Anyone starting IVF soon? Join me.

[Shellster52]

After 3 full failed IVF's last year, I am about to embark on my second last attempt. I started an IVF thread during my last IVF, and everyone got pregnant but me. So I swore I wouldn't do that again this time. But I find myself wanting to chat with people going through what I am, so I am starting the thread again. Join me as I seem to be a BFP magnet!

[Liquoriceallsort]

Hi carriebella I've just had my appt and can't start until june now due to the results of my AMH. Devastated

[Happilymarried155]

Hi liquorice, I'm sorry to hear that. That happened to me last month and I was so upset. Fertility treatment is such an emotional roller coaster full of so many ups and downs. It really is hard to keep upbeat and positive.x

[Liquoriceallsort]

Sorry you had that news too. I felt like crying. The drugs mean no alcohol and bloating so everyone is going to presume I'm pregnant which is heartbreaking!

[purplemeggie]

Oh Liquorice, that's rubbish. Rollercoaster is spot on. Time doesn't behave properly....things are either moving too fast or interminably slowly, never in between.
D'you know though, people are really unobservant about the alcohol thing. I've had a couple of dry phases, one of which coincided with a champagne reception at work. I asked them not to fill my glass, and then held it all evening. Nobody even noticed I wasn't drinking. Or drink tonic water with a slice of lime, and everyone just assumes it's a G&T.
Carrie - my jabs are in the evening, too. The clinic said they like people to do them between 7 and 8 and then they had a horribly complicated explanation about if you dropped a bottle and you needed them to replace it, it wouldn't be too late at night. Which didn't explain why it couldn't be in the morning, giving them all day to sort it out. I didn't understand, but for once in my life, I'm just doing what I'm told.

[Shellster52]

Not sure if I can be much of an IVF mentor Purple seeing as I can't seem to get a BFP myself! I just try to keep practical and have read every study out there relevant to me - and every IVF gets me closer so I must be due for BFP soon PLEASE!. I take L-Arginine because I have such a light period (lasts less than two days!) and one website said it improves endometrial thickness. I haven't actually noticed improvement though.

Carrie, I will start stims on 12th which will be day 2 of my next cycle if current cycle lasts 28 days. I can't start next IVF until after my doctors appointment on the 10th which should be day 26 of my cycle... BUT my period can be as short as 24 days, meaning my appointment won't be until day 4 of my next cycle and it will be too late for me to start IVF. So it's a stressful waiting game to see which comes first - my period or my appointment! I ovulated earlier than usual this cycle after taking IVF stims, so I think my period will be earlier than usual too

Welcome Walter . Did you learn anything at your scan today?

Liquor. How does your AMH result delay your treatment? Is it because your PCOS means you have too high AMH and may be hyper-stimulated so have to take drugs to lower it???? 3 months is such a LONG time to wait when we all want to be pregnant yesterday!

[Liquoriceallsort]

Yes I have to take drugs to reduce the chance of hyper stimulation. Apparently I should take them for 6 weeks prior to IVF and we are on holiday at the end of May so June it is

[carriebella]

Gutted for you Liquorice, you spend time psyching yourself up for it, its really hard having knock-backs, on the positive though you know you will be doing something that will increase your chances of no problems in the long run and it will be June before you know it, especially with your holiday in May, going anywhere nice?

Purple, I don't get that reasoning either! Who are you supposed to tell in the evening? I'm quite glad its in the evening though as my OH will be here to do it/support. Do you do the injections yourself? I'm not sure which will be easiest, I hate watching when I have injections but OH can be quite heavy handed!

Shellster, When I want to delay period a few days I drink Lemon juice, it also makes my period lighter though so maybe not the best advice for you, and probably not good to mess around with your period right now anyway!
Its so stressful isn't it, watching and waiting and having no control whats happening in our own bodies, fingers crossed it holds off for you.

[purplemeggie]

That sucks, Liquorice. Good to have a holiday to look forward to though...silver linings and all that?

Carrie yes - my DH has the biggest hands I have ever seen and a tendency to be a bit clumsy, and whilst I trust him with my life, it's really a very fiddly little needle and I just decided I'd rather be the one wielding it! I'm sure you'll find they're easier than you expect...I was really hung up on the injections until I did the first one, and it was almost an anti-climax. And I've decided I quite like the down-reg feeling - I feel very level headed and peaceful emptied out of hormones!!!

I had my baseline scan today, down-reg has been successful, so I start stims tomorrow. That all looks a bit fiddly - I'm on 450 iu of menopur, and it comes in 150 iu bottles, so you have to put the liquid in one, dissolve it, suck it out, put it in the next, etc etc.

Shellster - fingers crossed that this is the cycle, that it's the right length, has a good number of follicles and that one of them turns into the right little person to fill the space in your life.

[purplemeggie]

Ooooh....just tried an experimental leg-stab, as the nurse today said it was an alternative to the tummy, if you're feeling uncomfortable. I shall keep it in reserve in case my tummy gets tender with the stims, but I found the leg much more sore...

[WalterAndTheAstronauts]

Sorry Ladies, our internet & phone lines got frazzled by lightening not long after I posted!

Carrie we were told we could inject morning or night as long as we stuck to which ever we chose. Stuck with mornings as my first injection at the clinic was early morning.

Shellster the scan showed the right ovary had one collapsed follicle and I think she said there were two or three on the left side. I could be wrong though.

Today we have found the wonders of ice!! I'm a needle phobic so my partner is injecting me! Yesterday it took two attempts, not ideal!

I'll try and catch up on where everyone is.

My next scan is 10th April. Time is flying by!

[Liquoriceallsort]

I phoned the nurse yesterday and asked whether the drugs could be taken for 4 weeks instead of 6 and she said it would make no difference... So hopefully I can start on 29th April now

[carriebella]

Great news Liquorice. Does that fit ok with your holiday?

Purple - I like the sound of feeling level headed and peaceful! Nice to hear some positive side effects of DR! Let me know how you get on with all the mixing, I will be on menopur too, they are in my fridge ready but no ones explained them to me yet, hope its not to complicated.

Does the ice really help then Walter? Shall remember that if I have any trouble tomorrow! Any other tips anyone?

[Shellster52]

carrie and Purple, my clinic told me to inject at night. They said that way, if I have a blood test one morning, they can phone me to adjust my medications before my next dose if they need to. So it's all happening for you now Purple! Have you got your next scan booked in - that will be nerve wrecking as it will really give you some insight into how many eggs you might get for IVF!!!!

Never knew that lemon juice could delay your period carrie - coincidentally, I have just started adding a squeeze to my mineral water every day. I actually have drugs left over in my fridge from this IVF cycle that I cancelled. So now I have decided if my period arrives before my Dr appt, I can start injecting myself on day 2 with my current drugs and definitely do IVF next cycle regardless of if my period arrives first or my Dr appt. So I am IVFing alongside you

[purplemeggie]

Ah, that makes sense on the timing of injections, shellster. I love the fact that somehow between all of us we have a sensible explanation for all the weird things that we have to do in this crazy process!
Next scan is on Friday, so fingers crossed for a workable number of follicles. Is there a finger-crossing emoticon? There should be!
Good news that you'll be joining us Shellster. When do you expect that to be?
Liquorice hooray! Glad you're on track, too!
Walter how are the jabs going? Does the ice help?
Carrie I may have spoken too soon about "level headed and peaceful" - lost my serenity completely yesterday and was a complete harridan. Can't even blame the menopur, because I hadn't had the first dose at that point. Menopur's a bit of a faff to mix up - what dose are you on? I have to mix one vial of saline with three 150iu bottles of powder for each dose, but your dose will depend on your age and your AMH level. Jiggery pokery with syringes, but all doable. My clinic got me to practice there with syringes and saline and empty menopur bottles.

[Shellster52]

Okay.. this is my fingers crossed symbol for you for Friday - XX. I should start std on 12th April if this cycle is textbook 28 days. I will start estrogen this Wednesday on prep for IVF next cycle so at least soon it will feel like I am doing something productive. Hubby hates the idea of IVF AMD interfering with hormones and blew me away last night ny saying if the baby is disabled he is going to resent me! It's his poor eating and weight and 100% abnormal sperm that means we can't get pregnant naturally!

[carriebella]

Wow. That was a bit harsh of your husband Shellster and considering your diagnosis im quite gobsmacked, sometimes our men really dont think do they. Fab news that you will be cycling alongside me for definite.

Purple my box says 225iu but I dont know how often or how many. I think I will be on a low dose as my AMH was ok (21.6) and im 31, I really dont want to overstimulate. I guess my nurse will show me how to do them at my baseline scan?

So, I had my first DR injection last night! All went fine, was a bit achey as it was going in but bearable for a few seconds. Didn't sleep at all well last night though, was really hot but I think it was down to the anxiety of starting, dont think side effects would have kicked in just yet.

Endo scratch tomorrow, cant wait to get that out the way and start counting down to stims.

[Liquoriceallsort]

Carriebella I had the worst nights sleep too last night, how strange!

Shellster that is a bit of a shock to hear, it is certainly much more difficult physically (and mentally I'm sure) for you to be going through this process.

I just got my letter through and am booked in for 29 th April for my baseline

[Shellster52]

Okay.. this is my fingers crossed symbol for you for Friday - XX. I should start std on 12th April if this cycle is textbook 28 days. I will start estrogen this Wednesday on prep for IVF next cycle so at least soon it will feel like I am doing something productive. Hubby hates the idea of IVF AMD interfering with hormones and blew me away last night ny saying if the baby is disabled he is going to resent me! It's his poor eating and weight and 100% abnormal sperm that means we can't get pregnant naturally!

[purplemeggie]

Oh no! That is so not what you need at the moment.
Actually, it's one of the things I was really worried about at our kickoff appointment and the clinic assured us that IVF itself doesn't give rise to higher numbers of babies with issues, it's because the people who have IVF are usually in higher risk groups. Now you're pretty young for IVF, aren't you, so you're lower risk anyway than old bags like me!
Thank you for the crossed fingers, I like it.
3 stims in, I am definitely beginning to feel my sleepy ovaries wake up and take a stretch!
There must have been something in the air last night...I had a shocker of a nights' sleep, too!

[Shellster52]

Sorry, I was using my phone internet yesterday which I am not good at and somehow managed to post the same message twice?! I am glad I have you ladies to chat to when my husband just doesn't get it. What a roller coaster for your Liquorice. Hoping to start straight away, then thinking it will be June - but finally booked in for 29th!

Yes, nice to IVF alongside you Carrie. Although with your AMH of 21.6 and my last result being a shockingly low 3.9, I might feel disheartened comparing our scan results of my 3-4 follicles compared to your 15! Have really been doing a lot to improve quality so just have to hope that I have quality over quantity. Let us know how your endo scratch goes. Heard great things about it and wish they did it over here.

[carriebella]

Happy to say I slept a lot better last night!

Don't feel too disheartened Shellster, I may get a few eggs but its no good if they won't implant in to my endo filled lining... and you only need one good egg for it to work so stay positive.

Had the scratch this morning, was not as bad as I expected, the nurse was quite surprised at how well I coped saying some women have begged her to stop It just felt like mild period cramps, maybe because of my endometriosis I am just used to a lot of pain! It did take longer than I thought it would, I expected a few scratches but it was a good constant 20seconds of scratching over and over.

Now im with you Shellster on waiting to start stims...

[Liquoriceallsort]

Exciting carriebella!

Yes try not to be disheartened, lots of people have low AMH it only takes one!

[Shellster52]

Glad that you didn't know before hand that the nurse has had previous patients begging her to stop. You would have dreaded it. Glad it was all okay. Sadly, I won't be with you starting stims after all. I had some spotting on 1st and 2nd which I think was my bodies definition of a period. Scary it was so light as I read that our period lightens as we head towards menopause. My cycle is already light but this was a record. Just had blood test to confirm I am actually at the start of a new cycle. My protocol requires me to take estrogen from day 20 until my period arrives. Seeing as I didn't even get to day 20, I am now not ready to start IVF this cycle. So its more waiting for me .

[Liquoriceallsort]

Oh no shellster, that must be upsetting, sorry to hear that. Probably a silly question but are you able to take it earlier on in your cycle just in case you have another short cycle?

[purplemeggie]

Oh Shellster, I'm so sorry.xxx