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

waiting sorry the clinic haven't been helpful, I find I can get myself so worked up about what the right thing I to do in terms of what meds to take its so difficult after miscarriages. You desperately want to do the right thing. There just seems to be so many differences of opinion on aspirin. I was on it for my last pregnancy and I got further than the other ones. This time I'm not on aspirin but on clexane, progynova, gestone and cyclogest. But funnily enough my acupuncturist asked why I wasn't also on aspirin so I then got stressed about that.

miracles fingers crossed for your transfer and that the embryos continue to do well.

I had acupuncture post transfer and a week later and now continuing every other week it definitely helps with making me feel like I'm doing all I can!

sasha I just responded on the mc thread too. In terms of ivf there are a number of different protocols that they can put you on - long, short, antagonist. This depends on various levels of hormones etc and how the Drs think you may respond to drugs. In terms of cost I've had mine on nhs so far but I think privately you're looking at at least £5k but with the pgd on top of that you're probably looking at closer to £10k although I've not looked into it too much. Success rates depend on a number of things but is generally around 30%. It's not an easy thing to do though and puts pressure on your body and mentally. It's probably worth having a chat to a clinic that specialise in this. If you do go down that route there are some great girls on here for support and info!

Waiting - sorry - was out of comms all day yesterday - back to back meetings in London and then out for the evening with DH and DS to celebrate our wedding anniversary, so didn't see this conversation emerging.

1. I was told by my GP to take baby aspirin whilst TTC pre-IVF. I was taking it when I conceived the pregnancy that ended in mc. I was also taking it when I conceived two chemical pregnancies.

1. I was told by my UK IVF consultant to take baby aspirin during my "last ditch" attempt with my own eggs.

1. I have baby aspirin in my schedule with the Prague clinic, but not until after a positive pregnancy test (which obs I have not yet achieved). However, given 1 and 2, I decided to take it from ET this time.

During this last failed cycle (prob due to inadequate lining) - I had a lot of uterine sensation - a kind of tightening a bit like Braxton Hicks contractions in mid-pregnancy. I asked the clinic about this, because I also experienced this in the pregnancy that I lost in 2011. The doctor said it was probably the embryo trying to implant.

On the basis that I have taken aspirin on the only occasions on which I have conceived in the last 6 years, and going on what the doctor said about the embryo trying to implant this time, I will take it again next cycle. I will probably bring it up at my next consultation and say I want to take it, but I think I will do so anyway.

Definitely don't panic about having taken one. x

Thank you waiting i cant tell you how much that has helped me, thank you for that. scan at 8am. see what they say. but thank you, really has put my mind at rest. (i literally have sighed relief reading your post)

thank you miracles - with regards to pessaries, i used them with iui, back passage better than front for sure. not pleasent re side effects. best of luck hunny.

I'm testing the trigger out so that I can test early (I know I shouldn't but I live up to my username ! )

I was dreading the cyclogest pessaries as had heard how messy they were but I've had no trouble (I even wondered if I was doing them wrong somehow as I've had no mess) and so far I don't think I head any symptoms from them. The only thing I have is a lot of left sided discomfort but I think that's due to the follicle that was so big and ovulation.

Hi sasha not sure how much I can be of help because I'm in my first cycle of IVF so is new to me too. But I wanted to say sorry for your losses.

Thank you waiting Bessie and flower. Really hope my little emmbies are doing well. Can't stop thinking about them. It is surreal to think that our potential baby is in one of those dishes.
Thanks for advise on pessaries, I did have a problem with the thought of rectally but know I have to do that way before ET but I was then going to switch to vaginally ( sorry for tmi) but maybe will rethink that now.

So should you not use cyclogest vaginally before ET? My clinic have not told me that they said use vaginally. I'd better check I think !

I was told to use rectally from tonight and untill ET. They said afer ET I can decide which end I'd rather put them. I didn't ask why, I just figured so they can see what they are doing during the transfer. Definitely check that out Waiting.

This is the information I got waiting. As you can see it doesn't say why. I'm sure if your clinic didn't say to then it's not that important, maybe it's just the way mine likes to do it.

I think I may do my pessary on Friday night/sat morn rectally then just in case!

Well they can obviously be done either way can't they and have the same affect so it can't do any harm can it. If you have doubts though contact your clinic to put your mind at rest.

My clinic just told me to do the cyclogest after transfer that day. I did it the regular front door way the night before and they just cleaned my cervix win swab before transfer just like they do for a smear test. I think it really doesn't matter which door it goes in, it's all about it getting absorbed. And if it does get leaky don't freak out. I had an incident of really needing to poop right after popping one in in the morning (I blame DH bringing me coffee in bed...! anyway, I called the nurse and she told me to pop another one in only if it came out whole, and if it had dissolved then the progesterone will have been absorbed. She said it only takes 10-15 minutes to absorb and after that not to worry.

I was just told to do either but on the morning of et to do it rectally. I guess so they can make sure the transfer is as smooth as possible without messy cyclogest getting in the way!

Hi folks I have just posted a thread about starting ivf vs getting a job. Looking for some advice, really worried!

Hi everyone,

I started my injections gonal f last night after 10 days of progynova. Was not as bad as I thought it would be and was completely painless and fuss free.

Hi vix I was like that my first couple but then started to like doing my injections, very strange I know lol. Guess it felt I was doing something productive.

I was also told to do cyclogest rectally before et. They had a hard enough time cleaning my cm out the way!

I started doing them vaginally first time bit switched to rectally after I'd done it for et as it was so much less messy. This time I've done it rectally from the get go. I wouldn't go back to vaginally now. I'm going to say the gross thing everyone wants to ask but can't quite bring themselves too so look away if your squeemish....no, you don't get poo in your finger! [Grin]

Sasha I didn't find either of my ovfa physically difficult except the egg collection. Me rally though it's tough, but your already in emotional turmoil. I only had one funded ivf, this one I paid £2850 for the ivf plus £420 for drugs, bit I think I'm lucky on cost. shell will know more about egg quality.

Miracles you're right it feels lilike your doing something. A step of some sorts. When did it stop being that way for you?

So far we have paid £8120

That's for 1 mild IVF cycle plus drugs, annual cost for sperm and embryo freezing, FET cycle and embryo glue and all the blood tests I've had to have (4xTSH at £30 each and so many oestrogen etc bloods during stimms I can't even remember but they were £75 each )

Can't believe how expensive it has been so far

Hi annejay I have not found IVF as time consuming as I thought it would be, the apps were very frequent during the stimms phase but it was all manageable with day to day life. I was very preoccupied though. I will have a look at your thread

vixx I was surprised at how little I felt with the injections too. I was so nervous with the first few and made dh do them but actually he hurt more and I found doing it myself easier and I didn't feel it at all

I always did my cyclogest in the back door, too - much less messy. The czech clinic prescribes utrogestan, which can't be taken rectally, but they tell you to take it orally the morning of transfer (instead of being a waxy pessary like the cyclogest, it's a spherical soft jelly-like capsule).

Glad the injections aren't as bad as you thought, Vixx - I've always said [he fear of them is worse than the actuality. Good luck .

Good luck Miracles - here's hoping your little miracle is on its way.

Hello Sasha - don't have any wisdom to offer in your particular situation - other than to say that I was a really reluctant IVFer and even after nearly two years without a successful cycle, I'm actually really glad we tried it, because it does feel that we can look our ds in the eye and tell him we really did try everything to give him the sibling he's been asking for since he was two. I also wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your MCs....it is a heartbreaking thing, especially to have had so many. x

Wow Waiting - My meds bill was over £2k for one cycle! I was on the sledgehammer dose of Gonal-F though - although it was reduced, so I went from one £350 900iu pen lasting 2 days, to one lasting 3 days, to one lasting 4 days. The cost of the meds was way more painful than the injections themselves!

Congrats on an amazing haul miracles!

Good luck Vixx - so excited for you

AFM, DH and I are wondering if it's worth asking our consultant about doing another stims cycle instead of going straight into a FET with our batch on ice. We only got 6 mature eggs, and as I'm likely to need any transfer to be a FET rather than in a fresh cycle, because of my crappy lining, whether it's worth doing another stims cycle and batching both lots of eggs together so we have more to work with for transfer in a subsequent FET. i.e instead of doing FET-Fresh-FET (assuming that this first cycle isn't going to work, with only 6 eggs), doing Fresh-FET...and if we were really really lucky, getting something for the freezer.

We're minded to try and bank as much as we can while I'm 33(nearly 34) and seem to be able to respond to stims - given my high FSH/low AMH I could be in menopause in 2 years time! Feels like rather than making hay while the sun shines, we need to try and make hay before the sun sets.

Dr Sher in the US is a big advocate of staggered IVF w/ embryo banking and CGH testing of embryos for women with severely diminished reserves, and we have to say it makes a lot of sense...

Are we mad?

Thanks purple and banana I'm hoping more than anything Iv ever wanted in my life that my little miracle is on its way.

Congratulations Lildottie! My clinic gave me a photo of my embryo, I would look at it and talk to it every day.

Sorry to hear it was a BFN Lynn, it is utterly soul destroying. I was convinced my first cycle would work. Having a plan in place for a FET helped me get through the disappointment.

So it looks like I had a chemical pregnancy. I did a FRER at 8dp5dt and got a faint positive, did another 9dp5dt and it was slightly fainter. Went to my clinic for a blood test which came back negative. DH and I are pretty devastated as we really thought this was it.

My neighbour has just had a baby and being in a new build the sound insulation isn't great, at various times of the day/night we can hear the baby crying and I have just become an Aunt for the first time so there is no escaping babies. I am obviously delighted to be an Aunt and may have gone a bit over the top with gifts but it is a stark reminder of what we are missing out on. Trying to stay positive though, it will happen hopefully sooner rather than later.