FET in September/October

[MyEasterEggs]

I’m preparing to start my treatment cycle in a month or so and thought it might be helpful to start up a thread for anyone heading for FET soon.

This will be my first FET so I’m nervous but also feeling hopeful having gone through a fair amount of testing and treatment. Think I’m about as prepared as I’ll ever be!

Current cycle finally got going two days ago after a bit of a delay and I’ve decided to use it to focus on eating well and getting into the right headspace.

Anyone at a similar stage and want some company?

Lots of cramping here too. Especially over last 24 hours. Its such a worry yet also a sign of progress! These early stages of pregnancy can get in the bin 😭

Pleased we have at least two midwives here on the thread @Bookbug92 so I can ask all my silly questions 😆 and glad the clinic called you back to offer reassurance. Keep us posted on next steps.

Great news @OrangeBengal! Delighted you got a nice beta there 💛

Sorry @OrangeBengal I didn't see your beta result - it looks great! 🥳

Thanks @LT103 that's reassuring- why is early pregnancy so tortuous 😂

Haha @MyEasterEggs more than happy to be of service! Though I'll be of more use once we finally reach 20 weeks🤞🏻

Thanks @MyEasterEggs and @Bookbug92, I’m hoping at the very least I get a relaxing weekend out of it! I wish us all no drama!

Sorry to read a few of you have been having such a worrying time this week. It feels like going through this there's always something new to worry about. I've been having cramps on and off since day 5. My clinic didn't seem to think they were anything to worry about though and the NHS website says it's normal.

I got my beta results back from Monday's test. 17300 at 5+1 which wasn't what I was expecting after my test was so faint! I'm a bit worried as to why it's so high. Alot of websites seem to say max 7300 at 5 weeks but I've found a few that go alot higher. My clinic just said it was very good. I think there's such a huge range and everyone is different. Was supposed to get my 2nd one back today but havn't heard anything which is annoying as now I'll have to wait until next week.

Sending huge luck to everyone and hoping everything works out. It's nice to have people to discuss things with. Also does anyone know if I'm supposed to contact my gp and tell them I'm pregnant or will the clinic sort that after my scan? Not sure how it works for ivf.

From looking at www.betabase.info/index.html it looks like you’re in good company @Kelvie103. I only checked singletons, but, I supposed twins is the maybe the obvious conclusion??! Doesn’t need to have started off a double-transfer.

Thanks OrangeBengal, that's an interesting site and reassuring to know its not abnormal to be so high. I've been googling like a mad woman (I was worrying about high hcg levels indicating downs syndrome but I think from what I read that's only later on and nothing to do with early levels). We only transferred the one embryo so highly unlikely its twins. At least I hope its not, I think my husband would have a heart attack! Almost another 2 weeks until my scan though, feels like such a wait.

Ha, mine too @Kelvie103! At least Halloween and Bonfire Night activities will take up some of the the time!

@Kelvie103 you need to contact midwife yourself. Every health board is different, some you self refer online. I had to call my go then community midwife. I called at 7 weeks after my scan when my clinic asked me to. Have my booking in appt a week on Monday and waiting for my hospital scan appt to come through

Thanks, I'll contact my gp after my 7 week scan and ask about it then I think. I just feel like if I do it too soon I'll jinx it or something. Still no real symptoms apart from being a bit more thirsty than usual but my mum said she didn't feel sick with either of her 3 children and didn't even know she was having me until 3 months as she had no symptoms at all!

Do you know it hasn’t even occurred to me to arrange a booking in appointment yet. Part of me wants to leave it until 10 weeks. Is that crazy? I feel I need to get further than my last 5 pregnancies and also have an NIPT but maybe they’ll struggle to fit me in if I wait…I’ll maybe chat to PAU at 8 weeks and see what they suggest.

@Kelvie103 I had no symptoms at all with my first. And since I had irregular periods, I didn’t know I was expecting until I was 15 weeks. Stark contrast to the experiences I’ve had since but thought I’d share because it was my healthiest pregnancy!

I think whatever keeps your healthiest mentally @MyEasterEggs. The initial chat at 8wks sounds like a good place to start though.

So I've had an absolute breakdown this morning. I was casually looking through my scan pictures and videos and then I noticed something..... a big pooling of fluid behind baby's head. Of course as a midwife I know what this can mean and so I've spent all morning crying my eyes out. I don't book for another week and I've been trying to ring the private scanning clinics all morning but can't get through. I'm now in complete limbo and don't know what to do. I'm so annoyed at myself for not letting myself enjoy any part of this. I'm constantly convinced something is wrong or is going to go wrong. We were meant to do our pregnancy announcement today but I can't bring myself to do it (I'm 11 weeks). I feel like I let myself get excited too early.

I am in exactly the same boat as all of you. The last three days have been hell. I looked at my scan pictures and realised the CRL was a day behind which set me off first. Then I thought the yolk sac was too small. It’s on the fifth centile for gestational age.

Yesterday we went to fireworks and I had half a hot dog. I realised it was very undercooked and pink. Queue the whole evening ruined with fear I have toxoplasmosis or listeria.

Then I woke up this morning and there was blood on one of our pillows. I use a pillow between my legs at night for comfort and I’ve got no idea if it’s come from me or not. There is no blood when I wipe but I don’t know how else it got there.

I just can’t relax for thinking either there is something wrong with the baby or I’ll do something wrong like eat the wrong thing and cause a miscarriage. I’m exhausted.

When was your last scan @chloedancer88 and @sailinginthemed? Were any concerns raised? I think anxiety is part and parcel the IVF journey unfortunately, I think the best we can do is try and get comfortable with the discomfort, which I know sucks. Allow a little time for the craziness but dispel it with visualisation, meditation, Pilates, Yoga, breathing exercise etc, see what works for you.

@OrangeBengal I had a scan last week. It was a private scan so I don't think they'd even mention it as it was just a dating scan. I have my booking scan on 7th November. I'll just have to wait it out

Oh @chloedancer88, sorry I was thinking that you’d have had a viability scan where everything would have been checked before you were released to your gp? @MyEasterEggs mentioned the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU), can you reach out to them?

@OrangeBengal they don't do anything like that. I'll just have to wait it out unfortunately

@chloedancer88 could it be the quality of the scan image? Wouldn’t the private sonographer have a duty of care to say something? My PAU won’t check anything like this either. Where I am the nuchal check is usually done at 12 week scan then it’s onto NIPT if a potential problem is detected. As it happens I’m having that privately at 10 weeks anyway due to a previous chromosomal issue. Really hope the next week can go quickly for you.

@sailinginthemed could you reach out to
midwife and potentially ask for some support? Maybe someone to talk things through with? This is something I’m
considering as I’m struggling with some aspects of pregnancy following recurrent miscarriage. Some days it’s all consuming 😣

Thank you @OrangeBengal and @MyEasterEggs

@OrangeBengal I was doing really well with visualisation until I saw the scan picture was a day behind, I need to get back on these techniques. Thank you for the reminder. ❤️

@MyEasterEggs I understand how you feel. The dread that this is going to end in another miscarriage is all consuming some days. I think I will speak to my midwife at the booking appointment about my worries.

@chloedancer88 I hope also the time till your next scan goes quickly for you. I am sorry you are dealing with this uncertainty but hope the next scan is clearer and reassuring

@MyEasterEggs @sailinginthemed thank you both. I tried to do some research into it yesterday and it seems that 10 weeks is too early to even check nuchal translucency so I'll ask at the booking scan. I'm going to get the quad test too but I can't organise that until I book.

It's not fun, but I think it's probably normal to be worried about everything right now, we've all been through so much to get this far. I read a line in a book the other day that jumped out at me: "Wait. Just wait. The world is not always cruel." It feels like the only thing we can do is wait but every time I start worrying about something and going into another google blackhole of doom I've been trying to remind myself that.

I got my 2nd beta results back today. 35157 at what was 5 weeks 3 days which is almost exactly double the first one. Still worried about it being so high but the clinic said all that mattered was that it doubled. I guess all I can do is wait for my scan next week now. I'm glad I had the blood tests done though, after my lines were so faint a week or so ago I was convinced it was over, at least I know now the urine tests the clinic gave me were just rubbish.

Good line to remember @Kelvie103, thank you. Excellent news re your beta progress, if your clinic aren’t worried about the high number, maybe you don’t need to be either.

I get my second beta back shortly and if over 1,000 I think we’re own until the viability scan at 7wks, which I’m going to take as a positive sign if / when that happens. My bleeding seems to have stopped too, which is nice, it might be back, but I’ve decided not to panic if it does reappear.

I’m 9 weeks today. Can’t believe we’ve got this far. Had my scan at 7 weeks exactly. Got midwife a week today then it’s just waiting on nhs appt. We’ve booked a private scan for Thursday so we’ll be 9+3 and if all ok hopefully see a good difference from 7 week scan. The anxiety doesn’t go away tho.

feeing rough, no vomiting but constantly full/nauseous and by evening I can’t eat dinner. Still struggling to work out how to help it. Had a few light headed/dizzy spells and the bloating is so bad, no clothes fit me 🙈. Taking it all as good signs

@chloedancer88 its all just such a worry isn’t it? I keep saying I’ll relax once I’ve passed the 12 week scan but I don’t even think I will relax even then