Oct/Nov IVF, ICSI & FET - Let's do this!

[Marmite83]

Hi all

I recently had a mmc from my first IVF cycle and am waiting for AF to appear (probably 3-4 weeks away) so we can do FET. I think we'll probably go for a natural cycle but am waiting for some information from my clinic to make a final decision. Had follow up consultation yesterday and will be having nurse consultation in the next couple of weeks hopefully. If anyone is happy to share their FET experiences I'd love to hear them. A little worried that a natural cycle might be the wrong choice. Anyway, if anyone fancies joining me for some support then join the thread.

Or Saturday, I don't know, I feel sick at the thought of it

@sometimesalways still in talks with the clinic trying to establish next moves. But did discuss hysterescopy and if needed an endo scratch. Had one last April followed by IUI and BFP although it ended in a MMC
Think it's all good regarding NK cells. But talked about trombophilia test and ERA. And guess anything else inbetween.

@LillyLeaf I hope you abstain from too early testing. I know it's nerve wrecking and you just want to know but maybe still wait for OTD just to have that definite answer. Good luck! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@Russkispy my clinic prescribes blood thinners for even the 'natural' cycles, so perhaps there's something there... who knows.
I used them even with the nhs treatment that resulted in DS

I am so sorry @sometimesalways that sucks. I truly hope there's no complications like ectopic to deal with.

@BettySwoll0cks that's great how they developed. Told you it was a decent number!

@Marmite83 that's awesome news. Tentative congrats.

I'm not feeling very positive today. I've always been shattered in early pregnancy and today after no sleep (daughter ill) I was out the house from 7:30 until 7:30 with absolutely no break all day. And I'm not tired. I just don't feel pregnant at all

Try not to read too much into it @updownleftrightstart, I know it's hard. I'm willing symptoms to appear, all I have so far is sore boobs but I've had that since I started the progesterone. Do you have a scan booked?

How are you doing today @sometimesalways?

@Marmite83 I have a scan booked but not until the 27th so probably about the same time as you. I have so much on before then and I'm struggling to give everything the attention it deserves because I'm just so worried! I know worrying won't make any difference and even if symptoms appeared it wouldn't reassure me at all, because last time I had such strong symptoms for 4 weeks after the baby stopped developing that I never suspected a thing.

I just wish it was like my pregnancy with DD where I lived in blissful ignorance of the fact that something could go wrong!

Oh no @sometimesalways I'm so sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with you.

@Lillyleaf I've got low progesterone too, just got the call this morning after having my embryo transfer yesterday, so back on the progesterone injections as well as the pessaries. So weird seeing as my progesterone is always too high with a fresh cycle. If it helps your worries, I had low progesterone last time and still got pregnant.

Wonderful news @Marmite83 - really pleased

Sorry I have been a bit quiet on the thread lately. I have just been silently terrified and trying not to think about it. My mental health has definitely taken a bit of a dip since starting the steroids and progesterone. Still, I am going to go for a walk in the sun now and try to soak up a bit of calm!

@Marmite83 thanks for asking, no ruptures yet so at least that's something ha
trying not to panic without a solid reason but I am a worrier so it's difficult. Also trying to focus on work to take my mind off it till Friday and really willing my hCG levels to drop!

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted you are so amazing and brave having dealt with this horrible wait and situation twice. Truly mean it. Nobody knows how hard fertility issues are until you are thrown in the deep end like all of us, no matter how the problem may present itself.

@updownleftrightstart work can be a good thing almost while waiting. I can only imagine how tough a miscarriage at that stage might be but I hope this won't happen to you this time. There's every reason to hope. And feeling exhausted is a solid pregnancy symptom I think! Annoying but also good

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted Thanks for sharing about what happened to you with your ectopics. It sounds really awful, I'm sorry that happened to you twice, but thank you for giving us more info on what to look out for/how it could happen. Hope you're OK.

IVF is a total stress-fest isn't it? There's always something new to worry about. I am trying to basically ignore almost all of it, but it's so easy to let my head slip into worrying thoughts. It doesn't help that you can't really exercise during the 2ww - at least, I was told I could only walk, nothing more strenuous. Normally exercise is a good calmer for me so I'm a bit stuck.

@LillyLeaf I think cramps early on are good things. I am totally with you on the fear of testing. I think that's why I want to put it off until OTD, so I can avoid speculating if it's negative on an earlier day. When's your OTD?

@Ballermoriee1 I won't be testing until OTD on Monday I think. When will you bite the bullet?

@orangefolly Congratulations on the transfer, hope it went well!

@Marmite83 It's reassuring to me that you got a BFP with no symptoms apart from sore boobs. Makes me hopeful that my feeling ordinary could still lead to something.

@orangefolly Meant to also say, sorry your MH is suffering a bit, but a walk in the sun should do you good. I'm looking forward to doing the same at lunchtime with the dog. Hope you manage to get some calm feelings - I use the Headspace app, which is quite good for 10 mins of calm.

@LillyLeaf @mincedpea

It's so hard - I feel nothing today. No cramps, nothing. I can read in to everything as a positive / negative. Every bit of hope I have is fuelled by the little bleed on day 3, praying it was implantation bleeding.

I don't know when to test, last time I gave in at day 5. I'm almost too scared to test in case it's a negative. My OTD is Saturday so I might hold out.

I thought the wait would be easier this time.

@Ballermoriee1 I know how you feel, a lack of anything makes you sort of worry, even if others have had their BFPs without any symptoms. I do think if you bled a bit on day 3, and you don't normally have luteal phase spotting, then this is a promising sign. I've never actually got to use a test before, as I've always bled before any sort of reasonable test day. So I'm pretty cautious, although I do away to wildly optimistic at times, which is dangerous. How many days post transfer will you be on OTD?

@updownleftrightstart both DH and I have said that even if this blast sticks we won't be able to enjoy it as we did with the first, or even the second one. Ignorance really is bliss!

@orangefolly When's your test day? Mine's a week on Friday, the clinic ask for 11dp5dt.

This time I haven't had the uncontrollable hunger that I had last time with the pred. No idea why. I have noticed that I'm needing the loo a lot more, but I don't know if that's the pred or the clexane, which I started on the same day I increased the pred. I dread to think what my colleagues think!

@mincedpea - I've never bled before like you said, I hadn't even heard of it to be honest but just googled and see it's down to low progesterone, I'm currently taking Lubion and the dreadful pessaries. Although I'm not convinced I was administering the pessaries correctly at the beginning or during my last cycle.

AF arrived early for me last time, it's really upsetting. It actually arrived on day 6 for me last time. Although it started as spotting I just knew - today is day 6 for me during this cycle too.

I will be 9dp5dt on my OTD. How long do you have to wait? I know some other clinics advise to wait until 11dp5dt.

Xxx

@Russkispy my OTD is 9dp5dt and I'm thinking of testing a day early, so not super early, I don't think I could cope with a faint or ambiguous test result. In the past I've got a dark line at 9dp5dt so it should be fine.

@orangefolly I also had low progesterone in my last FET and got a bfp but I did miscarry so I often wonder if that had something to do with it, but we'll never know. They didn't want to test again until OTD so I think they are confident the extra meds will help. A walk outside in the sun sounds fab, I really need to get out at lunch time.

@mincedpea cramps are still there, I really hope it's a good sign but it also can mean af is coming so who knows? I'll test Saturday I think at 8dp5dt. What about you?

@Ballermoriee1 this is my 3rd transfer and it's not getting easier. In my first I was very realistic and expected it not to work first time, I also had never been pregnant so had no idea what it should feel like. This time is hard, especially knowing I have no embryos left. Only a few more days, we can hang in there.

@LillyLeaf I'll be crossing everything for you!

Sorry to jump in, Marmite is there a reason not to have fish liver oil?

I am just starting IVF with ICSI. My period started today so first injection tomorrow night, I'm nervous!

Liver contains high amounts of the Retinol form of Vitamin A which can be harmful to an unborn baby @fllinn. The same applies to fish liver oil supplements such as cod liver oil. Is this your first cycle? Good luck!

Gosh I didn't know that. I'm glad I read this!

Yes it is my first, it's come a bit quicker than expected because we're paying privately and having mild IVF, we had our first appointment to 'find out more' 6 weeks ago, and was told to lose a stone to get my BMI to 30 and have loads of tests etc. I lost the weight really fast then then came yesterday to learn about the drugs but my period started today so they are rushing the drugs to me today to start tomorrow. I can't believe how short the time is between starting drugs and egg retrieval! I think I'm going to have to tell my manager today to make sure I can take the time off.

Is it your first?

@Ballermoriee1 Sorry to hear about your last cycle and AF starting early. It's really disappointing. I hope it goes better for you this time around. Do you feel better about how you're taking the progesterone this time around? This is my first IVF cycle and we went straight to a freeze all so no fresh transfer. We had three failed IUI treatments before that, but I know a lot of people have had it worse than we have. My OTD isn't until 12 days post transfer! Not sure why it's so much later than everyone else's.

@LillyLeaf What day are you up to now? Nearly at OTD for you I think. How are you feeling? I am still holding out to test. I don't want to get a negative result and then hold out hope that it might be positive if I try again on OTD. I use a lot of stats in my day job and so what I really want to know is the probability of getting a positive after a negative on different test days for IVF cycles. Then I could figure out when I could reliably test "early" relative to my OTD and not have doubts about the result. I am possibly over-thinking this!

On the cramps-front, I get really confused about the cramps and AF, as I assumed the progesterone would stop AF so any cramps would be non-AF related. But I don't really know.

@ginandtonicformeplease my OTD is 10dpt - next Thursday. I might test earlier than that though...

@marmite83 omg I had no idea about that with fish oil. I take a veggie version - echium oil - I womder if that has the same issue with retinol??

@mincepea @LillyLeaf

I caved and tested yesterday BFN but then I tested again this morning and I think I have a very very very very faint line.

I'm worried, it's a false positive. It's a blue dye test and I have read they are notorious for false positives BUT we have always used these tests and never before have we seen a glimmer of a line.

The rollercoaster journey continues!

@fllinn, I did short protocol and found that once I started the meds, it felt like egg collection happened really quickly. This is my second cycle. I did a fresh cycle last time which resulted in a bfp but I had a mmc diagnosed at 8+3. This time was an FET and I'm currently 4+3. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. The meds really weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.

It's only fish liver oil that's the issue @orangefolly. Omega 3 for example is ok. Might be worth checking if you're concerned though. One week to OTD, how are you feeling?

@Ballermoriee1 how many days post transfer are you? Do you have a photo of the test? Fingers crossed for you that the line gets darker over the next few days. I'd recommend using an FRER if you're going to test again.