ICSI June/July

[Maggie9000]

Hi all, new to mumsnet but not to IVF or supporting forums!
I have a 7yr old son through ICSI, after 3 cycles. DP has a 3yr old daughter through ICSI and now we've decided we want one of our own....!

So short protocol is the order of the day, due to polycystic ovaries (not the syndrome) and AF is due next week so imminent.

Would love to chat to others in similar positions right now if there's anyone about?

@AliciaWhiskers because they are trying to imitate a normal menstrual cycle.
So, they use fake oestrogen to plump up the lining for the first half of the cycle (I am now day 13). Then, we pretend ovulation happens on day 14 /15 and start progesterone and then put back the embryo on day 19/20 because it’s a day 5 blastocyst. Basically what might have happened if normal sex and pregnancy happened!
Progesterone compacts the lining so you can’t start that until the oestrogen has done its job basically.
I’m having a day 20 transfer because that fits around work and also the late developing lining.

Oooh nano this is all very exciting. Not long now!! That makes sense about waiting until 5 days past ovulation. I never even thought about it like that. Did you have many scans?

Just 2 scans (although it was only one with the FET that made my daughter)
So much easier than a fresh cycle
I’m full of cold so additionally miserable now though...

Oh no! Can you take anything for it during the cycle?

@Namechangerextraordinaire1
I’m taking ibuprofen and paracetamol as I’ve not had embryo transfer yet! Starting to feel a bit better now fortunately
How you doing?

@Nan0second thanks for explaining the FET cycle - I didn't realise that's what they did at all! Is it the end of this week for ET? Hope all is going well. Is the oestrogen an injection?

How's everyone doing? I'm in the 2ww and going mad!

@Nan0second glad you're on the mend now. That's something at least! How long til transfer now?

@AliciaWhiskers how many days past transfer are you? I can imagine it must be messing with your head wondering if you have symptoms or not?!

I'm feeling absolutely back to normal now and desperate to get started on this FET - I was so happy to have a break because I felt so awful after egg collection but now I'm fine I just want to get one of those babies back where they belong!!! Follow up appointment isn't until 7th August though. Only 3 weeks away, but feels like an age

@AliciaWhiskers waiting is so hard. Am hoping for good news for you.
This is a medicated FET - tablets are oral and vaginal. Some people do have natural FET cycles or injections but this is the way my centre do it!

@Namechangerextraordinaire1 this is also rough waiting. They can usually get going pretty quick with FET though fortunately and it is nice and easy on your body compared with fresh at least.

My transfer day is Thursday assuming either of my (not great grade) blasts defrost. I’m having single embryo transfer for definite as I am an obstetrician and have seen too many tragic twin outcomes to risk it, sadly.

Morning everyone, do you mind if I join? (late to the party I know, story of my life) I was on another thread for FET but that seems to have died and I could do with some help getting through the 2ww. I'm not doing so well today.
I had my ET on Friday; this is my 3rd try, 2nd FET. Currently on oestrogen 3 times a day and pessaries twice a day.
It sounds like @AliciaWhiskers you are a bit ahead of me and @Nan0second you are a bit behind. I look forward to following everyone's stories xx

Welcome @bluesarah
The two week wait is hard! Are you testing early or staying strong.
I’ve always waited til official test day (which is 16 days post transfer at Care so really late) but I know I’m unusual

Hi @BlueSarah - I was in exactly the same position as you, 3rd try 2nd FET. I had my transfer on Friday June 28th. Got my first VERY faint positive on Tuesday July 2nd. Have tested EVERY DAY since then 😬🙄
Care won’t scan me until July 29th, which feels like a million years ago.

This isn’t my first pregnancy by any means, but I think I’d blocked out the memory of how hard ALL of the waiting is! The 2ww, the wait for symptoms, the wait for 3+ on a Clearblue, the wait for a scan, the wait to be able to tell people, the wait to reach a viable gestation ...I’m 5+2 today, and I seriously feel like I’m going to pop from all the waiting!!!

Thanks @Cantrip and congratulations! The waiting is just the worst isn't it? If it does happen I'm not sure how I will stay sane for the next 40 weeks. I had some success on my first round and was pregnant for 4 (very long) days before it all started to go wrong. I was eventually diagnosed with a pregnancy of unknown location which translates to a very drawn out miscarriage. Second round was a no so hoping for 3rd time lucky.

Thanks @Nan0second I'm going to try and wait at least until a couple of days before OTD. Last time I just felt so sad during the 2ww and tested really early and then had to try and convince myself that it didn't count because it was so early and just a cheapy

It's all just rubbish timing. My SIL is due next week, I found out this morning via FB that one of my friends is 8 months pregnant (doubly upsetting that yet another person is having a baby and that she didn't think I was worth telling) and if my first round had stuck I would be due in a couple of weeks, 3 days before my birthday.

And all the hormones are just making me feel rubbish and sad. And it's only Tuesday xx

@BlueSarah it’s hard watching others be pregnant. I always try to remember that there isn’t a limit to how many children that can be born and that their success doesn’t block mine...
It’s tough though

@Nan0second good luck for Thursday. Hope you get a nicely thawed blast to transfer! I guess that's something with your job that makes you extra aware of things like that.
@BlueSarah I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Good luck for this time around, hopefully its a sticky one for you. I also feel your pain on the pregnancy thing, although not as tough for me as I've not had any losses along the way. However, my friend was trying at the same time as me (although for far, far, FAR less time!) and she is now 26 weeks gone. She was one of those lucky people who get pregnant within a few months...but I still had to listen to her go on about how hard the waiting was 🙄🙄 and despite her starting ttc about 3.5 years after us, she's over halfway there to meeting her baby. I know it's not a race or anything, but it would just be nice to be the one expecting for a change, instead of people having one, two or even 3 babies in one case since we started trying.

Hey all, looks like I am out :(

@Maggie9000 and @Namechangerextraordinaire1 - are you starting your FET cycles straight away, or have you been advised to have a break? Not sure what we should do next...

@Nan0second - how much cheaper is FET than a fresh cycle, approximately?

@AliciaWhiskers
So sorry to hear that.
Cost of FER including drugs and planning appt £2300 (would be £2000 if after a failed cycle :( )
ICSI fresh would be £10000+ for us...

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that @AliciaWhiskers. Is it a definite out?
I'm waiting for my follow up in a few weeks to find out how soon we can get started. Im hoping asap after the appointment, I'm not patient at all!

@Nan0second thanks for that. Gosh, 10k+ for a fresh cycle is crazy!

@Namechangerextraordinaire1 yeah, pretty much. It's difficult to stay patient isn't it, especially when with pretty much every part of IVF there is more waiting!

Oh that's really sad it didn't work. Hope you can take some time to come to terms with it. I've forgotten if you mentioned this before or not but was this self funded or nhs?
And yes, ivf is all a bloody waiting game isn't it. You'd think we would all have the patience of a saint with all this practise

Hi all,

Sorry I've been quiet, manic at work so my mind has been elsewhere which is a blessing really.

@AliciaWhiskers I'm so sorry to hear your news however also hope you're wrong and everything is still ok. Thinking of you.
@Namechangerextraordinaire1 hope your FU appt comes around quick, such a massive waiting game all this!
@Nan0second very best of luck today, hope it all goes smoothly!! Very exciting!

We had our FU appt on Tuesday, we're going to try a natural FET cycle, so I'll start testing for my LH surge in about 4 days (at CD10) I'm expecting it to be around CD17/18 - once I've surged they'll scan to check my lining and arrange to put our blastie back in around CD22...August 1st ish. So we're pressing on, I'm so distracted at work the IVF has bizarrely become an afterthought but I'm kind of pleased so I'm not obsessing every day?!

@Namechangerextraordinaire1 we are self funding.

@Maggie9000 good to hear from you and glad all is going well. How did your clinic decide between a medicated and non medicated cycle? Great that you haven’t had to have a delay in getting restarted, and I’m sure the work distraction is helpful to keep your mind off things!

BFN this morning, so waiting for my period to start now. Will arrange a follow up with the clinic mid August as I’ve got the kids with me the first part of the summer holidays and we are off to cornwall for a week. Time for a bit of stress free living! It’s been a busy few months with this and moving house so I’m looking forward to slowing down for a while and focusing on moving forward. I’d like to try again, DP is finding the failure hard as this is his 5th failed round (he had rounds with his ex too), so he doesn’t want to make any decisions yet as to what we do next. As much as I’d like to arrange another cycle, I have to respect that he might not be ready for that, either now or potentially ever. We have 1 frozen embryo, but only 1, and I’m worried incase we do a FET and it doesn’t survive the thaw. So I’d think about doing another fresh cycle, but I’m not sure he wants to do that. Anyway, lots of thinking to do once we begin to process his cycle not working.

Hi i am new to this and have never posted but really need some support i am in the 2ww and have just done a test at 7dp5dpt and it was bfn have beem in tears all day just feel like its all over and failed really could with some words of encpuragement right now :(

@Hope42019
Don’t be despondent yet! It’s very early and if you’d got pregnant naturally you would still have a negative test at this point.
You need to give it the full 2 weeks (and I would recommend not testing again because it doesn’t help, sadly)
Massive hug as this waiting is awful x

@Nan0second thanks for response and my clinic have told me to test on monday 11 days after ttansfer as i had no trigger so only have 4 days for the test to change i am praying it was so esrly and will try my best to not test till monday just really hard, are you in treatment at the moment if so what stage xxx

@AliciaWhiskers I'm sorry bfn was confirmed this morning. Take some time out with DH and try and relax with no thought to next steps before you both decide what to do next.
@Maggie9000 that's lovely and quick to be moving on. I'm very envious, I feel like the next few weeks are going to last forever and that's just for the follow up, let alone actually getting started! Good news that work has been distracting you too, I always find ivf distracts me from work 😂😂
@Hope42019 sorry you had a bfn but I agree it's probably too early just yet. Try and hold out a few more days at least before testing again, hopefully the result will change