Fertility Appointments and Beyond.... the journey continues

[Gracie2021]

New thread for us to continue our fertility clinic appointment progress...

Some of us are waiting for initial appointments, some are having tests and some are starting treatment!

@tillybabs
@thislittlebird
@kay00
@jeaniej
@PurpleUnicorn01
@paintfairy
@dogmam
@flutterby8
@Ughmaybenot
@dancingfairydreams
@beckycarlos
@jkjellyhead
@juno231
@decaffe
@bumble44
@BritinNZ
@tinkerbell098
@pinkginpls
@thedaydreambelievers
@everymumday
@wanderlust16
@lori23ttc

Delighted for you @thislittlebird so we're starting same day. Amazing how that worked out! That's an amazing number of follicles. I only had two on my right and they couldn't see the left as last months corpus luteam was still there blocking the view. My AMH and AFC are on the low side though so I'm hoping for 10-12 eggs total. Fingers crossed all yours keep growing. Amazing to start with such a lovely high number. Have you decided what time to do your stims? I'm overthinking it here and keep changing my mind!

@beckyCarlos just catching up now but I see you got your dates. It'll come quickly. When do you start your down regs?

@Kay00 I'm a bit too salty for the pineapples and cute socks these days too. If anything my new approach is to think about it all as little as possible and just try to lose myself in the rest of my life. Some days are more successful than others. How are you doing this cycle?

@Juno231 so sorry for the late reply but so glad things are going well for you xx

@magnoliasinbloom I'm so sorry you're surrounded by all the announcements lately
Especially with such an insensitive reaction from your friend. Hope the party went well and wasn't too triggering. Are you into your IUI cycle now? Hope AF came in a timely manner for you.

@Gracie2021 weird how we’ve ended up starting the same day! What stims are you on btw? I’m on gonal f with a pre filled pen thing, DH is going to do it but we’re trying to work out how to do it with his work shifts. I guess tonight makes sense, they said PM. Clearly I am also overthinking it. They’re going to reassess meds on Wednesday when I go for the blood test.

Tbh I’m quite glad there wasn’t more. I’ve had 38 follicles on day one before and that just makes me worry that more follicles = fewer mature follicles if they’re all sharing the same amount of energy. 24 is a lower figure and hopefully they’ll grow and another load of crap eggs won’t pop up too. If I get ten decent ones I’ll be happy, I expect a fair few will not grow or be immature.

Will your CL disappear soon? Mine hasn’t been mentioned on a scan before, not sure if its schedule lol

I’ve had 35g of protein so far today, salmon and veg for dinner will top that up and I need to fit in my 2-3 litres of water . I’ve ordered an online shop full of protein because I’m a veggie mostly but I will eat meat. So my meals for ten days will involved a lot of chicken, steak, tuna, salmon, chickpeas, lentils, avocados and so on 🙃

@thislittlebird I'm on 225iu gonal F and 225iu Luveris. I'm thinking will aim for 8.30 every evening. Tbh I think trying to guess what way the numbers will go is just an exercise in stupidity even though there's no way we'll be able to avoid it! I had three eggs release last month and two CLs were gone already so don't think it's an issue. Had it on a scan before too so maybe mine just reabsorb a bit slow.

What's with the protein? Is it recommended? I'm just trying to eat a bit healthier and have planty of veg but not doing anything special.

@Gracie2021 yeah there’s no way to know, but if I could get ten it would be great tbh. We have three transfers funded too so obviously I’d like three blasts 😬. What we end up with is another matter entirely.

I’m not sure when the CL disappears, it’s a mystery to me tbh.

The protein is recommended by some sources yeah, I think the clinic ARGC get their patients to drink a pint of milk per day. For me it’s a concern because immature eggs might be what I get so I’m making sure I’m eating plenty of it for the stims. Pretty sure it was in ISWTE but I may have made that up, I read it a year ago now.

Plus being mostly veggie I’m not always getting a lot of protein so I’m switching up the diet to make sure I do. Protein and veg. And nuts.

Good to know @thislittlebird I'll add an extra chicken breast to dinner 👍👍👍

@Gracie2021 it might make no bloody difference but I’ll try lol

Hope you got on alright tonight @thislittlebird. For some reason my hands were shaking so bad doing them even though they weren't too much worse than the triggers I've done to date. And I was really teary doing it. Think it felt like such a massive step....

@Gracie2021 glad you got through it! I found it harder than I thought. DH did it for me and it took us a while to go through the video and get the gonal f pen right. The air bubbles thing is kinda annoying, how did you find it? We decided to do it at 8.30, I set an alarm for getting it out of the fridge 20 mins before, then got the ice pack and it was fine, didn’t feel anything. The ice helps a lot.

Congrats on your first day of stims ladies!! 😁

My OH is (I hope jokingly) refusing to help me with any injections if/when we start ivf 😅 I think you're both very brave!

@Kay00 I was literally just talking about this with the husband and saying some people do it themselves but I feel like I need the help and it takes some of the responsibility away from me. Hopefully your DH will come round 🤨.

I can feel very slight sensations in my left ovary and quite a bit in my right just now hmmmm. At least I know it’s not a super high dose, I don’t even have a blood test until Wednesday. Feels like a long way away iykwim.

@Kay00 my Oh hasn't been called into action yet. I prefer having the control. But he's been informed if we ever have to do intra muscular he's being called up 😂😂

@thislittlebird think everyone is a bit different aren't they. I need my Oh there for support but feel better being in control of the needle.... I have nothing til my scan next Friday.... won't have a clue what's happening for a whole week.... think I'm going to try forget about it all outside of the injections. What are the chances 😂😂🙈🙈

@Gracie2021 next Friday? They’re chilled. I’m such an anxious Annie about all this, they’re gonna hate me. I’m already wondering when the next scan is but first it’s the blood test early Wednesday and then they decide what to do with my stims doses. She wanted me on high doses and I was like calm down lady, I do not want to risk OHSS even if you think I’m old af. I wish I could forget it all, sadly my brain hates me lol

@thislittlebird and @gracie2021 yay for stims! Are you both doing ok?

@gracie2021 i start downregging at the end of feb (depending on cycle day 1 in a few days!) Less than a month! Eek! Because I had the whole polyp situation last time I'm a bit in disbelief that it'll actually happen 🤣

@beckyCarlos that’s come round really fast!

It all sort of feels unreal tbh. I’m just here unpacking my food shopping and not enjoying the thought of this much protein lmao.

@beckyCarlos fingers crossed for you all goes smoothly this time and February will pass quickly. Bring on CD1. It's funny we spend so much time wishing period away then when waiting on treatment you're there dying for it to arrive.

@thislittlebird I'm actually the opposite, pump me full of drugs and get me as many eggs as possible. I'd say my risk of OHSS is fairly minute anyway with my numbers so more of a fear of no eggs than anything else. Going to be a long week waiting for Friday's scan. You're in wed?

@Gracie2021 I would be the same with lower numbers I think, but if I can grow some of these follicles I will be a tad worried about OHSS. Will depend on how many, of course, but I've read how nasty it can be so it bothers me. I'm ok with the wait for a frozen transfer if that is what happens, we'll see.

I'm in early Wednesday for bloods, then I think based on those results they choose whether to increase my meds. I have no idea when they might scan me, they haven't said. Good that you know it's happening on Friday.

Hii

I just wondered if I could join? I know I'm a little late but could do with some support from others going through the same situation.

I'm 36 and have a beautiful 2 & a half year old, we've been trying since last April with no luck so was referred to gynaecologist for further investigations. Discovered a small polyp on an internal scan so I'm booked in for a hysteroscopy. No idea how long it'll take to have it done though

I also had bloods taken on day two of my period which I found out today showed high levels of FSH? So the lovely specialist explained that I'm possibly not producing enough viable eggs but wanted to redo the bloods to be sure, the GP also mentioned anovulation before so who knows!

Husband is due to give a sample in March, and we've been told we can pay to check quantity and quality of egg reserve... which we'll do as it wasn't as expensive as we'd thought!

What I wondered was, the nurse said before putting the phone down, 'and if you get pregnant before then let me know' is it still actually possible for me to get pregnant with the polyp AND high FSH??

Thank you ladies

Hi all, I would like to join this board too. I have recently been referred so we are at the beginning of this process.

All my tests were normal although private AMH test was either low normal or low depending on where you look. DH SA was not normal and therefore rn we would require ISCI.

We are London based. Any advice / tips? I've been reading through the thread and some of you are very much in the midst of it all and much further along in the process. Any timeline expectations? It all feels like a lifetime.

Also some more specific advice... I've been keen to move jobs for some time. I wanted to step up a level. I didn't make any applications last year because I was sure I would be pregnant and didn't want to start something new pregnant. Well that didn't happen. Now we are waiting and waiting and a job app now would start in September. From what I understand, would it be better to stay in my current role which I can do with my eyes closed because of the time / mental capacity hospital appointments and this journey in general takes up or is it good to move on to a new focus etc?

Thank you xx

@FlyOnTheWall89 welcome. I'm Ireland based so not much help Re NHS etc but I'm sure others will be able to give you great tips on that side of things. In terms of the change of jobs it's a very individual thing. Some people choose not to change job because it's probably easier in most cases to juggle appointments etc in a job where you've built up trust and not trying to prove yourself etc. that said emotionally it can feel very difficult to put life on pause for this blessed event that bloody well never comes. I'm at the point now where I let life go on ahead and don't factor getting pregnant into my decision making. If it happens I'll reassess then but for my own mental health I need to let life move on and not be in self imposed limbo waiting... for me that involved changing jobs recently enough, getting a puppy and planning four holidays/weekend breaks for next year.... but everyone is different and you'll need to do what will be best for your own headspace whatever direction that is....

@ffiffi123 welcome and sounds like you're on top of things with the testing. I'm afraid I don't have any experience with polyps and high FSH as my issues are in another direction but always worth trying and hope for the best while the testing is ongoing. Hope you're doing ok. I found it tough getting to this point, hope you're minding yourself x

@Gracie2021on day 3 of IUI cycle now - I had to take a course of norethisterone for a withdrawal bleed which slowed everything down. Enjoying all the fun side effects of letrazole again after two months off it. My pre-scheduled NHS hycosy now falls on CD 22 so I can't do it - the next NHS appointments are really far away so I'm having to do it privately. Fortunately my medical insurance will cover it but it's been a faff trying to coordinate it all with my GP, the fertility clinic and my insurer!

How are you feeling? Fingers crossed that your scan goes well on Friday!!

@FlyOnTheWall89 welcome! I'm based in London too. I'm doing NHS ovulation induction and IUI so different procedures but I have found the wait times to be very quick luckily. Maybe something to consider in the interim but supplements can be really helpful when it comes to SA results - my partner's results were normal (I have PCOS and don't ovulate so all issues are with me) but I wanted us to have the best chance possible - I was told that it can be easier to work on male factor issues than female too! His count and motility have doubled in 6 months so if you have a wait time for NHS treatment it could be worth considering in the interim? I can give further details on the supplements if useful.

@ffiffi123 welcome :) I'm sorry I don't know anything about polyps or high FSH x

I’m here to say I’m really mad I have thrush from the stims, they are trying to wreck my week.

@ffiffi123 hey :) high FSH (16.8!) and (ex) polyp haver here! Main thing... NO test can determine the QUALITY of your eggs! I'm assuming you're having an AMH test, this just determines how many folicles/eggs youre likely to have left, not their quality, so if this is low please dont let it get you down (mine is 2.something) and there are things you can do for egg quality (acupuncture, ubiquinol, vitamin d, eating lots of protein, avoiding perfumed products etc.) I'd highly recommend reading 'It Starts With The Egg' its really helpful and gives you good practical advice.

Polyps can definitely interfere with implantation - my ivf was delayed due to a polyp as it was right where they'd put the embryo back and their (and loads of others) research shows that implantation can rise by up to 60% after some polyp removals depending on location.

Theres a post somewhere in here where I 'reviewed' 🤣 the hysteroscopy/polypectomy, which was a 20 minute outpatient procedure and was (for me) almost totally painless and super quick recovery.

Hope this helps 😊 x

@ffiffi123 missed the most important part of your question, derrailed in my own experience! You van DEFINITELY get pregnant with polyps and high FSH, its just 'harder' (so if a 'regular' couple has a 20% chance of concieving every cycle yours might be 10%) but anything is possible, and you dont know if you don't try 😊 x

@ffiffi123 welcome! I don’t know much about polyps but other ladies here do so I’m sure they’ll be more help.

@FlyOnTheWall89 good to see you over here! Did you have any luck booking a urology appointment? I’m in SE London and the wait for me was a joke but there was also a lot of cock ups along the way before I changed GP which made everything much slower. My initial GP tests were 18 months ago and it’s been a year since my first gynaecology referral. Most people in London have had a faster and less stupid route to Ivf than I have IMO.

I regret not changing roles/jobs tbh. I’ve been here 3 years and I’m hanging in there in case I can get pregnant to use the mat leave.