Anyone starting IVF soon? Join me (3)

[purplemeggie]

Ha! I was just about to post the last message in the old thread linking to this, but I'm too late, we've already filled it up! I'll do the same as last time and send PMs to everyone who's been on the thread recently, but everyone's welcome

Makes perfect sense. And bum bum bum! AF has just finished! How long does it take to get the results? And do you retest after the month of antibiotics or do they just assume that they will have nuked everything that moves? And - ahem - do you then need to replace the healthy vaginally flora or are they unharmed by the antibiotics?

It doesn't take long once they've received the sample to get the results maybe about 4 days or so but I sent mine via regular mail and took about 10 days for them to get it. They don't say that you have to retest but obviously you can if you want to. They said they would probably prescribe a shorter course for any future ivf treatments just to make sure. That would only be for me though and not DH. I'm going to give the intralipids a try this time around as well. Some people have said having the antibiotics has transformed their periods especially if you have the hysteroscopy as well to remove any potential scarring. They have more details about it all on their web page. I went for hidden c test and the lifecode test which tests for 7 additional types of infection. My cycles are very short and again they said this could be the reason. It all seems to make sense to me but whether it will help anything or not we shall see.

Oh and I have got some probiotic drinks to replace the good bacteria. That was the other problem that they picked up in me that my good bacteria were low suggesting an additional infection. They also prescribe omeprazole to help with any feelings of sickness etc with the antibiotics.

Sounds promising lucie hopefully the antibiotics get rid of all infection. I'm not sure I've heard of intralipids before is that the stuff you have in an iv or am I thinking of something else?

Yes waiting, it's the iv stuff which helps control nk cells and therefore can aid implantation.

ranch, must be horrid waiting for you period as final confirmation that the blood test was correct and the cycle is over. I always get my period even while taking the progesterone but it really seems to have delayed things in your case. Which progesterone did you use?

aussie, I've always had light periods and no change since starting IVF so I can't say I have the same experience, or even think of any logical reason why an IVF cycle would do that????

luci, I've seen that website after blue on here sent her blood for testing. But I am still in debt from my last IVF and going further into debt for my next/last IVF, so really hoping I won't have this issue - I did have my NK cells tested twice when my IVF Dr took a sample from my uterus and the results came back okay - so hopefully if your infections assumes you have raised NK cells, and I know my NK cells are normal, this means no infection for me?

Mmm...I'm a bit sceptical about probiotic drinks replacing vaginally flora - I think you probably need to put some yoghurt on a tampon and insert - the chances of the right stuff ending up in the right place after having fine battle with your digestive system is pretty remote. I have a friend who is a micro-biologist - writes a lovely blog about poo transplants and suchlike - this is right up his street - I shall pick his brain x

It's not that expensive in the grand scheme of things shell. It's £200 not sure what that equates to in $. I wouldn't like to say if you could go just by nk cell results. I think if that were the case serum would just use the nk test for everything in one go. I would prefer to get it checked for my own peace of mind but I know how hard it is with funds so you can only do what you can. You should email them and see that they say. They are so helpful.

Ranch for me it depended on the progesterone. When I was on cyclogest I spotted towards the end of the 2ww and got AF as soon as I spotted taking it. On utrogestan, AF took a few days to turn up - nearly a week the first time and about 3 days last time. It's miserable - I'm thinking of you x

Hi all - Lucie, as Shellster mentioned I've also had that test done with Serum. Mine came back negative. As far as I know it doesn't have anything to do with NK cells - it just tests for hidden chlamydia and other infections. As you mention it's pretty straightforward and my results came back quickly. My consultant thought it was a load of old rubbish but I did it anyway. Shellster, don't tie yourself up in knots if you can't afford it/it's too much hassle. It's just one of many, many things on offer in crazy IVF world! It obviously didn't make much difference to me, sadly.

Anyway Lucie it's good that they found something in your result, hopefully it will give you some peace of mind.

Good luck Purple! Exciting times.

purple I'd be really interested for a link to your friend's blog, as a wheat intolerant with low gut flora it sounds right up my street.

Ranch that must be frustrating waiting for AF, hope it turns up soon.

You too waiting. How are your stomach pains?

So sorry, Bedouin. That message from your brother was really sweet.

Good luck today, Purple. Hopefully this will bring you closer to some answers.

Lucie - definitely sounds like you're making some headway into working out what's been causing your issues. You're definitely sounding a lot more upbeat now things are progressing.

Ranch and Waiting, I hope your cycles get back in gear for you soon; must be so frustrating to be waiting for an out-of-sync AF without knowing when it 'should' turn up.

I'm achey and tired, but otherwise doing ok - the gentle cramping is almost reassuring as it's the only real symptom so far other than the constant need for sleep and water (and all the peeing!). My clinic have booked me in for a scan in 3 weeks, which I think will herald the end of my time with them and my moving over to the NHS and the normal way of doing things. I don't think I'll truly believe it's happening until I meet DildoMike and actually hear someone other than a peestick confirm that it's real.

On phone so usual issues typing/signal. Ranch and Bedouin, I think it's all been said regarding just how unfair IVF is. It is such an overwhelming gamble and there seems to be few winners. But we try and some of us try more than once to try and increase the odds. I'm sorry this hasn't worked for either of you and i wish you both the best of luck moving forward.

Purple, good luck overseas and I hope you get some answers regarding implantation failure.

Karou, you're at the start of an amazing journey...yes it does take time to sink in, I imagine even more so when it's assisted conception.

I'm en route for egg collection tomorrow. Feel rather numb and not overly confident regarding how many will be collected.

Bed, what a lovely message from your brother. Wishing you all the best in your adoption journey.

Purple, hope you made it to Prague ok and your treatment goes well.

Darkchoc, good luck tomorrow, I hope you are pleasantly surprised.

I had my baseline scan this morning and am good to go so will start injecting this evening. Looking forward to getting the first one out of the way. I will be on 150 of Gonal-f for now and then due back in on Friday for monitoring and I then start Cetrotide.

Thanks bluemonday, you're right it doesn't test for NK cells but penny has told me because they detected an infection she would expect my nk cells to be raised as they would be fighting off infection and there would be inflammation which again raises nk cells. I know some doctors are sceptical about it but for the money I definitely think it's worth a try. There have been so many ladies on other forums who have been trying for years and gone through ivf and then gone on to get natural bfp's after having the infection treatment. I don't expect that to happen to me at all but I do think it's interesting and could be a possible explanation to our unexplained infertility. It puts my mind at ease a little that yours came back negative as had been wondering whether they pick up something from everyone!

Bluekarou, thank you lovely, I do feel a little more upbeat and a bit more in control of things now. Hope everything goes well with your scan in a few weeks. Must be an amazing time.

Darkchoc, good luck, hope you get lots of eggs tomorrow.

Yay go trixie! Hope your first injection goes well. Look forward to your updates.

Good luck for tomorrow darkchoc

Hope the first injection goes ok trixie I was so nervous about mine but barely felt a thing and some of them I didn't even feel at all.

lucie I've been reading a bit about intralipids, it's very interesting and I really hope it helps you. It sounds very promising and a lot of people seem to have success after having them.

Hope all is well in Prague purple

Thanks for the meditation shellster

I'm ok today, have been advised to start a low gi diet immediately and it has been suggested cutting out wheat may help too (I had a positive skin prick test twice in the past for wheat although eat it every day so not sure I actually have a problem with it but I'm willing to try cutting it out if it may help)
I have reflexology tomorrow (I've been going every week) and I'm starting weekly acupuncture next week in the hope I can balance things a bit as my cycle is all messed up and I feel sluggish and rubbish.

waiting hopefully cutting out wheat will help get rid of that sluggishness. If you have a minor wheat intolerance then it could be that your gut is stressed after everything you've been through and as a result is not handling the wheat as well as it does normally. Hope you are feeling better soon

Good luck tomorrow choc, hope that however many eggs you get, they are of tip top quality.

Purple hope things are going well in Prague and that you have time to appreciate the beauty of it again.

Trixie very exciting to be on your first injection. Hope it went ok tonight.

Karou tiredness is a massive sign that the little peppercorn is growing inside you. Can't believe you didn't tag DildoMike he gets around!

It's strange as I have a serious allergy to all shellfish etc. had skin tests done twice and prawn, shrimp, crab etc all came up in a huge nasty itchy sore lump. My allergy to them is so bad I carry epi pens, antihistamine etc and can't even touch them yet the wheat came up the same size both times and I'm certainly not allergic to it??!
With shellfish I just swell up, can't breathe etc and it's an emergency so it's odd thatvwheat has the same size reaction.

I'm hoping it helps though as I really would like to feel better and feel like I'm doing something positive.

waiting, I had a work college who had two failed fresh IVF cycles, but about a dozen FET's as she had many top grade embryos to freeze - but not one BFP. She then saw a naturopath for something unrelated and was told she was wheat intolerant despite no reactions when she ate it. She cut it out and a few months later got pregnant with her son, then also had a second naturally. So I've cut it out to even though I too have no reaction to wheat, but I know it's genetically modified and there are so many articles about how it's not good for us and her story proves that it can hinder things even without having reactions. It's free to try, so I figure I may as well give IVF my best shot. Hope it helps you too.

Darkchoc, I was thinking you had gone quiet and wondering if I would see a post from you when I logged in. What did the latest scan show? I guess it's better to feel like there might not be lots of eggs, so there's no bitter disappointment when you wake up. I only had 3 eggs collected one cycle and was disappointed, but felt better the following day when I learned 2 had fertilised and my focus changed to start rooting for these two embryos. It will be a long 24 hours for you but I hope you get a nice phone call the day after EC to give you some good news.

Yes blue, thanks for the reassurance. You are right. This is just one of many many things that we can do in this crazy infertility world and I have to draw the line somewhere. I am saving every dollar I can at the moment as I hate being in debt, so it is a lot to spend for me even though it's cheap compared to IVF. We have a previous child so that kinda tells me my uterus is okay, and I have normal NK cells so these are not raised due to infection, plus we have an alternate diagnosis of 0% normal sperm. lucie, you are unexplained so makes sense for you to search for answers and I truly hope this is it for you. Where are you at now? Are you still in contact with the IVF clinic and arranging more treatment?

So you're next on this rollercoaster Trixie! Will wait to hear Fridays scan result.

Yes shell I have had light spotting today so looks like AF will arrive tomorrow and the start of my next treatment. I really have thrown everything at this one. I'm on practically every drug they can offer lol. My DH has low morphology as well but due to his very high count they classed him as borderline and said it wouldn't be a reason for our infertility.

Waiting wheat intolerance is different, it doesn't make you swell up or sick. It's just that wheat proteins are terribly difficult to digest, so undigested proteins get absorbed into your bloodstream, and if you're intolerant you just get some reactions to that - bloating, indigestion etc. if you're coeliac your body actually produces antibodies to fight the proteins. If you have a wheat allergy then symptoms are different again. this page explains it quite well.

Good luck choc and purple today, hope the follies are growing trixie and that everyone waiting for AF .... That it arrives!

Thanks ladies, injection went well . DH was around for moral support which helped. He was working crazy hours last week so wasn't around much. Have been feeling mildly nauseas since injecting. Can't wait for Friday now.

The nurse yesterday said that coconut water is good for avoiding OHSS as it is a natural electrolyte so I've stocked up some of that in addition to plenty of water.

Lucie, you're not far behind me at all then!

Glad the injection went well Trixie and you can relax about the rest of them now. I too have heard coconut water electrolytes help OHSS... sadly not advice I need though as I am lucky to produce a few eggs let alone worry about OHSS!

What are you doing differently this time lucie? Are you changing your actual stimming drugs regime, or just adding the Greece lab suggestions

• antibiotic
• intralipids
• omeprazole

So your clinic is happy to perform the intralipid infusion? Do you have to go in daily after EC for an IV?

Hello ladies
I posted a couple of things on my phone at the airport yesterday, but they didn't land here .

I was VERY brave - had my hysteroscopy without any anaesthetic or sedation, including where the doctor chopped into my endometrium with something like a crocodile clip on a stick! Watched the whole thing on the coloured screen - turns out I'm less squeamish about my own real blood than about fake blood on Casualty. Who knew?

So. My C-section scar (curse it! curse it!) - wasn't looking great - there were some ropy-looking blood vessels around it and some inflamation. Not a disaster, but better if it weren't there. Looks like that was the cause of the spotting I've had.

I talked to the doctor about the infection testing and he said it's not something they screen for, but he was considering prescribing antibiotics to support my next cycle because they've found that helps with inflammation, so we agreed that we should definitely do this. I've asked the clinic to confirm what antibiotics and for how long - I'm still considering doing the testing at Serum, but if I'm going to have similar levels of antibiotics anyway, then there doesn't seem much point. I've asked about the intralipids too.

There were lots of follicles sitting around - one very dominant one (as you'd expect in a non-medicated cycle) but lots in my other ovary....I found myself wondering if they fix the implantation issues, should I consider trying again with my own eggs, but I kicked that thought into the long grass.

Good luck Trixie and Lucie - really hope that throwing everything at it makes it work for you xxx

That is interesting purple and good in a way that they have found something. I really think it could all be down to an implantation issue rather than dodgy embryos. Both you and I seem to have an inflammation issue and we have both had good blasts fail to implant. If I were you I would complete the serum questionnaire and then they will email you with their thoughts about everything and will tell you whether they would recommend the infection testing or not. I would definitely try and go for the intralipids.