TTC for 18 months or more. Moving onto IUI/IVF/ICSI -part 2

[bluebird3]

We have relocated from the conception board where we were previously chatting under the thread 'ttc for 10 months or more'. A lot of us are now long term ttc-ers and are going through infertility treatment or looking to take steps in this direction so we feel this might be a more suitable home for us!

Feel free to stop by and say hi and hopefully we can share the journey together and make it a little easier along the way!

Good luck where. Stay possible and enjoy the sun!

That's good you don't have to wait long for your next cycle gee. Hope you're holding up okay

Fx where

Hope everyone else doing well. I managed to get a cancellation for our follow up appointment on Wednesday but DH is now going to be out of the country... that'll be our IVF referral so it's agonising having to cancel it. Hopefully there will be another one very soon.

FX where

london my DH was unexpectedly away for my ivf referral appointment/lap and dye follow up and it was fine. Is it worth seeing if they mind you going alone so you don't have to wait?

Start the pill with May period then I'm not sure when I start stimming?

Just I'm pretty sure they said he has to be there but you're right it's worth asking, thanks

Ah if it's the first appointment at your ivf clinic then he might. We had to both fill in the funding application and sign hfea forms. If it's the appointment at the fertility clinic where they refer you to the ivf clinic then he probably doesn't need to be there.

It's our second appointment at the fertility hospital where they do the treatment. The first was taking history ordering tests etc. The second they said they will go through results and refer us for IVF. Maybe they do need us both for form filling in that case? I'll call and beg.

london with my acu they said that as my dh works really tricky hours they could have him come in on his own and go through the paperwork separately if he really couldn't make it. There are some questions and paperwork that needs to be agreed by both so you could agree what you would say beforehand (like could the other person use your embryos if you die). Just depends how flexible your clinic is willing to be. Good luck.

I've got about 6 weeks until my next cycle. It seems to be coming around rather quickly.

Has anyone bought an Ava bracelet to monitor ovulation? It's expensive (£200). I think I'll consider it if next ivf doesn't work just to give us the best chance at conceiving naturally as it will probably be another 6-9 months before we do another ivf round.

Thanks bluebird I'll speak to them tomorrow if they're open or Tuesday and explain / plea.

Never heard of an Ava bracelet. Only thing I would say is will it really change your pattern of sex that much? As long as you are having sex for a couple of days before and hopefully day of ovulation I'm not sure what more a bracelet can do. If you struggle to shag that much or consecutive days then I could see how it could help pinpoint the best time, however.

The Ava bracelet only works if your cycle is consistantly regular i think i read.

How did you get on with the clinic London ? Were they open today ?

Scottish DH managed to swap his flight so we can both go on Wednesday. In need to arm myself with questions again. Any advice for follow ups or IVF referrals?

Vox so glad you were able to talk to him about it - it's a step in the right direction and he must of found it hard to open up. Even though it hasn't solved any issues is great you were able to talk about it.

Just yay for drugs!

Where good luck in your 2ww hope it goes quickly! Fingers crossed.

London hope all goes well tomorrow a glad DH was able to rearrange his flights. I think when I had my referral it was going through what IVF was and drugs we would be taking etc... we had to do all the forms too.

Blue hope your 6 weeks goes quickly, doesn't sound too long to go at all. I've not heard of the Ava bracelet but agree with vox about whether it can do much more than opks / regular sex?

First norethisterone tablet down the hatch this morning!

maple congrats on gettting started! I thought the actual process of doing something felt really good after so many months of helplessness.

london is this the appointment where they tell you if you need ivf or the one where they tell you about your ivf protocol? If it's the first they just went through with us all the tests so far and the results, and what they meant for our chances. They talked through why iui or clomid wasn't an option and ordered any further tests that they wanted. So just ask about those things and get your head wrapped around why different options are good/bad for your situation.

If it's the second they told us what ivf protocol we would be on and why. Then they went through tons of paperwork that we had to sign. They talk through your ccg funding. There were questions about what we would do if we had leftover embryos (donate, let perish, give to embryo adoption) and what we would do if one of us died before the end of treatment - so could the other of us use the embryos, etc. Then we signed up for a date to start and made an appointment with the nurse to show us how to do the jabs, etc. Also we both had to have bloods drawn to rule out infections. My clinic was so thorough that you didn't really need to ask questions because they told you everything.

About the Ava bracelet..you're all probably right and it's a lot of money. I just feel like after 2 years I don't really understand my cycle. It's regular but the two blood tests I had done said I didn't ovulate. My doctor has said since I am regular I probably do most months. I've done opks before and usually get a strong + but some months it's not till day 17-18 and I still have 29 day cycles. Temping doesn't work for me as I get up too often in the night for the loo that I can never get a solid 3 hours always at the same time. I just think that if we have 6-9 months off before next ivf round then I would want some good data to track how often do I actually ovulate and when. With dh's low count it probably doesn't matter but I think that if there is something more going on with me then no amount of trying natural will ever work. but maybe I'm just grasping at straws.

Best of luck starting your treatment maple

Thanks bluebird that's really helpful. It's the first one to go through results from the tests they ordered at the initial. I am going to ask why we can't try clomid as I've seen it prescribed on here for couples with MFI before. Can't hurt?

I don't think you're clutching at straws at all, and your reasons seem completely sound to me. If OPKs don't give you the information you need and you have more reliable information from the bracelet then why not give it a try. My OPKs this month drove me insane as I didn't catch the full surge. It really stressed me out.

How did you get on today london?

Congratulations on getting going maple. Finally! When do you start stimming, do you know?

London, how did your appt go? what did they say about Clomid? We're male factor and tried it for three cycles last summer with no success. It was self-funded though as nhs won't fund Clomid in those circumstances so my conclusion is that it was a waste of time. Easy to say that with hindsight though and when it didn't work.

Blue, gee, how you ladies doing? Any news on your next cycle?

I'm on cd6 of the last cycle before I start the pill. Had some hope that we might have done it naturally with the better sperm results, but no. Never mind, I'll be pleased to get going with treatment and pray that I don't over respond again. Doing short protocol this time with 125 gonal f.

Hi star. It's a bugger when your last natural cycle looms isn't it. Still good you're getting ready to start.
My next cycle will start after my next period so expect to start downregging around last week of May. So theoretically am trying naturally at the moment but DH is away so not much sexy time happening in my supposedly fertile week! Weird - before ivf that would have stressed me out so much. Now I'm not even opking haha! Think I've given up on that pipe dream now.

gee I cannot imagine not trying. It feels as essential to me as eating and breathing now!

star that's exciting you are getting started so soon

The appointment went well thanks. The doctor was much nicer and I felt that we had more time to go through things. Our test results all came back normal, so we are now 'unexplained'. DH SA was 418m, 58% motility and 4% morphology again. The consultant said they usually see 4-5% morphology and is a very normal result.

My levels were FSH 9, AMH 29.8 and AFC 24. He said these were all fine - do they seem okay to you all? He said my right ovary is polycystic, but I don't have PCOS as my cycles are regular as clockwork.

We are now on the IVF waiting list and treatment will start in October. In the meantime he has ordered an HSG as that's they only test they haven't done, so will have that next month.

We have the option to do a medicated cycle / IUI if we like but we would have to self fund as the success rates are not much higher than trying naturally. I don't think we will bother.

The success rates shocked me! Normal healthy couple trying have a 6-7% chance of getting pregnant each cycle. IUI increases that to just 10-11%.

I did ask about Clomid but he said no point as you ovulate regularly. I pushed it and he said no.

star how did you go about getting it privately? I don't think I will but its good to know you have options.

We'll be going around the same time Gee. Does it feel nice to have a cycle off?

London, those results are really great. What an amazing sperm count! Your results are v similar to mine. I think I had FSH around 6 or 7, AMH 31 and AFC 27. All indicates high ovarian reserve so you're likely to respond well to ivf drugs, so be careful! Re self funding, it was just how you'd described the medicated iui... they offered it but said we had to pay which we did. If I were you, with those sperm results and the fact you can't start til October, I would have a go with iui. I always wanted to try it but they said it didn't give us a better chance over trying naturally and wouldn't. However, I always thought what if our issue is something simple like crappy cervical mucus (I have barely any) then at least with iui it goes straight past the cervix and then it doesn't matter. Cost wise it was only £200 more than the Clomid (which was £400 plus drugs) which I'd have done just to have a go. Still I know others like maple have tried it and it felt like a bit of a waste of time, so who knows???

Thanks everyone! Actually want to start stabbing soon.

Star I'm not sure when I'll start stimming but looking at dates I reckon it should be sometimes in the first week of May. I'm sure they will keep a close eye on you this time round!

Gee glad to hear you can get started again soon. How do are you feeling about it?

London glad you had a better appointment today. Makes such a difference when they take the time to speak to you and not rushing you out the door. We are unexplained too although my DHs count is a lot lower than yours - wonder if that could be the reason? We had 3 medicated IUIs and it's basically the same as timed intercourse. I know it can work for people but most people said they wouldn't have bothered. I think if you have to self fund, the money's probably spent elsewhere (doing nice things during 2ww etc!).

Blue did you decide about the bracelet in the end?

Hope everyone else is hanging in there!

I think I will be cycling with you gee and star. My af is due around 27-28 of May and then I'll begin the next cycle. I'm on the antagonist protocol (think this is the same as short?) and begin with 150 gonal-f. Same as last time. Only about 6 weeks away now I think.

I'm the same gee about not worrying about 'trying' naturally. I just don't have faith in it happening naturally anymore so I don't worry if we haven't done it in fertile week. Every month I think I'll try but then I can't bring myself to do it if I'm not in the mood. Our worst sex is during fertile week because I can't help but think 'why are we bothering - it doesn't work anyways!' It's horrible to try and fake enjoying it. I do still enjoy sec the rest of the month though. If I was a bloke I'd definitely be having performance issues!!!

maple I haven't decided about the Ava bracelet yet. It's a 5-6 week wait once you've ordered and I'll be doing ivf again by then anyways. If it's a failed cycle with no Frosties we will probably have to have 6+ months to cycle again so I might consider it then.

Glad your appt went well london. October will be here before you know it and you can focus on trying naturally and saving £ in case you need to find privately later (hopefully not!).

Things are starting to get moving for us all again!

I am on cd8 of last cycle before I start!
Seems like a few of us starting similar times. I'm half hoping for a miracle bfp before ivf but also feel like I'm done with the optimism/depression, I can't even be arsed to break out the opks.

I will be on pill for three weeks or so then 225 menopur for two weeks and cetrotide (sp?) at some point in there too.
What protocol is that?

Glad appointment went well London. Nice to have a plan isn't it?

Thanks for the reassurance and advice. I don't think we will go for IUI or gonadotrophins cycle. Am going to book the HSG next cycle and just keep shagging I think. If we're going to pay for anything I reckon it would be a cycle of IVF, if we find we can't wait until October.

It must be strangely relieving to get to the point where you don't or can't try naturally anymore. I feel like I will be stuck in this loop for the rest of my life sometimes! It's become second nature. I wish I could switch off from it and be one of those famous stories you hear "we forgot about TTC and then bam! We got our BFP" 🙄 but a) I don't think I could honesty switch off and b) I don't really believe that works either. How does what you're thinking influence a sperm reaching and fertilising your egg???

There do seem to be a few of you starting IVF cycles imminently or already - I am cheering you all on and learning!

Yeah looks like a few of us will be going in May/June.
Just, I'm on the exact same protocol as you but a different drug (gonal f) and also just a couple of days behind you in my cycle, cd7 today! Don't know if it's officially called short protocol but last time I did 2 and a half weeks of down regging and this time I go straight from pill to stims so it's at least shorter.

I wish I could switch off from trying naturally. Even after 2.5 years of this shit I'm still hopeful. I'm going to give it everything I can this final cycle before treatment but at least I won't have the usual despair when my period comes as I'll start treatment which is something at least.

Good luck everyone wherever you are in this journey. London, I hope you don't make it to October because you get your bfp. It does happen so it could be you.

Hi everyone. Just been baby bombed by one of my best friends. The last one who hasn't had a baby. She's been off bc for 3 years but only started actually tracking and trying for just over a year. I'm happy for her because I wouldn't wish this on anyone but so sad that couldn't be me. Why can everyone else get pregnant? It's so unfair.

Sorry for the whinge.

How's everyone else doing?

We just had a friend over and he's getting married at Christmas and said they're going to try for a baby next year. My first reaction was bet they get pregnant before us. Sad feeling jealous of everyone instead of happy/excited...