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

I remember my first couple of IVF cycles that I kept testing until the trigger shot was out of my system too so that I could know any pregnancy tests were accurate.

The wait is tough. There is nothing practical you can do so all you can do is wait and wonder and worry. I can totally understand feeling that out of 16, you are worried you have one with potential. I had about 30 eggs retrieve in total to produce this one baby that I now have!

You've done all you can. You have a quality 5 cell embryo on board. You had a natural cycle and took the trigger so it was transferred at the exact correct timing of your cycle. It's just a tough wait now.

Yes, it is hard waiting and the trigger shot is stubborn! Lines are getting darker so it's obviously not going out of my system as quick as last time (half dose gone in three days last time and this dose was the full one)

I do worry about the huge drop off rate with my eggs. I'm worried they were perhaps very poor quality.so much so that today I've been researching co enzyme q10 for potential future cycles as it feels almost impossible that the embryo transferred could be from the same 'batch' and be ok . It's really hard ! I keep veering from one extreme to the other-researching supplements for another fresh cycle to googling nursery furniture I think I'm going a bit crazy

Managed to do my clexane injection today without it hurting !

Luckily no side effects yet from any medications. I was worried about the steroids but so far so good. No symptoms of any sort at all really not even from the progesterone.
Going to test for trigger shot in a few days and hopefully it will be gone

I really hate the 2ww ! I just want to know !

Waitingimpatient - you are a warrior having to deal with taking so many meds, am so glad you don't seem to have side effects, may it continue and you have some good news soon.
I take COQ10, no idea if its had any effect really, but have certainly guzzled them down now for about 4 and a half months. And DHEA for 14 weeks!!

Thankyou Everhopeful it does seem like I'm taking a lot! I had to write a list to tick off each day so I don't forget anything !
So pleased to not have any side effects yet although my eczema seems a lot better today so maybe that's a positive side effect from the steroids !

What dose of coq10 do you take ? I've been reading so many different things-some take small doses others huge ! I'm pretty sure if this cycle fails it's down to egg quality

waiting I took 300g CoQ10 as ubiquinol (equivalent to 600mg of regular CoQ10) as the dose advised by It starts with the egg (and various clinics). Xx

Thanks banana where do you get it from ? I feel like I'm being negative by researching all this in the 2ww but I seem to always need a plan in place !
Last FET I knew I had two embryos still frozen but this time obviously I don't so want to have everything ready to go if it's bfn (but I really hope it's bfp!)

I got mine from Amazon - bought Solgar brand, although they prob also sell it in Holland and Barratt or other health food shops. I can totally relate to thinking ahead - I was the same. I was already planning how many cycles I could do before the end of the year before I'd even bad a BFN!

It's mad isn't it ! I just feel like i have to have a plan !

I also have it in the back of my mind that the big drop off from 16 eggs to three frozen and one not surviving the thaw points to egg issues.
If this cycle fails I think I'm going to enquire about a scratch as well as perhaps that will help. My lining is always good but maybe there's something else going on who knows

So hard! I just want a bfp but have a niggling feeling

I honestly don't think it's that massive a drop off - my first round I had 7 eggs, 4 fertilised and none made it past day 3. Second round I had 17 eggs and got 5 good blasts out of it. You might have got blasts if they had let them grow so you just don't know. They're not necessarily bad eggs! The one that didn't thaw was a day 2 wasn't it? They're much simpler structures so a little bit of cell damage and the whole thing is affected. Whereas a blast is more complex so a little bit of cell damage isn't such a big problem. It's not necessarily a bad embryo, it may just have been that it was an earlier embryo xx

Yes it was a day two. The one that was transferred was day two 5 cells and grade 2

In a way I suppose it just feels like how can only one from that batch be ok it all seems very against the odds but like I've seen so many times it only takes one!
It's difficult to know what to think as FET in October was a really good day three embryo (I think it was 7 cells) and that didn't work. I keep going through it all, researching stuff and watching YouTube IVF videos ! It's suddenly consumed me this time !

Hi,
I've been reading this thread for so long and just been to anxious to join in but think I'm ready.....
Waiting...I'm in the 2ww too had an fet but am not feeling very positive as although it was a blastocyst it wasn't the best, it was still collapsed and hadn't started to expand at all but they still transferred it because there were still viable cells.
I had another fet in October and that was also a blastocyst and had fully expanded and was apparently doing other great stuff even before transfer but my test was negative so who bloody knows!!
I do already have a son from an ivf cycle which took 4 tries and have had 2 ectopic pregnancies. I'm so grateful for my son and know I am lucky, but he is desperate for a brother or sister and I feel so pressured and a bit of a failure :(.
Anyway it's now in the hands of the big guy above....

Hi Indecisive !

It's so difficult isn't it, especially when they tell you everything looks great. That's what happened to me in Oct lining great, embryo great etc etc and bfn
When is your OTD?

I know! You just never know do you! When I was having my fresh cycles I had amazing quality eggs transferred and got a negative! When I went for follow up the consultant said "I had you down as a dead cert"
My date is 10th

Oh and I never got many eggs on my collections! Was always about 6 but on my fourth go I got to blastocyst stage for first time and two frozen (one was slightly under the grade to be frozen but they said they would just because they were already freezing one good one so may aswell) it was the good one I had put back in October but no joy! The one I have on board now was never the best :(

Yes when we had our follow up the consultant said "this wasn't the result I expected"

I got 16 eggs but the numbers quickly dwindled and they ended up freezing two on day 2 and one on day 3. I was meant to have both two day embryos transferred on Friday but one didn't survive thawing
I just feel like if none of the others made it/implanted/thawed could this little one on board really do it? I'm not sure but I really hope so.

If not I'm going to start on co enzyme q10 and do another fresh cycle but will freeze all as I have PCOS and I think that's a better option for me to do FET rather than fresh transfer. I'm already looking at where we can save money and which credit card we could potentially use so it's a financial strain too with no guarantee

My OTD is 9th I will be having a blood test (I'm hoping to cheat and do an early test before then but currently the ovitrelle trigger is being stubborn so I need that out of my system)

I'm on aspirin, dexamethasone and crinone gel 2x a day. I never cheat lol all 6 times I've waited.

I can't help it! I'm terrible I just can't bear the wait for the call with no idea what it may be!

I'm on different steroids to you, prednisolone and I have the cyclogest progesterone. Aspirin too and clexane (which isn't as bad as I was expecting and I only have tiny bruises and today's didn't sting which was great!) it's so much to remember don't you think ?! I have a list

On waking-levothyroxine
7.30 am cyclogest and clexane
8.00am prednisolone
With Lunch folic acid and iron tablet or pregnacare vitamin (alternate days)
With Dinner aspirin
7.30pm cyclogest
8.00pm prednisolone

I have to tick it off each day !!

Waiting... I took 300mg of ubiquinol as well. I also take DHEA (75mg daily) as the micronized version as remembered reading something on here probably about 5 months ago now, and was a time of learning that my AMH was not good, I felt that I should chuck everything at it. Altho having said that as regards the COQ10/ubiquinol, my acupuncturist has periodically taken all my supplements to check whilst having the treatment and has said she doesn't think the COQ10 is that helpful to my supplement regime, but I would doubt its doing any harm. The version I got of it, contained black pepper extract, which I found a bit odd but struggled at that time to find another that was 300mg, and I ve just carried on with it. Acupuncture opinion on supplements am not completely sold on although the actual needle work has been really good so I did have a slight nagging doubt
Is your AMH level reasonable? It really cant hurt to top up with egg quality supplements, my clinic was all for DHEA for at least 16 weeks ( there are studies that confirm success when taken for that long) but didn't believe the efficacy for COQ10, but can really do no harm
Am also on a high protein diet and trying to stay as healthy as I can.

My AMH is 63.5 so don't think dhea would be suitable (I have pcos) but from what I've read the coq10 sounds like it may be helpful if this cycle is unsuccessful

I had acupuncture for FET in October but it didn't work so this time I've only done reflexology. I may do both if I need more cycles. It's just hard to juggle all the appointments and cost

Waiting if you have PCOS definitely do not take DHEA

I'm surprised your acupuncturist dismissed CoQ10 hopeful as several respected clinics such as the Lister recommend it for poor responders

I followed the advice in 'It starts with the egg' religiously and saw a stark difference in embryo quality between my first and second cycles

I took:
CoQ10 as ubiquinol
DHEA
High strength vitamin C
High strength vitamin D
High strength vitamin E
Resveratrol
Melatonin (whilst cycling only - can interfere with ovulation)
Prenatal multivit
DHA fish oil
5mg folic acid (prescription strength due to epilepsy)

I think the DHEA made a big difference as my testosterone was almost undetectable before my first cycle and only once it got into normal range did my egg quantity and quality improve dramatically

The CHR clinic in NYC have some great videos about egg quality - although they primarily treat women with severe DOR so the DHEA advice is absolutely contraindicated for women with PCOS

I will def avoid that one then! I have issues with excess hair so imagine my testosterone is high. Don't want to make things worse.

I used to have terrible acne in late teens and till about 21 due to pcos. Luckily never had weight issues but I struggle to keep weight on (although not after this weekend-Dh won't stop feeding me! I feel completely stuffed but I think he thinks he's helping !)

I had my vit d tested and it was ok but I take a supplement (when I remember ! But it's only a boots one not a high dose). Dh has his well,an conception vitamins too

Ahh.... waiting sorry hadn't realised you had PCOS scrub my comments on dhea. I agree that balancing costs and time for reflexology and acupuncture can be somewhat of a challenge.

Bananafish - This is my first cycle and have taken dhea for about 14 weeks, just fallen short of the studies that talk about success on 16 weeks but so close. Regards the acupuncturist I think it might have been the brand of COQ10 I had possibly, but my clinic was all about selling the DHEA for poor responders, and rather poo poohed the COQ10 but hey I ve continued to take it, something stuck in my brain about it.

I had about 4 follicles on previous scan (early Jan), but a cyst on right ovary had obscured it so am hoping there may be 1 or 2 more, or lots more dependent on my response to the stimms, but I am a little wary of the protocol am on, was given norethisterone to get rid of the remaining small cyst but am doing long protocol - as its the first time I have no idea how I ll respond at all so hoping the DHEA will counteract the fact of being oversuppressed. Certainly when I had the blood test before I started menopur, I was expecting to be well under the 100 marker, and apparently it was 98!! So will take a long time hopefully to be oversuppressed and now doing the injections at high dose as well. Fingers crossed.

Good to know about the testosterone levels, I havent had a blood retaken for what my levels are now. I ll check out those videos on egg quality, thankyou. I read some of "It starts with the egg" and have followed dhea and coq10 advice, I was more sceptical about not using plastics and not wearing perfume or nail varnish tho. Wondered where you draw the line with makeup, face creams and hair dyes.

I had to have high dosage vit d to bring my levels into therapeutic range. They wanted me to do the same with iron supplements but in the end chose to take gentler formulations and increase iron rich foods, because iron in tablet form, had made me ill. I am in normal range for that so that will have to be good enough. Whats resveretrol? I take folic acid and a high strength pre natal vitamin too.

Yes I ignored the bits about plastics and nail varnish too. There are limits and I can't believe eggs will know about a tupperware!

Hi there, please may I join in? About to have our first shot at IVF after several failed iui's. We're in the unexplained camp and already have a 5 year old son who was conceived naturally after a couple months. Due to start buserelin next Monday, nervous is an understatement