IVF - May

[TheSnufflet]

Couldn't see a thread for May so I thought I'd start one!

Anyone else doing their cycle in May? I just got my calendar through and all the injections look extremely Not Fun (this is my first time doing it) 😕

@2mumlife hi yes I remember you. How have you been getting on? Have you started meds yet or waiting for a cycle?

I got my period early but they scanned me and said my follicles were still active so made me wait again which was disheartening, though I came on early again and this time they said I was good to go! Think the IVF drugs have just messed my rhythm up a bit but at least I'm making progress now. Much less invasive than a fresh cycle though, pop a little pill 3 times a day, job done. Beats all those horrible injections! 😁

@clolo I will ask my clinic on Wednesday about the benefits of it, my clinic include it with their package

@StrongEagle you usually take the stim injections between 7 and 9pm. My DH does the injections and I’ve been icing the area which really helps to numb the sting as it goes in. Am hopefully halfway through now which is a relief

I got a call this afternoon to up my stims to 162.5. I’m feeling better about it all. As @2mumlife said I’d rather them be cautious about the doses to avoid over stimulating.

I have another scan on Wednesday so praying I will see improvements.

👋 Sorry I've been quiet. Hello to the newbies.

Anxiety has set in and I'm feeling quite low at the moment (and beating myself up that if I don't have a positive mindset, the cycle will fail 😔). I've got acupuncture tomorrow so I'm hoping that helps me calm down.
I haven't heard from the meds delivery company yet, but my clinic nurse messaged late on Friday to say that the doctor has confirmed my protocol of steroids and clexane and she'd order the prescription, so I should hear something soon 🤞

I forgot to call the GP for my tsh results yesterday, so will do that today.

I'll read back to catch up with where everyone is at xx

@JesHope345 wishing you all the best for your scan tomorrow, and hope the additional stims help.

Oh @VenusStarr you poor thing, I’m so sorry to hear you’re struggling. That’s great to hear you’re doing acupuncture, and I hope that your appointment today helps 💓 please don’t put pressure on yourself to be feeling a certain way. I think managing thoughts and feelings is almost worse than the physical effects of this whole process! Xx

@clolo I have an Access Fertility package and they include it in that. They also include embryo glue which if I only have one transferred will go for.

@StrongEagle not YouTube but I set up an IVF Instagram account and follow a lot of ivf women on there

Amazing scan @TeaAndCrumpets1! How are you feeling?

@VenusStarr I find acupuncture has helped massively with my headspace on it all. Excited for you getting your meds soon!

@JesHope345 everything crossed they start to grow now you're on more stims. What meds are you having for stims again?

Thank you @TeaAndCrumpets1 and @Crazydoglady123 :) I'm hoping I'll relax a bit more after acupuncture. My TSH is 2.2, so that's good news. I've just forwarded to my nurse and gently enquired about the medication delivery. My dh is like 'you're not due on til next week!' but I just want them here, I like to be organised. X

@2mumlife ah I see, makes sense and best of luck for next month!
@VenusStarr I'm waiting to hear from the drugs company too. Meant to be today so I rang them already and they said it's ordered and just waiting for the sign off so should get them this week, ready to start next week! Hope acupuncture calms you down tomorrow. What point of the cycle is it recommended to do it? I might look into this more, but never had it done before. Great news on your TSH! I like to be organised too hence my premature chasing 😆

Good lord this thread moves fast 🙈

Hello and welcome @Nix49816 👋

I think it now looks like this:

@TeaAndCrumpets1: EC 30th April; ET 5th May (estimated)
@Crazydoglady123: EC 3rd May; ET 8th May
@JesHope345: EC 3rd May; ET 8th May
@mowglika: EC 4th May; ET 9th May
@Nix49816: ET week commencing 3rd May (pending scan outcome)
@DoctorBambino: ET week commencing 10th May
@Georgie87B: EC 13th May; ET 18th May
@VenusStarr: EC week commencing 17th May
@FingersXssd83: EC week commencing 17th May
@TheSnufflet: EC 19th May; ET 24th May
@clolo: EC week commencing 24th May (estimated)
@TinyPaws: EC week commencing 24th May (estimated)
@KayReeves: EC 21st/22nd May; ET 26th/27th May (estimated)
@notyetamumbuttrying: EC 21st/22nd May; ET 26th/27th May (estimated, going by your baseline scan date)
@Tarsette: ET week commencing 31st May (estimated)
@Gardenlady543: ET week commencing 31st May (estimated, dependent on ERA/EMMA/ALICE results)
@2mumlife: ET week commencing 31st May (estimated)
@RazzleDazz1e: EC week commencing 31st May

To be added when we have more information:
@Maddie020
@olipoli123
@StrongEagle (waiting on dates)

Someone talk to me about Gonal F - is it uncomfortable/awkward to use at all? Should it be warmed up for a few minutes out of the fridge before injecting or is it fine to do cold? I'm making myself worry about the next lot of injections as buserelin seems to be weirdly fine so far (although admittedly, I'm only on day 3!)

@TheSnufflet I think Gonal F is similar to my Ovaleap which I get out of the fridge 15 mins before injecting so it warms up. Apparently it's more uncomfortable when cold

Wow lots of updates!
@TheSnufflet loving the list! Thank you for putting it together!

@clolo embryoscope is also included in my access fertility package but I think they only have a limited amount of room so you're not guaranteed a space.

@strongeagle I've also been watching lots of ivf YouTube blogs but most of them seem to be American which is annoying.

@venusstarr sorry to hear you're feeling anxious. Don't beat yourself up about it, I hope the acupuncture helps but remember thousands of women manage to get pregnant in hugely stressful circumstances.

Cd1 finally arrived for me! A 35 day cycle compared to my usual bang on 29. Called the clinic and I'm all good to start ovaleap tomorrow evening. Got scans booked for Mon, Wed, Fri next week! Who knew you could be so excited about injecting yourself haha!? I can't concentrate on work at all today!

@Crazydoglady123 that's good to know, thank you I know it can be kept out of the fridge, but I think it goes off quicker..

@DoctorBambino it's exciting isn't it! I never once thought I'd be looking forward to the injections in a messed up way?

@StrongEagle what YouTubers have you been watching? I follow a lot of infertility-related stuff on IG like @Crazydoglady123 but what few UK-based YouTube IVF journeys I found were really sad - I remember one couple had to have IVF/mTESE due to the guy having no vas deferens and the odds weren't good in the first place (failure); then there was another couple had success but they were a victim of some shocking medical malpractice where the woman had some early bleeding and a hospital doctor attempted a D&C without any anaesthetic or warning them what was happening(????) so obviously they lost the baby after that I had to step away from YouTube for a bit...

@VenusStarr sorry to hear you're feeling stressed and hope the acupuncture sorts it tomorrow

@TheSnufflet and @clolo I’m unfortunately a Gonal F expert (I need it for every cycle, even FET, to thicken my lining so have had it at least 10 times counting failed cycles etc.) and I can safely say it is very easy to use (it’s an injectable pen, not a fiddly syringe) and more or less painless. I inject it straight out of the fridge and have never felt the cold.

@Tarsette oo thanks I also found that really useful for me as I am starting Gonal-f on Saturday and was unsure 😁 thanks for putting my mind at ease x

@Nix49816 I'm waiting for cycle. My cycle after failed fresh attempt lasted forever! so I'm not expecting next period now until hopefully around the 18th May. You're lucky your periods have been early! My clinic said I needed to have at least 1 natural cycle before going again, but we opted that I'd have 2 natural cycles before going again s hopefuly will be out my system. Just been on phone actually trying to chase up prescription as clinic said they have sent it last week, but Stork who we get drugs through say they haven't, so will be feeling happier once I've got everything here ready to go. Sounds like I'm on a different drug cycle than you though - I'll be on Fyremadel injections for first 7 days, Progynova pills, Lubion injections for 6 days around ET and cyclogest. So still a walking pharmacy over here!

@VenusStarr I like to just get my drugs ready to go - my cycle length is variable so I just like to know I'm ready.

@JesHope345 Glad you're feeling more positive, best of luck with next scan.

@TheSnufflet I had gonal-F for IUI cycles - do you have the pre-loaded pen? If so its a really small needle and totally fine, just grab it out the fridge and its over and done in no time - I never warmed it or anything as ours was meant to stay refridgerated if I remmeber correctly, so just grabbed and go.

@clolo @Georgie87B Honestly the injections are totally fine, I never bother with ice or anything (it just adds to the suspense?). I've had far more issues with cyclogest (yuck!) and letrozole tablets for IUI, which made me feel sick every time for first few days. Never had an issue with any of the injections.

Feel likes like such a long time still until I get to get started, I'm actually wishing time would get a move on now!

One thing thats cheering me up today - my partners got GP letter to go for routine smear test, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to her getting prodded and pocked instead of me for a change!

@clolo Send him for a prostate checkup

@2mumlife haha!! Yes I agree with @clolo I think they should do an invasive test for men so they understand what us women go through!!
Ahh I was meant to be OK cyclogest but apparently due to a national shortage I am now on crinone which I think is a gel...
I hope these next few week fly by for you and AF arrives on time 🙏

Thanks for listing everyone's dates @TheSnufflet! It's hard keeping track so it's super helpful.

I've been a rotter on buserelin. My husband said we can't do another long protocol cycle as I've been going a little nuts but I seem to be calming down now after 5 days on the stuff 😬

Weirdly excited about my cycle and haven't ever felt like that about IVF before so I'm holding onto it although I know that it's more likely than not to break my heart.

Hope everyone's doing ok 💖

Does anyone know... with a 5 day transfer, do you start counting from the day of egg collection or is it the day after that's day 1 post egg collection? Still trying to figure out my possible dates haha!

@DoctorBambino I believe you start counting from the day after collection. So if you had collection today, a day 5 transfer would take place on Monday