TTC through Donor IUI or Donor IVF or just undecided - all welcome!

[Kwick709]

This thread is for anyone trying to conceive... or thinking about doing so through donor IUI or donor IVF. Nothing TMI - feel free to join, we are a lovely group here to support and help keep the cray-cray away!

Ooh! caution, yay!

I just clicked on this thread at the end of a long day, and seeing you post is so lovely. Can't get more obviously positive than that!

Yep! You've made it

So make a note of the date and time so that you know exactly when in your cycle you got your LH surge this month.

What a relief for you. It's not at all silly to get excited about it!

Yay! Thank you Robin & Shoes.

You're right, it's a massive relief for me. I'm working properly, hurrah!! I phoned Mum and she was just as excited for me too. She said "oh what good news!" Haha.

It was the 9th of July at 7pm - I already have it written in on my app & on my diary

So the boiler was fine.... It just was not switched on... How embarassed did I feel when Engineer pointed this out... ????!!!! I DO NOT know how that happened!!!!

robins it is not called the TWOT for nothing (2 weeks of torture)!!! For my first round of IVF I used a relaxation CD specially for IVFers to keep up positivity. You may want to search on YouTube? I am a great believer in PMA!

caution I am so pleased for you positive opk!!! Way to go!

So I am 3 days late... Looks like my regular cycle has not returned after MC have adopted white knicker approach for tonight...

Just booked a cheapie holiday to Corfu - leaving in a couple of weeks so really last minute!!

Kwick my cycle is skewy too. My period which started a day earlier than expected seems to have lasted only 24 hours and I had much sharper cramps than I'm used to (though admittedly I'm one of the lucky ones who generally doesn't experience much period pain). I'm trying not to get paranoid!

Looks like this month is out for me anyway. The flights on my CD12 and CD13 are sold out. I might try just turning up at the airport in case there are cancellations but I'm not sure about this approach yet. Do you have any experience of last minute travel given all the traveling with your job Kwick ?

I've decided I'm willing to drive as far as Manchester or Bristol to get on a flight if there are any seats left on those ones when it comes to it if there aren't any seats available out of the London airports.

Oh, kwick. You big idiot, you.

I promise I'm only laughing at the boiler story because I would absolutely do the exact same thing.

Your holiday sounds lovely - I am envious. And hope it proves to be just the relaxation you need.

I will check for the CD - but I think DP is quite calm now, so fingers crossed. It's me who's stressing! And I don't matter.

INeed - that sounds so annoying. Must you get over there, or can they send a package to you?

shoes I generally use an agent for all my travel - defo worth a try to see if you can get on a plane. When will you go?

Still no sign of AF....

Robins I could get sperm sent here but the chances of success are less if I try to do it myself so it would feel like money down the drain (with shipping costs etc. just the sperm would cost almost the same as sperm + treatment at the clinic).

Kwick pleased to hear the boiler is fine. Better a slightly dented pride than hundreds of pounds on boiler repairs!

If I get my LH surge large morning on CD12 like I did last month it'll be Thursday next week for IUI so ideally I'd want to fly out on the Wednesday evening. Before the MC I was getting the surge on CD13 or 14 so I suppose that's a possibility too.

When's your next staging post for IVF?

Hmm... That should read late morning.

Once AF arrives I will go in for bloods and to check dosage for days 14-25 where I need to take Norethisterone. Then after that it is a baseline scan on the next AF.
Feels like I have been waiting forever...

Kwick, I have to admit that your boiler story made me chuckle slightly. Bless you! It's definitely something I'd do...
Thank you! I'm so happy I got my LH surge this month. Was beginning to panic and started to think I wasn't working how I should... But turns out I'm normal (or as normal as can be )

Shoes... Are you still going to try and get a flight? Try if you can, it'd be nice for you to have another go. What number attempt will this be, if you don't mind me asking??

I've decided not to use CRGW anymore. I had my first telephone consult booked for Saturday but it's just not feasible to travel to Wales constantly and pay for accommodation AND get time off work. It's just easier to do it closer to home, so I have an appointment with my Care clinic on 27th July. It's with the donation coordinator - I'm presuming you ladies have had this kind of consult before? What was it like? I'm still worried that my Bipolar might throw a spanner in the works but I've been stable such a long time now...

Sorry for being AWOL - just could not keep up on latest work trip. But it looks like I am not the only one

So if you liked my boiler story how about the one where I used a disabled toilet last night at Heathrow and did not lock the door properly? Was too tired to be embarassed.

caution I understand your clinic decision. This has always been what has kept me in a London and very expensive too clinic - everything is hard enough to coordinate without adding in travel to the mix.

shoes did you find a flight?

Still no AF

Morning everyone

To answer Kwick and Caution
I can't book a flight until I get my LH surge, which won't be until Wednesday next week at the earliest so I've stopped looking. I know that Easyjet from Luton have all sold out for Thursday and Friday. I've got enough Avios points for a British Airways flight so I'm just crossing my fingers that there are still some seats left from Heathrow next week. It's looking very much like there won't be though. I'm managing to be philosophical about it!

Caution if your bipolar has been well controlled for a number of years I would have thought you would be ok. Due to a medical condition I have, my clinic asked for a letter from my GP stating that my medical condition wouldn't pose a problem to being pregnant or to looking after a child. My GP was perfectly happy to do this as my condition is stable.

Kwick how annoying no AF yet. I know this must be so frustrating and unnerving. You need to take your mind off it somehow!

Sorry shoes I have not done well keepjng track of your days I find it hard enough to keep up with my own life I know how stressy it can be: please try and take a deep breath - just remember it will all work out for the best/ que sera sera/ and any other annoying phrases you can think of!!! I will keep my fx for you

I am so annoyed My Kitchen Rules Australia is back on - and my Sky Plus is so full it has gone and deleted out most of this week's episodes!!!!! FTLOG!!

Still no AF - have white knickers on!

Hey all!

caution I did the 90min appt with the donation coordinator at care. They go through all paperwork, ask about your desired hair/eye colour, talk about counselling... It's all right, I knew basically everything they talked about, and really don't know any medical stuff as they aren't embryologists... So you can ask q's about the donor situation and that's about it. Hope all goes well. I have sorted out Wales for November treatment, as I'll be doing a mix of hols and working remotely.

Good luck at Care!

Kwick - what happened when you didn't lock the door properly... Did someone walk in?! Travelling just doesn't seem to be the way to go for me. It's a two and a half hour drive and I can't get a whole two days off work travelling when I could only have a few hours/half a day off with going to my normal clinic. Just made more sense!

Shoes - I'll have everything crossed that you'll be able to get a seat on the British Airways flight. Let us know?!
Yeah my Bipolar has been stable now for about three years. I think I've had one blip in that space of time, and it didn't last long and was nothing serious. My GP has known me for 12 years so he'd be happy to do that for me... Phew! You've put my mind at rest once again, thank you ever so much.

Stork - I see! So they basically can't answer any of my important questions? never mind... At least it'll feel like the wheels are being set in motion, finally!
Ooh good luck for November. I'm sure we'll speak before then, anyway! X

Hey all, about to start ivf with known donor sperm. 2 weeks and I'll be in for the medication talk, then it's all go from there! Nervous and excited
Not read this mammoth thread, but I hope you've all had success, any tips, dos and don'ts etc will be much appreciated

Hi ladies,
For some reason I've stopped getting notification about this thread. Don't know why. I have t disappear. Just stopped bcp. Hoping cysts have gone away and wait for af.

kwick hope af shows soon and you can get start with everything.

lovely good luck with everything. I'm doing iui so do not have experience with ivf but I'm sure others on here have loads to offer. My best advice is to relax and not stress. If you figure out how to do that please let me know. Lol.
To everyone else, pickles, shoes, caution, taydex, stork, hope all is well.

Yep caution someone walked in - fortunately I think I screamed enough to stop them before they saw anything

Welcome Lovely!!! And best of luck!!!!
I have done 5 cycles of IUI and then got BFP on first try of IVF. Unfortunately I had a MC at 8 weeks. Will start next round just as soon as blasted AF arrives!!! This time natural.
I have loads of tips - not sure if any work but I try to follow as it gives me "something to do":
From AF to egg collection drink copious amounts of whole organic milk - said to aid in egg quality
Other good foods: avocado, salmon, beans and pulses, leafy greens, cinnamon
On day of and days after egg transfer lots of cayenne pepper - said to take blood to womble
No baths or swimming during 2ww and then up to week 12 if you get bfp
Eat a fifth of a fresh pineapple, including core, each day from egg transfer (said to aid implantation)
PMA - I even used recorded tracks to visualise
Keep kidney area and feet warm at all times during 2ww
Laugh a lot during 2ww (there is that scene in Hitch where Hitch has an allergic reaction to shellfish - I always find that hilarious)
I take lots if supplements too - let me know if you want me to list those
I may have missed something

karen I find the MN alerts very unreliable - I just check in at least daily

Thanks kwick and karen
I'm so sorry to hear about your mc that must have been a real blow, awesome advise re food and drinking milk, I knew about the pineapple trick but not milk so will definitely be trying that. I have been taking zeta West supplements along with something called cassenovum boost, anything else you recommend I would love to hear about,
The ttc is so new to me and so much for me to learn.
Thanks for the warm welcome

Kwick - NOOOO! 😂 That must've been so embarrassing!! I have to admit it made me chuckle more than the boiler story... Bless your heart, you've not had much luck lately!

Lovely welcome to the thread :) were all at different stages, like me for example, I'm planning to start treatment in september/october, and have my first appointment a week on Wednesday. Hopefully things all run smoothly for you, but keep us updated?

Karen I'll have my fingers crossed :)

Kwick, as this thread is nearing the maximum limit of messages, will you be making another one for us all to talk on? :)

lovely do tell more about the cassenovum thing!
On top of TTC supplement I also take Coenzyme Q10 - for egg quality; DHEA - ditto; 5mg of folic acid - as my BMI is over 30; vit C 1000mg - said to help and vit D - ditto and vit E - egg quality.

What is your IVF protocol? Are you doing stimulated?
Feel free to ask me anything you want - I know how intense and scary it can all be and it sure helped/helps me to get advice from other IVFers

caution I will defo start a new thread - if that is okay with everyone. I am closely monitoring number - lets continue on this one for time being.

Terrible, terrible news about Nice. I was actually there for work this week - came back Wednesday pm. I have been in regular contact today with members of my company there... Just horrible.

News from my womble: AF is finally in residence - phew!!!! May treat myself to a non-alcoholic beer when I get home.

Hello and welcome to the thread Lovely

My history in a nutshell is that I've done two cycles of non-medicated IUI, both of which led to a pregnancy but the first was a chemical pregnancy which ended within a couple of days of getting a BFP (positive pregnancy test), and the second I had to have a surgically managed miscarriage at 12 weeks as I'd had a MMC (missed miscarriage). I am using a clinic in Copenhagen that I rate very highly, but the location might be an issue during the summer holidays as the flights are selling out too fast.

I echo what Kwick says on the whole, but have been a bit less thorough in making changes to supplements, diet etc.

The things that I have adopted are:

Diet
Lots of organic full fat milk
Lots of eggs (at least one a day)
Lots of avocados, oily fish, leafy greens
Generally trying to eat well and look after myself during what I've come to call the 'egg building' phase between day 1 of cycle and ovulation
Take folate rather than folic acid (something like 1 in 4 women can't metabolise folic acid properly and end up with excess in the bloodstream which can cause issues)

Other random things
Keep feet warm during 2ww. Keep kidney area warm (but not with a hot water bottle as it's important that you don't actually raise the temperature in the uterus beyond body temperature)
No high-impact sports (so for me - badminton) or cycling (too many potholes = too bumpy) or Pilates during 2ww
Try to keep happy and positive during 2ww (and actually generally keeping as calm as possible about the whole thing is a must because the process is not easy)
Support network is important for this last point. It's useful to have a few friends in on what you're doing so that you feel supported.

Hurray for AF Kwick ! That's a relief for you. Don't apologise for not keeping up with where I am in my cycle - this thread moves quite quickly at times and I know I'm a bit rubbish at keeping up with everything too.

I've found it very difficult to work today, being distracted by the events in Nice. I have a lot of ties with France and it just feels as though the country has been selected as a target by this evil movement. It's just desperately sad and unnecessary. I hope your colleagues are ok Kwick and what a relief that you weren't there to experience this awful event.