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

[Rumplestrumpet]

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

Hey all, so I'm finally surfacing after a few horrid days. I've found post EC really hard, lots of pain, ended up in A&E on Tues with some bleeding. Turns out I shouldn't have gone back to work...

They did however manage to do ET yesterday - 5 blastocysts made it to Weds, so that's 4 frozen, and 1 now in place for the 2ww. ET was a piece of cake!! Still feeling pretty atrocious, though, and have had to take more time off work, though the hospital told me that work can't make me take it unpaid - you can self certify for a week. So I'm doing that for today and tomorrow and seeing how it goes after that.

moomoo and rumple, I'm so pleased about your ECs, what a great result! Fingers crossed for you and for everyone else going into the next stages. Gosh it's an exhausting process...

Oh tail I'm so sorry you've been having a horrible time of it physically, but woohoo! at your massive clutch of blastos!! 5! That is superb. On my last round we got 10 eggs but only 1 made it to blasto, so you should rightly be thrilled with 4 in the freezer. Go you!

Rumples assisted hatching is where they use lasers to break the outer she'll of the blastocyst, so that the divided cells can eek out and implant with a lot less energy. I personally had no idea that after blasto stage and in order to implant, the cells actually 'hatch' out of the outer 'shell'. This happens naturally, but requires energy, and given I had such a poor success rate with the other eggs (I think they all peaked too soon so ended up collapsing on day 4/5) there's a chance that by doing the hard work for them on my next attempt (via assisted hatching), it might help. I've also been taking CoEnzymeQ10 which may/may not help improve energy reserves.
FYI I've also read that the shell can be thicker in older women, and some studies also think the process of freezing can harden the shell for FETs. (Not that I've got to that stage so far).

Just trying to throw everything at this attempt!

Thanks for the explanation Smidge that's really fascinating. I certainly hope it makes the difference for you this time.

Tail I echo Smidge's sympathy - it's awful that you had such a tough time of it - is is likely that it's because you had no many ripe follies and eggs collected? It sounds like you were growing quite a batch in there. But such great news about the embryos - 5 blasts?! That's really amazing. With one transferred and 4 in the freezer there's a good chance you'll never have to go through that again, which must be a relief.
Take it easy, take as much time off work as you need (yes, very cheeky them making you take unpaid leave!) and best of luck with the 2ww!

Hi everyone tail that's belting news about the blasts!!

Nurse has called me this morning of the 11 collected only 4 were mature. Good news is all four have fertilized overnight and at the moment we are looking at a day 3 transfer on Saturday. She did say though that if they were all about the same they would push it back to Monday making it day 5. Have been an emotional wreck today

Yay Moo !! Great to have 4 embryos. We're going for transfer on Saturday too - we'll help each other stay sane through the 2ww too Understandable that you're feeling the emotional weight of it all - it's such a tough experience to go through, physically too. Hope you've got something nice planned for the days/weeks ahead. I'm allowing myself tasty cappucinos and chocolates - I probably shouldn't, but figured I might as well make the most of the few days before the embies are transferred and I have to become an angel !

congrats on et tail sorry you've had a rough time of it but hopefully it will be worth it in a couple of weeks.

moo congrats on 4 embies. fx they all do well.

smidge that sounds so intricate! amazing what they can do!

rumples I am 99.99% sure my mum wouldn't say anything as we aren't being open about it and she doesn't talk to me about it on front of anyone, even dh. so I'm sure it was totally random.

Looking for some advice from you ladies if anyone feels able...
Went for scan this morning to check follicles. I have 4 good follicles on one ovary which is good. But cause my other ovary is so high they are worried they wouldn't be able to get any follicles from it (this ovary had 3 good sized follicles) so all in all I've not produced that many.
They've asked me if I want to continue as there is a chance they'll only be able to retrieve from one ovary (so only 4 follicles) can be guarenteed.
This isn't many is it!!??
They say they 'will try' with the other ovary, but aren't sure. So must go ahead with the knowledge that there may only be 4. My clinic says they like 6 min. Obviously if they can retrieve from both ovaries there will be 7, which is much better.
I don't know what to do..... I desperately want to continue! The nurse says my follicles look good and they expect good results, but can't be sure.
Am I mad to continue with the prospect of 4-7 follicles/eggs??
Anyone have any knowledge about this? Or opinions? Or even just what you would do in this situation....
Thank you :)

Oh Seb, what a tough position they've put you in! Even more so as you're paying for it all out of your pocket...

For what it's worth, I had 7 follicles, which gave me 6 embryos. But of course this was a high fertilisation rate, and 4 would have been more likely. I would still have been pleased with 4.

But if they are unable to reach your other ovary, then 4 would be few follicles, esp as not each one will necessarily contain an egg, not each egg could be ripe, etc. But if you stop now, and start another cycle from fresh, won't they have the same issue with your high ovary? Or do they think this will change/move on another cycle?

If you're only ever going to be able to reach one ovary, do they think you could get many more follicles on the "reachable" one by changing the drugs or dose?

I suppose the key question is which is more precious - time or money. If you can afford to go through with EC now, knowing you might not get THAT many eggs, then I would say go for it. But if money is really tight, and they are confident that they could better stimulate the follies next time, then it would probably make more sense to wait.

For what it's worth, having tried so hard to get this far, I wouldn't be able to give up now, and wait another couple of months to try again - I would go ahead with what I've got, even if it's less than we hoped for. But only you and your DH can make that decision!

Best of luck !

Oh gosh. I really feel for you. Ultimately only you can make the decision, but if I were you I'd do it. Have you got time to research? I'm sure I read another story about follicles being too high and the response was that good consultants should be able to reach anything. Can they not manipulate it at all? I went for a scan once and they really pushed my stomach around looking for follicles (appreciate it's not really the same thing ).

Also from someone who just had 11 fertilised and who all made it to day 5 and the cycle still failed, I'm a firm believer in you only need one egg to make a baby.

I'd go for it if I were you. You are so close, it would be a huge thing to get over (sorry I'm not sure of financial implications for you).

Good luck with what you decide x

Thanks guys. Yeah my gut feeling is that I'm so close, and there's been so much heart ache and tears to get to this stage. I almost feel unable to cancel. I've invested so much emotionally that I don't think I could bear not to go ahead. Silly really, and certainly not rational thinking. Finance is a huge issue, we have possibly enough to fund one more cycle after this if it fails. But this is our life savings gone, so money is a consideration. But ultimately I feel I have to go ahead for my sanity mainly!
Next cycle they would increase drugs and hopefully produce more eggs, but no guarentees obviously. Ovary will likely stay high and out of reach if that ends up being the case.
This is such a lottery I think I'm going to go ahead and keep thinking the mantra 'it only takes one!'

seb obviously I haven't even started yet but fwiw if it were me, and I had the money for a second cycle, I'd go for it now but research other clinics/consultants re the high ovary issue if the second cycle was necessary. surprised they didn't pick this up as an issue on us scan before treatment?!

Hi Seb, I agree with what rumples (and others) said. There is always a chance they might be able to reach the high ovary (if you don't have endo then I thought they were quite moveable so FX), and presumably it won't make a difference waiting for another cycle on that score.

Though it is good to know that if you need a second cycle, they will be well aware and change your drugs to try to improve the number on the easy access ovary.

I think if it was me I'd go ahead.

AFM I ha my second scan yesterday. They have found 7 on one side and 4 on the other. Sizes range from 10-15mm so I hope they are close enough together. Today I'm on day 9 of stimms and this time last round I was having to take my trigger shot as my LH had started to rise despite the cetrotide. This time though they have told me to continue stabbing and come back for a scan on Monday - it looks as if the change to lucrin has helped as this will be at least 2 more days of ripening. I don't feel anywhere near as bloated either so much more comfortable on these. Though having said that, I am still bleeding (day10 of AF now) which I'm starting to get concerned about as surely I need to start building up my lining now, not still be shedding?!

Hubby now concerned that EC and his donation will be on the day his work have some sort of party and he doesn't want to miss out!

Hey all,

Seb have you made a decision on your cycle? Fingers crossed all goes well.

Smidge great to hear it seems to be working better this time round. Worth asking about the lining though, I'd have the same query.

moo- any news on your transfer? Did you do it today or are you hanging in there for a blast on Monday?

We did the transfer today and all went smoothly. Can't quite believe i've got my little embryo tucked up inside me! 2ww feels easy now, of course, but can't imagine how I'll survive !

Happy wkend to all xx

How exciting rumple, welcome to the 2ww and very good luck!

Seb, I think I agree with what most people here have said... I'd probably go ahead, if I was in your shoes. We're in the same position ref money (blowing our life savings on 1 try, could probably scrape a second but would be hard). And even if a chance is small, it's better than not having a chance. But then, I'm saying that from my POV, which is that I'm not sure I can handle another cycle (will I feel differently , so do ignore me if you want!

I walked all the way round the block today. Sounds pathetic, I know, but walking further than the end of the road has been causing stabbing pains up til now, so this is a nice change! Promptly went to sleep for the afternoon to make up for it...

Today I had my 3rd scan and seem to have about 5 follicles on the right and 8 on the left (I'm dismissing the smaller ones). Still not feeling bloated and sore unlike the previous attempt (which is a bit disconcerting as at least last time I could tell something was happening!). I had assumed they'd be asking me to trigger tonight, but it looked as if the follicles are growing fairly slowly so maybe they will actually give me another day (most of the sizes were around 15, with just 2 at 20).

rumples The good news is my period finally finished at the weekend (just a little spotting on Saturday), so I feel much more confident that my lining will be able to get prepared, and no need to call.

Now just waiting for the nurses to call me. I've only got enough puregon left for one more stab so will have to check that's enough.

Hope the discomfort is slowly receding tail. I remember only being able to walk doubled over for a while, but thankfully it didn't last too long for me. Good sign that you were able to walk round the block. Are you having to take any more time off work?

Well done on the walk around the block, Tail - only do as much as you can handle, and go easy on yourself.

smidge - pleased to hear those follies are growing slowly but steadily!

How's everyone else doing? Anyone else on the 2ww feel terrified of doing anything wrong?! I worried yesterday when I sneezed that it would dislodge the embryo, and on my bike thought the cobblestones might be too bumpy and jiggle the embryo too much...
That's probably crazy, right ?!

Hi all,

How is everyone? I've just scanned back through the thread and thought a summary might be useful for us all:

Downregging:
Leopard

Stimming:
Smidge
Lumen
Nutty

Fertilisation:
Seb - did your consultant manage to reach your ovaries ?!

2ww:
Tail - BFP due next week!
Moo - did you end up transfering on day 3 or day 5?

Counting down to treatment:
Lildottie - learning from all of our mistakes we hope!
Anroga

And sadly Allchat drew a bfn We were all rooting for you, hope you're doing ok and treating yourself to lots of nice things.

And for what it's worth, I've spoken to my clinic and they've told me not to worry about sneezing or cycling (but to be careful not to fall off!). I'm feeling less stressed, but it might not last long. Any tips from Tail and Moo on how to chill out for the next 12 days will be warmly received!

Fab summary rumple
I had egg collection today. They managed to reach both ovaries and retrieve 7 eggs. I'm very happy.
All 7 eggs are mature and they'll try to fertilise them this afternoon! :)
That's all the info I was given at this stage.
I'm very sore in tummy area and generally feeling a bit fragile, but happy this part is over and I'm one step closer. Xx

Hi rumples, good summary.
I am still stimming. Found the injections not too bad. Only one has hurt so far and made me bleed. Feeling anxious about my scan on Friday. I just hope I get some eggs!!

How's the 2ww going for you? And when do you test?

Thinking of everyone else

thanks for summary rumples. still on holiday here but home tomorrow so will catch up properly when I'm back x

Great news on the EC Seb - that must be such a relief? 7 eggs is a perfect number (it's what I got, so that's what I'm telling myself!). Any news on fertilisation? 6 of my 7 fertilised and survived until day 3, and so we got a bit greedy and hoped for plenty of blasts. All 6 actually survived until day 5, but 4 seemed too exhausted to carry on, and didn't make it to day 6. So we transferred one and froze one. I hope yours fertilise and grow well, crossing all fingers and toes!

Glad to hear the stimming is going well Nutty - sounds like you're handling it well. Hope you're getting better sleep than you were during downregging.

Enjoy your hols Lildottie - hope it's somewhere warm!

My 2ww is going fine so far, but I'm barely a quarter of the way through. God knows how I'll cope next week! The clinic told us to test on 8th Nov, but that's 2 weeks after ET, not EC.... I was hoping it would be sooner than that, but they were quite insistent. In any case, DH will be away with work then, so I'm tempted to postpone until the Monday when he gets back... I always dreamed we'd share the moment of the BFP together - and we've been waiting so long for it! Plus, if it's negative, I don't want to be on my own.... But I don't know if I'll be able to hang on in there another 48 hours...
Any thoughts/suggestions/advice very much welcome! Surely I'm not the only one who's been dreaming of the day they get to discover the double lines on the pregnancy test?!

Happy Wednesday to you all

Hi there. Great news Seb, so glad they reached both ovaries. I had EC today too! They drained 12 follicles but only got 8 eggs, and I got the impression they weren't all mature, so will have to see how fertilisation goes overnight. Bit disappointed as last time we got 10 eggs and still only 1 made it to blasto, so am feeling a bit concerned with the stats now.. Though I know the aim was to get better quality rather than quantity. (But the fact they weren't all mature is concerning).

Apparently they had to up my anaesthetic as a nurse had to press pretty hard on my tummy for them to get to all the follicles on my left ovary! Funny how things work out. Anyway, the extra drugs seemed to cause me to feel quite nauseous (something I didn't suffer last time) and despite them giving me some anti nausea drugs, I ended up being sick on the way home in the taxi . Luckily had a very good sick bag to hand so no mess/extra taxi charges!

Currently ready for bed (Aussie timezone) with my friend the hot water bottle on my tummy.

rumples last time I was told my OTD was 16 days after EC. So perhaps inbetween what you'd hoped for and what you've been told. It was obvious to me a couple of days before that that it's be a BFN though, so I reckon by the time you're at that stage you will be able to wait the extra 48hrs - coz either you'll already be getting AF or you won't! FX the latter the hard part of the 2ww is the bit when it really could go either way.

Great summary Rumple, so helpful to know what stage we are all at!

I am counting down the days until the 11/11 for our screening and getting my meds then I am ready to go at the end of November - like us all you just wish your life away to get started!

Thinking of you Allchat after reading Rumples summary x

No news yet on eggs. They said they call tomorrow.
I'm after some advice again.... Is it ok to have sex during the cycle? My clinic has told me it's ok and to carry on as normal. But I've read really contradictory advice. Some clinics seems to recommend no sex after egg collection and during 2ww. What is everyone else doing/ not doing lol
I've recently read that having sex around the time of egg transfer can actually increase chances of implantation.
So I'm confused! Id like to have sex. Not that I'm feeling particularly 'sexy' what with all the bloating and stuff! But I would like the closeness with my husband while all this is going on.
Any views??

Seb it's like you read my mind! I have exactly the same queries about sex. Clinic said we should wait a few days after ET, which means we should be ok to go now, but I'm just so nervous . I really miss it (we've barely done it at all since the treatment began, and we're usually like mice!), but am scared of, er, jiggling my uterus too much, if that doesn't sound too silly! But in any case I feel totally unsexy at the moment, have done since starting stimms, especialy with these god awful progesterone pessaries... DH and I are very open and relaxed about stuff, but I'm not sure I really want him, er, rooting around down there at the moment .
I think I'll probably give it a few more days and then maybe try it slowly after a serious shower

So I used to HATE those annoying "symptom spotters" on the conception board ("my tummy is tender.. it could be that I ate 5 Big Macs, or maybe I'm pregnant?") but I found myself turning into one today. I'm having hot flushes the last couple of days, which I'm not used to. So I told myself it was my body rejecting the embryo Of course it's actually the fact that they've just put the heating on in the office and is unlikely to mean anything....