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

What time are you in at MT beaky and minx? Wishing you both a nice quiet evening, good nights sleep and smooth sailing for tomorrow! Really excited for you both!

smidge your holiday sounds gorgeous, aside from SIL being an unnecessary Debbie Downer. You definitely sound rejuvenated and at the wine. I do just have to ask tho.... pick a video!?! I thought video shops had died out everywhere! So, I am also a bit at that, used to love going out to choose a movie and get a pizza. Netflix isn't quite the same!

sesame all the best for your scan tomorrow, hope you get good growth news!

barking great news about the call with MIL. I hope you can get cracking quickly. I have had a glass of fresh pineapple juice each day so far (woo needles lady said its the same as eating it as far as the bromine content is concerned) and will be eating some of the whole one for pud tonight.

Hope everyone's having good BH weekend so far!

Bromelain! Better hope I'm not ingesting bromine!

I'm feeling ok Minx, just really nervous about taking the sedatives and the pain relief tomorrow. The nurse did say I could have a different stronger anti sickness tablet. I need to just get over it and if I'm ill then tough. Glad to hear you're ok, im still keeping everything cept my legs tomorrow crossed for Mr leftie to come out, but I'm sure you'll be fine with all your follies on the right. Good luck!

Rain glad you're doing ok and I may copy and get some pineapple juice in!

Just waiting on dh coming home later tonight although he won't be back til after I've gone to bed. It's a menkully not having him here to speak to about everything!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend

minx and beaky you need to update us tomorrow morning on your timings for EC - the rest of us want to picture you bumping into each other at moustachio towers

rain I shall definitely be buying pineapple juice next time - much easier!!!

I'm in work tomorrow so home in front of the tv while DH (who isn't) is in the pub. Finally got time to report back on the rest of the consultant appointment having got my head (sort of) round the testing side!

Our results - my AMH 7 - he said that was 'low', and my antral follicle count (7 on the left, 8 on the right) was 'low' as well. DH's sperm analysis showed 51 million in 2ml, motility was 47% and morphology 12%. He said that was all 'normal' but I've seen higher figures as 'normal' online.

On the basis of this, and because I had two leading follicles last time, he said he'd do long protocol so they'd all start at baseline together and grow more evenly, and they'd also have more control over my cycle. I'll be on suprecor and then 300 of menopur.
I asked about ec and he said I'd be on temazepam + diclofenac + gas and air, + local anathestic so I was happy with that! He was very surprised I was awake for it all last time, but DH confirmed I was talking and counting eggs all the way though .

He talked about recent research and the clinic's own success rates showing that frozen cycles have a slightly better chance, and produce healthier and bigger babies with less complications. They offer an 'elective freeze of the embryos' (which costs more money, obviously...) but said that was up to us. Obviously having lost one embryo in the freeze and the other being damaged, I have concerns about freezing anyway, but he said their freezing success rates are 90% not 70-80% quoted by the NHS clinic.

So, the fresh vs frozen debate continues...

Good luck for EC minx and beaky. On the sickness thing, I felt terribly nauseous (and was sick in the taxi home) after one of the collections - but totally fine the other two times - The aneasthetist claims the drugs were just the same. So fingers crossed no sickness for you this time beaky

OK so AliG appointment - she still seems to think we should get pregnant at some point. The cynic in me is beginning to feel this is purely business related though. I've read a few articles recently about the fact that in Australia they won't release the stats of all the clinics, so unlike UK and America, you can't actually tell if you are at the clinic that has the 4% success rate or the one with 31%. My clinic's website claims to be one of the top ones but they all seem to say that. The article did point out that where clinics do freeze alls, their stats get mucked up as the first round is considered a failure as there are no babies as a result - they don't link up the subsequent freezing rounds. Daft, huh? Anyway, since I could get no where with comparing clinics, I am returning to just compare the Prof and AliG:

Prof - he OK'd the use of DHEA. AliG specifically said she didn't think it was necessary for me so wouldn't prescribe (we didn't mention I'd already got a prescription and was taking it anyway...)

AliG is completely certain we should do long protocol again, and not short. This one is a bit of a bummer. MrS and I were both keener for the short protocol, and the Prof also went down that route. He also preferred the reduced drugs and didn't feel the eggs to blasto results were significantly different enough in the two different types to justify long protocol. So this is the major stumbling block. AliG looked again at the embryology when we queried her and reckons we had a better response on long protocol.
(Short - 7 fertilised eggs, 1 top quality blasto. Triggered early coz of LH rising)
(Long - 2 attempts, each 8 eggs and 2 blastos - but both of lower quality).

Prof reckoned he would have continued another day with the short protocol and worse case would have doubled the cetrotide to help try to ward off the LH rise - but reckoned he wouldn't have been worried anyway until it was over 20 and it had measured at 7. He also repeatedly pointed out that the body responds differently each time, and that with exactly the same drugs I may produce 2 blastos next time (or none, of course!), so didn't feel a direct comparison is particularly easy to make.

Prof was keen to change / increase the luteal support given my bleeding. He suggested both HCG injections as well as more/different progesterone (can't remember exactly what he said - might have to trawl back through this thread to find out!). AliG was still completely 'not bovvered' about the bleeding and didn't think there was any need to do anything else as my blood tests showed high enough prog throughout.

I think I asked for something for the lining with the Prof, I can't remember now - but certainly AliG didn't mention needing anything. However, since then I've seen (I think on one of the links someone posted on here that I read on catch-up) says the lining should be 9mm ideally, whereas a lot of clinics are ok if it's over 6mm - yet stats definitely show better results if over 9mm. Mine was 6.7mm I think on the last attempt, so now I'm thinking I would like to try to increase this too.

The other area AliG was insistent on pushing was to have genetic testing done. MrS and I are a bit at this - purely because we don't get enough blastocysts to warrant the bother. She talked of the cost and it offsetting the fact we wouldn't bother putting back bad ones - but when we only have max 2 to put back anyway, what difference does that make? If I had a freezer full like Wild , then I'd be more likely to go for it (though even then, FETs aren't too hard anyway, so maybe I'd be just as happy to slowly go through them all). AliG reckoned if we had 4 or 5 blastos that it would be good to do the testing - I'm figuring it would take another 3 ECs to get that many... no way would MrSmidge approve that.

So, overall AliG definitely wants Long Protocol, no DHEA, no diff luteal support, and definitely Genetic testing which would mean putting them back after a freeze cycle (this part we want)

Prof preferred Short Protocol with slightly higher dose, OK with DHEA, definitely different luteal support, and not bothered about Genetic testing given the quantities we have, but happy to freeze and put them back in later on a FET as per our request.

Not sure what to do. On the plus side I'm quite happy with the regular blood tests and scans that the current clinic does. Their freezing and thaw results are great too. Not sure whether the Prof's clinic does the same (I guess I can find that out). And a bit nervous about changing the routine with the new clinic. However, that's just me being a bit of a wuss, surely. And I way preferred the Prof's bedside manner. (Again not really relevant?!)

I was leaning towards the Prof until AliG was SO adamant that we should stick with long protocol. Maybe I can call up the embryology people and find out exactly what grade my first (short protocol) blasto was. She said it was beautiful, but I never got the actual grade number back then. Maybe it wasn't much better quality than the long protocol after all.

Morning Ladybros. Just popping in quickly to say all the very best of Berry luck to our ladies in for EC today at MT. Thinking of you Beaky and Minx
Smidge they both seem like very thorough appointments. Always good to get a different opinion but it also gives you a lot to think about
Sesame I started spotting a small amount of brown blood on Saturday which was day 8 of stimms. Had a complete panic as FC was closed and doesn't open again until tomorrow. Rang the Emergengy contact (which was Gynae rather than FC). They said they aren't experts (bloody great!) but brown blood is usually nothing to worry about and to call back if it turned red. It seemed to have stopped altogether by yesterday afternoon so I'm slightly less panicked although I have a niggling doubt that something isn't right with this cycle. Usually by this point I feel really bloated and sore - but I don't really feel anything. Have a scan tomorrow though so I guess all will be revealed then.
Barking my AMH was 6.2 (well it was 18 months ago - I dread to think what it is now!!) and I was told it was on the 'low side of normal' for my age. I've never been told my antral follicle count and I've never asked. I figure ignorance is bliss on my part as I can't do anything to change it and it's just another thing to worry about. We were quoted figures in the 90% range for defrosting success rates too - I think the embryologist said about 95%. That's still worryng though if you only have the 1 embie. It's a tough call on the fresh v frozen. I personally felt much better in myself whilst doing the FET (obviously as I hadn't had any drugs beforehand) but the stress of waiting to see if the defrost had been successful almost tipped me over the edge! Having said that I only had the 1 embie. If I'd frozen everything after EC there would have been 3 in there, so maybe not such a worry. When do you have to decide which route you want to go down?
2 questions Berries. Rain why the pineapple after ET? And what is this menkully business
Last day off work for me . Off for a walk and brunch with DH. Have a good one all.

Good luck today beaky and minx. Thinking of you both and keeping everything tightly crossed for lots of good eggs. I hope you don't feel poorly afterwards beaky.

smidge that's a tough call. From your summary, it sounds as though the prof is more focused on addressing your specific concerns, but whether or not that will lead to a positive result is impossible to know. Do you have a 'gut' feel about going for one of them?

rain hope being PUPO is ok so far. How are you feeling, and when is OTD?!

barking is DH on vits? His results sound fine but there is always room for improvement (a suggestion which caused a row in our house, ffs, but was eventually taken on board). Coincidentally, Mr T got his motility up from 47% to in the 80s by taking wellman Vits and cutting back on booze a bit. Oh and his own special, off the Internet, old wives tale of blasting his nuts with cold water at the end of each shower. I personally think it's ridiculous but I quite like that he is sharing the pain in some small way!!

Seasame yoga, craft fair and lunch sounds like my kind of day! Hope the menkul can be kept at bay. It's all so hard. When is your next scan?

Well, its chucking down here so our plans for walk and pub lunch are looking a bit soggy...

Cross post happy. Enjoy the last day of your holidays! Glad the spotting has stopped.

Just popping in to wish Minx and Beaky the best of luck for EC this morning. Can't believe you're both in on the same day at MT. Reckon you should have a secret sign of holding your finger under your nose.

Good luck to the other berries cycling too at the moment. We definitely need some more recruits in the chopper, it's lonely without you all. X

happy I'm with you.. what's menkul? I thought it was just a typo the first time, but now it's popping up on all over this thread.

I assumed menkul was a typo of mental that had stuck but I realise I may be wrong as I can't point to where it originated. I just accepted it as Berry lingo!

happy hope the appointment tomorrow goes well! According to the science of woo the bromelain content of pineapple (most concentrated in the core but found throughout the fruit) can help with implementation. My needles lady said that it is used as a meat tenderiser, I.e. to break proteins down (I am acutely aware of our more scientific berries judging me on my accuracy here!) and the theory is that it can therefore help with blood flow in the uterus/make implantation easier. No doubt a heap of old bollocks but I will try anything once and pineapple is yummy!

I am waving pom poms galore this morning for beaky and minx and hoping they've rendezvoused in recovery for a chat!

smidge ooooh that is tough. To my mind they both (obviously) sound like they know what they're talking about and both have a firm strategy, as it were. Like tiger said it does seem the prof is more aligned with your own feelings on the last cycles.

tiger get those waterproofs on! We're off to do a sculpture trail in a bit, rain or no rain (I am suffering massively from cabin fever!). And the pub is the perfect reward for getting a bit damp!

Menkul is indeed an alternative expression for worry/obsession/paranoia/all the other negative mental behaviours we infertile experience! I think it's trickled over here from the BESH thread, from whence it originated. I haven't been on the BESH thread long enough to tell you it's exact etymology but it's a pretty handy one word summary I think!

PUPOing just fine. Still getting some post EC ovary twinges and minor aches but it's definitely getting better. FYI Berries, while I don't have experience of Cyclogest, I can tell you that aside from the irritation of having to take 3 x a day, Lutigest is OK. Definitely panty liner city, but it doesn't seem waxy which I am choosing to see as a benefit!

smidge, really interesting stuff coming out of the conversation with Ali G vs the Prof. It does sound like you are bombarded with info at the moment, and I'm not sure how you can choose between the 2 approaches, without even stats to guide you.

Here’s my tuppence on some of this stuff, in case it will help and sorry if you didn’t ask for it. I’ve also heard that the number of eggs your body can recruit at the start of fluctuates from month to month, so it is difficult to compare the results from different treatments. There are lots of clinical trials comparing short vs long protocol, showing no differences in take home baby rate. But LP has higher incidence of OHSS, so is not therefore recommended for high AMHers. Other variances are LP tends to use more drugs (cos you don’t have any natural FSH to help things along) and with SP you have higher incidence of premature ovulation (esp for low AMH and older women). I think it’s probably pretty safe just to go with your own personal preference, based on your experiences of both. I also asked my clinic for more luteal support and they said they'll put me on progesterone plus an HCG injection if I ever get as far as transfer again. I’ve also read some research showing higher success rates for thicker linings. I think I even read in one place (I can’t remember the source right now) about linings of 10mm being linked to higher success, which is a lot higher than the clinic standard of 7mm which appears to be current thinking in my area (and a good deal thicker than any lining I’ve ever had). If I was in your position, I think that’s also an important consideration in weighing up fresh vs frozen. On PGD, I see it as still an unproven technology. The idea does sound really good on paper, but it carries a small risk that competent embryos are damaged by the testing and also a risk that competent embryos could be screened out by a false positive. I think PGD does mean a higher success rate per transfer. However, these gains do need to be weighed up when small numbers of embryos are concerned. I’m not sure however if that’s because the papers I’ve seen are relatively old, and technology has improved since then.

beaky, minx so was there a berry meet up at dawn at MT? How did you get on this morning at ec? beaky, how did you get on with the anaesthetic this time? Did they change anything for you? minx, did Mr Leftie make an appearance?

rain, nice to hear you’re getting the pineapple down your neck. I can’t really comment on the science of woo, but if it tastes good, why not. Does the woo lady also recommend Brazil nuts? Or perhaps that’s just for us currently on stims? My supermarket has sold out of Brazils for the last 2 weeks and I’m wondering if my town’s experiencing a fertility related run on them…. Hope you have fun at the sculpture trail.

barking, it sounds like the new clinic have some good suggestions for your treatment. I’m glad things are coming together for another try.

happy, I’m sorry you’ve also been experiencing a bleeding related panic, why do these things always seem to happen at the weekend when the clinic is shut? I do hope that the scan tomorrow will put your mind at rest. And I do hope you enjoy your last day off and have had a nice brunch.

tiger hope you enjoy your bank hol, despite the weather. The sun’s just come out here , and I really need to get off my laptop and go out and enjoy it before the clinic calls with my results.

So I had my scan this morning and there really isn’t a lot going on. My lining’s thinned right down, which does explain the spotting. I’m waiting for the clinic to call once they’ve got the bloods results, but it’s likely I’ll just have to keep going and come back in a few days. There appears to be a bit of a mess with getting some extra meds to keep me going, so I’ve got to sort that out now. I can’t help thinking, that if I don’t respond to 300IU of stims, that it’s looking like I’m getting to the end of my IVF journey. I haven’t had my FSH tested recently, but if is elevated, I would be very unlikely to respond to high stims anyway. I’m not sure what to make of all this. In any case, there’s not much I can do right now except menkul, so I will have to hang on a few more days to see what happens.

Bonjour berries! Trying to read what's been going on but it's a little difficult as I'm still off my head. Just waiting for dh to get an antibiotic and anti sickness tablet prescription for me then going home. Today went so much better than last time and I wasn't as ill at all with the different anti sickness they gave me. Also we got 6 eggs! Wowzer! They couldn't get to one follie and there was a bit of an issue there so that's why I've got antibiotics.

minx I think you were in the opposite cubicle! I couldn't quite tell though. I had thoughts of a woozy me shouting "minx, minx, how did you do?" and the staff being all confused. Is your dh quite posh sounding? Anyway, how did you get on? Did the lefty make an appearance?

rain enjoy the sculpture trail!

tiger hope you manage to get out today.

Smidge I vote the professor. I just get a better vibe from what he has said to you and also he is willing to address issues which AliG is not. Anyway go with your gut, not mine

sesame how long have you been stimming now? Was there any potential growers? Did you read it starts with the egg in the end? I found it very helpful for info for low responders. Big hug and arm rubs for the minute.

Beaky 6 is a great haul. Congrats!! I love the thought of you calling out to Minx from your recovery bed . Hope you're feeling ok and are being well looked after.
Sesame what did the FC say about your spotting? Sorry for the TMI but I had a large amount of dark brown CM/gunky type discharge earlier which can't be good . In all my other cycles - including the natural FET - the FC has always commented on how good my lining is. It's always been triple layer and around 12mm so I'm a bit baffled if I've got issues with that now?? Unless it's the increased dose of Buserelin but I wouldn't think 0.2 extra would make a huge difference? Can't wait for my scan tomorrow as Im sick of thinking about the different scenarios now. Even if it's bad news I'd rather just know

Woo beaky - great news! Glad you avoided the sickness this time too so you can focus on recovering and being duly pampered by DH. What happened with the hard to access folly? I would have loved it if you'd started yelling 'minx', although the comedy potential is a touch greater the other way around, can only imagine the faces of the nurses if they heard someone yelling 'beaky'. Then again, they must hear really random stuff!

sesame big hug for you, how long till they call back? I hope there's a good plan in place, what a headfuck. I think this is time for a purely medicinal (even if it's just an emoji one).

happy hand hold till tomorrow.

beaky wowsers indeed! 6 eggs is amazing, well done! And so glad you didn’t get the sickness this time. I love the idea of 2 drowsy women calling out “minx” and “beaky” across a hospital corridor... MT wouldn’t know what hit them! Anyway hope you are home now and recovering nicely.

minx, any news? Hope you’re also being looked after right now.

Thanks for the support berries. Today’s my 6th day of stims. There really isn’t much in the way of follies on there, poss a few really teeny ones but I’m not convinced, and one of my ovaries even tried to do a minx style disappearing act, although the sonographer did eventually find it. Got my blood results back, which agree with the scan. So for now, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and go back for another scan on Friday. I haven’t downloaded It Starts With An Egg yet beaky, but I’m planning to do so.

happy the FC weren’t very interested in my spotting, my lining is very thin right now and they think that this is because I’m a poor responder. It’s possible the bleeding you describe could be similar. If the gunky is brown bits of lining, rather than AF, that’s similar to what happens when you get a DR bleed from Buserelin on LP. It could be a sign that there’s not as much oestrogen circulating in your body right now, but it should stop once the follies all kick back into action and that should quickly build the new lining up again. It could be the increased Buserelin dose that’s doing this. That could mean that you just need a few extra days of stims this time, which is not necessarily a big deal. In any case, you can have a hand hold from me too till tomorrow’s scan, and hopefully the FC can shed some light.

6 eggs beaky that's great!! Well done! I feel so excited for you. Glad you didn't feel so poorly and hope you're still keeping the sickness at bay. Keeping everything crossed! Can just imagine you calling out for minx whilst off your head. Speaking of minx, how did you get on?

Hang in there happy and fingers crossed the spotting is nothing to worry about. Hope you get some positive answers tomorrow.

sesame sorry the scan wasn't better news. I hope things improve over the next few days, and try not to menkul too much, although it's not easy.

Didn't need the waterproofs in the end rain as our friends bailed on us - some sort of bug. Tbh I wasn't hugely in the mood for a child filled day (friend's kids are 2 and 4) so quite happy to go for a nice lunch and finish some jobs instead. Now we're watching films and eating m&s . T-dog hasn't had a walk, and yet she is still lying there fast asleep, with her eyes rolling back in her head, lazy dog!

smidge the reason my new clinic want to do long protocol is my low AMH if that helps at all. I hate making decisions about all this. It's taken me long enough to think about the tests, and I still haven't decided whether to try and get the hidden infection tests done at Serum as well. I filled in their questionnaire and got a response, but all it did was add to the overwhelming amount of info I already have to process!!

happy I'm not sure when we'd have to make the decision on fresh vs frozen - but as you say, the number of embryos we get would influence it, so I'm hoping we wouldn't have to decide at the start of the cycle...
Hope the scan goes okay tomorrow.

tiger I feel your pain, don't get me started...
The clinic info advises that antioxidants have a beneficial effect on sperm parameters. They suggest:
Vitamin E 400iui
Vitamin C 100mg
Selenium 26 ugm
Zinc 25 mg
Lycopene 6mg
Garlic 1000mg
Folate 0.5mg
They recommend Menevit that you can get on the internet from Australia, or suggest Natural Health Practice Fertility Plus for Men @ 2 a day plus BioCare Lycopene and Solgar Garlic Oil.

However DH, having googled all these individually (and also hearing 'normal' from the consultant and figuring he doesn't have to do anything), has decided that his diet is nice and healthy and he gets all of these without needing to take supplements, and convinced the consultant to agree with him.
His only compromise is that he will take the pregnacare men vitamins I bought him and had to ram down his throat
The information also helpfully suggests that men limit themselves to 3-4 units of alcohol a day. 2 PINTS EVERY DAY?!? Whilst telling women they should completely eliminate alcohol. Is it just me or was this information written by a man?! So now I have to decide whether to rekindle the 'I'd like you to stop drinking as well' argument .

sesame have you heard from the clinic? Fingers crossed for better news at the next scan

beaky Whoop! Hope the lack of sickness has continued.

Thanks Happy I feel much better this time round. I slept a lot more too which I think helped! Good luck for your scan tomorrow, hopefully it will show everything is fine. Do let us know though. Also I hope you enjoyed your last day off today

Rain thanks, I think he had to go through a follie to get to another but it wasn't working and there was a good bit of blood etc so I've got the extra antibis to prevent infection.

Sesame I wonder if you would benefit from a period of taking dhea and coq10, other than vit d that's what I think has made the difference for me. I've never had this kind of response before, it's always been very poor before.

Thank you Tiger it sounds like you've had a lovely day regardless. Beaky pup has spent the afternoon snoozing with me! Also laughed at Mr T's old wives tale of giving his nuts a cold blast! And yes at least he is doing something.

Barking did serum say anything helpful? I didn't find they added much to what I'd been told already. I suppose hidden c is not too expensive either, so if you think it's worth it, do it. Also agree on the man front, the fc's seem to be really unhelpful with this. There's always room for improvement and surely 2 pints a day wouldn't help anyone's sperm!! It's definitely written by a man eh.

Hope everyone else had a good bank holiday!

tiger ooh, that sounds like you've had a lovely chilled bank hol.

barking that sounds like quite a list of vits, I think there’s a lot more evidence that supplements can improve sperm quality than there is for egg quality. I guess it’s a lot easier to measure. And I thought the NHS advice was for both partners to quit the booze during treatment.

minx good news about the 7 eggs, I hope you recover quickly. Fingers crossed for you and beaky to get some good fertilization news tomorrow. Ready for another berry reunion on transfer day…

beaky, glad you survived without feeling so sick this time. I’ve decided to throw everything at my treatment now, scientific evidence or none. Have just started on the DHEA to add to the CoQ10, and I’ve added in some Vit E capsules. I know it’s too late for this cycle. But maybe it could help if I was ever to do another one.

Sorry for the radio silence! A moderately busy weekend with too many visitors put paid to much MN time.

Barking, what is the garlic for? We have been on all of those minus the garlic, so interested in what we've missed out on... And fresh vs FET and 3 day vs 5 day debates still rumble on for me...

Given that the head of my clinic wrote that article about FETs being better, and they have been telling me about the Aberdeen study into FETs (which is being headed up by the bloke who sits on the NICE IVF panel, so my clinic thinks whatever the results of the study are will become NICE policy shortly afterwards), they are still suggesting we try and go for a fresh transfer this time.

They are also saying that they would normally suggest a 3 day transfer, but if my Oestrogen levels are still high, we can have a 5 day to allow my hormone levels to drop. They aren't suggesting it from an embryo point of view though, if you see what I mean?
EC is 8am tomorrow, so hopefully we will know in the next few days which way it is going to go

Happy hope the scan went well

mminx and beaky Great hauls! FX for the call today...

This has all the makings of another clusterdiff!

smidge That's a lot of info to process. And frustratingly, there is no right or wrong answer. Do you have any leanings at this stage? Would a natural cycle be an option for you? That seems to be the way things are going for low AMH/high FSH patients here?

Eek dh just had the call and 5 of the 6 have fertilised normally. I'm quite pleased with that to say the least, especially given past performances. So 2 become 1 was a good choice of fertilisation music, sorry Barry! anyway, they've booked us in for day 3 transfer on Thursday. My clinic give info about day 3/5 transfers etc and the norm is day 3 with them. What the embryologist said today is that if there are no forerunners by Thursday they may delay transfer until day 5. Either way I will go with what they say. Come on little beakryos!

Minx how was your call? Fx for you. Also I hope you're feeling ok today and managing the first day of your new job!

Spare good luck for ec tomorrow. One of the things in my clinics leaflet also says about day 5 is that it's giving you a chance to recover from the hormones and ohss, so the same as yours really. Either way I hope you're feeling ok generally.

Happy how did you get on with your scan today?

Sesame fx for you I hope you see some good progress on the next scan. How are you feeling?