mini mo!

pocket wow OTD is here! I wasn't feeling at all very positive, had no symptoms and I got my BFP so you never really know. Fingers and toes and everything crossed for tomorrow. We'll all be waiting for your good news.

frosticle good luck for Sunday's ET. Go embies go!

oxox

Lots of luck for tomorrow pocket. You deserve this!

Thanks so much girls for all the positive bleeding stories. No more since Weds so fingers xed.

Just flying on quickly to say GOOD LUCK POCKET for tomorrow, everything will remain crossed till you give us the news!

....wanders in being nosey......

So good to see some familiar names making positive progress. Best of luck to you all - fingers crossed for you Pocket

Scrummy for your back, do you have an exercise ball? Try and sit on it as much as you can and turn gently from the waist. I had awful pain in my back from about your stage. Got much better when I stopped work and disappeared when DD arrived.

lucy and Teds77 it's so long since I've been here I've only just seen your news. Congrats to you both! Teds77 we're thinking about going back to our doctor for another go and DD's only coming up to six months!

Mo having had a bleed early on, I checked EVERY time I wiped for the whole pregnancy. It's so common. Fingers crossed for you.

pocket my dear I have every bit of me crossed for your test today. Xx