Anyone starting IVF soon? Join me (2)

[purplemeggie]

I see we've filled up the thread and thought I'd better start another one. How's everyone doing?

Congratulations gcerron, that's fantastic news! So good to hear positive stories.

I haven't been as strong as you and tested yesterday at 7dp5dt and couldn't believe my eyes when a BFP appeared - a lovely pink line!

My heart nearly stopped. I kept quiet all day and told nobody online or in RL. Couldn't wait to tell you all! But the line got fainter last night and this afternoon it's gone. So that's it over for me now. I'll go for blood test on wed.

I think I'll keep trying though as so many people over 40 do seem to get pregnant xxx

Oh Annie - I got so excited when I read the beginning of your post....and so disappointed now - nothing I know, compared with the way you must be feeling. Keeping everything crossed for a miracle blood test and sending you big hugs in the meantime xxx

Thanks purple sorry that post was really bad I was just spilling everything out. I was so so so happy yesterday!! Ah it's nature's cruel indifference again. And maybe my "above average ovarian reserve" giving me false hope. These poor wee embryos really want to live but they're just not able to.

I just keep thinking of my cousin and her beautiful health boy born when she was 43 and my other cousin with one at 45 and my friend who had one at 43 and one at 45. It does happen. My GP kind of dismissed my concern before IVF saying "plenty ladies are having babies over 40 now!" As in don't worry it will be fine.

Personally I always said id stop at 42 and I'm 42 in May so that's what I'll do. I just didn't think it would come round so quick!!

Don't apologise, lovely. I'm 42 as well....a couple of weeks ago. I also feel the need to close this chapter soon. We're going to do our DE cycle - for which I'm far more optimistic - and if that doesn't work, we'll use any frosties we have and then that will be it.

Sending so much love - you know we all understand exactly how you're feeling xxx

Thank you purple you always make me feel better . X

Annie I also got so excited when I read your post...I really hope you get a positive blood test. Surely a positive pee stick counts for something? Did you get your BFP test first thing in the morning? Perhaps your HCG levels are still quite low and therefore only registering with first morning urine. I have my fingers crossed for you - how stressful. Nightmare. I sincerely hope it isn't a chemical. Sending you hugs xxxx

Lots of other news on this thread today too -congrats gcerron, that's an amazing result! It definitely gives me a small sliver of hope but I've long since stopped comparing myself with everyone else. Good luck over the next few weeks, you must be thrilled.

And Purple, can't believe you are starting so soon! That's very exciting. Seems like we may well be testing around the same time if all goes to plan. I'm just waiting for AF to turn up now. Shellster if (WHEN!) you get pregnant it will be down to your hard work, perseverance and attitude. It's nice of you to give us some credit but frankly you are our IVF guru! You've given me loads of helpful advice.

I'll ask the doctor about the antibiotics (and estrogen) when I see him i nthe next few days.

I love this thread, it has definitely kept me sane. Big hugs to all of you lovely ladies. Really hope that Blue is onto something there re low HCG so only showing up in first urine. Come on, Frostyhoo, we're all cheering you on x

Oh blue and purple you're so lovely. I am feeling so positive for you both this time. V v blank tests today so it's definitely a BFN. I'm remarkably ok about it today! Will take a bit of time off before making any decisions on what to do next.

I'm so invested in this wonderful thread and have so much hope for you all I'll have to keep checking in to see how you are all doing and I will not be far away. And shellster I'll be following you all the way through until the very end.

Nothing would make me happier than seeing you (us!) all with our own wee babies xxxx

Annie, that's so very sweet of you to be here willing me on and following me in the midst of your circumstances. I was absolutely convinced I was pregnant last cycle and just froze for about a minute when I saw blood. So I can only imagine the excitement of a BFP followed by the shock of the line fading away. I too really hope blue is right with her early morning urine BFP and not so strong urine BFN theory, but you sound pretty convinced it's a BFN and probably don't want to be strung along. We're here to rant whenever you need.

I went for a swim yesterday and got up early to go for a walk this morning. Your regular exercise blue and getting 2 blasts from 4 eggs really does inspire me that it's quality over quantity. And I have lost nearly 4 pounds that I put on since the last IVF after purple and annie discussing their struggles with weight on here and purples determination with her 5:2 diet. So while it may be my hard work, this thread is so inspiring. This is the last IVF I can afford (well, I can't even really afford this one!), so I keep reminding myself this is the last and it stops me picking at food at night and makes me exercise as I must give this my all.

gcerron, congratulations!!! That's awesome news!

Purple, fantastic! 4 week is so soon!!

Annie, I'm so sorry the line faded, that's heartbreaking. I hope you're continuing to be positive about it all, though. Thinking of you! xx

Shellster, I'm sending all kinds of positive vibes your way for what must surely now be called Magical Cycle 10. Do you have space in your home to do yoga? I have to push everything aside in the living room, but it's worth it because I found a quite good video class run by Brett Larkin. She does 10-, 15-, 20-, 30-, 45- and 60-minute sequences. Would it be worth adding to your daily routine?

Second, have you made any decisions yet about camping? I reckon do it if your fit, but don't stress if you want to pull out and stay in a B&B at the last minute! Either way, having a break is a good idea, no?

Blue, I hope your cycle is going well!

My own cycles seem to be back to normal-ish (i.e. 30 days). It's funny, though: I had about six months of 27-day cycles after my IVF cycle, so I keep having moments of 'GAH WHAT IF WHAT IF!!!!!' on day 29. (Guess which day today is...)

Hi Emma, nice to see you again. The 'wow, this could be the miracle month' thoughts occur to me too when my period is (umm) one day late. Just nature's way of messing with our heads! I can't remember what you're planning to do...is another IVF cycle on the cards?

So my AF arrived last night, I texted the doctor, he replied straight away and I had my scan at 9am this morning. How is that for service? Poor guy is a complete workaholic....which I am happy to take advantage of. I am VERY happy to report that I have 5 lovely follicles on the right and 3 on the left, which is pretty amazing for me (pretty crap for the rest of the world, but great for me!). So I'm starting my menopur injections tonight and I'll be back for another scan on Weds morning (8am....yes the doctor works early mornings as well as all weekend).

Shellster I asked about estrogen and he said that some clinics use estrogen levels as an indicator of follicle quality. He said it's quite an unreliable method and 'most clinics' don't bother to check estrogen levels these days. He did say that estrogen supplements can be used to improve lining size if needed, particularly with frozen cycles. I haven't ever had a problem with lining so it hasn't been necessary in my case. I will be trying something new/interesting this cycle though...a new type of sub cutaneous progesterone injection. I mentioned to him that I was a bit worried about my ability to absorb progesterone (because of my Crohn's Disease). He recommended we try this new progesterone injection, which has just become licensed in the UK. I don't know what it's called yet but I will let everyone know. He did however say that he used to work in another clinic where they checked everyone's progesterone levels post ET on an almost daily basis, and in 5 years he hadn't seen a SINGLE woman with inadequate progesterone. He thinks that clinics just use the daily blood tests to make more money (!?!).

Anyway sorry for the extra long post, thought I'd share these little nuggets of information! Annie are you having a blood test tomorrow? Let us know how you get on. I'm glad you're dealing with everything ok.

Great news, Blue - glad you've started with a good crop of follicles. I never knew how many I had to start with - my clinic didn't do the day 1 scan, for some reason.

It's quite strange doing DE IVF. I'm completey okay about it, but I forget every now and then and start thinking about something or other I ought to be doing for egg quality. And then remembering that someone else is doing that bit for me. (At which point, I generally have a glass of wine!)

I start down-regging tomorrow. I'm using synarel for the first time this time. Any tips? I think you've used it before, haven't you, @Shellster?

Annie - you're being amazing. Sending you lots of hugs and you know where we are if you do need to rant, fall apart, generally moan about the crapness of life xxx

Hi Emma, lovely to hear from you x

Great news, Blue - glad you've started with a good crop of follicles. I never knew how many I had to start with - my clinic didn't do the day 1 scan, for some reason.

It's quite strange doing DE IVF. I'm completey okay about it, but I forget every now and then and start thinking about something or other I ought to be doing for egg quality. And then remembering that someone else is doing that bit for me. (At which point, I generally have a glass of wine!)

I start down-regging tomorrow. I'm using synarel for the first time this time. Any tips? I think you've used it before, haven't you, @Shellster?

Annie - you're being amazing. Sending you lots of hugs and you know where we are if you do need to rant, fall apart, generally moan about the crapness of life xxx

Hi Emma, lovely to hear from you x

I clicked on 'Threads I'm On' and could see purples words 'Great news blue' at which point I couldn't wait to open up the thread and see your day 2 scan results! 8 is an amazing start. Did you end up trying the Aspirin for one month out of curiosity? I am surprised you have the Dr's mobile to text him privately when your period arrives and for him to respond and arrange your day 2 scan. I am jealous of this personalized service you receive. I have to go through my nurse who is most unhelpful. Even then, I can only leave a message on her voice mail and wait for her to call back.

As for the estrogen, IVF research freak me is already aware of using estrogen levels as indicator for follicle quality and for thickening lining during stim phase of IVF. But what I am most curious about is studies like this one that show E2 AFTER EC signicantly improve pregnancy rates from 12.1% to 37% for the poor responder. So it's the luteal phase I am interested in rather than taking E2 during the follicle phase to which I still am feeling a bit stressed about not knowing what is the best thing to do for my last chance.

Hello Emma. Thanks for the yoga tip. I have memorised two fertility yoga poses which I do once a month when I remember. I will look up a few more and try it more regularly now that IVF is next cycle.

purple, not sure if you saw my reply to you on 13th re Synarel. Yep, I've used it before. But rather than use it to down-reg as you are, I took it from day 2 of IVF cycle in conjunction with injections to purge my brain of FSH and give my follicles an extra kick start. I had a whopping headache which the Dr said the Synarel causes. I didn't take pain killers because I didn't want to jeopardize my eggs so I suffered all day but I guess you can take them without any stress... or instead!

Only day 8 for me here and I am impatiently waiting for things to get going. So I will be living through your cycles instead and can't wait to hear updates. Can't wait to hear how many of your 8 are coming to the party after your scan Wednesday blue.

Thanks Shellster -and I meant to say well done on the 4 lb weight loss. xxx

Hi Shellster - I didn't take aspirin in the end. I haven't done anything differently this time, I think I just got lucky with the antral follicle count. Blessed relief! Just need to hope that the menopur is getting to work down there, I did my first injection last night.

I am lucky to have a doctor on speed dial...but I do pay for the privilege of course. He's great though, always available to answer questions and arrange last minute appointments. It's the main reason I've stuck with the same clinic all this time (plus the hospital is only a 15 min walk from my office). Saves a lot of stress and I can do scans/appointments before I start work for the day.

Purple, do you need to take anything for your lining? What's the optimal lining size for a DE transfer? Must be nice not to have to worry about egg quality for a change. Do they give you steroids or anything to suppress your immune system after the transfer? I'm intrigued.

By the way Annie did you have your blood test? Sending you some PMA.

Blue, I'm on the pill (to sync my cycle with the donor - stop taking the pill when she gets her AF so mine arrives at roughly the same time), just started taking Synarel to down-reg, then it's very much like a FET cycle. I will take oestradial to thicken lining, prednison (steroids, presumably to suppress immune system as you suggest) and then progesterone from transfer.

Hi Blue, my blood test is on Wed as I couldn't get an appt with nurse today. Will find out result on thurs or friday. I've had about 1000 bfn's now so my situation has moved from 'hoping for a miracle' to 'gracious acceptance' . Can't wait to stop taking Progynova and Cyclogest.

Thank you so much for your cheers girls!! I am now waiting for my first scan at the 6th week! I am little bit nervous about how things are going inside me
Lot of positive energies for you blue, purple and shell in this new cycle!! All the best
I hope there is a good news coming Emma!! Sometimes we receive unexpected surprises fingers crossed for you!!

Annie I hope on Wed you will have things more clear and please keep your positive attitude, as you know there are many girls in their 40s that had their babies so we have hope. All we need is a clinic that assess our problems and that address them accordingly. Good luck on Wed despite the answer I hope your clinic can give you appropriate answers

I don't quite understand Purple. So you started the pill and are now overlapping it with the Synarel? Will you continue with the Synarel until the transfer or will you stop that too when donor gets her period? I'm intrigued too. While I say now that DE is not for me, it's nice to hear your story and get more comfortable with the idea in case in the future...

Annie, I'm very interested to hear that you are taking Progynova (estrogen) during your 2ww. This is exactly what I have been researching and trying to decide if I should try in my last upcoming IVF cycle. Did you do this your first cycle too or is this just for your FET cycle? Do you have any insight into why you are taking it or just following orders?

Blue, I hope the luck continues with your scan on Wednesday. Can't wait to hear.

Cycle day 10 for me here. On Thursday/CD 12, I will start OPKing to check for ovulation then I will start progesterone in my theory that it will get me a few more follicles next cycle. At least that will feel like I am finally doing something proactive. Time is going so slow!

That's right, Shellster. The pill is simply to move my bleed to the same time as the donor's. It just happened to be day 6 when I had my initial consultation, so I started it that day (which meant that we could kick off a whole cycle sooner). Whereas you would normally take the pill for 21 days and then have a 7 day gap, when you would bleed, I am now on day 26 of taking the pill and have to take it until next week. In the meantime, I started the Synarel yesterday (Yuck, quite frankly - I preferred sticking needles in my belly!) and take that until 8th March. Next week, I will start taking Oestradial, the steroids and a supplement called Magne B6, which is a combination of magnesium and B6. I'm not really sure why that was prescribed (there was something of a language difficulty with the doctor!), but I'm not about to argue.

I'm still taking it because I'm just following orders tbh shellster!

Hi, I'm a complete newbie to this!
My DH and I have been TTC for 6 years (I'm 33 this summer) and having been through various procedures, drugs and too many cycles to count. I've finally given in and decided I need some support.
I've been reading various threads and with the Dr deciding that IUI probably isn't for me (I have PCOS and barely showed signs of ovulation with large doses of Chlomid) I have found this conversation really helpful as I prepare for tomorrow's appt. to discuss starting IVF.
Thank you!