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

@PurpleUnicorn01 CD1 should be right around Jan 1st. They told me to do the progesterone out to the end of this cycle anyway which is a pain but following instruction on the off chance. Hate progesterone though. The nose bleeds and constipation are well and truly here and the mood effect should be hitting right around Christmas 😂🙈 do you find progesterone the devil or is it just me?

@Gracie2021 is that with letrozole?

I had quite heavy feeling ovaries when I had four follicles one month (only two probably released, still didn't work), made me think about what stims will be like with high AMH [confused.

@gracie2021 i think my moods are fine but my husband might disagree. Lol

@PurpleUnicorn01 my moods are not fine lol, I'm an emo cow this week.

IVF clinic emailed to reassure me treatments are going ahead as planned, which is good.

@thislittlebird yay! Are you doing just an FET or full cycle with egg collection?

@Gracie2021 that's great you can start even sooner. Can enjoy a med free Xmas and be ready to go in the new year! I should be on meds next month - I my baseline scan booked on the 12th so hopefully should be able to start Letrazole soon after that.

@PurpleUnicorn01 it's my first full cycle!

@thislittlebird that's exciting. Just stay well hydrated and id recommend acupuncture for relaxation as its a stressful process

@PurpleUnicorn01 yeah, I've doing acupuncture regularly since Feb 2020, went on Friday and am booked in again for January.

@thislittlebird how do you feel after the acupuncture? I find I nearly float out of the place and acupuncture evenings are also Thai takeaway night too. And yes that was with Letrozole but only this month as the largest I've ever had previously is one dominant at 21mm.

@PurpleUnicorn01 sure all they have to do is put up with us in our moods so not asking much 😂👍

Delighted for you @magnoliasinbloom fingers crossed Letrozole does the job for you. Be starting before you know it!

Hey, can I join? Me and my DH have been trying to conceive for 2 years, had an initial consultation with the consultant and have had blood tests, HyCoSy and an ultrasound to check for PCOS. Husband has also had semen analysis. Awaiting a follow up appointment but it’s looking like that won’t be until mid next year due to the waitlist so contemplating going to a private clinic instead! Has anyone else gone private rather than waiting for the NHS?

@gracie2021 I've been going to acupuncture since May and its one of the best (if not most expensive haha) things I've ever done. I went in quite despondent and grumpy last week and came out feeling like a new person. Its also helped my cycles, PMS, and period generally (redder, less clotty, clearer start and finish). I know not everyone feels that way but its well worth it for me!

@alwayswaiting78 hey :) we definitely considered going private over waiting (referred in March, hopefully start IVF in Jan) but the waiting weirdly has given me a lot of time and space to process how I feel about everything. Plus we only get one NHS funded round, so its good for us to save the costs where we can in case we need another round, or to pay for an egg donor round (depending on how our one shot goes its a real possibility)

Just waiting for a taxi to take me to todays ultrasound for polyp check... feeling much ore nervous than previous times, maybe becuase this is a definite line in the sand. Eeeeeep! (Also wish I wasnt getting a taxi but we ridiculously booked our supermaket click and collect at the same time and there were no other slots 🙈 settled on husband picking me up from the appt rather than dropping me of so I dont have to pretend to be fine if its news of a delay haha)

@AlwaysWaiting78 it depends how long you want to wait. Id check the times with your local clinic. I had an nhs cycle and now went private after as had a MC.

@AlwaysWaiting78 welcome! I’ve not gone private for ivf yet but I nearly did before my nhs round was funded.

@Gracie2021 acupuncture is definitely quite floaty, some days more than others!

So I just found out my latest bloods revealed my prolactin is too high. It’s 590, I don’t know much about any of this other than I know it is too high and can interfere with progesterone levels and ovulation. I can’t get an appointment with the doctor who wants to speak to me. I don’t know anything about prolactin and I’m really emotional this week, I don’t need more things happening right before ivf.

@thislittlebird I'm sorry to hear you're having such stress. Its horrible when you dont know what you're dealing with and you cant get through to anyone. Sending you lots of love and hugs, and hopefully you'll get some answers soon x x

@beckyCarlos thanks 🙏 I also had an emotional meltdown in the vaccine centre when she asked if I could be pregnant . I’m an emotional wreck this week, I blame Christmas.

@thislittlebird i was on a very fine line when I went for my secone vaccine, like I know they have now way of knowing but jesus christ its like a gut punch if you're already fragile. I feel like there was something in my eyes when she asked me because she hesitated and rhen said 'im really sorry but I have to ask...'

Scan was not good news. Lovely 1cm polyp right where they'd put an embryo back, and since I have poor ovarian reseve they can't stim and freeze because they're less likely to even be good, so I'm now ona 6-8 week waiting list for hysteroscopy and polyp removal. The joy. I had to have 5 mins ina private room because the nurse was too nice to me and I couldn't keep a lid on it 🙈 but, I've had a good cry in the car with my husband, and ultimately 6-8 weeks isnt much, and its giving us the best chance (blah blah blah lol) so trying to get my positive head back on x

@beckyCarlos yeah I get that, I was clearly looking like a dear in the headlights or something because she asked if I was ok after she’d asked it. It’s just a sucker punch when you’re doing all this nonsense and then someone asks.

You’re on another waiting list? Oh no, that’s frustrating. But I hope they can get it sorted for you. As you say, six to eight weeks is ok, it’s doable.

Jfc we’re all crying at nurses today 🙃

I am reading prolactin posts and I’m seeing women say they conceived after taking the meds to lower it etc. God, I hope they can resolve this for me and give me something to keep it lower.

*deer!

@thislittlebird that sounds promising! I was just saying to my friends, sometimes I wish I didnt know all this...stuff...like i know far too much about my insides, and drugs, and procedures and things, I'd quite like to go back to not needing to know any of this please 🤣

Thanks for including me - sorry for the silence was taking some time away from MN for my own mental health.

We're on month 11 and decided not to track this month, which has been lovely and refreshing. If anything, we've actually DTD more - and it's more enjoyable too!

AF due early January and I need to call and book in for HSG on CD1, so I think that will help me deal with AFs arrival a bit better as I can get the next thing ticked off. Then have our 12 month fertility appointment at private clinic on 25 January. Already had all the tests, so it's just HSG to be done abs then we'll get a plan of action in place.

Hope you're all excited for Christmas! I think it's helping to take my mind off things by having stuff to look forward to. It's summer here in NZ so I can't wait for wineries and sunshine!

@beckyCarlos yeah, totally. I miss those days when I didn’t know what a follicle was. My friend with two kids doesn’t know :/

@BritInNZ hey, glad to hear you’ve got some things planned and can make some progress is January. It helps to be moving forward. The silly weather is going into double digits again here today, so we’re I’m not sure I’m feeling very wintry.

@beckycarlos damn! Sorry about your inappropriately placed polyp! You must be very frustrated. 6-8 weeks will fly by though and hopefully you can use the time to treat yourself and relax xx

@thislittlebird I don't know much about prolactin, do you think it is something that could have been effecting your chances of getting pregnant this whole time? I'm following your journey closely as I'm doing a lot of research into the ivf process ATM... there's a lot to learn!

@alwayswaiting78 I am with a private clinic in Devon. My experience so far has been great, im currently on my 4th cycle of Clomid. The clinic have moved quickly but have they managed to forget to charge me for half my investigations so far... so it's been a lot cheaper than it might be for others

@Kay00 apparently yes it can :/ it can cause low progesterone and lack of ovulation, but I still get my periods and lots of what I’m reading online is women not getting periods so I’m as confused as ever. It’s the hormone you get when breastfeeding that stops you getting pregnant. It can be caused by PCOS and stress amongst other things in non pregnant women. When it’s really high you can have a tumour (usually benign) and they send you for an MRI. To say I was stressed yesterday is an understatement, I’m tired of more problems. But the thing is, I did my test either on ovulation day or the day after and the internet says that can also raise your levels 🙃. Plus, I’m definitely stressed and my levels weren’t that high, so I want another blood test really but the GP surgery is not going to let me speak to the doctor this side of Christmas, I will try again tomorrow anyway.

In the meantime I’m going to email my clinic and ask if they need me to redo this test because they won’t let the cycle go ahead if it’s too high afaik. I could just ignore but probably better to address it and try to deal with how it can go ahead, I know they can give you medication to lower it too.

@BritInNZ ohhh I'm so jealous! The weather is having a moment here, was 1 degree last night, is now 10 and murky, sun hasn't been out in days... whats it like having a summery Christmas?

@kay00 exactly, no feeling guilty about a bit of christmas wine now! I'm much more chill today, possibly because I was still awake at 4am so too tired to care 🤣

@thislittlebird christ, thats a lot of info about prolactin, none of which will help you not be stressed 🤯 (if we knew eachother in real like I'd say (very sarcastically) 'but have you tried relaxing hun' 🤣 in the hope of making you laugh (or cry/laugh at the very least)) x x x emailing the clinic sounds like a really good step, gives you a next step and a bit of control back.