IVF - Stims Aug - Egg Collection Sep

[RMS0209]

Hi ladies! 👋
Just as the post says... cycle day 1 of my first IVF round, 20 days until I start Norethisterone then Menopur & Fyremadel.
Looking for others starting cycle or in the cycle for some company.
Sending lots of luck to you all! ❤️

@MammyandAva that’s a shame they have not been good for communicating. Hopefully you will get some answers soon.

I just had the call and unfortunately the other two didn’t make it to get frozen today. All riding on this one now but just makes me more anxious as they didn’t last weather this one will!

Below are my follicle sizes from yesterday (on the left) and then what they are this morning (on the right).

Please tell me the missing one simply wasn’t seen and hasn’t withered?

19 > 20
18 > 19
16 > 17
14 > 16
14 > missing??
12 > 13
8 > 9

Triggering tonight for collection on Saturday morning. Apparently they think they can take four but I am confused! They didn’t acknowledge the missing one even when I asked.

@1stcycle oh sorry they couldn’t freeze any for you. I just had my call and they’ve frozen one and none of the others made it unfortunately. In terms of testing, I tested the trigger the morning after I had the ovitrelle, and again yesterday morning before transfer. It was a bit faded, but definitely still there. I didn’t test today, I will tomorrow though and hopefully it would be gone. I’ve also ordered some cheapie 10s as the ones I had were 25s. I like the idea of testing daily just to know what’s going on. I think even if it’s a chemical, I’d like to know.

@Decaffe looks like the follicles have grown overnight which is great. The embryologist said sometimes the body can reabsorb some eggs so they do go but not sure how a follicle can just disappear. It was probably hiding and they couldn’t see on the scan. Don’t worry when they collect, they’re more thorough and will go over everything they can find. Happy trigger day! Almost there now!

@1stcycle I’m sorry they weren’t able to freeze any. I know it’s easier said than done, but remember to try to be positive. Do things that calm your mind, yoga, meditate, walk, tv, whatever it is you enjoy in the next two weeks. I have everything crossed for you for your fresh transfer.

I’m a little crazy and decided to try acupuncture yesterday for the first time. I’m going back tomorrow for another session.

@MammyandAva it is frustrating when you don’t get all the info. I literally write LOTS of questions down on my phone and go through them with the doctor. It’s our body and we should understand what the plan is and how it may impact us.

For those of you who have had a cycle already, do you feel AMH levels correspond to your egg retrieval results or not at all?

@Spin101 it certainly did for me in my opinion. My AMH is quite low 12.6 and I only got 5 eggs.

@Spin101 mine was 20.6 and because my AFC dropped from 21 to 11 in a month I got 7 eggs, so for me not really it more AFC that determined my cycle.

@Imisscoffee2021 interesting I went the other way! AFC was 18 the cycle I did mine, however only got 5 eggs. Sometimes science can be baffling!

I agree that science can be baffling!
Was anyone on the pill before starting stims? I rarely get periods because my lining is really thin, so my doctor told me to start on it whilst I wait for IVF. It has thickened since so he said it means I respond to oestrogen. I remember reading one of your posts that mentioned if the lining is too thick they won’t start you on stims. It’s crazy how many factors there are that can impact a cycle!

@Spin101 I've never used the pill or coil, always used condoms so naively thought I'd get pregnant rightaway knowing ny cycles so well! I had perfect lining for my last transfer and sadly didn't work, the next one is frozen so lots of focus on the lining but I'm worried the estrogen pulls will make me go over. On my last scan I had 10.6 lining then triggered that night, and transferred 6.5 days later so worried it was too thick! It's so much info to worry about, but trusting the experts and now I'll be scanned close to transfer feel better about it. Too thick and too thin is an issue but sounds like you're responding well to the meds if you're noticing more periods.

@1stcycle I'm sorry about not getting any frozen. It's so gutting isn't it and feels like so much pressure! Got everything crossed that this one is a success for you!

@Tinkerbell098 that's great you got a frostie too! Hopefully you won't need it either but it's great to have that too!

@Decaffe good luck with trigger tonight! I wouldn't worry too much about how many, etc - I had hiding follicles but I assume some hiding too so it's a bit of a guessing game!

@Spin101 my amh was 21.6 and they only got 7 eggs from me. They kept saying my amh was great so just expected to smash it but that led to 4 mature, 3 fertilised and 1 fresh blast which didn't take so a good amh is definitely not an indication you'll get great results. I think everyone is different and responds differently. Apparently it can take a few goes of getting the dosage right, etc.

I spent too much time following American ivf accounts on IG where they are getting 25 eggs, etc! How are they doing that? Is it different meds or higher dosage?

@Imisscoffee2021 that’s amazing you haven’t ever used the pill. it’s crazy isn’t it, even if you know your cycle, have a healthy lining, there are other factors. I didn’t realise too thick would he an issue! I read that vitamin E could help with lining for embryo transfer. I guess there’s lots of foods you can eat without having to take supplements. I hope you’ve got lots of relaxation planned to help relax you.

My GP prescribed the pill to me when I was 17 or 18 as I didn’t have regular periods. So I’ve been on the pill on and off since then until 2 years ago when I started TTC. I was only diagnosed with PCOS at 30 and the irregular periods did make me think TTC was going to be quite a journey. I had a lap in May where they cleared some endometriosis and couldn’t confirm whether one of my tubes is free flowing. They had the same issue during the HyCoSy last year. I almost forgot my medical history 😅

@seekingbabyk I follow some of them too and how do they get numbers like 28 eggs?! I have no idea but it must be different drugs and/or dosages. With this being my first and only cycle on the NHS I really hope I get an adequate dosage. Having said that with low BMI they’re unlikely to risk a higher dose.

@Spin101 I know right! I naively went in thinking we'd have about 6 in the freezer and could relax knowing that bit was done 😂😂😂😂🤦🏼‍♀️

@seekingbabyk 😂😂 I think I need to find some realistic accounts to follow!

I’ve got my nurse appt next week to plan treatment. Does anyone remember what bloods they had done? I asked my GP if I can get my vitamin d tested to ensure I am supplementing correctly and they said the hospital will do this (which I doubt).

@1stcycle I am sorry to hear that you weren't able to freeze any. I found an interesting statistic on the Guys and St Thomas NHS website yesterday, it said, "It is possible to freeze embryos for later use. However, this only happens in 40% of cycles." I thought that was really interesting because there seems to be a blithe sense that of course we will all get embryos to freeze, but actually, that's not possible more than half of the time! I had never imagined that was the statistic. So, I am sending lots of positive implantation vibes for the one you have on board 💛

@Spin101, I didn't have my AMH tested. I had two AFC scans however, it was 9 back in March and 10 in July. Hence being peeved when only 7 decided to show up for this cycle!

I triggered last night and it feels amazing not to have any injections to do tonight. My belly feels so big and bloated though. Out of curiosity I did a 10iu cheapy one hour later last night and there was a faint line. Stronger this morning, although nowhere near the blazing positive I would have expected given my trigger was Ovitrelle (HCG)!

The nurse called me yesterday afternoon with my blood test results and said we were aiming for six eggs, as my estrogen level is approx 3600 and apparently they have a guide of 500 per egg? I have searched on here and have never seen a figure of 500=1 egg - all posts seem to refer to their clinics saying 1000=1 egg although one post did say 750...

I've found GPs in different areas to be really reluctant to test for Vitamin D these days as they operate under the principle that we're all deficient to some extent so they say it's not value for money.

I used this service to test mine recently. It's actually the Black Country NHS pathology lab who do the tests, it was an easy to use fingerpick and the turnaround was fast. Recommended!

@Spin101 agreed with @Decaffe on Vit D. I also queried this with my GP she said it was a relatively expensive test to perform (not sure if true or false) so they don’t do it. She said majority are deficient so to take supplements.
@Decaffe im not sure about the amount of Estrogen per eggs as my clinic never bothered running any tests. They only ever did one scan through stims which I found was strange. I also triggered on ovitrelle and got a faint line the next morning (but on a 25). I still had a line on transfer day too. I haven’t tested since. Happy jab free day!!!

girls I’m panicking a little bit. I had sore boobs right since day 1 of taking cyclogest. This morning for the first time, boobs have gone back to normal and this usually happens on a normal cycle a few days before AF shows. Is this a sign that it’s failed to implant?

@1stcycle thank you!

My appointment went well! They have said that with IVF lite I will start my meds on day 21 so I can start this cycle.

I'm extremely anxious about the whole thing as I only have the money available for one try 😭 trying to stay positive but it's constantly a niggle in the back on my mind

@Decaffe thank you for the link! I’ll definitely look into getting a test kit. This sounds lame - I had a finger prick blood test years ago and my finger was swollen for weeks… and here I am about to start IVF 😂 I triple checked with DH yesterday that he would be happy to do my injections.

It must be a relief not to have to inject again. I wasn’t aware or the estrogen levels per egg but when you go in for retrieval, I would check again. Conflicting information isn’t ideal and I think it’s important for us to get to the bottom of it.

@Tinkerbell098 @MammyandAva i think our minds can be all over the place prior, throughout and after this process. I have no idea what I’m going to be like. Try to think happy thoughts if you can. Have everything crossed for you x

@Decaffe I think I'll do that, I work outdoors so thought I get enough vit D bit then I read how much it impacts implantation! So been taking ultra high dose then freaked out about having it too high!

Just catching up on all the transfer Ness on here, I'm sorry some of yours didn't make it to frosties ladies, got everything crossed for your embryos on board! How are you both feeling @Tinkerbell098 @1stcycle ?

@Imisscoffee2021 I'm alright other than panicking about the sudden disappearance of the progesterone symptoms since this morning (no sore boobs, whereas since day 1 of taking the cyclogest, my boobs have been crazy and even rubbing against the duvet has been excruciatingly painful). Just can't help thinking this is the start of progesterone wearing off and start of AF as it happens with a natural cycle for me. I'm prob overthinking! Did you have any symptoms on Cyclogest/equivalent?

@Imisscoffee2021 feeling fine, had a few cramps yesterday and some today. Probably from the progesterone.

I’ve been quite busy in work so that’s taken my mind off it on times but hard not to think about it. I think It hit home more when the others didn’t make it to Frosties made me worry that this one won’t make it either. But then if that’s the case we have the second cycle. My fur baby has not left my side bless him so loving the cuddles off him!

How are you feeling about your FET coming up?

@Tinkerbell098 I did have syntpoms, very sore boobs and bloating, and mine went away too but I started bleeding and it was much longer after transfer so I don't think yours would change this early, I know its so hard not to read into everything! I think some days I made my boobs hurt myself by squeezing them to check if they hurt 😅

@1stcycle your embabie might be the lucky one, really hope so! Great to have another cycle but let's hope you don't need it! I feel good abut FET as it's just pills! They arrived the other day and nice to have them ready to go, and I'm totally free of side effects from my cycle so sometimes can't believe I did one! Told a friend today about it when we met for a coffee with her little one, and felt weird to talk about it, like I was describing a film I'd seen and not real life! I'll only be able to squeeze this FET in before Xmas so hoping it works, and we don't lose any in the thaw, the consultant went on about that alot!

@Imisscoffee2021 What dosage of vit d are you taking? I’ve been fluctuating between 5000IU and 2500IU.

I was catching up on the start of this thread and resonated with some of the stuff you wrote. We went to see a acupuncturist/nutritionist who told me I should eat the fatty part of red meat and DH who is veg should also considering eating meat 😯

The postcode lottery is crazy. If I changed my GP when we moved early last year to one a similar distance to my current one in a different direction, I would fall within a different CCG and be eligible for 3 cycles. I was so gutted when I found out but have come to terms with it. I wish the country would offer equal opportunities to all of us.

I have a question.. did any of you try to isolate/avoid crowded places pre treatment? I go to a yoga class on the weekend in a small studio and am wondering if it’s high risk, but at the same time feel it’s important to my mental wellbeing.