Icsi

[Lavmc]

Hi, new to this. Just wondering if anyone is going through ICSI? I'm just about to start treatment and very nervous about the hormone treatment (the whole process in general really) thanks 😊

Hi. I just went through our first round of ICSI (one fresh, and one frozen- both failed). We will start a fresh round again in a few months.
Is there anything you want to ask? 😊 I felt that the physical side was fine, but it is hard on the emotional side! Xx

Hi thank you for your message. I'm really sorry it didn't work for you the first time, that must be hard.
I suppose I'm just really nervous about everything. How did you find the hormones treatment? I'm scared that we have waited this long to get here & built this up so much that if it doesn't work I will be devastated. Xx

It is devastating, so you just need to make sure you look after yourself and relax too!
Hormones are ok... the down regg gave me headaches, and I was really thirsty, and got hot flushes. The stimming just made me really tired. I would go to bed at 7pm. But it's all manageable. Egg collection was completely fine for me. I slept through.
When do you start? X

I could imagine!! It must be awful! We start the drugs on Friday 13th... What a day!! I'm already qiite an emotional person so I think this might just make me even more emotional. My work don't know I'm going through this so I'm nervous about all of the appointments.
When do you go through it again? Xx

We had icsi and I found the injections fine but was in agony for about a week after egg collection (20 eggs) and couldn't possibly have gone to work. I was on short protocol. Actually I did feel pretty close to tears at times but I think that was just the stress of it all and finding out my best friend and infertility buddy for two years had become pregnant completely unexpectedly. If my treatment had worked, our babies would have been a few weeks apart. Of course, it failed so don't get your hopes up, that would be my advice. Even with several top quality blastocysts. Sorry to be negative, but I now think it's better to assume it will fail or your heart will just break over and over.

My work know and have been supportive. You may have to go for last minute scans, so I found it helpful that they knew.
we start again in January. So, I'm glad to have a break for now. Just focussing on being healthy and de stressing!
Willow is right though, unfortunately it doesn't usually work first time. So, look after yourself! And don't put lots of pressure yourself X

Hi Lav I'm just about to start my first icsi cycle & start drugs Friday 13th too. Feeling such a mixture of emotions about it all. I'm hoping the side effects won't be too bad, but trying to remind myself that even if they are, it's only for a relatively short period of time. Or maybe that's rather naive of me.

Hi Willieowinsbury thank you for your message. I'm sorry it didn't work for you either. I'm trying to not get my hopes up but it's really hard.i hope it works the next time for you.
BeHereNow31 thanks, I appreciate your honesty. I hope it works for you in January, at least you will know what to expect.

Hi angelazul thanks for your message. Wow can't believe you start the same day as me. Yes I'm the same, not sure what to expect and think I may go crazy emotional lol. I have been booked in for a scan on 23rd so I don't think you have to have the hormones for too long. I think the scan is too see what effect the hormones have on your eggs X

We've been through two rounds of IVF/ICSI without work knowing, but it was tricky juggling appointments.
I would think of it as three phases - down regulation, which is usually just taking tablets like norithisterone. I think some people get side effects, I can't honestly remember.
Then you have the stimming where you might be taking all sorts of drugs (jabs or/and tablets, hormones or steroids or both), leading up to egg collection. The stimming bit was always the most intense for us as we had to have internal scans/blood tests every other day at the clinic (to monitor hormone levels and how well your eggs are growing). The appts are always in the morning so they can get the bloods to the lab and then they call you in the evening to tell you if you need to adjust your dose (we took the drugs in the evening). On one occasion I had to go for a blood test on our off day because they changed the dose. Our clinic was not at all local and we both work (and H came to all appts) so it was crazy hectic and I was knackered. Don't book too much life stuff in when you're going through this would be my advice!
Egg collection itself was fine for me both times. You're so sedated and I didn't have any pain after (even when they took 30+ eggs the second time, though I did develop OHSS).
Then they do their lab magic with IVF/ICSI.
Then you will have either switched your drugs post EC in prep for a fresh transfer, or you'll have a breather and start drugs at a later agreed point in prep for a frozen embryo transfer (FET).
Embryo transfer itself is weirdly quick and low key compared to everything else. You have to drink a ton of water to make sure you have a full bladder but that's about the worst bit. There will also be a lot of people in the room looking at your nether regions. You won't care by this point as you will be so used to people staring at you and shoving things up you.
Final phase is waiting to see if the embryo sticks. You may take more drugs (normally progesterone tabs/pessaries/jabs or all of the above in my case, plus blood thinners sometimes because of all the progesterone - these make you bruise like a bastard). And you cross your fingers and hope it worked.

It's a long, tiring, emotional rollercoaster of a process. But I found if you just focus onthe phase you're in, it helps. The first time everything will be new and overwhelming. If you end up going again you'll start to feel like an old hand. I found it frustrating that the clinic didn't always tell you in advance what was coming but I needed to plan around work and trying to do everything under the radar. The only time I had off was post egg collection because you're woozy from sedation and they say you can't travel home alone. Otherwise we just got the earliest appt possible and rejigged work.

Oh also ice packs on your tummy/back before injections dulls everything, esp once you're a way in and everything hurts.
Also I get my H to even do the tummy ones sometimes if I'm feeling wah it hurts. There's something about sticking a needle in yourself that sometimes your brain just goes nope not today 😁

Good luck with it all!!

Hi rubyboots7, thank you so much for your message. Yes the appointments are the biggest thing I stress about which is strange when you actually think about it! That's good you felt ok after the egg collection as you never know what to expect. Thank you so much for information, it's really nice to hear other people experiences. I hope everything works out for you!

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the useful information.
One thing that I’m unclear on is, if first try fails and you go back to try for a second time using frozen embryo from the first time - do you still have to go through the same process i.e. all the drugs / time off work etc, or is it more straightforward?

No you don't need to go through it all again for a FET. A FET will either be done on a natural cycle so you'll just have scan(s) to see when you're ready for transfer or a medicated cycle where you'll start oestrogen supplements around the start of your cycle (you may have to take the contraceptive pill for a couple of weeks first) and will have a couple of scans to look at the thickness of your womb lining and then about day 19 of your cycle you'll have the transfer. It's far far less intensive than a fresh cycle.

Thanks earlgreyT x