IVF August/September cycle buddies (continued)

[ngy21]

Hi all! Our last thread is full so thought i'd create a new one!

@ngy21 there are some online tools that calculate your due date:
www.yourivfjourney.com/baby-calculators-for-pregnancy/ivf-and-fet-due-date-calculator/
They calculate from EC date, so ours is 26 May :)

Yep, private scan with Saturday and I can't wait! Once again, excited and nervous hehe

Thanks @beachbum85. Hope you aren't feeling too nauseous! How exciting that you have your private scan on Saturday - you must be so excited! 😊

Thanks @2mumsandason! Very excited! :)
So far the nausea is manageable - I only actually felt sick on Sat morning and since then I've been making sure to eat something immediately when I wake up. I don't usually eat breakfast, or I didn't until last week anyway, so it's a bit weird to me, but as long as I don't have an empty stomach I seem to be relatively OK. Hoping it doesn't get any worse!

Thanks so much @beachbum85 @Lifa - thanks so much. had the scan last night and baby is fine. I feel so much better for having checked. How are you both doing?

Amazing news @SerendipitySunshine glad baby is ok and you feel better 😘 I am good feeling v sick which is always a positive sign....another day in bed watching back to back TV....it will be worth it though xx

Massive congratulations! @ngy21 and @2mumsandason so exciting! I am so happy for the both of you.

@beachbum85 I am sorry you are feeling sick but it's a good sign. Just keep nibbling if it helps keep the nausea at bay.
It seems this week is going the same way as last. I am not sure where the time goes. On the bright side, at this rate my FET will be here in no time.

@SerendipitySunshine great news about your scan.

Massive congrats @2mumsandason @ngy21 !!!

@beachbum85 I'm currently waiting for a follow-up scan next Tues to hopefully show better progress, since bean measured 2 days behind expected size at last week's scan (at 6w+5d).

Before this round of ivf I had a routine cervical smear and then colposcopy that showed abnormal cells, so my local nhs hospital had booked me in for treatment. I contacted them after i got my bfp and asked if should cancel or postpone the next appointment, and they said to come in but not do the treatment yet. So that's tomorrow morning.

I haven't had too much in the way of symptoms, but what i do have is more noticeable at night. Sore boobs, waking to pee 2-3x a night, and pulling/cramping sometimes strong enough to wake me up. Walking past wet fish stalls/shops is quite repulsive (but not yet heave inducing), and I'm enjoying pickles more often, but no real nausea (knock on wood!)

Congratulations @ngy21 - amazing news!!

Hi ladies, hope you are all well.

Massive congratulations to those with BFP and all the best for those still waiting

I need your advice please as feeling so lost. I had BFN after my first ivf cycle. This was with NHS. I am now exploring private clinics for our 2nd round. Would you be able to please recommend any tried and tested clinics? I am based in London.

Thank you so much

@Ttc8 sorry to hear about your first cycle ...don't give up it will happen....I would recommend Create Fertility we used the clinic in Birmingham however there they are all over the country xx

Hi @Ttc8, I would definitely recommend Care Fertility. We used the one in Woking, but again, they are all over the country. The staff are so helpful and can't do enough for you. I hope you find the right clinic for you 😊

@Ttc8 my first ivf with nhs (Homerton) also didn't work, and i was only eligible for the one round because of my age. I used the search on the HFEA website to get a short list. Then i set up some free mini consultations. I went with Fertility Academy and it's worked out so far. They have online open days where you can get an intro to the clinic and have a short one-on-one with the main dr.

Congratulations @2mumsandason and @ngy21 it's so great to see BFP results as it keeps the hope alive for us all x

We've had a call from our NHS clinic advising our MDT review after our first failed cycle will be 10-12 weeks not the 4-6 weeks originally estimated and they won't order our Sperm until this meeting has taken place. Sperm is then another 10-12 weeks wait on top. So we've made the decision to forego our second free NHS cycle and go private. Luckily we have the finances to do this.

So we have our first consultation booked with Bristol Fertility next Thursday. They have the best results in Wales and South West so we are feeling really positive.

As you can see from the time of this post, still struggling to sleep from the constant mind whirring of this whole process!

Anyway, sorry to drivel on about our situation. Looking forward to reading how others are progressing x

thanks @2mumsandason @beachbum85 ! I am excited for your scan on Saturday @beachbum85! Finally get to see little bean

@SerendipitySunshine @Lifa @Novavee @Bluebonnet3 thank you!

@MollyVanDer thanks! and wow that is a super long wait on the NHS! so sorry about your added stress. Maybe going private may actually save you heart ache as well as time since the clinic you're going with has really good success rates! Keep us posted on your journey!

@Ttc8 thanks! i also do recommend Care and like @2mumsandason mentioned, it is dotted around the country

@Ttc8 I'm sorry you're feeling lost, but can definitely understand that... I really wanted some answers and a plan after my first failed cycle. Hang in there... I've only been with the NHS at Bart's in London for IVF, but I did have some tests including a HyCoSy at Lister and they were lovely. Can't really say they're tried and tested though. Maybe you can attend a few virtual open days and see which you prefer?

@MollyVanDer ugh I'm so sorry you have such a delay for your follow-up and that backs everything up. Sounds like a good decision to go private! Good luck with your first consultation - really encouraging to know you'll be with the best :) I hope having taken the decision helps you get some sleep, you must be exhausted

@2mumlife any news your end? Have you managed to get them to confirm the timing for your FET? xx

@SerendipitySunshine I'm so glad you managed to get a scan and baby is fine - must have been such a relief :)

@Lifa sorry to hear you're feeling so sick! But, as you and @Novavee say, positive sign! In a way, it sounds like it's a good thing the sickness came whilst you had to stay in bed anyway?

@Bluebonnet3 best of luck with your appointment today, and your scan on Tuesday as well. Glad to hear you're feeling quite well, although it sounds like you might be missing your sleep already! I sometimes have that pulling sensation at night too... it's really weird right?! Especially knowing that baby is about the size of a lentil atm

Thanks @ngy21! I am too... counting down hehe
How are you feeling today? Has it sunk in? And @2mumsandason?

@Lotusflower1990000 I hope you're doing OK. I've been thinking of you and I'm sending you a huge hug and lots of love xx

@MollyVanDer - I am glad you managed to find the right clinic for you. I know what you mean about "constant mind whirring of this whole process!"

I just haven't been able to switch off since we decided to look into private clinic. It's really impacting me mentally and physically. As either I am either emotional about why 1st cycle didn't work or to distract me focusing on sorting out private clinic and finances.

@lifa @2mumsandason @Bluebonnet3 @ngy21 @beachbum85 - thank you so much for your advice

Bluebonnet3- can I please ask when you moved from nhs to private clinic. Did you manage to get copy of your reports from NHS and share them with private clinic or did you had to repeat all the tests again?

If you did manage to get the copy of results from nhs. What was your approach to get them

Thank you

@Ttc8 I got my full file from the NHS clinic after our first round. It was just a case of emailing the clinic with a signed and scanned letter requesting our full medical record to date, including:

• The results of our blood tests, semen analysis and scans taken prior to treatment
• The details of our treatment protocol
• The results of my scans during treatment
• The results of egg collection and semen analysis on egg collection day
• The embryology progress from egg collection to Day 6 including numbers, stages of development, any grading, etc. of embryos at Day 1, Day 3, Day 5 and Day 6.

We then received a pack in the mail soon after. It was, surprisingly, the easiest interaction with our clinic! I hope it will be for you too - there was a lot of very useful information in the file that we weren't aware of...

And sorry for butting in, I realise that question was for @Bluebonnet3!

@beachbum85 - Thank you . Hope you are enjoying every moment of this special pregnancy. It is crazy/amazing how much you (plus rest of the ladies in this journey) have gone through to reach this stage.

Best wishes for the rest of the journey, it wont be long before this lentil sized baby will be born and playing in your arms.

Thank you so much @Ttc8 - I'm grateful every minute of every day, and hopeful that you're right :) it's still very hard to imagine an actual baby!
I really hope you manage to find a clinic that you like, and that you get hold of that information and, especially, get some calm moments. I remember after our failed attempt my boss told me not to forget that I need to be prepared for this to be a marathon not a sprint. I really didn't think that was helpful at first, but I knew he was right... take care of yourself as you'll need your strength for the next round xx

@Ttc8 I second with The Lister. I am very happy with them so far. Everyone has been wonderful, reassuring and accommodating throughout the whole process. I felt they did their best to give me good chances whilst always ensuring they reduced the likelyhood of OHSS and every step was tailored to my response and adjusted as often I needed. They always gave me the impression that the quality of treatment was the most important not money, whereas other clinics I contacted had a different attitude and would not provide basic info about their costs without an appointment booked first. Going to the open evenings (or attending online) was a good help as well as emailing them and asking for more information.
Good luck, whichever you choose.

@Ttc8 I had to send my nhs clinic an email requesting my treatment notes, then they sent me a form i had to fill out and send back. Then it took them one month to send me a copy of my notes. With my new clinic I didn't have to repeat any investigations/tests other than a blood test to check hormone levels. This year, after about 2 years investigations and delays due to covid: nhs ivf in April, bfn in May, follow up meeting end of June, notes by end of July, first consultation with private clinic within days of getting my notes, private ivf in Aug, bfp in Sept!

@beachbum85 2 days to go for you! it's a bit surreal... i bought a digital test that tells you time as well but when i used it yesterday it was just blank... so i think it was faulty! i bought a 2 pack so will probably use the second one next week sometime and hopefully will get that 3+! Strips are still dark though which is good. I find myself being extremely picky with what to eat, and can only eat little bits at a time but more frequently. Has this happened to you?!

Only 2 days to go before you scan! So excited! How far along would you be on Saturday???? Hope you are feeling better and nausea has gone down!

@2mumsandason hope you are doing well! I got the letter through from Care portal today on advice in early pregnancy and you and @beachbum85 are right, they calculate on the day of EC as well.

Happy Friday ladies .....hope you all have a well deserved Chilled weekend 😘 xx.

@Lifa happy Friday to you and everyone :) And best of luck with your scan today - let us know how it goes xx

@ngy21 I've never heard of a blank test... must definitely have been faulty! Glad the strips are still dark though.
How are you feeling? I shift between nausea, where I need to eat quite a bit and feel full, and then eating less/more frequently like yesterday. I prefer the second option overall I'm good though and tomorrow will be 7+2... I've had some really horrible dreams where they can't find anything on the scan, but hoping all will be well and we can see a heartbeat tomorrow 🤞🏼🤞🏼

I hope everyone else is doing well! Have a lovely weekend ladies xx

@beachbum85 I hope you are keeping ok 🙂 my scan went well today thank you , little bean is measuring as 8 weeks 1 day ....my hemotoma has shrunk big time which is great news ....still to continue with bed rest ....I have now been discharged from the Fertility clinic and over to the NHS now .... everything is looking good however taking it day by day ...have a great weekend xx