TTC 18 months or more -moving on to IUI/IVF/ICSI part 3

[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!

We tried for around a year to get our bfp that ended in mc. I'm so sorry to hear that your ICSI hasn't been effective. How long did you try before you went down the ICSI route? Don't worry if you'd rather not say.
Around 10million xx

day We'd been trying for 2 years Witt no bfps and then qualified for ICSI on the nhs so had 1 round funded, then self funded the last two. We had 1 bfn, 1 mc, 1 cp.

If you be been pregnant twice naturally then I would say you have a lot of be hopeful for. However, depending on your age you might decide to go for ICSI to try and speed things up. I'm sorry about your mc, it's so unfair fair when you've been waiting ages for a bfp and then it gets taken away.

I hate autocorrect. Why would 'with' go to 'Witt'???

I found out today about 7 ladies who are pregnant at work. 7.

@blue that's so bloody shit, hope you're managing to keep ok.

Last night we went to a nutrition workshop run by our local FN group. It was really informative & I think/hope dh actually took some of the stuff onboard.

Hey how's everyone doing? We've finally got our fc appt to get amh results. Feeling quite nervous about it now.

Hi angel. When's your appointment? I always feel so nervous when we go to clinic. I think it comes with having received bad news so many times. Fx you get some good news!

I'm ok. Currently on holiday but gearing up to go to a family wedding. We leave tomorrow and the wedding events will be through sun. I will be meeting my niece for the first time and to be honest I'm dreading it. My dsis was 2 weeks further along than I was and told me she was pregnant during my mc. I can't think of my niece without thinking of the one I lost. I had imagined going to this family wedding with my own newborn and now I'll see her living out 'my future.' It hurts as she got pregnant her first month trying and isn't actually very nice to me. I'm just feeling super anxious and wanting to speed through the next few days.

@blue that's so so tough. Sending you loads of positive vibes to get through it.

Appt is at 4, I think I just want to get it over & done with now.

So we had our appt at fc, amh has dropped to 6.4. Based on this, & the no of eggs collected last cycle, there's prob about 10% chance of success with another cycle. We've now to decide if we want to go ahead with anymore treatment, but if we do, time is of the essence.

angel I'm so sorry it wasn't the news you were hoping for. Infertility is such a bastard. I hope you are able to spend a few days processing this news and making a decision you are comfortable with.

Hi there, lurking and I saw bluebird sorry which so reminded me of my own journey I thought I would jump on. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when TTC. They got my TSH levels under control but it made no difference and I was then classed as 'unexplained' for years ". I had IVF 1 that ended in a cp and then we sought help privately. My private consultant advised that I got a test for antithyroid antibodies. These were sky high (1500, should be around 60) and are a marker of the autoimmune attack on the body. This meant that I had Hashimotos. I had IVF 2 with steroids to manage the autoimmune attack and this ended in my beautiful DD, now nearly 1. There are really strong links between autoimmunity and infertility but many fertility doctors refuse to acknowledge this. Find yourself one who does and take it from there.

Some useful links bluebird:

www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2014/982705/

www.webmd.com/women/hashimotos-thyroiditis-symptoms-causes-treatments

www.unexplainedinfertilityinfo.com/thyroid-disorders/

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/12/can-mayonnaise-cure-infertility

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2788572/

And finally, the fatigue you mention is probably linked to the thyroid. Get the Anti TPO test and see what it says. You can manage autoimmune symptoms through diet and lifestyle. Let me know if you want info on that...I myself am keen for DC2 and so am following an autoimmune diet with no gluten or dairy. Going GF made a significant and immediate difference to how I felt. Shortly we will go onto FET with steroids to try and conceive DC 2 so we'll see....Good luck everyone, infertility is so harsh and you are all warriors. Keep investigating and questioning EVERYTHING! Bluebird if you want any more info just let me know.

Thanks jenbot. I've had the antibodies test and they ruled out Hashimotos. My sister has it so I really thought that it might the case for me too. We also have MFI so I think it might just be a combination of things. I'm back from holiday on Tuesday and have been thinking of going GF to see if it helps my symptoms. Thanks for the info!

Hi ladies sorry I have been quiet. I had my IUI and did get a bfp (my third after two chemicals) and this one seems to be heading in the same direction (low hcg and not doubling) but at least it gives us hope that after nothing there is some hope of bfps. I don’t know if it was IUI as I’ve had two chemicals in natural cycles but I also took steroids and A LOT of progesterone and clexane so it may be worth having a go at that if any of you haven’t? Even on the pessaries apparently I have low progesterone even at 91 so I am on injections too. The other thing I wanted to mention is I’ve always used the one step test strips and never had a BFP On them, the months I have had chemicals I have used other tests so ladies do not use them if you need to pick up a BFP early to be monitored. I think this one will be ending soon so I will move on to IVF, how is everyone getting on?

As expected I lost this little bean and will be moving on to IVF. Is anyone else going to ARGC?

ttc I'm so sorry to hear this. it's so shit to get a bfp and then have it taken away so soon. I hope your dh is taking good care of you. Never been to ARGC, sorry.

Not much going on with me atm. I need to lose weight before next cycle in a few months so have signed up for a three week boot camp to kick start things. Starts Monday.

Starting my long protocol today at ARGC, no idea what to expect as we only discussed it yesterday and we are off! Hope you are all doing ok ladies x

How are you getting on ttc? For me it's mixed feelings starting a new cycle. Exciting and terrifying.

I've been processing the wedding I went to 2 weeks ago. A good family friend who is the loveliest woman you could ever meet said something that really upset me. I know she would be devastated to know how it made me feel. She said she was praying for me (so I guess my mum told her?) then she said she felt bad for my mum (...?) because my sister just had a baby but it was a difficult pregnancy (but a pregnancy...) and the baby ended up in the NICU (not great, but she's fine now) and so that might be the only grandchild (wtf??!!!!). Thanks for that. I didn't even know how to react. I'm down but I'm not out yet. How is it that even the kindest hearted people can be so clueless when it comes to infertility.

I hate people.

Hi blue

Gosh that is upsetting!! And very very clueless!!!! My cousin who is going to my twins sons first birthday announced she is pregnant this week so I can’t wait for all that next weekend and all the “what about you guys questions” I’m
Quite open though and I find it easier to say “of course I would love kids we have been trying a while” that shuts them up! Until they say “are you sure you’re doing it at the right time” or “can’t you just have ivf” 🙄.
So I’m on the long protocol, been on down reg for almost a week, the day before I started they said I either had a 13mm follicle (on cd1!! But coming out of a miscarriage maybe my body was keen!) or a cyst and I have a scan tomorrow to see if it’s gone or still there, I swear it was a follicle and I ovulated yesterday as I felt it and had loads of cm, so not sure the down reg works on me but I will find out! Ironically I’m probably one of those people whose bodies ignore all the drugs lol! How are you getting on, ivf cycle this month? This is my first ever one, surprisingly not fazed by it I have had so many “natural” cycles where I have had to the injections every day that I feel like it’s that again, sure I will get freaked out if I’m not producing follicles or have too many but for now will have to wait and see! X

Hi All,

Just looking for a place to vent/get advice as feel like everything is getting on top of me and finding it hard to talk to people who aren't in the same situation.
Background...been ttc for about 18 months, April last year had a miscarriage, then fell pregnant again in June but had a missed miscarriage and nothing since then. Had all the the tests done, I'm fine but my DH has low everything across the board (count, motility and morphology). Have started down the fertility route, consultant thinks we should keep trying until end of year and if no joy then IVF ICSI is our best option. I was hoping as we have fallen pregnant twice IUI might be an option, but consultant said no point due to DH results.

3 of my closest friends were all trying at the same time and have now had their babies, with multiple other friends falling pregnant too. Feel like i'm going insane and literally all I think about is trying to get pregnant.
Not sure what to do, take the consultants advice and wait to the end of the year, or just start now. Last year I had some hope, but having had two miscarriages and then nothing for the last year just don't think it will happen without help. Just wish someone would tell me what to do.
We are at the stage of booking our consent appointment. Anyone had a similar experience, or give me some advice on the whole IVF?ICSI road please?
Sorry for the long and negative post, just never thought we would be in this position and it just gets to me sometimes

ttc I have had three cycles but never down regged do not sure what happens if you ovulate during that time? Fx for you that everything is doing what it needs to. When do you start stimming? I'm not having another cycle till probably August/sept/Oct. I have to wait for my thyroid to regulate for at least 12 weeks now I'm on medication. I have my first check on it Friday so hopefully it's gone down. I'm getting antsy to get going again but am trying to lose weight first. I'd really like to lose a stone before I go again but I'm having trouble sticking to a diet.

Welcome flossy. I'm sorry to hear about your mcs. It's so hard to go through and then to find out you might need the ICSI route is just more crap on the heap. I've done 3 rounds of ICSI and the mental/emotional toll js harder than it is physically. I was really worried about the injections but they are ok and after a day or two you feel like a pro. Fx you will catch again naturally but if not I'm happy to answer any ivf/ICSI questions for you. We all know what it's like to deal with friend after friend falling pregnant while we watch from the sidelines. It's horrible and I feel like one of the most joyous parts of life has been stolen from me. I'm not sure I'd be able to relax and enjoy it even if I did fall naturally (or assisted). But we all keep hoping and moving forward.

Hi flossy

You sound similar to me in that you can do it but you can’t if you know what I mean, I have had 3 early MC and have found not a single thing wrong with either of us. I actually got pregnant last month and when we lost it decided that we wanted to try IVF as it is alsonwuite diagnostic (maybe we make bad embryos) I have always thought we could do it on our own but we decided we would rather give ourselves more of a chance with IVF , I always thought if we actually HAD an issue that they could find ie DH factor like you this would have made us try it earlier as in theory you need to get the egg fertilised and you should be ok but I know after MC you are probably doubting this. ICSI obviously takes away the wasting months with no egg fertilising which seems to happen to us both some months so I’m hoping it will concentrate about 12 cycles into one. Are you in UK would it be NHS ICSI? If so then I got referred in March and still no word so I have gone private so if even 5% of you is considering it on NHS at least take the referral then decide? If it is private I know it is also very expensive and time consuming and draining so it is a big decision but I think you have to give yourself the best Chance and at least try and make some embryos that if you don’t need and you manage to get pregnant naturally in the future you have as back up? It just depends on how long you can mentally go on without trying something else? We don’t have MFI and I did get pregnant with IUI last month but have gotten pregnant without it too so I would agree with the doctor that not much point but if you want to try it once then do as it can work and is cheaper. Sorry to waffle! I just think we all need to try whatever options we have as I know it just gets harder and everyone else keeps getting pregnant!

Blue- I went in on Tuesday and my body is ignoring the down reg and trying to ovulate anyway so I’ve had my dose doubled, will probs be on Downreg for another week, I feel absolutely fine on it except for headaches. How are you? X

Hi ladies!

I’m completely new to this but you all seem so lovely and knowledgeable .

TTC >18 months - ‘unexplained’ (DH has super sperm so definitely not his fault, normal HSG, normal D21 prog, ok AMH)
Age 32

Went to 6 weddings last year - every single bride is now pregnant...

I thought the whole infertility thing was getting easier as I was no longer completely devastated every time AF arrived, but then we went to my DH’s godson’s christening on Sunday and all three of the other married women there were pregnant...what are the chances?!

Trying to relax as I’m sure that doesn’t help but that’s easier said than done!

I’m keen to move on to IVF (also have been offered IUI as my tubes are patent but the lower success rates put me off and I think the worst bit for me will be the hormones which I’d have to have whether it’s IVF or IUI), but DH worried about the side effects/risks etc (he’s so lovely) so he’s keen to keep trying for a bit longer.

I think I feel in myself that if it hasn’t happened naturally by now it’s not going to so I’m desperate to just ‘crack on’ with IVF but would be grateful to hear what you all think based on your experiences?

Wishing everyone lots of luck and babies xxx

Hi ladies,
I've been reading posts for a while but tgis is my first post.

I am 29 and been ttc 22months. I had a MC on my first cycle at 6 weeks and had nothing since. All test have came back good: HSH was clear, husbands sperm food quality and numbers, ovulating regularly with normal levels of egg reserves. Doctor has diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility' and offered 4 cycles of IUI with FSH and then refer to different hospital for IVF.

I have been really down as I watch all my friends and family around me having babies and feel so guilty for being so jealous. I feel so useless and I absolutely hate the waiting game every month.

I'm sitting here writing this in tears today as we had hospital today to start 1st cycle of IUI and it had to be postponed till next month due to staff shortages. I understand circumstances change but I just feel so disappointed. I had been so excited the last few weeks telling myself that this was our time and it was going to work.

The success rate at out clinic is only 8% and they wont proceed with any more than 2 follicles. Has anyone got any advice or inspiration to keep me positive and motivated.x