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

SerendipitySunshine thanks for responding, I feel such an idiot, but I spoke to the clinic again this morning and they have assured me that this can be rectified and that it wont have any impact on the next stage, so I'm really hoping they are right. I'm now going to take 1ml of Buserelin each night until next Wednesday, when I have a scan and blood test booked, so fingers crossed the down reg works. thanks again

@lucymills1234 I sent you a private message.

It's really easily done @TB1976 and great that you spotted it when you did.

@SerendipitySunshine, thank you, I think with Covid and having been shown how to administer the medication via Teams doesn't help either, Although they are going to show me how to mix and inject the Menopur and GonalF at my appointment next week, so I wont make anymore mistakes !

@IslandStars sorry you're news isn't the best. Is it just the one you have just now that fertilised normally or the 3? Is the day 3 transfer as opposed to day 5 something your clinic does or is it your choice? Sorry for all the questions, don't answer if you don't want to, but hoping you get more optimistic news as the week progresses x

@LouScot Thanks, i have 3 fertilised, but given the normal drop off rate up to day 5, it would be risky to wait until then for transfer, as i may not have anything left. Clinic recommended day 3 transfer under the circumstances and i agree, although they said ultimately it was my decision if i wanted to wait until day 5.

Hi there. Wonder if it’s ok to join this thread. I’m not 40 until Feb but just getting ready to start our first round of ivf. We have our nurse planning appointment in January and will be hopefully starting our first cycle in February.

We wouldn’t get added to nhs list until January which means with waiting lists just now would be nearer September until we started so opting to go private even though it means having to give up our nhs chance.

All our tests have come back fine so unexplained. Amh came back at 39 so high risk of OHSS so will be getting gnrh antagonist protocol with a freeze all.

Managed to get myself to the stage where I’m not feeling the most optimistic about it all so hoping to hear some positive stories along the way!!

@lucymills1234 i'm so sorry to hear they messed up your transfer, that is just heartbreaking. fingers crossed the little embryo you have on board is a sticky one, but this process is stressful enough without having clinic mistakes to contend with as well, and it sounds like yours made some really bad ones.

@IslandStars sorry it wasn't the result that you wanted, but fingers crossed that one of those three fertilised embryos makes it to day 5!!

i only had one embryo that was good enough to test, and we found out yesterday that it was chromosomally abnormal. which makes me out for 2 cycles running. feeling a bit sad and worried that my eggs are all a bit old and poor quality. I think we're going to leave any further rounds until the beginning of next year (which i suspect we'd have to do anyway because i don't think my clinic would chance an egg collection around xmas day!), and try to have a bit of a break from worrying about it. my only positive is that i had dinner with a school friend who had two rounds of ivf with only one embryo, neither of which made it on transfer, before having a really successful 3rd round (which resulted in both of her children). so perhaps it will be lucky 3rd round :)

@99pctpractice , sorry to hear your news, I think that's my worry too, at 45years old my eggs are probably too poor quality to result in a successful pregnancy, unfortunately we can only really afford one round of IVF, so the next few weeks are going to be really stressful.

Thinking of you all... and really hoping we have some positive news to share soon.

Hi everyone, sorry didn't post for a bit as my brain was struggling.

@IslandStars I'm really sorry you didn't get the numbers you hoped for, it's really devastating. Are you completely fixed on a day 3 transfer or will you see that morning what the situation is? I can completely understand the reluctance to wait for day 5 if you are concerned it leaves you at risk of no transfer.

On the quality point, there is always the inescapable fact that time is the enemy of quality but as you know things can also vary hugely between cycles. I've had such yo-yoing results and I really couldn't say what was different. This time the high fertilisation and progression was great for me but then it's all gone pear-shaped. I think you planned to do this one cycle and call it a day, so I really hope it brings you success or if not, some feeling of having done all you can. This makes your transfer tomorrow, right?

Thanks @99pctpractice :) I'm sorry you haven't had better news yourself, but it sounds like you plan to go again and have optimism for the future which is great :) There's obviously a lot of science but at the same time a large degree of 'luck' involved so how long anyone tries is down to their bank balance and resilience!

@LT103 Welcome! Afraid it's been a bit choppy on this thread lately but I'm sure we are all with you that we'd love good news :)

Sorry to others I've missed.

This has been a week to forget. It has felt a bit like living through the crushing disappointment of a test day BFN, every day, even though I'm actually at the start of the 2WW. I'm trying but struggling (failing) not to feel defeated.

@LT103 Welcome. This thread has been on a bit of a downer lately, so hopefully you can bring us back up, we need more good news! It's actually quite helpful not to be too optimistic to start with. I started off like this, but in the end you can't help but be hopeful. It's too much physical and mental pressure to do this with no hope at all. Honestly, the hardest part is the ups and downs. Once day can be good news and then next it all comes crashing down!

@99pctpractice Sorry the result was abnormal. The PGS wait and results can be really crushing when it doesn't work out. Cycles can definitely vary a lot, so it's not a certainty that you won't ever get normals, they're just so hard to find over 40. Having a break until January sounds wise and there's no point having the worry of xmas and new year closures affecting your cycle.

@lucymills1234 I'll be having a day 3 transfer tomorrow. Today one is growing too quickly and the other is a bit slow. Not sure i will have anything to freeze. They think the one i'll likely transfer will be a 4 cell grade 1, which is below the optimum 6-8 cells on day 3, so another blow! I'm so tempted to ask for a double transfer, but am scared of the medical complications of twins, even though it must be a 1% chance after failing with euploid embryos! Clinic have not even mentioned a double, it's not in their ethos generally.

Don't worry about taking a break from here if you need to, i had to stop reading about IVF after my last BFN. You're in such a unique situation where you should be hopeful throughout your 2WW, but you've just had too much stress and things go wrong to deal with at the same time. I have struggled to cope with 'normal' things going wrong as they can during a cycle, i can't imagine how you're feeling with such monumental mistakes.

Hello, just a quick update, day 3 transfer done, now have a grade 1, 9 cell on board. Here goes another 2ww! The grading is fine for day 3, but 8 cell would have been optimum.

They think I might get 1 more to freeze, but I’m thinking the quality may just be the minimum suitable. Still, I guess any grade can be euploid.

Thanks everyone. I won’t have much happening until after Xmas but fingers crossed it all moves quickly from then

Fingers crossed for you @IslandStars

@LT103 welcome. It sounds like you are in a very good position for ivf success. I only joined this forum recently and it has helped me seeing that lots of people are in a similar situation.

@lucymills1234 how are you?
@IslandStars good luck with everything.

All I had another consultation last week. This time with Nurture even though the news was not good they were much better than Care. The people really impact the overall experience. Although I am now feeling a bit beyond help. As I have such dominished ovarian reserve IVF with my own eggs would be a waste of time. This is because liklihood of getting any egg retrieved would be too low and he said that chances of success with such few eggs with be 3% no matter what I do. Natural conception, IUI or IVF. I know this forum is for IVF over 40 but if it's OK I will keep reading the forum. The only positive was that even with my husband's 7% motility he said still 3% chance of Natural conception and not no chance. So we are going to keep trying, looking in to adoption and donor eggs from abroad.

@LT103 thank you, hopefully you can make the most of the break until after Xmas.

@Scrumpy10 Thank you, sorry the consultation didn’t bring more hope, but I think it’s better that they are realistic with you. In a weird way, you know that you can keep trying naturally, even if it is a small chance, without having to waste more rounds with your own eggs, if your chances are the same. I hope the thread is still useful, you should definitely stick around if it helps, we’re all suffering from infertility one way or another, whichever path we take in future.

I still have adoption on my mind if this last round fails. I’ve been back and forth with it over the years on whether it’s the right thing for me, but I can never quite put it out of my mind, so it’s a possibility.

[quote IslandStars]@LT103 thank you, hopefully you can make the most of the break until after Xmas.

@Scrumpy10 Thank you, sorry the consultation didn’t bring more hope, but I think it’s better that they are realistic with you. In a weird way, you know that you can keep trying naturally, even if it is a small chance, without having to waste more rounds with your own eggs, if your chances are the same. I hope the thread is still useful, you should definitely stick around if it helps, we’re all suffering from infertility one way or another, whichever path we take in future.

I still have adoption on my mind if this last round fails. I’ve been back and forth with it over the years on whether it’s the right thing for me, but I can never quite put it out of my mind, so it’s a possibility.[/quote]
Hello

Been reading this thread for a while I'm
Just 40 got endometriosis and recently had a laparoscopy now going down the ivf route does anyone have any recommendations clinic wise? Heard lots about create for our age group x

Hello

Been reading this thread for a while I'm
Just 40 got endometriosis and recently had a laparoscopy now going down the ivf route does anyone have any recommendations clinic wise? Heard lots about create for our age group x

@IslandStars I know nothing about day 3 grading but sounds like your embryo had a growth spurt between your earlier report and transfer which is very encouraging! Everything crossed for you that it sticks and that you get good news about something(s) to freeze. Do you have to wait longer for OTD when you have an earlier transfer? I hope it's not too long.

@Scrumpy10 sorry to hear that you didn't get better news but hopefully you're feeling that it's better to know and then you can make informed decisions.

I'm obviously still in my 2WW but I'm trying not to think about it as when I do, it's just torture to think of the wasted opportunity. I know it sounds defeatist to assume a negative result already... but I know how hard it is to get a BFP when things go right so when they get screwed up, it seems hopeless.

What supplements are everyone on? I was only taking pregnacare but just started ubiquinol to supposedly help egg quality. Can’t do any harm I guess????

More bad news from me...my other 2 embryos didn't make it, so now all my hope rests on the day 3 transfer. Am so annoyed by the conflicting messages. Day 6 scan i was warned that cycle may need to be cancelled due to the uneven response of follicles, yet two different doctors on day 8 and 10 scans did not advise cancelling, saying it was all about quality. Understand their point at my age especially, but this is the first time in 4 rounds over the past 13 months that i have failed to achieve blastocysts, unless the one transferred back on day 3 has progressed onwards.

@lucymills1234 My OTD is 24th, so only a couple days longer than usual as Create do blood test. How are you feeling? When is your OTD?

@LT103 Ubiquinol won't hurt, although it's done me no favours! I had better results last year on Pregnacare alone, but i think since i'm nearing 43, supplements will not change anything.

@IslandStars sorry to hear your bad news... I am still new to all of this so still trying to fully understand each step of the process, but just wanted to say best of look for your day 3.

@IslandStars - Sorry "luck" I really need to take the time to preview my messages !

@TB1976 Thank you

Hi @IslandStars sorry to hear that your other embryos didn't make it to freeze. I completely understand about the frustration of mixed messages and things that were out of your control not having gone smoothly. It's harder to reconcile yourself to things not having worked out if you feel there was more that could have been done. Fingers crossed that your transfer is settling in well. Are you experiencing any symptoms or are you preferring not to think about it?

My OTD is tomorrow. I don't want to test to be honest. I know it's not healthy but I've survived by doing my best since I had the transfer mess not to think about the outcome. I suspect that when I test it's all going to hit me badly. I've been trying not to symptom-spot but I have noticed the absence of symptoms - when I had a chemical a wall of tiredness hit me from about 8dp, I was falling asleep at the laptop. I've not felt any more than mild tiredness lately. I'm probably sleeping a bit more than usual (time of year and feeling low mentally) but I think I'd be feeling tired from the hormones in the day even if I was sleeping more at night. No twinges. No breast tenderness.

In other words, no reasons to hold out any hope - but seeing a BFN confirmed with another few months delay before I can do anything to change that is still going to be devastating for sure.

Hi @lucymills1234 oh, you've had a really rubbish transfer and 2ww. Completely understand about not wanting to test, will be thinking of you. I think the general weather and time of year can definitely help us feel crappier than normal too - I'm in Scotland and definitely notice it now it's getting dark mid afternoon. Look after yourself tonight x