IVF Buddies: the next chapter

[RunningOnHope]

Hi everyone, thought I'd try making us a second thread now the old one is done -

Tagging @Triselly @lemons44 @CR7 @Flowerlover010 @pongom @WholeZebra @TheBirdintheCave @SarahShorty - will go back to the thread and see if there's anyone else to add in, but do tag those I've missed!

Hello lovely @lemons44 xx so glad you're trying again. After our first cycle we had to start all over again so I know the feeling. However along with that comes the knowledge of every stage that's upcoming. No unknowns. No panic of what is coming. You've done it before and you know it's doable. All of that really minimised my dress levels second time around.

Doing ok here. Apart from being tired and starving at night I am symptom free. Have booked a private scan for this week. Surprisingly affordable at £45. Will let you know how it goes xx

I'm all set for my next transfer this coming Thursday. Work has been bloody awful recently, so I'm actually looking forward to being at the clinic. Weird how life can be sometimes. It's a trip to London (I'm not London-based), so I may even enjoy the travelling aswell.

@CR7 I'm still in awe of you. I'm so so happy for you xx

I hope everyone is okay xx

@SarahShorty so soon! And so exciting! Three more sleeps. I love London. Are you going the night before xx

And thank you ♥️

@CR7 Exciting times re the scan! Definitely let us know how it goes! 😬

@lemons44 When will your second round be?

@SarahShorty Only a few days away! 😬

We're off to Sicily on Wednesday!

@CR7 I can go the night before if I really had to, but I'm going on the day and will be leaving my house in the morning. It's just that I have pets and they need feeding and looking after, so it's a bit difficult to go the night before. London is okay for me in small doses. I don't like big cities and the general hustle and bustle, though there'll be more trips to London with the little ones to show them the sights; London Eye, Shard, Gherkin, Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace etc I might even pop into Sothby's, I love looking at the tiaras 😁

@TheBirdintheCave I know! Amazing how it's come around so quickly!

If there's no need to go the night before then no point. Please keep us posted on how you get on xx

Hi @CR7 glad you're doing ok - love hearing about your success as it gives me hope 💗 do you mind me asking why you had to start over again after your first round too?

How are you feeling about Thursday @SarahShorty?

Have fun on your holidays @TheBirdintheCave eat lots of lovely Sicilian food!

xx

@lemons44 first round was disastrous. Nhs. Only one egg collected. They froze on day one which is unheard of. Did a transfer following month. Unsurprisingly didn't work. Went private. Had to start over and re do all the tests. Also waited 7 weeks for nhs to release my file so I would say 4 months xx

@lemons44 I'm excited! But also nervous.

The bit I hate the most about it is having to fill my bladder up for the procedure. It brings back so many horrific memories from my childhood where I've not been able to visit a toilet and then when finally getting to one, having to sit on it for ages with people outside the door shouting at me to hurry up, because my bladder won't relax enough to fully empty. I've learned to be assertive in situations like that and tell them: "I can't go with you shouting at me, GO AWAY!" I've been told off for it, but nobody bosses me about like that and lives to tell the tale.

So anyone here with bladder anxiety on here, I get you. Do some bladder exercises when you're at home to help you get a feel for the point at which your bladder goes into a spasm and slowly go past it each time. You can also gauge how fast your bladder fills up. Your bladder is a muscle, so it can be stretched safely without distending. And while it is painful, don't worry about your bladder bursting, it can't do that unless there is a physical impact on it while it's full.

Sorry for that rant 😅

@CR7 I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the NHS. I feel so awful for those that have no choice but to use the NHS for things like this.

Sorry to hear about your first round @CR7

@SarahShorty yes keeping a full bladder was horrible. Totally get about the anxiety too I can't go in a public place unless there's lots of noise like dryers and taps going!

Can we also all just appreciate HOW ANNOYING CONSENT FORMS ARE. Just had to do all our consent forms AGAIN for round 2. I get that you need to do it each time but it's soooooooooo painful.

God yes. And the videos 🥲🥲🥲🥲

Thanks for your lovely words. It wasn't the best with the nhs. They actually sent my notes to someone else who gave them to me when she heard my name called. My notes were attached to hers and her appt was the one after mine xx

How are you @SarahShorty xx

Hi everyone
I hope you don’t mind me joining.
I’m staring IVF and have a few questions if you don’t mind answering as you seem very knowledgable on this subject.
Im really nervous and losing sleep over this whole entire process.

1- did you have to have a ET- this is some kind of trial prior to egg collection?

2- Do any of you have PCOS and will this mean I can only have frozen transfers as I’m at a higher risk for OHSS?

3- @CR7 you said about freezing on day 1 and this was unheard of, can you tell me what the process is supposed to be before we get mugged off by our clinic?

4- @CR7 can you elaborate on why the NHS experience was so bad and how this differs to private clinic?

sorry for all the questions but this journey is super lonely and I feel like the fertility appointments are always rushed and always so intense.

Thank you!
wishing you all the best of luck and thanking you for all your helpful advice. Xx

@CR7 hi! Only just seen this tag, sorry. It's been a long day. I had my transfer today. Successfully done. Once again I had to go back out and drink more fluids because my bladder had a mind of it's own, only on the other end of the crazy spectrum; I drank 2.5 litres of water all in and despite getting very full, I wasn't pissing buckets like I would be expecting to. I don't know, my body is a mystery. Anyway, the embryo was a 4CB, (4 is expanded blastocyst, not hatched) not quite hatched yet. Cells were a bit more muddled-looking this time but hopefully will be okay. How are you? Are you getting any other or more symptoms? xx

Glad you had your transfer @SarahShorty 💗 what are you up to today? Hopefully u get some time to chill.

Hi @Wish1 welcome to the group. I know there's others a lot more knowledgeable than me, especially @CR7 who has provided us all with a lot of advice! But here's some input from me too.

ET stands for embryo transfer. Eggs are collected and fertilised with sperm and then an embryo is normally transferred either 3 or 5 days past collection. That's why you may often see '3dt' or '5dt' ... it stands for 3 day transfer or 5 day transfer.

Just a different perspective on NHS. We started our process to pay for private IVF. We had a consultation with our desired clinic. However very unexpectedly our NHS funding was approved (we thought it would take months and months but it processed very quickly). The clinic we were going to use as private patients also accepts NHS patients. Therefore we were able to use the same clinic with the same consultant we were going to pay privately for, as NHS patients. So for us, there wouldn't really be any difference in quality of treatment if we were paying private or not. Hope that makes sense

Hopefully others can help with your OHSS questions.

Please keep asking questions as you need it. It's a lot to learn! When are you starting treatment?

Xx

@lemons44
Hiya
Thank you for responding and answering my questions, I really appreciate it.

We have already started the process and had our initial consultation.
I had to do bloods and a scan, during the scan they found a polyp which means I now need another examination to determine the size and location and how they can take it out.
I.e if small enough they’ll take it out on day of examination and if unable to do so they’ll recommend surgery (there’s a massive waiting list for this).
We have also been told that on my next cycle I’ll have the examination and an ET (which normally means embryo transfer but in this case) means something trial I can’t remember what the E is for.
Apparently they do a trial prior to the actual procedure.
I haven’t heard of this before so really looking for someone to shine a light on this, is it a unique experience for me due to the polyp or PCOS or has no one just spoken about the details.

how are you getting on? X

@Wish1 I had a mock transfer. Maybe that's what it means? I basically did everything for the transfer as per usual but on the day we would have done the transfer I had a Hysteroscopy and an Endmetrio.

Can I suggest anytime you go for a consultation you ask them if you can record the conversation on your phone so that you don't miss details. I learned that as I could never remember what they told me when I left the room xx

@Wish1 I would call them and ask them to explain everything again. I have an online portal where they post lots of information for me. Do you have that?

@SarahShorty so proud of you ♥️

@Wish1 some people have a great experience with the nhs. My SIL had private treatment but got in on the nhs.

They let me down a lot, didn't explain things, sent my patient info out to another patient, did things that they shouldn't have done.

@CR7
Thank you for responding.
The ET in discussion is the mock transfer you had, I’m due to have this on my next cycle.
Is there a reason you needed those two procedures? (Please feel free not to answer as I know this is private).

We will also have a Information session soon which I’m looking forward to and I’ll be asking lots of questions on this day and taking notes.
This time I’m going prepared with a note pad or maybe even a laptop 🫣

The recent appointment I had was overwhelming due to the discovery of the polyp and also the consultant (I think was new/learning) was making me even more nervous as he wasn’t clear with the steps and to some things he said he doesn’t know and the rest he had to leave the room on multiple occasions to get the answers.

The portal sounds amazing, we don’t have anything like this.

@Wish1 I have had problems with getting my lining thick enough. My second transfer was also with an embryo that had gone through genetic testing so it "should" have worked.

The two procedures revealed that I had a displaced implantation window (I needed an extra day of drugs above the norm) and also that my biome wasn't quite right so I did a course of caneston vaginal probiotics to balance me out. I also had drugs added to the next cycle (which has proved successful!) including steroids, progesterone injections and blood thinners.

Try not to worry about everyone else's journeys too much though as everyone is on such a different path. I have never found anyone who is on the drugs I'm on. I'm 42 and my amh is really low.

Defo record the conversations and defo don't stand for a de who doesn't know what he's doing.

@CR7 You are so right, everyone is on a different path and it’s unique to them.
I might ask to record the conversation so I can listen back and actually digest the information.

My partner was with me and he said exactly what you just said, why do we have a Dr that doesn’t know what we are asking, he also told us a plan and then left the room and came back and completely changed the plan so I think he is under the instruction of a consultant.
I just didn’t have the heart to say anything because everyone starts somewhere and I’m just a softie.
This has also been a really big lesson though because the next steps are more overwhelming and my life is in someone’s hands so I’m definitely going to be a bit more cautious.
xx

@Wish1 I am guessing you're paying for this treatment? Regardless don't put up with anything but the best service. Ask questions. Ask them why you haven't been given any literature. I have a massive file of information about every step of the treatment I've had along with handouts. Even the nhs gave me lots of paperwork to read through x

@CR7 I think maybe the information session is for this so i’m eagerly waiting for this session.
We are waiting to hear back on funding so it’s most likely NHS as we should be eligible for this and if not private it will have to be.
The hospital we are with does both funded and self funded so I imagine the service should not be too different.
xx