IVF Oct/Nov

[NorthernDuckling]

I can’t see a thread for anyone doing egg collection early November so thought I’d start one.
had my nurses appointment earlier this week to set out my plan with EC on 7/11 - eek. It’s my first NHS round (we were going to do it in April but I didn’t feel ready).
I was due to start period yesterday but it hasn’t happened and hoping it starts today, the clinic said there was some wiggle room but not much. Why is it I can usually predict it to the hour and when you need it to start it doesn’t 🤯
I would love to chat to anyone else with EC early Nov as DH is already fed up of me talking about it - it’s going to be a long 6 weeks!

Thank you..
when's your date?
Are you doing a natural cycle or controlled?

i have no idea! 🤣 my period is due 17/1 so I start taking oestrogen and the progesterone roughly then (progesterone after a few days), provisional scan on 30/1 and bloods around then too to check progesterone and then booked in provisionally for ET on 7/2 but it all depends on whether my period turns up on 17/1 - it’s usually pretty reliable but last one was about a week late which is the most delayed I’ve ever had so who knows, all the meds have definitely messed everything up.

@SarahJane10 good to hear from you and glad consultation went well. Hope all goes smoothly moving forwards.

@NorthernDuckling Hopefully time passes quickly. Jist a few weeks to go, fingers crossed.

@MammyandAva That is such great news! What a relief.

Thank you 🙏. How's it going with you?

So this was my scan results and plan for next round.

@MammyandAva
That's great news glad everything is ok

@SarahJane10 so good to have a plan moving forward isnt it?

I have a review consultation in a few weeks after my failed cycle. To be honest, i camt see them giving me many answers. Im considering changing clinics and trying natural or natural modified.

Thank you.
I wish I asked why 1st attempt didn't work (was a day 3 embryo fresh).
I chose to do the controlled FET, as it'll be better for us both.
I hope you get the answers you need.
Do research into different clinics.

@SarahJane10 sounds like I’m on the same plan as you with the oestrogen to control it more.
My medication turned up today - I can’t believe how quickly it has come round, i really hate the pessaries but the injections are supposed to be really painful. I’m torn because I want the reason for the first failure to be low progesterone (so at least it’s easy to sort) but equally I don’t want to do the injections.
The info I was given by my clinic said 10% of patients need the injections because their progesterone isn’t high enough with the pessaries - I’m not sure why they don’t test it if is that high because low progesterone is a known reason for failure (and it’s easily treatable).
@SarahJane10 is your frozen embryo a day 3 or a day 5? You are supposed to get better results with FET, so fingers crossed.

Oh wow I never knew that about the progesterone levels, but they should check the levels. I never liked them on my first cycle didn't feel comfortable at all and never knew how much of the stick/tube thing to pop in. (TMI I know). My embryo is a 5 day.
Did you have get the medicine after you saw the nurse?

@SarahJane10 yes meds turned up after nurse planning appointment.
The injections are really expensive, about £700 per cycle (I researched it in case we need to go private) so I guess they don’t prescribe them unless you need them but don’t know why they don’t routinely check - I guess the first attempt is just a standard run and next time they tweak it to suit you.

The consultant said I had a text book collection, I had about perfect number of eggs collected, above average fertilisation and 4 high grade blasts was more than they would expect off the number of eggs. She said my problem appears to be implementation (assuming my blasts are genetically normal) and my period shouldn’t have started after 5 days so they would test my progesterone, they only do this once, before transfer - if it isn’t high enough they give you injections and assume it’s ok because injections are absorbed better.
I guess if all 4 are transferred and my progesterone is not low, if we do another round I would want to test the embryos for abnormalities (if we get a good number again).
The consultant fully expects this time to work and was surprised that last time didn’t work - sort of gives me a bit of confidence but also proves they just don’t know why it fails or whether it will work.

Wow! The price of things these days, cannot believe it. My meds they said could be up to £800, depending on how much I need.
I keep thinking if they put the day 3 embryo was too early

@SarahJane10 I know everything is really expensive, we said at the beginning we would only do the one NHS cycle because it is hard emotionally as well as financially but I’m really wavering because I think it could work.
My mum has said she would pay for it but I’m not sure I want that, we do have savings but 3 rounds would wipe them out and they are really there incase something happens to the business, or I can’t afford to pay myself because I’m self employed. With a looming recession using up our savings on IVF is a big risk especially as I also won’t get mat pay only maternity allowance. DH works in the public sector so would probably do shared parental leave as they are really generous!

We was only allowed or accepted to only 1 fresh cycle on nhs. We had to pay a lot to have the only embryo we had left frozen.
If this doesn't work then we only have enough for 1 cycle.

I'm hoping this FET works, then later on can possibly do another cycle.

@SarahJane10 I really hope it works for you. We are lucky that our CCG counts one cycle as transfer of all embryos from that stimulation and not just a single transfer and that we got 4 embryos. It seems so unfair that dependant on the area you live you can get no IVF funded or up to 3 full cycles. Our area you couldn’t do any private IVF first so we had to wait the 18 months, whilst other areas you could do private IVF whilst you are on the NHS waiting list.

@SarahJane10 and @NorthernDuckling Really hope this is it for you. Must be great getting your meds @NorthernDuckling , makes it all feel real and imminent.

I really do hope it works for you too. It is so gutting for nhs services of ivf as in all fairness the number of ivf should be the same no matter what area you are in.
The 4 you have left are they good grades?

Thank yous!!

How's it going for you?

@SarahJane10 slowly! review consultation is 24th. Afyer that going to decide whether i want to go to the coventry miscarriage and implantation failure clinic for further tests, then maybe move to 'create'and consider a natural modified cyle.

Anyone have experience of the coventry clinic at all?

Hope the review goes well for you and get answers that you need.
I'm doing a controlled cycle this time. I did have the opportunity to do a natural one but decided against it.
But let's hope they give you the answers

I have 3 in the freezer, one was transferred fresh. I think they are fairly good grades - I asked what they were but didn’t really understand, they were 2:2, I think 2:3+ and I can’t remember the 3rd, from memory, I think I had 2 others that made it to day 5 but not high enough grades to freeze - I can’t remember everything and as they weren’t good enough I didn’t try to remember!
Im not sure what the 2:2 is and how it relates to the more usual grading. The consultant said 2 were better than the 3rd, the 3rd is a day 6 not a day 5 though (I guess that’s the last one to transfer). I just hope they defrost ok as it will be gutting to do all the meds to find they didn’t defrost.

Thanks @SarahJane10

Is it best to tell family that we are doing ivf again or not.

@SarahJane10 I tell people who i know can support me through it or who would not ask too many questions. So I guess it depends on if you need that support or not. I did have a FET a few years ago where we did not tell anyone at all and that was fine too.

Thank you. It's only coz, we have told my partners dad, he's not well, but I keep saying to him that we should tell his mum and husband as they would support us but he don't want to