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!

[SaveScrabulous]

Welcome Mowmi and Swerve!

It is so true that it's easy to feel in RL that you are the only one going through this so it makes all the difference to have people to swap notes with.

[Onlyaphase]

Hi and welcome to Swerve and mowmi. Nice to make contact with some others out there going through the same thing.

I've actually told very few people in RL that we are going through another cycle of IVF, in fact only the friends who will babysit DD on the day of egg collection. Last time we told a couple of friends only, which suited me fine. Would rather people didn't know in RL, as I think it is incredibly difficult to know what to say, and very easy to get it wrong!

Actually, what gets me about telling people and having IVF is that it becomes the most important thing about you - not sure if anyone else has come across this but, for example, if a friend is talking about an acquaintance with a baby they will always mention if they had IVF. Its like a label that gets attached to you forever! Or perhaps I should get over myself and stop being so sensitive!

[Sticki]

Only - I agree about telling people. We have never told that many RL people about any of it. Im especially sensitive about telling those few who know about the timing of cycles as they seem to want progress reports and Im not usually up for it. The technical stuff (ie follicles, drugs etc) means nothing to those who havent been through it and ultimately it is only the elusive BFP that we are all waiting for which I cant tell them about as I have never had one after treatment. But have to tell those who do childcare (still struggling to cover the early morning of my EC).

Coggy - I wish I was a FLYbaby but an aspirational fly! You?

[manuka]

Coggy- hello sorry for butting in here.Been wondering how you are. Saw your name and just thought I'd say hello and I really wish you all the very best for a successful result very soon. xxxxx

[coggy]

Hi manuka.....all going okay I think. Still waiting for AF to appear. Should be here soon. She's got until tomorrow night and then I'm buggered!!!

Feel like it's going to arrive at any second...but blow me...when you want her she takes her wretched time!!!!!

Tried FLYing for a while a couple of years ago Sticki...read the book and still swish and swipe every now and again!!!

[soosy]

Hello everyone and esp to Mowmi and swerve. You lot have been really chatty! DS's birthday yesterday and had party I am completely shattered. Had another scan today lots of follicles and had my dose reduced to 150, 225 every other day. I find it soo frustrating as I still end up producing loads of eggs it just takes longer and I end up taking more drugs in the end.

About telling people, it really depends how long you have been ttc as, if like us you have been trying for 7 years you can't really hide it. All our close friends and family were aware of what was going on but i rarely give details and say if i am pg you will know. I agree with you sticki! But this morning I really wanted to cry about the whole damn thing, its just hormones and tiredness and you know apprehension, stress and everything else that goes with doing IVF.

Am finding jeans a little tight now so obviously my ovaries are getting bigger have loads of sympathy for those feeling really bloated!

Going for supper and then bath and bed.
Night Night x

[soosy]

Coggy - I hope af has arrived, its always the way with downregging. Your clinic can give you something to make it come on.

[coggy]

My stomach is blinkin' painful....AF is on it's way but it's taking a flipin' long time!!!

Phoned clinic today and they said it wasn't too much of a problem...I may just need to have ET a day or two later.

I was worried that this month may have to be abandoned.....I guess the worry has been holding AF off. Feel less anxious now and also had a facial this morning so everything is being much more chilled here today in the coggy household!!! (Apart for the AF cramps!)

[SaveScrabulous]

Coggy sorry to hear your tummy is painful and AF is being unreliable!

I hope it turns up soon.

I went to the clinic this morning and the uterus lining has actually got slightly thinner rather than thicker from the last scan. They have upped the oestrogen dose a fair bit and I have to go back onFriday to see if it has made a difference. ET will not now be Monday. If the lining gets better it might be weds but if it doesn't the cycle will get abandoned

I will be so annoyed if I've done all this for nothing.....argh!!!

Sorry for the 'me' post....how is everyone else getting on?

[soosy]

Coggy sorry to hear of your af woes. it always happens that way when you want it to come, it doesn't, esp when you have spent so long willing it not to arrive!

SS sorry to hear your news too, hope things improve over the next couple of days.

Follicles growing, barring any great disaster, heading for EC on monday and ET on Wed.

Sticki and PK how are you both and have you actually met yet?

[Sticki]

Just a quick dash in.... to say to SaveS that for some reason I remember that eating brazil nuts can help with lining? I cant remember the other things but acupuncture can really help too (havent read your earlier posts again to see if you are having some)

Good luck to you and all!
PS Havent yet met PK. (Still downregging until next week when hopefully AF arrives and scan etc to start injections).

[SaveScrabulous]

Thanks Sticki - will get some brazil nuts!
Are you there tomorrow? It was harder to get an appointment than recently and I practically cried on them as the only appt they had left was too late for me to go and get ds from nursery in time and I don't have any childcare after.
Luckily that nice doctor with the glasses (don't know his name) overheard and sorted it out.

Soosy glad your follies are growing.
Any AF news Coggy?

[soosy]

Just checking in to see how you all are...

[Chocolatedays]

Hi All
Just wanted to wish you all luck and that I'm thinking of you. After years of ttc we were shocked to have success on our 2nd IVF -it CAN happen!

SavesS - we were advised to abandon (too few eggs - so not lining) but chose to continue and it worked!
BTW - acupuncture can help lining thickness. Also, if the lining is not enough can't you chose to have ec and freeze embies ready for a FET in another cycle?

Waves at Coggy!
Chic

[Onlyaphase]

Baseline scan today, all looking good so start stims tomorrow night. So not looking forward to starting injections - and DH who would normally do them for me is out tomorrow night so I'll have to do it myself. Boo. Will try the ice trick.

SaveS - I hate it when the appointments don't work out as you need them too, it just seems to add insult to injury. This time around I have purposely chosen late morning scans as I didn't want to take up the early morning slots that women who need to get to work on time need!

Soosy - hope you aren't too uncomfortable waiting for EC on Monday. Do your jeans still fit?

Hope everyone else is well

[SaveScrabulous]

ET is back on for next week - weds. Hurray! Except I didn't feel so happy at the time weirdly - was v overwhelmed from the on off of the last few days, stressed re getting back home in time to pick ds up from nursery (the appointments were all late today) etc!
Did the first injection and they are way worse than last time - bigger thicker needle. Yikes! I just couldn't do it myself whereas with the fresh cycle I never had a problem really. Not sure what to do for tomorrow's - dh not keen and I could go to clinic but will really mess up my plans for the day given it is maybe a 2 hour round trip. Maybe if I ice like last time (the nurse didn't have ice today so I couldn't) it will be ok.

Anyway I've calmed down a bit now.

Soosy - wow not long til EC now!! Good luck for Monday - looking forward to hearing about how it goes and your embryos.

Only a phase - good luck for your injection tonight - hope you are less of a wuss than I was today!!

Hi to everyone else. have a good weekend.

[soosy]

Hi everybody Hooray SS! Was it the brazil nuts or did you have some acupuncture. I know what you mean about the appointments and picking up children, but believe me it's less stressful than having your child with you in the ACU!
I would ask for a smaller needles as I don't think needle size is that important.

Good luck with your injection tonight onlyaphase, I find it much easier to do myself and be bold, it seems to hurt less if you just wham them in, or perhaps I am a sadist! Jeans just about fit!

Coggy, where are you? I hope you are busy with your AF and doing stims, mind you you might just have a better social life than we do!

PK Hope everything fine with you and you are on your way to transfer....

Scan ok today so on for EC on Monday. Huge number of follicles, no indicator of doing well sadly as I always seem to produce a huge number of eggs and I find pregnancy quite elusive!

S xxx

[SaveScrabulous]

oops I think I might have confused you Soosy- I am PK - had a name change!
Great that you have loads of follicles and even though it hasn't been an indicator of success for you before it's much better that way than having only a few!

I think the bigger needle is because whatever I'm injecting is different to the fresh cycle drugs and is oilier so I suspect it wouldn't go through a smaller needle and also it needs to be given intra muscularly so maybe the other needles aren't long enough.

Trying to keep our treatment a secret from most of our family but my parents are down next week staying at sis in laws and they have just suggested sending my elderly gran to stay with me for a week from monday so she isn't alone .....I love her to bits but help this is not good timing given ET is on weds!! I guess I'd have to make up some reason for the drugs around the place and then say I had a work meeting on the day of the transfer....blimey my nose will grow with all these lies at this rate.

[soosy]

Oh god poor you SS, sorry my drug addled brain cannot think at the moment! Perhaps it would be easier just to tell your mum and then it would mean you wouldn't get so stressed. You can swear her to secrecy, in my experience mums are v good at secrets! Do your family know about your previous treatment. I have to say you are v brave keeping it all quiet, we couldn't it was just too complicated and anyway it was taking us so long everybody guessed anyway! Plus I suppose because DS's conception from donor means we have to be v open about the whole thing as I know that things tend to get found out, usually at the most inopportune moments. Good Luck! Sx

[SaveScrabulous]

Hi Soosy

Last time we told them because it was a fresh cycle although we didn't give exact timings as we didn't want them phoning asking questions (we have a tricky relationship and they aren't the people I confide in!) but they know we had ds from IVF.

Thing is if the cycle fails I so don't want them thinking I am gutted that I couldn't have another and labelling me like that and fussing for every more or reading things into my behaviour due to this that so wouldn't be the case!

Anyway since the last post they have now started freaking out about something ridiculous - sort of related to the visit - and I just don't need this stress right now.ARGH!! God I hope I never drive my ds this mad!

Complicated I know. But overall I just don't want them to know.

I have told quite a few close friends so have support that way at least.

[SaveScrabulous]

p.s. and from you guys!

[Onlyaphase]

Oh my God SS, are you me? Know exactly how you feel about telling your parents, you have expressed it so well. Hope it works out for you next week, maybe just take it a day at a time. OR phone them up now and say you feel really ill, this virus has been going around and you think you will be out of action for about a week, so best to count you out of their plans next week?

Managed my first injection last night - fab tip about the ice, worked a treat. Found the Puregon Pen much better to use than the autoinjector we had last time, as that used to just push all the drug into you in one go, and the pen takes much longer so it doesn't hurt or feel uncomfortable later. My ovaries are aching a bit today already - maybe psychosomatic? - but am very happy to have aching ovaries as I hope it means they are producing lots of follicles. My worry this time (and my consultant's) is that I won't produce many eggs. Scan and blood tests on Monday to see how I am getting on.

Soosy - all the best on Monday for EC, hope you have lots of mature eggs.

[scrummerandweebs]

Hi, sorry to but in on this thread, after lurking for ages I could do with some sound advice from people who are goung through what my sister is. You all sound amazingly strong about your cycles and please forgive me as my knowledge of IVF is VERY limited but I need to try and help my sister. She is due to start her first IVF treatment in 13 days but has just moved out of home leaving a totally bewildered DH behind. It turns out they have talked little about the upcoming treatment (scared of it failing I think)and I think it is all getting too much for her. She has had no counselling from the clinic (private, in Leeds)and I am sure that it is the forthcoming treatment has turned her from a very rational person into someone who cannot think straight. I don't think she is any state to begin treatment but I just don't know what to advise her. I don;'t live close so have not been able to see her. Any ideas? thanks a million

[SaveScrabulous]

I very much think that your sis cannot go ahead if things aren't right between her and her dh. You couldn't do this alone.

I will have a further think about her situation and see if anything else comes to mind.

I've had to confess about the treatment to my parents as it was getting very awkward and causing more stress. Not that happy that I was pushed into a corner really but will be easier given circumstances!

[scrummerandweebs]

Thanks for your thoughts, I think the treatment is what is wrong. Normally I would say they are one of the strongest, most together couples I know. From experience is there much they can ask the clinic for at this stage - can they delay by a couple of months to get their heads straight do you know? I appreciate your comments, and hope that your parents do prove to be supportive. (Ours are not either and that is giving my sis extra pressure)