Yo yo!! Calling all Ladybros over 30 TTC #1. Join the Berries aboard the Charabanc of lurrrve. Bring real Champagne, from the actual Champagne region. No Colombian builders allowed.

[happylass]

The small print:

The Berries have strict entrance criteria: TTC #1 for 12 months+, over 30, NO instadiffers, must have a special pimping pot and absolutely no mention of baby dust/dancing. Not that we're fussy

Current passengers

WildflowerMarmalade 40 - TTC for three years. FET done in June with immune treatments - waiting for result... Six embryos in the freezer after two freeze all cycles.

Minx 35 in August - TTC 2 years. Stage 4 endometriosis, both tubes blocked, 1 buried ovary, IVF booking in appt in July, hoping to start IVF soon after

Smidge 39, TTC since Jan '13. Unexplained. IVF#1 Short protocol July '14 BFN, IVF#2 Nov'14 and IVF#3 Feb '15 both Long protocol BFNs. High NK cell immune treatment. Natural FET in June '15, awaiting result.

Happylass, 37, TTC since Aug 2012. 2 failed ICSI cycles and 1 failed FET. Hoping to start long awaited NHS cycles in late August provided pesky smear test is sorted by then.

Beaky 35, ttc coming up 3 yrs, 2x failed iui 1x long protocol ivf cancelled 1 BFN following IVF

Tigerdog, 34 (soon to be 35) TTC since Jan 2013. Unexplained. IVF#1 May 2015 resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Now transferring clinics in the hope of a second round of IVF on the NHS and considering an NK cells biopsy in July/August.

barkingtreefrog 36, ttc 3.5 years. clomid bfp summer 2013 then mc @7 weeks, iui bfp summer 2014 then mc @6 weeks. Factor V leiden thrombophilia diagnosed at the repeat mc clinic. IUI bfn Jan 2015, IVF bfn April/May 2015. Currently awaiting nk cells results before a FET possibly in August/September.

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.

Kuma - 40. TTC 2.5 years. Low AMH high FSH - DH antisperm ABs. Failed IVF June 14 and March 15. Looking to change clinic and try another natural cycle in June 2015.

Lucieloos, 35, TTC 18 months, low AMH & sperm motility. 1st ICSI in Czech Republic in April BFN.

Rain, 33 ttc since March 2012. unexplained. mystery bfp oct 13, MMC Nov 13. NHS IVF starting in June

Thanks for all the lovely welcomes ladies!

at poor responder wifi beaky …

spare I’d also really love to hear more about that protocol.

Hope you are looking after yourself after that scare wild fingers crossed for some lovely news at your scan on Friday!

I haven’t made up my mind what to do next. There isn’t much of choice of clinic near to where I live so my choices are to keep with my existing clinic for another round or venture much further afield. If I stick with where I am it would much more convenient, and I can fit treatment around my work. Further afield would probably mean travelling to London, possibly even abroad – it would be much harder logistically to fit everything in and feels a bit scary. If I stick with my current clinic, it would be another similar short flare protocol. The consultant was very reluctant to change anything about it at all, except for some small things.

I would also be interested in considering natural cycle, an embryo banking cycle, or even much more aggressive ‘everything including the kitchen sink’ approach, but I wouldn’t be able to do these where I am now. On top of all of this, with each round getting successively worse results I do feel a real time pressure. It feels like I need to push on, rather than step back and use up luxury thinking time.

hi everyone, so looks like I ovulated in the past few days (had my last follicle tracking scan yesterday for this cycle), so into the 2WW after my first round of clomid (really not getting my hopes up tho...done that far too many times by this point). have also had the worst flippin ear ache since sunday, sharp stabbing pains on and off all day (that really helped put me in the mood ) am currently not taking anything for it (I generally just avoid painkillers/any type of over the counter stuff, in case there is a small chance it may interfere with ttc...probably being over cautious. if this carries on tho, I'm going to have to go to the doctors.

sesame welcome, hope your not here for too long, and that you find everyone as supportive as I do. sorry to hear about your mc. I'm 38 (rapidly approaching 39), and age really does play a bit part in decisions nowadays, so understand your dilemma on next steps.

happy sorry to hear about your uncle.

wild glad to hear the bleeding stopped, sorry that your feeling ill tho. take it easy...hope all goes well for your scan on fri.

happy sorry about your uncle . DH lost his uncle a couple of weeks ago very suddenly, it was a very sad funeral .

sparkle sorry to hear about your experiences so far, I've had two mc's during this journey (one after clomid, one after iui) and I'm not sure you ever get over them. Mine were a year ago and two years ago now. My non expert opinion is that embryo banking sounds like something for you to explore? There's research to suggest that frozen embryo replacements in natural cycles are more successful because your body is not stressed from all the drugs. I would say that given I'm having a fer this cycle I know what you mean about having been pregnant making it harder to get off the roundabout - I definitely think that if I'd tried for 3.5 years and not got near a bfp I'd have quit now (as I said I would! ) but it's so hard to accept that it isn't supposed to happen when it has happened twice, I just didn't manage to hang onto them.

pipbin & spare it really sucks when babies are born when yours should have been .

minx what's your timescale? Does that mean you're effectively on cd1? Is everything happening this cycle?

spare 50% reduction?! Still a rip off for your own notes detailing treatment you paid for though .

Woohoo for getting on the yellow brick road rain !! I am having acu. My woo lady said once a week and on the day of transfer if possible. I'm going tomorrow for my first session of this cycle .

beaky sorry to hear about the poor Ivf at your hotel .

wild everything crossed for Friday .

clem clomid has worked on this thread in the past, don't write it off! It's also massively positive that they're monitoring you on it, that's rare.

I am almost ready to throw off the Duvet of Despair and move to the Pouffe of Possibility. I'm trying very, very hard not to think about the probable difficulties in dates, and focus on gathering friends for support when I need it. First scan a week tomorrow. Lots of questions about lining and dates and hormones and implications of the biopsy... But for now, just relaxing and enjoying DH's company while I've got him here .

Hello ladybros, what's new? Back to work with a bump after a lovely long weekend away. Work was shit today.

wild I hope all is well and you're not worrying - it seems that a bit of bleeding around this time is very common and totally normal. Scan in a just a few days now, so everything tightly crossed until then.

barking that sounds quite impossible - have you figured out how you'll be in two places at once yet?! If anyone can do it, you can, I'm sure! Get yourself the pouffe of possibility and put your feet up!

minx I think it is quite hard to hide away from the world throughout a ivf cycle! I carried on as normal through the three weeks downregging (did an extra few days due to being away) but I did go to ground during stimming a bit more. I had no side effects from burserelin (just one headache at the end) but by the last few days of stimming I felt very emotional and tired so just tried to sleep lots and drink plenty of water. Didn't feel much like socialising by that point. We had a fairly active two week wait though - went away for a few days, did lots of trips to the countryside for leisurely walks, and ate well, not strenuous stuff, just to keep mind and body busy enough. I had an afternoon nap every day too, as I did feel more tired than usual.

I also LOVED the mustachioed baby! Genius!

beaky hope your ear infection isn't giving you too much grief and you're having a relaxing break.

Glad you've got a plan together lucie.
Very interesting thoughts on the FET benefits. I think we've had good FET sucess rates in this group. I wish I'd managed a couple of frosties, but I'm still convinced that their unnecessary upping of my stims (due to a supposed hard to reach right ovary that wasn't) led to lower egg quality and only two ok blasts.

Fab organisation skills Smidge, hope the consultation with the prof goes well.

Welcome sesame, pull up a pew and make yourself at home. Sorry to hear that you've been through a fair bit, but you're in good company here.

spare a hundred squids is a pisstake of the highest order. It is just a money making scam. My NHS FC charge £50 and I think that's fairly standard.

rain welcome back and yay to being on the ivf ybr. I got back into acu as soon as I started down regging. My acu lady liked to do treatments at all the key points, and especially the day of transfer.

Well Clem fingers crossed, you never know!

I hope the rummage was successful happy. It would be frustrating to be delayed by another 3 months. Sorry to hear about your uncle.

Sorry about the baby announcements pip and spare

Not much to report here - chased up my referral only to be told all the clinics were booked and their are no appointments. Will be getting on to secretaries and doing a lot of hassling. After a short break I want to get on again.

Happy I think I missed grout sad news about your uncle, so sorry to hear that. One of mine died in May, it's so awful. Hugs

Spare thank you. That sounds like she is doing well so far, 3 blasts is great. Fx for her during this last cycle and then the FET. Also, I had a bizarre dream last night where you were training to be a doctor and were going to solve all of the berries IVF woes! hooray!

Smidge how did your consultation go with The Professor

Wild so pleased to hear everything has calmed down, crossing everything as before for Friday. What time so we can stalk you is the scan? A little paw hold for the meantime.

Sesame yes I know what you mean, I have a couple of clinics near by but am in one of the best for the area and I feel sometimes that I need to go to London/abroad to get the most forward thinking, problem solvey type treatment if you know what I mean. I am waiting for a follow up to see if I can have another NHS go, with estrogen priming included (as I always seem to have unequal follie development) and anything else I can get them to give me, but overall, especially due to the time constraints, I feel that I need to go somewhere else for the kitchen sink protocol even though it's inconvenient as I need to crack on.

Clem fx for you, you never know! Hope your earache goes soon, I've just had one on holiday but got the best drops that cleared it up immediately!

Barking get on the pouffe! Crossing everything for your timings to line up perfectly and the FET to be the one. What is your lining normally like during stimming? never thought I'd ask another person about their lining

Tiger glad you had a lovely break! I am also dying to crack on with hinges now. I will hopefully get my results from the GP today/tomorrow and my NHS FC follow up is next week. Arghh. So much waiting! I'm also back to work today, it's shite eh. and to make it bearable!

I don't know what a pimping pot is but I reckon I qualify for this thread as have been ttc for just over a year, am 32 and not a trace of a bump. Currently going the blood tests and awaiting the appointment with fertility clinic

Hi dizzy and welcome
A pimping pot is the dedicated pot we keep by the loo to pee in, in order to do the dip tests because we got sick of forking out for proper pregnancy tests after a while!
I think poas tests are now only reserved for post-ivf or to confirm a result from an Internet cheapie!

clem I have all my fingers and toes crossed for you, and that you get bumped off the thread tout de suite! Hope you are feeling better today. Paracetamol only is meant to be ok, so my fc drummed into me. So much so I now get nervous about popping an ibuprofen when I’m not even having treatment…

tiger I do hope you get that referral sorted soon!

Welcome dizzy, there are some lovely ladies here!

barking I’m so sorry for your losses. But I’m glad you are moving over to that pouffle now. My consultant was also telling me about FET being more successful. Originally I thought if I’m only able to get my eggs out in ones and twos, I’d better stick any embryos back inside as quickly as possible. But now I’m getting my head round the possibility of embryo banking as an alternative.

beaky I do like the sound of kitchen sink protocol . To be fair to my clinic, I do think they are good at what they do, are very professional and a good team too. If my problem is only my age and my ovarian reserve then it is a numbers game, I should probably just stick with and do more of the same just to get the tries in. If my problem is something else to do with how my eggs are developing in response to the treatment they are giving, then I’m in the wrong place. And I’ll never know the answers to these questions.

I think my choices are now between getting started on a new cycle in current place, possibly even in August if they will let me do it so soon; looking for treatment elsewhere – maybe trying to get an initial consult in a London clinic if I can manage to pick one; and researching those places that might offer natural cycle, alternative stim cycles like clomid, or kitchen sink.

In that case I definitely qualify as I have one of those!

Thanks for the welcome. Will try and read back and play catchup.

Spare! Us Ladybros are way to classy to ever POAS. One must always PIMP (preferably in a glass ramekin of the Gü variety) whilst sipping on actual real Champagne.
Welcome Dizzy. Sorry you find yourself here but you are in the best possible place.

I make it a rule to pimp in a Champagne glass.

Welcome Dizzy.

Get hassling Tiger!!

Beaky I had a beautiful, textbook triple lining last time fat lot of good that did me but that was with all the drucks, so I'll be keeping a close eye on it this time!!

lady wild I would expect nothing less

Welcome dizzy

Ah fellow ladybros, I do enjoy reading this thread, it so often makes me smile! Barking your DH's comments are hilarious - and yet I can totally imagine it happening. While we were in the waiting room, MrSmidge suddenly asked me how many times we'd done IVF in a panic, as if he was about to get quizzed on it all by the Prof when we got in .

LadyWild I'm glad to hear there are multiple uses for your Champagne glasses

Beaky at the hotel poor responder wifi!

Welcome Sesame and Dizzy. Good to get our numbers back up after some of the berries have recently moved into the 'Copter.

Welcome back Rain and yippee for nearly starting!

Happy so sorry to hear about your Uncle. Hope you are coming to terms with that. I always feel so scared and alone when people die who are the generation above - they have always been there to look after us and then suddenly it's the realisation that at some point they'll be gone and we'll be on our own. Makes me grateful I will get to see my family soon.

So, we saw the Prof yesterday - after being called up that morning to see if we could arrive between 6-6:15 instead of at our 6:30 appointment, we ended up being seen at 7:20pm! Luckily the Prof was on good friendly form and so we didn't mind too much. He even suggested we crack open a bottle of wine given it was so late

We went through my family history, our history, our treatments and results to date etc... Was so pleased I had got myself organised. He seems very down to earth, and I think the overall conclusion was that the specialists really don't know why it works when it does! In the end we came out with the following:

1. Prescription for 60 days worth of DHEA to take in the run up to a cycle as it takes a while to get into the eggs. (The Prof doesn't really believe in it, but says it has the least side effects so doesn't mind giving it a go - is it wrong that greasy hair and spots has actually put me off?!)

1. Prescription for antibiotics In your face GP lady, haha that are used to treat vaginal bacteriosis, given my only pregnancy 7 yrs ago (unplanned, and medically terminated after the morning after pill didn't work... irony anyone?) occurred after having taken antibiotics for that very thing.

1. List of blood tests to be taken - mainly for immune related things (rheumatoid factor, lupus ...) plus thyroid update just in case there's anything that might warrant a specific steroid to help - he doesn't like the general prednisolone as doesn't believe there's any proof of it working, but is OK if there is a specific problem to address with a specific steroid treatment.

1. Homework for me to look into some chap from Spain who did research into the timing of receptive endometrial lining etc. Overall though we agreed for me probably this wouldn't help as my cycles change by a few days each month so testing in one month which day I'm most receptive wouldn't necessary tie up the next month anyway (and you can't test the same month as implantation).

1. The Prof actually wants us to consider IUI. He's had it work in the past for people where IVF has failed several times. Again, he says no one knows why, but with low stimulation on IUI it can help lining / get maybe 2 eggs to choose from, they filter and only put back in the best sperm, and it avoids mucus issues etc, while not mucking about too much with drugs. MrSmidge seems very keen on this one, whereas I'm a bit

1. If we do IVF, the Prof recommends Short/Antagonist protocol, using Elonva , which is a slow-release injection that lasts for 7 days - then after 7 days do daily Menopur. Possibly use a double dose of the antagonist (Orgalutran instead of Cetrotide) to avoid my LH rising like before - though he said he wouldn't have been as concerned about that as AliG. And then he would change my Luteal Support given my early bleeding in previous rounds... (yay). He said he would suggest HCG (I bet I would POAS just to get the lines, even though I'd know they weren't real ) plus progesterone I think (can't really read his writing at this point .

Anyway, he's happy for us to discuss this with AliG and do it there, or with him, though he would like us to let him know what we decide, and discuss the blood results etc. He gave us his own email address as promised...

Suspect MrSmidge will want the IUI, and I may want the IVF..

The Prof sounds great Smidge. Good idea of yours to get another perspective on things. If he knows his way around these protocols then I’d be tempted to go with him rather than rely on AliG to do stuff she isn’t very familiar with. And you really hit the nail on the head when you said that even the experts don’t really know why it works when it does. So much is still a mystery.

It’s very interesting to hear that you had your only pregnancy after taking antibiotics. No wonder you are keen to try them again. Ref the DHEA, have you read the Rebecca Fett book ’It Starts With The Egg’. She goes through the evidence for various supplements and there is a whole chapter on DHEA. She provides pretty convincing evidence that it has a positive effect. Although, if I remember correctly, the one thing she recommends to take above all others is ubiquinol. If you are looking into improving egg quality then I highly recommend it.

The IUI / IVF thing is a whole other question which I’m not sure I can even begin to get my head around. Except to say that the men often do not know all the ins and outs of success rates and implications of different treatments (i.e.. they are not as obsessive about it all as we are). I think they are often still in the mind set where they’re believing/ hoping that there is a simple fix. Whereas most of us have moved on to accept that we are not the easy cases.

Beaky when is your consultation? My scan is tomorrow morning at 9.30 - just so you know!

Just apropos of nothing in particular….Nolly has been very quiet lately. Is her DH back do you think - what can they have been up to?

I meant that I highly recommend that book Smidge - not the ubiquinol. That's up to you.

And also to add that the further tests sound like a good idea. Did you ever have tests which found NK cells? I can't remember. I never had the immune tests done as there is a strong history of autoimmune disease in my family and I already have underactive thyroid caused by autoimmune issues. The FC did test for thyroglobulin antibody and thyroid peroxidose antibody - which were both present. If you have these there is a 50 per cent probability that you will have immunological implantation issues - although they are just a marker of a problem not the cause. The FC didn't tell me that, I read up on it, but thought you might like to know.

Good surmise on nolly's absence there Wild

smidge my first iui got me a bfp, my first ivf a bfn. Doesn't always happen how you think!

Was supposed to be viewing a house tonight, on a bit of a whim. Not so much a doer upper as a knock down and start again. Only it's a semi . But some family emergency with the bloke who was showing us around has meant it's not until next Monday now. Grr. It's taken a week already to get this viewing booked in!

smidge the Prof sounds good, lots of interesting stuff to take away from that! I've not heard of vaginal bacteriosis, fingers crossed for you that another batch of antibiotics is all you need!!

wild will be pom poming like mad for you tomorrow morning. Hope you manage a good nights sleep tonight!

dizzy welcome welcome, may your stay be spectacularly short!

tiger thanks for your experience, lucky I called my acu lady today - she's off on holidays tomorrow for 3 weeks and is already pretty chocca when she gets back but she's made some room for me. Won't be able to start any acu basically till I start stimming but some is better than none I figure!

barking are you moving geographically or just looking for a new house? I hated house hunting, we keep saying we're going to do it next year but realistically I think that will depend on what happens over the next few months or so won't it.....

Has anyone taken/considered taking baby aspirin during IVF? The miscarriage has been playing on my mind this week. I called the clinic to discuss and they basically said I can if I want but that there's little evidence and no medical indication on my notes why it would be useful aside from the miscarriage but that is most likely just one of those shitty things and that if I do take it then I have to take it every day during treatment and (hopefully) into pregnancy, up to about 34 weeks!
Thoughts?

Hi Dizzy and welcome! Have you had any test results back yet? Are you still with the GP or the FC now?

Love the idea of pimping in a champagne glass Wild ha. Good luck for your scan tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you. Also, good call re Nolly I reckon

Smidge that all sounds great, difficult re the iui/IVF thing but the success rates are massively different. My two iuis failed and I think you have even less chance of understanding why, but it is less invasive than IVF. You could probably do more cycles of that though.

How do you know whether to test for immune stuff? I have no idea but am curious to find out so I know whether to.

Barking I love viewing houses! Would you like to move then? We still aren't in our new one yet, so much work to be done!

Well I got my blood results today, I felt really down as my FSH was 15. It was 5.8 two years ago!! Arghhhhh. Also apparently my creatine levels are slightly high which is to do with kidney function, wtf. I didn't even realise that was being tested. I have to go back in a month to get it retested. I've freaked myself out totally by consulting dr google. Ffs.
sorry to be a downer everyone.

Sorry Rain, x post. I'm not too sure about aspirin, I did take it as my response was poor and I wanted to ensure we had more than one follie and it seemed to help with that but I think it depends what your issues are.

Rain if you were planning to take the aspirin after EC, ie. once you have finished stimming, then just go for it. If your mind will be eased by knowing you took it then I reckon you should just do it. Lots of women take it during pregnancy so it must be safe. Plus it's cheap!

I think taking it before / during the stimulation phase of IVF is more complicated. Happy is the one to ask as she has tried it. I was specifically told not to take it before our stimming cycles. Then I was prescribed it during the FET cycle.

Sorry your test results were not what you wanted Beaky That is a shame. Have you thought of trying acupuncture? It may help lower FSH? Not too sure though. As for getting tested for immunes there are warning signs such as autoimmune disease, PCOS (as well as repeat IVF failure, repeat miscarriage). There is a good book called 'Is Your Body Baby Ready?' by Alan Beer. It goes into the whole thing in great detail. Or check out the Dr Sher website and search for the topic. I'm sure he explains the warning signs too.

smidge really interesting stuff in your chat with the prof. I never got to try IUI. My first consultant said my AMH too low to waste any time on IUI. And the second said, once you go to IVF you never go back… But I still wonder about what if I’d gone there in the first place… And IUI is much bigger in the States for infertility, although much is down to med insurance and treatment costs. Btw, did he happen to say what causes early bleeding? I had that with both my bfns.

Greasy spots has definitely put me off from taking DHEA, so I was quite happy to agree with my doc when he said it wasn’t necessary. In fact I haven’t yet gone down the supplements route. I do take a handful of vits each day that I know wouldn’t really do any harm. And I erratically swing through food fads like organic dairy and Mediterranean diet (still not 100% sure what that is, so I just ate more olive oil). rain for similar reasons, I’ve never tried aspirin. Perhaps I’m overly cautious as there are some who swear it helped. But I’ve not seen the evidence that it helps for the IVF bit, and that’s also what the doc told me. The pregnancy bit is different, it is used for certain conditions, tho I think advice is still that no need to take for all.

Hi beaky I'm sorry that your FSH has gone up. I think once ovarian reserve gets low, these kinds of tests are meant to fluctuate quite a bit from month to month. This could just be a 'high' month for you.

rain current advice is not to take aspirin unless you have a diagnosed clotting issue, and even then opinion is divided. Recent research suggests that aspirin is not the safe 'take it in case' drug they thought it was, and could actually increase the risk of mc. However some people are still prescribed it for ivf. I had one consultant tell me it was dangerous and not to take it and the other tell me it was worth trying given 2x mc plus thrombophilia diagnosis. In the same hospital, in the same clinic...

beaky/rain we're both bored. This is not the life we had planned. We need to find jobs abroad, or go travelling, or move to the countryside in a run down house. We're keeping all three options open, this viewing is part of keeping the last option open. Albeit a not very realistic one as we can't afford it for the price it's on at (although the photos show snow on the ground so they've obviously been trying to shift it for months and should come down significantly in price) and it would cost a fortune to make habitable. Apparently it's possible to knock down a semi but very expensive due to having all the extra work just to support and reseal the adjoining house....

Just quickly popping in to send lots of berry good luck to Wild this morning!