IVF warriors - journey continues

[Tinkerbell098]

Have created this as our old one has maxed out. Let's continue to support each other in this challenging journey of IVF.

@Imisscoffee2021
@Decaffe
@seekingbabyk
@MinBins
@acaciabluebell
@MammyandAva
@Spin101
@1stcycle

@MinBins great news! Everything crossed for you X

@Imisscoffee2021 had a thought this morning that you didn't say how your tests and scan went - was it all ok?

Hi @seekingbabyk :) All well on NHS 12 week scan, was 12+5 really. Baby was stretching and sucking it's thumb, so scan pics make it look like it has a huge nose😅 only thing that worried me, though the midwife said it won't affect anything, is I have a fibroid! Not one scan in months and months of IVF scans picked it up, I noticed it myself on 10 week scan protruding into the womb slightly. It looked huge but actually only 2cm by 2cm, she'd zoomed in, and it's to one side so baby has room though some angles I was worried it looked squashed. I think they grow fast in pregnancy because of blood flow, then slow down once it's diverted to placenta, fingers crossed!
The midwife said it might take 4 weeks for the bloods to come back! Bit of a backlog and tbh I didn't want to wait that long to tell my parents, so I paid for a Harmony tests on Friday, will also find out the gender which is exciting :) should get those in 5 to 7 working days. The nuchal fold was 1.8mm and there was a strong nasal bone so hoping all is well, but you never know.
Was surreal to be in the maternity waiting room with lots of pregnant ladies!

Whens your cycle due to start this month?

@Imisscoffee2021 omg what lovely news and feedback and scan picture! I can't believe you didn't tell us all! That's lovely and I wouldn't worry about the fibroid. If the nurse wasn't worried I'm sure it's fine!

I'm not surprised you have done the private testing - I wouldn't want to wait weeks either so would have done the same! Can't believe you will know the gender then too! Are you feeling like you have an idea of what it might be?

That's such lovely news and I'm really happy for you!

I'm still waiting to hear back from clinic but next cycle due date is 29th jan so hopefully will be on that one and might even do a FET in March depending on the healing this time x

@seekingbabyk ah id usually share right away but I've been in bed all day yesterday and so so exhausted Friday from a UTI, first pregnancy one and first one ever, really hit me hard! Couldn't figure out why I felt so crap, hadn't realised you get fatigue and weakness with a UTI! I'm finding myself so tired after work in evenings too as its outdoors and physical so I have nothing left at home 😅 very helpful husband though picking up the slack!

I think its a boy as most of my husbands family are boys, but I'd be so happy with literally anything :) as would my husband, though I think he leans slightly towards a girl.

Not long now! It'll be fab to do a FET in March, happening quickly though I know it doesn't feel like that with IVF waiting time. Hopefully you have a speedy recovery time and it all fits together perfectly:)

@Imisscoffee2021 oh no I'm sorry you're feeling rough! Hopefully now though you'll start getting your energy back as you're into the second trimester and this will be the end of it for you! Awwww it's lovely when you don't have a preference. I spent my whole life wanting boys but my little 5 year old niece is my bestie and now that's made me really open to either. I hope you feel much better soon!

@Tinkerbell098 @MinBins @MammyandAva how are you all feeling now?x

@Imisscoffee2021 aww such a lovely scan picture and such lovely news. Hope you feel better soon. Regarding fibroid, it’s strange no one picked up on it before. I’ve got one too and have been told it won’t affect pregnancy. Apparently taking oestrogen tablets can make it bigger too. But as you said, now that the placenta has taken over, it’ll keep the fibroid at bay and it won’t affect the pregnancy. Aww amazing you’ll find out the gender. I have read that there is a greater chance of a girl with ICSI and boy with IVF so it’ll be interesting to see if there is any truth in that 😊

@seekingbabyk i’m alright. Really nervous for bloods on Tuesday. The test lines are still very positive but haven’t even got a hint of a symptom yet so I’m starting to worry. I know some ladies won’t feel anything until much later so I’m still staying positive. I’m so tempted to go for a scan next weekend when I’ll be 6 weeks but at the same time I fear what if it’s doom again and I’m not ready for that. I’ll see how the bloods go and decide then. Not too long to go for you to get started again and hope the recovery will be much smoother this time and you can enjoy your holidays before the transfers.

@Tinkerbell098 I'm really glad you're still getting good positives and I think don't worry too much about no symptoms yet - it's still very early! I'm sure as soon as you start getting them you'll be wishing you didn't have them so try to enjoy this big of feeling good! How long will you have to wait for the blood test results? Is it the same day?x

@seekingbabyk thanks, that’s exactly what my husband said 😊 yes they usually ring within four hours or so. I will then request another set of bloods given what happened last time so I can see if it’s rising as it should. If they refuse, I will try EPU as you suggested. Failing that, I may go for a scan.

@Tinkerbell098 let us know how you get on tomorrow xx

@seekingbabyk bloods are on Tuesday 😊

@Tinkerbell098 ffs sorry! 🤦🏼‍♀️ it's because I am catching up working today so thought it was Monday! Let us know on Tuesday lol! Call

@seekingbabyk haha! Will definitely report back 😊 hope it’s in the 1000s this time 🤞

Hello ladies
Gosh there are so many exciting and positive developments going on on here 👏👏 gives us all hope 😊

@Tinkerbell098 soooo happy for you. It all sounds so very promising

And @MinBins that is absolutely amazing as well that the tests are looking good. I keep everything crossed for you

@MammyandAva Christ that must’ve been a hell of a shock when you had that bleed. Awful. But soooo glad little bean has latched on successfully 🤗

@seekingbabyk so you’re doing three ivf cycles in a row yes? Are you on one of those cycle packages to be able to do that? We’ll buy a two cycle package next time but I thought you have to do a cycle and then transfer embryos before the next cycles.

@Spin101 yes please keep me posted about the larginine. I also love planning and going on trips. First thing I did when the last fet wasn’t successful. Gotta have something to look forward to eh 😊 not long now until you can start on the oestrogen 😃

@Imisscoffee2021 aw another lovely scan picture. So glad everything is developing as it should. And exciting about revealing the gender. I’d also be happy with either although I’d love a little girl really if I manage to have one child. As a kid I thought I’d want a boy but then I had a little sister when I was 20 and we’re very close. I am like her second mum just cooler lol.

Last few days have been quite hectic at my end. Back working and travelling across the county for work and making a little weekend trip out of it staying at a spa hotel. Which is tiring as well lol. And squeezing the follow up consultation at the clinic in last Thursday. Whilst having a new bathroom fitted and things going wrong 🙈

So the consultation was quite interesting.. she was happy with how I responded to stims and the number of eggs so she’s not gonna change anything about my dose next time. 300 meriofert. The main issue is our drop off rate. 14 eggs collected, 12 mature and 11 fertilised was perfect. But only 2 embryos left of not the best quality. So she told us to get on the vitamins and anti oxidants to improve our egg and sperm quality! She told us exactly what to take and she wants us to do so for at least three month before we start ivf again! So no feb/March cycle like I was thinking. And we’ll be away most of April so it’ll be May/June now before we’ll start again. It sounds quite Promising and I’m intrigued to see if we get more and better embryos out of it next time 😃 I’m very optimistic at the moment 😊 feeling positive and hopeful we’ll have a baba as some point after all 😊

@Honeybunie awww that's great news that you had a good consultation. My drop off rate was high too and only ended up with 2 x 4BCs from 10 fertilised eggs this round so I've been trying to improve diet/lifestyle to improve that. Which tablets/vitamins has your clinic recommended?

Yes I bought a 3 cycle package. It includes 3 collections and unlimited transfers. I do keep thinking should I just transfer but I'm going to be 38 in March and I think by time we'd be ready to go again I'd be 39 at least so just wanted to bank as many as possible now. I said to hubby I think I'm done after this round too. Maybe I'd feel differently in a few years but it's so hard going on your body and mentally so going to draw a line after this next collection and transferring any embryos we have.

May/June will soon come round and it'll give you some breathing space now to get in a good mindset for it x

@seekingbabyk i didn’t realise you could do all the egg collections first with these packages and then transfer. Yeah it’s a tricky one isn’t it. Getting older and quality might decrease even more 😩 Our situations sound quite similar. I’m 38 next month. And I had one 4BB and one 4BC. I think they only offer a two cycle package at 38-39 but I’m hoping and crossing my fingers it will be enough 😩😄🤞🤞 but yeah I think I’ll transfer after each egg collection. It must be so tough doing one after the other. I hope your last round will go smoothly 😊 xx
so she said for OH to get impryl. Never heard of it before www.fertilityfamily.co.uk
and for me to get the following:

@Honeybunie awwww thank you! I take a multivitamin, folic acid and tried co q10 but it was making me feel really emotional so dropped that but might try again.

It hasn't been too bad tbh. I am quite a practical person so I'm more just thinking get through it and I'll be grateful to myself after. It's crap doing stims etc but realistically it's not painful or anything it's just a fed up and bloated feeling more than anything. My first round was an absolute breeze because my meds were low (150 Menopur) so hardly any side effects but only got one blast. Second was harder but now we've come this far I just want to get it done.

I think I'll be more emotionally involved once we start transferring - that's the tough bit for me playing the waiting game. As it is for all of us!

Lovely to see the scan picture @Imisscoffee2021! It's wonderful news! Hope you get lots of rest - the UTI does not sound fun at all 😩

I'm a bit nervous @seekingbabyk. But overall okay 🤞🏼have a stressy work meeting tomorrow morning so it's keeping my mind off things 😅

@Tinkerbell098 good luck for Tuesday, and fingers crossed for you!! 🤞🏼🤞🏼

@seekingbabyk you're so strong for going through the egg collections back to back. 💪🏼💪🏼 good luck for your next one!

Thanks @Honeybunie!

In terms of the vitamins, I read the book "it starts with an egg" about 8 months ago after having no success with trying. It recommended many of the vitamins you've listed.

After my previous stims results - the clinic said also that taking ubiquinol "can't do any harm and many people do" which was somewhat reassuring. The whole thing kicked me into the habit of regularly taking them alongside the ones recommended in the book.

I took multivitamins & vit D, E, C, and also Ubiquinol 400 (was a pain to take this the tablets are ginormous) and folate. Ive also been tested for and previously told my Vit D levels were pretty much nonexistent (I think at 13) so had to up these a few months ago via GP prescription.

Best of luck to you and keeping my fingers crossed for us all! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

@Honeybunie the meeting with your consultant sounds very productive. It's good you can have a 3 month breathing space to work on yourself. Have you got anymore blasts in the freezer or was that the last one so you are looking to do more egg collections in May/June? I was on Proceive Max for about a year when we were TTC, which has a bundle of vitamins and CoQ10. I took additional higher strength CoQ10 on top of it as well as I am 37 and am worried about egg quality. Like @MinBins, I followed guidance in the "it starts with the egg" for supplements for IVF. God knows how many I was taking in the end, but wanted to do anything I could do to help as all else had failed.

@MinBins was it OTD for you today? How did you get on?

Hey @Tinkerbell098 - the test was positive this morning! I called the clinic and they said they don't need to do blood tests (strange) but have booked me in for a scan on 1st Feb.

I'm going to try and not get my hopes up (I think to protect myself after previous poul) but I'm grateful for the positive today. Now a waiting game till the 1st and keeping fingers crossed 🤞🏼

@seekingbabyk yeah I guess it makes no difference anyway if you do them back to back or not, you’ll have to go through it anyway lol. And you get the three cycles you paid for. I’m hoping I might only need one more tho even if we buy two now. That’d be nice. Yeah the stims bit is more uncomfortable than painful. I was in quite a lot of pain after my ec. And had a rough time straight after. But yeah it’s all doable 😊 Wow you got emotional after the co q10? Let’s see if it’ll have an effect on me. So have you got 3 embryos frozen at the moment?

Thanks for the info @MinBins ! I was actually wondering about the dosages as the consultant didn’t say anything about that. So I goggled afterwards myself and ordered stuff. What dosages do all you ladies take for these vitamins/supplements? The myo-inositol I think should be 2g twice a day. That works out to be 4-8 tablets 🙈 and makes it quite expensive too.
I ordered Vitamin A in drop form. Really wasn’t sure what the dosage should be there. I read 700mg a day for a lady but then should it be a higher dose as a supplement 🤔

@Tinkerbell098 I’ve got no embryos left in the freezer. So start again from scratch in May/June. I should’ve probably read up on supplements more. I mean I did to a certain extent. I’ve been taking folic acid for years now and vit E and D at the moment. But tbh I never thought there might’ve been anything wrong with me or my eggs and so focussed on OH and dosing him up. So he’s had a daily cocktail for a while now 😄 we’ll both be on a strict regime from tomorrow onwards 😊

It is actually quite nice to have this breather of 3-4 months now and focus on getting healthier. I’m not stressed about losing any time either which is good. Focusing on the end result of hopefully more higher quality embryos 🤞😊 Doing it later also takes some stress away because I was always worried how to fit stims and ec in with work before end of March. It’ll be easier again to do a cycle in the summer 😊

@MinBins oh yey! really pleased for you for the good news. Waiting is so hard, I'm trying to stay positive and patient until I get a scan. Are you having any symptoms?

Aawww yay @MinBins another important milestone done. I know about guarding yourself. But try and allow yourself some hope and excitement too. This might just be the one ☝️🤗😍
is a blood test not the first thing they do if anybody thinks they’re pregnant? That is weird

@Honeybunie so first round we got 1 x 4BB blast which we did a fresh transfer of and that didn't stick. We now have two 4BCs in the freezer and hoping for the same next time (obv more would be amazing) and then we'll do some FETs. It's so weird because my AMH is high (26) for my age but don't seem to be getting high numbers. Hoping lifestyle changes will help. Have almost stopped drinking alcohol completely, trying to exercise more, eat more fruit & veg etc. I just assumed because of my AMH it would be fine and that it was a blocked tubes issue.

I've taken a COQ10 again today so we'll see how that goes. I had really bad mood swings with it last time but to be honest it could be the meds/hormones too lol!

Awwww @MinBins that's amazing news! 1st feb will soon come round and hopefully you'll get a really lovely scan being a bit further along too!

So strange how it's different everywhere but I also thought bloods were always done after a positive x