TTC for 10 months and the rest. Ten plussers welcome. Thread 2.

[lucieloos]

We have been so busy chatting I've started a new thread. Welcome all 10+ ladies. Hope we all have some luck on this thread.

Yes it's definitely worth having a consultation star. You can discuss all your options then.

I am having treatment in Czech. I've had 3 rounds so far. The first time I transferred 2 but it didn't work. I then decided to do embryo banking so the second and third time I had the egg collections but froze the embryos rather than transferring. I have 3 blastocysts frozen so far and hope to go back in Jan to try and get another 1 or 2. I don't produce a lot of eggs and I don't trust my body having a fresh transfer so it's ideal for me to bank them up and gives me a chance of a sibling then if it does work. I am entitled to 2 rounds of NHS treatment and am hoping to start that in Feb or March. If it doesn't work I will go back to my frozen embryos in Czech.

Do you have any recent blood test results?

Thanks Star, that's what I thought too but apparently they can stop implantation taking place. I have ordered a book off Amazon about immunology as it all seems very complicated....

Good luck with your appointment tomorrow Lucie, let us know what they say.

How are you doing Sammy?

Thanks trixie will do! I'm feeling nervous for some bizarre reason. You would think I would be used to it by now but I think any appt relating to IVF still make me nervous!

Oh wow Lucie, I just had to google what a blastocyst was and you must be feeling pretty hopeful about that. Of course, I read the description from the Care website which makes it sound almost like a guaranteed baby! Best of luck for 2016.

Yes I've had the following blood tests in September and October before I got referred.

CD25/10DPO:
LH 16.5 which my GP described as "a bit high for the point in the cycle but not in the post-menopausal range" which freaked me out a bit.
FSH - 2.2
Estradiol - 1007
AMH - 31.5

CD21/6DPO
Progesterone - 44

CD4
LH - 5.1
FSH - 6.9

I absolutely know that you ladies aren't doctors, but the bit I was confused about was the FSH:LH ratio on CD4. I read they were meant to be 1:1 and mine isn't. My GP said it was all normal, but might these suggest PCOS?

I don't think your results suggest pcos star. With pcos the LH is normally higher than FSH. Your FSH is very good and nothing to worry about. I wouldn't worry about your LH level on cd25 either you would expect it to be high then as it increases with ovulation. Your amh is very good too I would be very happy with that set of results. Has your dh had any tests?

I am pleased with the blastocysts but at 36 they are far from a sure thing. It's a good sign they have got that far but at my age only around 50% of them will be any good which is why I'm trying to bank up several. Hopefully I will get a good one or two then.

Thanks for looking at those Lucie, you make a good Dr! I agree, my hormone levels look fine so I'm thinking it's something physical like a blocked tube or something, who knows.

So we're about the same age, I'm 35 and been TTC a year. How long have you been TTC? I feel a bit silly to have left it so late but that's just the way my life went I guess.

Well, you only need one to be good and I understood that even getting to the blastocyst stage gives them a better chance than a 3 day embryo. Like others, I think it's good to have a plan and yours seems a solid one with a couple of back-ups.

My OH had a SA with his GP back in Sept and was just told "it's all normal". I asked him to ask for a printout or the actual numbers (so I could go away and obsessively google) but he didn't, which is annoying. He's had another with the fertility clinic but we don't have the results yet - I guess we'll see those at our appointment when that finally comes around. I'm hoping January.

Oh and good luck with the appointment tomorrow!

Thanks Star! Hopefully the clinic will be able to give you some idea of what may be wrong or it could be that you are unexplained. We started trying when I was 34 but then we took a break of around 7 months to get married which I kind of regret a bit now. Altogether we have probably been trying for around 2 years but I think I always knew it wasn't going to happen. We started tests at 6 months. I was the same as you, dh and I only met at 31, married at 34 it just didn't happen for me any sooner unfortunately. My dh has low sperm motility though so that may be our cause. It doesn't help with IVF though that I have a low amh so am never going to produce a dozen eggs. It shouldn't stop me from conceiving naturally though as I ovulate every month.

Can you ring your gp and ask for a copy of your dhs results? I rang mine and the receptionist said she would print it out and I picked it up the same afternoon.

Lucie, I have an almost identical story to you. Had a break-up at 30, met my current partner at 32 and got engaged at 34. We're not married yet as we wanted to do this first because of our age but now people are starting to wonder why we haven't set a date a 13 months on!

Obviously you've been through all the options but I'd have thought you were good candidates for IUI?

I think I'll just wait for the new SA results from the clinic as we're at different GPs and I can't be bothered to nag.

I wish I had carried on with the wedding but kept trying as well. Ok if I had got pregnant we might have had to alter the dress but if it didn't work we could have started IVF a lot earlier.

IUI is no good for us unfortunately as you need to have a good SA for it to work.

Ok, I'm going to get some then. I've always avoided as they seemed expensive, but desperate times and all that!

Trixie - I too have tried googling NK cells and found it very confusing, hope the book helps!

Good luck for your appointment today Lucie :)

My gp receptionist was reluctant to give us s breakdown of dhs results too and our first print out just said 'normal'
We went back and asked again and they did finally give them too us, but if you have another one pending then I agree it's more hassle than it's worth star! Xx

The book arrived Sammy and a quick flick through has left me more confused! I think DH and I may well make a consultation with someone who specialises in immunology issues when my biopsy result comes back as it may help in the long run. I think Holland & Barrett are doing buy one get one half price at the moment if you have one near you for the Co Enzyme Q10.

I know what you mean Lucie, I am a bit nervous about my consultation in January. I've been having tests/treatment at my clinic for over a year now so it feels a bit weird to go elsewhere. What time is your appointment?

Hi there, I'm back from the NHS appt! He was quite nice and went through all our results. He said all mine look fine. He said the amh is fine. I said I thought it was low and he said I don't know why they tell people that as anything between 6-20 is normal. Not sure what to make of that to be honest. It's obviously low but maybe he just means it's the low side of normal but they should still have something to work with. He looked at dhs results and said yes low motility but it's not really bad blah blah. He wants me to have my bloods done again and a baseline scan which I presume is to count antral follicles and see how everything looks in there so I'm booked in for all that a week Tuesday. He said the good news is they changed their policy a couple of weeks ago and those 36+ no longer need to wait so we can start straight away. We then had to go out to reception and book in a slot to come back and set up out treatment plan and pick up the meds. I've gone for late Jan as I will have finished the Czech round and I will be able to start on my next period in Feb or if I think I need to leave more of a break I will just say we are away for that one and start in March so all went quite well. Being the NHS they only use menopur which I presume is because it's the cheapest! It's not ideal but got to just go with it. I know I'm not really going to have any say in what happens with this one so just going to try and chill. He said with our results he thinks treatment should work quite well. I told him about one of the Czech treatments where we only got 3 collected and he couldn't say why that hadn't worked but said it's very different to how they do things so see what happens I guess. I'm quite pleased that at least we have a couple of things on the go and different options for 2016

All sounds really positive Lucie!

Oh Trixie rubbish, I really thought it might help! I guess you'll just have to wait for your consultant appointment.

Lucie - glad there's been a change in policy and you don't have to wait! I think the nhs never worry about results to the same level as the private clinic.

This AF is way heavier than in ages, do you think my lining has been really thin all this time and it's finally getting back to where it should be? Or could the transfer have made a difference? Xx

I know after my transfer my period was horrendous and the heaviest it's ever been so it could be to do with that. I'm not sure what the reasoning is but people did tell me to expect a heavy one and they weren't wrong!

Trixie, sorry the book wasn't more use. Was it the beer one? I've found out a lot of things just through googling and some of the threads on here and fertility friends in particular. (Agate on the serum board in Greece is a wizz at answering any immune questions and interpreting results). I find it easier that way, you can get answers to the specific questions you have rather than getting bogged down with lots of info.

Maybe that's it then.
I have a whole host of things I'm trying at home to thicken my lining up including femoral artery massage and hot foot soaks.... It's official, I'm insane! Lol. Xx

I've heard pomegranate juice is meant to be good while you're having treatment x

Ok, I'll add it to the shopping list! Xx

Lucie, your appointment sounds really positive, it's amazing you can get going straight away. And you should have a few more embryos in the freezer then too.

Trixie, sorry the book hasn't enlightened you. Think a specialist is a good idea, but the book might get better once you give it more of a go?

Sammy, what's your next steps? Or are you just taking it easy for a while, seeing out your period?

Are you all trying naturally between treatments or not?

Thanks star, I'm pretty pleased with how it went. We are still kind of trying naturally. This month we dtd a few times but think it might have been a few days before ov was due so don't really expect much to come of that. I decided I wouldn't put pressure on dh anymore to have to do it on certain days as we have found that quite stressful so we just did it as and when we felt like it. I need to go on the pill for a couple of weeks when my next af arrives ready for my next treatment so that's the end of trying naturally for a couple of months now. I've accepted it's not going to happen that way and it's fine. I have IVF stuff in dec,jan,feb and march at the moment so I feel like I'm doing stuff that way.

I'm going to have a proper look at the book at the weekend.
It is the Beer one Lucie, will definitely try Agate and fertility friends. I popped into the immunology thread on here too and the ladies were helpful. Feel quite positive at the moment which is weird because I feel like I should be sad..

I'm still trying naturally Star though I feel like I've been getting my hopes up month after month and all along my NK cells have been working against me! I read online that 'with NK cells over 18% the likelihood of a successful pregnancy are greatly reduced'. Mine are 15%, still a good way over the norm of 5-10%, but I guess there is still a chance....

Great news Lucie!

Update on us - We had our IUI insemination today. I grew 5 good follicles so I had to have a reduction at the same time. Fingers and toes crossed for BFP when I test on the 20th.

Sali that's great news! Fx for you, hope you've lots to keep you busy while you wait.

Star - we're still trying naturally too, for what it's worth.

I got the call from the clinic today. Basically they said it was an excellent blastocyst so they're now thinking implantation issue and we have an appointment to discuss this on the 15th December. It's with a different consultant as ours is on holiday and I didn't want to wait until January for the appointment. He is the one who does nhs stuff too so as they want to discuss our referral from the bus as well I guess it's quite good we're seeing him. For some reason I feel a bit nervous that it's someone different though. Xx

Sali, that's brilliant news! What was your diagnosis again?

Sammy, great that they've hinted at implantation so maybe they will suggest seeing if they can thicken the lining up a bit when you go in x