Assisted conception (and the bits in between!) - part 3 - all welcome

[Caitni]

Right ladies, time for a new thread.

And a big welcome to everyone . Here's to many more success stories and healthy pregnancies!

Hi folks, quiet on here today. I've managed to very illogically go and splurge on 2 bras and a fitted top, v sensible in the middle of IVF which might mean that nothing will fit soon - but maybe it's kind of an anti-gremlin charm, to fool them into thinking I'm not interested in getting pregnant so there's no need to disrupt it

Hannah777 , are you still around? I was browsing back on the thread and saw your question. My first cycle was with the Harley Street Fertility Centre (not Clinic) and I definitely wouldn't recommend it - in fact I was very unhappy with it (and it was more expensive than some of the bigger, more established places). I'm not sure if this is the same one you're looking at though so if there's a different one with a similar name I hope I haven't put you off!

Hi Bumpless, it is indeed very quiet on here this weekend. Glad you managed your promised retail therapy yesterday! I do understand the irrational urge to buy fitted things - I was eyeing up the new coloured jeans in M&S the other day - but I hope your new purchases don't get much use

I worked out yesterday that there really isn't any point in testing early before next weekend for me - luteal support of HCG means I'd just get a false positive until the end of the week, so I will have to be strong and not test. At least my new clinic gave me a pregnancy test this time - I used to have go go and buy my own!

I hope everyone else is enjoying the sunshine this weekend and having fun

Hi Onlyaphase glad someone else is still around! Coloured jeans sound nice, mmmm - better resist!

How do you feel about not testing? I think I've come down on the side of wanting to prolong the possibility of being pregnant for as long as possible, instead of agonising about whether an early BFN was just too early to tell- but I know not everyone feels like that! I suppose at least the HGC jab means you won't even be tempted. Hope this week goes swiftly and relaxingly for you - do you have any 2WW diversions planned?

Bluebell hope everything's going fine for your wait too!

Scan first thing tomorrow morning and I'm slightly expecting them to cancel the cycle, as with only 2 follies the chances are very very low. On the other hand, with my stats, it may be the best I could expect! Not sure how I feel about it at the moment - I doubt I'd take it all that well but I've got less pent-up about this whole cycle because the last one failed, so at the moment I'm relatively calm!

Bumpless, it does sound as though you are in the best place mentally for your scan tomorrow - it can't be easy accepting the possibility of a cancelled cycle at all, yet you just won't know until the scan tomorrow. Fingers crossed for you

I normally test early, and kind of know the result before I test anyway. This is all thrown this cycle due to the HCG, so all the positive signs - twinges, aching ovaries etc - can't be relied upon at all and I'm not good with waiting and guessing for things. DH is away next week, so I have lots of days out planned to keep us busy during the day to help stop me climbing the walls. Last week was bad enough, the second week is a killer!

Hi bumpless thanks for your good wishes ? good luck for your scan tomorrow I hope it is not as you fear and they go ahead with EC, after all 2 follicles means the possibility of 2 eggs, really hope it goes well. I like your thinking on the shopping front

onlyaphase one week down, only one to go. What a shame about missing the diving in Cornwall but it sounds like you?ve been organized and lined up lots of good things keep you occupied. Does the HGC jab mean you don?t have to take cyclogest? Do you have to inject daily?

Thanks Ailz I tried to rest as much as poss since ET although I did have to lift ds on Friday quite a bit as he refuses to do stairs at the moment? however I left him with dh for the weekend and went to seaside to stay with a mate had lovely homecooked meals and managed to get a long lie for first time in oooh.. at least a year

(((Gingerwine)))) I hope you don?t feel too down about your appointment. I know how gutting it can feel to be told theres a slim chance of a natural pregnancy ? my clinic told me I had less than 2% chance of natural pg and it was tough to come to terms with but we went onto have a successful iui and (fingers crossed) the icsi will work for us if not now then eventually.. Many many people are told they wont get pg naturally and then go on to get pregnant anyway. My friend was ttc for 4 years and ended up having her daughter through ivf treatment. A year later she was pregnant naturally. You don?t know what is in the future but at least by seeking advice you are taking control and making some positive steps. Hth xx

It is now 8 days til blood test, been told an HPT wont work until 10 days time so theres no temptation to poas.

Have a quick question: has anyone else felt really ropey on cylogest? I know I asked before about side effects and some of you replied about the lovely things it does to your digestive system but Ive got to say Im really hating the effects of the stuff and I now have terrible ov pains and my tummy has swollen up like a football, my c-section scar is tender and Im getting terrible mood swings and not sleeping v well? is this normal or should I be ringing my clinic?? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

What a quiet weekend on here. Where has everyone been?

Bumpless - I like your deliberate buying of things you hope won't fit you soon. That's just the sort of thing I do too. Very best of luck for tomorrow.

Onlyaphase - Half way through your 2WW. Keep thinking positive. And stay busy! I would find it very hard not to test early even though I would be trying to do as they say!

Ailz - Yes having an ex who's busy having children is not helpful! It helps to know how much better off I am not to be with him and how much better for me my DH is. I will laugh though when they have an 18 month old, a newborn and my two DC's for the weekend too. They could be a little busy. I will put my feet up!

Bluebell6 - Thankyou. I think my DH and I have both found the last few weeks pretty stressful to be honest. We both got pretty upset yesterday and there were tears from both of us. I think this weekend has helped though. We both needed a bit of a cry and to acknowledge how upset we are. We are just about to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and we so wanted to be expecting by now. We are going away next week for a family holiday and I think we will just relax and enjoy it. For 2 weeks we will not worry about babies at all and we will have wine with our meals if we want to. When we get back we will be sensible and healthy again but we need some time to just be normal if you know what I mean. We know we are lucky to have my DC's and DH is the best stepdad you could ask for. Fingers crossed that mother nature will be kind to us and if not than we will give ICSI a go.

Londonlottie - That definately sounds like carpal tunnel. Normal treatment is anti inflammatories or pain relief. In non pregnant people there is an operation to remove pressure on the median nerve which is the cause. Obviously it is not usually done when pregnant and often the symptoms stop after pregnancy. That's no comfort to you of course with quite a way to go yet. I'm not sure if they ever inject the area to ease the pain. I really hope your doctor can offer you some solutions. Could be a good excuse to be waited on hand and foot, although I suspect the novelty might wear off. Let us know how you get on.

GW

Hi girls

(((((( Gingerwine )))))) It's a really tough adjustment. We're in a similar boat - had our 2nd wedding anniversary last month and really wanted to have a family for it. I still feel a slight sense of disbelief that it's come to this. I really didn't think I had any problems with that particular bit of my body, so to find that it's let me down in such a spectacular way was very hard to swallow, even with kind and supportive doctors and friends. LL is absolutely right though, it's much easier than it seems and it does work!

Bluebell sorry to hear you're finding the cyclogest so rough. I didn't have it as bad as you, but the bloating, sleeplessness and moods sound familiar. I'd call the clinic to be on the safe side, anyway, but it might just be that you're particularly sensitive to the lovely stuff. Just think that it's making up for you feeling rotten by providing the perfect conditions for minibluebell to be snuggling down into...
It was me that missed the diving in Cornwall, btw, but DH was seasick and it rained, so hey ho!

LL how ghastly re the carpal tunnel! I've had it in both wrists and have had 2 operations for it on my right, so I know the pain and inconvenience very well! They can do injections into the wrists to lessen the inflammation, but I don't know whether they would while you're pregnant. The thing you should definitely get is a pair of wrist support splints to wear in bed, which hold your wrists in the best place to prevent the pain and numbness. Your doc might be able to supply them but you can also get them from Boots, worth making sure they fit properly by trying them on. They look horrid and you feel restricted but they helped me a lot. Good luck and I really hope you don't have this to contend with the whole rest of the trip!

So my news is that I'm still in the game. The scan this morning showed the 2 on my right have grown well - but not as well as a new one on my left that's overtaken them and is now 18mm! I put it down to a genius acupuncturist who concentrated on boosting my left ovary after my scan last week. So another scan on weds and possible EC on Friday, and then the fun really starts. Although in previous cycles I've always been more worried about the first half than the second, as with low ovarian response I always thought that producing the eggs was the hard bit and the implantation etc was the plain sailing afterwards - but last time taught me to hate and fear the 2WW as much as anyone! Still, I'll be delighted to get to it if any of these 3 follies do the trick and fertilise.

bumpless! great news... go left ovary!! cornwall - there was me thinking I was doing really well keeping up with everyone Really hope scan goes well on Wednesday and the follies continue to grow.

LL sorry to hear about the carpel tunnel. bad luck. Hope the wrist supports help and its eases off a bit.

Think I may be blaming the cyclogen instead of recognising that all the injections, EC and ET just take it out of you. Think the adrenelin and challenge of last week kept me going and now Im on 2ww its hitting me a bit harder. Am a bit better today, ds in nursery so able to rest up a bit. Finally got hold of Zita West book from library ailz, its great.

Hi all soz been a bit quiet over the weekend but been trying to keep myself busy, dont feel too bad today even though it has been a week since i got my BFN, news on annoying colleague who is preggers she was going on about who was going to cover her when she goes off around xmas i knew what she meant so i said it was up to the bosses to sort out cover (knowing full well that it would be being put in the position) then she mentioned it again saying "the reason i ask is cause i will be on mat leave" enough said i nearly blew my top and said if she didnt mind i would rather not talk about it as it a bit sensitive issue to which she replied "does that mean it didnt work" to which i replied i would rather not discuss it, all this after when i had made a comment that i had a headache and felt sick she said "does that mean" i said no more likely that i was stressed and my head was all over the place (still coming to terms with it at the time)wasnt thinking right etc etc that soon shut her up a bit grrrrrrrrrrrrrr honestly are some people really that dumb or oblivious to the reasons why you dont wanna talk about it. My follow up appoint with the consultant came through i am seeing him on 2nd September so got a nice long month to decide what myself and DH are going to do. Does anyone know the protocol about approaching the PCT about funding a second cycle????

anyway enough about me grumbling hope that everyone had a good weekend and that this thread gets some BFP's very soon mwah

Huge Hugs to Roseca, Bumpless and Gingerwine!

LL - hope you get some relief soon!

Sorry ladies, things are crazy busy at work these days (something to be thankful for in this economy!) and I don't really feel like I'm TTC anymore, because I'm on birth control pills! Ugh.

At some point, I'd be interested in hear what all of you know about IVF now, that helps when you go through it again. Many of you have said that the first time is scary because of all the unknowns, but after you've done it - it's not that bad. So I'd like the inside scoop before my first time. (Is that asking too much?!?! ha! I can try!!!)

Love to all!

Hi Girls

LL I'm intrigued by Rolfing - sounds like something one might do over the side of a boat, but presumably it's altogether more appetising than that! Your Zurich doc sounds pretty unsympathetic though! Heated wrist pads sound lovely and soothing. I still get it in my left wrist, but asked the hosp to put the whole thing on hold while I went through IVF as having 2 lots of medical things going on was really more than any sane person could take, so I might look into those in the meantime.

Bluebell good insight into the knocking you're taking going through all this. Cyclogest definitely does give you side-effects, but I bet you're right that you're also reeling from all the drugs and interventions too. Enjoy your rest today - hope you've got your feet up with Zita West. If not, Aunty Bumpless says go and do it, now!

Hi Islegrin , can imagine being on the pill makes you feel like you're not doing anything to TTC. In terms of what I wish I knew when I started IVF (excellent question, by the way!) I feel like I should have some great insights as a veteran halfway through my 3rd cycle but I'm scratching my head! Hmm - I suppose a big one is to lighten up, and accept that you can't do anything while it's going on. The first time I tried to plan for everything, fitting scans between meetings and not taking my foot off the pedal at all. It soon becomes obvious that this is impossible to keep up, but it's taken me till this cycle to really accept that doing IVF has an impact on your work and home commitments, and that the best thing to do is just allow yourself to do less for the month that it's happening. Easier said than done! what else? ALWAYS go to the loo before scans unless it's the ET when you need a full bladder - much less uncomfortable (but you've probably already worked that one out from IUI scans)! Another neat mental trick that I'm only just learning is to give yourself daily IVF-obsession slots (mine are whenever I'm on here, max an hour, and one (only) conversation about it with DH in the evenings, otherwise I try to be interested in other things and it does take the pressure off. The other thing I guess is as Bluebell said, not to under-estimate the degree to which the process runs your reserves down, and pull out of enough evening things to allow yourself to go to bed earlyish most evenings in the second half of the stimming and the 2WW. Think that's all my inspiration for the moment but I'm sure more will be along soon!

Next scan tomorrow, hoping that we get OK'd for EC at the end of the week, come on 3 little follies...

Well ladies, think this cycle is all over for me. I'm not supposed to test until Sunday, but woke up on Sunday night/Monday morning just knowing that I wasn't pregnant this time. And today I've started bleeding - something I've never done before during the 2WW, with either positive or negative cycles - at only 10 days past ET too. So much for HCG providing additional luteal support!

Off now to keep myself busy all afternoon.

hey ladies got a question after AF came to visit last week and got a BFN i am now into a second week of AF albeit very light, is this normal i was just gonna see what happens over the next couple of days before i sought medical help would i have to go to RMU or my own GP and voice my concerns? does anyone know ?

Hope everyone is well and bumpless here is some magic fairy dust to sprinkle over your follies

OAP - I still have a litte ray of hope for you, but I know you feel crushed. I wonder if it's light bleeding? (fingers crossed) I'm so sorry!!! Hang in there, we're all rooting for you.

Roseca I'd say wait and see, but if you are alarmed about it, then definitely call RMU, I'd say the specialist would be better than your GP. Take care!

Bumpless and LL Thank you both for your wise words of advice, the mental battle is a large part of this. I've been trying my "bend like a reed" philosophy - aka I'm not in control so just relax and go with the flow. I used that during the ectopic days very successfully because we had no idea what was going on for weeks!!!

I'm booked for a "water ultrasound" on the 25th and a "trial run" the nurse said the whole appt would last 1.5 hours. I really have no clue what that's going to be like.

Bumpless I have been trying to fit this in between meetings and deadlines and company visiting - so your advice really hit home. I think I'm going to request a couple of days leave (is one for EC and one for ET enough?) My estimated ET day is Friday.

This doesn't feel real to me yet, feels very academic, like I'm talking about someone else's cycle. I'm trying not to be negative or hopeful, just neutral - ride the wave and see what happens. In the meantime, I'm sticking to my diet and still losing a little more weight!

Waves to everyone else! I want to see some BFP out of you ladies!!!

OnlyAPhase , I'm wishing with everything I've got that this is one of those 'bled through the first month of my pregnancy' bleeds and not AF... There's no way to feel anything other than desperate right now, but we're all thinking of you and sending you hugs.

Thanks for the rolfing info LL , I'll definitely be looking into that! I'd be interested to hear how it goes for you too.

Islegrin I think you're right to go with the 'bend like a reed' philosophy. (needs to be a pretty bendy reed!) And LL is spot on about believing the doctors and not trying to get a degree in embryology just to prove that it is all going wrong and you're right to worry! I'd definitely plan for EC and ET days off too.

Roseca it sounds like getting some advice would be a good plan - although it might just be what your body's doing as a reaction to all the drugs, always safest to check.

DH has supper on the table - yay! Waves to all xx

Thanks Islegrin and Lottie. No, the bleeding isn't light and it feels just like a period to me. But, mentally I feel in a far better place today than yesterday, more in a frame of mind where I can say that this just wasn't our cycle and we'll have better luck next time. And I think that this positivity is down to the disappearance of my PMT which has been dreadful the last few days - on Sunday I actually got out of the car to shout vitriol at a bunch of noisy teenagers in a carpark, which isn't something I do everyday!

No idea if this calm positive mood will last the course or help me deal with pregnant SIL - you do realise that if it is another accidental pregnancy for her like the last two were, there is a fair chance I will just run her over next time I see her. Will you come and visit me in prison?

Islegrin I've no idea what you do for a job, but could you take off the time between EC and ET rather than just the two days? You may find EC takes it out of you what with the aftereffects of the drugs, and any aches and pains the next day. And the day after EC you'll be waiting for the embryologist to call to let you know how fertilisation has gone etc and will be upset/happy after that and may be in no mood to concentrate at work anyway. Plus my clinic says no driving/cooking/decision making for 24hours after EC anyway - depends on your job, but do think about it.

I'll come and visit you Onlyaphase us ladies have gotta stick together

Hello, I'm 40, have one DD aged nearly three and am looking at going for IUI soon to conceive my second. Has anyone here had it? How was it? I am quite scared of the injections and the drugs etc. Would be enormously grateful for any experiences that you have to share!

Hello Horton,

Well you are in the right place - welcome! I'd say that most if not all of us have been through IUI and several are working on IVF. So we can ease your worries about the pills, injections, scans and all of that.

Do you have any idea what kind of meds they will start you out with?

I know your apprehension, I am just switching from IUI (after 5 failed attempts, probably due to my bum tube(s?)) to IVF and I have a lot of similar questions about the higher quantity of injections and procedures of IVF.

(I'm not sure if this will help, but if I were in your shoes it would help me guage the kind of thing that MIGHT happen - sorry if this is TMI.)

Here's my experience:
IUI #1 - Clomid only (5 days) - result: one follicle on good side, one on bad (thin lining, no CM)
IUI #2 - more Clomid (5 days) with some light menopur injectables (5 days) in the belly fat, very small needles, not a problem - result: one big follie on bad (thin lining, no CM)
IUI #3 - switched to letrozole with menopur (I'm in Hawaii, it's more popular here and keeps the lining thick) One follie on each side, BIG JUICY ones! Nice lining, CM came back.
IUI #4 nearly the same, just added a bit more and switched to Gonal-f instead of menopur
IUI #5 no pills, just injections for 13 days based on slow follicle development. Started out with 8 on good side and 7 on bad, ended up with 2 large and 1 medium on good side.

Normally you take pills CD2-6 or so, then you can start or overlap injectables. Scan on CD10 to check, then they decide to give you a trigger shot and 36 hours later they put DH's sperm inside your uterus. Then the part we all hate - the TWW!

(Hi to all - Waving and blabbing as I bend like a reed!)

Thanks! I am not yet sure what meds they are going to start me off on - we have an appointment soon to discuss all this. The consultant thought that clomid wasn't an option because of my age as it thins the lining of the womb, as you say.

I don't have any apparent fertility problems after HSG and a laparoscopy. Both tubes open, uterus etc normal, hormone levels normal, DH's sperm normal and I seem to be ovulating. I am hoping that this may help the whole process along but it may make no difference.

Please tell me how bad the injections are. I am really scared of them. Are they hard to do?