IVF Scotland - thread 4

[2mumlife]

Hi everyone,

Started a new thread for the Scotish ladies

@LouScot
@Scirocco
@MrsTMcB
@florafoxtro
@Hopewishprayer
@ScottishRach
@Kamiros
@LT103
@itsmschanandlerbong
@connal

Please @ anyone I missed!

@2mumlife Oh I'm so pleased all is going well, getting a holiday will be nice. It really has felt like a second job this week - it's good we can laugh about all the crazy things we have to do. It's just the one injection alongside the pill which is obviously easy and I did it for years trying not to get pregnant - oh the irony.

@HJen22 You're doing so well. I have to be honest I've slipped completely knowing I'm not using my own eggs any more but I definitely need to get back on it.

@Kamiros oh believe me, I've been doing awful lately. I massively used doing IVF as an excuse to go OTT on the ice cream and chocolate! And I'm really bad for comfort eating. I am the heaviest I've been in a long time and just feel so yuck! I know meds can make me bloat and put on some weight (but that might have mostly been my eating last cycle haha so I just really need to lose a little bit before it all starts again!

@HJen22 I'm right there with you on that one, it's not easy. I've also been using the "it's nearly my birthday" excuse for 2 weeks. 😂

@Kamiros haha it was my birthday at the end of March too so that was another excuse, then Covid haha they just keep coming! I know we shouldn't be hard on ourselves and if it was just a little bit of extra weight I wouldn't mind but I've just let it get too far!

Hey everyone, hope all is well. @Kamiros your donor route seems to be moving very quickly which is great news, I hope that it works out please keep us updated with your journey.
I have not been on recently having a pretty crappy time, we had a positive result with our one embryo from round 2 and I felt everything was ok, however at 8 week scan baby was measuring at just over 6 weeks and no obvious heart beat. We were scheduled to return the following week but day before I had cramping and bleeding and following day was confirmed that we had lost the pregnancy. It’s so heartbreaking to feel like it might be finally happening and now to be back a square one but I am trying to stay positive and look forward.
hoping to get booked in for round 3 on my next period, I just turned 39 so feeling the time pressure massively!

@Hopewishprayer Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. It really is even more horrible when you think you're finally there. Thinking of you and hoping this next cycle works out for you.

I have my first scan tomorrow. It's definitely less stressful without trying to get my follicles to grow. Has anybody used progynova for a FET or similar and had really bad bloating/ upset stomach with it. I feel fine otherwise but the bloating is awful.

@HJen22 I've heard lots of positive things about the 'it starts with an egg' book. Let us know how you get on with it and if you think it makes a difference. I found the lack of being able to plan for other things like trips away really tough when doing cycles as you never really know when you're going to need to be around for scans, EC, tranfers etc. We don't care about the sex and wont be geneder sterotyping clothes etc so had decided really early on not to bother finding out. Interestingly though, our NHS board wont tell you the sex at the 20 week scan, so we wouldn't have been able to find out then anyway.

@Kamiros I was on progynova for FET - I found it gave me night sweats. Good luck for first scan tomorrow :) I really found FET cycles so much easier emotionally than stimulation rounds, so hopefully you have the same experience.

@Hopewishprayer I'm so sorry to hear your news. I understand this feeling from the Chemical Pregnancy I had, though that ended sooner. I imagine the longer the pregnancy is able to continue for, the more heartbreaking it is when it ends. Have you decided on next steps for you, or is it still too early for you to be considering that yet? x

@Kamiros thank you and hope your first scan goes well

@2mumlife thank you, it is really soon but we just want to get started on another round as soon as possible really, doctor said I could call to hook in on my next period - I am long protocol so would them be another 4 weeks or so after that before starting stims again.
meantime I’m going to try get a review appointment to discuss if we can do anything differently if fortunate enough to have another positive result I am thinking continue progesterone but they seem very dismissive of that

@Hopewishprayer so sorry to hear this. Thinking of you.

@Kamiros good luck with the first scan

@Hopewishprayer Its great to have a plan, and I totally get the wanting to just start another cycle (we mostly did ours back to back as quickly as the clinic would allow / had space for). I think the general concensus is with a loss that early with a non-genetically tested embryo, is that the embryo just wasn't viable and nothing anyone could have done would have changed the outcome (thats the approach my clinic took with my chemical pregnancy). Your clinic should be able to give an estimate based on your age and other health factors what percentage of embryos they'd expect to be genetically viable. Keeping everything crossed next cycle brings you a bundle of joy x

@Hopewishprayer Actually, one of the things my clinic said to me at our review after the chemical pregnancy, was it was a good sign I could actually get pregnant (it took us 6 cycles (4 on them IUI) to even get to a chemical pregnancy...)

@2mumlife yeah it's so difficult. I think we are just going to book somewhere for September, really could do with a holiday. And if worst case we're due to do treatment again then we'll just have to push it back. Don't want to keep putting things off. Best case scenario would be next cycle works and we go away and I'm pregnant 🤞🏻 that would solve that worry ha if only it were that simple!

AF arrived yesterday so officially back in the IVF game, start norethisterone on the 15th May and baseline scan 30th May ahh!

How are you getting on @Kamiros you had your first scan today yes?

@Hopewishprayer I'm so sorry to read your sad news. Heartbreaking, I can't imagine how hard that was. I hope your next cycle is the one, wishing you all the luck and here for chats.

@LouScot how are you getting on? X

Good news @HJen22

Honestly it's been a bit of a drama. Out of the blue on Friday evening, when I'd already started progynova I got an e-mail saying had af started. They'd never asked about cycle dates before that. I said no but that was normal for me after a failed cycle.

They then said I needed to get injections to have at home just in case scans showed I was about to ovulate, to prevent it - as biopsy can't be done if I ovulate. I replied saying I thought I was going to ovulate over the weekend and what should I do but they'd all finished for the night, couldn't get anyone and the staff at GCRM were unable to help as they didn't know the context; they also said I couldn't get meds until today. Yesterday I was told just to go to my scan and see. GCRM think I've ovulated but aren't 100% sure and needs a doctor to review the scan.

Spain are now saying they don't have the scans yet - GCRM say they've sent them. I've no idea if I need to cancel this mock cycle or what is going to happen. I've booked flights and everything. I'm so angry that if cycle date was crucial while they waited to mention it. Trying to stay chilled as nothing I can do but see what they say tomorrow.

@Kamiros Oh geez, that sounds so incredibly frustrating. I hope you get some answers today so you know where you stand and whats happening x

@HJen22 Yes hoping next cycle works and you can go away and enjoy a break pregnant!

@Kamiros oh gosh what a stress! I can't believe they would only ask cycle details at this stage! This added stress really isn't what you need! Have they received the scans from GCRM today? I hope you are getting some answers today and have a clear path forward with what's happening! X

Finally got an answer- sort of. So I've definitely ovulated and I need to postpone the mock cycle. I think its only going to be a couple of weeks though. I've to take an injection as soon as it arrives then pessaries for 5 days then they'll start me again. Its worked out OK but still annoying.

For those who have used pessaries, just how messy are they. It's my 40th party on sat, 100 guests. If the injection arrives Friday would I be better delaying it until Sat so as to start pessaries on Sun?

Hi everyone,

@Hopewishprayer I'm very sorry to hear your news. Thinking of you.

@HJen22 oh, thanks for asking. I'm kind of alright...sometimes I'm just wondering if I've left it too late. I'm single so using donor sperm and honestly, it's so hard just now to get a donor I want! ESB used to let you "reserve" a donor but now it's a free for all, although I believe there's a new batch of a few donors I like coming soon.

I'm now officially 43 and a half. It sucks. I've stopped reading stats as they are so crap but if there's any other absolute geriatrics please say hello. I lurk on the over 40s thread but this is my home one :-)

@Kamiros can't help you with pessaries I'm afraid but glad the hiccup is sorted. Hopefully your 41st birthday will see you sleep deprived, covered in baby sick and absolutely radiating with happiness.

Saw lots of wee lambs today so let's hope it's a symbol of hope for us all this spring 😊

@Kamiros How frustrating you've ovulated (gosh fertility journeys are weird in what we do and don't want our bodies to do in any given cycle!!) but glad you can go ahead with mock cycle again qucikly. The pessaries aren't that bad - think sort of globs of toothpaste consistency. Not that much comes out, but it does sort of... build up with use. I recommend you just pop on a panty liner to catch the discharge or wear you're rubbishest knickers (it does pretty much wash out). If you get cyclogest you can also use that 'back door' which is what I did when I was on that - though it made me have quite urgent needs to empty bowels. I found the utrogestan pessaries which are vaginal only a lot better (though you insert them 3 times a day, when cyclogest is normally only twice a day).

@LouScot I'm sorry to hear you're still having issues getting sperm from the ESB. Uou can (or used to be able to) set up an 'alert' to let you know when a donor you are interesed in is back in stock. We did that with our donor when we were coming to using our last vial, and got some vials stored with ESB just in case that way.

@HJen22 thank you for the welcome 🥰 still no further forward Dundee wise or outpatient appt wise for my lap / dye debrief.

I ended up at the GP on Tuesday due to horrendous pains and being 4 days late. They had finally got my op notes through for lap and were able to tell me I've got endo, a fibroid and left ovary is adhered to bowel. I pressed them for more details but there wasn't any on the op note 😩 GP was very frustrated on my behalf and has emailed gynae to chase them / ask for clarity. -ve test (POAS & 🩸) so it's reset for next cycle.

@mrsmacmc How frustrating getting half the information. Really hope you get some progress on this.

So I'm feeling like a total idiot this morning and need a little rant. After I ovulated last week they told me to take the injection as soon as it arrived then pessaries and progynova for 5 days following it. Fine. They then sent me a "new plan" on Friday with new dates. The new plan had the injection on it but the pessaries etc. we're moved down the line. I only realised this on Sat morning when the injection arrived. We got so confused and had no idea what to do and the clinic was closed. We decided (wrongly as it turns out) to follow the new plan and email clinic to check. She's come back this morning saying I should have gone with her email not the plan and she's no idea what I need to do now and will need to speak to the doctor. I can tell she's not happy with me and I feel so stupid.

Thing is this is now the second time they've given unclear instructions on a Friday before disappearing for a whole weekend. They're not properly communicating with GCRM who had no idea what was going on. I'm just not sure what we do now. DH thinks we continue with them for the testing/ mock round which is only about £1000. That way if their are further issues when we go out we can decide to stop. He's also not convinced that any where else is actually any better. I just feel really crap today. I liked the doctor a lot but I feel like I can't trust the patient support which is causing so much stress. I'm waiting to hear if this is recoverable and what I need to do which is going to ruin our bank holiday. Anyway not sure what I'm looking for, just needed a little rant so thanks if you've got this far. Might put a wee post on the donor board and see if anyone else has had this experience.

@mrsmacmc Its good you have some results and hopefully can start finding way forward soon

@Kamiros Always feel welcome to rant! The patient communication sounds really unclear and it’s frustrating they don’t have an out of office number you can call for these situations? I think everywhere has its issues, but it does seem worse for not communicating drug regime. I don’t think you should feel stupid at all. I hope you still got to enjoy some of the bank holiday and hopefully have some answers x

@2mumlife Thank you. I'm feeling much better today. Turns out it's totally recoverable, all they wanted to do was reset me for the mock cycle so I just started the pessaries last night. The doctor said we made the right call in a way cos easier add meds than remove them. I've asked for the patient support info to be reviewed now, its one woman making all these mistakes. I think we're going to do the mock cycle and see what feel we get when we go out there, take it from there. How are you doing?

@Kamiros That’s fantastic to hear it’s recoverable and not another set back. Thank goodness! Hopefully the review will see improvements and everything goes smoothly. I think confidence in the clinic is important, so I hope they can rebuild that during this mock cycle. We’re good - hired a caravan for a few days week near Lake District so drove down yesterday and did a really nice walk by Ullswater, though Im definitely finding it more challenging to get up hills now! Just getting ourselves sorted for a gentler walk along the coast today - looking really overcast though so just hoping weather stays ok

@Kamiros I'm so sorry to hear you've had a stressful time with the clinic and your plan! Always here for a rant! And don't feel silly. It's such a highly emotional and stressful situation it's totally normal to feel frustrated with the clinic when you're trusting in them to do the best for you. I'm so glad that it's totally recoverable! Hopefully going forward they are clearer in the plan and meds!

It's such a shame when the communication isn't as good as it should be. And made even harder when things are over the weekend and a bank holiday! I hope you feel better today knowing that things are sorted out. When do you head over for the mock cycle?

@mrsmacmc oh no I'm sorry you ended up at the GP in such pain! How are you feeling now? I hope you hear back from Gynae soon with more details in regards to your results! The waiting can be so tiresome but hopefully they are in contact soon. And don't hesitate to chase! Xx

@2mumlife here's hoping! I've done a SAR too for all my notes which they've confirmed is being actioned this morning.

@HJen22 pain wise it has died down to just feeling like one piranha munching instead of the shoal that decided to come to the party , mentally my head is in a skip 😩. I've been chasing, if this journey has taught me anything it's to not sit back and wait but chase chase chase! Totally out of character for me though as IRL I steer away from being in the limelight 😂

@Kamiros you aren't an idiot at all 🥰 and I'm glad things are back on track too