IVF Nov/Dec cycle buddies - part 2

[BrandyM]

@ivfhope3
@MF1981
@81Poppy
@Jane1284
@lucymills1234
@Roo45
@dragonfly1978
@EasterBunny7
@Emmalouise11
@Gensola
@IslandStars
@Luludarty

Haha thank you @jane1284! Yeah I'm trying not to beat myself up too much anymore.
Bit tmi but I can usually tell when my period is about to start about a week or so before it does I almost have a phantom period before the bleeding starts I have been feeling like that these past 2 days but that might not mean anything so early on
So hard not to read into these things and over analyse everything! Xx

It is so hard not to overanalyse @Roo45 - I have heard so many women say that they feel their period coming and then they end up with BFP so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on those feelings right now. I would say that my latest round which worked I had very strong cramps, mostly at night, which definitely felt like period pains. I think these must have been implantation. So let's hope if you are feeling like your period is going to start that it could be implantation. I never had any implantation bleeding but that is also something to look out for. Good luck xx

@Roo45 lots of luck for the 2WW - as Jane says, I don't think a doughnut is going to ruin anything! I was skimming a Zita West article about nutrition a while ago and her philosophy was that nutrition is important but that we're all human - so aiming for a 80 / 20 approach (be good 80% of the time, more lenient the other 20%) was realistic. That strikes me as way more achievable and balanced.

@Jane1284 hope you're feeling good and if not able to relax then at least a little more confident after last week.

I had my day 5 update on Saturday and am really happy with how this round turned out. I ended up with 5 blasts - 5AA, 5BB, 4AA, 4BB and 3BA. It was a freeze-all (high number of eggs collected) so I am eagerly waiting for an FET. I think I have to wait for a post-EC bleed (no sign, so frustrating!) and another period and then can plan it in.

The number of blasts is up on round 1 and I feel it's justified the decision to go for another fresh rather than transfer my one frozen blast (4BB) from last time. I'm 42 in a few months and I now know I have 6 transfer attempts with 41 year old eggs. If I'd used up the round 1 frozen and it hadn't worked, those 'lost' months could have impacted quality a lot.

There's no guarantee any of the 6 will work and I'm not saying never on a fresh cycle again, but this feels like the right way to have gone. There's so much you can't control in this process, it's nice to feel you took control and got a positive outcome in at least some way!

5 blasts is amazing @lucymills1234 - congratulations. You must be so releived! I hope your post EC bleed comes soon and you can get cracking with a FET. Have you thought about PGD testing your embryos or are you just going to transfer as is? It seems to me like a lot of people in the USA do testing but in the UK it is not as common. I would be worried about doing it since there is a chance of embryos that would result in a live birth flagging as abnormal.
Congrats again xx

That’s a great result @lucymills1234 !!

@lucymills1234 ah that's amazing! Xx

Tested today 5dp4dt (I think that's right- transfer was on Saturday last week and otd Monday next week). Not even a hint of a second line. Given it was a 5 day blast I would have thought it was going to work would have at least seen a faint positive today. Trying to be positive but it's hard :( x

Thanks @MF1981 & @Roo45 ! It's better than I was expecting, for sure!

@Jane1284 thanks to you, too! I've given the PGS testing a lot of thought but am not going to do it, at least not for now. I've had one embryo transfer and it didn't implant, but I don't have any other experience to go on - no other transfers, no miscarriages - in those situations I'd probably go for it. My concern is that as you say, it's something you do looking for certainty and so often you don't get it! Discussing with my clinic they said cells are taken from the outer part of the embryo and there can be a risk that the outer cells are normal but the inner mass is abnormal, or vice versa. Then there are the cases of inconclusive results.

I think it's only 1 in 7 eggs that are normal at my age. I'm hoping the odds are a bit better if an egg has survived to blastocyst stage (may be wishful thinking as people can test a lot of blasts and get none returned as normal). I've got 6 blasts total in the freezer now so I think it would hard to justify doing another fresh cycle to freeze more unless I was banking them to test. Best get on with transferring and hope for the best.... eek!

@Roo45 I can totally appreciate the longing for a positive result but I'd say you're testing too early to be sure either way. I can't remember now the details of what happens on what day but I believe it takes your body some time to ramp up the hormones that indicate you're pregnant enough to show on a test. If you can hold out until OTD you'll know for certain, though I know it's easier said than done! It's such a juggle trying to retain some hope but not too much hope (if that makes sense). Take it easy x

And STILL no post-EC bleed for me. So annoying!