November IVF/FET

[BambiOnIce80]

... Too soon?! 😁😉

Been waiting on a FET since we were put on July's list and I've heard from our clinic this week that I've to call them when AF rocks up in October for a November FET. We had our fresh cycle in January, had a BFP, but found there was no heartbeat at the 11 week scan in March (MMC) - it's been a bit of a roller-coaster so far this year (as if covid craziness wasn't enough!).

Found having a thread to go through it all with a massive emotional support, so looking for some MN buddies to do it all again with. Good luck ladies and looking forward to 'meeting' you 🍀🙂

Seriously wishing I'd not bothered these past 12 months @BonTon as it's made fuck all difference 😂 at least my liver has had a good break! As the months have gone on it has got easier and easier interestingly. Will def have a bottle of something ready for testing day if we get that far, in case it's not gone to plan! Might go the whole hog and have a bottle of champagne in the fridge 😂

Thanks for the advice re running @BambiOnIce80. I think I will take it easy in the TWW. Lots of dog walking instead! Well done on getting up to a half marathon! Great effort!

I would hope your private cycles wouldn't affect your eligibility @BonTon , but don't really know. Technically, you are still in the same situation so far (ie not pregnant) regardless of your private cycles? (Not meaning you be blunt). We have been referred to the NHS fertility clinic by our GP but haven't heard anything yet. We haven't told my GP we are having a private cycle so far although they know we had the initial tests. I will be interested to hear what your service says - I wonder if it might vary in different areas. Our NHS entitlement is fairly rubbish (1 collection and 1 transfer) unfortunately, but at least we can have it as a back up if needed.

@MGee123 still, 12 months off the sauce is impressive!! Having a bottle of champagne for testing day in case it’s not good news is an excellent plan - though let’s hope it stays there for 9 months to follow!! 🍾👌
On the yoga 🧘‍♀️ - it hasn’t helped my fertility (!) but guess it’s good for those who perhaps don’t need some clever medics to help get pg in terms of lowering stress/ having a time out etc. Certainly, for me, I can’t get pregnant without medical intervention so yoga isn’t a magic cure, alas!!

@BonTon I’ve been off the wine for a month now - have always stopped when first injection/ medication 💊 starts as figure that’s reasonable!! Need to work on the caffeine though. Have been having 2/3 cups of tea in the morning and then nothing else from then so not horrendous but I could do better! Have been struggling with feeling tired though so it’s been kickstarting me in the morning.

@BambiOnIce80 yes that’s right with the meds - I’m having a double dose to cover all bases. I think the consultant would be happy to never see us again (in a nice way 😂) so throwing anything and everything on this!! Our egg donor is younger than me so hopefully that will help if I can manage to provide the right environment in the uterus!! 👍🤞

Amazing that you’ve completed a half marathon! Very impressive!! You’ve inspired me to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow and go!! 🏃‍♀️ Have to confess that I don’t find running easy but it feels as though it’s doing some good! Ha! Was super proud of doing the couch to 5k rather than just talking about doing it!! 😂😂😂

Thanks @BambiOnIce80 - the language of the Islington CCG policy is very ambiguous so it’s not clear at all. I’ll probably just be up front with them on the call in November and see what they say. That’s brilliant that you can have 5 frozen transfers! Although I obviously hope it doesn’t come to that for you. Great effort on the half marathon 🏃🏻‍♀️

@MGee123 - egg quality has to be improved by 12 months off at least so you’re giving yourself the best chance! Champagne in the fridge is a great idea, although fingers crossed you won’t need it. I had a few glasses of wine when I found out the BFN in August and it did take the edge off. In Islington at least, a full cycle is definitely deducted from nhs entitlement but just not sure about a transfer. It’s very unfair really!

@TheGlitterFairy I wouldn’t worry too much about tea, I think it’s more coffee. I keep thinking how on earth can caffeine weeks before the embryo is transferred have an effect anyway?! When I think about what some of my friends were doing when they got pregnant it blows my mind that we are in this situation 🤯😅

It really is so unfair. I find it staggering how eligibility and provision can be allowed to vary so much across the country, especially when the NICE guidance is so clear.

My meds arrived today! I'm a bit confused as there is a bag labelled buserelin which hasn't been mentioned and reading online looks like it is used for down-regging, which I'm not doing (short protocol)? Assume it must be a mix up. Wow Gonal F is expensive 😂 that accounts for most of our meds bill! Everything else seems okay - Gonal F, fyremadel and ovitrelle which I assume is the trigger? I have a double dose of this.

Scan tomorrow - 🤞 for a few more follicles than last time (7). Glad we've got the appt so I can ask about the meds too!

@MGee123 buserlin could be for your trigger? I think I might’ve had that as my trigger on round 1.

Thanks @Mancbear88 - that might make sense. I wonder if they use ovitrelle and buserelin together as a trigger. Will find out tomorrow I'm sure!

Good luck with your scan today @MGee123 🤞 for more follicles and great you can check on the bag of meds too.

Thanks you @TheGlitterFairy 🙏

Scan went okay - same number of follicles (7) but one is 'dominant' apparently so I need to go back on CD 1 for another scan to check he's calmed down before I (hopefully) start the drugs on CD2. A small bump in the road but they said in 95% of cases this will self-resolve so 🤞

You were right @Mancbear88 - I will be using the Ovitrelle and Buserelin for the trigger. Although they have given me an extra dose of Ovitrelle by accident which is what caused my confusion (assumed I was doing a double dose of that).

Waiting game for AF to turn up now! Hope you are all okay. Gloomy afternoon here. I'm going to settle down on the sofa and watch Rebecca on Netflix - trailer looks good!

@MGee123 my clinic love giving extra drugs I feel like I have a house full of left over stuff! This time they gave me twice the drugs because the forgot they’d already given me them and it was easier than just getting a new prescription for noristorene!

Good that you know what’s going on and fingers crossed it’s smooth from here.

I am in awe of your temperance @MGee123 🙌 I share @TheGlitterFairy 's approach of stopping the minute I start the meds for a cycle (so have only gone without lovely booze for 1 & a bit weeks so far! 😳). Very glad to hear that your scan went OK and that the meds confusion has bee been resolved 👍

I'm with you on not finding running easy @TheGlitterFairy - it's a bloody chore, but a very effective one! 😏 Did you manage to drag yourself out in the morning? I tend to go lunchtime at the moment (there's no way I'm not maximising my lie-in whilst I'm working from home! 😴). I've been decaf for my green tea for years now - my achilles heel is starbucks chai tea lattes 🍵 🤤 They're well under the caffeine allowance for pregnancy, but I'm still going to try and abstain 🙄

That's annoying that the language on the CCG policy is ambiguous @BonTon 😕 I hope it goes your way 🤞

Well, my temp dropped some more this morning and AF rocked up at 4pm 🕓 I was of course on the phone to my clinic at 4.05pm!😄 I start progynova on Saturday and then lining scan on the 17th 👍 If all is well from that then ET will be the following week... it's nice to feel like things are starting to happen 😊

Good luck to everyone with scans/appointments/AF due tomorrow 🍀

Hope that dominant follicle calms down @MGee123 and that your period doesn’t take too long to arrive.

Great news Bambi, so you’re on for a transfer week beginning 23 November do you think? That’s not too far away at all!

First norethisterone for me tomorrow 👿 but glad we’re moving forward!

Hope everyone else is well x

Thanks for the welcomes everyone 😊

@bambionice80 yes there seems to be quite a few IVF-ers who haven't absorbed the progesterone, but it's not a "standard" test they do, so many don't find out until too late. For me, it was pretty obvious - I started bleeding 8 days after transfer on my first cycle! The test was about £40 so def worth it if there's a concern!

@BonTon mine was 7nmol 5 days after transfer!! 40 sounds okay but perhaps lower than they'd like ideally 🤷‍♀️

@TheGlitterFairy we're actually going to do a natural cycle this time. My body also didn't seem to absorb the Progynova well, so my lining was just over 7mm on transfer day, whereas naturally it was 9.6mm when last checked. So we have moved clinics and I'm much happier with their suggestion 😊 Honestly the injections are not that bad though, a little more painful than the thigh ones but not too much!

I'm also a runner and there does seem to be a lot of conflicting advice on it. For my EC cycle, I stopped running about 7 days into stims because I was worried about ovarian torsion. For the FETs I've done some very light running (aiming for less than 15 miles a week, and slow!) but stopped after transfer as I read somewhere that for 3 days after transfer you should be a couch potato! It's been possibly one of the hardest things for me to give up, as its my stress-reliever and one of my main hobbies. But, I don't want to feel like I'm to "blame" if anything goes wrong (there's enough guilt flying around through all this!)

And well done to everyone giving up alcohol and caffeine! I have to say I have not been very good at this! The caffeine thing is okay as I've found that I actually prefer decaf tea and coffee now, but I do like a good glass of wine! I have cut down a lot but will probably only stop once I start the cycle (hopefully in about 2 weeks!)

Hey folks

Haven't been on here for a while - good to catch up on all the chat :) I'm on day 12 of Norethisterone now, and day 5 of buserelin... and am definitely starting to feel the impact of both!!

@BonTon I'm in Islington as well. I'm 41, and they covered 1 fresh, then one additional cycle, which has to be frozen if you have frosties. I have 2 frosties - but am nervous to put them both back in, in case of twins. So I guess we'll just pay private for the third transfer if we need it. But hopefully we won't!

@BambiOnIce80 sounds like I'm a few days behind you - which means some of my calculations are wrong. I was expecting my FET to be in about three weeks - around CD18. What CD are you expecting your transfer?

Oh, I also slightly messed up my buserlin injection timings, I've been taking them just before bed (about 10pm) instead of the recommended 6-8pm. Does anyone know why they recommend that time (and if I've messed anything up!)? Google not proving much help.

I'm also a runner - there's a proper contingent of us here! I found in my last cycle that my muscles didn't really cope when I started the buserelin, but I thought it was just my shoes were worn out. But it's exactly the same this cycle (with new trainers) so I think it's a side effect of the injections :( Which is rubbish, as running is my favourite way to destress!!

Hi all - had a good appt this morning! Lining is looking "very good" at 9.1mm (it was 4.8mm last Thursday) so we're good to move to the next stage with the progesterone and also a blood thinner that I'd forgotten about (subcutaneous). Should be on for a transfer at the end of next week all being well! Am in shock I think as was expected to go back for a scan next week and that it'd take a few more days!! Have been eating sunflower seeds which have vit E which is apparently meant to help with the lining, so perhaps it has?! Clinic will confirm later when to start the injections! Exciting! Can't quite believe it!!

Thanks @PineappleC for the encouragement of the jabs!! Much appreciated!!

@BambiOnIce80 I did make it out for a run yesterday morning in the rain! No records won but was good to be out!! Will strive to go again over the weekend I think and get a bit more in before transfer! Agree it is a chore but it works and no pain no gain I guess! Exciting you can start your meds tomorrow and have a timeframe for the transfer too! Great news!

@BonTon agree on the caffeine - it's crazy to think that various friends were doing god knows what when they got pg. There's def no fun in any of the IVF process! Hope you can get some clarity on the funding situation soon too. West London here and we had the first round on the NHS and have been private since then - I try not to think abut the ££s that's been spent thus far!!

@Lepatz not sure on the timings - I've only taken that in the morning between 7-9am though they said it should be taken at roughly the same time each day....maybe worth a quick email to them to put your mind at rest?

@MGee123 fingers crossed the dominant follicle quietens.....good they're on it with another scan to check soon.

Yep @BonTon, all being well ET should be the week commencing the 23rd 🔮 I hope the norethisterone doesn't make you feel too rubbish 🍀

I absolutely plan on being a couch potato if and when the TWW arrives @PineappleC! 😁 I'm going to take great pleasure in it! 😂

Your calculations might not be wrong at all @Lepatz - it might just be different clinics doing protocols different ways? Mine seems to be pretty long, but it's working out pretty well with DP's shift patterns and other bits and bat's we've got going on. I start progynova tomorrow (CD3), have the lining scan on CD20 (they did warn me it was a minimum of 14 days before the scan and it's frequently later) and then ET might be on CD26-28... I guess the CD's don't really matter considering we're pumped full of artifical hormones that throw our normal cycles out the window! Yes, ET is about 3 & a little bit weeks away, so looks like we might be on a similar time line 🙂

Excellent news that you're streaking ahead @TheGlitterFairy! 🤩 That must have been a nice surprise?! Just as well you got out for a run as it doesn't sound like you're going to have much more opportunity until you're pupo! 😁

Has anyone taken progynova before? I start tomorrow morning and the nurse casually threw into the conversation that I can take them in the evening if they make me feel really sick... eh?! No one mentioned to expect to feel like crap until this point, so was just wondering what others experiences have been?x

@Lepatz thanks for the intel. I guess you’re with UCLH then? I had six rounds of Clomid before this so have been for about 50 appointments at that clinic! The staff are great 👍🏻 I’m hoping given my Frosties are from a self funded cycle I may be entitled to another egg collection, although hopefully I won’t need it 🙏 I didn’t take buserelin for the last transfer so I don’t know, sorry.

@TheGlitterFairy fantastic news! Hope it all goes smoothly from now.

Thanks @BambiOnIce80. I took progynova 5 times a day for the last transfer (orally and vaginally) and I didn’t have any problems at all so hopefully the same is true for you.

Thanks @BonTon, that's a big relief 😌 The way she threw it in made me think it must happen all the time! I really hope your CCG is a decent one 🤞

Off on a TMI tangent (and this is a tenuous Halloween reference 🦇🎃👻), I had one hell of a shock this morning when I got up. AF was pretty light yesterday, but just assumed that was down to the prostap (my first day is usually reasonably heavy and couldn't remember if buserelin affected it from my fresh cycle)... and then this morning was like the elevator door/foyer scene from The Shining! 😱😳😱😳 Thank whichever diety you go for that DP had left for work already - I don't think he would have ever looked at me the same way again! 😳

Loving all the runners! 🏃‍♀️🙌 @PineappleC I think I will do similar and run up to transfer as able, then have a bit of time off post transfer. It is important for my wellbeing so I don't want to stop for too long and figure so long as I go gently/slowly it should be okay. That's interesting how you found the hormones affected you @Lepatz. I am sure the timings of your meds will be fine. From my understanding it's only the trigger which is the really important one timing wise?

Well done for the good lining @TheGlitterFairy...good job uterus!

Sorry about the massacre scene you had to deal with @BambiOnIce80 🙈😂 I hate that when it catches you off guard! Mine are generally light but occasionally something goes off and I have a monster unexpected flow - nightmare.

I had my smear test today so am very much looking forward to a day off from someone looking up my vagina tomorrow 😂 Unless AF turns up in the morning and I'll be off to the clinic for another eyeball 🙈 My boobs are sore and I've got back ache so pretty sure it will be here in the next day or 2 🤞 thinking small thoughts for my dominant follicle and drinking a tonic and lemon juice whilst imaging the gin! Happy Friday ladies 😊

Hope everyone’s weekend is going ok and all clinics are able to stay open for all after that England lockdown announcement last night.
As if there’s not enough stress going around at the moment.

Consultant confirmed that his clinic will be open throughout so transfer is still on for Friday afternoon 🙏 First ass injection nailed 🍑💉💪 and wasn’t as bad as I thought though relieved to have the first one done. The subcutaneous one was a breeze (in comparison!!) funny what becomes normal.
Enjoying a cup of tea now and on a countdown to Friday.

Hope everyone’s well 😘

I hope you enjoyed your day off from people rummaging around your lady garden @MGee123?! 😂🤣😂🤣 Any sign of AF yet?

Excellent work on the ass injection @TheGlitterFairy (and to your OH!) 🍑💉👍 And great news that your clinic doesn't intend to shut - phew! 😪 Was talking to the nurses about the same thing when I went in for my prostap jab and they didn't think that the HFEA would close them again. I think the bigger concern for NHS clinics is if the main hospital gets overwhelmed/have staff sick with covid and then staff from 'non-essential services' will get redeployed to fill the gaps. Or if staff within the clinic itself get covid then that would definitely shut it down temporarily. I'm praying for all of us that neither of these things happen (well, I'm agnostic, but you get my drift) 🙏

Day 2 of progynova over here and no sickness to report 💊 👍 I seem to feel crazy cold about 15 minutes after I've taken it, but that's about it so far 🤞 Going to drag myself out for a run in a bit and see how i fair... I'm aiming for 10k, but suspect it'll end up being considerably less 😏

Happy Sunday ladies.x

@theglitterfairy awesome news on the lining, and really glad the injections are going well! 😊

@bambionice80 glad the Progynova is going okay. I don't think anyone mentioned about sickness to me, and definitely didn't feel anything. I had a much lighter period on it though! And good luck for your run later 😊 Its crazy windy here at the moment but I will pluck up the courage to go myself soon!

@MGee123 yes same! I think it's really important not to "lose yourself" through this, and I don't feel like me if I'm not running. I will do it gently, which is frustrating, but better than nothing!

I'm on a monitoring cycle and have my mid-cycle scan and blood tests tomorrow. Assuming that's all okay, hopefully we will get the green light to do a natural cycle FET on my next cycle 🤞

Really good to hear that some ppl have had confirmation that their clinics are staying open in lockdown. It does seem promising as the broadcast said medical appts are fine, plus HFEA website says clinics "shouldnt" have to shut in lockdowns now 🤞🤞

Exciting @TheGlitterFairy! Fingers crossed everything stays nice and calm for you and transfer goes ahead Friday. You're leading the way for this group! How many more bum injections to go?

@BambiOnIce80 hope you enjoyed your run - well done for getting out. It's pretty gloomy and miserable here so I went first thing with our dogs. I love running with them, and having them definitely makes me run more as I have to walk them anyway!

I also asked our clinic a few weeks back and they said they have no plans to close this time round. Would only be if they were instructed to or there is an outbreak. 🤞 for all of us.

Hope your scan and bloods go well for you tomorrow @PineappleC 🤞 I'm quite new to all this - why are you having a monitoring cycle?

No AF yet here - typical it will keep me waiting! My boobs are really sore and full (more than normal) which has inevitably got me wondering... I'm sure I'm not pregnant but my heart is confusing my brain I think! Hoping AF turns up soon so we can check out my dominant follicle again and know what we're doing!

Afternoon on the sofa for us today I think - I've made some nice peanut butter biscuits so will demolish those with the justification the extra calories are to feed my body in preparation for the IVF 😂

Hi ladies, room for one more?

I'm on the October thread but almost all of them have or are coming to the end of their tww. I was on a long protocol so haven't even got to egg collection yet. This is my 3rd cycle, I have low AMH, especially for my age and mild endo. I did get a bfp last time but sadly it didn't stick and was probably ectopic. it was a truly awful experience but at least I know that ivf can work for us moving forward. My ec is scheduled for Tuesday so I'm at the point where I could do with a had hold and space to vent. I feel more pressured this time for some reason, it's not helped me having the least amount of follicles I've ever had 😬

@TheGlitterFairy if I'm fortunate enough to get to transfer we can support each over through the tww. I asked at my scan yesterday and she seemed confident hey would remain open.

@PineappleC I remember talking about progesterone last time. I decided not to push for. Prontogest thus time as my level was 40 when I had the bfp so hopefully upping to daily lubion and keeping the cyclogest will be enough. I wish they'd test though! I will enquire again at ec.

I hope you've all had lovely weekends xx