IVF July/August 2021

[Bethpalmer20]

Hi everyone.

I couldn't find a thread for ivf cycles July/August 2021 so I hope it's OK to start one. I was on the March/April thread for my fresh cycle and it was so nice to have support from others going through the same thing.

My fresh cycle was successful but unfortunately I miscarried at 8 weeks pregnant. We are start a frozen cycle with one of our 2 frozen embryos. Aiming to start tablets around the 10th July with the hope of transfer towards the end of July.

Would love to know if anyone else is in the same boat or has any tips!

@girljulian I has scans every other day and the growth was super slow. After 14 days I had only reached 11mm with a few follicles. They gave me more meds for another 3 days and the follicles shot up above their baseline. Their thinking was I had done 2 weeks and a little more stimulation might do the trick. So thankful they did and the growth happened. Quite anxious about the EC tomorrow morning. Just got to trust in the professionals now.

My main advice would be to stay as chilled out as possible, know it’s nothing you’re doing or not doing re the process and just trust. There are so many variables with this and I’ve learnt so much already. This is my first round and it’s been a rollercoaster to even get to EC.

@XjustagirlX I haven't done EC yet ☺️ sounds like we're on similar dates! I start 24th with first week august potentially for EC.

I can still go home same day with GA just think it's a little more waiting around afterwards but it's helped me stay calm so I don't mind so much.

Thanks @purplemichelle -- sending you good thoughts for EC tomorrow! It hasn't quite been a week of stims for me yet (will be a week tomorrow) so we'll see what happens there.

@girljulian thanks!! Good luck for your next scan.

@JeOrdaannnn how are you? how was your transfer? I hope your progesterone level was OK!
Yep, that's me, starting down reg at the end of this month for EC at the end of August hopefully... I'm a way behind many of you here but it's good to read through your journeys :)

@tmc2021 how did your transfer go? I hope the 2ww is going OK so far!

@Aprilia123 how did things go for you? Did you have a day 5 transfer?

@Purplemichelle glad to hear you had good growth :) good luck for EC tomorrow!!

@Bethpalmer20 @Alexm06 how's it going on the meds?

@Hoping4baby21 glad it turned OK for you and you didn't have to cancel the cycle!

@girljulian welcome and very glad to see you're having a much better response this time! I hope the side effects have calmed down now... good luck for your next scan!

@miiaa hi! I also had a BFN after my first IVF round in March... hang in there, it's still very early! Keeping my fingers crossed for you xx

@XjustagirlX I was really panicking about EC last time round, but honestly it was the easiest part of the entire process. I'm actually looking forward to being sedated this time. As @2021babyhope said, it's over really quickly!

Hi all, can I join? Should be starting our first cycle in about a fortnight.

We’re in an unusual situation in that we’ve never tried to conceive naturally. DH has a life threatening inherited condition and we’ve taken the decision to start a family via PGD. I also have PCOS so it’s possible we would have needed help anyway.

I’m feeling very nervous about the injections etc. Feel like there’s more I should be doing with diets and accupuncture and things but it’s so confusing.

@beachbum85 thanks but not out of the woods yet. Positive OPK on day 6 of my cycle bonkers! So if at my scan tomorrow my lining is not thick enough cycle will be cancelled, and I think that is highly likely so that's what I'm preparing myself for.

@Hoping4baby21 oh no! keeping my fingers crossed for you that it won't be the case... that's such an early OPK! is it the meds creating chaos?

@53rds I'm sorry to hear about your husband's condition. Are you on a long protocol? I start with Buserelin in around a fortnight too... It's my second round and I think things settle into place once you start the injections, but very normal to be nervous! It's a minefield...

Been lurking but not posted on this one. I do recognise a few names though!

Hope you don’t mind the joining in- currently in the waiting zone after a natural FET last Friday following a chemical in March/April from our first fresh transfer.

Jumping on just to say @girljulian I was a poor responder myself. Consultant thought it would be textbook for me however I stopped responding to the meds midway through Stims. They didn’t scan me for 9 days so it was missed… (needless to say this was a complaint against them when we debriefed after our CP). Once scanned at d9 I ended up on another 3/4 days of Stims to give the 3rd follicle a chance!

I ended up with 3 follicles (2 ok size of 12-13 and the 3rd was barely 11 but I think they let it happen rather than cancel the cycle!). We got 3 eggs and 2 fertilised. One d3 transfer (CP) and our current FET.

My advice is to go with the flow, it’s hard to believe them when it says it only takes 1 and I know from experience the gut feeling when you get the call and have limited options due to egg numbers. Take time to chill and relax, you can only do what your body allows you to do!x

Wishing everyone a good journey!x

@beachbum85 I’m on a short protocol because I have PCOS. It is such a minefield! I’m glad things settled down once you got going

@beachbum85 I don't know why I have a follicle but it was there at day3 at 12mm so must have been there for a while even though I was on my period. They think it was left over from my fresh cycle and I guess my body realised and decided now was the time to use it and get rid of it!

We shall see tomorrow but I have to go in prepared for the worst.

@53rds I found the injections really easy to be fair. I just said it my husband to say who did my shots that I miss it, it was such a nice bonding time for us. Diet I just try to make healthier decisions, more protein and veg. Whole grain carbs. I do acupuncture and I like it, but the evidence is on the fence so if it isn't your thing then don't worry about it too much. Drink lots of water and keep moving to keep blood flowing. You can do tons of stuff but just do what you feel is manageable. Best of luck with everything!

Hey @purplemichelle I hope your egg collection went well this morning!

Hey @itstime1 I remember you from our previous cycles. Sorry to see you here again but wishing you the best of luck this time round. Do keep us updated 🤞

Thanks for checking in @beachbum85 almost a week of meds for me now. Think I spoke to soon regarding no side effects as I've noticed a pattern of headaches/nausea shortly after taking the tablets. But, short term pain for (hopefully) long term gain... Lining scan is booked for next Wednesday so keeping everything crossed it goes to plan! 🤞

Hey @Itstime1, thank you for sharing that it is reassuring! Been back to the clinic this morning and I have two big (12.5mm) and one medium but getting there (10mm) follicle on my left ovary, plus a tiddly one (6) that doesn't seem to be doing anything. I think my right ovary is a lost cause at this point the two on there are still only 6mm. Nurse says it's possibly I have a blocked tube on that side and the follicles have no eggs in, so they can't really respond. That would be possible with my endo.

So I'm trying to feel positive about my three follicles! At least they are responding and have grown a normal amount since two days ago, it's just that there's not very many of them.

It's really knocked me to find that I actually have fertility problems myself because we were doing this entirely because of male factor but not in a way where we thought there'd be a problem! To explain further, I have always had bad periods but assumed mild endo at best, always regular periods etc. We knew we'd have to use donor sperm because my husband has an intersex condition he looks totally male but apparently his testicles are just for show and he also has ovaries (which don't work). But he has known that since he was a teenager so it wasn't a shock. So we were all cheerily going to go in with great quality donor sperm and me responding normally, but then nope, low AMH and poor response. Ah well, on we chug.

@Bethpalmer20 argh sorry your getting headaches. I don't think my side effects were related as I'm not noticing them anymore.

Had my scan today my lining is where it needs to be but the follicle hasn't grown and despite having a positive LH test it also doesn't look like it's about to ovulate. So they are confused. Next scan will be on Monday and if it still hasn't grown cycle is cancelled. If it grows then they trigger me. So I'm hoping it grows but I don't have much hope for that because it hasn't since Monday.

If my bloods today show peak LH then I'll start pessaries on Saturday.

So still waiting...

@Hoping4baby21 This sounds like a nightmare with the weird random extra follicle! Of course it's there now and not when it was wanted for egg collection...

@Bethpalmer20 thanks for your message. Sadly the clinic only retrieved one egg today and a doubtful second (the embryologist said she didn’t know if it was an egg or not due to the amount of cells around it). I’ve cried a great deal and have been in bed most of the day. The sedation didn’t agree with me at all and I’ve been sick a few times.

The clinic will call in the morning to let us know whether the egg has fertilised. All we can do is hope and pray now.

@Purplemichelle I'm so sorry you didn't get the outcome you were hoping for and I'm sorry your feeling so rough! I know it doesn't feel like it now but it does only take one. I'll have all my fingers and toes crossed for you. Hope you feel better soon x

@girljulian urgh nightmare indeed. I'm doing some research and apparently it isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. I just want to know what the heck I'm doing.

@girljulian sounds like you’re in a similar place to me. I’ve known IVF was on the cards pretty much as long as I’ve known DH. I was quite relaxed about it but now we’re here the reality of everything is pretty stressful

Oh no @purplemichelle, so sorry to hear you've had a rough time. Let's hope the egg pulls through -- if they only got one, it was probably your "natural" one so it should be a good one!

@beachbum85 i actually have no side effects so yeah I feel ok doesn't feel like im getting ready for a transfer. Have my scan next Friday so hopefully transfer 5 days later.
How you doing? You excited to get started again?

Got the bloods back! LH surge did happen so I start utrogestan tomorrow and transfer is scheduled for next week! That happened super quick. Lining is 9.3mm so looks like it's all ready to go.

Yay @Hoping4baby21!

Ugh, just had to do my own Fyramadel this morning for the first time (nurse did it yesterday) and the needle is bloody enormous! It’s like stabbing yourself with a drawing pin.

@girljulian thanks!! I was excited but then I spent all evening worrying I haven't had enough estrogen and that will cause a problem. Clinic only has on call number over the weekends but I guess I will call Monday.

Oh gosh I've never done that med before. You got this 💪🏽

@beachbum85 Unfortunately not, we ended up with two morulas on day 5 and for a few reasons decided to push to day 6, at which point they’d both stopped. I’m happy with the decision though and would rather know than wait 2 weeks, so we’re already underway planning next steps.
Hope all goes well for you!

@Alexm06 how are things progressing for you? I'm guessing next week is your first scan?

I had a thought, I was scrolling through the thread and trying to catch up on where everyone is on their cycle. It can be hard to keep track and follow up with everyone and we have quite a few people on this thread which is great.

So if you would like to be included in a rolling thread - which I will update once a week of where you are at in your cycle/progress updates etc then send through the below details and I'll track it.

I'll start with mine as an example:

@hoping4baby21 treatment: 1st FET cycle| start date: 10th July | progress: booked for transfer w/c 19th July

What does everyone think?

Also hope everyone plans to enjoy this beautiful weather.