Anyone starting IVF? Join me (5)

[waitingimpatient]

I don't think anyone has started the new thread yet? Apologies if so and ignore this one if its already been done

I'm hoping by the end of this thread I'll be waiting and impatient for a new arrival fingers crossed

Why did you name change just then?

Just joined not familiar how it works

Read a lot of positive things about IVF clinics in the Czech Republic but I don't know anything about Spanish clinics I'm afraid. The fertility friends forum may have some info though, worth a try also posting there

OK thanks

Hi ladies, sorry I’ve been sooooo rubbish at checking in

Hope you’ve had nice bank hol weekends

Vixx HURRAY for transfer, you have waited so so so long, this is fantastic news. So excited for you to finally be PUPO!

waiting big big hugs, the bench of boredom is a really frustrating place to be - or certainly is for me. It’s a bit cheesy, but there’s a quote that I quite like, that’s something like ‘everything will be OK in the end - if it’s not OK, it’s not the end!’ I try to remind myself of that - often!

LH hey there, lovely to hear from you! Hope wedding prep is going well, so excited for you for your big day. Not long to go now!!

I would totally be with you on coming off the DHEA if I was getting married soon too. Since going back on it, I am seriously developing teenage-boy-itis! Hair is mega greasy, face is swimming in oil & spotty, and I’m def needing to be diligent with the extra-strength deodorant. I’m a total catch, me!!

Am hoping that Shellster is knee deep in smelly nappies with a healthy bouncing bubba keeping her occupied

Ellbob so so sorry to have missed replying to your post last week about ET - I’m hoping that the day went well and that your embryo is snuggling in nice and tight. Everything crossed that this one’s the golden egg

Beriberry sorry no knowledge about IVF in Spain. As Waiting has said, there are boards dedicated to Spanish clinics on FertilityFriends.co.uk which might be helpful. Good luck.

AFM, hysteroscopy last week went well. There was a very small fragment of retained tissue - small enough that it wasn’t visible on ultrasound - which my consultant removed (and the uterine biopsy will serve as a sort of turbo endometrial scratch). I’m now finally getting BFNs on HPT so am hoping that hCG must be pretty close to zero now?!

Getting bloods done on Weds (hCG, progesterone, FSH, LH & oestrodial) so we can then get me in for a scan accordingly, and ascertain the ideal time to start stims. So hopefully starting IVF #3 very soon!!

It def is 'the bench of boredom' banana ! I am almost going out of my mind. I keep having to plan and write lists to satisfy my mind that although I'm waiting I'm not doing nothing! Reflexology, acupuncture, massage, planning healthy meals, taking supplements and walking lots etc etc.

I am struggling though. I've got to the point I think of total desperation :( having many dreams that I'm pregnant and they are so vivid and real that even in the dream I'm aware it might not be real and then I wake up and realise and it's just awful. It's almost like a loss I haven't actually had iyswim? That probably sounds mad :( I'm struggling. I see a lovely counsellor so talking it through does help but I wish I could stop these dreams they are so real that waking up is such a shock when I realise I'm not pregnant.

I think I will feel better once cycle starts I need to be actively doing something and going through the process as it makes me feel so much better.

Sorry for the rant! I hope everyone else is doing ok x

Well after my ET on Sat I decided just to take it easy waiting - didn't want the stress that comes with seeing family!

Thanks banana yes all went well, I was told it was an 8 cell grade 4. How is it possible that 2 weeks takes about 4 weeks at this stage? I know what you mean about vivid dreams waiting I am sorry they are so troubling for you, perhaps it is your mind's way of preparing you for becoming pregnant?

Best wishes to everyone going through this - positive thoughts for all x

Yes the 2ww seems like it goes on forever ! It's almost been the hardest part for me but fingers crossed yours goes quickly for you I always found that after taking it easy for a few days planning things to do helped and made the days pass that little bit quicker. Fingers crossed for you

Hello. Mind if I join? Currently on my first cycle and day 11 stims today. Scan again tomorrow and hoping for ec Tuesday. Feeling a bit angry and overwhelmed by it all at the mo so good to chat to people in the same boat.

Hi beanhunter I get what you mean about feeling angry, I completely relate but when I travel down that path by forcing myself to think positive in the hope than posItive thoughts can only be good for the process, and I don't want any negativity damaging my chances!

You are doing really well to have got this far - try and be nice to yourself and spend time doing fun / nice / distracting things. I hope you have support from your partner or friends or family.

My ET was a week ago. I can't feel anything and I've had a horrible cold for the last week so not hopeful of my chances..... but of course I'm trying to be positive and will not test until at least Friday... can I hold out that long?

Thanks elbob. I'm trying. I'm not very good at being nice to myself! Unfortunaly dad in hospital and no other family really but the mr is being great. Sadly we are off out for lunch with some v dear but v fertile friends. Bad timing.

Hello hope everyone is ok? Can't stop thinking about shellster and hoping all is well

I still plodding along-supplements and reflexology, acupuncture etc and waiting for June! Not long now

Hi ladies

Nice work waiting - hope you're finding it all helping you to chill out a bit?

So, the rollercoaster ride continues - as does the craziness that is my ovaries

Go in to see Dr on Weds and he says 'ooh this morning’s bloods look interesting.'. Your FSH is still low (AWESOME) and isn’t being artificially suppressed by your oestrodial (YAY), but your LH is still high. Last week, we thought that meant you were about to ovulate, but the LH is still high, and the progesterone is low, which looks distinctly like PCOS-type hormonal profile…

Say hello to my old friend dildocam, and yes, whaddya know, my ovaries are quiet (def no ov) and they have a PCO-like ‘string of pearls’ appearance.

Counted at least 15 antral follicles, and said there’s probably more, so baseline about 15-20

Will deffo be interesting to see what AMH is, but it seems I am no longer DOR, and the PCOS I used to have seems to be on its way back?!!

Dr is very pleased in that it seems I have eggs, unlike before when we thought my ovarian reserve was completely in the pits...!

Agreed we’d start stims immediately - however unlike last time, when I was on the sledgehammer dose of Gonal-F (450iu), he’s got me on a mild dose (150iu) and got me to start the Cetrotide immediately, as my follies were already 8-10mm and he didn’t want my ovaries going off like rockets

So, hopefully looking at egg collection week on Weds - will be freeze-all so we can do PGS

And apparently the lab think it would be reasonable to thaw the frosties for biopsy (and refreeze) so all being well, we’ll be testing two lots of blasts and hope there’s a couple of good ones in there

So I started stims on Weds, in for first tracking scan on Monday!

My goodness, I'm so sorry for going AWOL! I had been meaning to get on here and the longer I left it, the more it seemed like I would need lots of time to do it, as I would have to catch up on the thread to see where you are at. I finally got on here a week ago, only to find that the page had changed and I couldn't find the infertility section. But back today and finally found it. So I came on here today thinking I'd forget about trudging through the myriad of posts and just ask for an update, but your last two posts banana and waiting seem to sum it all up nicely.

So waiting, you're still patiently waiting for June. That doesn't seem far now compared to how long you've waited, but I do know from my experience that the closer a date to starting IVF got, the more time seemed to go glacial slow! Any particular start date in June, or does it just depend on your varying cycle and when your period decides to show up!

And things are all happening for you now banana. So if I am reading your post right, you happened to have a scan with 15-20 follicles and are just starting the stims, even though it sounds like you are already days into a cycle with your follicles being 8-10mm, rather than waiting for another cycle to start the stims at day 2-3?

As for me, I had my baby boy on 6th April. I was scheduled to be induced on the 08.04.16 as they don't allow me to go more than two weeks overdue here. I was already induced with my first, then had breastfeeding issues, then couldn't conceive again, and was convinced I was going to have a natural labor this time. So I couldn't believe it when I was nearly two weeks overdue again and staring down the barrel of being induced again. I just felt like my body was a failure, didn't know how to make milk, didn't know how to get pregnant, and doesn't seem to know that it needs to get the baby out when it's due. In desperation of not wanting to be induced, I naughtily took castor oil on 05.04.16. I had about 30 trips to the toilet but the next morning, labor started and 3 1/2 hours later, my son was born.

My milk supply stopped increasing from day 3 when I got all upset at the hospital administering my first son formula. I tried everything to fix it but it was like my milk supply shut down when I hit stress and I breast fed him with a tube in his mouth to top him up with formula for 12 weeks before it was all too much and I moved on to bottle feeding. This time, all was going well until I saw a lactation consultant on day 2 just for reassurance, and she gave me all bad news

• my son isn't sucking hard enough
• that's not going to stimulate my supply
• I'll have to hand express my colostrum and syringe feed my son...

I told myself not to get upset but I couldn't help it. I really wanted to experience B/Fing and there had been such a build up to this point with 4 years of infertility, and here she was giving me all doom and gloom. I could feel the pain in my chest from the stress of her words, and voila, my milk supply did not increase from that day onward again. In hindsight, I am so frustrated with myself for allowing her to upset me as I have now ruined the breast feeding relationship I so badly wanted. But what's done is done. Knowing that nothing fixed my supply first time, I feel like I need another pregnancy to 'reset' my boobs and give me another go at b/fing. But we all know that isn't going to happen. I then read about women who adopt, being able to artificially induce milk supply by taking BCP containing correct amounts of estrogen and progesterone along with another medication to raise prolactin levels, which is three hormones of pregnancy and tricks the boobs into thinking you are pregnant and makes the milk making ducts grow. They then stop the BCP, which mimics the childbirth (as the placenta is what produces the progesterone in pregnancy) and start pumping around the clock to mimic breast feeding. So with this being my last chance at it, I thought I'd give this novel idea a go. I don't know if it's going to work so well for me when I have just given birth and my hormones are all over the place, but am currently taking BCP and prolactin meds. I stop the BCP on 19th June and start pumping... so I feel like I am back to the similarities of IVF with counting down and waiting until the 19th June to see if I can PLEASE make some milk and be able to experience this part of motherhood.

Hello, congrats on your baby Shellster, and hope your scan went ok today banana.

So, can I have some advice? On Saturday I carried out 2 x HPT at 15dp3dt, different brands, both negative. Went in for the blood test today and the nurses called to say - it's positive, but low at 65. She said anything over 30 is positive, but they are happiest when numbers are over 100. I have to go back in 2 days for another blood test to see if it goes up.

I was floored by this conversation as was obviously expecting her to say it was negative. She has said it may be ectopic.

Anyone been through anything similar? Should I prepare for it to go negative or is there hope? My head is all over the place.

Gosh ellbob what a rollercoaster - I’ve always been told that a single beta hCG level on its own is relatively meaningless (as anything above 25 is pregnant), it’s the rate of increase that matters

It could be a chemical pregnancy - or it could just be a low level of hCG that then increases at the appropriate rate and goes on to become a baby 9 months later

Although ideally you’re looking for the hCG to double in 48h, as long as it’s doubling within 48-72h you’re on track. So so hard as obv at this stage it’s impossible to know - everything crossed for the next blood test, big hugs and thinking of you

Congratulations shellster on the birth of your beautiful boy - so happy he’s safely here in your arms, and wow, what a quick labour. You might have taken a while to get going but no hanging about once you did! I’m so very sorry to hear about the struggles you’ve had with b/fing - I can hear from your words how badly you wanted this, but you are no more or less a mother whichever way you feed your baby. I hope that you can be kind to yourself, and not look upon your body as a failure - your body is amazing, you made and carried and birthed a tiny human (TWO tiny humans) - I think that’s pretty damn incredible.

Yes, I am cycling again. Basically, we started my IVF cycle straight off pregnancy, as soon as I became ‘un-pregnant’. I had the ERPC on 14th March but 7 weeks later my hCG levels still hadn’t fallen enough, so my consultant did a hysteroscopy 3 weeks ago, and removed a teeny bit of retained tissue that wasn’t showing up on the scans.

I had bloods 1 week post op, and again 2 weeks post-op (that was last Weds), and everything on the scan was looking good, so was a great window of opportunity to start stimulation - no need to wait for a period when hormones were in a good place and ovaries were quiet.

Scan this morning showed a great response to the gentle stims (150iu Gonal-F - vs my previous sledgehammer dose of 450iu!) Unbelievably, 5 days into stims, I have 22 nice evenly-sized follicles, mostly 10-12mm. Dr is very very pleased, as am I! He wants to go slow and steady, to avoid overcooking my eggs, so we’re aiming for EC in 9 days time (next Weds)

I’ve asked if we can retest my AMH as I’m dying to know what it is, Dr is v curious too, so we’ll retest it after this cycle

Hoping we can get quality as well as quantity!

waiting thinking of you and hope you’re doing OK. Hope all your reflexology etc is helping to relax you - and that you’re having plenty of treats amidst all the healthy living

Congratulations shellster !!! So lovely to hear from you ! Glad all is ok and I hope the bfeeding gets sorted out.
I'm not sure when in June I will start stimms. Cycle usually around 35 days but this month 32 days so a little bit shorter. Hoping it's similar next month too as I'm so desperate to get going!
Have an appt for TSH test Wednesday and then nothing till early June when I will have a scan and bloods, get my meds and dh will have another SA just in case as we want to make sure everything is perfect! I'm so excited! By my calculations it will be late June but that gives me just over 3 months on all the supplements

banana glad things are moving for you now! Fingers crossed for lots of eggs. How strange you now have pcos type ovaries again ! Your Dr must be confused !!!

ellbob sorry you're having a confusing time hopefully the next hcg test will give you an idea of what's going on. Must have been a shock after two bfns to get a positive blood result. Hopefully it's just a shy bean ! I'll keep everything crossed for you x

So my HCG is now 91, up from 65. So it hasn't doubled but has gone up. I have to have another blood test in a week, and wait and see, but they told me frankly it doesn't look good. Ugh. Total limbo, and I just don't know what to do.

Elbbob so sorry things aren't looking good :( a week must seem a long time to find out what's going on.
You never know though, there's still a chance it may not have doubled but it's gone up so that's good. Sorry you are going through this it must be so hard. Thinking of you xx

Very lovely of you to be offering me kind words banana. I feel like I shouldn't be ranting on here as I know you guys could only dream of being in my position. Yes, I am very fortunate to have two beautiful children; even when I was cycling on here, I felt guilty that I was trying for a second when most are just dreaming of having the one that I already have. But yes, I really wanted to breast feed and enjoy that part of motherhood and can't help but feel sad that it hasn't worked out that way. And this thread has been such a pillar of support over the last few years, that I can't help but turn here to have a rant. Anyway, I am taking medication to hopefully kick my boobs into action which I will find out if successful when I stop the meds on 19th Jun and start pumping on 20th June, so there is a glimmer of hope.

I do recall a couple of patients at my work conceiving after a miscarriage. One even conceived non-identical twins; I'm assuming because her hormones were on a high after the miscarriage and that's why she released two eggs. I also recall another 41 y.o. lady on this very thread (about 2 years ago) having a chemical IVF pregnancy, then conceiving naturally the following cycle (which sadly she m/c'd), but these stories make me think that fertility hormones must be on a high after the body being flooded with pregnancy hormones, and I hope that is the case for you too. At this point, with 22 eggs growing, it certainly seems to be. But yes, you want quality too and I know you have confidence in your Dr and his slow and steady protocol will hopefully do the trick.

waiting, we're on the countdown together. Only one more week and then we are actually in June! But I bet June is going to go super slow if my previous count downs to IVF start dates are anything to go by.

Hello Elbbob. Wanting to say hi as I don't want to ignore you, but not really sure what to say either. Must be such a difficult time of desperately hoping things go well, but then on the other hand not wanting to get your hopes up in case it means you have further to come crashing down.

Ellbob thinking of you today - limbo is a hellish place to be, everything crossable crossed

waiting how are you getting on lovely?

shellster lovely to hear from you - hope the medication does the trick!

My bloods were massively PCOS-like - FSH down to 5, but LH of 23. Obv elevated LH isn’t part of the diagnostic criteria, and remains to be seen whether I am now just PCO or PCOS like I was before

My Dr and husband reckon it has to have had something to do with my epilepsy medication and double packing of the pill, sending my system into shutdown. We’ll never know!!

I triggered last night and have EC tomorrow morning. 25 measurable follicles at my last scan on Monday - have been coasting the last 2 nights with no stims at all. Ovaries feel like footballs and just want to get these eggs out of me!! xx

Good luck for EC banana! Hope you get lots of lovely eggs

elbbob hope you are ok

I'm not too bad, excited that I'm nearly there and can cycle soon! Seems like I've been waiting forever !

Thank you so much for your good wishes, I'm really touched waiting, Shellster and banana.

So I suppose I am still technically pg. I had a blood test today but when I called I was out on the street and didn't hear the number the HCA said - "last week you were 91 but today you have sky rocketed to xxx" and I said "Did you say 480 I couldn't hear, that doesn't sound good at all?" and then she spoke to someone else and said she'd call me back. I had to go back to work and she left a voicemail saying the doctor is happy with it but you need to have another blood test a week today.

I don't understand! I will call again tomorrow morning but I am so confused. Last week it was a potential ectopic, no mention of that today. I don't feel pg. 480 is hardly sky rocketing so maybe she said something else? But she didn't correct it when I said that? Why would the doctor be 'happy' with that?
A week today I'm going on holiday for a week. I am looking forward to it but anxious about anything happening when I am away.

Oh elbbob you are having such a stressful time. I can't imagine how difficult is must be just not knowing but it does sound a lot more positive with the numbers increasing that much. Ian keeping everything cross able crossed for you that it all turns out to be ok.

I'm sure I've seen a chart somewhere but can't remember where which shows hcg levels for early pg and what the minimum and maximum values should be for each stage? I will try and find it or maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about as it might be useful to see if you're in the right range? If your Dr is happy though that's also really positive. Xx

Something similar to this (although it's from an American site so not sure if values are same as here? I presume so)