Assisted conception and the bits inbetween Part Two!.......

[spook]

Hi everyone.
New thread starts here....

So sorry Nappy. Thinking of you xx

Hi

Nappy Sorry to hear your news.

AF arrived from today , so back on the rollercoaster again, the sysmptoms I had must have come from the cyclogest, as I was convinced I was pregnant this time, I have had 3 MC's and the EP sysmptoms were very similar. This will be my last cycle of Gonal F before IVF so keeping everything crossed that this is the one.

Going to stay in the company of you guys for this cycle if thats OK with you.

daisy sorry hun I was hoping it was going to work for you.

lottie I think you captured my sentiments entirely and made me smile. The extra progesterone did make all the difference to the not bleeding though. Although it made me wonder about Hcg again, because that is what a preg test -tests for! Must remember to ask about that next time.

cedar thanks for the offer. I am doing fine thought. You probably see my silver Berlingo chugging around with big magnetic plates on the side saying Talking Tots. ooo eer maybe I have cut your up on occasion! But on the +ve side a local friend of mine gave birth last week to beautiful baby conceived at the Wessex.

update Have spoken to clinic and because it was a natural cycle last time, as soon as AF arrives we can count that as CD1 and start downregging toward the end of that cycle. Which is good news. This will be our final attempt (unless any frozen ones) and if it fails we will give up and take the hint that God does not want us to have more than 1 child naturally. Who knows what the future may bring.

I am doing fine just feeling crap due to stomach upset and expecting AF soon. Note might not be so perky once bleeding starts!!

Hi belgium.

FSH is one of those weird hormones. the older you get and the less good your body is at making eggs develop, the more FSH your body produces.

I think I am right in saying 5-8 is normal
8- 10 is concerning but not drastic
11 + is a problem. (depends on clinic some say 12+ and mine uses a different test altogether!)

Once you are hitting the menopause your levels rocket to 45-50 apparently.

When I got my blood tests back form the doc, the ranges were shown at the bottom of the sheet.

So

Sorry to hear your news Nappy, how gutting. Still hope for the next time though.

Bad news for your husband LL, how will that affect your treatment?

I am going for my scan tomorrow and will be hopefully injecting soon. I had a scan on Monday and couldn't start as womb lining was too thick and there was a cyst so hope that it has thinnned out and that the cyst has gone.

On and on we all go!

Nappy - sorry to be so late with my sympathies - but you really do sound strong and so let's hope this final attempt comes up trumps! fingers crossed

Daisy - also sorry that AF arrived for you - I am expecting mine this time next week. Yes, I might be pregnant (and pigs can fly) but if not, then we get to start the cycle - so gains all round-ish!

BelgianBun - FSH levels are lowest on Day 1 and then they do go up so if yours was taken on Day 2, then I would not be worried about it, because it would have been lower on day 1. Mine was 9.6 this month, but 8.6 last month, so I am in the danger zone but my clinic are fine as long as it is below 10.

Good luck Bamboo for tomorrow!

Bamboo - good luck for scan tomorrow.
Mowmi - good luck with the weight loss.
Sooty - hope things go well with the new doctor and your enthusiasm is restored.
Spook - MBTs sound good (I have horrid bum and thighs & tum). Impressed by all your walks and thought your post about ds's snog was so sweet. Since you're cut-off from the world this week, hope you enjoyed your log cabin - sounds great.
Belgianbun - Good luck for appointment on Friday. Where are you with that shining sun? I thought as long as FSH was under 9 it was OK, but had the following reference levels on my test results last month:
Follicular phase: 1.5 ? 11.4
Midcycle: 3.4 ? 34.2
Luteal: 1.1 ? 9.5
Pregnant:

Hi Issy yes i started yesterday jabbing into stomach at the clinic for first one and done todays at home. Injection site is a bit itchy but it wasnt too bad. The research project sounds interesting.

Daisy sorry your af got you

*spook i love my mbts and am convinced they help me walk better and get rid of all the cellulite

Nappy it sounds positive that you can start asap although

Hugs to all those i havent mentioned xx

poping in again...Lottie postpone a month - what's a month... it's so easy to put the rest of your life on hold whilst on this rollercoaster. You know it's the right thing to do - spend some time together now before you're forced to spend most of your time apart. You'll regret it on those nights you're really missing him and it'll do you good.

Talking of getting more healthy... went to see a nutritionist at the zita west clinic last week - it was really interesting. My goal is loose weight and balance my hormones at the moment and then improve egg quality when we get closer to the next round. She gave me some really good pointers (lots of seeds, linseeds, supplements, eating small and often, cut down on carbs and always have protein when eating carbs) I started the GI diet on wednesday and switched to her guidelines on Friday and I've lost 4 pounds in a week!

Hello to everyone else!

x

Hi ladies
LL - sounds like life likes to throw you one of those curve balls! - sorry to hear about DH's job, but maybe Zurich will be a fab opportunity for you both. I too would wait a month, what is a month? - the holiday maybe exactly what you need to chillax before the next cycle. Good luck sweetie.

NV - sorry to hear about your BFP
Daisy - you too - hope you are both doing ok in spite of it all
Spook hope all is well with you
Mowmi - can't believe you lost 4lbs already, how wonderful and what a great motivational start for you. keep it up girl.

hugs

lottie wait and have the holiday. Trips like that forge a relationship and are something to be treasured, especially if you are going to be apart. AND when the IVF is successful you won't be able to do that for a couple of years. Take the holiday and LEAVE YOUR THERMOMETER AT HOME .

mowmi way to go on the weight loss.

Hello everyone! I've just been catching up on the month that I've been off this thread -and what a lot's happened! OAP, I'm thrilled, what fantastic news and it's exactly what I need to hear right now! Spook and Mowmi - belated but huge hugs. It's amazing how completely unfair and shitty life can be in completely random ways.

I was plunged into the depths by my last FSH test a month ago, which was still 15. I had really hoped the previous result last summer was a blip but no, looks consistent. Which is almost curtains for me. Added to which, I'm in a conundrum about the medical support I've got... I'm with a private consultant, the only one in my town. After the FSH result, he put me on HRT to bring it down. Nit sure about this - it tricks the pituitary gland into thinking your ovaries are working because there's more oestrogen in the system, but doesn't actually improve ovarian response, so what's the point? And then we went to visit the clinic he works with in London, and were amazed at how shabby and disorganised it was. They don't do the egg collection there and we have to go round the corner to another clinic for that bit, is that normal? But, they might let me go ahead with my own eggs if my FSH is down to 12, and I really want to try with my own eggs (assuming there are any!) We came out in a panic and went to see another clinic down the road, the London Women's Clinic, which was gleaming, professional, does everything and is cheaper! But will probably tell me I need an egg donor. I really don't know what to do.

And the jaws of time are closing - AF arrived today, 4 days late (mc or messed up by the HRT? I don't know...) so next FSH tomorrow and if the drugs have brought down the FSH I have to decide whether to go now with the dodgy clinic or wait till next month to see if the good one will let me have a go. Want someone to decide for me!

And I also meant to say so sorry Nappy, I do hope you're managing OK

LondonLottie - my vote would be to go on holiday - these things don't come around very often, and like mowmi, fw and NV say, its' important that you take time out and have a breather right now. wow - India - I would love to go back there - it's fabulous - I totally recommend it!! (being of Asian origin myself, I am indeed biased, but hey!!)

Bumpless - sorry to hear your predicament, but hopefully this new clinic will work on an FSH of 12 - will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Oh and Issy thanks for your positive vibes - made me laugh!!

Hi Guys, just checking in to give my two cents on the India idea LL, you could kill two birds with one stone (I always lose weight when I go), but I also seem to stop having periods as well . . . . apparently it is quite common - something to do with the stress of travelling there and maybe a physcological response to the lack of hygenic toilets. Something to think about . . . though March is quite a good time to go, not too hot yet. I would take a good look at the temperature charts before deciding which part of the country to go to . . maybe Kerala at this time of year?

Good luck with the weight loss Mowmi. I have been following a low GI diet for years now as there is a history of diabetes in my family. I initially lost a bit of weight, but the real positive for me has been more energy and a much more stable weight. My BMI is 27, and it's been that for about 5 years now whereas before I used to go up and down a lot more. It's really easy once you get your head around the weird difference in similar foods - like Jasmine rice high, Basmati low . . etc.

bumpless that sounds like quite a dilema. I would say it is really really important to feel comfortable with your clinic. It sounds like you feel you should stay with your current consultant out of loyalty prehaps or that he/she knows your history. That being said if your were spending this much money on a car or something your would be happy to shop around.

My clinic did not make us go back to step one. they accepted the blood test result sheets I gave them and we moved straight into the business of making babies. So it is probably worth calling the other clinic for a chat and seeing if you can talk to a nurse or what the implications would be if you wanted to swap.

I freak out in hospitals and what made the whole process bearable was that the clinic did not feel scary or cold at all, but warm and welcoming and the theatre sort of resembles a dark dentists office instead of a surgical theatre. these things are important to how you feel and experience the process and I do believe anxiety affects egg development. (I have no scientific proof to back up that claim btw)

Thanks Nappy, LL and Dharma for support and advice! I got my FSH results and they had shot down to 3.5. I know it's an artificial result because of the HRT - IknowIknowIknow - but somehow it was so reassuring to hear that SOMETHING was heading in the right direction that it boosted my confidence enough to kick off this cycle with the current clinic... I really hope it's not something I'll regret but I feel like I've been holding my breath for weeks and it's a relief just to make a decision! First ever Puregon injection tonite, DH is supposed to be on the case but is doing some very urgent sorting out of toolbox or some-such (wimp)

Sorry to cast yet another downer on this thread as things don't seem to be going that well this year, but the results from my 7 week scan aren't good at all. No fetal pole, size of sac is two weeks behind and my HCG levels are static this week too - so this isn't a viable pregnancy. The clinic have been really good about it - insisted I came back for another scan after the first one to get some time with Mr Scanner Expert, and the nurse was really upset at the time too.

I've been so down about this the last couple of days, as it just seems so unfair. But then on the other hand it did just seem too good to be true, to actually be pregnant with another child, if you see what I mean.

Anyway, DD has been overwhelmed with attention and spoiling the last couple of days. DH and I are going to take some time and think about what to do next. The clinic said it was a hugely positive sign that we'd got this far, positive in the sense that it bodes well for future cycles, but summoning up the energy to start again is beyond me at the moment.

oh oap darling...I'm so sorry - sounds so similar to what happened to us I know just how you are feeling. I felt awful, sad and angry at everyone and everything, could have easily called it a day on the whole thing but i came out of it and although i recognise i need a break come may i'll be back on. Everything I've read and been told says it is a good sign you got pregnant - we both need to hold on to that. anyway i'll stop with the lecture and just say I'm so very sorry for you both - look after each other x

So sorry OAP - don't know what to say other than (((hug))).

OAP i am so sorry . . . you must be gutted . I can only repeat what Mowmi says . . . it's positive you got this far. As someone who has NEVER been pregnant it does seem like progress, even if a cruel one step forward two steps back type. . . .thinking of you