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!

soosy Did you have a scan today? How was it?
swerve Any news from you?

Hi everyone, sorry have been having a hectic time House hunting and DS has been ill, with v high temp.

Sooty I am glad all went well and you have two embryos on board! Yes you are the first in the 2ww house, so put the kettle on and plump up the pillows.

I have never had a general for EC, just pethadine and temazepan (excuse spelling) and for those hard to reach follicles a bit of gas & air!

OAP good to hear from you, hope you are well, where are you at in your treatment.

No more hope the injections are going well and you are feeling a bit better.

No more I had my D7 scan on monday and am going back on friday for D11 so you are right No more our cycles are almost in sync. although I normally have a 30 day cycle so I may end up having my ET after yours! esp as my cycles have been a bit longer since last IVF cycle. Today was the first day In six months that my acupuncturist seemed pleased (she said hooray) with well whatever they are pleased with! so perhaps I am finally going to be in the right place for this cycle!

Who mentioned Hypnotherapy (sorry being v rude, I would go back and check but it is on a different page and I don't want to lose this post). I have a hypnotherapy cd for fertility, but your suggestion sounds really interesting. pleas could you give some more info and where you can get the cd. Thanks I am a big believer in hypnotherapy, my mum used it for labour in the sixties and she said it really worked.

Sorry if I have missed anyone love to you all.

S x

Hi guys,
Now onto my second cup of tea today Soosy, though I'm not sure about the pillows. My Dr said that apart from playing tennis and swimming I could do what I liked, even Yoga. Having said that the EC knocked me around a bit and it was only yesterday that I started to feel like my old self. It feels a bit like I have come out of a bubble. I know that once the 2WW draws to the finish line I will be a bundle of nerves but it is so nice not to be 'under the influence' of all those drugs.

Good luck with all the scans this week, I'll be thinking of you on friday. [smile}

soosy I have a hypno cd from here There's a track for pre-implantation and one for post-implantation. Is that the one you meant or was it something someone else was talking about?
sooty take it easy - enjoy being drug free

Hi All,

Hoping you can calm me down / reassure me.

I've got pre FET jitters (the big day is the day after tomorrow). I've already got one DD from 2nd fresh cycle and this will be my 2nd FET.

I just feel like I HAVE to get my head straight but my heads full of negative thoughts such as "lightening doesn't strike twice", "I've had my good luck", "my c section is going to make it hard to implant the frosties" and the maddest one - "a psyhic once told me that she could see me with a daughter but not beyond that".

Please can someone tell me to shut the hell up

Hey Dithering, one of the most interesting things about this process to me is how much women are encouraged, (and desire), to think that they can influence their fertility in ways which are highly questionable - I've had friends recommending every herb/treatment under the sun, regardless of any documented success rate. Now, of course there is no harm in trying something if it makes you feel good, or gives you something to do, but if these supersitious 'reason's' are making you feel bad it's time to give yourself a break. Ofcourse there are criteria for success(age etc), but luck seems to me to be the overwhelming factor. My sister in law just conceived naturally at 48 after three children via IVF!

The defining aspect of luck is that it is not doled out according to rules of fairness or karma - there is proof enough of that in everyday life - so settle down, know that pretty much nothing is certain either way, but you never know when your lucks in

Good luck tommorrow nomore i hope you have lots of healthy follicles.

Agree with everything sooty says with bells on! Especially "The defining aspect of luck is that it is not doled out according to rules of fairness or karma - there is proof enough of that in everyday life - so settle down, know that pretty much nothing is certain either way, but you never know when your lucks in"
My IVF doctor said "you've got to do what you've got to do" - meaning that if you think it'll help then it might and that you've got to feel you did everything possible. This has become my mantra in both the sense of giving/doing everything I can and in terms of accepting that IVF, rather than natural conception, is the way DH and I will make our baby (which was one of my 'big issues')
Best of luck and try not to worry too much, it's only nerves getting the better of you. Anyway the psychic might have meant that she couldn't see one way or the other past your DD - I know at the moment my focus is on getting one and I'm not thinking past that either.

Hi all! sooty, I'm so excited that you had 2 put back. that's great news. Now for the sitting back, relaxing and letting, ummm.. nature take its course.

I had 2 put back on tuesday, blastocysts, both looking pretty good. IVig yesterday. so I'm waiting too. I only have 10 days to wait as they were blastocyst. Which takes me to next friday. eeek!

soosy, sorry to hear your boy has been sick. I hope he's better.

HI everyone. I've been trying to read through this whole thread for a few days now but there's alot of it What shines through though is the strength you all show during an incredibly difficult time and the support you all give to each other on here.
Hope you don't mind me coming onboard. We have our first consultation on June 10th for ICSI I think. DH's sperm had very high abnormalities (morphology??)
I am so so scared. I had a ruptured ectopic 2 years ago and am now 41 so I'm presuming the odds are stacked against us. I have 2 gorgeous DS's from my first marriage but would so love to have a baby with DH who is 9 years younger than me.
I was just wondering if all you more experienced IVFers could offer me some advice on how to prepare myself and what the process will involve?
I have read on here and elsewhere that acupuncture can be a great aid and also I'm wondering how fast things will get off the ground? I'm away for 3 weeks in August so am expecting them to put off any treatment till I get back (though ofcourse am desperately hoping they'll get started straight away! )
Thanks in advance and all the luck in the world to those of you on your 2ww

welcome spook and good luck, the first thing that comes to mind to buoy your spirits is that over 40% of women in their 40's are just as fertile as most women in their 30's - and you could be one of them (which I am obviously not because my DP's sperm is v.good). Having had two children already and with the ICSI treatment now available, I would say you're chances could be quite high, and sticking to the theme of the day - it's all about luck. . .

swerve welcome to the 2WW, you are obviously in the accelerator class! I had my EC on friday, so wouldn't that also be my official day for my peroid? The hospital have me waiting until Monday for the test but I know I will slip one in on the weekend if I am still hanging in there . . .

Thanks sooty! That made me smile. All seems a bit more real now I've joined this thread!
Good luck this weekend if you test...

Hi spook and dithering

Hi Dithering and Spook.

Spook you have been pg twice before, so that is very much in your favour!

Dithering good luck with your transfer I am having an FET soon and yes there are times I think like you!

Swerve hope you are comfortable in the house!

Sooty, you can actually test 14 days after ovulation so yes officallly it is 12 days after EC, I always wait until the official time as if I haven't had af by then I should be pg, sadly af usually does turn up before, but not this time.

Thanks nomore for the CD , I have similar CD so I will stick with that. Hope all going well with your injections.

Finally had second scan today, follicle of 16mm, so I have to opk over the weekend nad back on Monday, but my lining is a bit thin, 5mm does anyone have any tips for boosting this?

Have a good weekend everyone.

S x

Had my scan this morning - all looks well my eggs are growing - at least 9 follicles are over 10mm. Got another scan on Mon am to see if they're ready then. Don't know what my lining thickness was, only that it was 'good' Sorry, that's not much help!

Great news nomore. And soosy I have to say I have no idea about the lining issue, but my clinic told me to drink up to a litre of milk and take 75mg of baby aspirin daily to support the lining. I'm not sure if that's appropriate prior to ovulation, but it probably wouldn't do any harm - at least the milk. I'm lacto-intolerant so am drinking lots of 'lacto-free' which is milk minus the lactose - you might find it easier to digest at larger quantities.

BTW I had heard that the progesterone suppositaries delay your period anyway (what the hell does AF stand for ?) Has anyone had any experience of this?

Have a good, growing weekend all

AF means Auntie Flo(w) - that terrible (american?) expression - in our house it has come to mean Alex Ferguson (after DH was abbreviating it on chat), so we have Alex come to visit rather than Auntie flo

No more PMSL about Alex, can't stand the man perhaps I should think of him and it would definitely stay away!

Aspirin thing I did with DS but I hear all sorts of conflicting views about it, some clinics do and some don't. Milk is a no no I can't stand the stuff, never have done, and DS takes after me as when I started milk in a cup at about a year he wouldn't drink it and hasn't done since!

Must go and Iron before DH gets home. I have failed miserably this evening as we are having pizza and salad. Perhaps my lining needs a night off from worthy food!

Ah yes, the suppositaries do delay periods by a couple of days allegedly - certainly did for me last time around anyway.

Swerve, good news on the blastocysts, and lucky you only having to wait 10 days.

NMM - lucky you with lots of follicles, I am very jealous (but in a nice, good natured way!)

Spook - sounds like all your bits are functioning and ready and waiting, so I would think you should be well on the way. And yes, you will probably start treatment after your holiday in August unless you are downregging over that time.

I've been downregging for ages and ages now - about 5 weeks I think (rather embarrassing not to know, but as I just take the pill I can never remember when I started), but the final day for downregging is Saturday, baseline scan next Thursday. Can't believe I am about to start all the scans and injections again! It is an enormous pain having to go back to my old clinic again, but the waiting lists for the ones in the north were too long for me to have a May/June cycle like I wanted to. And I'm looking forward to seeing all the lovely nurses in the clinic again anyway.

And re the luck question - I think IVF is just a numbers game, we are all playing the odds each time. Sometimes we are lucky, sometimes not. Whoever said to think of it as a course of 4-6 cycles was spot on.

onlyaphase that was me about the 4-6 cycle thing. I am quite obsessed with the relationship between probability and chance as you guy's may have guessed. Having said that we're all gamblers in this game . . . but my Dr strongly recommends this approach as he says that for the first 4 cycles your chance of success does not diminish, and if you have been responding well that holds for another two.

I had the most intense cramping last night - 10 days after EC - and had to go and take paracetamol at 2am. It was like my worst period ever and was expecting blood - but none came. I can't help but think this is a good sign as I have never experienced cramping this early in the cycle, or this intensely without blood following the cramps. . .

I hope that's a good sign, Sooty. Could it be implantation?? Opinions, anyone? My SiL had terrible cramping after ET - in bed with hot water bottles and convinced it had all failed. but it was a pregnancy.

I, on the other hand, have no signs, twinges or anything. I'm trying to get the balance between staying optimistic and not getting over optimistic (as I did last time). hmm..

Thanks swerve, I like your SIL story, but I am also thinking it might be the suppositories - ? Any other ideas anyone?

Well the suppositories certainly give you really painful wind! and a friend complained about how much they hurt, but I did get cramping with my first pg, so fingers crossed sooty.

Swerve, i didn't have symptoms with DS so don't worry about it! I am beginning to think no symptoms are a good thing.

OAP nice to hear from you how is life in your new home, gald to hear you are really chilled downregging, stay that way!

I had scan today, lining much thicker and I had a positive OPK this am so FET fixed for friday pm! all systems go....

Hope you are ok Nomore and having a chilled bank holiday weekend!

Congrats on growing your lining soosy, I will be thinking of you on Friday. Cramping has not returned of which I am very grateful - really painful. Finding this second week waiting quite hard - I think I gave myself a week off mentally last week - if only I could trick myself back into that mindset . . .

sooty still got everything crossed for you.
soosy great news on your lining. We're all got for Thurs EC/Sun ET so we'll almost be cycle buddies

all go
Looks like I've got 16 good follicles (14-17mm) and a few smaller ones as well