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

Haha happy I was probably one of those women she was referring to with the screaming!! I didn't find the actual scraping too bad but she put a clamp on my cervix and I think as she was trying to take it off I pulled back which caused me to let out a bit of a scream

Lucie the worry never ends does it. I might have a little look at bravelle although he was reluctant to change anything really. Hopefully hou won't have the same problem this time since you'll be using buserelin early on.

Happy thanks, that's reassuring. I'm going to take plenty of paracetamol and hope for the best, at least it's quick! Sometimes I can't believe I voluntarily request these things. Fx for your clear smear then!

Beaky I took Co-codamol and not only did I volunteer - I paid £150 for the privilege

Bloody hell Happy!

One of the reasons I went ahead with the fer even though DH is away was that I had the biopsy last month so thought I could get away with the benefits of that rather than paying £150 to have the scratch if I'd left it until next month. The consultant asked if I still wanted it (left a note on my file so we didn't have a conversation) but I'd understood the benefits last three cycles.

Can't sleep, just woke up from a dream where someone broke into the place I was staying and shot me .

Gosh that's a horrible nightmare barking. I've just woken up from a really vivid pregnancy dream. It was my due date and I was very excited.

I was told that the biopsy has the same effect as the scratch so fingers crossed it does the job for your FET. When is your scan?

So glad that you get another NHS go beaky, you must be so relieved. Is your scratch on the NHS? At least they are giving you that, and you know where you are with the protocol they are doing.

All this scratch talk is not making me look forward to my biopsy in August!

I'm so fed up about the wait at my new FC. Actually I'm fed up generally. Despite the reminder from smidge I failed miserabley to be positive. I even had a little cry in the loos at work. I'm not sure what is wrong with me, I've just suddenly dropped into a negative spiral and I can't seem to get out of it.

lucie I can see why you're nervous but sounds like a great plan to go for frozen transfer and fingers crossed it all goes well this time. There are so many unknowns but it can just all come together just like that.

wild if it's not too impolite to ask, what was the rough cost of your embryo banking approach?

happy hoorah for the end of term! Great that you've got holidays to look forward to then you can start again. Fingers crossed for a clear smear.

Will try extra hard to be cheery today!

Aww Tiger What a distressing dream. sometimes it is so hard to pull yourself out of a low patch. Just remember that it will pass, this isn't the way forever. This is such a hard process, probably one of the most difficult things I've gone through so low patches are to be expected. We are here to chat when needed too! Do you think if you could get an earlier appointment it would help? My dh says I am much better now, since our appointment, I was terrible prior to that to be fair.

Barking how's the opks coming along? What an awful dream too! I've heard that the scratch benefits last a few months, my dh looked super confused when I asked about it cause he hadn't bothered his arse to find out what we were going to ask about before the appointment

Wild I had wanted to ask the same q as Tiger if you don't mind answering, if not don't worry though.

Anyone heard from Nolly?

In other good news, I've got myself an interview for a new job! I'm so not confident though, I could be sick with nerves already!

lucie How are you feeling? It's come around quickly! I also had to have my cervix clamped for them to do the scratch because they said it kept 'trying to run away from them', wtf that means, I have no idea!

beaky Seconding the others that it really isn't that bad. About 10% worse than an ET, and not quite as undignified because it is over and done with much quicker flashbacks to the 10 min wait for the embryologist while I'm in stirrups and FC's face is at chuff height
And more importantly, ACE news about your next round and being able to start so quickly

Tiger Some clinics will do a 3 round package to embryo bank, which comes it at about £7k, excluding drugs and icsi. I think you get one FET in that and the rest are payable separately.

I hope things are looking up for us a bit. The in-laws have completely out of the blue offered to chip in for another round for us, which means we don't have to wait for the decision from the NHS exceptional funding people (although if we do another self-funded round that doesn't work, we will be ineligible for NHS funding forever)
So I think we are going to go back to our clinic in September, with a view to doing a FET in Oct (they are all the rage now in Berryland!)
I've booked an appointment for the start of august to see if I need a scratch or any prep work before stabbing
And I've cancelled our appointment at ARGC for next week. The more I read about their approach, the more I just don't think it is for us (financially as much as anything else!) so I'm going to stick with what we know for now

Some embryo banking packages:
www.createhealth.org/treatment-prices/new-mild-ivf-3-cycle-packages/
www.thebridgecentre.co.uk/about_us/low-cost-packages
www.londonwomensclinic.com/london/three_cycle_ivf_package?/london/p/three_cycle_ivf_package

It looks like they don't advertise it for banking, so you might have to pay the freezing fees unless you get OHSS or there is another medical reason they might want to delay transfer but probably worth speaking to the clinics. I'm sure there is some wiggle room!

Spare that's great that the in laws have offered to help out and you can get going again in September, it will be here in no time! I'm ok thanks, I'm eager to get going again and excited about it all but also very nervous of the thought of the scans. It seems something had gone wrong on every follicle scan so far. I think I will have to close my eyes this time as can't bear to see them counting them up and possibly stopping after only a few! I'm wondering whether to pay an extra £100 and book myself in for a baseline scan on day 1 as well? My clinic doesn't ask for it but I know a lot do and it must have some importance to check the lining and cysts etc? What are everyone's thoughts on it? Do you have baselines or not?

Well, that was a bit of a wtf experience at the clinic this morning! Just reporting in while I sit in the pharmacy waiting for my prescription (lack of dosage so they had to call the clinic, I've been here 40 minutes now...) will read back properly later as there is no mobile reception in the hospital so just typing this in notes to copy over when I get a chance!
For some unexplained reason my body seems really keen to get this show on the road and after a definite (but not positive) line on an opk this morning, and the usual appearance of pre ovulation acne, the scan showed a follicle at 17! I'm on cd15, I should be up to a week away from ovulation going by my normal pattern, but looks like I might be nearly there already.
Second surprise was my prescription. There was a bit of confusion between no aspirin and aspirin, and if so when to start taking it. Also, I had a prescription for deltaparin waiting, but I thought I was only taking it from bfp if it works. Turns out I'm injecting that from ovulation, and not taking aspirin at all. The nurse said one of the other doctors who also works at the miscarriage clinic follows this protocol, it gets the blood thinning going in time to make the womb more receptive to the embryo. Also got a new form of progesterone pessaries (can't remember what they're called but they come with an applicator?!) to start from the transfer. And an ovitrelle injection to stimulate ovulation.
Womb lining was triple lined, can't remember if she said 7mm or 9...

Just got to call at 2pm for my blood test results and find out what to do next....

Wow Barking! All systems GO!
Any idea what has brought your OV date forward? Great news that your LP won't be any issue.
So when is transfer day? A word of warning that the thinner injections can bruise a bit, so don't be too alarmed if you find them! Any anything over 5mm is considered great for the lining, so it is all looking v positive for you.

lucie I haven't had a baseline, and if your clinic don't ask for it, will they take it into account for your treatment? But then for £100, I'd be inclined to get one, even just as a reassurance that the palace is looking good

Well I don't know what the baseline is for really? I'm assuming it just checks if you have any cysts and if your lining is thin enough so if there was a problem then I could choose whether to continue myself?

I thought a baseline scan was to check that everything was looking as it should for your dates, before you start stims (ie to check lining is thin, no follies, no cysts)?
I've only seen people have one where they are on long protocol and have been down-regging, or are having overseas treatment where they want to double check things are ok before travelling?
Maybe phone the clinic and just ask them if it would be worth having?

Lucie yeah I think the baseline scan just checks everything is ready/people are sufficiently down regged/no cysts etc. I think it's also when they do the afc. I think given that youve not had one before it may be worth it to see what the situation is? I totally sympathise about hearing bad news in scans, "no response from the left ovary" is my recurring one it makes me feel ill. Hopefully this cycle will be much better for you. Also, did you ever have your consultation with Gennet?

Barking how strange! Is this better date wise? When will et be? Your lining sounds great as well, I'm sure that's the exact measurements they like to see. I'm excited for you! I'm getting the new progesterone too, I think it begins with L?

Spare that's fantastic that your inlaws are chipping in! will you go with the same protocol this time?

Tiger also check out city fertility who are part of Gennet (the really good Prague clinic) as they are very reasonable and are doing a similar banking/FET approach.

Ooo, when's the interview beaky?
I'm not sure when ET will be, just called for my results and I have to go back tomorrow for another blood test - nearly there and don't need a scan as well. What I didn't ask because I always think of these questions after I've put the phone down, is whether they will tell me to take the ovitrelle even if it looks like I'll ovulate myself if they leave it. I assume they would prefer the injection so they can control timing, and I've bloody well paid for it now so I hope it's not a just in case
If I get the clear LH surge tomorrow (op this morning indicated I would get a positive tomorrow) then I guess I would ovulate in the next 36 hours or be told to do the injection to make me do so, in which case 5 days after ovulation could be next Wednesday? Which would work out a lot better on dates .

tiger don't be so hard on yourself, this stuff is shit, and waiting for the shit is even shitter. Fact. I saw a pg friend I'd been avoiding (not intentionally, she was watching her dh in the triathlon on Sunday) and she has a huge bump. I burst into tears and had to walk away . This crap just hits you and you just have to wade through it and out the other side .

spare good news that you should be able to move quicker .
No idea what has brought ov forward but it's unlikely to change my lp - that's been the same whenever ov occurs. Shouldn't be an issue for this cycle though as they're giving me the new progesterone pessaries to sort that.

Lucie I've always had a baseline scan on cd2, both for iui and ivf.

Beaky Yup, same protocol but might look into a few kitchen sink things before the transfer
They mentioned whether we would like to do pre-implantation genetic screening, to check which embies are chromosonally complete before they go back but it is £3k per 8 embies, so I think we will pass on that!
Other option would be a biopsy to see which days the lining is most receptive for implantation although I'm going to make them really explain why the FET protocols changed for each one, and I want a better explanation than 'that's how the FC likes to do it'. Hopefully we can thrash all this out when we see him in a few weeks. I'll also see if they recommend a scratch, although I'm a bit reluctant, but only because both times I had a scratch before, they had to cancel the cycle for other reasons, so I think they are jinxed!

Wow, so many berries will be cycling over the next few weeks! Sounds like a big summer berry clusterdiff, will be on its way!

minx and funky, sounds like your cycles are both well underway. Hope you are getting on okay with the stabbing?

smidge It sounds good to have a couple of good clinics to choose from for your next steps. When will you get the news about your test results?

rain I’m so glad it worked out with your boss I didn’t explain my treatment to my mine, I just told them I was having a course of medical treatment, with some appointments for blood tests and I would need to have a minor operation – which might be at the last minute.

tiger I'm sorry things are bad right now. It’s ok to be negative and teary sometimes. It can all get a bit much, but it does get better. That’s about the point I got too when I joined in the berries for a bit of camaraderie. I really hope you can get that referral sorted soon, and that you get to benefit from that very progressive fertility treatment work policy!

beaky I also emailed Serum and they advised me on the clomid cycle too. The travel and extra expense put me off too, but I think the clomid thing does seem to make sense. The way I understand it, clomid interrupts the feedback loop for the oestrogen signals that growing follicles send to the brain, which means you produce lots of natural FSH and can get multiple follicles to grow. It’s your body’s own FSH that’s meant to be best for egg quality and this keeps the drugs bill down. I don’t know if Serum do this, but I think that if you continue to take it beyond the initial few days, it’s meant to prevent an LH surge, which lowers the risk of premature ovulation. But the consequence of your body not responding to oestrogen is poor lining growth, which means that any eggs collected need to be frozen. My next cycle is still much more likely to be on traditional IVF meds, but I can’t help thinking that they’ve got something there.

Anyway, I’m so glad you can crack on with another NHS cycle. You must be pretty relieved? In my follow up, my consultant also said no to a similar list of things. He also wasn’t keen on scratch but will do it for me. Many clinics only a scratch to those with multiple implantation failures. However, it is a proven intervention that will slightly increase pregnancy rates. And my only bfp was after a scratch too. Oh and congratulations on the interview by the way!

lucie it sounds good to be kicking off your new cycle so soon. My consultant was also telling me about the success rates of frozen over fresh. I think premature ovulation is much more likely on short antagonist protocols, so fingers crossed the flare protocol works for you.

Hi spare, what a lovely offer from the in-laws, really glad that relieves a lot of the pressure now. And good news that you’re both getting ready to go back to the clinic in September. And thank you so much for all your helpful info on embryo banking!

barking wow, it really is all systems go for you. I’m glad all the scans are looking good. Congratulations on your first triathlon too, that’s amazing! I was pretty chuffed with running 8k on Sunday morning, but now that pales into insignificance.

Six weeks off sounds so lovely happy glad that you’re off to a good start!

Apologies for such a big update. I’ve got a week off to holiday at home this week. I had planned to take some time to get my head round a new treatment cycle, and do some more research on different clinic options. But I got distracted when my bathroom quote plopped onto my doormat. Since then, I’ve spent stupid amounts of time on Pinterest planning my dream bathroom, visiting showrooms, and drawing up alternative plans. It feels weird to be investing in home improvements, when I had been hoping to move out of my top floor flat to somewhere much more baby friendly. But I suppose that at the end of this process, time and investment I can at least be certain of having a bathroom to show for it…

Thanks seasame - I think that we're definitely here to jolly each other along when the going gets tough! I found DIY to be reasonably diverting for a while and at least you'll have a lovely bathroom to show for it as you say. What happened after your first bfp, if you don't mind me asking?

Great news on the interview beaky! Will be keeping everything crossed and cheerleading for you on the job front too! I think the appointment would help improve my mood. I'm not a naturally patient person so the whole TTC business has tested me beyond belief. I feel so frustrated that it isn't moving forward.

Thanks for the info spare. I'm planning ahead so we know what we have to play with on a self funded round, in case this one doesn't work out. Great news on the extra cash and that your inlaws are so supportive. I do quite a bit around NHS funding for work purposes and I can't quite work out how they'll decide on the funding transfer. As a patient you do have a right to choice.

No baseline scanning for me lucie but I wouldn't really recommend my FCs approach to monitoring - very light touch.

Sounds like everything is falling into place barking! Exciting and will be keeping everything crossed for you.

Thank you all for your support I have cheered up today, so I think I'm over the worst for now. It's my birthday tomorrow, the much feared 35. Home to Mr T who is taking me for cocktails and dinner, and right now I'm having a pedicure as a little pre birthday treat to myself!

I've been a bit too busy to post. Well post properly. I attempted to on my phone but it didn't post so sorry if I sound self centred. But congrats on the twins! That's pretty amazing :)

I think someone asked me about tests? I've given bloods for initial days of cycle (tricky when a lot of spotting has been happening), one for rubella and an US scan for womb health.

I'd had one back in November for polycystic ovary (only have one left after a removal of that and a ginormo cyst) and the same has been said again this time: ovary shows enough follicles to be called polycystic but condition of womb looks good which is a posiyive.

I am yet to give blood for 'day 21' which again is troublesome as i don't have a set cycle, often it is 30 days or more, so am having to make a guess on the correcr day (7 days before day 1 I think).

Not really sure what any of these tests will really reveal or how they will get treated.

Hubbies sperm is fine but he needs a retest after his GP lost his results

Finally got consult appt for 3rd. Wondering what might transpire. Seem to be much earlier on then most in the thread so feel like a beginner. Any advice on expectations is welcome.

And in the meantime i can hopefully do a better job of keeping up and being supportive rather then being all me me me me!

Sounds like all systems go for you Barking! Good stuff!
Fab that you get another bash on NHS Beaky. I'm really glad about that and congrats on getting a job interview. When is it?
Another big hug for Tiger, coming from me. For some reason, some days are harder than others. I guess it's particularly frustrating for you at the moment as things don't seem to be moving.
So is embryo banking where you have a few rounds of IVF and whack what you can into the freezer for a later date?
I had my baseline scan today. Down regulations confirmed so I start oestrogen tomorrow. I'm on 6 tablets a day, a patch that gets changed twice a week and an aspirin.
Has anyone used the patches before? No one seems to know what to do with them. My nurse told me she didn't know so to ask pharmacy. Pharmacy told me to put them below the waist line but above the waist band- I told them that made no sense, so then she just said to put it on my lower back. When I read the paper in the box, it said thigh or bum! But it's all about HRT. I'm confused as to where I'm meant to stick it now! Any ideas?

Somehow missed the last couple of posts. Happy birthday for tomorrow Tiger! Wishing you an enjoyable day.

Wow it's all happening in Berry HQ! Lucie I've had baseline scans on cd2 for all my cycles with CRGW and I'll be doing the same with the NHS. As others have said I think it's just to check that everything's as it should be and there are no cysts etc.
Barking are you on Utrogestan? I used it on my 2nd cycle - so much easier than Cyclogest but it made me spot (probably because it was irritating my cervix rather than it not working) so they switched me back to the trusty bum bullets for the FET.
Funky I think Gillster used the oestrogen patches? Maybe drop her a message in FB.
Hope everyone else is ok - too many to name check as I'm afraid I'll miss someone out! But I'm here on the poufée rooting for you all.

Thanks Happy, I shall do just that!
Hope you're enjoying your holidays so far!