IVFers thread

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Anyone fancy starting an ongoing thread for those who are having IVF/ are planning to try again via IVF soon?

Ds was conceived via IVF - he's now 2.6 and we're stepping back on the scary rollercoaster ride with a FET - I started taking the drugs yesterday!

NMM sounds as though you shouldn't worry.

Bambi that sounds great, keeping my finger crossed for you. Feet up and lots of rest.

AF arrived yesterday, so I have a scan on Friday, I am doing a natural cycle so I get scanned until follicle gets to about 15mm and then you do OPK's until +ive and then about four days later ET. so I suppose about ET will be around days 16 to 18, I hope its earlier as have been pg twice in 28 day cycle.

Hope everyone else is well.

Sx

Hello ladies, how are you all? I'm starting to really struggle with the 2WW now. Today is a week since the EC so I'm desparate for a sign that implantation is happening - but not getting anything. I still feel that something might be happening 'down there' but am 4the weekend with a friend who is down-regulating for her first attempt at the moment. She will be doing ICSI and has been given a 35-4% chance of success. I didn't even tell her that I'd had the ET last Thursday because I didn't want to upstage her first go especially as I will be testing as she has her ET (didn't want to freak her out i I get a negative). My chance of success was 10-20%. I know I already have my lovely girl and I am very lucky but I was kind of jealous. I so want a sibling for my dd, it makes me sad to think of her being an only child. Oh what a process IVF is, I just can't concentrate on anything - I was doing quite well being busy with dd until now but I just know the next 10 days are going to be so damn hard. Anyone got any good distractio techniques? How's everyone else getting on?

Hello ladies, how are you all? I'm starting to really struggle with the 2WW now. Today is a week since the EC so I'm desparate for a sign that implantation is happening - but not getting anything. I still feel that something might be happening 'down there' but am 4the weekend with a friend who is down-regulating for her first attempt at the moment. She will be doing ICSI and has been given a 35-4% chance of success. I didn't even tell her that I'd had the ET last Thursday because I didn't want to upstage her first go especially as I will be testing as she has her ET (didn't want to freak her out i I get a negative). My chance of success was 10-20%. I know I already have my lovely girl and I am very lucky but I was kind of jealous. I so want a sibling for my dd, it makes me sad to think of her being an only child. Oh what a process IVF is, I just can't concentrate on anything - I was doing quite well being busy with dd until now but I just know the next 10 days are going to be so damn hard. Anyone got any good distractio techniques? How's everyone else getting on?

sorry, that bit in the middle should read ...but am not feeling hopeful, I spent the weekend....

Oh bambi I am sorry to hear you are down. I used to go to the cinema to take my mind off things, but I know it is difficult with children. I find the whole IVF thing hideous because you cannot stop thinking about it all the time. The 7 years we spent doing IVF before DS Are a blur as I did nothing really except IVF, and at least this time DS keeps my mind off the damn subject. Is there anything you can do with DD? Don't symptom spot, most people don't have any until they know they are pg anyway! Anyway these percentages I think are all a bit skewed as I know two people who got pg first time so that means one other person would have to do it six times to have a +ive.

Take it easy and eat chocolate, I have taken up knitting!!! churning out teddies! Good luck

hi bambi sorry you're feeling down. I'm not sure what you can do to take your mind off things (or even if that's really posible) but I agree with soosy - do some fun things with your dd.
soosy I have just recently learn to knit and I love it
Still waiting to start down-regging here - fed up of waiting already - can't imagine what I'll be like in the 2ww!

Hi Nomore and Soosy...thank you for your support. I know everyone will say that it's too early to tell but I this is my fourth round of IVF and I know it hasn't worked already, didn't sleep well last night as feeling too sad but know that actually as much as anything I want to get to the end of doing IVF whatever the outcome - it takes such a massive toll even though I have been blessed with dd. In fact my friends are much less supportive and that's not helping, they seem to think I should be happy with one (which I am) and I've not even told a lot of them...still, I've survived the disappointment before, I'll survive it again!

Soosy, when do you start down regging, sorry, I've lost track.

Hi all, I've read some of the recent posts on here but am finding it hard to know where everyone is in their cycles.

Bambi - I hope it works out for you this time around, you know it is early days yet.

Soosy - do you have dates for your FET?

NMM - when do you start downregging? I hope soon so we can do this together

I saw my consultant last Friday - he really has no interpersonal skills at all - when we walked in he asked how I was and I said I was good. He said "Really??" which made me think there was something horrible in my file I didn't know about. Anyway, they are happy for me to go ahead again, and I started downregging today, EC around the beginning of June. I'm doing an antagonistic cycle again and downregging on the pill as I don't like Buserelin at all.

The consultant did say he would most likely reduce my puregon dose this time around as last time I started on the max dose of 450, which was then reduced twice but EC was still brought forward by 4 days. I think they were worried that I wouldn't respond well and were trying to get as many eggs as they could as quickly as possible...but this protocol didn't work too well for me (5 eggs, 4 fertilised) so we are trying a lower dose this time around.

The other tricky thing is that we are moving at the end of the month, so the scans and EC will be after we've moved 250 miles north......but we are keeping a houseboat in London for DH to use when he is working there, so DD and I can camp out there. It isn't going to be a huge amount of fun for her, but I'll find local parks to play in I hope. If it gets too bad I have friends around here close to the clinic and I shall throw myself on their mercy.

I did think of transferring to a northern clinic, and will do if this cycle fails, but the waiting lists are long even for private patients at the decent clinics, and I will have to redo all those poxy tests etc, and I really wanted to have a spring cycle NOW rather than wait again. I have a positive feeling about spring/summer cycles as I did read they have double the success rate of winter ones.

Right, off to start packing boxes

I am with you on spring cycles OAP. I have been pg twice in April and had a chemical pg in June. I have no dates for the FET as I am having a natural cycle, no downregging, so it will be the end of next week or monday the following week.

No what you mean about transferring clinics, and the extra expense and as I am now sidling up to my 39th birthday I don't really want to waste time having loads of tests when I should really just get on with it!

TBH most consultants are useless when it comes to being nice to people. I have a really nice consultant, who last time asked if i was ok as he was worried about the emotional effect all this treatment was having on me. So I should take it that your consultant is doing the same in a rather rubbish way!!!

Bambi I hope you are feeling better today. Honestly don't count your chickens. DS is the result of our 10th attempt and I cannot tell how shocked I was to have a +ive result on the pg test with him! I have had five attempts since so I know where you are coming from. Are you likely to have another attempt. I agree once you have had one child people think you should be grateful (I hate that word), but I do have a couple of friends who really want me to have another, so I do feel blessed. I always feel that telling friends is difficult as often they want to know everything or nothing. I think it is a subject like cancer, nobody knows quite how to react, so don't think your friends are not being supportive they just are trying to help you see what you have, and are not sure how to deal with you having more treatment. Sit tight Bambi, have a glass of wine tonight.

(((bambi))) Hope you're wrong
OAP I'm downregging from 23/4 with nasal spray - EC/ET last week of May (I hope) so almost with you
soosy can you make the houseboat a 'holiday' for DD?

Oh poo - it's OAP on the houseboat isn't it? Sorry!!

LOL Nomore! I wish I had a houseboat and a place up north! We are moving although where is a mystery at the moment as we have sold our house but cannot find anything decent to buy. everyone says we should rent and financially I agree, but as I will be the person doing all this while my DH sits at work I don't really want to move more than I have to!! We have to move beginning July (after DS finishes school year.) We are not moving as far as OAP, but it is out of London, so viewings are a bit of a trial!

What sort of area are you looking in? N S E or W of London? How far out?

Soosy - I've rented for the last year and know what you mean about the hassle of renting and finding somewhere. We have 2 big dogs and 2 cats and amazingly, we aren't every landlords dream tenant! But, the timing has worked for us as we have been out of the housing market for a year but haven't lost anything as the market has been steady or dropping around here. And the house we are moving too is my father's house (he is moving into a grandad flat in the granary-type building next door) so we don't have the hassle of viewings and completions to deal with thank goodness.

Interesting about your positive results in the spring Soosy - all the more interesting as you've had a fair amount of treatment, so it probably just isn't a fluke result. Good luck to us all anyway

NMM - good though about making the houseboat a holiday for DD. On the positive side I think I will have more time to play with her and focus on her, it is the space I am worried about but am sure I will find parks for her to run around in. Not too near the water either!

NMM we are looking in Windsor, DH still has to work in the city and as he is allergic to green this is about as good as it gets! DH wants to walk to the station in the morning and so I can't move further out, which I would prefer as we would get more for our money. I insisted on the west of London as I come from Wales and my Father still lives there on his own, since my Mother died and I know that one day my services will be required. Plus my MIL lives on the M11 corridor - which puts that right out as she would be popping in all the time.

LOL about being ideal tenants! I don't know what to rent, flat or house, go really cheap or go for something reasonable as I will go nuts if its really small and I have to stay there a while. Any advice would be welcome!

Soosy - I'm sure you've thought about all the issues for renting and it sounds like you know what you need, but think about storage costs if you do rent somewhere small versus bigger house but no additional storage costs. Also maybe think about the time of year - 6 months renting over summer in a small hot flat would be dreadful, winter not so bad maybe. Windsor is lovely though - I spent a year or so around Guildford at college once, and thought it was just lovely.

We were torn between renting a 2 bed village period terrace - no parking, no garage, no storage, not much garden - and the detached 4 bed modern house we ended up with, double garage, garden for dogs and DD to play in etc. Last summer it didn't matter as DD stayed where you put her, but as she is now nearly 18 months outside space has become a priority as she likes to potter in the garden.

Thanks OAP, going to look at another house on Saturday!

hello everyone!

OAP, your dd must be nearly same age as mine (Nov 06)!

Good luck on house moves all!

I'm feeling more optimisitic again today, sorry to change like the wind! It has to be said that the waiting is much easier when feelings are positive! Why be disappointed before it's necessary and somehow, even though there's no sign that I am, there's no sign that I'm not either! I read somewhere that when there's been an ET there's always a chance of pg - obvious really but it made me feel better.

Hoping to stay +ve until getting a +ve next Wednesday, 6 more days to go!

Glad to hear you are feeling more cheerful Bambi! Pg is a a possibility after an ET, certainly in this house there is no chance of pg without one! Keeping fingers crossed for Wednesday.

Has first scan for FET everything ok, but follicles a little small, so listening to my hypnotherapy cd for positive vibes and help my body grow those follicles! There must be something in it as on the way to picking up DS from Nursery school I was thinking to myself got to get pregnant!

The weather is cold and windy, DS has just told me he doesn't want to go out, but we are venturing to Carluccio's for supper! (his not mine).

Glad you are feeling better Bambi. I heard today that a friend of a friend of mine is pregnant after her first course of IVF - I was so pleased, not only for her, but just to see some proof that IVF is working for someone, somewhere this year!

I hate to use the word "rollercoaster" as it is so overused in relation to IVF, but it is sadly true that emotions run riot during IVF and especially the 2WW. Would be so much easier if we could find out straightaway, or just be sedated for a couple of weeks instead.

Soosy - hope your follicles pull their finger out. I think (though could be wrong) that you would normally get one dominant follicle which would deter the rest from getting bigger?

OAP, I only have two follicles both 8mm but i need them to be bigger quicker, as that will mean a shorter cycle! Its just one of my pet theories, both my pg's have been in shorter cycles and they don't happen v often.

Really good news about your friend OAP! I think everyone gets pg with IVF, well that I know anyway.

Personally I would vote for sedation - only way of getting a good nights sleep!

Hi soosy We can talk knitting on here if you like Were you trying to track me down specifically or just confused?

valium! what a marvellous idea!

Been watching this thread for the last few weeks so thought I should get round to introducing myself. I've started a new thread with soeme questions specifically about ICSI that it would be great if you could have a glance at. Hope to be startign a cycle in the summer. Assuming we can aford it - it will be my first cycle despite being 40!

Hi Startingnow! I don't know that much about ICSI but do have a friend doing it right now so could try and tap her knowledge maybe.... I'm 40 too! There are lots of knowledgeable people on mumsnet, I'm sure someone will be able to answer your questions.