Anyone doing IVF at 40+ pt 2

[lucymills1234]

Setting up a new thread as the old one was nearly at the limit.

@Anxiousbuthopeful
@Islandstars
@Woodcottage1
@Unicorn9
@SerenditySunshine

Fingers crossed @lucymills1234

@lucymills1234 I have never tried it before either. I researched and found a lady locally who had a medical background and then switched to holistic therapies. I don't know if it will help my chances but I definitely felt much better and relaxed afterwards. I feel like I had a good weekend and have slept better. It is quite pricey but I thought I will do it for a few weeks until I start treatment. If I can't start treatment I might still do it occasionally just to chill me out. I have a busy job schedule at a global company and travelling next week. I decided after being so shocked by the first clinic that I need to look after myself a bit better so it is a small step in the right direction for me.

@IslandStars good luck for tomorrow

Me, me, me jumps up and down with hand in the air
(Also, sorry late to the thread as been trying not to obsess over it but I am anyway so what the hell?!)
I’ve just turned 43 and am on day 6 stims of my first (and only) cycle.

I hadn’t intended to be quite so old doing this but Covid delays and then an annoying ovarian cyst have pushed my cycle to just after my 43rd birthday.

I could definitely use a bit of support. My OH is great but not very good at the science part whereas I like to know stuff to the tiny detail.
I have questions, anyone up for being a sounding board? smile

Welcome @Dee3 - you're definitely in the right place. Happy to be a sounding board, and I'm sure many others here will share their experiences too.

I'm 42, and had a frozen transfer in August. So far it's been successful.

Hi @SerendipitySunshine

That’s fantastic news! So pleased for you.

I was meant to get started back in July but what with Covid and a cyst it’s been put back and put back, so now I’m finally in the midst of it I feel like I’m a bit underprepared.

So last week I had my initial day 3 scan and the nurse said she could see 6 follicles. Is that good? Does the Gonal-F make me grow more or just encourage those 6 to develop into eggs?

If it’s the case that I should grow more, how many did other people begin with and end up with?

I have my second scan on Weds morning and I want to be prepared.

Thanks - I’m sure this is just question one of loads!

Welcome @Dee3 and likewise, happy to answer questions!

@IslandStars how did your scan go today?

@SerendipitySunshine it's been a while, hope you're well?

I have had a very mixed day. The good news is that I have had a transfer of a 4BA blast this afternoon, so I am now in the 2WW.

The not so good news is that at the point I went to the clinic, despite having 8 morulas yesterday and being told 5 were 'top tier', at the moment there's nothing suitable to freeze. There are 3 blasts not yet expanded enough to freeze (one is slightly ahead so is the best chance) which may or may not get there. Then 4 others are still morulas. They'll check again later/tomorrow but I feel totally gutted at the prospect of reducing from 8 to 1.

I am really concerned that this may have been a result of my follicles being too large at trigger and my estrogen being too high. I read various studies that large follicles containing 'over-mature' eggs can still fertilise etc but typically fail to make blasts. I know it's too early to call it as there may be progress. I definitely accept that my age is a major factor but it feels like something else has gone wrong here. As soon as the issue with me having too many stims came up I knew part of the issue would be that if I didn't get good results it would make it really hard to judge what's caused by that vs. me (age etc) and therefore where to go next.

Sorry to sound defeatist, I do realise I'm lucky to have a transfer at all. But to have 8 on day 4 and potentially just one on day 5 seems really brutal :(

@Dee3 welcome, best of luck for your round.

@lucymills1234 Good luck for the 2ww, you have a really good grade on board too. If it’s any hope, I had some day 6 embryos become blasts a few times. Can see why you’d be so anxious now after all the early promise. I hate the ups & downs of IVF!

My scan was ok thanks, think I have to hope for 7 eggs. EC Wednesday, but clinic have just annoyed me be asking if I can delay until Thursday, to allow the small follicles to grow. This would have been great, except I gave no stims left and am too far away from clinic to get there before closing! Looking at the scan this morning, I didn’t think the small ones would have a chance of catching up, why didn’t they suggest this sooner?! Have probably lost a couple potential eggs now

Hi @lucymills1234 congratulations on your transfer. If it helps, we had none to freeze on day 5, just one 5BB. Then the next day we got a call to say there was one to freeze, a 6BB. I had that one transferred as a FET despite it having already hatched and them not holding out much hope, and that's this current pregnancy. Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks @Dee3 I think the stims get those follicles you have to produce an egg, so all six will be stimulated at once.

@lucymills1234 good luck with your 2WW. I believe there's still hope as one morula I had ended up being a 5BB. So fingers crossed.

@IslandStars good luck with your EC

@Dee3 Welcome and best wishes for your round.

I'm in the middle of round 5 with a clinic abroad. This time is my first FET and tandem cycle with a donor egg.
Shitting it. Estrofem is the devil's tablet. Transfer on 20th November

@lucymills1234 Was just thinking to ask how your update went…how awful, this needs to be addressed immediately by the practice manager/owner. It can’t be right that 2 major mistakes are made. Small errors of judgement are made me thing, we know IVF isn’t an exact science abd our body dictates a large part of any success, but their mistakes seem to be purely human error. They should not be employing staff like this when their mistakes are so costly.

Hope you get a quick response. They really owe you a fresh round free of charge, but whether you’d want to stick with them is another matter. Either way, there needs to be compensation in one form or another and a formal apology. Maybe you also need to report them to hfea.

Sorry to sound so negative, you could still end up with a silver lining and a BFP, but am just angry for you!

My EC is tomorrow afternoon.

@SwordToFlamethrower Good luck with your transfer. Is this your first donor egg transfer?

@lucymills1234 sending you much love. This sounds horrendous. Out this clinic! Make sure they're not used again.
Words have little impact against such big feelings but please know you're in our thoughts. Miracles happen every day x

@lucymills1234
Meant to read;
*Small errors of judgement are one thing

For the 4BA which wasn’t ready, could it be considered similar to a day 3 transfer maybe? Possibly means it’s not entirely over in terms of chance of implantation.

@lucymills1234 This is terrible that they made this mistake. Not sure if you can check with the regular what they have reported.

I am furious and I don't even know you as it is total lack of care and I agree the clinic need to call you and apologise and discuss with you. It is a huge financial and psychological investment and I think for that you at least expect to be treated with respect regardless of if the outcome is successful or not.

www.hfea.gov.uk/contact-us/making-a-complaint-about-a-fertility-clinic/

@lucymills1234 What a nightmare. I do hope you find the strength to do something about what's happened. I wish you get some good news at the end of the 2WW

@IslandStars good luck with your EC

@SwordToFlamethrower good luck with your transfer

@lucymills1234 wow, I'm flabbergasted at the clinic's incompetence. Hoping that as @IslandStars said the one you've got in board is maybe the equivalent of a day 3 and still with potential? You really don't need this stress, sending you best wishes x

Just catching up here.

@lucymills1234 so sorry you are having such a brutal time. The drop off with blastocysts is hard enough to compute on it’s own. To be honest when you mentioned what happened with the drug instructions , I thought then that you should make a complaint as it’s terrible incompetence. But this other stuff is a next level error, and you are well within your rights to be angry. As others have said, it may not be that you are completely out. I know it’s hard, but try to look after yourself over the next few days - lots of deep breathing and self compassion to you. When you feel ready, definitely pursue that complaint. I would ask for a full refund if it was me - especially with the two errors combined. Sending you lots of love ❤️❤️❤️

@IslandStars really hope your egg collection goes well today.

@SwordToFlamethrower good luck too! Your head must be all over the place as there is real chance of a pregnancy! I’m thinking more and more that we may need to consider donor eggs now - can’t keep flogging my own.

Thanks @IslandStars - I am yo-yoing between anger and sadness at the moment. I am going through the motions with meds but this 2WW now feels like a farce with minimal hope of success. I would love to be proved wrong. The 4BA went into the freezer - the one they transferred was not graded, as it was seen as needing longer before it was suitable for transfer or freeze. They think it was 'heading' towards a 3BB but not there yet, so maybe it really a 2-something.

I'll see how the clinic respond when I send the complaint and then take it up with the HFEA if necessary.

Loads of luck with your EC today, hope they get all 7 eggs you're hoping for. Let us know.

@Lulu106 thanks - I would love a miracle!

@Scrumpy10 respect is the thing - I feel there's been no effort at all to acknowledge the mistake or the mental distress.

@Keyu thank you - fingers crossed.

@LouScot I was shell-shocked when I got the call, it seems so far-fetched that something like this can happen, and yet it has.... I worry that the stress alone has ruined any tiny chance this transfer could have worked :(

Hi All, I really need some advice if you don't mind,
So I've just realised that I've not been administering the right amount of Buserelin for down regulation, I feel so stupid....the clinic didn't even realise, rather than having used 3 bottles I haven't even used 1 !!!!! I have been asking them for weeks to check if I have been administering it correct, as something didn't seem right, any how, yesterday the nurse mentioned one bottle should only last 11 days so that's when I realised, the clinic did another blood test and have now asked that I take 1ml injection for the next 7 days, instead of 0.5ml, has anyone had to take such a high dose, I can't seem to find any information, I am totally stressed and losing confidence. thanks

Hi all, was hoping to update with better news as i had 8 eggs collected yesterday, but it's all turned a bit shit to be honest!

Only 3 eggs have fertilised. 3 fertilised abnormally, which they said was probably due to egg quality and 2 were definitely poor egg quality. Overall, considering i only got 2 normals previously in 1 round out of 3, i'm thinking my eggs have had it.

So now i have to do a day 3 transfer and hope i have something to freeze.

@lucymills1234 Have the clinic been in touch?

@TB1976 Sorry i haven't down regged before. Hope you get some answers.

@Islandstars , sorry your news isn't better, this whole process is really stressful x

It's not quite the same I know @TB1976 but I took half the dose I should have done of oestrogen on this round before transfer (tablets had changed and were half the strength of previous packets). I had to double up on that after my lining scan but the transfer was still successful. Fingers crossed for you.