IVF/ICSI June/July 2018

[cannonball8726]

Hey, all! We are starting ICSI hopefully in June for MFI. I'm 32. Been TTC for around 14 months. Starting treatment privately as we wait for NHS investigations/referrals. Keen to get started but nervous - especially about getting the time off work during treatment - and about how much all of this is going to cost. Trying to prime my body for fertility treatment. Generally eat pretty well and exercise regularly (cardio, strength train, Pilates, walk a lot on my commute)- but could improve my diet. Consultant advised me to increase my protein intake so I'm working on it! Luckily the weather is looking up so a bit easier to stick to healthy lifestyle :) Have cut out alcohol and coffee (still on tea - but will limit myself to one cup/ day). Supplements wise, I'm on Omega 3, CoQ10, Pregnacare. Doubt any of this will make any difference in time for first cycle though...

Would be great to hear from others due to have treatment in June/July 2018!

Great news @Physicskate 😁

@CritterTamer no nothing 😞so disheartening. I keep telling myself a scan on Monday (day 11 of stims) still leaves some time for them to up it again and stim a bit longer. I hope anyway. Had a hot water bottle on all last night and all morning! The odd thing is I’ve lost 4lb since stimming and I think it’s the cetrotide. It’s making my stomach off and I think I’ve been confusing that with ovary cramps 😕

Well done to everyone with eggs! I hope I make it there.

CritterTamer - you are right, there is still time for them to up the dose and for you to continue to stim a while longer x
since being on Cetrotide I don't feel like eating at all. For the first time in my life I am actually forcing myself to eat - usually it is the other way round - trying to stop myself from over-eating...

Fab news on the eggs front - congrats on doing so well ;) x

Awesome news on the eggs, CritterTamer, physicskate and Dia! Great stuff. Was it hard to do the trigger injection? Where did you inject?

NotLateInTheMorning, good luck with the trigger!

Sending positive feel good vibes for the pincushion stimmers! Here's hoping for a good (not excessive) number of lovely follicles in there. Hope you have something nice planned for the weekend to keep you sane!

My main worry is on day 9 my estrogen was 5! That’s low for even day 2 of a normal menstrual cycle! According to google it’s menopausal levels. So I’ve no faith at all now.

@Ginandtonic31 - if you had no follicles growing then it would be expected to have very low estrogen I think - it’s produced by growing follicles. If your follicles start to pick up now then your estrogen should too.

Is it possible (and really bad timing) that this was going to be an anovulatory cycle for you I wonder? The way my clinic explained it to me is that the stims only work on the antral follicles you would have produced anyway that month, and don’t make you produce any that weren’t there anyway. I was unlucky that I had only 8 follies come up this month when recently I’ve had 12 or 13 but they said there’s nothing that can be done about that.

Finally got a call from embryologist, only 3 eggs out of 9 mature eggs fertilised. I know I should be happy with this but can’t help but feel a little bit broken that so few fertilised
It’s just hit home how precarious this process is, like walking a tight-rope that you can tumble from at any given moment.

@Dia12 - you’re so right about this process being like walking a tightrope - there’s so much that’s out of our control and all we can really do is follow the instructions given to us by the clinic and try to be kind to ourselves while we wait. I get how you feel - was so disappointed to only get 6 eggs when we were all hoping for 10 to 12, but had to accept that it’s just Mother Nature and not my fault.

Remember that you only need 1 of those embryos to make it to blasto stage! Will you have a 3 or 5 day transfer?

@Cannonball8726 - in answer to your question the trigger shot was easy enough to do - I had to do it into my tummy and the worst part was having to hold it in for a count of 10 seconds - was quite painful!

Thank you @crittertamer, I’m trying to be brave and rational about it all.....and of course grateful that I have 3.
The embryologist has given me a provisional date for 3 day transfer on Monday and said I’d get an update Monday morning. If they look like they won’t make it to blast stage they’d rather transfer earlier. I’m not sure if they are able to tell already about the fate of the embryos.
Have your clinic already told you about transfer?

@Dia12 when my embryologist called with the results earlier she told me it will be a 5 day transfer on Wednesday. I have no idea what the criteria are that determines whether it’s done at 3 or 5 days. I don’t think they can have too much idea on the quality of the embryos at this stage - I think they have to watch their development for a few days first.

@Dia12 I know how you feel. My last cycle, we got 7 eggs, and only 2 fertilised. I was devastated. Hopefully this will be a different outcome for you. This may give you a few transfers 🤞

Happy to hear about the eggs being fertilised for everyone!

I’ve had a heavy feeling like period is coming 😐 I guess it’s because my lining is thickening..... it’s so rubbish going through this, eh?!

Xx

@CritterTamer I think if you have less than 4 eggs fertilised, they aim for a 3 day transfer. If there’s more they keep an eye on how they develop and aim for a 5 day transfer (if all seems to be going ok) xx

@Beherenow32 - thanks for the info, that kinda makes sense. I guess at my age there is a good chance that mine won’t even make it to blasto stage so if they wait a bit longer and see if any do they have a better chance of choosing a ‘good’ one.

@CritterTamer I was on the pill so I don’t know what would have happened. I just think my dose is very low. All I can do is wait and see now. If it’s cancelled it’s cancelled.

Sorry I’m not ignoring everyone. My husband has banned me from forums as he said they’re no good for my mental well-being this weekend so have to keep poppin on and trying to catch up 😂

Hi all, I've been reading this thread but I haven't managed to read all posts I'm afraid....there are so many. I will try to catch up at some point.

I am 38 and we have one DS.

We are starting the ivf icsi process very very soon: I have to give myself my first injection tonight. I am scared and extremely emotional; I just read my toddler son'a bedtime story through tears.

The whole thing has been very fast and I don't feel ready for it. We've been trying for a second child for almost 18 months and ntnp for 2 years; we've been having fertility investigations for 8 months. But the actual bit between being diagnosed with male factor infertility and me starting to inject myself has been only just over a month.

I got my period today one day early so the start date has been brought forward a week (everything hinges on the hospital schedule and when they can do egg collection). I was supposed to use the contraceptive pill first for a few days to suppress natural cycle, but now I don't need to because of this early bleed: straight to the injections.

I still have the usual heartbroken feeling that goes with getting your period when ttc, and especially after long term ttc. But now there's the additional trepidation of starting the very scary ivf process too. At least I feel I am doing something proactive about this horrible situation, I keep telling myself; and there is more chance of pregnancy with ivf icsi than our natural chances which we were told were 1% per month. But I am still terrified.

I don't think it's going to work. And then as well as being heartbroken I will be skint too, having spent thousands of savings on this and pumped my poor body full of nasty hormones. At the back of my mind there is the bitchy feeling too that there is nothing wrong with me; why is it me that has to go through all the horror whilst he just gets to wank into a cup? I am infertile by default, by my choice of partner, not by nature. Of course I would never say these things.

Someone please give me some positivity and hand holding; is there anyone who is starting at the same time as me? We can be ivf cycle buddies...!

Good luck to all on this frightening journey of rollercoaster highs and lows.... xxx

Welcome @Lopeylopez - whilst starting the journey is definitely scary and a rollercoaster of emotion, for me it has definitely been better to be doing something positive about the situation. Hopefully this will be the same for you 😊

Hi @LopeyLopez. I started 10 days ago but on my 8 day scan nothing had happened so I’m probably at same stage as you!

So two injections taken at the slightly upped dose and still can’t feel a thing so I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

Thanks for replies folks....@gin: oh no! So that means this can drag on for even longer then. I am worried about this happening to me too.

At my baseline scan I didn't realise they would do an antral follicle count (AFC) and I'm still not sure if they officially did, because I stupidly didn't think to ask until long afterwards, but now I remember her saying something about four follicles.....and all I can think of now is this number, 4, and how rubbish it is in terms of antral follicles (if that's what she meant). Everywhere I've read it says that 4 is less than adequate and means the treatment will likely be cancelled?!?! But why didn't she then tell me that at the scan? She said everything was fine. So I'm not sure what to think.

If I only had 4 antral follicles then, I doubt I'll produce enough follicles for the egg collection. I'll be on higher doses for longer like you gin. Oh lucky us!

I kind of just want this to be over. The injection was actually ok but I have terrible period pain which is unusual for me and not helping things...

Think positive, think positive....!

Hi. I’m new to IVF. I have one child already who is almost 5 years old. We’ve been ttc for no. 2 for around 18 months. I met with my Dr this week who is referring us to a consultant that will help us decide which clinic we should go to for IVF/ICSI. We’ll be funding ourselves. I really don’t know a lot about IVF so keen to join this group as we start our journey.

Good luck everyone xx

Ah, LopeyLopez, I've been where you are now (MFI diagnosis here too). It's horrible. To make matters worse for me I have an incredibly fertile sis and bro in law - not their fault either but it's so hard each time people get pregnant with ease, without the heartache we have to bear month after month.

I started DR injections last Sunday for our FET. Just waiting for AF to show.

@LopeyLopez they only upped it a really small amount and I just feel it isn’t enough. Don’t know if they will up it tomorrow and keep me going longer or just recommend I cancel. Hope it’s the first but at some point it’s goibg to be too late to get anything worth having. I was so convinced it would all go well and would get 15+!

I sort of get how you feel. We are having it because my husband has a gene we don’t want to carry in. As far as we know I’m fertile. Although I don’t know if that’s right as at the min it’s my body stopping it happening.

@LopeyLopez @Peanut 1980. Hi!
@LopeyLopez On my baseline scan, they counted 8 follicles. My first stimulation scan, there was still 8 follicles, but by my second they counted 10 follicles (there may have been 11. They thought one was hiding) and 4 trying to grow. So, it does look like there could be more. Maybe some that they can’t always see on the first scan. I know it’s really stressful, but I think is best to try take each step at a time. Don’t over think what’s going on in there. And I can only say this now after have 4 failed transfers! I over thought everything at first. Hope you can relax during this process. Look after yourself!

@GinandTonic31 good luck tomorrow. I’m not sure you will feel anything this early... hopefully it doesn’t mean anything. I’m on dose 225, so not so different from you. But I didn’t have my first scan until I had been stimming with this dose for 6 days.

I also have a scan tomorrow. Getting so fed up with eating protein now and haven’t even been eating fruit or veg. I’m bored of it all! lol. Xx