IVF first timers - June 2021 Protocol

[Luan82]

Hello 👋🏼!! About to embark on the absolutely terrifying process of IVF in June (once my next cycle finishes) and though it might be nice to get chatting to some people going through the same? Meds due tomorrow and bloods booked in for Saturday - Let me know if you are in the same boat would be great to get some support from some fellow infertility warriors ❤️x

@Cat028 my friend who is also going through ivf came round today which is nice and I watched the f1 which I love, plus I spent 3 hours getting my work stuff in good order for being off tomorrow. bloody work!

@Coops0406 I didn't feel any bloating until day 9, like I felt totally fine and wondered what all the bloating chat was about!

My EC is at 8.30am so let's see how it goes. Fingers crossed for a good batch as you say @busybee2102 I can do nothing else but be positive atm!

@busybee2102 @Coops0406 good luck with your scans tomorrow!

@Ofpalestsilver thank you! How are you feeling this morning? Sending you lots of positive vibes 🥰

So my scan was not great at all ☹️ There are 3-4 dominant follicles between 16 and 23mm so egg retrieval is going ahead on Wednesday. She said I haven’t responded as they expected for someone with polycycstic ovaries and with my AMH level. Also she said my ovaries don’t appear polycycstic...so all a bit rubbish as potentially have been misdiagnosed at preston meaning this nhs cycle has all been a bit wasteful. But we’ll see what happens on Wednesday.
She said there may not be eggs in the follicles too when they draw everything out...but there could be too. So it’s a wait and see with what happens on Wednesday but not a good response and with less eggs there’s less chance of them making it to blastocyst stage.
Feeling so deflated!
She also randomly asked if I've got endometriosis as she saw something on my ovary!

@Cat028 hope the scan went well for you this morning and @Ofpalestsilver fingers crossed for good results from egg retrieval 🥰

@Coops0406 so sorry to hear that, it's absolutely heartbreaking when there is a suspected misdiagnosis, I'm guessing she saw what she thought could be scar tissue on your ovary hence the mention of endo, which can be symptomless but is often a contributor to fertility issues - are they adjusting the meds at all given the scan results? Is this cycle one for you? Xx

@Luan82 after my day 6 scan I didn't expect too much but thought others may catch up.
No changes to meds as they need a minimum of 3 to be 16mm to go ahead with EC so trigger tonight then EC on Wednesday and hope for the best 🤞🏾it just feels like time has been wasted and our one nhs cycle has just gone ahead on a whim!

@Coops0406 I completely get that, will keep everything crossed for EC for you and even if there are three or four they are superb quality xx

@Luan82 thank you so much ❤️

@Coops0406

So my scan was not great at all ☹️ There are 3-4 dominant follicles between 16 and 23mm so egg retrieval is going ahead on Wednesday. She said I haven’t responded as they expected for someone with polycycstic ovaries and with my AMH level. Also she said my ovaries don’t appear polycycstic...so all a bit rubbish as potentially have been misdiagnosed at preston meaning this nhs cycle has all been a bit wasteful. But we’ll see what happens on Wednesday. She said there may not be eggs in the follicles too when they draw everything out...but there could be too. So it’s a wait and see with what happens on Wednesday but not a good response and with less eggs there’s less chance of them making it to blastocyst stage. Feeling so deflated! She also randomly asked if I've got endometriosis as she saw something on my ovary!

@Cat028 hope the scan went well for you this morning and @Ofpalestsilver fingers crossed for good results from egg retrieval 🥰

Try not feel too disheartened. They may find more at egg retrieval. Positive thinking! And it really is about quality not quantity.

I had 9 follicles at my last scan on Saturday and today they collected 18 eggs- some were hiding and were only found once the bigger ones were removed. Trying not to get too carried away with myself as I’ve been told there will be like a 50% drop off by the day 5 stage. Because of my unexpected high number and how much fluid was removed from my abdomen, Dr has decided all eggs will be frozen and we will not be going straight for a fresh transfer.

Hope everyone is ok. Happy to answer any egg retrieval qs.

Hi ladies do you mind if I join? 36, been TTC for a little over 3 years, unexplained. Started stims on 29th May, trigger tonight and EC Weds.

@Coops0406 I’m so sorry that’s happened! I know from experience how upsetting a misdiagnosis can be, I hope you get to the bottom of it all once this is over. In the meantime I have everything crossed that your four follies go all the way, stranger things have happened!

Do you mind me asking if that means you have been given a too lower dose than you should have because of the presumed PCOS?

I’m a bit worried I’ve been given too high a dose/been left too long without scans as I think two of mine are already over cooked which isn’t ideal. Makes me wonder if by potentially going too hard too fast it may affect the quality of the rest of them. So kind of feel like it’s been a bit of a one size fits all with my only NHS round too but I guess time will tell with that.

Hope the other ladies are feeling ok after EC and everyone else is coping alright on the stims!

@Tealismycolour thank you...it's just worrying with drop off rates as I won't have anywhere to go! Fingers crossed I have some cheeky ones hiding somewhere 😊
18 is fantastic!!! And frozen transfer will give you chance to recover well. How do you feel after EC today?

Hi @RiverRiot I think you started at the same time as me! Trigger at 10.30pm tonight, going to have to keep myself awake! Where are you having your treatment? How was your scan this morning?
I feel maybe because they thought I would be at risk of OHSS they kept the dose low but that's just me speculating. Then obviously I've not responded as expected. I haven't had much explained and no tests or scans done with Care Fertility, they have just used the info from Preston where I started on clomid for polycycstic ovaries. But it does feel a bit like there is less interest when you're NHS, unless it's just the impact of covid and keeping visits to a minimum.

@Coops0406 that sounds so disheartening. :( but also it’s a bit nonsense cos I have PCOS and my follies were super resistant. I only had one dominant and the rest were taking their sweet time. I don’t think everyone with PCOS acts the same way so it seems weird she’s say that.

Also I would reiterate what others have said. If those are 3-4 awesome eggs then boom, they’re lovely and mature and good stuff.

Sending loads of good thoughts your way

Thank you everyone for the positive vibes. EC went well. I suddenly got super nervous when I had to go into the room (started panicking about the sedation) but ended up having to wait for an embryologist coming in to check my name which took 5 minutes and actually that helped really relax me. I recovered very quickly from the sedation (in that I remember waiting up in the room and being wheeled back which not everyone recalls) and I was out within an hour. Have been shattered all day though! Essentially anyone going for EC it’s nothing to worry about. They got 11 eggs. I’m absolutely delighted. Nervous about how many will fertilise. I’ll take 30% so hoping for 3 pieces of good news tomorrow.

@Ofpalestsilver thank you so much. It was just awful this morning but I still remain hopeful...whilst we have got EC it's still a step in the right direction 😊🤞🏾

@Ofpalestsilver fingers crossed for great news tomorrow 🤞🏾 do you feel okay after EC?

@Tealismycolour yay for 18 eggs that’s amazing! Hope it’s all positive tomorrow with the fertilisation.

@Coops0406 totally. EC is the next big milestone. And you got this!

I feel really really exhausted and out of it. I’ve slept all day on and off. Haven’t felt much pain or anything.

Less impressed with sticking cyclogest up my butt though

@ofpalestsilver That’s great news! 11 is a great number! Are you going for fresh transfer or frozen?

The only bit I remember about being wheeled into recovery was them telling me to move across to the trolley and I couldn’t even see the trolley let alone coordinate myself... so of course I cried. Then I don’t remember anything until coming to and asking the time and it was already 10.30. I was kept in until 1.30pm because they kept hanging up more and more fluid. My Bp was only 90/60 when I got to the recovery room. There were 2 other women who had EC after me and they were sent home first.

I was in quite a bit of pain to start with but they topped up my painkillers and gave me this amazing heat thing which worked wonders. So don’t be afraid to tell them how you’re feeling so they can help you.

Now on bed rest with a hugely inflated stomach but very much back to normal other than that.

@Tealismycolour the plan is fresh so hopefully I’ll have a good embryo ready to rock on Saturday. And in an ideal world a few for the freezer too!

What do you mean they kept hanging up more fluid? We’re you on a drip afterwards?

@Ofpalestsilver That really made me laugh! Pleased it went well for you. Did you get the pain relief suppository too?

@Coops0406 Yay cycle twins! 🤗 I’m at 11pm and anything past 9pm is a struggle for me atm too!
I’m with Guys in London who are meant to be good but I had a bit of a to-do with them back in Jan which has sort of turned me into a bit of a worrier tbh.
I’m sorry Care aren’t explaining much to you, I thought they were meant to be good too so that’s annoying for you. I’m terrible for asking questions - I take a notebook and everything, they must hate me! 🙈

The nurse was happy at the scan actually. I just noticed at least two follicles were 29mm and 25mm so I was like “Obviously I’m going to lose those cos they’re so big”. She said anything over 30 will either release on its own or be too mature to fertilise.
She thinks I should hopefully get around 14, which I am happy with don’t get me wrong, and I know there’s usually a trade off somewhere but its just something I specifically asked about (being a shortarse and all!) and lo and behold. 🙄

Anyway, it’s quality over quantity so you could end up with some awesome blastos and the rest of us with sod all to transfer it’s just totally random so there’s definitely still everything to play for and I’m glad you’re keeping positive. Here’s to an injection free Tuesday! 🥳.

@Coops0406 yeah, I took the three at once so far so good! I'm sorry to hear your scan wasn't the news your wanted. That sucks that they seem to have misdiagnosed you. Hopefully they'll learn more about your cycles as a result though. I'm keeping everything crossed for some top quality eggs for you! 🤞🏻Sending you all the positive vibes! Sorry to hear about your experience with the NHS I think covid has a lot to answer for but I found the same with our investigations that some professionals assumed I knew what was going on. Good luck for your trigger later. ☺️

@busybee2102 I get what you mean. I like to plan things to the letter too. It's strange trying to go with the flow isn't it! I'm glad you seem to have only had light discomfort. Hope that continues for you! How did your scan go?

@Ofpalestsilver that's a fantastic outcome. So pleased for you! Hopefully you'll have positive news in the coming days. That's great it didn't take you long to come around. How have you been feeling since EC?

@Luan82 how's things with you? Do you have a scan coming up soon?

@Tealismycolour That's fab results! Really interesting to hear about your EC and how some were hiding. Very exciting!! Let us know how you get on over the next few days.

@RiverRiot welcome!! Hopefully you still have plenty of follicles to get eggs from. So exciting you'll be having EC soon and they are expecting a nice number. Good luck for trigger tonight.

Busy day back at work for me. No side effects from the norethisterone yet. I'm very excited hearing about all your treatments. Wishing everyone all the best over the next few days 🥰

@Cat028 am good thanks lovely - scan is Friday half nine - as it's been so long since I had a baseline scan (Nov last year!) no idea what to expect nervous is an understatement!!! I'm bleeding a bit after coming off the pill on Wednesday but the nurse did warn me that would happen and it's not a lot just when I wipe. First morning injection tomorrow and the cream up my foof tomorrow eve - what fun!!

Lots of lovely new people joining us too - it's great to hear all the EC success stories and really interesting to hear that the outcome of egg numbers can change even down to the day !! I do totally understand the comments about the one nhs cycle - I'm not sure if it's covid related or if the treatment would be different if we were private - I know my prolactin levels are a little high and have read this can affect IVF success but when I asked the nurse she simple said 'we don't test that' - erm - ok then!! I also want to know that if I'm bleeding my lining isn't going to be affected negatively so hoping the bleeding stops soon!!! Xx

Evening all,

I lost track of who I was going to reply to a little - congrats on the EC result @Ofpalestsilver, that’s fab!

@Coops0406 and @RiverRiot - cycle triplets! I did my trigger at 9:30 this evening and I’m in for EC on Wednesday. The trigger made me really emotional and I had a little cry. Didn’t get this far in January and it all seems a little surreal, plus I’m terrified about Wednesday and now there’s nothing between now and the retrieval.

Scan this morning was good - I’m expecting hopefully 7 eggs, though one follicle is surging ahead of the others so might be too far gone!

@Cat028 that's great you have no side effects. The bloating was bad for me but a lot of people don't have much so hopefully you're one of them. Not long now 😊 Yes, hopefully if this cycle doesn't work then they can look into things a bit more and see what they think is going on in there!

@busybee2102 @RiverRiot just done my trigger! Looking forward to a lie in and a day not thinking about it all! Enjoy your day tomorrow too 😍

@busybee2102 Yay cycle triplets! 🥳 Oh bless you I can imagine it was emotional. It’s good to get it out. Try not to be nervous about Wednesday. I hear a lot of people enjoy the sedation so hopefully you’re one of them! Hope you get to relax tomorrow.

@Tealismycolour Sorry I don’t think I’d seen your post earlier, what a time you had but glad you’re feeling better and amazing numbers, what a nice surprise! No wonder you needed a bit longer to recover after that haul you produced there.

@Cat028 Thanks for the warm welcome. Great that you’re not experiencing any symptoms too. I didn’t do the norethistorone but I also got a bit of bloating from the Gonal F stims.

@Luan82 How many days of stims are you on/will be on by Friday? It’s interesting they don’t give you a baseline scan, I’ve not heard of that before.

@Coops0406 All done too, eek. Enjoy your life in tomorrow and hope you have a relaxing day as well.