TTC first baby thread 26

[Annny27]

Hello all, setting up a new thread for us old timers to keep up and stay sane on the ttc journey!

@MIW01 me too, it feels very dark right now. I’m having to keep away from bfps too, it’s too hard to see them. I’m not coping at the moment especially. Keep breaking down and don’t see an end to any of this. I thought going private would speed things up, but all I’m getting are more and more delays. My doctor I chose the clinic for is retiring and I’m upset about that. Now we have another doctor and I’m not thrilled, but at least we have her ivf plan.

I’ve stopped taking supplements, eating well, exercising. I’m a bit of a mess. I did read ISWTE but I was already doing a lot of it, now I’m doing the bare minimum.

@XjustagirlX i really wish the nhs had not messed us around. Knowing we had an nhs round would make me less stressed, we don’t even have an appointment yet. Your GP referred you in mid May? That’s so fast, you’ll be starting soon. We’re sat here doing nothing still. The process started last July, first referral in Feb, second referral in June, I could (and do) cry my eyes out at the experience we’ve had. Private process started in May, still no progress.

Yeah, DH has 9% motility and I have low progesterone (10), unlikely to be ovulating every month. It all feels very hopeless.

We’ve now got an appointment with Ramsay on the 26th and one with the clinic on the 28th. I was hoping to start September (my cycles are starting at the first couple of days of the month right now) but I found out yesterday my rubella antibodies are borderline. I’ve emailed the clinic to ask if I need to get vaccinated, and if I do that’s another 8 weeks delay, so we’re looking at October.

I wouldn’t delay either, seems like a good call from him.

@thislittlebird I feel for you. This experience is so hard. It’s so frustrating when things are going slow and you can’t do anything about it.

no my didn’t refer us in mid May. Basically I initially went to my gp end of 2019 and the testing on the nhs started. We officially got referred by my nhs consultant in mid May 2021 after all the nhs tests were done. So from first gp consultation the process has taken nearly 2 years. Ivf is only moving quickly because I have had all of the tests already.

I think some people get referred for ivf and then need to start having tests done which slows things down.

I had a similar issue with rubella. I have had both MMR vaccinations as a child but I have no immunity. I was concerned we would have to wait 2 months too. But my clinic said that because I can prove I’ve had the vaccines as a child I was good to go ahead. Just check their policy and send them proof that you have had both vaccines as a child. Also there was only 3 rubella cases in the U.K. last year so highly unlikely you will catch it!

It’s so hard to stay positive through this.

@XjustagirlX it’s so frustrating. I just wish the wait for this wasn’t quite so long, it’s so damaging to our mental health. Whats even more annoying is we may not be able to even ttc with my rubella jab upcoming, I’m pretty sure you can’t try if having those vaccines.

Ah, I see. They were testing for a long time, I’m assuming there were long wait times? I had my tests done privately because I’d already lost six months to incorrect results. We’re at one year since first GP visit now, I’m 38 already, 2 years since the first GP appointment would put me on the way to 40 😐.

I really hope the nhs get in touch with an appointment soon.

I don’t know how to find out if I had the mmr because my new GP still doesn’t have my files. If I could find that out I would. That’s the thing, I really don’t think I’m going to get rubella, I barely leave the house as is.

I feel the last two years has aged me. I don’t feel myself as much now, I just want to get past this horrible phase, start a family and move on. Wasting the tail end of my 30s on all this nonsense and stress.

@thislittlebird could you contact your old gp and request your medical records from them? Or can you look at the nhs app and see if your medical records are on there?

We were delayed because of COVID. COVID delays added on about 12 months for us coz we had lots of months of nothing at all happening.

Ye when I researched rubella I think it said not to try but I thought that was because you could catch rubella which is so unlikely anyway.

Also if you ask your parents they might be able to remember which might put your mind at rest?

@XjustagirlX that's quite soon! Thats the day after I'm calling the Fertility clinic to book my scan ready for injecting in the 2nd week of August! So we'll end up being quite close IVF buddies!

@MIW01 ye it is. My meds arrived today and I’m really starting to panic about the EC. After my two horrendous biopsies earlier this year I’m dreading feeling any pain during the procedure.

I also have a really tilted uterus and scans are always painful. I always flail my legs about and the probe has a needle on the end so I’m terrified.

Has anyone on here had the iv sedation or a GA or local?

@XjustagirlX just to reassure you they sedate you for EC, it's amazing. You're totally asleep but wake up quicker and less groggy then general. I'm super anxious with any vaginal exam and they had to reassure me a few times I'd be totally asleep- honestly it was amazing. Due to also having a tilted uterus and being super anxious about vaginal instruments I asked for sedation for transfer too, they thought I was a bit odd and kept saying 'but it's just like a smear' and I had to inform them a few times that for me smears are horrendus and I don't want any stress hormones in my body for transfer as (my personal and professional belief being a psychotherapist) is that stress hormones could impact my bodies ability to implant the embryo.

@Kiza my clinic does iv sedation and a lot of people say they fall asleep but I’ve read loads of experiences where people said they felt pain too. What do you remember feeling?

I also read that the sedation just makes you forget the pain as in you can feel the pain at the time but you have no memory of it afterwards.

For my second biopsy I had 30g or mg? Whatever the highest dose the go can prescribe. And I took two before the procedure. I still felt horrendous pain so I think I have a really really low tolerance for pain.

It really annoys me when people say it’s just like a smear. Good tip for transfer though. I will ask to be sedated as I’ve really suffered 3 times when things have been in my cervix.

Hello, please can I join? :)
I'm 29, DH is early 30s, we are TTC #1 and this is our first month. CD23 today.
I'm not doing too much, not doing OPKs etc, but have been taking vitamin D/folic acid since February and off the pill since then too.

(Haven't RTFT but I'm going to work my way through it slowly!)

@XjustagirlX I was in a side room first where they take blood pressure and double check your details. Then wheeled into the theatre room, an anaesthetist put a cannula into the back of my hand and a mask over my face. He then asked me to take slow long breaths inside the mask and warned me I'd feel a cold sensation up my arm as he injected the sedation (which I did) then i fell asleep and the next thing I recall was being back in the side room waking up. On both occasions I woke up in no pain and was apparently chatting away (except I can't recall much) I only remember eating my toast so luckily my partner was there to listen to the consultant when he came in to explain they only found 1 egg and he asked questions cos I was chatting rubbish! I had also read awful stories about women waking up halfway through or having memories of pain, hence why I needed reassure beforehand that I will be fast asleep. Within 10-15 mins of waking up I felt my normal self and not groggy.
After EC I was quite sore (not painful as such as I had been injected with pain killers) but I had to walk slowly. I had bed rest for 3 days afterwards but I think that may have been because the consultant said he really rummaged around trying to find more than 1 egg. I kept on top of liquids and painkillers at home.

@XjustagirlX oh another tip I asked for a mock transfer during EC due to tilted uterus and they agreed to that to.
I started an ivf in ?? Month thread on Mumsnet and found it really helpful as there were ladies on there who had been through ivf before and it was really helpful to understand the various processes and get tips from there a few months before we started.

@Kiza your story sounds great. Hopefully I too will just wake up with it all over. Although hopefully in my state I’ll remember to tell them I’m gluten free so not to feed me toast haha.

Thank you you have reassured me so much

I’ll ask about ET and a trial run or see if I can be sedated for that.

I found out today that the other hospital I could have selected are not doing GA or sedation for ivf ‘coz COVID’. They are doing an injection into the spine. I’m glad I picked this hospital instead.

@XjustagirlX that is exciting you got your message sent! Let me know how you're finding it all. Sorry you're anxious about the EC because the tilted uterus. I'm really worried that they won't find any eggs @Kiza after my AFC and other tests but I have hope from your story that all you needed was that 1! I've got my protocol list. Fiancée and I have been through and worked out some rough dates as he's the 1 driving to and from the clinic and we did calculate that absolute worst case scenario the ET (assuming we get that far) may happen when we're due to be at Longleat Center Parcs! Really hope it's all over before then though.

@MIW01 I honestly will never forget the moment I went in for my first monitoring scan and she told me I only had 6 follicles left and only 2 had responded to the meds (and I was on the long protocol). I walked back to the car to tell my partner and just sobbed saying how useless my body was and we will have to pay for egg donors but I don't want to and it's just never going to work for us. We both cried and drove home in silence, we thought about cancelling the cycle but thought it's free on the nhs and instead will just learn about my body through this cycle. It was heartbreaking after going through infertility for 2-3 years beforehand and miraculous that the 1 little egg worked out for us with icsi.
I think of you ladies often and send you so much love, hope and baby dust, I still get choked up and teary remembering the pain and heartbreak of the journeys we've all been through, life is shit and so unfair at times xx

@Kiza big hugs I'm crying here now 😢 🤣 I really am so, so happy that 1 little egg was your miracle! And so sad that you had to go through all that pain and turmoil. It really is so, so unfair all this sh*t and heartache we suffer for something so many people take for granted. I am happy to admit I am feeling all bitter and twisted about this. I know fiancée and I can use donors and I guess silver lining is donors are cheaper but I still don't ever think you can prepare yourself mentally for that possibility. Just counting down til next Thursday now when I'll call the clinic to say I want to begin the protocol!

So I need to start my ivf injections tonight. Terrified. I haven’t even watched the instruction video yet coz it will worry me.

@xjustagirlx best of luck! The first one will be scary I am sure but hopefully not as bad as it seems

I have heard a few ladies say they ice the area before hand and it helps with pain/inflammation

@kiza how is bump doing now? 💙

@XjustagirlX how did it go? I got my partner to do the first few then I started doing them and did pretty well until the pressure of the trigger shot!
@Annny27 great thanks, can't believe I'm almost 29 weeks and he's growing on 97th percentile- so massive! But then his dad was an 11lb baby 😳😳😳
Is it around ovulation time for you? How's the spotting- has it eased off?

@Kiza 29 weeks! Wow that's amazing :D haha I was a teeny baby and hubby was huge so I am hoping for middle range when the time comes!

I ovulated yesterday so in tww now!

And no....last week had 7 days of spotting but I had my progesterone checked on the first day of the spotting and it was 50 so within normal range. I think it's probably the endometriosis causing it

Last cycle I meant* not last week

@kiza my husband is really clumsy. He dropped the ovaleap and luckily it didn’t break. I thought about him doing the first injection but I felt more comfortable me doing it.

@Annny27 this last cycle I had spotting from 7dpo. My progesterone has always been normal though. I thought my acupuncture had fixed my early spotting issue.

@MIW01 I’m also very bitter and twisted and kind of depressed tbh. My husband is moving away for work so I’m not in a good way, I can’t go with him until ivf is done, we can’t even try naturally now, just ivf as soon as the MMR I had to have is done which will probably be late September or early October. I’m tired. Stories like @Kiza’s give me a little hope.

@XjustagirlX I’m so terrified of injecting myself and I will have to now, because DH won’t be here. I really wanted him to do it. Did you find it ok doing the injection?

Do you have to do the trigger shot yourself? I always assumed it was something you go in to the clinic for.

Good luck @XjustagirlX I hope it's not as bad as you think. I have to admit I'm not too worried about that as I have daily injections and regular blood tests for diabetes so I'm used to needles

Sorry to hear things are so tough at the moment @thislittlebird I don't want to stomp on people's happiness but I just can't get behind it right now. That seems an awful long time to wait for an MMR vaccine when they are pretty standard!