IVF. What fresh hell is this?

[BanjoBanana]

We have a 6 year old (sprogged "naturally") but try as we might, producing a further CF has alluded us.

Went to fertility expert who declared my ovaries as geriatric, me as "on the old side" (I'm 39) and my levels of something or other as particularly low.

We're crashing on with one round of IVF and there are acronyms for everything and I don't really get any of it.

I've started taking iron supplements (side effects are totally peachy and the bloating and constipation are totally fine. Totally)

I've got to call the nurse when I start bleeding and then look forward to the nonsense that follows.

Anyone want to either join me on the bench of "what fresh hell is this?" or alternatively want to tell me everything will be fine and what all the acronyms mean?

If there are any particular acronyms baffling you at present, please feel free to shout them out and we'll do our best to help! Good luck with your cycle.

This list might help:

www.babycentre.co.uk/a25020237/common-fertility-abbreviations-and-acronyms

Sorry you're stressed out. Good luck in your journey x

If you've got a limited egg reserve you ought to start taking DHEA and CoEnzyme q10 IMMEDIATELY. They can both work wonders.

But yes, it's hellish. We're embarking on round #7 - it does get easier though, at least for us. Knowing what to expect is good.

www.centerforhumanreprod.com/dor/dhea-ivf/

Another one for DHEA. What's your amh level?

@BanjoBanana Yes it is hell, but your attitude and humour will get you a long way!

I’m guessing your level of something or other which is particularly low is your AMH (Anti mullerian hormone) which gives you an idea of how many eggs you have left.

The iron supplements you’re on will be great preparation for further down the line when when put you in progesterone supplements which also have the lovely side effect of bloating and preparation and because you either stick them up your vagina or up your arse, you have the choice of horrible white discharge all over your pants or weird white swirly poos. Or if you’re really lucky you get progesterone as injections- I’ve never been lucky enough to experience them but they’re apparently flipping painful.

@EarlGreyT YES. That's what's not working. AHM nonsense.

I have a scan on New Year's Eve and then injections and then another scan and then another and then we're being harvested w/c 13 Jan. Ha. I make myself laugh with quite how ridiculous this all is. I am mostly convinced it won't work.

We have the slimmest of slim chances that it will work but I think the beauty of this is that when it doesn't work I can take this as confirmation that I can reclaim every wardrobe and the whole of the garage that is filled with every item of clothing and equipment from our first Small one.

Can I swear here? Fuck it. I'm doing it. IVF is a fucking minefield.

Thank you for coming over to poke me and listen to me 😊

@AliceAbsolum AHM is 4 (from memory). Is DHEA the way forward? Do you recommend a particular brand?

@HavelockVetinari - rightydokey, I have more than a Detritus level of knowledge of fertility but the supplements you mention are surely Alchemists' Guild level stuff...? Should I be hotfooting it to Holland and Barratt tomorrow...?

@BanjoBanana you can definitely swear here. IVF involves a lot of swearing.

My husband always said fertility treatment was very “agricultural”- growing (eggs), harvesting, incubation/cultivation, planting etc. And if you want to go the whole hog (pardon the pun) agricultural wise you can also have an endometrial scratch which is basically ploughing. Yup it’s as delightful as it sounds. Fortunately someone wise (and less sadistic than the inventor of the procedure) has now done a study which suggests there isn’t any evidence it increases success rates so it’s fallen out of favour a bit at the moment.

@BanjoBanana Holland and Barrett don't sell DHEA, you have to order it from the US. Biovea ship to the UK.

You can get CoEnzyme q10 from Amazon.

My clinic were REALLY not keen at all on DHEA - said it can cause problems with progesterone and not to touch it. Just to stick a potentially unhelpful oar in, sorry. Best of luck and hurrah for Dorothy Parker references, which IVF could do with more of.

Another one here to say be careful taking DHEA without your consultant being aware/in agreement.

CoQ10 is good to go tho! I use Solgar off amazon. My amh is 4.3 👌

Where as my clinic said to take it tho I was ancient at 39

Yep l concur with “what fresh hell is this”!

Hopefully at some point my bloat from egg retrieval with decline so l can wear more than 10% of my wardrobe. As well as the needle mark fading. My stomach and bum are a state

@EarlGreyT yep. My partner nicknamed egg retrieval ‘harvest festival’ 😂