Roll up! Roll up! Mount those uni cycles and shake those pom poms. The Elderberry Pavlovas are drumming away in the hope of a Christmas clusterdiff (Thread 24).

[happylass]

The smallprint –
Berries have a strict entrance criteria (TTC #1, over 30, TTC for 12+ months, NO instadiffers, must have a special pot and definitely no mention of baby dust or baby dancing).
Those not abiding by the rules may be escorted from the premises.

The roll of honour:

Gillster 40, TTC Feb 2012, IVF Feb 2014 resulting in 6 frozen one day embies. No transfer due to polyp. Failed FET cycle in September due to polyps. Starting 2nd FET cycle on 4 Nov.
Happylass 36, TTC since Aug 2012. Antibodies in DH's sperm. 1 unsuccessful cycle of ICSI September '14. Starting cycle 2 in January.
Smidge, 38, TTC since Jan 2013. Unexplained. IVF#1 Short protocol July 2014 yielded 1 blasto, BFN. IVF#2 in process - Long Protocol Oct/Nov 2014
Serenity 34 TTC Jan 2013, unexplained infertility, DH has textbook super sperm, 3 rounds unsuccessful clomid, 1 ICSI June 14 with complete fertilisation failure, next ICSI Nov 14.
Jelliebabe - 40, Threw the pills away 8 years ago. Unexplained but have a very low AMH, 1st IVF with clinic in Prague, 2 embryo's, chemical pregnancy. 2nd IVF in London branch of clinic - 1 embryo, BFN. Hoping to go back to Prague for Donor eggs in January
nolly, 32, TTC since Sep 2012, unexplained. 6 months clomid did sod all, next appointment 29th Oct, hoping to start private round ivd soon.
Pixie, 33, TTC June 12, DH has zero sperm count but managed to extract some under surgery, start downregging in a week, long protocol, ICSI Nov
Tigerdog 34, ttc 21 months. Unexplained after all tests and currently on waiting list for IVF.
Beaky 34 ttc since aug 2012. Unexplained with recurring cysts and adenomyosis. 1 failed IUI, IVF appointment in November and hoping to start first cycle in January.
Bushy 36, ttc since dec 2011, low amh, ovarian reserve, dh sperm had low count & motility but improved to 'normal' standard, IVF/Icsi in May bfp, then later missed miscarriage at 12 week scan. 2nd Ivf imminent but not sure if dates will work over Christmas.
HampshireBlues 36 TTC since August 2011, unexplained. 1st cycle of IVF chemical. Had a break over the summer. Cycle 2 planned for November
WildflowerMarmalade , 40, TTC 3 years, unexplained, underactive thyroid + immune issues. Sept IUI - BFN. Due to start IVF in Jan
lumen, 35, ttc since Nov 11 without a sniff of a bfp, unexplained, had only nhs funded IVF summer 2014, no implantation, trying self-funded IVF Nov 14, currently mid cycle
AnnieHoo 41, ttc July 2012. Unexplained. MMC Nov 2012, MMC May 2014. IVF Oct 2014 BFN. Waiting for FET.
Trill 41, TTC since March 2013. Endo with one completely blocked tube and one kinked with adhesions. Currently stimming.

And Gil's handy guide to the current IVFers....

Smidge - PUPO on 3 Nov
Pip - ET on 5 Nov
Lumen -EC on 5 Nov
Trill - day 5 of stims
Pixie - week of DR done
Seren - stimming yet?
Gillster- start DR on 4 Nov
Kuma - you starting soon???

Pixie all my tests are at least a year out of date!

Morning ladies!

Does anyone know if it's okay to take paracetamol or ibrufen after ET? I'm still uncomfortable from EC and now I've got a headache that I can't shift.

Pip hopefully you only need one...!
Trill doesn't sound nice. I've been told to stay off ibuprofen already! But paracetamol still ok. I'm sure one of more wise berries will confirm though.
Spare don't panic! It's early so could be anything.

trill they told me to act like I'm pregnant so nothing to eat, drink or medicate that isn't safe during pregnancy.
So paracetamol is definitely ok. Not sure about ibuprofen but I'm sure Dr Google can tell you...

Thank you spare and pixie . Two paracetamol coming up! I've still got brown spotting from the EC spare but then I think maybe this is new and things are going to pot already. You're right, the 2ww is going to be a killer!

I agree, paracetamol is fine but stay away from ibuprofen. Have no idea why, but it is mentioned in all my leaflets at all stages of the process (along with a highlighted box saying to abstain from intercourse while drumming)

Well I missed a call from AliG today, which is very annoying (as obviously she won't leave her mobile number for crazed patients to call and ask every 2ww question that appears in our heads!). She left a message saying she was sorry it hadn't worked but she's very glad of course that we have the frostie this time, and she's happy for us to go ahead this cycle with that if we like. She knew if spoken to Lovely Nurse and said I should call Annoying Secretary on Monday to arrange when we can speak. Hope I do actually get to speak to her so I can ask if there's any relevance in the embryo not having even implanted and whether she sees any benefit from trying the prednisone steroid thing to combat my overly excessive natural killer cells.

DTD for the first time in AGES this afternoon, hurrah! But unfortunately I think I'm still sore from the speculum scuffing incident

Trill and spare don't start worrying yet - I think official berry worry town can only come into play in the 2nd week.

Pip any news?

pixie fancy breakfast was a bit of a let down actually - location was fab, but it's a cafe and a restaurant, and usually for brekky they let you go in the fancy restaurant side (which we can't normally afford!) just coz they're so full - today the weather was a bit dull so the only option was to eat in the cafe side - same menu and great view, just less salubrious (no table cloths even - Pah!). But the main disappointment was that my blueberry pancakes with maple syrup were a bit doughey...

Hubby's eggs benedict on the other hand were delish .

Spare it's far too early to be anything other than a bit of a scrape.

Still no bleeding here.

So my outing to my friends FC was interesting. Firstly the drug she took wild was humira. The FC is just off Harley St in London, it was not what I expected. It was not as fancy as I thought it would be, although I only saw the overpacked waiting room. It is a first come first served approach for most appointments. The treatment plan is very full on, 2 weeks now down regging, scan on day 2/3 of AF then on to stimms. For the 2 weeks of stimms it is bloods and scans everyday for the first week then 3 times a day for the second. Then even once ET there are bloods done every other day! You do therefore get what you pay for. Such a different approach from my clinic. Not sure how they would cope with someone like me who is so difficult to get blood out of!

No more plans for the weekend now. Just sat down on the sofa with a cuppa next to my furbaby and he has farted! Charming.

Glad AF has not shown up yet pip I have a good feeling about this cycle for you xxx

Three times a day?! Do people just move into the clinic for a week? It sounds very thorough but presumably requires a week off work? What is the rationale for so much monitoring?

Three times a day, that is insane. I can't see what would change. My clinic monitored every other day. I was with Bourn Hall. I figured that they invented IVF so if anyone knows what they are doing it was them.

I have no idea but they have very high success rates so they must be doing something right?

Three times a day, lumen! Wowzers. That would be practically a full time occupation. Maybe if they are using all different combinations of drugs and treatments they need to monitor to tweak the dose etc. thank you for passing all that in. Good work, Sherlock.

Interesting about the NK cells spare and smidge. I was all primed to have them done, then the consultant said not to bother. He'd still use the same treatment of steroids + intralipids no matter what the result. He (and I) are convinced that immunes are my problem. Auto-immune issues run in the family.

I'm surprised how many clinics do use prednisolone empirically, ie. without testing for NKs etc, and they do seem to get good results. Spare I'll be massively interested to hear how you feel on the prednisolone, as that's what I'll be taking on my cycle.

Smidge, boo to soggy pancakes. Isn't life hard enough without that sort of thing as well.

Pipbin your Boots deal was impressive, I do hope the damn stuff stayed in long enough to work. FX for you.

wild The Clexene and prednisolone are both empirical for me but happy to give them a try. So far, no issues other than last night when I put the tablets in my mouth while I was getting and then filling a water glass. Those few seconds before swallowing them left me with a Burning feeling in my throat so they must be strong!

This is my 'super' puss! (If I've figured out this picture posting malarkey, otherwise you'll all be scratching your heads going huh?!) He's been snuggled up to me most of the day x the paracetamol has helped, thanks guys!

Trill. He is very handsome. And cats are always a good help when you are poorly.

That is one chilled looming cat trill!

Thanks pip and spare. Don't let his chilled out appearance fool you, he's a ruthless killer and brings home 'presents' regularly!

How are you both feeling?

All good here but symptom spotting like mad and then occasionally forcing myself to re-read Pip's wise words about it being waaaay too early for anything to have happened.

DH and I are visiting my grandmother tonight and she has asked me a few times why I don't want any wine (she has cracked open a bottle for DH and has had a thimble herself with some water!) so have said that I need to drive to the park later to take the dog for a last walk before bed. I don't think she is buying it though!

Hi lumen yes all well! 29w on Monday

pip when is your 2ww up??

Wow RP 29 weeks! That's fab, I hope everything is going well for all you chopper berries

Hope all the PUPO berries are doing well and keeping the worry at bay. Pip all sounds promising with you so far too

Hi to everyone else, sorry if I've missed anything there's been so many posts!

Been having cramps this afternoon/evening. Have decided as I am 5dp5dt it must be a positive sign, isn't that what having a positive mental attitude means? I must have been doing my hypnotherapy cd too much

Lumen was that ARGC your friend went to? That sounds insane! I hear that are quite picky about who they treat so who knows if the numbers are reflective. I hope it's all true though!

Trill your cat is super handsome! Mine has been a menace today! Wanting to be on my lap aaaaaaaall the time then whining for his dinner from 4pm! . Love him!

Sending lots of love and positivity to you PUPO ones. Hope you're all hanging in there and having nice weekends.

smidge used to love going out for breakfast in Sydney. Never get avocado with breakfast in England! Also miss the amazing quality coffee and best green juices. Mmmm! Hope you've had a good weekend.

Apologies in advance for the self pity post but I'm feeling fed up and need a little vent. Decided to poas this morning (rarely bother) as the spotting had stopped and I had notions of implantation bleeding and a whole range of imaginary symptoms. Bfn of course and I immediately felt stupid for even bothering after 24 cycles of fuck all. Also feeling worried about how much of a fu-ttc decision I've made in taking this job in London. I know it is the right thing for me but in the short term it feels like it makes life so difficult. It all feels a bit lose-lose at the moment. Ivf doesn't feel like the right path but there isn't any other. I'm bored of everything I do and every decision I make being viewed through the ttc lens.
Anyway, thanks for letting me spill ladies, I will pull myself together. Yoga this morning should do the trick.

Morning all. Delighted that it's so busy in here. Lovely to see a few old faces (in time, not age!).
Tiger sorry you're feeling down. It's totally understandable after all this time TTC. For what it's worth I think you've totally made the right decision with your job. We just can't completely put our lives on hold for TTC. I would have moved on career wise by now if it wasn't for TTC. I just think it's not really practical in my job to move posts and then get diffed immediately.
Feeling a bit down myself at the moment. Am a bit in limbo and slightly lost. The wedding planning kept me busy for 18 months and then we went straight on to IVF but now I have nothing to occupy my mind. Roll on January when we can start our next cycle!
Went to the rugby yesterday and out of 61000 people I end up sat next to a woman who's brought a 5 month old and an 18 month old. Is it just me or is a rugby match totally not appropriate for babies???
Sorry this post is a bit me me me. Hope everyone is ok? How are you 2wwers doing? It really is the toughest of times, especially towards the end. Spare Pip is right - step away from the symptom spotting or you'll drive yourself insane!
Have a good day all. I'm off to clear out the garage - I could be gone sometime!!