IVF/ICSI June/ July 2018 (Part 2)

[Tigerlily99]

Hello ladies, I think we reached the maximum no of posts on last thread so I opened a new one. Hope you are Ok with this OP (@cannonball)? X

@HJ82 so crazy that it can change so much :( how are you feeling today?

Well ladies, our beta came back positive!!!! Shocked & stunned but over the moon!! Scan on 10th August ... obv early days but enjoying this moment!!! Wishing you all the very best with your treatments!!!! Miracles do happen!!!! This our 2nd round and I'll be 40 in January xx

@gavinmaxine1 that is seriously lovely news! CONGRATULATIONS!

@cannonball8726 yeah totally, I also developed endometriosis when we decided to have a baby 😒. Which got progressively worse over the last 18 months. So that might explain my now lowish amh.

@Gavinmaxine1 INCREDIBLE news! I'm so excited for you!! 💕

Woken up from post ec nap to all this lovely news!

@gavinmaxine1 I am so so so happy for you! Well done.

@HJ82 3 embies and 2 top quality sounds great

@cannonball 14 fertilised wow! That is so many!

@maiarindell1 so glad you got all 3 eggs and fingers crossed for tomorrow x

@cannonball and @HJ82- congrats on your embryos!!!!

@maiarindell and @happyhedgehog- congrats on the eggs- hoping you get good news with fertilization!!!

@gavinmaxine- I have my fingers crossed for your result. Xx

Had my lining scan and they said it looks ready, thickness 10mm- maybe the Pom juice did help!! But embryologists want to wait to transfer until 30 July so still have 10 days to wait and stuck on buserelin until Tues 😭 At least the end is in sight!

@gavinmaxine1 - congratulations what brilliant news!!

Oh, sorry I posted last message without refreshing the page- congrats gavinmaxine- that’s amazing news!!!!

Congratulations @Gavinmaxine1 : amazing news! You have given me hope for next time (I am also 38 and next time will be Cycle two...) Feeling otherwise a bit down at the moment, like it will never happen for me. Trying to stay positive.

@cannonball8726 18 eggs!!!! That is an amazing haul!

Good luck all those in your two week waits or waiting for transfer🤞

@LopeyLopez up until yesterday we felt exactly the same. Please don't give up hope. It can happen xx

@gavinmaxine1 it's so nice to hear about happy endings - they give so much hope :) I wish you all the best with your pregnancy 😗

@lopeylopez nice to hear from you. Totally understandable that you are feeling down :( this process consumes us for so long. It takes so much physical and emotional energy out of us and it feels so unfair that it shouldn't go well :( have you thought about when you might start the next round?

@Tigerlily99 great to hear about your scan! Sorry there is even more waiting involved. Hope you're keeping yourself busy. You're so close to finishing buserelin! Why do the embryologists want you to wait a bit for transfer? (Sorry for my ignorance - I don't know too much about FET and am learning through your experience!)

@happyhedgehog and @maiarindell fingers crossed for you ladies today!

@HJ82 that's rubbish about your endo. :( had you had any symptoms of it earlier?

Ladies, I'm getting so constipated on the progesterone! I look pregnant. Need to replenish my prune supply...

Thanks @Gavinmaxine1 and @cannonball8726 .

We are thinking October for the next cycle. Have to book in with the clinic to check there is room, but if we do it in good time there shouldn't be a problem, plus we are self-funded.... This will leave 2 normal bleeds (plus bfn bleed straight after cycle) between cycles, i.e 3 months. The minimum is one normal bleed but I am conscious of giving time to improve egg quality since it was so bad last time.

@cannonball8726 I am so jealous of those 18 eggs!!! You did so well. The consultant said at my review app that they will up the dose of stims meds next time in the hope of getting more eggs, but I don't know if it will work given my age....we'll just have to see. My AMH is only 8.4 and AFC 9. Don't think they will change much; more likely get less as I get closer to 40.

I am going to work on egg quality like a maniac over the summer hols!! You may think I'm mental (!) but I have ordered a white board from Amazon to put on the wall where I'm going to plan my meals and exercise over a two week period. Also tick when I've had my supplements / nut and seed pot / protein shake / veggie smoothie because I've now got so much to remember to take!! But I'm off work for 6 weeks (teacher...well, still got some stuff to do and I'll go into school for a week or so in August) so i'll have more time to concentrate (obsess!) on healthy lifestyle for the sake of my eggs! Be interesting to see if it does make any difference to egg haul in Oct. I would also like to lose 5kg as I still have too much belly fat despite good diet and lots of exercise...,

@lopeylopez I love your steely determination. You are 100% coming across as a teacher - the whiteboard was the icing on the cake Well done on having a plan and I'm glad you can get cracking with it over the summer holidays. All the very best with the changes and I look forward to hearing the great results of lopeylopez boot camp!!!😍

@tigerlily99 glad your scan was a success and hopefully the 30th will come quickly for you!

@lopeylopez - your plan sounds brilliant - good luck with it!

I had a call from the embryologist this morning, of my 3 eggs 2 were mature and then just 1 fertilised. It only has one cell at the moment and needs 5 by Monday for ET - is 1 cell normal the day after EC? Feeling a bit deflated that everything is pinned on 1 egg and gutted there are none to freeze but trying to stay positive (after a good cry this morning!)

Hi guys
Hospital called and the eggs were too immature. I’m tired and frustrated but will be ok but will probably have a little break from the thread and a couple of months off having done two cycles back to back. I love seeing positives on here and wish you all the best xxx

@lopeylopez We saw a really fantastic nutritionist who specialises in pre-IVF nutrition about three months before EC. I really believe it made a difference- difficult to prove with egg quality, but DH’s sperm morphology went up from 2% to 3% after following the diet she prescribed.

@gavinmaxine1 Big fat congratulations!

@cannonball8726 no symptoms really, my periods just started to get more painful as I got older. I was on the pill from 16-30 though, so def has no symptoms.

We still have the 3 embies ready for tomorrow. The clinic said because of my low amh (even though I just turned 36) they think we could go for 2 to transfer at blast. I'm slightly nervous. I don't want twins. I mean I'm scared to have twins. I don't know what to do. 😬 transfer is 10am tomorrow. HELP me. What would you all do?

@HappyHedgehog247 I'm so so sorry! Sending you big hugs 💕

@HappyHedgehog247 so sorry ☹️

If you're waiting til October like me maybe see you on an IVF/ICSI thread for then? X

@happyhedgehog I'm really sorry :( :( I hope you're okay. Having a break sounds like a good idea. It must be really overwhelming to have two cycles close to each other. I'm sorry. Get some TLC, quality time with DH and recover well, darling.

@Maiarindell I am keeping fingers crossed for your emby. Hold on xxxxxx

@HJ82 that sounds like a really tough decision. If it were me, I think I would probably do as the clinic suggest as they will have some feeling for what will most maximise your chances in this situation. What are you thinking?

@cannonball8726 I think they're going to say, it's up to you at the end of the day. Uclh told me to opt for one always, not 2. Especially as I'm "young" I'd have a higher chance of twins apparently. It would be good to freeze two for later on if we needed. But obvs if putting back 2 increases my chance for a singleton then I feel I should try. The worst that can happen is I end up with twins 😯 oh gosh. I wish I had a crystal ball lol. I'm not a very good gambler!!!

@happyhedgehog247 I’m really sorry that this cycle didn’t work out for you. I hope that you’re ok and manage to relax and enjoy the nice weather this weekend.
@HJ82 are they both the same grade? I had read somewhere (in the depths of the highly reliable internet sources 😂) that if one is of a lower quality it could have a negative impact on the higher quality one. Good luck for tomorrow either way!!!

@Maiarindell1 yes, they're both the same grade 😬 know which one to pick if we just go for one will be tough. Anything can happen by tomorrow so I'll see what the Dr advises! If ones stronger then we will opt for one I guess. So hard.

@LopeyLopez my amh is now around 10 and my AFC is also 9. I managed to get 3 top grade embryos and my lifestyle hasn't always been healthy. I've always eaten healthy but I've partied like a maniac most of my life! I also stopped smoking not very long ago... I started having tonnes of protein (not easy being vegan) I've started eating fish as it was just too hard. I took a high quality pre natal and urbiquinol. I also took melatonin which I am sure assisted! Just a few things to consider. My acupuncturist said you can't really improve egg quality but I'm not so sure!! I didn't listen anyway and did everything I could to get some decent eggs. I'll never know if these things helped but it's worth a shot 💕

@HJ82 thanks that's interesting.

I'm super healthy now but I also had a "wild youth", lol...! Far too much binge drinking for years, and smoking, and more.... I always say I'm glad I did it at the time, because I like "experiences" and I had a great time, plus it didn't mean my career suffered later on.... but now I'm maybe feeling the detrimental effects with respect to egg quality, years later....?

Your egg issues sound similar to mine, but better in that three embryos made it to day 5 looking good. I only had 3 of 7 eggs fertilise, with some weird shit going on with the others like you (abnormal fertilisation?!), but by day 5 they were not looking good....had not "arrested" but were slow growing and not at the stage they should have been. It's good yours are graded and healthy.

For what it's worth, I would put two embryos back in. Just because you have actually been offered the choice, and to give the best possible chance.

Best of luck with tomorrow, @HJ82!xxx