IVF Nov/Dec cycle buddies - part 2

[BrandyM]

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

@Ofpalestsilver Sorry, yes I remember discussing the 3 cycle package with you previously. Sounds like a good idea to carry on with the IUI since they recommended it to you in the first place. I would have started off with IUI if I could but they told me not to- I think in my situation it wouldn't have been likely to work. Really hope you have success in 2021. xx

Sorry I’ve been quiet guys. Didn’t really have anything to update after they insisted on my freeze all. But I’ve been following your updates as best I can - just caught up this morning.

We had our review with the consultant yesterday and she was really positive about our 4 in the freezer which is great news. She was kind of pushing for us to transfer two at a time due to my age - we have 2 A grades that have 50-55% chance of success on their own or 60-65% if we put both in. But both means we have a 30% chance of multiples. It’s really hard to know what to do as if we put both As in and it doesn’t work we’re left with a B and a C. They described our B as a bit chaotic - not sure what that means! The clinic also said that they get the best results through the down reg protocol rather than natural or mild. So I started my period yesterday and will be down regging from 20th Dec - fun times! Transfer will be mid Jan all being well.

@Ofpalestsilver so sorry to hear your news thinking of you and hope you can rest up and relax this month as much as you can xx

@Jane1284 hope you get encouraging news today. Everything crossed!

Thank you @lucymills1234 How are you feeling about tomorrow? I will be keeping everything crossed for you.

Just got great news. All four eggs have fertilised! I am so happy. I know we still have a long way to go but I am cautiously optimistic that we will have one 5 day blast. Currently booked in for ET on Saturday. They will look at the embryos on day 3 (Thurs) and give us an update. If they don't think any will make it then I may be able to have a day 3 transfer. So now we wait for Thurs. Eeeep.

Great news @Jane1284

Oh wow, that's great @Jane1284! So not only did you not get any drop-off from 3, you actually got 4! You must be delighted. That's the best outcome you could have got and so much better than you feared.

I'm feeling ok about tomorrow so far as the actual collection goes, but nervous about next steps. So far my body seems to have responded pretty well but at my age, quality is a concern. Whether I will have anything to transfer is the big question...

@Jane1284 whoop whoop 🙌

So so happy for you! That's amazing to have 100% fertilisation. They must be top quality eggs! Hopefully they sail through to day 5 with no issues. Amazing news Xxx

@BrandyM Thank you so much for adding me on the new thread. Happy to hear that things are going well.

@ivfhope3 Are you on this new thread? Have you had your scan this week? How is everything? I can't believe that you are receiving such horrible treatment from your clinic. This process is difficult enough without having to deal with horrible clinic staff. Don't give up. Have you thought about changing clinics? I'm so sorry that you've had such a difficult month and birthday. Hoping that something great happens for you soon.

@Jane1284 I'm happy to hear your news! So exciting that the extra follie popped up! and all fertilised!!! Fantastic. Hope that everything goes well with the transfer on Saturday?

Sorry to hear your news @dragonfly1978, @Rachae, and @Ofpalestsilver

This is so hard. I hope that you are all taking care of yourselves.

Sorry if I've missed anyone. There's a lot of action on this thread and so many updates. Wishing you all the best.

I am doing ok. Today was a very bad day. My neck has been hurting me for the past 2 days. Can't turn it without feeling pain. I Felt on edge and tearful all day yesterday and today. I had a scan on monday and then was told to do the trigger shot monday night(last night). So did all three shots last night. I am scheduled to go for Egg Collection tomorrow morning(Wednesday). On Monday they saw 4 eggs all looking good with 2 smaller ones that I don't think will catch up but you really don't know. Looks like a couple of us are having egg collection tomorrow?

I am feeling so... I don't know... It just seems like a long road... I hope that this does not sound insensitive to anyone's experience because I know that it's hard for everyone and everyone's experience is personal to them, but I almost would prefer to have a negative pregnancy test than to go through what I've gone through the past year. Getting pregnant everytime and then miscarrying... It's almost as if receiving a positive pregnancy test would be more stressful for me than to not... Does that sound silly?

I'm getting ahead of myself...One step at a time

Sorry for just vomiting all of my worries on you all. I know that we are all going through so much. Maybe i'm losing it due to the hormones???

Big hugs to you all.

Good luck for everyone with egg collections and transfers coming up! Wishing it goes smoothly and a good outcome.
@Sweets208 bless you it's such a rollercoaster isn't it, it feels like at every stage there is something to worry about isn't there :( I agree I think one step at a time is best if you can I know it's not easy but I think otherwise you can get so overwhelmed and it's hard enough :(
Thinking of you
@ivfhope3 how are you doing?xx

Hey I've finally found it. So glad you did @BrandyM ❤️thank you I was worried we'd all lose touch.

How is everyone. I've got a scan tomz and hopefully transfer next week.

It's been a nightmare these few weeks. Hopefully mt lining is going the right way tomz xx

Hope everyone is ok xx

@all it's taking me ages to find this page I've had to copy and past thank you for all adding me.

So basically I had the scan last month wasn't able to do it.

Then literally 2 days later had my AF, went for a scan Monday, I ahve 3 follicles cause this is a natural cycle I ahve to ovulate by myself, so that's a good sign having 3 but depends if they grow or one grows, my lining is still thin, well 5.8mm so better than last time.

Tomorrow we see if any follicles have reached 17mm as I'll be on day 16 then. An then if they have then I can go ahead if not I'll be back in, there go up to day 19 before the say no I can't do this month.

It's just so stressful. I get such bad anxiety going there an on my own aswell..

What stage is everyone at now! Xx

@Jane1284 that is great news!! You must be over the moon!!
I'm so happy for you 🔝

@Sweets208 i understand what you say... getting a bfp and then a mc is a lot harder... I have never had a bfp in 2 years ttc naturally but I know people that have mc or chemicals and it's just soso horrible :(

You are also all over the place right now so it's normal you feel so low, but stay positive! This will be your time for sure! I will keep my fingers crossed for you 🤞🏼

@lucymills1234 best of luck for you tomorrow too!! Tomorrow is a big day for a few of you so will keep all crossed. This year has been horrible for so many people, it has to end in a good way!! It just has to!

@MrsF1989 wow 11!! That is sooo good!! Well done!!

@BrandyM i also have the Lubion progesterone from EC day. And was told if i get a bfp would have to continue until week 12! (Oops long time).

Thanks @Sungirl11! Eager to see what they can collect tomorrow, whether eggs are mature and if they develop. That bit has been the biggest question mark of the whole process for me, so glad but nervous that it’s nearly here.

@Sweets208 good luck for tomorrow, we’re on the same timings! Sorry to hear you’re struggling, I know it’s a massive cliche but one day at a time is all you can do. There’s a saying about how worrying about the worst outcome means if it does happen, you’ve worried twice. It’s a hellishly difficult attitude to practice but I keep trying to remind myself of it whenever my mind jumps to the worst case scenario. Take care of yourself and go easy.

Hi

Can I ask those that are on Lubion - did the consultant recommend it?

I asked if I could have it the consultant was reluctant as he said there's no evidence to say it's better and it's much more expensive (I'm self funding)

Just interested to hear what other clinics say?

@81Poppy I have it in my meds, we are going to a private clinic too.
The nurse told me for IVF treatments they make you take it until 12 weeks if bfp. As it helps the bean to stick.
I also have a friend who had a MC at 10w (natural baby) and on her next pregnancy the midwife told het to take it until 12w and she is 33w pregnant now!
So i'm not very sure about this "there is no evidence" they told you...
xx

Good luck to everyone going for EC/ET the coming days! I hope everyone is doing well :)

I had my day 9 scan and have to stim for at least 3 more days. After my worrying suppressed scan 9 days ago, I’ve managed to go from an AFC of 7 to today having 15 follicles! I wonder how much of this is operator dependant though?! Anyway, largest follies measuring at 14mm-12mm and others are around the 10mm or much less. Does anyone know if this is about right for 9 days?

I’ve had real worries about my lining which has been persistently thin, one scan around ovulation, pre-IVF days, showed it to be just 4.4mm and another on a different month was 5.8mm. Today it was 6.49mm. Not great so bit worried about that, but they didn’t seem too worried and think the stims may help it grow more over the next 3 days? Urgh there is just so much that can go wrong, I hate this!!

@81Poppy

My clinic initially prescribed the pessaries. I personally chose Lubion. They said either is fine. They then discussed costs with me and swapped it.

I chose Lubion for a variety of reasons (but all of them are personal preferences/judgment calls and may or may not make sense to others):-

1. My husband came across a research that indicated that injections resulted in better outcome (I'm not sure if this research is peer reviewed and/or based on randomised, double blind trials but we personally felt it was good enough).

1. I heard a few ladies complaining about the messy nature of the pessaries. Some people also had concerns on whether all of it was being absorbed. So I wanted to avoid these worries by just injecting it subcutaneously.

1. My clinic told me I needed three pessaries a day as opposed to 1 Lubion a day.

After all the above considerations and after I started Lubion, I started questioning whether I made the right decision. I then contacted my consultant yesterday and asked for his honest opinion. He said Lubion provides just as much cover (if not better) than the pessaries and that I shouldn't worry.

I then did further research and came across a study that showed combined treatment resulted in better pregnancy outcome. So I contacted my consultant again and asked his view on this. He said if I feel more comfortable with combined approach, they can prescribe pessaries in addition to Lubion. So tomorrow, I'm collecting the prescription for the pessaries. I'll happily deal with all my 'pessaries' related concerns above if there's even a 5% improvement on outcome.

I'm seeing the consultant tomorrow when I go for my transfer (if there are still any eggs left to transfer). One of my questions would be whether or not there's such a thing as too much progesterone. My research indicated that too little can be a problem but there isn't an upper limit. I'm going to ask if he agrees with this and also his expert opinion on why there isn't an upper limit (could it be because the body only uses what it needs? I don't know.. ).

I think I'm my clinic's worst nightmare. However, I have very low egg reserve and I responded a lot better than they expected. I don't want this round to not work due to potential low levels of progesterone as I may not have any eggs to collect if I have to do another cycle.

Sorry that's a long answer but it wasn't an easy decision and wanted to share with you my thought process behind it.

Xx

@BrandyM I found that really helpful! I have been prescribed the pessaries which I think I will have to take from the day after EC. 3 a day is a lot, I think I currently have enough for the 2WW. I would be tempted to move to Lubion after that if it’s just one jab a day as three pessaries sounds tricky to manage in some ways.

@Kitttycatt just checking in to see if your blood test results came back ok? Thinking of you xx

@ivfhope3 wow, if sounds like you've progressed a lot since your last update. Great to hear! Good luck with your scan tomorrow . Hope all 3 are close to the 17mm mark. Let us know how you get on xx

Tested again on Monday and still a faint second line, I was feeling hopefull as I thought the ovitrelle should be out of my system decided to test today even though OTD is Friday and not a hint of a second line...I'll wait until Friday but I think I'm out too.
This is so hard isn't it

Good luck today @Sweets208! I hope it goes well and those extra two have caught up to the others. Sorry you are feeling so low. I can only imagine how awful it is to go through miscarriage and how much it scares you for the next round. Sending you lots of love- I hope today is as stress free as possible.

@ivfhope3 Good luck for your scan today. I will be keeping everything crossed for you! So sorry you are suffering from anxiety. This whole process is so much to deal with, especially on your own.

@lucymills1234 good luck for today. Really hope they get all the eggs and they fertilise. Totally understand how nervous you are. My heart rate was through the roof on EC and yesterday waiting for news. Today I am fine as there is no news but tomorrow I will be back to stressing myself out that they have all dropped off.

@ShiMo wow! That's a great number of follicles. You must be over the moon. Hopefully your lining will grow over the next few days. You still have plenty of time until the potential transfer back in. I have no idea what is going on with my lining. They haven't told me any measurements. Hopefully it is OK.

@81Poppy can't help with your lubion query. I am on the regular Lutigest pessaries 3 times a day. I'm finding them fine. The only time there is any mess seems to be the overnight ones so i just wear a panty liner.

@BrandyM All the best for today's transfer. It must feel so good to make it to this day! I hope you are feeling OK? Is there a possibility of a double transfer or only a single? I am with the NHS so they try to avoid double transfers unless you've had a few failed rounds or are over 40 I think.

@Roo45 I am so sorry. Wait until Friday and test again. Hopefully it is still too early?

@Gensola Is it egg collection today for you? Wishing you all the best for today. The procedure itself should be pain free and easy. I actually quite enjoyed the sedation. So relaxing! I hope all goes well.

@Sungirl11how are you getting on with the whole process? How was your nurse appointment on Monday?

@MrsF1989 how is your TWW going? you mentioned having some OHSS symptoms developing. AI hope they passed?

@Roo45 so sorry to hear this, it certainly is hard I often think about people who just decide to have a baby and it happens straight away, it seems so unfair that it's so difficult for some people

@BrandyM @Sungirl11 thanks for your responses
I totally agree - the only time I have carried to to term is when I had the injections, I had two early MC on the pessaries. The consultant said it could have been a coincidence? I said I didn't want to take the chance this time so I'm having combined injections and pessaries

I do think the pessaries are fine for most people otherwise it would never work but I think for some both are the best option.

Good luck to everyone going for scans, egg collection and embryo transfer today. All getting a step closer. Let us know how you get on. Now I'm in the TWW with no appointments, I'm living through yours 🤣.

@Jane1284 TWW is already starting to drag on day 2 🙊 back to work today (although from home, so can kind of feel a bit relaxed) and I have an acupuncture app today. My OHSS symptoms, I think was a bad chest, because yesterday it loosened off and today it feels a lot better also, I've changed where I put the pessaries (front rather than back 🥴), the bloating has totally gone, so feeling cautiously okay. I obviously have convinced myself because I was a bit poorly for transfer, it means the embryo definitely won't implant 🤣. My mind is just going back and forth, if anyone saw my Google history, im sure I'd be sectioned. 😆 how are you feeling about transfer? xxx