3rd or more time lucky - IVF cycle buddies October

[Hobbes39]

Hi Just wondering of there are folks on here who are about to go through their 3rd + time of IVF who want a cycle buddy? I dont mean it badly towards anyone who is starting their IVF journey for the first time, (i was there just this time last year after all) but I feel a bit like I cant be as optomistic about it as I was, so dont want to drag any first timers down? Hope that makes sense!
Anyway, just to explain about me:
TTC #2 for over 2.5 years now
Unexplained Secondary Infertility (have 4 year old DS)
Age 40.5
AMH: 15.4
2 failed fresh and 1 falied FET (with single frozen 3BB embryo we got from 2nd fresh round)
about to start 3rd fresh round when my period starts in approx 7-10 days, so will probably be late october EC.
anyone else a bit jaded, but still vaguely hopeful want to join me?
xx

Absolutely @BeHereNow31 - is good they go through all the training etc too.

My test date is next Friday x

behere sorry to hear of ypur failed cycle. Welcome to our little 3+ club.
wanda how upsetting for you! Even if it doesnt thicken, hopefully you get good embryos that can be frozen for another go later.
bjones good decision to get a hotel! Anything that reduces the stress & anxiety can only be a good thing.

Wasn’t so keen on it starts with the egg. Doesn’t tell me anything that I hadn’t read on google! 😒 I’ve downloaded better free books. Was just hoping I could ‘prepare’ better for next time, but maybe it’s all down to luck?

Hope everyone enjoying the snow days! 🙈 we might try go out to the shops and hope there is actually things to buy there! X

Hi behere sorry you have been through so much so far.
We made it to clinic this morning and had the scratch done. It wasn’t very pleasant to say the least but apparently it went well. Thankfully we made it home too, wasn’t the nicest of drives! So start injections on Sunday night. Hope everyone is ok

bjones, glad you got home ok. Lots of snow here today, I will be pleased to get home after work.

Clinic called this morning to say that all 7 eggs fertilised, so that's good news. The embryologist said they would expect to have about 3 get to blastocyst stage by day 5 and started talking about transfer. I explained to him about my lining and what nurse had said yesterday about freezing any embryos "good enough to freeze" but transferring any less good ones. Embryologist said absolutely not, they would never advise transferring any embryos into a suboptimal environment and it would be better to freeze all. He also said that even with less good embryos, it is better to culture them more in the lab than transfer, as if they don't make it another day, they wouldn't make it anyway.

Everything he said sounded absolutely sensible. I find it quite hard to have faith in the clinic though when we get such different advice from different people within the same clinic. Also, yesterday we asked the nurse about adding in tamoxifen or G-CSF wash to improve lining, and she had never heard of either of those treatments. I've read about them on online fertility forums and there is a lot of published medical data about both.

The only time we ever get to speak to a doctor at our clinic is after a cycle has failed. I am starting to wonder if we should move clinics. Probably costs a lot to move any frozen embryos though.

@1Wanda1 that is very similar to what we have found with our clinic - they seem so disorganised. Is it nhs? X

Hi User, no, it's not NHS. I sort of feel like we are paying a lot for this treatment and so we should be able to speak to the doctor who is making decisions for us and understand better why certain decisions are made, but we never can. I have a real bee in my bonnet about why on our last cycle my medication was increased earlier and my lining was fine at EC, but on this cycle they didn't increase the dose as early and my lining has basically failed to progress. We've asked the nurse about 3 times and she doesn't have an explanation. I have the impression that she also thinks someone has made a mistake, but she can't say so (obviously).

Maybe I'll put it all in writing to them to try to get a proper answer.

Hi all - been a crazy few days here - we are in the centre of the red weather warning, snow drifts of over 8ft here! 😱 so im so glad that we got back here fine after our transfer and it hadn't been a day later as we'd never have got in for it!
Anyway, it's been a good distraction from thinking about it, but sledging snowman building and igloo constructing possibly aren't the ideal thins to have been doing!
Sorry you are here @BeHereNow31 - but welcome x
@1Wanda1 - sorry you lining isn't playing ball - and that so frustrating that your clinic isn't giving you a better explanation for things - I've become much more vocal in my own treatment this time - I've actually switched myself from cyclogest to crinone as my temps weren't going up post 'ovulation' (the day they started me on cyclogest) so worried I wasn't absorbing it properly - temps are up now since switching and I have oodles of it from when I got it for supporting pregnancy before we miscarried. Anyway, previously I'd have worried about doing that but I've learned that if something is niggling then Its best to do something about it rather than just trust them entirely as I think sometimes the doctors don't know best for every individual every time... sorry, that's a long way of saying, I would trust your instinct and say something to them.
Having said that, I can give you some hope / a friend of mine who had lining issues all the time go pregnant with a lining just over 6, so it is possible 🤞.
Glad your scratch is done and you weren't snowed out @bjonesreborn
And @Decafplease - good luck for next week - and 👋 hi @lulahbelle! X

I agree @1Wanda1 I have become a lot more vocal with my treatment as I felt that my clinic weren't giving us answers and it has helped. What ha can it do you questioning them? X

I think my meds are making me not feel well - weirdly when I eat I get a headache almost straight away. Also if I stand up too quick then I get quite dizzy for a long time. Am assuming it's the fragmin I am injecting which is thinning the blood. Struggling a little bit x

Thanks for the advice, you're both right. I think I have that English thing of feeling it's not ok to question authority. But then go away and stew on it all and end up feeling so annoyed!

Hobbes39 it's lucky your transfer wasn't today! Good to have some distraction though during the 2WW and I hope it goes quickly for you.

I've kind of moved on from the disappointment of yesterday now and trying to focus on hoping we get at least a couple of good embryos from this cycle to freeze. Will know on Tuesday.

Hope everyone else is doing ok?

Evening all, can I join you? I’m a somewhat jaded old TTCer - took 5 years and 3 rounds of IVF (1 worked then MMC at 8+4, 2 failed, 3 bingo) to get my little boy who’s now 2. we’ve decided to go down the ED route for a sibling for our little chap as I’m sooooo old (45) that my own eggs aren’t cutting the mustard apparently. We got 3 good blasts but the first round failed so I’ve just had a frostie put back and am currently 2dp5dt and could really do with some chatter around me with others in a similar situation. Trying not to over google and symptom spot and am failing!

Hi @Fabuluce - welcome! That's great that you are trying again. I am currently 8 dp 2 day transfer so not much in front of you. How have you been feeling? X

Not too bad thanks - a fair amount of rumbly cramping - ie something's going on, just not sure what. Could be pregnant or could be the joys of cyclogest. God how I hate that goopy stuff! Mega tired but have had rubbish sleep since transfer, crazy dreams with multiple wake ups and then insomnia from 4am. Zzz. No boob action as yet. I have to take another hcg shot on on Monday (apparently it helps with implantation) but that also means no chance of early testing at all as it takes 10 days to leave the system so test date is 14dp5dt. How's that for a '2' week wait eh?!

Also, for those who don't have a 5dt and are concerned. My DS was one of 2 4 cell, 2 day old embies. We didn't test until 16dpo and had a bfn but were advised to keep taking the drugs and test 3 days later. Then we got a BFP!

Wow that is a long wait @Fabuluce ! They know what they are doing though so we have to trust them! I keep getting really bad headaches - woke up with one during night but again that could be meds/dehydration I guess x

Hi Fabuluce, nice to have you here. Hope you're coping ok with the early days of the 2WW. So difficult not to analyse every little twinge and wonder. I haven't heard that about the extra HCG shot before - did you have that on your previous cycles too?

user1497036202 I know how you feel... I’m getting really bad headaches, cramps, back ache, hot flush. And my period has finished now!!
I hope your’s is a good sign. I know headaches can be a symptom, with the hormone changes.

It is really sharp pains - we going to get done fresh air and hoping that they go but is starting to concern me x

The first time I had it was on my last DE round. I had 3 Ovitrelle injections, 6 days before transfer, 1 day before transfer and 4 days after. I can't seem to find any info about Ovitrelle other than it being a trigger drug so I'm not entirely sure why it's used but they seem to swear by it. 14 days feels like forever but I guess at 19dpo and doing a blood test the answer will be definitely yes or no.

I all - hope everyone is ok? @user1497036202 - how's the headaches? I got them on my fresh cycle but not this time - I was told it was a good sign, but who knows! Will keep fingers crossed🤞.
How are you @1Wanda1?
Welcome @Fabuluce X
Hope everyone else is good?
I'm feeling really negative at the moment about it all - I dot think it's worked this time. I had that faint BFP last time in the evening of 7pd3dt... today is 5dp5dt, so same stage and I just don't feel it. My boobs don't feel tender, I feel crampy, but period crampy.... I don't think I'll test as early as I did last time as I feel so sad about it not being positive and I know it's still v early so don't want to do that to myself, but I feel hope slipping away at the moment. Why can't we be the lucky ones? I know we were lucky to get the BFP last time, I just hope that that our MC wasn't our only shot at getting there. Sorry, feeling really shit today will try to kick myself up the backside and stop feeling sorry for myself! Xx

Hi @Hobbes39 I know how you feel. I felt terrible all weekend and now I seem to feel ok - I am starving but that is normal for me! I do also feel a bit crampy and heavy but could mean anything.

I feel like this 2ww has been so much pressure - maybe because I know it is our last cycle but I feel really stressed out. I flit between trying to be positive to feeling like it hadn't worked. At the moment if I had to call it I would say I don't think it's worked. But I guess we will soon find out. I keep telling myself that what will be will be - I have done all I can. But is hard to actually believe that. I feel like you - maybe my mc was the only chance that I was given x

Oh Hobbes39 I really feel for you. The waiting is so, so shit. The one thing I think I feel quite clear about is that next time I won't test early after transfer. If it's negative, it is so crushing; if it's positive, you have the fear of a chemical pregnancy. Either way it's horrible. I think I will wait next time till OTD, though of course it's so hard to know how I will actually feel until I'm there.

Is there any way you can carry on as though you haven't had the transfer at all and try to just suppress thoughts about success/failure till closer to OTD? I find I am quite all or nothing and so either I am obsessing 24/7, or completely the opposite.

Thinking of you and hoping you're ok.

Hi hobbes hang on in there, it really is the hardest thing I know. We're all rooting for you and your little bean that it sticks.
user glad you are feeling ok, hang on in there also
hi to fabuluce and hope you're feeling ok too
wanda hope everything ok for tomorrow
afm did first buserlin injection last night which wasn't quite as bad as last time from what I can remember...famous last words!

Clinic called this morning (day 5) and said 2 "very good" blasts (1 x AB and 1 x BB), 1 poor quality blast and the other 4 were still only at 6-8 cell stage so they are leaving them another day. Freezing the 2 good ones today and we'll see if any of the others improve over the next day. Fingers crossed.