Advice based on experience of IVF

[Ellsiedodah]

Hi there all, I'm planning to do my first round of IVF through January. Unfortunately this co-incides with the run up to exchanging and completing on a house we're buying. Given our consultation and 'hurry up' was done last July, with ovarian reserve then at 1.1, I just don't want to wait any longer. Can anyone advise what they went through in terms of stress levels and number of appointments through egg collection to the end of the 2 ww? Am I mad to be trying to combine the two? The issue is that I ovulate on the 20th Jan, which is almost bang on around the time we're likely to complete, though they probably would like a bit longer. What's the best moment in this crazy process to attempt to move house? Thanks so much for your thoughts!! x

It really depends on what protocol of IVF you are doing? If you are doing traditional long protocol then the whole process can take 6 weeks or more? If you are doing short protocol though it's less than 2 weeks - you tend to have a scan and blood test every OTHER day from cycle day 4 or 5 depending on how the weekend falls and then egg collection cycle day 13/14
Stress levels - yeah through the roof! Which is why I only did short protocol or natural modified IVF so it was over really quick

I did the short protocol and it was about 10 days of stims. The first week was not bad in terms of attending appointments, only had one or two I think, but after about day 6 I was in almost every day for a scan or blood test until egg collection. It was all over and done within 13 days though. It was stressful and hard to manage with work but I don’t think any time is a good time!

Can you ask your clinic if they can control your cycle to stop the clash? Like give you something to hold off a period for a couple of weeks?

If not I would say probably prioritise the ivf, especially if you have worries about your AMH, plus there’s covid floating around still which could cause delays at the last minute so you’d have to wait longer and cause yourself more worry in the long run?

Thank you ivfbeenbusy (love the name haha)... i've spoken to a few consultants 3 out of 4 said shorter protocol I think... or at least they said mild ivf which I think ultimately means the same? BUT I don't know yet... I'm having to go with Oxford Fertility now owing to the move and I think they might be more trad... going gung ho on first round in spite of low egg reserve. But dunno until we have the consultation. Gah... I have too many unknowns! Would you mind sharing what happened after the egg collection?

Thanks OhPeanuts, that is a good idea... don't know if that's possible. Would you mind sharing your journey after the 13 days... is that egg collection or transfer?

Also, to both of you, if you don't mind sharing, were you both doing short protocol because of low egg reserve? Thanks so much

If you have low egg reserve I wouldn’t wait. Can you agree with your DH that he is responsible for everything house related - phone calls, utilities, solicitors valuers, sorting furniture etc. If you’ve already picked the house then there just admin left?

If he does all of that then you can just focus on the IVF and shouldn’t have any additional stress to deal with.

@Ellsiedodah happy to share 😊. I did short protocol for the opposite reason I think, my AMH is really high so I was at risk of OHSS and the drs thought this was the best approach to avoid that for me.

The timeline was get take norethisterone for a week and then have a period, call them on day 1 to register the period and then went for a scan on day 2, was ok to start the injections, did a few days and then had a scan with another scan booked in a couple of days time, then lots more scanning and blood appointments plus a covid swab (awful!), and after 10 days I was able to do the trigger injection on day 11, had another blood test on day 12 and then on day 13 was the egg collection. Due to my OHSS risk I’ve had to have a freeze all so no transfer for me yet sadly. Hope that is helpful!

Hi
We are currently in the process of moving house and also now in our two week wait following our 8th IVF attempt.

I'd say the benefit of experience has helped us know what to expect and being on a short protocol has made it easier.

In the unlikely event that your dates do completely clash you may need to move your house moving dates slightly as once you start the IVF meds there's no stopping and it all depends on how your body responds to how long it takes.

Wishing you luck!

@lionoflove1 thanks... unfortunately not an option to leave him with everything. He's sole breadwinner atm.

Mine was 11 days of norethisterone, then period.

Call clinic on day 1
Vaseline scan day 3
Stims from day 3 to day 11ish with scans and blood tests every other day.

Blood test every day from days 9-11.

Trigger shot then day off stims and then egg collection the day after that.

Started progesterone

Transfer and blood test

Continuing all progesterone etc

@OhPeanuts, thanks for sharing. I hope you were pleased with the number of embryos you got? I've heard that doing FET can often produce better results? Wishing you luck :)

@taupeskies, thanks for that. Sorry to hear you've had to do so many rounds, that must so take its toll. Best of luck this time round. Have you stayed with the same clinic?

@washingilne thanks for sharing!

Hi there, we completed our house simultaneously with IVF cycle (that unfortunately failed). Pros- you have another project running so it's somewhat easier not to obsess about IVF especially the 2ww. Cons - can be overwhelming. In terms of appointments, if I remember correctly, you'll need around 2-4 scans to check progress, then egg retrieval, then transfer in 3 or 5 days.