The mind numbing boredom of infertility II

[PotatoesPastaAndBread]

This is a thread for peole who really want to get pregnant but can't, who have tried pretty much everything, and are really fucked off about it.

Have you ever nearly punched someone for advising you to "relax", "go on holiday" or "just get drunk - that's what we did"? Well then this is the thread for you.

You won't find much sentimentality here and there's no baby dust, but there is empathy, a lot of swearing and a surpirsing amount of glittery dog shit.

Link to the original thread
original thread

Pleased the erpc went all right, grump and that you're feeling good today. Laura you're making me jealous with all your talk of box sets & room service. Hope scan goes well! Fractious, how're you holding up? Meh I reckon I'll be joining you in that birthday drink tomorrow - hope you have a lovely holiday and manage to have some much needed r & r. Purple thanks for sharing your story - good to be reminded that IVF does occasionally work! Welcome aargh, the IVF funding crapshoot is a shitter. Pebbles, Karla, Harold, Sammy & anyone else I've missed, have a barrentastic Friday. Meeting a young & single friend tonight who's just been travelling for a few months. I am going to get pissed on half a glass of wine, look at her holiday pics & hear of her exotic adventures & think 'this, too, can be mine when I give up ttc.'

Hi

Can I ask you all a favour. Does anyone know a reputable pharmacy I can try to get the drugs I need cheaper.
Clinic have sent the paperwork through and their cost is £1693.
It's the menopur @ £456
And Gonal F at @ £1056 that's the most expensive!
Thanks

Hello MindNumbers, long time lurker here and fellow traveller of the barren road, I have found strength with you great ladies.

Will tell my story another time, but jumped in to help out Karlafox. I have done two rounds of IVF. The drugs are very expensive, but if you have the energy do shop around. For my protocol, I found a combination of ASDA pharmacy and Healthcare At Home was the best value, my consultant was very willing to split the prescription for me so I could get some drugs from each pharmacy.

I got loads of useful info on where to buy IVF drugs here www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=337251.20

I got prescription quotes (prices for each drug seperately) from Superdrug, ASDA, Healthcare at home, Fertility2u, Chemist Direct, Pharmacy2u, Rigcharm, Alcura. Not all pharmacies stock all drugs.

I hope that is helpful to you ladies going through the IVF rollercoaster. And I am sure they will all chuck in a glitter dog shit in for free.

Hey everyone, stepped away from the thread for a little while. As nothing has been happening , just month after month of nothing. Waiting on the waiting list for my egg transfer whilst my 3 embies wait in the freezer. Finally can start injections again in preparation for my transfer at the end of the month.

Hey all,

Karla I just got all mine from Rigcharm Pharmacy in London - my Gonal-F was £312 per pen and I needed two of them. I also had 3 boxes of Orgalutran and my trigger shot of Decapeptyl and the whole thing came to £817 plus postage which took it to £832. Also got it the next day after I ordered it! Would definitely recommend - I just rang and said what I needed and they gave me an email address to email the prescription and then he confirmed he could order the drugs in and I called up and paid and they turned up. I'd been stressing about getting hold of it all with the Czech Rep prescription but it all turned out very easy. I did find the above thread but not early enough to ease my stress!

Had my scan this morning, my lining is at 7.3mm and I have 7 follicles on the right ovary and 8 in the left so not bad I think?? I've been on a dose of 112.5IU so far and that's what I'm staying on through to my second scan on Monday then I'll be told when my trigger shot is to be done and what day/time my EC is.

Being forced by DH to remain on sofa tonight (hence why I'm sitting at computer doing comps and messaging you lovely lot - he didn't marry me for my 'obeying' skills ;))

Hope you're all having a barrentastic night of eating naughty things and staying up late!

Karla I ended up getting most of the drugs through my clinic as after research their prices were pretty standard to pharmacies, but did get my initial Gonal from Superdrug- think £92 per 300iu pen. The 450iu I want to say was about £150.

Don't ever, ever go to Boots! Had to pick up an NHS prescription from there once and also had a clinic one for Crinone I thought I may as well drop in too and it was arsing 50% more expensive than my clinic! Bastards.

Laura that sounds good. Did they mention the sizes?

I had two of the 900iU pens which were £312 each - no idea if they do other sizes tho I'm afraid...

Hey all. laura it's lovely to hear your updates, glad you're so excited about it all. Today's scan results sound good, best of luck for Monday. What boxsets are you taking? When I was off sick for my miscarriage I revelled in 80s films: Beverley Hills Cop, First Wives Club, Back to the Future, Top Gun. I'm a bit of a geek like that!

Sounds like you'll be testing tomorrow, bip. Fingers crossed. It's sad to hear you talk about the future, but I know what you mean. I don't want to remember my thirties as the decade I sat at home looking for two lines on a stick. It should be years of time, money and good health, travelling and (apparently?) my sexual peak. Not years of planning holidays around ivf cycles and fielding questions about why I'm childless. Sometimes I even forget the goal is a baby. The goal is to get pregnant. I can't see past that.

grumple I'm glad to hear the erpc went ok. I feel the same about being practical - doing something helps me, and knowing what the next step is. It's sitting around waiting that does my head in (hence 2ww is a pile of crap). Hope your recovery is smooth. I'm still bleeding / cramping / passing clots after 2 1/2 weeks, although I think it's getting lighter.

Thanks for all the drug tips. I am very lazy and just ordered through my clinic. Probably got fleeced! Sounds like I should shop around next time. If we're going to keep going on holiday I could do with saving some pennies! Have also decided I need to get my knee problem properly looked at and will get a second opinion privately (self funded) as the nhs have failed to fix it three times. Could really do with saving some money this year....

sammy hope you're hanging on in there, having a friday night for three chez Embie.

vixx good news that things ar moving.

meh here's hoping you find someone IRL who can give you the empathy and shoulder to cry on that you need.

Sorry to everyone I've missed. Have a good friday night!

Hello all. Unsurprisingly, I have a BFN this morning.

I keep thinking of all the charities that could have done with the thousands of pounds I've just pissed away for nothing.

bip might it still be to early to know for sure? .. Happy birthday BTW! Hope you get spoilt rotten so you can take your mind off the crapness you are feeling right now.
🎂💐

Also thanks to everyone for taking the time to get in touch about meds, I'm on it like a rash!

Sorry for the bfn Bip :(. I really hope it's a false negative.

Happy birthday to Bip and Meh! Hope you both have some fun planned for today? You both certainly deserve it.

I'm off to boots for some more estraderm patches this morning, hope they don't fleece me too much. I'm going thanks to everyone who asked. I think this 2ww is going to tip me over to the point of insanity though. I'm up and down like a yoyo! Xx

Sorry to hear that Bip especially on your birthday :(

Just dragging myself out of the house to buy a new light and some comfy warm clothes for Czech Rep next week.

Sorry to see your news bip that's really shit. Hoping it could still be too early for definite!
Hope you and meh do have a nice birthday today. Do something that involves champagne.
laura what an exciting trip! Lazing about and potentially get up duffed too! Hope it goes really well and you enjoy the trip.
grumps and potatoes nice to see your both on the mend and thinking about your next move (or holiday)!
Welcome back vixx seems like your ready to roll soon! Keep us updated.
All the info about the drugs is amazing! This is why I love this thread. How on earth would woman find out all this without people sharing their experiences?
I received another letter from our clinic, basically more forms to fill out to decide if we can have funding! Nearly had a melt down. All these hoops we having to jump through and we haven't even started yet! Suppose it's another step closer! I'll hand deliver the forms on Monday to save any delays.
Poor DH has Norovirus he's in a bad way in bed. He's not one to get sick, so I know he must be in a bad way! Even let me take his temp (no ovulation for him)
I suspect I'll get it next so I be been cleaning up and popped the shops before it strikes me down....if I haven't posted you'll know why!!!
Have a lovely weekend ladies xxx

Oh pebbles the wait to see if you get norovirus sucks! I visited friends a few months ago and the H had it on the Friday night and my friend overnight on saturday. I went home on Sunday. For two days I basically only drank water and ate soup. I was so hungry but afraid I'd throw up whatever meal I ate! In the end I didn't get it. Phew. Possibly because I'm an obsessive handwasher! (Addendum: when have recounted this IRL ppl have asked why I didn't go home when the H was sick. At the time, we thought it was a hangover, until my friend got sick too).

Anyway...

bip so sorry for your BFN on your bday. That is rubbish. Not sure if I mentioned but the due date for the baby I just lost would have been om my birthday in Sep. I have to say, that was the moment I knew I wouldn't get to give birth. Fate is just not that kind! It's sad to hear you talk about how it feels to get older and what that means for fertility. I don't think there's anything positive to say really, it's all crap. I hope you and your DH find something to do that makes you both smile at least

meh happy birthday to you too! Hope you've got good ppl with you today.

Sammy hang in there. That 2ww is more like a 1ww now.

Laura how did the shopping go?

Hi to everyone else

Happy birthday Bip and Meh. Sorry it's come amongst more bad news and sad times but I hope at least you've had your favourite people with you today giving you love and support (and presents, and booze).

Sorry to hear your news bip. Happy birthday for yesterday. I imagine it was a tough day but I hope you and DH did something lovely and supported each other. thinking of you

Meh hope you had a good birthday!

Hi Snappy and welcome. I think the whole pissing frustratedness of this thing is that it depends on where you live, how long the waiting lists are and whether you're NHS or private...and what commitments you can dump to fit it all in. It's a significant time-taker.

We skipped NHS and went private and went to a clinic open day in December. We could've started treatment a couple of days later but we opted to wait until January. In Jan we were told we weren't eligible for egg sharing (which is what we'd pinned our hopes on as it's cheaper) and so opted to go with a clinic in the Czech Rep. I contacted them early Feb and booked the time off work for 18th-28th March off and I'm now mid injections. Egg collection is due to be either Friday or Saturday. It still feels like it's taken ages but it really hasn't.

I also spend one night a week having acupuncture; another having reflexology; another doing Pilates and another playing rounders. It's an 'all-in, all-consuming' pastime. Not sure what I'm going to do with myself once I actually if I get preggo!

Good luck!

Hi snappy welcome, I am a fellow tube sufferer sorry about your ectopic.
I seen the fertility specialists in October filled in some forms and had blood tests and scans, with a plan to start treatment after I'd had my tubes removed. I didn't have the op till February and seen the fertility specialists a week later. We then done our funding application for IVF. We received a letter last week to say they are reviewing our application and there is no waiting list at our clinic. We got another letter on Friday with more forms to fill out. We had to put out GPs details and return the form with photo ID. I think this is to check you having no children already. My DH is dropping the forms into the clinic tomorrow. It stated that once it's been reviewed and if/ we are accepted for funding they will be in touch with a start date. I am being optimistic and hoping its within the next 4 weeks. They have been pretty prompt up to now!
Not to worry you but when you see them in May they may suggest you have your other tube removed plus the adhesions to give IVF the best chance of success. You could still have an ectopic in an IVF cycle. I was petrified at the thought of no tubes but feel so much better now I know something that could impact my IVF has now gone. I have PCOS so knew I would need some sort of treatment either way.
Hope I haven't scared you with all that info.
Hello to everyone else.....so I haven't caught DHs Norovirus (yet) and he's on the mend. Went for a lovely walk with the dog earlier then returned to do our baby making application!

Hi snappy

We are private / self funding (not NhS eligible) and it was pretty quick. First consultation in October, nurse booking app in November, started down regging in December and had the egg collection / embryo transfer in January.

If you're ready to go and paying privately, it can move fast. Best of luck and let us know how you get on!

pebbles hang in there! Hopefully you are fully lurgy free!

Hello peeps & welcome Snappy - very sorry to hear about your ectopic & adhesions but hopefully everything goes quickly for you come May.

Well I feel a bit silly - have got a super faint positive test this morning, 12 days after retrieval, 2 days after counting myself definitively out. Had I been patient enough to wait I wouldn't have ruined my own bloody birthday! This may be what finally cures me of compulsive piss-stickery.

Not getting excited yet - as my particular problem is not so much the getting pregnant as the staying pregnant - but I'm happy to have made it to this point.

Potatoes are you still on holiday? Hoping the bleeding has stopped and you managed some nookie. Pebbles glad you've managed to stave off the boaks! Laura hope all's going well with your jabs & upcoming trip to Czech!

Bip brilliant news!