Fertility Appointments and Beyond: Electric Boogaloo

[thislittlebird]

Hit capacity on the old thread, will tag you in!

@99pctpractice I'm dying at that bum injection! As if he has the cheek (accidental pun). How lovely to be in Greece! When we went away in the summer it was just what I needed, I know you cant run away from your problems forever but for two weeks it was bloody lovely! Physical distance is definitely necessary sometimes. Next scan is Tues at 10am (no idea if they're just differently staffed now but last time I was getting all the 7.50/8am appointments but this time theres a choice! For which I'm grateful

@thislittlebird go little 4BB!! I have everything crossed for you both... I have a good feeling for you on this one 🤞🫶

@beckyCarlos a 100% improvement is excellent 😁 and I really believe it's quality rather than quantity, so hopefully your brewing up some lovely little eggies.

@99pctpractice enjoy your holiday in Greece... It's such a beautiful country! Although I'm sorry to hear your OH has tonsillitis 😞

My SIL (the one who was TTC for 7 years, lost a shit ton of weight so she could start IVF then got pregnant naturally) wants to do a family live stream of her gender reveal on the day before I'm due to have an embryo transfer (or not, if none of my crummy embryos make it).

I'm not sure if I'll have the patience for it to be honest. I'm super pleased for her, but she knows my situation and has still be showing off about being pregnant around me. Going on about how hard it is, and how rubbish her symptoms make her feel... Seriously... She must know that I would kill to be in her position, to feel rubbish and have those symptoms for that reason 🙄

@kay00 jeez thats harsh of her! I know shes entitled to be over the moon, but of all people she should know you'll be, at best, a little affected by that. Can you log in but say you have camera issues, not put the camera on, and get your partner to watch it via ear phones and man the chat or something?

Hope you're all ok and things are looking good for everyone. I had my second scan today, and my little 13mm follicle has grown to 17mm! The two small ones with that one have grown 2mm each, and the other small one on the other side is languishing. Waiting on a call from the clinic to confirm if I should take my final dose of stims (I hope so, just to give the other two a boost/fighting chance)and egg collection on Fri, or if its egg collection on Thurs... nerve wracking but also good! X

Egg collection is Thurs.... heeeeeeck! Nervous but distracting myself by eating all the protein, keeping my belly and feet warm, and looking forward to the nap after 🤣

Ooooh @beckyCarlos good luck!! Really hoping those littler follicles catch up and you double your numbers from last time! Very much envy you the big sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night, mind whirring and not being able to get back to sleep again so could well do with one of those!!!! Still on the what ifs. If anyone has any non-fertility podcast recommendations it would be much appreciated for the getting back to sleep distraction!!

Having a lovely time in Greece. Just doing my best not to count the no of children per family, age gaps, pregnant ladies, etc. i didn't know other people did this until Emma Barnett mentioned it in her trying newsletter, ha! my oh is now better, phew. I have had some weird cramping - i thought it was a dodgy tum, but it doesn't seem to be. Feels a lot like period pains but I only had my post-ivf bleed a couple of weeks ago. Has anyone else had v short cycles / cramping post ivf? I've usually had longer cycles, but I guess it could go either way (especially if I'm on holiday and completely unprepared 🤣)

@beckyCarlos cocktail place noted!

I am waiting for these interviews to be done tomorrow so I can BREATHE.

how many are they expecting to collect on Thursday? Four? That’s nearly here!

@99pctpractice where in Greece? Hope he’s recovered from the bum injection. Not had that, when is your AF due?

@Kay00 i don’t have many good feelings 😩. I wish I knew why they didn’t implant. Right now I’m too busy to worry but after Wednesday.

when is your ET due? Yeah sorry to your sister in law but I’d be busy that day. That’s kind of insensitive and self obsessed imo.

It's near Thessaloniki - nice beach, nice food, all in all very relaxing. Not much by way of interesting stuff to see but tbh we needed a bit of a chill out rather than an action packed holiday!! Paddle boarding is the extent of the adventures that I feel like...

@Kay00 I'm with @thislittlebird, your sil really sounds the height of insensitive. If you can, it might be easier in the long term if you are honest with her now and say while you're delighted she's pregnant, you're not in a place right now where you feel like you can be excited for her gender reveal in the way that you feel like she would like you to. i mean, when did the gender reveal have to become such a thing anyway? I'm such a humbug about this stuff - why can't people just find out at their scan like everyone always used to? Have you started stims now? Hopefully those embryos won't be the slightest bit crummy 🤞

Ooh @99pctpractice I've started listening to one calle nothing much happens; bedtime stories for grown ups. The narrator has such a soothing voice (and nothing happens at all, she just describes someone walking down the beach or tidying their living room, but its so soothing! Your holiday sounds lovely 😍

@thislittlebird good luck tomorrow!! I think 4 is optimistic, the littlest one hasnt grown at all, realistically 1, hopefully three if I can encourage the others to grown a bit more!

Re gender reveal 100% I dont even want to know until its here and screaming !

@99pctpractice paddle boarding sounds cool. I want a break but I just don’t think we can justify it beyond a UK trip this year with ivf starting. Hopefully can get a wintry break in.

I don’t think I’d be able to resist finding out, I’ve been waiting so long to think about names and may never get there, but I really can’t stand this gender reveal malarkey. Lbr, the only people who care are mum and dad of baby and grandparents. People making a song and dance about it are making it more about them but maybe that’s just me being harsh 🤨. I also feel similarly about baby showers, it’s all very yankie doodle dandy, miss me with that thanks.

@beckyCarlos same old cliche but it only takes one as you know. Fingers crossed 🤞 you get a bonus one or two!

that podcast sounds interesting, might have to check it out. I really do wish I was better at reading and less distracted by social media.

Thanks ladies x you're all so understanding... It's great! Really!

I agree with the sex reveal and the baby shower things... They are not for me. I am not that keen on having too much attention on me and it's all a bit fussy and frilly. I'm too practical for that shit, and wouldn't want to jinx anything anyways. Bah (humbug)!

@Kay00 really don't see why people make a big deal out of gender reveal. If you are not in a good place, I'd avoid, I know I would!

@beckyCarlos yey for collection tomorrow! I'm not far off. Just been for a scan this morning and I've been told I'm ready to trigger tonight. So collection would be Friday for me. Also looking forward to this incredible sleep everyone's mentioned :)

@thislittlebird good luck for the interviews today. Let us know how everything goes. Hope you are ok X

@99pctpractice enjoy Greece! The holiday sounds lush!

@thislittlebird thinking of you!!

@tinkerbell098 yey!! How exciting! How many follicles do you have? I would caveat the big sleep with my friend who has SUPER anxiety and she didnt nap at all (but I, who was anxious about the thing itself, slept like a log) x

@beckyCarlos got 8 in the range they want. 6 very tiny ones. I've just had a call to say I would need another dose of menopur this evening before the trigger which is a bit odd, but maybe they're trying to get some of the smaller ones to grow a tad.

Aw @tinkerbell098 thats amazing! Fingers crossed some of the 6 catch up as well. That is intetesting, must be what they're hoping for 😊 x

@beckyCarlos fingers crossed for yours too. How are you feeling about it? Hope you are having a relaxed day today.

@tinkerbell098 flicking between excited, nervous, scared, happy..! Its really hard to explain to anyone without experience of it how you can feel so many conflicting things at once. I've done minimal work today, had myself on do not disturb all day, just trying to be chill

@Tinkerbell098 @beckyCarlos eek, it's getting really exciting for you both! Fingers and toes crossed for you both x

I have had an absolutely grueling couple of days in work. I have been managing an office refit (lots of builders etc etc) which started this week, my new boss and bosses boss have visited. I organised three office events in two days (catering and tech sorted for all) and took a group of senior leaders out for dinner last night .. and this is all on top of my actual job which is super intense 🙃

And on top of it all... My bosses sprung a 30 minute interview on me, for which I had 15 minutes to prepare... Fuck me!!! My brain is ready to explode. I didn't sleep last night with everything buzzing in my head... So an interview was bad timing. Hope I didn't fuck it up 😅 😱

Post Northisterone period is due imminently. Baseline scan is on Friday. Urgh... I need this week to be over!

@Kay00 they sprang an interview on you?! Wot. That’s a bit mental. No warning it might be today?

Thanks for the good luck wishes, ladies! Interview one went well but I absolutely ploughed through the presentation. It was like my nervous brain took over, so that’s a bit gutting, I was way too fast, 5 mins turned into 3ish? 🫠 ANYWAY, onto interview two and that went well, I think? Both are the same pay grade, one is doing basically what I do now but a bit more advanced and the team were nice, the other (presentation one) was doing something completely different but still at the same place and the team were also nice. Will see if I get any offers!

I’m still on a post-interviews adrenalin rush!!!

@beckyCarlos good luck with the EC and also @Tinkerbell098 for Friday!

@beckyCarlos good luck for today! Thinking of you X

Well that did not go well. The anesthetist was late. I had my cannula put in on the operating table. I had some sedation but not enough that I didnt feel and remember each and every vaginal injection given. And there was no egg in my follicle. Zilch. Nothing. The follicle was giving off all the hormones, my lining was thickening etc. The consultant had a very compassionate chat before I left but fuck me the wind has been knocked out of me. We'll have a review (not sure what they can say past 'your ovaries are fucked') and look at egg donation options in the meantime. Eugh. This is not where I wanted to be today.

@beckyCarlos I'm so so sorry you've had a crap day. That is really frustrating :( I hope you are doing something nice and you have some support. Really big hug and really hope you can work out next steps with your clinic. Lots of love XX

Oh god @beckyCarlos that’s so shit, I’m really sorry. What an awful day. We’re here if you want to scream at the world , ivf is really shite and they don’t prepare people enough for all this rubbish it throws up. 💜

Thanks @tinkerbell098 (don't worry, this wont happen to you!) and @thislittlebird (have you heard from the interviews yet?)

Realistically I'm already moving on, I've known this was a possibility since August 2021, and our first round EVERYONE was surprised I got an embryo and pregnant, so needing to look at donors isnt a surprise and I'm doing ok with it (and a lovely lovely friend has offered and I am blown away by that). It just SUCKS. Like, I've never done anything patricularly risky, I eat well, I'm healthy, I've always tried to be a good person (although I do have a wickedly dark sense of humour - cue hysterical laughing at the picture in the room in the clinic where people go to cry of a family of 4 flying a fucking kite 🤣🙈) and it is NOT FAIR. But you ladies know that unfortunately. Bah humbug.

Not at work till Tues at the earliest so plenty of time to relax and feel. And have red wine. And my mum was coming up on Monday anyway so she'll force me up and out and cheer me up in the way only mums can. Onwards and forwards, after a few days of tenderness x

Oh @beckyCarlos I am so so sorry. My most recent egg collection i woke up to them telling me that they had got no eggs, but they then took me back in an hr later and got 6 (all duff, so didn't do me much good anyway, but I can't tell you how much I appreciated the effort of the consultant in taking me back in and trying again). I sobbed and sobbed before and during them taking me back in until the anaesthetic hit. It's so bloody unfair and traumatising. We're also now on the donor egg train, just figuring out the best way of going about it to try to minimise the chances of more failed cycles along the way... sending lots of big hugs your way.