Fertility Appointments and Beyond.... the next chapter

[Tinkerbell098]

I have created a new thread as the previous one is about to fill up. I've tagged some of us here, but apologies if I have missed anyone.

The thread is for anyone who has started/ about to start fertility investigations or treatment. Come join us, we are a lovely bunch :)

@tillybabs
@thislittlebird
@kay00
@jeaniej
@PurpleUnicorn01
@paintfairy
@dogmam
@flutterby8
@Ughmaybenot
@dancingfairydreams
@beckycarlos
@jkjellyhead
@juno231
@decaffe
@bumble44
@BritinNZ
@tinkerbell098
@pinkginpls
@thedaydreambelievers
@everymumday
@wanderlust16
@lori23ttc
@Gracie2021
@Sofasogood1
@99pctpractice
@magnoliasinbloom

@pinkginpls I felt mostly ok after EC but was glad I had a day or two off. I was primarily anxious I think, rather than physical struggling, but some women have reported finding it harder. I took the transfer off and then worked from home a couple of days after.

@99pctpractice I stopped the progesterone, I was fairly confident it hadn’t worked. I’m well acquainted with that very white FRER lol. The ageing thing + IVF is so hard, I bet it’s stressful land you should definitely look after yourself this birthday. Mine is coming up later this month, I’ll be 39 and we’ll be isolating lol. Holiday is 4th June and can’t afford to get Covid. I think we’re going to have some sort of Spanish food night in and make paella, some tapas dishes, sangria at my request. Thought it would be fun since we can’t go out out.

@thislittlebird Do you mean you're trying naturally still between the IVF? I can't be arsed. I'm ok. On cycle day 5, I took a while to start bleeding.
I have my follow up tomorrow morning. Want to confirm I can start end June then I'm booking a mid June holiday!!

(If anyone can recommend an adults all inclusive somewhere in Greece for a very lazy week I'd be grateful!! We don't usually do all inclusive so don't know what I'm looking for... Or any hotel actually)

@Sofasogood1 not trying like normal (whatever that is) no, but obviously you’re never not aware in this situation. When I finish progesterone my body seems pretty fast to get AF, usually within two days, so I will assume my follicles were growing in there while the progesterone was still ongoing because to be feeling like ovulation is coming in a few days on cd6 is unusual for me.

When you say start in June, do you mean the meds? Wish my follow up was now, I have another two weeks.

I can’t recommend specific AIs but I will say I thought Crete and Kefalonia looked lovely when I was doing my holiday research if you can find any options there.

@thislittlebird yes the meds for the FET.

I've just depressed myself though. We're male factor and I've been looking at DP's DNA fragmentation test we had done at the end of 2020. It's beyond awful. I don't think I've read it properly before I just thought it was 'bad'. There are 3 scores and each is scored against 3 things - natural conception, IVF, and ICSI. All three say no chance even with ICSI. I suddenly feel like we've wasted a whole round of IVF. He's since had varicocele surgery on a testicle but we never retested the DNA frag, only a regular sperm test (which did improve a bit). What if the DNA hasn't?

@Sofasogood1 we are too, what are his results in the parameters? I can look up ours, can’t remember off the top of my head.

Is he taking antioxidant supplements for the dna frag? If this embryo fails maybe you can get it retested?

@Sofasogood1 if the varicocele was the cause of the DNA frag which I think it often is for many couples then there is a good chance his sperm could be completely normal now so I wouldn’t be down about it. My OH has poor DNA frag (we’ve been told it’s fine for ICSI but not trying naturally) most likely due to lifestyle and possibly too many of the wrong bacteria in the sperm or something (for which he is now taking antibiotics). I’m hoping it has improved significantly since he gave up smoking (was only a light smoker) but we haven’t retested either. I just can’t understand how DNA frag is a reason for not getting pregnant though when lots of people get pregnant with much more unhealthy lifestyles so presumably their DNA frag would be worse???

Thank you @Kay00 that’s really encouraging and you’re right that sometimes day to day it feels like nothing is happening but actually there is progress in the longer term!

I’m so glad you shared your story @MahanK especially as it’s Melanie Brown and Mr Ramsay we’re seeing too! We’ve seen Melanie and just started the dietary/ supplement plan which hopefully we’ll get into more of a routine with. Congratulations, that’s amazing news about your pregnancy, you must be absolutely thrilled!!

Thank you @Tillybabs it sounds like the wait in your area was manageable so hopefully it will be in mine too, long enough to lose a bit more weight (probably about a stone to be on the safe side) and feel the benefit of eating more healthily but not too long!

Just came back from baseline scan before the cycle actually take place in June. I have 5 and 9 follicles on each side which doc says I am likely to be very responsive and so OHSS is very likely. So FET is the way to go.
@Kay00 which is opposite to yours one pushing fresh on you?

Waiting for drugs to arrive and be the queen of organisation to make sure I do everything right... I am terrible at keeping a schedule or routine tasks lol

Morning ladies. I had my scan this morning and my lining is much better on a natural cycle. I'm at 6mm at the moment at CD10 and I was only 5mm CD28 last cycle.

They are going to scan me again next week to see how things look and then make a plan for a natural cycle the following month in prep for an FET

@Tillybabs thats so interesting that your lining is better naturally. At least you have a bit of plan now. How are you feeling?

@pinkginpls exciting times for you waiting on your drugs to arrive! How are you feeling about a freeze all?

My egg collection is booked for Monday. I'm feeling really deflated after my second stims scan today, basically a third of the follicles this time compared to last, which I was expecting less as on a lower dose this time around to avoid OHSS but still.. we had such a huge drop off last time so it was just as well I had so many eggs collected but I don't think that's going to be the case this time. Hard not to get caught up in the numbers!!

I'm feeling ok and will see what next week brings. I was fully ready to burst into tears if things weren't good so I'm glad that's not the case

I hear what you are saying. But as they say, less can mean more and it only takes that one good egg. But I know you must hate being told that as it means nothing when you don't know and have to wait to see what happens. I really hope it all goes well for you x

@dogmam everything I read suggest not much difference between fresh or frozen transfer so I am not too fuss. The only thing is I may have to wait a bit more longer for the transfer? I keep reminding myself there is no rush... just want my body to be the best condition for the transfer. So come what may!

All the best for your EC on Monday. As they say quality matters too... too many ain't good neither!

@Tillybabs happy for you about your update. Get in those linings may them thick and cushiony! 😁

@pinkginpls i prefer your doctor’s approach of erring on the side of caution. I have 35 follicles some months and was told 20 + eggs collected = frozen, I had 19 growing on EC month. They seem to make it up as they go along. @Kay00 has more than me from what I recall and they’re saying fresh for her.

@Tillybabs glad you’re lining is good! You’re not the first person I’ve heard have the same issue of a thinner lining on the drugs, I don’t understand it. Why is it the following month and not this one?

@dogmam that’s come round fast! What was the follicle count that time vs this time? As @pinkginpls said, you might have a few fab quality ones!

@thislittlebird so far my doctor has mentioned high chance of OHSS on at least two of my appointments so I am prepared for the worst lol. you want both optimum quantity as well as quality, it is just bloody hard to get it right isn't it??

How are you doing? x

@pinkginpls see I didn't have OHSS but they said my hormone level was high so they were going to freeze mine but the plan was to freeze anyway with me.

@thislittlebird she said they want to see how it looks next Tuesday and then they can plan for the following month. Tbh I thought this was normal but it doesn't seem to be the case and I should have asked more questions. I can only assume she wants to see how my lining and adenomyosis looks before they proceed with the natural FET cycle the following month.

I don't know why I don't seem to take to the meds but I've read some people don't.

Happy Friday ladies, just wanted to share this article today from Emma Barnett who hosts Women's Hour on BBC. She conceived her first child via IVF and is now experiencing secondary infertility as well. I thought it was wonderful to see someone high profile to be talking about this while it was happening to them and I'm sure a lot of us might relate to her x www.thetimes.co.uk/article/emma-barnett-five-rounds-of-ivf-one-miscarriage-and-no-baby-257tkztct

@magnoliasinbloom thank you for the article share 😊 I love a bit of woman's hour on Radio 4 🤓 so I'll read this tomorrow.

@pinkginpls excellent AFC o your baseline scan 😊

I had my baseline scan today. I had 15 follicles on my left, and 10 on my right, sad my lining is 2.5mm so they happy for me to start stims injections tomorrow evening 😬😁😬😁

My clinic are still aiming for a fresh transfer @thislittlebird which does seem a little nutty. But they don't seem too concerned about OHSS, maybe thats because of my low-dose stim protocol?

@dogmam omg I can't believe you are having your collection on Monday already! Hopefully your clinic is aiming for quality over quantity too with a low-dose stims protocol. I really wish you all the best for Monday xx

@Kay00 ah exciting that you're starting tomorrow! And lots of follicles is a good starting point!

@Tillybabs bet you were so relieved to hear good news. So will it be just the one more scan next week to check lining is going in the right direction then just wait until your next cycle to start properly?

@pinkginpls yeah there's no difference in success rates i don't think for fresh or frozen. I know the wait can feel frustrating at first but actually during my first round which was a freeze all, the wait between egg collection and FET was great, just switched off from fertility stress for a month which was nice!

@thislittlebird yeah its went so quickly this cycle. Tomorrow is my last day of stims which will be day 11, so one less day than my first cycle. Last time, on my final scan I had over 25 follicles ranging from 15 to 24mm, this time ive got about 14 follicles but the problem is a few are huge, like over 20mm so too big and lots are small under 12mm, there's literally only 2 or 3 that I heard her measure that are middle ground.

I naively thought the second cycle i would handle much better as I know what to expect but actually its worse, for the exact same reason, because I know whats coming!! I'm absolutely dreading, IF we get any eggs collected, the 5 days after that, honestly waiting for the day 3 and day 5 call is torture!!
I was trying to explain to my manager at work, that people think IVF is just getting a positive or a negative test at the end of it, I wish it was that simple. Its all this shit in the lead up. I can't wait for this phase of my life to be over, obviously with a baby by the end of it of course but if its not going to happen I want it to be over quickly. Rant over sorry!

Hello!

@dogmam yep, those day 3 and day 5 calls are hideous. I asked for an email on day 3 this time so that I didn't have to process while on the phone and had time to think of questions instead of being on the spot. All fingers crossed that the big follicles slow down and the little ones speed up!!

@Kay00 v exciting that you're now on the way and that number of follicles is very positive.

@magnoliasinbloom love that she's writing about her experiences. I feel like these forums are my ivf fairies!!!

@Tillybabs that is so great that your lining is coming along so well. It is and yet totally isn't a science, isn't it?

I had another consultation with a new clinic yesterday. They said my chances of success for a fourth round actually aren't really lower than for my first, so that felt positive. He also suggested I start taking DHEA 25mg 3 times a day and that I didn't need any testosterone testing before / during / after. Is anyone else taking DHEA? I thought you usually needed testing first, but maybe this is such a low dose it doesn't matter. He also suggested a new form of stims (can't remember the name other than it started with p), which apparently is a purer form of gonal f with some lh in it as well, 50% more expensive than gonal f (which is already pretty expensive!) but apparently can have better results for the over 40s. So all in all quite interesting and I think I might go with them. It felt like he was not trying to sell me as many "just in case" extras as the Evewell, even though clearly it will still wind up painfully expensive..........

@magnoliasinbloom I saw the article on Twitter and a lot of the comments were awful. People can be such arses!

@Kay00 everything seems to be moving so quickly now. How do you feel?

@dogmam yea people just don't get it unless they've been through it, it's such an emotional rollercoaster. When is your EC booked for?

@99pctpractice that clinic sounds promising. I've not heard of that medication before and will look it up.

@dogmam Is there still a chance those smaller follicles will either catch up before EC or still produce eggs?

@99pctpractice your new clinic sounds like they have a good plan in mind.
The drugs might be expensive,
but they sound like they might be quite niche and hopefully exactly what you're looking for

@Tillybabs all good here, my OH and I have just administered my 2nd Stims injection. No reaction yet, as expected 😊

Hey loves, hope your all doing ok. @dogmam I hope your egg collection went/goes well and that those smaller folicles caught up!

Its not a good update from me I'm afraid. I should be almost 8 weeks today, at last weeks almost 7 week scan the embryo only meausred 5+5 but had a good heartbeat. We went back today to check everything was ok and that there'd been growth and unfortunatley there hasn't. The embryo is now measuring 6 weeks (although with a smaller measurement than last week, but I'll not share how many hours I've spent googling CRL measurements...) with a slow heartbeat (I couldn't see it but the nurse and my husband said it was there). Becuase there's still a heartbeat they cant discharge me so we have to go back for...I don't think theres even a name for it?! Another scan next Monday when they can then have a conversation about 'management'.

I'm gutted, but trying to look at it as proof that we can at least get pregnant, which is further than we've been before! X

@pinkginpls I can’t remember what numbers you said you had, and what protocol? But teens should be fine, won’t be too many.

@Tillybabs yeah I have no idea why it works for some people and others it does not.

@magnoliasinbloom I couldn’t read the full thing because I didn’t have a log in for the times but I saw it on Twitter like @Tillybabs and was pleased she was speaking about, but I can bet the comments were horrible. Some people do not get ivf at all, they don’t understand it and they parrot the “why don’t they just adopt line” like lemmings. Bore off.

@Kay00 yay you’ve started 🙌. I found the drugs totally fine, don’t think I had side effects at all, but like you it was a low dose. They might change their mind if all 25 grow!

@dogmam i also can’t wait for this stupidly long phase of life to end. It’s horrible. I hope EC went ok today and your eggs caught up, keep us posted!

@99pctpractice a friend on another thread (who got pregnant naturally in the end) had her dhea tested before she took it and found it was quite high anyway, but I think she paid for it privately. The lack of extras is a relief sometimes, hate the up selling!

Posted before my page refreshed and I lost what I’d typed so far!

@beckyCarlos im so sorry to hear your update, that’s not the kind of update I’d hoped you were posting. This shitty journey really does suck and you can come and vent to us since the next weeks will be pretty horrible I’m sure. And yes, proving you can get pregnant is progress so try to focus on that if you can x

Not much happening over here. All I can say is I think the ivf has kicked my hormones into gear a bit maybe? I’m ovulating today and I’ve had mildly sore boobs for days which I never get. So that’s positive I think? The failed FET cycle had me ovulating on day 22, this month I’m ovulating on day 13. Make it make sense.

Because I’d booked my holiday I’ve hit the diet and exercise hard, I’ve done the 30 day shred for about ten days of the last two weeks and I’ve lost about 2lbs and inch off my waist as of today which is great. If I can lose two inches in all before we get to Cyprus I’ll be pleased with that.

Bloody counsellor called me today 🙄🙄🙄. When I say she’s about as much use as a chocolate teapot I’m not joking. They’re supposed to be one hour sessions but there’s literally nothing to say, I give her an update and she says “yeah, hmmm yeah, totally understandable” like a counselling bot and then we go our separate ways and I wonder why I’ve wasted time on that call. Absolutely pointless, it achieves nothing. She said she’ll leave the ball in my court and yes, please do, I won’t be rushing back. My acupuncturist is more useful to chat to.

@thislittlebird that's good that you're having ovulation symptoms. I'm ovulating now CD14 since the cancelled FET so at least things seem to be back to normal. I have another scan tomorrow to check my lining and then put a plan in place.

Well done on your weight loss, your hard work is paying off.

I actually LOL at the counsellor comments. Is it a counsellor via the NHS? I imagine they just have one there to tick a box! I know they provide counselling at my hospital but I've not asked for it tbh