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!

So good to hear from you crisps- f*#king brilliant news!! So pleased for you, and your good news brings inspiration to me and all other aspiring mothers! Can't wait to hear all your updates!
jewcy yes, we're 2 years married, though I don't know whether you'd call that recent or not! We'll get through, I have faith.

crisps, I could kill you for making us wait until the middle of your gargantuan post for this frigging fantastic news! Well done, love! You must feel on top of the world - and your job news is super. What a treat to be getting such a rise in pay, really well done.

Can I ask for some details re your IVF, please? What day transfer did you have and how many embies (and what stage of development were they?) How many days past transfer did you get your BFP? Am I right in thinking you already have a child borne of IVF?

Incredible, lovely news

crisps, what is 'stage four' endo and where, exactly, did you have it, please?

Crisps - absolutley over the moon for you!! Congratulations!

crisps just got in from the pub ( well, we are in between cycles so I feel no guilt whatsoever ) to this lovely news. Wow. I am so happy for you. You've had such a battle to get there so it is well deserved. Well damn done ! And on the job too. My Bessie mate is a teacher so I know a little of what you go through. Massive congrats. Xx

WAHOO crisps on your BFP I did worry about scarring etc but now i'm not going to give it a second thought

nokkie I am so sorry you are feeling low, its such a shit time and it feels never ending at times, you time to be a mum will come soon, you're just having to do it hard way but you'll get there in the end

jewcy I have not had a lap or a hysteo either, I did take a downregging drug to get my cycle into line with my donor before starting the progynova. It just makes you feel 'weird' as in not yourself, I was so forgetful, good job I have a name tag for work

motor no real advice but would suggest that your DH rights down his fears and what is the worst thing that could happen, sometimes when you see it in writing it isn't as scary as it first appears, my LC made me do this with my situation, she made me realise that my biggest fear is that I would be childless, but even if that happens, there are so many other amazing things/people in my life that I will survive and carry on. I also came up with other plans too like adoption, fear can rob you of your dreams, sometimes you have to face the fear and do it anyway.

Well I decided that I would like this coming Friday off so went o check the work diary only to see that I had already booked it off but had forgotten in my DR haze so only 4 more days of work, I still feel a bit all over the place and do find it hard to focus at times but i'm not thinking about the IVF either. I'm feeling kind of good about things almost excited but I think its more relief that no matter what happens the end is in sight for us, this is the last year of TTC. Our biggest concern is the cat and who will look after her and what she will eat etc

waves to everyone else

Ah thanks my lovelies. We are now trying to not get too excited just in case fuck it, already have a list of potential baby names on my phone

jewcy endometriosis is graded in stages 1-4, 4 being the worst. This means all of my lower organs are fused by adhesions...think ovaries, womb, bladder, bowel etc. fun times not. This coupled with the ops I have had to repair the damage has left me almost(!!!!) unable to conceive. Ivf...this was cycle four...long protocol...gonal-f stims.....had 9 follies, 7eggs, all mature, 4 fertilised (John, Paul, Ringo and George to the ladies on here), transferred 2 5-day blasts. Got my BFP 14 days after ovulation, I.e. 9 days after transfer. I do have an awesome miracle Dd who is 3 from a previous cycle. Thank every God and angel for fertility treatment! I like to think that this one is Ringo personally as I drum in a rock band! Praying for stickiness now x

Crisps! Congrats and congrats. What an absolutely amazing week.

Jewcy I didn't have a lap or hysteroscopy before IVF either (well, I have had a lap but almost 20 years ago, so not related to ttc).

Downregging affects some people more than others. It's basically a crash menopause in hormonal terms with everything being switched off over a couple of weeks, rather than several years. It made me depressed and anxious. I just didn't feel like myself at all. I have two close friends who went through IVF before me and couldn't even remember the downregging it had so little effect on them!

Not long to go now buzz!

Blimey, crisps, who would have thought with all that damage in and around the womb you could have had this unbelievable miracle; that's what it is, a wonderful, wonderful miracle. It's more than heartening to know that implantation can and does happen even in the most hostile of environments I hope you don't mind me putting like that.

Thanks, buzzy and euro, for explaining downregging. So..my Cyclo-Progynova (which I have been led to believe is a HRT drug) is not for downregging then. Am I right? Do I get to skip that part? I've been told I start oestrogen drugs eighteen days into the HRT.

I'm over the moon for you, crisps, thank you for giving us hope

motor you sound like you're in no mans land too my love. I know it's hard but do come on here to talk things through if you need to. At least they have given you something to work towards though. Try not to think of two months as being some sort of purgatory but time to prepare yourself. It's hard, all this, so go easy on yourself.

jewcy because I had relatively normal but short-ish cycles (24 days with the odd weird 19 day cycle last year) they assumed that my uterus was ok until they started treatment. It was only when I was stimming and had a scan to see if I was ready that they delayed EC for a couple of days to see if my lining would get a bit thicker (it was 6.5 mm and they would like to see it at 8mm or more at that stage). They then couldn't measure it again before ET as the trigger shot changes the lining (this is from my consultant so I am taking it as read). As it was my first cycle and they had no real reason to think that anything was wrong, they didn't think it was necessary to put me in for it before my cycle. There is a bit of controversy with putting women in for a hysteroscopy before treatment if you are self- funding as it's £2,000 at guys (probably more elsewhere) and could be perceived as a bit of a money making scam because there isn't always something wrong in there. I just wonder if I should have said something before my cycle, as my acupuncturist said last year that my cycles were probably too short to support an embryo as the extra four days (to take me to a 28 day cycle) could make all the difference. She did get me to 28 days towards the end of the year but by then we were gearing up for treatment. I think that they learn so much from the first cycle if it doesn't work that you can think 'well why the frig didn't you do that before'. Thing is, they don't know either, until you actually go through it. They also think there could be some scarring from my D&C after my MC bit until they have a peek, they won't know.

So, upshot is, more dildocam action for moi. I think we all feel as though our lady gardens are less our own and more of a tourist attraction right now so one more sesh won't matter !

buzz I felt starey out of the window bonkers and my body temperature went up and down more times than a hookers thong. It drove me mad. Good to hear you are feeling positive though. Xx

crisps there is only one name you need. Ringo Crisps. If it's two, which other Beatle will it be ?

crisps!! Congratulations! Brilliant news. Good luck for the next few weeks, and join us here if you like.

Nokkie, I blame last year's ERPC entirely for my infertility; before the miscarriage I was an instadiffer I honestly can't believe the amount of women who are left subfertile/whatever after a medically managed mc. Anyway...que sera and all that horse shit

I honestly assumed every woman having IVF had first of all been 'explored'. I, too, am self-funded but my GP sent me for all the necessary tests and investigations through the NHS. I have a lot to be thankful for.

I'm in contact with two ladies on FF who are currently in Brno at the ReproGenesis clinic. Their embryos are doing brilliantly at day three and it gives me so much hope for my own cycle. I know that no two cycles are the same but so much good news is coming out of ReproG at the moment

jewcy what tests/procedures were you sent for ? To be honest, all my NHS consultant wanted to do was give me clomid. Faking useless. If they found anything with you, we're they able to correct it ? X

Cheers for the PM, jewcy

Thanks keep , will do. Am stupidly happy but also ow mentalling and want to e further along like now! Ringo sends his love to all though!

Girls who are having IVF on the NHS. How long did it take from the appointment where you were told you would have to have IVF to actually starting the process?

Hello all!! Sorry, been busy with dd's birthday. Haven't read through properly but congrats to crisps!! How amazing

Af is here now, arrived on Friday. DR scan on Wednesday. Nervous.

twink for me, I was referred for IVF in Nov, got the paperwork from the clinic in Dec, had an AFC ultrasound and some other tests in Jan, we both had the compulsory bloodtests and a consultation about the process in Feb and we could have started in March (but we chose to put it off because I was so freaked out).

jewcy I've come across quite a few women on here who got pregnant quickly, mc'd and then couldn't get pregnant again. I'm not sure if I'm one myself. A few months before we started ttc when we were being quite careless and using the withdrawal method I had a very odd cycle, with pink watery bleeding (first time in 25 years of periods) and some other odd stuff. It was unlike any other cycle but by the time I realised what I was experiencing was a bunch of pregnancy symptoms and took a test, I had started bleeding and it was a BFN. Since then, nada, until the IVF. I think I might have had an accidental instadiff the first time sperm met egg and a chem preg or very early mc. And then nothing.

Good luck for your scan tortie.

Euro, did you ever have a HSG/lap & dye? I keep reading how blood (and stuff) from a mc can travel backwards up the fallopian tubes causing blockages. This can even happen from normal menstruation where some blood flows in reverse. I've never had an STD so fuck knows how I've managed to get a blocked tube. I swear it's the miscarriage.

I had a HSG. It was completely clear - the liquid whizzed straight through. I had a lap 20 years ago for something else but not in the course of fertility investigations. The drs didn't see the need. I've never had an STD either that I know of!

There is a poster on these boards called sarlat who had an mc and then blocked tubes. She has just got her BFP on her 2nd cycle after an op to try to sort them out, after failed IVF!

Wow. They unblocked both her tubes?

Can I ask if any of you have any tips on how I could be preparing my body and optimising my chances of success with DE IVF? I figure that while I am waiting to be matched, I should be doing some prep!

Don't ask me, Motor, I drink gallons of caffeine Maybe google what is best for a healthy uterus and blood supply? 'cos it doesn't matter how shit our eggs are

That's funny jewcy. It's true though, I feel like my body is rather irrelevant in this process. Maybe we should just enjoy caffeine and alcohol while we can! My weight is fine, and my diet is pretty good and I do a lot of exercise, so maybe that is all I need to worry about. Trouble is, you read these threads and see that people are religiously taking supplements and things that I've never heard of. I don't want to miss a trick!