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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

Starting first injections of Buserelin, anyone else?

631 replies

Wispin · 11/10/2015 21:48

Did my first needle tonight was so nervous was about to inject myself when I dropped the needle, had to get it ready again, then I just paused when I had to inject myself hovering the needle over my stomach, I couldn't mentally do it, it was like being in a dream where you cant run any faster, I held my breath and did it, I didnt feel a thing, not even when I pushed the liquid in. Will keep posting how it all goes, would love to hear from other people..

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bananafish81 · 28/03/2016 13:36

Yep I did short protocol both times. The second time we initially attempted long protocol, which is why I joined this thread as I was injecting buserelin at the time. I failed to down regulate so we aborted that attempt and reverted back to short protocol

I found it a breeze - it is very short indeed, period day 1, start stims day 2 and first cycle EC was on day 15, second cycle day 14. So two weeks from start to EC. Very quick.

I found it very easy going. It's better if you're a poor responder because your ovaries don't start out having to bounce back from being suppressed. You only slam on the brakes to suppress ovulation once the follies have started growing. Really glad they're suggesting short protocol to you - you might do really well on it

Wispin · 28/03/2016 14:20

Thanks bananfish81 that's set my mind at rest...I didn't even know there was a short protocal that could be done...how are you getting on?.. How soon can you start again?...

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bananafish81 · 28/03/2016 15:44

There's actually two types of short protocol - usually when someone says short protocol they mean the more commonly used short protocol - a short antagonist protocol, where you start stims and then add in a short acting blocker like Cetrotide after a few days.

There's also a short agonist (usually known as short flare, or just flare, protocol) which involves starting buserelin at a lower dose the same day as stims. That's much less common though

Not sure yet when we'll be allowed to go again. Miscarriage was 2 weeks ago and have follow up in 2 weeks time. Would have been 12 weeks today Sad

I'd like to go again as soon as possible, but as I'm still getting BFPs I'm not gonna get my cycles back any time in the immediate future, and not sure how many natural periods I'll have to wait until we can cycle again

I want to do another fresh so we can try PGS, and leave our frosties on the subs bench. But will see what the Dr says

Wispin · 28/03/2016 17:36

Yes she mentioned cetrotide...must be that one...I was on the full dose of menipur 450 , the 2nd time...had 7 eggs collected, 5 fertilise, the quality with my 5 eggs started of fine with self fertilising..day 3 looked good but then on day 5 the eggs had slowed down and where a day behind..so they put three in...my first cycle I was on 350 of menipur..I got 4 eggs 3 fertilised and one was a 4bb egg that was put back in and was successful until 7 and a half weeks..they said this time I will be on 350 menipur...maybe it was too heigh the last time although I did get more eggs the 2nd time...

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bananafish81 · 28/03/2016 17:49

You may well find you do better on a short protocol and get more eggs

With long protocol you might need higher doses of stims to get your ovaries to wake up after they've been put to sleep during down reg

With short protocol they don't start off suppressed, and the stims piggy back off the natural FSH you produce early in your cycle, and you only start the Cetrotide once your follies are at a certain size.

Wispin · 28/03/2016 18:04

Oh that sounds great....😃

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Hyland · 06/04/2016 19:13

My consiltant mentioned the short protocol to me, but whether he'll decide for is to continue down that route we'll wait and see.

Due back on 28th April however hoping for a cancellation appointment on either the 14th or 21st.

I'm sure i was told this would mean i would start on day 2 of period rather than day 21.

So just before my 37th Birthday in May.

Looks like we will be going down the refund programme road.

So back to no sauna/spas and no coffee very soon :(

Looks like we have opted for caravan holiday rather than abroad this year. Partly due to treatment and the cost. Which im fine with providing it works this time.

bananafish81 · 07/04/2016 18:27

Keeping everything crossed for you Hyland

Short protocol you start on day 2 - start straight off a natural cycle, start stims on day 2, and then EC probably around day 14-ish. It goes very quickly without downreg!

I'm 3+ weeks post ERPC and I am still getting blazing BFPs. Saw Dr for a scan this morning: no retained products, no damage to lining apparent, nothing left behind, we know there was no sign of a molar pregnancy, so there doesn’t seem to be anything sinister going on. Had bloods done, will have results when we’re back in on Monday for our post-ERPC follow up, so we can see where we stand.

Dr says we can crack on with our next IVF cycle as soon as my hormones are back to normal levels - so I hope my hCG is on its way down! We plan to do another fresHopefully all being well I'll be stimming again in the next few weeks.

Will find out on Monday if we'll have to wait for a natural AF, or if, as long as my hormones are where they need to be, we can bring on a bleed with Provera. Not sure yet! But so relieved we don't have to wait months . We'll be doing a banking cycle (possibly two) for PGS so nothing will be transferred for a few months - and Dr said my ovaries have been well rested since the stims in Jan, so from a physical POV, he's happy for us to crack on.

Wispin · 07/04/2016 18:57

Oh sounds like we all might being doing short protocol..fingers crossed for everyone... I had to get another clamidia test done...last one ran out....i didn't know you could just do a urine test for that one instead of a swab...I phoned up my doctors for the results today ..all normal..I asked for a copy so as to give to the ivf hospital and they have to ask the doctor if it's OK to give me a copy of it. Will hopefully start again mid April , yeah we will go on holiday somewhere down south...we take our dog with us...we go to a lovely little hotel called Sandy Cove Hotel...they accept dogs...the beaches are lovely around there, I'm feeling really good about this next round..xxxxx

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Hyland · 10/04/2016 17:59

Got a cancellation appointment for next week.

Then pay the lump sum for this refund programe where by we get 3 fresh cycles and all the frozen included into the package.

Had hoped to meet up with a friend however it would seem I'll have my wine on my own. Guessing i wont be able to start ivf again until my next bleed. May the 4th approximately.

Just want to get on with it...

All this waiting gives me anxiety about the what ifs.

Hyland · 13/04/2016 18:56

Hi everyone, when are u all starting.

Soooo we're definitely doing the short protocol.

Higher dosage of Gonal f. last time was 225 and this time will be the next notch up.

Agreed to get the scratch done but i may change my mind about that by tomorrow.

I just need to pay the refund programme money and then book the coordination appointment/scratch and order the drugs.

Scratch is approx a week before period and I'm due on around 2nd May.

Egg collection would be day 11 so very quick.

Wispin · 18/04/2016 21:14

Had a scan today, starting on menipur 450 , then on Wednesday also start on cetrotide ...egg collection on April 29th..I can't believe how quick it will be this time...I've been looking at other threads ...I've never had an endo scratch mentioned to me by the doctor..is this something I should ask about...

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Hyland · 18/04/2016 21:48

I was told scratch should be done around day 21 or a week before you are due on.

I was quite shocked how quickly everything will happen too.

11 days after i start would be egg collection which seems super quick compared to the long protocol.

So it sounds like you wouldnt have time to fit in. Hopefully you wont need it anyway and this time works for us all :)

I wonder if most clinics put us on the long protocol so that we feel like we're getting our monies worth lol

I'm guessing Egg Collection will be around the 13th for us, but will know more when we have the coordination appointment on 25th same day as scratch.

Will you take any time off?

Have you done anything differently this time round ?

bananafish81 · 18/04/2016 21:56

Yay Wispin good luck

Short protocol is really short!

Endo scratch is usually done the cycle before, so I don’t think you’d have one now - and hopefully you won’t need it because you’ll be pregnant!

Hyland great news you’re cracking on too, exciting! Sounds like it’s all go for you too

Sadly 5 weeks post ERPC and I’m still technically pregnant. My hCG levels haven’t dropped to zero - my Dr said he was so careful not to scrape, because he didn’t want to leave me with adhesions, although there’s no retained products showing up on the scans, there may be some tiny fragments of tissue left behind

Waiting for hysteroscopy date to be confirmed so he can go in with a camera and gently remove anything left behind

He’ll also do an endometrial biopsy which will serve as a super scratch

We got the results of the tissue testing - the baby was genetically normal, so the m/c wasn’t due to chromosomal abnormalities Sad

The baby was healthy but my body wasn’t able to keep it going. We think it was to do with my lining so ironically the ERPC may have been therapeutic and may help me to stay pregnant if I can get pregnant again

bananafish81 · 18/04/2016 22:07

Once my hCG is down to zero, we’re going in all guns blazing. Plan ‘throw the kitchen sink at it’ is going to be launched.

We’re leaving the frosties on the subs bench and going to try to get fresh embryos to do genetic testing

At the start of the stims cycle, we'll start me on thyroxine to get my TSH to under 2.

Stims wise, same as before, short protocol, starting dose 450iu Gonal-F, drop dose down depending on follicle growth. Rest of cycle as usual. Try to make eggs, collect eggs, try to make embryos, -except instead of doing a transfer, we will biopsy anything that makes it to day 5, send off the biopsies for PGS testing, and whack the embryos straight in the freezer, as the PGS results take 2-3 weeks to come back.

After period, we'll start me on oestrogen as if preparing for a FET, until the PGS results come back. Dr said we should aim for 4 euploid embryos, which realistically we ain’t gonna get in one cycle, so once results are back, we’re likely to convert the FET into another stims cycle (and treat the run up as oestrogen priming, which for a low-AMH-er is no bad thing!)

He normally recommends 3 months between fresh cycles - except for me, as I seem to do so well on stims, and I get better quantity and quality when piggy backing off the last lot (ovaries slightly stimulated gives me more follies in the starting block, and cumulative effect of oestrogen gives me better quality). So as long as my ovaries are looking OK, and I’m still up for going again, then we’ll crack on doing 2 stims cycles back to back.

So basically lather, rinse, repeat exactly as before. Try to make eggs, collect eggs, make embryos, biopsy anything that makes it to day 5, send off biopsies for testing, whack in freezer

Now obviously all this is predicated on the assumption I can make embryos and blasts like last time!!! Which I may not, if it was a fluke.

Hopefully we’ll then we’ll start a FET again after my period (so oestrogen pills and patches), but this time keep it as a FET. Whatever results from PGS, hopefully out of two batches we will have SOMETHING genetically normal to put back.

Then we really throw everything at it when it comes to transfer. Lubion (injectable progesterone) as well as cyclogest, intralipids infusion, prednisolone, aspirin and Clexane.

So hopefully we’re looking at either 2 cycles in 2 months (fresh+FET) or more likely 3 cycles in 3 months (fresh+fresh+FET)

Shit myself and hope for a BFP and that I don’t kill another baby.

Phew.

Wispin · 18/04/2016 22:15

No I haven't done anything differently except eat more protein ...chicken .red meats ..fish....I normally just have a home made vegetable soup for dinner...I might go and have acupuncture done..it's meant to help blood flow to the womb..one just before egg collection and one after....egg collection the 29th is a Friday and then the Monday is a bank holiday....I'm wondering weather to take time off during the two week wait...glad to hear things are moving for eveyone...good luck bananafish81...fingers crossed for us all xxxx

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bananafish81 · 18/04/2016 23:42

Long protocol is usually the default for most people cos it means the eggs can all grow off at the same rate and they have a bit more control

Short protocol tends to be, weirdly, good for both poor responders (low AMH) and high responders (PCOS)

My Dr didn't originally want to risk long protocol with me because he was worried about my sleepy ovaries not bouncing back after being suppressed during down reg

We were gonna try long protocol to try and control my lining better, but I ovulated on buserelin (why I joined this thread as we were having a crack at long protocol!) so we reverted back to short

We are deffo doing short protocol for this next cycle. As soon as I'm un-pregnant-ed

Wispin · 21/04/2016 12:08

I can't believe how quick this is...started injections on Monday ...and now next Friday its egg collection...it seams so quick

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bananafish81 · 21/04/2016 12:25

Yep it goes really quickly! Short protocol is really short. The 2ww is longer than the first bit!

Wispin · 23/04/2016 20:49

I normally take my menipur at the same time every day at 6pm...I can't believe I forgot...I've only just taken it at 8:30 .....will this be ok ....will it affect anything...does anyone know........ :/

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bananafish81 · 23/04/2016 20:53

Won't make any difference - it's not like the trigger where it's precisely timed x

Wispin · 23/04/2016 20:54

Phewww thanks bananafish81....how are you.

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bananafish81 · 23/04/2016 21:27

No prob! Have you had your first tracking scan? How are things going?

I'm OK. Fed up. Hysteroscopy + D&C no 2 scheduled for Weds to try and bring the neverending miscarriage to a close

Will have been pregnant with no baby as long as I was pregnant with a baby. Urgh. As soon as I'm un-pregnant-ed will be able to start stims x

Wispin · 23/04/2016 21:47

Yes I have a scan on Monday...have been feeling bloated all the time..

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bananafish81 · 23/04/2016 22:21

Good luck! I was massively bloated on high doses of stims both times. Bloat abated once the dose was dropped x