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

Welcome heli. I tried to avoid telling work myself. But you are sounding positive with your reason being he'll know about a years absence in 9 months time. I must be more pessimistic as my reason is not wanting the pressure them asking me for an outcome and having to burst into tears and report back with failure. For that reason I haven't told anyone about this IVF. I didn't even tell my husband I was stimming again until it was confirmed the other day I have enough follicles for egg collection! I guess that's the difference between this being my 11th IVF and this your 1st!

Trixie - amazing that you have possibly got some to freeze. I always thought they were frozen at day 5 and don't quite understand why they don't yet know at day 5 when you're having your transfer if the other embryos are alive and well or have arrested? Are they requiring the embryo to reach a certain stage? What stage is that?

blue – my heart jumped when I read AF arrived and you'd been for you day 2 scan. Then it sank when I read your disappointment at 5-6 follicles. It's bloody frustrating. They say the Aspirin doubles egg count - didn't help me this time. They say DHEA helps too - also didn't help either of us. Why are we the exception to the rule?!?! But yes, if you got 7 from 7 last time, here's hoping 5 follies means 5 eggs. I'm combining your dots analagy with a study I red that the 'green dots' are more likely to be in the first to mature eggs anyway - and I haven't allowed the first mature follicles to over mature this cycle for the sake of smaller ones. So even though I don't have a big ladle scooping up lots of dots, this study says I'm just as likely to have a couple of greens.

I've got my EC booked for this Saturday and we are then driving straight on to our weekend away which probably won't have reception. So I might not be reporting back in again until Monday night. Normally I find out the next day how many mature eggs and how many fertilised normally and those 24 hours already feel like an eternity, but because EC is Saturday, I won't find out until Monday when I return from holidays anyway. It's going to be a very long weekend!

Yikes Shellster you're going to be a nervous wreck on Sunday! Have you got a copy of 'mindfulness' or a relaxation CD or something?! Make sure you take it to the wedding with you! I'm sure the EC will go well for you - you're a pro. You'll just need to practice a bit of mind over matter so you don't get too stressed out. Easy for me to say, I know exactly what it's like in reality.

I'm weirdly pleased with my FSH of 7, even though I know it can change from month to month (I don't think I've had it measured before). Does anyone else know what theirs is? Just curious. I thought mine would be much higher given my previous history. Gives me a bit of reassurance that my ovaries haven't quite given up on me (yet). 5-6 follicles isn't quite as good as last time but I only need a couple of good eggs, so hopefully it will be enough.

Trixie any news on the frosties (or lack thereof)? My clinic froze mine on day 6 in the last cycle. I think they like to give them an extra day just to make completely sure that they really are good quality.

So sorry, DarkChoc, and Lucie

Sounds like things are progressing well, Shell and Trixie; will be keeping all my fingers crossed for both of you.

Welcome heli. Re: work, I still haven't told anyone here, and don't plan to until I reach 12 weeks. I am lucky enough to work somewhere where I can take holiday pretty much as and when I want to, so I took a fortnight off to cover the time I expected EC and ET to be. this meant I could focus on relaxing and drinking all the water and not have to worry about last minute asking for days off.

My scan is on Monday. I don't think I'll stop being quite so terrified until after then.

You are very right blue. I have my IVF hypnosis CD in the car so I shall take time out to listen to that as I need. My FSH was 5 in Sep 14 and 9 in Oct 14.

karou. You and I will both be terrified until Monday when I get my first phone call after EC and you get your scan.

Double the terror, Shell. Hopefully your weekend away will at least dampen the terrifiedness to a low-lying dread.

My last minute terror-avoidance technique is that I'm picking up my new puppy on Saturday, so won't be able to think about scans and the like until I'm halfway there, as will have a scrawny, leggy, needy thing to run around after. I'm not sure I would recommend it as IVF stress-relief; it's doing quite the opposite.

I just hope it's a bit less warm by then. Although, you're probably laughing at us and our 'heatwave', aren't you Shell?

Hi everyone, trying to catch up with you all as joined here a bit ago but everything's moving quickly for us all.

Shell Hope the wedding is a good distraction for you this weekend, you've suddenly moved on really quickly so wish you all the best for Monday.

Blue I'm so jealous of your new puppy as we both really want one. We too thought it would be a great distraction for IVF but have decided to wait until Springtime. Hope Monday comes round quick for you too. The wait is so frustrating.

Heli Welcome to the thread, you've probably found out that the girls are a wealth of information and sound advice. I have nobody in RL I know who has/ is going through IVF so it's great to have people here. With regards to work, I've used my mum as an excuse for appointments saying as I'm her next of kin and have said that I'm going with her to the hospital ( which is not far from the truth as she had a cataract op this week and is awaiting knee surgery).

Well things have jumped ahead for me! Have been down regging since cd21 (11 days now) but had my AF arrive bang on date Monday. So I had to bring scan forward to this morning which shows I've responded to treatment already, start stims tonight! Next scan booked for a weeks time, EC estimated w/c 13th July. Can't believe it's all actually happening!

I thought I would be working today but I'm not, so I'm still here to rant away today before my EC tomorrow and weekend away. By the way, I'm just going to a holiday house - not a wedding. I think because I mentioned I'll have no reception, someone must have thought of wedding reception! The weekend is actually with my BIL and his wife, both of whom don't work and are pregnant with their fourth child. We've been giving them loads of $$$ over the last few months because they can't afford things like glasses for their child, then they announce they are having another. Feels like a slap in the face. But I don't want to deprive my only son of his chance to play with his cousins for a weekend so SOMEHOW i just have to not let them get to me as I don't want to return all full of stress hormones before my day 3 transfer. I welcome any last minute tips on how exactly I am supposed to achieve that!?!?

Blue, Yes I heard the Winbledon commentator saying it was hot on the tennis court and I laughed at his definition of hot thinking it was probably around 25C. But turns out you are actually having a hot few days.

Non, it's all happening! Do you have any idea how you will respond to treatment? Do you know your AMH level or had any previous scan showing how many follicles your ovaries produce?

Sorry Shell, didn't mean to misinterpret it as a wedding. Sounds like it will be an entertaining weekend biting your lip. Just focus on your DS having playing with his cousins. Hope EC goes well, you must give me your top tips!

My AMH is 9.4, antral follicle count is 9 so hoping for 9 follies, how many will mature who knows?? Slightly worried that each time I've had iui there was only one lead follicle compared to the others but I was on a dose a third of what I'm on now. I just think it's now down to biological chance, I don't think there's anything else I can physically do. I'm on all the dietary advice and supplements except DHEA. Still not convinced with the research regards it's cell mediated response and link to breast cancer. As we have a history of it in the family, thought I would see how I did without it for my first cycle.

Hey Shellster - yikes, a weekend with the BiL - just what you need! I have no tips on how to remain zen, hopefully the sheer fact that you KNOW you need to remain calm will help get you through it

Speaking of the weather, check this out - new research shows that sunshine can positively impact IVF outcomes! Let's get our bikinis on, ladies. Here's the research article if you're interested.

Had brilliant news from my clinic yesterday, 5 blasts were frozen on Wednesday (day 5) and another one was frozen yesterday so 6 in total - still not really sunk in. So out of 8 fertilised 7 made it to blast, we were hoping for maybe 3 frozen as on day 3 the progress report was that 4 were doing really well and 4 were showing some abnormal signs so we thought they would be disregarded.

Have been very good and have been resting and drinking loads of fluids. Really helps that the weather is lovely, have spent most of the day listening to an audio book in the garden, reading magazines and snoozing on the sofa with the cat. My consultant phoned this morning to make sure that my OHSS symptoms hadn't worsened, they are much better.

Choc we had just the one transferred under recommendation of the clinic. I think even if we had wanted two with the OHSS I definitely don't think they would have allowed it.
I found myself googling 'symptoms 2dp5dt' earlier and had to give myself a good talking to.

Purple, I also thought that OHSS was a risk during stimms but apparently it is the HCG in the trigger/egg collection that sends the ovaries into overdrive so you are most at risk in the week after egg collection. If this does work then I will be at risk again when HCG starts to increase so I am in the odd position of kind of hoping for it to come back as it could mean it has worked.

Shellster good luck for tomorrow. Hopefully being away you'll be able to find distractions, really feel for you having to wait an extra day though and for the situation with your BIL. Deep breaths and positivity.

Blue, my FSH was 9.3 when I had it done last September, think this was on day 7 of my cycle. My paperwork from my clinic has the reference range as 3.5-12.5 during the follicular phase.

Karou not long to go for you now! Very exciting re the new puppy.
Best of luck for your cycle Nonconformist

Trixie, that must be a record, having 6 blasts frozen from 8 fertilised. Really makes it seem more than likely that it will happen for you with all those embryos as back up. Even a sibling in there too!

Well, I've just left the hospital and we are driving to our holiday. Thought I'd check in while I still have internet reception to report that they got 5 eggs. Might not sound like a lot to you normal egg layers out there but blue and purple, you would understand I am happy with that. My 5th largest follicles was only 10mm at my last scan the day before trigger, so I won't be surprised if only 4 are mature. And then I never get 100% fertilisation rate so I am sure when they call me Monday I will be down to 1 or 2. But it won't stop me desperately hoping for 5 embryos all weekend!

You are probably right blue, that fact that I know I need to remain calm for ET when I return (I hope) will make me make a cnoscious effort. I think Non is right - focus on my DS and him enjoying his cousins. I think I'm going to ignore the adults this weekend and spend it playing with the kids.

Go team Shellster! I'm egging on those embryos

And Trixie that is a very impressive haul. I hope the one you have on board is a sticker and that you manage to stay sane

Shellster that is great news, really pleased for you. I will be cheering your 5 on all weekend. Try to relax and stay positive (easier said that done), it's out of your hands now. Really good result!

Same for you trixie, I am impressed and a little envious. Must be a relief to know you have a few in the freezer as a back up.

Well, I'm feeling a little disappointed this morning. Had a day 5 scan and looks like there are only 4-5 follicles growing. My left ovary is almost totally asleep. So frustrating, I had 10 in my last cycle (which we didn't use as it was a frozen cycle) and 7 the time before. I've had 4-5 in the past. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, my blood work has been almost exactly the same for each cycle. Anyway, we've decided to press on regardless. I'm worried if I cancel I'll have 2 next time (or none) and will regret this opportunity. I'm also not getting any younger. Shellster, seems that were in the same boat again.

Anyway am trying to think positive, we always seem to do an ok job at getting decent embryos. So hopefully we'll get at least 2 eggs from this cycle. As everyone constantly says, it only takes one (arrrrgggghhh)

Awesome news from both Trixie and Shellster!

Relax as best you can, Trixie, this wait is a hard one!

Enjoy your weekend away Shell, definitely stick to the kids, sounds a good plan. Hopefully Monday will bring you some good news.

Likewise I hope your follicles grow well Blue, sorry that the number is lower than you wanted. Sending positive thoughts that you get some good ones.

Great news, Shellster - you won't see this until after the weekend, but I'll be thinking of you and hoping that nobody says anything crass, that the children are charming company and keep you distracted, and that your splendid crop of eggs do their thing and you have some great quality embryos to come back to x

And wow, Trixie - that certainly is some kind of record. Great news. And I echo what the others have said: the 2ww is really tough, so do the things that make you happy and don't let anything get to you x

Shellster I can fully understand why you are happy with your number and as Blue says, it's out of your hands now. Well done on producing 5! I appreciate you aren't really with the people you wish to be with on holiday, but I hope you can find some time to relax before ET.

Trixie may the excellent weather continue for you and your audiobook, sounds like a fab way to relax in the garden. Yes, googling early symptoms is almost compulsory when ttc, but here's hoping you can think about other stuff too.

Blue my last follicle count was less quality than my first IVF round and I was massively disappointed. I too had an ovary that wasn't doing much, but then again my estrogen levels were lower with that cycle up until the last scan. I'm not sure what your AMH might be, but I was told for my level, just over 3, that the expectation is to retrieve between 4-6 eggs.

Karou good luck with your scan on Monday, I bet you are thinking about little else right now. Are you taking your Mum to your scan?

Non good luck with all the prep for egg collection.

So I had my follow-up consultation...30 mins. Hardly possible to get a word in edgeways and she sat typing away for most of it. Must say, that the consultant may be highly regarded professionally but I felt as though I was in a car showroom and I was the clapped out car that was being sold. This is the thing that really p*ses me off with private medicine in IVF, so little compassion, and lots of emphasis on money. Anyhow, the best part was when I was told that IVF with donor eggs costs approx the same as IVF with OE. In actual fact, I later discovered that the price is more than double at the clinic...and and it costs nearly £600 just to join the waiting list! I really do think that some of these clinicians need to appreciate that a failed IVF cycle is akin to grieving. Anyhow, I'm giving it one more shot with my own eggs - possibly with that clinic or overseas where it's cheaper, and then I'll consider donor eggs. Also advised again to take another month off. The most distressing aspect of the consultation was the fact that the consultant gave me only half the chance of a live pregnancy as the first consultant I saw, even though they work in the same clinic. Feel as though I have been deceived somewhat. Oh well, rant over.

Blimey, Choc - they're having a giraffe, aren't they? £600 to join the waiting list? That's outrageous! Please, please find yourself a nice clinic overseas. I've always been treated brilliantly throughout the IVF experience (DH and I bumped into the consultant from our UK clinic in the pub yesterday though ) and it really shouldn't be the way you describe. You're paying a lot of money for this and at the very least you deserve their full attention when they're explaining what's happened/happening.

Our clinic charges from £4.5K for DE IVF - our package is £5.5K and it includes accommodation and transfers from the airport and to the clinic (which is a couple of hours outside Prague). It also includes a guarantee that if you don't get any frosties from your fresh cycle, they will give you a second fresh cycle for the price of a FET.

Good luck for your scan Karou - can't believe that's come round so quickly!

Blue - I didn't answer your question the other day: I'm waiting to hear about synching cycles with the donor. AF is due any day and I'm planning to send off a sample to Serum. Otherwise, just biding my time...

Well, turns out I do have internet reception up here so you ladies aren't getting a weekends break from my ranting and raving after all!

So I got your message while on holidays after all purple. Thanks for the thoughts. I keep telling myself to just get through today and we are going home tomorrow.

Seems like we are in the same place mentaly blue, both feeling like we are not getting any younger and needing to push on regardless this cycle. But yes, how frustrating to have 10 for a frozen cycle and 5-6 this cycle. Still, 5 growing follicles is nothing to sneeze at, and you're embryos always do well in the lab. I mimic your word to trixie - impressed and err, just a tad jealous!

You are so right Darkchoc that a failed IVF cycle really is a grieving process. We really do get our hopes up, otherwise we wouldn't be doing it. And it really is a deep sense of grief over the loss of the child we never got the chance to meet. That consultant sounds very rude and un-compassionate.

Spending today not knowing how to feel or what to think. I spend a minute telling myself to be positive and happy as I need to feel zen for when the embryo re-enters my body, followed by a stern warning to myself not to be positive or I will only come crashing down tomorrow when I am told bad news.

Hi Shellster, any news on your eggs? I've been thinking about you this weekend!

Choc - sounds like you definitely need a new clinic. Regarding donor eggs, do you have an opinion on UK versus abroad? The big difference is that UK egg donors are 'traceable' once the child reaches 18. In Spain, Greece, Czech Republic etc it's a completely anonymous process. As Purple mentions it's also quicker and cheaper abroad. Either way, £600 to join a (giant?) waiting list is outrageous. We'll probably go abroad if this final cycle with my own eggs doesn't work out.

I had another scan this morning...apparently I have 4 follicles on the right growing 'well' and a couple more on the left growing 'slowly'. Damn you, left ovary! WTF are you doing down there? WAKE UP

Hope things are ok with you Shell, and that you survived the weekend away. I'm not sure what the time difference is, but am waiting with bated breath, hoping you've had some good news today.

That sounds like an awful encounter, Choc - definitely worth looking at your alternatives if you can. It's a very intimate, very expensive process to be going through with a clinic you don't feel are giving you basic respect and reassurance.

Come on, Blue's left ovary! You can do it!

I had my scan. Went on my own; Mum was too excited/enthusiastic, and I was still very much in the anxious camp, so for everyone's safety I left the dogs with her and just took myself. Didn't get to meet DildoMike, just your bogstandard DildoCam, but I did get some hazy pictures of the tiny blob. Saw a little flickery heartbeat on the monitor and everything's measuring right for 7w5d, so I can use up the rest of my lovely cyclogest and then give it up, which should hopefully make me feel a bit better. Apparently my left ovary is still a little swollen from the treatment. The lady who did my scan didn't seem too concerned about that, but it's on my notes to be passed on to the midwife (an appointment I need to make.)

Congrats on your scan Karou. "Only" 5 more weeks until you get to see a baby shape in your next scan.

I'd like to cheer on Blue's left too!

Hoping things are ok, Shellster

ANY NEWS SHELSTER ?xx

Fab news, Karou - that flickery heartbeat is magical, isn't it? I hope the anxiety leaves you alone now.

Blue - I've got the pompoms out for that lazy left ovary. Trying to embarrass it into action with my bad dancing

Shellster - still thinking hopeful/happy thoughts for you - hope you've had some good news x

My computer's been playing up and I've been using webmail. I thought that Serum hadn't responded to my request, and I was wondering if the economic issues in Greece had got to them, but I managed to get my computer to fire up this evening and it turns out they had responded, but it was one of the last emails my computer downloaded before refusing to play anymore, so it was stuck in my inbox. I've written down the info to send off for the hidden infection tests, and AF started today anyway, so I wouldn't have been able to do anything any sooner.

I meant to ask - Lucie and Blue - when you sent your sample off to Serum, did you post via normal tracked mail, or did you take the £70 hit and send it via the biological products service?

I sent mine in the normal mail purple. It only cost a few £ but it did take about 10 days to turn up there.