Strapping on our lady balls and going menkul because we HATE THIS SHIT!! The Berries: a lovely bunch of 30 something Ladybros TTC #1

[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 Ladybros:

Minx 35 - TTC 2.5 years. Stage 4 endometriosis, both tubes blocked, 1 buried ovary, IVF #1 started Aug '15 at Mustache Towers, if all goes well results due mid-Sept.

Smidge 39, TTC since Jan '13. Unexplained. Some high NK cell immune treatment. IVF#1 Short protocol Jul'14 BFN; IVF#2 Nov'14 and IVF#3 Feb'15 both Long protocol BFNs; Natural FET Jun'15 - Another BFN. Trying to work out what to do next.

Happylass, 37, TTC since Aug 2012. 2 failed ICSI cycles, 1 failed FET and 1 abandoned cycle due to poor response. Hoping to start antagonist cycle mid September. HATE THIS SHIT!!

Beaky 35, ttc 3 yrs, 2x failed iui 1 long protocol ivf cancelled, 1 short protocol IVF BFN, very low amh etc etc. In 2ww for 2nd sp IVF.

Tigerdog, 35, ttc since Jan 2013. Unexplained. IVF #1 chemical pregnancy. Currently redoing tests in preparation for IVF #2.

barkingtreefrog 36, ttc since Dec 2011. 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. FET bfn August 2015, remaining frozen embryo perished. Pursuing private tests and then long protocol ivf in Oct/Nov.

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 2.9 years. Low AMH high FSH - DH antisperm ABs. Failed IVF June 14 and March 15, cancelled cycle June 15. Last try September 15

Lucieloos, 36, TTC 18 months, low AMH & sperm motility. ICSI#1, April 2015, Czech, 2xblasts transferred, BFN. Icsi#2, cancelled before EC. Icsi#3, 2 mature and fertilised, both to blast and frozen. Icsi#4 in October, embryo banking.

Rain, 34, ttc since March 2012. unexplained. Mystery bfp oct 13, MMC Nov 13. IVF#1 Aug 2015

Sesame, 40, ttc with no dp, on this road for 2 years, multiple failed IVFs, 3 ETs, 1 bfp then mc, poor responder with v low AMH, but still looking for the golden egg.

nolly, 33, TTC 3 years, 1 confirmed MC, 2 more suspected. still in limbo

Spare, 34, TTC 3 years, IVF#1 short protocol + ICSI August 14 BFP but pregnancy loss at 20+ weeks, 3 failed FET, IVF #2 short protocol + PICSI August 15

Funkymonk 33. Ttc since October 2012. Mc June 2013, Mmc dec 2013, mc June 2014. Factor v Leiden thrombophilia. Abandoned IVF Jan 2015 due to thin lining. Abandoned FET Aug 2015 due to thin lining. 4 embies on ice. Cycling again November time I think.

Clem, currently on 3rd Clomid Cycle

Pip - quite simply the Best In Show.

Also meant to ask - does anyone else get v bloated around ov? I really do get a round tum!

Thanks for the info happy, that's brilliant! So do they not need to do fsh, LH and all that malarkey again? My results are over a year old now. I'm not sure what to do if they say book in for treatment there and then and get your drugs. In that case I guess I would be starting off my jan af which would be around 4th Jan but then I'm thinking if I go back to Czech in Jan and have another round there I would maybe have 4 or 5 blasts frozen to try for a sibling if I was lucky enough for the NHS to work. That would delay the NHS until probably March though and I think am I mad to do that if they offer me to start straight away?? Are they quite flexible if you say you want to start in a particular month or do they like you to do it when they tell you? I told her on the phone today that I have had one treatment privately. It so hard to decide which one to tell them about though. I can't decide whether to go with the antagonist one or the short flare? How often do they scan you when you have treatment? Might be awkward with work as I can't imagine they are early mornings or at convenient times. This appt is at 11.30am so will have to make up a reason to leave work for a bit without getting too many questions from my nosey colleagues!

Omg I don't think 8dp5dt is too early with a frer I think it would definitely show something by then. I told myself next time I'm going to wait until 7dp5dt as I started early so think you will definitely be ok at 8 days only with frer though. Good luck really hope this is it for you.

happy if you wanted to test on Sunday that would be the equivalent of 13dpo, which should give you 99% accuracy on a frer, according to the back of the box. Nope, not at all obsessed with early testing over here...

tiger it was a friend of a friend (who had a long hard fertility journey) who suggested I get these checked (she said it would help highlight if there were any other factors affecting things). List she gave me (which I passed to the GP and he just wrote up the blood test form thingy) had the following on it:

1. Full blood count, liver function tests, Urea and Electrolytes
2. Thyroid function tests (both free T4 and TSH)
3. Immunoglobulin panel (IgG, IgA and IgM)
4. Autoimmune antibodies (must include anti-nuclear antibodies,

thyroid peroxidase and anti-mitochondrial antibodies)

1. Anticardiolipin antibodies (both IgC and IgM)
2. Thrombophilia (must include lupus anticoagualant, Factor V Leiden

and Panthrombin gene mutation)

Doc said he'd never heard of no. 6, but put it on the form anyway, and nurses at haematology unit at the hospital didn't bat an eyelid.

I did mention to the FC about whether level 1 immunes was something they could do, and it wasn't.

My next steps are to go with zita west, to get my level 1 immune test results translated.

hope that helps...

Lucie they took a few vials of blood but afaik they were just virals as they did DH too. My last LH/FSH etc would have been well over a year before that too. If you do want to delay I would just do the same as us and say you are due a smear/are going away. We delayed by about 2.5 months I think and they didn't bat an eyelid. Both my private cycles were the same so I told them about the one without aspirin (as things went s bit haywire there). They will want to know how many eggs were collected, how many mature, how many fertilised etc. I'd tell them about the protocol that you'd prefer to do with them. If you are doing short protocol then you won't get the drugs until baseline. Most of my scan appointments were early-ish. Some days they start at 8:30 and other days they don't start until 9:30 - it depends how many staff they have on. I was scanned at baseline and a further 3 times before EC. If you need drugs after an appointment you need to factor in an extra 40 mins for the waiting time at the pharmacy. They say to be prepared to wait up to 90 mins but we've never waited more than about 40. When I went in for baseline on my cancelled cycle I was there 2.5 hours so do be prepared for a bit of hanging around as it can be a bit chaotic there!

Happy I got my iui bfp at 12dpo on a frer. At 8dp5dt you are 13dpo, definitely worth a pimp!!!! I'd get frer though. As sesame says, 99% accurate!

clem, wow, can't believe you managed to get level 1 tests from your gp?! After over 2.5 years ttc and two mc's I still had to fight my case to be referred to the recurrent miscarriage clinic to get them done! They usually refuse unless you've had 3 mc's.

tiger Wedding planning rocks for distraction! So does suddenly buying a house and needing to sell one in 2 weeks!!

Thanks happy, both of my last two cycles were a bit of a disaster with numbers. I only got 3 collected and 2 mature but the % to blast was good. I think I will tell them about one of those cycles rather than the one where I got 7 collected. I can't decide if I want to do antagonist or flare again though. I suppose it doesn't really matter. I can tell them about either one and they can decide if I should do the same again or something different. Sounds a bit of a nightmare with the appts. I only work 10 mins away from crgw and I always used to get the earliest appt around 8am so that was pretty straightforward.

Lister - they had a busy stand at the show with lots of consultants/nurses etc on hand to speak to potential patients. They also gave me a 50 off voucher for an initial consult.

I had a much more positive chat with one of their drs with an interest in low ovarian reserve. I can share her name if anyone is interested. When she heard my history she agreed I could continue to try with own egg if I want, although recognising my chances are low.

I got the impression that she saw low amh as a numbers rather than quality issue. It's a different stance to my current fc, where the founder has a strong specialism in amh but has strongly held views that it impacts on egg quality too. Essentially it is possible the dr knew to tell me what I wanted to hear. She also thought that given I only got one egg on the last round that if my tubes were open that my chances of success with iui were probably now exactly the same as ivf - with less cycles. She thought that despite low amh and 2 years of trying, my problem at it's core was essentially lack of sperm and both routes could give the same result. Ivf could still have the edge in terms of success per try, but iui is more cost efficient, less demanding, and I could have more tries back to back. This advice is the opposite to what my fc told me.

There is a big if to all of that. My tubes must be open. She recommended I should get an hsg rather than hycosy to find out. She thought that there's a small chance that past ec's could have damaged the tubes and a good hsg would show a better resolution at the distall end, which I wouldn't get with a hycosy. My fc doesn't do hsg, so if that's what I want I need to think about how I get it organised.

Happy, sorry for all the questions but what's happens if you need a scan or egg collection on the weekend or on a bank hol with the nhs?

barking to be honest, I was surprised too, that the GP agreed, but I figured I could ask, and what is the worst that could happen...he could say no and tell me to bugger off. fortunately he didn't tho.

Lucie they don't scan or EC on the weekend. When we did our cancelled cycle I went from the Thursday to the Tuesday without being scanned due to the Bank Hol. Had I been scanned in between I think they may have increased my dose and things might have turned out differently.

Ok thanks happy. What if the eggs are the right size to be collected on a weekend though? Do they just let them get too big and potentially not get as many? The joys of the NHS!

I guess so. They'd either go a day earlier or push on til Monday. I don't think CRGW collect on the weekend either though.

Ohhh OK in Czech they collect any day of the week so that's a bit different. I would worry a little that they would be over mature but if that's the way it's done I will have to just go with it and see what happens. They prob won't let me go to blast either if I don't have many embryos.

Kings - I had another mini consult with a very likeable dr, he said not much I can do about my ovarian reserve but I could try dhea for 2-3m if I wanted to - which may or may not help. The reason I liked him was because he accepted straight away that I knew my own mind, that of course I was aware of the increased success rates of donor, but if I wanted to carry on pursuing own egg at age 40, that was a perfectly valid thing to do. He thought that the issue with amh was no.s not quality, which made the success rates for ivf lower, but there was still every possibility I could become pg as a result of treatment.

So I brought up the iui vs ivf thing. He thought about it and agreed straight away with the other consultant. He actually thought it was a very sensible thing to do. He said if I was going to try for another 6 months that I should do 6 months of iui, back to back, which would give me the equivalent chances of success, for less cost. He also didn't see much of a reason for stims, given it's not likely to change the egg count. Now I also think I have to bear in mind that amh, or iui or even treating single women is not his specialism but it was nice at least to chat to a sympathetic dr who told me something I wanted to hear.

Lucie I think WFI only actually do EC on a Mon, Wed and Fri to avoid having to do ET on a Sunday. Guess you just have to fit in with them!

Wow! Are you going to test this weekend happy?

spare how are you getting on? Are you booked in for an early scan?

clem nice to hear that things are moving along for you. Well done on managing to get all those tests done at the gp, I’m impressed!

happy how are you feeling at the mo? Any symptoms?

lucie thanks for that info, ok have now peaked on ff website and see they’re calling it the yuk test! My 1st fc were small and also didn’t do EC at weekends and preferred to schedule collections only on Mon/Wed/Fri. They would coast you an extra day without stims, or cut down the dose for the last few days, to slow you down. Other places use bcp before the start, for similar reasons.

tiger glad you found them helpful, that’s all my notes posted now – it’s helped me to remember what people told me and to get my head round things. The level 1 mc tests are also listed on one of those earlier posts, in case you want to add any to clem’s list. I’m so for you that your fc are now saying April, I can’t believe it! So glad you’ve got nice things to focus on otherwise, have you chosen a particular colour scheme or theme for your wedding?

barking congratulations on the house purchase, I’m so impressed how much you manage to fit in! I hope this is giving you some good distraction.

beaky hiya, how are you feeling today? Any further thoughts following the consult yesterday?

Well that’s me uploaded the last of my updates from the show. I hope you don’t mind me filling up the thread! I do still have a lot to think about. And I also have my wtf appointment at my fc on Monday to think about and prepare for. So far I’ve decided I do want to keep going if I can, and despite trying to convince myself otherwise, I do want to stick with own egg.

I think my next steps are to book in for an hsg, as without this I won’t know if iui is worth doing, or if I have to stick with ivf. An hsg might also give a little information about my uterus and whether there is anything that might warrant further investigation for failed implantation etc. I called the place that can do an hsg, but they will only do it with a referral, which means asking either my own private fc (who have told me I don’t need one, that the hycosy they offer is just as good, and essentially they would have to refer me to a rival hospital, and they would probably charge me for the privilege) or I would have to ask my gp (as I self referred, I’ve avoided telling them anything about my fertility treatment so far). I don’t like either of these options. I also want to look at the lists of all the other tests and figure out which ones I want to do and how I would go about getting them.

I think I would stick with my current fc if I’m going to try iui. I’m thinking it’s pretty low tech, so I will probably be better doing it based on convenience. If I choose to continue with ivf, I could try my current fc one more time, but only if they are prepared to try something using less drugs. Abroad still feels a bit scary and difficult to fit around my job. This means that the better option for ivf is London. I have already been in touch with one of the clinics I saw to try to book in for an initial consult, and I’m still waiting for them to get back to me.

Sesame, yes it is a little yuk but well worth it! Doesn't coasting affect egg quality if you don't trigger at exactly the right time? I'm a little worried about it already. I realise I'm very lucky to have these free attempts though so I'm just going to chill and go with it and let them do their thing.

Thanks for posting all the info up it has been really interesting! It sounds like you are getting things clear in your head and setting out a good path to go down. Are there any other fertility clinics in your area that might be able to do the hsg without a referral? My local clinic will allow people to ring and book whatever they like so I'm sure they aren't all the same.

Sesame what a ton of brilliant information. Thanks for sharing, it's really helpful. I like a few of the suggestions made so far and I agree that there isn't any harm in doing a few iui's given the lowish ivf success rate on offer. I would just say that I found iui frustrating though as I wasn't able to know if anything had fertilised and indeed if there had been an egg released, despite having 3 follicles the first time and 2 the second. I had 75 of gonal f and if I did it again I would still do low stims and a trigger I think, plus progesterone. I bled very heavily a week after insemniation the first time as I had no luteal support too. Would you not be able to have any treatment through the NHS? Could you ask for a lap & dye via the NHS based on v painful periods/suspicion of endo (just to get one done)? Which clinic did you decide to go to for a consultation? How are you feeling about it all? I'll probably be doing short protocol with Gennet as they thought my last cycle was very encouraging given my stats. They emailed me today with a couple of further q's the Dr has raised and also a list of tests they suggest, but overall I think I will stick with them if my final nhs cycle doesn't work. Need to get saving though as this house has taken everything.

Happy thinking of you. I'm sure you would get a pretty accurate result on an frer this Sunday if you did test. Fx. Does yours and Lucies FC start you on a natural cycle? Mine starts from bcp so they can pencil you in for ec etc. they are open 7 days anyway though. Lucie great news you will be seen so soon too.

I'm going to post now as my phone is going to die but I'll be back to check in with everyone else soon!

morning everyone, how are your weekends going? I've got a nice quiet one planned, sure it won't pan out like that tho...

so we have our follow up consultation with the fc next week, to talk through my ovarian reserve test results and my dh sperm analysis.

can anyone advise any particular questions we should be asking, when we talk to them?

I'm sure they will offer up a lot of what we need to know, but it would be good to go in there armed with some questions, so we can make sure we don't miss anything.

Sesame I liked the sound of the chap at the last place. He seemed to talk sense, even if these weren't his areas of expertise... Sometimes logic is all you need though. I mean, if you're only getting one egg when stimulated, and blood tests show you ovulate naturally yourself, then (assuming tubes are clear) IUI sounds a very sensible option to me.

Happy good luck for testing on Sunday (surely you won't be able to wait til the following Saturday!)

I've started my stimms today. Apparently my blood tests yesterday showed my prog and oestrogen were both very flat so they were surprised AF hadn't already appeared, and AliG got me to start stimms as soon as AF showed up. So Day 1 is truly Day 1 for once (usually I've not started stabbing til day 2 or 3 before so this felt a bit odd!)

Next blood and dildo booked in for Friday.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Unfortunately I had some really sad news from home - my uncle died, just like that. It was a real shock and I'm still not really believing it (until I have to tell someone then I fall to pieces). He was only 67, a heart attack. So sad, he was the loveliest man - a real gentleman, always so positive, caring and a great story teller. He loved his family so much too and was so proud of them. I hate being away from home . I won't even be able to fly back for the funeral as I'm in the midst of the IVF. My mother said that my uncle would have told me the idea of flying back for a funeral would be utter nonsense and he'd much rather MrSmidge and I work on the future with the IVF. She's right of course. But I feel as though I'm letting the rest of the family down by not coming back to support them.

Smidge I'm so sorry, what an awful shock. DH's uncle died suddenly this year as well, fit as a fiddle then suddenly gone, also in his 60s. Really gives you a jolt. And I'm sorry you can't be at the funeral either

clem apart from the obvious questions about their preferred protocol and treatments I'd be asking about timescales so you can manage your expectations. Will they give you clomid first? Iui? Straight to ivf? What is the waiting list like? Do they open at weekends for scans /ec/et?
I'm an impatient control freak though. If someone had told me it would be 2 years from my first fc appointment to starting ivf I might have burst into tears on the spot!

Well. We've been emptying, hiding shit and cleaning since 6.30am and I think we're done. As much as we can. Photographer is due in 15 mins. Let's get this house on the market...

barking thanks.

smidge so sorry to hear of your loss, sending my condolences to you and your entire family. this sort of thing is such a shock to the system, hope you are holding up okay. and try not to feel like you are letting people down...I'm sure they don't feel like that. xx

lucie I think coasting could have a small impact on success rates tho these clinics still look generally ok on the hfea stats. And it is still really common. My fc say they offer a 7d service, but tbh I've still never heard of them actually doing an ec at the weekend, cos of the way they time cycle starts and they flat refuse to do scans and bloods then either - which means you pretty much can't do a natural period start for an antagonist cycle as they won't baseline scan you at weekends. Glad you liked the posts. There is a nearer place that could do an hsg, but it's 300 more and I suspect they would also make me pay for a consultation first.

beaky thanks for your comments. Yes, maybe I could try to get some things on nhs, at a minimum some of the basic tests. I just didn't want to fess up to my gp and I would just rather get on with things on my own. And because of my age I'm not keen on waiting for anything. I did also wonder though about lying about period pain etc if that might get me a referral for an hsg/hysteroscopy, or even inventing another mc for rmc referral. Also I will need all my viral bloods renewed soon and it would be nice to at least try and get those for free. But I don't know, I'm just not keen involve anyone else in my own choices.

I get what you're saying about iui, it was nice to know with ivf that I definitely had an embie in there, willing it to grow.

So do you think you will definitely cycle with gennet if your final nhs doesn't work? What tests did they recommend? And will you do any of these prior to your nhs round?

clem I agree about asking if they open at weekends, if they recommend doing any more tests prior to treatment. If they think next step is ivf. What are their success rates based on your diagnosis, age and amh etc. Anything you can do to prepare yourselves for treatment.

smidge thanks for your advice. I'm really sorry about your uncle. I was also sad to miss my uncle's funeral last year, but I phoned and sent a card and I did make his memorial. You will be able to pay your respects in your own way.

barking hope you got some great pics and your house will be snapped up on schedule. Everything still crossed for you.