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 no they didn’t say anything. I’ll ask on Friday. I was a bit shell shocked to be honest. And hello!

Also No one mentioned to me that I should be isolating? Should I??? Eek.

@Ofpalestsilver

Northisterone sounds difficult. That’s the one you take to make your period come at a certain time right? I don’t think my clinic offers that as none of my friends who went there had it nor did I. What did they say to you as to why that’s part of treatment?

I find all of this so fascinating honestly about how experiences differ. I joined a couple of these threads when I was doing IUI but I was the only one doing that so it was harder to relate. This is cool being in the same boat!

I think the norithisterone is to time the bleed essentially...so they can get dates etc in for meds. Definitely for me I think that's the case with how irregular my cycles are

@Ofpalestsilver

Also No one mentioned to me that I should be isolating? Should I??? Eek.

I got told I needed to isolate as soon as I start injections...they said for normal procedures you would need to isolate for 3-4 days before but because it's fertility and if anything happens it means my treatment would be cancelled they told me to isolate from the start of injections

They were talking about birth control to time the egg collection on the right day, still not quite sure how that works! Hoping my period arrives on time so I don't have to find out! I've been told I only have to self isolate between egg collection and transfer x

@Ofpalestsilver I have heard a lot about norethisterone and not always good things. My clinic brought my ec forward though so I won't have to take it as long. I think it's a timing thing with taking it. They said something about it calming your ovaries before treatment too.

Let us know if you find any more out about your follicles.

Our clinic recommended both me and DP isolate so we are both lucky our work have been amazing and have made it possible to work from home. They said the same to us if we caught covid our whole cycle would be cancelled. They said we didn't have to isolate but they recommended it.

@Coops0406 oh boy! I was waiting for the weight gain but didn't think it would happen so soon. I'll be on them for about 2 weeks then I'll be isolating from when I start injections.

Sounds like it has been a long road for you. How long did it take you to do your 3 rounds of IUI. It's nice to speak to people in the same situation. Friends and family have been great but it's not the same. Aw gutted!! We are going to start gousto boxes to have some tasty food to look forward too while we isolate.

@Luan82 I definitely would think you'd want to isolate if you're having a fresh transfer, it's not worth anything screwing that up. We're having the PGT-A tests so if any good embryos form they will be frozen until we know the results.

@Cat028 it seems like it will take forever but my 3 weeks on them flew by! Oh no I didn't have IUI, just 6 months on clomid. It was @Ofpalestsilver who has had the IUI cycles

@Coops0406 oops! Sorry! 😅 Must have got myself confused! I'm glad your 3 weeks flew by. Do you have your EC date penciled in?

@Coops0406 absolutely, it's just not worth it. Especially as I've been stuck at home pretty much all year anyway! I doubt I'll want to go anywhere once I start the stims - I should have mentioned I'm actually on the short antagonist protocol which I think is slightly different than some and it's a much faster cycle process!!

We've gone for the embryo imaging service as an add on, though I'm being cautiously optimistic that there will be enough embryos review !! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

@Cat028 oh don't worry, these threads can get mixed up a bit when reading through. My proposed EC date is 9th june 😊 I'm working from home all next week then the week after I'm taking off as I think I'll be pretty uncomfortable nearing EC.

@Luan82 I'm not sure what my protocol is, I presume it's short as it's just the stimulant injections? I had the 3 weeks on the norithisterone but I think that was to just force a bleed at a certain time to get provisional dates in 🤷🏾‍♀️ Is the imaging service the care maps? Because we opted for the PGT-A add on, we're having to do that too.

@Luan82 I thought your cycle was sounding very different. How long will the short protocol take roughly? I agree about the stims. Are you working from home at the moment? I was glad to be back at work for a change of scenery.

@Coops0406 that's so soon! Very exciting! Will you be starting injections soon too? I'll be working from home too but I've prepared my boss that I might not feel up to working so might have to take sick days if it comes to it. That's a good shout taking a week off.

@Cat028 if AF comes when it should, ie 4-5 days after my last norithisterone which was Sunday, then I start injections on Saturday 29th May...I think it looks very similar to @Luan82's protocol. But I will have to wait for results of PGT-A which will be a couple of weeks after (if they were even good enough to be frozen), then wait for them to decide when to put one back in...so earliest for ET may be July/august time I think.

Just a question for anyone on their nhs cycle, do you think that if there was only one good embryo they would let me pay for another EC cycle before they put it back in? I'm 39 in august and if I'm lucky enough for it to work I was just thinking it's worth seeing if I can get more out at this age rather than coming back to it at say 42 when things may have gone downhill more?

@Cat028 yes I did the three cycles of IUI. I did my first in November and then had to skip December because I missed the cut off date for it. I then did February and March for my others as I decided to skip January because of the Covid situation and to be honest I wasn’t in a good frame of mind so the break did me good.

I started this process in September 2019 but we delayed starting because we were supposed to get married last year & we decided to start after that. Then Covid came along. I regret not starting in 2019 now.

@Coops0406 once they give you a diary then it usually states the protocol on there, I'm guessing your cycles aren't regular? That would explain why they want to control the next bleed date and fit everything round that, I don't think I'm having a frozen transfer I think it's fresh with the option to freeze any remaining embryos (for a cost obv). The embryo imaging is exactly like care maps it's just leeds own version of it I think!

@Cat028 looking at the treatment diary it looks very quick tbh, egg collection already scheduled on or around the week commencing 14th (think they only do EC on set days) embryo transfer 2-5 days later then pregnancy test two weeks later 😬😬😬 I'm still working from home but am in business development so to be honest I'm used to it! We only ever went in the office once a week for a catch up, my boss is aware that I'm starting ivf so that's a relief - I had to tell her about my ectopic so she could have assumed for that we were TTC, I'm a little unsure if I should book time off during the stims or wait and have time off after transfer so I can really relax !! I'm thinking the latter ?

@Coops0406 I think you'll have a much better idea when you see how the follicles are responding to stims, they can often get an indication of how many will be collected from that, it's a good question though - might be worth asking the clinic? I'm not sure if you are advised to rest after a stimulated cycle to let your body recover or not !

@Ofpalestsilver completely understand that feeling, wish I'd come off the pill sooner knowing what I know now about my ovarian reserve - we just wanted to get ourselves settled into a new house together first. but hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it!! 🙄🙄🙄

Well this is exciting! The meds have arrived, and it's our anniversary tomorrow - will be celebrating seven years very differently this time !! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

@Luan82 yes, irregular from pcos. Only got it diagnosed finally a year ago even though I've thought it since my early twenties and even 6 years ago was going for check ups and asking direct questions and they said no I didn't have it! Then last year the lady who did the scan said within 2 mins that I have pcos!
Very exciting, and a bit overwhelming when that big box arrives isn't it!!!

@Ofpalestsilver I always think that everything happens for a reason and at the right time for you, even though it never seems like it, I try to keep reminding myself of it. How are you feeling now on day 3 of your injections? Is it similar to the stims you had with IUI? How many days of injections do you have?

@Coops0406 it really angers me that healthcare providers don't take fertility health seriously, they seem so intent on educating us about early pregnancy and nothing about potential issues getting pregnant !! At least now you've finally got a diagnosis, I don't think I'll ever officially get one for endometriosis as it means surgery and surgery is really not a good option for diminished ovarian reserve, it can lower your amh even further ! Xx

@Luan82 Happy anniversary! Haha, definitely a bit of a different one. :)

And yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing. We've been TTC for 3 years but actually, things will happen when they're supposed to happen and we'll get there. I believe that.

@Coops0406 I feel ok on day 3 actually. For IUI, I was 100 every other day for about 10 days and then every day for about 9 days. This is obviously a bit more but I feel ok so far. I'm imagining I'll feel bloated next week though!

It's mad that you know when you EC will be. London Women's Clinic aren't that specific! I imagine it'll be around day 14 all being well but not sure. I will defo take that day off but I'm currently in the middle of a crazy busy time at work so I can't take more. Thankfully, I'm not stressed about this busyness. It's kinda fun and it's taking my mind off things! I'm defo going to isolate post EC after this conversation.

@Luan82 it's strange because when you read about being over 35 it all says that if you've been trying for 6 months you should go to the GP. When I went the GP said that I was young and needed to have been trying for a year before a referral to fertility would be made!
Endometriosis is a tough one, and so painful from what I hear.

@Ofpalestsilver yeah I found it strange as I had my phone appointment with the nurse on 29th April to talk through my treatment plan, yet had been given the written info the week before...including all dates etc! Provisional egg collection booked for 9th june, depending on the scans. Also they have to book the embryologist apparently as they are doing the genetic screening. Glad the injections are going well 😊 won't be long now!

I just got this little ivf survival package from my best friend!! Includes lots of sweets, a wheatgerm bag, mint tea for bloating and a face mask! ❤️

That is so sweet of her ! I think we’re going to need all this. I’ve been on a diet (I have high BMI) but if a sugar craving hits I will answer it. This stuff is tough!