IVF February/March 2021

[Alexm06]

Hi

I’m due to start IVF mid February depending on when my period in January starts.
Had a fresh cycle end of august which sadly ended in a missed miscarriage in October.
I only had that one embryo so will be starting a new fresh cycle.

Would love to chat to any ladies starting then as I found the chats really helpful during my first round.

@RichmondLady1981 My next scan is on Wednesday, im so excited to see whats happening in there and how many follicles I have.

Thanks everyone. It's my first cycle so really wanted to get started. Was watching the phone all day waiting for the clinic to ring.

@Nix49816 I had my first scan 4 days in and was told they couldn’t tell me if it was good or bad because everyone is different. I think they just use it as a reference point to track progression. By the second scan they can tell if things are going as expected. You should be able to get an idea of number of follicles though.

@hopefulhel great news you can start!

@RichmondLady1981 That made me laugh! I can’t inject myself. I have to try to watch TV over my husband’s shoulder as distraction and use the acupuncture trick of taking a deep breath in and then breathing out as he does each one. Seems to help! I didn’t notice much until a few days in.

Had a pretty low day today of feeling really rough but not being able to put my finger on why and just crying most of the day. It feels hard today.
Not seen many people mention emotional side effects. Anyone else getting good/bad days? Hoping I’ll wake up feeling much better tomorrow.

First ovaleap injection done, not bad at all, no different really to the buserelin. Let's hope it does its job! I worry a bit that others on hear are taking a mix of stims, im just on 25ml buserelin and 375 of ovaleap but I'm sure I had to mix two vials when I did my egg freezing years ago. I really hope they aren't under stimulating me!

@Motherofkittens28 I'm on the same meds. Although my doses are 0.5 Buserelin and 300 ovaleap. My clinic said Ovaleap replaced some previous drugs around a year ago and they said it's easier to take, so maybe it's replaced the 2 vials.

I've been pretty quiet in here since my scan on Tuesday (work is SO hectic, but at least I'm working from home) but I am reading posts daily and it's good to see how everyone is getting on. There have been lots of BFPs in the Jan/Feb IVF group, which is encouraging.

@Motherofkittens28 on my first cycle I was just on gonal-f with nothing else, so don't worry to much.
This time im on 375 ovaleap also and Menopur 75 and 25 buserelin and I havnt asked them why its different this time to be honest.

Hi everyone

I had my second and final scan this morning. The doctor said I have stimulated more than they expected me to and I have some fairly large follicles so I will be having egg collection a day early on Monday. So trigger tonight at midnight eeeek!! I'm also now at risk of OHSS.

@Blessing12 yes I really think acupuncture has help me to keep calm. I've had 5 sessions, once a week, started from down regulation. My acupuncturist is really nice and it's great to speak to someone about my treatment that doesn't work in the hospital.

@CLP20 I’ve had the odd few moments of feeling down. And just to let you know before this process, I can’t really remember the last time I cried properly. A really good friend of mine announced she was pregnant with her second last week. We were both pregnant with our first babies at the same time in 2019. Hit me hard. I was out on a jog in such stunning surroundings and I just had this major urge to cry. I immediately felt so sorry for myself and it just came out of nowhere. I’m a strong believer in just letting it all out so plodded into a big bush and just had a good old cry. Not sure if anyone saw but I’m guessing a few dog walkers (and dogs!) will have heard. I dusted myself off and carried on running. Felt good again afterwards.

I think sometimes we are guilty of just putting on a brave face and cracking on with life. Sometimes the enormity of what we are going through will creep up on us and it can be overwhelming. Especially when we have to contend with pregnancy announcements and raging hormones. Oh and the fact that we can t drink coffee, alcohol or eat naughty food.

All I can say personally is, if you feel sad, have a good old cry. Have treats and be kind to yourselves. Keep telling yourselves how amazingly strong you are and that you’re kicking ass.

Happy Saturday everyone. X

@Kitttycatt good luck!!!

@RichmondLady1981 Thank you so much for sharing that. Sorry you felt like that on your run but so nice to know I’m not alone.
That’s exactly how it feels. I tend to approach it all in a factual way, probably to keep the emotion at bay. It’s been part of my life for so long so it becomes something you just get on with. I guess I thought I’d approach this bit in the same way, there’s no choice so you just put on a brave face and get on with it. But it’s a lot harder to do than I thought (not that I ever thought it would be a breeze!) and so it’s harder to ignore the times when it becomes a bit much. Exactly as you put it - overwhelmed by the enormity of it.

I will try to be kinder to myself when I have a day when it feels like my face just won’t stop leaking!

It really does help knowing other people are not just going through the same process but also the same emotions. X

@Kitttycatt That’s so exciting! Sending you so much luck for your trigger shot and collection!

Hi everyone, hope the injections are going as well as they can!
@CLP20 sorry to hear you had an off day. A few days ago I felt so angry in the evening & wasnt sure why but fortunately the next morning totally snapped out of it. How are you feeling today? Better I hope. My side effects really havent been that bad, occasional bloating, sometimes blurred vision & occasional headache. I keep telling myself, its only temporary & soon we can stop pumping ourselves with all these drugs.

@Kitttycatt great news, you must be so excited. I think I have about a week left to go, cannot wait. I hope EC goes smoothly.

Happy Sat night everyone, about to do my gonal-f :)

Hello everyone mind if I join?
Starting Buserlin injections tonight, on the long protocol so EC will be end of March.

My story so far...
3 miscarriages, 1 failed round of IVF Dec 2021 and treated for miscarriage in January. (Thankfully they found a uterine septum and blood clotting disorder so 🤞 all ok for next pregnancy.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and wishing you the best of luck wherever you are on your journey xxx

Hi @Rachae sorry to hear about your losses. Hope tonights injection went well, just had my 2nd one tonight. I'm such a wimp about them though, squirming and freaking out while my fiance tries to stab me 😂 Good luck with your treatment!

First dose of gonal f done and dusted. Got some numbing cream from the pharmacy so didn't feel the injection at all which was great. I hope the rest are like tonight's

Hello all,

I've been reading the thread for a couple of days so thought it'd be best to say hi! It's been lovely seeing your positivity and support.

I'm undergoing reciprocal IVF. We had our first go last November, unfortunately with a BFN.

I'm currently 5dp5dt...taking progynova 4x a day and utrogestan 3
x a day. Before we transferred this time I was saying, 'I will not symptom spot....' but, here I am. I know its early but I have sore boobs today... I've got everything crossed that this is a positive sign rather than just the drugs. This is our last embryo that said was expanding.

I keep saying to myself - think positive!

OTD is 18th Feb...

I second the numbing cream! It’s a bit of a faff that you need to have it on 60-90 mins before but I used it for all of mine and we were in a proper little routine by the end of it. I’ll be using it again for FET

@hopefulhel did my first lot of gonal f tonight too! Terrified for adding the next one in!
I didn't use numbing creme didn't think of that. I think the second one is meant to be more nippy/itchy so maybe for that one!

@thepurpleFairy yeah it's great. My husband picked it up in the pharmacy today for me so was grand.

@willithappen I actually seen another person on another forum recommend and mentioned it to my husband and he got it for me. One down eleven more gonal f to go.

@GingerBrummie Thank you. Felt much better this morning but sobbed again this evening - stupidly read a book involving a woman using a surrogate. Too close to home! I need to be more careful what I read!

I actually got some numbing cream but it was delayed in delivery so by the time it arrived yesterday I’m already most of the way through and not sure it’s worth it now 😂

@Mom1of2 will keep fingers crossed for you.

Well done to those doing first injections tonight!

@hopefulhel I think I'll try it for the second injection when it's added.
I'm in panic mode just now about everything. Think I need to have a sleep and forget I'm doing this 🙈

@willithappen I have a long term illness that required me to take weekly injections for years so I was familiar with injections. Tonight was grand with that numbing cream wish I had it years ago when I used to have to inject myself. Get a good night sleep and try not to worry or stress yourself off. I'm taking a very relaxed approach to this. Me worrying will not change the outcome.

If anyone wants the cream you can buy it in a chemist, we usually get ours from Boots pharmacy. You just ask the pharmacist for EMLA cream and it’s roughly £5 per tube. The tubes are small but you don’t need too much. I was getting roughly 7 injections out of one tube I think. You just put a small pea sized amount on, spread it slightly with the top of the tube and then put a square of cling film over it to squash it down I nto a larger area, leave for 60-90 mins then peel away the cling film and I used tissues and then an alcohol wipe sent with my injections to wipe it all off. Works like magic, and totally worth it for the peace of mind it gave me

@Mom1of2 fingers crossed for you and not long to wait now!
Loving the numbing cream recommendations... Wish I'd thought of that for my first round! Anyone on the long protocol? Mine is 3 weeks Buserelin and then 2 weeks Menopur.
I remember the 2nd of week of Buserelin was the hardest in terms of tiredness.
(Happy Valentines to you all too! )

I did my first menopur injection last night. I must have done hundreds of injections by this point but I'm still a wimp about it!

But I'm so excited to be officially on the journey and as PP said, it's not for long.