Anyone Starting IVF? Join Me (4)

[bessie84]

The other thread reached 1000 comments, so having to start a new one.

A puff of Babydust to all

x

Yes, who'd have thought purple that you amongst others on here, as strangers from the internet could have such a lasting impact in various ways.

lil I did that too - at first I alternated the sides so both ovaries would get even amounts, then gave it to the side I wanted to grow after the scans. As if it made any difference but I totally get it.

Oh, and I'm a pathology collector, so I mainly take blood but a few other specimens too. Have been wanting to do the nursing course though but I didn't want to divert money away from IVF. I might do it instead of returning to work once DC2 is born - or I might just have to go back to work in my current job as I have no savings after 11 IVF attempts. But don't get me wrong, I am very grateful.

reading "after DC2 is born" made me smile, Shell

Hi another question from me!! I have been booked in for day 5 transfer. That was decided from day after egg retival, what I was wondering is when they check in embryos today which would be day 3 will they call me either way to update me if they still decide to go ahead with 5 day transfer. The waiting is killing me!!!! I'm desperate to know how the embryos are doing. Thanks.

Really depends on your clinic, Lynn - some call you every day or update in some other way (Prague clinic posts pictures of your embryos on its secure website with a little commentary on how they are progressing!) - others only update you if something changes. I'm trying to remember what my clinic in the UK did. I think they called me on day 3 to say that sufficient embryos were looking good for them to want to wait to day 5 and then they didn't call me again. It's dreadful, waiting at home with no info....but think of it as a little bit of practice for the 2WW

Aw really purple that's amazing I'd love that. No phone call today so will be going in day 5. Just desperate to know how they're doing, how many have survived. Aw well 2 more days!

My clinic phone daily Lynn but I don't know when et will be until they know what embryos are looking like, sorry.

Trigger done and the count down has started!

Oooh, good luck Lil - is EC on Tuesday? Thinking of you.

Was indeed this morning purple. 12eggs collected but not sure if they're all mature yet. Currently in bed feeling very tender and uncomfortable. Nearly callopsed trying to walk from hospital to car. Dh had to get someone to get a wheelchair!

So had one 4aa embryo transfer today. Waiting to here if any are suitable for freezing. The wait begins...........

Hi lil hope your feeling better soon. I wasn't as bad as that after egg collection but was really uncomfortable for days. Today's prob the first day I felt better. Good luck with your eggs fertilising.

All your updates about egg collection, embryo growth and transfers is getting me very nervous and very excited at the same time. I'm only as far as going in for my monitoring cycle, which if the last 2 cycles are anything to go by won't be for another 4 weeks or so as the last 2 were 6 weeks apart (I blame it on getting married at the end of August and being on quite a crash diet immediately prior to it).

Great news lil hope you start feeling better soon just take it easy.

Great news lynn fingers crossed for you

Oooh - good luck Lil and Lynn.

Congrats lil and good luck lyn

I did my first injection last night, had to laugh at the directions leaflet. Says starting dose is usually 150 or 225iu, up to a maximum daily dose of 450iu. My starting dose is 450iu!!! Scan on Sat will show if / how I've responded, and if by some miracle my ovaries have gone off like rockets, consultant will reduce the dose accordingly.

How is everyone finding giving themselves injections? I'm not looking forward to it, did you find it difficult to do it yourself? I may have to get DH to do them.

Grrr - I was halfway through typing a big reply when my computer decided it was time to update itself and booted me out. .

I had 450 iu, too, Banana - I'm guessing you're an "old bird" like me - I was 41 when I was last stimming.

Cuppa. The jabs aren't nearly as bad in reality as you think they'll be. My clinic got me to do one with an empty needle during my last consultation and that took all the fear out of it a) because they were there to confirm I was doing it right and b) because it really didn't hurt at all.

You can use some ice to numb the site if you want to (I found I didn't need to bother though, because it really doesn't hurt). You might need to move the site around your belly so you don't always inject into the same spot, as that can bruise and then it's a little bit sore. For me, the most comfortable place was to the side, about 3 inches either side of my belly button. Pinch a bit of tummy fat/skin - if you pinch quite hard, you feel the pinch rather than the needle. I always counted myself in - "1,2,3 " - and I needed to psych myself up this way even when I'd done it over 100 times and I KNEW it didn't hurt!

You'll be fine. It's just a psychological thing because you're doing it to yourself and you know when it's going to happen. But I found it helped to be fiercely logical about it: "if this works, I'm going to have a baby at the end of it all, and that's going to hurt a WHOLE lot more, but I'm happily volunteering for that. So what's a tiny pinprick to worry about?"

Pretty much purple - I'm 33! But I have a really shitty gene that means I went from having PCOS and cracking ovarian reserves aged 28, to now at 33 having massively diminished ovarian reserve. So although I'm 33, my bloods were those of a peri menopausal woman

Consultant says it's quality not quantity that matters and even though we may not get many eggs, hopefully age is in my favour as far as quality is concerned (and DH keeps repeating the mantra 'it only takes one')

I'm just terrified I won't respond at all. My FSH was 17.6 2 months ago but last month it had gone down to 9.5. So I'm hoping this month it's not bounced back up again and the sledgehammer dose of Gonal-F does something to my crappy ovaries! Xx

Hi all

cuppa I had to inject in my thighs. The thought is worse than the reality! After the first couple I was fine. I found if it hurt touching it to my skin then I was near a vein and it was likely to hurt/bruise so I'd stop and try elsewhere.

So of our bumper crop of 12 eggs we have 5 that have fertilised, and a 6th showing some signs of fertilisation which will be checked again later. I know that's a good result and some women dream of having 5 embryos but as we had less eggs and more fertilised last time yet still ended up with only 2 by day 2 I'm feeling quite apprehensive. I think it's likely based on last time that transfer will be tomorrow so the countdown to the next phone call begins. Unless by some miracle my eggs aren't as shit as I think they are!

Cuppa honestly I had no idea what to expect before I did my first jab last night and I literally could not feel the needle at all. I felt a very slight tingly / mild burning type sensation as I pushed down the plunger to inject the meds, but it really wasn't uncomfortable at all. I'm more concerned about getting the mixing of the Cetrotide right - but DH will be on mixing duty while I prefer to inject myself. (I've only got subcutaneous injections for my short protocol - nothing IM). I was told to use my tummy as I'm v skinny so that was the best place to be able to pinch an inch, sitting down so there was more to grab. The anticipation of doing it was way worse than the actual doing it, I promise

Thanks for the reassurance everyone - you're right, it's the doing it yourself thing that's hard to get my head around but hopefully after the first time I'll be OK.

lildottie - keeping everything crossed that your 5 fertilised eggs go from strength to strength, and from what it sounds like there may be more.

cuppa the injections do not hurt at all. My best friend is diabetic and has to inject insulin with an identical pen 3 times a day every day for the rest of her life. She deals with it without giving it a second thought; kind of makes a couple of weeks of IVF injections pale into insignificance.

Best of luck by the way.

You're right Jessie - DD's classmate is type 1 diabetic and been injecting herself since about 4!

Hello hope you don't mind me interrupting to ask a question. How long would you take gonal F for? I'm on my 2nd week of buserelin and next week I have my first base line scan where I think I then start with Gonal F, though not sure how long people are typically on it for..

Hi All, glad to hear things are progressing well with EC and fertilisation for all those at that stage. I found that the most nerve wracking bit!

flower I hope things are progressing well for you- when is your first scan?

jessie what are your plans now?

Our clinic have been pretty crap to be honest. I phoned on Monday to confirm negative cycle, and discuss options for next steps. The nurse was arguing blue murder with me that we're not funded for a second round so I had to get passed between her, reception and the funding manager until she finally conceded we are in fact funded for a second fresh round. She then proceeded to tell me that the time period for our funding had elapsed and we would lose it...cue me explaining that is raised this multiple times with the funding manager, senior consultant etc and asked for my first cycle to be brought forward which was refused eventually after over an hour on the phone (and tears!) it was agreed we would not lose our funding as apparently the time period resets after each treatment. Ffs, you don't need that sorry of stress at any time, and especially not when you're full of hormones on your first day back at work phoning up to say your ivf has failed. And she was so bloody blasé about it, like she just couldn't give a shit that she was playing with peoples lives. Needless to say I have filled in the feedback questionnaire and its not pretty. We have a follow up appointment towards the end of October and consent signing to start a second fresh cycle in December with a view to down regging in Jan as that's the earliest they can fit is in. Not hugely impressed to be honest, but we're not going to look a gift horse in the mouth-we'll do a second fresh cycles with them as its funded and then off that didn't work look to go elsewhere when we start self funding/want to use our frosties