September/October IVF

[WineWinner]

Hey,

I've had my appointment through finally to start my first round of IVF. Our consultation is September and hoping if we start on CD21 (no idea if we will, just what I'm presuming from research) then we will be good to start just after the middle of the month. Anyone else the tentatively waiting for a September start?

[Journey18]

Thanks @AniSL I've been taking wellwoman preconception supplements for a month so far I have noticed that my af was late
are there any supplements you would recommend.
what is TESE?

[AniSL]

Journey18 tese is testicular extraction, they remove the sperm surgically from the testes.

My clinic told me no multi vits so I cant comment personally but I have heard they can disrupt cycles.

We calculated when our cycle was likely to start and made sure the 90 day egg cycle was given the best go we could although last cycle I wasnt so stringent on the 90 day cycle

[Journey18]

ok thanks :)
I'd never heard of tese is there a good success rate with that

[AniSL]

Journey18 we had no choice as DH is completely azoospermic, no sperm in any of his samples. NHS told us there was no chance he could conceive and I should consider a donor. Luckily our clinic told us that was bull and could try to get sperm surgically, they found good motile sperm. I wouldn't recommend unless its absolutely necessary as DH was in pain for a while after and I had to change his bandages and apply iodine daily.

Success rates are relative on this one as TESE done where there is little option left.

[Journey18]

@AniSL thanks for clarifying sounds like was very invasive procedure :(

[ckc45d10]

In addition to a multivitamin that you check over with your doctor, CoQ10 may be helpful as research suggests it can support fertility in both men and women!
And, yes, consider other diet and lifestyle changes to support a healthy body.

[AniSL]

Agree with the Ubiquinol use, its been shown to improve egg quality.

I am on 400mg Ubiquinol, 5ml Glutathione, 1 tablet L-arginine and 1500mg Inositol. Also only pure water, high vege protein diet.

Not sure if it helps but want to give it my best

Journey18 it was awful for DH and I cannot forget the antibiotic injections that followed either. I am still traumatised by them

[BeaCat]

I'm taking Wild Nutrition fertility tablets as my multi vitamin, they are about £32 for a month so pricey but the reason I'm taking them is they contain folate rather than folic acid which I've heard is the best way to get the benefits of it. Who knows if it actually makes any difference though! Also taking omega 3 and 200mg coq10 capsules.

[Trying2bemum]

Hello ladies, hope it's okay to join. I'm looking at starting my third fresh ICSI cycle in October. We bought two cycles via Access Fertility after our NHS round failed. Unexplained infertility, we've been trying for almost three years. It's bloody awful isn't it? X

[Trying2bemum]

@BeaCat I'm also on Wild Nutrition 👍🏼
I also now take ubiquinol and have ordered inositol from Zita West. Our consultant recommended ubiquinol, am hoping that makes a difference for our third cycle.

[CritterTamer]

I also take ubiquinol and Zita West pre IVF pack of multi-vits/DHA.

Started the testosterone gel this morning - I swear it’s already brought me out in a load of spots! 😳 Hope it’s worth it.... 😊

[AniSL]

Tryingtobemum have you had feedback from failed cycles? Did you get to transfer stage?

[brighteye3986]

Hi all, do you mind if I join? We have our first appointment 20th September to go through our plan for our first cycle of IVF. Seems a bit surreal after 3 years or TTC. Ours is female factor with me being diagnosed with anovulation.
Can anyone help with what I am to expect? I am hoping there won't be too long a wait after our appointment as I will be on cycle day 6-8 depending on what my cycle decides to do this time around!
Good luck to everyone else starting their cycles soon

[FingersXssd83]

Can I join please? We're hopefully starting as an NHS referred patient with Care Mcr in Oct and I'm so grateful that we have 3 cycles paid for.

We're unexplained and have been trying 18 months. I'm 35 and my DH is 37.

We had a tour of the clinic at the weekend, which helped to dispel many fears (including needles, they look manageable even with health anxiety!).

We have friends and family who have successfully had ivf but I just can't imagine it's going to work for us.

I have an AMH of 18.6 and 16 AFC and DH's results were fine. I keep thinking that they're going to uncover the reason why we haven't conceived yet throughout the process and it's feeling me with fear and thoughts of not even trying.

I hope everyone is having an okay day xx

[CritterTamer]

Welcome @Brighteye3986
Have you already had your pre IVF tests (AMH, FSH, HSG, etc.) and HIV/hepatitis blood tests? If not I think most clinics make you do all that before you start. If they’re all done you can go straight into treatment planning 😊

[Guio]

Hi @brighteye3986 and welcome.have they offered you clomid for anovulation? It is not my case as my progesterone showed that I ovulate however I have been 2 cycles in a row with low temps and short lp so I think I haven't ovulated.is this normal over 35 age and low amh?

[Botanica]

I'll take the opportunity to dive in now and introduce myself too as I've been lurking since the start of the thread.

I'm 40 and fiancé is 50 and I have just started the down-regulation phase for our fourth IVF cycle, with egg collection hopefully at the end of this month.

We've had a really tough year and I feel utterly exhausted by it all, physically and mentally, but pulling what energy I have left together and thinking positively for this coming round. I'd love a break from it to regroup for a while but time isn't on our side sadly.

My tests are all ok and AMH ok for my age, and fiancé apparently has super sperm of a 25 year old (he was very chuffed with this remark). However I have recurrent fibroids that keep reappearing and getting in the way of cycles.

Sept17 - fibroid surgery
Oct17 - IVF1 (long) but couldn't transfer due to new fibroids. One sub standard blast frozen.
Nov17 - fibroid surgery
Jan18 - IVF2 (long). Two fresh blasts transferred.
Feb18 - BFP!
April18 - traumatic MMC at 11 weeks. Very ill afterwards with Anaemia and PTSD. Fibroids recurred, inconclusive if they were linked to the miscarriage.
June18 - recommenced TTC, early chemical
July18 - IVF3 (short). Disastrous cycle, incorrect blood test led to an inappropriate protocol and poor response, nearly cancelled. Two day 1 embryos on ice.
Aug17 - fibroid surgery
Sept18 - started IVF4 (long).

Praying this will be the one...

[brighteye3986]

@Guio yes I've already tried 6 cycles of clomid but was not successful. I stopped temping a while back as it was not doing me any good and causing me more stress.

@CritterTamer this is our first appt at the IVF clinic so I expect a lot of those tests to be carried out. I've recently had bloods down to be able to get my referral as they were out of date. DH has an appt for next week to give his semen sample which we have been advised he needs to do before our appt. my paperwork says that we have to have our HIV and hep tests done within 3 months of starting treatment?!?

[Journey18]

Good luck @FingersXssed83

[ckc45d10]

OK, it seems many are doing some sort of multivitamin and CoQ10 (or ubiquinol). It is better to also look into absorption of everything you take. Review the ingredients of your multi with your doctor since supplements are not as well regulated. Some of the supplements I have seen contain dozens of ingredients, so it is better to be cautious especially when TTC. For CoQ10, it is better absorbed in a formula that is water and fat-soluble.
Good luck!

[CritterTamer]

@Botanica thank you for sharing - your story made me cry my eyes out - DH thinks I’m crazy! I am also 40 and know the feeling of time not being on your side - it’s just awful. This is only cycle 2 for me (short) and I really really hope that this is lucky number 4 for you xxx 🤞

[BeaCat]

Hi all and hello to all the new people who have joined 👋🏼
I had my initial consultation with the doctor at the clinic yesterday. I'll share a bit of what was said in case it's useful to anyone else just starting out...

I previously had an appointment where there did the follicle count and blood test and DH had a sperm analysis. So we got the results of that today and thankfully they were all fine and nothing to worry about.

The next step is more blood tests (hepatitis and hiv). In terms of a timeline, I'm on long protocol so if all goes as it should the process from down reg to ET should be about 5 weeks.

I'll start on cycle day 21 but he said it probably would not be this cycle but next so that is about 7 weeks away, which is a bit annoying but gives me more time to get healthy I guess!

@Botanica I'm sorry to hear about the tough journey you've had, hopefully this time round things will work out well.

[brighteye3986]

@BeaCat At least you have a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for the update as I'm sure that will be what is next on our journey. What area are you in? I know some places do things slightly different but from what I can see in my information pack that I received last week I think it will be very similar.

[BeaCat]

Hey @brighteye3986 yeah it's good things are slowly progressing, every appointment is one step further along. I'm having my treatment in Sheffield. Yeah it seems like you are right behind me or you could start earlier depending on cycles and waiting times.

[Botanica]

@BeaCat @CritterTamer
Thank you for the good wishes.

Hope everyone starting or already underway this month is feeling positive and things are going well so far.

I'm in on Friday for an oestrogen blood test and on Monday for a scan to see how the DR is going and will get advised on when we think we will start the stimulation.

Also managed to get my acupuncture booked again so will be doing that weekly from here on.

PS - I know someone who's also at Sheffield and has wonderful things to say about their ongoing treatment there and the personalised, empathetic approach.