Pom Poms, Placards and Picket Lines. The Berries are putting up the barricades and will not be crossed! A delightful bunch of 30 something Ladybros TTC #1.

[happylass]

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:

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. 3 failed ICSI cycles, 1 failed FET and 1 abandoned cycle due to poor response. Awaiting next and final cycle with own eggs hopefully Feb/March time. HATE THIS SHIT!!



Beaky 35, ttc 3 yrs, 2x failed iui 1 long protocol ivf cancelled, 2 short protocol IVF both BFN, very low amh/poor responder etc. 3rd IVF in January.



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. Private tests showed high nk cells activity and th1/th2 as well as mthrfr gene. Started downregging for long protocol ivf in Oct 15 plus two intralipid drips, and got pg. Third mc @ 6.4 weeks despite heparin, intralipids, metafolin and prednisolone. Last Ivf attempt starting February 2016 then on to adoption. 



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 Jan 16. 



Lucieloos, 36, Low AMH & sperm motility. ICSI#1, April 2015, Czech Republic, BFN. Icsi#2, cancelled before EC. Icsi#3 & 4, Embryo Banking. 3 blasts in freezer. Icsi#5 in Czech in Jan. NHS cycle in Feb / March.




Sesame, 40, ttc 2 years with no dp, multiple failed IVFs, 4 ETs, 1 bfp followed by 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. 



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. Currently experimenting with different cycles in an attempt to thicken lining.

Clem, 39, ttc since 2013. diagnosed with anovulation by nhs so on a course of clomid. no male factor issues. all other test results have come back okay inc. ovarian test reserves. currently being referred back to nhs for single funded cycle.

Nolly, 33, TTC 3 years, 1 confirmed MC, 2 more suspected. Starting IVF in January.



Antonia79 36, ttc #1 since 2009, adhesions made for sticky insides & one tube removed, confirmed NHS IVF route Sept 15, TTC naturally again as recommended by doctor until IVF cycle starts (early - mid 2016) if not conceived by then.



Grin - 35, TTC 3 years, NFI why I can't get pregnant,, 3 X failed clomid attemots, 2 X ICSI failed fertilisations, 1 x IVF BFN. Doing another cycle in Mar 2016 and thinking of embryo donation.



The Roll of honour:

Pip - Quite simply the Best In Show.
Lumen - The Legend that is....

Clem, your protocol includes your 2ww so with short protocol it's basically the length of your normal cycle divided into stims, trigger and egg collection, then the lab do their bit, then egg transfer, then the 2ww with your luteal phase support (usually cyclogest pessaries).

Oops I refreshed twice and Tigers post hadn't come up!!

hope you feel a bit better soon. Yeah I have emailed them this morning with a list of 14 questions to get some clarity on everything. I think Duphaston is discontinued in the UK so have raised that also.

How did private berries go about costing ivf drugs? I've looked online at lots of websites but can't find any prices?!!

tiger well done asking for the ivf leave, that should take some of the stress off for you. Glad to hear that things are still moving along, but sorry about the rage… .

barking , hope you feel better!

beaky yes, it’s exactly the same set up as last time – fingers crossed I can get another embryo. Google tells me duphaston is an oral progesterone – if it’s not available in the UK, you might need to get from Czech, or find out if there is an alternative you could take instead. My old clinic did a step down prescribing for antagonist too, starting at 450, then 225. It’s meant to give you a big boost of FSH at the beginning in order to recruit extra follies, but once recruited it doesn’t take as much to sustain them. UK pharmacies don’t normally accept foreign prescriptions (with one or two exceptions), so you usually need to get them rewritten – either by your GP for a fee (if they can be persuaded), or some suppliers do this for a fee, or via a private fc. Or you could find out if you can get all your meds ordered direct from Czech. I seem to remember there’s also a bunch of useful stuff about cycling abroad on yourivfjourney. You need to email all the suppliers the prescription and ask them for a quote – very few have prices online. PM me if you need a hand, as I’ve already done some research on prices/suppliers.

clem yes, about 14 days, give or take, depending on how quick you respond (earliest for me was ec on day 9). Then you need to allow transfer, usually either 3 days or 5 days after ec.

I got a delivery of some extra meds this morning. The company assured me that it would be delivered in plain packaging, so I arranged to get delivered to my office. Got a call from the mailroom at about 11.30 to say “we’ve just had delivery of medication for you, what would you like us to do?”, I ran down to the back door to get my stuff and it’s a big box emblazoned with the company logo and danger medication warning stickers a fluorescent keep at room temp sticker.

Hi Ladies, just back from the clinic where we had two transferred back as one was top quality and the other wasn't suitable for freezing, they embryologist advised that at my age two would give me a better success rate and at soon to be 39 they'd suggest two. The other four in the lab are slow to develop so they are going to ring me tomorrow to see if they are suitable, apparently when they told me only 4 made it they didn't mean perished just lagging behind on quality

Sesame I think I'm the same prepared to face the small risk of multiples for a positive result. Wow your first scan is Thursday that has started quickly again ! Can't believe they delivered meds to your office unmarked ! How bloody inconsiderate.
Tiger The weird thing I've found about this (what with it being my first cycle and me being completely naive about all of this) is that something being top quality one day doesn't necessarily mean it'll be top quality the next day and actually my making plans before the day has been pretty futile IYSWIM ?
Barking Rant away please don't apologize! Keeping positive in the shitstorm that is infertility is difficult at the best of times but the stress with the house and everything else going on for you ! I take my hat of to you.

Beaky I think if our four catch up (they may or may not) I will definitely be going for a fresh cycle again next time and then maybe do as Sesame said one fresh and one frozen at the transfer day.

Last question for me today I hope :) - Once you'd had your transfer done did your clinic give you a scan photo ? I mean ours gave us one and both my husband and I thought it was the strangest thing to be giving out... I mean essentially they've not implanted yet so its just a photo of glowing dots inside me. It seems perfectly weird to me.

Forty I always wanted two put in (if I ever got two) but clinics here will only put one in unless you fit certain criteria. My clinic would only do two if you were over 36 and had had four previous IVF failures.
Sesame Talk about a privacy violation! I would take photos of the box and complain. What if you had a condition that was not socially acceptable? Would they mail a box covered in HIV antiviral drug stickers? I think not.
Barking The embryos are leftovers from peoples own cycles. Once they decide they are done with trying they can donate them. There is a donation website where you can put up a ad if you are looking for them or donating them.

Morning Ladybros. Congrats to Forty on being PUPO! I've always had 2 put back (apart from my FET as we only had the one frostie). I'm always afraid that if I choose to freeze there's a small risk of damage/losing the embie all together. I know the risk is tiny but my logic is stick them back where they are meant to be whilst they are looking good! Both my FCs have been happy to transfer 2 but I know the NHS here will only do it for over 37s. Fx you get some Frosties Forty but it really is the exception rather than the rule. I think I read somewhere only 20% of cycles have embies suitable for freezing? I think all but one of our 27 embies have made it to blast and been good quality but after the 8 we had put back (not all at the same time I hasten to add I'm not attempting to be the next Octomum!!) only 4 have been suitable for the freezer.
Grin I'm glad to see things are moving for you. Would you mind telling us a little more about the website and how the process works? Is it UK based or abroad? We are interested in donor embryo but will probably give donor egg a shot first.
Sesame I'm delighted that you can get going again so soon but to the inconsiderate meds company. I hope you put in a complaint!!
Clem it's almost always been 14 days from starting stimms to EC for me but it does depend on the individual and how fast your follies grow. I think one of my cycles took 12 days but I've heard of some women taking less than that.
Tiger I'm horrified at poogate . Hope you're doing ok. I was evil too after the Northisterone - understandable really given that by the time AF showed up it was about 10 days late!
Beaky when are you planning your Prague cycle? Hope you managed to get your drugs sorted. I'll be looking for advice on that front if/when we go for DE in Czech, though obviously won't need as many drugs for that.
Nothing much happening with me. Follow up
is on the 29th and I'm going to push to do the FET straight away even if it does fall during the Inspection as we are away the following month. Hopefully the dates will fall right. I think AF should be due around 27th but I'm sometimes a bit late after a failed cycle. I can't believe that my OTD was only actually 10 days ago(although I didn't even bother testing this time). It feels like a lifetime ago . Off in to school for me again today boooo! Hope everyone has a good one x

forty yay for being pupo! I did get a photo of my womble at my first ever transfer. It was a bit random and I may even still have it somewhere. Perhaps I should pop it in a memory box alongside the positive pregnancy tests from last year...? I really liked the team who did it too, doc, embryologist and nurse, and it was a beautiful experience. Shame it didn't get me pg. The other 4 transfers weren't a patch on the first one.

grin fortunately the meds only went as far as the mail room, as it's more my immediate colleagues I'm most worried about finding out. So do you plan to put both donor embryos back at once then, or will you try one at a time?

happy glad you've got your follow up soon. Fingers crossed the dates work out and you can get started on the fet straight away. Sorry you have to go to school today.

Had my scan this morning and there's sod all happening on my ovaries. Looks like they've been suppressed by the progesterone I was on after et - my doc told me on Friday I could do back to back cycles as it's unlikely to affect me. So now waiting for the doc to call me back to tell me what the bloods say, and I've a follow up scan booked on Saturday to see if there's anything happening. #hatethisshit

Afternoon berries, a little update from me.

I'm going to be on the short protocol and had a big box of drugs and needles delivered to my home today (hooray for flexible working). I'm back at FC on 3rd March for injection training and plan. My normal cycle is due to start on Monday so looks like I'll be starting the treatment on my next cycle in March. I assume it starts on my next natural cycle anyway as it is regular...

Getting the box today and opening it has made everything seem very real and scary. When I saw there were two types of needles I almost shit myself with terror when I saw how thick one of them was until I realised that one must be for mixing and not injecting.

In other news, a school friend has just had his sixth, SIXTH baby and two more women have announced they're expecting. I seem to have gained weight somewhere but God knows where as my clothes still fit. My face has broken out in spots (I thought only teenagers have breakouts). I've missed a spot shaving my legs. I've been walking around with spinach in my teeth for God knows how long. I've been in for three deliveries this afternoon and none of them, NOT ONE OF THEM, mentioned my spinach teeth. I spilt hot porridge down my front this morning and finally stubbed my toe on the sofa which made me do a loud round of swears.

I really you're all doing well as can be I will catch up with all posts later on tonight.

forty I got a photo of my embryo the first time, but not my womb?! The second time they showed me the photo and I realised how shit the embryo was and burst into tears. I told them they could keep that one.

sesame how bloody frustrating. Fingers crossed for you that there's some change on Saturday.

happy hope you've got tomorrow off doing fun stuff! It's been a stunning day here today but typically the weather this weekend looks shit!

grin that sounds so much more sensible. I had to sign all the forms again recently and I remember thinking it was ridiculous when she explained the freezing thing and that they kept them for x years or until you said you either wanted them or they could be donated to research - I always thought you should be able to donate them to another couple.

tiger, would you mind resending that positivity? I checked my inbox and I don't think it got through... How is your rage today?

beaky I'm not sure counselling would help at this stage, but I'll go again post ivf. I just want someone to tell me goddammit, whether I should think positive as it will do the mind body thing and help the neural pathways, or whether being a miserable, pessimistic bitch will have no effect at all on the outcome.

Having a moving date might help

Oh sesame that's so frustrating. Fingers crossed your ovaries spring into action. Have you had the blood results today?

Congrats on being PUPO forty! I got a picture of my two little dots after they'd been blasted into my womble. I carried it around rather sentimentally during the 2ww. I have also kept my positive tests.

happy hope you've got some fun stuff planned for the last bit of the holidays. I think it makes sense to go for it on the FET. The dates will work out one way or another.

Positivity-------->>>barking, although personally I think it makes NO difference to the outcome, just helps wth feeling a bit better along the way. The moving stuff must be so unsettling. Hope it sorts out soon. Thankfully my rage has dissapated and I'm not angry today! Just achey and bloated. So hungry and swollen this cycle! No sign of af yet, expecting it tomorrow or Sat. The FC have kindly booked me in for a scan at 9.30 on Mon, so am hoping all goes to plan.

Almost back at home, looking forward to working from home tomorrow and not being in the office.

Updating in two parts as i was on the train and didn't want to lose my post. Now I'm Mumsnetting in the bath! Mr T is making the hot milk, it's all go around here!

I hate days like that ant - sometimes everything just goes wrong. Always just before af for me, like some sort of hormonal disruption to the universe that results in calamity for about 24 hours!! You'll be an ivf pro in no time, it all seems very scary before the start, then it's not too bad. Good luck!

beaky did you get some idea on the drug pricing. Have your questions been answered?

Supposed to be seeing friends tomorrow, but there is some speculation that they could be about to announce their second pregnancy. Can't be dealing with that at all, so planning to flake out at the last minute...they started trying at the same time so it really makes for a measure of our failure that they could have two.

HELLO! Can I pull up a seat?! So happy to have found a group of like minded women with similar issues! I meet the door check list!

Age 37
TTC since Oct 2010
2 x natural BFP both followed by MC
Then a ruptured ectopic and fallopian tube removal
Endometerosis
ICSI Feb 2015 - 7 week scan showed slow hearbeat, MC at 11 weeks
FET Feb 2016 - currently 4 days into 2WW but not hopeful as low grade 5 day blasts (2 of them)
Hubby has balanced chromosome translocation 13 & 17
Overwhelming urge to headbutt people who say "stop trying and it'll happen" and similar stupid stuff. Definate dislike of baby dust.

Ooooh Forty congrats on being PUPO!!

tiger you're only bloody right, just realised AF is due this weekend... No wonder I've turned into Calamity Jane

Hello blimey (waves) pull up a pew. Sorry you're here but not sorry as the berries in this group are really supportive and give really good advice

ant Hooray for the drugs delivery and getting going. I’m sorry for that run of bad luck. I get teen breakouts all the time though, I never grew out of it . You can tell your friend from me that 6 babies is just being greedy - tell the bugger to share them out!

barking I hate being told to think positive. One of the consultants during my last cycle kept telling me to do so and it gave me the rage – I can’t really see what bloody difference it makes. I think I’d be much happier being left alone to think realistically and then I can celebrate getting over each little hurdle at a time. Really really hoping you get that moving date sorted.

tiger bloods agreed with the scan, nought much happening, scan tomorrow should say whether to go ahead or not. Glad I’m not the only one that keeps souvenir pee sticks… . Fingers crossed your af turns up on schedule in time for Monday’s scan.

blimey hi there, welcome to the thread. Really sorry you’ve been through so much. When’s your otd? Did you get your embryos tested for the translocation?

I’m a little bit in limbo waiting to find out tomorrow whether my natural cycle can go ahead or not. I’m staying with relatives so that I can be near the fc and it just feels like an incredibly dull ivf holiday with very little distraction. I’m already quite bored and ready to go home now.

Hi!!

Please bare with me while I try and catch up with peoples stories and also learn the lingo! What is PUPO?!

Sesame - (I'm assuming OTD is official test date?!) it is 29th Feb. The frosties are from the ICSI last year which was before we knew about the translocation. After that MC they tested the fetus and found a chromosome problem (trisomy 16) which resulted in me and hubby being tested, turns out hubby has a completey unrelated chromosome problem and the trisomy 16 was just a random thing! The clinic said that they wouldn't survive defrosting and testing. We had to choose between putting them in untested or going through full ICSI again with PGD.
We decided to chuck these two and see what happens. Totally expecting failure, as you ladies will understand it becomes your defualt expectation!) if it doesn't work we'll try the ICSI/PGD later in the year. One go at it and then we're giving up.
And that was pretty crap of the delivery company with your meds

• I hope an angry email was sent! I love a good angry email!!

Apologies for all the typos, I will proof read before posting in future!

blimey you are currently pupo - pregnant until proven otherwise, and you're right about otd. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Just tried to do a mini catch up...

Sesame - so sorry about your recent BFN, totally gutted for you, as we all know it has to be a case of chin up and soldier on but it still sucks x

Forty - we appear to be in the same boat at the moment! I've got NO symptoms except AF cramps. I am over analysing everything.

Am off out tonight for my siter in laws birthday. I will be having to fend off knowing suspicious questions all night. For me not to drink on a night out is unheard of!

Looking forwards to getting to know you other berries soon!

welcome blimey hope your stay here is short.

woohoo forty pupo! Everything crossed for you.

Blimey welcome, what an awful time of it you've had. Good luck for this round and hope tonight isn't too difficult with not drinking questions.

Sesame, hope you're doing ok after today.

Tiger did af rock up? Hope all is going well with your cycle so far. Af rocked up here, one whole week and a bit early, not sure what that does to my cycle now as I was supposed to be having a hysteroscopy this cycle.

Barking I'm hoping you get your move date ASAP. How frustrating.

Hope everyone else is ok, I'm struggling to keep up and remember everything at the mo. I'm just waiting to hear back from the Prague clinic now re the drugs, then hopefully we can get going after that. The longer this goes on, the more I think I'll do donor eggs. I would rather own egg but I'm sick of this being the be all of my life, I want to move on with things. anyway, hope everyone has a good Saturday night planned!

New blood!!! Welcome blimey, good luck and feel free to come in and rant about shit to help the menkul at bay that is the 2ww.

tiger any sign of af?

sesame sending strength

beaky hearing you on wanting a life back! DH is particularly down at the moment. We got a call from the solicitor on Friday saying it looked like everyone might be good to go on 29th. We'd be in before I started stims, perfect. We packed all day yesterday. Then got an email from our vendors who had just returned from holiday saying that they doubted they would be ready then, and hadn't heard anything from their vendors so didn't think they would be ready either.

This is the third day in a row now I've woken at 5.30am. #hatethisshit

Just wrote a flipping post then pressed something that made it disappear. Doh.

Welcome blimey, make yourself at home in Berry HQ and fingers crossed it's just a short stay. I am so sorry for all your losses, must have been hugely tough to go through.

barking it all sounds so stressful - I couldn't deal with all the 'yes it will, no it won't ' dealings with the vendors and the solictors...if someone wanted to be ready they could be!

beaky I know what you mean about needing to move on. I am starting, slowly, to think about plan b, c etc. Hope you get some decent answers to your questions from the clinic. When is your hsyteroscopy booked for? Our Saturday night involved a film and a fire - rock and roll! We did have a fab tasting session with our caterers in the afternoon though, finalising the menu choices and trying all the lovely food! Very exciting.

sesame how are you holding up?

clem what's the latest for you?

Happy hope you don't have what we would call in our house 'the going back to work bananas' (basically the back to work dread after a holiday or the weekend) and you've enjoyed your last few days of the holidays.

Well af is here! I'm as happy about it as I can be considering the evil pains that arrived with it. At least I'm all on target for the scan tomorrow and I'll get my timetable sorted out. Fingers crossed I get the go ahead to stim.

Barking fx your sellers can get on board for the 29th. it's about time you got moved eh. Hearing you on the waking up early, I have been too. Mainly thinking about ivf and the cost of private cycles. It's exorbitant I've costed up 5 clinics today and although the costs vary a lot, they are all bloody expensive. And that's without any add ons that aren't on their price lists.

Tiger nightmare on the evil pains, mine turned up this weekend and is so so painful. It's also very early too which is a problem for next cycle dates. Anyway, when is baseline? Fx all looks good so you can get underway with stims! The tasting sounds great fun, did you try with your wine as well?

Sesame hope you're doing ok.

Smidge any news with you?

Forty how's your 2ww going? Hope you are coping ok.

Hope everyone else is doing ok too!

blimey thanks, hope you managed not to raise suspicion at the birthday shindig?

clem how long till you start your ivf?

beaky sorry about the nasty af, hope you can still go ahead with the hysteroscopy? I’m with you on the ranting, I think what I say below says the same thing copycat – it would be so nice to be able to move on. Well done for doing all the research on the clinics today, that’s well impressive – are they places abroad or in the UK?

barking really hoping you get that move date sorted. Enough is enough!

tiger so glad you’re still on schedule. Good luck for your baseline scan tomorrow. Fingers crossed you can start stimming.

Did anyone see the Shannon Doherty stuff on the telly? While it’s pretty sad what she’s going through right now, I did feel it was good to see a celeb talk about not being able to have/try for kids.

Scan and bloods yesterday showed my ovaries are still sleeping and I have to abandon the natural cycle for this month. I have no clue what’s going on as the progesterone I took for luteal support should be out of my system by now. I don’t know how to write it, but I’m worried my egg supplies are now so low that this now looks more like signs of menopause than anything else. I have my wtf appointment from my first natural cycle tomorrow, so I guess it’s an opportunity to ask more then. Overall I feel pretty down about ttc being about the only thing in my life right now, and that it’s taking all of my energy, money and holidays. And it doesn’t matter whatever I do and whatever I try, my body still sucks at it.

Sesame I just hate this. I do think your body would need a cycle in between to recover, even with the low drugs. Keep your chin up for next cycle, hopefully it will get off to a flying start and in the meantime focus on doing some nice things for yourself maybe? I totally get what you are saying though. Nothing has been this hard. It's a repeated heartbreak every few months. Hope your wtf is more positive tomorrow. All my spreadsheet did was bum me out massively and prove that actually I really can't afford to pay for any treatment at all. I did current abroad clinic compared with one local and other London based. Dh likes the sound of the 3 cycle embryo banking package at one of the London ones and I do too, but with add ons it's about £11500, not incl bloods and drugs. And then what if that doesn't work. Fuckity fuck.