IVF - A supportive group of ladies at various stages of the ivf journey.

[Dbear35]

A super group of women supporting each other and sharing their personal journeys and experiences during the IVF processs. All are welcome !

Thanks guys - you are right! Sorry to be a negative nancy. Am back on the positively train (but this IVF is a bit of a rollercoaster eh?!) x

Jane I TOTALLY know how you feel. We had 11 at the outset, 9 fertilised, and then they just dwindled. By day 5, we had one embryo. I really had to stop myself from bursting into tears at the clinic when they told us because all I could think was "How the F*CK do you go from 11 to 1?!". My OH did a great job of keeping me calm, but I could tell he was also thinking WTF.

But the moral of the story is, you do only need one, because that little hero who persevered in a petri dish is now 13 weeks old and wriggling about in my tummy.

You are so entitled to feel pi*ssed off. BUT as the others have said, you have embryos which is GREAT. And it ain't over yet.

Sending you lots of love xx

Ps after my embryo transfer I ate my body weight in tacos and had a delicious glass of red wine. At times like this, you deserve a treat :)

Jane I totally empathise too!! I had 24 collected, 14 fertilised and 2 made it to day 5. One is in my tummy at 18 weeks gestation, and one is in the freezer. At the time I felt exactly the same as you and Rose... “wtf is wrong with my eggs???”.

P.S. Rose yaaaaayyyyyyy you’re getting married!!!!!!!! Pictures are obligatory!!! We also had a hastily arranged wedding (5 months from proposal to wedding day) and getting dress was a nightmare. I was going to go for a high street dress but in the end found a Canadian brand that manufacture in 3 months and could also account for my amazonian height. It was called Mikaella I think.

P.P.S. Love to everyone else... I will try and catch up with the news tonight and reply to others!!! Work has been a total nightmare lately grrr

xxxx

Thanks Dinks! We are getting hitched! It's all very shotgun.. but it took us about 12 hours to book a venue and the registry office, so i'm lulled into thinking that wedding planning is easy...!

Thanks for the tips on dresses. I've ordered two dresses (it was less than £40 for both), so now need to see which fit (i'm only 5"1 so assume both will be way too long), and then I'll need to see which will fit when I'm 7 months pregnant...

We still haven't actually told any of our friends and families so we just hope that they will be free on that Saturday...! People don't need much warning, right?!

How are you feeling Dinks? Has the sickness subsided? Did you have the harmony test? We have our 12 week scan on Thursday (I'll be 13.5 weeks) and I think we will book ours after that...

Oh my god I go to our friends for the weekend and so much has happened!

@janefx40 I totally agree with the others, it’s so easy to focus on the in between numbers but really try & forget those & think they were never destined to be babies, the ones that carry on are & that’s the important number. I was the same gutted when we only got 4 eggs but then delighted when those 4 turned into 2 good quality fertilised embryos, 1 now growing, 1 in freezer. So those middle numbers don’t matter, they are merely baby making stepping stones!

dbear so pleased you had a good time at the meet, ppl should talk more about IVF I think as it’s such a hard road but very prevalent

aliona keep plugging away at your stabbing, bruising or not and if you have questions about your protocol ask you clinic, badger them! Have you stopped the counselling? You seem to be doubting yourself now, you are strong 💪 you are eating well I’m sure and u will be fine. How’s the new job going?

rose I think your wedding sounds great, if ppl,want to be there they will find a way, that was our attitude! I’m sure you will look amazing!

dinks have you got tha5 🦄🦄🦄unicorn glow yet? 😁😁

sunshine hi! Welcome, I think our referral was a couple of weeks then ours couldn’t start until my cancer treatment was out of my system but I saw the IVF people within a few weeks but ours was due to chemo but in our area u have to have been trying for 2 years I think (east York’s)

We have told a couple more close friends now, and they were over the moon for us which is great, sooooo happy, & their response is amazing. I have booked the IONA private NIPT blood test to get the Down’s syndrome, Edwards syndrome & Patau syndrome testing that we couldn’t get last week on our NHS scan... my friend is doing the bloods herself & posting and yet it’s still £330, WTF? Seriously for a blood test! We aren’t telling anyone else until after those results.

Love to all

Hey Minster 👋🏼 Must be so exciting to be telling friends. Feels like just not looking by time ago u was saying that transfer is being delayed and look where you r 😍😍
I am not doubting myself, just fed up a little ☹️ And yes still going to councelling, but want to say it’s over next Wednesday. All I do is waste whole evening and get annoyed at this sessions. Waste of time.
Job is good thanks, perfect so far 🤔 keep thinking what’s wrong with that place 😅😅 must be something 😅

Hey gals. Yes @Minster2012 so exciting you can tell friends now.

@Aliona19 maybe she's not the right counsellor for you? I think getting someone who you connect with is really important?

As for me, all 5 survived the night and multiplied. They are doing a day 3 transfer tomorrow. We just have to decide whether to put back 2 or 3. All advice gratefully received.

Am also quite nervous because I'm still in significant pain from EC so reckon ET may be a little unpleasant.

@RoseWrites Send us a pic of your 2 possible wedding dresses! Would love to focus on your wedding instead of embryos and cramps x

Hi everyone,

Little update we have our first appointment to talk about what protocol we will be on and get all the information I assume. 1st Feb. Just got all nervous again 😂

@Minster - I bet it is exciting to share the news bless you!

@RoseWrites - yes do send pics of your dress! How exciting!!! Planning a small honeymoon ? ;-)

@Janefx40 - great news! I had 2 transfer and they both implanted. I have a friend who had triplets and other friends who transferred 2 and 1 implanted. It does depend of what you want really. Can you see yourself with twins? Many people say it is better to transfer less others say at our age it increases the success rate. The debate is open. What would you like? Think of yourself and OH and what does the clinic recommend?

I was lucky with the EC, the day after I went to work, but I can guarantee you the EC is totally pain free and last a very short period of time. Have you called your clinic about your pain? If not, I would advise to....I am so excited for you! It is truly very special to get your embies on board. All the best sweetie !! XXXX

Woowwww @Liverpool19 that's great! Don't be, it is very administrative, signing and planning.It is all becoming real bow sweetie!!! XXX

Yay go @Liverpool19 I know it seems a Little daunting and a lot to take in, but once you start IVF is fine. Not nearly as scary as it sounds.

@Starlumiere Yes I talked through the pain with the clinic. They weren't worried - no sign of anything problematic.

Our clinic recommend 3 but won't put pressure either way. They do have great success rates for my age group so am tempted to trust them. I can see myself with twins but would prefer a singlet. They say the chance of twins is very low anyway and triplets almost non existent. And let's be honest, I'd be grateful for them if they came along! I can't really imagine a BFP let alone twins or triplets!

X

@Janefx40, like you I went with what the experts recommended, it sounds like you know which way you are going . Why can't you have a BFP hey? have everything crossed for you! So exciting!

Jane I don’t know about councelling, just feel like all this meditation is not for me. Can’t do it.
Good luck for tomorrow!! Whatever you decide to do, fingers crossed for the best possible outcome ❤️❤️

Wow jane that’s great, tomorrow is the day! Awesome! ET is painless so don’t worry about that honestly EC is where the pain is so you’ve done the hard bit 😁.

I realise that ppl aren’t actually saying what they would do which is because it really is each to their own & there is no right or wrong answer ....But if you want to know what I would do and the clinic say there’s very little chance of 3 taking them I personally would say why put all 3 in at once? If they don’t think all will take then not save one for another go because then you aren’t at “square one again” that was our attitude for not putting our only 2back in at once...if both failed then we’d be back at the beginning going through the whole process bit if we tried 1 then it’s an easier process doing a frozen transfer for the other & who knows 1 on its own might be better, or they might need to tweak your medication or if you then have to pay for the second transfer then already having an embryo frozen is that cheaper than a whole new round? All things to consider maybe let alone that actually u could end up with triplets (or more if those embryos split) or twins which is a Harder pregnancy& results in more problems for the mother & more premature births & more likely to have problems for the babies too) which is still 25% more likely with 2 embryo transfers.

But we would have loved twins! It’s hard. If you really ask my opinion I can’t see any way 3 embryos can’t “fight” for the same space so effectively you are “wasting” at least one anyway...sorry to be blunt, did you get a grading?

What swayed it for us was a few reports from 2017...
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/05/ivf-pregnancy-less-successful-with-two-embryos-study-finds

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237322/

Sorry to put the other side to the argument @janefx40 but that’s what we were looking at, it took us ages to decide I’m really pleased we didn’t have the pressure of a fresh transfer.

Know that Whatever you decide will be the best for you and DH and your embies and that’s that. The doctors will have made a lovely cosy environment for them and we will all be routing for you xxxx

Hey ladies! 🙋🏼‍♀️

Just a quick stop onto here to keep up to date with all that’s going on!

jane oh my god ness ET tomorrow eaakkkkk! Good luck with whatever you decide to do in regards to numbers. Honestly as minster says you’ve done the hard part ET is pretty quick and painless. Just make sure you chill for the rest of the day keep the feet warm let OH look after you.

Some ladies eat pineapple 🍍Brazil nuts beetroot juice for implantation and have mc Donald’s fries after 🍟(something to do with the salt).

rose a wedding how exciting!! 😊👏🏻😍❤️This amazing I loved planning mine please keep us updated on all the details and if you need any help just ask!

aliona I missed that you go a new job! That’s awesome news and gals it’s gojng so well 😊how are you doing?

liverpool all systems go for you! It’s nice things are moving quickly for you.

star glad to hear your enjoying your time off from this crazy journey ! Have you an idea when you will start your next cycle?

I’m now on 3x prognova and surprisingly feel pretty good on it which is better than I could have hoped for, aliona I hope this happens for you!

So I turned vegan for January it’s been pretty intense and I’m havjng to drink wheatgrass and sprinula shots for the vits you get from meat...erghhhh not pleasent at all!

Anyone only a quick update from me 2 wks today until my ET and I’m a little nervous !

Lots of love all xxxx

Hi all

Thanks for the good wishes and advice. Thanks @Minster2012 for sharing that article. It is very helpful. Thing is we are doing Day 3 transfers and that article relates to Day 5. I've read another big study of day 3 s that basically says the more the better. But I will think about it when I hear the quality this morning - fingers crossed they are all still there and we have the choice!

@Aliona19 I can't do meditation either and personally I don't bother trying. I have other coping mechanisms that work for me better. For example at night I go to sleep with an audio book - something I know well that is light (and usually read by Stephen Fry!) that helps to shut off my thoughts. Other stuff that helps to comfort me and calm my thoughts rather than meditation xxx

Good luck with it @janefx40, like I said, whatever you decide will be best. I don’t think there is difference between Day 3 and 4 and 5s, we spoke in detail to our clinic about it as we knew our transfer would not be day 5, and we read loads of studies which analysed numbers of day 3s, 4s vs 5s and in all studies the numbers of viable pregnancies are basically the same. Most articles just talk about day 5 as that’s what is “the norm” it seems. Ours was a day 4 compacting embryo by the time it was transferred and now it’s a healthy 13.5 week pregnancy 😁

Good luck with a really tough decision, it’s a total mind f**k to be honest but you’ve done great and treat yourself and DH to a lovely lunch!!! 😁😁

Good luck Jane :)

You and the doctors will come up with the right decision

I second minster on the nice lunch front. Studies show that laughing during embryo transfer (although stay still at the crucial bit!) And afterwards has a significant impact on success rates. Robert Winstone did a study that showed that having a glass of wine during the procedure also helps. As that's probably frowned upon, me and my OH had a small wine with dinner.

Enjoy, relax, and you'll have your embryos in you soon :) good luck! Xx

Thanks Ladies. All done. Totally painless. We followed their advice in the end. The 3 included put our one surviving IVF embie. I'm so glad - I wanted that one to have a chance.

Going to rest up now and take it easy.

Thanks for all your advice and support.

Xxxxx

@Janefx40 I am so delighted for you. Enjoy this magical time. Lots of love to you XXX

Awesome well done jane into the 2ww!! 😁😁😁

Sticky thoughts your way lovely xxxxxxx

Rest up 💕💕& act pregnant!!

Hiya!

I’ve just received my pack and I’ve been selected for the Endometrial scratch. They want to trial it on first time IVF patients. Anyone ever had it? Hope everyone is well xx

That’s great liverpool sorry we didn’t have it

liverpool I had the scratch as part of that trial. It's a bit like a smear, and they scratch your lining. It sounds worse than it is. I had no pain relief/sedative and didn't feel a thing.
The results indicate that it helps improve your chances as the scratching prompts your lining to become thicker. But obviously the final results aren't in.
For what it's worth, I'll pay to get it done in the future as I got pregnant after it. Not sure if it's linked, but it certainly can't hurt x

Thanks *minister” for the reply.
rose I think you’ve helped make my mind up. I’m going to go for it. My appointment has been brought forward to the 30th Jan now aswell. So it’s getting closer 🤞🏼
Did anyone have any side effects with the injections? I work for the railway as a guard which means I am “safety critical” which means medication I take can effect how I operate my train safely and I have to have it all checked out by our works doctor first. So was hoping to here about any side effects first so I can go in armed with information 😂 x