Excellent (or should that be eggcellent?) egg buddies! Anyone having IVF/ICSI in April/May/June 2013 come and join us!

[EuroShaggleton]

We've almost filled the second thread so here is a new one, so we can carry on chatting! Threads #1 and #2 saw some stunning successes and some sad outcomes. We'll have more of the former and less of the latter on thread #3 please!

All comers welcome. I found it very useful to be with people going through the same thing when I did my first cycle, so if you would like to join us, please come on in!

Hi euro thanks for taking the new thread plunge!

Good luck to everyone. I wish you loads of luck. I'll be following your progress and praying for success for you all.

Shaz xx

Just saying hello! Don't really know what to say, but I don't want to disappear! . I hope you lucky pregnant ladies don't desert us entirely, I for one don't mind you still being on here.

noks how are you doing today? It felt like the worst thing ever when we got a bfn in December, I had no idea how hard it would hit us until it happened. Take care of yourself

euro I expect you're still feeling shattered after everything you've been through and hope you've managed to have a few days of rest

Afm, I'm hoping the worst of the physical side of things is over now, last night wasn't good. Pretty sure we will try again in the Summer holidays and I am going to work on getting fit in the next few months. Am hopefully going to book a follow-up appointment with the consultant soon and see what feedback he can give us. I'm also wondering whether I could get any tests done, although I know that normally you have to have 3 losses before anything can be done.

Sorry for cheerless post ...

Hi all

Thanks for starting a new thread euro. How are you doing ? Did you manage to get your work done so that you can have a bit of a rest ? I hope you enjoyed your lunch and partook in some fine wine action ?!

choco I am ok, thanks for asking. Well, just trying to process it all to be honest. I have been researching holistic alternatives so much that I think my head will explode. I just need a plan of action.....I want to reclaim my body after pumping all those drugs into it. I feel as though it's not mine right now. Does that make any sense ?

What protocol were you on ? I was on the long protocol and am not sure what else they would suggest for the next course of treatment (if we go down that route). I will also arrange a follow-up appointment - it would be good to compare notes (with you too, euro).

I am sorry that last night was tough for you. I hope you've managed to have some time out from all this over the weekend though.

If there are any lurkers out there, come and join us. We won't bite ! I also don't mind the others joining us if they want to stick around for a bit.

Noks xx

Noks I know exactly what you mean about your body not feeling like yours after all the drugs. I've pretty much been doing all this with only about 6 weeks of no drugs since mid August. I started on long protocol, meant to be day 21 start, but af showed early so day 1 start. I then failed to down reg twice, then finally did short protocol after taking norethisterone several times. Did short protocol this time too.

I hope your weekend has not been too awful, take it easy. I tried to go back to work far too early after the bfn and didn't cope well at all.

Btw, what the feck's happened to your swearing, are you the same noks?

Ooooh, thank you, Euro, for pointing me in the direction of this thread. Hello everyone, I am 39 and have been ttc for a year. In that time I've had a miscarriage and we are soon to embark on IVF. We have one shot because we are poor bastards and so I am hoping to learn lots from you all before I go for my consultation. It makes sense when people talk about IVF requiring more than one cycle but I don't think my heart could take it, I really don't (and our finances certainly can't). However, I am going to read all of your last thread and try to learn as much as I can about how you all do it. Thank you for listening [busmile]

Noks I felt exactly the same after my cancelled cycle last year. I felt so good when I felt like myself again. It took a few weeks though.

I did manage to get today off - thanks for thinking of me. We went for a pub lunch with friends and now we have an old friend over to our place (and I am being very rude by MNing so I'll make this brief). And I'm having my first wine since I gave it when I got duffed (and used Lent as a cover, so I kept going until Easter). It has gone straight to my head!

choco you sound like you are dealing with everything really well. We WILL all get there.

Welcome Eyes!

eyes ivf worked for me first time so don't give up hope. I'm also 39 and have been pregnant before. A miscarriage at least shows your body can conceive. Good luck!

choco just for you.....here goes.....fuckitty fuck fuck shit bum willy wank. . Plenty more where that came from !

I am glad that I made some sense about my body not feeling like it's mine. I cannot wait till I feel better. I guess it will take time but I'm going to get it back. And euro is right. We WILL all get there.

eyes hello ! Pull up a chair, pop your sweary head on and ask away. Sorry to hear you had a miscarriage - we're all in the same boat so can completely understand where you're at.

By the way, did anyone see the Life's Too Short special ? If you didn't, I suggest catching it on the BBC I Player if only for the absolutely hilarious Keith Chegwin turn. I shall say no more.....apart from the fact that in my eyes, Cheggers Plays Pop will never be the same again.

Noks x

Thanks euro for starting a new thread, hoping for more recruits!

Oh choco I'm sorry to see you so sad. Gosh you've been on drugs for so long, I think it's definitely a plan to reclaim your body.

noks you too are a planner. I like. You'll be there soon, you had a good cycle I think.

euro thanks for the bra offer. I finally did find 2 bras. They are hideous but comfy. It's awful being surrounded by gorgeous but tiny bras.., I will order some more on line, as dh has to pop back to the uk in a few weeks so can pick them up. These are interim-bras! Glad you had some time off this weekend. Who'd be a lawyer, eh?

Hi eyes. I am a recent, and very nervous/disbelieving preggo. Ask away. I was also lucky enough to get pregnant first ivf time, an ivf-instadiffer, if you will, but at just over 5 weeks there's a long way to go yet.

even though I'm not really doing IVF/ICSI any more can I still lurk around the shadows?

Scarlett hello ! I don't know when I'll be doing it again yet so let's lurk in the shadows and post random sweary words together. How are you ? X

Hi all, I'm still lurking more than posting. I'm to start ICSI this month and I'm terrified and excited at the same time. So many 'what if's ....

Scarlett I'm hanging around whilst I am between cycles, so come on in!

eyes as I think you have seen whilst lurking, IVF also worked first time for me (although I miscarried). I'm 37, so no spring chicken either.

Thank you so much, everybody, for welcoming me and for your brief shares. I am so sorry some of you have suffered miscarriage or IVF not working (I'm still working through the last thread). Congratulations to those of you who are pregnant! So encouraging.

1. Is it true that success rates are higher if two embryos are put back?

2. How will the clinic decide which protocol suits me best (I ovulate regularly with 29-day cycles; DP's sperm is fine; i responded well to 50mg Clomid - two eggs each time)?

3. What is a 'good' AMH score (I am awaiting my results)?

4. Is it true that a crop of eggs which include some immature ones are likely to be more successful?

I have been reading Agate's Guide to Learning From Your Failed IVF

Thank you for any advice or stories shared.

Oh, and I read that I need to prepare for IVF by taking spirulina and wheatgrass. Don't fancy that much. However, I am taking Royal Jelly, folic acid, a multi-vit and omega 3 fish oil. Personally I think it's bullshit but I'd love to know what others have tried/found success with.

eyes am just doing some research myself on supplements but read a post that shazza put on the second thread (towards the end, about 2/3 way through probably) as she did loads of research and got a natural bfp whilst down regging. I'll let you know the results of my research.....admittedly I am doing it with a large glass of red in my grimy hands but I figure I deserve one after this weekend. Nx

Quick answers

1. Is it true that success rates are higher if two embryos are put back?
   Yes, but they don't double and you need to consider the possibility of multiples and the diffficulties that sometimes come with that (I'm particularly sensitive to this as bf had a very difficult twin pregnancy).

2. How will the clinic decide which protocol suits me best (I ovulate regularly with 29-day cycles; DP's sperm is fine; i responded well to 50mg Clomid - two eggs each time)?
   I can't answer that one as it depends on the clinic and things like your AFC and FSH - basically how they think you will respond to the drugs. Some clinics seem to use their preferred protocol on everyone too, as far as I can tell.

3. What is a 'good' AMH score (I am awaiting my results)?

It should be on your printout. I think anything above 20 or 25ish is considered "normal" fertility, but I have never seen anyone fall into that category. Maybe some 25 yr olds! Mine was 12 and no one has given it a second glance and many people have IVF success with numbers right down near zero. I'm not convinced about the value of the test myself.

4. Is it true that a crop of eggs which include some immature ones are likely to be more successful?

I've never heard this. Some clinics offer something called IVM, to mature immature eggs in the lab, but we chose not to go for it.

Oh, thank you so much, Euro, very kind. Am I likely to need 'assisted hatching' because of my age? Does this cost extra? Why is a blasto better than an embryo? (Gosh, I sound thick. Sorry).

Thank you, too, Nokkie. I shall await your findings with bated breath!

Hi ladies

Can I still lurk and post please? My 1st day without you is very quiet. I'm missing you already.

Good to see some new people and some familiar faces.

Noks glad to hear you got the wine out. Have a little one for me. I hope you are ok honey. Good luck with the research. I hope you feel better in your body soon. I watched life is short yesterday on iplayer. It's hilarious if abit cringey at times!

As Noks said I took loads of supps and still am taking a fair few. Who knows if they worked or not. I feel like I rattle sometimes and I have to pace them throughout the day cause otherwise I feel abit sick. I was advised royal jelly too (queen bees live on it and produce eggs all day long) but it made me sick so I gave up. Omega 3 is good for fertility apparently as is vitamin d but I was advised by a nutritionist after having blood tests for both show that my levels were way off.

I hope you have all had a good day. I didn't get my roast dinner in the end but I'm considering making mash and onion gravy for my tea

Love shazza xx

eyes I don't think assisted hatching is age related. It's used where the developing embryo can't make it our of its "shell" unaided. I don't know much about it though - maybe google or FF can tell you more? I think it's something people often try when several rounds of IVF haven't worked.

A blastocyst is an embryo at around 5 days of development. They are "better" because by day 5 lots of the non-viable embies will have been weeded out by having to try to survive in a petri dish. So the success rates are higher (about 50%) if you can get to blasto stage. Day 2 and 3 transfers are usually used where there are not many eggs (in my case as I am doing natural IVF there will only ever be one). The thinking seems to be that getting them to day 5 in the lab will weed out the ones that would not have made it anyway but possibly others as the lab conditions are tougher than their natural environment, so if there are not many, they get 'em back where they belong asap. I think most (all?) clinics will only freeze an embryo that has reached blasto stage.

shazz you will always be welcome here

Hello all,

Nice shiny new home ;)

I'm back at the argc for my mid (late) mid cycle scan. DH and I have started on a paleo diet to help with egg quality (that and 100 vitamins)!

[waves to Shazz]

Thanks, Euro. Do you mean that embryos that don't survive to day 5 in the petri dish wouldn't have survived in the womb either? Sorry if I'm misunderstanding you May I ask why you did IVF without the drugs? Was it scary knowing you had only one embryo to pin all your hopes on? I am dreading having shit eggs

I promise not to keep questioning you on here, Euro.