Second IVF - July 2020

[zoeyj]

Hi All,

I hope everyone is doing well. Just wanted to see if anyone is starting the process of IVF in July.

Some background info about me...
I'm 33 with 'skinny' pcos and immune issues. Started my infertility journey in 2012 when I got married and got pregnant but miscarried (didn't know it was a MC or that I was pg at the time).

Since then never really took the pill, my cycle is PSYCHO. I'm talking no period for a good three months and then I bleed for 35+ days. Not fun.

2016 - 7 months of clomid & IUI which didn't work. Did a cycle of IVF...got 13 eggs, 5 fertilised to blastocyst (all A/B quality). Did a fresh transfer which resulted in my DD who is now 3.

Tried to put an embie back September 2019 - didn't stick. Tried to put x2 embies back last month - didn't stick. Now I can add implantation to the cocktail of my problems....

Feeling anxious because those were eggs from when I was 28...dont want to go through egg collection again. Can't take all these fertile women around me getting pregnant.

Not sure if it's worth doing it again as in...how many goes are you supposed to have? Any advice on PCOS or immune/implantation would be appreciated.

Love Zoey x

Hi zoeyj. Sorry you're feeling down about having trouble conceiving number 2. I don't have advice about implantation failure, PCOS, or immune issues. However I'm TTC number 2 and have had two failed IVF cycles. Our son is from a successful first round. We've had various transfers but nothing has worked yet.

Do you have one remaining embryo from your last cycle? It sounds as if you're planning on starting another cycle so I hope you get the BFP you hope for. My last embryo is gonna be transferred on Tuesday and although I'm feeling pessimistic about it working I'm just plodding on.

Also replying to your post so it bumps it up and hopefully others can advise on your specific issues. Sending hugs

@ChatWithMe Hello! Ahh we are in the same boat (kind of). My first round was successful and the transfers after that haven't worked which is such a bummer! I've had 2 failed FETs (3 embies in total) not stick so I am wondering whether I need to look into getting my uterus checked out or whether it's just a numbers thing and I have to keep trying. Do you mind me asking how many failed transfers you've had?

I don't have anything left in the freezer now as i popped two in this time round hoping one would stick so I am going to have to do egg collection again. URGH!

Wishing you the best of luck with your transfer on Tuesday! xxx

Thanks zoeyj. I have had a 3AB blastocyst done as FET. I also took meds for a planned FET that got cancelled as my 5BB didn't survive the thaw. I've also had 3 fresh transfers - 4AA (my son), 3BB, and 4AB. I felt pretty tough after last egg collection in March so even though the embryo was a good grade my body might not have been in the right state to accept it. Who really knows for sure though! It's a guessing game isn't it? When do you start stims? (Or maybe you haven't yet had your doctor's appointment to book the next cycle?)

Typo - rough not tough :-/

Omg you've been thought so much. 3 fresh transfers is a lot, have you done three egg collections?

My daughter was a result of a 5AA fresh too :) My 4AB didnt thaw so popped a 4BB one which didnt take. Then this recent cycle I think they were both 4BB and neither of them took which has knocked me sideways. All I can think about is getting pregnant and questioning why it didn't work.

My appointment is on Wednesday. I've got a list of questions I am going to ask and I also want to get clomid and metoformin. So I can at least ovulate this month so it feels like I am doing something. I cant focus or concentrate on anything apart from getting pregnant. If I get the clomid (fingers crossed) it means I'll be able to start stims around July 21. Which feels like 100 years away and I have no idea how I will make it till then.

Also, I know doctors and the internet say there isn't a difference between fresh and frozen cycles but for us it seems only fresh worked? I have been thinking a lot about this and I guess it kind of makes sense because in a fresh transfer we will have technically ovulated so our bodies will be producing all the relevant hormones naturally. Have all your FETs been medicated cycles?

Lots of Love xxx

Hi zoeyj. Yes I had 3 ICSI cycles. My FETs always medicated as I don't see the point of unmedicated. It's only estrogen and progesterone so can only help I reckon. I see what you mean about only trusting fresh transfers in your experience. It's actually something I grapple with a lot - if fresh or frozen best for our last ICSI this fall. I've googled on and on about it and never feel confident either way. If I don't take too long to stim and the clinic are happy I guess I'll do fresh to save me from having to wait for a period or two and I realised I hate taking meds so it's less of that too. I have heard FET is somewhat more successful in some cases but if the body is in a bad state like I was after last egg collection surely it's not an inviting place for a blastocyst? What will you do if given the option? Good luck getting clomid, or even better booking an ICSI cycle for this summer if they let you get on with it. No wonder your little girl made it through given she was an AA grade. I do sometimes smile when I think of our son as an AA grade lol

@ChatWithMe
Oh wow you are so strong! I've only done one egg collection and am really pissed off I am having to do another. It's so expensive :(
I guess everyone's preferences are different. From what I have read there is little difference between fresh and frozen in terms of results so I guess go with your gut. I've read frozen is easier on the body too which makes sense but like I say didn't work for me the last two transfers so now I am leaning toward fresh if they let me.

Totally get what you are saying about body not being in the right state after egg collection but because fresh worked for me I will try that again this time. I did feel SO bloated after, I felt like shit actually but it worked! I also took a few days off work after my successful transfer which I didn't do last two cycles so will try that too. Ahh its so frustrating there are so many variables. Thanks, our appointment is via zoom, I have a feeling the doc won't give me clomid or he'll make me wait for it but I will try (fingers crossed). I think i'll be okay to start a fresh cycle next month.

Yes I feel good she was A grade too. But apparently if embies are good enough to freeze they're good enough to make babies!

You know between your cycles, did you wait sometime or did you do them back to back?

Ah thanks. Guess you just gotta keep going. What's that expression... when the going gets tough the tough keep going. I'm sure I'm getting that wrong lol

After our first failed ICSI I had two bleeds/periods I think then did FET. After the second failed ICSI it's gonna be 3 months, slight delay due to lockdown but no biggie. If this FET doesn't work I'm guessing I'll have July and August bleeds then scan then September stims after a third bleed only cause of the backlog from lockdown. Then EC/ET mid September. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself with dates as I don't have a crystal ball lol

Hope your zoom appointment goes more smoothly than ours. We were muted so had to do audio by speaker phone call!

Yeah it's really tough...have to keep trying and being positive!
I think it's 'When the going gets tough, the tough gets going'? I could be wrong but regardless I see your point lol.

Ahh I see so you waited around 2/3 months - was that by choice or recommendations from your doc? After my failed FET in September I wanted to do another one straight away and was told that I had to wait one full cycle, I was so pissed off but then ended up taking more time out and wanted to FET again over Easter but got delayed due to Covid. I am just thinking about whether to wait or to just jump back up on the horse again...although I feel like enough time has been wasted and like you said before there isnt much to a FET in terms of meds (compared to an EG cycle).

Haha don't worry about getting ahead of yourself, I have/had everything planned out too. Hopefully this FET will work! Transfer day tomorrow right? I am sending you lots of sticky dust!

Thanks, I am looking forward to asking 100000 questions lol. One of which is whether we need to do something different this time. Have you changed anything up at all or no? I guess this time will be different for me because EC again. With my DD I did something called Blastocyst culture which I didnt do for any of my failed cycles.

xxx

The waiting in between is mostly cause patients that get a bfn from one cycle have to see the consultant to book next treatment and consultants are booked up in advance.

As far as doing things differently, we did make changes from ICSI 2 to 3 (ICSI 1 & 2 identical). For ICSI 2 we did the birth control pill to quiet my ovaries (microgynon) for one cycle before. Then after two weeks it was quiet and I had a bleed. Then from day 2 I took Fostimon (FSH) for stimming but it took ages (like 15 days of stims vs 11). As it didn't work, for the 3rd ICSI we tried Menopur to see if FSH and LH would stim my follicles better than FSH alone (which it did!). However another change was NO birth control pill. I only needed 11 days of stims this time so although I ended up with two blasts like always it was over and done with sooner. Although, I felt much worse after ICSI 3 compared to ICSI 1 & 2 and only felt normalish 7 days after egg collection, so I'm not sure what is really better?? Even doctors seem to just try one then move onto another if unsuccessful. For FET no change. My next ICSI will only be Menopur because we have lots of it and don't want it to go to waste. What meds did you use for your first stimming?

Thanks for your well wishes - yep tomorrow 3pm! :-D

Oh I see - makes sense.

I am going to see what my doc says but I think I will get back into it as soon as I can. I used Gonal F for about 7 days which seemed to work for me so hope they'll do that again. I took buserilin for down reg but didnt respond to that so ended up using cetrotide which I still have 2 injections left so that'll save me some pennies.

This is going to sound weird but thinking about it is getting me excited because it worked so hopefully it will work again!

@ChatWithMe
Hope your transfer went well! xx

Hi zoeyj. Thanks! Yes it went well. I was in and out in 40 minutes I think. My DH and son sites in the car. I've decided I don't believe in symptom spotting anymore as symptoms of PMS are practically the same as pregnancy so I'm just waiting until the 4th to test, my OTD.

How was your Zoom appointment today? x

Hey @ChatWithMe
Oh wow nice and quick! I think I agree with you, progesterone also mimics pregnancy symptoms too so no point driving yourself crazy. Do you have to go in for bloods or do they ask for you to do a pregnancy test at home?

My appointment went really well, thanks for asking. I had a list of questions and went through everything. My doc suspects that the last two failed FETS are due to them potentially implanting on the wrong day. So he suggested an Endo Receptive Array to check when I'm more 'acceptable' to an embie. I havent got any frozen ones left so I need to do another egg collection and then hopefully a fresh transfer if I dont get OHSS so fingers crossed wont need the ERA. He also suggested a hysteroscopy to check my uterus is in tact and all is okay which I think I am going to book in for next week. Feeling really positive coming out of the meeting with him which is nice as I have been a mess recently lol.

Hope you're resting lots and eating pineapple core and brazil nuts!! Remember to keep those feet warm xxx

I'm glad you're feeling positive. I've never heard of an ERA. I wonder what HFEA traffic light is for that. whether it's evidence based. Hopefully it doesn't cost too much for the procedures he is advising. At least it could bring peace of mind for having tried. Plus, that's amazing you can book the hysteroscopy so soon! Next week eh?

No blood tests at my clinic, just home pregnancy test.

Thanks for the advice but I'm afraid the warm feet are unavoidable anyway during this icky heatwave. Trying to cool the bedroom down now for bed and hoping I'll call asleep despite the heat! Pineapple and Brazil nuts by all means though ;-)

Good luck for your hysteroscopy x