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

I typed that in an email to myself for speed, no idea why there is a weird character at the end of each sentence?!

Argghh I made the call!!? It was terrifying but I'm feeling chuffed. Out of the 7 collected, 6 were mature enough and all 6 have fertilised!! I feel like our chances are half decent now! Come on embryos.

Excellent news lucie

barking your fc sound very responsive and decent not like mine and you've got a good plan there it seems.

Lucie that is great news! They must be good quality eggs to get that sort of fertilization rate! What is the next stage?

barking Great that you've had a comprehensive answer, and it sounds like it has answered some questions (but boo that it has thrown up a few more). And good news about the appointments letter - he sounds like he appreciates the importance of this being a joint decision.
Did they say why they are so cautious about steroids? They cost pennies and have very little downside, so it seems odd they are making you jump through so many hoops to get them. I know the NK tests can be expensive, but a scratch is about £200 privately at the clinics I know of.

congrats lucie

been away all week berries, have I missed anything? AF on holiday :( but it was lovely apart from that. Got home to find a.... PG announcement from ex who i dumped becauase he didnt' want kids. He's now a massive stoner and been with his new gf for about 5 minutes. F*cking great.

on plus side new house, hooray. feeling not very excited about it as so much work to do but must start finding energy to be positive about things somehow.

barking no words of wisdom or experience but it sounds like a very useful and informative chat. was it reassuring?

Thanks everyone I have to ring again on Wednesday which is day 3 for another progress update and then go in on Friday for transfer! We are off to Prague tomorrow for 2 nights. We are currently in another town about 2.5 hours away so I'm looking forward to that. There is no news tomorrow which is quite nice to have a little break from this rollercoaster!

Wow! That's a fantastic result Lucie. A couple of days in Prague sounds like the ideal distraction before the next phone call.

Barking that sounds like a very productive meeting. I'm with Spare in being surprised that they want to do full tests and a trial before prescribing steroids. Many places use them empirically now, so it is unusual. But every FC seems to have its own way of doing things and we have to go along with it. I'm impressed by the consultant offering to write a letter to DH's school. Good on him.

Nolly a stoner ex is going to be a father after saying he didn't want children! I'm disgusted on your behalf. That really is a bitter pill to swallow. Exciting to be able to crack on with the house. I'm sure once you get started with it then the momentum will build and there'll be no stopping you. Glad you had a nice time away.

Spare interesting to hear about the FET and resting the old womble. I've never been totally clear why we would do a frozen transfer, except it does make it easier to co-ordinate D&C and intralipids with the transfer. Any further wisdom on FETs? How is PUPO life?

I'm feeling fine physically but a bit all over the place emotionally. I had a good cry earlier. It's not even related to the IVF specifically, just feel out of sorts. I haven't been sleeping brilliantly either. I'm wondering if the steroids they have me on are interacting with my thyroid medication and sending me a bit loopy. Plus DH is on the outs with me for some reason. I'll be glad when EC is all over tomorrow. Sorry for all the woe, I'm sure it will pass.

Wild
I'll try and dig out the article which the head of my clinic wrote.
Babies born from FETs have higher birth weights than those from 'fresh' transfers, and success rates are higher, but they don't know exactly why.
The most likely theory, says the clinic, is that after a FET, there are lower levels of hormones in the woman's body, and this has a positive impact on the pregnancy, rather than it being anything to do with the freeze/thaw process of the embie.
They said that you can still have a successful fresh transfer if it isn't a mega stim one that puts you at risk of OHSS, which is why clinics pay so much more attention to oestrogen levels now, and won't do a transfer if levels get too high (hence I was refused a fresh transfer and have had to have FETs), as it is safer for you and the baby...
Keeping everything crossed for tomorrow.
Is DH stressed? Mine is being a grade A arse at the moment, which I know is his stress about this working. I did think about having the FET done 'in secret' so that he wouldn't get stressed about it again because he was bordering on insufferable last time during the 2WW, but he said that he would be fine this time and there was no need to.
But judging on the last 48 hours, if this one doesn't work, he won't get told on the timing for the next one. He can sign the consent form and be told if it has worked (and be forever in the dark if it hasn't!)

wild
Here you go...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-geeta-nargund/ivf-risks_b_4657105.html

Barking I'm really glad that you had a good follow up with your consultant, it sound like it was what was needed and I'm really pleased that they are going to help out with DH. You are spot on with the grading and to me they don't sound too bad (better than the one I have in the freezer). The research around why frozen cycles are more successful than fresh is an interesting one, I've had a quick scout though work and most of it seems to be hypothetical and anecdotal but along some of the lines of Spares post. I think that you have a sound plan, even if it may mean a hiatus in the proceedings. I guess you now need to figure out if you want the extending testing or just to crack on. I'm still astounded by the differences in clinics and beliefs. If you do come back as positive for killer cells and are thinking about going elsewhere then you may want to look at Zita West. I have a friend of a friend who suggested that I keep them in the back of my mind and they do seem to specialise in 'complex' cases.

Lucie that is amazing news.....you should be really happy with that. Enjoy your 'day off' and we will be keeping our fingers crossed for you here.

Thank you for the support berries, this is the only place I could come and know that I wouldn't be judged for feeling the way I do.

Wild sorry that you are feeling out of sorts; all the drugs play havoc though and I'm sure that you will feel better after a decent sleep and EC tomorrow.

Lovely wild I'm sorry it's your turn to feel out of sorts. EC tomorrow and then you can have a bit of normality back till you get upduffed Chin up in the meantime

Interesting article spare...

lucie enjoy Prague!

Welcome back nolly, hope you had a fab holiday. Pg announcement fuckers, it never fails to deliver the kick to the guts.

I'm feeling slightly grouchy. Work is annoying, spent 12 hours in office today doing boring stuff and I really didn't want to leave Mr T this week . A big sleep and some mediation tracks are the way forward I think. PMA!

Wild good luck for tomorrow and good work on the secret/stealth injecting! I'll be pompoming and cartwheeling for you for luck and a good few eggs!

Barking your consultant sounds lovely, and hats off to him for offering to write that letter! I bet the employer would get a bit of surprise and also put in their place. How do you feel about things? I know the delays are far from what you both wanted but at least it's a good plan. Fwiw my clinic give you both single trf and double trf success rates and double are higher but I think definitely see if you can get that answer from your clinic too. Well done for getting through that on your own as well.

Spare and Gill how's PUPO land?

Tiger how are you feeling? Well done MrT for saving the day!

Nolly glad your holiday was lovely but boo to AF. I echo the angst at all of the work needed to new houses. Hopefully it'll be completed sooner rather than later. And fucking hell re your ex, there really is no such thing as fairness is there. and for you.

Hb how are you feeling now? Do you know roughly when your frostie will be going back into it's rightful home?

Lucie great news on your ec going so well and the good fertilisation rate!

Hope Monday hasn't been too awful for everyone!

Aww, sending a sneaky hug for both Tiger and Wild tonight! Hope you both feel better soon.

Thank you for the info on FETs, Spare, very interesting indeed. And you are some kind of evil genius for plotting to keep your DH in the dark if you ever have another transfer. That made me laugh. I suspect a combo of work and me not being at my best are to blame for my DH being out of sorts, which is fair understandable.

And thank you for the support Berries. Ferlng a bit unnerved by not having any medication to take, keep fretting that I've forgotten something. Not long for me now...

Tiger hope a bit of woo tape and a good, long sleep sort you out tonight. I think it's natural to feel more clingy than usual while you're doing all this.

Thanks for the sneaky hug Beaky. I never answered your question about SET/DET - we'd plan to go for two if possible, but obviously we will also take advice from the FC when the time comes.

That sounds like a really productive and informative meeting Barking. It sounds like a good plan although obviously frustrating with the additional delays the tests pose. Knowledge is power though and each cycle is a fact finding mission of sorts.

Interesting article Spare, although I'm worrying that my oestrogen levels are now too high given all the patches I am on. I guess they're still considerably lower than if I had just finished stimming.

Excellent news on the fertilisation Lucie - try and relax over the next couple of days before the next update. Sending strong division vibes.

Good luck for EC tomorrow Wild. Can't believe you're on your second harvesting already. Hope your DH manages to come up with the goods without getting too stressed!

Hugs to Tiger, stimming is tiring work so don't be too hard on yourself.

Hope my PUPO pal Spare is OK. Things fairly normal in my PUPO world, was back in the office today and managed to leave at a respectable time. Hope I can keep it up but dependent on others doing their jobs. Went for a 30min walk when I got home to keep that blood pumping.

Hugs to Nolly too, damn that pregnancy announcement. Hope some house focus can give you something better to think about.

Hi to Beaky, HB and anyone else lurking

Morning all. Just popping in to say good luck for today to Wild. Apologies for the silence, work is crazy at the moment. I'm here lurking and rooting for you all. Just don't seem to have a spare second to post properly!

Good luck today Wild! Thinking of you today

Good luck today wild, will check in for an update from you later x

Lucie woohoo! 6! Excellent news after all the worry (exactly the same as I was!)

Spare my consultant won't do anything unless it's evidence based. He's very against doing anything 'in case it works'. What worries me is that it is private though. Paying for steroids is different to paying for a biopsy, then steroids, then another biopsy, then more steroids... (if it's a positive result, so fingers crossed it won't be and I don't have to think about that bit!!)

Nolly I also have an ex who didn't want children. My ongoing nightmare is to find out that he has a kid after all the rows we had about babies. I really feel for you . I was partly reassured at the appointment because he listened and responded to everything and agreed that nk cells and a scratch was a sensible way forward. He didn't think the horrible cold/flu thing I had from et was anything more than a coincidence. I was more worried about him saying no, but this is all private, so I suppose I could have done it anyway regardless of what he said.

wild don't underestimate the effects of all the extra hormones, hope you feel better today.

hb I've had RL friends recommend Zita West to me before, but I'm worried about costs spiralling .

Tiger hope you got some sleep and feel better .

beaky I know that double transfers are more successful than single, and the consultant definitely seemed to be leaning that way yesterday. What interests me is whether a double transfer has higher success rates than two single transfers. If everything has to be perfect to make a baby, and the timing, the lining, the hormone levels etc can be the difference between success and failure, surely it's not upping the chances by gambling both embryos on the same lining/timing/hormone levels etc? Does anyone follow what I'm trying to say?!
Splitting them would also mean we could try a medicated cycle and a non medicated cycle so we cover both bases there as well.

gill still got my pom poms going for you and spare, been too long since we had a break out!

good luck today wild, will be keeping my eyes peeled.

thanks for all the support Berries. I know you all understand . Sometimes it all feels a bit much doesn't it. ah well, onwards an upwards.

hb I had a chat with mr nol who broke the news about my ex - I ranted about how unfair it all was and he said 'but we've got to be happy for them!' I just said, no we bloody don't. long term TTC has had some positive effects on my character (more patient, more thoughtful I think) but seriously brings out the worst in me sometimes. Are you feeling a bit more positive?

Beaky
Greetings from PUPO land... All seems to be ok here. I've taken the collective advice and have been doings lots of walking, and am really trying not to symptom spot. I've had to get up in the night for the loo, but also haven't had any of the zappy implantation pains I got last time, so am really 50/50 on this.

barking
Can they give you an idea of costs at this stage? Are they part of a study looking into NK cells hence the need for evidence based treatment? Can you compare that with another private clinic who will do the FET with steroids as standard?
Totally get what you mean about putting back 1 vs 2... It is so difficult to know what to do

All done and dusted. We got six this time. Slightly disappointed after the last round, but I know I should be grateful.

Nolly '...we've got to be happy for them!' - 'no we bloody don't.' I totally agree with you!

Six is good Wild, particularly given that you've only had a small break between stims. Your ovaries must be exhausted. Barry is on low and repeat as we speak! Remind me how many frosties you have already?

You absolutely bloody do not have to be happy for them Nolly. Your DH is far more forgiving than me. No wonder he's off to save the world in a little while!

Also trying not to symptom spot. Had a few jabby pains over the course of yesterday which I'm obviously not reading too much into (yeah right!). Absolutely nothing today though.

Great news Wild. And what she said

Spare the FET would be on the nhs, it's the tests we have to get done privately. His secretary is posting me a letter with all the details so I'll see if that answers my questions.

Nolly your dh is talking nonsense (sounds likes he's been talking to mine ). You absolutely do not have to be bloody happy for them! They jumped the bloody queue! And he didn't even want one!!

and don't get me started on that sodding royal baby