IVF Feb/March 2

[SpyroC]

A new thread to carry on supporting each other as the old one was full.

How is everyone getting on? No news here, just my meds being delivered today which reminded me of you lot. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in my fridge given we only shop once a week it gets pretty full. 🤔 x

Good to hear from you @SpyroC - becomes a bit real when the box of drugs arrives! Hope you get on better than me! I'm plodding on but not making much progress! First down reg scan showed nothing had come away but some 'follicles' second scan turned out they were actually oestrogen filled cysts that had grown after the pro stap injection. Had a procedure yesterday to drain those in the hope that triggers a down reg bleed. Another scan next week to review and if no progress they will give me more down reg injection/s to try and down reg properly - all very frustrating as this is just to get to a point where they can build the lining up again! As such looks like the transfer will be in July now.... hope anyone else is making better progress!

Good luck @SpyroC. When will you have your first injection?

@granddesigns sorry to hear your update, that really sucks. Hopefully draining the cysts will be a step in the right direction and things will follow plan now. I'll keep my fingercrossed for you

@granddesigns oh no, that sounds rubbish! Hopefully draining the cysts will do the trick and you’ll be ready to go soon. I can only imagine how frustrating that is!

@SpyroC oooh the box of drugs arriving makes it all seem real! What is the plan for this cycle?

I am ready to go! My transfer is booked for Monday, eeeek! At the moment I’m trying to remember to take oestrogen tablets 8h apart, cyclogest pessaries 12h apart, progesterone injections once a day........the list goes on! And very glamorously deciding whether the front or back door is the best option 😂 Any tips ladies?!

Ahh the pessaries! I found front door easier to insert but I hear back door is less messy if your willing to give it a go. I was doing 3 a day at one point whilst having some bleeding and decided to go front door for all as I felt it was nearer the womb/cervix and in my brain it made more sense there!

Best of luck for Monday @CarbsAndCheese, it's just round the corner now x

Sorry to gear that @granddesigns how frustrating that must be, as if you haven't had to wait long enough all ready. Hopefully the procedure has done the trick and it'll all be worth it it in a few weeks time.

@Pinktruffle and @CarbsAndCheese I start down reg on Thursday. Nasal spray again as it worked well last time and change to gonal f for stims. It's a high dose again so I have lost a whole shelf in my fridge at a time when we only do a once a week shop. Last time I got the drugs it was exciting, this time it's a bit "here we go again".

@CarbsAndCheese ooo how exciting! I have everything crossed for you. Back Door is supposed to be less messy but my clinic said front door is best (I think this is nonsense but it got in my head!)

Back door here. Got a bit sore by the end but much tidier and only every put them in shallow. My reasoning was less likely to be washed away there.

Put them in while lying in bed next to the OH. He could always tell by my face. He did offer to help once, cheeky. I did not take him up on it.

I’ve gone for a mix of front and back door and like @PickleKid concluded I prefer the back. Never thought I’d hear myself say that!

I’m just back from my transfer- it all went really well! They thawed my 5BA blast and told me it started hatching again after the thaw so it was doing what it should be! Now I just need to get through the next 11 days 😬

Good luck for Thursday @SpyroC! @granddesigns when is your scan?

Great news @CarbsAndCheese - hope the next 11 days pass quickly and positively!

We had our scan again this morning (I say we but I mean me and DH sat in the car watching iPlayer again!) things are improving! Starting oestrogen today and bureselin injections later this week daily to keep things switched off. They have also made a note that perhaps prostap straight away is not the best idea if we have to do this again!

@CarbsAndCheese that's fabulous news. I hope the next 11 days go quickly for you

@granddesigns so glad that things are now moving in the right direction

@spyroC hope you are getting on with the meds. My first round of I was on a high dose of gonal F, it took up most of the fridge

The pessaries are not the nicest, but they do a good job. I went 'front door' as my clinic said that was most effective. I've read that it makes no difference though

That's brilliant news @Carbsandcheese hope the next 11 days pass quickly for you.

@granddesigns glad things are improving and moving along for you.

@SpyroC good luck starting all the meds again on Thursday! How long do you down reg for?

I'm due for transfer on Saturday. Had a scan yesterday and everything is looking good. The Lubion injections are really uncomfortable and I just bumped my tummy doing the washing up which isn't fun. Am rather anxious about our blast surviving the thaw and being ready to go back in though.

I have everything crossed for you @CarbsAndCheese x

@Rumtopf good luck for Saturday. Is there much risk in the freeze thaw process? I don't think I'll ever make enough good quality embryos to experience about frozen transfers myself. My scan is on the first and hopefully I'll start stims then.

@confused107 I like our clinic but I think they are out of date when it comes to pessary methods😂!

Glad to hear things are improving @granddesigns.

It's lovely to see everyone finally moving forward.

This all sounds really promising! I'm so happy for you all. My clinic hasn't started up again so the woman who had a few more eggs than me (just 3 more) still is waiting with no idea of new dates.

I'm still only half a kg or so more than before the pregnancy. I lost 4kg at the start due to all the sickness but am gaining and looking round. I feel good again coming to 18 weeks.

No movement yet and hopefully soon I'll feel something more than gas. There's so much gas!

Big scan on July 3 and plan to find out sex and not tell. My partner obviously can't come in- and so I'm not telling him either. He can't decide if he wants to know so I said he (and only he) can know only if he's 💯 sure he wants to. Could be my little secret for a while 😂

@Picklekid I can't believe you're almost 18 weeks, that's almost halfway! That time has flown. How exciting having your 20 week scan booked in but such a shame your dh can't come in with you. Hope you feel the flutters soon, the first few are so butterfly like and gentle, by the end it's like a scene from alien with elbows and feet everywhere! Enjoy your little secret.

@SpyroC I don't know the stats on the freeze/thaw but they do need to see more than 55% of cells behaving normally for them to transfer. We would normally not have been able to freeze this one as it was a D grade, but because of the unusual circumstances we were allowed to. I'm expecting a phone call tomorrow to tell me what time to go in, and then if I don't hear anything on Saturday morning first thing I'll head in. I'm a bit anxious and excited and tummy churny all at the same time.

How's everyone doing? It's great to see everyone moving forward. Looking forward to news of lots of BFPs

I'm 16 weeks now and starting to feel a bit better. No sign of a real bump or anything yet though. Just look like I've had an extra bowl of pasta! Had some news this week that we have a 1-51 (or 1.9%) chance of having a baby with Down’s syndrome. Completely knocked us for six to be honest. We are going for the harmony test today and will need to wait up to 10 working days for the result. Feels a bit odd moaning about this on here, as if you'd have asked me when I was going through the IVF I would have said I was completely ok with getting what I was given. But this week has been a roller coaster of 'we have completely got this whatever' and 'can we do it'. Whilst I understand someone has to be the 'one' I'm kind of hanging on to the hope that we will be in the 98% that are ok in this situation

Sorry if this isn't the place to talk about this. But isn't this whole thing a roller coaster?

Lots of love to you all xx

@confused107 I’m sorry to hear about this worrying time for you. Seems particularly unfair after everything we have to go through to get to this stage. I would just say though that I think you had the quadruple test rather than the combined test and that this test is known to give quite a lot of false positives. For example if you are aged 35-39 1:10 ladies will get a screen positive result but only 1:15 of those ladies will have an affected baby. The harmony test, whilst still a screening test and therefore not perfect, will give you a much more accurate result. In particular, if it tells you your baby doesn’t have Down Syndrome (by far the most likely outcome!) it’s very reliable and can put your mind at rest. It’s completely normal to be shaken by this screening result and to question what you previously thought- it’s all new and uncharted territory. I definitely think that knowledge is power and finding out more about your baby doesn’t commit you in any way to any particular option. And I think here is definitely the right place to tell us your worries!

Meanwhile I have totally lost the plot. I only had the transfer on Monday and by yesterday I had convinced myself it hadn’t worked. Can any graduates of this horrid 10 day wait period let me know what got them through it, or what symptoms you had in the days after transfer? I’m having some very low level cramps, feel a teensy bit nauseous and my boobs are sore- fairly sure this is all from the progesterone and it’s too early to have any symptoms either way!

Thank you @CarbsAndCheese. I was told that my age (39 next month) and the fact it's IVF will have increased the risk. It was the quadruple test as the baby was in the wrong position to measure the neck at 13 weeks. Those statistics are really interesting and give me a little more hope

To be honest, I didnt have any symptoms of signs apart from a sharp pain on the Friday before I tested on the Monday. Lasted about 10 seconds. I now wonder if that was implantation but it could have been nothing

@confused107 I'm so sorry to read about your test results and how you're feeling. The uncertainty is upsetting, and if you can't talk about how you feel here, where can you? When will you have the harmony test? Can you have another scan privately to check the nuchal fold and put your mind at ease?

@Carbsandcheese sorry you're feeling so topsy turvy. All the symptoms you mention can be due to the hormones or being pg, the waiting is rubbish.

We go in for 11am tomorrow all being well. I've got anxiety like before an exam and can't even have a glass of wine to take the edge off.

Oh @Rumtopf best of luck for tomorrow. I hope it all goes well

I had the blood taken today and they said 7-10 working days for the result. I hadn't thought about another scan. I think the blood test is pretty conclusive so going to wait for that. We thought about having a scan today, but to be honest if there is anything bad on there that can be seen I think it will be better to get the result in an NHS setting. If the result is a good one we will probably book a private scan as my husband can't come to the 20 week NHS one

I hope you get a good rest tonight

How far along are you @Confused107? The NT has to be done within a certain timeframe and can't be done later.

Best of luck tomorrow @Rumtopf.

I have everything crossed for @CarbsAndCheese. I remember the TWW vividly! Try not to get too caught up on any of the symptoms and just look after yourself

Hi @Rumtopf how did you get on?

@Pinktruffle I'm 16 weeks 2 days. I know they can't check the fluid after 14 weeks but I've been doing some (well too much) Googling and I think they can measure the Nuchal fold. The screening midwife is calling me on Monday and this is one of the many questions I have for her! I'm feeling a lot more positive about things today. Thank you for all of the support yesterday

@confused107 I'm glad you're feeling better today.

It went well and I'm just home with my feet up having a cuppa. I was so anxious this morning in case we got a phone call on the way in but they said it was showing signs of beginning to hatch and looked good. Now just to wait, our testing date is the 1st of July.

I'm sorry you've had some unsettling news @confused107. I don't know anything about this but what the others have said seems reassuring. I hope you get good news soon.

Congratulations on your transfer @Rumtopf. I hope we get another bfp on the 1st.

@CarbsAndCheese I didn't have many symptoms but, as you may remember, when my period was due it felt like I was having a period with no bleeding. Google had stories either way and obviously mine was not a happy ending. I really don't think you can tell so try not to dwell on it too much. Hopefully, I will be in my tww this time next month and I might ban google and make loads of plans to stop myself going crazy!

@carbsandcheese how are you doing?

Thanks for asking @Rumtopf and for all the replies above. I’ve had a bit of brown spotting this evening so I feel fairly resigned to the likelihood that it hasn’t worked 😩 I’ll keep on going until test day on Wednesday but it’s hard, isn’t it?