Anyone about to start IVF

[csds]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone is about to start IVF. Would be good to go through this journey with someone/people. Share experiences etc.

Morning all,

I've just had shed a tear as I've left the hospital, (hormones) but I'm trying to stay positive as everything might be ok.
I'm on CD7 and have had my bloods and scan. Today if all is ok I should start cetrotide (to take as well as bemfola). I'm military and we are in Belgium at the mo so there is a language barrier at times with the hospital. I asked if everything was ok, she said yes. I asked how my eggs/follicles were doing. She said I have two one side and three another but that two are really small.

I've said to myself and hubby, I've got at least one so I'm hanging onto that, but I'd just like to know if the stage I am at my numbers are normal or if people are usually seeing the likes of 13 -18 by now. X

csds I’m not at that stage yet so don’t really know, but we were told at our clinic info evening that they aim for at least 3 follicles before egg collection. A friend who had treatment last year had 6 follicles at one point and this increased to I think 10 before egg collection. I know you hear of high numbers being collected from some people but it’s not about quantity so try not to stress. Things can change lots within days, plus overstimulation is one of the biggest risks of IVF so hopefully this means you are low risk for that. If they said things were ok then try to focus on that - that’s great! Xxx

Tryingto, thank you, that's reassuring to hearing friend who had treatment last year had 6 follicles at one point and this increased to I think 10 before egg collection.
That makes me feel better. The hospital has increased my dosage and I've been told to go back in for bloods and a scan on Monday. X

csds Everything crossed for you - hope you see an improvement on Mon :-)

Hi ladies, I'm 34 and TTC just over 2 years, unexplained bastard infertility. We had a fresh cycle at the end of last year but had to freeze all due to OHSS. Got three 5-day embryos on ice. Starting drugs for FET this month. Good luck to you all xxx

Oo exciting times, Jamon! Hope your FET goes really well :-)

Day 6 of buserelin and I started bleeding today. Had nasty cramps and felt really rubbish for a few hours, but a heat pad and a good hot meal has made me feel a bit better. Have felt fine up to now so a bit of a shock to suddenly feel so exhausted and in pain. Hopefully I will bounce back after a good night’s sleep.

Hi jamon, sorry to hear you had OHSS. 3 to freeze is cool. How come it takes so long to start FET? I'm aware you have to wait for a natural cycle which can take a long time but is that the only thing you have to wait for, how does it work?

What meds do you take for FET? And how do you know that your embryos will survive freezing, do they know this before they freeze them or is a case of find out when they are thawing?

Sorry for all the questions.

Tryingto, hope you're feeling ok. Is bleeding normal on those meds? X

csds yes bleeding is normal - basically my womb lining needs to be thin and my ovaries shut down by the end of the 3 weeks downreg. Then I can hopefully start stims.

Hey all, hope everyone is well. So, egg collection tomorrow!! Had my last scan and bloods on Friday and they were happy for me to go ahead. I have 5 strong mature follies (18-22mm) and 7 slightly smaller(12-16mm). I have to be in Chelsea to check in for 9am tomorrow (2 hour trip from us) and I'm not allowed any food or drink from midnight tonight until 5pm tomorrow when my surgery is!!

Excited,nervous,anxious. But at least it's happening :)

That’s great, terry - sounds v promising. I hope all goes super smoothly and there are some top notch eggs in there. Another step closer to your goal :-)

Whoop whoop Terry!! How exciting.... Eeek!!
I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. I hope it goes ok, positive thoughts and positive attitude...... IVF rocks! 😜

Hello, I'm mainly going to lurk for a while if I may!

We have had an assessment and everything appears fine with me, DH sample had lower than normal motility and morphology. We have decided to try ivf but it won't be until April as we have a few things going on between now and then.

Grimbles, feel free to lurk, you're more than welcome

Terry, good luck for today x

@Terry yeahhh!!! So happy for you!!! And you have lots of information, well done! All the best and it looks like they will get a few eggs! EC is not a big deal at all and it is very fast so relax and let us know!

Hope everybody else is well?

Lots of love to all,
XXX

@csds I have everything crossed for your blood test today! I am sure you will have more juicy follies! 😘

Hey all. Egg collection done! 8 eggs in the end. I'm happy with that :)

Now just the wait to see if any fertilise! X

Congratulations @terryandthechocolateorange that's amazing, I have everything crossed for you xx

Fabulous! Well done, terry!

Terry that fantastic! So do you get a call today? I have everything crossed for you, I'm praying you get good news xx

My bloods and scan went ok, got two good follicles and 4 others, Drs waiting for one other follicle to catch up then we will trigger. I’m back at the hospital on Wednesday for bloods and scan. Hospital
Didn't have needles with the right dosage in for me which has meant I've had to give myself 5 injections last night and the same tonight. I'm running out of room on my tummy 😂 x

Thanks guys. Waiting three months for fet seems to be the norm. For me it will be more like four months but I think that's just the nhs / my hospital. My drugs have been delivered now so I'll start on day one - next week.

Hope you're feeling better @TryingToStayRational

@csds I take the contraceptive pill first then Progynova then cyclogest. I don't know if the embryos will survive the thaw  I haven't really thought about that too much

@terryandthechocolateorange 8 eggs is brilliant hope you get lots of good embryos

@terry that sounds really positive - fingers so crossed for you!

Thanks Jamon, I am feeling better now - just more tired than usual. Glad you’re all set for your FET

How are you doing, HappyHedgehog?

Hi

I’m not starting my cycle until May, however, for those who are on the NHS, there are a couple of clinical trials in the northern part of our country offering EmbryoGlue and Embryo scratch as a bolt on to your treatment

Thanks AniSL. I was offered the scratch trial and did consider it but decided against it in the end. It’s great that this research is being done, though. If I do get pregnant I’ll be looking to see if there are any trials I could participate in. If anyone’s interested you can search here: www.ukctg.nihr.ac.uk

Hello!

How long does a cycle of IVF take usually? I understand it's different for everyone so there might not be a definitive answer. The earliest we can start is march, but I am away for a week at the start of April and again at the end of may.

What medication is required in the early stages? Is it straight into injections?