FET/IVF - January 2023

[Jane1284]

Hey

I would love to get a group together of some of us who are undergoing IVF or FETs in Jan. I found it really helpful to have the support of those going through similar last time (Nov 2020).

My story: I am due to start my first FET in January of my one and only frozen embryo. The embryo is from a cycle in Nov 2020 when I was almost 36. I have low AMH and AFC and it was my first and only NHS round. I got 4 eggs all which miraculously fertilised, 1 made it to day 5 and was put back in with a fresh transfer. Sadly it did not stick. 1 egg was left until day 6 and it finally made it to blastocyst. It has been frozen. Rather than having a FET back then they advised me to do a banking package of 3 cycles due to my low AMH/AFC so in Jan 2021 we started our first private IVF cycle with the same clinic (Kings). Once again I was on max stims (gonal f and menopur) and it looked like we would get 4 eggs again but when I woke from EC they told me they only got 2. I had a bit of a breakdown. I was so upset going through all that including over £2k worth of drugs injected to only get two eggs. It felt even worse as I had let myself hope it would go well. Out of the 2 eggs only 1 fertilised normally. On day 3 the embryologist told me it was average quality and she wasn't sure it would be good enough to freeze on day 5 if it even made it that far. I couldn't handle the thought of going through all that mental anguish to not have anything to freeze so I made a last minute decision to go in for a day 3 fresh transfer. I had zero expectations but somehow that average embryo stuck. I was so stressed all pregnancy and worried about everything but amazingly I gave birth to my first baby in Sep 2021. He is now 14 months and I am turning 38 in 2 weeks.

Now it is time to get back on the IVF/FET train. I have been for my initial scan and blood tests. The scan was fine. Still not many follicles but not significantly worse. Waiting for a consult with the Dr next week for an update on my AMH (can't wait.... ) where she'll also decide on our protocol. I am leaning towards a medicated FET just so we can plan it a bit better. If that doesn't work then it is back to a 3 cycle package of IVF.

I hope I haven't bored anyone reading this to tears. Would be great if anyone else out there would like to be a cycle buddy? :-)

Hey

I have also been looking for someone who will be going through ivf around the same time as me. I have never posted before so I have no idea what I am doing but thank you for sharing your story (it most certainly did not bore me to tears!) What a roller coaster you have been on! Sending you all the luck in the world for your next journey.

I also have a child who was conceived within 1 month of stopping contraception in 2019. Unfortunately, since then we have had 2 chemical pregnancies- one in 2020 and one in 2021. Following our second chemical pregnancy we decided to have fertility testing which has shown I have a low AMH - I am 29 but have an amh more commonly seen in someone in their 40s. They also found I have an under active thyroid which they think could have contributed to the chemical pregnancies. We have been advised to start ivf/icsi straight away in hope of having a second baby and my thyroid levels have now stabilised with medication. I am due to start oral medication on the 3rd Jan with hope of egg collection the last week of Jan. Due to low amh I share a lot of the thoughts you had around your egg collection, our medication is also costing £2000 but we have been prepared to expect very few eggs.

I have a lot of mixed emotions about our upcoming cycle and feel stuck in a weird limbo just waiting for Christmas to be over to get started.

Hope we can chat and support each other through these difficult times!

Hi Laur0606.

Thanks for starting the blog.
I have just signed up after having read these blogs a million times over my multiple cycles.
Agree, it is important to support each other.
Try and have a break and enjoy Christmas.

I am in a quandary about knowing what to do in Jan. Hence why I am writing this at 4am. Can’t sleep turning it over in my head.

I have a single frozen embryo left from my last round, which is graded as a poor 4bc.
Due to my age (38) and lack of good quality embryos from last 2 cycles I am wondering if I should keep that last one frozen and start a fresh round in Jan or just go ahead and do the FET. The consultant at Herts & Essex Fertility suggested a DuoStim cycle to maximise the yield in the hope we would get some good quality to transfer.
I would welcome people’s thoughts or suggestions on which we should do. Complicating factors being cost. We have already spent upwards of £25k getting to this point and it feels a bit like we should spend the last of what we have on the fresh of the chances are so low on a successful pregnancy.

Hello.

I’m starting down regulation Friday, with egg collection/transfer scheduled for January.

It’s our first cycle so a bit nervous. Been TTC for 3.5 years, never had a BFP.

It’ll be nice to have cycle buddies!

Hi @Laur0606 - I am so sorry to hear about your chemical pregnancies. That must have been so hard to go through. Secondary infertility is sadly common it seems. It's so tough wanting to have a sibling for your child and struggling. I am so grateful that I have my miracle son but it is so hard to know we have to struggle and go through medical intervention to add to our family. Since finding out I have low AMH and AFC I have done a bit of reading and listening to podcasts on IVF and infertility. It's interesting to note that some doctors recommend low stims for those of us with low AMH. They say it is better to focus on less eggs of better qualilty. I have raised this with my clinic but they seem keen to continue with high stims unless my AMH is much lower. Seems so odd to pay £2k+ for drugs and get 2 eggs when you can have a natural cycle or mild stims and get 1 or 2.
Oh well - I guess we'll just have to see how things go. I hope with it being your first round you respond well. I hope with you being under 30 you may have the chance of having better quality eggs than some of us approaching 40.
It is interesting you mention your thyroid. There's a lot of discussion on ideal TSH level for fertility. I was not happy with my TSH rising but my clinic was adament anything below 4.5 was fine. When I went private I got them to agree to prescribe a low does of thyroxine. That was the round that worked. Could be unrelated but I have asked them to test again and if it is above 2 I want to ask to be prescribed thyroxine again.
Ar you having to go to a private clinic?

Hi @RPF
I am sorry you are going through such a tough time. I am in a similar position to you in that i have only 1 embryo frozen. We are leaning towards a FET but the Dr is going to have a consultation with us next week and discuss my AMH and whether she thinks it makes sense to go straight into IVF rather than use the frozen embryo. It's so hard to know what to do. Especially when you have spent so much money.
I am leaning towards the FET as I figure if by some miracle it works that would be great but if it doesn't then I can start on the fresh soon after. I don't think a delay of 1-2 months will impact my egg stores and quality too much.
In regards to the grading- I think if it is good enough to freeze then it is good enough to make a baby. I have heard of so many women having success with their poor or average embryos when their good have not worked. My good embryo did not stick while my average did.
How did your previous rounds go? Have you stuck to the same protocol or tried different things? They do offer dual stim at my clinic but I haven't tried it since I only have 2-4 follicles most cycles.
x

Hi @Lauralozzle
Good luck with your first cycle! I hope it goes well. You say you're starting down reg this week. Does that mean you're on a long protocol? I've only ever had short protocol. I think the difference is you don't down reg on short (not 100% sure). When do you have your baseline scan? I hope you have a lot of follicles and they respond to the medication well. Are you getting this round on the NHS? In my area we only get one round on the NHS but it is better than some places where you get none. Not sure how fair it is that it is a postcode lottery but not a lot you can do.
Sending you lots of luck x

@Jane1284 Yes, I’m on long protocol. I have my baseline scan after I bleed, so start buserelin on cycle day 21. Period should come as normal (anytime between day 25-30 - I gave up temping ages ago! Never bothered with lh sticks this month either!) and then I have to call them on first day of period and I’ll have scan and blood tests about 7 days later. Once that’s all confirmed I start stims.

Im not anticipating many follicules as I pretty much have a dud right ovary (only one follicule on that one last AFC.) left ovary is normal so expecting 99% of my eggs to come from that one!

Yes, it’s my one and only NHS round. But, my area also covers any FETS so I’m hoping I have some Frosties if it doesn’t work otherwise it’s going to get very expensive!

@Jane1284 Yes we are paying privately as not eligible on nhs. We feel incredibly blessed to have our daughter but the thought of not being able to give her a sibling is also heart wrenching. Secondary infertility is such a confusing diagnosis, even though we have a child, it feels impossible to fall pregnant again.

My fertility clinic were very clear in regards to thyroid, they want it below 2.5 for conception. I have also been advised to double my medication if I get a positive pregnancy test to prevent a further chemical pregnancy (something I wish I had known earlier).

@Lauralozzle This will be my first round too. We are following a long protocol and doing split IVF/ICSI. Are you doing anything in particular to prepare? I’ve read about so many different supplements, I have no idea what to take for the best.

Hi @RPF It is so hard to know what to do especially with the financial burden of each decision. In relation to the embryo grading, I think you can only go with your gut feeling so you have no regrets.

@Laur0606 Oh, it’s nice to find someone else on long protocol! We’re doing mixed ivf/ICSI if we get enough eggs. Otherwise it’ll just be ICSI.

Im thinking of starting high protein/lower carb/less sugar from down regulation onwards. I’ll be honest though, my diets crap and at the moment I want to eat my weight in sugar!!!

@Lauralozzle I really hope you respond well and get some frozen embryos. It's so bloody expensive so great if you can have some FETs on the NHS too. I hope your one star ovary has lots of follicles.

The whole diet thing is so hard. I went a bit OTT for my first round of IVF. No caffeine, no alcohol and ate really well for a few months. Then it didn't work and I spent christmas eating everything in sight and smashing loads of booze. Then the next round in Jan worked. So this time I have decided to take it easy and not be so militant. Doesn't matter as much with a FET but they say it takes 3 months for eggs to develop and I'll be starting a fresh round ASAP if this embryo does not work so I should be sensible on the alcohol.

@Laur0606 That's great that your clinic is so keen on keeping TSH below 2.5. Mine is atatched to a big teaching hospital and they are adamant the research shows 4.5 and below is fine. Frustrating when everyone else says it is ideal to keep it closer to 1. Hopefully I can go back on thyroxine if my levels are up a bit. We shall see when we have our consult next Thurs.

@Jane1284 Fingers crossed the cycle goes well. I’m very aware first found is basically like a trial run in some ways.

Diet has been shocking today, but, I’m going to try and clean it up a bit tomorrow. Going out for dinner, but will make better choices for my other meals.

Had a thyroid check today as I’m panicking that my levels are fluctuating. Should know Wednesday.

IVF cycle has properly started now. First day of buserelin injections.

Hope everyone is okay

@Lauralozzle how did the first injections go? I am nervous about injecting. Wishing you all the best for this cycle, you’ve got this!

Having a bit of a shit day. Sister in law told us she is pregnant with her second baby, first month of trying. Sat here just wishing it could be me. How does everyone else cope with pregnancy announcements?

@Laur0606 Ah no, that’s a bit shit. I know how hard this is when someone gets pregnant seemingly at the drop of a hat. I’ll be honest, TTC has turned me into someone I didn’t use to be - I actively hate people just a little bit now. I got upset (to myself, didn’t show it) when my friend who is quite a few years younger than me announced she was TTC because she’ll probably get pregnant at the drop of a hat! In truth, I just avoid pregnant people, stop following them on Facebook and such. Can’t be dealing with it in my current head space. I appreciate it’s different with family, you still have to be there and it feels like your just bottling your feelings and faking it, well for me anyway.

DH did the injection. It was a sharp scratch, like having bloods, then stung a bit when it went in but it was over in 5 seconds. Not as bad as Covid jabs lol! Feels a bit sore now, couple of hours later but definitely doable.

Hi, can I jump on please?

We are so lucky to have DD from a FET in 2020, after a failed fresh cycle - not really that surprising given how stressful it was to be part way through stimming when lockdown happened - and a tortuous wait whilst everything was stopped. We actually started earlier than expected for the FET as we had a natural transfer, with trigger shot only, and I happened to be lucky with where I was in my cycle when the clinic reopened.

We went back to the clinic at the start of the month as we have four frosties left. Plan is for a natural transfer again. My period came a few days later and could have started then, but I'm not quite emotionally ready for it all again and I want to enjoy Christmas without it on my mind all the time. Plus, gives me time to try and persuade my gp to prescribe blood thinners rather than pay for them, as I had a blood clot on my lung after birth and will need to take them throughout pregnancy if we happen to be lucky again. IVF consultant wants me to take them from trigger onwards as a precaution and they are expensive privately.

Just waiting for my thyroid test results (although guessing I would have heard if there was anything amiss) and then good to go in Jan. Although there is a chance the train strikes might mean we can't go ahead as my period is due that first week in Jan.

Feeling v emotional about it all. In a way I think I'm scared to admit to myself how much I'd love another as its opening myself up to all the hurt again, which we wouldn't have if we chose to stick at one. But then we would always wonder 'what if' if we didn't, and I'm not getting any younger so it's this year or never.

So glad to have found you all to go through this with some support.

Hello please could I join? I am due to start January. Following natural cycle.

We have 1 child and have been trying for a sibling since 2021, I have had two miscarriages, one early one in June 2021 and one MMC in May 2022.
I'm 40 in a few weeks, AMH 13.4 and follicle count 15 when checked in October. Husbands results all fine so I guess it's probably my age and egg quality.

I've been taking supplements from it starts with the egg book for over a year. I've actually just dropped down and changed some of the products.

My Day 1 is around 1st Jan so I have my drug app mid December. I am very nervous about it all, feeling the pressure of the cost of it and what to expect. I'm especially worried about the egg collection and being sedated.
It would be nice to be on a thread with others going through it.

Wishing everyone the best of luck x

@Lauralozzle exciting you have started your meds now! Do they have any side effects or are you feeling ok? I hope your thyroid tests come back ok. I’m looking forward to getting all my blood results this week.

@Laur0606 I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with pregnancy announcements on top of everything else. It’s so hard. I found so many people seem to get pregnant first month. I know my sister has with both of hers. She got pregnant with her second when we were trying but I never got upset with her. It was more friends that I found hard to deal with. Felt so unfair.

welcome @Fourfrosties - I can totally relate to your feelings of going through it all again and being scared to admit how much you want a sibling for your child. That’s great you have 4 Frosties in the freezer. Really hope your first FET works. I’m really not looking forward to another fresh round if my 1 doesn’t stick. I hope you can get your medication from your doctor! Anything to reduce the costs. Seems so unfair that most people get pregnant without shelling out thousands!

hey @LittleDoveLove - welcome to the group. So sorry to hear about your miscarriages. How heartbreaking. I can understand your nerves with starting IVF. I can honestly say the hardest part of the process for me was the emotional toll. The waiting for results at each step. The sedation was strangely enjoyable. The needles were overwhelming at first but after 2 days I found them not so bad. My husband has a needle phobia so I did all my own injections (3 a day). I have quite a roll of fat on my tummy so found they didn’t really hurt. Small benefit of my fat belly. Haha

@Fourfrosties Hi! Good luck for your FET. Hopefully you get the medication from your doctor, much cheaper! Good luck for January!

@LittleDoveLove Sorry to hear about your miscarriages. Good luck with your drugs appointment this month. I’m with you on worrying about egg collection and sedation. Not looking forward to that part at all!

@Jane1284 Second injection yesterday hurt a bit. DH reckons he pushed the syringe too quickly, it’s all a bit trial and error. Once the injection is done though I’m fine. Yesterday it was a bit red, and it itches like a bitch for about ten minutes after but then it goes away. No side effects so far. I’ve felt a few twinges on my ovaries yesterday but my period is due next week so putting it down to that. Fingers crossed (touch wood) that I don’t get many side effects.

Hopefully my thyroid levels are fine, but I’m aware I’m on a tiny dose of levothyroxine so just want to make sure everything is fine. I’ll ring GP on Wednesday, they should be back by then.

@Lauralozzle I found some injections didn't hurt and others were so sore. Must be down to nerve endings or something? Have you bruised much and are they in your tummy or thigh? Are you going to try do any yourself or are you finding it much easier having your DH do them?
Good luck on your thyroid levels. I was only on 25 thyroxine but found it brought my TSH down to a good level.

Just had the first pregnancy announcement from my NCT group. A picture of a 12 week scan was sent through. Have been waiting for it at some point as all the babies are now 13-15 months old. I thought I would get upset but I feel weirdly OK about it. Maybe it will get harder as more of them announce second babies and I am unable to conceive. Hopefully not!

@Jane1284 I haven’t bruised at all. The one on Saturday was red but that went down fairly quickly. We tried the ice cube trick yesterday and it was so much better! How we did it yesterday was good so, I sat down (had been standing before), used ice cube to slightly numb skin, I grabbed the fat, turned my face away and DH sorted out the needle and injection side of things. It was easier me holding onto the fat and DH said it m’aide injecting easier too, although using the ice cube meant it felt like he had to use more force to puncture the skin.

Oh, I can imagine it’s a bit upsetting with pregnancy announcements. It’s good you’re ok about it though. Just remember to focus on you if it gets a bit much down the line.

I am absolutely knackered today. I’ve been working since 8:00 and I don’t finish for another two hours. I’ve been starting early because I want to build flexi for egg collection. I’m so tired though, just want to go to bed and wrap up in the duvet.

Hi @Jane1284 I will be starting my medicated FET in January (nearer the end of Jan!) hope it's ok to join. Sending luck to all. X

Welcome @RMS0209 - Is this your first FET? I think I'll be starting mine mid Jan based off current cycle. Sending you lots of luck.

That sounds like a good technique @Lauralozzle . I never really got on with the ice cube but I found squeezing the fat was the best. Sometimes I barely felt the needle. The worst ones were the feramadel. The needle was so think and I really struggled to get it in. I like the nice thin needles on the pens!
Sorry you're so tired. Do your work know you're going through treatment? I told my boss for my first two rounds but I haven't with this one. I think I feel a bit guilty that I am only just back from a year of maternity leave. In an ideal world I wouldn't be rushing back into treatment but I have a fear that two years later I will respond even worse and it may not work. Trying to stay positive.

@Jane1284 No I haven’t told them. I’m getting a new manager in January so I don’t really want to tell my current manager because she was only on a temporary promotion and is moving back down. I want as few a people to know really. Luckily I work from home 3 days a week and I’m only in the office twice a week and my role is very flexible but I’m doing long hours at home at the moment to build up flexi.

Hi @Jane1284 and all 👋
Yes this will be my first FET, I had egg collection in September and November was meant to be my first FET but my body wasn't responding naturally so in January when I start my new cycle we are going in medicated! Excited,scared,stressed all at the same time. X

@Lauralozzle that makes sense. I only told my boss because although I was working from home my job isn't overly flexible so needed to take quite a bit of time off. He was really supportive and let me take time off without booking as holiday. It's good that you can accrue flexi time. I feel like I can probably get away with doing the FET and just saying I have medical appointments but if I do another fresh round after that I may need to tell him just so I have that flexibility again. There will be more scans and procedures with the fresh IVF.

I feel those emotions @RMS0209- it is all very overwhelming! I think we are going with medicated cycle too. On one hand I'd rather avoid the drugs but the dr did say we would be able to plan it a bit better if it is medicated. How did your egg collection go?

@Jane1284
all the emotions!
I'm glad in a way to be doing medicated just for that little bit of control, I was pushing for this for the last cycle but was advised to try naturally.. so here we go now!
Egg collection was good, all the medications for that seemed "easy" if I can use that word, I've had my protocol through for January and... wow.
I developed OHSS after egg retrieval but I am back to normal now which is great. So hoping those little embryos are happy "chilling" until January 🥰 x