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]

Yes they definitely should be able to delay things. The only hitch might be if they are on the NHS but even then it presumably wouldn't be a problem.

[Onlyaphase]

I would be very surprised if the clinic your sister is using didn't offer counselling - mine gives you one free session per cycle, and I would have thought that would be pretty standard. I'm not normally one to recommend counselling, but in this case it can only be a positive thing as it would get them talking in front of a neutral 3rd party.

Also, it is an incredibly stressful time for couples, especially the first cycle as no one knows what to expect, how they will feel etc. It can all get a bit much at times, especially coming on top of years of infertility and tests. It can all get built up in your mind as this great big thing hanging over you, and you can't even plan ahead as you don't know what the outcome will be.

Would suggest they delay the cycle for at least a month, there shouldn't be a problem doing this with a private clinic.

[soosy]

Oh scrummer I have much sympathy for your sister, and you, in some ways the first cycle is the worst, as you don't know what to expect and you have to admit defeat in terms of conceiving naturally. When we found out we had problems, it was a relief in one way, but when we actually started treatment i couldn't stop crying. I think your sister should delay her treatment too and talk about the treatment, maybe get a nurses appointment to run through with her and her husband what physically will happen. Emotionally it is tough, so I wish them loads of luck.

SS sorry that your parents aren't helpful, i have to admit my mother was a complete star and I couldn't have done what I did without her. Sadly she died 6 months before I got pregnant with DS, and I was a mess, but I regard my Darling Boy as my present from her and he did save my life. What about your sister could she make life easier, otherwise I think that probably a dose of the norovirus would probably put everyone off!

Good luck

[SaveScrabulous]

oh ar** I just wrote a long post and then lost it accidentally.

Anyway....here we go again.

Soosy sorry to hear about the loss of your mum. I bet she'd be so proud of you and your ds.

Only a PHase - you have my commiserations if your parents are as crazy as mine. It's such hard work sometimes. Like when ds was born he was in a bad way and in intensive care and instead of being there for us we had to spend our time calming them down as they were panicking .

They have phoned several times today and are just being so selfish about this trip down. I'm glad I've told them the truth really but I wishthey could be supportive rather than jsut causing stress.

Ha and then there's my MIL - we daren't tell her as although she is quite sweet and kind hearted she has said some ridiculously insensitive things about our infertility/ treatment.

Families eh!?!?

Sorry to rant.

Seems like it's going to be a busy week for us all with scans/ transfers and collections - good luck everyone!

[scrummerandweebs]

Thank you all for your kind words and advice. She is going to speak to the clinic on Monday and see if they can delay. Best of luck to everyone with your own treatments.

[soosy]

Oh ss I am sorry about your parents, and about your DS, no lasting effects from his scary start I hope. A dose of some particularly nasty virus, either that or just blow your top and say no its not happening. Difficult to do but if you are the one always putting yourself out then maybe you will shock them a bit into looking at life your way, for a little way

I know exactly what you mean about MIL! I have one too! Mine is just insensitive.

My collection isn't till 11 and I hate hanging around it's not like I can go for coffee, oh well at least I can take DS to school.

Thanks scrummer, wishing great things for your sister, and everyone else on this thread.

night night x

[Onlyaphase]

Soosy, good luck for tomorrow. Will you let us know how you get on?

[SaveScrabulous]

Yes good luck soosy!
Let us know how it goes!

[nomoremagnolia]

Hello girls

Thought I'd introduce myself as I may well be lurking/posting on here in the next few months. We've been referred by the local hospital for IVF - I have no idea of how long it will be before we start, but I already want to find out all I can about it (I'm a bit of an information freak) so have read through your thread and will be following your stories/experiences.

I'm almost 30, DH 29, been ttc#1 for 2yrs, including 6mo on Clomid with no joy. I'm not ov'ing regularly and DH's sperm are not perfect either so IVF will hopefully be our best shot.
ps got my fingers crossed for you soosy

[Onlyaphase]

Had a fabulous first scan today - lots of follicles, good lining etc. I was so worried about not responding to the stims, I feel as though a weight has been lifted off me. The clinic may bring forward egg collection or drop my stims dose, will find out later today. Am so relieved I am responding I can't tell you! To me it means that if this cycle doesn't work I may have time to try again later on.

Nomoremagnolia, good to have you join us. Hope your referral is quick and there isn't much of a waiting list. Whereabouts are you? I used to find my NHS consultant's secretary an absolute mine of information for waiting times etc if you have any contact with yours?

Hope everyone else is having a good day too!

[SaveScrabulous]

Yay Onlyaphase that's fantastic!

I'm having a great day too as I was really struggling with the injections (I was fine in my fresh cycle with the normal ones but these progesterone have a bigger thicker needle and are horrid!) but went into the clinic today and asked if there was an alternative. They said I can take pessaries as there are some new improved ones! No more injections!

The only annoying thing is they won't refund the cost of the progesterone vials I haven't used so I've probably wasted £150 on those but frankly it's worth it as neither dh nor I could do the injections and it was all a pain (literally as my leg muscles are in a state after only 3 injectiosn and I'd have had about 10 more to go!)

How is everyone else?

[soosy]

Hello nomoremagnolia, feel free to ask any questions and good luck.

Hello everyone else, Fantastic news about your response onlyaphase!

And SS why didn't they offer pessaries first? I know you can't cash your drugs in but I used to be able to give any left over drugs to my ACU for others (who can't afford drugs) to use, I don't know if you can do this still but atleast they won't be wasted. I have to start my progesterone pessaries tonight too, rectally too, mmm.

I have 15 eggs and am a little sore. I have to wait for the call tomorrow from the embryologist to find how we are doing. Hopefully there will be 2 embryos to transfer on Thurs.

Night night off to eat more chocolate to ease the pain!

[Onlyaphase]

Soosy, great news about your eggs - 15 is a fab number to have. And you get a whole drug free day tomorrow too! Best of luck waiting for that call tomorrow, tis a horrid time.

Clinic called tonight to say they think I have an oestrogen producing cyst on my left ovary, and to drop my Puregon dose to 400 units as well. Have googled oestrogen cysts and it doesn't look good really - they can really bugger up cycles. Will wait and see what they say on Wednesday now. Arse, this was all going far too well!

[soosy]

Onlyaphase, don't panic too much yet, sometimes they just drain the cyst, a bit like egg collection. It happened to a friend of mine.

Good Luck for wednesday.

I was wrong it was 17 eggs not bad for an old lady like me!! 10 have fertilised, which is ok (average is about 50% apparently in ivf). Wait to hear about transfer tomorrow pm. Have had my acupuncture today and will have some more on Thurs which will hopefully do the trick!

[Onlyaphase]

Soosy, great news on the fertilisation of 10 of your eggs. That is fantastic! Are you going for transfer tomorrow, or maybe going for blastocysts?

Am trying not to panic. Have another scan and blood tests tomorrow, will ask about best and worst case scenarios then. Would be happy to have it drained if this is possible - did this happen before EC for your friend?

[worrymerchant]

Hello girls, am new to mumsnet and thought i would join your thread as am just going through my first cycle of IVF\ICSI. So far all not going to plan (does it ever?) ... after all the sniffing and injections I didnt produce many follicles (only 7) and in the end went for transfer on Thursday with just one (grade 1) egg. I feel really disappointed. Also feel that i dont know enough. MAybe i should have been on a more aggressive drug protocol? Am 42 btw. Is anyone else a first timer, or my age? To those that have had more than one cycle: If i have ot go thru this again, does it nec follow that i will respond poorly again to the stimulation?

[Onlyaphase]

Hi Worrymerchant - I saw your other thread but may as well reply on here. Sorry you're feeling down about the whole thing - for what its worth, I felt down on my first IVF a few days after transfer too - I think the hormones, particularly the trigger shot, had left my system then and I felt really really not pregnant. Turned out I was wrong, so hang in there.

Also, you have a grade one embryo put back, which is excellent - imagine how down you'd feel if nothing had come of the treatment? And I think you said you had children from a previous relationship - so you already konw your womb is fully capable of doing the necessary for a term pregnancy. And the first cycle can be a bit different, as they don't know how you will react to the drugs. What stimulating drug did you use and what dosage? It is possible (up to a limit) to increase the dosage to potentially increase your response to them and produce more eggs.

And if it is any consolation, first time around I had only 7 eggs, 5 fertilised but only 2 good enough to be put back - grade 2 embryos - but had a BFP anyway. You really can't tell how things will pan out. This time round (2 years later) I am 38 and they have upped the dosage of drugs to cope with this

[coggy]

Sorry, sorry.....I've been away and missed so much!!!!

Soosy.....17 eggs and so many fertilised...good for you!

onlyaphase.....I hope your news is good news about that cyst...I'd never heard about that so will google it all myself I think.

SS.....I am REALLY worried about having the progesterone pessaries as suppositries (how the heck is that spelt???)...I woudl MUCH rather have injections, painful or otherwise!!
We are all different eh?!

I'm jabbing merrily away with my buserilyn and puregon.
Feel really weepy compared to normal but generally fine.
Scan on Friday.....hope desperately that it's good news.

[EHM]

Hi can I please join? Due to have ny first injection this evening of Buserelin tonight(this will be our 6th attempt at IVF) We have dd 20 months born after our 5th attempt & frozen embryo transfer. We are fortunate enough to still have embryos storage, so this attempt will be frozen embryo transfer too (hopefully)

[Chocolatedays]

Hi - hope you don't mind me butting in again - but I'd like to say hi to Onlyaphase - as I had a cyst this last IVF cycle(it went up to 4.5cm) and they clinic advised me to abandon the cycle because they were convinced we would get more eggs on a cycle without one. We decided to keep going and only got 4 eggs at ec - at the same time they drained the cyst, I was assured a drained cycst was not believed to reduce the chances of implantation. After ICSI we got one grade 1 and two poor/ave... but as you can see from my earlier post, on this occasion we were very lucky and the one good embie stuck! Really hope this reassures you a bit.

Good luck to all of you.

[soosy]

Onlyaphase, my friend had it done just as she started hormone injections and she too got pg on that cycle.

Worrymerchant, it only takes one good one, and if you think about it in real life you only get one or two eggs each month, I think your body naturally searches out the best egg to be ovulated, and therefore makes the most successful embryo. I have a friend who had one cycle of IVF and got pg with one embryo, she was 36 but it does happen. In fact so often the HFEA want to stop 2 embryo transfers, I was told by my clinic that it will happen just because we are, of course, the only group of people who have multiple pregnancies. Sorry it just makes me v cross.

coggy glad to hear the jabs are going well, after an egg collection you won't mind shoving a pessary up your bottom. It is the most efficient may of getting the stuff into you!

SS hope all is going well.

[worrymerchant]

thanks girls, i feel a lot more positive and reassured now, my feelings are just all over the place... and my mind as well.. have managed to take lid off hot casserole (just come out of oven) with bare hand...ouch!

Onlyaphase...best of luck for tom,

[SaveScrabulous]

Hi all
Glad to see more of us on here!

Embryo transfer tomorrow for me - yikes! Haven't really got my head around it to be honest.

Onlyaphase - good luck for tomorrow

Worrymerchant - try not to worry (lol given your name on here!) I think you still have a great chance.

Welcome EHM!

Great news Soosy that so many of your embryos fertilised. Keep us posted on progress!

[worrymerchant]

SaveScrabulous - Good luck to you too, let us know how it goes... EHM - is there a reason for injecting Buserelin rather than sniffing?

[EHM]

saveScrablous Thank You & good luck for the transfer
worrymerchant never been offered that option ou have me thinking now, will ask clinic next time I speak with them. Hope your hand isn't too sore this morning.