January/ February IVF/ICSI

[Justwaitingforaline]

Starting a new thread for all of us going through IVF/ICSI in January/February!

First round of ICSI for us. I’m on the last week of my birth control pill before starting Gonal F injections on the 18th Jan, with the hope of egg collection on the 30th and transfer on the 4th Feb! I’m egg sharing so have been on the pill a while to sync my cycle with the woman recovering half of my eggs .

Is anyone else at a simile stage?

@Realitysucks - yes I am hoping it was worth it to! The thought of having to go through it again isn't a nice. Annoyed at myself as forgot my antibiotics yesterday - I had a horrendously stressful and busy day that completely. Hopefully all will be okay but not panicking!

@Boboelephant - I hope your period arrives soon and you can crack on with treatment!

@TheGlitterFairy - welcome! I hope this cycle is the successful cycle for you and all your dreams come true! Xxx

Scan went well! I appear to have 42 follicles but the consultant said that not all of them will grow to the right size for collection which is okay by me. Another scan Monday and then egg collection Wednesday. I did ask what the chances were of having to freeze all due to OHSS risk and she said that she sees no reason why it would be at this stage which was reassuring!

Thanks intrigued2018!

An amazing number of follicles justwaitingforaline! Well done!!!

@Justwaitingforaline great news! Hope they are going well tomorrow.

My period finally arrived today! Thankfully! Longest cycle ever. I need to call clinic today to arrange going in for my scan/collecting stims. Tuesday would suit me alot better than Monday, does anyone think there is any downside to day 4 rather than day 3? They just said between day 2-4 So I imagine it's much the same but I'll make it work if day 3 would be better.

@intruiged2018 I’m sure it will be fine the antibiotics are quite strong. I have two left to take today. I stil have some random cramping only a couple of twinges yesterday but I do feel bruised! Poor DH has been away and was trying to get jiggy last night 🤣🤣🤣 I’m like no one is going near me Ever again after that 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

@justwaitingforaline that’s an amazing number. I’m panicking now as I’m sure I’m gonna have nowhere near that amount! Base scan as soon as cycle starts but on Wednesday I only had 5 follicles after ovulation on Monday. Not sure how drastic the increase will be once I start stims!

@boboelephant what protocol are you on? I’m waiting for AF to start stims and am on the short protocol. I too am panicking about a long cycle as DH goes skiing 25th Feb so really need EC before then! For nov/dec I had a 25/26 days cycles but jan was 32 days🤷‍♀️ Hoping AF comes next week if not then on a 32 day cycle will be 4th Feb and we have just enough time for EC as long as I don’t take 17 days to stim. My clinic says day 3 I think it depends which clinic your with. I have scan on day 2 of cycle then start injections the next day.

@Realitysucks I'm on the long protocol. It has felt like ages as I had to wait for Dec AF to start and then wait for day 21 to start down regging. That is supposed to be for approx 7 days but mine took 16 days. I'm booked in first thing Tuesday which will be day 4 and I'll have a scan and should start stims that night. Hopefully I don't have to stim for longer and EC should be about the 11th. Hope you have a short cycle and AF doesn't take too long to come so you get in before DH's trip. I think the waiting after you've decided to go ahead with the IVF is the hardest!

Are any of you based in or around London... This is all new to me and I'm currently searching for a clinic .. it's a minefield of information... I'm baffled...

@beeb14 I’m near London am in Hertfordshire but work in the city.

@Boboelephant I know the waiting is awful. We decided to go ahead in November but af due over Xmas and clinic was shut so had to wait for jan af for pre cycle treatment then Feb cycle for stims

@beeb14 I'm in London. We're using the Lister- privately as we're not eligible for NHS as we are experiencing secondary infertility. Happy to answer any questions.
@Realitysucks we are the same! Agreed at appointment in Nov but most things happening in Feb! Hope it's worth the wait for us both!

I was expecting a light 'break through' bleed but am having a unusually heavy and painful AF. Anyone else experience this after down regulation?

bobo I had a really heavy period like bleed after down reffing with the birth control pill. I started stimms on day 2 but continued to bleed until day 6 ( so a proper 5 day period bleed) which was one of the heaviest I’ve had.

@boboelephant we are using Herts and Essex again privately funded as I’m 41 and already have 1DS aged 17 in two weeks 😱 So no chance of funding for us. Didn't think I’d be here so long after but DH has no children as we met late in life.

Morning ladies - have just joined mumsnet, first forum, first post. Turned 41 on the 24/1.
Started my very first cycle with ICSI on 14/1 through Create, London. Daily Bemfola to day 6, plus Cetritide till day 9 then Ovitrelle. Had my EC on 23/1, whilst still 40...whoop (every day helps!). Embryologist said 4 eggs retrieved from 5 follicles. 3 embryos matured to Grade A1 (?), one frozen on day 3, now waiting news the remaining 2 are frozen to blastocysts tomorrow.
Next steps - I’m confused....embryologist says wait a month till next cycle (so every other month), Clinic has previously said concurrently. Does anyone know what’s standard?

@clmclean60 whoop whoop your post has overjoyed me 🤣🤣🤣 we are similar but your ahead of me! I was 41 on 20th jan! Sound like your short protocol like me. I’m waiting for AF after an horrendous scratch last week! Then will start Bemfola for 4 days then add Cetritide so looks like we are the same! I only had 5 follicle at my scan on Wednesday and haven’t started stims yet so reassuring you got 4 eggs from 5 follicles. At our age 4 eggs is a good number! 3 grade A1 is fab, ideally you want A5 to go in fresh but A1 is just as good ! Why are they freezing all and not doing a fresh transfer with a couple? That’s a risk as some may not survive the freeze /thaw process. If I get any I’m having two eggs put back in fresh. My clinic has advised that it is unlikely they will get any to freeze and wouldn’t want to risk it.

@realitysucks unfortunately I have a 4cm fibroid which needs removing before I have a transfer, so the Clinic advised collecting all the eggs first, freezing as embryos then removing the fibroid. When surgery to remove the fibroid has a risk of damaging of killing the ovaries so best to collect first. It just means we need to wait much longer to transfer, probably not till the end of summer/early autumn.

I really love to see all the different ages of people on here. It reassures me as my husband is 45 and I’ve been constantly worried it’s too late for us (I’m 31).

@clmclean60 sorry to hear that, yes makes sense then as to why they would freeze them. The odds on a FET are Slightly higher than fresh transfer though so fingers crossed for you! My sister had failed fresh transfer this time last year. They managed to get one to freeze and had the transfer later. On Monday she gave birth to a 7llb 15 oz little boy !

@Justwaitingforaline thanks for the reply. Hopefully it means I'll get loads of lovely follicles like you.
@Realitysucks yes I'm sure! Lovely for your DS to get a little sibling after 17 years - funny how life turns out! I'm a bit envious of having two put in, feel I need all the help I can get. I'm 36 so they'll only put a single one but I've had such a crap run since my first loss at 33 and after my last loss haven't managed to get pregnant at all for 14 months so feel like i could do with the extra chance!
@clmclean60 sounds like they got a great number of eggs. Good luck with your fibroid removal.
@Ginandtonic31 I'm sure you have loads of time! Try not to worry.

@boboelephant I’m nervous about having two. Would love them both to take but it’s a higher risk than one. I am keeping faith from @Crittertamer !

Sorry I haven’t poster properly yet (my head hasn’t been in a good place and haven’t felt particularly ‘invesyed’) but I have been reading along trying to get on top of everyone’s stories. I recommend some names from a previous thread I was in last summer.

I will be starting drugs (Gonal F) on 15th February (anyone around a similar time?) I was hoping to have improved my diet by now but I’ve just been focusing on surviving really since Christmas! Hoping to pick up the healthy eating this week and get back to exercise!

Nice to read some positive stories and good luck everyone.

@realitysucks super positive to hear about your sister. Congratulations Auntie 🥳

Hope everyone is doing okay at the moment.

I am off the norethisterone (so glad that is over and coming off it has made me feel so ill). I am day 2 and off for my baseline scan later and then hopefully will start stims tonight if all goes well.

I'm hoping the bemfola isn't too bad and I'm not as tired on that as I am on norethisterone. I know I need to stop the caffeine now I'm starting to stim, but I really need it to stay awake at the moment!

Good morning all, I’ve just come from the clinic. All systems go for egg collection on Wednesday but it does look like it will be a freeze all cycle due to how many follicles I’ve got over the ‘yes it’s time to collect’ line (30 of them, with two more days of growing til collection) - I’m just waiting on the results of a blood test as that will determine whether or not I trigger with Ovitrelle or Buserelin

Good luck for the scan @CornishMaid1. Hope it’s all good - and that you find a way to stay awake and that the stims don’t affect you as much as the norethisterone has.

How do you feel about it being a ‘freeze all’ cycle, @Justwaitingforaline? I hope this isn’t a disappointment for you xx

I’ve spoken to a GP and got an appointment for my next blood test tomorrow to see if my hCG levels are rising in line with expected rates. I’m also booked in for Thursday for the 48 hour comparison!! I think MS has come to stay as I’ve been dreadful so far today, even had to leave my DH in town and come home as I thought I was going to be sick again (was sick x2 before we even left the house!!)

Hi ladies, just thought I'd check in at 10dp5dt after our double transfer. AF is on her way as I feel exactly the same as last time when I got a BFN.

Apologies for the downer post but I'm devastated that our second cycle isn't going to work. From now on our odds of success per cycle decreases.

Me and DH are in bits, what with his dad passing on the day of ET. We feel like our lives are thoroughly miserable and have nothing to look forward to. I was really honest last night and said that with him making us wait to TTC, I feel like he's wasted my chance to have a family. He's also said that he wouldn't adopt, which I feel is very cruel of him.

Just having a bit of an emotional meltdown. Not sure how we're going to get through this. Think I've started to properly consider that I'm not going to get the family I've always wanted and it's making me want to retreat and give up on everything.