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

@99pctpractice oh that's so annoying. I hope it's mega late for you then

@Gracie2021 I hope all goes well tomorrow. Pls keep us updated x

@99pctpractice youve summed my relationship with my period up perfectly 🤣
@gracie2021 amazing! Hope it goes well. I've only done this whole thing oncez but after my transfer it felt like I had my life back and it was so good! X

Just in recovery today. Got 8 same as my last duostim second leg which I'm thrilled out. Really really really hoping the egg quality adjustments we've made will pay off. Fertilization first step anyway so just praying we get either our usual 50% feet or higher.

@gracie2021 woo! Fingers crossed for fertilisation 😍

Thanks @beckyCarlos just got a call from them that Ohs sample for the first time ever isn't great abd they're converting to ICSI. E have a 50% fertilization each time so hoping maybe ICSI will be better for us. Either way last egg retrieval out of the way and I feel so much better than I did after the last one. The relief to have them done no matter how it goes from here.

@99pctpractice 100% with you on the emotion rollercoaster that is the period and fertility. You're always waiting on it to do something from starting treatment to ending hope. Fingers crossed for mega late period and you can start after hols 🤞

Thinking if you today @Kay00 how is the TWW going for you? Hope the OHSS symptoms have passed?

Thanks so much for the well wishes ladies. Hope everyone's had a lovely long weekend!

@Kay00 How are you doing? Just read your update about no blasts to freeze, thats super frustrating with such high numbers. Hopfully the one transferred is all it takes xx as @InvisibleDreamer has said, from day 3 its the sperm that takes over the growth of the embryo I think and thats when the biggest drop off usually is.

@Gracie2021 fab news all your collections are done! Bet you are relieved. What's the next steps for you now?

@thislittlebird thanks for all the info re Dr Ramsey, thats really helpful. We are just finalising dates with his PA, for mid July so feel good about that.

Hello ladies, sorry i have been absent the last few days. I had a super busy weekend camping with my niece and hosting a street party for my neighbours and dealing with builders earlier this week.

@Gracie2021 how was the fertilisation rate? I hope you're OK and the ICSI worked well for you xx

I'm currently 9dp5dt (14dpo) and if I'm honest it has been a bit of a rollercoaster the last few days. The progesterone suppositories have been irritating me quite a bit so my IBS has been flaring up (not pretty... esp. when camping!).

Then yesterday I started spotting, just light pink and brown; I was immediately an emotional wreck. I called the clinic and the nurse said it could be be normal cleaning out' blood, or it could come from the irritation from the hormones or it could be implantation, which calmed me down. Then this morning I had a flash of red blood, then more brown spotting, and now its very very light. But this is exactly what happens in the days before my period starts.

Test day is Friday at 11dp5dt, and I'm tempted to test early to put myself out of my misery. My OH however is keen to wait until Friday in case it's 'too early' (🙄he has no idea that 16DPO is actually quite late to test but then he's also 'Mr Rules'. Honestly it's like living with Kier Starmer sometimes 😂)

@Kay00 ooh exciting, it could very well be implantation bleeding but understood the immediate panic! My clinics official test date is 9dp5dt just saying! Sounds like you've had lots of nice distractions over the last week or so which is good.

How is everyone?

Hi all, quiet weekend here too. Hope everyone is well.

@Kay00 glad you had a good weekend and good timing for some distraction while you wait. Well done on having the self control not to test yet. I definitely wouldn't have managed it. All crossables crossed that it's just implantation spotting and for a positive result. Hope Friday comes quickly. Still waiting on the final count here, day 6 tomorrow. But if 8 collected, 7 were mature and 5 fertilized with ICSI. 4 were still on track at day 3 so honestly don't know what they'll tell me tomorrow. At this stage Ive been at 1, 2 and 3 on track at day three across 3 diff cycles and each time only got one embryo so I would be shocked it came back 0 to 4.... just hoping the growth human worked for us 🤞

@dogmam have heard a lot online about Ramsey. Think people from Ireland even fly over to consult with him. Glad ye can get in so soon. Next steps here is an embryo transfer. Just waiting on period and then straight onto meds with an estimated transfer date towards the end of the month. Can't wait although super nervous.

@Gracie2021 ahh, thats super exciting that you're already looking towards your egg transfer 😊 I also have everything crossed that you get closer to 4 than closer to 0 on day 5 xx

@dogmam thanks xx ill keep hope that it's implantation too... or I'll try. This progesterone is making me such a Debbie downer 😅 I'm never usually so bloody negative all the time!

@Kay00 thanks a mil. Ah will know soon enough so just hoping for the best. I'm so sorry the progesterone is hitting you hard. That's my devil drug. It's so awful for the mood. Hope your stomach is settling slightly with it too?

Lol @kay00 I know youre having a rough time but I spat out my tea at Mr Rules and Kier Starmer! I'm very much of the 'put myself out of my misery' camp...I tested about 5 days 'early' (before otd) because I was having bad cramps and just needed to know if it was my period coming. (We didnt tell anyone else though, which was actually quite nice walking round with a little lovely secret).

@gracie2021 4 on track is ace! Everything crossed for you!

@99pctpractice where are you off on holiday to? Or where are you at this point!

@Gracie2021 glad your last EC is out of the way.

@dogmam no worries, glad you’ve got something booked in with him in July. Hopefully it’ll give you a better idea of what’s going on.

@Kay00 keeping busy is probably a good thing! Keep us posted if you decide to test, the tww is very shit. Living with Keir Starmer has ended me 😂😭

Weird how you guys find progesterone terrible and I don’t even notice I’m on it 😂. I had to get a blood test to check it was even doing anything.

@beckyCarlos i don’t know how to get round not telling anyone about the next transfer since they know we’ll be due one soon. I find it really hard lying about it all.

I’m still in Cyprus, staying in a village outside of Paphos and the villa is lovely, super quiet, right on the sea and ideal for a chilled break with really great weather, photos of the back of the villa with the views and my new friend the inflatable strawberry attached. Not sold on the main towns nearby though which are absolutely heaving with Brits. Could do without that, but we’ve mostly been in our place and visiting some sights so it’s been great in that regard.

Oh and of course today my mind drifted to how it would be an ideal villa if we had a baby and then I got sad 😑

@thislittlebird that villa looks amazing! I hope you're having a fab time

@Kay00 sorry about the progesterone. I was thinking yesterday how much our bodies are going through with all these meds and hormone changes.

I'm really hoping it's implantation bleeding you're having x

@Gracie2021 I hope you get some good news tomorrow with your update c

@Kay00 I fecking hate progesterone. It's like the day before period the entire time you're on it 🙄

@TheDaydreamBelievers yes, that's exactly what it's like 😆 I'm usually really upbeat, but I've been walking around with a face like a slapped arse, and everyone keeps asking if I'm OK? 😑

Kier... ahem, I mean OH, has been really sweet looking after me. He's in work today and I have been temped to test to get it out the way, but he really wants to be here to support me, so I'll probably hold off until tomorrow.

I wish I had tested every day and hidden the tests until tomorrow. If it was positive I'd love to have a daily progression pic... but I'm not that lucky, and I didn't want to risk the utter devastation of having 7 negative tests all at once 😂😂😂

@thislittlebird that looks amazing! I also hate brits abroad lol. Its hard isnt it, on one hand its nice that everyone cares but some days you just want to deal with it between you. And boo to your mind, I hate minds, they're sneaky and like to shock you when you're all calm!

@kay00 I'm not sure I'd be able to wee on that many tests and not look at one 🤣 but that does sound like a lovely idea. What type of test have you gone for for OTD? (No judgement here, I took three, 'just in case' lol)

I had no side effects from the progesterone, so much so that I was convinced it hadnt worked which is why I took the early test with the cramps!

@thislittlebird that looks amazing. So jealous. I did the same on our last holiday last summer. This bittersweet "wouldn't this be a lovely place for a family holiday"" thought. Didn't help that at dinner one night a couple was watching their baby take it's first steps on the cobbles next to us. So cute but heart wrenching too. But on a happier note hope you're enjoying all the well earned relaxation. I told my dad a bare faced lie this morning. He asked me next steps and I said we'd take a month or two of a break to give my body a chance to recover. In reality we transfer in 2-3 weeks but want some element of surprise and also don't want to have to update if it's bad news.

@Kay00 I definitely wouldn't have the will power not to sneak a peek at the test tbh but it's a lovely idea for those with more patience/self control. Everything crossed for you for tomorrow has the spotting eased?
@TheDaydreamBelievers that is the best description for progesterone effects. The lowest day of the month but every day!

Thanks @Tillybabs just got word back and we got TWO embryos. So so delighted. That's five embryos now out of four rounds and the target by our doctor had been 5-6 banked. Thrilled and all worth it. Ironically the best embryoes are from the first double round when we got a 4AA and a 4BA. This round we got two 3CBs and a 5BC. So we'll be transferring 4AA in a few weeks.

@Gracie2021 Yey!! That's super exciting!! Congratulations!

@beckyCarlos I'll be using a FRER but I also have Clearblue and IC's...

My spotting of brown light blood has continued (3rd day now) and I just had my second flash of red blood. Sorry if this is TMI ... but both times I had red blood followed a bowel movement (sorry!), and my bowels are super irritated at the moment from the progesterone suppositories. So I'm hoping that the blood is all a result of irritation in that general area. But my heart feels/knows its just as likely to be my period trying to get started. Urgh.

@thislittlebird Your holiday pictures look amazing! Its so beautiful there xx Hopefully you can arrange a return trip when you have your little one, one day soon x

@gracie2021 thats amazing! Will you let us know how your transfer goes (you absolutely dont have to though!!)

@kay00 yeeees a woman after my own heart! I got a pink lined one (cant remember brand) because I heard they were the best in terms of lack of confusion, a clear blue digital weeks, and threw an internet cheapie in there just because I had some left (i bought a pack of 20 in 2020 thinking 'what a waste of money...')

@beckyCarlos 100% will keep ye posted. This thread keeps me sane. Haven't had a TWW in a while too so out of practice 😂🙈🙈 btw know we've had some similar issues in terms of follicle numbers so just in case it's of any interest.... I had my highest quality embryo on testosterone gel priming and clomid with high stims which ended up being my round with the fewest eggs collected. From 2 eggs got one 4AA embryo. Added the kitchen sink in following rounds including DHeA, melatonin, HGH, lower stims and while we got more eggs either got 1 embryo of less quality or 2 embryoes of middling quality. I also wonder about back to back rounds impacting quality as my best embryoes are from my first double round. Anyway just sharing in case it's of interest when planning your next protocols.

Good selection @Kay00 I need to stock up on the good ones before transfer too actually. Fingers crossed the blood is just the irritation and not spotting. Tmi also but I find progesterone causes constipation which can cause hemorrhoids which can cause some bleeding. Glad you have support tomorrow taking the test and I'm going to be sending all the positive vibes your way!! (Sorry about the pun)!

Aaaah @Gracie2021 that's great news!! So glad you banked another 2! And quality doesn't mean everything, some of those lower quality ones could end up being golden :o) All fingers crossed for the first transfer! Totally get wanting to keep it to yourself - you sometimes need a little bit of privacy in this process !!

@Kay00 keeping everything crossed for your test day tomorrow!!!! Hopefully it's just implantation / irritation bleeding and you get good news on all the sticks!!

@thislittlebird that looks divine!! Such a good idea to get a villa to yourself - we're on hols in Portugal. It's fab, but I did have a complete meltdown on husband yesterday - I just bawled at him about all the families, babies and pregnant people we're surrounded by at the hotel and how we're still no closer. I think it's that we've now been trying for nearly 18 months, plus turning 41, plus the miscarriage in March. And in some way I thought it would just all go away and I'd forget about it being on holiday, but actually I just have more time to think about how sad it makes me. Plus I spoke with the nhs nurse to book myself in for an hsg and she said we'd have to not have sex until I have the hsg which means I probably can't have it until late July, so we have to not have sex while I'm ovulating next month. And although I know it's highly unlikely that I would get pregnant next month (having not for the last however many), but it still makes me panic not to be able to try (plus asking OH to use condoms for 2 weeks will not make for a happy OH!). And my period arrived the Sunday before we left for Portugal so I have to wait until next cycle before I can start a monitoring cycle if we go with Argc.

Sorry for all the whinging!!!!! That's my rant over! We are having a lovely holiday, really :o) it's just not quite the infertility-free break that i thought it would be....

Morning all.

My test was negative. I'm surprisingly fine with it. I suppose I knew it would be negative. If anything I'm angry with myself for having that glimmer of hope. I should have tested days ago to put myself out of misery.