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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

Starting IVF/ICSI this month - anyone want to join the journey?

999 replies

Rumplestrumpet · 02/10/2014 09:25

After over 2.5 years TTC, we're FINALLY about to start our fertility treatment this month (ICSI). My nurse and husband forbade me from chats and forums, but after following MN threads over recent years I think it would be a great help to share the experience with those going through the same thing.

Anyone else want to share the joys/terrors of belly injections, hormonal madness and a series of medical professionals poking around your nether regions?! And, of course, hopefully a BFP at the end of it all Smile

OP posts:
Leopardspots · 19/10/2014 14:29

Good luck rumple, hope all goes well.

Thanks for the info nutty. I actually started down reg on day 3 of my cycle due to very early period so not sure if/when I'll have another. Not looking forward to it now though lol! Thanks for the heads-up though, fingers crossed it's not too bad. How long have you be down regging? I'm sure it's worked and you can start stimming on Tuesday. In a selfish way I'm glad you're a few weeks ahead so you can warn me what's coming! Grin

moomoo78 · 19/10/2014 17:52

Oooooo good luck for tomorrow rumples fingers crossed for a beltin batch for you .

Scans have been ok growing nicely. Had to go again today and now up to 16mm so slow going but gettingthere now ec is going to happen on Wednesday so one more night of stimms should get em where they need to be. I was borderline for Tuesday because am so close lol. I have to be awkward at some point hahaha. Oooooo it's all got really real

TailFeathers · 19/10/2014 18:56

Wednesday, excellent! That's really soon! Hurray and very good luck moomoo. Are you doing Ovitrelle or the one that begins with a B (forgotten its name) for the trigger?

lildottie · 19/10/2014 21:26

good luck tomorrow rumples and good luck on Wednesday moo

Smidge001 · 20/10/2014 03:13

Hello, wow, it's all happening here isn't it! Rumple I am massively impressed with your toughness for EC, though hopefully the self 'inject' anaesthetic gel will be all you need. I think I went for the 'out for the count' end of the scale for my first round just coz I didn't want to be in a panic or squirming about (it's the thought I fear most) - just don't trust myself!

And good luck to moo too for Wednesday. I think it's probably a good thing having the eggs/follicles maturely slowly but surely. Slow and steady wins the race and all that. I now look back to last time when I was called about my eggs and how many cells they'd split into etc, (where I thought ooh they want 6-9 cells and I've got 10 woohoo that's my embie!) and just assumed the more the better, but I've since read that you don't want them to go overboard too early as they can use up all their energy and then just give up the ghost later.

Allchat how far through the 2ww are you now? are you managing to keep away from the pee sticks?

Tail - i'm with the other comments here - my clinic doesn't want to transfer more than one under any normal circumstances. They are firmly of the belief that the best bet is to take the eggs to blastocyst stage in the petri dish, as this will wean out any poor embies and then just transfer 1 (freezing any others if you are lucky enough to have any). They believe the success rate for successful births (rather than BFPs) is better doing this than transferring more than one, because of the higher mc rate with multiples. I am presuming that with 12 fertilised eggs you have a great chance of getting at least 1 make it to Blasto stage.

Nutty and Leopard hope the downregging is going ok. I was interested to hear about the longer lasting AF as mine started on Thurs last week, (so I'm now doing stimm injections as well as the Lucrin) and am still bleeding, and would have expected to be clear by now. Mind you it is also a week since my laparoscopy so I was thinking that might have impacted things too.

I just had my post-op appointment with my fertility doctor. She had the results back from my endometrial scratch/biopsy, and said it confirmed the minor endometriosis (small amount on outside of uterus - everything else was clear) which she had dealt with while under, and then went on to talk about my natural killer cells. Seems out of the 3 types of NK cells, 2 of them are higher than the average, so she thinks it's possible my immune system is preventing successful implantation. She said the biopsy and treatment of endo themselves will have helped (as the body sends in heaps of repair cells which can compensate for the excess of NK cells), but she would also like me to take an anticoagulant which has been seen to help improve immune response too. Happy to try anything of course, but as ever, this is another injection! And to be taken from Egg Transfer until preg test - and if pregnant I will need to continue for at least 7 weeks. Forgot to ask if this one needs to be kept refrigerated too.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Be good to feel we have thrown everything at this one. We are also going to pay extra to have 'assisted hatching' (love that phrase, makes me feel completely like a chicken) if we get a good blasto for transfer this time. Just in case, given our other eggs kept self combusting or something/running out of energy. Hopefully this will help implantation...

oooh epic post! Am on the computer instead of the phone - so much easier to ramble on...

lumen · 20/10/2014 09:28

Best of luck to everyone on here who has scans, EC and ET for this week, this is a very busy thread!

nutty I also have my down reg scan tomorrow with the aim of starting stimms on Weds.

Am suffering really badly with side effects this time, constantly tired but having so many hot sweats in the night that I can sleep Hmm Looking forward to starting stimms and hopefully leaving the hot flushes behind.

allchatnicknamesgone · 20/10/2014 10:33

Hi everyone,

Only popping in and out reading thread because I'm trying to stay away from internet altogether and think about other things!

I've been good and not tested at all. Nearly bought a cheapie in the pound shop but thought that is stupid because I already have one from the hospital. I read another post on someone's blog who had a very good reason for not testing early. If you get a bfn with an early test, you will still obviously test on the correct test date and it will be like going through disappointment twice. I know I can only handle a bfn once. Lots of cramping at night which is exactly what I get before AF so I'm finding it hard to be positive. I have been told to test on Wednesday which will be 16 days past EC.

Hope you are starting to feel better Tail. The nights were definitely worse. I've completely shrunk back down to normal size now and although I put weight on, I can wear my jeans again without that horrible pressure on tummy.

Shout out to everyone else. You all have the right spirit. I'll check back in to let you know the news later this week….

x

Rumplestrumpet · 20/10/2014 10:38

Morning ladies. Heading in for EC shortly, thanks for all your warm wishes. Fingers crossed for a healthy batch of half a dozen free range eggs Grin

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moomoo78 · 20/10/2014 17:36

Oooooo rumples have been thinking about you all day! Hope everything has gone well.

I have finally logged on using my computer, it's so much easier that trying to see what everyone has said scrolling up and down on my mobile!!

Have just spoken to the nurse and she has given me instructions for the trigger tonight! 00:10 I have to take it.....I hope I don't turn into a pumpkin, that's way past my normal bedtime hahahaha.

well done allchat not testing, what you said makes sense but it still must be really difficult, my hat goes off to you!

Sorry to hear you are suffering with side effects lumen Sad hope they pass soon for you.

Thanks tail and lildottie for the good luck wishes, I'm excited, terrified and a whole plethora of other emotions at the moment. My trigger is Pregnyl, not sure if that's the generic name but have just had a look at it and can't find one. Am so glad I'm getting a day off injections tomorrow, I have been told that I may need to take anticoagulant for 10 weeks and also have some progesterone injections that I'm told are for after collection, they don't tell me about everything all at the same time, just as I need to know, probably best then I don't freak out lol.

How is everyone feeling/doing at the moment.

Don't know about you guys but I'm gonna have a nice big Cake with a massive decaf Brew it's been a long day

nutty123 · 20/10/2014 21:38

Hope everything went ok today rumple I was thinking about you.

lumen we are scan buddies!! I'm feeling both nervous and excited now. God I hope the down regging has worked.

leopard I have been down regging since the 3rd October. Feels like a lifetime!! On the upside, I have now finished my AF!!! Woo hoo!! Nearly two weeks! And I will indeed keep you posted

The best of luck to everyone else x

Rumplestrumpet · 21/10/2014 10:53

Morning all. Thanks fore all the warm wishes. Don't have proper internet connection, so just a quick message to say all went well, though the EC was pretty horrible. If I have to do it again I'll definitely go for the "knock me out" option! One tip- find out beforehand whether you should have a completely empty bladder or not- I didn't and so they had to use a catheter to empty my bladder in the operating theatre - very unpleasant indeed!! But at least it's done now, just waiting to hear how the eggs got on - apparently they got 6, which is better than we expected.

Can't wait to hear how Tail's embryos are getting on!

Can't read other posts properly, will have a look later from a proper computer, sending positive energy to you all!

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lumen · 21/10/2014 18:44

Well done of 6 eggs rumple, hope they are getting jiggy tonight and you get good fertilisation news in the morning.

Hope your midnight injection went ok moo. So EC tomorrow?

How was your scan nutty? I am sufficiently down regged so reduced to two sniffs a day (from 4) and start gonal f injections tomorrow night. Not concerned by them as been through it before. Hopefully the change in drugs and my visit to my acupuncture lady tonight will sort out the menopause side effects!

By the way I have been listening to a great meditation cd called the IVF Companion which I think is by Maggie Howells, I got it from amazon, not too expensive (just over a tenner) but completely worth it.

I realised how 'woo' I sound with acupuncture and meditation/hypnotherapy but I didn't do anything like this for last IVF and I have found it really helps.

Hope everyone else doing on.

moomoo78 · 21/10/2014 18:59

Great news rumples always nice when things go better than expected. Sorry it was horrible for you, I think I'll ask for plenty of sedation I'm mard!

Ec is tomorrow lumen am nervous now. Midnight injection was fine although harder to do when your eyes won't focus haha. No it was fine. I exaggerate lol. Goodnews that you are down to 2 sniffs and starting next bit whoop

Hope things are going well tail can't wait to hear from you

Hope everyone else is doing well!!

Smidge001 · 21/10/2014 22:57

Good luck moo. And rumples fx for good news from the Petri dish.

I've just had my first blood and ultrasound (day 6 of FSH injections). Will hear back later today about whether I need to change dose or anything. Must say I'm feeling less bloated than I think I felt last time around. I'm not sure what my follicles look like except I did see one was 12mm and another was only 1.5mm. So they don't appear to be very much in sync! Hope they end up a bit closer.

I'm also still bleeding and mentioned it to them, as normally I would have stopped by now (day 7 counting day 1 as first day of full bleed). Am hoping it's a normal side effect of the down reg injections. Confused

Rumplestrumpet · 22/10/2014 11:22

Hello all,

Finally at a real computer so I can actually read all your posts. So much is going on! Thanks for your encouraging posts, it feels so lovely to read the warm wishes.

Good luck today Moo for the egg collection. I think everyone responds differently - although the procedure itself was very difficult for me (though the doc said all went well), I was absolutely fine within a couple of hours. I took the whole day off work, and was signed off for the next day too, but actually felt completely normal. So I guess it really varies from person to person - hope you all have it easy Smile

Smidge - Can I ask what "assisted hatching" is? Sounds fabulous! I wouldn't worry about the follicles not being in sync - they seem to balance out in the end. I only had 4 or 5 good ones at my first scan, but ended up with 7 eggs, so the first scan is only a rough indication. Good luck with the continued stimms.

Nutty - how was the down-reg scan? I think you're due to start stimms now? Hope all goes well. And for your scan buddy Lumen - good luck with the stimms tonight. Sorry the down-regging was tough but I think the stimming should be much easier (though you know that already!). And for what it's worth, I'm pretty "wooooo" too I suppose - I've always used accupuncture to help with my general health, and am continuing through the fertility treatment. I haven't tried a meditation tape, but do try to take time to be conscious of my body - I found myself willing my ovaries to grow big, healthy eggs and I'm probably going to end up talking to my uterus after ET.... does that make me a bit nuts?! Don't really care - I guess we all find our own ways of coping with this ride!

Have I missed a post from Tailfeathers ? Really hope all is going well with those dozen embryos. And how is Leopard getting on with the down-regging? Seb - how are your follicles getting on?
Anroga and Lildottie - hope we're not putting you off too much!

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Rumplestrumpet · 22/10/2014 11:27

Ooh, and I just got the call from the clinic - it turns out we had 7, not 6 eggs collected, and 6 of them have fertilised and are looking very good today, 48 hours in. I'm stunned! It's far better than I had hoped for, so I'm really pleased. I had always told myself we'd do the ET as quickly as possible, as I can't bear the idea of them all dying in the dish in the labs, but they have convinced us to wait for a day 5 transfer, on the basis that they are confident we'll have at least one blastocyst out of the 6.

It's such a tough decision... the odds are significantly better with a blast transfer, but they cannot say what chances there are that none will survive until then....

Anyway, we've decided to go for the blast, crossing all fingers and toes, and praying that we'll have at least one healthy blast on Saturday to transfer. Am I right in understanding that this will also shorten the 2ww? Do you do the pregnancy test 2 weeks after fertilisation, or 2 weeks after transfer?

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allchatnicknamesgone · 22/10/2014 12:47

That is good! It's 16 days post egg collection. They will give you date at hospital. It does make the wait shorter though because you don't feel like you are officially in the 2ww until embryo put back in. Good luck x

nutty123 · 22/10/2014 18:35

Well done rumples, that's excellent news on getting 7 eggs. I hope i get that many.

My down regging scan went fine and i had a phone call today saying my blood test was also good, so i'm ready to start injecting tomorrow night. So pleased to hear that yours went ok Lumen You will be ahead of me by one day!! I also go down to 2 sniffs a day and will be injecting gonal f.

Hope everything went ok today moo and that you get lots of eggs

Seb101 · 22/10/2014 21:35

It's so exciting reading everyone's news!....
I had my first scan (day 8) of stimms, today. I had 3-4 good sized follicles on each ovary. They were measuring between 11-14, so still a while to go yet. Lots more follicles but currently all much smaller.
I was told one of my ovaries is very high indeed and that may struggle to reach it during egg collection! :( but that they'll try their best. Obviously not being able to reach one ovary will reduce my egg numbers by half! So I'm praying that doesn't happen.
They are estimating my egg collection won't be for another 5-6 days. I'm so impatient... Just want it done! Wink

nutty123 · 22/10/2014 21:46

That sounds promising seb
Hopefully they will keep growing nicely and will be big and fat in 5 days time!!! Are you using a hot water bottle or is that an old wives tale?

lildottie · 22/10/2014 21:57

hi all

rumples not putting me off at all. id be lying if I said I wasn't a bit jealous! Wink congrats on 7 embies. that's fab news. fx for transfer.

seb hopefully those follicles will get big and juicy to weigh that ovary down so they can reach it. try not to worry, you can't change it Thanks

moo hope ec was OK today.

nutty gl starting injections.

I arrived in Ibiza for week holiday today with my family. had been here about 2.5 he's and was coming back to table with dessetvat lunch to find my mum talking to ppl on table behind us. I sit down and the grandmother if this other table starts chatting to me. basically the 2nd sentence to come out of her mouth was to tell me her three granddaughters were ivf babies - 1st girl from fresh trf and twins using the frozen ones. feeling like I have an ivf sticker on my forehead. now wishing I'd asked if they were ivf or icsi. maybe I will if I speak to her again.

lildottie · 22/10/2014 22:02

hi all

rumples not putting me off at all. id be lying if I said I wasn't a bit jealous! Wink congrats on 7 embies. that's fab news. fx for transfer.

seb hopefully those follicles will get big and juicy to weigh that ovary down so they can reach it. try not to worry, you can't change it Thanks

moo hope ec was OK today.

nutty gl starting injections.

I arrived in Ibiza for week holiday today with my family. had been here about 2.5 he's and was coming back to table with dessetvat lunch to find my mum talking to ppl on table behind us. I sit down and the grandmother if this other table starts chatting to me. basically the 2nd sentence to come out of her mouth was to tell me her three granddaughters were ivf babies - 1st girl from fresh trf and twins using the frozen ones. feeling like I have an ivf sticker on my forehead. now wishing I'd asked if they were ivf or icsi. maybe I will if I speak to her again.

moomoo78 · 23/10/2014 06:57

Morning all (ridiculously early I know!)

This is the first time I have been properly conscious since ec! I didn't actually sleep through it but had had enough medication to not think about or feel it. I have a vague recollection of seeing a tv screen just white with grey/black blobs on it. I pointed to it and said "ug" to the nurse and she said yep that's them. Her interpretation skills were amazing. We got 11 so just need to see how they get on now I'm not sure how many were good quality so will have to see. Am still a bit groggy so will come back on later to see how you are all doing. Thinking about you all

nutty123 · 23/10/2014 07:18

Well done on getting 11 eggs moo that is fantastic. Let's hope they all fertilise nicely.

Rumplestrumpet · 23/10/2014 07:55

Good morning

That's great news Moo - we were all rooting for you, and 11 is a great number of eggs. Even if a few aren't mature, that still should leave you with a good number. And well done on getting knocked out for the EC - I'll def take all the meds they're offering if I have to do it again! Get plenty of rest and allow DH to spoil you.

Seb - Great to hear that you've got some good follies growing. Hopefully they'll be able to reach both ovaries - I like Lil's idea of them growing big and heavy and hanging down - like grapes!

I'm so glad things are going well for everyone - we definitely deserve it!

And Lil I have to ask - did that family just happen to talk about IVF, or did your mum actually tell them you're going through fertility treatment?! I worry sometimes about my mum - I've sworn her to secrecy, and insisted I don't want my gaggle of aunties knowing about it (is that the correct collective noun?!), but I can't help but think she must be telling them something - if only because I get the ins and outs of all my cousins lives, divorces, marriages, affairs, ailments, etc....

Nutty - I think you're starting downregs tonight, right? Best of luck!!

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