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?

@justwaitingforaline that’s amazing news! Good luck to your embabies 😘🤞🙏

So an update from my side (kind of). We’re not using my frozen embryo this cycle as I’ve previously said. I did speak to my clinic today and they’re going to do some investigations into my lack of bleeding for my period. I’m going to the clinic on Tuesday for a scan and if it throws up anything then we’ll take it from there. I must say Thames Valley Fertility in Maidenhead are absolutely amazing. I mentioned I’m concerned I have Ashermans syndrome which I self diagnosed after consulting Dr Google 🙈😩 Ashermans syndrome can happen after a D&C and it causes scarring in the uterus and cervix. The minimal bleeding and terrible pains are a sign. I really want to prove myself wrong with a ‘that’ll teach you for googling it’ ending. Hopefully we get some answers next week and can start getting things back on track 🤞🤞🤞

All

I called the clinic yesterday and told me to go in for a scan so they can reassure me that I havent ovulated regarldess if what the ovulation kit showed... and indeed I hadnt ovulated..

Saying this having googled too yesterday I found out that pre-mature ovulation is not that rare so I re-scanned this morning prior the egg collection just in case. Apparently many women do this to ensure that they dont inccur the 5000-6000 in case they have ovulated as there is no refund.

They retrieved 7 eggs and I am quite sad.. I feel terrible for leaving it so late (42!!! still cant believe it) and how ignorant I have been when I was younger let alone the abortion at 36 for which I will be banging my head on the wall for the rest of my life.. Only 7 eggs... tomorrow midday I will find out if any of them fertilised.

Now I am in the couch having taken two paracetamols but still in pain!?!?? What a journey..

@justwaitingforaline congratulations!!!! that is such wonderful news!!

@Peanut1980 I cross my fingers for you that it is nothing serious.. indeed I often fall into the trap googling too and I always think of the worse..

@nv42 ahh well done on your egg collection. I was quite uncomfortable after mine. Take it easy. Although I will say I did LOVE the sedation! 🤣 I was off my head asking for a communal bong and all sorts 🙈🤣

It’s a tough journey but please don’t beat yourself up mentally. We can’t change the past. I know how you feel though. I had two terminations around 10 years ago and I feel this is karma for that. We can all mentally torture ourselves. I’ll be thinking of your little eggies and sending positive vibes for some good news in the morning 🙏🤞🙏🤞 COME ON EGGIES!!!

@NV42 please don’t worry. I only got 4 in my round last year. I was devastated. 3 fertilised though and one made it to day 5! If I was having ‘normal’ ivf that would have gone back in. Unfortunately we are testing for an abnormal gene which the one had so couldn’t be transferred. But what I’m saying is don’t despair. Although I only got 4 all were mature and quality.

@Ginandtonic31 I am really sorry to hear this and my warmest thoughts are with you for this round...

May I ask ow did you know about the gene so to look for it?

I see that there are a lot of tests one can do for the embryos and not sure if I should do any especially do to my age.

@Peanut1980 thank you for the warm thoughts and wishes.. I am thinking of you too and please let us know what happened when you to your clinic on Tuesday.. I really hope it is nothing!!

@Peanut1980 what is a D&C?

@NV42 it’s a gene that is passed along my husband’s line and can cause a nasty disease. His eldest son has the disease so he obviously had the gene. Lots of testing with the genetics and they managed to find where the gene sits so they built a test for our embryos. It’s known as PGD and the only gene they test our embryos for (because it’s NHS funded). But I know that people do pay for PGS which checks for any chromosome abnormalities to give the embryo the best chance.

@nv42 is stands for Dilation and curettage. It’s basically the surgical procedure for the removal of a miscarriage.

And don’t get me wrong I have days when I’m really annoyed with my other half for making us wait for baby no. 2. This group just allows us all to help each other through the tough days. Let us know when you get an update today xxx

The clinic called earlier this morning to say that 4 out of the 7 eggs fertilised. They will call me again on Sunday to let me know if everything is progressing well and then again on Tuesday morning, the day I am due for embryo transfer...

They suggested to go for blastocyst which is £600 more. Having explained to me what it does I said yes as it sounds good. However noone had told me this at the clinic at the beginning so that is extra money I hadnt budgeted for.

The total cost for my first IVF cycle has reached £9000.. which I pay all myself.. and I am going mental!!

If it does not work I am thinking that I could have travelled the world for 2 months and say goodbye to my partner for caring only about his kids and not giving a damn or loosing his sleep over this!!! and that I may stay childless because he cant conceive naturally anymore.. I havent even told him that the clinic have called.. I am waiting to see if he will bother asking!!

So sorry girls.. But I thought that this would have been an intimate experience for both of us especially as when we first met he kept telling me that he wants me to feel parenthood as he has and he will do everything for us to have a child and he was saying all these things on his own..

I am feeling very alone in all of this..

@Peanut1980 hope your scan on Tuesday goes ok and you get some answers to explain what's happening. I have my next scan on Tuesday too so am hoping for lots of growing follicles. They said it was a good thing that I didn't need a scan for 7 days but I kinda wish I'd had one after 4 days as the waiting and hoping is hard.

@Ginandtonic31sorry that your last egg carried the gene. When is your next try?

@NV42 great news that 4 fertilised. Good luck for Tuesday! Lots happening on Tuesday for everyone. I'm sorry you are having trouble with your DP, this journey is hard enough without feeling alone throughout it. Try and take care of yourself for the next few days and just take it one day at a time.

@NV42 Great news that you've got 4 fertilised. I didn't realise some clinics charge extra to transfer blasts rather than day 3. Sometimes I do think clinics do push it with what they charge, but they know we'll pay.

Do people's clinics do transfers on Sundays? AF arrived this morning, and working out the day our FET would be it's a Sunday - I don't know whether our clinic works on Sundays, or whether we'll be pushed to the Monday.

Back taking a really high dose of progynova - 6 tablets a day. Other meds (for epilepsy) interfere with its absorption, so I can't just take the regular dose! Not looking forward to having to do injections again - I haven't been on the steroids before and I'm rather worried that they'll counteract my epilepsy meds in some way. Neither my neurologist nor my clinic could reassure me as neither so I'll just have to see how it goes 🤷‍♀️

@ginandtonicformeplease my transfer was done on a Sunday morning.

@nv42 I don’t want to generalise as I’m sure they’re not all the same but I felt very much alone with my first cycle. My husband seemed to have a lot of piss ups and disappearing acts through my cycle and then when I had the miscarriage I couldn’t help but feel he was part to blame. He didn’t make it easy for me at all. I think some men are funny in situations like this. It’s like they’re upset that they’re not the centre of attention. Not that I was asking to be at all. Sending you a big sympathetic hug 😘 Great news on the fertilised eggs! Hope they keep growing strong 🤞🙏🤞🙏

Thanks @boboelephant. I hope you get some great news on Tuesday. Keep us posted xxxx

ginandtonicformeplease I am sorry to hear this. I know how challenging it can be taking all these medication and not knowing how it will affect you especially when you have other things going on. It adds so much to the ongoing stress of IVF itself on its won.

I actually started taking 15mg steroids rather than 25mg to see if it will cause any issues and after 3 days I just increased them to 25mg. Let alone that it was only out of luck, lots of discussions with doctors and a friend GP and a visit at the A&E because of my acid reflux that I found out that if I had not taken omeprazole the steroids would have impact severely my acid reflux.

Keep talking to people about all the medication and possible impact as I realised that no one doctor can give you a definite answer..

I keep my fingers crossed for you.. 🤞🙏🤞

@peanut1980 thank you for your kind and supporting words.. my thoughts are with you too!!!

@boboelephant good luck for Tuesday...

I will let you know all what the embryologist says on Sunday and whether they are growing well..

Hope everyone is doing ok today. Great to see that the ECs have been successful and embryos are growing!
Last norethisterone tablet for me last night - thank goodness - now waiting for AF and will have a scan on day 2 and hopefully get going with the injections.....

Hi
So I had egg retrieval on Tuesday on mild ivf with Create - due to OHSS I had to trigger with Buserilin and now have to do a freeze all ICSI - has day 3 results yesterday and feel really disappointed and upset...
14 collected, 12 mature, 10 fertilised but only 2 are grade 2 and 1 is grade 3 - the rest are really poor quality.
I’m terrified that we won’t get anything from this cycle.
Has anyone had a similar experience and their embryo quality improved day 3 to 5??

Morning CCS I’m also on a freeze all due to OHSS risk ( I also triggered with Buserelin). I’m waiting on my day 3 results any time now, my phone is glued to me! our embryologist said that usually, only about 30% from fertilised eggs make it to blast and that that’s nothing abnormal or to be worried about.

Thanks so much for replying! I actually just got off the phone from Create and 2 embryos have apparently done well over night and gone to blastocyst stage on day 4 so they have frozen them as Grade 3BA - so relieved I actually cried! They are leaving the others until tomorrow/Monday to see if we have anymore. I was just so scared we would have nothing to come out of this cycle and the results from yesterday panicked me a bit.

Good luck getting your day 3 results - keep us posted xx

Day three results just in! All 9 are still growing!!
They score them 1-4 ( 1 being highest) and we have...
1x grade 1
And 8 x grade 2! I am over the moon

Justwaitingforaline
Great news! Fingers crossed for Day 5 update! X

Hi ladies, well I’ve been a bit absent 😬 really been having an emotional rollercoaster waiting for AF! Have now caught up on the thread and omg so much has happened ! Congrats to all those who have recently had ET. @justwaitingforaline fingers crossed for you!

So I’ve been really stressing as DH due to go away skiing with the boys on 25th Feb and we were thinking he may have to cancel, which he said he would have done but I would have felt awful! Af was due 5th Feb and apparently you don’t start injections till day 3! And all dependant on how well I stimmed but looks like Af wil come tomorrow so will ring clinic Monday and all being well start injections that night as will be day 3.

I am feeling awful, very emotional and convinced it isnt going to work but at the same time thinking ill be pregnant by March. I was supposed to go out tonight with DH and the boys to watch the rugby but I’ve literally given him a free pass as I just want to be on my own. Really not sure why I’m feeling so emotional 🤷‍♀️

@ginandtonicformeplease my clinic will do in on a Sunday too.

@Peanut1980 thank you! Fingers crossed!

@TheGlitterFairy hope AF shows up soon.

@CCS83 glad that two of yours improved overnight and fx for more good news tomorrow!

@Justwaitingforaline amazing news!! They are doing so well!

@Realitysucks it's really hard. Especially when you are trying to fit your body in around other things! My af was about a week late and I was going crazy. Hope yours starts soon. I actually said the same thing to my DH when I was waiting for AF. I just wanted to be alone and was feeling so on edge that I didn't want to do anything. Hope it picks up soon.

@FingerXssd83 how are you feeling?

@RealitySucks I think it’s completely normal to feel that way. I’ve been put on the pill so I know I start stimming 15th Feb so I can prepare but last round I would come home from work every night and just read. I didn’t want to do a thing, just happy to be reading in my own world!

Those who have had their EC and taken progesterone how did you cope with the constipation?

It is day 4 now and Lister told
me to takd Lactulose and I keep eating prunes and drinking prune juice but there is no bowel movement at all and I have startes hurting in addition to the abdominal pain from the EC.

In the past years when I had constipation I always ended up getting Chemical laxatives, Dulcolax, which hurt a lot but they only seemed to work.. I am worried this time though as I am also taking Omeprazole, Steroids and the progesterone..