Assisted conception (and the bits in between!) - part 4 - all welcome

[mummycat1]

Starting new thread with massive congratulations to Nanoo I reckon the old man can wait till he gets home! But of course - it's up to you really xxx

DuelingFanjo Hi, I just worked out it is not five weeks, it is seven weeks tomorrow. Is this the world's longest down regulation! It's not that bad at all. Well done on 8 follicles, great.

Amberc no s*x, my dd woke up the moment was gone. Can't say I was too disappointed, my libido has taken a holiday!

Yes, Daisy is part of one name; there are two double barrelled names because I am hoping for at least two embies.

Penguindreams for what it is worth I would be sneaky and try the tests. Good luck with FET. maybe you will end up being my new cycle buddy! I seem to be left behind by everyone else!

Idreaminchocolate hope your time in London is nice and not too stressful but obviously the reason for your visit will make it hard to have a nice time but maybe just being supportive will be a great reward for you, if you know what I mean.

Bumpless you are absolutely allowed to lift cups of tea, just not a kettle! Have a great rest. We are off to a Christian Easter holiday thing called Spring Harvest which is held at Butlins. DD is very excited as she thinks Bob the builder will be there (because he was in the TV ad!). Ditto to Amberc's comments about it taking a while to sink in that you are up duff. Just hang on in there Bumpless. Cerubina glad it is all sorted and you can get on.

Pumpkin best of luck for IUI, it worked for us! It's totally up to you but I would tell MIL that you are trying and having problems. She will probably be sympathetic and will stop saying things like that about being a grandma. It must be hard for them too, wanting something to happen and not knowing what is. But you may have reasons for not wanting to tell in which case I would just nod wisely and smile!

Went into pet shop today and looked at hamster with DD. Agreed we liked the sandy coloured one. The grey ones look too much like mice! But what if we go back one day and only one grey one is left. I can?t turn it down on the basis of the colour of its fur!!

Bumpless may call you Dr Bumpless since your prescription worked wonders-not so sure now tho as awake at 0630!

Amberc I really don't know anything really about AMH. Any info from anyone would be great. Am only saying my level is low as thats what the nurse said. What does this mean exactly? Is it that my reserve is lower than the norm, so fertility is shorter? Does it mean that we definately cannot conceive naturally? You quoted levels of it having to be more than 15 to do so.

Cerubina Yes my MIL does know we are seeking help TTC! Sometimes she is supportive well mostly but then she throws in comments like that! My DH spoke to her ages ago when she had been insensitive before and she took it on board-even getting very upset herself at the thought of upsetting me! Sorry to hear about your recent experiences. I cannot begin to imagine what you must have and still are going through. You sound so amazing and strong-a massive good luck to you.

Big hello and hugs to everyone else and best go as prob need to get more zzzzzds before our big day out at the Van Gogh exhibition in London today! xxx

Pumpkin you can concieve naturally with my low amh it's just more difficult. Amh is reresentative of ovarian reserve. 15 means you have a 'normal' level of eggs for a fertile woman. Yours is just slightly lower which means it might take a little longer. Short post as on iPhone!

I Dream, really sorry to hear about your FIL. Dueling and Italian, sending love to you both for Monday. Bumpety, I agree that you're protecting yourself by not letting yourself get too excited - perfectly normal, don't stress about it. It took me ages to believe I was really pregnant, and it's such a life-altering thing, I think that's pretty natural too.

You may remember I had a huge work event on Tuesday 16th March, which went very well but was beyond stressful, and the follow-up etc lasted for a few days after as well, so that's taken my attention off the tww somewhat. Also meant that I've had no time to come on here, which is probably a good thing, as I'm sort of pretending that I'm not really waiting for anything.

I used a self-hypnosis cd the night before ET and I was pleased and surprised (am very cynical) at just how much it helped. It's Successful IVF: Self-Hypnosis For Increasing The Success of IVF from a company called Innervision (www.innerV.net). During the transfer, I wasn't stressed or frightened at all, just felt very happy, privileged and grateful to have been given this opportunity, and felt like there was a lovely rosy, golden glow of positivity around me. I know, I know, I sound completely flaky, but it worked for ME.

So, testing tomorrow morning. I don't have any expectations, as I don't feel any different from normal, although my boobs are a bit achey, not unlike AF symptoms, my skin feels softer and looks less lined around my eyes, and my hair feels a bit thicker, but all of these symptoms could easily be a result of the progesterone. (There's a tip for skin care that I may not share with my friends - shove a progesterone suppository up your hooha!)

May not come on here for a few days following the test, as I may need to weep and lick my wounds.

Love and luck to you all.

idreaminchocolate I'm really sorry to hear about your FIL, I hope he is getting better now and it sounds like you are coping really well in the circumstances. Make sure you find some time to look after yourself as well.
DuellingFanjo Congratulations on the 8 follicles, sounds great, let just hope they all go on to produce top quality eggs - good luck for Monday.
PenguinDreams and Cerubina, its great that you seems so upbeat and ready to give it another try - go for it girls!
MM how are you getting on? I feel like we haven't heard from you for a while (I hope I haven't just been ignoring you!)
Bumpless am I still allowed to call you that? I not at all surprised about how you feel, there is such a big build up and there has been so much to think about and stress about, before you even start to consider the effect of all the hormones that it seems reasonable that it will take a while to sink in. I stop myself imagining being pregnant (partly subconsciously I think) in case it doesn't happen so I think if it happens it will take me a while to get out of that. I sure it must be stressful as well, especially up until your 6 week scan so I think it sounds like your doing really well.
pumpkinjoy hope your feeling a bit more joy today. There's nothing wrong with feeling sad every now and then but you just have to read some of the posts on here to know that great things can happen whatever your test results. (even naturally sometimes so don't give up!) How was the exhibition?
KiwiKat good luck for tomorrow's test - sending you all my good vibes. Self-hypnosis sounds good - I might have to investigate that.

I went for my scan but apparently my lining is not thin enough yet so I'm not ready for stims (which I think I knew really as my period had only just started) so I have to keep on downregging for another week. My symptoms aren't too bad, just feel generally a bit rubbish. Can't complain after seeing that Italian has been doing it for 7 weeks - how do you do it? Good luck for your scan on Monday.

to everyone else

Just a mega quick post to wish Kiwi all the luck in the world for tomorrow.

Dueling Thinking of you, love and prayers and chocolate boobs, and to everyone all the very best.

Hello!

I didn't go to London in the end as DH has decided to come first thing tomorrow morning because my FIL has started to improve (apparently being cheeky and eyeing up the nurses - well he is Italian!!). FIL will probably still be in hospital for another week, so at least he is (hopefully) in the right place! Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers.

KiwiKat - fingers crossed for you for tomorrow. You're so strong - you'll be able to handle anything that tomorrow might throw at you [reassuring hug]

I'm feeling like a bit of an IVF dunce - I don't understand about the dowregging and stimulating drugs - Italian are you downregging for so long because your donor is not ready yet? Riggly how long have you been downregging for? Which drugs are the downreg drugs? (I have been given Gonal-F and Cetrotide) I'm not even sure if I will be downregging as I'm on a short protocol. (Just so you all know, I'm actually quite intelligent - it's just this IVF thing I can't get the hang of!)

I think I'm having a little trouble with the Migrogynon 30 that I started on the first day of my cycle (I'm now on day 11) - I finished my period on day 7, but since then I've been having brown and pink discharge (unusual for me at this stage in my cycle). It finally stopped this morning but late this afternoon I started having period pains and then I found that I'm bleeding properly again. Has anyone had any experience like this on Microgynon? I'm planning on calling the clinic on Monday if I'm still bleeding then. Apart from the slight concern, I'm a little annoyed as I was planning on a welcoming return for DH tomorrow (thought a bit of s*x which is definintely not trying to make a baby might be fun!).

Apologies to everyone for not being too attentive lately - I'll be back to my usual form in the next couple of days xxx

Hi all. Thought I'd do one more post before I head off to snowy Switzerland... if BA manages to get me there, that is!

Penguin thanks for the suggested reading! I will look into it when back from holiday...

BumplessNoMore don't worry about taking time to get used to the idea of being pregnant - you've got 9 months to let it sink in!

Pumpkinjoy I'm afraid I can't help much with your AMH questions . However, its one of the tests I'm lined up to do soon, so I'm hoping by then you'll be an expert, as I'm sure I'll have loads of questions.

Italian its a hamster! Of course you can choose the prettiest one and turn others down because you don't like the colour of their fur. They won't know, so you won't hurt their feelings!

As for me, I got a bit of a shock this morning. The friend we're going skiing with called me to confess that she's pregnant. She and her OH haven't told anyone yet because they want to have the 12wk scan first. However, she was sure I'd pick up on it during the holiday and would be hurt or angry.

The good news is that I didn't feel hurt or angry - just happy for her. Turns out she found out she was pregnant the day before me. That made me a bit sad because our DDs were born on the same day and it would have been sweet to have DC2s at the same time, but wasn't meant to be for me.

Strengthens my resolve however. When I get back from holiday, I am going to become a Zita devotee - exercise, strict diet, no alcohol, lots of sleep and manaage my stress much better. I'm counting on all of you fabulous women to make sure I stick to it, too!

Best of luck to everyone who is having a POAS test, scan, ET, EC or kicks things off in the next week! I'll bring you all some lovely Swiss choccies!

Idreaminchocolate Glad FIL is better.

MM go for the resolve. Off to bed now,
nighty nighty

So I took the test into the toilet this morning and it didn't work AT ALL! Probably because it expired this month, but I would have thought that it should still have been good until the end of the month? Luckily I had another test in the bedroom (which also expires this month) and - TMI alert - managed to prodce JUST enough wee to get a result - and it's a BFP!!!!! It says 2-3 weeks, which ties in with the ET happening 2 weeks ago. Am over the moon, but also a little nervous that because the expiry date of the stick (Clearblue digital monitor) was 2010/03, I'm wondering if that could give a false positive? But we'll find out for sure tomorrow. DH is being his usual pathetic self - "yes, I'm happy, but I don't want to get too excited at this stage, so let's not talk about it too much at this stage." Miserable sod. I know it's a long road ahead, and nothing is guaranteed, especially due to my age and maybe because it's IVF, but I'm happy for now.

And so you should be, KK! What fantastic news. Permission granted from us for you to be as excited as you want to be! Your OH is probably just trying to protect you/himself from pain if anything should go wrong, but I think in this situation when you have tried to hard to get here you absolutely should allow yourself to feel the joy.

Yay, so happy for you! I would imagine the HPT expiry dates err heavily on the side of caution, like normal 'best before' warnings do on food. You could always buy another one fresh today if you want to be double sure, but I think the digital ones are pretty reliable in terms of pregnant/not pregnant results (not necessarily the length of pregnancy estimates).

MM have a lovely ski trip, enjoy doing everything that you could not do if you were pg and then when you get back you can switch on that super-positive mental attitude and get yourself updiffed again. It's great that you were able to feel happy for your friend, and that she was sensitive enough to anticipate it might be difficult for you. Equally, don't beat yourself up on the trip if you find a few jealous thoughts creeping in - it's totally to be expected. Have you told her that you lost a baby recently? If not, could be a good time to share.

Idream good to hear that your FIL is on the mend and you will get your husband home again later. Not sure what the bleeding could be, apart from a reaction to the adjustment in hormone levels perhaps. I'm sure it's worth mentioning to the nurses if you're concerned.

riggy shame you have to keep on downregging for another week, which must feel rather disappointing. But all for a good reason I suppose - you want your system to be in exactly the right condition to give you the best chances. Hope you are managing OK with the drugs.

Italian maybe you can agree with your DD before you get to the shop that if only grey ones are left you will wait a little while - then you won't get so much pestering when you get there! Perhaps get her to think of a name that would only suit a sandy one (Sandy?) so that it makes no sense to buy a grey one! Hmm, tricky one.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.

KiwiKat - Hurraaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Am so pleased for you. Have you done another test or will you wait? I bet your DH really is quite excited but just being cautious and it won't be long before it sinks in for you both

Idreaminchocolate I'm afraid my going back on Microgynon was pretty textbook and I had no mid-cycle bleeding at all. I would mention it to the nurses/clinic. Like Cedrubina said it could probably just be hormones.

So good to hear that your FIL has improved and that you will be wrestling DH back from the nurses

Oh and if you are an IVF Dunce then I am a double dunce. I have really just found out everything as I have gone along. I didn't downreg either so it's just something I have read that other people have done.

MercenaryMom have a great time and it's great that your friend's pregnancy announcement has been a positive thing. When my best friend told me she was pregnant I was so excited and pleased for her I forgot all about my sadness over my own fertility issues.

riggly boo at the thin lining, I feel so lucky that I didn't have to down reg and my lining was thin enough to start as planned. Good luck for the next week, I'm sure you'll be ready to start soon.

Wave to everyone else

I waited up iuntil 1.15 am this morning to do my Pregnyl shot so am now good to go for the egg collection on Monday. Dare I say I am excited? Also trying to keep positive about it all, it's in the hands of the doctors now. x

Hello!

Firstly - KiwiKat congratulations on your KiwiKitten!!!!! Yay!!! My DH is always exactly the same everytime I get a bit excited - I think he is just worried about me getting hurt. I'm sure when you get your "proper" test results tomorrow he'll be there with you - over the moon!

DuelingFanjo - it was FIL who was eyeing up the nurses!!! DH got back 1st thing this morning and I didn't realise how much I missed him until he got back home. We had a nice time walking into town and had a Hog Roast sandwich from the Farmer's Market He was a little unpopular when he spilt a cup of tea over my new Ugh Boots though - luckily they are tea coloured anyway!! Under the curcumstances I have forgiven him! Lots and lots of luck for tomorrow - I'm very excited for you and all of the little embies you are going to make tomorrow Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one who doesn't quite understand what-the-IVF is going on ha ha!

As you may have guessed - I'm feeling SO much better today. It's a lovely spring day here in Yorkshire and I'm getting all egg-cited about Easter (I love Easter!). I'm feeling positive about my cycle (weird bleeding aside - am going to call the clinic in the morning). I think really I'm just pleased to have DH back!!

Italian how did your Hamster procurement exercise go? When do you start your stims? (apologies if you've already started and I missed it). I think you have a scan tomorrow? Good luck - let us know how you get on.

Riggly - sorry to hear you've got another week of downregging - that must have been very frustrating

MercenaryMom - you sound in a really good place right now. Your Zita-esque plan sounds great. Hope you have a fabulous time in Switerland (v. ) and I'm looking forward to the Swiss choccies you're going to bring back for us all!

Cerubina Thanks for your advice - hope you're doing okay x

PumpkinJoy - hope you're feeling a bit more chilled out and that you enjoyed the Van Gogh exhibition - sounds great!

Here's to us all having a good week! xxx

Hi all, havent posted but have been keeping an eye out. What ups & downs recently.

I haven't posted as I'm still waiting to ar about IVF. Lots of waiting going on!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.
x

Kiwikiwimamacat !!!!!!! Fantastic!!! I'm so thrilled for you!

Good luck for EC tomorrow Dueling !

Riggly hope you're not too frustrated at having to wait another week.

MM have a fabbo hol. I'm glad you're happy for your friend but it's not ideal. Great plan for giving it the full Zita on your return.

I bought a pregnancy book yesterday. I think it's starting to become real!

Just popped on very quickly to wish Dueling the best of luck for tomorrow.

Thanks for your lovely messages, everyone. I'm a bit nervous about the test, as I'm scared to believe the digital test in case it was a duff one. Am sounding like DH, Mr Negative, aren't I? But we all protect ourselves, this blasted ttc is such an emotional roller coaster ...

Sweet dreams, all. x

Kiwi just posted this on feisty and forty as you hang out there so will put it here too....stonkingly good result. Can?t believe dh and ditto to your miserable s*d comment! But bless him, his little fellas helped to do the job!

Just looking back over my posts (I keep them so I can remember what the hoodle I said!) and saw your fridge situation and remember my sperm-like smiley on the forty thread , the bossy boss and DH having wobbles about ICSI- am I getting things right or getting people muddled up! Even me shooting up a quick prayer over the washing up for kitten/s!! Now here we are and I am so thrilled. Who would have thought I could get so excited over a trucker from slough (as I think of you all on the Assisted Conception thread).

MM Good news that you felt positive about your friend?s pregnancy . It is weird how it effects us differently on different days, a few months back I was in floods of tears at the sight of a pregnant woman and this week I was cuddly and feeding a new baby while my friend chatted having given birth four days before and I never really felt jealous of her at all! Weird. Especially as the baby is gorgeous!

Thanks MM for permission to discriminate on hamsters, I know they don?t know but I do and I felt sad at the thought of leaving any! Still have decided DD has to do some things before she is grown up enough for a hamster and I think at this rate she will be 18 before she gets the bl**dy thing! (They are not hard things - just eating with cutlery, brushing her hair etc! NO not connected to actual hamsters just a way of showing she is grown up). One of the hamsters even had long hair and pet shop chap said we would have to brush it! Hard enough to get all of us out of the house with hair brushed let alone start grooming a pet!

Cerubina I am even more sneaky than you would imagine when it comes to hamsters! I would check out what is available before I set foot in the shop (it is very close to our house). Actually, although DD loves to be mega independent she does take after me a bit and after I said I liked the golden one she said the same, it helps that the hamster we looked after was a golden sandy one and we are effectively trying to replicate that one! She has already come up with a name for it, Flack! Ha ha! If she still feels this way in 6 months she will get one even if she is still not using cutlery properly! I am the kiss of death to plants so just hope I cam fair better with pets! Luckily DH and DD are fighting fit so maybe will be fine!

Enough of this, it is not pet watch, Italian!

Dueling everything crossed except the legs for tomorrow. There have been some SUPER positive experiences, Bumpless, Rosie and now lovely Kiwi. Wow.

Idream I am a total IVF dunce; believe it or not I have no idea what all these terms are about. I just posted on the Forty something and said ?I've found this to be a very nice and helpful thread but the one I feel most akin to is the assisted conception, although at times they confuse me with all their medical jargon!?. This is actually my first IVF and it is weird when people ask questions because I have decided not to tell everyone about donor eggs so they actually start talking about eggs as if they were mine and I just nod and ?mmmmm?. I now wish I had not told so many people about this treatment! I mean if we get up duff I will tell the world about IVF and tell good friends about DE but I wish I had not told so many people because I get stopped at the school gate and asked ?any news yet?' and I have not even had the treatment. After the world?s longest down reg (should I be in the Guinness book of records!) I have no news to report!

Idream I had breakthrough bleeding while downregging, which is just as it sounds, my body breaking through the drugs ? Wonder Woman....maybe you are the same!

Because I am using donor eggs I am not stimulating anything, except myself with decaffeinated tea! My dear perfect donor is doing all the stimulating and will be scanned this week to see when we can gggggooooo.

Idream Glad you have DH back. Why do you love Easter, is it for any spiritual reasons, start of spring or just all the chocolate eggs and bunnies (I?ve got your number missy!).

Fairygodmother1 and riggly and Bumplessandbumpett/s all best to you.

Londonlottie hope all is well

Hey all.

They got 6 eggs which is good enough for me!
Feel cheated by the drugs though. I was told I would feel like I had drunk drunk half bottle of vodka but I felt completely normal all the way through the collection and skipped out of the theatre.

Back home resting now and waiting.

Congrats DF - 6 is a great number. Fingers crossed they're getting down and dirty with the boys as we speak.

And huuuge congrats to KK!! At last some good luck again on this thread. Hopefully your H now realises the goodness of ICSI! Let us know your beta results.

Happy thoughts to all!

Sorry, last post was not to minimise Bumpety's good news last week!

Any idea how I go about getting further tests done, anyone? Guy's didn't recommend any, so it would be a bit odd insisting on further scans etc (even if insurance is paying), surely? Is there a clinic anyone would recommend in London where I can just book myself in for a scan/chlamydia test like Bumpless had done in Greece?

Aagh! Just lost my big post! BUM!!!

However ...

Blood test today confirmed the BFP!!! Hurrah! But am going to take it one day at a time, as 40 weeks is a lot of little milestones to achieve before we get the prize at the end.

Fab news, Dueling - I knew you could do it.

Yes, Italian, those dramas were all part of my own personal soap opera. (Thanks for the prayer, by the way.) Not sure how or when I'm going to tell Evil Boss yet ...

Thanks to you all so much for your support in all of this. You don't know how much you mean to me - I'm so grateful to have your understanding, humour and lack of judgeyness to have got me through the many ups and downs so far. I'm sure I'm going to keep needing all of that over the next - well, 10 years, I guess!

Duelingskipping well done, six is fabbo. If three is the magic number you are magic times 2.

Penguin I think more tests might help to put your mind at rest. I am sure your GP would do it for free if you asked. If not, you could just Google around. I just Googled ?Chlamydia testing in fertility clinic in London? and got a few up BUT I can?t recommend them. I am fairly sure we were tested for Chlamydia right at the start of treatment so it may be worth asking if this was the case as you may have had several tests all in one (I am sure I can?t remember exactly what we were tested for!). I?m not sure it would be odd to ask for things, it is worth asking. Are you NHS or private? My GP has been wonderful, even though we are private patients he has sanctioned loads of tests for us for things that were needed. Good luck.

Idream have you come up for air yet now DH is home?

Cerunbina sending best wishes to you.

riggly any news?

Isle, Rosie, Londonlottie, Bumpless* and all,

Kiwi will post to you again in a minute.

Sorry if I have missed anyone.

Kiwi brilliant news. .

I?ve posted congratulations on the forty thread so sorry to bore you but I guess you enjoy hearing our congratulations as it helps for it to sink in!

I can?t actually remember praying for you over the washing up but I am sure I did shoot up a quick arrow prayer. It?s not magic, it?s not like Santa Clause! But I think it helps and sometimes, when getting to the end of ability, it is what I have left! I am just so pleased for you.

I am amazed at how important it has become for me that you guys all get the prize that we are all aiming for.

Telling 'evil' boss - I am sure when the time comes you will rehearse telling your boss in front of the mirror, get the words completely right, and then when you see her fluff your lines, mumble and skulk away! PROVE ME WRONG ? be strong/defiant and a proud Kittencarrier!

I had an amazing day. I went to clinic, negotiated their cr*p car park alone for the last time (I think) as my lining is fine (means next time I am there will be with hubby driving - I don't mind driving I just mind parking!). After the super lovely nurses checked my lining I was given a blood test to check if my estrogen levels were high enough. Ever eager to please I said "I'm sure they are!" Then I had to confess that I had no idea why I thought that, I was just eager to please!

Once done and dusted I headed home and listened to an amazing programme on Radio 4, at 11.00, called 'Captured by Pirates' where (to quote Radio Times) "Kate Silverton uncovers the story of the 70 English schoolchildren who were captured by pirates off the China coast and later ended up in a Japanese concentration camp with Scottish athlete and missionary Eric Liddell. Some of those who were there help to recount this extraordinary tale." These girls as young as 7 lived for years in the camp, they were basically treated OK and the thing that make life bearable was their exceptional teachers, who maintained their regular life including Girl Guiding and Brownies, plus their faith and as children their willingness to adapt! I drove along with tears streaming down my face and - actually there are no words - just amazed but in a good way! Whatever I have to deal with on this fertility rollercoaster is nothing to being interned at age 7 and not seeing your parents for years! It was curiously uplifting. The children were the children of missionaries and it was so moving to hear them interviewed now, 75 years on! If you feel moved you can listen again within the next week at .

Then it was off to see my dietician; I have a boated tum, which we think is irritable bowel. Although I was late, (very late) she saw me and we had an amazing session where she helped me with info on bloating, weight loss talks, mindful eating etc and we even did an exercise where we ate a raison very slowly! We explored the look, smell, texture and taste of a single raison! It was the tastiest raison ever!

Then on to my dentist, who said that poor gums can be detrimental to pregnancy - so I am booked in with the hygienist for next month!

What a day!

We still do not have a date for definite but it will be soon.

penguindreams I don?t have any info about clinics unfortunately. I also has a Chlamydia test before I started TTC but it wasn?t anything like Bumpless described.

KiwiKat hurrah for the blood test. Take it easy now.

I just got the call ? 4 out of 6 have fertilized and my ET is on Thursday. I am soooooo relieved.

waves to eeryone else