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

Sorry, I've got no idea really, but I'm pretty sure they put me on a drip before I went in and the nurse said it was just paracetamol but more effective as it was going straight in rather than me taking a tablet.
If you suck on the gas and air hard enough if makes your head spin and you feel slightly out of it .

Hello there just a quick update boiling hot Czech!! Barking, I highly recommend the hidden infection tests. I was really sceptical about them but thought I would give it a go and I have noticed such a difference. I hope it continues. Wish it was easier to fly out there and have the hysteroscopy and implantation cuts as well as apparently they are a lot more thorough than the UK and remove any scar tissue caused by infections. You even get a DVD of it all which they sit down and go through with you.

Had my scan yesterday and felt so much happier having it out here than UK. They are so much nicer and I felt much more confident that they knew what they were talking about. He took the time to explain everything to me and I asked lots of questions. Turns out the uk lady was right and 2 of the 3 10mm follicles on day 7 had shrunk or disappeared. I asked why this happens and he said when one follicle starts to get larger it has a greater surface area so takes more of the medication and this means some of the others don't get as much so can shrink a bit or disappear. He said its normal and not much they can do to stop it. Anyway he agreed that I should trigger today instead of yesterday. He said on the protocol I'm doing it's normally best to trigger yesterday but it's worth the risk to wait until today as if we did it yesterdayI would collect 2-3 eggs but today have potential for 5-6. He said anything over 12mm on trigger day they can collect and then will check if there is a mature egg or not. At the moment I have 6 follicles between 13-20mm and one at 10mm. They had all day yesterday and today to continue growing which could amount to another 4mm each so potentially I could collect them all but maybe one or two might not be mature. This was the best possible outcome for me and it's so nice to go to a scan and have good news for a change!! I just keep my fingers crossed that the fertilisation rate is as good as last time which was 100% and we will be well away! EC is on Tuesday morning so I have a nice few days with my mum now to chill out, eat nice food and relax in the sun. Feeling a lot happier

Just a quick update from me from conference hell to say still no letter from the CCG. I phoned the GP again to ask if they'd heard anything, and they haven't either.

I'm letting myself believe it will be good news and they will fund a round for us. Bearing in mind we also have an offer from the in-laws to fund a round (and we can't get our NHS round if we have a child or 2 unsuccessful funded rounds), I'm going to ask the FC if we can do some sort of embryo banking and have 2 rounds back to back.
My AMH has halved in the last year (although is still ok), so I'm really nervous about possibly this round working and then wanting to do another round in a few years only to find it is through the floor.
The only people I know who have done 2 rounds back to back were on very mild stims or natural cycle, so need to find out what the risks would be for doing normal cycles in quick succession.
Does anyone know about this?

Lucie, Keeping everything crossed for you. Hope you are coping with the heat and staying as calm as is possible….

Yo Ladybros!

It’s quiet in berryland today.

Barking, nice to see you back here, I’m so glad you made it to the end of your horrible week, and I hope you did some nice things over the weekend? When does your DH get back? Fingers crossed you can get an earlier date for your first appointment. I hate the waiting part. I’m not going into the clinic this week as they don’t do baseline scans. Once they finally tell me the drugs and doses, I can get them ordered in, stop the pill, and after my withdrawal bleed I should be able to start stabbing.

lucie glad you are feeling better about things and good luck for EC tomorrow.

minx good luck for your scan tomorrow! What colour will you decorate your empty womb room?

Have spent all afternoon waiting for the clinic to call me back. Waiting for their calls makes me so nervous - even though I haven’t even started stims, all sorts of scenarios go through my head, wondering if they might abandon treatment... In the end, the nurse calls to tell me they still haven’t agreed anything and she’ll call again tomorrow . Meanwhile, I have an old friend coming to stay next weekend. I was hoping not to have to tell her about the treatment and was worried about how to hide the stabbing. But now it looks like I won’t be stabbing till Sunday night at the earliest... every cloud…

Good luck for EC tomorrow, Lucie!

Spare I was amazed how much my blood results changed in 2 years. That sounds like a good idea, if you can get as many banked now as you can that can only be good for the future. Wild had to have a break of a cycle between each banking cycle, but I'm sure the nurse did ask at one point if she wanted to go straight into the next one. I'm sure she will along to advise shortly though.

Minx yes, moustachio towers tomorrow afternoon! Fx all goes well at your scan and you can get started! I'm thinking of a pale goldeny yellow for my wombroom. A happy positive place! Ha.

Sesame how frustrating! They need to get it together ASAP. I suppose at least it helps for having your friend to visit. I have two social engagements I need to find a way to get out of drinking at. Pft.

What is everyone's thoughts on donor eggs? I've been thinking about it occasionally but I'm still unsure. I want to try with my own as much as I can but I am finding it difficult constantly waiting and stressing etc. Any wisdomus words berries?

Lucie glad you feel comfortable at the clinic, and very . of your sunshine - finally off on holiday for 5 days starting Weds, just when the cold, wet weather front starts to come through... Oh, and we're camping...

spare can't believe you're still waiting for that letter! I know nothing about back to back cycles.

minx fingers crossed for an empty womb tomorrow!
I am feeling quite manic about things at the moment, whirlwind would be about right! Went to the clinic today, they all seem really lovely. So nice to have an appointment rather than stand outside queuing, and a car park rather than parking miles away from the hospital by a parking meter that you put loads of money in as you can't predict how long you'll be...

sesame I can't believe they can't just make a decision and tell you what it is, how frustrating .

happy you know that link you posted about the TV thing on ivf? I sent an email and I got a phone call this evening, we're one of the couples being considered for filming . We'll find out at the end of September whether they want to film us or not...

beaky good luck at the clinic tomorrow. My current thoughts on donor eggs are that we'd go for adoption instead if it came to that. I think we'd have more chance of a surrogate with my eggs, than top notch embryos in my dodgy, out of sync womb. But that's our situation. I know we can make embryos, I just can't keep them alive.

So, new clinic. Very happy so far. Lovely receptionist has been trying to find us a cancellation so we can get in before October. Despite me turning down two earlier appointments she'd called to offer, she called again today and left a message saying they'd had a cancellation for next Thursday! I called back but she was on another call. Then the TV bloke called so I was on the phone to him when she called back. But she left a lovely message saying she was finishing her shift shortly but if I was calling to accept the appointment not to worry as she'd provisionally reserved it for us anyway and to call her tomorrow to confirm .

The nurse who saw us this morning said my BMI was too low and I needed to eat more before we started. I eat a lot. People comment regularly on how much I eat. But I just smiled and nodded. At the scan she was looking at the antral follicles. In the last round of ivf I was put on maximum stims as they said the antral follicles were low. On the right ovary she measured three at 8, 9 and 9 and said there were 8 in total. On the left ovary she measured one at 7 and another at 10 and said there were 7 in total. This is on day 7. Lining was 3.8. All this means nothing to me though, and googling hasn't helped so far so I'm really glad we're not waiting until October to speak to someone!!!!
Also took blood for an amh test, and they'll do a sperm analysis on the same day as the consultation next week, so I'm guessing we won't know the results of that at the time.
It's all starting again... Feel better about this clinic though, like we might actually be listened to a bit more.

Hello all, just on the last leg of a mammoth journey from the west coast of Scotland. Amazing weekend, but I drank too much and ate too much, so I'm 100% back to healthiness after this.

Glad all is going well lucie.

The slow moving bureaucratic processes behind the NHS are so frustrating spare. I hope you hear soon.

Good luck for your scan minx. I hope your womble is nice and quiet, and ready for action!

Glad your new clinic is being responsive barking, it's all moving along nicely. I'm also in next Thurs.

beaky I would consider donor eggs for sure if it came to it. No words of wisdom, just that you have to think through all he options to see what would fit for you.

How frustrating sesame. I hope they call you tomorrow with a plan.

rain how are you doing?

I have been thinking a lot about what to do with my life. Made a big list of things I want to do, from learning an instrument to travel destinations. Need to focus on non TTC goals to keep me out of the trapped and negative mindset I've been stuck in lately.

Lucie so glad you've had reassurance in Czech and that things are going smoothly for you. All the very best for EC. I find that CRGW aren't very forthcoming with information. I think they just assume that you trust what they are doing and that you will leave them to it. It also doesn't help that they are very heavily nurse led ( I'm not sure if this is the case in all UK clinics?). On my first 2 cycles I only saw the consultant for EC everything else, including ET, was done by the nurse (although it was Amanda who did ET on my frostie).
Barking waaaah!! I so hope you get picked for the TV show. Would be fantastic to have a realistic story put across. Great to here things are moving with your new clinic.
Tiger I find making plans a huge help during this nightmare. We are (mentally) planning next year's summer hol whilst still on this year's! I've decided that I'm not going to let TTC hold me back anymore. If a job comes up that I like the look of them I'm going to go for it and I think we'll take steps towards moving house next year too. We never planned on getting married until after we'd had a baby and now it's our first wedding anniversary tomorrow (well today actually as its already the 18th here) and we're not even close....

Sorry Beaky I meant to say that we've pretty much decided to try egg and embryo donation if our NHS attempts are unsuccessful. I can understand that it's not for everyone but we don't feel that a family is about genetics and it wouldn't bother either of us in the slightest to raise a child that isn't biologically our own. However, I do feel that I need a few more attempts with our own embryos before we go down that route.

Thanks happy, I was just chatting with my mum tonight and if this one doesn't work I don't think I could go to crgw again for my scans. Even if it means I have to take a couple of days off work to have them done and travel to Bristol or somewhere I think I would rather that as it stresses me out so much going there. Most of the nurses are lovely but I'm not overly confident they are in a position to advise about things that the doctors would normally do here in Czech. I'm sure it's fine if maybe you're having all your treatment there and I know one of my friends loved it there but I just really don't get on with it and just couldn't face going back and having my appt changed at the last minute again to the nurse I don't like. When I had my scan here in Czech he said my response was average. He said its not like super amazing but it's not terrible either it's just ok and dh said why couldn't the woman at crgw just have said that. Instead as soon as I stepped through the door she looked at my 8 decent sized follicles from my first scan and the first thing she said to me is oh your just doing timed intercourse are you as though we only had 1 that was any good. I mean wtf? Luckily I knew this time what to expect from her but I just don't need stuff like that as this is stressful enough as it is so won't be going again. Grrr rant over!

Lucie do LWC in Cardiff do scans if you're not having treatment there? What about the Heath? They weren't treating private patients when I rang up over a year ago but said they were hoping to again soon. I'm sure if you did go to CRGW you could specify which nurse you wanted to scan you - you are paying after all! Lots of people rave about CRGW and I generally find them lovely (with the exception of said nurse who I took an instant dislike to but I did find her better with time) but as I said before I did find them a bit lacking in information. When I did my FET I rang up to find out about the drugs as it had been a little while since my follow up and was told I'd be given Cyclogest and Prednisolene but that it would be sorted when I came in for transfer. I questioned the drugs as I was sure Prednisolene hadn't been mentioned before but rather a different drug (the name escapes me at the moment but it's an injectable) But she said no it definitely says Prednisolene in your notes. I also asked about the drugs during my scans and was told don't worry it'll be sorted when you come in for ET. So, I'm lying flat on my back following ET and the consultant said to me "so what drugs are you taking" I replied "umm none?" and you should bloody know that. So she said "Oh you can take some Cyclogest if you want?". I asked about the Prednisolene and she replied "Oh yeah I can give you some if you like?". Really didn't give me much confidence!

Omg happy that doesn't sound good about your fet! I'm going to be taking prednisone for mine but it's from day 1 of cycle and the progesterone has to be given 5 days before transfer when the lining is thick enough. We just felt the same and just don't have much confidence in what they are saying and just feel they are stressing us out too much when we are finding the rest of the process pretty chilled out. I've already looked at lwc and the scans are £50 more than crgw. I didn't realise they might do them at the Heath I will have to look into that. They also do them at babybond in the Heath area but there appts are only available on certain days of the week which might be difficult. I will need a lining scan for my fet so will have to think of something for that. I normally ask for my preferred nurse when booking at crgw and I had her booked in for both scans this time but when I went for the first one she said that she wouldn't be in for the second one and they had swapped me to the one I try to avoid! Anyway I had better get ready, leaving in 30 mins for collection eeekk. Catch up later.

Good luck for EC Lucie!!

happy same here - our plan was baby then wedding, but we had our anniversary this year as well!

Good luck lucie - hope it goes well!!

barking - if anyone can set the nation straight on what dealing with infertility is really like, it's you!! Let us know what happens, sounds really interesting. Also really pleased your new clinic are being so helpful - amazing the difference from NHS to private!

spare no advice on the back to back banking, but it sounds like a good plan if it is doable. I hope that letter shows up very soon - does seem crackers that everything has to be done via snail mail!!

Sesame hoping you get a more useful call from the clinic today. Social life + treatment is a tricky balance - I've essentially now consigned mine to the bin till this cycle is complete. I was all naive optimistic at the beginning that I'd be AOK juggling mixing drugs and stabbing while in restaurant loos etc. but after a week it still takes me ages to do it, so I've just given up!!

minx good luck with the scan today, may your womb room be dormant and tranquil! I hope you and beaky bump into eachother, that would be awesome! Get us some more moustache pics. beaky I hope your appointment is also good news! On the subject of donor eggs, I haven't given it much thought yet on a personal level but I do have a very good friend who has a gorgeous 1 year old after 3 failed IVF cycles with her own eggs. They ended up having donor treatment in Spain (cheaper + different privacy laws). Her clinic over here (which is coincedentally my one) seemed happy to continue trying more IVF but when she went sent her results for a consultation with the Spanish clinic they said she'd probably never conceive with the quality of her own eggs.

tiger & happy that sounds really good. There are quite a few things on our 'to do' list that we keep postponing because of infertility. I think we may need to take a leaf out of your book and just get on with it. Moving, different jobs are all on there but the most imminent one is a bloody holiday! Trouble is we genuinely do need to know the outcome of this cycle for that. If it works, a week or two somewhere in the UK. If it doesn't, a big fuck off trip somewhere exotic.

Can I ask a stupid question? What is Prednisolene for? I can see on my plan notes that I am due to take Cyclogest from EC onwards but I know quite a few of you have also had this Prednisolene stuff too.

All OK here, had a bit of a meltdown yesterday (as those of you in the other place will know!) but trying to keep positive ahead of scan tomorrow am (7.15am!). THis is the first check up scan since I started stims so not sure where to set my expectations numbers/size wise. I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure when they did a baseline scan a month or so ago before we started treatment I had something like 12 follies, but I can't remember for sure.
Not really feeling anything yet that would indicate ovary action, but I am definitely more emotionally jumbled up than ever - it's like PMS times 5 million! Also really enjoying the menopausal preview symptoms like hot flushes and dry mouth etc. FUN! Really hoping everything stays on schedule now - next week work wise has worked itself out rather beautifully which of course means that my dates will end up being altered, cos nothing ever goes to plan does it! Law of sod and all that....

Good luck Lucie!
Rain we booked a holiday every time our IVF failed! Will do the same if this one doesn't work out. It proves a bit costly but what the hell! You've got to do whatever it takes to get you through this nightmare. As far as I know Prednisolene suppresses your immune system so it doesn't over react and attack the embryo. Good luck for your scan tomorrow.

Bad news from me out of the 7 good sized follicles only 3 eggs have been retrieved. Won't find out if they are mature or have fertilised until tomorrow. Really devastated as this is worse than the worst case scenario that I had imagined. So fed up of it all it seems that nothing goes right at any stage for us. I know people will say it only takes one but I have pretty much given up hope on this cycle now

spare I really hope that you get that letter soon. 2 embryo banking rounds back to back sounds good. I would love to have the opportunity to have more than one child and the thought of a chance to go back for a frostie instead of a full fresh round cycle would be great.

beaky I think about donor eggs all the time. I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but when I’m in town and see little babies and children, I sometimes wonder if that’s what my kids might look like, and whether people might think they look like me... I really want to become a mum and once I finally give up on my own eggs – which I’m still not quite ready to do – I see this as the next step. And a bit like spare I love the idea of going back for a sibling. Although the chances are still slim, donor might possibly let me do that.

minx how did you get on today? Are you ready to finally start your stims?

barking wow, it would be amazing if you were to share your story on tv, you would make a great berry ambassador! And I’m so pleased to hear about your positive experience with your new clinic.

tiger so glad you are having a lovely time in Scotland. Yes, non ttc goals are important too and I certainly need to address that more instead of spending all my free time googling fertility supplements.

Waves to happy so nice to see you’re also checking in with us from your hols!

rain It looks like some of my stabbing will have to be done in the work loos. Ain’t we a glamorous bunch…? How did you get on with your scan today? On my very first cycle I was blissfully ignorant of the significance of these things. The last couple of cycles, I was bricking it…

lucie don’t lose hope, on my bfp cycle I had just 2 eggs and 1 embryo. Fingers crossed for some good fertilisation news.

Thanks for all your support berries. So I finally took the call and I have my protocol! I need to get the drugs ordered and paid for and then start stabbing on Monday!

Hello hello Ladybros! I tried to post a massive post 3 times this morning and lost it every time and retyped the whole thing. Then mn broke and kicked me out and I've just got back in so here goes again!

Lucie so sorry to hear it's not the outcome you wanted, fx you get your 100% fertilisation rate like last time.

Barking I'm so pleased that your new clinic seems so good, the receptionist alone sounds brilliant. Also if you do go on that programme, that is a big incentive for the clinic to pull out all the stops as its nationwide coverage for them. I think you're so brave to volunteer to do that, I don't think I could go on TV never mind while doing IVF. Enjoy your holiday with dh! I hope it dries up for you

Happy happy anniversary! I hope you and the Mr have had a lovely day! Our clinic is very much consultant lead and they do all the scans, consultations and procedures, except iui!?!

Tiger I hope you enjoyed your break! That's a mammoth drive for you guys eh. Not long til your consultation too!

Rain prednisone is a steroid and helps with immune issues etc as Happy says. Everything crossed for your scan tomorrow, I am sending good follie growing vibes your way. How are you feeling today? Thanks for the donor egg info, I am going to look into it some more if I need to(!) after this cycle.

Minx how did the scan go? I was trying to post earlier to say I was in at 3! Everyone I saw I wondered "was that minx"! Ha. Imagine if they called us in like that. So did you get the go ahead to start stabbing? I start tomorrow night. Eek.

Sesame great news that you've got the go ahead and your information finally too! I know what you mean about a sibling, I don't think that will be an option for me with my low amh. Id love twinnies now really.

Spare any sign of the letter yet? Fx for you.

How long before I can go again? Is it enough to have af then one med free cycle and start on next af?

Sorry for the late post. I was in a 7 hour meeting earlier. Is that a record? We had cake halfway through so it softened the blow a bit...

And as if the day wasn't bad enough, we've been rejected for NHS transfer funding with a recommendation that we go to the local hospital for investigations.
I am beyond baffled. We have a crystal clear diagnosis, backed up with 2 sets of tests, overseen by the professor who heads up the NHS infertility unit. We have a letter from our consultant saying we are excellent candidates for ivf. What possible reason can they have for wanting us to re-do tests and what the effing point of them introducing transfer funding to cut waiting lists, if they want us to rejoin the waiting list and repeat tests? How is this a good use of overstretched resources? Both confused and furious right now!

Rain, prednisolone is a steroid that suppress the immune system, so will stop any NK cells attacking an embryo as a foreign body. It's use is fairly controversial. Some FCs will only use it when there has been an NK diagnosis. Some (including mine) will use it emperically for a few days around transfer.
There is some evidence it has been linked with miscarriage and birth defects if used for extended periods during pregnancy but my FC said there is no evidence of negative effects if it is only used for a week or so, so it is given to everyone as standard.

spare I am for you. That makes zero sense, it's not even like we're basing the end of the financial year where you might expect stupid harsher decisions. Is there an appeal process?

Thanks for all the answers re prednisone berries, I've heard so many of you talk about it I don't know how/why the name hadnt sunk in. Might ask what the stance at my clinic is, guessing it's going to be a no!

Berries I've just come home to a letter saying my last smear was also inconclusive as there weren't enough cells again! That means 3 month wait for it to be repeated then 5 weeks after that for the result. We were meant to be starting our next cycle this week. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck

Sorry just jumped straight in there and posted without reading back.
Lucie I'm so sorry that you didn't get as many eggs as you'd hoped. Whilst it's true that it only takes one I completely understand how crushing it is after all that time and effort. Keeping everything crossed that all 3 eggs are top quality and are busy getting it on as we speak.
Oh spare that is beyond shitty and defies all logic. Are you able to appeal? Sending big hugs.