December IVF

[Eggling]

Hi 👋 I can't see a thread for December IVF so thought I'd start one for those squeezing in treatment before the Christmas cut off.

Backstory from me: one toddler DD from previous IVF ICSI in 2020. Trying for baby 2, have lost our 3 frozen embryos from our first round over the last few months (2 failed FETs and one didn't survive thaw) so heading into a new round. Aiming for a fresh transfer if possible after a freeze all cycle last time due to OHSS risk so I'm starting on low dose bemfola 112.5. AF due next week so just waiting for my meds to arrive the back to being a pin cushion for the next few weeks!

@Eggling good luck with your scan this morning! Hope the follicles have grown over the last few days!! We have the same issue with parking at my London clinic here - total nightmare!

@Brit22 good luck with your scan too!! With the needle and liquid - if you fold the needle in for a count of 10 after the injection this should help to keep it all in.

@kamaha here’s hoping for AF for you tomorrow so you can get going!! So much waiting in this process it’s hard!

This last week for me I’ve been reeeeaaaaaly busy to try and make it go faster and of course it hasn’t!! The wait for this next stage is hard. Feeling extremely tired so pretty sure the injections have worked - really hoping we can move to the estrogen tablets tomorrow and I can get some energy back as well as moving to the next stage!
Started with a cold over the weekend too which is miserable - dosing up on berocca and hoping it shifts soon!

Hi all!

im I. My last day of norethisterone ready to start injections on Sunday. I’m feeling really excited but also very scared, this is my first ever cycle we had a still born baby boy at 34 weeks back in March 21 and haven’t been able to conceive naturally since. Hoping for a Christmas miracle as test day is due to be Christmas Eve! Good luck to you all! Xx

@Eggling how did it go today?
Did you manage to get a parking spot?

@TheGlitterFairy I’ll try that tonight and see if that works, thank you.

Had our scan this morning and it seems to have gone well. The right is growing more than the left atm.

@ZAMichelin1991 welcome to the group. That’s such awful news and sorry for your loss 💔. Fingers crossed everything will be okay for you this time round. X

Hope the berocca kicks in soon @TheGlitterFairy - a cold is the last thing you need! Fingers crossed you can start in the estrogen tomorrow, totally understand about the wait seeming ages.

Hi @ZAMichelin1991 welcome! I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your little boy, I really hope you get your Christmas miracle! It's natural to be scared, particularly given what you've been through. But exciting too!

@Brit22 those look fab numbers! Mine are still growing slowly, have a couple at 8-9 mm so upping bemfola to 125 and starting cetrotide, next scan Wednesday so can see how things are then and readjust if need be. Have you been given an idea of egg collection day?

Disaster of the day here is the bloody fridge has packed up, just been to Halfords so we can plug in a cool box to keep the meds cool. Typical bad timing 🙄

@Eggling they have kept me on 112.5 bemfola and got another scan on Wednesday. Yeah I’ve also started the cetrotide today after my scan.

I have no idea when egg collection will be. I really should have asked that today but I guess I’ll ask on Wednesday. Do you have any idea when yours will be?

Oh no 🙈 that couldn’t have came at a worse time. Least you’ve sorted it for the time being. X

@Brit22 and @Eggling I'm so glad the scans went well today. But sorry about the fridge disaster @Eggling that really is typical isn't it 🙄 but bloody good thinking about the plug-in cool box!

@TheGlitterFairy I'm sorry to hear about the cold - I hope you feel better soon. And I hope all goes well at the scan tomorrow, and that you can move on to the estrogen 🙏🤞

Welcome @ZAMichelin1991! I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby boy. Wishing you all the best and really hoping you get your Christmas miracle xx

AF arrived this afternoon (on time for once!) so the clinic have said to start injections on Wednesday evening and then will have a scan next Monday

Woohoo @kamaha glad AF was on time for you!

@Brit22 I also have no idea when egg collection will be, I know they generally try for it between day 11 and 15 but guessing I might be later given the size of the follicles 🤷‍♀️ hoping they might give an indication tomorrow as I could do with being able to let work know I won't be in!

Cetrotide #2 done this morning, does anyone else's skin get a bit red and itchy around the injection site after? It only lasts a few minutes and doesn't happen with bemfola.

Hi everyone, thought I would join as I am currently awaiting AF after stopping norethisterone last Wednesday and feeling a bit down as I was supposed to start my injections yesterday but AF is being stubborn 😢 so now back to the waiting game!

my husband and I have been trying for almost 5 years and this is our first round of IVF (ICSI) ☺️

@Eggling I’m going to ask tomorrow and see when they think it will be.
Has your work been okay with you going off for scans?
My belly goes red after the cetrotide aswell so I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m so glad I’ve had no side efforts yet. X

@Emijaykay Welcome to the group 😊.
That is just bloody typical! When you don’t want it to come it comes and when you do it doesn’t. Finger crossed it’s any day now for you and hopefully you get your little miracle 💕.

Welcome @ZAMichelin1991 and @Emijaykay fingers crossed for your treatment rounds!! So sorry about your baby boy @ZAMichelin1991 - that must have been incredibly hard.

@Eggling good work on the follicles growing - hope the additional meds help! Nightmare about the fridge too! Not what you needed!!

thanks - the berocca is helping thank goodness and it seems to be going 🙏

@Brit22 amazing numbers there! Wow!! Good luck at your scan tomorrow!

@kamaha good luck with the first injection tomorrow!! Good to get going!!

Good news at the scan this morning- down regged - thank god - and we can move to the tablets immediately! Whoop!!

Some stress in that there seems to be a lack of buserelin to inject - some manufacturing issue. Clinic suggested moving to a nasal spray instead but didn’t really feel comfortable with that mid treatment when I’ve not used it before so managed to source some from an online pharmacy. So more buserelin injections for me and estrogen tablets now and scan is on 1st December. If the lining is 8mm plus we’ll be able to prepare for transfer on the 6th or if we need a bit more time it’ll be the 13th…..good to have a time frame to work towards though still have to get through the dreaded thaw. Still - positive news for the day!!

Thanks everyone for your messages. It’s been the hardest year and a half of my life honestly don’t know how I’ve made it but hoping this is the start of a journey to a miracle.

first day today off of norethisterone I’m really hoping AF arrives before Friday but looking at the thread there seems to be a trend of AF coming late! And it was late when I started the norethisterone too! So weird like it’s been said already when you don’t want it to come it comes early when you want it to come it comes late! typical!

Also! Just wondered everyone that has stated injections how are you feeling? Are you still able to continue with work and everyday things? Have you guys told your work that you are going through IVF?

@Brit22 and @TheGlitterFairy thank you both, I’m feeling really crappy this evening so hopefully soon and I can get the injections started by the end of the week! Trying to stay as positive as possible!

@ZAMichelin1991 I have told work but only because I have a really small team and it’s difficult to make sure someone is around to cover with all of the appointments etc.

That was supposed to say crampy but I guess crappy works 😂

@TheGlitterFairy Thank you. I’ll update you all tomorrow to see how I get on with the second scan.

@ZAMichelin1991 Im feeling completely fine off the injections so far. No side effects so I just hope that continues.
I’ve told 3 people that need to know but that’s it. Need to start making a cover story so others don’t find out 😂.

@Emijaykay just have a nice chilled evening and hopefully you feel better soon.

Hi @Emijaykay welcome! Oh gosh I hope AF turns up soon, as has been said bloody typical it makes you wait when you actually want it! Fingers crossed this is the start of your journey to becoming a mama. We are doing ICSI too, also did it for our first round back in 2020. Hope you have a nice evening tonight.

@Brit22 I'm going to ask tomorrow about egg collection too. My work are pretty good to be honest, my manager is understanding and I have quite a lot of autonomy over my diary so can generally arrange things, I don't know how I'd have coped in my old job where I had none of those things. It's still a lot of hassle at short notice though. I have a few days holiday to use so was planning to take a couple maybe at egg collection and then hopefully transfer, but work is pretty busy at the moment so will have to see.

@TheGlitterFairy glad you're feeling a bit better and have had some positive news, definitely good to have some dates to work towards! It does just feel like you get past one hurdle then start stressing about the next one doesn't it.

@ZAMichelin1991 I have told work and found it easier with them knowing, definitely a lot of scans are fairly short notice so it's easier that my boss knows - it's not like I've told everyone I work with or anything just on a need to know basis. I also mostly WFH now too which helps. I do feel very lucky in that respect, although I am looking for another job (although it would be terrible timing to move, aaah the horrible way you end up trapped when undergoing fertility treatment).

Hope everyone is getting on ok this evening x

@Eggling How did your scan go today?
Mine went well and I’m booked back in for Friday. I asked when they think egg collection will be and she said it might be Saturday but not to be disappointed if it’s Monday. Tbh I’m thinking it’s going to be Monday. I’ll need some more meds on Friday as I’ll have ran out by then.

@Brit22 wow that's great! Mine was mixed, follicles are growing now which is good so I have 3 at 7, 3 at 8 then 1 each at 9, 10, 11, 12. She did say it looks likely to be a freeze all cycle though as I have so many smaller follicles which has really upset me (stupidly as I always knew it was a possibility). I really want to do a fresh transfer and just so fed up of having no control over my own life like this. We are looking at egg collection early next week, I'm guessing maybe Tuesday? Booked in for Friday scan so will see how things look then.

@Eggling don’t be so disheartened. Slow and steady wins the race. You’ve still got a few days left. Hopefully everything will change and you’ll get the fresh transfer that you are wanting 💕.

@Eggling I'm pleased it's good news about the follicles growing, but sorry that it's not what you'd hoped for in terms of the transfer. It must feel so frustrating. Hopefully it'll be better news on Friday and you're able to go ahead with the fresh transfer xx

@Brit22 that looks great! And good to now have an idea of when egg collection will be. Keep us posted on Friday!

@ZAMichelin1991 I hope AF arrives soon! in terms of work, I've not told them I'm doing IVF, just that I have some medical appointments coming up and will need some time off. I'm lucky in that my bosses generally leave us all to it (as long as the work gets done!), but if things do start getting too much I think I would tell them to relieve the pressure a bit.

@TheGlitterFairy thank you! I'm glad you had good news at your scan and that you managed to source more of the injections you need - definitely don't need the added stress of all that! I hope this next phase is going well so far.

Hi @Emijaykay and welcome! I hope the cramps settled down and that AF arrives soon (if it hasn't already) 🙏🤞

I started Menopur and Gonal-f injections this evening and it seemed to go OK, although I got quite stressed about the mixing and drawing up of the Menopur! First scan will be next Monday.

@kamaha yes I’ll keep you all updated.

when I started the cetrotide I didn’t like the mixing of the injections. I must of watched the video about 10 times before doing it. The next night I was like a pro at it. So it gets easier. 😊 x

@kamaha woohoo con free it's on starting the injections! I'm the same as @Brit22 mixing cetrotide, stresses me out wondering if I'm doing it right 😅

I know you're right about transfer, I'm just really tired of constant setbacks. In my mind I should be pregnant with my embryo from way back at the start of summer, looking forward to Christmas and a new baby in March, and instead here we are, 3 losses later and still getting now where, watching all my friends get pregnant no problem at all while my life is just on hold completely consumed by fertility treatment. I'm worried that trying the lower dose will just mean we get fewer eggs but I still need to freeze all, in which case we might as well have just done higher dose and got more eggs to give us a better chance of a healthy embryo.

Does anyone else feel like it's unfair that their OH gets to be a bit removed from the process? I rang DH after my appointment yesterday in absolute floods and ended up telling him that I feel like I'm doing this by myself. He's been to one appointment with me since May, which was our second failed transfer, the rest I have done by myself. It's down to a mixture of needing childcare (although my parents are helping with that this time round) and his work, but as I said to him, I have to work around them all. Perhaps I'm being unfair, I don't know. He is going to come to the appointment tomorrow anyway.

@Brit22 and @Eggling I'm glad I'm not the only one stressing about the mixing, but good to know it does get easier!

@Eggling you've been through so much with all this and over such a long time, it's totally fair you feel the way you do. And seeing friends and family getting pregnant (and then having their babies!) in the time you're still trying just makes it so much worse I think. Is there a possibility of upping the dose (particularly if you need to freeze all) to try and get more eggs? I've got everything crossed for good news for you tomorrow xx
In terms of partners, I was actually just talking about exactly that to someone from a local fertility group I've joined. We were saying how much is put on us in all this - not just in terms of meds etc, but also the admin side of it, managing it all around work - it's a lot!! I think it's good you brought it up with him and I'm glad he's going with you tomorrow. I really do hope it all goes well xx

Thanks @kamaha, I'm going to ask questions tomorrow and see what they say. I'm feeling a little less grumpy after my rant earlier 😂 DH and I are both WFH this morning and we've had a bit of a chat about everything, he totally gets it and wishes he could do more and I'm glad he's coming tomorrow.

It's basically an extra job isn't it? The admin side is as stressful as the actual treatment I find, which I hadn't expected when we first started out.

Hope everyone is having a good day xx