Trying to conceive baby#2 following ivf treatment for #1

[lucieloos]

I thought I would start this thread as I can't see anything similar. We underwent many rounds of icsi and following a couple of bfns, and an ectopic pregnancy we were finally blessed with our beautiful daughter last year.

We recently started thinking about baby no 2 and had 4 frozen embryos of which 2 had been tested and found to be chromosomally normal so are meant to have a better chance. We didnt have the other 2 tested.

A couple of weeks back we had our first fet with one of the tested embryos and got a bfp super early at 4dp5dt. Sadly by 8dpt the line was barely visible and resulted in a chemical pregnancy. I've been feeling really down about it as this was meant to be a super duper embryo with no genetic problems which they said was the main reason embryos fail.

I thought it would be easier trying for #2 and of course it is in a way as I realise how lucky I am to have had a baby but I can feel the infertility fog starting to descend again as I realise although I've had a brief respite I will never be like my fertile friends and I do really want another baby and a sibling for my little girl.

Im feeling a bit negative at the moment. We will probably go back for the other tested embryo in the near future but I can't see how I would ever get lucky enough to get 2 bfps in a row. These things just don't happen to me so just not too hopeful about it at all. We said that if we used all of our frosties with no success we would be happy with what we have but already I am thinking should I do more fresh cycles. I will be 39 soon though so time isn't on my side for that.

Anyway just wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation and would like to share the journey. Please come and say hi.

I'm really sorry to hear your news @HelloMist and @NoCupcakesOrCocktails. This journey is so incredibly painful. I hope you both get some answers soon.

Good luck @Jenbot78 and @GenghisKahnSchmitz with your next cycle. Wish you both success.

I'm on these boards a lot less. It hurts a lot to think I could've been halfway through my pregnancy now

Me and DH are on last chance saloon now. Changing our diet, upped the supplements and going to see a sperm specialist next month. All in preparation for our last cycle later this year. Furiously trying to pay down the credit cards before we add more debt to them later this year 🙈

My sister in law is pregnant - she was 8 weeks ahead of me. I went round the sales last week and brought her a couple of bits for when my niece/nephew is born. That was tough! So wanted to be buying stuff for my own baby

See this is why I don't come on here very often, I drag the thread down!!

Waves to everyone else

Hi all, I’m so glad I found this forum. DS is 1 year old. He was conceived by 2nd round of IVF. 1st round I had 1 egg collected which didn’t fertilise and was told to go for egg donor. Luckily we got a 2nd opinion and had another go when I got 6 eggs & 1 turned into my miracle boy. Now I want a sibling for him. I’m 39 and have a low AMH. I’m still breastfeeding & trying to stop but really enjoy it. Anyway..... I hate this. I hate having to research ivf again. 2 of my friends with babies same age are pregnant again within 1st month of trying. I keep praying for a miracle.

Welcome @Fluffypinksodas and good luck

Hi Fluffy, you're in a similar situation to me then. I'm currently typing this while DS feeds, he absolutely loves milk and would drink it all day if he could. He's a crap eater though so maybe stopping bf will be helpful there (trying to see the positive).

Where did you conceive DS? We used Guys and St Thomas who were wonderful (after an awful start at Kings).

Hi AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered! Love the name. I was at st Marys in Manchester. They discharged me after the 1st cycle and referred me to CARE in Manchester for egg donor. CARE then told me to try again with my own eggs. How old is your little one? Mines milk intolerant which makes it more difficult giving up BF. Found out another friend is 8 weeks pregnant yesterday & it took her 2 years the first time so it’s making me more adamant. Have you got any in the freezer? X

No more frozen embryos unfortunately, DS was our last one, so we have to go for a fresh cycle of ICSI. We moved up North while I was pregnant but we're going back to our consultant at Guys in London because he's excellent (and a few train tickets are neither here nor there next to the cost of ICSI!).

I can imagine it’s a hard decision with breastfeeding especially if it is going well. We stopped at 6 months so quite a while ago! Thanks for all support guys, very pleased to start. Had a very boozy weekend due to weddings and now feeling tres guilty. Was doing my usual guilty google (along the lines of ‘drinking before FET’ and came across the post I have attached from 2016. When I got to the end I thought ‘she sounds like my kind of woman!’ And then realised that this was my post 😂😂 nothing much has changed but that cycle ended up in my DD...

On a more practical note, can anyone tell
me the cheapest and least hassle place to order meds? Was thinking Boots but does this take a couple of weeks or pretty quick? We need to wait till DH gets paid 😬

You really don't need to stop breastfeeding to do a cycle if you don't want to. It really can work and doesn't interfere with anything. I am proof of that!

That's great that you are making a start Jen. Hope everything goes well for you. I know asda are meant to be pretty cheap for meds and also fertility2u.

@Jenbot yes Asda, cost price with no VAT. Have used them for my gonal F and blood thinners.

My clinic was quite insistent on stopping bf and I felt at the time I'd blame myself if I didn't. I regret weaning before I was ready now (15 months). It did help DH start bonding with DD more though, her being less dependent on me, and also improved her eating and sleeping I think (but they weren't too bad to start with), so there were upsides.

Hi everyone, been a bit MIA as have been really anxious this pregnancy... I think waiting for something to go wrong.

Had the Harmony test today and they did a surprise scan (wasn't expecting one at all!)
Baby is gorgeous. I am 11.3 and finally starting to feel a tiny bit less anxious.
I was so excited and just wanted to tell someone... so told the check out lady and the chicken shop lady

Ha ha Jenbot, that's really funny about the post. I'm currently having a last gin before insemination tomorrow! Not too long now before the end of July for you...

That is indeed a gorgeous baby Pony Congratulations.

You don't drag the thread down Twinkle! The shopping must have been hard. Do you know when you're going to start treatment again?

I remember you too Hedgehog! My DS is also a crap eater - he's 16 months old now and still on 4 bottles a day . Have you got your appointment date? The waiting is so hard.

Hi Fluffy, good luck! You're on a roll with all the pregnant women around you! I have to admit I've found it a lot easier since having DS, though that's easy to say since I'm only on my first attempt.

Hello Lucie, I hope everything's going well?

Good luck with your scan today Mist. I really hope it's good news. You sound so resilient but I realise that this limbo time must be so hard for you x

I go for insemination tomorrow but my doctor is already talking about a move to icsi next time, so I'm not taking that as her rating my chances very high (you have to laugh). I actually feel very distanced from everything - while I was trying to conceive first time around, every spare minute was spent reading and researching, and this time I just can't face it, I think I'm scared to fall down that all-consuming hole. Anyway, fingers crossed!

Thanks Genghis. I had to cancel the scan the day before because it had faded to BFN. Perhaps best not to have to go through the pain of a scan to confirm MC but it has been hard as it is. I haven't felt like posting until now.

@Genghis good luck with your insemination! Sorry that your doctor isn't showing much faith. It's good she's got a plan though.

Glad to hear you're doing well PonyPals.

@GenghisKahnSchmitz oops

Mist so sorry to hear about the MC. Nothing to say apart from it's SO shit and am sending you a virtual bottle of wine and some chocolate ...

Pony congrats, wishing all the best for the next few months.

Everyone, thanks for top tips re: drugs and also well wishes. Starting on meds in 6 days...Feeling anxious and a little bit miserable if the truth be told. DH went to pick up the huge bag of drugs from ASDA and the sight of it sent a shiver down my spine! So many mixed emotions when I remember past cycles. It's all so hard.

Also up until all this I was in a really good place, enjoying family life and my daughter and everything else. I KNOW this is what we want, desperately, but the thought of getting there feels quite overwhelming. Anyone else feel this way?

Also back on steroids for this cycle which make me feel like shit (bloody starving and swollen) and I have nearly lost all my baby weight which frankly has been a MASSIVE slog! Don't care about putting it all back on if I get pregnant but if not, don't want to put loads of steroid weight on like I did last time! Anyone else taking Pred? How are you feeling? Did you get really fat really quick?

Anyway, moans over. Onwards and upwards...

Sorry to read Mist. Like Jen said, it's just shit. I hope you're doing ok (well, as ok as you can be given the circumstances).

I hope you're feeling a bit better about starting it all again Jen? I know what you mean about the overwhelming - I've been trying my hardest not to think too much about it as I find it really easy to get bogged down in it all. Of course that's easier said than done!

Not pred, but I'm on progesterone at the moment and am so bloated it's not funny. Last time I took them after my bfp but this time I've taken them since the IUI, and I had forgot how manky they are!

Gengis how are you getting on? And everyone else? Quiet on here now...Started on progynova tablets today as AF has finally arrived, feeling a bit better now I have started I guess! Though disappointed obviously that I didn’t get some miracle PG at the final hour...

Oh good luck Jen! What's the general plan of action?

I have the hcg blood test on Friday but I did a hpt this morning and it was a bfn, so I've stopped the progesterone, and hopefully af arrives soon so I can get cracking again.

I'm so sorry to hear about your BFN @GenghisKahnSchmitz

Room for one more?
We're getting ready for FET with our one frostie from the cycle which gave us DD (now 18 months old). Terrified of using our one shot and it not working, but also desperate for a sibling and almost 40.
Still BFing and clinic wants us to stop. Not sure what to do for the best.

Thanks Twinkle

Welcome Faerie! There's definitely been some others on this thread who have continued to bf while going through treatment. Hopefully you won't have to stop, though I imagine it's a hard decision when the clinic are tell you to.

genghis so sorry to hear about the bfn. Take care of yourself.

jen good luck! Sorry about the lack of surprise bfp but exciting that you can finally get going.

faerie good luck to you also. lucie and I both had failed natural FETs whilst breastfeeding, she then went on to have a successful medicated FET whilst still breastfeeding. I stopped bf before my next FET. It’s definitely possible to do, although I admit my personal take on it would be to stop with only one frostie, so you could give it your absolute best shot. But I’m sure lucie can give you the opposite view as she did a lot of research into medicated fet whilst breastfeeding. Whatever you decide, all the very best.

Afm, not much to report - still pregnant (as far as I know). Usual anxiety around it all, but nothing in the context of this thread. Am 15w and starting to look a bit pudgy!

Thanks so much. I'm thinking of slowly weaning and getting my weight down again (combination of baby weight and comfort eating 😥) before transfer in autumn/winter. I want to give it the best possible chance.
What should I be doing for the next three months or so?

Hi faerie, I cut back on breastfeeding after transfer for a few days. I was only feeding at night by this point anyway but i joined a group on fb called breastfeeding during ivf and fertility treatment and so many women had success and they were feeding all the time it made me realise that there isn't really any evidence to show that breastfeeding effects the outcome. My own doctor said the same, he said breastfeeding isn't a contraception and many women get pregnant naturally while still breastfeeding. He said that some studies show that breastfeeding may even improve outcomes as it might make the womb more receptive. I decided it was right for us and I didn't think it would affect the outcome so I decided to go for it. You have to be happy with it though and feel comfortable that you wouldn't have any regrets if your cycle didn't work. If you do think you would have regrets then maybe it's best to wean first.

Hi to everyone else, sorry will catch up properly soon.

That's really helpful, thank you.