October IVF

[Dinky06]

Hi ladies, I’ve been through all of my fertility screening tests etc and am due to start my first and hopefully only round of IVF (positive vibes ) soon. I’m looking to share my hopes, experiences and tips and provide support to anyone else expecting to start a cycle soon. The more the merrier!

@monsterad the refund package is subject to a medical review from clinic records. You should be fine for your package as I don’t think there’s a medical review for those ones.

Sorry to ask more questions but why wouldn't my package need a review? It's a 2 year unlimited 100% refund package.

I'm new and dumb it seems sorry

@monsterad ah yes if it’s a refund package then they do a medical check. Don’t worry about asking questions - we were all new to this once!

Thank you!

Gosh.. I wonder if my previous c section has any bearing on it? Still not sure what they're looking at. Guess I'll find out soon enough

Hi ladies, a few days off and I have missed a lot! A big hello to new joiners I haven't greeted yet. I hope everyone is doing OK? My DP got sperm DNA fragmentation results and unfortunately he MFI. He's gutted and I'm sad too. He's 30 and I'm 38 (almost 39) and had always assumed the issue was with me. We're with Access Fertility on the 3C 50% refund programme. I didn't really have a choice of programmes I think as it was dictated by age. They liaised with my clinic on the medical review and then we made the full payment to Access. As we now have to go down the ICSI route (rather than IVF) we now have to decide whether to pay Access an extra £3k for all 3C or whether it is cheaper to pay CRGH for the ICSI as we go. I know it's not the end of the world but it does feel like a setback. I've started treatment and am on Norethisterone now, day 6 of day 12 with a baseline scan on the 29th. For anyone else going through ICSI are you doing in particular to prepare for this? Thanks and lots of positive vibes to all xxxx

Hi, I'm new in this group but not new with TTC. I have had 2 cycles in the past, 1st cycle ended in 12 weeks miscarriage, 2nd cycle my daughter Maya was born. I feel very fortunate after trying to conceive for 4 years. My daughter is 7 months and I'm getting ready for FET in Oct. Positive vibes to everyone! You will forget about all these injections once your little rainbow is with you! Stay strong and positive xxx

Had my scan today, all looking ok, up to date bloods and coronavirus swab taken. Unless we hear otherwise now all good to start injections on 26th getting a bit real now!

Hey @Maya0202 and sounds good @ThePurpleFairy!

@Dinky06 you sound like me! I’m 39 and other half is 30. We assumed probs were on my side but it’s MFI. We just applied for the same programme as you with Access but already knew we needed ICSI so have applied for the expensive one. Not sure when we’ll hear back - how long did it take to get approval for you?

@ThePurpleFairy keep us posted on how you go!

@MF1981 we do indeed! How funny :) Access were super quick and their staff are v professional so we've found dealing with them v easy and straightforward. Once we said we wanted to apply they asked for a few details and said they would need to undertake a medical assessment with our clinic and then update us. This was all sorted over a couple of days and we signed the paperwork and paid the money over. With the switch to ICSI there have been no issues from their side other than the other extra money ;) And again all resolved quickly.

@ThePurpleFairy I'm due to start injections on 27th September. They're all sitting in the fridge now staring back at me every time I open it Scary!

Hi 👋🏼 I'm coming to join you in the Oct thread. I've been on the Sept thread but my FET this month unfortunately had to be cancelled. So I'm waiting for AF to arrive so I can jump straight back in

Hi @ivfjourney5! Fingers crossed for this round for you. The cancellation must have been so disappointing.

@ThePurpleFairy and @Tara8, I'm going to be some time after the 29th so not far behind I hope. I was a little shocked when my meds arrived!!

How exciting for us all I take my last pill tonight, have a break this week, call the clinic on 24th to confirm I’m going ahead and then first injection at 9pm on 26th Sept. I do 1 injection at night Sat - Tues then Weds I start a second one in the mornings. Been booked in for a scan on 2nd October which is earlier than I expected, but they seem quite worried about OHSS. Bit nervous now, nervous but excited!

I’ve seen some people say they were told to drink 2-3 litres of water a day. I haven’t been told this, is this a thing? I hope not as I’m terrible for not drinking enough fluids! I think 3 litres would blow me up like Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka

I ordered myself a hot water bottle because the one I have goes in the microwave (and assuming the hospital will easier fill a standard water one). But it comes inside a teddy and the teddy is huge! I’m going to look like a right wally walking in with it until they realise what it is haha

@Dinky06 thanks, yes it was really disappointing but I'm ready to get started again, just still awaiting for AF. If it doesn't arrive by Tues I have to go on Norethistertone for 10 days, urghh more delays 😒

@ThePurpleFairy I was high risk of OHSS as well, but there's lots they can do to mitigate it! I had EC back in July but I was freeze all due to the number of eggs they collected and the OHSS risk. The 2nd oct sounds about right for your first scan. It's quite important to drink a lot of water after EC to reduce OHSS, but I do generally drink a lot anyway so I would have been having at least 2L everyday during stims as well

@ivfjourney5 keeping everything crossed for AF to appear for you, the waiting for things to happen is the worst bit. I will be a freeze all anyway due to being a PGD patient, they need to test my embryos (assuming I get any) before deciding which to put back, so for me the wait will be months still before I can have an FET

I’ll have to just do my best to try and do at least 1-2L a day I guess. I’m getting quite nervous now about this second wave lockdown as we need to travel to London for our egg collection and if all the hotels close we will be stuffed! It’s a 200+ mile drive so I wouldn’t want to chance getting stuck in traffic trying to get there on the day!

I echo the fears about Covid cancellations.. My clinic has asked me to sign something saying I'm self-isolating which I was a bit concerned about as I work in a job where I come into contact with lots of people, but thankfully work has been great and are letting me do my work over video link. DH and I have decided to basically shield other than appointments, as I'm so worried about getting my cycle cancelled and losing our NHS funding if something goes wrong.

What are others being asked to do re self isolating?

It is getting even more difficult to follow the latest Covid news and it is worrying with October being touted as the target month for a national lockdown. I really hope for all us it's scaremongering to get people to follow the guidance better and not something that will happen.

@mayihavesomecakeplease you're lucky that you're clinic have been clear about what to do. The only guidance I have been given from mine is:

For Egg Collections, FETs, and IUIs, the patient and partner will be provided with a test kit at the start of stimulation (baseline scan). You will be asked to return it when the visit the clinic for one of their routine scan appointments, so that the result will be provided to the clinic prior to your egg collection, frozen embryo transfer, or IUI. The nursing team will advise on the date of return during your baseline appointment.

I'm doing my best to minimise going out now but am personally not fully shielding (yet). I work from home anyway at this time but perhaps I should be doing more. It's so hard to judge.

Hope everyone is doing well xxxx

Hello. Is it OK for me to join this thread? I don't know all the lingo yet, so bare with me.
I'm due to start my 2nd IVF cycle soon, after a BFN in August. Just waiting for AF to come (hoping next couple of days) then go in for the scan and start the short process, high risk of OHSS.
However i have been spotting on and off for the past 5-7days , Im a little worried as I usually only spot for 2 perhaps 3 days max until full AF arrives.

Good luck to everyone who is about to start i have everything crossed for you all.

Hey guys. Got my approval today for the Access 3 cycle refund package - whoop! Now to just worry about whether covid will shut everything down again - boo. Ovulating this week - last chance for a natural conception before I start my prep month first week of Oct. We've been asked to self isolate for the 2 weeks prior to treatment and during treatment as much as possible. They said we don't have to be really strict but to minimise our social contacts as much as we can.

Hey @hopeful182 and welcome!

Been keeping up with this thread with one eye and watching the news with the other! Did our prostap injection on Friday after a week of pill to hopefully avoid cysts again. Fingers crossed it worked as there was enough unpleasantness without repeating that one! Feel ok for far, bit headachey on sat and tired this pm but will take any symptoms on the chin as last time no symptoms was due to nothing happening!

I had a call from the hospital yesterday, my stomach dropped as I wasn’t expecting it. I thought she was ringing me to tell me I had coronavirus. Nope just my vitamin D level is now high so asking me to change my supplement.

I’m watching the news so nervously, I start injections on Saturday. If they cancel me at this point so close or after I start injecting I’ll be absolutely devastated given they already cancelled me once.

We are voluntarily isolating but the clinic asks that you do it for sure from day 9 of stims as this is when they do the last covid test. I’m staying inside and husband is only going out to work as of course we want to pass the covid swabs so seems the most sensible thing to do

Hi all, I'm starting my third round in October. I posted the other day on the September thread as I've been so worried about the virus situation and work. My clinic say to self isolate during treatment but that would effectively mean 6 weeks off work which just doesn't seem right. It seems as though different clinics are doing different things. Covid tests haven't been mentioned to me at all. I think they cancel it just based on symptoms 😕. Although I'm officially on cycle 3 I don't actually start taking meds until October but I feel the next few weeks are going to be anxious times. As if having to do ivf wasn't enough ey!

Hi @SpyroC - welcome to my other home thread! Like you between 2 threads as treatment falling in 2 months.... @ThePurpleFairy I think that sounds a familiar testing and isolation regime and similar to us. Got put down reg scan next Tuesday so hoping for some down reg between now and then!

Hey ladies, how's everyone doing? Really hope the new covid rules mean the spike won't impact our treatment.

Im 12 days into buserelin injections, feeling knackered all the time and constant headache 🤕 just found out one of my friends have just had a BFP on her first ivf attempt. That makes 7 of my friends pregnant now.... don't know how I'm going to cope if this cycle doesn't work, can't get away from pregnant people and babies 😭

Hello all! I'm on another thread as well but hope I can join here too hopefully starting my first ivf cycle long protocol next month! Nervous as I don't know what to expect but also some relief to be hopefully moving forwards.
Good luck to all XX