IVF March/April thread 2

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@Bethpalmer20 @Donimo @Itsjustme2021 @Itsjustme2021 @Lclarke111 @Orsh @RedFaerieBoots new thread as it wouldn't let me reply

@Crazydoglady123
@granddesigns
@Sungirl11

Thanks for your lovely messages, they meant a lot to me 🥰 insomnia is still going strong unfortunately. I've hardly been sleeping for about a month now, basically since EC! Got my BFP & now my mind can't think of anything but the 7wk viability scan on 6th May.

I know that's normal for everyone but it's very heightened for me with my MH conditions. . . Anyway my family have encouraged me to take a few weeks off work which I have agreed to do. I didn't want to go on sick but needs must really. My GP has signed me off with 'early pregnancy stress' I think a lot of ladies without mental health conditions will experience this too! Especially if you work in a high risk environment (Nightingale hospital) like I do.

Anyhow, will dip in and out of this chat as I like to see how you are all doing. I am rooting for every one of you, if not this cycle then the next.

Ps our first failed cycle the ET was not US guided which I really think is appalling. We didn't know at that time that is the gold standard. Our 2nd ET this cycle which resulted in BFP was US guided. 5 months apart at the same private clinic! I have since read medical articles that there are increased success rates with US guided. I would be interested in whether all of your NHS / private cycles have been UE guided ETs?

It's something I will be taking up with my clinic, along with a number of other issues, especially as that cycle alone cost us 9k and we didn't get any to freeze, despite having 10 eggs collected and 8 fertilised. But I am going to try and forget about it until I am through the first 12 weeks and feeling much better.

For now I want to protect the precious wee one at all costs 🙏 xx

Hi @Bella1984
When you say UE does that mean ultrasound guided? Sorry i was just reading and not sure.
Glad you got some time off and yes, take care of yourself now!
I had some words yesterday with my clinic too because there has been a lot of misunderstandings and I am not happy... and today is ET day and I am already going there feeling weird for all of it... anyway... I paid a lot of money and I have felt money is all they care about! 🙈
So same as you, I will have a go at them when this is over... as I didn't pay almost 10k for all the stress they have put me through! ☹️

Morning @Sungirl11

Yes sorry typ, I meant US (ultrasound) guided.

I have heard so many stories like ours and agree it has felt like a business and not a medical service which is awful. There have been some amazing consultants and nurses at our clinic, but some less than average verging on incompetent ones too. It should not be a lottery as to who you get on the day! 😡

Our first ET was done by a consultant in her late 60s I'd say, nothing against anyone RE age but she maybe didn't train with US guided so doesn't do it. For me all consultants must train in up to date gold standard techniques. As a senior physio I am constantly learning and updating my skills in line with recent evidence! The evidence says success rates are higher r with US guided. So I hope you get one today. If I were you I would demand it, but that's just from my experience. And some clinics only do US guided ETs (my boss had ivf in Dublin and he specifically went there due for this reason - they were successful first time!) So hopefully your clinic is the same.

Anyway it's not the time to be thinking about it. I have kept on good terms with my clinic and will do until my 7 week US scan. After that the gloves are off! 💪 and if we decide to go for another cycle in the future for a sibling all being well we will not be using our current clinic. Too much left to luck of who you get on the day. We spent about 9k on our first cycle last year (my meds are cheaper than most as I'm on the lowest dose of everything due to MFI)

I wish you all the best with the ET today, very exciting! My tips are have a full bladder like clinic say, it tilts your womb and makes it easier for the consultant to get it exactly where they want. And don't worry about peeing after it, I was terrified but it definitely can't fall out! 🤣

Best wishes and let us know how it goes 🙏

Bella x

@Bella1984 my clinic is US guided yes. You see the whole process on the screen how it's released etc.
For me it hasn't been the staff when i'm there but when i'm not... messing information, not requesting my meds and saying they had, not telling me about bloods and then wanting to charge me £500 because there was no time of requesting through NHS, not answering my voicemail messages or emails, hiding costs and not sending bill or adding costs two times (which I have spotted and obvs not paid)... Told us we needed ICSI bla bla, we pay, and then the new consultant says we might not need ICSI and need to pay for a sperm test and culture to check (again)... when all this had already been checked and paid...
Also got a call one day asking if I was still planning on going to my appointment.. I was 10min away and said yeah i'm there in 10 and hang up.. when i got there at 9:15 i get told the call is bcs my app was at 9 (I have an email where it says clearly 9:30!).
So yeah, specially money is what they mess a lot about! And I have paid almost 10K only for treatment! Meds a side... and don't think communication between them is great...
But I did tell the clinic manager yesterday that they have been adding a lot of stress on me which is the worst they can do! (So if this doesn't work I blame them for it. 🙈)

Thank you for the info, it's very important to share these things so we all know what is going on and get fair treatment.
And yes, I totally agree that we have to be up to date and constantly learning as the world moves on and new comes in.
Thank you for your best wishes!! I will drink a lot and make sure it stays in! Hahah so happy I have a chance today of being a mommy 😍 (never been pregs bfore).

Take care and if you need anything we are here for you! ❤️

Good luck @Sungirl11 for ET today!

@Bella1984 oh wow, thank you I will definitely be questioning my clinic tomorrow if it's a US guided ET. Sorry you've had a poor service from your clinic though.

@Crazydoglady123 thank you!!!
How are you feeling??

@Crazydoglady123 you're welcome, I think it's absolutely mad that in 2021 any consultant would just whack it in and hope for the best 🤯
I fully believe now our first failed cycle was a complete waste of time which is infuriating after the physical, emotional and financial stress. Thank goodness we've now got our BFP, but imagine we had gotten that same consultant again for this ET?!

@Sungirl11 am delighted your clinic is US guided only 👏 however that sounds v stressful RE the admin side of things and hidden costs. We haven't had any of that. Our first cycle of ICSI was 7.5k and then about 1.5k for drugs. We then paid 10.5k for 3 cycles of ICSI via access fertility with agreed 50% refund if we didn't get a live birth by end of 3 cycles. Hey base this on your and your partners fertility stats . . .
Thankfully we have got our BFP on this cycle, but it cost us 3k more for the added security. It took the pressure off us financially, & at this point what is 3k 😫 also our clinics drug prices nearly doubled in 5 months! For example one fyrmadel injection was £16 per unit in October and in March was £29.50 per unit! We queried this and they blamed Brexit, covid and the drugs company! The drugs company blamed the clinic 😤

Anyway I think what I've learnt is do what you need to do to protect yourself to give yourself the best possible chance of BFP. Let everything else go until a time when you can deal with it. Hopefully that is after you get your BFP and through your pregnancy. I also have never been pregnant and am finding it a wonderful, if slightly terrifying experience so far! I am focusing on staying well until 7 week scan, hopefully hearing a strong heartbeat and then not having to deal with the clinic again, until I decide to lodge a formal complaint.
Thinking of you all still waiting on your ET, it's an agonising time.

Good luck today xx

@Bella1984 there's so much info to take in and process with IVF. A few months ago I didn't understand IVF at all and learning new things everyday!

@Sungirl11 I'm okay thank you. My 1st stims scan is tomorrow! My ovaries are starting to feel heavy and achy, especially my left one which has the cyst on. Just hoping they're behaving and not over responding like they do when I'm on Clomid 🤞

@The3rdWatermelon The fyremadel caused me the same reaction on the last 2 days of stims, I guess it's a 'normal' side effect. My left ovary was also behind my uterus, but due to the stimulation and gravity it became accessible for the time of EC. Good luck with you scan today.

@Crazydoglady123 good luck with you scan tomorrow. I hope your ovaries will be just fine with the stims this time

Thank you for sharing @Bella1984. I am in total shock. I am with NHS and I feel that they put me through some unnecessary stress and always thought that it is a whole different level when you go private. Obviously it is not. I am very sorry you needed to go through all this with your clinic. I wish you a relaxed, joyful and healthy pregnancy. Hope the 7wks scan will help you feel better.

@Sungirl11, the mistakes your clinic made are also unacceptable. Messing with money and appointment times. I am sorry about that. I feel lucky that I get a cycle for free.
Great news that all you 5 littke ones are growing strong
Super Good Luck with your ET today. Very exciting :)

Not so good at the scan today.

What looked like developing eggs on the did ovary has turned out to just be a mass of fluid.

On the good ovary, of 15 follicles, 12 have started to develop. One is huge and we’re likely to lose it before EC. Another 5 have grown since Friday but are still very small. Of whatever can be collected I need to get two which carry the gene for my brain condition, in order to confirm that any embryos which can be implanted don’t have it. If they don’t get two carriers they won’t implant anything.

I’m devastated. It just seems utterly hopeless at this point. I don’t see how it can possibly work with so little.

I have another scan on Tuesday morning so I really hope the smaller ones will have bucked their ideas up by then.

I’m watching Yonderland in bed and crying. I can’t face being brave today.

@The3rdWatermelon

I'm so sorry to hear your scan didn't go too well. Our bodies are a freak of nature and you never know you may just have some good news on Tuesday, I'll keep my fingers🤞 for you x x

@The3rdWatermelon i'm so sorry to hear that. I was very disappointed when I knew I only had 7 follicles after expecting 20 or over... it does seem like you loose hope during the process, but please don't! Nothing is lost yet!

We had our top quality embryo transferred just now 😍 and we have another good one to freeze. So out of our 6 eggs we got 2 blastocysts.
Beta on the 7th! Can't wait 🙈🙈

Congratulations @Sungirl11, Amazing outcome :) I hope your little one back in the best place will grow strong and will give you lots of joy. Also can news that you have 1 to freeze :)

I am very sorry your scan didn't give you the news you were hoping for @The3rdWatermelon. Don't give up hope just yet! At the day10 scan I only had 2 follicles above 15mm and 3 days later I had 11. I had EC on day 15 and got 7 mature eggs. So it can pick up beautifully for you in a couple of days.
It also takes about 2 weeks with a natural cycle. Give it a bit of time. Best of luck!

Hey girls, hope you dont mind me joining in.
I have had 3 urs of TTC, had my egg collection Monday 12th April, embry trans on Wednesday 14th (my 3 yr wedding anniversary) and i got a BFP . I tested the HCG trigger out and was negative a few days so stopped testing
Then i tested and showed positive, did a digital and it says pregnant 1-2 weeks.
If anyone is in a similar situation plz private msg me as id love a buddy to disucss symptoms etc with OR if you just want to ask any Qs relating to IVF i can try to help.

All the best girls x

Oh also dont be disheartened if you dont have amazing number of follicles, mine sounded great but not all had eggs. If you want more info plz PM me x

@Orsh hope you get super good news today!!! Fingers crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@Orsh Good luck for today!

Unfortunately I'm out, I got a BFN this morning. I had a gut feeling. We have 1 more frostie, but right now I don't think I could handle another round. I have so many questions for the clinic as I said from the first appointment I didn't have much faith in this round as none of the questions could be answered.

Good luck everyone x x x

@Nik85 so sorry it’s not worked out this time.
Sounds like a good idea to give yourself some time. It’s a massive deal to put your mind and body through it all.

Wishing you all the luck in the world when you decide the time is right.

I am very sorry @Nik85. Give your soul some time to heal. Your Frostie is going to be there for you when the time is right. I hope you get all the answers you need from the clinic; and when you feel ready you will step on the beautiful journey of motherhood with Frostie. 🌺

Thank you for the good wishes @Sungirl11and Nik85.
We have 1 AA grade embryo that is going to the freezer today. So I am looking at FET in about July.

The other 5 are a bit slow, but they are given time until tomorrow to catch up. Those who catch up, will join the One in the freezer. 🤞 so I am cheerleading for them for the rest of the day 😄

P.s. my spotting post EC just stopped yesterday (day4), and I still have some abdominal pain and discomfort and still need to rest a lot. Has the recovery from EC took this long for anyone else?

Sorry to read this @Nik85. Give yourself some time lovely.

@Orsh sending positive vibes for the others to catch up for the freezer!

Had my first stims scan:

11 follicles on right
8 follicles on left

9 of the follicles are over 10mm

My left ovary is annoyingly sitting on top of my uterus. She said she hopes it moves before EC 🙏🤞

How are you getting on @6543336787gesgvjhg you must be due your scan this week? I have just over 2 weeks to wait for mine, feels like forever. I had some quite bad period type pains last night that had me up every half an hour or so, I've seen a lot of people saying period pains are normal in early pregnancy but I still can't help but worry... I'm also so bloated I don't know how I haven't popped

@Orsh and others who commented on my post, thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve been for a day 11 scan today. I had the scan done by the head PGD nurse, and not only was it much less painful, but she found 2 decent follicles (and one teeny tiny one) on the dud right ovary which the previous scanner said was “basically dead” and THIRTEEN on the left, up from 6 two days ago.
I’m going to get a phone call this afternoon with my EC date.

Really need to pull myself together. I’ve got to give a presentation for work later today!

Hi All, so great to see some great results coming through for you all. Thinking of you all.

Quick question, anyone who is on the nhs, did you all have a hycosy dye scan thing? We know my OH is the issue so wasn't sure if they will make me have one.

Thank you.

@PurpleUnicorn01 yes I'm through NHS and had the HSG dye scan I found it painful for a few days then it was ok. I had that in December and started IVF March cycle.

@Bethpalmer20 thank you for checking in. First scan is Friday doesn't seem real still have to keep reminding myself I am pregnant as other than no period I don't feel much different. Yes I am bloated but I usually get bloated a lot anyway. How are you?

@PurpleUnicorn01 I would still have the scan if you are offered it but I think they would request it before you do IVF anyway x