First round of ivf with ICSI

[melissa1215]

Hi, I don't understand some of the lingo on here so I haven't abbreviated anything.. just wanting to hear some advice or chat about some of your experiences with ivf/icsi

I'm 25, partner is 33.. no health related issues and we have male factor infertility (low count and motility)

We had our egg collection on Wednesday, had 18 mature ones retrieved, and 11 of them fertilised.. I'm waiting on Monday to hear if some of our embryos survived the blasto-something stage? I'm really quite confused about this process.

I sound silly, This whole process has been quite a whirlwind for me. I ended up with OHSS so I can't have a fresh transfer, so they're freezing the embryos that survive... I'm wondering if anyone has been in the same situation and how many survived the final freezing stage?

Also, anyone who had to wait for a frozen transfer, how long from collection did you have to wait?

We're nhs funded and have a further appt on 16th June.

I have to say, I've really struggled both physically and emotionally. I don't know how everyone does it! I've gained weight with bloating and the tummy pain is horrific, I worked through it (except for egg collection) and really wish I took time off, the emotional side of it really shocked me.. kind of feel like my sole purpose is to be prodded and poked.

I also think I put too much positivity into it, I've now found the prospect of getting a negative test really terrifying to the point where I think I'll hit rock bottom. I have a wonderful partner, I can talk to him at any time and he's been my absolute rock, but I think I'm looking for more experiences from people who've been or are going through it too?

Grateful for any replies
Mel
X

Hello! I had ICSI a few years ago.

They will see how many blastocysts get to 3 days, if you have a few decent ones they will let them carry on developing to 5 days. They do this to see which are developing best, they then put the best one into your womb. If you only have a couple left at 3 days they may insert them into you at that stage, it can still work.

I ended up with 3 blastocysts at 5 days. I had one implanted and 2 frozen. Unfortunately I miscarried a few weeks later. A year later I had the frozen ones inserted (both of them) one became a pregnancy the other didn't implant. Hope this explains a bit. Good luck! X

Hi @melissa1215 There's a thread going at the moment for several of us who are currently undergoing EC or FET. Like you, on egg collection I had quite bad OHSS so it was a case of freeze all - that was back over Easter weekend and it's only now that my body has recovered enough to go for the transfer! I'm not sure how to put the link on, but it's part 2 of the June IVF/ICSI thread.

I had ohss in February and we froze 4 embryos. They wanted me to take 2-3 months off (I also had a bad bleed during collection). Emotionally I needed more time. I am only now starting the cycle for transfer. I feel unstable thinking about it all but I don't think that it will get better with another month off.

Hi, IVF/ICSI is like fishing. You may be lucky and get the fish first time. It might jump off the hook last minute, it might eat the bait and you pull an empty rod. You might need to change the bait and throw the rod again. No one goes home after first fail as if you be patient you will catch this fish! I find it is a beautiful metaphor and I am waiting for my fish to be caught. I find having a second project helps a lot. I’m doing house redecoration while waiting for news after egg retrieval. Food luck! Persistence and patience xx