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

[kwick]

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!
Here is the link to the previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/2688511-TTC-through-Donor-IUI-or-Donor-IVF-or-just-undecided-all-welcome-makeithappen

Here is the link to the thread before that: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/2587046-TTC-through-Donor-IUI-or-Donor-IVF-or-just-undecided-all-welcome

pez I take baby aspirin during the 2ww. shoes is our resident expert on blood thining. I recommend blue milk prior to ovulation for a juicy lining (and follicles).
Have you had your thyroid checked? One of the first things my FC did.

IUI was mega fast this time

I'm on 25mg levothyroxine kwick, and I've only been taking it for 10 days so at the moment my bbt is still below 36 pre O. My TSH was 3.55 so hopefully it will be enough to lower it to closer to 2.
Unfortunately I don't like milk so I'm trying to eat probiotic yogurt instead

Great news it went quick today!

Glad iui went ok :) New Year's Eve for testing day??? Or New Year's Day?
I've got a girl and boys name picked out, girls middle name struggling with but boy middle name sorted....I have a whole page of baby names in my baby note book lol!

Eek pez how exciting, congratulations on positive opk, I found that so exciting. I've got my new clear blue smiley face ones to take away with me as should get lh surge around new yr. good luck for Monday, let us know how u get on

My OTD is 1 January 2017

My AF started today was due Tuesday ,great not over Xmas but seems my cycle is anything from 25-28days long so a bit more unpredictable than I'd hoped.

That's a fab OTD

Pez - I would check with your doctor before starting Aspirin. Its probably a good idea to take it if you have suspected problems with your blood clotting too much but not a good idea if there isn't a good reason to take it.

I am taking it because I have blood disorders which definitely clot my blood too much. I'm not actually that happy about taking it. Its only in recent years that it has become common for lots of women to taken Aspirin throughout pregnancy and it is too early to tell what the impact on the next generation might be.

In the UK you used to be able to buy 'Junior Aspirin' for kids to take if they were unwell. It has been withdrawn for use in children because of links to serious liver problems and developmental (cognitive) problems. In light of this, I can't help but wonder how it can be 100% safe for foetuses.

This makes me wary about taking Aspirin and if it hadn't been proven that I need to take it I would really rather not be taking it.

Aspirin ponderings over, I hope that everyone has had a lovely weekend

shoes I knew you would have mega expertise are you still taking clexane? I might go back on it if I get a BFP - depends what consultant says.

Probably did not plan hall painting very well - sure fumes are not good!

Evening Kwick

Ha, please don't think I have 'expertise' - I've just read loads! But I was crap at science when I was at school so most of what I say should probably be wilfully ignored

Yes, I'm still taking the heparin. It seems to be considered very safe in pregnancy (and has been prescribed for blood thinning in pregnancy for years). After months of doing the injections relatively happily they have suddenly started to hurt like mad. I think my tummy must be more sensitive because of the bump!

I don't think paint is anywhere near as toxic as it used to be...

Hello there lovely people,

I have just joined MN and I think I have posted in the wrong places, sorry about that. But I am excited to have found this thread. I am 38, single and have decided I want to go it alone and have a child, no more waiting around.

I visited the LWC last week for an initial consultation. IVF was recommended but I feel like I should give IUI a go as a first step. I have never tried to get pregnant so no reason to think I have any issues.

But I was shocked at the low % given to me for IUI (5-10%) and not that much better for IVF. Anyway as a first step I am going to get my tubes tested to see if they are ok and then I will have one round of IUI with donor sperm.

I have been looking tonight though at the idea of home insemination using donor sperm, its sooooooo much cheaper.....has anyone ever done this and had some good success? The LWC ask for 2.5 for just one round of IUI which seems a lot to me, especially as they say that three should be budgeted for.

Any thoughts would be great, I'm up in the North East by the way.

Welcome sj, did you have an amh done at lwc?
I would totally love to do home insemination-all the way but as far as I'm aware there is no clinic that you can get donor sperm from in U.K. Without being attached to a clinic unless the donor directly gives it to you but then they wouldn't necessarily have had all the right checks and then have all the issues of who has rights etc etc ....but apart from that I would love to just get the turkey baster out and not pay out thousands.

When do you plan to start or are you having a little think following your consultation?

Hi pickle162

I'm having a counseling session on jan 4th and then I'll be booking for my tubes to be checked, I've forgotten the formal name for that.

Sorry but what is an amh? I did have an internal scan at lwc and was told that all looked normal.

Have you looked at the danish site? Cryo? They seem to ship to the U.K and to private addresses. And I think I've spotted some ladies on here talking about it as an option. I've not written it correctly but if you google danish sperm bank it's the first that comes up.....

Hi ladies,

Just came for a catch up on how everyone was doing and sjmackel your post reminded me of something I'd watched a while ago. Has anyone else watched this? It was called The Vikings are Coming. I found it really interesting but as I'm in a same sex relationship and it's important for us that we both have PR home insemination wasn't an option we could seriously consider.

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2upnsl_modern-times-the-vikings-are-coming_tv

Thanks shoes for the wise words, I will mention it at my appointment tomorrow. As far as as I know I have no clotting issues so I was only thinking of taking 75mg aspirin to increase the blood flow but you're right I should ask the doctor if this is safe to do first.

Welcome sj! I'm using a danish sperm bank, my clinic has discounts from the European Sperm Bank and so far they've been great. The first order is a bit pricey as you need to book a pregnancy slot for €600 but when I compared it with Cryo over 6 cycles it ended up being the same price. At the end of the day it will depend on the profiles you like...

Amh (anti mullerian hormone if I'm right) gives you an indication of your ovarian reserve. I haven't had the test done as my consultant was happy with the number of follicles he saw at my first scan but I know most ladies here have had it checked. Getting your tubes checked is definitely a must too (i had this done just a few weeks ago)

It's an amazing journey and this thread is so supportive.

Ahaha chasing, I had read about this and the straws I have at the clinic are from a typical Viking!!

Hi pez82, thanks lots for that. Ahhhh no one mentioned an amh to me but I will ask in jan when I get the old tubes checked.

I'm excited but also nervous. It's lovely to find people on here who are going through the same. I'll keep you all updated.

Thanks for being there!

Hi all

kwick god speed my friend, all things are crossed for you!

sj Stork here, hi! So I'm single and 38 too. The % you've been given for IUI is what is was given, I didn't even entertain the thought of an IUI for more than 10mins if I'm honest. I've just completed my first round of IVF (which gave me a 35% chance of working) which was a fail, but hopefully they got lots of info about my eggs and why things happened the way they did. To give you an idea, I did a long IVF protocol, they collected 18 eggs (that's a lot!) 9 fertilised, only 2 made it to day 5 blastocyst stage(none could be frozen), and both were given a 49% chance of success. I decided to implant one, but got a bfn.

There is a lot of different thinking on here, and a lot of different points of view and approaches, which is why it's so great! *kwick is a trooper, she's done several IUIs both medicated and not medicated, and at least one IVF and she's still going. (She's amazeballs!)

For me, i prefer the all guns blazing approach and my success prediction was so low for IUI, it was a case of why try, I'd prefer to save a bit more and go for IVF. So next IVF will be Feb for me!

Re home kits, you are braver than I! I know I need more help than that. There is nothing that makes one feel older than pondering ones fertility.

Good luck.

Hola everyone else!

I'll post more fully later but one thing to consider sj is that with the shipping cost the cost of home insemination is roughly the same as the cost of going to Denmark to a lovely clinic there and having the IUI done by a skilled professional. This is what I have done and would recommend to anyone that isn't fazed by traveling and whose work is flexible enough to allow for the travel. Each treatment is around £800 including the cost of the sperm so even allowing for flights and one night in a hotel the cost comes in at less than £1000 per treatment.

With IUI done at a clinic the sperm are inserted directly into your uterus which gives a much better chance of success than home insemination where the sperm (which, having been frozen, are only in optimal condition for 24 hours) still have to find their own way through your cervix which is reliant on you having the right consistency of cervical mucus for them to swim up. With home insemination you also have the responsibility of getting the timing of having the sperm delivered right and thawing it correctly which I would find stressful!

If you do go the home insemination route there is a group of women on the fertility friends website who are all doing this and would probably have some good advice.

Hi guys, now, I am a bit of a scatterbrain and also didn't read the entire thread so I might have already introduced myself previously?

But anyways, here goes introduction (maybe times 2).

I am 25 atm, although will be 26 when this all starts :) I am in my second year of university and hoping to get preggers around December next year, had my AMH blood test at Bourn Hall in Norwich on Friday (lovely nurse but oh man did she dig around to get the blood) and assuming that is all acceptable then my consultation and stuff will be happening around June.

I am looking at doing egg-sharing IVF, cause I think it's the best value for money with the best chance of getting pregnant. Still a bit :O at all the stuff that needs to be sorted out by June haha

Oh and I'm gonna be a single mum by choice

Piping up again to say kwick fingers crossed that 2017 is your year!!

shoes I hope you are doing well and pregnancy is progressing wonderfully.

Stork I'm rooting for you this next time round and am very impressed with your positive outlook!

Karen thinking of you and Jack.

For those of you that have mentioned IUI success rates - when I looked it was something like less than 12%, however, those figures are definitely skewed for people with no known fertility issues (except for lack of sperm). Don't give up on it - I am currently 35 weeks pregnant from ny first attempt - it is possible!

Good luck ladies; sending positive fertility vibes to you all.

(Also; how strange is it to know and care so much about the insides of strangers?! )

hopingandwaiting that is so exciting and it's lovely to hear that IUI can and does work and even on the first attempt! I really hope that the same happens for me. Did you take any vitamins etc before your first IUI?

I am going to have my first one done at the clinic, thank you INeedNewShoes for that advice. I am going to keep the home insemination idea in the back of my head though just so that I don't feel like the first round of IUI is my only chance.

StorkAhoy thanks so much for your post.I may indeed go with the IVF option at some point but I figured lets give the softer option a chance and then rethink. I'm trying so hard to just concentrate on one step at a time so that I don't get too carried away and/or disappointed if things don't go to plan.

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

sj I just took folic acid that I got over the counter at asda. I cut my drinking down about 3 months earlier and tried to remain positive and not let setbacks (such as the first ideal time falling at Easter when the clinic was shut) get me down too much. That's all I can advise with really as that's all I did.

Thank you so much h&w I have started taking folic acid and will not drink from now on....lucky me :)

I can't believe I have never seen this thread before. I'm amazed at how many single ladies are doing this alone, where were you all when I was going through my journey in 2014!!

As it is I'm in a same sex relationship now but still very keen to try for a baby. We are getting married next year and I'm hoping to start trying soon after with known donor sperm (need to find a willing male first!!)

Look forward to joining you all properly soon and good luck to you all! :)

Welcoming to all the newbies! I wish you all luck with your journeys. I hope 2017 brings all of us much joy.

Jack is hanging in there. It's day by day. My parents are flying in on Christmas eve. We will see if he makes it. No idea where I am in my cycle. Just waiting and seeing. I may do a cycle in January or I may sit the month out.

Kwick so happy you are in a tww!

Welcome sj!!!
Wow 3k for an IUI? I pay £850 plus donor sperm and meds and some of the bloods.
Good idea to have a hycosy first.

Fanks stork for good wishes and compliments- flattery will get you everywhere!!!

shoes I really think you should write a book - you know so much and have such a nice turn of phrase! PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE US!!!

Welcome loops!!!

Fanks hoping! OMG you are only 5 weeks away... where did the time go???

karen a mahoosive hug for you and Jack.

Given that we have newbies and I have not shared in a while here is what I am doing supplement wise:

• I take 75mg of DHEA a day (well not on 2ww)
• Daily co-enzyme q10
• Inofolic for my PCOS
• vitamin d, e and when I remember C
• folate (instead of folic acid) 4mg due to high BMI

What is more:

• I stopped drinking alcohol in September 2015
• I try and eat fertility boosting foods: pulses, avocado, leafy greens, sweet potatoes etc etc
• from AF to ovulation I drink LOTS of organic whole milk
• I would really recommend the book "it starts with the egg"

On 2ww:

• I go back to normal milk consumption
• i take 75mg of aspirin daily
• I try to keep feet and kidneys warm at all times
• I try to laugh a lot
• I eat 1/5 of fresh pineapple, including the core, daily for first 5 days
• I try not to symptom spot (you lnow my boobage has been hurting even before starting progestrone???)

What did I miss?