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

@Gracie2021 thinking of you. How are you feeling after your IUI?

@thislittlebird thinking of you too and crossing fingers for good result tomorrow?

@Kay00 can I ask why your doctor suggested private IUI rather than NHS? Is it just to ensure your wait time is less for NHS IVF?

I went back for my third scan of my letrazole/IUI cycle (CD17) today and it's still inconclusive as to whether the cycle will get cancelled or not - I have a 14mm follicle on one ovary and a 14 and a 12mm on the other. I have another scan on Friday to see how they grow/if one becomes dominant which there is still a chance of. On the plus side my lining has now become thick enough so the maybe the high dose vitamin E I've been taking for the last week did something!

@pinkginpls @beckyCarlos thanks I'm based in Devon, and my consultant, Iryna, said there was low waiting times, and it was exactly the same for private and for NHS at the moment... but maybe she's just talking about Exeter Fertility Clinic? Which is probably not that popular with private patients due to the lower success rates.

@magnoliasinbloom My local CCG doesn't offer IUI on the NHS, so I'd have to pay private if I wanted to have a go at that. Its tempting because its less invasive, but if we can have a private IVF cycle this year then I can afford to get my new kitchen which is desperately needed!

@pinkginpls my funding came through after 5 weeks I think in SW London and it came straight with an appointment letter for only a few days later so fingers crossed yours is quick too! (Received the letter in Thurs and the appointment was for the very next Tuesday!)

@Kay00 that's wonderful news!! I'd skip IUI as well in your shoes - I hope you can start everything in March or so? If you got 25 follicles i thought they'd do a freeze all rather than cancel the whole thing btw?

@Juno231 wow, that certainly is quick! She sounded like she was keen to press ahead with IVF rather than do IUI, but she said IUI might be a good option for me if I haven't been ovulating... but I'm pretty certain I have been for these past 6/7 months. She said (rough dates) a March/April start with drugs in May for June egg collection.

I'd hope for a freeze all, but she didn't mention that. She said they would do 1 x fresh transfer + 1 x FET on the NHS, and if I had more eggs that were good I could pay for additional storage and FETs in future.

@Kay00 how exciting for you! Yes I would query with them about cancelling if over 25 follicles, maybe they meant cancel the transfer? Surely they wouldn't cancel collection when you'd likely get a great number of eggs, instead just stop stimming and trigger sooner. I had over 25 follicles and had a freeze all cycle. Exciting all the same!

@dogmam no! transfer tomorrow. I've been super distracted by my dodgy breathing issues though.

@Kay00 yes, fresh transfer but I haven't been feeling fantastic so I need to speak to them tomorrow. My main concern is getting some blasts!

I think the IVF is definitely the best choice, you might as well cut out the IUI option since your oh doesn't have MFI anyway, does he? Very exciting that it's all steam ahead!

Or full steam ahead, even!

@magnoliasinbloom thank you!

@thislittlebird eeep! Fingers crossed for you. Hope you feel better x x x

@thislittlebird dodgy breathing issues? I hope you're OK x

@Kay00 thanks, it’s not great. I have had shortness of breath since Saturday and doctors keep telling me my very well controlled asthma has ~suddenly~ flared up. I think it’s ohss most likely. It makes the transfer really hard because I’m convinced I’ll be sick like this for a long time if it works and I don’t want to wish it not to work. I wanted a freeze all all the way along and they wouldn’t go for it because I didn’t have over 20 collected. Speaking the doctor tomorrow when we go in. I don’t really want to wait until April but it is what it is, we’ll find out in the morning.

Oh @thislittlebird that sounds pants! I hope they listen when you go in x

@Juno231oh thanks darling you have given me hope! hope mine does come round in the next few weeks.

@thislittlebird hope you feel better soon. all will be fine xxx

Hi all, I've been continuing to read from a distance.

Those of you currently going through IVF, how is the process of the injections etc? I follow someone on insta going through it and I'm freaking out that it just seems so so horrible.

We got our referral appointment date.... end of July .... and just a phone appointment. Honestly so so gutted. That is so long away.

Good luck today @thislittlebird hope your doctor is receptive to your concerns and that you get good news on your embryos and on your breathlessness. All the fingers crossed for you xx

So happy for you @Kay00 and great to hear from you. Think you're doing 100% the right thing moving to IVF purely based on the stats which is what I try to base as much of my fertility decision making on. Here's hoping they manage the meds well and you get a nice tidy 15-20 eggs. Visualizing a perfect number for you!

Sorry you still stuck in limbo @magnoliasinbloom. Did they say if they'd go ahead with the three follicles if they all kept growing? We took a chance with three my last medicated cycle but definitely a little riskier. Are you doing ok?

@paintfairy yes 100% a strange thought that someone else put it there. If it works though don't think we'll care how it happened 😂 how are things with you at the moment? Hope you're doing well.

Not pinning much hope on the IuI here so mainly just playing the waiting game to start back into IVF. Got my bloods done on Monday so waiting to hear my updated AMH and honestly a bit petrified about that. If it has halved in nine months like my doctor thinks it has that won't be a good sign. But in the Jodie paid the balance for our double round in March. Adding clomid to the protocol, DHeA is a possibility depending on the blood tests and have also asked about a double trigger so can't say I'm not covering my bases.

@FlyOnTheWall89 could your OH do the injections for you if you struggle with needles? For what it's worth my original first referral appointment was a 7 month wait (Nov-May) but then suddenly I got another letter through for Feb so hopefully they move yours forward as others cancel?

@thislittlebird good luck today!

@FlyOnTheWall89 so sorry about the wait you're seeing. Hope you get called before Iuly. On the upside there's plenty you can do now in terms of giving your eggs as good a chance as possible. They say the three months up to IVF is the window for working on egg quality, taking certain supplements etc. might help the wait to maybe read "it starts with the egg" and possibly feel like you're doing something proactive while you wait. But obviously everyone copes differently so however you need to manage the wait for yourself.

In terms of injections I was nervous too but honestly they're tiny tiny needles and after the nerves of the first couple evenings you won't even worry about it. A lot of people get their partners to do it if they're very nervous themselves. The worst bit is just jabbing it in but that's more a mind things than discomfort and once you've done it a couple times it's all good.

@FlyOnTheWall89 are you OK with needles usually? If so then you should be fine. I found it all a bit of a non event. 🤣 Otherwise you could get your OH to do it and just not look? Also icing the area before and after helps. You don't really feel it then!
@Gracie2021 yeah I'm OK thanks. Had a gender scan on Sunday but I'm not sure I believe them. 🤣 They said girl. I'm 17 weeks now. Really anxious about the 20 week scan. You start reading all this stuff about higher risks of defects with icsi babies (no one ever tells you this before!) and it just plays on your mind. But I'm taking it a week at a time and I'm just glad to get to every week! When is OTD for the IUI? I know its worked for some people so it'll be interesting to see if it does for you! But when I did my rounds I basically dismissed it and just was counting down to ivf. Mentally its so hard.
@thislittlebird good luck today! 🤞

@FlyOnTheWall89 I found the injections ok, but my husband administered them.

@Gracie2021 @pinkginpls @paintfairy @Juno231 @beckyCarlos thanks for the good wishes!

So the doctor was really good, she listened to my concerns and decided it was best we do the transfer when I’m feeling better. She scanned me, said my ovaries were still enlarged and she said that I could have some blood causing the breathing issues but that it will resolve. Couldn’t see free fluid which is good. Agreed it was best to do a freeze all so we’re doing that! I’m relieved already. I was so scared of being unwell, I’ve had such a shit couple of years health wise. Obviously it means no transfer until April but we’ve waited this long so I don’t mind, it will give me time to get to a point where I feel healthier. She’s also going to arrange for me to have the transfer done by her so that I know who will be doing it and won’t be anxious.

We had good results on the embryos so all that protein paid off!!!! Of the 9 that fertilised we have three good blasts, one of which is top quality, and they would have transferred it today but we’ll freeze it now. Also have two that are a day behind and they’re going to call us tomorrow to let us know if they can be frozen. Either way, three is amazing because that’s what we’ve got nhs funding for.

Haven’t read everyone’s updates properly yet, will do that soon.

@thislittlebird that's fantastic news and definitely better to not transfer when you're feeling so crappy. Know the wait will be a pain but you're giving your embryos the best shot. So glad for your three and will keep fingers crossed for the other two. Hope you're on the mend soon.

So glad to hear it @paintfairy these something in the water with all the girl scans lately. How lovely. Fingers crossed for your 20 week scan and hopefully you'll be able breathe a sigh of relief and relax a bit once you have that reassurance. OTD is 28th but I told them I don't want to bother with the Beta but they still booked me in, however period will probably arrive 26th/27th so I figure good to have the app in and it can be my baseline scan instead. Tbh not expecting much from the IUI but am open to being surprised....

That is great news @thislittlebird! At least you'll be waiting with some embryos in the freezer :) one step closer x x x

@thislittlebird that's great, so pleased they listened to you and you got the result you wanted :) And you've got two months to prioritise your health.

@Gracie2021 it feels very frustrating, I have this instinct that none of the follicles will actually grow big enough to ovulate and I might go from potential over-response to under-response haha. I'm not sure I would personally want to take the risk to do the IUI if there are 3 dominant follicles - my husband's SA results are much higher than average and the only reason we are doing IUI in addition to the letrazole is because consultant suggested "throwing the kitchen sink" at the ovulation induction procedure. If this month is cancelled it will be interesting to see if they suggest sticking with meds/IUI or going to IVF!

@Kay00 that makes sense. Amazing that you can have funded IVF without a wait! And planning kitchen renovations sounds like a fantastic distraction from this all.

@paintfairy good news on your scan, I’ve heard that icsi stuff and I try not to think about it, it’s crap we’re all forced down this route. Fingers crossed for your next scan x

@Gracie2021 @beckyCarlos thanks! It’s a relief tbh, just to know they’re on ice. I can take a month off from all this at least and once I feel better I’ll start running. I couldn’t do it right now, still have the jiggly tender ovaries :/ but maybe soon.

@magnoliasinbloom thanks! When do you get the final verdict on this iui?

@paintfairy another girl! How wonderful ❤ congratulations 🎊

@thislittlebird I didn't want to say OHSS but that was my worry last night. I'm really glad to hear your having a freeze all with FET in April. It's not that long to wait at all and you'll be happier and healthier once your breathing issues have been resolved.

@magnoliasinbloom thanks 😊 I need to book the first step... a BMI check at the fertility clinic for OH and I.

@Kay00 yeah, I am concerned it's a touch of OHSS and I do not want to risk it. Anxiety could be contributing too, but doing the transfer today would have not improved my anxiety whatsoever so I think this is the best decision all round. Can't believe how soon you're potentially starting, exciting!

@thislittlebird Friday (CD20). It would just be good to know one way or the other. Sick of the dragging and the spaced out scans!