First cycle of IVF - buddies please!

[LS2020]

Hi everyone,

Been on the conception boards a fair bit but this is first time on the infertility section.
Bit of background - 28 and been TTC for two years for first child. Had one miscarriage about 10 months ago at 5 weeks. Had all our fertility checks and no major issues have been identified. Consultant suggested IVF for us so we are currently in that process.
Nurse consultation is 2nd July and then hoping it’s not long after then!

Looking for some buddies to keep me going through it all as hate all kinds of hospital things and to stop me over thinking about!

Thanks for taking the time to read 😊

@Eiremogra I also have low AMH and was prescribed DHEA from a clinic we didn't go with in the end. I've been taking it for 2.5 months. Not sure if I'll know it makes a difference as this is my first IVF cycle (nothing to compare it to) but my current clinic was fine with it. I read "it starts with the egg" and felt reassured. I've been taking all supplements in the "advanced" plan from the book but of course not sure it'll make any difference. I have a naturally conceived daughter so am also private for treatment.

@LS2020 all good now. Day 2 totally smooth. The needles are small. It's just the idea that's daunting to me. My husband did my injection last night which I found much better.

@Girlwholifts congratulations on being PUPO! Everything crossed. And hoping your other embryo can be frozen!

@dogmam so sorry egg collection was so unpleasant. Being awake for that sounds awful. Hope you're recovering OK today? You, too @tmc2021 hope you're feeling better.

@Ally0400 Aww thank you! Glad you’re finding the injections ok, they are way worse in your head aren't they!
I too am private and have this morning just found out that Cambridgeshire has been added to the funding list, typical haha!

Hi ladies, hope everyone is ok. I feel so rough after egg collection on Monday, obviously I am at risk of OHSS but hard to know what's normal in terms of pain.

Anyway, of the 19 eggs collected only 10 were mature and 6 fertilised. I was absolutely gutted when I got that news yesterday as had such high expectations after my scans showed so many follicles and 19 eggs were collected. I wasn't prepared for such a drop off and had unrealistic high hopes. Feeling slightly more hopful today but so anxious for the update tomorrow.

Hi Guys I needed some advice, so ttc for 1.5 years first baby, absolutely nothing happening each month both of us are healthy, our tests were finish, hubs was slightly down on 2 things but then slightly high on others so Dr said counterbalances so the clinic suggested IVF to give us the best chance. The Dr suggested if I wasnt sure at this point we can try clomid for 6months to boost our chances even though im ovulating ok on my own which at first I thought this was a good plan of action. As most of you will know each month is just a mental torture when your waiting for your period so I have been having a re-think and doing some research on IUI and IVF. While I understand IVF has its challenges if we have better odds just we just take the leap! Can anyone shed some light on IVF and how the process works with someone like myself who works full time I do nights aswell! I looked at a basic IVF example schedule what do you about work do you have to make alot of changes to accommodate the process? and other help welcome I would try the IUI but my Dr says its not free on NHS bit confused on what road to take or should I stick to the agreed plan and reassess in December.

@dogmam try not to feel disheartened I know it must be hard. Remember it only takes 1 embryo and you have 6 fertilised. Have they all made blast?

@Luluspies Hi and welcome.
So lm private and found that they give you a appointment time which your are expected to make so work wise you’ll need to be open from the start really. My injections were between 6-8am and 6-8pm everyday which I did while at work, they only take like 5mins. You find a way to work around it, try not to over think it until you’ve seen a consultant and see what they advise! Good luck 🍀

@Luluspies forgot to mention I didn’t have Clomid as an option so can’t help on that ☺️

@Girlwholifts Thanks I suppose I'm feeling like Im struggling to make a decision when I don't know how it's going to effect the different aspects of my life.

@luluspies welcome! Obviously choices are all individual, but I would suggest there are a few things to way up.

First is age. If you are in your early 30s (or younger) then time is on your side. If you are nearing 40 (or over) that might put slightly more ticks in the IVF category.

The other thing to consider is costs. Are you being funded via NHS or self funding. If you have NHS funding, then brilliant! If not, IVF is a lot more expensive that IUI, and clomid would be the least costly.

@Bryterlayter1 thanks for your advice I'm 38 and my husband is 42 I think I'm finding it hard to know what the best option is for us we know we want a family but just don't know what best suits us I am eligible for funding for IVF if I want it.

@dogmam so sorry for your disappointment at the drop-off rate. 6 fertilised is really positive but understandable you'd be upset after starting with such a high count. Fingers crossed they progress well for you.

@Luluspies you'll have to weigh the options and go with what feels right to you as a couple. Then mentally close the door on the path you did not take. No way to know what will ultimately work, so you just have to come to a decision and go for it. Great that you can access funding so finances aren't as critical a factor. Best of luck to you.

I've just had my day 6 scan today (have done 4 days worth of stims) and have 10 follicles. 3 responding well and 7 are smaller and unsure how they'll do. Another scan in 2 days. Though the doctor said results were "good but not awesome", I feel disappointed. I have low AMH/doing mild IVF but hard not to hope for better at this stage? I really don't know.

@Ally0400 You sound very similar to me, I had a very low protocol. I ended up having 5 mature of which 4 fertilised. I expected way more but apparently my protocol was never set for that. A lot can change in 2 days, positive thinking 💛

Had our day 3 update from the embryologist today, unfortunately all 6 of our embryos have fragmentation and 2 of them haven't developed past 2 cells each. The other 4 although developing have fragmentation so it's not looking good. We will get another update on Saturday though at day 5 but not looking good. I absolutely broke my heart after the call this morning, the possibility of not even getting to transfer awful. Even if they do make it to day 5, there will then be the additional strain of thawing when we come to FET. I just feel like it was 2 minutes ago that was started stims and now it could be all over, and on the other hand all of the pain, the injections for nothing, not even a chance.

@girlwholifts how are you feeling? Have you had any symptoms?

@ally0400 4 days of stims is still very early days so plenty of time for those little follicles to catch up. It's an awful wait, I bet you can't wait for your next scan, perhaps if they still aren't where they should be, your dose could be looked at?

@luluspies it is a difficult thing to process but if I were you I would go for ivf whilst you have the funding, ultimately it is what will give you the best chance at a baby. It is really hard to accept, I am 30 and still can't believe I am going through it.

@dogmam I’m so sorry to hear this, don't give up hope. Would they not consider a fresh cycle if you’re feeling up to it? Did they say why or explain anything?

I feel absolutely no different to before starting IVF other than a little bloated. I think that’s the lovely pessaries side effect kicking in. I guess we shall see next week 🤞🏼

@Girlwholifts ooh that’s interesting, but it’s probably a good thing as will help body stop rejecting and improve circulation to the area.
What dose of pessaries are you on? Mine came yesterday and I was shocked id have to do two a night!
I follow the woman on Instagram who got the Cambridge IVF funding and she’s going to ask for a round on it even though she’s done private so that may be an idea if this cycle doesn’t work (obviously touch wood everything will be perfect for you ☺️)

@Ally0400 glad injections are okay. My and OH had a bit of a to do last night trying to pop my foot blister so not giving me confidence in him injecting me! Sorry to hear that you’re feeling underwhelmed by progress but still a lot of time left. Have they upped your dosage?

@Luluspies welcome. I was very like you, TTC for two years now, not really found anything except low morphology on OH side (3%) but count etc was fine so doctors not worried. Had my Hycosy and they basically said right IVF it is. I panicked a bit and asked for 6 more months and ended up agreeing to to revisit in 4 months. Did one cycle of TTC naturally which was torture and I rang them straight up to get referred as I thought well nothings happened in 20 months why would something happen now. I’ve had so much less stress. I haven’t done clomid so can’t comment on that but as others have said, my injections will be early in morning and late at night. I’m an office worker though so easier for me to have time off for the scans and egg retrieval. I’ve found it useful to be open with work about but understand not everyone feels that way. Most companies have and IVF sick leave policy.

@dogmam so sorry to hear this love :( did you have any abnormal sperm results for your OH? The woman I mentioned on Instagram above has had a few failed IVF rounds and they’ve just done DNA fragmentation testing on him and it’s come out with a lot of findings for them and it’s only about £400 for the test so might be worth doing a few things like that before starting a new round if you need. I really hope one of them turns into a lovely little bean for you. Thinking of you ❤️

@LS2020 so I have 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening, I am not enjoying them that’s for sure 🤣
Indeed we will 100% be chasing the funding up if this round doesn’t work. We were advised that we would qualify but fingers crossed this works and we don’t need it. I’ve signed every petition and campaign going for the past 2 years to stop the postcode lottery so was over joyed that Cambridgeshire now get 1 funded round. 🎉

What’s next on the cards for you? How you find everything so far? X

@dogmam i'm so sorry to hear things aren't lloking good. As @Girlwholifts said, won't they reconsider fresh if your OHSS symptoms subside?

@Momo32 i hope you are ok x

@Ally0400 it's still early days. I follow some ladies on instagram and youtube and some had slow growers that caught up after some more stims. One if them had quite a few catch up after the trigger and ended up collecting more eggs that predicted.

@LS2020 yay on getting the meds. One step closer.

@Bryterlayter1 not that long for you now

Not much to report from my end. The consultant wants to give me some more time on the pill to see how my lining behaves. I'm finishing the first box today, stopping for a week and potentially restarting for a few more days. Should hear from them either today or early next week with a more concrete timeline. When this was initially discussed the plan was to start this week or next week, so I'm struggling a bit with the extra delays but I understand their caution and will give me better chances of not developpig polyps and having a fresh transfer. Patience, however, is not one of my virtues

@LS2020 Thanks our stories sound very similar I asked for 6 more months then that would take us to the 2 years but each month when AF arrives it gets harder especially when it comes a few days late to mess with your head a bit more. I was just on my period normally for 4 days I took my first clomid yesterday on the second day of flow and my period came to an abrupt stop has anyone else had this experience?

Oh @dogmam, I'm sorry the news isn't looking good. Fingers crossed though that there's a positive change by Saturday! I can't remember are you NHS funded? If so, I hope there are more funded chances for you.

On my end, I'm having sperm difficulties (not something I ever thought I would say!). We initially ordered on the 25th June from a European bank (as UK banks either had no caucasian donors or only 1 who was CMV positive etc). The clinic had given us a list of banks to use, but when I contacted the IVF clinic on the 28th they said that whilst they were happy to import the sperm, but there was going to be a delay of a few months as their import license for that particular clinic was being renewed due to Brexit. So we rang the european bank (who were lovely) and cancelled the order. They refunded in full which was so amazing, as I am pretty sure they could have kept an administration fee. As if my magic, a new donor appeared on the 28th at a UK bank which met our needs to we ordered on that day. We thought all looked good we had about 3.5 weeks until my proposed start date which by the sperm bank own time scale would be fine.

Fast forward to this week, I noticed that there was no update from the bank or clinic. I had an appoiment with the embryologist anyway so asked them if they had completed the paperwork on their end. It turns out that one of the test required for donors was out of date and in order to accept the sample the IVF clinic needed to see up to date test results (I presume this has to do with virology since there are strict guidelines about timings), and they have requested these from the bank. I then contact the bank who said they had send a sample for retesting, results are due back this week, and they would plan to send the sample early next week. Their view is that all would be fine and sample would be there before treatment started. However, I'm now getting nervous because I haven't heard back yet if test results have been received. No one expects there to be a problem with the results, as it is the same sample that was tested a while back and there were no issues, it's just that the test was out of date.

I'm finding all this very irritating. It's not the end of the world if I have to wait another month, I will be slightly annoyed, but ultimately fine. It's just the not knowing that is driving me bonkers! I emailed the bank again today to ask for an update, explaining that I do need to make plans for leave from work and kind of need to know if we are going forward at the end of the month.

Hi ladies, thanks for the well wishes, honestly I'm feeling so low about this.

@girlwholifts Yes I would love to do a fresh round if that was an option but I haven't been taking any of the medication in preparation for one, so not sure how that would work. I'm going to ask though, if we do have any miracle embryos tomorrow. I feel fine pain wise now, bloating has completely gone, I don't really understand why I'm even classed as high risk as I don't have PCOS. How long do you take the pessaries for?

@LS2020 who is the lady on Insta so I can have a look? Yeah SA is terrible, 2% morphology and 10% motility that why we had ICSI. When I've looked at fragmentation of embryos there's a number of reasons why it happens, egg quality, stimulation drugs, the lab etc so I don't know if sperm DNA fragmentation is the same thing, I really need to find out. Anyway, hope your injecting goes better than the blister poping! Do you have a start date yet?

@bryterlayter1 wow sounds like you have to be a super secretary to make sure everything comes together between your clinic and the bank! Hopfully as you say it will all be fine as it's just a repeat but it sounds stressful just organising it all never mind actually going through the actual ivf process! Yeah I'm nhs funded and extremely lucky to get 3 full rounds where I live.

@dogmam The first 1 I took was on egg collection which was Wednesday and we had transfer Monday.
Like you say that’s so strange you was classed as high risk, the only thing I can think of is that you obviously reacted really well to the stims and produced a great amount of eggs. I was on a very low protocol (apparently) as they didn’t want me to produce too many.
My Stims were 150 Pergoveris for 250 Cetrotide and 250 Ovitrelle.
I found the embryologist sooo helpful, maybe worth digging with them when they make contact tomorrow? It’s great you get another 2 chances if this one doesn’t go great (which I’m sure it will be fine) fingers crossed they will learn all they need too and worse case you will be super prepared for next time.

@Bryterlayter1 Wow you really have had a time of it bless you! We started our “journey” 3 years ago and the worst part about the entire process was not being in control of the clinics side of things. Obviously then Covid hit and we had ours cancelled 3 times, we laugh now but cried at the time. I hated it so I can only imagine how you must be feeling right now!

@Girlwholifts I pick up my plan Monday so will check that’s not the same as me and I’m not shoving them up like a bunch of grapes when I shouldn’t! 😂 is it the task of doing them or the progesterone hormones that are hard to deal with? That’s good that you should get a second round, provides some comfort!
I’m just waiting til the 4th really, meds arrived Thursday, getting a bit worried about in this heat but hoping ok and then will do a round as normal. I’m trying to avoid DTD with OH as I can’t remember where I am in cycle and don’t want to spend last two weeks being like ooh am I, am I not. Treating this as my last baby free month.

@Bryterlayter1 what a pain with the bank! Hope you get sorted soon. Chase them every day and don’t feel bad about it ☺️ I think it will be fine as not like you don’t know result so you haven’t got a chance they turn round and say oh no it’s failed and you can’t use them. They’ll be used to these processes and always come together in the end.

@Novavee Feeling for you, it takes long enough to get to this point so any other delays just feel ages. I still maintain these weeks are dragging. Even though I’m on annual leave next week, then got one week and I start so it’s not even far off now!

@Luluspies that’s why I just rang up, I was like this is ridiculous I’m putting myself through so much stress there is no reasonable way I’m going to conceive naturally so what was the point in delaying. I feel so much happier being in control about and now it feels like oh my god in 4 weeks I will have an embryo inside me and I’m so glad I went for it. I remember chatting to a close friend about when I said 6 months and they were like ooh a possible September baby and I was like September 2022?! That’s ages away not doing that and that spurred me on 😂 (this was back April time)

@dogmam it’s Amber.Izzo, I’ve had no where near her experience but found it really supportive to see someone go through ‘in real life’. I think they’ve done 3 rounds and only had 1 poor quality embryo so they’ve been doing a couple of ‘extra’ tests so might be able to look through her stories for suggestions.

I’ll start on the 4th as long as AF arrives on time ☺️

Does anyone know what counts as day 1 for injections though as sometimes I can get some medium spotting the day before? I tend to count it as feel there’s enough blood for like a panty liner but don’t know if should be first day of full bleed?

@LS2020 Yes I see your point and I think I will get that relief if it comes to IVF we talked it over again and settled on months on the clomid see what happens if nothing we will make the call. good luck to you on your Journey keep us updated it sounds exciting and you sound very positive which is so nice! My cycle is the same I spot before but I did read people can correct me if this is wrong but I read that you first full day bleeding normal flow is day one so example if you just have spotting in the morning then just before you go bed you have a heavy flow that's not day one the following day is your day one. I never thought that I would of classed that as my first day as that's the day I've came on even if it was at 8 o'clock at night lol it's a tricky one when you spot before I can spot for like 4 days before anything significant!

@LS2020 *months of clomid that should of said sorry xx

@LS2020 3 months! Jeeze this clomid must be affecting my ability to type 🤣🤣

@LS2020 No one wants to be doing anything they shouldn’t be especially in that region 🤣
They are so simple to do and are quite small which was a welcomed relief.
For me the worst part are the side effects of the extra progesterone, very sore boobs, bloated and tired all the time, I mean a fell asleep eating my lunch! Shocking 🥴
How you feeling now? Exited that you’ll be starting soon?

@dogmam how’s things with you? Hope all has gone well over the weekend?

Hope all you other ladies are doing well 💛