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? :-)

Good luck to everyone having transfers this week!

In terms of vitamins, both me and my husband are taking impryl (this was recommended by a fertility nurse about 6 months ago - it’s pricey but we are too scared to stop it this close to the ivf so have kept going with it), then I also take coenzyme Q10 and vitamin D.

I have my second scan tomorrow - day 7 of stims. Apart from feeling slightly more bloated come evening, I feel absolutely fine. I have low amh for my age so was told that I may not respond as well to ivf due to this factor. Scan is 10am tomorrow so hoping tonight goes really fast and that the scan shows my body is working with the medication! Keeping everything crossed 🤞🏻

@JuliaIVF83 yes I used clexane too its to prevent blood clots.
@Claireabella05 I think the mcdonalds fries are high in salt and was good after egg collections prevents you from getting OHSS I'm not sure about transfer but everyone seems to do it. Its a tradition but then they state eat healthy so not sure lol
@AnnaPr1992 doing well so far did you get cramping straight after. I got some cramping straight away x

@Frosty91 aww yes I had lot of cramping since day one after transfer and especially last night was like I was getting my period and on my left side I feel a pulling sensation 😅 weird ..
Today is my day 7 and the cramping has settled I haven't felt it as much as the previous days x

@AnnaPr1992 ohh thats good I'm hoping it's a good sign fingers cross. Any spotting after the transfer ? Sending sticky vibes your way. When will you be testing next x

@Frosty91 is definitely a good sign baby is sticking who knows 🥰💋🤞
I had a bit of pink spotting only once after the transfer when I came home but iam convinced was due to the speculum ..
With the first pregnancy I had spotting on week 5 for only a few hours and it was dark brown so probably old blood due to implantation which is normal can happen to some women.

@AnnaPr1992 also heard laughter helps implantation. So watch some funny comedies x

I will test tomorrow morning and I will update 😬

Good luck with your scan tomorrow @Laur0606 - I have low AMH too and my follicles always seemed to take a while to get going so my early scans never showed much, they usually showed an improvement around day 11. So don't worry if they are slow off the mark! Let us know how you get on : )

@AnnaPr1992 yes all good thank you - it wasn't as bad as the nurse made out - so pleasant suprise!

My husband walked in on me making pineapple tea yesterday - I think he thinks I'm going mad.

I drove home from work today convincing myself I was feeling nauseous and getting excited but I think the day after transfer is a little bit early for that kind of symptom unfortunately ....or maybe not haha ?! Roll on Monday!!

Last time I tested like an insane women from around day 5 - really trying to hold out at least a couple more days once you open those testing floodgates its hard to stay sane until blood test day.

Praying for sticky embryos for all of us!

Hello everyone, joining this thread for first time on here. Starting ivf this month first time. I’ve been ttc for 3 years after one early miscarriage. I’ve been taking wild nutrition fertility supplements.
I have my first scan this Friday to get the go ahead with injections. Is anybody getting ivf funding on nhs? Sending positive luck to everyone x

Hello @Sunshinedreaming1987 and welcome! I take those supplements 🙂

I'm also on the NHS. I had my first round in November last year and we got 2 embryos. The first transfer failed and I had the second transferred on Sunday. If this one fails no more NHS funding for us, and I think we'll investigate what other clinics in our area offer. I like our clinic but value for money will be the top concern.

Are you doing long protocol or short?

@countrypunk hello, thank you 🥰

we are doing short protocol. You? I have had the medication delivered last Friday. But completely in the dark about what I’m taking yet Waiting on my appointment at the clinic. It was ment to be today but my period had been late delaying the process. 😑 we have been told we have only one fresh cycle on our funding. 🤞🏼

have you or anyone had acupuncture before/during ivf ? I’ve been having it once a week. not sure if it’s helping but definitely helps relax me. Unsure if I should continue or not.

@Sunshinedreaming1987 I did long protocol. Yeah I only get one cycle on the NHS too. If you make more than one embryo will you get any additional transfers on the NHS?

I actually did have acupuncture for about 6 months before IVF. It's not usually the kind of thing I go for, but the practitioner came highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a crack. I don't think it did anything for me and the acupuncturist's house was really cold so I was always absolutely freezing by the end of the session!

@Sunshinedreaming1987 welcome. My first NHS cycle. Age 31... unexplained fertility.18 eggs collected. Risk of OHSS so they froze all embryos. Had 5 frosties good quality 😊 no symptoms of OHSS. Had my first frozen transfer today. So fingers cross. With injections I was fine and had no side effects it be draining though. The waiting. It feels like time drags. But in reality looking back everything went so fast. Good luck and hope all goes well for you x
@countrypunk I have 5 frozen embryos but one free NHS cycle. In my area its only one x next transfer will have to pay for transfer they said x

Welcome @Sunshinedreaming1987 we are NHS Funded, only get one round though… I had acupuncture twice when doing injections .. wish I had started it sooner as I found it really relaxing !
I was on short protocol (had egg collection in 2021 but got married last year so waited till after the wedding to have a transfer) having our first FET this week, got 23 embryos and they let me keep having transfers until I get a live birth which is a lot better than other areas with nhs funding x

@Laura23FE - 23 embryos!! That’s amazing - good luck with your first transfer !

@Sunshinedreaming1987 hello welcome to the group ♥️
We are doing IVF funded by NHS we have 3 rounds funded. I have a genetic condition, altered gene 🧬 carrier but if I have children I have 50% chances having a sick child so the genetics told us the only safe way to have children is via IVF to perform genetic testing to our embryos before they transfer to my uterus.
We got referred in December 2020, we were just 28, in April 2022 we had the egg retrieval- they collected 40eggs from me, 36 eggs fertilised with my husband's semen and 20 embryos reached day 5 blastocyst stage and those 20 they had to take biopsy to perform the PGD , the biopsy took 3 months and from the 20 embryos they took the biopsy from , 12 of those had inherited my gene mutation so the we had 8 beautiful healthy embryos.
We did the first frozen transfer in August and ended of in miscarriage on week 11 - the reason unknown the heart just stopped when we went for our routine scan- now iam 8dp 2nd transfer 🤞 we both are 30 now, no known fertility issues but this journey has been so long and so hard, big experience but I am so grateful that I live here in the uk and I have the privilege NHS to look after me and my future children 🤞♥️
I wish you good luck with everything ♥️

@Sunshinedreaming1987 I’m on the NHS. We get one full round, which also includes any frozen transfers from egg collection if fresh transfer fails. Generous if you get lots of frozen, a bit gut wrenching if not! I’m currently day 7 of stims with my first scan tomorrow. Hopefully I have some growing !

@Laura23FE wow 23 that's incredible! good look with your frozen transfer! We got married last November too so held of starting the process till january as it would of been too much leading up to the wedding! I started acupuncture in December and have found it relaxing, i also do fertility yoga at home which i found really relaxing.

Reading all your stories makes me feel less alone. I am the only one in my large group of friends that hasn't had children yet and it can feel so lonely. I have stopped seeing alot of my friends with babies as it can be so triggering and i deleted Instagram because of the constant pictures of happy families. Going through IVF felt like i had failed to to have a baby naturally but being on here makes me realise so many of us are going through the same process.🙏

@Frosty91
I took a test this morning 😬
I think the line is getting slightly darker, don't know 🥺

@AnnaPr1992 omgggg 😍🥰🥰🥰 I'm so happy for you. I can defo see the line getting darker. Such a good news. You deserve this so much. Ooooo this is exciting times. Soo so happy for you. What day did you start testing was it 5dpt or 4dpt. X I hope blessings keep coming your way x

@Frosty91 ahh thank you so much iam so emotional now crying 😭
Well I did the first test on day 4 which was super early but Iam paranoid hahaha 😝 I could see the finest line in the world on day 4 and day 5 was more obvious
Still early but I will do another test on Saturday which is my proper test day from the clinic x

@AnnaPr1992 ahhh this is amazing to see!! 😍

@Sunshinedreaming1987 fingers crossed for everyone 🙏🤞🥺
I try so hard not to be over excited, with the first pregnancy we couldn't believe it we did so many plans we shared with everyone and ended up so bad.
This time we haven't said absolutely anything to any family or friends, I really prefer to share it with you here girls coz you understand exactly what I been through ♥️💋

@AnnaPr1992 I can defo see good line progession 😍 good luck for Saturday. Will your clinic be doing a blood test?. I am going to start 5dpt too 🥰 x

@Frosty91 thank you so much 😊 I wish you all the best to you too and please keep us updated x
The clinic I go only does a scan 5weeks after the transfer, they don't do bloods - I tried to book bloods to my GP to check the HCG progression but they said they can't do it coz hasn't been requested by them 🙄 non sense these surgeries 🙄

What I will do is I will book a private scan in 2weeks when I will be 6 weeks to check what is happening coz I can't wait till end of February for the clinic to see me 😩