Toot, Toot. Calling all dirty chicks! Jump aboard the charabanc with Barry & The Berries. Destination BFP" (thread 26)

[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.

Current passengers:

Happylass, 37, TTC since Aug 2012. 2 failed ICSIs. Time to defrost the spare.
Beaky 35, ttc coming up 3 yrs, 2x failed iui 1x long protocol ivf cancelled due to poor response. Awaiting follow up with FC and possibly short protocol IVF next.
Minx, 34, both tubes blocked, 1 buried ovary, appointment with consultant early March.
Nolly, 33, TTC 2.5 years, BFP Christmas Eve, MC New Years Eve. Awaiting "spontaneous conception" before IVF starts, August 2015.
Wild 40 - TTC for three years. IVF double-stimms freeze all embryos cycle started in February - due to complete May/June.
HampshireBlues 36 TTC 3.5 years, unexplained. Cycle 1 chemical pregnancy, cycle 2 abandoned due to cyst, cycle 3 failed. Plan thrombotic profile, scratch and short protocol.
Lumen, 35, ttc since Nov 2011, unexplained, two IVF cycles in 2014, both bfns, waiting for lap&dye and results of numerous bloods, aiming for one last IVF cycle in the summer.
Tigerdog, 34 ttc since Jan 2013. Unexplained. Starting ivf in March.
Gillster, 40, TTC since Feb 2012. Had IVF in Feb 14 and had 6 one cell embies frozen due to polyp. Cancelled FET cycles in Sept 14 and Dec 14 due to more polyps. Awaiting hysteroscopy before commencing natural cycle FET. Hoping to be at least PUPO on the 4th attempt!
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
Kuma - 40. TTC 2 years. Low AMH high FSH - DH antisperm ABs. Failed IVF June 14 and two cancelled IVFs Nov and Dec 14 due to poor blood results. Hoping for another try at natural cycle IVF end of Jan.
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. BFP Feb '15

Rain I'll definitely have a look into we later on and see if it's manageable. I would rather just exercise too but it is totally food that affects my weight. The only dieting I've done that's worked though is "clean" eating and I had to be so so strict for ages it was a killer. I just don't have the willpower or motivation to do it these days. What kind of towels?? I started with good intentions on mine and dh's IVF forms and ended up finishing them the day before!

Wild I'm only about cd 16 with guesstimated ov on cd14 (late for me!) so I hadn't thought it's related to AF. I have to start taking the pill next week before I've even had AF though good luck for this round again! I suppose a month off with a nice hol will be ideal really then get some frosties back on board! Strange re your extra steroids though, hopefully it will mean super embies this time round! I love that advice Kuma gave you, for me I need to keep going until I have no what ifs, or I actually cannot afford it and can't get approved for anymore credit so that I can't think that I should have done more.

Smidge hats off to you lady, I can't bring myself to poas at all these days. You never know though! I read a thread on here about minimalising your crap and sheets/towels were definitely voted as complete space wasters! Definitely do tigers idea of donating, then you know they are going to a good place!

Tiger the job sounds perfect then if it's distracting but not too stressful! Mines just really picked back up again and I'm finding I'm getting really stressed (probably adding to my crabbit demeanour!) I'm still moody today too, not long to go for your dr then, eek fx for your scan next week. That is one huge house magazine collection you have! We got our survey back last night and is worse than I thought so will be eating beans for the next few years.

Any word from Spare?

Wild that sounds pretty much like my ovulation so maybe I shouldn't worry so much if the cetrotide was fine for you from day 8.

Tiger I am on 225iu of Menopur a day. Finding it ok so far, have had a mild headache but the biggest thing I have found is tiredness. I don't know if that's the medication or me just needing more sleep. Never mind only another 7 days to go.

Thanks for the info smidge

beaky I think the main thing is accepting that house renovation takes ages! Do it in affordable and manageable chunks. We had three years of channeling all our spare money into our house, but it was worth it. Sometimes we felt fed up but on the whole enjoyed it! Still not finished...

Thanks lucie I'm only on 150 and it seems low....going to raise this with the FC. What were others on?

What was your AMH and other stats tiger?

AMH 22.9 and I'm 34 soon to be 35. Can't remember my LH/FSH but they were not a cause for concern.

You have a really good AMH, perhaps that's why they are starting you with a lower dose as they expect you to response well. My amh is only 7.3 which is why I'm on a bit of a higher dose.

Fingers crossed although for some reason it's been bothering me - my acu lady asked my dose and said she thought it might be a bit low to kick things off after 3 weeks of DR. Also I've not seen a consultant and I think this makes me feel a bit anxious that no one is considering what might be best for me - just a one size fits all approach... I guess I need to stop over thinking and just go with it!

beaky and the others who asked... We've got a tentative go ahead for the FET. All looked good on the scan yesterday, although the lining was a little bit thinner than they would expect, but they think it will improve again. They are going to scan me again on Sunday and take bloods, and if my thyroid is moving back down towards normal, we can go ahead.
Still really nervous about the defrost... All ours were frozen on day one, and the clinic's standard procedure is to defrost 3, take them to day 3, put the strongest back and then take the others to blasts and then refreeze.
Except for our first FET, all three died on the first night. So then they ended up putting a one day back, but then obviously we had the problems further down. Who knows if that embryo would have gone back if it had to spend 2 nights outside?
The FC is going to speak to the embryologist about what to do. On the one hand, we don't want a 'sub-standard' embryo going back which would have been weeded out by taking them on a few days, but on the other, we don't want nothing to go back because none of them last the night.

tiger I was on 150 as well (apart from a couple of days when I upped it to 175 to use up the whole of the syringe. Naughty ) and that got me 17 eggs, so if you have good AMH, you should respond well to it

Great news that you've had the green light spare.
Tiger I stimmed with 375 of Menopur which apparently some clinics won't even allow. My AMH is shit 6.2 but my FSH/LH are normal. Got a respectable 10 follies/7 mature eggs/6 embryos the first time. Things went a bit mad the 2nd time though with 20 follies/11 mature/5 embryos so not sure what would happen on the 3rd cycle or indeed what the NHS will do. I'm sure that your FC will increase the dose if needed Tiger but with such a good AMH a good haul looks very promising!

beaky work is manic. Other than me and one colleague, the rest of the management team is on holiday or out of the office, so between us we're fielding everything that would otherwise be someone else's job on top of our usual stuff. I don't want to drop her in it, and she's not in tomorrow afternoon anyway, if I called in sick someone would probably be called in that is supposed to on holiday. I almost burst into tears this morning because someone hadn't put capital letters in a title . I think the hormone crash is hitting me on top of hideous AF cramps and I just want to burst into tears and run home to DCW. Very much on the verge. Got acupuncture tonight, will probably end up crying on her. I'm in two minds about carrying on with the acupuncture. It's definitely helping my acne, which is a major plus, but I don't know if I can justify continuing to go when it clearly didn't get me diffed alongside the iui or the ivf. Could I really still cling to the thought that it could get me diffed naturally?
Sorry, bit of a ramble and totally off topic of your question!
We see the consultant again a week on Monday, going private or not will depend on what he says.

Lucie can't help, I don't ov until cd19-22! blatantly a problem but not acknowledged by anyone medical

wild I hope you're right! I was so convinced that this would be the end of the road for us and I wasn't putting us through any more, but it turns out everyone else was right I'm not ready to let go of my dream of a healthy pregnancy yet .
We'll probably be doing our FET in June as well .

rain all my old towels become dog towels .

smidge I'll be joining you back on the opks and ttc unaided this cycle!

tiger the end of downregging is in sight!!
You get to a point where you have to try and stop thinking and just trust that they know what they are doing. My consultant pointed out that every clinic wants to get good stats, so they will all do whatever they think will work best even if they don't agree.

spare I hope the embryologist can reassure you. I still can't believe you got 17 eggs! Wasn't egg collection incredibly painful? I was in agony after they pulled only 8 out! I didn't realise they could unfreeze then refreeze again, that probably answers the question I asked Gill about her frosties!

Phew, I started my reply at lunchtime and ran out of time, only just got it finished in my afternoon break! Will add my stats later, out of time again!!

Barking Collection was fine because I was out cold, but those last 2 or 3 days before collection were agony! It was like walking around with a bowling ball inside me. They were nearly all on the right ovary as well, so I couldn't even lie on that side in bed.

I don't think all clinics will defrost and refreeze, but mine will. I didn't know it was controversial until I was telling my friend about it, and she said her clinic wouldn't do it, so on their last round, all their frosties were used up, because after putting 2 back, the rest were left to perish

Just popping in quickly to comment on the frostie defrosting. My clinic also do not re freeze (they say it's not possible) but obviously it is. I guess it depends how they are frozen in the first place.

We'll have four defrosted (because I want them to put 2 back they take double the amount and then take the best 2).

It must be a worry for you Spare given your history but given that you got as far as you did, I can't imagine that they'd be able to tell such a thing if the embies were left longer outside in the lab. If the embies were sub standard, I think you'd end up with a BFN, a chemical or earlyish miscarriage. It must be so worrying though. I worry that because I'll effectively be having a 2 day transfer, will they even know if the embies are any good at all.

Mm towels! I've gone for a mix - some big coral ones (yes, coral) and some smaller grey ones with a pattern. The most important thing is they are sooopah fluffeh!! I spent a good 30 mins touching towels in John Lewis on my lunch break yesterday to be sure.
smidge We have loads of old ones - I was just going to shove the soon to be replaced ones into towel limbo with them but I shall give the local animal shelter/vet a call on tiger's advice!

spare I am sending you strong palace of the child vibes for a lovely thick lining by Sunday

lucie have you called the clinic to ask? I'm afraid as an IVF virgin I cannae offer anything more useful than that!

Oh, and stats: rain, 33, ttc since March 2012. Unexplained. 1 random BFP Oct 2013 - MMC Nov 2013. IVF kick off appt early June.

Gillster didn't bunny get her ivf win on a day 2?

My stats:
barkingtreefrog/batking 35, ttc since Dec 2011. clomid bfp then mc at 7 weeks, 5 clomid fails. Iui bfp then mc at 6 weeks. One iui fail. One ivf fail. Have two frosties available, of dubious quality (had to be given time to catch up before deciding to freeze). Seeing consultant on 20th April, going after a scratch and nk cells testing. Will go to Coventry and have both done privately if consultant says no. Guessing that FET will be June.

Good news spare - hope you get some reassuring chat from teh consultant.

How are you doing barking?

Crabbit is a godo word, beaky. SOrry you're feeling rubbish at least its friday eg? Mr N is away until August, so this month is our last FUFC opportunity, not that I'm obsessing or anything.

wild are you starting today then? feeling ok about it?

rain jealous of your towels, it's the little things....

hi everyone else! signing off for a week of holidays (first joint hol since September, hmm wonder if that has influenced our total lack of fertility success).

Spare exciting that everything is lining up ready for the FET. Gill how are you getting on - it's less than a week now to go now isn't it?

I'm shocked to hear that some clinics won't refreeze frosties. After all the trouble we go to in order to get the frosties, the clinics shouldn't wantonly waste them!

Tiger your AMH is good so the FC have good reason to think that you will respond well. The standard maximum dose is 450iu. Some FCs do go higher (I think in the States), but it is not really recommended. Hope that gives you something to compare your dose against.

Nice work on the towels Rain. Coral is unusual and sounds very pretty.

Nolly I cannot believe your DH will be away until August while you are TTC. That would drive me to the brink of raging, whining insanity, no matter how much I tried to be understanding. You are obviously way more patient than me.

Stimming round two is now underway here. I got the drugs delivered, it was all very last minute and I had to get the first dose from the FC. Healthcare At Home have now sent me too many drugs, even though I cancelled the doses I'd already taken. IVF is a logistical nightmare.

I'm taking the dexamethosone which apparently the FC prescribes for everyone (a patient told me that, so it may not be completely accurate). I've heard good reports of the effect on egg quality, has anyone else had this drug? Interested to hear more.

I'm feeling much more relaxed so far this time around. Last time it was really going into the unknown and I worried that I'd produve very few eggs or that none of the eggs would fertilise. Having the six frosties already laid down is reassuring although of course I am still fretting that none of the frosties will make it to blastocyst stage- .

My stats....

WildflowerMarmalade 40, TTC four years. Embryo banking with two freeze-all cycles, six day three frosties banked from round one, currently on second round. FET likely June.

Unexpected call from my younger brother this morning, don't hear from him often. Surprise..,His girlfriend is pregnant. I am so happy for them and yet feel sick and sad for myself.

of course you do.it's at moments like that that the unexplained diagnosis really bites, I think. wine for you.

yeah I had a few moments wild. but you know, he really wants to go and it's not like we're really getting anywhere anyway. frustrated that will have to deal with it on my own though. plus house move builders etc. but at least I can have a glass of wine in the evening.

Tiger that is bittersweet news. Hug for you. Does your brother know about your struggles with TTC? What about the rest of the family? If they don't have any inkling then maybe now is the time to drop a hint about your difficulties. With any luck that will mean they are sensitive to your mixed feelings just now.

You asked about my clinic, Tiger. Yes, it is in London, it's CRGH and they do seem pretty pragmatic in their approach. Are you having your treatment back home where MrT is? And does that mean that you will be home with him for stimming week?

Nolly that's very philosophical of you.

Nope wild although I did hint after a lot of effusive congratulations and he has since sent me a very sweet follow up message telling me he loved me and that he thought perhaps we might have been trying for a while. Very sensitive and not like my brother at all! It was the shock of it really, I'm so focused on ivf, it was a total surprise. Was on the way to acu when I got the call so made it there to burst into tears. Feeling better now, and fingers crossed it will just mean that we have children who are the same age.

Yes, treatment in the midlands, will be at home for part of stimming week but away for some too. Then I've got two weeks off with MrT.

nolly it must be tough with your dh away but fingers crossed it goes quickly. Definitely enjoy the wine!

he sounds like a really sweet person. hope it means you get support through the next few months, tiger.

try 'machiavellian', wild I'm banking on the brownie points taking me through at least 3 in law free Christmases

forgot to say wild, (on phone) that you sound in a really good place at the moment. physically the stimming is ok?

Tiger it really is bittersweet. I was in a similar position yesterday. My cousin gave birth to a beautiful little girl they have called Hope, but she has arrived after 3 failed NHS rounds and then the successful private one. We are the same age and I am thrilled for her but....I am sure you all understand.
Nolly similar for me too but my husband works shifts and the nights always seem to somehow fall when I need him and because of the hours we both work we can be ships passing in the night for what we see of each other!
Back to work Monday and a pregnant staff room and im currently renting space with AF...is it to early for a liquid lunch?!

Sweet of your brother to send that message Tiger. I hope the rest of your family can be as sensitive to your feelings. If it was me, I'd want them to not go on too much to me about either the expected baby or the fertility treatment. It's crazy timing that the news should come now, just as you are about to start.