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 😁

Hi! Thought I would join this thread as I am looking to be doing FET possibly end of Feb! I've read a few people might be doing a cycle around the same time which will be nice!

I am 33yo, been TTC since august 2019! We had our first IVF ICSI in November which failed :( We had 12 follicles collect, 9 were mature, of the 9 6 fertilised! Then we had 1 to transfer and 2 to freeze!

I'm quite unaware of the process of an FET so I'm just waiting around for my period to turn up to find out my actual timeline and medication. The consultant did explain briefly over the video call but I don't remember! I know I will be taking a lot of pessaries which I am not looking forward to! Any tips, tricks and support would be lovely :)

@IVFGotThis05 Welcome. 2 in the freezer is fab. Are you transferring one at a time?

It's my 1st FET too. Though I did a donor fresh cycle which was similar.
My protocol is basically 14 days of estrofem for the lining, then transfer on around day 16. Plus a 1000 extra drugs my clinic likes you to be on. But I just try not to think about it!
I have to take Lucrin, injection, on day 21 before my FET cycle. No idea why. Don't want to know. Tried to get it in a pharmacy today but they don't have it so clinic have sent it through to a different pharmacy who will post it out. It's just faffy logistics with clinics abroad. Every week is a new challenge to solve. But we get there step by step

@AliceAbsolum Yeah they did offer to put them both in this round but I just think I will take my chances with 1 at a time, especially if I don't know if either of them will survive the thaw! And I don't really want the chance of multiple babies ! Ah I did wonder from baseline scan how long I'd be taking medication for ! Oh no your having a bit of a nightmare with meds, it's always so up and down this process isn't it!? Do you know when you will start ? Are you just waiting for your cycle to turn up ? I have to ring up on Day 1 of cycle and see if they can fit me in so fingers crossed theres room! My cycles are so irregular too so I could be in for a long wait for it to turn up!

@IVFGotThis05 One at a time is best overall I think. Especially if it's nhs so you're not taking on the cost.
All the flights and hotel and everything is based on my Flo app... It predicts the cycle of the transfer will start on the 5th March... But who knows! Mine vary from 21-31 days. Partly why we booked so long out there, if it is off we will still be there for transfer and some days after. It's a weird mix of a tonne of planning but at the same time allowing loads of flexibility.

Hope it turns up soon so you can get going!

We have unfortunately only got 2 out of our 5 embryos today that have made it to expanded blastocysts so they are being biopsied and frozen. Absolutely gutted as it it so so unlikely that either will be euploid so now I feel like we just wasted time and money for no outcome on this 3rd round to try and bank some embryos 😩 I'm sure AF is also round the corner so my irrational head is firmly in place too!

Sorry you're having a rough time :(
2 is decent... Why do you think they won't be euploid?
Also why not test and freeze the other 3? Why do they have to be expanded?

@Coops0406 I'm so sorry it hasn't went as well as you had hoped for 😔 I don't know about expanded blastocysts and euploids but I really hope that they will be what they need to be and frozen 🤞🏻 you don't have an update for 2 weeks is that right?

@Coops0406 why you think there's not a good chance of 1/2 being euploid- I'm assuming from previous rounds you've got less than 50% euploid then? Everything crossed one of them is!

Thought I might join this thread too! I did EC #2 in January (freeze-all- awaiting PGT-A results now) and earliest I'd do FET is toward end of Feb, or might be March.

@AliceAbsolum they can't test unless they are fully expanded blastocysts, they take the biopsy from the cells at the side that forms the placenta from what I know so my guess is it needs to be a fully expanded blast to ensure the only get cells from there and don't touch the others maybe? But the other embryos just stayed at early blasts so maybe had stopped developing. (This is my understanding, I haven't actually asked them).

I think because of my age that they would both be aneuploid...and in my last cycle they had said that 2 eupolids out of 5 tested was amazing and they were a bit surprised! So if I got one out of these 2 I think it would be unbelievably lucky!!

@HJen22 euploids are ones that have the full set of chromosomes, nothing missing genetically. So if they aren't euploid the likelihood is they won't take or will end in miscarriage. The chances of getting euploid embryos decreases with age. So last time, I already had 2 embryos put back in, each didn't work. There were 3 more that wouldn't have worked or resulted in miscarriage and at my age I just felt I don't have time or the emotional strength to keep going through that, so have opted to get all the embryos tested.

Yes, 2 weeks until I hear more about them. But should know my FET protocol at the end of the week 😊

@tulipsandsnow I just think I'm too old to have those odds...if I was 35 or younger I would be feeling more confident about it but at nearly 40 I just think I'm out of the game with this cycle. I could be wrong, I'm not really pessimistic but I'm definitely a realist.

When do you get your results? How many have been tested?

@Coops0406 thank you for explaining, I understand now. And understand why you would want to do the testing. You are so strong to be doing this. I am really hoping for you that they do come back euploids ❤️ great that you should have your protocol soon. I called the clinic this morning and should have mine in a week or two too.

@Coops0406 Makes sense. I can totally see the rationale for testing embryos. Such a numbers and luck game IVF isn't it.
If my donor wasn't 21 I'd test too. Miscarriages are not something to risk if you don't have too.
Plus you can pick the gender then! (Or is that not a thing in the UK?)

Hope luck is on your side with the results. 2 weeks will hopefully go quick.

Welcome @tulipsandsnow

@tulipsandsnow welcome ❤️

This is a pretty personal question, but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or advise re antidepressants.

I am really struggling and concerned that for some time I may be dealing with depression. I've a counselling call tomorrow and plan to ask her what she thinks as she knows me quite well by now. I just don't know if what I'm feeling is normal and what lots of people feel like dealing with infertility, or if I'm not coping very well or as I could be x

And I should have said, I have exhausted all natural remedies I can think of - counselling, journaling, yoga, meditation, daily walks, reading, colouring in, pretty much everything x

@AliceAbsolum nope not a thing I'm afraid! Illegal here (which I don't think it should be- such a small amount of people go through IVF its not going to skew the population gender distribution, plus its proven that couples in USA skew towards picking female embryos anyway)

@tulipsandsnow Illegal, wow. So much of what they do in North Cyprus is Illegal in the UK

@HJen22 Sounds like you're having a rough time of it. I think meds can and have been very helpful for lots of people. Worth speaking to your GP about as some are not recommended during pregnancy. You can read this link for more info: www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antidepressants/antidepressants-in-pregnancy/

You can also follow this link and do a depression screening test. Anything above 9 is worth noting. patient.info/doctor/patient-health-questionnaire-phq-9

Have you considered CBT first? Its free on the NHS. (I'm an NHS CBT therapist, so recommend it!)

@AliceAbsolum thank you so much ❤️ I have done a test and that one too and got a high score. I seem to have bad days, I'll then have a few good but then come crashing back down even worse. Then I'm upset I'm sad again. Horrible cycle.

I find the counselling sessions really helpful but I'm not sure I can have any more often as it's free NHS through the clinic. I wasn't sure if there would be a long waiting list for CBT but yes I'm willing to try anything. I would rather avoid meds as I don't know the effect if any on IVF etc, I made the mistake of googling and there is way too much online!

Hi everyone,
Im a bit late to the thread but hoping I can jump in for some moral support.
I’m 30 and been TTC for nearly 16 months, we found out my DH has low motility and morphology plus I have endo so severe one of my Fallopian tube isn’t accessible so down to only one.
I’m due to start stims next week, we’ll be doing a freeze all cycle with ICSI and hoping to do a FET in March if all goes well.
How is everyone doing? Does anyone have any advice for the injections? I’m really nervous about that.

@Yognog1 welcome!
Re: injections it depends a bit how you are with needles? If you think barely feeling the actual sensation of needle going in the first few times will help, you can buy EMLA cream at most pharmacies and it really does numb the skin totally. And combine that with ice which goes under the skin. Then you can't really feel much so can focus on your technique until you get use to it. Later when I'd done so many the actual jab was natural, I found I didn't actually need the numb cream or ice (though I would usually still use one or both)

*Sorry hope its obvious I didn't mean the ice goes under the skin, but rather that the numbness it calls goes deeper 'under skin' unlike the EMLA

@Coops0406 ah ok I see what you mean if got 2/5 a bit less than 50%, but with small numbers percentages can go either way so might be able to get 1/2. Everything crossed for you!

I hope everyone is having a nice week so far.

I had a call with the nurses at my clinic this morning and everything is being brought forward. Because I was only on day 3 of my cycle, they're starting my downregs this cycle. We're going in on Feb 2nd to sign our consents and then we're getting started

I have my downregs check scan booked in Feb 21st so all being well with that it'll be stims and then collection/transfer in March.

Hi everyone! Very late to the thread but thought I’d say hi anyway

I’m 35, been TTC for 4 years, this will be our very first IVF cycle. I’ll be starting birth control any day now (waiting for AF), stims/EC in March, PGT, and FET by April/early May if it all works out! Now that we’re finally able to get things going it’s ALL I can think about and I’ve never been so impatient for AF in my life! I feel like February is going to feel loooong and slow just waiting to start stims. Basically, I’m already losing my mind LOL.

I’m in an area of Canada with no funding so it’s all out-of-pocket, and since I live remotely, I actually have to fly several hours to reach my clinic so it can be a bit of a logistical nightmare… but that gives me something concrete to fret about for now while I’m just in waiting mode ;)

Hope all are doing well.

Things are moving fast for some of us! Nice one @winstonsfinger good to get on and not have to wait about.

@hopeaheadca HI hi. I have to fly out to my clinic too and cross a border in Cyprus. But not as often as you will. It's logistics isn't it. My first clinic was 20 min down the road. Bliss!

@Coops0406 How you doing?

Seems like a lot more people now are doing freeze alls, or genetic testing. 5 years ago it didn't seem like that was as much of a thing. Kinda cool to be doing something that's so cutting edge it changes often.

Sorry, I've been a bit awol on here! Had my head fully immersed back into work!

@AliceAbsolum I love that there are donors...I wouldn't have even know about that at 21! There are some amazing people out there.
No picking gender over here! Although the people who do the testing will know! That's so bizarre!

Also, I was talking to my friend about my last cycles and progesterone, my clinic have now said that they do progesterone tests before ET as protocol which I never had on my recent cycles. So much keeps changing all the time, which is good how fast things are advancing!

@HJen22 I hope you're okay. This journey is difficult enough without having potentially underling depression on top of it. And I imagine wondering about it too doesn't help. I hope your GP or the fertility clinics can advise you properly.

@tulipsandsnow I did just see someone on another thread who had only 1 embryo for testing and it came back euploid! So that does give a little bit of hope. But I don't know how old they are, they could be years younger than me!

@Yognog1 my hubby did my injections, most of which were fine and couldn't feel too much. Just also make sure when you pinch your tummy that the skin is stretched!

@hopeaheadca I think we may be headed for FET at a similar time! I'm just waiting for results of PGT for 2 embryos that have been sent off, but not holding out much hope! I hope AF gets here fast enough!