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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

Assisted Conception (and all the bits in between) Thread 12

53 replies

prambo2thereturn · 05/10/2013 13:02

Come and join us for encouragement, hand-holding and celebration.

WE NEVER STOP BELIEVEING Smile

OP posts:
Original poster
prambo2thereturn · 05/10/2013 13:03

Aaaargh! A typo in the OP!

OP posts:
vallinnapod · 05/10/2013 14:11

Maybe that's why we need help conceiving?!

Thanks for the positive thoughts. One day at a time. Hope I don't drive you all mental as I slowly (or not so) go batshit crazyBlushConfusedShock

gingernutdreams · 06/10/2013 20:45

Hello all! Found new thread - phew!

Sorry for not posting in so long, I have been lurking a bit though. All the very best of luck to those about to start a new ivf cycle, I am keeping fingers and toes crossed for you all. It is such a hard, emotional rollercoaster, and I truly admire you all. We are some tough ladies! Congrats to LST on the BFP, and I am also hoping everything goes smoothly for you this time.

Special message for Sunny: I hope all is well with you sweetie, and your story turned out well. I know we have not heard for you in a while but I am thinking of you. Big hugs.

AFM, I am 22 weeks now, and couldn't be happier! It really was 4th time lucky for us! Our little munchkin is all good, and I'm feeling his/her movements more and more now. We were dead lucky and got 5 pics at the 20 week scan, and they were all really clear.

Hugs to you all and really really DSB

vallinnapod · 09/10/2013 20:59

Hi Ginger glad to hear all is well.

So, I had my follow-up with the consultant. All chromosomes were normal as were all the tests in my recurrent miscarriage panel, bar one. I have a double copy of the same MTHFR gene. Yes, I read it as the motherfucker gene too. With a name (Almost) like that it is the one part of this whole process that has finally made sense.

So, it increases the risk of miscarriage but the good news is it can be neutralised by prescription strength folic acid (5mg as opposed to the standard 400ug)

I should finish the pill at get my period around the 23rd. Provided all is well at the baseline scan I will start the antagonist protocol then.

gingernutdreams · 10/10/2013 18:48

Hi Vall, I had that gene too and had to take the high dose folic acid. Fingers firmly crossed for your next cycle. xx

vallinnapod · 10/10/2013 20:33

Oh, glad to hear of a pregnant motherfucker Wink

Frosticle · 11/10/2013 22:29

Hey, I've found you all! Thanks for starting new thread prambo.

Great to hear from you and that all is going so well, Ginger. All the success stories bring the rest of us so much hope. And thank you Pocket for the hand holding! Smile Thanks

Prambo, please don't worry about having asked questions re my previous attempt. I really don't mind at all and am perfectly OK with discussing it. The little one was really beautiful and being pregnant with her brought us so much joy that overall, I have very positive feelings about the experience, despite the terribly sad outcome.

Vall, I think that's marvellous news!! They have found out what the motherfucker problem is and they have a (easy) solution. That must give you great hope for this cycle. I really think you can dare to be positive!

I also think of you sunny and hope your story has a happy ending.

AFM, we now have 8 embies waiting for us in the clinic in Spain and amazingly, I feel quite relaxed. Actually, I feel a bit disconnected at this stage as they're not my eggs. Once the transfer takes place (fingers crossed!) I will feel differently, I know. We're just hoping that as many as possible do well over the next few days. Exciting!! We head out to Spain tomorrow .........

Have a great weekend, ladies!

F
x

Original poster
prambo2thereturn · 12/10/2013 11:30

Vall, what a result! I hope the increased dose of folic acid does the trick. Now I know why my clinic in Czech Republic had me on 5mg twice a day; everyone kept telling me this was very high and unnecessary Hmm But here I am..20 weeks today Smile

Frosticle, thanks you for your gracious reply. I am very excited at your news! I'm roaring those embies on.

Ginger, how lovely to hear from you, you sound incredibly happy. I am, too, but most displeased that I have gained over a stone in weight and I'm only halfway there Sad

Don't Stop Believing

OP posts:
vallinnapod · 12/10/2013 21:35

20 weeks Prambo - awesome Grin. You are 3 weeks ahead of where I should have been (I would give anything not to think like this....) Please don't worry about the weight. It's all worth it, and it is something you can lose afterwards. I didn't have to try as breastfeeding and a stupid amount of pounding the pavements with a baby who loved to sleep on the move seemed to negate the cake eating and sitting around I did the rest of the time.

Frostie - everything crossed!

Original poster
prambo2thereturn · 13/10/2013 00:11

Vall, if it's not too insensitive of me you can check out my photos on my profile. I'm sure you'll agree I'm carrying a fair bump for 20 weeks Confused I've grown out of my F-cup maternity bras, too Sad

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quickdowntonson · 13/10/2013 15:54

Hi from a lurker - i hope you don't mind me posting. I'm thinking of going down the ivf route (aged 41, 2 mc's in the last 6 months), and I have a question. How do you choose the best clinic, with the best chance of success? I know my chances are probably poor anyway, and I feel very bleak about the whole ttc thing.
By the way, congratulations Prambo!! I used to read your posts on another thread, and you always made me smile. Soooo pleased for you.xxx

gingernutdreams · 13/10/2013 19:22

Frostie I am soo chuffed for you that there is currently 8 embies waiting for you. I have everything crossed for you to get the successful outcome you really, really deserve! x

Prambo do not worry about the extra weight, I have also gained more than a stone in weight and am at 23 weeks. We will lose the weight afterwards, but even if it is not as quick as we would like, our little ones will make it well worthwhile! Grin

Welcome quickdown and all the very best of luck to you. I did some research on the internet on stats to decide on my clinic (CARE in Mcr) and we are pretty happy with our choice as it was success on our 2nd attempt here (4th in total - 2 were NHS -both BFN). I hope you find somewhere you are happy with and get a lovely BFP. Smile

Waves to everyone else!

DSB

Original poster
prambo2thereturn · 13/10/2013 21:31

Quick, nice to see you here, whoever you are! Before I even read Gingernut's reply to you I was going to recommend CARE. I went abroad for my IVF as I wanted the high success rates offered by donor eggs (62% for women over 40) at my Czech clinic. However, when I was considering using my own eggs in the UK (11% chance of success for over 40s) I was impressed with CARE Manchester as they have the embryoscope (google it - it is essential for the older lady's embryos) and take the embryos to five days.

Good luck Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
prambo2thereturn · 13/10/2013 21:32

Thanks for weight reassurance, Ginger!

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gingernutdreams · 15/10/2013 21:02

You are welcome Pram, we are both blooming lovely! Wink

twinklestar2 · 17/10/2013 09:29

Hi everyone - funny story that I had to tell you. I lurk on this thread and the previous one and have sometimes posted so you may recognise my name. My husband told me this morning that as I was dropping off to sleep last night I said 'don't stop believing'. Grin

Hoping its a good omen as I start FET cycle this weekend!

Frosticle · 17/10/2013 23:27

ginger - I'm so happy for you that it's all going so well! Wonderful!!

prambo - don't worry about the extra weight. I had put on about 10lbs by 12 weeks with my DD and I thought I would end up the size of a house!! I ended up putting on only 1.5 stones. Immediately she was born, I was only about 6lbs heavier than I had started. As Vall and Ginger say, the weight comes off with all the walking with the buggy etc. and even if you have to work at getting the weight off, it's definitely worth it! Smile

Thank you for all your support and good wishes, ladies. I'm back from Spain now with a good quality embryo on board and 5 in the deep freeze! We're really pleased!

I've had my DP on a healthy-eating plan for the last month (he didn't follow it religiously and I couldn't get him to do it any earlier) and it resulted in his sperm quality being twice as good this time compared with the sample he produced a month ago!! I'm convinced that's why we still had 5 embies suitable for freezing.

Welcome to quick! I think a major consideration re clinic is how easy it is for you to get to as well as success rates etc. We used a clinic in Spain this time because they had no waiting list for donor eggs and a friend recommended them. We used a UK clinic last time, which was a lot less hassle and would have used them again but they couldn't come up with a suitable donor and it was all taking too long.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

F
x

twinklestar2 · 18/10/2013 14:05

Congrats on being PUPO! What sort of healthy stuff did OH eat? Can you give an example of a days menu? Might help someone :)

vallinnapod · 18/10/2013 21:22

Pram - you don't look lardy to me, just nice and preggers! I had the opposite issue when PG with DS. I didn't need to buy maternity clothes until I was 6 months. Was desperate to be out and proud. Went to a cricket match when I was 8.5 months (turned out to be 3 days before I gave birth) and spent a lot of time nodding and smiling at drunkards who were trying to convince me I was nowhere near giving birth because their wife/sister/mother/dog was twice the size I was at my stage. You can't win.

Hi Frostie - I hope you don't go too insane during the 2WW - when are you due to test?

AFM, pill finishes Sunday so hopefully baseline scan and jabbing starts mid next week. Found out 2 nursery mums are PG today. Cried. Idiot.

Pocket1 · 19/10/2013 12:56

Twinkle that us so cute. Best of luck this weekend. And pls don't stop believing x

Frosticle sending you loads of positive vibes. It's your turn now. x

Vallina hon, sorry you got upset. Totally understandable. Your time is coming. x

Waves to all

xxx GrinGrinGrin

GameOfPrams · 19/10/2013 19:36

Oh, Frosticle, that is fantastic news! And five in the freezer?! Brilliant. When is OTD?

Twinks!, FET next weekend??! I thought it was November. I am praying so hard for your happiness this time round. Bet you're nervous as buggery eh? Hold on tight, my love Thanks

Vall, thanks for the lie compliment. I'm sorry you wept over those women. Dust yourself down and look forwards Thanks

[waves to Pocket] I think it's great that you still come on here to cheer us all on Thanks

purplebaglady · 19/10/2013 19:50

I had two beautiful babies by IVF ICSI after 10 years of trying.

The thing l never let go of was 'you will be a mum you just don't know the due date of your baby just yet'. Due date may be years away, but it is there, planted firmly in your future.

my son is now 13 and my daughter now 9.

Frosticle · 21/10/2013 22:27

twinkle thank you! I had to look PUPO up - that is cute and I like to believe it! Best of luck for your FET cycle, honey!

Re DP's diet changes, DP doesn't smoke or drink much alcohol so that bit didn't change - the occasional glass or two of wine with dinner but no more than that. He cut back drastically on coffee and switched to mainly decaff. He also cut back a little on his fizzy drink consumption. He took nuts (brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds - unroasted, unsalted) to snack on at work and he SERIOUSLY upped his consumption of fruit and vegetables (he sent me a photo every day of his lunch plate piled high with salad - no mayo -and veg) whilst reducing his intake of sugar/fat laden breakfast cereals, switching to porridge instead. He LOVES red meat - he reduced that but still ate quite a lot of it (in my view). He wasn't a saint but made a big enough change in his habits for it to make a more significant difference than we anticipated. I suspect the caffeine/coffee reduction and increase in fruit and veg made the most impact. He kept claiming that his original diet was really healthy and the way I sold the diet changes to him was by telling him he would also lose weight, which he did.

vall - fingers crossed you can look forward joining those two pg women shortly! I am officially going insane! Over the weekend I had lots of twinges and cramping so, of course, I worried. Today, I have nothing - no twinges, no cramping and feel completely normal so........ I worried. Last time around I was lucky enough to feel the implantation so was more confident that the test would be positive.

Thank you Pocket and Prams! OTD is Thursday.

That's a good thought to hold onto purple - and well done you for keeping going and believing. I'm hoping in my case it's the not to distant future! Wink

RyanGoslingsKnob · 22/10/2013 16:33

Hello, it's me, Prambo. I've name-changed

Frosticle, neither me nor DH drinks (we are teetotal) but he smokes and even lit up outside the IVF clinic before and after giving his sperm sample Shock It was the one thing he would not/could not give up. However, after an okayish-but-not-great sperm analysis at the beginning of the year I put him on CQ10, brazil nuts, zinc and loads of veg and in six months his morphology went from 3% to 15%, his motility went from 54-68% and his volume went from 16 million to 59 million! I honestly don't believe smoking or alcohol seriously impacts on a man's sperm, but his diet does.

I'm wishing you the happiest of news for Thursday Thanks

RyanGoslingsKnob · 22/10/2013 16:34

P.s..I've never seen Ryan Gosling's knob but I imagine it is a throbbing length of fabulousness