Grab your Ganeshas and collect your cats: The Elderberry Pavlovas in the Quest for the New Year clusterdiff (thread 25)

[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.

Smidge it's a nightmare! Today must be the first one where I didn't have a bee sting or blood and I was half asleep when I did it! I feel like I can really feel my ovaries now too, not sure if that's normal and I had bright red spotting yesterday.

Wild it's honestly ok, you will be grand. Although I do look back at the gonal-f pen now and that that was a breeze in comparison! Good luck with the choc roulade and Irish cream, it sounds lovely!

Minx and Lumen I was in my pjs til 2pm today! Only got ready as had a baby birthday party to go to! It lovely catching up with people after Christmas.

Bushy that's amazing news, I'm really really pleased that everything is ok! Congratulations

Tiger how are you now?

Dry january is not proving to be enjoyable for me. And it's really difficult to explain it to people! probably because I'm usually such an alco

beaky and smidge the bee sting analogy is giving me the shivers as I have a real fear of being stung after an unfortunate bee incident in my teens! Hope it's not too painful and the marks go away.

smidge I think long flights do very strange things to one's digestion so perhaps that's the issue?!

minx bacon sandwich sounds fab, it's too cold to go swimming anyway!

Good luck with the roulade wild does it involve ganache? I had a chocolate roulade disaster once that involved trying to stem the tide of too runny ganache spilling off the sponge and over the worktop and down the cupboards. Got an attack of the giggles too and ended up in a chocolate covered heap on the kitchen floor laughing hysterically nope I'm not a nut job

great news bushy I'm so pleased for you! Always great to hear how you're getting on and baby bushy's progress.

Am feeling a lot better today. Last day was very nice in the end. Lovely send off and sweet presents from the team and despite protests, I continued dry January at my leaving do. I find it hard too beaky!

Had a fairly lazy day today, af has arrived so just on the sofa with hot water bottle watching rubbish TV.

Beaky, Smidge - I wouldn't worry too much about the bee stings. As long as the drugs are getting in there. I assume the bumps go down after a little while? Are you injecting at a ~45 degree angle? Slightly surprised that you can "feel" your ovaries on the DR stage Beaky given that you're switching them off. Isn't the spotting the start if AF? You'd expect to still get AF on the DR stage.

Fantastic news Bushy. Must be such a relief to have a positive 12 week scan after last time. I know you'll be worrying all the way through still but hope that you and your DH can relax a little bit more now.

Glad Friday went well Tiger good luck for tomorrow! I bet the week will fly by and you'll be back with Mr T and the hound in no time. Boo to AF by the way, I was convinced you were going to get a FUNJ.

Hope you've managed to sort your "movements" Smidge. Maybe you should become an Australian bran flake importing entrepreneur, to ensure a steady supply of your favourite cereal? Loved the summer jog in the winter boots moment. Bet you raised a few eye brows!

Happy - I think it's fine to be temporarily off the wagon, as from next week you won't be drinking for at least 9 months! . I think it's more important to relax and enjoy some quality time with Mr Happy before you properly start this IVF roller coaster all over again.

I was going to update the treatment list again. Do people have any key dates they need to tell me?

Hey Tammy, I was going back over the thread and don't think I ever responded to your treatment update. What is the age cut off in your new area for IVF? Mine was 40 and I just managed to sneak my one cycle in a month before my 40th. I think it would be good to get the basic tests repeated with your new GP. Is self funding an IVF cycle an option for you?

Have you started stimming yet HB? How is it all going?

Great news Bushy. Hope you can start to relax a little now.
Smidge glad to hear you made it back safely.
With regards to the jabs I sometimes had the bee stings/bleeding and even bruises but most of the time it was absolutely fine.
Tiger hope you're ok and that the move to your new job goes well
Gil that was my theory to falling off the wagon! We were given a night away at a lovely hotel as a wedding gift. We'd originally booked it for Feb thinking the treatment would be done and dusted by then but as it turned out it would've been right in the middle of the 2ww and I wouldn't have been able to use the amazing spa. So we moved it to this weekend and I think it would've been rude not to enjoy a drink or two!! Definitely off the booze now though. AF turned up first thing this morning so I need to ring the clinic tomorrow to book in for baseline. All being well I'll start stabbing in the next day or two. Here we go again!
Hope everyone else is ok. Gave a lovely Sunday all!

Sounds like a lovely relaxing weekend Happy - ideal timing before commencement of stabbing.

Happy. Are you on short protocol then?

Beaky I found that the injection site was a little itch and raised afterwards. When I did one round over the summer they used to get super itchy in the heat.

Hi everyone! Wrote out a lovely long post last night and lost it! Errrrr

Beaky! Well done on the stabbing! You're doing really well. Fingers xd that is not like that all the way through. I'm on the pill already but thats all I'm doing until 27th, then stop for a bleed and baseline scan. Hopefully the pill is zapping the pesky cysts! When do you start stimming? Do you know roughly why when ec is? We may coincide!

Bushy - brilliant fantastic news! Hurrah!

Tiger - don't worry about the injection yet. Everyone is different. I found the first round with one injection stingy but the next go with exactly the same not stingy at all! Glad you had a nice last day. When do you start the new place?

Happy that sounds like a FAB weekend and yes criminal not to have a few .

Smidge glad you had a good journey home and are reunited with Mr smidge. Glad you got to the blood test okay. Maybe the Berries can send you an all bran care package? There must be something similar? I thought Australians were fairly health conscious?

This time next month we'll be on our way (our be at) the airport! Or in Prague depending on flights! V exciting, one month to get another chunk of flab off. I'm having a very exciting afternoon. Been to Morrisons now I'm stream defrosting the freezer! Hurrah!

Yes Pip I'm short protocol, same as last time.
AF cramps are horrendous today. 6 mile walk didn't sort them out so I'm retiring to bed with a hot water bottle for a little nana nap. Not sure if it's the scratch that's caused them or the fact that AF has been delayed by 12 days.

No FUNJ here gil. I had some random spotting at 8dpo that got my hopes up for implantation but 'twas not to be.

happy sounds like a lovely night away. I could use a spa treatment or two. Actually am thinking of booking an abdominal massage, anyone had one?

Hi jellie gosh that is exciting. Not long to go. I'll join you on fighting the flab, I'm planning on a super healthy few weeks. Not today though as went for a roast at a lovely country pub and had a trio of deserts!

I'm on a crowded train and looks like I'll be standing all the way to London at this rate. My train was cancelled but luckily I was early at the station to get the one before otherwise I would have had an hour to wait! The joy of commuting starts here! Your next cycle had come around quickly. Good luck!

Wild how did the chocolate roulade go?

Tiger best of berry luck for your first day tomorrow! Good thing you caught the early train too, an hours wait in this weather is not what you need. Hope you have arrived ok. The only reason I say bee sting is because it looks like one. It goes away really quickly though. It hasn't happened today or yesterday so I think I'm getting better at it. It's not too painful either so long as I don't push the liquid in too quickly. Its really not that bad. Anyway sorry to hear of AF arriving, I had high hopes for your FUNJ!

Gill yeah I think the ovary thing is a little concerning tbh, I've looked up plenty of info and the way I understand buserelin to work is that it increases your hormone levels first before they eventually switch them off which means that you have a large increase in oestrogen at first. I can't find much info on how long it takes to actually switch everything off but what I have found indicates 1-3 weeks, I'm on day 7 now. So in a nutshell I think it's going to be cysts from the oestrogen causing the pain (I say pain, it's more like a throbbing and twinging but certainly uncomfortable). I just hope that anything there has gone by my scan at the end of January. If anyone has any other ideas/info I'd be happy to hear them! Anyway, how are you doing with your 2ww Gill? And yes HB how's it going, you stimming yet?

Happy I hope you've had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the spa and drinks! Sorry about the arrival of AF but hooray for getting started again! Fx for you this time.

Jellie wow, not long to go! Fx the pill does it's job and you are all clear of cysts. I think stimming will be early feb and EC around mid feb if everything goes ok, so yes roughly the same time I think!

Pip have you got your 12 week scan soon?

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Beaky. I was 12 weeks on Friday which also heralded the last injection since September. Scan a week on Monday. I'm bricking it. This is ten times worse than a 2ww.

Make sure you are getting the angle right on your injections. I only got the bee sting like lump when I had the angle too shallow. Are you injecting into your thigh or tummy. I found tummy so much easier.

Pip all the berry luck in the world to you, and I hope this next week flies past. I'm injecting in my tummy, I'm trying to keep the needle as straight as possible but I was a bit wobbly!

Hi All, sorry for the MIA but the cottage we were in had no mobile or Internet signal! Bloody lovely although I did miss you ladies. I will have a proper catch up later as currently nursing a cold and a poorly dog (again). Something about IVF cycles keeps on meaning that I get a cold....any thoughts?

Scan on Friday was good and am switched off so starting stimming on Saturday with my next scan on Friday. For those with bumps from injections, if you are having to clean the bung of the vial before withdrawing the medication this could be causing them. The clinic switched alco wipes last cycle and these bumps got worse. They do settle down once you finish though.

The chocolate roulade turned out well thank you, Beaky . It was slightly more to Toblerone shaped than round, but not too bad. Icing sugar hides a multitude of sins in these cases. Plus it tasted good.

Switched off, HB ? Hahah!

Thrilled to hear your good news Bushy, so, so pleased for you. And let us know as soon as you get your scan Pipbin - you poor thing fretting away. I, on the other hand, am 100 per cent you will be absolutely fine.

Hello, my stabs are much better now. Come to think of it I think the first one made a mark in both previous rounds actually, then my body got used to it and had no problems really afterwards (and Wild\Gil they went down pretty quickly anyway). HB you could be right on the impact of the alcohol swab. I was told to let the alcohol evaporate before stabbing so that you're not pushing the alcohol into your body as that can be an irritant. not when ingested, thankfully

I hadn't heard that about the buserelin Beaky. I'm on Lucrin and have no idea if it has the same effect, but I've never had any feelings in my ovaries on this drug. (Unlike when it gets to stimming). Hope if it's cysts they won't be a problem.

tiger good luck for your first day at work!

happy you've upped and overtaken us now you're doing short protocol! Agree with Gil we need a new set of summary dates. I'm not sure when I'll start stabbing as I seem to remember the lucrin delayed AF slightly for me last time. My clinic have asked me to go for base line blood test on Monday 19th Jan - whether or not AF has arrived (which seems a bit odd to me. I'm sure previously they just asked me to come in for bloods on Day1). I guess I won't actually start stimming though until after I get AF? I think they're more used to people with a shorter (normal) cycle length.

Jellie I don't think I realised you were doing your round abroad. That's pretty exciting, just 1 month to go. How long will you stay in Prague for?

Ok. Must go and start drinking water I think. Oh no, I can't - just realised the plumber has turned off the water as he's working on the flat below us who keep getting flooding up through their shower drain whenever we turn the taps on!! Orange juice, milk or beer it is then...

Gillster> Unfortunately the cut off is 35 in my area. We moved from one where it was 40 and I had plans with my FC to do one cycle to one where it's 35. Didn't seem to matter so much at the time because I was pregnant when we moved. I have a habit of making terrible decisions like this about my life! Still, I'm glad we did move as we have a much nicer house and I no longer share a thin wall with a family with TWIN babies that scream constantly. That was no fun at all, especially when you are struggling to conceive. If I had gone through my miscarriage there I would have had a complete breakdown I'm sure.

Congratulations to everyone whose had good scans. Bushy I think I remember you from my lurking days and I know you've had a particularly rough road so I'm so glad for you.

I managed to get all excited this weekend as my boobs were sore in a way that they hadn't been since pre-miscarriage but then I woke up today and they've gone back down again which means AF should show up in the next few days as scheduled. I suppose to be positive at least things seem to be getting back to normal (only took a bloody year!)

Just quickly flying through to say I hope today went well Tiger!

HB great news that you can start stimming! I think I'll be about a week behind you then!

Lurking on the pouffe of possibility. Really keeping things crossed for you

Runners and riders update:

On the racecourse:
Funky EC on 9th Jan, 20 eggs, 11 fertilised, seeing how many get to day 5 before freezing due to thin lining (1st timer)
Happy, start stimming on 13th (?) Jan, short protocol ICSI (2nd go)
HB start stimming on 16th Jan, long protocol IVF (2nd go)
Beaky day 8 of DR, long protocol (1st timer)
Smidge day 3(?) of DR, long protocol (3rd time)

Limbering up in the parade ground:
Kuma natural cycle IVF starting 19th Jan (2nd time)
Barking IUI starting Jan (2nd go)
Wild IVF starting Jan long protocol (1st timer after giving IUI a go)
Gill natural cycle FET, ET expected 1st/2nd week FEB (4th go after 1 cancelled IVF cycle and 2 cancelled chemical FET cycles due to womb of doom)
Jelli donor egg IVF, EC in Feb, (3rd IVF, 1st DE IVF)

Still in the stables:
Rain IVF referral end Dec
Lumen having 6 month break after 2 IVFs, checking out new FCs
Tiger having break until April whilst rocking the new job in the big smoke
Minx lap and dye late Jan
Tammy (getting bloods redone - aren't you Tammy!!)

Sorry I couldn't remember when you were starting Wild. Are you still stalking Kuma? Any updates?

AFM, AF arrived today which is a couple of days early which is not wholly unsuprising given that I was "interfered with" a couple of weeks ago! At least it wasn't late so barely had any time driving myself mental with the possibility of a FUFC! Will call FC tomorrow and get dates for my bloods.

Tammy - a 35 year IVF cut off is ridiculous, how unlucky. It's not over until the fat lady sings though so don't give up hope just yet. If AF does show in the next few days you should take that as a cue to ring your GP and get some if your bloods repeated.

Yup, still stalking but have been away a couple of times so struggling to keep up with anything at all! Been nice not to think about TTC though.

Just waiting for AF now, then will have bloods done to see if they will do a natural cycle this month. Not been doing anything remotely healthy since before Xmas so hope that doesn't muck anything up. Ought to go back on the zillions of supplements really.

Hello all. New job is going ok, I'm shattered as I get into a new routine. To tired to post anything of note very unlike me so just a big hello to all you lovely ladies.

New routines are always so tiring, aren't they Tiger? Because everything is new your brain has to stay switched on all the time, you can't just slip onto automatic pilot as usual for half the day. Glad it is going ok though.

Gill AF is due this weekend and then I'm into the hysteroscopy and downregging drill. I'm happy not to have an exact date on the list as I don't want to jinx it with good old AF. You know what she's like.

I laughed at you going back onto gazillions of supplements Kuma. I definitely had you down as one who would be piling down the supplements regularly. Obviously I was wrong.