IVF

[Nerthus]

Is anyone doing this at the moment/has done it recently?? I'm in the middle of my first go and finding it quite stressful...

I'm so sorry.

OH - I'm so, so sorry - I've been checking every day for the last few days, not knowing of you were a ''cheating'' early tester or not.
It's not fair is it? Really really not fair - we put ourselves thu' loads of hassley treatment, pay out a small fortune and don't even get a pregnancy at the end of it - other people have fantasitic sex, for free, and get a baby thrown in - where's the justice!? OK, I know life isn't and isn't supposed to be fair and railing against it isn't going to help - you must feel really low right now - be kind to yourself, treat yourself to something that you wouldn't have had or done if you'd been pregnant - it never makes it 'better' but it might help get you through the worst bits of the negative.

So sorry to hear this. Warmest thoughts.

oh Miracleabie, I'm so sorry to hear this be kind to yourself. Best wishes and big hugs CM

Hi all, I'm old to the conception thread, but new to IVF, as I am currently taking Clomid to help me ovulate, I didn't this month and after seeing my Gynie on monday, she has told me that I have 3 months on this new increased dosage of Clomid to see some signs of ovulation, if no signs appear, then she is referring me to a guy called Tony Rutherford at the IVF clinic at Leeds General Infirmary.

Anyone on this list seen this guy and is he ok. I am very worried at the moment, which really doesn't help. I am totally scared of needles as well, so I am really winding myself up.

Hi malinki, I'm sorry to hear you're going through such a hard time at the moment, but I wanted to let you know that I went through 6 cycles of IVF with Tony Rutherford at the LGI and I can assure you he is a very very nice man. In fact the whole Assisted Conception Unit is a very caring and supportive place, so please try not to worry about what might happen in the future - just take each day as it comes. Oh, and by the way, they gave me a 'gun' type thing to do my injections so I never saw a needle - it really won't be that bad (if you get that far - let's hope the increased dose of Clomid does the trick)

Hi CookieMonster,

Thanks for your advise. I'm hoping that I don;t go this far either, no offence to all of you ttc using IVF, but I'm not very good with this whole situation, I don't feel in control and god knows what work will think of it, they are only just being ok with the Gynie visits. Maybe I'm worrying too much about what people will think and not the main topic. Who knows.......
Sorry I'm just feeling a little down and extremely sorry for myself at the moment.

Can someone explain what happens in IVF treatment, like the ABC of it. Even the gory bits, the reason I'd like to know about it, is that I am scared of the words IVF and I think this is now our only route to having another child.

malinki, it goes something like this ... (a bit hazy now being 4 years ago, but I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong or will provide some more technical detail) ...

• first you have to use the nasal spray approx every 8 hours for around 3 weeks in order to down-regulate your hormones (you'll have scans during the final week to see if you're ready). This is a similar effect to going through the menopause, so you may get hot flushes etc ... I just found it made me a bit depressed.
• once the down regulation is complete, you'll have to inject once a day for around 10 days to stimulate your ovaries into producing lots of eggs rather than just the one. (do I remember you saying you didn't like needles? Well, this bit can be done with a gun type thing I believe). Again you will have to go along for scans in the final few days to see how you'r doing.
• once the consultant decides you are ready to 'harvest', you have to do one final injection (different stuff) in order to prepare the eggs for collection.
• 36 hours after this final injection, you'll go in for egg collection. At the LGI, they give you a general anaesthetic into the back of your hand so you will know nothing about it until you wake up later - you may feel a bit like you've been kicked in the stomach afterwards but it really isn't too bad. Oh, and while you're 'out', your dh has to go and 'do the business' in a room somewhere. Very romantic eh??!!
• 48 hours after egg collection, you go back to the clinic and find out how many and what quality embryos you have and decide how many to put back. It is then a simple transfer from lab dish into you ...
• then comes the waiting - 2 weeks of it - and then you go for a pregnancy test ...

That's it in a nutshell - there's nothing really gory about it, but I can't pretend it's much fun. If you are going to the LGI, then they are all lovely people who understand what you're going through.

I hope some of that helps - please ask if you want to know some more and I'll try and help.

Best wishes ... CM x

am seeing GP tomorrow to start thinking about IVF - what sort of money are we talking about per "go"?

About £2500 to £3500 depending on your authority. Why not on the NHS? The waiting list was less than a year for us (once they relented and let us have a go on the NHS!!)

hi all, I have been researching reflexology for an article I'm writing and it keeps cropping up in relation to helping infertility.
There is currently an ongoing study at Deriford hospital in Plymouth run by a reflexologist called Jane Holt who apparently has had amzing success rates.
Just thought I'd throw that one in.. (it's got to be cheaper and more pleasant than IVF?)

kittyb, as Becki says it depends on your local health authority, but it also depends on your age. I didn't get any attempts funded by the NHS because I was over 35 and didn't qualify, but that's Leeds - the rules will be different where you live. We paid between £1800 and £2750 a go depending on the price of the drugs at the time.
Good luck with your appointment today.

Hi Cookie monster
Thanks for all that info. Was the nasal spray called Synarel, if so I had to take it for Endometriosis, 1 sniff per day for 6 months, it had a horrible taste as I re-call. What happens say when you have a medical reason why I have sub-fertility and I had a daughter conceived through taking years and years of different drugs and operations, do they look cheaply at you, I mean do you get a discount. My parents have offered to pay for my IVF treatment, (they said it is part of my inheritance), Do you know how long the waiting list is at LGI, I will be seeing a Tony Rutherford, if I can't pull this fertility thing off in the next 6 weeks.

malinki, no the spray wasn't called Synarel, but I'm afraid I can't remember what it was called. I'm sure your history won't affect how much you pay.
As for the waiting list, for our first attempt in 1997 we waited 6 months, but as time went on the waiting time got shorter and shorter as they got more equipment and more technicians and by 2000 we only waited a month. Tony Rutherford is a very nice bloke and his colleague Adam Balen is also very nice.

hi everyone, back again. Had to have a bit of a break there as I was so fed up and disappointed following neg result. I have to say tho I really did not feel as bad as i thought I would
( secretly glad that this was not another miscarriage). So we are planning to start again with private clinic- have an appointment next Monday.Wish me luck

hi miracelabie, good to see you back! Good luck on Monday and best wishes to you CM x

I had a frozen embryo transfer last week and will know the result on Monday. We used up the last of our batch of frozen embryos this time. As I'm 42, I think this may be our last chance to have a second child. Please think lots of positive thoughts for us!

Oh Oldiemum - GOOD LUCK!!!

Good luck Oldiemum ... all my positive vibes are coming your way ...

Very best wishes oldiemum. Lots of +++++++++++

Loads of luck and best wishes! It's my birthday monday so I hope it's good news for you!

Loads of luck and best wishes! It's my birthday monday so I hope it's good news for you!

Best of luck 'not so oldiemum' - hope it works! I start my 5th round of IUI in 2 and a half weeks time omg!

and good luck to you too Miracleabie........