IVF / FET March/April 2022

[AliceAbsolum]

Thought I'd start a thread for those starting rounds in the next few months.

I'm 36. TTC for 6 years. This will be my 4th transfer. It's a double embryo FET in Cyprus.

Welcome welcome 😁

Just had a call from the embryologist, they actually collected 16 eggs! 🤩
14 mature, 7 have fertilised normally which is great, they are just waiting to see if the other 7 may do too (highly unlikely if they haven’t already but because they are mature eggs they are just going to give them the rest of the day).
Next update is Saturday then Monday.

I’m off work today but luckily it’s just uncomfortable when I move now, the pain has subsided and hopefully the bloating will go down too!

@Coops0406 that's fantastic news! And such a good amount that have fertilised already! You must be super happy. I am sending all the luck that they continue to do well and that some of the others fertilise too! Was the wait for the call really hard?

Glad you're feeling a bit less in pain and have the day off! Def need to rest, it's a lot to go through physically and mentally! I hope you are treating yourself to some chocolate and Netflix. I've just started watching a really good easy viewing show on Netflix called Chesapeake shore if you're looking for any recommendations.

Officially have my first prescription now. Went and collected my norethisterone. Feel better now I have it as the pharmacist had to call the clinic as she thought they should be providing it. I was worried it would take ages too but they were super quick and my GP extremely helpful. It really does make all the difference when people are nice 🥺 xx

So over the moon!! Just need them to keep going so we can aim for at least one euploid embryo 🤞🏾

I've actually just curled up on the sofa and watching married at first sight Australia 🤦🏾‍♀️! It's so addictive that I wasn't thinking about the call so it took me by surprise! I've seen the little trailer for that Chesapeake programme, definitely want to watch that!

Excellent! When do you start the norithisterone and how long for again? Yes, definitely throughout this process it really helps with people just being nice and understanding, it's hard enough so to have that just helps

@Coops0406 7 is great! Bit of a head scratcher having to be on progesterone just incase it won't be a freeze all. Ivf is just one uncertainty after another right.

In my last cycle we didn't get any updates after EC before day 5 and for me it was much better. Could just turn my head off a bit more til transfer day. If I do end up doing another fresh cycle in the future I'll do the same. Waiting for the phone calls was too anxiety provoking!

@HJen22 You're all set for the 1st stage now. One day at a time 👍

@Coops0406 love married at first sight Australia! So drama filled! Haven't watched the most recent one but we watched one a wee while back and it kept us entertained for weeks.

Still a while yet; I'm to call cycle day 1 which is likely in about a week and then start it on day 21 which should be around 16th Feb!

@AliceAbsolum yup one day at a time, having it all sorted puts my mind at ease. How are you?

@AliceAbsolum that's what I thought! I don't really do well on progesterone either so I'm hoping if things seem okay on Saturday I can stop. Because I'm having the PGT-A, the embryos are in the video thing so they don't have to disturb them to give an update. If we weren't doing that or having the video thing then the only update would be on day 5. I'm totally the opposite, I need updates or I can't switch off! They're all like mini hurdles to get over!

@HJen22 you don't even want to know how many series I've watched! I can switch off with that, I have even cried watching it, although that could be all the hormones 🤣
16th feb, perfectly valentines treat for you! It'll be here in no time! Have you got all your other meds yet?

@Coops0406 Ah cool with the embryo scope thing. Do they give you a time-lapse video? My friends son has that, so he can literally see himself fertilise and grow from the egg. Mental.

@HJen22 I'm doing OK.
Just heard back from the Dr that I won't be on aspirin this cycle, so I'm relieved. The evidence for the increased risk of miscarriage was worrying me and I've got low platelets and I'll be on Clexane, so I didn't think it was worthwhile. Who knows I'm not a Dr. Just got to trust them.

Just spent THREE HOURS booking Cyprus. So complex with covid and the border in Nicosia. 7th March til 7th April. Least we will be in the sunshine. Got a lovely little apartment close to the beach.
Just hope we can travel and they don't go into lockdown or anything.
Sacking off proper travel insurance this time. Cba!

@AliceAbsolum ouch that's a long time! And sounds confusing! But you must be so relieved that it's booked and it's not too far off. And some lovely sunshine ☀️ really hope the Covid situation continues to get better! We don't need that stress!

@Coops0406 how are you feeling after EC now? I don't have any other meds yet, I think I get them at baseline scan end of Feb!

Came back down to reality with a thud yesterday. I'd been feeling a little more positive what with finally having dates. But then my work colleagues mat cover starts soon. Had the realisation that the baby will be here soon and yet again it was one of those "I'm ok - hopefully we'll be pregnant by the time her baby comes along" situations. That again; baby will be here and no baby on the way for us. It was the only thing that kept me going through pregnancy announcements, hope we'd be next or whatever. You lose count the number of friends who conceive and give birth whilst you try don't you 😞

@hjen22 We only need to be there for a couple of days really but the extra accommodation pailed into insignificance with the cost of it all, so we thought why not have a month there.

So rough isn't it seeing everyone else pregnant. 1 lady I know has had 3 kids in the time I've had none.
Slightly depressing people I know from my 1st rounds are coming back for siblings.
Hope is good though we all need hope. No reason why it can't happen for us x

Hi everyone I thought I’d join this group as my FET will be more towards end of feb/ early March all being well.
Little about me- I’m 34yrs old going on to 35, never had a BFP, partner has MFI so we had a failed IUI and then decided to go straight to IVF+ ICSI. Our first round was couple of months ago and we did well with 7 out of 8 fertilised eggs and 5 blastocysts (5AA unsuccessful transfer, 4 good quality blasts frozen). Now going in to our first FET and been told to start meds next period which is due 12th feb and then a baseline scan 10 days in (approx 22nd feb). Hoping for transfer in the last week of feb if we are lucky. Plan this time after talking to consultant is to use 2 4BBs both in embryo glue.

Finding the wait for next cycle hard. How is everyone else feeling? x

I should also add my journey between IUI and IVF was also complicated by a polyp appearing out of no where during my IUI cycle using clomid. I then had a polypectomy in may 2021 and was told 99% chance that polyp was going to be normal and then lo and behold mine was abnormal and I needed treatment for 3 months for my lining and then fortunately rebiopsy of the rest of the lining September came back normal so I was finally given the go ahead for ivf. I thought after all that torture and painful biopsies that my time might finally come in December and was very upsetting when it didn’t work even though I know it was just our first try but I took so long to get there and already so many hurdles have been crossed

@AliceAbsolum yes! We get a video of the one they put back in! I have the ones of the 2 failed transfers too! I know, how mental, our potential future child could see themselves from literally cells! 😵

Why do they use aspirin? They told me after EC to only use paracetamol painkillers, no aspirin or ibuprofen but seen that lots of women are told to take aspirin! What's it supposed to be for?

Wow! A month in Cyprus!! It does sound like such a hard thing to organise but like you say, a villa in the sunshine and a break from life over here will be perfect, and really hope for the perfect outcome for you 🥰

@HJen22 so much better! I went to work yesterday as a took the dog out for 10 minutes and felt nothing! I was paranoid the day before that it was slightly in my head but knowing the difference in how I felt yesterday, I was definitely struggling on Thursday! Still massively bloated and unfortunately actually look 3 months pregnant but that could be the progesterone and the 3 course meal I had last night 🤣

Ahh, it's so bloody hard! And everyone around you seems to get pregnant with the click of their fingers! I've had it a few times with work, the last time was in the 2WW and I'd just started bleeding and in agony, but had to go up to one of our offices a few hours away and ended up sat working opposite someone happily pregnant! I found it horrific to know I was losing ours whilst they were glowing!

You know what else I find hard, the lateral flows! At first it just reminded me of the constant negative pregnancy tests, only I wanted these to be negative! And we've been doing them twice weekly! You don't realise how many triggers there are for us, then mix in the concoction of hormones and what a mess we are! 🤦🏾‍♀️

Hi @Bluehawaii29 it seems like journey is constantly waiting for the next thing! But it soon comes round. Not long now for you. Have you got any exciting plans until you start?

@HJen22 omg that’s so true about the lateral flow tests. I’m heading to my best friends wedding today and was doing one yesterday eve and was thinking the same, when it came negative I should be happy but I’m just reminded of the negative pregnancy test I always seem to have. I use the same cassette tests so I secretly want to see what two lines will look like.

@Coops0406 yeah it’s definitely a journey! I was thinking once this is all over of writing a book about the whole rollercoaster with a comedic twist haha

@AliceAbsolum enjoy Cyprus! I’d love to go somewhere hot right now. Tired of scraping ice off the car and it was hard enough keeping my feet warm after the first transfer in December. @Coops0406 I haven’t really got any exciting plans except catching up with friends as much as possible before the next cycle begins. It’s felt nice to be able to tell a few of them what I’ve already been through as I didn’t feel able to talk to anyone when I was going through the first cycle. Normally I am like an open book and they know everything I been up to so this was a surprise to them I kept something this big under wraps!

@HJen22 I know the feeling of everyone around you getting pregnant so easily. Most of my friends have now got kids at least 4 yrs old. This friend who’s getting married today is the closest one to me and we always made a pact we would take our children on play dates together and they would be best friends. She told me she’s thinking of trying asap as she’s 35 going on to 36 so would be amazing if my transfer worked and I can be pregnancy buddies with her

@Bluehawaii29 welcome! I hope you are doing ok ❤️ the waiting, always waiting for something, is so hard isn't it! I wish you all the luck for your upcoming FET 🤞🏻 I should be starting my meds around 28th Feb. Currently waiting for AF to then call nurse and get our protocol.

Oh god yes the lateral flows really are a reminder of pregnancy tests aren't they! But after the opposite result! I've kept away from POAS surprisingly, cos I've been an overthinking and worried from the start. But I just couldn't face seeing a BFN every month and then AF coming literally that day.

@Coops0406 That must have been incredibly hard for you at work 😔 im so sorry you had to go through that. It really does seem like everyone around you gets pregnant so easily.

However, the more I am talking about it - the more it seeks a little more common than you'd think. I met my uni friends for tea last night and out of the 5 of us, I'm waiting to start, one had her daughter through IVF, one's sister is away to go through it and one has been TTC and had a miscarriage and ectopic and lost a tube. It's heartbreaking. I'd not have known any of it if I didn't tell them we were away to go through IVF. It really helped and makes you feel less alone xxx

@Bluehawaii29 so much easier when it's out in the open I've found. I actually started writing a journal back in 2019 when I started on clomid, but with all the mood swings I found I was skating my OH a lot! 🤣 Poor sod! So I just made it more factual!

@HJen22 you are so right! And it's sad that people seem to feel they need hide their fertility issues like they're not normal. If anything; it is more normal than not these days! I have been open since the start with family and friends, mainly because I can't lie or hide the truth, then put a post on fb after our first failed cycle and the amount of messages I got from people who had been through ivf was ridiculous! And that too most of them had kept it completely secret and had to go through it on their own. Then you come on mumsnet and there are so many people going through fertility issues. It's so much more common than you think!

But the good thing is it's started to be spoken about more and the fertility network seem to be doing a lot of good things in pushing it forward.

We got our day 3 update today, they grade them good, average or poor at the point and all 7 embryos are doing well. 4 good and 3 average so we're pleased. Next update on Monday, day 5. To be biopsied and frozen they need to be expanded blastocysts, some may not be by day 5 so they will leave those ones to day 6. Last time we had 3 on day 5 then another 3 by day 6 so keeping everything crossed for similar results 🤞🏾

I journal as well on the recommendation of the counsellor and find it helps! Good to just get the thoughts out when you don't feel like actually saying them out loud.

Yeah it is sad. I'd hate to think of anyone I've told gossiping but I don't think they would, and I know I'll be open should it work and we have our happy ending. We've told close family and some friends, my OH actually just told one of his friends today, that's the first he's told and I'm glad about it, as he doesn't talk to anyone about it but me. And most of the time I'm crazy or upset or sad!

I am the same, wear my heart on my sleeve and can't hide my emotions! I felt bad I'd been absent from seeing friends and attending things so told a few when I'd probably not have idieally. But as Covid got a bit better it was getting harder to not just look like I didn't want to see anyone when they spoke about drinks and things!

The fertility network are great! I think as soon as you're referred you can't help but find out so much info. For those that don't go through it they don't understand quite what goes into it, emotionally and physically.

So glad to hear your embryos are doing well! I have everything crossed they continue to do so and you have lots for freezing 🤞🏻 how are you coping with waiting for updates? Xx

@Coops0406 how's your embabies going?

@Coops0406 I was going to ask this too, how are they getting on?

And how is everyone else?

I'm having an emotional few days, AF should be soon so I'm blaming her! Xx

@AliceAbsolum @HJen22 I've kept myself so busy this weekend to keep my mind occupied! So out of the 7 we have 5 at early blastocyst stage. They can't biopsy and freeze them as they need to be at expanded blastocyst stage so waiting to see whether any of them get there tomorrow..,she thought one or two may get there this afternoon so just keeping everything crossed!

Then the ones that get there will be biopsied and frozen, then results come back in approximately 2 weeks.

In other news, I look 3 months pregnant! 🤦🏾‍♀️🤣This progesterone does not agree with me! Thankfully I have stopped today, @AliceAbsolum do you know when AF should come? Will it be a couple of weeks do you think or sooner?

@HJen22 sorry to hear you feel rubbish...but the good thing is that once AF is here you are closer to starting the meds! 😊

@HJen22 just realised you were on a different thread too, the Chester Care one. Is that where you are for your treatment?

@Coops0406 Whenever I've stopped progesterone bleeding happened within a few days. So may well be sooner than a week.

Having 2-3 to freeze will be fab! Fingers crossed they expand overnight.

@Coops0406 glad you managed to keep busy, did you get up to anything nice?

That's fantastic, 5 is a great number! I have everything crossed that the 5 are at the next stage tomorrow 🤞🏻

Yeah need to just try and see the positive, you're right in that one step closer.

I'm up in Scotland, with Aberdeen fertility clinic. Not sure I'm on a Chester care thread?