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

@Kay00 bloating is a symptom of ohss. My friend on another thread had 15 eggs collected and ended up hospitalised because the transfer worked and her whole body ended up bloated. Very likely ohss with your high AMH.

I felt a bit bloated for a day and then mostly fine, but had weird shoulder tip pains I didn’t like.

Fingers crossed for your embryos, 18 is great!

@Gracie2021 fingers crossed for your procedure, I’m sure a few will be ok. you asked me about flying before and I kinda didn’t think about it, because I don’t ever really expect to be pregnant. But I will say I think it will be ok if you are, women fly all the time when pregnant. Can’t wait for holiday now! I’ve lost three inches off my waist now, and only 3lbs in weight lol. Very odd, but I’ll take it.

The clinic decided on embryo transfer order, best one first. I hope one of my lesser ones is, quite literally, a good egg :/

Happy Saturday! I've just caught up on everyone's updates..

@thislittlebird great news you can go ahead with another transfer, I think the holiday will be a lovely way to relax before you go again with the next FET. Are you going natural again?

@Kay00 amazing numbers! You must be super happy. Sorry you're not feeling great, I think it'll be the after effects of egg collection and all that stimming. I was exactly the same after my first collection of 19, so full, felt like a balloon ready to pop, even had to ask my other half to pick me up half way back from walking the dog, it went away after about 4 days though. Good luck for your update today.

@Gracie2021 follicles sound like they're going in the right direction! God you must be knackered after so many collections, and looking forward to being drug free for a little while. What's the plan after this collection?

@TheDaydreamBelievers any temp rise yet for you?

@JeanieJ did you get your partners test arranged for the DNA frag? We are also gonna pay private for tests for him, before we do another round. Its really pricey but can't face going through another round without trying something different.

Well today is 7dp5dt for me. Official test day is Monday, my clinic is quite early compared to most. Can't wait and dreading it in equal measure!

@dogmam fingers crossed for Monday 🤞🏻it's an early blast right? Hopefully it goes well 💕
DH had his DNA frag today and we should get results in 2 weeks with a consultation. They asked for his results from his NHS sperm test, so they can discuss it all with him with the results ... scrambling to get them from the hospital atm.
Xx

@JeanieJ did you say you guys are seeing Mr Ramsay? We saw him last July

@dogmam how are you feeling in the tww? Yeah, natural modified, the doctor said it’s fine with my migraines so we’re doing that and I’ll be hoping for a normal length cycle, unlike last time. My period is due very soon so once that’s done I’ll be in the countdown. Going to have progesterone and he said a trigger shot is an option potentially.

@dogmam good luck for Monday! Dare I ask if you have any symptoms (even though my logical brain knows its too early really)?

@thislittlebird thank you. Im hoping it's just post-EC bloating as @dogmam suggests. I'm feeling a little better and less sore today which is great, but my poor digestive system is a mess... pretty sure some of it it IBS.

@JeanieJ good luck with the DNA frag!!

Yes, its day 3 for me today... sorry for the late update, it has been a busy day!

So. Good news: Of the 13 embryos only one didn't divide, so we have 12 still in the running. I'm super pleased! He said he checked them at 07:45 and 12 of them had 6-12 cells; lots seemed good, and some looked excellent, so we are still hoping for a Monday fresh transfer.

@Kay00 you might be lucky yeah, but it’s not uncommon and not much you can do if you get it obviously. it’s the double edged sword of a transfer working, as such.

Great news on the embryos! You might get quite a lot from that cohort! I think we had 5 left on day 3.

@thislittlebird I don't think I'm out of the woods with OHSS yet, but I'm glad to be feeling less uncomfortable today. And I was able to walk my dogs for a decent 45 mins which is good 😊

Yes, im cautiously optimistic for day 5. If I'm able to freeze some then I will be thrilled, but there is still plenty that could go wrong, and of course there is no guarantee any will implant, no matter how 'excellent' they are.

@Kay00 wow fab update! You're bound to get a few to freeze, congrats! Pleased you're feeling better. If you're still unwell before transfer, they could scan you to check for fluid build up.
Hmm I don't know about symptoms as such. I mean, I've definitely felt something, pulls, twinges etc but that was more in the immediate couple of days after transfer. I've been a bit crampy the last few days so that could be AF. My last two transfers I got BFPs both times, obviously didn't end well, but really can't remember if I felt anything. Should have wrote it down ha

@JeanieJ ah bet you can't wait for the results. I'm interested to know what the treatment is for dna frag. I asked my nhs clinic about it before we started this round and it was pretty much dismissed, there's no research to suggest evidence etc etc but wish I didn't listen to them. Yeah early blast, thank you! Xx

@thislittlebird ah it feels better when the count down is on doesnt it. Do you mind sharing your experience of Dr Ramsey? I'm in the North East so its a huge inconvenience having to go all the way to London, maybe multiple of times too, but haven't really heard of any other reputable consultants who can do an indepth dna frag test and also treat it. Because my clinic doesn't 'believe' in it, they won't do anything differently regardless of the results, so need someone who will actually treat any issues and follow up etc.

@dogmam all my best wishes for Monday. Thanks for asking, CD15 and no temp rise here.

@Kay00 your numbers are so good! Hopefully there are a whole bunch of quality embryos to go with

@dogmam yeah, although I did get a little upset tonight when AF showed signs of starting. It’s so hard to keep doing this and never know if it’s going to work, I don’t expect it to and then still get upset at the reminder of my inability to conceive yet again.

There’s probably others around nearer to you, but you’d need to find a urologist/andrologist that deals in dna fragmentation. With regard to Jonathan Ramsay, he’s a very friendly guy, he did run tests no one else had run on dh before we got to the point of starting IVF, which is what we wanted to do because we can’t afford endless rounds and didn’t even know if we’d get the one round we did get on the nhs at the time. He ran the various tests and they’re not cheap, his PA told me up front we were looking at around £900 (or something like that, can’t quite recall). He did a physical exam of dh, sent him off to have the various tests and then we got the results a while later and he essentially ‘cleared’ us to start ICSI based on DH’s results. They weren’t perfect, but as shown in the attached photo, he had zero percent high dna fragmentation (the red bars) which was the reason he said we should go ahead with icsi. Obviously since then we’ve successfully made embryos so I guess I can really say it did pan out like he said it would, if that makes sense? Confirmation bias maybe, but still, not a terrible outcome on our only free round so it kinda felt like a worthwhile investment to have made.

He’s by far the best known doc in this field, but I’m sure there are others around. The plus side is I know he treats things he finds, I’ve heard of antibiotics being prescribed, some men need clomid (low sperm count issues) and some need antioxidants like my husband took for months. I don’t know if that helps? It’s a lot of money to spend, but might be worth your while if this transfer isn’t the one.

@Kay00 those numbers sound good. 🙂 fingers crossed it goes well 💕💕

@dogmam yeah my my clinic totally dismissed that test too 🙄 - they just said if his sample is bad on the day, we'll do ICSI.

@thislittlebird - the place we're doing it with is linked to Dr Ramsay, but our consultation is with an embryologist.
I'm interested to see DH results ... we don't know the exact range of 'normal' he's at with the standard semen test, so hoping to get that info before the consultation.

I'm praying his frag results are ok 🤞🏻he's been beating himself up about the miscarriage thinking it's his fault and he's feeling hopeless about the outcome of any IVF cycle and ttc naturally.

I need him in a headspace where he's feeling like it's not a waste of time because I do think we have a chance at having a family🤞🏻 even though I'm feeling pretty crap about the length of our journey & baby loss.

I've nearly finished my first period since the loss. It was pretty normal, usual heavy on day 1-2, but maybe a bit clottier on day 1 and I'm still bleeding lightly on day 6, when I usually stop bleeding on day 4.
I'm feeling less anxious that I've got Ashermans from the D&C now - that was a genuine worry.

Still need to have another 2 periods before my clinic will do a cycle, so if I'm lucky, I might be able to do a round in September - if I can get my baseline scans & bloods done in August 🤞🏻 got my sisters wedding in Ireland the week I need those done, so the cycle might get delayed by another month.

@JeanieJ are you with the lister? It will be good to get his results and have a bit more information under your belt as such.

Glad to hear your AF is back to normal mostly. Mine went back to being weird and light again, I think it's my age and it's stressing me out. It's been normal since the IVF, I need to start going to acupuncture again when I'm back from our holiday.

@dogmam good luck for today x

@Kay00 any update? Good luck for today as well x

@JeanieJ I remember being worried about ashermans too but bleeding is a good sign. I hope you get OH results back soon and all is fine

No update here. I've had AF symptoms since Thursday and no AF yet. Hoping she comes before the bank holiday otherwise I won't be able to have my first Zoladex shot as the hospital will be shut

Morning ladies. @Tillybabs I only heard from the clinic half an hour ago.

I have one very good blast which they are going to transfer into me this afternoon which is great news 😁

My other 11 are still going but measuring a little behind, he expects some will make blast tomorrow, and some won't make it. Any that look good will be frozen. I should find out more at our appointment this afternoon - eek!

@Kay00 good luck today 💕💕💕

@Tillybabs the irony of hoping AF comes eh 🙄

@thislittlebird we booked the DNA frag with fertilitysolutions private. I'm with an NHS fertility clinic for IVF.

Mini update from me. We actually got DH's NHS semen analysis breakdown. Sample was provided last year, but we never thought to ask for a breakdown when they said it was 'normal'.
Turns out his morphology is 4% which is the lowest end of normal ... I feel like they should have flagged this no?

@JeanieJ that definitely should have been flagged I think. The good thing is it can be improved and also the fact you got pregnant without IVF is a good sign.

@Kay00 that's amazing news! How are you feeling today? I hope all goes well later 🙏🏽

@JeanieJ I’m a bit out of practice with semen analyses but I’m pretty sure 4% is fine? Morphology is the least important one too, but if it’s a concern taking impryl for 6 months or so really boosted my DH’s morphology from about 2.5% to 8%.

@Tillybabs is AF a bit unpredictable for you sometimes? Very annoying that they might be shut when you need the shot.

@Kay00 exciting to do the transfer! What day is it for the blasts now, 5? Not long to wait at least!

Forgot to add good luck to @dogmam x

@Kay00 your live update is making my monday great 😆so happy for you. Hope all goes well for this afternoon. x

@JeanieJ sometimes I wonder the definition of NHS's "normal" is the wildest spectrum on earth. my DH's SA is also a mere normal but we haven't thought of asking breakdown and see what can be improved. We left it a bit late now that our cycle is starting soon. but if this round fails we will definitely look into DNA frag test and all.

Thank you ladies 🤗 Its day 5 for my blasts, so this one (that I'll be transferring) is bang on time, the others will reach day 5 tomorrow we hope (which is still perfectly fine).

I'm also feeling fine today... other than the expected god-awful side effects of progesterone 😆 My bloating has gone down and I feel top-tip which is really good news.

@JeanieJ I remember when my OH did his SA the results showed his morphology was at the lower end of normal, but they said it was 'fine' and nothing to worry about. We took supplements anyway, but his morphology levels dropped further by the time we did IVF, and so we had to be upgraded to ICSI.

@dogmam the best of luck for today. All crossables crossed for you. Hope you're doing ok x

@Kay00 fantastic news. Good luck for your transfer this evening. Also if it helps Re your embryos, my two top graded embryos are day 5 and my fair embryo is day 5 so don't think the extra day impacts quality at all. Fingers crossed for a few on ice for you tomorrow.

@JeanieJ my OH is at the lower end of normal for morphology too but the embryologists are always going on about how good his sample is for IUI/IVF so don't think it's a massive concern. Hope you can squeeze in your tests in august for a September round and still get to enjoy your sisters wedding.

Sorry you're stuck in limbo @Tillybabs and fingers crossed you get sorted ahead of the bank holiday and can enjoy in peace.

Is it this week you're off on hols @thislittlebird ?

Hope you're doing ok @TheDaydreamBelievers. Are you seeing anything yet? Horrible to be stuck in limbo like that x

15 follicles here this morning which is amazing for me. 4 (15-18mm), 6 (11 and 12mm) and the rest smaller. Just worried that they'll have me trigger too soon and I'll miss those 6 at 11-12mm range. Think I'm hoping for a wed scan and trigger and a Friday collection. Risky for the other ones but I triggered last time when my biggest was 17.5 and out of 9 follicles only got 4 eggs so think it's worth advocating to try it a bit longer this time.

Oh wow @Gracie2021 that's great news 🙂 fingers crossed this week goes well 💕

@dogmam I hope today goes ok 🤞🏻

Thanks everyone for coming back on the SA stuff, my mind is just on overdrive since the loss. I'll see what the embryologist says & maybe speak to my clinic about doing ICSI if she agrees.

@thislittlebird did you find acupuncture good? I tried it last year, but didn't love the acupuncturist as I found him dismissive of IVF when it was first suggested to me, so I stopped going.

@Tillybabs sorry that AF is unpredictable for you. I hope it comes before the BH! 💕

@Gracie2021 FIFTEEN?! That’s so exciting, what a difference. Is it the same protocol?

Yesss I’m off to Cyprus on Saturday. Need to look for some nice restaurants in advance because the tourist fare is not my bag, but at least we’re self catering so can have some nice bbqs in the sun. I’ve lost 4lbs now and three inches off my waist since May 3rd, I’m so pleased with this! I really didn’t love my bmi being more than it should be for ivf and generally, so I’m hoping better health will be a benefit all round.

I got this swimsuit www.next.co.uk/g28526s4/t09243#t09243 and I had to exchange my size 12 I bought earlier this month for a size 10 so the shoulders weren’t too big. It’s a very flattering fit, I’m eyeing up another of the prints but probably need to chill out on the shopping since it’s only a week lol.

@Kay00 we had three on day 5 and then another two or three in the running on day 6, only one made it but they’re just slower to develop, if they make it they’ll be as good as the others.

@JeanieJ yeah acupuncture has been helpful to me tbh. I had trouble with light periods before I started going (and most months I have a month off the same issue occurs) but acupuncture seems to help that for me, I get normal flow rather than this piddly light thing I’m currently having. She does specialise in fertility acupuncture too so a lot of her clients are doing ivf.