IVF / ICSI June/July 2019

[ChatWithMe]

Hello to the ladies reading this.

My husband and I had a successful pregnancy with a fresh cycle of IVF in 2017 and so we have a 13 month old son.

We had a frozen embryo transfer last month. Because we had success the first time round we kind of expected the FET to work. So getting a bfn last week was soul destroying.

Due to husband's preferences and clinic availability we won't be starting a second round of IVF until mid June 2019 (which means egg collection mid July). This means I have to wait until end of July for the first sign it's been successful or not.

Feeling sad and anxious. I'm turning 38 in July so not sure if any chance of having a second child if this next cycle doesn't work. I'm so desperate for our son to have a sibling and I've always wanted to have two children.

I wonder if anyone in a similar situation? It can be a very lonely time getting through each day during this long wait.

Thanks for your replies x

[hgdg2018]

@ChatWithMe oh that's good to hear! It's hard to know how you're supposed to feel plus everyone is different so it's hard to relate to other forums on here as everyone's treatment also seems to be different! It's really confusing! Anyhow, hopefully, we'll all get one at the end of it all!! Dreading the next injection as it's a bigger needle

[Clueless21]

oh cool i like how our gang is getting bigger! @hgdg2018 sounds like you're on the same regime as me. i have been really lucky and not had any side effects from the buserelin but i did hear that it made some people feel very bleak. the only thing i've noticed is that i'm not really sleeping properly but there could be loads of other reasons for that. anyway sorry to hear you're feeling low. hope it wears off quickly.

@chatwithme what excuses is your husband coming up with to explain his absences from work? i need some inspiration as it sounds as though there is likely to be a ton of running back and forth to the hospital to look forward to!

[hgdg2018]

@Clueless21 I have also been feeling more tired than normal! Normally I can cope on 7 hours sleep but struggling to get to sleep and also to stay asleep!! Don't know if it's the weather and my small hot flushes waking me up! I still have to take the Buserelin alongside the Gonal F so don't think it's going to wear off, have a feeling it's going to get worse aswell!

[ChatWithMe]

hgdg2018 - Thanks for your well wishes. Good luck with sleeping. I suffer insomnia from time to time so I know how frustrating it can be.

Clueless21 - Well my hubby does contracting work meaning he can set his own hours and doesn't have to give a reason for being absent. However the company kind of expect him there full time and it just looks like he's a slacker at the moment lol

Update: Had yet another scan today. Was hoping my follies had grown more but they are taking their time! Unfortunately I needed to pay for more injections and delay egg collection til the follies are big enough, at least 3 above 18mm I believe. So I'm booked for a third scan this week (Friday) to determine the plan. If they want to scan me again Saturday I'll be annoyed but I understand they just want to get it right to increase our chances of conceiving.

[navyaUK]

Hello @chatwithme

Just did my 2nd Gonal F. Its not as bad as I anticipated. I think my tummy heart more from the build up of injection than the injection itself.
It helps to keep eyes close !
More injections starting on 13th but my doctor agreed to monitor me on most days till I am comfy.

So far its good :)

[ChatWithMe]

Good luck with the next set of injections from tomorrow navyaUK

I went to yet another scan today (4th one in 8 days) thinking I'll definitely be ready for egg collection and guess what?? They want to scan me again on Monday! Geez. I must be their most scanned client (for a round of IVF). I understand my follies are slow developers and I want to get the best result buy feeling really disappointed :-( Plus frustrated cause I have to keep buying more of the meds (being sent to pharmacy who then said the clinic knows they don't have any in stock and phoning the clinic to get them to contact their delivery company). First top up of meds on Wednesday was £250 and today it's another £350. Sigh :-( Sorry to be a downer but I'm guessing you all can sympathise with the stress of IVF!

[Clueless21]

@chatwithme - argh - so frustrating. i'd be especially annoyed about the ever increasing cost! they don't charge you for every scan they do as well do they? i have heard about some clinics operating some very sharp practices - it's very cruel.

re work - yep i'm pretty much in charge of myself too but i will have to tell people if i need to e.g. decline an important meeting and was just wondering what kind of thing people say. maybe i will invent a sick relative! fortunately my office is pretty close to the hospital, but my experiences there so far have involved sooooooo much waiting around, they are always running late. on the other hand hearing how much it's costing you guys to go private i feel very grateful to be allowed to do this on the NHS. fingers crossed for you for monday anyway. let us know how you go.

@hgdg2018 yes that's exactly what's happening to me - can't drift off, feel like i'm only really dozing at best, wake up at every tiny disturbance, and then wake up for good about 5am every day! i don't seem to be feeling that dopey during the day though which is a bonus, still have energy for the gym and stuff and so have been trying to work out even harder to see if i can knacker myself to sleep. i find eye drops are helping with my constantly gritty feeling eyes.

hope everyone has a great weekend anyway xx

[ChatWithMe]

Thanks Clueless21 Yes I'm guessing every clinic makes clients wait ages for scans cause everyone is on treatment same time so they doublebook like crazy. No, don't pay more for scans luckily. It's part of the package. However we still have to pay for ICSI (sperm injected into eggs) and egg freezing if applicable. Total cost this cycle likely £7k Ouch! If we get more than one embryo and the one they out back first doesn't work then having the second one put back (frozen embryo transfer) will cost about £2k (on top of £2k we spent on last failed transfer).

As far as work excuses go I don't think it's good to lie. When I was doing it the first time I just said that I was referred to the hospital for medical treatment but I preferred not to say for what. My employer never asked. They just let me schedule work around days off. Luckily I was working only 3 days a week at that time so I booked my working days around my scan appointments. I hope your employer accepts the same. Most people are understanding if you say it's a medical issue.

[hgdg2018]

@navyaUK I did my first Gonal F last night, I didn't want to put myself off doing them so I used frozen peas on my leg beforehand for a couple of mins and I didn't feel a thing!!! I could tell afterwards as it was a bit numb? Don't know how to describe it but at least it didn't hurt!!

@Clueless21 I did use eye drops this morning and they seemed to work for me today so I might just start using them more. I brought some herbal sleeping aid tablets from Tesco and have taken those the past 2 nights and they seem to have worked too, maybe it's just the heat! Our bedroom is on the 3rd floor, heat rises and all that, and it's always 24 degrees in there at the moment!! Even with our ceiling fan!

[Clueless21]

@hgdg2019 ugh it's such a horrible claggy humid heat atm as well! i'll get on the herbal sleep pills - good to hear they're working for you

@ChatWithMe i'm only kidding :) i don't need permission to be out of the office as i'm the boss! it's more about what to say if people politely ask where i'm off to. don't really want anyone to know i've got any medical issue at all tbh. hopefully i will get away with it!

[ChatWithMe]

Clueless21 - oh ok perfect :-) Good luck keeping it quiet then x

[navyaUK]

Had my 6th day scan and the doctor can only see only one 12mm follie and tiny one on the right. In all my checks before I had consistently had 6-7 follie so I was expecting them to be more.

Feeling low as the doc mentioned donor egg. Not ready for that yet.
Hoping the follies will pick by day 10. She plans to increase the Menopur to 150 and see how I respond. I am Gonal-F 450

Should I consider IUI ?

[ChatWithMe]

Hi navyaUK - sounds concerning but you can still be hopeful one of those two will be your future baby. Is the NHS paying? Sorry if you've mentioned in a previous post. It's just that I reckon if you start down the IUI route and have no success you can't have IVF. In my area the policy for NHS funding was several IUIs or one IVF. IVF has more guarantee I believe. It also depends on what causes your or your partner's infertility. If it were me I'd stick with IVF (plus ICSI if they let you - sperm injectsd into egg). Hopefully the meds will help those follies grow steadily and the clinic monitors them closely. Also I wouldn't want a donated egg if I thought I could have a chance with my own DNA but everyone is different. The main thing is carrying the baby for nine months imho. Good luck with your further scans. Can't wait til Monday to hear how my lil follies are doing!

[navyaUK]

Thanks @ChatWithME Wishing you all the best. We could not get NHS funding so its all private for us. DH has a low morph but everything is above average. He has been on lots of supplements from last few months so hoping he has slightly better numbers.
Sadly my left ovary is hiding behind organs so most retrieval is going to happen from right... Arrggh we were so positive last month that we will get some for PGS
Trying to keep breathing and smiling :))

[ChatWithMe]

Oh I see. Fertility treatment is a gamble no matter what path you take it seems. Thanks, you too x

[Clueless21]

morning everyone - how are we all? @chatwithme how was your scan yesterday?@navyaUK are you having another scan tomorrow? hoping all goes well. i had a scan this am after the down regging and am all good to start with the gonal f today. how are you finding it @hgdg2018 - still suffering with low mood? i still can't sleep but am kind of used to it now. thinking of you all anyway x

[navyaUK]

@Clueless it was day 8 yesterday and still with 2. Left one is at 14mm which is also inaccessible so far. We will go down the IUI same day if doctor is unable to collect it.

I am having no side effects but mine is a short protocol .
Funnily I do look forward to injections now.

I dont have many folliles so far but trying to drink milk and have yogurt but with my lactose issues now have massive headache but hoping some more follicle might pop up :)

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21 - scan went well thanks (aside from my tearfulness in the appointment just due to the stress of IVF). I did my trigger last night and egg collection is tomorrow morning at 8.30am. A bit nervous. Not for the procedure but for the outcome which won't be known right away. Takes a few days to find out of any eggs fertilised and developed.

Good luck with your first stimming injection tonight. First four days are the stimming meds, then day 5 til 12 (or like 17 in my case :( ) you do the antagonist injection as well to prevent ovulation. Just from my limited experience that is. So maybe you'll be having an egg collection in 2 weeks! Not long now in the scheme of things :-) Will post about my egg collection and post op after tomorrow x

[Clueless21]

@ChatWithMe ohhhhh good luck friend. and to you @navyaUK - does milk help follicle development then? is it just the extra protein? i'm vegan so wondering what i can drink to help things along!

(i have to take gonal f for 9 days along with a smaller dose of buserelin - that takes me up to my next scan, when they will tell me when i'm likely to be able to have my eggs collected, or i suppose send me away and ask me to come back for another scan. weird how everyone's treatment is slightly different! v confusing)

[ChatWithMe]

Thanks Clueless21 - I'm vegan too!! :-D I love it when I find out someone is vegan. It makes my day lol I've been vegan since 2008. 16 month old son and hubby vegan also. Funny enough two of my son's favourite foods is tofu and broccoli haha

[Clueless21]

@chatwithme yey vegans unite!! i'm a relative newbie, been vegetarian pretty much all my life but only became vegan 2 years ago. have to admit i'm not that strict and do fall off the wagon sometimes especially when on hols - in france last week i did eat quite a bit of cheese - but generally i just feel so much better, lighter and more energetic without dairy. i think like @navyauk i probably have an intolerance. would love to know more about vegan parenting! are people horribly judgey? sounds like your wee boy is absolutely grand though, i love that his fave foods are broccoli and tofu!

did you take any supplements / eat anything specific to help with your fertility? i heard pineapple and brazil nuts are good but i don't know whether that's just an old wives tale?

[ChatWithMe]

Hi Clueless21 - yes our lil guy is super healthy. Grows well, energetic, happy. We made a plan for meeting all his nutritional needs. As for me and my fertility, well, I guess I think fertility diets are just people grasping at straws. Really it's about avoiding nutrient deficiencies (which applies to everyone) and ensuring sources of folic acid and zinc in particular. A vegan pregnancy multivit covers anything my healthy diet might miss as far as micronutrients. I eat several protein rich foods a day as a relic from my pregnancy/breastfeeding regime (nuts/tofu/lentils/hummus/beans). I have walnuts/flax/rapeseed oil for omega 3s. I kinda suspect my hubby's sperm is a bit lazy and can't survive the long journey to my eggs but who really knows for sure! Anyhow, could talk your ear off about nutrition for days so I'll stop there hehe. Gotta get some shut eye for tomorrow! Night :-)

[navyaUK]

Hope you are all doing well
Day 10 update, we have 4 follies now
left 13 & 14.5( 14.5 seem to have stalled from day 8 and only grown .5)
right is 8mm & 8 mm

EC looks like monday
Started injecting in my thigh as tummy is swollen now. Did not find it any different.

[ChatWithMe]

Hi navyaUK - yay! Monday isn't far away! Good luck. I had my egg collection yesterday. This time it wasn't conscious sedation. I was unconscious. I was bummed that I couldn't enjoy it like last time (last time it was like I was high on life during procedure). The anaesthetist was s little rough with my cannula so I think the previous doc was better. Anyhow hope you get conscious sedation so you can enjoy it up there on cloud 9 ;-) They kept me in for a couple hours to rest, eat, drink, use loo. Then the embryologists came to speak with me to tell me how many eggs were collected and said they'd ring me today to tell us if any fertilised. After resting all day yesterday (except for the obligatory household duties like cooking, dishes, nappy changing) I got a call today around 11.30 to say what the outcome of yesterday was. So happy - out of the 7 eggs collected, 6 were injected with sperm and 5 fertilised. So they booked me in for an embryo transfer for Monday afternoon! Can't wait to get one of those embryos in me at last! Let us know how you get on with your egg collection next week. Good luck x

[Clueless21]

@ChatWithMe oh mate I'm so pleased!!! that sounds very positive. Good luck for you on Monday too @navyaUK - make sure you both let us know how things go x