IVF June 2017

[Avocadosmoothie]

Hello, is anyone due to start IVF In June? My consultant has put me forward to start IVF, my next appointment is April 26th and if I start on long protocol I would start stimms late May and egg retrieval would be mid June. Would love to hear from someone on the same path!

[Thomasina76]

Sorry, I meant no BFP!!

[Avocadosmoothie]

Of course thomasina, welcome!!!!

I have a question for everyone actually.... have you changed your diet at all in the run up to IVF? Either started a specific IVF diet or just generally trying to eat healthier?

Scottish, good luck, you've started!!! Keep us updated x x

[Thomasina76]

Good question avocado. I haven't done anything about diet or given up/cut down on drinking, probably drinking more if anything due to the stress of it all! Our clinic said diet didn't make any difference but who knows.

[Scottishgirl85]

Welcome Thomasina!
I'm not doing anything different with my diet, I think it helps people feel like they're doing everything they can, but I haven't seen any evidence that shows it makes a difference, and quite frankly I haven't got the willpower! 😁

[Avocadosmoothie]

Yes I completely agree about diet - there doesn't seem to be much/any clinical support behind it. Plus I think it gives you one more thing to be worried about!

[Avocadosmoothie]

Scottish, between CD 2 and 12 when you are doing stimms, how often do you have to be scanned/ blood tested?

[Thomasina76]

Does anyone know how easier it is to prepare the stimulation injections? As I understand it, the meds (menopur and follitism) come in powder form and you have to mix them up, much like a junkie! Sounds overly complicated. Have to say, I am very worried about the meds from a cancer risk perspective. The more I research the more scared I get.

Anyhow, I think we have decided to do an IUI with injectables next cycle before moving onto IVF. Still not sure if it's a waste of money but think it might be worth a shot, if only to convince us that nothing else is going to work. Our last IUI was last December and we haven't done anything further as I had a melanoma scare then was away with work exactly at the wrong time. Feeling a bit excited that we are finally getting on with doing something.

How is everyone else getting on?

xx

[GirlcalledJames]

I'm having IVF in June. My fiancée is currently 15w with our first (also after ivf) as we want to have overlapping maternity leave and kids close in age.
So for someone who has never had ivf I have a lot of experience of it.
She changed nothing about her routine, diet etc. but it worked first time.
Our clinic prescribes puregon; it comes in a pen without any mixing.
I don't worry about natural selection at all. Natural selection would have killed a lot of us off in infancy and another lot in childbirth.

[Avocadosmoothie]

Hi James, congratulations on round 1! Are you both using your own eggs? Which part did your fiancée find the hardest about the whole thing? How many eggs did she have retrieved and fertilised? Sorry for all the questions!!

[GirlcalledJames]

Yes, both with own eggs. Tbh nothing about it was hard; she found the hormones for the trigger shot for the IUI we tried worse than the ivf hormones. The sedative for the ovum pickup knocked her out for the whole day, but aside from that no issues.
The worst part was the progesterone pessaries for 3 months cause they cause discharge that doesn't smell great, but by that point you are pg so more willing to endure discomfort.
5 eggs were retrieved because only one ovary responded. 5 fertilized, all embryos a+ So 5d transfer. It didn't seem many because the other women in the recovery room had 23, 25, but they both had hyperstimulation. Apparently 5 per ovary would have been normal.
Her ivf was so straightforward, I decided to do ivf instead of iui for my turn. It just seemed like the same amount of faffing about and the iui has such a low success rate.
I did watch her ovum pickup, which she doesn't remember at all, tbh it looks a bit dramatic but I'm comforted by the fact that she didn't have any pain. I think when she watches mine she'll be surprised.

[Avocadosmoothie]

James, which protocol did your fiancée have and which are you having?

[Thomasina76]

Hi all. So, we are supposed to be doing IUI with injectables with month before moving to IVF next month. Had nurse appointment yesterday to get med and she showed us how to prepare the injections to be given every other day. No idea why but I started feeling really sick and quesy and am not sure I want to go ahead with IUI with injectables let alone IVF. Feeling so sad as do want a baby with DH but not sure I can bring myself to go through this process. Just hate the idea of meddling with my body and with nature.

[Scottishgirl85]

Hugs Thomasina, it's such a tough process to put yourself through. Do you think you could sleep on it before making any definite decisions. My medication arrived on Friday and I'm terrified! Since we're going abroad there is no in person training for how to inject, we're going to be relying on YouTube!!
Hope you the right decision for you and hubby x

[Thomasina76]

thanks Scotttishgirl. I managed to pull myself together and do the injections. Have done 2 now and it's absolutely fine, both to prepare and inject. No major side effects so far either other than a bit tetchy and emotional. We too had to rely on youtube for demo as I was too busy having a panic attack when nurse was showing us what to do. Good luck! x

[Scottishgirl85]

Well done you!! Wishing you all the best. I don't know much about iui as hubby's sperm count is far too low to have that as an option. Fingers crossed for you.
I've finished pill now so waiting on AF and then start injecting on day 2. I'm getting worried about the needles... Does it go into tummy and is it sore? I'm such a wimp!
How is everyone else doing?
Xxx

[Avocadosmoothie]

Hi Scottish, how are you feeling? Not long until you start now!!! I just read back to Meadows last message and I think she must be coming up to egg retrieval soon. Hope we get an update! When are you booked to have your first scan/blood test after you start stimms?

[Scottishgirl85]

Starting stims on Saturday. Feels a bit surreal! Scan on day 7 and 10 although will have to be daySfs as was let down by someone due to collect 9 since 10 falls on a Sunday. Are you still going ahead next month?
I may be mistaken but I'm sure I read on another thread that meadow got a surprise natural bfp just as she was starting to downregulate??
Hope everyone else is doing well x

[Scottishgirl85]

Starting stims on Saturday. Feels a bit surreal! Scan on day 7 and 10 although will have to be day 9 since 10 falls on a Sunday. Are you still going ahead next month?
I may be mistaken but I'm sure I read on another thread that meadow got a surprise natural bfp just as she was starting to downregulate??
Hope everyone else is doing well x

[Avocadosmoothie]

Hello, yes, I've got my consent signing appt mid June then start straight after. Retrieval and transfer will be July though. Wow, that would be incredible if that happened to Meadow! Let us know Meadow!

This is a ridiculous thought, I feel silly bringing it up, but I've just stumbled across several convos on another site where there are lots of women questioning that the correct egg/sperm was used in IVF I.e. They have a feeling the child isn't theirs. This had never crossed my mind before but it would be awful to feel that way?!

[meadowlark3]

Hi all, thanks for keeping me in mind. Welcome to James, Thomasina and Ging.

Avocado and Scottish fab that you've begun! How are you both feeling?

Avocado, I've read a bit about the sperm/egg mixups too! In fact if you take a look at CQC reports for different facilities you can see that this does happen sometimes! I would be a bit shocked if that happened to us but like to think I would love the child no matter what. I am also open to adoption though so perhaps I have a different approach.

Scottish, how was your first day of stims? Have you got your flights and travel sorted?

Thomasina, have you noticed any side effects from the injections?

James, have you started DR yet?

Ging, how was your consultant meeting?

AFM, yes, I did get a surprise BFP. We were thrilled but anxious, and having had a miscarriage last year we managed to keep our expectations low. As it turned out, BFP was ectopic and I've now had a tube removed (on the side that they couldn't see with the Hycosy...so perhaps that really was a rubbish tube?) We are now back to square one and have been told we can TTC naturally or crack on with IVF. I am feeling like I'd like a bit of rest but also aware that my eggs are getting older every day though being pregnant now seems somewhat frightening to me I imagine I'll need to wait for a proper period at least so perhaps will feel a bit more myself at that time. Still feeling a bit sad but much less so than with the first miscarriage.

Hope you all are enjoying the lovely sunshine

xxx

[Scottishgirl85]

Oh meadow so sad to read your news. That is just so cruel, sorry I didn't realise. I hope you and dh are doing ok in the circumstances and the decisions for next steps become clearer to you when AF arrives. Big hugs.
First day of stims today and was much easier than I thought. Dh did the injection for me and I barely felt it. Spent yesterday afternoon booking flights and accommodation, there was very little available booking this last minute! We fly out on 30th for 9 nights. Actually looking forward to the 'holiday'!
Great news that you're able to start next month avocado. You'll be amazed at how fast the time goes.
Gosh hadn't thought about them mixing up samples, eeek!
How is everyone else?
Xx

[Veinarde]

Hi everyone, i'd like to join the thread. We are having our first IVF in June, will be starting short protocol with Menopur, Metformin and baby aspirin around 8th June.
Initially 'unexplained' has been explained by polycystic ovaries, raised LH/Fsh ratio so suspecting egg maturation issues. Everything else is fine, healthy BMI. Looking forward to my first cycle- it would be great to see what my body can/ cannot do. Trying not to keep my hopes too high as anything can happen.

xxx

[Thomasina76]

Meadowlark, I definitely had some side effects (v emotional, stomach pains etc) but nothing too severe and no worse than clomid. We did the IUI yesterday - 3 mature follicles and DH's sperm excellent, as always. One of the consultants said to me that she bets it will work this cycle (not sure how she can say that??!) but I am still very sceptical as every month all looks great and we still get a BFN every time. The positive is that I feel like we had a decent shot this month as we had 3 follicles so if this doesn't work I think we may try it once or twice again before IVF, esp as the side effects, injections etc weren't so bad. I think IVF is a big step up from here and I can imagine that I would have considerable side effects given that I had side effects with a much lower dosage.

[Avocadosmoothie]

Meadow, I'm so sorry to hear your news, I hope you are doing as well as can be expected. How are you feeling now? Still fancy a break? Understandable in the circumstances!

Veinarde, hi! I recognise your name, I think we might have spoken in another thread. I am unexplained but I feel like quite a lot of my results point to PCO (maybe not quite the syndrome) e.g. AMH 56.44, AFC 34, slightly raised androgens, LH 11.7, FSH 6.8. How do my results compare to yours? I think I must have egg maturation issues too.

[Avocadosmoothie]

Veinarde, I just found the other convo we've spoken in - we do have similar results! How long have you been trying? Where are you based? I'm in Manchester